HAPPY BIRTHDAY, REBECCA!

Today is Rebecca's birthday, but I couldn't wait until now to give her our present, so I packed it in my luggage and took it up to Idaho with me.   Thank you Southwest Airlines for free baggage!

Back in December, Melissa called one afternoon, excited that a Bernina starter sewing machine was on sale for that day only for a bargain price we could afford. We decided to splurge and get it for Rebecca's  birthday. Renee also went in on it with us. 


Melissa was on the phone while Rebecca opened her present. It was such a fun surprise.

Sadly, my camera was on the wrong setting and these pictures are not good. @#$%^&*! But you can get the idea. Rebecca was truly surprised. To add to the fun, I found a lovely Bernina dealer/quilt shop/fabric store that also teaches adult sewing just 12 miles from her home. Happy Birthday, my first daughter, even though you were 3 weeks late, I love you and your family to pieces!!!

Why I Love the Utah Jazz

This is a long one. . . . .skip down if you want to see the posts about Skye & her Idaho cousins!

The day Jerry Sloan "retired" I was phoned and texted with updates all day long. My family and friends all know my love for the Utah Jazz so they knew here in southern California the coverage would be minimal. Which it was. And they all wanted to know how I was doing.  I ended up listening to Sports Talk Radio all week. I think there’s 2 sides to the story and I don’t think it’s all Deron Williams fault. I just think it’s sad that it all happened the way it did and it will be years before we get the whole story. 

The thing that gets me the most about this entire drama, is that the people who never awarded him with Coach of the Year in 23 years are now singing his praises. Where were they when he deserved the award – especially when he lost out to just an okay coach with a star player? The double standard makes me crazy.

Craig was never a big TV sports fan, he always said he'd rather play or watch our kids play. But we usually watched the playoffs each year. ( Today he is a big football and basketball fan.)We used to root for the Portland Trailblazers in the Clyde (heavy sigh) Drexler and Cliffie Robinson days. Back then, they used to broadcast more post game comments. One thing I noticed was that most teams would blame their teammates or the officials or find some excuse for their losses. EXCEPT the Jazz. I remember falling in love with them as they were interviewed and Karl( heavier sigh) Malone, John Stockton, Jeff Hornaceck and Coach Sloan would give the other team compliments and each take responsibility for their loss. I was so impressed. Plus they were always the under dogs and I love an underdog. That's how it all began. And that is one reason I so dislike that purple and yellow team, because they never take responsibility for their mistakes. Plus they are snarky. From the players and coach to the management and announcers. And they have no heart. But I digress. . .

Diane Worthington and I both adore our Utah Jazz, and we were able to attend a few games when they played the Clippers or that other NBA team in our area. One year we got amazing, bargain tickets at the Honda Center in Anaheim and we were about 10 rows behind the bench. Diane and I were the lone Jazz fans in our seating area, and we were very enthusiastic with our cheering. For some reason, Jerry would look back in our direction and he seemed to be staring at me.TRUE STORY!  Diane will confirm this. Then, at the next game, Jerry once again could not take his eyes off me. So of course he has a special place in my heart.

It really is an end of an era, with new players, dopey new uniforms and team colors, and now a new coach.  When they wear green they look like the Celtics.  Maybe that isn't all bad.  But I still love my Utah Jazz.  And it's been nice to see Karl Malone again!

I got a chuckle out of this article that Diane sent me from the Feb 10, 2011 Deseret News by Logan Dunn:
TOP 14 “SLOANISMS”
Quotes by Utah Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan

# 14 - "I'm not looking for another job. My wife has a job for me when I get home." Said Feb. 10, 2011 at the press conference where Jerry Sloan announced his resignation.

# 13 - "Kind of like Miss America. She gets what she wants."
"He draws so much attention that if you give too much help, somebody else is open; if you don't give enough help, he's got what he wants. It's kind of like Miss America. ... You know she gets what she wants." Said in May 2010 comparing Kobe Bryant to Miss America.

# 12 - "I don't know if we're scared of wolves or what."
 "Minnesota has given us trouble from day one for whatever reason," "I don't know if we're scared of wolves or what." Said March 2010 after the Jazz lost twice to the 14-win Timberwolves.

# 11 - "My job is to win"
"My job is to win, and I told him, like anybody else: 'If I have to win with the shortest guy on the team playing your position, (so be it). I'd rather have it the other way around, if I can do it, but I have to do what I can to win." Said following an argument between Sloan and Ostertag after Sloan benched Ostertag for picking up a few fouls early in a 2003 Jazz-Suns game.

# 10 - "A lot easier playing this than playing bingo"
“Hope they realize they can feed their family a lot easier playing this than playing bingo.”  Said at the 2010 Jazz training camp to Utah Jazz hopefuls.

# 9 - "Heart is what makes a difference"
"Size doesn't make any difference; heart is what makes a difference." A typical Sloan pick-me-up with the kicker coming in when he related the above quote to the other team: "These guys over there want to make the playoffs more than we do."

# 8 - "The most important thing in sports is to keep trying"
“These guys have been criticized the last few years for not getting to where we’re going, but I’ve always said that the most important thing in sports is to keep trying. Let this be an example of what it means to say it’s never over.” Sloan after his team defeated the Houston Rockets in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals to advance to the 1997 NBA Finals. A quote to go down as one of the classic NBA quotes on never giving up.

# 7 - "You can't jackpot around"
 “I'm still not really happy with (Fesenko) being happy-go-lucky," Sloan said. "He's a young kid - and young guys have a tendency that they want to have some fun. I don't have too much of a problem with that. But it sometimes it interferes with their progress. You know, you can't jackpot around and get better.” Said to Fesenko, who was blasted by coach Sloan for "just going through the motions." Sloan said he needed to "learn to compete" after an Oct. 2009 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

# 6 - "18 years... Even in a marriage, that's a long time." 

We've been together 18 years. . . . Even in a marriage, that's a long time." Sloan 2002, speaking of his relationship with Karl Malone.

# 5 - "Playing in tuxedos”
“Basically what we've been doing is playing in tuxedos.” Said in 1997 after 13 straight wins. Sloan was worried about how the Jazz would respond to a good team after having things fairly easy.

# 4 - "I haven't been nasty enough"

“We're not a nasty team...I take full responsibility for that, because I haven't been, probably, nasty enough with them.” Sloan said after a 113-100 loss at the start of a first-round playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009.

# 3 - "Get your ice picks out"
“Hey, get your ice picks out. Get all your stuff solved. Go out in the parking lot. Do whatever you have to do, to get all the nonsense taken care of, so we can play basketball. Let's get back to the business of basketball." Said after a 2004 loss against Portland, setting the Jazz to two games under .500 for the first time that season, and marking their fourth loss in a row.

# 2 - "That'll get you a toothpick and a glass of water"
 “That'll get you a toothpick and a glass of water when you're hungry... Nobody cares about that." Said Nov. 2010 after pulling off three straight wins against the Clippers, Heat and Magic while trailing by 10 points or more at halftime. A feat no one had done since 1954.

# 1 - "We can't put diapers on him one night, and a jockstrap the next"
"He came out kind of soft. I mean, I don't care if he's 19 or 30. If he's going to be on the floor in the NBA, he's got to be able to step up and get after it. We can't put diapers on him one night, and a jockstrap the next night. It's just the way it is." Said by Sloan about C.J. Miles, age 19 then, right after a less than ideal performance in his second season.



I HEART PIONEER WOMAN

I first discovered Pioneer Woman almost 2 years ago when my favorite blogger, Bakerella posted about her March 2009 visit to "The Ranch" where she talked about "Marlboro Man".  Of course I clicked on the link and the rest is history.  You can spend hours, even days at The Pioneer Woman blog,where she chronicles life of her family on an Okalahoma cattle ranch. Her recipes and step-by-step photo-tutorials make you want to try everything.  In addition to recipes her accompanying posts are so uplifting and so funny.

Last year she published a wonderful cookbook that is filled with great recipes, photographs of ranch life as well as her commentary on all of the above.  It reads almost like a novel. 

 Last fall I discovered posts on her blog that were serial chapters about how she and her hubby met and fell in love.  I sat and read at the computer for hours, and then a few months later I was thrilled with the news that those posts became a novel, which was published 2 weeks ago.  I preordered it and had it sent to Idaho.  And while I held my sweet, sleeping granddaughter, I read this book:

This book is now one of my top 5 favorite books of all time!!!  It is so funny and so heartwarming, and so romantic all with a lovely PG rating.  So refreshing to read a book that doesn't get ruined with too much steamy graphic detail.  I passed it on to Rebecca, who read it while I was up there, and now Melissa is reading it.  I wish I could send these books to everyone I love.  The books are everywhere - Target, Wal-mart and all the online book stores. 

I relate to her because she adores her husband and family, her extended family, and is always baby hungry.  My kind of woman.  It is a good reminder of how blessed we are, and how important relationships are in our lives.  Plus her recipes are so user friendly and yummy and she has such great taste.  My hero.  Her Valentine post today about her husband and children was perfect. 

Today on her blog she posted a give-away for 4 of these custom painted mixers - painted to match the design of her book covers.  I thought this was my chance - so I entered by making a comment and was dismayed to find I had company with over 22,000  (yes, 22 THOUSAND) .  I want it for my new yellow and red kitchen.  But it's so cute I had to post it.

So, if you want a great book to read, or love a great blog, go to The Pioneer Woman*     

She is also an awesome facebook friend!     

* Disclaimer: make sure you have LOTS and LOTS of time before you click the link above! 

You're Welcome.

My Idaho Girls

 We now have 4 granddaughters in the lovely state of Idaho.  Due to the cold weather and sick kids and smart, careful Mom's, it wasn't until the day before I left that we that we were able to introduce 3 1/2 year old Claire and 20 month old Reese to their new baby cousin.  Paige, 6, got to meet Skye several weeks earlier. The girls were all so sweet and cooperative and 3 cameras clicked away. 

Paige is getting way too grown up all of a sudden!

Claire was very serious about holding Skye.

Reese is a baby lover, and she was so sweet.  I didn't realize that she had her hand on Skye's . It was such a sweet, tender gesture.

     

There were too many pictures to choose from, and these are just from Renee and I.  I know Rebecca will have more cute ones. 

All we needed was Kaylee to have all the girl cousins together.  Lousiana is just too far away!

OH IDAHO !

I was able to spend January 31- February 9 in Idaho with Nick, Renee and Skye.  By the time I arrived, due to the delay in the house closing and Skye's arrival almost 3 weeks early, Skye was already 2 1/2 weeks old. Since she was such a tiny baby weighing 5 lbs 10 oz at birth, she still seemed brand new to me. 

Skye is such a sweet, mellow baby, and Renee is a natural!  She is such a good little Mom and it was such a joy for me to watch her and Nick with their baby girl.  One day after her bath I noticed the light was perfect in my room for a few pictures.  I hurried and turned the quilt over so there would be a plain background for pictures, but I couldn't find her other sock - I love this one with Skye & Renee.

It is so much fun to have a baby girl with so much hair.(She even has Dylan and Austin beat). I couldn't wait to play with her bows.

It was like a dream vacation for me--- sleeping in a nice cozy bed, snuggling with a new baby for hours and hours every day, and hanging out with 2 of my darling children and their families. I tried to get up early so Renee could get a 2-3 hour nap each morning.  Skye was still figuring out her days and nights.  It was really fun staying with Nick and Renee all week.

After a crazy month of moving, it was such a treat to spend 9 days away from all those pesky boxes waiting to be unpacked. 

Skye loved her baths once she got in the warm tub.  She has a little birthmark just above her belly button, that will go away. 

For excitement one night, there was a knock on the door and they had been heart attacked by Renee's young women.  They left a thoughtful gift of a box of baby wipes and a big bag of refills.  This is just a picture of part of the door, but the next morning there were hearts on the windows and garage door.  It was such a sweet surprise for Nick & Renee.

Nick and Renee had lots of support from their ward. Several friends stopped by with gifts and to visit, and they also had some delicious meals.  It was nice for me to see them so well cared for.   

 One late night Skye was bright eyed and look so pretty in pink.  She is such a good mix of Nick and Renee.  She definitely has Nick's dimpled chin, mouth and cheeks!  Her eyes are dark blue, so it's hard to tell yet if they will turn brown like Renee's or blue like Nick's. 

The morning I left, the light was just right once again.  This time I had the darling quilt Aunt Melissa made on hand for the background.  I love her sweet little nightgown. It's one of the first things I bought for her when I knew she was a girl.  I love a newborn in a nightgown!

Look at those CHEEKS! 

As I write this, Skye is 1 month old, and weighed in at 7lbs, 3 oz. It will be fun to see them in 6 weeks, when they will be home to bless Skye on March 27!  That will be a great incentive to motivate me to finish unpacking and get the pictures hung!