Pampering Myself

Well, yesterday turned into a day where I did lots of things that I like! After the usual housework, I went onto the Internet and found that I could watch (and download) the whole 58 minutes of Season 2 Episode 1 of The Tudors! I was in bliss. I don't subscribe to Showtime TV so this was a real treat for me. I then discovered that YouTube has tons of stuff all about the Tudors also, so spent some time downloading so that I can watch it all at my lesisure.
A visit to the hairdressers followed next, then a visit to the nail salon where I indulged in a french polish and when I got home, I had a big piece of creamy turtle pie. Yum. Now can any day get better than that?

Happy Easter

Whilst much of the country has been absorbed in thoughts of Easter Bunnies, candy and eggs today, the real "reason for the season" is depicted above in the wonderful painting by Simon Dewey entitled "He Lives".

Over the years, people have asked me why as Mormons we don't have crosses in our churches or wear the crucifix around our necks. My answer has always been that death by crucifixion was a common death in those days, it was the way of killing any common criminal, but what made Jesus Christ special was that as the Son of God, he had the power to have life eternal. He was resurrected, he rose from the tomb and even today, He Lives.

I wasn't able to go to church today due to work, but periodically throughout the day my mind reflected on this wondrous event and the gift he gave to all of us, that of life after death. With all the hoopla surrounding Christmas, it is such a pity that Easter seems to pass by barely noticed by some people, when to my mind, it is the most special holiday of them all.

Hit and Run

Last night I discovered that someone had bumped into the back of my car and not had the decency to let me know! The last time either Brent or I had used it was late Wednesday evening and it was okay then. We parked it on our short driveway but didn't leave the house on Thursday or Friday when we discovered a big old dent on the driver side rear bumper.
The preacher who lives next door to us had bible study at his house on Wednesday evening and there are always loads or cars parked around our house. I remember seeing a large black one in the parking space opposite and whilst I can't prove it, I bet that one was the culprit.
Nice to know there are good responsible Christian folk out there.

Happy Birthday Belinda

Wishing you a very Happy Birthday Belinda.

Love and Best Wishes to you from all of us on your special day.

Movie Mode

Yesterday Brent and I went to the movies to see Jumper, a science fiction movie about a teenage boy/young adult who discovers he has the ability to teleport himself anywhere in the world. He starts off by teleporting himself into a bank vault, steals tons of money, then teleports himself all around the world over the next 8 years whilst living a wonderful carefree life. This changes when a Paladin (a Jumper hunter and destroyer) finds him and sets out to do his business.
I admit, that I am not a sci-fi fan at all, but other than a couple of violent scenes, the movie was okay. Nothing great, but okay.

Later that evening, we went to Hollywood (the video store, NOT California!) where we rented 4 movies and bought 2 more. We aren't usually that extravagant, but there are quite a few movies that I wanted to see at the moment and I'm afraid they were all my choices; Brent didn't get a look in.
So, the first one we watched was Atonement. Set in 1935 England, the story tells of how one lie by a 10year old girl, changes the lives of others forever. When she grows and realises what she has done, it is too late, but through her writings, she attempts to make an atonement for her sins.
I loved this movie. The acting was great, the scenery awesome, a well written script and Keira Knightley was just beautiful.

This afternoon we watched the Walt Disney movie Enchanted. Brent looked a little nervous when it first started and was in cartoon mode, but I assured him that it would soon change into real actors.
This was a very girly-girly movie about a fairytale princess on her quest for her one true love. It had all the best bits of Disney's cartoons in it and was hilarious in places. I loved the bit where Prince Edward was on top of the bus and stuck his sword through the roof. When the bus driver stopped the bus and confronted him, I was just cracking up laughing.
As I said, it was a definite chick flick (how could it NOT be with McDreamy in it?) which I loved and Brent found "amusing".
So, that leaves us with Love in The Time of Cholera and Silk (another Keira Knightley movie) to watch before we have to return them on Monday and Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix which we can watch at leisure as we have added them to our DVD collection.

March 18th. Whose birthday is it???

I'm not sure. Who is that girl??? Here's 24 kisses being blown your way Olivia.

I LOVE YOU!!!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Congratulations

Congratulations Eve and David on the arrival of the next little Turner, although I'm not sure little fits the bill exactly. Wow Eve, I hear she was 9lb 10oz!!!

I can't wait to see pictures of her. I bet she's so cute and cuddly. All the family send their best wishes to you all.

Grandma Day Again

Danielle came over today for a few hours and we had so much fun! She had some milk, saw our big dogs Max and Sophie, then had a nap and then we went to church and met lots of new people. That was exhausting so it was time for her to have another nap before playing with toys and watching all the other boys and girls at church. Once we got home it was time to do LOTS of playing. Boy, those knees sure get some use. Danielle likes to crawl and sit and play with anything that she can get her hands on. Another bottle, another nap and then Daddy called to say it was time to go home. Danielle had lots of smiles and giggles for her Grandma. Till the next time.

Rawhide

Today Brent and I decided to pay a visit to Rawhide, a cowboy town tourist attraction on the Gila River Indian Reservation south of Phoenix. It was warm, windy, dusty and full of sights from the Old Wild West.
There was a field full of chuck wagons who were all participating in a chilli cookout so that was interesting to see how they cooked in the old days out on the range and the kind of implements they used. There were tons of western related stalls and shops with everything from clothing, log cabins and jewellry to John Wayne photos. Speaking of John Wayne, his Arizona car was on display, a great big 60s looking station wagon with a fur bumper that had cow horns on it.
In the arena they had horse riding type events but we just stopped for a few minutes to watch. There was a camel waiting for someone to ride him, burro rides for the children (funny, I always called them donkey rides when I was a kid), a petting zoo, some B movie western actors who I didn't recognise telling about some of the movies they'd been in and quite a few country bands dotted all over.
We enjoyed it, although I doubt whether we'll go back. Here are just a few photos of the place to give you a feel of Rawhide.

Some of the local wildlife.
Our next home if we don't keep up with the mortgage!!Some of the locals hanging outside the saloon.
Brent's undies hanging out to dry.
Me and one of the chuck wagons.

College Road Trip

When I go to the movies, I'm usually a chick flick kind of girl. I don't usually do these teenage comedy movies, but College Road Trip was an obvious exception due to the appearance of my honey in it, the one and only Donny Osmond.
I thought the movie had an interesting storyline to it and that Donny's character, the hyperactive singing Doug Greenhut, was seriously over the top, but at the same time very funny. The pig was a great addition also. There were lots of laughs from the audience in all the right places and actually, I would go as far as to say that between Donny and the pig, they stole the movie.
Just seeing Donny Osmond on a 50 foot screen....YEAH BABY!!!

She's Crawling!

I got a phonecall from a very proud Mommy this evening to let me know that Danielle is now crawling. This morning she crawled just a couple of steps, but by this evening she was right the way across the room. Oh boy! Now life will really get fun in the Gwynn house. I told both Daniel and Heather that this is the point in their lives when they'll learn how to clean up, because if they don't, Danielle is sure to find it.
Anyways, some other stats. Danielle weighs 18lb 10oz, is 27 and a half inches tall and has one tooth.

Dressing up

Katelynn found these wellington boots that belonged to her Grandad Bob when he was just a young boy (in 1952, no less) and decided that they might be great to dress up in. They look great with a matching hat, don't you think?

The Local Wildlife

As I was driving to work at 6.15 this morning, I came across one of these guys just down the road from my house. In the darkness, I thought that it was a dog at first and braked a little to avoid it, but the coyote just stood on the opposite side of the road and stared at me while I drove on by.

As a Brit, I still find it amazing to see wildlife such as this out on the streets in developed areas. After all, the only wildlife I really recall seeing back home were the soccer hooligans around town on a Saturday afternoon. :)

Feet and Shoes

When I was a teenager, I had a book all about star signs. It wrote about the physical and personality characteristics typical of those belonging to each sign and then it wrote about the man, woman and child of each sign and not forgetting, how a man or woman of that sign would be compatible with each of the other star signs. Needless to say, the book was quite thick.
Whilst I took most of it with a pinch of salt, I do remember reading about me, the Pisces woman, and thinking; aha, yes, that's right, nooooooo, I'm not like that. Most of those feelings are long forgotten, but one thing I do remember is when it was talking about the hands and feet of a Pisces woman. It said, that they would either be long boned and dainty or resemble a ploughshare!!! I, my dear friends, was blessed with the latter variety.
When I was younger it didn't bother me too much as my hands and feet seemed pretty normal to me, but as I've grown older and put on weight (must get to that aha moment and do something about it), I've found that they both resemble ploughshares more than they used to. Perhaps that is why I have never developed a shoe fetish as many women do. Most shoe shops cater for long skinny feet, so not only is it difficult to find shoes that actually fit, it is extremely difficult to find shoes that fit and look good.

So, I wanted to show you these ones that I found. Granted, they're not walking shoes, I'll probably only wear them for church, but I love the beadwork on them. It makes them look pretty luxurious, if you ask me. Not only do they fit and look good, but they cost me all of $11 at Wal-Mart. Oops, I shouldn't have told you that, should I?

Bountiful Baskets

If you live in the Phoenix area, you must check out http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/home.html It is a food co-op which provides great quality healthy food at a substantial discount. Is is non-profit and completely voluntary and they love you to pitch in and help out.
They distribute the food such as fruits and vegetables, bakery bread and cheeses every two weeks and today was my first time at trying it. I had a location and time to pick up but I was a little early, so I asked the woman in charge if it was too early to pick up my food. She told me that it was, but it wasn't to late to help out, so I helped distribute the loaves of bread into all the baskets. It did feel worthwhile. Anyway, they put all your produce into laundry baskets and when it's time for you to collect, you simply transfer everything into your own laundry basket or box and away you go.
The food changes according to availability but today I got small red potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, asparagus, carrots, celery, corn, tangelos, pears, plums, grapes and kiwi fruit. There were good amounts of each and all for $15...what a deal. I also bought some bread for $2 a loaf and it tasted just like homemade bread, not the light fluffy stuff we buy in stores.
My overall experience was that I loved it and will definitely do it again.

New York, New York, really?

I was looking through My Pictures and found these old ones I took from the first time I visited Las Vegas in July 2001. I have no particular reason for posting them, I just thought they were pretty good photos.

We stayed at New York, New York in the 3rd tower from the right (I think) and the bottom photo is a view from our room. A year or so later I stayed at the MGM Grand which you can see there with the magnificent lion outside and this July it will be full circle as I once again stay at NY, NY.

Happy Birthday Eve

I want to wish my niece Eve a great big Happy Birthday today.

The first picture of her was taken when she was 4 years old and a bridesmaid at my wedding with her big sister Belinda. They were both so cute. The next one was taken when Eve was about 7, I think, and the last one is of her with her husband David and daughters Miriam and Esther. Sorry about the quality of the last one, I know it's not too great.

Anyway, I hope baby #3 arrives safely, I know it's any day now, and I want you to know that we miss you all and love you.

It's not polite to reveal a lady's age, so instead, I just want to send 31 kisses your way.

Aren't baby toes cute?

Here is a short clip of Danielle playing with her toes. Sorry about the noise in the background, it was my washer taking a spin!!!

The Green Eyed Monster

Okay, so Michael saw the pics I posted of his brother and asked why I hadn't posted any of him, so here goes.

The first one was taken in January for no reason other than it was, and the second one is a little older, but its Michael in his Gilbert Police Explorer dress uniform (that probably isn't the correct terminology) and his Smokey the Bear hat. The Explorer progam is designed for kids aged 14-21 who have an interest in Law Enforcement. Michael has been doing it for 6 years now and loves every minute of it. They meet weekly and learn all about police work and get to participate in events, competitions and the all exciting ride-alongs, where they ride with an officer for a shift, make arrests and generally save the world from criminals!!!

Postcript: Michael says I forgot to mention that he is now a Sergeant in the Explorers (how could I have forgotten? Bad Mother!) and that the correct terminology for his uniform is a Class A uniform.

Movies and a Meal

After a wonderful evening of entertainment last night, I figured why spoil the fun today and so we went to see The Other Boleyn Girl at the first showing this morning.
I've never seen the parking lot at Harkins so empty, but then again, it was only about 10.30am. When we got inside however, there were kids, kids and more kids EVERYWHERE!!!! It must have been a school trip or something because they were all over the place. The lines were so long for the food and snacks that we gave it up as a bad job, even though I hadn't had breakfast and I'm an OGRE without it (well, not me, but my stomach).
The movie was very dramatic with wonderful costumes and scenery, and I think that overall it summed up the era very nicely, but as always, the book just had so much more. I guess to condense a few hundred pages into a couple of hours is difficult, but it did make it seem like everything happened in a short time frame, whereas it was really years, and to only show Mary as giving birth to one child when she really had two, well, there ya go. It was a movie and overall, I enjoyed it.
So my ogre of a stomach led us to BJ's afterwards and I had one of their delicious loaded baked potatoes with the fastest service I think I have ever had. Yum!

What a Wonderful Evening

Can it get any better than this? Donny on Rachel Ray, Donny on Entertainment Tonight and The Osmonds 50th Anniversary Concert on PBS. Aaaah, bliss.

On a funny note

I was showing someone at work my blog the other day, and when she saw the scrolling photos at the bottom of the page, she asked me which one was my husband. I only wish, I told her, and she shall go nameless!

Weight a minute!

I snapped this picture of my youngest son, Jordan while he was lifting weights, all 50 pounds of them. I caught him unawares, while he had his back turned, so to speak.
And this is Jordan with his clothes on looking like he's just got out of bed, which is probably true. He LOVES his soft pillow top mattress.

Photos of Danielle

It was Grandma day again yesterday, but today is Danielle's 6 month birthday, so here are a few shots to celebrate.
This is my pretty Easter dress.
And my T shirt says I'm Daddy's Little Sweet Pea!

It's all about how many fingers I can get in my mouth without choking myself!
Grandma keeps this ladybug just for me to play with when I'm at her house.
But I like the Slinky as well. Decisions, decisions.
I told you, it's all about how many fingers I can get in my mouth.