45 Lessons Life Taught me

This great. I really like it.

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents
will. Stay in touch..
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it..
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17 Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain...
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26.. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life..
28. Forgive everyone for everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business..
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life.. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come....
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45 Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert

Alice invited me to attend the concert with her as Jeff has to work at the concert so he is never able to attend. We had fabulous seats, right in the center 20 rows back and also three people between us and Mitt Romney and his wife. How's that for good seats. Thanks to Jeff. The concert was so good. Natalie Cole and David McCullough were the guest artist. What a wonderful way to start the Christmas season off.

Home Sweet Home

We signed the papers last Monday on this house. As soon as the renter moves out we can start moving in. Well, after we take out the carpets and clean and steam everything to sanitize it. It is a old house that we will remodel and update as we live in it. The yard will be one of our first project next spring. I want to have the part right in front of the house planted into square foot type gardening. We will plant flowers along with veggies. The part of lawn that is closest to the street will be kept in grass for now. The back yard has a large walnut tree which provides lots of nice shade. This will be greatly appreciated come summer. There is also a large red delicous apple tree which has really good tasting apples. Because of the the trees, the back yard doesn't have very much full sun for a garden. In the back is a four car garage which has Joe in heaven. This will allow him to have a place for his wood working tools and electronics equipment.

The house inside (pictures coming when we can move in) has lots of very small rooms and hallways. We plan on opening up the rooms. We want to have the kitchen, dining and family room all open. We hope to have an office--extra bedroom on the main floor along with a master suite. The upstairs has two good sized rooms. One will be a guest room and the other sewing etc room. It will take us quite a while to get everything done we want do but it will be fun (I hope). It is not like we haven't done this kind of project(s) before so I think we know what we are getting into. Of course there is always the unexpected that shows up.

Let's Make a Deal Week

I love a good deal and a bargin. It makes me get very excited when I have found some really good deal on something, especially when it is something I need. Well, this past week has been a good week. First: Winco is in Salt Lake City!! Yahoo. My favorite grocery store. They have the best deals for produce and bulk items. Second: for our Relief Society activity this month the Grocery Guru came and did a presentation which was really good and I think I will be able to find some even better deals. Yahoo!! Third: Yesterday I went Deseret Industries to find a vase for my fall decoration. I found one for $.75. While I was there I found three plates for a $1.00 each that I wanted, some Christmas glasses to match the ones I already have and two women's dress jackets. One is a black Pendleton wool jacket. The jackets were $8.00 each and are really nice looking. What a week for good deals!

The Final Chapter of "How Does My Garden Grow?"

This past week I went to Idaho to work on getting the yard ready for winter. I think winter decided to give me a little clue of what is in store for winter and I had better not lounge around but get right to work. Later in the day as soon as the snow had melted I went out and cut the cabbage. It was so cold I was afraid that the cabbage would not survive the freeze that night.
As you can see the cabbage made it. I didn't get as much as I had hoped for but look how big the one is. We will enjoy cabbage, coleslaw etc for some time to come.
The last of the red potatoes. It is hard to see how large they are but some were the size of a soft ball. I am really pleased with the spud harvest this year.
My poor apple trees didn't do very good this year. Carl did say he had picked a few but this all I have to show for this year.
But the peach tree made up for the poor showing of apples. My Mom and my wonderful neighbor froze peaches for us. My neighbor also canned seven quarts of peaches for us. I wish I could move my neighbor down here. They are the best neighbor's you could wish for.
Our red onions did very well. The only problem is that they have a really strong flavor. They will be great to cook with.

And so our little garden was put to bed last week for another year. Sweet dreams little garden and get rested for a new year.

A fun working vacation

Day one: Flew from Salt Lake City, Utah to Portland Maine. We stayed with our great friends Steve and Linda. We have been friends for many years. We met at BYU when we were going to school. Joe and Steve were called to serve as counselor's in the Branch presidency together. Linda and I became friends while Joe and Steve were gone many hours. Our friendship has continued for 35 years. It is wonderful to have friends that we have so much in common and have shared so much with.

Day 2/3 Went shopping with Linda to a craft store to purchase beads etc to show her how to make jewelry. We spent the afternoon making bracelets. So fun, mostly because we are together and got to talk and talk and talk...... We have to catch up for a whole year since we have seen each other. Went to to the Sanford Ward in Sanford Maine. They have a wonderful ward. Also got to see Mimi, another BYU friend who happens to be in the Sanford Ward. Great fun to catch up. After church we had a great dinner and then got talking about a great book Steve had been using with his calling. It is called “Bridges out of Poverty”. Very interesting.

Day 4-6 Stayed at Gloucester MA. The hotel is right on the beach and it was great except that Joe had to be up to catch the train into Boston between 5:30 and 7:00 so no sleeping in. :(
Day 7 I caught the train then subway into Boston. I was able to attend the Museum of Fine Arts. I used to go quite often when we lived in Nashua so it was a treat to get to go back. I was a little disappointed as they are adding a large addition so a lot of the art was being transferred to the new part. This is my favorite painting by Renoir. I love all his work.

The view from our room
Day 8 The classes are finished and a day off. We were going to go out on a whale boat watch but it was canceled due to high winds. We decided to drive up to Booth Bay, Maine and spend the night. It was really neat and lots of great food. We found a little one man booth that sells just lobster rolls and a few other items. We also got fresh Wild Maine Blueberry pie. In fact it was so good we had it the next day. We then spend the rest of out trip with Rose and Ken. What fun to see them again. A great trip, now I need a vacation to catch up on my sleep.

You call this work?

Joe went on a business the end of June to Everett Washington. He got to spend the day on a boat in the Puget Sound. He was observing the equipment for his work they are considering purchasing. He said it was the best business trip he has gone on.

This is a whale.

Bald Eagles

Sea Lions

Garden Update

Look at my great harvest! There are still lots of potatoes still growing in my garden. I was so excited to see how wonderful my potatoes grew this year. Carter helped me harvest the potatoes and cabbage. I dug the potatoes and he picked them off the vines. Even Freddie helped. He likes to toss the potatoes around and then eat them. I missed most of the apricots but the few still on the tree were delicious. The peach tree is loaded. I need to plan my next trip in time to pick them.

The boys had a great time swimming. Aren't they the cutest? Alice and the boys were able to get away from their small apartment for a few days and spend time with Carl at Uncle Carl's house. Braeden loves to play the Wii with Carl. Carter likes to help outside. They love to climb the tree off the deck. Tanner discovered how to roll down the hill.

Family Reunion Fun Times

Joe's family had their family reunion over the weekend of the 24th of July. It was fun. We took Braeden and Carter with us to Idaho as their parents were moving that weekend and were not able to attend. We had a great time visiting with all Joe's brothers and sisters, spouses, nieces and nephews etc. We spent part of Friday at Porter Park in Rexburg. There is a really neat old restored carousel and a 'water spray' playground equipment at the park.

Braeden and Carter playing on the Water Spray playground. They had a ball. After playing at the park we went to Sue's house for supper. Lyle's famous Vinegar grilled chicken with Dutch oven potatoes and salad.

Saturday we gathered at Richard's home for breakfast cooked on the grill outside. All the kids had a ball playing outside in the yard and the adults had a great time catching up with everyone.Carl, Doug and Jessica were there from our family.

4th of July at our Vacation Home

I had time to enjoy the yard--working, spraying and weeding. Everything is so beautiful and green this year.

I woke up really early one morning and went out before the sun was up and enjoyed the peacefully beauty. The sprinklers were going and the sun was just starting to peak over the hill.

I was able to sit out on the deck and read. Freddie likes to sit by me. In fact he follows me every place I go when I am home. Fred is my dog and I miss him.

Our little garden is growing. When we planted it I wasn't sure what would make it. The bunnies had a lovely snack of 14 out of 18 of the cabbages we planted. Hopefully these 4 little plants will make it. The potatoes are doing great. Soon we will be able to enjoy new potatoes. They are so yummy I can't wait.

Joe has been wanting to build a special desk for his computer and large monitor. He finally got it almost done, just needs to paint it and a little fine tuning.

Freddie is always so excited when we drive up the driveway.

New aprons Just in time for 4th

Great letter to read

I checked this out with "Snopes.com" and yes they confirmed that Mr Pritchett was indeed the author of this email " I did write the 'scare me' letter. I sent it to the NY Times but they never acknowledged or published it. However, it hit the internet and according to the 'experts' has had over 500,000 hits."May 31, 2009
I think the following letter explains alot of how I am feeling and how concerned I am with the swift decline in our country.

The author, Lou Pritchett, is a well-known public speaker who retired after a successful 36-year career as the VP World Sales for Proctor and Gamble.

Lou Pritchett

Foremost Leader in Change Management

Lou Pritchett is one of corporate America 's true living legends- an acclaimed author, dynamic teacher and one of the world's highest rated speakers. Successful corporate executives everywhere recognize him as the foremost leader in change management. Lou changed the way America does business by creating an audacious concept that came to be known as "partnering." Pritchett rose from soap salesman to Vice-President, Sales and Customer Development for Procter and Gamble and over the course of 36 years, made corporate history.

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don't understand it at its core.

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail.

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America ' crowd and deliver this message abroad.

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world.

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics against certain banks and corporations.

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do. You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O'Reillys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view.

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.


Lou Pritchett

Fun in the Sun

We were able to go to Idaho for the Memorial long weekend. It is nice that Joe works a four day week every other week and he had last Friday off. Alice and her three boys came with us. They had an open house on their house. Having the little guys out of the way makes it easier to keep the house clean to show. While in Idaho we were able to see our families, see neighbors at church, plant our garden and go to the cemetery.

We planted 18 green cabbages, 4 red cabbages, 4 cherry tomatoes, lots and lots of red onions and red potatoes. We love the taste of fresh just out the garden produce. So much flavor.

We all had a great time. Braeden just wanted to play and do every thing. He got to go swimming, play in the yard, ride his bike and play Mario Kart with Uncle Carl. Carter loved playing in the water and helping Joe and me in the yard and garden. Tanner (see photo above) decided after the first day that he and Freddie (our dog) were new best friends. Whenever Fred would walk out of the room Tanner would get mad.

Carter and Braeden got donuts and it was so funny watching them eating them. Braeden wanted to climb the tree and then Carter wanted to get up with him. We had so much fun with Alice, the boys and Uncle Carl and-----Freddie.

Our current Stake

Today was our Stake Conference. We are in the Salt Lake City Stake which is the oldest continuous stake in the Church. Our Stake Conference is held in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square. Our Stake was created a hundred and sixty two years ago. The Assembly Hall was the original meeting house for the Stake. The SLC Stake is very unique and diverse. We have a Russian and Spanish branch and a branch of Family History Service Missionaries. We have some of the wealthiest parts of SLC and some of poorest parts of SLC in our Stake. This makes for some very interesting people we have got to know.

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 36th anniversary. We were married on a warm sunny day in the Provo LDS Temple. I can't believe that so many years have gone by. We have had a lot of challenges and lots very interesting experiences and opportunities, four of the best kids you could ever ask for, a son and daughter in law that we are so grateful for and three grandkids. What a great time. When I can scan our wedding picture I might just post it and then you can all have a great laugh. We have changed just a little!

Easter Dinner

We had a great Easter Dinner at Doug & Jessica's with Alice & Jeff and the boys. Yummy ham, rolls, salad, buffet potatoes and a great dessert bar. After dinner we let the little boys go for an Easter egg hunt. It was fun to see their excitement. A great day!

My New LED Light

I am so excited. Last night I bought a LED Grow light off ebay. One of the things I really miss living in a small apartment with no yard is having a garden. I have tried growing things on our small deck but we don't get enough direct sun light. A few months ago I heard about LED grow lights and became very excited about them until I started pricing them--200 - 500 dollars. So there goes that idea. I asked Joe how hard it would to build one. (For those of you that don't know Joe is an electronics engineer and for the past ten years he has been designing and manufacturing printed circuit boards that go in a computer system for LED signs. So we have learned a thing or two about LED's. I researched how to build a grow light and the cost of the LED's and it was going to cost a little more than we thought. I then went back to ebay and found a small grow light for $25.00 and bid on and won. I am so excited. Tomorrow I am going to go and get seeds and dirt and a pot and plant lettuce---to start with. I will let you know if we get lettuce.

Warm and Sunny California

This is a picture of the room we stayed in. We got a great deal by booking online. I think the room was a big as our apartment. Check out the prices for room service. You can guess we did not have room service. I went to Walmart and got a box of Oatmeal for a couple of dollars that lasted the trip. We used the coffee maker to heat the water for our oatmeal. What a deal.

There was French Bakery connected to the hotel. This treat looked so good
I could not resist. It was not as good to eat as it was to look at.

At the convention Joe attended, Ken Mattingly was the keynote speaker. I was able to go and hear him. He is the astronaut from the movie Apollo 13 that was not able to go up with Apollo 13 as he was exposed to measles. It was an fascinating story.

On our way home on highway I-80 we stopped at the Donner Pass. When you see how rugged the country is it is hard to image a wagon being pulled up the mountains. We had a great trip and got to see some wonderful parts of the country.