End Of The World

Well, I guess it didn't happen... the end of the world. But, that's ok, didn't have time for the end of the world anyway, I had a lot of Christmas shopping to do. And if I don't get that done, it WILL be the end of the world.

I do love this shortest day/longest night business, though. Every year, I tell the family that after this day, the days start to get longer. Always gives me hope that sometime, things will "spring" back to life and the days will get warmer. Now, that would mean something if it had been really cold and if there was a lot of snow. We've had much of neither. It usually happens that Mother Nature waits to give us all of our snow in the spring so she can freeze our fruit trees. What do you do, you don't mess with Mother Nature.

Happy Winter everyone!

A Moment Frozen in Time

Well, it happened. Remember the other day when it was the 12th of December of 2012? Well, I've got the moment captured in time- frozen, if you will...   12 Dec of 2012, at 12:12:12pm... that would be 12/12/12 @ 12:12:12. Isn't that cool! Something like that will never happen again!

P.S.... shhhh, but don't tell anyone, but it's really like every other second in time that will never happen again... LOL!

To Tweeze Or Not

It's the little things in life... don't you think?

You know when you're standing in front of the bathroom mirror, tears streaming down your face... no, not from the reflection of the aging, sagging, bulging mass in front of you, but from "tweezing" those pesky little nose hairs! Dang I hate that- nothing worse in the world. I know it ranks right up there with child birth- women just have no idea. Anyway, my girls have been after me to go get my nose waxed... are you kidding me? "It doesn't even hurt" they say. Yeah, right. Have they "tweezed" a nose hair? I think not, else they'd not even suggest such a torture. Can you imagine plucking the whole wad at once? One is bad enough! Well, Brenda tricked me the other night when we were on our way home from our date. "Let's stop and see Madison on our way home" she says. OK, no problem, I like to see my girl at work (she is the receptionist at a cosmetology school). They had it all set up for the "yanking of the hairs". After having the "hot wax on-a-stick" shoved up each nostril (one at a time... but I was wondering if that's how the pharaohs of old felt when being mummified- getting those hot pokers shoved up the nose to scramble those brains...), then had to wait for about 5 minutes for the wax to harden. The cosmetologist-in-training said, "are you ready?" No, I like sticks in my nose... she put one hand on my forehead and grabbed that stick and pulled quickly... BAM- done! I couldn't believe it... no tears! The stick looked like an unfinished Tootsie-Pop that's been under your bed for years. I can't wait for my nose hairs to grow so I can go again. Now, I wonder if they do ears, hmmmmm. :D

Thankful... part III

The day before Thanksgiving I was running a bit late for work. I think I was stopped by every light on the way. "Isn't it ironic... don't ya think? I'm grateful for red lights that let others get to work safely... :(

...but, when I got to work, the owner came around in the morning and handed out fresh $20 bills to everyone. I am thankful for dead presidents (and other cool dead guys- Ben, being one of my favorites)... :D     "Are you on the list? No, but I believe my friends are, perhaps you know them... Franklin, Grant, and JJJJJJackson?"

Thankful... part II

Last night, I awoke at O-dark-30, and found myself drenched in a hot sweat. Now, I don't know if it was the alien that was chasing me down and trying to bite my head off or was I just trying to show support for my bed-buddy, Brenda, who was sweetly dreaming of sugarplum fairies or something...

I'm thankful for sympathy "hot flashes" :P

Thankful... part I

On this week of Thanksgiving, there are many things to be thankful for. Today, I'm Thankful For Puddles...

On my drive to work this morning, even though it being partly cloudy, the sun was trying to peak through and put some sunshine in my soul. As I drove along, I kept smelling something that peaked my olfactories, but couldn't quite put my finger on it. I did a quick check of my armpits- nope, all OK, I remember showering. I got to work and began living someone else's dream, but could still smell something. "The stench- it's fantastic! Max, grab a bag, we'll come back later for the rest. Course when I say we I mean you..."The Grinch. I don't know if any of you out there remember the movie Clue, there is a scene where everyone invited to Mr. Body's dinner appointment would check their shoes upon entering the house- and that's what I did and... HELLO! Must have picked up something this morning on the way over to check ob my dad. Stinkin' dog or cat poo! It was probably Fernando, my cat (a.k.a Satan, Hitler, Charles Manson, etc) getting back at me for not feeding him I guess.

So, what to do when you're at work with poo on your shoe? Didn't think the bathroom toilet was the best option, so I went outside and because of the rain during the weekend, lo and behold, the great blessing of a puddle. I went to work straight away by taking off my shoe and swishing it in that wonderful puddle. Now, I could be angry that I had poo on my shoe, but I'm tell you, you've got to look for that silver lining in that darkening cloud, the opportunity to make lemonade when given lemons... the blessing of a little puddle when so desperately needed.

I'm thankful for puddles :)

Emery Turns 4

We went down to see Wee Babe #1 for her birthday a while back and I needed to post a few pix- not the best (forgot my camera...again). One of the things we got her was a little box of dress up princess clothes, much to Taylor's chagrin. He never wanted her to have any princessy type stuff. Oh well, that's what grandparents do...what they want to! We met them at Chick-fil-A. We were eating and all of a sudden, her face just lit up. We turned around and there was the Chick-fil-A cow, so we had to get a picture of her with her/him (it was a unisex suit so I couldn't tell... couldn't see an udder or any "udder" things either)

The Mother of All Storms is Brewing...

Restless...

I awoke early this morning, before 4 am with a terrible feeling that something was wrong. Then I realized the source of my worry- another four years of the same we've had in this country. The continued road into the toilet as our supposed leader was reelected to POTUS. I could not go back to sleep. How right I was to feel that something was so wrong and will continue to be so. THAT, my friends, is scary. It amazed me how the people of this country could be so blinded- again, and unlike the Who song that says, "...we won't get fooled again...", we were.

There is a great history book that I'm reading, a history book of the ancient Americas. It talks a lot about how the people that lived here were blessed by God and prosper when they follow him and kept His commandment and do what is right. It tells how they "ripened" for destruction and were destroyed by wars, famine, pestilence, etc., when becoming wicked, electing corrupt lawyers, judges and leaders. Then when on the brink of destruction, they realized their follies and repented and are blessed again. They do this over and over again- like in a cycle. You think they would have learned from their history. The time we are living in now... looks like we're at the bottom of the cycle again. We've just had an election- I can't say we put the best people in charge, several states legalized same-sex marriage and legalized marijuana... not to mention the illustrious leader... do you think we're ripening for destruction? do you think the Lord's wrath will be stayed much longer?

The east had a big storm last month- Super Storm Sandy they called it- very destructive, but she is nothing like the storm that is coming for this country. We had a chance for a bit of recovery and a hope to turn things around, but we're in for the storm of our lives. Sandy will be nothing compared to this. I'm sorry little Annie, but the sun will not come out tomorrow. It's too bad the country can't see that we needed REAL change by electing honest people and passing upstanding laws that are in our best interest and in line with our Maker's commandments. The country founders got it- they followed God and were blessed accordingly. Where have we lost sight? Yet, we go merrily on our way thinking all is well. "Eat, drink and be merry...". I guess the Constitution isn't hanging by a thread... yet.

Happy Halloween!

Ah, Halloween- one of my favorite times of the year! Madison and I carved our little minions the other day which took quite a long time. Then when I was putting them outside in the garage to keep them cool for Halloween, Madison's slipped out of my hands and I broke his face. I couldn't sleep that night I felt so bad. Anyway, they turned out OK.

Brenda had a trip to Lost Wages and wasn't here for the big night...again. "If you were going to be here, I was going to say you should go as a ghost, because you're never here!.." Mr. Mom.

Since SOMEBODY didn't get my Young Frankenstein movie back, we watched Insidious. Why did I watch that movie again! Probably going to have nightmares. Had to watch Arsenic and Old Lace after that to help me forget it.

Well, Happy Halloween!..... BOO!

Elva R. Zaugg

25 May 1919 to 1 October 2012

I pay tribute to one of our Heavenly Father's choice daughters- my mom. (I may have to edit this a few times to get it right, but wanted to get something out there in the Cyber Sea as soon as I could- may add more pix as well.)

It has been a crazy couple weeks. It started about 2 weeks ago when my my mom fell off her walker while sitting on it. She wasn't hurt too badly, just kind of bruised her side a bit. My sister took her and my dad to the doctor for their normal checkups about a week later (on a Monday). Upon leaving the doctor, my dad was pushing her while she was sitting in her walker. For whatever reason, the stars were aligned- don't know, but he hit the threshold of the sliding door or something and the walker collapsed and she fell backwards, luckily not bumping her head too badly. My dad proceeded to fall on top of her and somehow she tore a 9x5 piece of skin off her leg. Luckily still at the doctor, they got her all patched up.

She seemed to be OK for the next few days, in some pain of course, but was able to get up and move around with her walker. My sister stayed with her and my dad until that Friday and I took over for her as she had to leave to go home to her family. She and I noticed that mom started getting worse with more pain and not able to do much for herself. I stayed with her Friday night and was up with her about every hour, probably because Dad was bothering her, being in the same bed (snores like no other). Fried, but duty not done, I was with them most of the day, Saturday, spelled off by a few brothers so I could do the yard work for the parents and myself. One of my brothers and I stayed with them on Saturday night but made Dad sleep in his own bed (which he had done since his operation last year). We were up with her a few times, not as much, but we could tell that she was in more pain because of her moaning, although she did rest better. My sister had phoned the doctor's office, the doctor on call said he could not prescribe any more pain meds without the regular doctor's permission and so we'd have to wait until Monday (what good is a doctor on call that can not look up medical records or even call the original doctor in times like these- what a troll). During these last few days, she did not want to get up to eat, only wanting to stay in bed. She did seem to perk up when we fed her, she not being able to do it herself.

Before my sister came back to help out, she texted all the siblings and families that live close and said it might be a good idea to come and see Grandma soon, so Sunday evening it was crawling with kids. We brought grandma out and fed her and many got to see her feeling a little better. She didn't say much, we got a "I love my family" out of her and she and Isla were waving back and forth a little bit. She was tired and we put her to bed. With my sister there, my one brother was wondering if he should stay over night again as I hadn't had much sleep for 48 hours, but I felt like I should for some reason. So, after the families went home, my sis and I got Dad to bed and helped Mom another time, about 10:30p, before we retired for the evening. She had been doing some laundry and I guess that woke me up at maybe 11:45p perhaps and I went in to check on Mom. I could hear her breathing, though it sounded a little more labored than usual and she wasn't moaning as much. Concerned, but not wanting to disturb her, I went back to bed. I just had this feeling though, that she not moaning like she had, that she wasn't going to last long... don't know why October 1st kept coming to mind. Later, I woke with a start- it was unbelievably quiet, almost eery quiet- could not hear a sound. I walked to Mom's door, could not hear her breathing so went in to check her. As I walked into her room, I checked the clock- it said 2:05a. I turned to check on her and there was my dear sweet mother, not breathing- I knew she was gone. So much more to this experience, but I keep them to myself as I treasure them so dearly.

We called all the siblings and told them, those that lived close came quickly and with more of us there, woke our father. It was a special time together. After the mortuary had taken Mom's body away, we all sat in the living room and talked and shared memories. As I thought about my mom, I had a thought of her, looking as she does in the younger picture above (wedding picture), laughing, dancing and jumping with her sisters that have passed before her. What a reunion it must have been with her parents, sisters and brothers on the other side!

The Viewing and Funeral
I wasn't sure if many people would come, because most of mom and dad's friends have already died. But their friend's children came. I was going up and down the line with other sibs as a couple others would stay with my dad at the casket. For over 2 hours, I had the wonder opportunity to talk with so many old friends and neighbors that they had when I was a kid. It was great getting acquainted again, but they could not say enough of how they loved my mom and the kindness, happiness, and friendliness that she exemplified and how they'd miss her. I think I've heard most of the stories my sibs have about her, but to hear the stories and thoughts that these people had that I had never heard before, was priceless. I wish I could have written them down.

At the funeral the next day, all 11 of us kids took a few minutes each to say something about our mother- 30 seconds to 1 minute is what we were allotted. How was I to sum up what my mother meant to me in 1 minute? It was tough. I thought my sibs were gonna skin me as I timed my portion to be about 1.5 to 2 minutes long. So, let them get mad. We all had some wonderful things to say... why wouldn't we?

Here is a song that a couple of my brother's read the words to while my brother-in-law played the music on the piano. Dang, it's a tear-jerker... grab a hankie.

I dreamed I saw my dear old mother kissing me goodbye. And tho’ her heart was breaking and the tears shone in her eye, She whispered, “Please don’t let our parting grieve you anymore. But just remember, this is what God made all Mothers for. To watch over you when a baby, to sing you to sleep with her song. To try to be near you, to comfort and cheer you, To teach you the right from the wrong. To work day and night, to help win the fight, and over a million things more. To sigh for you, cry for you, yes, even die for you. That’s what God made mothers for.
That's What God Made Mothers For- Leo Wood

And just FYI, my remarks were the shortest of all the kids- can you believe it? I could have taken more time as they all did. Oh well, all together I think we gave a pretty good tribute to our sweet angel mother.

Mom, you were/are the best. What a supreme example of goodness and motherhood you have been to your family and all around you. If anyone has "made it", I know you have and I hope that I will also be able to join you some day. Here's a scripture that seems to fit right now:
"...I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day..." 2 Timothy 4:7,8

Mom, thank you for all you've done for me. I love you and will miss you. Until we meet again...

Family Pix!

Brenda has been waiting for many moons to be able to get a real photographer to shoot some pix of the fam. Well, it just so happens that "...the moon is in the Seventh House And Jupiter aligns with Mars..." (I feel a song coming on...)... actually, Rory had gotten his Army assignment and was being xfered to Korea and was able to spend the weekend with us. Brenda jumped on it and got the shoot lined up. Got a ton of shots, but some of the results are below. Dang! We clean up pretty good I think

2012 Zaugg Reunion

Oops... I guess I forgot to post this... Well, here it is.

It's that time again- family reunion time. We went, we saw, we ate, then ate some more. Here is Methuselah and Methuselahlita- still going strong. Mom is 93 and Dad will be 98 next month... unbelievable.

Oh, I guess I forgot to publish this. Here are a few more pix.

Last First Day!!!

This is our last first day... last first day of high school that is. It's taken a few years but we've made it- Carson, a senior in high school. Can you believe it? We can't either, but, Hallelujah! Now, all we have to do is get through one more year. I'm sure we'll be telling ourselves many times through the next long, drawn-out, drama-filled, bamboo-up-the-fingernails months "...just one more year, just one more year....

Long Weekend with Emery

CAMPING!
Yahoo, the Weekend! It was a crazy busy weekend- I hardly had time to change my mind. There was supposed to be a church camp out, but it got cancelled. But, since the campground was still reserved, we decided to go anyway. And as luck would have it, Emery was here and she wanted to go with us.

We got a late start from home, so we stopped and grabbed some Colonel's chicken- dang! you've gotta love those 11 secret herbs and spices. We got to the campground and it was already dark... and guess what? We bought a brand new tent that we hadn't put up yet- I was worried we'd just end up throwing the thing on top of us cause we wouldn't be able to do it in the dark..... right. But with Emery's help- badda bing!

Brenda and I were prepared for a wonderful night's sleep with our blowup mattress, but little did we know that our wonderful night's sleep would not be so. We both woke up in the middle of the night in a jumbled heap in the middle of a leaking mattress and we couldn't

get away from each other. Well, after dozing off and on for hours, I couldn't wait for it to be morning so I could get up. When it finally was time to get up, we both had bottomed out (bun intended) and we both got up. Emery had a wonderful night's sleep. I was getting envious of her foam mattress she was sleeping on... I wonder if she would have noticed if I would have moved her off and put her in my spot and I taken hers? No, what are you thinking Gpa? We had some hot chocolate and muffins for breakfast, walked around the camp, saw wild turkeys, heard squirrels, played "Pooh Stick" in the river. Feast yer eyes on a few pix.

SLIDING!
Also on the menu, and the reason we had to hurry home from camping, I had my work party. I told Brenda we wouldn't be there long "...10 minutes, 15 tops, then we'll pull the old Aunt Emily trick...". We came, we ate- dang good food (steak, chicken, pulled pork corn-on-the-cob, etc), got some pix of Taylor and Emery sliding on ginormously long water slide. We couldn't stay long at the party either, not because of Aunt Emily, but because I had some church meetings I had to go to... so again, Feast yer eyes on a few pix. Looks like I got Taylor's good side on one of the shots :)
.... The End.

Isla Turns One Year Old!

Another milestone. Isla is one year old today! Time to celebrate! Her parents took her to the zoo today (I'll try to get a couple of pix to put on here). She has been walking for about 2 months now- growing up way too fast.
OK, it's my birthday.... what do I get?

Presents!

Magic Slippers!

I'll add more pix later.....

Total Eclipse of the Heart... I mean, Sun

Turn around bright eyes, we've got a total eclipse of the sun! It was very cool to have this happen in our own backyard. The best spot to see it was down in southern UT, but I was not up to traveling. But, I wanted to put a couple of pix on the blog that people had taken.

Well, there are a bunch of cool pix on ksl.com, that's where I got the above- check 'em out. In the pix below, you will see how the real professionals do it.... Now, I don't need to tell you that no expense was spared on the high-tech equipment to get these high-quality shots.... The eclipse started at about 7:15pm and I had my first homemade device (the two cardboard pizza boxes) out there for about half an hour saying- "dang, I can't see anything with this thing!" Finally, Madison Googled and found out how to make a real eclipse viewer. "A pinhole, how you suppose to see anything through a pinhole?" But, I made the second device (a 10 year-old tube of Christmas wrapping paper, tinfoil over one end and yes, a pinhole it the tinfoil)... "oh, there it is!" Even though my images weren't as cool as the ones I downloaded, hey, they're mine and I had fun doing it! Just you wait for the next version of the Christmas-Wrapping-Paper-Tube-Eclipsomatic... gonna be a big hit! I'm on my way to "Fortune and glory, kid. Fortune and glory."

Hey professor- ah, don't quit your day job just yet.... :D