Sweet Potators

..... not because I did, but because someone forgave me. And when someone forgives you, for the umpteenth time.... it frees you in a way that restores your ability to let things go..... and give others the "benefit of the doubt".... to love unconditionally. Thank you..... you know who you are. **This was meant to be posted yesterday.

Sarah's been doing a bit of nannying for my brother and his wife..... and she often sends me little videos of their sweet baby boy eating or playing, being curious...... baby stuff that melts your heart. These make my day...... happy happy happy!

Today has been kinda weird.... all over the place. I was up most of the night waiting for and chatting back and forth by email with Sister Ally.... she's had a rough couple of days.  And when she sends you a gargantuan email about it, then follows it up with a personal note that says:  “I love you mom!!   Please read my email!!   I thought about you the entire time!!!    “What would mom do…?”” So, you sort of spend the next several hours pondering on what you could best say to her.  In the end you say very little, hope it was meaningful.  And that more than anything she feels the love of her momma from halfway around the world. And you go to sleep for a bit.... wake up and realize that the only way you're going to get out of bed is with as many pain pills at max as you are possibly allowed. And your cat decides she wants to sit on your lap, jumps, doesn't make it and ends up clawing you in three places (that are all bleeding...

My screen name of the last 5-6 years.... on several websites and all the games I play. It makes me happy whenever I see it. My family loves it!  Especially my parents.  For a while that's all they called me whenever they addressed me in a text... and my dad would even greet me using it. And I get a boat load of comments about it online from people I don't know. Like earlier today on a game.... Like I said above, I happened to be goofing around online several years ago and decided to enter my name 'Sweet Potator Queen' and see what came up....  Lo and behold... **I've also had a lot of people ask over the years about my spelling of 'tator'/'potator'... why it's 'or' instead of 'er'?  I know it's prolly bad grammar on my part, but I like how it looks and that's the only reason why.

“We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today.  Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever.  Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won’t, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming.”  ~Joseph B. Wirthlin~

I've been so cooped up the last month and a half.... tonight I got in the car and just drove west.  I LOVE the fields of green and gold, that sort of roll in places.... the clouds in the evening sky.  And I'm so grateful.

The freedom. Permission. Contentment. Newness. . . . . . *As usual, there's an explanation to come.

Quincy.  Oh goodness.

Why?  Because when I was growing up my grandma always kept it in the guest room shower and I loved the smell!  Now, it's because it reminds me of my grandma...

http://100happydays.com/

Every Saturday/Sunday night I sit down at the computer to write to Ally and realize that I haven't written bits and pieces to her everyday like I told myself I would the weekend before.... I miss her terribly.  Can I say that enough?  I'm sorry, I can't. I never thought I could miss anyone the way I do her.  Ever.  Period. It's been a melancholy sort of night. I had to go to the store to get some last minute things for tomorrow and when I came out the moon was just rising in the eastern sky.  Ohhh, wow!  Last night (or maybe it was the night before) there was a 'super moon' that apparently won't happen again for another 35 years.  Sadly though, the last few nights in Boise have been cloudy. But tonight it's clear and the moon is still so magnificent and beautiful! Coming out of the parking lot I decided to turn east instead of west... and thought "I'll just drive down State a little ways till I can get the perfect photo of it.......

Lucky me!!  I got pics of both my girls today..... One by text and the other via a fb message.

A missionary momma posted this link on fb today...... it's just right for downloading onto some CDs and sending to Ally....  so excited! https://www.lds.org/youth/music?lang=eng

It's no longer on the Becky Higgins blog, so the link I have for it here doesn't work.... Anyway, I switched it up a bit.... so I'll edit those changes in also. Chicken Curry **  though, I call it 'Basil Chicken Curry' Via Real Simple Magazine Ingredients 1 cup white rice (I make 1 1/2) 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts  (I use 4 breasts) 2 tablespoons (or more - I use at least 3) yellow curry powder 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (do NOT overdue the cinnamon.... repeat, do NOT) 2 tablespoons olive oil (or more) 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced (I use a large) 2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced (I use 4 cups vegetables.... broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, yellow squash) 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (I use 2 cans of coconut milk) 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (you can flavor to taste after you add it) 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (you can flavor to taste after you add it) 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn (and I ad...

"Relief doesn't have to be postponed until a trial is over, but can come with a change of mindset. A mindset of hope, one that seeks and notices the small but significant blessings from God saying He's there. A mindset and realization that you're still here. You're still standing, and you are not broken. A mindset that allows yourself to have open eyes that see past our narrow & mortal desires and see that even our loneliest and hardest days are, in fact, rich with direction & guidance to move you forward- not backwards- on the path God has for us to the best and most fulfilling journey." Al Fox ~ The Tattooed Mormon

Scrubbing bubbles! Amazon.com.UK Dirty diet cokes Mentos gum Black petunias Growing squash on a trellis Wire vine Raspberry Rhapsody lipgloss

I've had several friend requests on fb from people who know Ally in England... and a couple of them have become dear friends already. These ladies are so sweet and kind to Ally and her companion! Two of them send me updates if they've just seen them and one of them will send me pics she's taken of her/them. Until you've had a child gone for any amount of time that you also can't speak to, except twice a year.... just write to and email with once a week... it's hard to imagine what it's like to receive updates from someone who's close to them wherever they are.... I am SOOO beyond grateful! xx I woke up to 3 new photos today and seriously this girl of mine brings me joy beyond joy from halfway around the world.... it's as if that through that smile of hers her spirit jumps out and warms my heart and communes with my spirit in a way that no other earthly being can. What an amazing Sunday morning gift!! I feel so utterly blessed....

Road signs. I'm a mega visual person. I often attach pics with my posts. With this entry I thought a road sign would be rather appropriate. But then I got thinking about all the different signs there were and I couldn't pick just one... several seem to fit. There's: Wrong Way Do Not Enter Rough Road Ahead (my fave... LOL!!) Detour STOP No Trespassing Caution Dead End Slow Road Ahead I've been thinking about this post for a while now. And I usually like to keep these things to myself. But I can't this time.  I think by putting it here I might be able to make sense of some of it. So, you might want to take a 'Detour' before I delve in.... this is for me... though if it's encouraging or helpful for someone else in any way, that can't hurt much either, right? After I had Ally, I got the postpartum blues pretty badly.  And for months I had no clue what was going on.  TBH, I'd really never had a depressing day in my whole...