A few recently finished quilts:

A UFO (unfinished object) finally completed - A classic Bears Paw quilt, made in a class at Sisters, Oregon in 2002.
Turtle Quilt made for Andrew, 2009.
Transportation Quilt for Andrew, 2009.
Cabo Dreaming, a wedding quilt for Chelsea & Trenton, 2008.

Scooter, the Soccer Player

This little video doesn't really show just how much Scooter gets into playing soccer. He is one tough 4 lb. guy!

Hot, hot, hot

Well, not as hot as all that, but still . . .

Since last I posted, we've been to Texas and back. And THERE it was very hot! It was a nice time. Most of the family was there. We missed the Jones clan. I loved getting up every morning to Andrew being there (can you tell where my joy comes from these days?) We did go to the caverns one day and I have a great group photo that I promise to scan and post . . . later.

Now I'm mostly enmeshed in wedding plans. Here's what is done so far: Oak Canyon Park is reserved; Pam Pierson (Trent's mom) came with me to the park and we brainstormed ideas - I'm fairly close to having an actual shopping list; found a photographer who will shoot at the San Diego temple grounds for us for two hours; after sleepless nights worrying about how I was going to pull the food off, opted to hire Mark DiPadova to cater it - whatever we do, it's easier than me doing it; Kristi Pak will help me with cake plans; Maren VanOrman has offered to help me that day and I have a feeling I will need her big time - I will undoubtedly have to press other friends into service that day trying to deal with a "destination" wedding and still get a reception done that evening; the photobooth . . . sssshhhh, it's half way a secret - such a hit at Chelsea's and Trent's wedding; took my sister in law Whitney up on her offer to help and she will be arranging the "rehearsal" dinner of sorts the night before for all who plan on being in San Diego Friday night (still don't have an accurate headcount though); guest lists done; the kids are registered at BB&B, don't know if any other place yet; close to ordering ties for the males in the wedding party; need to talk flowers more with Pam - her schedule is very tight and she may not be available that weekend, but I'm hoping and hoping that she will be. Still have to figure out a number of things and shop for a number of things, but I feel like I have a better handle on it.

I have this odd fascination with voting for my favorite custom designed fabric on this blog: Spoonflower I don't know why. I'm not buying any of it. I just think the concept is so cool and I like to vote :) You can design your own fabric and have it produced by Spoonflower. Spoonflower takes a few of those designs, offers them up for voting, and whichever one wins they print up and offer for sale to the public for a limited time.

I'm anxious for my summer class to be over. Still two more weeks (and a paper) to go. It's hard to concentrate on it when so much other stuff is going on. I'm also teaching in RS this Sunday and I need to prepare for that. What I really need is a 36 hour day!

Work is busy lately. I love my job and most of the people I work with. I'm very fortunate that way.

We had a BBQ here last weekend with some of our friends from the single's ward days. It was very nice. BBQs are my favorite part of summer!

Well, that's it for now. Nick and Jamie called and asked if I wanted to join them for dinner and you can imagine what I responded . . . "is Andrew coming?" LOL! Well, not exactly, but you get the idea . . . TTFN

Hot day in June

Just checking in to the old blog. I'm on call this weekend and find it hard to concentrate on any one thing with the pager going off every now and then. It's amazing to me how much time I can waste on the computer. It's hotter than heck outside and I have a feeling that Texas will be worse. I can't say I'm too excited about Texas, but I am looking forward to getting away. I just wish it was to a beach somewhere. I am looking forward to being with all the kids and to getting to know my future daughter Sarah better. And we can talk wedding stuff, too! I also get to have a whole weekend with Andrew, and it doesn't get much better than that. I have to get my fill of him before he moves away in a few months.

Not a whole lot of news. I had a conference call with the department head at GWU talking about the next two years of school. My plan to spend the final year in the palliatve care program may not work out. I'll know more after next Thursday. If it does not work out, I'll have to go back to the drawing board to think about my capstone project. I have a glimmer of an idea to do something with Advance Directives in the skilled nursing facilities. Maybe. The spirituality at end of life class has about four more weeks left and I have two papers to work on. I'm having a hard time getting the energy up for it. I have to write a paper on Theravada Buddhism and suffering and then a final paper on a concept related to the spiritual care of the dying (but I have no idea which concept I will choose.) Instead of doing school work, I've been wasting time on the computer and reading the Wheel of Time books that Nick got me into.

Family updates: Nothing really new with Nick and Jamie - just getting closer and closer to the move. Andrew is still the world's cutest baby. He's crawling now and he recognizes his Nana and gives me a big smile when he sees me. What more could I want? Natalie has been picking up work with Mark DiPadova, still trying to get her massage therapy business going - that's the sort of thing that takes time - and she's been playing softball with a local team. Chelsea is shouldering the financial load for their little family for a month while Trenton takes his final class at Moorpark. The summer class is long and intense but the payoff will be wonderful when he joins Chelsea at CSUN in the fall. Skyler - well - I'm lucky to get a word or two from him here and there as he spends all his free time with Sarah. He'll be home at the end of July, just a few weeks before the wedding. He's worried about finding work in Idaho now that he will have new responsibilities, and he continues to work with PPL. He puts his trust in the Lord and I'm sure it will all work out for both of them.

It's the busy season for Martin and that is a good thing. I'm still over at Country Villa Sheraton and won't move over to Country Villa Woodman until September. While I'm looking forward to working with Dr. Randeria again, I am not looking forward to leaving CV Sheraton and moving over to Woodman. Sheraton is a very well run, clean place with a good nursing staff. We'll have our work cut out for us at Woodman.

I'm excited to do more planning of the wedding reception. I've got a lot of ideas and need to start solidifying them. I'm going to pick Pam Pierson's brain. After I'm back from Texas, we'll start the real work of it. I'll be pressing friends into service, I know. So, be waiting for the phone call!

Skyler and Sarah are Engaged!

August 15th, 2009 - save the date!

I'm glad I am not the one who has to choose from the multitude of beautiful engagement photos Tracy took. Here's a sampling:

June already

Man, I am not too good at keeping this thing up. So, what do I have to say for myself? Not a whole lot:

(1) I began my summer elective course "Spirituality at the End of Life" - an interesting course, but I would rather have a summer vacation. Still, only one class and I am not going to kill myself at it. But I'd rather spend my time reading the Robert Jordan Wheel of Time series that Nick got me going on, and doing some quilting. I have a couple of quilts just begging for bindings and a few other projects that beckon to me.

(2) Work is good but I know that in a few months I will be transferred to a much less desirable location. However, I will be with a physician that I enjoy working with and that part is good. Had a fun night last night getting together with the "girls" from work and talking about things only nurse practitioners can really appreciate! I sure wish I was 20 years younger and time to spare to put into action some of the visionary ideas we can come up with when we talk about changing the face of elder care in this country.

(3) Andrew is the cutest baby in the entire world and has now entered my very favorite period of infancy - officially 8 mos old, just when they really start to get fun. At least I have a couple more months with him before they whisk him off to Boston.

(4) Nick and Jamie have a lease on a place in Boston and will be leaving at the end of August. Nick is an official college graduate!!

(5) Natalie is doing well and while she still hasn't built up her massage therapy clientele enough to pay the bills, I have confidence that she will get there eventually. She is SO good at what she does. (And very affordable right now, so if you want a massage for a good price, give her a call.)

(6) Chelsea and Trenton celebrated their one year anniversary by taking a trip to New York City. They had a blast and also ran a very special errand for Skyler while they were there. More news on that part soon. Chelsea is off of school for the summer, Trent has a summer course.

(7) Skyler is going year round at BYU-I but we had a quick visit from him and his girlfriend Sarah and Sarah's parents this week, they were headed to a family wedding. That's the most that I can say right now - wink, wink - I sure miss that kid.

(8) Martin is working hard as usual. He got braces on his teeth about a month ago and he is suffering with all that entails, including not being able to eat a lot of things he enjoys, poor baby. They anticipate 18 months of work. I'm sure he'll be even more handsome than ever, but more importantly his dental health will be improved!

(9) Most of us will be going to Texas for 4th of July for a family reunion. This came up suddenly and I only have a few days, Martin will probably not be able to go since with Trent and Chels going, if he goes that will leave only Randy at the office during a holiday weekend. It's hard to be in the vacation business sometimes :)

(10) I have some fabulous photos to share . . . soon!

I guess that's it for now!

My Favorite Baby

Finished!

For better or worse I submitted my final project in my Knowledge Management class. Now I will keep my fingers crossed that it is adequate and that I will pass the class. If so, then I will be able to say I have finished my second semester, and first year, of my doctoral program. I do have to take a course this summer but I expect it to be fairly easy. It is a class about spirituality and end of life care. I'm sure there will be papers to write. Still, it shouldn't be too bad. I never could have finished this last class project without the help of my generous and smart husband who helped me tremendously. Thank you sweetheart!

I am in such a mood to have a vacation. Dad and I are talking about making arrangements to go to Idaho for the 4th of July to celebrate Skyler's birthday and see his school. I'd really like to sneak away to Hawaii or someplace similar for a few days but that isn't in the cards. I am looking forward to summer and maybe some nice BBQ parties with friends.

What's the news . . . Skyler got his cast off, but he's still got some healing time ahead of him. And his arm now has a new interesting feature. You'll have to ask him to see the video. Natalie is working a lot for Mark DiPadova, which is good. Chelsea has been sick, but looking forward to getting finals out of the way this next week. Trenton also getting ready for finals. Both of them have been helping the Haavets out as they are in transition moving from here to there. Jamie has been sick, too, but hopefully on the mend. Nick has only a couple weeks more and then he is officially graduated from CSULB. He leaves for Boston to scout a new place to live in a couple of weeks. Andrew is of course growing cuter every day. Dad gets his braces next week!

I'm on call next weekend but we'll do something to commemorate Mom's Day and Jamie's first Mother's Day!

April

I realize I am not too good at keeping this thing up! So here's a brief "what's been happening" with the Onkens:

(1) Went to General Conference at the beginning of April - got a chance to visit with the Arnells which was really fun and not long enough.
(2) Got to have Skyler home for a week between semesters and got to spend more time with his girlfriend Sarah (who is a delight!)
(3) Natalie graduated from her Massage Therapy program, already got a part time job, and has just generally been delightful. She really seems to be pulling her life together and I am happy for her.
(4) Got to buy the cutest clothes for Andrew (who simply gets more adorable all the time, and definitely KNOWS his NANA!!)
(5) Chelsea and Trent moved to Simi, which sucks for me, but I think they like their new apartment.
(6) School really STINKS! I have only a few more weeks left in the semester and I am really struggling with this one stupid class which requires me to teach myself Excel.
(7) Changing my job locale has been the right decision. However it is not without some stresses - namely, breaking in a new doc. However I enjoy my colleague NP Julie and I like the facility and just in general I am enjoying my new situation.
(8) Need I mention Skyler's compound fracture? No.
(9) I need and want to take a vacation!!!!!

Asilomar report

My latest story quilt is small scale (just a bit larger than "Nana in Waiting"). The inspiration is an old photo of Chelsea and Skyler when they were very small playing rock and roll band with the neighbor girls Katie and Carrie Ockander. They were using various toys as instruments, including an old Fisher Price toy vacuum. I am calling it "Joyful Noise" - although at first I thought I would call it "I'm just a singer in a Rock n Roll Band."

I also finished piecing the turtle quilt I made for Andrew - THE hardest darned quilt ever. I'll post photos later. I'm still suffering post traumatic shock from working on it.

I even have an inspiration for my NEXT story quilt, but you'll have to wait to hear about that one . . .

Asilomar was as gorgeous and therapeutic as ever. Actually more so because it was just 9 good friends, no teachers, no pressures, just food, chocolate, fabric and laughter.

While I am sure Jamie will be posting this photo of Andrew on her blog, I just had to share it here. Isn't he the cutest?

Life is Change

This image is not how I am feeling at the moment, but I must say that when I found it elsewhere on the web, it evoked a strong feeling of compassion in me. I have felt like this in the past and I have certainly been attendant when people I care about have felt like that. Most strongly it reminds me of how my own children have expressed their frustrations with life when they were too young to express themselves any other way. I suppose that is part of what I am a witness to these days. Young people trying very hard to make their way in life, unable to see beyond their own immediate needs in their very strong desire to make their mark on the world and in life. One of the interesting things about getting older is realizing that on the grand scale, this is a futile desire and ultimately not a very important goal. It's the smaller scale, the quick and subtle moments and opportunities that arise in human interaction that really matter: the warm smile, the meeting of eyes in silent communication, the passing comment of appreciation, the hug that lasts just a few seconds longer, the careless toss of an arm around the shoulder, or the out-of-the-blue, for no-reason-at-all phone call. A friend recently posted on her facebook page that the best feeling for her is when she realizes she has been missed. I concur.

The last few days I have been thinking about people I miss. I miss my father. Some mornings as I am reluctant to get out of bed and want to bury myself down into the pillows I hear his (annoyingly) cheerful singing "It's time to get up, it's time to get up, it's time to get up in the morning," and I instinctively draw in my feet to avoid the coming tickle. I miss my friend Marie who I can sometimes hear say "oh Debi, WHY do you care? Let's go have a diet coke at Taco Bell." I wish I could pick up the phone and call them. I do have people I miss whom I CAN call. When emailing is not enough and I need the calm and gentle wisdom of my friend Carolyn, I do pick up the phone just to hear her voice. Even with my own kids, who I am sure feel that they hear from me all to often, I sometimes just want to hear their voices, to know that they are okay wandering around out there in that big world. Of course I know they are okay, maybe it's really me that feels MORE okay when I recharge my "mom" battery by checking in on them.

Life is change, but we don't always have to like it. Mostly though, it is good. I like my life, I like what I am doing in the moment. I see myself becoming more like my own mother, for better or for worse, and it makes me realize how inevitable the turning of the wheel of time really is. It echoes the truth in the mother's curse - that you, like your children after you, will eventually have all the experiences, the good and the bad, that the generations before have had. Like my friend Marie used to say (and she understood this better than most) "try to live your life so you won't have any regrets." I have seen the truth of this in the years I have worked in hospice. And I think working with the very old, as I do, makes me more aware of how important it is to try and understand the other person's point of view in things, to make space for others (it isn't always about YOU), to give up that need for control of everything and just appreciate the gifts of the moments we have with each other. I am constantly surrounded by people who have the need to control everything. The photo above reminds me of them. I see them at work and sometimes in my family relationships. And I want to say to them "just stop, you will exhaust yourself, it isn't important in the long run, trust that you matter, trust that others care, trust that in the end this too shall pass . . ."

Life is change, appreciate the constancy of those you love and who love you.

Cold Day!

I'm freezing, Martin is "boiling" and so goes our typical weekend. I thought I'd write quickly about the last two weeks. Last week was my final week in Ventura County. It was marked by several farewell lunches with colleagues and friends and a special farewell at Camarillo Health Care. I took them a large sheetcake to thank the staff for all their hard work and they presented me with a lovely wall clock with a plaque. It was really touching and a bit extravagant. I will miss them. My friend Ruby presented me with this wonderful photo in a frame and she had many people sign the frame with little goodbye notes. Very sweet. I will especially miss Dr. Anu Maganti and the lovely relationship we built as friends and colleagues. I learned so much from her over the past two years.

On Monday I started at my new place. It is quite an adjustment to be in one single place all day long and have an office, with a desk, where I can leave things permanently and not carry my entire professional universe in the pockets of my lab coat. It is also odd to be working with several other Kaiser people on the premises all the time. The doc I work with, Samuel Lim, is a very different person and has very different approaches than Maganti. That will take some adjusting. But overall the relief I feel and the reduction in my stress levels being away from that horrible Lisa and in a department that will get out of my way and let me do my job is palpable. I have had a couple of phone calls from Li-Chym and Halimeh (two of the NPs from the west side) to tell me of continuing antics by Lisa. All confirming that I made the right decision in making this move. I will be at Country Villa Sheraton in North Hills until August at which time I will probably be moved over to CV Woodman when Shayam Randeria finally makes his move over to the east side. Then he and I will be a team. I know he's anxious to join me on the east. He already called me this week to see how things were going. I told him GREAT!

Tomorrow morning I leave for a much needed vacation. I am headed up to Asilomar for my quilt week. This time I will be in a small group of personal friends and we are not participating in the Empty Spools Seminar, but instead we're just on our own. I'm excited about this. I will bring Andrew's turtle quilt up with me and hopefully make some headway on that. I will need to think about another project to bring. I would really like to do another small story quilt - even using the black and white palette I used for Nana in Waiting. I don't have a story in mind, but that doesn't matter. I just like having a story quilt to work on. So I need to pack and I'm procrastinating. I've been working on some of my school work and have more to do so I can spend the week up in beautiful Pacific Grove without worrying too much about homework.

I've really fallen off the diet wagon and have gained several pounds. The weather has also interfered with my new running program so I have lots of excuses. A week in Asilomar is not going to make it better. I'm having to reschedule my sessions with Troy the trainer to 6 AM with my new work schedule. Ugh, the price of trying to stay trim and healthy! None of which will stop me from eating popcorn at the movies tonight :)

A new year

I really don't have much to post, but it has been awhile so I thought I would at least write a line or two. The new year has started with a bang. I have made the decision to transfer from the Woodland Hills department back to the Panorama City department. This decision was made due to problems with the new administrator of the Woodland Hills department. I am lucky that I have the opportunity to return to my old team and they are excited that I am coming back. Now that I've made the decision, I'm anxious to make the move. I'm hoping that I will hear something about the transfer this week and have a definite transfer date!

School has started for me and I'm having the hardest time getting myself back into the study groove. I wonder if I will have to fight myself through this whole program. I think the distance learning thing is just so time consuming. I spend every evening on the computer reading and responding and all day on Saturday doing the same thing. I've had so much fun pleasure reading and sewing again during the Christmas break that I'm not so happy to give it all up again.

On the sewing front I did get Andrew's quilt back from the quilter and now I need to put the binding on. I also started another quilt for him that is turning out to be one of the hardest darned quilts I've ever made! I will work on it a little at a time and hope that over the next few months I am able to put it together. Luckily Lisa has set up a twice a month quilting get together at her house and that will ensure I get at least a little sewing done every month.

I'm excited for Natalie and her new massage therapy school and plans. I got a chance to talk to her tonight and I think she sounds really good. Trenton started back to school last week and he seems to like his new classes. I think he is hopeful that this is the last semester at Moorpark and will be able to transfer to CSUN next Fall. Chelsea is starting at CSUN next week. I'm excited for her and her new classes. This is the first semester she will be entirely at CSUN for all her classes. I talked to Skyler earlier in the week and he is loving all his military science classes and he's having his usual fun time up at school. He called me a few days ago just to play a song for me on the phone and sing to me. I sure miss that kid.

Todd and Sandy are having problems and he is staying with us for a few days until he figures things out. I like having him around.

Christmas Morning!

This year the family gathered a bit later in the morning as the kids traveled from their various abodes. We had our traditional Christmas breakfast BEFORE the gift opening:

Christmas Eve!

I am not good at all at taking photos so I only have a few things to share. This year was Skyler's first Christmas since returning from his mission. Christmas Eve we were joined by the Doolans, the Dubrow family and the Haavets. Chelsea and Trenton were MIA, spending their Christmas Eve with the Piersons. Still we had plenty of food and fun. I stole photos from Liza Dubrow's Facebook to share here:

Thanksgiving!

The Onkens all headed up to Lake Arrowhead for our every two year turkey get away. We're sorry that Natalie chose not to join us, we certainly missed her. The cabin was delightful and was situated on a running stream that actually ran under the house! We saw racoon tracks in the mud outside our front doors. The weather was cold and a little too windy for me, but although it had rained and apparently hailed on Wednesday, the rest of the week was lovely. We attempted a hike around the lake, but we didn't get very far. We took in the town and did a fair amount of window shopping. The cute bakery for dogs turned out to be a fun little shop and Scooter scored a holiday sweater, which it turned out, he really liked! He is a bigger weather wimp than I am.

On Saturday we went to Wildhaven, a wild animal rehabilitation center, and got to be up close and personal with bears, dear, coyotes, raccoons, bald eagles, golden eagles, owls, falcons and hawks. My personal favorites were the bears. Of course mostly what we did was eat, eat, eat. I really enjoy cooking for the whole family and we had plenty of delicious food. It was a special treat to have Chelsea do some cooking for us as well - apple cinnamon french toast strata for breakfast and rye crusted pork medallions for dinner - YUM.

We played some mean games of Uno, Apples to Apples, Wits and Wagers, and Settlers of Zarahemla. Skyler got to meet his nephew for the first time and we all got plenty of Andrew time.

Now of course it is time to repent of all the food I've eaten but it was worth every bite. Skyler is headed back to Idaho for a few more weeks until it is time to come back again for Christmas. I have the big push on for the next few weeks to finish up a lot of school assignments and then I'll be able to think about Christmas!

Skyler's Home!

Hooray for holidays! Skyler is home and will spend the first Thanksgiving in 2 years with the family. I can't wait for us to get away to Lake Arrowhead and just hang out together. Today I worked on menus, made shopping lists and bought a ton of groceries. We may need a trailer just to haul it all up. I also bought some jacks and some pick up sticks and I'm going to pick up a deck of Uno. I am so excited to spend an entire long weekend (well at least a good 3 days plus) with my whole family, including my little grandbaby!

I'm teaching in Relief Society tomorrow. The lesson is from a May 2008 conference talk "Service, a Divine Quality" by Elder Carlos Amado. I will probably have a hard time filling the whole time with this lesson, but I did have an "aha" moment while preparing. Elder Amado quotes from John 6:26-27 - where Jesus exhorts the crowds who have come after the feeding of the 5,000 not to "labor" for the "meat that perishes" but to labor for the "meat which endures." He is referring to the fact that the crowds have shown up not because they witnesses a miracle in the loaves and fishes, but because they got fed! I didn't really understand what that had to do with service at first. Then I realized that there are many meanings in that little bit of scripture (aren't there always?). First, the service the Lord provided allowed an opportunity for Him to teach the gospel; second, service is a "miracle"; and third, the Lord was ful"filling" promises in "filling" (feeding) the crowd - service fulfills covenants. It is a great example of service as a "divine quality."

I'm glad the Proposition 8 stuff has started to calm down. It is so hard for people who do not practice an orthodoxy to understand how those who do. It is so representative of the situational ethics of most people. They can't imagine any time at which something simply is right or wrong and regardless of price, pain, consequence, a stand must be taken and upheld. No one on the traditional marriage side can not sympathize with the feelings on the other side. But when you believe that God has said that a thing is wrong, and you believe you have an obligation to walk, as best as you can, in the path that God has set, there simply are no other choices. It is hard sometimes to accept absolutes, but standing for a thing eventually makes you stronger if for no other reason than you learn just exactly what you yourself are made of. I am grateful for the opportunity I am currently having to have even a small bit of understanding what the early Saints (both old world and new) must have felt during their times of persecution.

Temper tantrums

The protesters today are just amazing me. They are proving to me all the more the reason that traditional marriages needed to be protected. Today I hear the hollering about taking away tax exempt status for the church because it dared to weigh in on a moral issue. If churches (and not just the LDS church, but other Christian churches as well as Muslims and Jews) can't speak out on moral issues, who can? If members of those religions can't vote their own convictions and provide funding for their beliefs, who can?

I believe that the homosexual movement won't be happy until God Himself comes down and changes the scriptures. And since that won't happen, nothing is going to create happiness for them, including marriage. But here's what shocks me more: they are mad that African Americans, Hispanics and other people of color didn't support them! And they think it is a discrimination equal to racism. What a lot of bunk. I think that the homosexual movement has slapped people of color in the face by trying to hijack civil rights as a homosexual issue. Homosexuality is a lifestyle choice. There is not a single replicated scientific study that shows otherwise. I realize that is contrary to popular belief, but it is fact. Popular belief is not fact. Theory is not proof. Science has not proved this is an inborn condition and yet there is plenty of evidence to suggest that it is a psychological disorder. It is certainly nothing even comparable to race and many people of color are offended by the attempt to correlate the two.

Deeply held moral and religious convictions are why Prop 8 succeeded - a fundamental belief in right and wrong. Not hate, not bigotry, not racism or anything akin to it. Sometimes, no matter how hard it is to take the medicine, no matter how childishly we want to deny it, there simply IS a right and a wrong. And when you choose incorrectly, you must be willing to accept the consequences. No one is stopping them from living their lifestyle, but one of the consequences of that lifestyle is not being able to marry. Temper tantrums won't change that.

If you want to see hate in action, take a look at what happens to ex-gays; they endure the most rabid hatred you've ever heard of and all of it directly from the gay community. http://www.pfox.org/equalrights.htm

Birthday Blessings

I had a lovely birthday weekend. It started with Martin taking me and the family (well, part of the family: Nick, Jamie, Andrew, Chelsea & Trenton) to Gladstones for dinner. I got to hold my baby for a LONG time! And Martin surprised me with an iPhone!! I am having a ton of fun learning how to operate it. Nick and Jamie gave me exactly what I asked for: a small brag book with real photos of my grandbaby to show off. After dinner Martin and I drove to Idyllwild up in the mountains. We stayed at a lovely B&B called Strawberry Creek. It was very pretty and quaint. On Saturday we took a nice long hike in through the woods and then came back into the small little town and shopped. Martin spoiled me rotten and I purchased a number of clothing items and a beautiful necklace and earrings made by an Apache Princess(!) who was delightful to visit with, a wonderful smelling candle developed by a local shop, some nice lotions made locally from goats' milk, and some old fashioned tin toys (for Andy). Martin bought one of those chainsaw carved bears to take to the office. Then he surprised me with a couples' massage - aaaahhhh. We had Chinese food for dinner and then went back to the B&B. In the morning after breakfast we headed back home, with a quick stop at King Taco to pick up some dinner and a stop at an AT&T store to switch my new phone to my old number. It was a greatly needed break and a really nice birthday trip.

Today, it was back to work as usual. On Friday I'll be down in Anaheim for a conference. School is still happening and I am still, so far, keeping up!