Safe & sound

Rach drove from Eugene to here today by herself. I am so grateful she made it here safely! I'm also simply grateful that she is here...at least for a few days! :)

Following Counsel

Our Prophet, Apostles, and church leaders have counseled us over the years on many subjects. One of those subjects is to get out of debt and stay out of debt. We have, throughout our marriage, followed that counsel. Truthfully, it wasn't always easy. We saw many friends that we knew were in debt taking extravagant vacations, buying things for their children that we knew they couldn't afford. Sometimes our decision not to purchase things or go on extravagant vacations for our kids were difficult.

I am a saver. I save for rainy days. When we moved back to California it about killed me to pay so much for our home. I strongly felt that the market could crash, and that we would be on the losing end. Now, that is where we find ourselves - upside down in our home. However, we are making great strides to remedy that situation.

Pat has been unable to work for over a week with this illness. His company doesn't offer sick leave, so whatever vacation time we have is being eaten up, hour by hour. I stress about several things, one is family, the other is money; even though we have plenty in the bank, I am always feeling the pressure...if it's spent, it is gone, never to return.

At any rate - today I got in my car to go to the store and as I turned the key I heard this struggle to start..."click, click, click", and then nothing. I called our auto shop and they said to either tow it in or drive it in, whichever one works. (I did not want to take it shopping since I didn't want to be stuck in the parking lot at the store, of course.) So, in an hour or so I will try to start my car again, and if it runs, Pat and I will take it to the shop where we are hopeful that it is just a battery, or something simple.

I am grateful that we follow the counsel of our church leaders, and save our money, most of the time. Because, even though we will have to pay hefty medical bills, and my car is having problems, we have the money saved for that. It is in the bank, waiting to be used for such an occasion as these are. I am so grateful for the wise counsel from our leaders.

Womanhood

Last night Ann Romney gave a great speech. She talked about the wonderful attributes of women, praising us for our role in this world, and sharing her understanding of the daily tasks that are required of women. If you didn't hear her speech you should take a bit of time and go and read it. She also talked about being a newlywed and the struggles she endured, and of course about her husband, because, really, he is what the convention is all about.

I am grateful for the positive influences of the women in my life, which of course first began with my mother. Then I had several other women outside my family that influenced me for good. Now, I have friends, church leaders, my daughters and daughters-in-law, that all play an important part in my life. I am grateful for them, not only for the positive influence they are to me, but to others as well...especially my children's children.

The process

Today 'began' the Republican National Convention. I remember 'watching' it when I was growing up, thinking how boring it was. Once I became more interested in politics (thank you Ronald Reagan) I began taking it more seriously. I have also watched the Democratic Convention; at least parts of it. (I was curious as to what they would say, I think last time I watched President Clinton was running, so it's been awhile, though I may have caught a little of Obama's speech last time around...probably won't this time. Go ahead, judge me!)

My point...there is something reassuring and comforting about watching history in the making. I watched today as a large majority of the delegates voted for Romney. When Pete Wilson, former Governor of California, spoke on behalf of California I felt pride. There are many things I dislike about my home state, but I loved that he spoke with such conviction and enthusiasm. When Romney's brother from Michigan spoke for their state he was all choked up, which caused me to get a lump in my throat, and shed a tear or two.

Pat thinks it's funny/amazing that I am so 'into' politics. He has heard me talk to the TV more times than not when I agree or disagree with someone politically. It is something I am passionate about. I love my country, I feel privileged to live here, I want our country to be successful. I want for our grandchildren to enjoy the blessings of living here. I love the process we have, and am grateful for those who made and make it possible, for us to enjoy this process, this freedom, that we should never, ever take for granted.

Old standbys

Yesterday, as I stated in my previous post, I was super bored. At one point in the day I knew I needed to do something in order to fill in the time, and feel as though I accomplished something, no matter how minor.

One of my favorite things to do is bake. Somehow it relieves stress, takes my mind off of things, and keeps me focused on something I enjoy. It's amazing, really.

As a result I chose to bake yesterday, only it's a little hot here, and I didn't want anything that took much time. (I am sure our kids can guess what I made!) I also wanted something that I knew Pat would enjoy, since he is still recuperating.

So, I went to an old standby of ours. We first got this recipe when Sam and Craig were little; I think we've had it for about thirty years. Friends of ours in our ward in Sacramento had invited us over for dinner, and she served this for dessert. It's been a favorite ever since. Don't you love recipes like that? The ones you will use over, and over, and over again? And they never lose their appeal? I am grateful for those kinds of recipes. In fact, I will share that recipe with you, right now!

Angel Squares
2 c. brown sugar
3 c flour

1 c. hot water with 1 t baking soda dissolved

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. baking powder

2 eggs

1 c. margarine

12 oz. chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients until well mixed by hand, add the chocolate chips last.  Spread on lightly greased cookie sheet (I decided to try it on a jelly roll pan, I liked it even better!)  Bake at 350 for 20–30 minutes.  While hot add glaze.

Glaze

1 c. powdered sugar

1 – 2 T milk (if need more add, but shouldn’t; can also use water)

Mix well, drizzle over top while bars are still warm, then spread.

Classics

Today was one of those days. I had planned to stay home today to take care of Pat and to avoid being around germs to make sure he doesn't have anything more to fight. I ended up not feeling well myself. Along with not feeling well I was fighting a serious case of boredom. Don't you dislike it when you are soooo tired of being at home, yet you don't feel well enough to go anywhere or do anything? Then throw Sunday into the mix and there is not much you can do about it! That was my day. Finally I decided to check out movies on Amazon Prime. Fortunately one of my favorites is on there, "To Catch a Thief" starring the wonderful Cary Grant. Boredom solved. I am grateful for the tried and true classics.

Running errands

It was good to get out for a few minutes today and run a few errands. I'm grateful that things in our town are pretty close by so that Pat (he sat in the car) could get out for a few minutes and have a change of scenery...me too, for that matter!