The moon and Venus

A New Year's Eve gift from the heavens. This is the crescent moon and Venus, giving us a lovely show this evening.

Happy New Year!

The good, the bad and the ugly

The ugly: I helped out at yet another fire yesterday; this one caused by a candle. Two families are homeless. Monroe County Fire Wire has posted some pictures here.

The bad: The dog died in the fire. A fireman carried him out to his owner.

The good: When I got home, I found these presents under our tree. Larry had taken his mother grocery shopping and saw these marked down 75% in the Christmas clearance aisle. He knows I love Santas, and he thought the ornaments were so pretty. He said they reminded him of ornaments his grandmother used to have. That Larry. I am blessed.

Teaching in the dark

Whenever a weather front comes through with temperature changes, wind usually comes with it. Well a front came through yesterday so there was this big wind storm here in Rochester. The winds were so strong that trees and power lines came down. So there we were in Sacrament meeting, having a lovely program by the youth when the lights went out! So we continued on as we normally would but with the curtains opened in the chapel to give a little more light. It was quite nice!

 But then it was Sunday School time. Some of the classrooms don't have windows which meant they were pitch dark. So they combined classes. And what ended up happening was that I had about DOUBLE the people in my class, in the dark, teaching by the light of the windows! For adults, we are a rowdy bunch so we had a blast ( a reverent blast!) as we finished up The Book of Mormon.

Our power at home was out for four hours.

Quite the day.

One stoned cat

So the cat got this cool pillow like thing from Grandma Locke for Christmas. It has catnip in it. 

Well.

All I can tell you is that the cat needed therapy after that play session. She could barely move. It was hilarious. She drooled all over the thing and hugged it and then finally used it as a pillow. We'll probably get arrested for giving drugs to a minor.

Here is the Un-mailed Christmas Card

To all of you,

If we were on the ball and you were getting a Christmas card this year, it would look like this:


and it would say:

"Thank you all for being part of our lives. Have a lovely Christmas season and a very Happy New Year 2009!"

It would also tell you about Larry's new friend, the neighbor dog named Harley.

Larry and Harley are best pals and spend lots of time together playing in the leaves and now romping in the snow. I would not forget to say that Larry is serving as the Hill Cumorah Pageant secretary and the ward employment specialist, and is still working from home for ThermoFisher Scientific.

I would mention my great calling as Gospel Doctrine teacher, fun trips to see family in NYC, seeing a Yankees game with them which was the highlight of the year,



and then about my cruise to Alaska

which actually ties for my highlight of the year. Then I would tell you about my shoulder surgery which went extremely well with more surgery coming up on the 12th of February. There goes my Valentine's Day dinner.....

We would send our love and best wishes and tell you of the love and gratitude we have for our Savior Jesus Christ.

It would be just the best Christmas card ever.

But since we're NOT on the ball, forget it.

We send our love anyway.

Mary Ann and Larry

Greatest cake place in Rochester

Our anniversary cake came from Premier Pastry and you can go here to see the best, most beautiful cakes you ever saw!

Bad day at work

There was a fatal fire yesterday, and a resident of the high rise fire on Sunday perished on Monday. I am stressed beyond words with all the fires going on and the sadness that people are experiencing. I don't know why there are so many fires but we've been hit hard lately. Please, all of you, be careful. NEVER leave a candle or a space heater unattended. Have fire extinguishers on all floors of your home and especially, make sure your smoke detectors work. Thank you. I love you. 

This week has been crazy

Monday - met my friend for lunch and then went to physical therapy for the shoulder

Tuesday - met another friend for an afternoon of Christmas shopping and then came home to have the sister missionaries over for dinner, then Larry and I went to Lowes to look for new lights and bulbs

Wednesday - took my mother-in-law grocery shopping, then made cookies for the cookie exchange that night which was WAY fun

Thursday - went to the temple and church bookstore, then met with a new doula client in the evening

Friday (today) - worked at Red Cross. Now I'm baking two cakes for the ward Christmas party tomorrow night and doing laundry. Larry is at the ward helping to set up for the party. I also need to finish my Gospel Doctrine lesson for Sunday

Tomorrow we have to go back to Lowes to return fluorescent light bulbs which were TERRIBLE. Then I have to iron. And go to the Christmas party.

It's a fun time and our Christmas tree looks Be you te ful!

Just for fun, I will pretend I was tagged by Carol. Here are the rules:

1. Choose the 4th picture folder on your computer

2. Choose the 4th picture

3. Explain the picture

4. Choose 4 people to do the same

My 4th folder was our anniversary party. The 4th picture is our cake which was so lovely I cried. And it was the most delicious thing ever. The top was peach melba and the bottom was chocolate raspberry. I just think it is so pretty.

Let's see, who shall I tag........

1. Amberly

2. Debbie

3. Joy

4. Crystal

Have fun!

Tagged by Crystal!

Favorite Person (outside of family?)  -  Neil Diamond, no question. :)

Favorite Food? -  That's a tough one. Probably bread.

Quirks about me? - I can write backwards and forwards with a pen in each hand.

Any regrets? - Are you kidding? Every day.

Favorite Charity/Cause? - Other the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it's both the American Red Cross and the Humane Society.

Favorite blog recently? - http://blog.cjanerun.com/

Something I can't get enough of? - Neil Diamond concerts, baseball games and cruises

Worst job I've ever had? - Store detective

What job would I pay not to have? -  Those famous guards who have to stand at attention all day and not smile or talk or look at anybody.

Guilty pleasure? - Baklava

Got any confessions? - If I had the money and the time I would go to every Neil Diamond concert and every Rochester Red Wings game. 

If I had $1000 to spend on myself, how would I spend it? - Just for me? I would redecorate the family room. Or clothes.

Favorite thing about our house? - Our dining room curtains

Least favorite thing about our house? - The family room carpet

One thing I am bad at? - Sports. I am all clumsy.

One thing I am good at? - Listening

If I could change one thing about my circumstances, what would it be? - I would LOVE it if Larry wanted to travel.

Who would I like to meet someday? - My grandfather Cardella. He died when I was three months old. To the day.

What makes me feel sexy? - Feeling pretty

Who is my real life hero? - My grandmother Cardella. She was the best example of unconditional love and was loved by all.

What is the hardest part of my job? - Which job? 

1. Homemaker and wife? Finding time to do it all. 

2. Doula? Dealing with stupid medical staff. 

3. Red Cross? Working with an atheist. She drives me out of my mind.

When am I most relaxed? - When the house is spotless and I am reading an excellent book. Or when I'm on a cruise ship watching the water.

What can I not live without? - Other than Larry, food, clothing and shelter, it would have to be books and music.

Are blogs authored by narcissists? - WHAT? Well, maybe......

Why do I blog? - It's a great way for me to keep a journal!

Turkey etc....

Since I was so mad that Thanksgiving dinner didn't turn out so great, I made another batch of dressing, cranberry sauce and then threw some turkey thighs in the oven. MUCH, MUCH better. I am happy again.

Achy shoulder

Today it's very achy. I think I did too much or something. Ibuprofen to the rescue!

Yesterday was the MRI for the other shoulder, then I find out Dec. 19 if I will have surgery on that one. After the scan, I asked the VERY CUTE technician whether or not the pictures were any good. He said they were great and that I was the first person all day that hadn't moved during the procedure. It was 4:30PM!!! Imagine. I just closed my eyes and fell asleep amid all the noise and banging that is the MRI, with earplugs thankfully.

What do you call a boomerang that doesn't work?

A stick.