Walking my feet off

Well. my U.S. Census training this week was good. I haven't walked this much since I was in Italy!!! 

My feet are sore. 

It's fun though. I'm meeting nice people and making some money and having the government pay me for exercising. 

I won't need to use the treadmill for weeks!

Larry, the baby dog, and snow

It snowed. 

On April 7. 

I was mad but guess who had a GOOD time?  That's right, Larry and Harley!!

Larry put him on his shoulder like a pirate with his little parrot. How cute is that?

THEN, Larry made snowballs out of the pink water dish I keep outside for the dog. His own little arsenal. Larry throws them, Harley races for them. Unfortunately, the wind blew them over the railing. Bummer.

The future is as bright as our faith

We thank thee oh God for a prophet. I felt that so much more this weekend. 

These are some things I learned:

- each temptation we overcome strengthens us, not destroys us

- our ability to face and overcome afflictions is evidence of God's love

- pay attention to those who are wiser and more experienced

- spiritual darkness is a natural consequence of bad choices

- focus on our blessings as members of the church

- the future is as bright as our faith

As a friend kept saying during her labor, "it's okay, it's okay, it's okay..."

Friend Picture Friday

Life hasn't been too interesting lately so I'm thinking you might like to see more pictures. These are wonderful people I know:

Trisha, our sweet "daughter"

at BYU, who will be a Phys. Ed. teacher 

after she graduates this year!

Sonnia, she is like a 

sister. We can talk about

ANYTHING. And do. But 

she lives in Las Vegas 

so we burn up the phone lines

I feel blessed to have good friends in my life, who are more like family. There are more of you of course. I just need pictures!

Family Picture Monday

This is my grandmother, Cecilia Metildi. She was married to my grandfather from last week with the baby fishing pole. Will you look at this picture below.  I love this picture. She thought it was cute, too. We laughed over this together. She would say, " That bow in my head is bigger than I am!" And look at her umbrella! This was taken here in Rochester, around 1912.

This next one is at her Catholic first communion, probably 1916. There is so much to like about this shot - her shoes, the curls, her beautiful veil and the background!

Then this is 1952. She is holding my cousin Joyce, the one who died last year. I think I kind of look like my grandmother in this picture.

This one I think is about 1968 or '69. She was happy in her kitchen. We were happy too, because she was an amazing cook! She looks pretty here.

In this last shot, she is almost 90 years old. We were such good friends. We did a lot together. She was so smart, but even more, she was very, very wise. She had a GREAT sense of humor! We laughed together. I learned countless words of wisdom from her. She is always with me when I cook. I miss her terribly, every day. She was my champion.

Mars

NASA says this could be a mud volcano on Mars. For some reason, this strikes me as incredibly funny. I want to see a mud volcano.  Man, can you imagine how cool that would be? It says it could be dredging up little martian microbes. WHAT???

ANYway, for further fascinating information, check out the Astronomy Picture of the Day.

Does this officially make me a geek?

Weebles wobble, but I won't fall down

This has been a very interesting two weeks, with Larry out of work, and the two of us trying to feel our way around our emotions and thoughts.

It's been mostly good!

It took him days to fix the commode (refined way to say "the terlit.") He said he would fix it when he was ready. I told him that's why men get nagged. Excuuuuuuse me! Minor bump in the road which took a very good detour into a fine discussion. 

This morning we curled up in the family room and discussed:

 

1.  leaving a legacy,

2.  ethics, and

3.  section 49 of the Doctrine and Covenants 

Those three things. 

I've also been filing stuff today. 

Larry was outside with Harley. 

We watched Judge Joe Brown, Judge David somebody and Judge Marilyn with his mother. 

She LOVES judge shows. And COPS. And American Idol. And of course, the Yankees.

Baseball season is around the corner and I for one, am a very happy woman. Those guys look so stinkin' cute in uniforms....

Family Picture Sunday

Lately I've been thinking about my ancestors, so I thought it might be fun to include some old pictures here once in a while. I may even include some of me! Then if I ever scan some in of Larry, I'll include those, too.

So, here is the first -

This is my grandfather Anthony Iannidinardo as a baby in Italy. He is my mother's father. He was born in 1899 and died in 1987. He was a milkman, back in the days when milk was delivered to your door.

 We were pals. I called him "Pop" or "Papa." He loved baseball, especially the Yankees. We had season tickets to the Rochester Red Wings games for a few years and had a blast going together!

He loved to take us kids on rides. We went to Niagara Falls EVERY year. He also appreciated good food, so he took us out to eat every so often. Because of him, I learned to like apple pie with cheese, lamb roast with mint jelly, and tomato juice with a dash of salt in it.

When I had chicken pox and couldn't go to school, he taught me how to play Chinese checkers. We played regular checkers, too.

He was very cool.

This is him as a young adult -

And then as my grandfather with my grandmother. This is in the very early 60's.

I miss him!

Look! No snow!

It was a gorgeous day yesterday; kind of warm, kind of cool and very sunny. So I go out the back door and there is baby Harley looking depressed and sad and forlorn without Larry. He just sits there waiting for him to come out. Sometimes he barks.

So of course, there goes Larry out to keep him company. I tell you, those two are pals. Harley LOVES him. But I have to keep reminding Larry to wear a hat, because look at his head! He is going to get sunburn, or worse. That man.

Now this -

Larry lost his job on Thursday.

He was one of 200 hundred people that day who got "downsized" because of budget issues. 

Friday was weird. Larry was kind of lost. I was home and we wandered around the house. We watched one of our classes on the history of language, took a nap, read some Calvin and Hobbs books 

and talked a lot. It was definitely a weird day but good. We are surprisingly okay about it as we try to figure out our next step.

Yesterday we went to the temple and felt really peaceful. It was good. 

2010 U.S. Census

A few months ago a friend mentioned that the Census Bureau was hiring people to prepare for the census next year. So I looked on the website here , applied to take the test and lo and behold, I was HIRED! 

It's very cool. I get to swear an oath and even get fingerprinted. 

Then there are four days of training in April. 

I get to wear a badge! I mean, really.

 

New and improved

WAY better after a haircut, (but no makeup.) Still scary.

AND a very happy birthday to KayLee, Linda and Lana  (the first baby I ever witnessed being born and now she is 22 years old.)

Scary photo

So here is the latest picture of the old folks. Larry looks adorable. 

I, of course, need a trim.

Or something.

My hair makes me crazy.

Larry says, "Be thankful you HAVE hair."

A little more relaxed

Believe it or not, we've had TWO count 'em TWO days home without leaving the house once. It has been so, so nice to actually be home. We are getting some chores done, and reading and cooking and baking. 

So while this is a short post, it's a happy post. Finally.

My grandmother

used to say, "Things get better. They really do. If that weren't true, everyone in the world would be walking around crying all day. Grief never goes away, but it does get better."

Thank you, Joy!

Joy explained to me how to change the side bar color of this blog and now it looks just right! Thanks, JOY!

My toothaches apparently came from trauma from my last orthodontic adjustment. That adjustment hurt like no other. My mouth was really sore. It seems because of that, my bite was off from the shifting teeth. The tops and bottoms were knocking against each other. Hooray for my dentist who fixed it! There was more stuff from that adjustment but you don't need to hear all that. It's much better anyway.

My ring is still beautiful.

I just love the colors of this blog. It's ME!

Crazy days

Here are some things that are going on:

- work is busy because lots of volunteers and staff are in Buffalo for the plane crash.

- I have a toothache, well actually two toothaches and they came on all of a sudden and today I have to go to the dentist for help!

- Larry presented me with this gorgeous anniversary ring and I love him (and the ring.) At the jewelers, he placed it on my finger just like when we got married and I cried and then I kissed him. The owner said, "THAT'S the kind of reaction we like to see!" 

- Harley the Puppy next door was outside barking this morning for Larry to come out and play. So Larry gets on his coat and goes out. Is that dog spoiled or what. Or is it Larry that's spoiled?!

- My shoulder surgery was supposed to be last week. Back in December, I KNEW I shouldn't have it done, but it didn't make sense not to. There is a tear. It needs to be repaired. But something told me not to do it. So I prayed about it and I felt that the answer was to go to my primary care physician for his opinion. I went. He said if it doesn't hurt, don't fix it. So I went home and prayed about it again and felt that the answer was not to have the surgery. So I cancelled it.

Then our friend got sick and then he passed away and if I had had the surgery, I could not have been there for his wife. 

What I learned is this -

If you get a prompting that doesn't make sense, listen. If it does make sense, it's easy to obey. But when it doesn't make any sense, that's when it's so important to pay attention. 

I am so glad I did.

At peace

Our friend Bob had a grand send-off today, with a wake full of friends and family yesterday and then a beautiful funeral this morning. 

This is one of the picture boards, the one with his grandkids. Although we are all sad beyond belief, we have peace knowing that there is eternal life. We'll see our loved ones again. We just MISS them so awfully much when we can't see them.

I think I'll go hug Larry!

Blog experts

Okay all you blog extraordinaries. I need help. 

As you can see, I changed the look of our blog and I love the new colors. 

ALTHOUGH.

If any of you can tell me how to change the green color on the right side, like where the weather is and the archive, I would be happy. I don't even know if it is possible but if anyone knows, it would be you young whippersnappers. (I'm feeling old lately!)

Today is Saturday. It has been a very hard two weeks and I'm glad they're almost over.

Two good men

These are our friends Barb and Bob Ford, Christmas Eve 2008. Bob passed away on the 11th. His funeral is Saturday.

These are our friends Christine and Matt Burnett. Matt died this year on January 25. This picture was taken in 2005 right after baby Maria was born in a fast and furious birth.

We love these good people like family.

I'm sorry that these last few posts have been sad. It's how things are going and it's how I feel. We pray.

Saturday afternoon

This has been a really hard week. Our friend is so sick. His wife finally decided to spend nights at our house for a while 'cause we live closer to the hospital. She is so awful tired.

The weather got really nice today. We're not freezing our buns off! The January thaw came in February.

Tomorrow is Ward Conference, so I don't have to teach my Gospel Doctrine lesson. That's a real blessing.

I'm craving a cheeseburger.....and lots of chocolate. 

There is too much sadness around

In the past year or so: My Aunt Nickie died, my Aunt Mary died, my cousin's fiancee died, our friend Gary died, my cousin Joyce died, our friend Matt died and now another of our dearest friends, Bob, who has been fighting lung cancer for two years is in ICU fighting for his life. 

Plus so many other things.

It's too hard and I don't know what to do.

I guess this is when you leave it to the Lord and He carries you. 

I did WHAT???

Well, here it is. My most embarrassing moment. Hang on to your hats.

Our team responded to a house fire Tuesday. Pictures are here. We drove to the scene and parked and began to do all the necessary things for the clients and firefighters.

After a while, I needed to move the Red Cross vehicle, which is an RV for heaven sakes. The thing is huge. So I put it in reverse to back up a bit. Then I hear a horn. And then we feel a "THUD." 

Oh no. Oh no. What did I hit. So I climbed out of the driver's seat and a sheriff's deputy came up to me. 

He says, "You hit my car!" 

I hit a cop car??!  

Yup.

Well actually I bumped it. Or tapped it. But it did make a teeny little miniscule dent in his fender. Holy mackerel. 

Good thing he was nice. He said he had to call his sergeant but not to worry. 

Oh sure.

ANYway, the sergeant comes and thinks the whole thing is hilarious. Here is this middle aged midget, driving a monster truck that bangs into one of his deputies. He asked me for my driver's license and then for the registration for the vehicle. What? I don't even know where the registration is! He says don't worry he'll get it off the tag. Good grief.

So the story ends that everyone was fine, they were all so stinkin' nice about it and probably are still laughing their tails off over this one.

Don't ever hit a cop car.  It's too embarrassing.

Birds help deal with the January blues

This pretty cardinal was hanging out in our backyard yesterday. We rarely see them so this was a treat. I didn't want to scare him away so I took the top photo from inside, looking out the back door. Then I quietly went out on the deck but sure enough, he turned around. But the picture is still kind of cool. Cardinals are just so pretty.

Is it the January blues?

All is well, but I'm in a blue funk. Not sure why.

Got called to a fire Friday night at a senior citizen apartment complex. The building that burned was under construction and vacant, but the adjoining building has lots of tenants. We went to serve refreshments to the nearly 100 firefighters, and then we walked over to the building where the tenants were all staying in the lobby. The fire chief wanted them all together in case they had to evacuate. Poor folks, they were tired and worried, so we brought them lemonade and hot chocolate and cookies. Thankfully, the fire was contained so they were able to go home to their apartments. There are photos here.

Time to go work on next week's lesson, so I'm not in a panic as next Sunday gets closer!

My heart is heavy

I'm sorry. I am not happy with the new administration. The treatment Pres. Obama gave former Pres. Bush in the inauguration speech was appalling.  The minister praying that "white will embrace the right" was terribly offensive. I'm sad and worried.

But ya know what is right about our country? I can say how I feel about the administration, yet not worry that someone is going to come into my home and take me away for treason. I may offend a few friends and give myself some gray hairs but my opinion is safe.

Take that, all you people who think America needs to be "remade."

Plane in the river

We were watching Larry King tonight. We learned that getting all the passengers out alive wasn't luck. Everyone did their jobs and did them right. Real heroes for sure.

Maybe we should actually WATCH and LISTEN to the flight attendants next time they do their spiel. Could save our lives.

Entering the 21st century

I am convinced that Facebook is a conspiracy to prevent me from doing my genealogy.


Even Larry has joined.


This is too much.


Should I give the cat her own page?

Tentative smile....

With friends like you guys, how can I stay mad?!

I felt like this:

but now I feel like this:

and aiming for this:

Good night...

Mad

I woke up this morning after a bad dream and now I am mad. I woke up mad and am still mad. Grrr.....

Warning.

This is a grumpy post.

The orthodontist put some new kind of torture braces in my mouth and I was BLEEDING. So I took my wire cutters to try and trim the stupid things and messed them up. So now they are worse than before and I'll have to go in Monday and confess. 

Everyone is annoying me just being in the house.

My feet are cold.

My lesson for tomorrow isn't quite finished yet.

All I want to do is read all day and be left alone!  THAT ain't gonna happen. 

I'll be better soon. 

Somebody send me a joke.

The first week of 2009

1/1 - stayed home

1/2 - ran errands and went out for lunch with Larry

1/3 - went to a lovely wedding reception

1/4 - church and visiting teaching

1/5 - that's today, I'm getting a haircut, and on call for RC

Is this the most boring entry ever? I COULD take a picture of my hair but it would scare the pants off you.

In the midst of all this I'm taking down the Christmas stuff, preparing my Gospel Doctrine lesson and trying to figure out if I'm going to cancel the shoulder surgery. It doesn't hurt anymore. Go figure.

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.