Sunday Ramblings

Outside my window: The sun is shining and there's just a smithering of snow left. I'm glad the six inches we received Thursday night were gone by the time I got home from work. That's one nice thing about late winter storms. They don't last that long. I'm ready for spring.

I am listening to: Harmony Grove by Greg Maroney and Resta Con Me by Ludovico Einaudi. I love their music.

I am watching: Well, not right this moment, but I watched National Treasure 2 with Ed last night, while I worked on editing A Change of Plans.

I am thinking: I should probably go do my hair before church.

I am grateful for: So much. My husband, my children, grandchildren, other family members, friends, a good job, good people to work with. And of course my Savior.

I am reading: I just finished reading Fire Study (the third book in the Poison Study trilogy) but I need to focus on reading some of my books about writing. I'm going to start first on Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card. I read it a year ago, but I'm getting old enough I need lots of refreshers.

I am creating: Literature. I've really got to finish this rewrite of A Change of Plans, so I can get it to an editor for input. My mind is starting to ship back to my SciFi tale. I need to finish one thing before I start another or it makes me nuts.

I am hoping and praying: that Grampa Hanson's tentative knee surgery will go well, that my kids and grandkids are safe and well, and that Ed and I will survive until his birthday so he can retire. He had a wonderful break while we were in Hawaii, and his pain was manageable. Now that he's working again, he's paying for it.

On my iPod: I'm listening to The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson again -- and taking notes this time. I'm such a nerd.

Around the house: I am hoping Ed will finish the downstairs bathroom as I'm tired of showering with plastic draped around me. Ed got a spa tub to help with his arthritis (what kind of bad luck is it to get BOTH kinds?), and he decided he wanted to put tile around the shower. Plus, it's narrower than our old tub. Nothing like making me feel fatter than to have a smaller tub. O_o

From the kitchen: I cooked hamburgers last night. Aren't you proud of me? I don't cook much anymore. Ed prefers beef and I need chicken most of the time or they'll have to bury me in a piano case. So I usually compromise and have a bowl of cereal.

One of my favorite things: This is another one of those things I wish for more of. I have too many favorite things. I love talking and playing with my grandchildren. We haven't been able to see little Davey since we got back from Hawaii because his parents were sick. Maybe this week.

Something fun I did yesterday:  When I was at Costco I noticed there was a book signing scheduled for 1 p.m. and it was an author I met last week at the Life, Universe and Everything writing symposium at BYU. I tweeted about it and my VT companion Brenna, who is the cutest dang 18 year old, is a fan and said she wished she could go. I volunteered to drive her, and we got there early enough to chat. The author is Bree Despain and her books are The Dark Divine and The Lost Saint.

Plans for the week: I'm finally really flying through the edit/rewrite for A Change of Plans, and my goal is to have it done by the end of next weekend, since I have Friday off. *crosses fingers*

Well, that's what's up in my life. What're you doing?

I Hate It!

Man. Paul and Kelsey came over last night and the four of us when to PF Chang for dinner. But about an hour after we got back home, I started to feel terrible! Pains in my stomach with chills and waves of nausea. This is no reflection of PF Chang. I've heard there was a bug going around last weekend when I was at a writers conference and tons of people have come down with this.

My stomach was upset a bit at church Sunday, but I was okay until last night. Miserable night. I haven't hurt that bad since I was in labor.

Five Sets of Toes

When I was here last June, all us girls painted our toenails and took a picture of our feet. We're flying out this evening, and we couldn't pass up an opportunity to do it again--this time with baby Lucy.

More Travels and a Baby Blessing

On Friday and Saturday we hit the road again. It's been really rainy ever since Erin had the baby. The days were pretty nice before then, though it's actually sunny out today (had a nice rain storm earlier).

On Friday we hit the Kilauea Light House. This island is a bird sanctuary off the peninsula where the light house is located. The light house is currently being remodeled.

The white spots in the picture are birds called "Red-Footed Boobies".

Yes, you read the right. The sign below is proof:

On Saturday we went to the other side of the island and stopped at Kalihiwai Beach. The waves were pretty high compared to when Erin and the kids and I visited there last June. There were several surfers, though none of them were close enough to get a good picture.

We saw a parasurfer. There's been so much rain that they have what's called a "Brown Water Warning" meaning there's so much runoff that the water along the shore is full of unhealthy water. They recommend not swimming in it.

Since we were close to JoJo's, we had to stop by for some Shave Ice. Ooooo. It's been voted the best in the island for several years now for a reason.

Gotta loved the relaxed atmosphere around here. This is the hours open sign on JoJo's door. The place is literally a wood shack.

They had Lucy's baby blessing early (Erin wouldn't normally take her out among that many people, but she wanted Ed to be able to be in the circle. Spencer gave a lovely blessing.

We're currently watching old family movies, and it's amazing to see how much Lucy looks like Madelyn did at this age. The real question is if that will continue as Lucy gets older.

It's sad to think we're leaving tomorrow.

News from Lihu'e

Well, today Spencer begins a week of not being on call, and Erin's feeling better and up to getting out some. So after Sienna and Aidan went to school, we headed out for breakfast.

Banana Macadamia Nut Pancakes with Coconut Syrup.

Yum! And Mad was so cute!

Erin, Spencer, and Lucy

Then we went to the mall to find a diaper bag, and they had a little performance thingy going for the kids. This is of Mad and Spencer doing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes".

And here's little Lucy snoozing:

Holding Lucy

The kids are so crazy about little Lucy.

Playing Hide and Seek

When Sienna and Aidan came home from school today, Madelyn wanted to play outside on her bike while Sienna rode hers. So off we went.

And, of course Papa (also known as the Cookie Monster back at home) is always giving out goodies because he's always munching.

Then it was time to play hide and seek (Papa and I are too old for all that running around!). This is Madelyn hiding behind the tree. Umm ...

She's Here!

Lucy Aurelia was born at 1:17 a.m. on February 2, 2011. She weighed 7 lbs 7.2 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. Good healthy lungs. Both mom and baby are doing fine.

The above picture was taken not long after her birth.

The following picture was taken this morning (once she wasn't looking quite so battle weary) with her next oldest sister, Madelyn (who's now a big sister).