Old Tried and True Friends

Throughout my life I have been blessed with some true friends. You know the kind: The ones you have fun with, cry with and just think will always be there and then you loose track of each other. But when you find each other again, it's just like no time has passed at all.

This week I heard from 2 of those old friends which made my week really sweet. The first person I heard from was Janet Howes, I met Janet in about 1978. I always admired her for having so many kids and still keeping it all together. Her kids grew up with my kids and were best friends for many years. We left Torrance within a month of each other. She moved to Las Vegas and I never knew it until one day I went to call her and the phone was dead. UGH. Until she called me I had no way of getting in touch with her and I'm sure glad she did.

The other friend is really "My Best Friend" for life. I have known Jenny Leticia Arellano De La Torre Fernandez for 54 years. That's right I met her when I was 4 years old. She knew me through all the crazy stages a kid goes through. She also experienced the verbal abuse Gloria was so good at handing out and through it all Jenny loved me. We've seen each other Fat and skinny. We were at each other's weddings. I was the only white girl in hers and she was the only Mexican in mine. What a team we were. She used to protect me against the black girls that always tried to gang up on me. She tried to make me stop cussing, which I know have, but I didn't then and she used to punch me in the arm each time I said a bad word. Anyway, she found me on Face book and I'm so glad she did. She had 3 of the sweetest kids you would ever want to know, I hope they still are. We are going to get together in a few weeks and have lunch and I'm looking forward to it.

My Work

I just got home from a wonderful experience in Salt Lake. I was invited to go with Beth to a "Directors Meeting" which was for the 15 largest family history Centers in the world, which we rank about 14th or 15th in size. Needless to say it was a humbling experience. We learned a lot and were given a bunch of mandates to accomplish before the end of the year.

I'm not really supposed to say much, but 2 things did stand out to me. 1) Everyone will start being able to order films online from their homes using a credit or debit card. This is hugh change for the Family History Centers. 2) We will soon have all our in house films and books listed in the Family History Library Catalog for everyone anywhere to access. Before this can be done, there has to be alot of behind the scenes work done and even before Beth gets back, I have started the ball rolling.

I finished with one client and back onto the other one. Busy, Busy, and sad, I still have to do the laundry and put clothes away, clean the toilets and cook some. I guess bring home a paycheck is not all it's cracked up to be.

Dinner with the Smith's and Eliasons

A month ago or so, we had a Ward Auction to help out the youth for their camps and things. Larry auctioned off a "Rober Favorite: Dinner for 4". Clay and Lynn Smith won it in the auction, so they came to dinner last night and brought Steve and Deb Eliason with them.

They are such good friends and such good company. The food was delicious and I made a new, killer dessert! I made a batch of my own Chocolate Chip Cookies, but I flattened them down before I cooked them. Then I took softened vanilla Ice cream and made 'chip wiches'. They were better than any I have ever had!!!! That is a new favorite dessert around here.

The menu also consisted of Marinated Flank Steak, Yummy Mashed Potatoes with chives and Caesar Salad. It was a very good dinner, even if I made some of it.

No Photo's- Boring Post

This weekend was the Southern California Jamboree. It's the biggest genealogy conference we have in California. It ran from Friday to Sunday. I drove out on Friday AM and home Friday PM so that Larry could take me out on a special date. It was a surprise so I didn't know until we went out that he had tickets to "The Lion King" at the Orange County Performing Arts Pavillion. We went to dinner before hand too. It was a lovely evening. Then as I was preparing to drive back to Burbank to spend the night with my roomate, he followed me to the Gas Station and paid for an pumped my gas so I would have a safe ride back. That was sweet. That is how Larry shows his love for me by 'doing the little things'. I'm starting to understand that just now. I drove back to Burbank, and woke up this moring to a full day of smoozing and networking and helping out. Then we had our So. Cal Chapter of APG meeting, where we picked up 5 new people. Then we went out to dinner and I had the best Filet mingon I ever had. Then I drove back home again. So, here I am Saturday night sleeping in my own bed. Life is good.

My Treasure

I have been working really hard the last few days and I had no energy to do it, I have been taking up to two naps a day for several days. But today, I woke up refreshed and what a different that makes. I took a nice long walk, ate well, drake water, planted petunias in our front flower planter, weeded the garden and ran the dishwasher, now I am washing clothes. But while I was eating my lunch today, I look over into the Dining room at my beautiful grandchilren, being raised in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and started crying with joy. They are all so good looking, not one of them is ugly. Imagine that. Anyway, I just wanted to pay tribute to my posterity, God Bless them all!