So I was tagged

RULES: Answer the questions using only one word. Then tag four other people. Maybe you'll learn something new and with one word answers it will be short.

1. Where is your cell phone? recharging
2. Your significant other?married
3. Your hair? thinning
4. Your mother? heaven
5. Your father? heaven
6. Your favorite thing?postcards
7. Your dream last night? spacious house
8. Your favorite drink? water
9. Your dream/goal?skinny
10. The room you’re in? computer
11. Your hobby? crocheting
12. Your fear? Dark
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Mission (maybe sooner)
14. What you’re not? charitable-(but still trying to achieve that)
15. Muffins? chocolate
16. One of your wish list items? travel
17. Where you grew up? Iowa
18. The last thing you did? email
19. What are you wearing? sweats
20. Favorite gadget? Sonicare
21. Your pets? geckos
22. Your computer? Occupied
23. Your mood? tired
24. Missing someone? Mainland kids
25. Your car? Outside (because Amber's stuff fills the garage)
26. Something you’re not wearing?hat
27. Favorite store? Walmart (sorry Ben)
28. Like someone? everybody
29. Your favorite color? aqua-marine
30. When is the last time you laughed? reading
31. Last time you cried? movies

So, I tag my sisters: Vicky, Harmony, Melody, Angie

WOW, what a summer!

Gosh, it's been too long. I've forgotten how to do this blogging stuff. Anyway, we are back in Hawaii after a fabulous month and a half in the Mainland. We saw all of our children and their families and our siblings and folks. Our travels included Utah, Idaho, and California. I celebrated a great birthday although so many candles nearly burned down the house (see picture). Timothy and Amber created these "cows in the pasture" birthday cake by standing loaf angel food cakes on their sides in a platter of coconut colored green for grass. The coloring on the cows was melted chocolate chips, mixed with peanut butter. The eyes were blueberries with horizontally sliced strawberries for the mooing lips.

We saw so many fireworks this year at Timothy's neighborhood and those at Disneyland just went on and on. My favorite, new for me, ride at Disneyland was the Indiana Jones one that I had never ridden before. Of course "Pirates of the Caribbean" and and the Haunted House are old favorites. Ben's lawyer-magician friend got us into the Magic Castle in Hollywood for a fun evening of astonishing magic. Other highlights included a family reunion in Idaho and at Bear Lake with my sisters. Greatly missed was Harmony who did not come up from Texas this year. We had lots of fun activities with Timothy and Kristin in Utah and Peter and Eileen went with us to California to see Ben and Rebekah. Sandi and Amber celebrated their anniversary while we were in Utah and were able to attend a session at the Salt Lake Temple while I strolled around with their two children in the Visitor Centers.


Back at home now in Hawaii, the vacation memories will hopefully not fade. The complications are piling up at home. Sandi and Amber, Topaz and Emerald are living with us in our small two bedroom town house. Sandi was unable to get an early renewal to his green card so that he could ship out with the Army on Aug 20, so after much hassle, the Army has changed his ship out date to Jan. 14. Meanwhile that leaves him unemployed and them homeless. They have found an apartment (brand new) in Hau'ula that they hope to rent but with what for money. When it rains it pours so they say, thus not only are they unemployed and homeless but Hawaii Quest insurance canceled their coverage in July because they said they couldn't find their correct address. Obviously the caseworker was a little behind on her updates, but now they have to get that straightened out too. We shall see how it all works out in the next couple of weeks. Let this be a lesson to everyone to make sure the tithing check is paid before the vacation, not after, as those windows of heaven can stay tightly shut.

Getaway to Zurmatt's in Midway, Utah

My sister Melody won a two night stay at Zurmatt's Spa and Resort for four people to share. She, Vicky, I and our step mother Judy spent the time on the 25th and 26th of July. It was such a luxurious place all done in the Swiss style of the whole community. We swam in the pool with a waterfall into the hot jucuzzi, rode the carousel (twice), had gelattos at the bakery and played golf on the putting greens, and had sumptious meals at both Matty's Bistro and Schneitter's Sunday Breakfast Brunch. A very expensive place but worth every penny. Relaxing in the health and meditation rooms, sweating in the steam room ,and working out in the gym were all fun and rejuvenating. We stayed up past midnight and the coupon included pizza to eat while we played games. We also enjoyed two other activities while staying there. On Friday we rode the Heber Creeper Hay Train. That included the train ride with a barbeque dinner on board. Then we stopped at a small makeshift ranch where two Amish horses were used to pull the hay wagon around the area. Here we also had peach and blueberry cobbler for dessert and listened to Cowboy poetry. Back on the train, we returned to the train station. On Saturday my sisters and I toured three open houses in Midway looking at the architecture and furnishing of the homes ranging from 450,000 to 1.3 million dollars. After such a perfect relaxation you would think we had everything under control, but coming home we took the wrong highway and drove 50 miles in the wrong direction. No crossroads were available to fix the situation so we had to drive all the way back to Heber and get on 189 to get to Orem/Provo where we stopped by Mom and Dad's grave before touring Timothy and Krisitin's house where me parted ways until the family reunion at the end of this week. Such a fun vacation deserves a repeat next year if we can find a place we can afford without having to win it.

The birthday girl

Wow, what a party today has been. Today I turn 59. Timothy and Kristin and Amber and Sandi paid for lunch at Tucanos Brazilian restaurant where we had so many things to eat I'm stuffed. The waiters played their Brazilian drums and made me stand up while they sang. I was supposed to dance while they sang , but afterall I was holding Topaz and it was a little embarrassing in the crowded room. Then we polayed arcade games at Trafalga and right now Timothy and Amber are upstairs creating some birthday cake masterpiece surprise (while Sandi copped out of the festivities and went to see Batman's Dark Knight movie by himself at Scera theater)
The presents have been phenomenal too, including a new phone, books, candy, charm bracelets, foil scraper art, and lots of fun stuff. Thanks everybody, it has been a great day, even if I am getting old.

A Diabetic on Vacation

Here we are in Orem, Utah staying with mom-in-law and visiting Timothy and Kristin. So far it has been non stop partying with Krisitin's birthday on Saturday and Joseph's on Sunday. Still celebrating today we went to the India Palace for a sumptious lunch. My favorite was the Korman chicken over rice. Is my life punctuated with food? Most definitely. That's how I became diabetic in the first place.
Just a week before leaving for this trip I had to start on insulin. I use those fancy pen-like needles with the insulin already in them and dial in the amount to shoot in. It couldn't be made easier but who wants to do that anyway? My problem is that sugary foods call to me, especially when I am celebrating but also when I'm too tired to care.
Will I ever get this run away blood sugar under control or will I stay in denial and end up blind with kidney failure, or as an amputee. Of course I know the risks on an intellectual level, but my behavior is still delinquent.

Name's Origin

I intend Moo's News to help keep my family and other interested friends up to date on my family, so you will find links helpful and stories interesting (I hope). Many years ago my son, then in kindergarten was trying to write the word mom on his paper at school and misspelled it as Moo. He thought it was hilarious and began calling me Moo henceforth and forever. I didn't appreciate it at first but after about four years decided if you can't change the habit you might as well join it. I began to collect cows and have gone by Moo or Mooer ever since.