Happy Halloween

Just a quick picture of my youngest boys! How sad that Colby and Parker are not allowed to dress up for school anymore. Lewis and Clark were very happy to let Reed and I get them all dressed up this morning and they are strutting around the house like real toughies!

Have a great day!

Whoopie Pies

Hearth Kit by Shalae Tippets, Decorative Swirls-Grunged by Lori Cook (Scrap Girls)

I have a deep and enduring love for Whoopie Pies. If you have never had a Whoopie Pie in New England (especially in Maine. . .) then, you have never really had a Whoopie Pie. Yes, there are many recipes floating around and many "similar" items, but there is something magical about these individually wrapped culinary marvels that are available at any gas station/convienience store worth it's salt throughout my home state. The first whiff of chocolate when you tear through the cellophane barrier heightens the senses, but that first bite. . . ooh. . . the fluffy but moist chocolate cake with the creamy, sweet filling. . . let's just say that it is nearly a religious experience.


My sweet husband was in Maine two weeks ago for his Mother's funeral and I almost asked him to bring me back a Whoopie Pie, but these are not items tht travel well in a carry-on bag. As soon as it came, the thought was forgotten. Until Monday. On Monday Ed walked through the door with two boxes bearing "WhoopiePies.com" and a simple drawing of a Whoopie Pie. Immediately my heart began to race. I grabbed one out of the nearly empty top box (he had shared with his friends at work!) and tore open the cellophane. As I took my first bite of that confection, I was overwhelmed by my husband's thoughtfulness and homesickness for that state that still remains "home" in my heart. The tears started to roll down my cheeks- much to Ed's surprise! I had to take the boys to Karate, so I gave Ed a big kiss and dashed out the door. I think Reed and Parker wondered what I was crying about all the way to American Fork, but they are pretty used to how weird their mom is, and just let it go.


So, I don't really know what my emotional attachment to Whoopie Pies is. . . I probably need some serious phychoanalysis because every time I even think about this event I cry all over again! What I know without a doubt is that WhoopiePies.com has just scored a regular customer!

True, New Friends

It was just about a year ago that I began to make a few random posts on the Scrap Girls Message Board, but it wasn’t until January that I became truly “active.” It was winter and I was bored, so I enjoyed playing the games and commenting on people’s layouts. Then, one fateful morning in February, I posted an invite to any Wasatch Front Scrap Girls to join me for lunch at a restaurant in the center of the Wasatch Front area. At that first luncheon there were only three of us in attendance, Anna, Joann, and I, but we had a wonderful time.

The WFSG Luncheons started being a “thing” and even the owner of ScrapGirls, Ro Paxman, began to join us! The “luncheon” pictured here was 4 ½ hours long!

Over the months our group has grown. We meet at least once a month and we love to meet traveling Scrap Girls who find themselves in Utah. What a lot of fun we have together. Once in a while we talk about scrapbooking, but our range of conversation is wide and diverse! Earlier in October many of us were gathered together at the Scrap Girls Convention in Salt Lake City. Wendee designed a logo and we had shirts printed.

Andrea, Peggy, Shalae, Alisa, Wendee, Sallie, DeDe, Kaye, Joann, Anna, Ro

Last night five of us had dinner at Red Robin and then went to see “Nights in Rodanthe.” We had fun with our waiter- a somewhat overwhelmed young man named Danny- and laughed ourselves silly. Then we went to the movie. I had no idea what I was getting into, but Richard Gere is eye candy in any movie! At the end of the move, all five of us were sitting there bawling! Joann started passing out the tissues! We hung around long enough for the theatre cleaning guy to show up and we had him take our picture.

DeDe, Kaye, Wendee, Joann, Alisa

Of course it was necessary for us to have a “pit stop” before heading home, so we had to take some more pictures in the bathroom mirror!

Alisa, Joann, Kaye, DeDe, Wendee

Little did I know 9 months ago how dear these “internet friends” would become to me! I count myself fortunate to have found these ladies that share my interests and ideals. I look forward to these outings and do everything within my power to attend. I wish everyone were so lucky to have friends like these!

A Floral Hug

Is there anything better than going to the door and being met with a big bouquet of flowers? I had that wonderful experience yesterday thanks to my good friend DeDe! I just love these spunky, fall-colored flowers! I smile everytime I look at them!

On to Better Things

Into each life a little rain must fall. My sweet mother-in-law , Barbara Collins, died during the night. Although she had diabetes and some other health problems, her death was sudden and quite unexpected. Just this week Ed had made arrangements to go visit his mom, but that was not to be. He is on his way to Maine right now to be with his sisters during this difficult time.
Barbara was a great lady. She had a beautiful soprano voice and loved to have all her children (including me!) sing with her. No matter what the conversation was about, Mom would start singing the lyrics of some song that pertained to the theme at hand! I really don’t know how she knew so many songs, but it was an endearing quality!
My mother-in-law was an adventurer. She trained as a nurse in the 1950’s and after graduation she and one of her friends traveled across the country from Maine to California by bus. By the time they got to California they were broke. . . and so dirty that they had to go to a YWCA to clean up before they went to the hospital there to see about getting jobs! They were hired immediately. After a summer of working, they returned to Maine to settle down and be responsible young women. Oh, but what fun they must have had!
Barbara loved to play cards. This was the social activity that she had with her friends. I don’t know what games they played, although I think they probably had quite a repertoire! I always loved hearing about the outings with the “Jolly Cards.” What a riot! Apparently Barbara had just played cards with her friends the day before her death. As Ed loves to say (which he learned from his mother), “She died with money in her pocket and plans for the weekend.”
Whenever we were home, we enjoyed going out to eat with mom and Judy. It didn’t really matter where we went after the Pilot’s Grill closed, but we always had fun. We would enjoy the meal and sometimes a little dessert. As we were all sitting there stuffed to the gills, Mom would invariably say, “Well, that was good. What’s next?” I think she would have the same attitude about her life.

A Truly Wonderful Day

It is truly my philosophy that life should be enjoyable. Granted,fun doesn't happen every single day, but we need to make fun when we can and build happy memories. Today was one of those happy days when fun flows!

I am in Salt lake City with my good friend Leisa Tucker at the Scrap Girls Digital Scrapbooking Convention. Leisa and I have been good friends (more like sisters!) for almost 20 years, so any chance to be together for a few days is a celebration. When that is combined with my favorite hobby, my newer Wasatch Front Scrap Girls friends, and a great conference atmoshphere, what results is truly uncommon!

Today was Leisa's birthday. I won't tell you which one, but hey, we are definitely middle aged! The day began with an air guitar solo (by yours truly) to wake her up, posters in the conference hall and hotel to announce the event, and the wearing of the amazing purple caftans to put us in a celebratory mood. Although that would have made for a great day alone, we had the opportunity to go on a field trip to Gardner Village during the Witchapalooza celebration. Shopping, girlfriends, and costumes? Can it get any better?????