Thanksgiving Day

Because crowds and noise are so hard on my mom, we had to skip the big Linford Thanksgiving gathering this year. Instead, we had just our little family and my parents. It's nice my parents are so close because I run and get them right before we're ready to eat, then I run them home as soon as they have finished eating. It's a great system. They love to see everyone, but that's about as much time in the group they can tolerate.

I'm so thankful for my family. We missed Debby and Randy and Madeleine and Diane and Jonathan this year. It's not the same without them.

Elizabeth and her dancing olives.

Rachel and her talented olives. The most fun part of their meal.

We actually had a kid table this year. Austin and Matthew. 

My parents. Don't they look great?

Ray: master chef, and love of my life.  I am ever so thankful for him.

Bruce and Beth. Beth is Ray's right hand chef in the kitchen.

Carolyn and Emily Urban, Ray O's friends.

Ray, Carolyn, and Emily

Joseph and Audrey

Rachel

Austin

Rachel and Elizabeth. Can you tell they are both full of the dickens?

Elizabeth

Matthew

The Utah Human Race

I have so much to blog about, and haven't had any time. That's been the story of my life this year.

Beth, Audrey and I were up bright and early Thanksgiving morning. Beth ran in her first 5k. Audrey and I took her over to the course to drop her off, and take some pictures. Bruce came later with the kids so they could watch her cross the finish line. It was cold! The day before had been about 60 degrees, but Thanksgiving morning it was in the low 40's. We should have dressed a little more warmly.

There were about 5100 participants, and over $125,000 was raised for Utah Food Bank. The race is held in Draper, and has been going on for at least seven years. I know this because Ray's brother and his family run/walk in it every year.

We took a ton of pictures, and even though it seems as though they must all be here, this is just a small portion of the photos.

Beth walking toward her staging area.

Waiting for the start.

Coming in to the finish line.

I don't know these people, but it was so tender to see this man pushing this woman (friend, wife, relative, daughter?).
I want to know their story.

My friends Barb and Rebecca.

These guys were a kick. They all ran, and some of them were pretty fast. The news cameras couldn't get enough of them.

I looked in the crowd that was ready to take off, and there was my nephew Jonathan. So fun to see him.

Jonathan

Beth (post race) and Audrey

Beth's family here to cheer her on. Bruce, Andrew, Rachel, Beth

Beth and her sister-in-law, Stephanie. They both did the 5k.

Audrey with Rachel and Andrew.

The David Linford family. 7th year running. This year all but his two youngest ran. Jonathan didn't make it in this group picture.The girls left to right: Joanne, Nancy, Sarah, Eden, Marguerite, and Lizzie. And David in the back.

Diane, the amateur photographer.

Audrey, the better photographer, with only a phone camera.

Diane and Audrey. We had so much fun, even though we were so cold.

We got caught up in all the excitement and plan on running this race next year. Even Ray my husband said he'd do it. We'll see about that. Check in next Thanksgiving and see how we do. Better yet, come join us.

November Report

Eleven months have gone by already this year. In some ways it has flown by and in other ways I can hardly remember yesterday, let alone the beginning of the month, or year for that matter.

Here is how I fared in November:

1. First things first: This is going to have to be a life-long goal, and I just know I'm going to have to consciously keep myself on track. I do so much better when I eat well, exercise, and take care of my spiritual side. Everything else seems to work more smoothly when I am good at keeping these things at the top of my priorities. I need to make my actions prove my words in this arena. I do okay at this, but can always improve.
2. One shelf/drawer per day: Wow. I thought I would easily get through my whole house if I kept up on this goal. Maybe if I'd been a little more consistent, I would have. I guess I still have one month to go. This month I did quite a bit, and tackled the master bathroom, which has a large closet. It's looking so much better!
3. 30-30-30: Still love it, when I do it. Some days don't lend themselves for it. I am so much more efficient with that timer going.
4. Skype/webcam: Still not Skyping, but FaceTime on my phone and iPad do the trick for me. I get so much fun time with my grandchildren who are not close. In this month of giving thanks, I am particularly thankful for technology, which allows me to see my family no matter where we are.
5. Digital Photo Storage: Guess what one of my goals for 2013 is. That's right, applying the knowledge I've gathered this year to actually label all my pictures. I can sense already that it will indeed be at least a year long goal. But it's so fun to look at all those pictures while I'm labeling them.

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck

I read this book a few years ago, and loved it. I loved it again this time.

Richard Peck can certainly paint a delightful picture with words. It's well deserving of the Newbery Honor Award that it earned.

Joey and his sister Mary Alice spend a week each summer with their grandma who lived just this side of nowhere, which was a big change from Chicago, where they lived. Each chapter is about one visit and the book spans from 1929 to 1935, with an epilogue from 1942.

The language is clear and concise. The stories are witty and yet have depth. Peck is subtle as he tells his tale.

I highly recommend it.

Newbery Honor Book 1999

Breaking Dawn part 2

I must admit, I went to see this movie purely for social reasons. I enjoyed the books, but hated the first movie. I couldn't get past the bad hair and make-up. This is the only Twilight movie I've seen since.

I liked the movie. Hair and make-up were much improved, as was most of the acting. Kristen Stewart (Bella) and Robert Pattinson (Edward) never looked happy. Here they are with their dream come true--together forever--and not a decent smile out of either of them.

The movie was much better than I expected, but I had such low expectations that that wasn't much of a challenge.

Skyfall

I just love a good James Bond movie, and that's what this was. All the action you could ever want, a few pretty girls thrown in, a decent plot, and of course, Daniel Craig. Add the Imax factor, and I was in heaven.

Jubilee Trail by Gwen Bristow

I remember the first time I read this book. I can see clearly in my memory our small local library in Port Hueneme, CA: the stacks to the left were the adult fiction. My mother led me over to the far wall and browsed until she found this book. She pulled it off the top shelf and said, "I think this is a book you will like." She was right. I liked it so much I read it over and over. My sister read it over and over.

Fast forward several years. The book is now out of print. My mother hunted down a copy for both me and my sister in a used book store in Kirkland, Washington. It was a Christmas gift, and I think she had to pay a pretty penny for those books.

Last Christmas Audrey asked for a Gwen Bristow book. I began searching my usual used book websites. Lo and behold, there it was, new. They have a new printing of several of Bristow's books (by the way, I've loved every book of hers I've ever read). I bought each book they've reprinted. Now I can loan out this copy, and keep the copy my mom gave me safe and sound. My only criticism of the new printing is that it looks like they had a contest to find the ugliest cover ever, and that is the one they put on the book. Do not judge this book by its cover!

This is a fun romantic historical novel. Garnet Cameron is raised in the privileged part of New York city. The book begins in 1840. Garnet meets Oliver Hale, a trader who has come to New York from California. They marry, and Garnet leaves New York to travel to California with her new husband. There is a lot of California history in the book, and I loved that when I first read the book, living in California as I did. Many adventures and mis-adventures occur. I'll leave it at that.

I loved reading it once again.

In the Woods by Tana French

I keep going back and forth about how I feel about this book. It's a mystery, and we all know how much I love a mystery novel. But this one is intense, and somewhat dark. It's not a light, fluffy mystery novel (aka book candy).

The story was good. In fact I think Tana French did an excellent job fleshing the book out with a good back story and character relationships. It's about the murder of a 12 year old girl just outside of Dublin, but the deeper side of the book is about the police detectives who are assigned to the case. The murder is solved, but some of the other pieces of the story are sort of left hanging--but that's sort of fitting. It's not all wrapped up and tied with a bow.

The big negative of this book is language. The f-bomb is distracting. In fact several times I almost stopped reading the book because of it. I guess it shows there's enough to the story that it kept me reading in spite of that fact. But I'm still waffling just the tiniest bit on whether I should have kept going, or stopped. I guess that shows something too.