Hot Flashes...No More.......

There are many introductions I am extremely grateful for. Each for a different reason.

• I'm grateful my cousin introduced me to Pralines and Cream Ice Cream at Baskin Robbins.
• I'm grateful for the individuals that introduced my wonderful husband and I.

But.....

• Right now I'm extremely grateful to my dear friend Minda who has introduced me to Arbonne Essentials Phyto Relief! What a LIFESAVER!!

It says that it is a light, greaseless, botanically based cream that's conveniently packaged with an easy, pre-metered pump.

All I know is that when I use it, I DON'T HAVE HOT FLASHES!! If I forget for a couple of days the hot flashes are back. Laurence is grateful to Minda as well. I no longer throw all the covers on him and then take all of mine and his as well back later.

I told Minda about my misery and she immediately send me two bottles of the cream. What a sweetheart!! I told her I'm in love all over again! I'm not sure which I love more, her for sharing it or the cream for doing it's job!

Yeah Minda! Yeah Cream!

Yeah Me!!

The Mr. comes to visit

In January I put on a picture of Mrs. Downey Woodpecker. I keep forgetting to take a picture of Mr...
Here he is. So pretty. Love the little red on his head. He just sat there letting me get closer and closer, finally he flew away when I was about 6 feet away from him. Guess that suet is just too alluring!!

Stepping Back in Time (or Catching Up)

 We were in Utah a couple of weeks ago. I am just now getting these pictures posted. This is of a day I went to downtown Salt Lake to have lunch with a dear friend from high school, Virlene Norton Hirschi. We had lunch at The Garden, a restaurant in the top of the Joseph Smith Building. The Joseph Smith Building used to be Hotel Utah, and has been remodeled into a fantastic building with restaurants, a small family history library, a beautiful lobby, etc. Lunch was so delightful that I forgot to take any pictures. These are the pictures I took earlier that day.


The Salt Lake Temple, this picture was taken from the window of
The Garden Restaurant.



This picture of the Salt Lake Temple was also taken from The Garden, just a different window.
There are some bridal parties on the sidewalk in front of the temple taking wedding pictures. This is where Laurence and I were married 24 1/2 years ago.

 

Another angle on the Salt Lake Temple. This is taken from the Observation Deck of the LDS Church office building. They do great tours there!



This miniature replication of the Salt Lake Temple is in the South Visitor's Center on Temple Square.
It was made by a company out of Toronto. It is amazing to look at. This was my first time to see it.



While I was there the gardens and gardeners were so busy! I know it will be OUTSTANDING the first weekend of April for General Conference. When I was 21, preparing to go on my mission to Ireland I met with the head gardener for the church; Peter Lassig. He invited me to work with him when I returned from my mission. I didn't ever take him up on that. It surely would have been an amazing experience.



 During the summer they do tours of the gardens on temple square and the area. I surely would like to go on one of those sometime!


The Utah State Capitol, this is also taken from the obseration deck of the
Church Office Building

The Wasatch Mountains from the Church Office Building.

Be Prepared or End Up at the Super Dome!

"You may need to survive on your own after an emergency. This means having your own food, water, and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least three days. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours, or it might take days. In addition, basic services such as electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment, and telephones may be cut off for days, or even a week or longer."

Thursday I did a presentation on 72-Hour kits at our church. Because I had EVERYTHING out, I decided it was a great time to update instead of waiting until the first of April like I was planning.




Here is a list of just a few of the things we try to have....

• 1 gallon of water per person per day
• 3 day supply of food per person
• Changes of clothing for all
• Blankets
• Rain Coat
• Flashlight (we have several, so that you crank, some headlight etc.)
• Batteries
• Lighter
• Water-proof matches
• Can opener (I have a GI one in each bag!)
• Shovel
• Duct Tape
• Rope
• Leatherman tool
• First Aid Kit
• Toiletries
• Prescription Meds
• Personal documentation
• Legal documents (Copies)
• Cash (make sure there are no denominations over $20.)
• A light weight toilet lid that fits on a 4-5 gallon bucket along with the appropriate liner!
• N95 Breathing Mask
• Light Sticks
• Radio
• Gloves
• Whistle
• Medications
• Emergency Contact Phone list
• Equipment for purifying water

You can put together your own kit, or buy one. Frequently Costco has nice ones or Emergency Essentials online has them. I prefer to do my own so I have what I want in it.
We keep ours in the closet next to the front door. Today I decided I need to do one more thing. I'm going to make a list of the things we would like to take in case we have more time and can take a vehicle. I will put the item list and location on the inside of the closet door. I could get a lot of things in 10 minutes if I had a list to go from.


So now my question for you. Are you prepared? Or would you end up at the Super Dome? What other things would you suggest?  (Although my posted list is by no means even my own complete one I look forward to input from everyone!!).


Don't forget to update it every 6 months!! Especially the food and children's clothes. It won't be good if your teenager pulls out a 6T set of clothes!!

There are some really great sites for these with much more information than I have shared here.
http://www.redcross.org/www-files/Documents/Preparing/EmergencyPreparednessShoppingList.pdf

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/fdsk.pdf

http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/index.html (this also has insights for Military families)

http://bereadyutah.gov/family/get-a-kit.html

http://bereadyutah.gov/family/documents/72-hourchecklistpdf.pdf

Another Incredible Meal.....

Last night for dinner I called my cousins daughter Tracy to find out the name of a restaurant they take Viv and Dave to when they're in town. It was the Tepanyaki. We went to the one in downtown Salt Lake. The Tepanyaki is a Japanese restaurant where they prepare the food right at your table. They really put on quite a show.

Aisling catching shrimp tossed to her by spatula...

Laurence was tossed several shrimp also. He didn't do nearly so well as Aisling....

A wonderful meal like that calls for a fantastic dessert!!

Oh how I LOVE Baskies...... I was first introduced to Baskin Robbins in the 70's when I was living with Viv and Dave...

Some things never change.... I've shared my love for Pralines and Cream with Aisling.

Laurence always goes for the fruity varieties....

What a fun night....

Good thing there are no Baskin Robbins in Colstrip!! :)

I Came I Saw I Conquered!!

Today I went for a little drive in downtown Salt Lake. I LOVE to see the old homes in the avenues!! Reminiscent of times gone by. I decided to head up to City Creek Canyon. When I got there I decided to keep on going, driving up the hill behind the capitol building. I found myself at the entrance to Ensign Peak Nature Park, with a little path leading up to Ensign Peak.



I had never been there, so decided to take advantage of the opportunity for a little walk.
A little walk? Yes... Easy for someone out of shape.... Not so much.



I MADE IT!!
I truly am proud of myself.
At this time of year, the well kept trail is extremely muddy and although it is only .86 miles round trip it is an increase in elevation of 380 feet. The Peak Elevation is 5417 ft.

After the Pioneers  had been in the Salt Lake Valley 2 days, Brigham Young and several others climbed to the top which he named "Ensign Peak,". They used the view from the summit to visually explore and lay out the entire valley.  

This is looking south if you look closely to the left of the Capitol building you can see the Salt Lake Temple and the Tabernacle.



Looking to the west, you see a part of the Great Salt Lake and what I believe is Antelope Island. If it isn't, please let me know what it is.

To the east are the majestic mountains and "the greatest snow on earth".
Salt Lake is one of the few cities with mountains so close.
I love it and loved the afternoon.