Nancy's journey

It's all about greed!

2011-02-21T08:32:00.002-07:00

I am appalled at the NFL talks. Who do these guys think they are? They make entirely too much money, and that includes NBA and MLB players as well. They play a game. Just a game. Their skill at this game does nothing to improve humanity. Instead it creates the opportunity for many of these idiots to get away with acts which the rest of us would never have the chance of escaping punishment. The average salary for a teacher, engineer or scientist is minimal in comparison and the impact on the community is immeasurable. These athletes are greedy, narcisistic, immoral and have no redeeming factors other than the fact that they can play a game. I admit there are a few of them who have shown themselves to be above the others, however they are in the majority. I just read of a player for the Vikings who blew $100k on a party! How many children who are starving and freezing in Minnesota could have been fed and clothes by that money? I like football as much as the next person but this situation with overpaid athletes is intolerable and until we, the individual fan, quit paying the prices for tickets this will not stop. These people are NOT heros!!!

It's cold out there!

2011-02-03T19:12:00.005-07:00

The Tucson area is being hit with a really bad cold spell. People have no gas, water pipes have burst, vegetation in this area is not prepared for this kind of cold and Tucson Medical Center where Chuck works has had several major problems today. It's 7:15pm and he doesn't expect to be home for at least another three hours! I thank God that our heater works and the water is running. This morning when I was getting coffee I looked at the weather station readout and the air temp was 16 degrees with a wind chill of -02. Wow!!! Chuck had to break the ice on the pond. Mocha and Sasha were very disinclined to venture outside to do their business. I'm going to settle down with a couple of good chick flicks and wait for my honey. Hope everyone stays warm. -N

Catching up

2011-01-30T15:29:00.007-07:00

Things pass quickly and before you know it nearly a year is gone. We have been busy, but happy. Aaron and Chelsea stopped in on their way to Oklahoma. It was so fun to hang out and be silly, we missed Melissa though. Chuck "celebreated" 31 years with Tucson Medical Center in August. He's one of the old guard, staying at a job forever. People don't do that anymore. We spent Labor Day in Greer AZ using the cabin of my work friend Beatrice. It is beautiful and was the perfect size for the two of us. We were able to stay for five days which was perfect. The only glitch was having to have some seriou$ work done on the truck, but Show Low Ford was great to us. We started planning our big trip to Oklahoma for Christmas and that turned into a very fun time. We spent ten days there and it was really cold and perfect for me. Chuck and I walked alot, we brought lots of presents shared a very Merry Christmas. It was nice to see Aaron being the man and cutting the absolutely amazingly good turkey. He's a lucky man because Chelsea cooks a mean Christmas turkey. We had a very fun time with Melissa too and by the time we got back to Tucson the winter had showed up!! It snowed the morning she left! Check it out.

All in all we survived and enjoyed family and good food. After the holiday I managed to get the flu and have only just started to recover. But then again it will be 12 more years until I get it again.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(Holy crap it 2011, only one more year until the world comes to and end!!)

;-) -N

2010-06-12T18:40:00.007-07:00

Lots of craziness going on. Aaron and Chelsea came though on their way to Durant, OK. They are settling in and Aaron is already working!! Yay! Chelsea is interviewing so hope that comes through soon. Mom had her 80th birthday on May 24th and we surprised her with a party. It was so fun and she felt very special. She will be leaving on the 15th for her annual pilgrimage to Texas and will return on July 16th. While she's there Aaron and Chelsea hope to come down to Arlington to see her, they want to take her to see the new Dallas Cowboys stadium-I know she will love that. On the 20th I am going to Boston for a conference. Poor Chuck will be all alone with only Mocha and Sasha to care for him. I just hope he doesn't make too much of mess while I'm gone. Before I leave I have to settle with Pima County Courts and Diving School to take care of a speeding ticket I got on River Road. That's what happens when I go south of Ina Road. I hate going into town. If I have to go south of Ina I get pissed off. We are all very happy that the In 'n Out in Oro Valley finally opened. I have to stay away from it or I will weigh 500 lbs. I love their fries and milkshakes. Yum! Chuck cannot get on his farm on Farmville, consequently he got a lot of work done around the house today! Oh well.

Year end

2009-12-31T16:13:00.003-07:00

It's time to reflect and consider all of the things that happened in the last year. Here goes-It started off with a cruise on the Carnival Victory in the southern Caribbean which was wonderful and beautiful and one of the most relaxing vacations I have ever had. I heartily recommend it. February was fun with a big wedding shower here in Tucson for Aaron and Chelsea. So many friends and family who wouldn't be able to come to the wedding were here and blessed them with a wonderful array of gifts. We hosted Chuck's brother Rick and niece Tenney for a few days and that was so much fun. It was a great chance to reconnect and get to know them better. Melissa and Nick surprised mom with a visit here and that was the best. Mom was so surprised and happy. We also got to spend time with Mary, Rick, Steph and Kali which made it perfect. Chuck and I had a fun trip to San Carlos, Mexico for diving with some friends from church-strange weekend because it was punctuated with the deaths of Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Still we did some great dives. In October we traveled to Southern California for Aaron and Chelsea's wedding which was a wonderful treat. The whole experience was wonderful with lots of family on both sides in attendance. I think theirs is a good match. The newlyweds came to Tucson the week before Thanksgiving for an early holiday dinner. Early or not it was a great visit. Christmas was so fun with Melissa here for a week. My friend Jennifer Boone and her lovely family joined us for Christmas dinner, it's always fun to have the little ones around. Melissa, Trinity and I went to see "The Nutcracker" ballet and it was so fun to get dressed up and go to town!! So here I sit on New Year's Eve, champagne in the fridge and illegal fireworks in the closet. I consider that probably the worst thing to happen was Arizona getting destroyed in the Holiday Bowl. That is not important compared to the safety and health of my family and the blessing of salvation. To everyone I wish a blessed new year! Nancy

Things get really crazy sometimes

2009-07-31T20:49:00.002-07:00

We have so many things going on right now. Chuck has started a small remodeling on our house. He is taking out the wall between the dining room and family/TV room. This will make a really large area to gather, watch the Super Bowl and have have large family dinners. My sister paid me a nice compliment. She said that my house is the "family house" and she always feels comfortable there. She said it is the way she used to feel when we were visiting our grandparents house. That's prety cool and I know exactly the feeling she is describing. We are two months away from Aaron's wedding so the planning has ramped up. Work is getting really busy and the days have been very long. I'll survive. Hopefully the monsoon storms will come back-weather forcasts are indicating this. Chuck and I are trying to scale back our expenses so we can get some bills paid off, so lots of decisions to make. I will be hosting a baby shower for a work friend in September-planning is in full gear for that. Then after all that the holiday season is looming in the distance. Man I just stressed myself out!

Bad blogger

2009-07-04T10:03:00.002-07:00

I have been so bad about putting up anything. It has been a busy month. We had a very fun trip to Phoenix to surprise my sister Mary for her birthday. Number 50 on Jun 14th. She was truly surprise by us but the best surprise was that her son Nick who is in the navy surprised her all the way from Everett, Washington. That was the best. I remember when Aaron did that to me and I was so happy. It is sweet when your kids do something like that. Melissa was in on it and helped set Aaron it up. Stephanie helped her brother set this up. Family-gotta love 'em. We also went diving in San Carlos, Mexico with our friends from church, Ron and Erin Brink. We also made some new friends as well, Larry and Roxane Raley. It was so much fun and we were able to get five dives in over three days. The weather cooperated by giving great dive conditions. It was the best. And we had great food-fresh ocean fish. Mmmmm yum.

Things are okay

2009-05-19T21:46:00.003-07:00

We just got through with our small group tonight and it was so great. It is such a special thing when people are comfortable enough to really be candid. The sharing was so good and we helped each other with answers and guidance because our struggles are laid out for everyone to be a part of. I really needed the closeness and encouragement after my very busy day. God knows just what we need. This past Mother's day was special because my sister, Mary and her husband were visiting from Albuquerque-and they brought their granddaughter Kali. My mom was in heaven being with Kali. This picture is a very special one. Mom and Kali look so happy together so it made Mother's day that much better for mom.

I Like Science

2009-04-13T20:54:00.002-07:00

When I was young I always wanted one of those chemistry sets and asked for one all the time. I never ever got one. Now I work inside a chemistry set. It is very cool. My official title is Biological Technician and I will have my 3rd anniversary at Ventana Medical Systems May 15th. It is very challenging and educational. I never expected to be doing this. I work in a cell culture lab doing science. It's pretty cool. I'll try to get a picture to share of the lab. Have a great evening and remember that Jesus is Lord!

It's been a long time since we talked

2009-03-27T18:20:00.009-07:00

Here I am sitting and trying to think what I should tell you first. I guess a followup on the cruise was that it was beautiful, exciting, romantic and great fun. Diving was the best and here is my favorite picture.

It's me and Crush! We also saw trumpet fish, manta ray's, urchins, eels, lobsters and an amazing assortment of reef fish. Chuck is such a natural at diving and he gives me confidence. I would love to retire so I could dive every day.

We also had a great time at the Valentines Day Dinner that I was lucky enough to put together with some great help from Anna Ciurca and Denise Sullivan. Danny Dunning also helped tremendously with the music. We had a great turnout and everyone said they hoped it was an annual event! That is pretty cool. Here are some shots from that night.

These were my awesome servers and they did such a great job. They also made some good tip money which would probably encourage them to help out next year!!

Here is beautiful Anna bringing in her homemade tamales, which were the main course. They tasted great and were a huge hit. She and her husband also were busy putting up decorations.

We also had a shower for Aaron and Chelsea here in Catalina and the turnout was great. We had 35! A real house full for us. They were honored with a lot a wonderful gifts and a very special cake cooked by a dear friend Etta Benaglio, who was in the room when Aaron was born! The cake was butter pecan and lemon. Beautifully decorated and super tasty.

I love this picture of "the Girls". Lisa had already left or the picture would have been more complete. We were missing Lisa and Christina. I think you are pretty caught up. Hopefully I can stay more on top of this. Have a great spring and maybe next year Wildcats.

2009-01-31T20:00:00.001-07:00

This is one relaxed couple, sitting in the lounge, enjoying the guitar music. We really had a great time. I will have more pictures to come.

Sorry it's been a while

2009-01-29T18:00:00.003-07:00

Chuck and I had a great trip on our cruise and it has been crazy hectic since we returned. My mom just left for Texas to visit her brother and sister-in-law who are celebrating their 45th anniversary. My aunt Mary Louise has ALS and is not doing too well so mom wanted to see her. It is very sad and yet we are happy for them since all of their children and grandchildren will be there, along with brothers and sisters. As soon as I download pics I will get them posted. Thanks for being patient!

Puerto Rico

2009-01-17T06:29:00.003-07:00

Well, we arrived safely in San Juan and after a good nights sleep in our room at Hosteria Del Mar we are sitting in the small hotel cafe, drinking amazing coffee, waiting for our breakfast to come and looking at the ocean which is about 60 feet away!! The music is exotic and soothing and the air is thick with sea and humidity. It is probably 75 degrees but it is so comfortable and I feel very free. We are planning to go to Old San Juan for the all day fiesta and a visit to the Hard Rock Cafe and maybe the Bacardi Factory (tasting anyone). I'll be back in touch.

It's been a while

2009-01-15T18:02:00.002-07:00

I am waiting for Chuck to get home so we can pack for our trip to the southern Caribbean. I am so excited and it will be our first cruise. I hope it is as fun as I expect it to be. We will get to dive while we are there and hope to spend several days snorkeling on the beautiful islands we will visit. I just printed our boarding passes and now am trying to relax and get ready. Chuck called earlier and said "Guess what? I am on vacation!" I now exactly how he feels. We will be home on Sunday January 25th. I don't even want to think about coming home right now. I hope to have some wonderful photos and great memories to share. Pray for a safe journey for us.

Poor Chuckles

2009-01-05T15:55:00.006-07:00

My poor fella just got back from having surgery on his right knee. The knee was pretty worn out and required a bit extra work but he is home now and Mocha is taking very good care of him.

She was very concerned when he got home and wanted to make sure he was properly cared for. I think she feels that mom and I get in the way. What a silly puppy. He is doing okay now that the percocet has taken effect. Now is the time to get him to agree to a move to Hawaii!!! But seriously the doctor said he should have had this done years ago. (This is where I say I told you so, but I won't)

That dog really thinks she owns us. He better be ready for our cruise to Puerto Rico and The Virgin Islands a week from Friday. I would hate for him to have to stay at home ;-)

Happy New Year everyone.

Hooray for Hollywood!!!

2009-01-03T10:44:00.008-07:00

Yep, that's me and Denzel. Woo hoo! He is one of my favorites and I was silly that I found his block. I still have to find his star if he has one. I had so much fun with Chelsea in Hollywood. There were tons of people downtown, but the part that is so fun is the eccentric mix of crazies that walk around down there. And can you say "Cap'n Jack?" I found Johnny Depp! This was so much fun. What was so surprising was how small so many of the stars hands and feet were. My feet were huge compared to Judy Garland. John Wayne wore a mens size 9 !! Considering how tall he was I don't know how he got around. There was a block for all of the Harry Potter stars and it had the logo embedded in it very cool.

Hollywood Boulevard. It is sparkly, shiny, silly, crazy and a very fun place to walk around. It is fake in an expected way. People are bizarre but just what you would figure to see. I think the only place more weird would be Venice Beach. Maybe next time too. I want to go back and spend more time wandering. Maybe next October while we are there for Aaron and Chelsea's wedding.

2008-12-31T13:27:00.000-07:00

We made it home from California, it took us hours to get across from West Hills to Palm Springs. I think everyone who had come out there headed back with us. It was insane. We got home Sunday night around midnight. Yikes! Hard to get up for work the next day. But fortunately I only had a two day work week-sweeeeeet!! Some of the fun we had was going to Corbin Bowl on Ventura Blvd and doing karaoke. Chelsea and Aaron both sing incredibly well so I was extremely proud to hear them. Chelsea sang a song I had never heard before called "Gunpowder and Lead" and from the response of the crowd she nailed it. There were a table full of women who were there to "celebrate" either a breakup, divorce or something because everysong that was a militant female anthem was met with huge applause. However....when Aaron did the Michael Buble "Try A Little Tenderness" they were swaying along, enjoying his voice. Here are some pics from that night.This is Chelsea rocking the house. She did such a great job. Here is Aaron making them swoon. He sounded so great. Of course I have no bias in this at all. There was this guy there who sang the Journey song "Don't Stop Believing" and he was incredible. We all were so impressed. As soon as Chelsea sends me the pics I will show you my visit to Hollywood. Chelsea was the only one who would go with me! She will be a very good daughter-in-law, I can tell already.

the day after

2008-12-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying a mellow day after all of the festivities. Chuck and I, with our kids went out for breakfast to Weiler's. Yummy. We went over to Northridge Mall to a shop called C28. It is a very trendy Christian store. They were busy and incredible sales. They also have an online catalog. Aaron gets a lot of stuff there. We picked up a few things as well. Chuck is cutting down a dead tree in the back yard and I am watching Christmas Carol on TV. I think Melissa is napping and Chelsea and Aaron are picking up her gift from Aaron. He couldn't get it before today. Tonight is dinner at Boca Di Bepo. I love that place. I did hear from mom and she said it was snowing in Catalina. How wild and of course it happens when I am gone. I wanted to share a wonderful picture of my self with my dear friends. L-R Me, Mary Thierman, Rita Ward and Kristen Thierman. We were at Kristens for the annual ornament exchange. We always have a great time and lots of good food and laughter. I'm lucky to have such great friends.

A Very Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T16:58:00.000-07:00

It has been such fun to be with our kids in LA. Actually we are in the San Fernando Valley, in West Hills. We joined them at West Valley Christian Church for a beautiful Christmas Eve service in their new sanctuary. It was standing room only and the church building was beautifully decorated. We came back and had sandwiches for a later supper and watched "It's a Wonderful Life" on tv. It was a late night, but nice to be together. Chelsea's roommate, Erin (funny huh) came over and spent the night so Chuck and I were parents to four "kids". This morning we got up, opened presents (very fun) and then Melissa made buscuits and gravy for breakfast!!! Yummy. We have munched on snacks, candy and sweets for the afternoon. Played a fun game of Apples to Apples (you gotta try this one it is so fun, this from a game hater) and now I am making my lasagne for dinner. Probably more movies, munching and fun. I hope all of you are having an equally fun Christmas day. More to come and pics too!

Mom's courage

2008-12-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that my mom lives with us. It isn't always a picnic, but there are times when it is special. Yesterday mom had her first of two cataract surgeries. Her left eye was repaired, and she is doing pretty well. It is times like this that I see how much she is aging. So many people comment how young at heart she is and this is really true. But her body has decided to stop cooperating. She takes six meds a day, three in the morning and three at night. Yet...when I told her that Aaron would give up his bed for her if she wanted to join us on our trip to LA she declined. Her reasoning was that since she is still healing she wanted to be near home and her doctor should there be a problem. I know she would like to be in LA, but she knows that my sister, Lisa, would drop everything to help her. Also, Kris and Heather, as well as Josh are more than willing to be there for her. So... she is gonna go it on her own (with Mocha) and handle things herself. She sounds like me.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-22T19:29:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and a new year full of dreams come true.

I hope I can do this!

2008-12-22T16:11:00.000-07:00

I have always thought my friend, Denise Sullivan, was so creative and clever. So since I cannot create fantastic and inspiring art as she does, I figured I could do a personal blog. I'm getting ready to leave town to be with my kids for Christmas. It has become really hard for Aaron to come out here (thanks FedEx) so we will invade the house Melissa and Aaron share in West Hills CA. It's kinda nice that my kids are roommates. Makes it very easy for us. Their other roommate, Bethany, is gone so we can use her room-yay-private bath!!!. We will get there just in time to change and go to the Christmas Eve service at West Valley Christian Church. We have gotten pretty comfortable there since we have been out there so often. It is a wonderful church and the senior pastor, Glenn Kirby is terrific (he can sing really well too!) A second bonus is getting to spend the holiday with Aaron's fiance, Chelsea. She will find out how crazy our Christmas traditions are (bows anyone?) Pray for safe travels since it will probably rain on us the whole way.