Grateful to be finished remodeling.

I started this project 7 weeks ago. I am sooooo grateful to be finished

Previous owners junk in the "craft room"

Previous owners "Noah's Ark" room

Starting the demolition of the craft room

Ready for guests-- walls really aren't this yellow and carpet is NOT pink

Ready for guests

Door to new storage area-- former craft room

New storage room

Grateful for paint rollers.

Noah's Ark room -- previous owners

Clutter of Previous Owner

When I moved in to my house there was this room in the basement that was pretty non-functional. On the left of a weight bearing wall was what I call the "craft" room. Countertops good for only collecting junk. On the right is what I called the "Noah's Ark" room. The colors were awful, the photos don't do it justice.

This shows the true colors better

 
 The carpet smelled like urine, so I pulled it all out. The room (sans carpet) has been the home of my treadmill for nearly 12 years.

I finally decided it was time to make this a liveable room. 

I thought it would take a couple of weekends.

Boy was I wrong.

I started by tearing out the countertops. It was good therapy for any frustrations I had-- taking a hammer and pounding hard.

My brother came down and closed off the "Craft room," installed a door and moved a light.

Then I trimmed out the ceiling, baseboards and corners with primer.

And then I put on a coat of primer on the walls.

And then another coat of primer on the walls.

And then finally the wall paint and baseboards painted.

And another coat of wall paint.

And more paint on the baseboards.

And a coat of ceiling paint.

And I still need to put another coat of paint on the ceiling.
And I need to put another coat of paint on the new door.

I am very grateful for paint rollers.

I am not grateful for dark paint I'm trying to cover. I even bought high end paint at Kwals.

Carpet comes this week.

Hope it all turns out.

Like most remodel jobs  it is taking more time and money than I first anticipated.

Life is good.

After I tore out the countertops.

Putting on the first coat of primer

Almost finished-- door to former "craft room" needs another coat of paint

Grateful for Family History

Last Sunday my dad called and asked if I would like to come teach his Sunday School class about family history and temple work.

Of course!! I love doing family history research and I love attending the temple.

My Friend Annie L.

Five years ago this week I started helping a friend with his family history. It was a gift, instead of flowers, when his father passed away. What I thought would be a few hours has turned in to 5 years and a lifetime passion. If I could quit my day-job I would be a full-time family history researcher. 

Maybe when I retire.

I have experienced miracles as I have searched to find these people. I've felt promptings from the other side of the veil. These people are real and they want to be connected together. I look forward to meeting them one day.

And of course it was great to spend Sunday dinner with my parents. My mom remarked that they had not seen me much lately.

I agreed. I told her that I thought life would slow down, but it hasn't.

She replied, "That's okay. When it slows down it isn't very fun."

I agree. But a little slower would be nice. Though most of my busyness lately has been of my own making. Trying to get some home remodeling projects before company comes for Thanksgiving. I'm on the countdown.... Hope I make it.

Life is good.

Grateful for Students

I received this email today from a former student. These are the rewarding days of teaching. Students at BYU are the best.

"Hello, you probably do not remember me for is it has been almost two years since we have last seen each other, so this will probably seem very out of the blue for you....I was in one of your classes my last semester at BYU. One of the days before finals I was in the Richards Building having a come apart about getting everything done in time to move across the country and complete my internship for graduation. I was having such and awful day and you came to me and asked if everything was alright and gave me words of encouragement and guidance. These last couple weeks I have been looking into going back to school and continuing my education so I have been pondering about a lot of things and that moment keeps entering my mind and I don't think I ever really thanked you for that, so thank you for being there as a faculty member and as a spiritual adviser which is such a wonderful benefit of attending at BYU. I hope things are wonderful with you as we begin this Holiday season."

Life is Good.

Grateful for Sunshine

"There is Sunshine in My Soul Today"

Sunshine is good for Dr. T's soul.

It is November 12 and the temperatures are in the 60s. I am walking during lunch, outside, in my shirtsleeves. Maybe two more days of "hooky weather" before the winter temperatures settle in.

Life is Good. So good!

Grateful For Moms

Today I am grateful for the "moms" in my life.

I am grateful for my grandmothers. I didn't know them well since we lived far away while growing up. But I still feel their influence through my parents lives.

My maternal grandmother once told my mother-- "you will never know how much I love you until you have a girl of your own." My mother is the best!

I am grateful for my sister and sisters-in-law. They are all amazing women. I am particularly grateful today for Ms. G. She had major surgery today to remove breast cancer. I've been praying for her constantly since July when she was diagnosed. She is a fabulous mother to two wonderful nieces.

Life Is Good.

Grateful A- Z

Today in Primary the kids received a piece of paper where they were to write their temporal blessings-- one for each letter of the alphabet. I thought I'd see if I could identify 26 unique things for which I am grateful. Here goes--

A to Z

A- Art. It makes the world just a little more beautiful. Looking forward to seeing the new exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art this month-- all religious art.
B- Bathrooms.
C- Car.
D- Dishes. Though I am avoiding washing them right now while I write this.
E- Electricity. It only takes a few hours without it to realize how much you depend upon it.
F- Furnace--to heat my home in the winter.
G- Garage-- to store my car (and some other stuff).
H- Hot Water!
I- An iron to iron my clothes, though it is my least favorite domestic task.
J- Jumper cables-- for when my car battery dies.
K- Kleenex tissues. I use a lot with this allergy thing I have going.
L- Lights. It is really dark so early now--by the time I get home from work; grateful for lights to see
M- Mattresses to sleep on; no camping for me
N- Neighbors. I live in a great neighborhood.
O- Ovens. I love to bake.
P- Pearls. I feel fancy when I wear them.
Q- Quilts to keep me warm at night.
R- Refrigerators to keep food cold
S- Shoes. I love to walk so comfortable shoes are a must.
T- Toothbrushes. No explanation necessary.
U- Umbrellas--  to stay dry; I always carry one.
V- Views of the mountains from my backyard.
W- Windows to let the sunshine in; sure do wish I had some at my office-- hopefully soon.
X- Xerox (photocopy) machines. It's one of those things we take for granted, yet use it almost every day.
Y- BYU, nicknamed, The "Y" I am grateful for my job there.
Z- Zesters-- a great kitchen tool for oranges, lemons, nutmeg, and so forth.

Grateful for Orange Glo

I know this post sounds trivial, but I really am grateful for Orange Glo.

In my bathroom, I had a candle melting on a candle warmer. After I turned it off, my hand hit the glass container and I managed to spill  candle wax all over the bathroom counter, and it ran down the cupboard, and ended up all over the tile floor, the rug, the wall, and me.

I did not have time today for this. I  made two trips to Kwal for paint and supplies, painted a second coat of primer on the basement walls (after discovering the first coat was not enough to hide the blue and gold I am trying to cover), made a trip to Lowes for other supplies, raked 4 bags of leaves, attended the temple, and helped my brother finish up the remodel, used a jigsaw for the first time to cut a circle that will hopefully become a wheel for my Primary lesson tomorrow, and went grocery shopping for the essentials of bread, cereal, and milk. Whew, I am exhausted. I did not have time to clean up a candle mess.

Of course Google is the first place you go when you need to find an answer (well, it ties with my brother for most credible source for most things) and someone suggested lemon oil. I didn't have lemon oil, but I did have the bottle of Orange Glo.

If you ever spill candle wax, know that Orange Glo will clean it up in no time flat. Grateful that I had this under the sink and that it worked.

I haven't figured out how to get the wax out of my clothes. I may just throw the rug away and start over.

Life is good. Busy, but good.

Grateful for Ms. C

The last 2 1/2 years at BYU have been the best-- because my niece has been there. We attend devotional each Tuesday and go to dinner once a week.When I was the Relief Society president, she would come with me to some of our meetings and dinners. I invite her to events on campus when I need a partner. She comes over to my house on Sundays when we have BYU Cousin's dinner.

I look forward to this time with her; it's the highlight of my week. In some ways I wish we went to dinner every night-- not for the food, but for the company. She listens to me vent about work frustrations, indulges me as I talk about the bizarre dreams I have, and I ask her advice about things from a student's point of view.
 
I wish time would slow down. She will graduate and be off to bigger and better things much too soon.

I love her. So grateful she is at BYU.

Life is Good.

Grateful for BYU Devotionals

Every Tuesday at 11:05 I make the trek to the Marriott Center where I have the opportunity to attend a devotional or forum. The devotionals are religious based and the forums are more academic, usually by nationally-recognized speakers.

I didn't fully appreciate the value of Tuesday devotionals until I spent a year in ATL. Since then, I haven't missed attending, unless I was out of town. It is a great spiritual uplift in the middle of the week. And with the forum speakers I've been exposed to ideas and people I wouldn't have otherwise.

Almost 4 years ago I had the opportunity to speak at devotional. It was a stressful, yet rewarding experience. Just this last Sunday the bishop told me that during the young men's lesson that day someone brought up a story from my devotional talk-- it was about the time I was in Nauvoo and couldn't find my temple recommend. It made me happy to know that perhaps my talk was influential to a tiny degree.

Devotionals are fabulous.
Life is Good.

Grateful for Good Colleagues

Today I am grateful for good colleagues. I am blessed to work in a department where there is high collegiality (nearly all of the time). I can walk up and down the hall and talk to any one of them about research or teaching issues, or even Church related questions. They are genuinely good men and women who are striving to do their best to live the gospel of Jesus Christ and to be good professors.
I count them among my greatest blessings.

Grateful for Primary Music Leaders

It's been almost a year since I started teaching the children in Primary. My favorite part of Primary is singing time. We have an amazing music leader--Daphne. She puts forth so much effort to help the

children learn the songs. And since I don't know most of these songs either, she is teaching me. Every week I feel the Spirit when we sing about Jesus, Heavenly Father and other gospel topics.

Today we were singing a song entitled "Children All Over the World." The words read, in part:

"All over the world at the end of day
Heavenly Father's children kneel down to pray,
Each saying thank you in his own special way...
Our Heavenly Father hears them, He understands each tongue.
Our Heavenly Father knows them, He loves them, everyone."

Though I know that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers-- I've known this for a very long time-- today the Spirit testified to me again that Heavenly Father HEARS EVERY PRAYER. Every word I utter, God hears. There are times when I don't think I pray as though God is listening; sometimes it is just habit to say the same things. And sometimes my requests lack sincerity-- maybe because I am not sure that I really believe that I deserve what I am asking for.

I am grateful for Primary songs that testify of truth.
I am grateful for prayer. 
I am grateful for the opportunity to repent and be better.

Life is Good.

Grateful for Siblings

Several weeks ago when the cousins were over for dinner, as part of our discussion I made the comment that even after you are married, you still need your girl-friends. As Marjorie Hinckley said, "it is a sociological fact that women need other women." 

Someone responded-- "I really don't want girlfriends- I just want my sisters."

I've thought a lot about that statement.

I only have one sister, not 3, 4 or 5. I know several women and consider them my friends. But I'd have to say that my sister is my best friend.

She's happy for me when I have good fortune come my way. She understands when I am having a grumpy day. She sends me care packages "just because." She listens to me vent. She is the Martha Stewart help-line when I am doing anything domestic. She reads talks or other correspondence that I have written and lets me know if it makes sense or if I am off-base. She lets me try to be a favorite aunt. She is a great travel partner. Her example as a wife and a mother inspires me. I love her.

I am also grateful for my older brother. I call him anytime that I need something fixed at my house. Sometimes it is a DIY call and I just need step-by-step directions. Other times he comes to my rescue. A couple of weeks ago my power went out. After about 17 phone calls in two days, we got the problem solved. It wasn't one he could fix, but he knew who to call and could tell me what to ask and how to proceed.

Right now he is helping me remodel a room in my basement. The room has been non-functional since I moved in 12 years ago. I have used it for my treadmill/exercise room and it has sufficed. But I've finally decided to partition it off and make storage and then a spare room. He's been great to come and do the work of framing, installing sheetrock, mudding, and moving the lightbox to a new location. He is immensely talented and I love him for being so generous with his time. And I also love that he too lets me try to be a favorite aunt.