BEST IN DIVISION

Today was the best day ever!  Actually, it started last night...

I was up until about 2:00 a.m. prepping my flowers and containers.  I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and proceeded to cut more flowers and greenery from the front yard and the back yard.  The creative juices flowing all over the kitchen and the dining room. 

At 9:00 a.m. I jumped in the shower.  At 9:10 I was ready to jump in the car and take off to Seaside Park for the annual Ventura County Fair.

At 9:30 I was finalizing my entries for the Floriculture Department.  At 10:00 I left the fair grounds and headed off to run errands.  Went home and relaxed for several hours and then returned to the fair grounds to discover how I placed.  Below are pictures of the flower arrangments that I created this morning.  Enjoy!

This arrangement is made from flowers; shrubs and trees grown in the front yard and back yard:  Potato Tree (purple flowers), Star Jazmine branches, Yellow medallion roses, and valencia oranges.

Picture on the left is from 10:00 a.m.  Picture on the right is from 7:00 p.m.  Received 1st Place in "Home Grown" category and Best in Division.

This arrangement was made using a recycled wall sconce with candle holders.  Received a 3rd place in this category.

This arrangement includes roses and green foliage from the yard.  I used a party-lite candle tree and holders to group the three individual arrangements.  The category was called "Nature's Art" and the guideline stated that there need to be a minimum of three containers...  I received a 1st place award.

Love this one!  Flowers included in this arrangement:  Roses, snap dragons and tuberose.

I have had this particular vase for quite a while and every arrangement has done well... I received a second place in the category of "All other arrangements."

I really enjoyed creating this arrangement.  I received a second place in the category of "monocromatic" desgn.  President and Sister Figueroa really like this arrangement.  It is my favorite as well.

Each year that I have participated in the flower arrangement categories I have learned new ways for presentation and have learned how to select the best quality flowers nd foliage.  I really love flowers and plants!

My friend, Mimi Grout, stated that I should do arrangements for weddings after she had seen my designs.  What do you think?

EXODUS 20:3-17 AWARD

This is was the last week of Seminary for Aislyn and Evan.  Seminary Graduation is on Sunday.

Both Seminary classes had their end-of-the-year dinner/parties.

Throughout the year I would receive e-mails from both Seminary Teachers letting me know how Evan and Aislyn were doing.  Some of the e-mails and notes were very precious to me because of the kind loving words that were written about my children.

During Evan's end of the year dinner at the Blickenstaff's awards were handed out to each of the students.  Evan received the Exodus 20:3-17 Award:

FOR BEING THE FIRST IN THE CLASS TO

MEMORIZE ALL 15 VERSES

AND THE FIRST IN THE CLASS TO

MEMORIZE ALL 25 SCRIPTURE MASTERY

SCRIPTURES!

The award also stated:

"Evan set the bar for excellence very high this year.  He is the first of my students to memorize all 25 scripture mastery scriptures.  They have become part of who he is now.  I have seen him relate these scriptures to lessons throughout the Old Testament.  Evan now has 25 new friends he can count on to bring him comfort, strength, and peace throughout his life!"

THE COLOR OF MIDNIGHT

When I was a kid the best box of crayola crayons was the one that contained the color midnight blue.  If you didn't have that box you had to first lay down a layer of the darkest blue you had in your box and then lay down a layer of black.  If it looked too black you had to put down another layer of blue.

As I got older I figured out how to use a paper towel or a smugger to blend the black and the blue colors on my paper.  I have decided that my midnight blue is a better color than the one in the crayola box.

When I began remodeling the girls bedroom I painted the four walls with three different shades of sky blue.  One wall has a cloud pattern that I created with a large round sponge.  The next phase is to paint the ceiling a midnight blue.  When it is dry I will place c-shape screws randomly in the ceiling so we can hang various shapes and sizes of clear crystals.  This will make the ceiling look like the night sky.

The finishing touch will be the white crown molding and wains coating. 

The plan, when there is money, is to replace the front window with a bay window seat and have a professional closet place revamp the closet so that it is more functional...

Any way, back to midnight blue... While I have been searching for the correct color for the ceiling I did some internet browsing and came across a brief clip in Wikipedia:

"Midnight blue is a dark shade of blue named for its resemblance to the identifiably blue color of a moonlit night sky on or near the night of a full moon. Midnight blue is the color of a vat full of Indigo dye; therefore, midnight blue may also be considered a dark shade of indigo. Midnight blue is identifiably blue to the eye in sun-light or full-spectrum light, but can appear black under certain more limited spectrums sometimes found in artificial lighting (especially early 20th century incandescent). As a consequence, it is often colloquially confused with black-blue, which is a black with a blue undertone, or deep navy, which is a blue so dark it is nearly black.
There are two major shades of midnight blue—the X11 color and the Crayola color. This color was originally called midnight. The first recorded use of midnight as a color name in English was in 1915.^[1]

So, I guess my search for the midnight sky in my girls room should be for a dark shade of indigo...

Why is it so important that I find this color?  Well, you see, I have fond memories of laying on the grass looking up at the night sky as a kid when we lived in Indiana.  Because there were no street lights and we lived far from the city lights we could see all the stars.

We would spend hours looking up at the night sky identifying constellations and planets.  I really enjoyed that time and it is one of my favorite memories.

When Devlyn was young I purchased a glow in the dark constellation kit for the ceiling and spent hours applying the stickers to the ceiling.  It was pretty cool after it was done.  The problem:  from time to time the stars would fall from the sky.  If you happened to be laying in the room with the lights off when this happened you would be treated to a mini meteor shower.

Sometimes the stars would get stuck to the ceiling fans and at night we would have an actual light show of spiraling lights.

No stickers this time.  Just c-hook screws and clear crystals on fishing line.

MEMORIAL DAY AFTERNOON

Most Monday mornings we are up before the sun so that we can make it out the door ontime to get Evan and Aislyn to seminary.  Seminary starts promptly at 6:00 a.m.

The whole family was anticipating a late start this morning.  Something like noon... :)

Victor and I were up before 9:00 a.m. because "Jewels", our new kitten decided to throw-up on Victor...  Pretty funny!

Not so funny:  I had to strip the bed and through the bedspread in the washing machine.  The sheets are next.

Shortly after, I gave the kitten to Allisa to tend.

I then went into Aislyn's room to rouse her so that we could take care of Sampson and Sierra, the horses.  (Spice died this past Thursday.  She had a problem with colic and most of the time we could help her.  This last time we didn't know... :(  Aislyn discovered her in the stable... :(  The lady who came to take her away told us that she may have also had a heart attack)... any way...

I cut up some apples and carrots for the horses; added some oats and then some alfafa/oat pellets and a little bit of the really good horsefeed to each of their buckets.

Aislyn and I went out and fed the horses.  Spent some time giving them loves and water...

Evan fed the dogs - all seven :)

I took a shower.  I then decided that I needed to pick up some snack type foods for our afternoon at home.  As a family we enjoy hanging out in the living room eating snacks and having movie marathons.  So we all went to Sams and then Vons to pick out our yummy snacks.

We got home and ate our lunches.  Aislyn had a chef salad.  Allisa had an Apple, Chicken, Walnut Salad.  Evan had shrimp and lobster salad.  I had a tray of apples, carrots, celery and grapes.

We have decided that we want to go to the movies at 2:00 to see MIB III.  So, we leave in 30 minutes.

When we get home Victor will BBQ the hotdogs and steak.  I will make a Chinese Chicken Salad.  The kids will make freshcut fries.  I bought a vegetable tray.  Sometime around we will have dinner :)

Spending time together as a family is really important and we enjoy planning our activities together; preparing meals together; eating dinner together while watching our favorite movies or television series.

Allisa's vote for today's marathon:  Harry Potter - this will actually take us 3 days...  We should have started on Friday.

Have a great Memorial Day.  Don't forget your family and friends who have served and who are currently serving.  We should be greatful for our freedom and safety that they ensure each day of their lives.

Happy Memorial Day!

WRITING... HOPEFULLY... :)

Victor stated directly to me yesterday:  "You should start writing today."

I looked at him and said:  "I have been thinking about that very thing..."  Then all the ideas in my head fluttered away like butterflies being chased by a three year old... :(

I logged onto my computer.  Read and responded to e-mails (deleted many because they were just junk).  I checked my bank account and sighed.  I logged onto Facebook and played Castleville and then Bejeweled and then Slingo and then Bingo...

I then remembered that I wanted to check out some movie trailers.  I watched the trailers for SnowWhite and the Huntsman; Breaking Dawn Part 2; and MIB.

I was curious about new releases on Netflix and then spent an embarrasing long time rating movies (about 300)... :(

I took a nap.

Some time during all of this I pulled the slow cooker out and put all the ingredients into it for a beef stew - YUM!

Before I knew it Allisa was coming through the front door and Aislyn would be home shortly after.

When Aislyn got home I took her to her appointment.  Sat and waited for an hour reading a magazine...

When we were getting ready to leave Aislyn insisted that we stop at Topper's Pizza so that she could get a large salad from the salad bar.  So we did, after we stopped at CHEVRON so that I could get a voltage mountain dew and Aislyn a Dr Pepper.

We get home, the stew is done, Victor and Evan are home...

Victor first asks:  "Where's the pizza?  You went to Topper's, where's the pizza?"

Rebecca:  "I made stew.  Stew is for dinner."

Victor:  "You and Aislyn have salad from Topper's so I should have pizza."

Rebecca:  "You are having stew."

Victor leaves for the gym.

The kids feed the animals, eat dinner and clean the kitchen.

At 6:30 I take Evan and Aislyn to the church for Scripture Mastery.

I come home and log back onto my computer and begin playing a game.

Victor:  "What did you write today?"

Rebecca:  *silence*

This morning our friend John comes over to go to work with Victor.

John:  "So, I hear you are writing.  That's great!  Maybe your books will get published and you will become a millionaire."

Rebecca:  *silence with a smile*

So, what have a done so far?  Well, I found all my beginnings of manuscripts and saved them to my lap top in a folder called manuscripts.  And then I wrote this blog.

So when Victor asks me today what I wrote I can tell him that I practice writing... hopefully... :)

"FOLLOW THE SPIDERS"... oh i mean FOLLOW THE ARROWS

For as long as I can remember I have been driven by the compulsion to count my steps and follow lines or arrows...  Because I am aware of this affliction I tend to find humor in it...

When Dara and her family came to visit us last week we took a field trip to one of the State Parks near the Ventura Pier.  Jeremy, not knowing the area, followed me to our destination.  We get to the parking lot entrance and I stop to pay for parking.  I proceeded to follow the arrows on the asphalt to the main parking area.  There were more arrows guiding me through the labrynth of parking slots.  I continued to follow them until Jeremy caught up with me.

"Just follow the arrows until you find a parking space..."

Jeremy is a really good follower.  He made every turn I made until I parked.  He pulled into the parking space next to me and gave me an odd look.  And then the odd looked turned to a bewildered look.  Hi expression continued to change as I began laughing.

The parking lot was virtually empty when we parked.  To be specific, we were the only two vehicles in the parking lot.

We organized the troops and I led them to the nearest sidewalk...  We followed the sidewalk to the pier - staying on the right side.    My kids and Dara's kids are really good at following the lines and arrows too!

One afternoon while the Cards were visitin I decided to take a little trip (run errands).  Dara and Allisa came with me.  At one point, I turned into the driveway of a small shopping center.  I followed the path to the drive-thru for Chick-Fillet.  We ordered some nuggets.  We followed the drive thru to the window and paid for the yummies and received our order.

I pulled out of the drive-thru and followed the next set of arrows into the drive-thru for Wendy's and ordered some rootbeer floats.  Followed the arrows to the window; paid for more yummies and received our order.  We pulled out of that drive thru...

Oh No!!!!  More arrows to follow.  The next thing we knew we were in the drive-thru for Del Taco ordering Churros.  The last set of arrows led us to the Chevron gas station where I bought two Voltage Mountain Dew sodas and two Smart Waters.  Dara picked up the Fuji water she discovered that she really likes... :)

This past Thursday the kids and I wanted a treat...  we followed the arrows:

Chick-Fillet:  Ordered Chocolate Brownies
Wendy's:  Ordered Fries
Del Taco:  Ordered  Chicken Soft Tacos
KFC:  Ordered Chicken Snackers
Jack in the Box:  Ordered Strawberry Banana Smoothies

Evan, Aislyn and Allisa enjoyed following the arrows.  It turned out to be a fun little outing.

SACRED SABBATH

As I begin this post this morning I am listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Music and the Spoken Word. 

I have been reflecting on the words that were spoke yesterday during General Conference and there are two phrases that have continued to run through my mind.

The first, from President Eyring's talk:  "My faith has filled my heart to bursting."  The words mirror the emotions that I have felt during this conference weekend.  The Spirit has been so strong that my heart has been filled to bursting out my tear ducts.

The second comes from a scripture found in 2 Nephi:  "We rejoice in Christ."

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to teach the Gospel Doctrine lesson:  "My Soul Delighteth in the Words of Isaiah."  This lesson shares the testimony of both Isaiah and Nephi about Jesus Christ's redeeming power.

The scripture verse in 2 Nephi 25:26 reads:

"And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."

A gentle reminder of one of the "patterns" we should be living by.  During Gospel Doctrine last Sunday I reminded the brothers and sisters that we should be prepared to be inspired during conference and to write down the promptings we receive during conference.  If we are sufficiently prepared we will hear answers to our prayers.

I have been blessed this weekend so far to have received answers to my prayers.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is true!  We have a loving Heavenly Father and a kind and merciful Elder Brother.  Believing Christ is essential for our salvation.  Without accepting the atoning sacrifice we cannot enter into the rest of the Lord.

I hope General Conference has touched you as much as it has touched me.