I SEE GREEN!

Not just because it is March...

But, I am seeing a little green in my grass

and the daffodils and tulips are sticking their leaves up too!

While living in Utah we would pass the beautiful flower gardens at

Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah.

One of their big events is their Tulip Festival.

I believe it was in July or August last year they had their tulip bulbs for sale

1 doz. for $3.00. 

 There were a variety of bulbs in each bag or you could "select" the ones you would like.

Being I was feeling adventurous I chose the variety bags.

Sergio could hardly wait to plant each bulb in the fall.

I  can hardly wait to see what the tulips are going to look like.

There are more and more showing their leaves each day.

I think it is going to be BEAUTIFUL!

and it is Spring in Idaho, so the next little storm is coming in.

Bringing  Wind, Rain and SNOW...

But, I do not even care...

I can see GREEN!

To Much Time On The Road?

Kira said we needed to find something "fun" to do as we have been driving around the state of Utah. So we started playing the licence plate game. MomsMinivan.com has lots of car games

Though we didn't have any cool game sheets we did have my day planner.

From August 9th to August 13th we found 34 USA plates and 2 Canadian!

Our list was:

Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Missouri, Michigan. Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oregon, Oklahoma, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virgina, Wyoming, Washington, Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada, British Columbia, Canada!

Have you ever played this game? Will we find the missing states? MAYBE next week.

Things To See...Springville, Utah Museum of Art

This week we spent a lot of time "site seeing" This is a MUST stop if you are in the Provo, Utah area. (only 2 exits south of my apartment)

It is the Spingville Utah Museum of Art It is located at 126 East 400 South, Springville, Utah Take Exit 260 off of I-15

It is an amazing peaceful setting.

They have the largest public collection of 20th century Russian and Soviet Impressionist and Realist art in the Western United States. (from the guest flier)

It also houses over 2000 American paintings

But the reason I found this museum was because my dad's cousin, Jean Carlson was married to Warren Dallin (1950- 2006), a relative of

Cyrus E. Dallin

1861-1944

If you have never heard of C.E. Dallin you may recognize one of his sculptures, that of Angel Moroni on top of the Salt Lake City, LDS Temple. or maybe "Appeal to the Great Spirit" 1909

I loved looking at all of his sculptures but I believe this is my favorite.

Pretty Eagle 1926 He is done in Bronze.But, by taking the flash off, it might not be as clear...but his eyes are...

I LOVE IT!

Dallin was well known for his Indian sculptures, but also his work of the American fore fathers. This is John Hancock and Paul Rever

Not all of the history of art was found on the walls or in statues.

The floor and windows are their own.

and the history: Utah’s first museum for the visual arts, this beautiful Spanish Morrocan Style building would be worth visiting even if there were no art. Dedicated as a “Sanctuary of Beauty and a Temple of Contemplation ” by David O. McKay, the Museum houses over 2,000 works; 1,500 of which are Utah art. The impressive collection of 150 years of Utah fine art, twentieth century Soviet Socialist Realism and American art, and 15 exhibitions per year are displayed throughout 29 galleries.

and the founders: As expressed by the Museum's founders, our vision is that the absolutes of truth, beauty and pathos, sensitivity and power of fine art to "refine the minds of youth and build character in all people," [John Hafen] and that "art is a necessity for a well ordered life" [Cyrus E. Dallin]. Our goal is to promote the Museum as "a sanctuary of beauty and a temple of contemplation" [David O. McKay].

Enjoy your visit as much as I did!

3 Months Post

It is hard to believe that it has only been 3 months since I received my new heart.

and yet at other times it is feels like it has been forever.

I do not know what I would have done with out my brother Ro and his support during this time in my life. He and his wife, Karen and family opened their home to me for as long as it would be before I would receive a heart transplant.

Thank goodness, our Father in heaven knew it would need to be a short time.Before all of my family could arrive I went into cardiac arrest prior to the transplant.

Ro was the one that was able to calm me down and give me the encouragement to know I could and would be fine having this major surgery. He is who sent constant texts to our family out of state so they had updates on how the transplant was going.

And is the first person I really remember after the surgery was done.

love runs deep.

It has been a crazy post 3 months.

I am still living in Utah, but am in a nice little apartment. I have a new granddaughter, and found out Kira is going to have a baby the first part of 2011, Derek is home from his mission, Kirk still loves me even though we no longer have anything in our savings account and I am doing well, and getting along GREAT.

But, this question has been kind of bothering me...

We say that our heart is what makes us love, and feel certain ways, it controls who we are and things like that...

My son in law, Sergio and my daughter Kira are my "caregivers" so they are with me all the time, good thing too...some days my shakes are so bad that I know I would not be able to drive and my vision is still very blurry in one eye, that it gets frustrating to see things. But, they both have said they have seen some changes in me...

Not as happy and carefree as I was... More in my own world...

I hope it is because I am missing living at home...and it is hard to be carefree when someone...aka Drs. are telling you everything you CANNOT do.

And maybe I am more in my own world right now...

I am afraid of hurting people. It is a real fear that I am dealing with. I know I will work through it, but it is taking sometime.

I love my new heart, it is so good to me. It has given me an amazing chance to have a long life.

Heaven In My Mouth

I think my sweet friend "Miss H" was feeling sorry for me still having to live in Utah, and so she told me

"to try out my favorite Utah cupcake place, The Sweet Tooth Fairy Bake Shop"

I found it only a few miles from my apartment in Provo, Utah.

This is the place!

As you walk in you are totally engulfed with the smells of freshly made treats.

So, I purchased 3 flavors of the "CAKEBITES"

Strawberry Chocolate, Red Velvet, and German Chocolate.

They were so, so good...but I think my favorite was the German Chocolate, I think...

and if I am going to keep stopping in for "CAKEBITES" I will have to start walking the few miles in the +90* heat to not gain TONS of weight...

Truly, they were heaven in my mouth.

My Home Away From Home

This is my nice little apartment in Provo. It works great for me, Kira and Sergio...The stairs bring you to the front door and living room.
I had to make it feel a little more like a home.

Even though it is in a basement it still gets warm so we purchased a fan to circulate the air.

The kitchen is nice and big

I love that it has a washer and dryer and LOTS of cupboard space

The bedroom is also large with two big closets and a very comfy bed.

and the bathroom has all that you NEED.

Thanks Brett and Jan...it is perfect!

Long Time No See

I have rented a little apartment in Provo, Utah...that does not have Internet/wi-fi/ cable ect...ect...

But...it is a perfect for the living needs, it is furnished and comfortable.

So I was thinking I would do a few quick catch ups...

First~ How fun that my sister Lene, Linda and I were all able to meet together for a nice lunch...It was great! Linda was as amazing in real life as she is on her blog.I had an appointment with my heart transplant surgeon, Doctor Doty...he said everything looks great and said as I was leaving....go have fun and enjoy every minute of the rest of your life!