Hawaiian Toilets and Tags

My very good friend since high school, Jaye Lynn, took this picture on her trip to Maui and I couldn't resist stealing it.

Seriously, is drinking water from the toilet a common concern in Hawaii????

And another good friend, Donise, tagged me with

The ABC's of Me

so here goes!

A- Age: 42 . . . and holding (and have been for a few years)

B- Bed size: king, of course

C- Chore you hate: Laundry!!!

D- Dad's name: Milton

E- Essential start of your day: scriptures, prayers, checking emails

F- Favorite color: purple

G- Gold or Silver: Gold

H- Height: 5' 8"

I- Instruments you play: Piano--but rather poorly

J- Job title: Mom

K- Kids: 5

L- Living arrangements: with my increasingly diminishing family

M- Mom's name: Valoy

N- Nicknames: Duffy (named myself when 2 years old)

O- Overnight stay in a hospital other than your birth: birth of 5 children and 2 night stay after abdominal surgery

P- Pet Peeve: Waiting for people

Q- Quote from a movie: " These mashed potatoes are so creamy"

R- Right or left handed: left

S- Siblings: 4 sisters, 3 brothers

T- Time you wake up: 4:40 a.m.

U- Underwear: of course!

V- Vegetable you dislike: brussel sprouts

W- Ways you drink your coffee: I don't, but I love hot chocolate

X-rays you've had: teeth and about 8 broken bones

Y- Yummy food you make: cinnamon rolls

Z- Zoo favorites: monkeys

Now I pass this on to anyone who wants to participate--but let me know so I can be sure and visit your blog.

Lastly, about our dog . . . hmmm, much more work than I anticipated. I am sure the dogs we had growing up didn't require this much supervision (or else my mother just did all the work so I didn't notice).

But . . . one of the reasons we took the dog is because our son, Ryan, and his sweet wife, Kali, had three dogs which we were told was one too many. So we took Lacy, leaving them two.

Well, guess what!! Ryan went out and got another dog, so they are back up to three! I think that is a good reason to let your kids have pets while they are young. When they become adults, they don't have to compensate for what they didn't have!

I've Been Tagged----Seven Things About Me

So here are seven things about me that most anyone reading this would not know.

I can remember what someone wore to a dance twenty years ago or what restaurant they went to for their birthday five years ago, who they went with and what they ordered. But I can never remember where I put my keys or my sunglasses, or where I parked the car.

My favorite color is purple. I have four purple jackets, two purple dresses, two purple sweaters, a purple phone, purple sunglasses, purple sweat pants, and several purple t-shirts. My bathroom towels are purple, I have purple dishes and even purple curtains in my kitchen. My children think I have an addiction, but I think it is genetic. I have two sisters who have purple walls in their houses, and one has purple lights in her bathroom and a purple iron.



I have traveled to six of the seven continents (just missing Antarctica) and 37 different countries. My dream job would be to write for a travel magazine, but instead I just send home emails of our adventures to friends and family members. Although it is even more fun when they come along.

My husband when we were in Egypt, November 2007

I am plagued with a bad back that causes pain and frustration a good deal of the time—despite the exercising, physical therapy and stretching. (Although it is better than it used to be.)

Some of my favorite things are: sunrises and sunsets, splashing through puddles and crunching fall leaves; laughing, being with family and late nights visiting with friends, bubble baths, beaches, planning parties, reading good books, teenagers, tulips and chocolate.

I have had lunch with my husband every Wednesday nearly every week for the past 17 years. We started doing this when his life got very busy and we needed to be creative in finding time to spend together. In the beginning we took babies and toddlers with us, but now we are alone. And it is always one of the highlights of my week.

I am very good at organizing events, parties, people, and ideas, but I have absolutely no idea how to file so I just stack everything. Consequently I have stacks of papers and books all over my house. But part of my new year’s resolution of weeding my life is to clean up the stacks. I have been working on it, so hopefully by the end of this year, I will be stack free!

So there you have it. Thanks to Heidi Ashworth (Dunhaven Place) for tagging me. Now I want to tag Emily, Nature Girl, and Debi. I look forward to reading your blogs and learning more about each of you!

And may you all find . . . joy in your journey.