March marched on . . .

• The March Madness of the NCAA Basketball Tournament is winding down. On one of my bracket sheets, I actually picked 3 of the final 4 teams. That doesn't really matter, however, because I selected way too many teams to win that eventually lost. I am rooting for the NC Tarheels to be the outright winning team this year only because I like Tyler Hansbrough, a key player on the team and one who played all 4 years (no early exit to the NBA draft).
  
• My parentals celebrated their 58th Wedding Anniversary on March 19th. In this era, it's pretty amazing that couples stay together forever like my parents. Congrats Mom and Dad!


• My favorite late night television host, David Letterman, married the mother of his 5 1/2 year old son on March 19, 2009, in Montana. I am pleased he finally made the commitment. He and his wife have been together for a decade or so.


• Finally, my bad luck has persisted in March -- I was in a parking lot, one of our schools, last Wednesday, driving away, when a kid on a razor scotter came through some parked cars and crashed into me (my car). I thought I'd killed him, but I only ran over the handle bars of his scooter. I made him wiggle everything, I checked with a witness and she reported that the kid had jumped from the scooter and landed on his feet, he kept himself from falling with his hands on my front/side bumper. Arrggg . . . . .

Have a great "last day of March!"

Brackets Ready?

The "Ugly Betty Special" is going to the Big Dance!

It's March madness for me and my fellow basketball junkies. I think I've watched a dozen games just this past week -- JR Jazz tournament games, college conference tournament games, and more. It's just what I love to do.

On Thursday night the Runnin' Utes played the TCU Horned Frogs in the MWC Tournament. Joe Cravens (a former assistant coach at the "U") was the color commentator on the "Mountain" (station covering the game). It was not the prettiest game I've watched. It was one of those games where you find yourself moaning and groaning at the missed jump shots, bad passes, turnover after turnover, and more. At one point in the game, Cravens commented that he felt like he was watching the "Ugly Betty Special" as the Utes struggled to get their game going.

The Utes went on to win that game and eventually the tournament championship last night against San Diego State University. It was an excellent game -- just the opposite of the "Ugly Betty Special" from two nights before.

Winning the tournament championship cinched a place in the "Big Dance"! The Utes now play Arizona in Miami in the first round on Friday! Yes! Basketball again this week!

Wolverines -- the Champions!

It was a great JR JAZZ season -- probably the best ever because the Wolverines went undefeated in the regular season and in the tournament, and they won the 8th Grade JR JAZZ Tournament for Salt Lake County. Coach Karl's teaching and on the court learning paid off. The team was spectacular in their championship game! The after game wrap-up brought tears to the coach's eyes -- his players did what they were suppose to do, everybody scored, it was huge! My son was the leading scorer and re-bounder for the season -- he has some sweet basketball skills!

Happy Anniversary Haley and James!

You are great kids! Hope you've had an anniversary-type special day!

(The following is from a wedding anniversay site. I could have written it myself, but I ran out of time. Copy and paste comes in so handy!)

While many people believe that the individual years of a marriage are not as significant as the 5, 10, 20, 25 year increments, the truth is that each year of a marriage is special and unique. Each anniversary is an important milestone, and should be considered a significant step forward in your life together.

Many people follow the traditional themes of celebration and gift giving for their anniversary, a practice we (I) wholeheartedly encourage. In this tradition, each year celebrates a specific quality symbolized by a particular material. The more commonly known expressions are the silver (25 year) and golden (50 year) anniversaries. The traditional and modern gift recommendations for each anniversary have symbolic meaning associated with the path of successful marriages, and are a great way of reinforcing the hard work that goes into making a happy marriage.

The traditional recommendation for a second anniversary present is cotton.

Cotton symbolizes durability and versatility. Two years into a marriage, you now have the experience to realize that these traits are necessary for a successful marriage. As 2 years is early in the life of any marriage, cotton also represents a practical material that can be used in building the household of a new couple, such as bedding, table cloths, bath robes, towels, clothing, and of course underwear!

Weird things can happen more than once . . .

When I took Willie to school this morning, I couldn't help but notice how dirty my car was. The wind was pretty vicious yesterday -- blowing dust and gunk everywhere and a lot of it stuck to my car.

A couple of summers ago, after getting gas at the Conoco I decided to get a car wash. I think Willie, Meranda, and Parker were with me. The car wash ended and the exit door was slow to open, in fact it wouldn't open at all. I honked the horn thinking someone from inside the gas station would hear it and come to our rescue. We hoped another car would get in line behind us and trigger the door opener. Finally, I called Karl to have him look up the phone number so I could call and get someone to help get us out (I wanted a little sympathy, too). Karl's response was go out the "man door". I had no clue what he was talking about, I didn't see any door anywhere but the exit one to let us out. We were laughing so hard in the car that I couldn't really understand the phone number but eventually got it from Karl. The employee who answered the gas station's phone didn't quite understand that we were stuck in the car wash. Eventually, some intellectually challenged person came to our aid. We laugh about the experience all the time.

You probably know where this story is headed. I stopped to get gas on my way to work this morning. My car was so filthy dirty I decided to include a car wash. I was the only one in line probably because the roads were a little wet from a late night snow storm. At any rate, I got the car wash, and you guessed it, the entry and exit doors wouldn't open to let me out. Stuck again! I called 411 to get a number and tried several times to contact someone in the Conoco (same one as before). The line was busy (yes, I remembered to dial 801). I got out of the car and shimmied to the exit door. It was wet an gooey, but I managed to lift it opened but not without having streams of black water drip down my arms onto my long sleeved white shirt. I looked to see if anyone had noticed my predicament. Sure enough, there was some dude filling up his car and just watching me.

Not sure I will do the car wash at that Conoco ever again.

First place is slipping away . . .

Rats! The UTES have the two toughest basketball games just days apart at the end of the season on the road, and, well, you guessed it, they lost both. They let the Cougs kick their behinds on Saturday, and they choked in the second half of the game in the UNM "pit" tonight. Now all that's left is a share of the conference title and a run at the conference tournament championship next week. They had it, they had it, they really did, but they let their defense down, missed a bunch of shots, lost their focus and composure, and now the games are history.

Number two (2)

Haley is all about numbers. She reminded me that she is a two of a two of a two. What that means is this:

Haley is the number two (second born) child of Judy (me) who is the second child of Jerry (Grandma) who is the second child of Fern (Great Grandmother) who was the second living child of her parents, David and Anne Jones.

The following is also true:

Elliott is the number one child (first born) of his mother (Annie) who is the number one child of Karl (her dad) who is the number one child of his parents (Ardith and DeWaine) who are the number one children of each of their parents.

How about that!

Not the best day, but . . . .

I could tell it wasn't going to be the best day . . . .

• When I didn't get up when Karl left for work, I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was 7:07 a.m. I drop Willie off for school at 7:20 a.m. and he was sleeping soundly. We work well under pressure, he "kicked it in gear", and I delivered him to school at 7:26 a.m.
• I got showered and ready to leave the house in record time, so I decided to quickly check my e-mail knowing I would be in meetings all day. I read only one e-mail. It was from a pretty reliable source that the wife of my good friend and mentor, Norm, had passed away. I was shocked. Norm and I are pretty close professionally, and I couldn't believe he wouldn't call me with the news. I scrambled to find his phone number and called him from my car. I began the conversation with, "I've heard some sad news . . ." Norm then told me how his wife had just been diagnosed with a rare cancer and that doctors give her 3-6 months to live (she had not passed away).
• My meeting was at the Radisson Hotel downtown. I arrived to find the hotel parking lot full. There was a sign in the driveway directing guests to the lot across the street. I made my way there only to be told by the parking attendant that the lot was reserved for monthly permits. So, by this time I was running very late, I took the first meter space I could find. When I got out of my car to put money in the meter, I was greeted by a not so friendly meter person (meter maid) who demanded that I show her my vehicle registration. (She parked her car in the street parallel to my car.) She said that the sticker on my license plate had expired. I assured her that my registration is always due in February and that it had been mailed, and I was just waiting for the new sticker. I found my registration, and sure enough it indicated that the expiration was 2/2009. She rudely told me that the sticker on my car said 1/2009. She called on her phone to check out my registration. The response on the other end was that my car was good through 2/2010. She rudely "back-peddled" making threats to me that I could get pulled over and ticketed for not having the right sticker on my license plate and blah, blah, blah. Arrgggg! Once she left, I put money in the meter and headed to my meeting inside the hotel. I planned to leave at the first break to move to a pay lot nearby.
• At the break, I drove around the block to a pay lot. I paid my fee and parked my car. As I headed around the block back to the Radisson, I pushed the key-lock button to lock my car and by doing so, I set off the alarm of the car parked next to me. I just kept walking. I heard the alarm beeping all the way to the hotel.
• The meeting ended at 3:00 p.m. I hadn't had a Coke all day, so I headed to the closest McDonalds. I was waiting in the drive-thru line when a homeless looking kid walked up to my car window. He motioned for me to roll down my window. I responded that I was not interested in talking to him. He yelled at me and flipped me off. I drove ahead, got my Coke, and watched as he approached other cars.
• After a few things to finish at my office, I headed for home via Office Depot and Winder Farms Store to get a few last minute things for the big Women's Conference tomorrow. Once home, I packed up my car and headed to the Stake Center. The building was an absolute mess! I was the first one of the set-up group to arrive and I spent more than an hour just cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, before we could even begin to set up.
• Once finished at the church, I headed to the grocery store for a few more things I needed to get for the Women's Conference.

What a day! It wasn't the best day, but it was okay -- I think it was just Friday the 13th a week late. Whew!

Sunday Night

Another Sunday night but without the stress of school/work tomorrow -- it's President's Day tomorrow, and that means a day to sleep in and just hang out at home.

Willie's science fair project is due on Wednesday, so I think a good part of our day tomorrow will be working on putting the results on the "science fair 3-fold board". The science experiment has been completed and videotaped, it's all about hot, cold, and room temperature air pressure in balls -- basketball, soccer ball, and volleyball -- and how their "bounce" is impacted by the amount of pressure and temperature.

What to Blog?

Not much going on today. Another busy day at home and at the district office.

As you know, I worry about our public school system. We're losing kids right and left, everyday. We still have the majority of our teachers doing what they do in a mostly white, middle class mind-set. The problem is that the majority of our students are not white and not middle class, and most importantly they (the kids) are not succeeding in school. I have some ideas, solutions, some "what to do" actions. I'll report out sometime soon.

Our RS women's conference is coming up and Carole Mikita from KSL television and radio is our keynote speaker. I am excited to hear her speak.

American Idol -- another season with some interesting talent -- I am anxious to see the next phase where the contestants really perform and sing their lungs out. Last year, Grandma Petersen and I talked immediately after nearly every episode of Idol. I really miss Grandma --

I am excited about a new grandson. I am ready for as many grandchildren as I can get -- I love the grandmotherhood role. I just hope his parents can come up with a name ---- I like Elvis.

Willie is doing pretty well in basketball. His JR JAZZ team went undefeated this season -- there was really no competition. The team will be in a tournament in March -- I am anxious to see how they do with some tough competition. They are actually a pretty good little team. Junior high basketball is going well, too. Willie is playing in every game and scoring some points and getting some rebounds and steals.

Haley comes over on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for piano/guitar lessons. It's so nice to have her here. She does such a good job with her students.

Annie says Eliott needs a hair cut. I am not sure he likes the "buzz buzz", but I enjoy cutting his hair. It grows so fast!

Karl is working with the older scouts for the next few months. He is helping them plan a trip to Moab that may include a Colorado River trip. He is great with the younger male generation in any capacity.

Life is good!

Game Day!

First junior high game today -- Hunter 40 - Jefferson 38. Collin hit a shot at the buzzer to win the game for Hunter. Willie played in every quarter, and he thinks he had 8 points. Wow! He looked pretty sweet in his vintage game day outfit. I like that the coach requires a shirt and tie on game day!

Life's Lessons

A year ago, we hit a family low point when Willie didn't make the junior high basketball team. It just didn't make sense -- big kid, pretty good skills, lots of experience, . . .

It was a difficult process to work through, but we did it, and we all lived to tell about it.

This morning, I drove the boy to school, entered the forbidden parking lot, parked in a visitor slot, told the boy to go in the school and check the "list", I waited. I waited. I had this sick feeling in my stomach. I waited. It seemed like and eternity, at least 50 students walked by and entered the school. Then I saw him, he came out the far south door, no indication of anything, I was sick inside. Then, I saw a sign, right arm thrust upward with conviction, and the right thumb pointing up! He made it! He made the final cut! He is on the basketball team! Yes!

January 2009, brought a new junior high basketball season. Willie participated in every open gym/intramural basketball activity. He prepared, every day, to do his best at the upcoming tryouts. He worked hard, made himself known, did his best (with prayers and faith), and then added some intensity. Behind the scenes, he prepared himself mentally for both a good or a not so good outcome. He knew before the first cut that he had given his very best. And he told us he felt good about tryouts either way. He definitely knew how his friends felt who didn't make the first or second cut.

Well, I am pleased to report that he made the first cut, then the second, then the third. He made the team! We know Willie is very blessed on or off the team. We're excited he can move to a new level of play -- new coach, new team members, new environment, new gym, . . .

The whole process has been a good learning experience for all of us --

Happy Birthday, Grandson!

You are a funny little boy and you make me laugh. I love to listen to you talk -- it's a language I'd never heard until you began speaking it, and I understand nearly every word. Thanks for knowing who I am and calling me "MaaaMaaa!" Your giggle is infectious, and it doesn't take much to get you going. You have great parents and other family members who love you so much!! What a lucky little boy you are! And what lucky people we are to have you in our family!

Happy Birthday -- #2!

A great day for the USA --

On a day like today, it doesn't matter much who voted for whom. All of the USA and the world celebrated the transfer of power from one President to the next without a hitch. It's called democracy. And, in the middle of all the pomp and circumstance was an incredibly powerful and inspirational inaugural address.

President Obama delivered a pretty significant speech -- at least it impacted me. But, I must say that the following was most compelling, personally:

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

I have a dream . . .

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

. . . And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

I was in eigth grade when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated -- April 4, 1968. Kids growing up in the sixties saw, heard, and experienced a lot of terrible and violent events. Little did I know then of the now infamous speech, "I have a dream." I was barely nine or ten when it was delivered on the steps of Lincoln Memorial. Some years later, however, as a young teenager, we had frequent firesides for the young people in our church/ward. One of the leaders had access to the entire Granite School District film collection (no videos -- not yet invented). It was common on Sunday evenings after sacrament meeting for all the young people of the ward to gather in the multipurpose room behind the chapel for a film fireside. We saw all kinds of films, but one that impressed me above all others was of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech. It impacted me then and now some 45 years later the speech is ever inspiring.

I have included with this post only a small excerpt from the original speech. But in this excerpt includes the most resounding message of the entire speech for me, personally. Repeated:

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Wow!

I am pleased that we celebrate this brave man by honoring his birthday as a nation.

My kids ----

Their ages are -- 14, 28, and 30. I never imagined that I would have three children when I was a young girl, let alone three incredibly great kids. We spent some nice time together over the winter recess -- no school or crazy work schedules. Time with my kids (and other family members) is priceless! I love to listen to them because they have important things to say. I love to watch them because they do great things. They have straight teeth and sharp minds -- what else could a mother ask for?

A beautiful day . . .

Yesterday was just about the most beautiful day I have ever seen. It snowed well into the late night Friday, early morning Saturday. It was so cold Saturday morning that the snow stayed on the trees all day. About 3:00 p.m. I left to run some errands. As I turned the corner to head east on 4100 South, I couldn't help but be energized and happy by what I saw. The snow sparkled everywhere. The valley was covered in it's snowy glory. The trees were naturally flocked, and the sky was the most impeccable blue! I couldn't keep from smiling as a drove along. What a beautiful day!

How SWEET it is! Sugar SWEET!

The Utah Football Team ripped the Crimson Tide of Alabama tonight in the Sugar Bowl! It was absolutely awesome! (Willie and Karl attended all but one of the Utes home games this season and what a season it was!) It was such an exciting game tonight -- both offense and defense played the best ever! My favortie player is Paul Kruger and he played as tough as a hard nose kid from Utah can play! Congratulations UTES!

Ring out the old, ring in the new --

"Ring Out, Wild Bells" is a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Published in 1850, it forms part of "In Memoriam", Tennyson's elegy to his sister's fiance who died at the age of twenty-two. Some think the poem is very negative and dark. I'd like to point out that it's intent is to turn from negative to positive thinking. The poem is typically referred to with a new year, in fact we often sing its words from our Hymn Book on the first Sunday each January. I have highlighted the positive lines in green. Enjoy!

Ring Out, Wild Bells
by Alfred, Lloyd Tennyson

Ring out wild bells, top the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.