We are at the Mall

Chelsea sent me this picture today of her little Evie ( my grand baby girl) who has quite a fun and amusing personality.
She is a lot about celebrating life and all its possibilities. I think it comes through the genes.
And all the Romans girls love the MALL....can you tell.

Fabric Envelopes

This is a cool idea. I saw it on a fun website:

"We’re always making all sorts of stuff out of fabric, but can never bring ourselves to toss any scraps. this project is an easy and smart way to repurpose even the tiniest leftovers. by using one of our favorite sewing materials—fusible webbing—you can whip up a whole set of these no-sew envelopes in a flash. they’re great places to store favorite documents, photos, or business cards, and can even be used as a special gift wrap."

Go here for directions: http://www.designspongeonline.com/2009/07/diy-wednesdays-fabric-envelopes.html

Why Men Have Sheds!

Flip Flops and Napkin Rings

We had an enrichment progressive dinner last night. They call it a Flip Flop night. You were suppose to wear your cutest flip flops to walk from house to house. Lindsay had the idea of doing " bells and whistles" on them.I made these for fun..so me, wouldn't you say? I won a prize ( another pair of plain flip flops). I can't really walk in flip flops so maybe I will wear them to the pool shower.I wish I had won one of the cute bags from the other game. Oh well, at least I participated. It was a fun night.

And the next picture:Lindsay gave me these cute STAR napkin rings for my birthday. I got them belatedly because she accidentally left them in Winston Salem...but brought them back last week. I love them. I can't wait to use them. Very cute, Lindsay. xoxox

My Trip to Alabama

This year I was asked to be a guest speaker at a multi-stake youth conference at Troy State for 750 people. I was there 20 years ago as a stake YW president doing a tri-stake youth conference. My counselor Carol, was there too. I hadn't seen her for 20 years. She lives in Dothan , Alabama. Her stake was one of the stakes represented.....not my old stake. So I flew into Birmingham. My good friend Marilyn ( she was my secretary) picked me up and drove me to Troy, where we reunited with Carol. We had a blast going down memory lane......laughed our heads off. It is amazing how with good friends you just pick up where you left off. It was like yesterday we were there. We stayed in a brand new Mariott Courtyard overnight and then went to the college the next morning for my talk. I spoke 1 hour on Integrity. Of course you know i told the Elvis story, which is always a hit. I think it went pretty well...got some good feedback. Thanks Chelsea and Lindsay for editing my talk....they made sure I didn't embarrass myself or the family :) The stake leaders were very gracious and gave me some gift cards as a thank you. We went to lunch and then had to say good bye.

Marilyn drove us back to Birmingham where we started our girls weekend Friday night. These are the girls I have been traveling with for 25 years. Except Angie didn't get to come. We missed her. The last time we were all together in Birmingham was 3 years ago for Theresa's son, Kirk's, funeral. It was a sad time. This time we stayed in the Residence Inn Inverness right outside my old neighborhood. We lived there for 3 weeks after the fire. We had a great day doing all kinds of things. I even went by the old neighborhood which looked fabulous. The 2 grocery stores I used to shop at (Bruno's and Food World) were both out of business. But I did get Jim and Nick's Barbecue.....the best I have ever had. Sunday we went to church in Hoover ( my old ward where Greg was Bishop for 6 years). I still knew about 20 people. Everyone was really friendly and nice.
Then we went to RS at Marilyn's ward ( she is RS president) in Alabaster They finally have a beautiful new building. They have been driving a long way to church for many years and it is so nice they can now have one close. Greg's old ward clerk is the Bishop.It was old home week there seeing many old friends. It was so much fun.

Then we had a gourmet lunch cooked my Marilyn's son-in-law,Dean, which was fabulous. Took a nap and then on to the next party. My dear friend Karen Walker hosted a fabulous shin-dig southern living style.... to welcome me back. She made wonderful food and her house looked beautiful. She always does everything so nice. Many girls came which made me feel really special. I have been gone 18 years so we had a lot of catch up on. I have been back to visit several times but haven't seen many for a long time. We had a great time catching up on each other's lives. I love these sisters and will always have a special place in my heart for them. Thanks Karen.....it was awesome.

I felt bad I didn't have time to go visit other friends and neighbors when I was so close. I didn't even call them because I knew I couldn't go see them. I made a deal with these girls years ago that we wouldn't visit anybody else unless we all knew them. It is hard to cram everything into 2 days. I flew home Monday morning.

It was a great trip and I am so glad I got to go. Great friendships are forever and I am so glad I have these people in my life.

How to recognize the best -tasting produce

I got this email from Martha Stewart on produce. I thought the table was awesome. You ccan take it with you when you shop in case you are not an expert in fruits and vegetables. Go to : http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/web/pdfs/pdf1/0704_pickingproduce.pdf?xsc=eml_smw_2009_07_13

The Hazard of flying : A ditty to inspire us all

I have flown a lot this summer. My trip to Utah coming and going was a nightmare on Nothwest/Delta. Not to mention the follow-up I tried to do when I got home. Turned me upside- down and inside-out. I still haven't resolved it yet.
When I saw this on U-tube, it resonated with me. I may have to do one myself.....you never know when I may show up on U-tube. Enjoy!

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-united-breaks-guitars-video-ual-july8,0,4414385.story

My 4th of July Table and a Political Commentaty

I love the 4th of July for a lot of reasons. First of all it is my birthday. I was shocked to find out when I was 5 that all the fireworks weren't just for me. My dad always brought a ton home from the Rotary fireworks stand that he volunteered at every year. But as the years passed and I learned about history and our country, I was so honored to share my birthday with America.
I am a very patriotic girl who loves America...the America I grew up in. I am concerned that the face of America is changing.

I received this email today from a friend that I decided to pass on. I like Charles Krauthammer and most of the time I agree with him and like what he says. Read the following and make up your own mind. I just hope people will care enought to have an opinion and fight for the things they believe in and know are right.

Have a fun and safe 4th of July. I will probably be watching the fireworks on my new flat screen...I can't get anyone to want to suffer in the heat with me. They all say I have seen enough fireworks in my life time and I can't use the " it's my birthday" to guilt them into it. Oh well......a large diet pepsii with crushed ice and I will be just fine.

To my Friends & Associates:

Last Monday was a profound evening, hearing Dr. Charles Krauthammer speak to the Center for the American Experiment. He is brilliant, intellectual, seasoned & articulate. He is forthright and careful in his analysis, and never resorts to emotions or personal insults. He is NOT a fear monger nor an extremist in his comments and views. He is a fiscal conservative, and has a Pulitzer prize for writing. He is a frequent contributor to Fox News and writes weekly for the Washington Post. The entire room was held spellbound during his talk. I have shared this with many of you and several have asked me to summarize his comments, as we are living in uncharted waters economically and internationally. Even 2 Dems at my table agreed with everything he said! If you feel like forwarding this to those who are open minded , feel free.

Here is his resume from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Krauthammer

A summary of his comments:

1. Mr. Obama is a very intellectual, charming individual. He is not to be underestimated. He is a 'cool customer' who doesn't show his emotions. It's very hard to know what's 'behind the mask'. Taking down the Clinton dynasty from a political neophyte was an amazing accomplishment. The Clintons still do not understand what hit them. Obama was in the perfect place at the perfect time.

2. Obama has political skills comparable to Reagan and Clinton. He has a way of making you think he's on your side, agreeing with your position, while doing the opposite. Pay no attention to what he SAYS; rather, watch what he DOES!

3. Obama has a ruthless quest for power. He did not come to Washington to make something out of himself, but rather to change everything, including dismantling capitalism. He can't be straightforward on his ambitions, as the public would not go along. He has a heavy hand, and wants to 'level the playing field' with income redistribution and punishment to the achievers of society. He would like to model the USA to Great Britain or Canada.

4. His three main goals are to control ENERGY, PUBLIC EDUCATION, & NATIONAL HEALTH CARE by the Federal government. He doesn't care about the auto or financial services industries, but got them as an early bonus. The cap and trade will add costs to everything and stifle growth. Paying for FREE college education is his goal. Most scary is his health care program, because if you make it FREE and add 46,000,000 people to a Medicare-type single-payer system, the costs will go through the roof. The only way to control costs is with massive RATIONING of services, like in Canada. God forbid.

5. He's surrounded himself with mostly far-left academic types. No one around him has ever even run a candy store. But they're going to try and run the auto, financial, banking and other industries. This obviously can't work in the long run. Obama's not a socialist; rather he's a far-left secular progressive bent on nothing short of revolution. He ran as a moderate, but will govern from the hard left. Again, watch what he does, not what he says.

6. Obama doesn't really see himself as President of the United States, but more as a ruler over the world. He sees himself above it all, trying to orchestrate & coordinate various countries and their agendas. He sees moral equivalency in all cultures. His apology tour in Germany and England was a prime example of how he sees America, as an imperialist nation that has been arrogant, rather than a great noble nation that has at times made errors. This is the first President ever who has chastised our allies and appeased our enemies!

7. He's now handing out goodies. He hopes that the bill (and pain) will not 'come due' until after he's reelected in 2012. He'd like to blame all problems on Bush from the past, and hopefully his successor in the future. He has a huge ego, and Mr. Krauthammer believes he is a narcissist.

8. Republicans are in the wilderness for a while, but will emerge strong. We're 'pining' for another Reagan, but there'll never be another like him. Krauthammer believes Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty & Bobby Jindahl (except for his terrible speech in February) are the future of the party. Newt Gingrich is brilliant, but has baggage. Sarah Palin is sincere and intelligent, but needs to really be seriously boning up on facts and info if she's to be a serious candidate in the future. We need to return to the party of lower taxes, smaller government, personal responsibility, strong national defense, and states' rights.

9. The current level of spending is irresponsible and outrageous. We're spending trillions that we don't have. This could lead to hyper inflation, depression or worse. No country has ever spent themselves into prosperity. The media is giving Obama, Reid and Pelosi a pass because they love their agenda. But eventually the bill will come due and people will realize the huge bailouts didn't work, nor will the stimulus package. These were trillion-dollar payoffs to Obama's allies, unions and the Congress to placate the left, so he can get support for #4 above.

10. The election was over in mid-September when Lehman brothers failed, fear and panic swept in, we had an unpopular President, and the war was grinding on indefinitely without a clear outcome. The people are in pain, and the mantra of 'change' caused people to act emotionally. Any Dem would have won this election; it was surprising it was as close as it was.

11. In 2012, if the unemployment rate is over 10%, Republicans will be swept back into power. If it's under 8%, the Dems continue to roll. If it's between 8-10%, it'll be a dogfight. It'll all be about the economy.

I hope this gets you really thinking about what's happening in Washington and Congress. There's a left-wing revolution going on, according to Krauthammer, and he encourages us to keep the faith and join the loyal resistance. The work will be hard, but we're right on most issues and can reclaim our country, before it's far too late.


I am committed to helping reclaim the country by volunteering in several political campaigns this summer and fall.
Sign up...just make sure you are on the RIGHT side :)

Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, and leave the rest to God.

Celine and Elvis : Awesome

American Idol showed this awesome video a while back. It is amazing how they put it together.A friend sent it to me because she knew I loved Elvis. Just thought I'd share it. I bet they could put a lot of singers with Elvis and it would be so cool. He would be so impressed and so proud.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agZTP7I0994

We are having our ELEVENTH grandchild

We found out yesterday that we are having another grandson, who will be our 11th grandchild. That will give us 5 boys and 6 girls. Another missionary in the making.And Greg is thrilled that the Romans name will carry on in another branch of our family tree. This will be the 4th child of Denton and Marissa, 1 girl and 3 boys. Which is exactly the pattern we followed. But then we had baby Lindsay to finish off the family and give Chelsea a sister. I won't suggest that right now:) We are excited to have another little blessing join our family. They sure make cute kids and we pray for a healthy. happy baby and mother.