Rocky

If you haven't and have the time, I suggest watching the ROCKY series. I never was a fan; never understood the hype. However, with some coercion from my brothers, I have successfully made it through all six of the movies, and I must say, I was quite impressed. Here's a random fact that I found quite interesting: It took only $1.1 million to make the original Rocky, filmed in just 28 days--made over $100 million, won 3 Oscars, including Best Picture. Go figure. Besides, who doesn't get pumped when you hear that Rocky music???

Favorite quotes:

Mickey: You're gonna eat lightnin' and you're gonna crap thunder!

Mickey: Your nose is broken.
Rocky: How does it look?
Mickey: Ah, it's an improvement.

Rocky Balboa: [looking at Thunderlips] Wow, he's awful big. Hey, Mick, how much do you think he eats?
Mickey: About 202 pounds.
LeRoy Neiman: Weighing in at 202 pounds...

Rocky Balboa: I was wonderin' if, uh, you wouldn't mind marryin' me very much.

And a lesson on life:

Rocky Balboa: Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place It will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me or nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!

---

For Ruby

Dedicated to sweet little Ruby: she will always hold a place in our hearts. <3

The Ride of Your Life

Let's face it: yesterday sucked. I don't know quite why, perhaps I offended the gods, or the elements combined against me, or I stepped in front of a black cat or something. But you know, it's those really crappy days that make you see life clearer--not the bad day, but the day after. Things are so much brighter, because you were so lost in the dark.

This is pretty awesome. Definitely a must read.

The Ride of your life

- George Carlin - worth reading every day - a keeper
Enjoy the ride; There is no return ticket
George Carlin on aging! (Absolutely Brilliant)

IF YOU DON'T READ THIS TO THE VERY END, YOU HAVE LOST A DAY IN YOUR LIFE. AND WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED, DO AS I AM DOING AND SEND IT ON.

George Carlin's Views on Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.


'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.


You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.


'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life ! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!


But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?


You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!


So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.
You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!


You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'


Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!' May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.'
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.


AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away..


And if you don't send this to at least 8 people - who cares? But do share this with someone. We all need to live life to its fullest each day!!


P.S. Thanks Dad, I really needed that. :)

It's one of those days...

It's one of those days. I feel it too.

Pioneeeers

Happy Pioneer Day everyone!!!

(P.S. I won the baking contest, just in case you were curious. ;) )

Little Ian

I'm not sure why, but when I heard the Jonas Brothers sing this particular song, all I could think of was my dear little Ian--I think I've seen him dancing to this one before, maybe that's why. So, this is dedicated to Ian Daniel Willis; thanks for always putting a smile on my face. :)

Happy 4th

I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed the 4th this year--I honestly cannot say that every year. I woke up, dropped by the grand parade to watch Christian, snapped a few photos while being drowned out by rain (yet the sun was still shining), and headed home--and only in half an hour. That's my kind of parade. We didn't have to bother with crowds and annoying people and the heat or anything--it was glorious.Isn't he just dashing???

Family BBQ out back--just a relaxed afternoon--followed by a wonderful visit from the sandman--beautiful day. Woke up, fixed hair and makeup, then walked down the street for the Stadium of Fire with the fam--the best of company to be sure. Spectacle, fireworks, music, Nick Jonas, patriotism, hanging out with my best friends--who could ask for more? What a great night.

Probably the best part of the 4th of July, and definitely the best part of The Stadium of Fire: the jets!!!

SHeDAISY--a worthy performance, and they're from Utah!

This is my favorite of their songs--and possibly in my top favorite songs of all time. It always makes me smile when I'm feeling down.

Okay, now the fire-dancers were AWESOME. Obviously, as you can tell by my amazing photography skills, we didn't have the best view, but they looked pretty sweet up on the screen. If you look close here (at the squiggly line of fire), you can see a flaming jump rope--tell me that's not cool.


And of course, the main event... JONAS BROTHERS!!! This is just the hype before they even came out--seriously? At this point I wondered if there were any males left in the stadium, or if it was merely populated by the shrieks of crazed girls.


And again, you can see how close we were to the actual Jonas Brothers--amazing, right? ;) I really wasn't a fan until I started watching JONAS on Disney Channel with my little brothers--HILARIOUS show. Ever since I've been crushing a little bit on Nick (ugh, and he's the youngest one! I need serious therapy)--but in my defense, he's the most talented one!

And then... it began. A night I will always remember: the night I lost the majority of my hearing. On the bright side, Paranoid is one of my favorite songs... ROCK ON! (the tone-deaf singing and the ultimate screeching may or may not have been me...)

Yeah, Mother dear and I were pretty dang excited.

Unlike some of our other so-called family...

You know, secretly Sean and Christian are closet Jonas fans--they're just too cool to show it.

Yep, I think I was by far the most excited one there. But you know, a football stadium full of screaming teenage girls--whacha gonna do? You can't beat 'em, so why not join them?! It's always fun to be a screaming, dancing maniac of a kid again, right???

Nick serenading us on the piano--in a psychodelic rendition, but trust me, he's there, the blob right in the middle (again, I have AMAZING camera skills)--piano... sigh... tell me that's not hot. What can Joe do? All he does is jump around and sing every couple lines. Nick writes all the songs, plays all the instruments, is diabetic yet still a rock star... ah...


Joe does have his moments though...


Yep, Happy Happy 4th.

Martha

I don't know how it filtered back there, but somehow the ladies in billing (at work) found their way onto this blog, and now I've made a cake for one of them; our dear Martha--well, for her daughter. This time I had the chocolate fondant down to an art, so instead of tears and crippled hands, I ended up with a beautiful and extremely fun to make cake! This really was a treat to make.

I don't know if you can tell in the above photo, but I covered the bow with luster dust to give it that sparkle and shine that gift-ribbon tends to have.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!