CoCo's Corner

It's Christmas morning.  My holiday was over yesterday afternoon when we left Idaho Falls.  Ted is sitting next to me, eating cold green bean casserole left over.  I need to run to 7/11 because I forgot to get the old lady kitty some food the other day - so she needs some food to eat.  I think I'll pick myself up a big gulp.  Merry Christmas to me!!!  I am going insane waiting to hear how the big reveal of the Disneyland surprise went over!! I can hardly wait to hear!!!! It's a different feeling this year.  One I can't explain.  I am so happy for my family - they have grown and their lives are different.  Doesn't mean I am sad or depressed - just a little off. I had a wonderful holiday.  I had an awesome dinner and celebration with my siblings and 83-year-old mother on Thursday.  On Friday, my kids came over and we had a great dinner and opened presents.  I love that day, I love seeing how excited everyone gets!!  I love seeing their faces when they open their g

I have been fighting myself to get busy.  I have so much to do!!!  AND I've been very lazy about it. The holidays have been very strange for me this year.  I guess it's the whole empty nest thing.  I knew if I didn't get my Christmas tree up during the Thanksgiving weekend, while KayeLynn was home,  I would probably not get it up at all.  It's very strange and different.  Now, I am not trying to sound depressed or sad - because I'm not.  I am excited about all the changes, but, it does bring a whole different element to life.  Maybe next year, I'll have a different OOMPH about things. Usually I have my presents under the tree shortly after the tree gets up.  I just barely got them all done two days ago - I probably would have waited until yesterday, but, I had to take my mom to the hospital yesterday afternoon for a procedure.  But, they are all wrapped and ready for tomorrow night. It also took forever to get my Christmas cards addressed and signed.  I co

I know it's a weird topic, but, something I have honestly thought about.  Here are a few things I think about when up in the middle of the night.  Oh, this and mountain lions!!!!  These are some of the things I hate about certain things that happens with my body: You know when you feel that urge to sneeze??  You start to breathe in, you stare off into the distance, you keep waiting and waiting, you breathe a little more (short and sweet, in and in - long and deep, in and in - all through the nose).  Waiting and waiting.   Then all the sudden, that need to sneeze subsides.  I hate that - I love a good sneeze. I'm not a light sneezer, I like to give out a huge body shuddering sneeze.  I think it really does release some demons - and I like to get rid of the biggest demons I have.  I hate those moments that you wait and try and the sneeze never comes. Speaking of sneezing.  On the whole other spectrum, I hate those sneezes that sneak up on you.  Same earth shattering explosio

In my first year of high school, I was not the best of students.  I met a boy and would skip school and engage in inappropriate behavior (nope, no details).  My friends and I would take off.  In fact, my very last term my sophomore year, I ended up flunking two classes.  My parents never saw that report card - that boy that I had become so very close to had joined the army - I mailed that report card to him and asked him to destroy it.  Had my dad seen that report card, I probably would have been strung up, flogged, caned or any other terrible tortures.  Funny thing, my mom and dad never did ask where that report card was. Trocadero Gardens across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower I got a little more serious in my junior year.  Started making a plan for my future.  I became very interested in business education classes and put all my extra energies there.  I was a fast typist, loved doing 10-key, took business law, was great at shorthand and any other business classes that I coul

This has been a long and glorious Thanksgiving weekend - it's not over.  But, the important part is. Table is all set for Thanksgiving feast Using my nice china for dinner!!! My little scare crow center piece - adds to the season Wednesday:   Wednesday is when my family had their Thanksgiving feast.  Because Rodger had to work on Thursday, we had it Wednesday - since it would be too hard for him and his wife to get here and back on Thanksgiving itself.  Unfortunately, Brandon ended up working.  So, KayeLynn and I worked from the moment we got up, cooking a gorgeous and delicious dinner.  Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, corn, yams, olives, pickles, cheese-stuffed celery, home made cranberry relish. I also made a dutch apple pie.  Crystal brought green bean casserole.  My mama brought pumpkin and cherry pie to go with the other one.  It was an amazing feast.   Pizza for dinner!!! Thursday:   We had so much fun!!!!  I actually woke up around 4:00 in t

So, I have written about joining Weight Watchers and trying to get my butt in gear to lose weight and gain control of  my health and life.  How have I done?  I have gained eight pounds since my first post about losing weight - - yeah, that's pretty dang bad.  I want to blame the stress of dealing with crap; work, KayeLynn has lost her job and recently diagnosed with diabetes - no job means no insurance (except for that wonderful COBRA payment that is more than her unemployment), my mom is dealing with health issues.  It's extremely frustrating - because I cannot continue to blame anything other than myself for my issues - I love food, I love sweets and I have an extremely difficult time controlling myself when I am around temptations. And now it's the holiday season. The last couple of days I have been watching the show Ruby on Netflix.  This is a reality based television show that is based on a woman who, in the first episode, weighs almost 500 pounds.  Never a sweeter w

Graduation Day I call him my baby boy, but, in all actuality - he is a grown man.  And he turns 25-years-old today.  He is sweet and considerate.  He loves with his whole heart. I have so  many memories of this sweet guy: Hawaii - Pearl Harbor Anchor I remember an independent stinker, who turned up missing, only to be found riding his big wheel down the busiest road in the neighborhood - at all of 2-years-old. I thought he was with his dad, his dad thought he was with me.  I ran, full bore and barefoot, down the road until I found him after a neighbor told me where he was. So laid back I remember a six-year-old, outside on the swing set, singing at the top of his lungs, "I Want Your Sex".  WOW!! I remember a young Rodger, sitting down in the family room, playing his latest Nintendo game and when things didn't quite go his way, getting angry at the game on the television and cursing out at it, "Jean Claude Van-Damme it!!" Handsome Uncle at

Yesterday was my adorable, geeky, nerdy, sweet, funny, bone-headed, stubborn, ornery, happy, handsome, smart, romantic husband's birthday.  He worked, I worked.  He and I are old enough that they really don't matter much anymore - life goes on.  Wedding Day I sure wish more people could see what I see when it comes to this man.  Although when I do get crazy enough to ask him a question, I know that whatever he tells me will most likely be true.  I have teased him from about day one in our relationship that he is the "smartest man I know".  It's true though - I have never seen so much information, trivia, smarts and geek in one huge brain.  Here is an example:  Roxann and I were talking about "dongles".  It is pretty much a computer term.  Roxann looked up the official term of it - and I said, "I bet I could send Ted a text right now and get pretty much verbatim that terminology" - so she challenged me to see what he would say.  This is th

Spring Seems when Halloween comes and goes, that you can see the finality of a year coming faster and faster.  It feels as though I always remember what happened this time last year - and last year, I would remember the year before.  This year I am reflecting on how I was a mess because the holidays were coming quickly and I knew right after that, there would be a wedding. Life is such a quick trip.  Though, we think of people as what their age is - "oh, he's just a child", then they are a teen, the twenties come up quickly, then thirties - - life is really a very quick journey.  Myself, I don't feel much different than I did when I was in high school.  I may have a lot more pounds, a worry wrinkle in the middle of my forehead that makes me think of the Grand Canyon, stretch marks, cellulite, achy bones - and a laundry list of prescriptions - I really honestly don't feel like I am much different than I was as a teen - even though all of my kids have seen the

Here is a list of lessons I have learned this Halloween: Angry Bird and Red Devil 1 - Wearing a wig with your costume is not easy. Hence the Amy Winehouse fail. It was very top heavy and difficult to wear - hence the inability to wear it the next week for your costume to the next party. Amy Winehouse Fail 2 - You shouldn't buy a cute and sexy pitchfork to go with your next costume, cute little red devil, if you are going to forget to take it - hence incomplete costume. Super Walker Family 2 - Wearing horns with your little red devil outfit is also difficult, because they want to slip - hence the can and a half of hairspray necessary to keep the curls and the horns in. BooBoo Ladybug 3 - A can and a half of hairspray can be flammable - hence the singe to the tips of the hair when it got to close to the heat. At least it wasn't as bad as Amberly wanted me to believe. Aedynn the Zombie!! 4 - Sambuka is made of the devil - hence the necessity to

I had this nightmare this morning. It was very vivid and very scary. I don't know why I had this dream, but, I figure it had something to do with all these young women dying in train accidents, car accidents and homicides. It kind of terrified me. I dreamt I was at a funeral for these two young women. They were being buried together. They appeared to be around 15 or 16 years old. They were laying one on top of the other, with each of their heads lying to one side in the coffin, so you could see both of their heads, but you could really only see the one on tops full body. I have no idea who these girls were - but, I was at their funeral. I walked up to the casket to see them and I could just hear their terrified voices talking to me in my head. "We aren't dead!" "Please help us" "We are so cold" "Please, we aren't dead". I just stood there staring at them, not knowing what to do, listening to them speak to my brain. All

complacent: adjective - contented to a fault October 10 came and went without a thought. Since that dang Denny's closed, it seems like it just doesn't matter anymore. Whereas, we used to make such a big deal out of it - made sure we recognized it - now it's not a big deal. It's October 15 and I was reading some past blog posts and got to the post "First Date - End of an Era" and realized that the day had come and gone and we didn't even acknowledge it. Makes me kind of worried about what that means. It seems like we always worked so hard to make sure that it was acknowledge and now it doesn't matter. Maybe because it passed this time and we didn't notice it, we will work harder next year. I sure hope so. Maybe a trip to Cancun will help. HMMM - it's a thought.

Ted decided we were in a rut. So, to kind of fix that rut, one of the things he suggested was to take a drive and look at the colors up in the mountains and in the canyons. We drove up to Park City. We went to the St. Regis and went up the funicular and took some beautiful photos up there. I took a lot of pictures and Ted probably took twenty times what I did. We saw how the "beautiful people" live. The guy who owns Papa Johns owns the entire top floor of that hotel. He spent millions and millions to buy it. From there, we drove up to Stein Erickson. It's so beautiful right now - my favorite time of year. We then rode up by Jordanelle Reservoir - only for a second. From there we went through Heber. I kind of like to go to places that really can't be visited when you're at home. No Wendys, no Carl's Jr., no KFC, no McDonalds (OK, we can go get the $1 soda there, but that's it!!). So we drove through looking for a diner, drive in or dive. Som

Yesterday was a birthday for one of the most amazing women I know. Ms. KayeLynn Marie came to me 27 years ago. She was quite the gift. After an extremely painful labor, I was presented with the most beautiful little girl, with jet-black hair that covered her little head. This wonderful woman has dealt with a lot of trials and tribulations in her life. But, you will never meet a more determined, a more stubborn, a more empathetic, a more motivated, a more honest, a more ornery, a more loving, a more beautiful spirit. She has taken a big step this year, she transferred to the University of Utah to go to school and invested into moving up into the dorms. It's been a good move for her. She has shown this awesome independence that blossomed upon this move - she's going out and doing things; a lot of times on her own. Dances, concerts and the like. This is a very big step - a growing and blossoming woman. Happy Birthday beautiful woman - I sure do love you.

I have been engrossed, obsessed and crazed about Mad Men. I had never watched the show before, but, I found it on Net Flix and started watching it. I wasn't sure about it in the first couple of episodes. It didn't take me long to break out into a sweat when I wasn't able to watch it for a couple of days. If you have never seen Mad Men, it's a series that depicts a 1960's Madison Avenue advertising agency. I think the thing that attracts me the most is the era. I was born in 1962, so I was a toddler when most of this was set around. The men, especially John Hamm who is the main character, have their Brylcreem'ed hair and wear their suits and ties. There have been a couple of times that John Hamm has stood there and puts on his hat. I don't know, there is just something incredibly sexy about it. It's all about the hat. He's tall, he's dark, he's mysterious, he's sexy. And he puts on his hat. The woman are incredibly beauti

If you ever get a chance to talk to depression-era generation, grab the chance. Especially, when they are telling stories. My parents grew up during the depression. So did Ted's parents. Yesterday, I spent a little over an hour with Ted's dad and he started a conversation. Most of my time in Grand Junction has been spent with his mother and talking and hearing her stories. Yesterday, I spent over an hour listening to this story. It was just the two of us. This whole conversation started because he is interested in the house that his grandmother designed and had built. I am going to change the conversation a bit, and make it chronological. This is going to be a long story, but, I found it fascinating. Ted's dad turns 82 next week. Our visit was double-fold, we went to visit for his birthday and to see how they are faring, since they are aging and having a bit of difficulty taking care of themselves. The plan is to move them closer to Ted's sisters and broth