SPAGHETTI SAUCE HEAVEN!!

Definingˈbyü-ti-fəl.......

It has been a while since I have posted anything. My thoughts are constantly running full steam ahead but rarely do I get a chance to slow down and put those thoughts into words.
We recently returned from a wonderful family vacation to the thriving metropolis of Marysvale, Utah, population....maybe 300. This is an amazing town filled with deep rooted history of mining, religion and the Bertelsen family.

We went with a group of family and friends, about 15 in all, and enjoyed amazing rides on the 4-wheelers, great food and fun conversation. It was on one of these rides that I found myself thinking, "That is the most beautiful.....". After thinking this so many times I wondered how one could really express the word 'beautiful' so that someone else feels in their heart and soul what you feel.

William Shakespeare said..."Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Was he totally correct? Can I look at something that, to me, is utterly gorgeous and to you is merely average? Is there beauty in everything? Really, everything?

As I was able to putter my way slowly through more than 100 miles of the Paiute Trail I found myself cresting a hill and seeing such an extraordinary scene that I would stop my machine, pull the camera out of the protective case, take several shots and just hope that I had captured through the lens, what my eyes and heart and mind had experienced in that one moment.




Feeling confident that I had, I would continue on down the trail only to be stopped again at another sight that seemed to be competing for my vote on "Most Beautiful".


If that wasn't enough to keep my mind busy, I found that the actual 'smell' of sunburnt leaves and dusty trail was beautiful! Un-scarred white bark on an aspen tree, one vibrant oak with shimmering red leaves in the midst of lush green pines, the sun glistening on golden aspen leaves. Could anything be more beautiful?

My senses would not give my mind a rest. Soon I was listening to the water rushing over rocks and cascading into a river. The sound was calming. The scene was peaceful. What was the most beautiful thing?

Upon our return to camp I found beauty in other things..... our friends children, Claire giggling and Nate roasting marshmallows or asking if we could go through "Roller Coaster Alley" again, seeing Dani and Bryn enjoying each others company on a camping trip they yearned for. Having Ralph and Cher, Rob and Karen and Todd and Anna see Marysvale through our eyes. Even Cher's gourmet carrot-cake pancakes that never could cook all the way were beautiful!


Needless to say, I haven't discovered or defined beautiful. I am, however, so blessed to live in such a place that I am inspired to continue searching, knowing full well, that it is one thing and everything.

Please let me know what your definition of beautiful is........

Just a little game of tag!
Here are the Rules:
1)Post rules on your blog
2)Answer the six "8" items
3)Let each person you tag know by leaving them a comment

8 Favorite TV Shows
1. What Not To Wear
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. Desperate Housewives
4. So You Think You Can Dance
5. American Idol
6. Brothers and Sisters
7. News
8. 48 Hours

8 Things I did Yesterday
1. Went to work only to pull into the parking lot, have my boss call and say that
I had plenty of hours and could go home!
2. Had smoothies (made by Kirk) for breakfast with my Honey and My Baby girl!
3. Scrubbed basement floors
4. Cleaned the litter box (Cheese must have been thrilled as we were treated to
a wonderful dead mouse offering this morning.
5. Made Bread...this made everyone happy!
6. Removed an embarrassing amount of hair from my floors that could possibly
create another dog! (How can crazy still be so furry?)
7. Did laundry.
8. Listed my motorcycle for sale.

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To
1. Having Kirk home for Sunday dinner for the next two months.
2. Tomatoes from the garden.
3. Seeing my Favorite Uncle at the end of this month!
4. Bryn's dance review of the classes she teaches...July 15th!
5. Sunny beautiful days.
6. Heaven.
7. Having some time to finish a book.
8. That's about it.....

8 Favorite Restaurants1.
1. Gloria's Little Italy
2. Ottavios
3. Bombay House
4. Ruby River
5. Applebees
6. Miner's Cafe in Midvale
7. Tucanos
8. Sizzler

8 Things on My Wish List
1. No Debt
2. Low gas prices
3. World Peace...seriously
4. Extra time
5. Cool summer nights
6. Another trip to Italy would be pretty nice.
7. Some shoes that look good and feel good after running around at work all day long.
8. A fur free existence that still included my dog Crazy.

People I Tag
1. Dani Lou
2. Bryndi Boo
3. Shana Gardner
4. Chris Pyne
5. Kayleen Sheppard

Summertime, Sweet Summertime.......

I love all of the seasons of the year but summertime is probably my favorite. To see the fruits of your labor (or your hubby's labor), the flowers blooming, even to mow the lawn, I look forward to it all.

I feel so blessed to be in the home that my grandparents built. I cannot wake up without thinking about them, missing them, hoping I am living up to what they wanted of me. They were such a wonderful influence in my life and I hope that I can pass that on to my girls.

I thought I would just post a few pictures of my favorite summertime hangout ~ the patio (pronounced Pah-Tee-Ooh for those of you who know and love anyone in Marfa, Texas;)



Kirk has worked so hard in the garden this year and we are going to have a bumper crop of tomatoes!



My sweet Crazy. She is squinting just a bit, too light outside for those tender eyes!



I can hardly believe that Jazz is 14 years old! She still acts like a little puppy.



The Patio. A refuge from the daily grind.

I'm BAAAACCCCKKKK!

After what seems like many moons, I thought I would do a little blogging. Facebook is seriously sucking the fun out of blogs!

So much has happened in the last few months. Dani and Steven have moved into their new house and it is beautiful! I am so happy for them. We niss them, and Hank the grand-dog, but get to see them a few times a week still.

Kirk is just about done with this round of swing shifts and I am so excited. He is busily planning a 10 day motorcycle trip with a group of cops that will take them into Canada. He is so wonderful, I am so blessed to be his wife.

Bryn is working 4 jobs! Still being a nanny for our Doc, teaching dance two days a week at Orem Recreation center, working at the Junk (local gas station) and helping out at the new Parkway Health Center in Payson.

As a matter of fact, Parkway is where you will find me most days also as I have taken a new position with Traditions Health Care as the Admissions/Resident Services person. I think I have found my dream job! I get to work one-on-one with the residents and meet so many wonderful people. Parkway Health Center is a 76 bed skilled nursing facility. We moved in on May 5th and have almost doubled in staff and residents since then. I have such a love for these people and feel like I am able to help make a difference in their life whether for a few weeks during rehabilitation or for longer with long term nursing care.

Please keep in touch, contact me here or on facebook. I would love to hear from all of you!

I'm Thinking ARBY'S!!

Yesterday, Valentine's Day, was the 22nd anniversary of my marriage to my sweet hubby Kirk. It was amazing! We spent the day together, I made cookies while he tried to sleep off the effects of a graveyard shift. He had made reservations to Ottavios, one of our favorite restaurants. When we arrived we could hardly get through the door, there were SOOOOOO many people. Obviously rookies! We were seated within minutes and started to peruse the special Valentine's Day Menu. Can you believe we choose prime rib and salmon dinners? Hello, some of the best Italian in the county and we go for non-Italian? As part of your meal they had a beautiful appetizer/pasta bar. Pasta salads of every imaginable kind, fresh fruit, large shrimp with cocktail sauce and their famous bread. We tried almost everything and walked back to our table....but wait.....our table was gone!! They had moved our table to make another table larger! Fortunately we were given another table just inches away from the first site.

Everything was so good! We really ate way too much!

Upon arriving home, I went with Bryn to deliver some valentine treats before she went to hang out with her friends.
Now....
Flashback 32 hours and you will find me at Applebee's with my amazing friend Cheryl. She is grinning like the cat who ate the canary....in fact, I have a pic of her that can help you visualize....





Don't hate her because she's beautiful.

Cheryl had arrived for our lunch date with a large sunshiny yellow bag. I asked her what she had and she said it was something for me and Kirk to help us celebrate our anniversary and Valentines. I did have to ask if it was sexual in nature to which she replied..."It depends on how you look at it."

So, a few minutes into lunch she lets me peek inside.




Certainly you have seen the commercial. A guy, sitting on the bed. You hear a woman's voice saying, "Okay honey. But I am only doing this because it's your birthday...." Then out she comes in a full on Arby's uniform carrying a try like what you have seen here.

Needless to say, I laughed so hard throughout lunch and on the way home and even every time I thought about how I would utilize this the next day, that I had a headache. Now that could really put the kibosh on the whole thing!

I am so blessed to have some of the funniest friends on earth! I have no idea what I would do without Cher. She, and hubby Ralph, have been such great friends, and we can obviously talk about ANYTHING!!

As it says on the cups on the tray..."Happiness is just a curly fry away!"

Announcing....A NEW Member Of The Family!!

I can hardly believe it! My amazing hubby brought home a new member of the family and I would like to be the first to introduce you.



His name is Whirlpool and WOW is he a hard worker! At 32" tall and 18" wide, he is a little smaller than others like him but that didn't stop us from welcoming him into our home with open arms. As you can see, he is black, and that just made us love him even more. I checked into a little bit of his ancestry and found that he has a little bit of Hispanic (Mexico) and Chinese (China) in him. Bundle all of that together and what a beautiful package.

As soon as Whirlpool got settled he went straight to work and washed an entire load of dishes! They came out all sparkly clean. He really is an expert at what he does.

Feel free to stop by and welcome our new little guy. He's kind of quiet but he is a perfect addition to the Bertelsen household!

Happy New Year!

Wow! 2009 Already! I remember being in 6th grade and thinking the killer bees would take care of us all before the year 2000! I was a little gullible then. I also learned that there are germs in the air (in science class) and did my best to not breathe in. I think that may be a very good explanation for some questionable things about me.

I am really looking forward to a new year. So many opportunities and challenges, but I think I am up for it.

We had our whole little family over for fabulous Chinese food last night. I really should have taken some pictures, not only was the family beautiful, so was the food! I made egg rolls (crab and cream cheese or vegetable, pick either one!), ham fried rice, stir fry veggies and sesame chicken. The sesame chicken is my new favorite thing to make, found a great recipe on the internet, let me know if you need it.

After dinner we all retired to the front room to visit and watch the dogs play. It is so funny to watch Crazy and Hank get together. I think they really look forward to the playtime. Jazz, on the other hand, is not about to get off my lap unless Hank gets up with her. Then she is quickly trying to find higher ground. It was a little easier when Hank didn't know that he could jump up on the furniture.

I asked my family what their goal was for the new year. Everyone had one, except Bryn. Actually, she had one, it was...."I have a goal of not making any goals for the new year." Who raised her?
So the big goal for the new year........wait for it........

Get organized. A place for everything and everything in its place.

We actually started a little early by taking an entire truck load of "things" to DI. I think a lot of other people thought about this too as Kirk said there was a 2 hour line to drop things off.

Sure, there are other goals. Some a little more personal than what I would share here. I wish everyone a wonderful New Year and good luck on your goals!