Dishwater Hands

After 24 years of this.....

 I am finally upgrading to this.....

No more dishwater hands.

In all honesty I have not minded doing dishes by hand

all these years.

It has been a time for thinking and looking out the window.

I grew up using a dishwasher.

When we got married the duplex we lived in didn't have one

so I just adjusted to washing dishes by hand.

It NEVER felt like a hardship.

Even when we moved into this house

and our dishwasher was a piece of junk

because of the hard water

I continued washing dishes by hand.

The goal...

When we get a water softener

and a new dishwasher

 I will use it.

The dishwasher has been sitting there in it's place ever since we

remodeled the kitchen.

But alas no water softener.

So I did not use the dishwasher.

The problem...

The water softener we have always wanted

ever since we did the research

Kinetico=expensive.

Never was a huge priority on the spending list for us.

Finally last week we bought one

off of KSL no less.

A man losing his house sold it to us for the BARGAIN price of

$800.00!!!

Kinetico came out and installed it for $200.00.

This is considerably cheaper than a new one.

Last night the hubby hooked up the dishwasher.

Magic!

No more dirty dishes in the sink ever! (wishful thinking)

I now have to train the family to rinsing and loading a dish

as they use it.

Wish me luck!

I think I might miss my uninterrupted thinking time at the sink....

"Come Come Ye Saints"

Benjamin had the wonderful opportunity

this past week to participate in Pioneer Trek.

He LOVED it!!

We worried about his stamina etc.

But he did just fine.

I think this is such a wonderful chance our youth have

to get just a taste of the sacrifice the early saints

made just for the chance to live the gospel

and come to Zion.

Here is the first picture I took as we finally spotted them after they had rounded the bend and came into view.

 Ben and his family pulling their handcart

 Still smiling after 8 miles today and a river crossing.

 The pioneer look suits him.

 One of his "sisters"...who I am sure he will be getting her number.

 His Trek parents the Vandenbergs

 When we got home we took a picture of his feet.

After the river crossing they were so muddy

he said it looked like he had black boots on.

He said they washed in buckets when they were done.

But when we got home and he took of his shoes and socks

this is what we saw...

 One of the days they participated in a lot of activities.

One of them they were able to make these rings.

Ben said it was an experience of a lifetime

that he will never forget.

He loved so much of it.

The Women's Pull was the hardest.  Watching the women in his family

struggle and fight to get that handcart up a very steep hill

with rocks and ruts.

He said it was hard not being able to help them at all.

They weren't even allowed to talk or offer encouragement.

Ben said all he and the other men did was watch...

with tears running down their faces.

They also had a river crossing on the last day.

The young men in each family carried the women across

and pulled the handcarts across.

He said it was muddy and very difficult to get those carts across the river.

Before they began, they had a speaker

talk about the trial that faced the handcart companies

every time they had a river crossing

and how later in the year many died after a crossing due to cold.

This made the experience even more powerful.

It's great to hear and see the stories that built

his faith and testimony even more.

I am so grateful he was able to go.

FMM

FMM: Yes or No?

Do you use coupons? Yes. I started doing Grocery Smarts about a year ago.  I am not totally dedicated but I have made up the cost of my Newspaper by just doing the twice a year sale at Smiths.  When coupons are worth double their face value.  I wish I was more dedicated I think I could save a lot more money. 


Do you like football? I don't dislike it.  I'll watch a few games here and there.  I prefer Basketball.


Are you in a relationship? Happily Married it will be 24 years in November.


Is your phone always within arm’s reach? I pretty much always have it in my pocket or sitting very near by.


Do you like thunderstorms? I LOVE them!


Can you cook? Yes, but I'm not this amazing chef by any means.  I can follow a recipe.


Are you – or have you – lost weight? No, but I need to. Finding the motivation is the hardest part.  My hubby and I are going on a cruise in March....I'd love to drop 25lbs by then.  Help?


Do you know how to read a map? I am an amazing  navigator!! ;)  I didn't get us lost once when we had our trip to Europe.  D.C. was a little different story.  We used the GPS.


Do you wear makeup? Nope. Used to a little. 


Do you read regularly? Like an addict.


Are you publicly affectionate?  I will hold my husbands hand or give a hug.  


Do you like picnics? Yes.


Do you have a/c? Yes! I could not live without it.


Have you ever been out of the country? Yes! I have been to England, France Canada and Mexico.  This year I am going on a Caribbean Cruise and hopefully Italy.


Do you know how to ride a bicycle? Yes, it's actually something I enjoy doing.  I need to dust mine off and take it out. 


Okay, now it’s your turn to answer the questions! And these are easy, right? Don’t forget to if you want to link up go here! And have a happy Monday! =)

New Blog

I am crazy!!!!
I can barely keep up with my personal blog....
but I have decided to start another blog.

This blog will be solely for the purpose of my new calling in Young Women's.
It's a place I can list upcoming events.
Link Personal Progress
and most of all, post about activities.
I want to keep a record of what we did and how it went.
I am thinking of having guest posts by other leaders and young women...
Thoughts?

I may even give a brief synapses of the Sunday lesson.
It's a work in progress.
I'm thinking of using it as one of my value projects.
Stay tuned.

You can check it out on my side bar it's titled "Walk Tall".
I would love to know if my friends think this is a good idea or not.