*Monday Memos*

*MONDAY MEMOS*

   

 (If pictures are too small, just click to enlarge) 
Weekly recap of my rather crazy, insane, but fun and rewarding life!

dear monday, today I went to the PT gym much later than normal. I feel like I have a hangover still from Christmas. LOL  It went okay. I chatted with a lady who asked how I was doing and if I was running yet (she is there a lot too). When people ask me that, I stop and think how frustrating it really is that I am still not running. Maybe when it's warm. But I keep working hard at it. BUT, good news!  I can NOW squat without too much pain!  I honestly never thought that would come back!  It has taken a lot of work and it's nothing like before but I can do it without falling over or being in intense pain!  It still hurts, but not like before. I had a hair appointment today. It feels so good to have it colored and lightened a bit more, and she didn't cut too much off this time! Yay! 

This is my before.....

And my after....

Holy cow I didn't realize how bad I needed a color!

☺

I came home and felt so tired. I had to lay down for a bit. I watched a bit of Yours, Mine and Ours while I laid there to try to zone out. I love that movie, the old version. I worked on this for a while and then Dave got home and needed a ride to take the Escalade in to get fixed. We then went to Peach City for dinner. I just shared his fries. I wasn't feeling too hungry, plus that is not my fave. When we got home I made hot cocoa to warm up!  Brrrrr...  I stayed up too late working on this.

dear tuesday, today is my Mama's 81st birthday!  I am so grateful she is here! Last year at this time I wasn't sure she would be, but she pulled through her quadruple bypass with flying colors!  I am so grateful I still have her and I cherish each moment with her!

• ❉HAPPY BIRTHDAY❉• to the woman I am blessed to call Mom! I can never express how grateful I am for the gift of having her as my mother, caregiver, mentor, example, partner in crime, my boy's Grammy, and seriously the funnest person to hang out with on the planet! She is truly one of kind and the most caring and unselfish person I know. I have always said if I can be even half the woman she is, I will consider my life a success!
• ❉ I am so grateful I get to spend the day with her! ❉ •
I LOVE YOU MOM!
ღೋ ══════════╗
* ░H░A░P░P░Y░*
░B░I░R░T░H░D░A░Y░! *
╚══════════ ೋღ

*I was going to be good and only post one photo, but I could not choose just one! Her life deserves to be celebrated and so... picture overload

Dave was off today. We met my parents at Maddox for her birthday lunch. Sky and Sarah joined us as well. It was snowing. We gave her her gifts. She is hilarious! I got some fun pix of her. She is always the life of the party! 

 These ↓ were supposed to be silly ones.  Hmmm.... we need some work!

They came over after as well as Carson once school was out. 

We watched the deer eat the apples Dave gave them. They were fighting. I got ticked at the mama deer because she was eating them all and kicking her babies away.

 I tended Carson while Sky and Sarah went ice skating and to dinner in SLC. I had RS but didn't go. 

dear wednesday, I woke up early to practice the harp . My ONLY day I practiced this week. Not good. Life has been crazy!  Not sure why it's so hard to find time to practice lately, but it's been non-existent. Partly because I am so dead tired starting about 8 pm. My lesson went pretty well. It's sad I didn't practice more because Pirates didn't sound too bad and she didn't hear Singing in the Rain. We chatted after for a bit. I headed to Farmington to return something at Home Goods and found the three tier jar I have been trying to find online for a week. Lucky find! Love when that happens!  Proof God is in the details of our lives. I checked out Marshall's as well and then hit Deseret Book with returns, Target with returns, and TJMaxx with returns. Target was selling these cute cookies. For $13!  I wanted to buy them for Carson, but not at that price! I will make my own!

I also went to Costco (for lunch samples- hah) and Crumbl. I hit Krispy Kreme before my lesson because I had a buy one get one free. It was a nice day. I ran some donuts to Bryce and family and stayed and visited for a bit. Liam and Brinlee were so adorable. She danced for me and Lima got on my back when I was sitting down. So cute. 

I just love those kids. I am not used to them calling Bryce Daddy though. It's so sweet, but going to take some getting used to. LOL I came home and Sky showed up needing some tools to go rescue Sarah and Carson who had a flat tire in Tremonton.  Dave had meetings. I am starting get concerned about how tired I have been lately. It's the kind of tired that isn't lack of sleep tired, but more like pure exhaustion for no reason. More like radiation kind of tired. I was thinking once Christmas was over things would start to get better but this week has been one of my worst. 

My Social Books arrived:

dear thursday, I signed up for a breast cancer survivor retreat today. It is in April and held in Heber at a huge cabin and it's all expense paid. I am looking forward to it even though I won't know a soul. I went on a walk this morning and HOLY it was FREEZING!  I walked fast and still couldn't warm up!  Brrrr.....  I got a bunch of stuff done and then worked on the dinner for Dave's parents. I made this yummy chicken crack pasta. 

It was so good but so loaded with fat and calories!  But so yum!  I made them apple turnovers, a green salad, and rolls. Dave got home in time to deliver it on his way to a four hour meeting in Tremonton. I had to run a couple errands and then came home and had hot chocolate!  I am not a fan of this cold! I had stake young women basketball tonight. Tracy didn't show up though. It was me and Dani and Angie from the stake. We only had two games and a bye. It was fun. Brielle cracked me up. It's fun to be around the girls. There is just something about them that warms my heart. 

I came home and I was alone. Other than Mr. Cat and Scratchers at the back door begging to come in. Poor thing.

I saw this this morning... 

dear friday, I woke up to a winter wonderland this morning. It was coming down hard and the streets were white. No plows. I decided to bag the gym because my car isn't too great in the snow. I ended up running errands a bit later but they were plowed by then. I hit Walmart for a "few" things but ended up getting much more than that. LOL  I got a plastic drawer thing for under my desk. It needs to be organized. And...I bought myself some flowers!  

I have not done that in awhile, if ever, but I needed some spring in my life today. Plus, I got them on clearance. 

I came home and worked on my talk for tomorrow. It is already written and so I basically just had to review it and get it in my head. I gathered up the stuff I am taking for the display. I headed to pay Michele our fireplace bill and stayed and chatted with her for a while. When I got back Sky and Sarah were here. No Carson though. He was at a bday party. They hung out for a couple of hours. Dave didn't get home until about 7:30. I was too tired by then to go out. He brought home pizza.  I am a bit concerned with how tired I am lately. Not sure what is going on...but once you have had cancer that is always a fear. I shouldn't be ready to hit the hay at 7:00 pm!  Even in the winter!

I counted up my coins I found in 2019. Not many for sure, but considering everything in my life this past year, it's pretty great! I found some interesting coins.

dear saturday, I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep. I tried to listen to my meditation apps to no avail, so I listened to a podcast and that was worse because it was really good and so I was bright eyed and bushy tailed. LOL  I finally just got up and worked on my presentation for today. I looked in the mirror this morning with my glasses on and I about burst into tears. My face needs some serious help!  Waaaaa!!!  Getting old is for the birds!  I'd rather be a spring chicken! I gathered up my stuff and headed to Willard for my presentation. I was speaking as part of a Super Saturday event at a ward there. When I arrived, they were just introducing the speaker before me. Hmmm...  So I went in the foyer and looked over my notes. This was hanging on the wall.

Finally after about 40-45 minutes it was my turn. I got set up and then after they shared some hacks, I began. It went okay. I didn't feel like my energy level was up as it normally is, or maybe it was the energy level of the audience. Both affect a presentation. I shared some good stuff though. 

 My gift ↓

I didn't stay for the lunch. Probably should have, but when I got home McKay was here. He has Monday off too since it's a holiday. I chatted with him for a bit and then I organized and cleaned my desk. It took a while. It needed it. I worked on my lesson and then we went to Idle Isle with McKay for dinner. I love eating there on Saturday because they have the roasted turkey special. It's yum.  We got gas and Cooper was in front of us. It was fun to see him. McKay got out and they chatted. They have always been such good buds.  Coop is married now. 

We then hit Kent's. I was freezing!  It was nice today but it dropped fast tonight. Brrrr.... Finessed up my lesson. Then ran upstairs and got wrapped in my electric throw. 

Facebook reminded me that one year ago today I received a HUGE miracle!  It was the day I found out I didn't have to have chemo!  What an incredible blessing that was!

 Interestingly enough, these quotes were published on this day as well but different years.

dear sunday, I taught the Sunbeams today for the first time with this new group. They are still a bit like deer in the headlights but much more responsive today. I taught about Lehi's dream and had them hold onto the iron rod (a rope) as I took them to the tree of life to pick the fruit. I had a huge tree hanging on the wall with the "fruit".  It was fun. Here they are wearing a mask of Lehi:

They are adorable. We did lose Sawyer after class though. It was kind of chaos and we usually have them stay inside until their parents come but somehow he escaped. His mom showed up and he wasn't there. Pat and I (and Carson) went on a mad dash to find him. I found him down the YW hall. Whew!  Hope they will come back since this is only their second time here anyway.

Sky blowing bubbles he made with Carson ↓

I made the best salad today. It's called Coleslaw Pasta Salad. It was one of the best salads I have had in a long time.  Recipe below. Try it!  If you like coleslaw and macaroni salad, this one is for you!

We had a yummy dinner (ribs, corn chowder, the salad, rolls, green beans). It was fun having Sky and crew as well as McKay here. I played a bean bag game with Carson for quite a while. We watched the playoffs. My teams won. We have been doing our own little fantasy football type thing. I only won once all year. But Dave took the final winnings. It's been fun. I was dead tired all day. 

dear random,

A (late) Christmas gift arrived today.
I think that's supposed to be me! Right down to holding the penny I found at mile 7! 🤩🏃‍♀️💜 Love it!

#bobblehead #smh #literally #BostonMarathon2017 #penniesfromheaven

The actual article about the $100 I received...

Manic Mannequin

An amazing story from the Boston Marathon 2018

dear quotes,

I’m running out of time.It’s too late for me.My best years are behind me.
Look at me! I’m aging.I’m too old.

If you have these types of thoughts running through your mind, let me ask you a few questions:

Do these thoughts inspire you?
Do they excite you?
Do they expand you?

I choose to believe:

The best is yet to come.I’m getting better every year.There is so much for me to create and experience.I’m excited about my future.I have plenty of time.

With each passing year, I become wiser, bolder and stronger.

Tonya Leigh