Sally and Sacha

Quote on which to build 2009

2009-01-01T17:44:00.001-08:00

“If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever.” —Thomas Aquinas

Yes, I finally have normal hair

2008-12-16T14:06:00.000-08:00

Sacha- Lookin Good!

2008-11-18T10:33:00.000-08:00

Joel Cannon Family

2008-11-18T10:24:00.001-08:00

Visit with nephew, Truman

2008-11-18T10:21:00.000-08:00

Sacha and Friends Halloween 2008

2008-11-18T10:13:00.001-08:00

Sacha is in the center. The theme: 80's Aerobics Instructors!

Perry Hall High Game Day 2008

2008-11-18T10:07:00.000-08:00

Sacha's Homecoming 2008

2008-11-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

Marriage as a Divine Institution

2008-11-18T09:03:00.000-08:00

No, this is not an announcement of an engagement. A friend of mine sent me this link, which was a press release sent out by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I found it very interesting and helpful. I hope you do too.
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-divine-institution-of-marriage

The Homecoming Dance

2008-10-06T13:58:00.001-07:00

Stay tuned for pictures of Sacha's homecoming this upcoming weekend.

A pretty pose for Julianne if you turn your head sideways :-)

We (Bonnie, me and Celeste's mom) went with the girls out to Casa Giarda for dinner. Rebekah and I were a bit late because someone decided to install some lame zipper contraption in her dress, but no matter- she looked stunning. I drove the girls to the dance and Chad got to stay up late and pick them up. All in all a fun evening. Celeste, Rebekah, and Julianne

Family Home Evening - Gratitude

2008-10-06T11:53:00.000-07:00

Jacob wrote me this sweet note for our Family Home Evening on gratitude. It says, "Thank you for encouraging me to do my chores."

The farewell dance

2008-10-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

Sacha's final moments with Julianne as the summer visit ends

2008-10-06T09:29:00.000-07:00

Sacha's Good-bye Dinner- Kobe's

2008-10-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

Careful, your dinner is still HOT!

The Yoga ball

2008-10-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

Cheek to Cheek

Look mom, no hands!

The beginning of a beautiful friendship

2008-10-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

Flowers from Nick for our second date

Lookin' Good!

2008-10-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

Sacha's urban modeling shots

Mother and daughter

Sacha, Rebekah, Julianne - Sunday Dress

Sacha on keyboard -Viva La Vida

2008-10-06T07:29:00.000-07:00

Alice, Annika, and Maya come to visit Sally

2008-09-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

What a sweetheart. Maya will probably get all her teeth as once, I think she's been teething since she was born!

Alice, Annika, Aunt Sally

Annika, Julianne and Elisabethe

Aunt Sally and Annika

Sacha's FHE lesson

2008-09-21T17:04:00.000-07:00

2008-08-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

You may have stopped by my blog today and wondered why there is a picture of Sacha and some other girl (Julianne) on the heading of a blog called "Sally and Sacha"? Excellent question-
I am learning some tricks to make my blog more aesthetically pleasing. I would like to have a picture of Sacha and I together, but I refuse to place one there until I have a good picture of myself. And why don't I have a good one of myself? Well, I have moved to a new climate and can't figure out how to make my hair look good in the humidity; I don't have my hair dresser and so I have a bad cut. I don't dare try to get the bad cut fixed because I may end up with even less hair and a cut that is much worse. I think the humidity in the air makes my cells weigh more and so I feel heavy. I can't think what to wear that is modest and won't make me melt in the heat. Thus, no picture of me until I adjust to my surroundings.
PS I admit I am showing a very shallow side of myself! I am not proud of it; however, until I get over it Sacha and Julianne will be the header on my blog.
Thanks for listening to the ravings of Sally...

Happiness

2008-08-08T20:46:00.000-07:00

“Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it and sometimes travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a might effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don’t, you will leak away your innate contentment. It’s easy enough to pray when you’re in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold onto good attainments.”
From Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

The 36 Rules of Life (in no particular order)

2008-08-02T17:51:00.000-07:00

The 36 Rules of Life

3. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car.
4. Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
5. If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you've never tried before.
6. My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.
7. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.
8. A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention! It never fails.)
9. For every action there is an equal and opposite government program.
10. If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.
11. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.
12. A conscience is what hurts when all of your other parts feel so good.
13. Eat well; stay fit; die anyway.
14. Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.
15. No man has ever been shot while doing the dishes.
16. A balanced diet is a muffin in each hand.
17. Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.
18. Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.
19. Junk is something you've kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it.
20. There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.
21. Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
22. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.
23. Thou shalt not weigh more than thy refrigerator.
24. Someone who thinks logically provides a nice contrast to the real world.
25. It ain't the jeans that make your butt look fat.
1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
2. Don't worry about what people think; they don't do it very often.
26. If you had to identify in one word the reason why the human race has not achieved and never will achieve its full potential, that word would be 'meetings.'
27. There is a very fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness.'
28. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.
29. You should not confuse your career with your life.
30. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
31. Never lick a steak knife.
32. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.
33. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.
34. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely sugge sts that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.
35. The one thing that unites all human beings re gardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background is that deep down inside we ALL believe we are above average drivers.
36. Your friends love you anyway.

Debut of Sacha as a beautician

2008-07-23T04:28:00.000-07:00

With Julianne as her first victim (I mean client), Sacha tackles the job of giving a haircut. Mind you, she has never attempted this before, but she seems to have the knack. Nice job Sacha! Sacha is very interested in going to beauty school.

Onondaga Cave outing

2008-07-23T04:15:00.000-07:00

Rebekah, Sacha and Julianne near the waterfall- a short distance from the cave

Just a few of the spectacular sites within the cave. My camera can not do the formations justice. Did you know that Missouri has the most caves of any other state?

The Mall- sweet treats, belly dancing and a taxi???

2008-07-23T03:46:00.000-07:00

Rebekah who claims to dislike malls goes a bit crazy in the candy store, buys a belly-dancing outfit and poses with Julianne and Sacha who gladly help display the goods. We all enjoy Rebekah's generosity and indulge our sweet tooth while shopping.

St. Louis Arch Interactive Exhibit

2008-07-23T03:35:00.000-07:00

A wax model -pretty amazing!

St. Louis Arch- a must for all tourists!

2008-07-21T11:46:00.001-07:00

Sacha and Julianne examine the exhibits in the arch interactive museum. Yikes! They've discovered buffalo and bear.

You see an array of pictures of the arch and from inside the arch. The arch represents the gateway to the West, though we don't think of it as the west, St. Louis was the edge of the western frontier at the end of the 19th century. The arch is impressive from an engineering stand point. It stands over 600 feet high and tourists have always been able to travel to the top of the arch where there are a number of lookout windows. The travel involves situating oneself in a small compartment, a bit like an old fashioned Ferris wheel cage, except you are enclosed. There are 5 seats to a compartment and as the car travels up and down the arch, it continues to right itself so that the passenger is always sitting in a vertical position though you are traveling up and down one side of an arch. The view is spectacular as are the shots we got of the arch's shadow. We also snapped some shots of the park and lake surrounding the arch as well as some of the interactive historical replications.

Fruit picking

2008-07-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

We picked blueberries, cherries, blackberries and peaches and got a good soaking in the process. But, boy do we have some delicious preserves for eating with fresh bread and butter!

Helga and Olga come for a visit

2008-07-21T11:01:00.000-07:00

I was minding my own business scanning the Internet for jobs, when there was a knock at the door. Who should it be, but Helga and Olga. Something about this unibrowed, mustached couple seemed oddly familiar so I let them in. An hour later following some outrageous skits and many photo opportunities they bid me farewell.

The aerobics teachers

2008-07-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

Abby Abs, Sally Skinny Stix and Beatrix Butcheeks are just waiting to whip your body into shape with their upbeat and often hilarious personalized aerobics program.

Spa treatments on the cheap

2008-07-21T10:07:00.000-07:00

An attempt at an artistic shot of Sacha as she intently searches for some good clay for her "spa" exfoliation. A few years back I caught Sacha in action on the beach in Maine examining some little water creatures. I loved the picture because it was innocent and not contrived. This was my attempt to capture a similar moment.

The girls hang out by the creek, while Sacha contemplates... perhaps, a dive??

Sacha has always been one to enjoy some good times in the water. We really did have great fun at the creek and are glad Bonnie invited us along to the annual 4th of July family get-together.

Here we find Sacha, Julianne and Samantha, respectively, covered in clay from the creek bed. The even took time to mark their initials in clay on their chests. They are a motley crew and total crack-ups!

The girls then strike their bathing beauty poses as they lay out on a large boulder overlooking the creek. Sacha, Julianne, Rebekah (in back), Samantha, and Elisabeth.

More Independence Day celebrating with Bonnie's great uncle

2008-07-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

Big 4th of July celebration

2008-07-06T16:34:00.000-07:00

Sacha and Julianne making a music video starring ... Sacha and Julianne!

The kids having frozen custard at the famous Ted Drew's of St. Louis. From left to right: Jacob, Elisabeth, Isaac, Julianne, Sacha and Rebekah. Bonnie and I had to look on with envy as both of us have cut dairy from our diets.

Sacha flies down the waterslide enjoying the cool water on a hot 4th of July. This is one serious water slide/playground and it can be blown up right in a person's backyard- pretty awesome!

Julianne and Sacha get creative with the crepe paper!

Sacha, Elisabeth, Rebekah, Julianne and baby Noah on the porch swing.

The kids contemplate the meaning of the 4th of July while Bonnie provides a nice devotional.

We enjoyed being a part of the third annual Shephard 4th of July celebration. The celebration included friends from the neighborhood and church. There was wonderful food (too much!), a parade of the kids and their bikes, scooters, and wagons decorated in red, white and blue; games; a devotional and the water slide. Everyone had a wonderful time. That evening Chad took us to the top of the parking garage at the college where he is VP and we watched the fireworks sparkling in the sky over the St. Louis Arch. We were also entertained by Sacha and Julianne's dancing.

The Antics of Sacha and Julianne

2008-07-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

Sacha and Julianne have been friends since Sacha was 2 months old. They have shared many things in life including lots of hours hamming it up together. They entertain one another immensely and I certainly get a kick out of their antics. First, Julianne attempts to play and sing, but is shocked by her "own" voice (Sacha is singing on the sidelines).
Second, Sacha tries her hand as a beautician. Julianne models some of these rather complicated hair-styles in a rather, shall we say --unattractive manner. Third, Sacha and Julianne ham it up in some costuming and poses. Some of the costuming was not appropriate for all our viewers, but may be later used as blackmail!

A Walk along the Lake

2008-07-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

One Sunday afternoon Bonnie took us on a walk along Creve Coeur Lake. We enjoyed the cool shade from the trees. Sacha and Elisabeth pose by the lake. Elisabeth thinks Sacha is the greatest thing since sliced bread and follows her everywhere. Sacha, Elisabeth and Isaac look for rocks and shells along the lake.

Sacha Arrives!

2008-06-22T18:33:00.000-07:00

I finally got Sacha to give me one "courtesy" smile at then end of our raspberry picking expedition.

Julianne and Sacha with their raspberry pickings. Sacha always the ham!

Jacob carefully fills his container with juicy, ripe berries.

Rebekah and baby Noah enjoying some quality outdoor time.

Sacha, Julianne and Isaac walking along rows of raspberry bushes.

Sacha arrived from Maryland this Tuesday evening. She walked off, she looks great, very tan and I think even a bit taller than when I saw her in March. We haven't actually stood back to back, but I think she is at least my height now. Sacha is now 16 - that means we've entered the driving realm. I have to admit I thought I'd be more calm and Sacha would be more nervous. A little background- Sacha has her permit, but must log 60 hours of drive time in order to obtain her license. I had great aspirations that whenever we would drive somewhere Sacha would do the driving. Well, now we live in St. Louis and I am rather unfamiliar with routes so I don't feel comfortable having Sacha drive them. To be fair, Sacha is a good driver. What is making me crazy is that I want her to come to gradual stops. I admit, I yelled several times- "Press on the brake--- harder, harder, STOP!" I think that is about how it went. I pictured us running into the backs of cars several times this week. I gave myself (and Sacha) a respite over the weekend, but I think we might stick to some 25 mile per hour residential zones with no cars.
Sacha and Julianne are happy to be reunited once again and are as fun as ever to see together. They are rarely separated except when I take Sacha to the gym in the evenings. She is quite the fit girl and is thrilled to have a pass to the Bally gym. I warned her about the guy "gym rats" who may try to flirt with her. But, I know she could probably take them down, if not physically, she can give a bone chilling stare.
One more note- we went berry picking this week, raspberries to be exact. What fun, they were thornless bushes so that made the experience fun and pain free. Bonnie, being the domestic diva that she is, canned (with a little help from me) jam. We also enjoyed fresh berries and Bonnie also froze a few batches.

Travel tales

2008-06-15T17:43:00.000-07:00

The best tales about my trip to Missouri is that there are none. I keep saying that I must be getting old because I prefer to have less tales and more uneventfulness. My drive to Missouri is no exception. It was rather uneventful and for that I am tremendously glad. I arrived at my final destination having experienced, in all, a few rain drops on my windshield and a few gusts of wind.
If you have been watching the weather in Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri this past week you know that the weather has most definitely NOT been uneventful!

I took two pictures along my road trip, one was of a vast brilliant blue sky with some scattered fluffy white clouds, this is what I saw for three-quarters of my drive. The other picture, which was taken while driving (DO NOT DO THIS AT HOME or rather in your car) was of a brilliant blue lake that had reached its capacity and slopped over the road just enough to puddle in the right lane. That was technically the most exciting weather I experienced on the entire drive. Again, with tornadoes, storms both rain and snow, I feel greatly blessed and looked after.

On the Road Again

2008-06-13T05:56:00.001-07:00

Here I am on the road again, heading to St. Louis, MO. I arrived in Lincoln, NE last night and had a great night sleep and just finished a good workout. The drive has been rather uneventful except some significant winds in Wyoming. Luckily I seem to be behind the severe storms systems- a great blessing.
Wyoming was rather spectacular, Nebraska was a fantastic blue sky in all directions; however, I began to get rather bored. I lost some of my good NPR programs. I listened to a rather interesting discussion of the book of Ruth in the Old Testament by a pastor with a rather thick Irish accent. But, after a while I admit I grew tired of bible discussions. I finally found a CD of Sacha's with The Electric Slide II (the funky version). It entertained me for quite some time.

Well, I must be off for breakfast and a shower. I hit the road again, only about 3 hours today and then some time with my sis and family in Pleasant Hill in Missouri. I will arrive in St. Louis Saturday afternoon.

Thanks to my miriad of friends and family who are tracking my travels hour by hour, it helps to know that I won't go missing and no will know for days. Thanks guys!

BTW, I hope to post some photos from the trip in the next day of two.

George's gravestone

2008-06-06T19:10:00.001-07:00

I took these pictures of George's gravestone before leaving Salt Lake, at the time I needed to place them somewhere so I wouldn't lose the copy. George's grave is located in the Wasatch Lawns cemetery in Salt Lake City, Utah. I took these pictures on memorial day.