2009! This is going to be a year of firsts! And to begin the year -- I have my first ATM/Debit card; I successfully down-loaded pictures from the camera, and I intend to download songs on my Ipod and hopefully I'll be a grandma this year!

The past month has been great! I LOVED having all the kids home. The day after Christmas, Rachel left for BYU-I. The Monday after, Jay took our four boys and headed to California to see the Holiday Bowl. I think they were excited,but I wasn't sure. It was a long drive in a small car - but the DUCKS won and I suspect they will never forget that trip! They made a "Mike Belloti Snowman" with a pinecone mustache while they were in Cedar City. Rumor is - it's still standing! Lanette and Shaun headed out the same day as the boys which left Karina and I relishing peace and quiet in our normally busy home. We ate pizza and ice cream, watched movies, and read. We avoided housework, dishes and cooking. During those quiet days, I contemplated the idea of going back to school. I knew I'd have Jay's support so I enrolled in Rogue Community College to take a Microsoft Word 2007 class. After attending the first one, I was told "no, no" "You're not ready for this class. To insure your success, you need to take Reading, Computer Basics, English and Writing. After attempting to get around their 'prerequisites', I decided to bag it, requested the $300 refund and returned the $75 book. Instead, I purchased the Word, Excel and Power Point software from Costco for $77. I also want to brush up on Spanish, but I'm not sure how. Speaking it is a bit intimidating. If anyone wants to email me... I could handle that in Spanish.

I was asked to make a wedding cake and found that very enjoyable. I used ribbon and silk flowers for the first time and was very pleased with the final results. Hope you all enjoy the NEW YEAR of 2009!