Princess Cart Birthday

Last Monday my birthday was on the for-real-and-for-true Memorial Day holiday, which occurs once every 7 years or so (depending on Leap Year.)

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR KIND BIRTHDAY WISHES! I LOVE THEM!

Here I am in WalMart's Princess cart, only seen in the Washington WalMart as far as I know. Sometimes when I sit on the seat to wait for Carolyn to use the restroom, she'll come out and push me around the store for a few yards.

As the real princess, she prefers to be pushed around, which is good for my have-to-shop workout anyway, especially since this cart is heavy and long, like a BUS!

But we do what we do to have fun, right?

Simple pleasures are the best!

Birthday Girl

Carolyn likes bread so much that she bought herself a loaf at a festival.

She didn't care that it's bigger than her head. She assured me she could eat it all.

She did, too, once I sliced it up and put it in the freezer, taking it out a slice at a time.

I also gave some to Bob, but Carolyn didn't mind. She's a sharing kind of girl, even on her birthday.

She wants to give treats to everybody!

Happy birthday, Carolyn! You don't look 54, but you are certainly a good example to be so proud of your age.

Party Girl

Before her birthday month is completely over, here are some snapshots of Carolyn's birthday bash.

 She's had 53 years to get this celebration thing down.

 She made the most of seeing her family, including oldest sister, Melinda (also Biddee or Auntie M.)

She even had great nieces and nephews there to celebrate! (That makes her a great aunt!)

 Big brother DellRay got (and gave) a hug.

 Bob was there, too.

 All but two siblings were there to party hearty! (Back row: DellRay, Shirley, Gregory. Front row: Rebecca, Melinda, and brother in law Paul. Middle: CAROLYN!

 Nephew Brian and his wife Aspen were happy to have made it to the party.

 One of Carolyn's special friends, Jill, loved every hug she could get.

 Oh, yeah, and there were even a few presents.

 Brother Greg, sister-in-law Judi, and niece Alana converged in a group hug!

 Sisters Penny and Deanna came to kick up their heels...or keep them on the floor. (Their choice!)

Nephew Hayden gave Carolyn celebration birthday flowers. You won the race to age 53, Carolyn. Now you're in the race for the age 54 finish line. We look forward to seeing how you make age 54 rock and roll!

Tuna Test

Since this week is my birthday week! (YAY! Love birthdays!) I'm blogging about one of my passions: tuna.

Yes, I admit it. Even though Bob leaves the room when I mix up a big bowl of solid white canned tuna, Real Mayo, and chopped celery, spinach, artichoke hearts, carrots, and peppers, I am a big tuna fish fan.

Bob and I currently have a Costco membership, but are questioning whether it's worth the annual fee. The thing is, I love Kirkland solid white tuna.

So in preparation for possible non-access to Kirkland tuna, I conducted a taste test with other store brands.

I was looking not only for taste, but texture. For most of my life, I only ate chunk tuna, NOT KNOWING THERE WAS ANOTHER OPTION. I may have seen "solid white" on a tuna can or two, but it costs more, so it never registered.

Then I accidentally bought some solid white tuna when I was shopping in a hurry. Now nothing else will do, but it has to be GOOD.

While I like tuna with just mayo, I really love it with lots of chopped veggies mixed in.

So which fancy pants brand came closest to matching the current epitome of tuna?

Great Value.

(Yes, you read that right. The most economical store brand had the most firm texture and best taste for me.)

Are you a tuna fan?

Even An Old Barn Looks Better Painted

Sometimes I tell my family that I need to "put my face on."

Lest you imagine me peeling the skin from my skull each night and gluing it back on in the morning, let me explain.

If celebrities can have pictures of them circulating the Internet without makeup, then why not me? We all look fairly ordinary without our face paint.

LDS Church President David O. McKay is quoted to have said, “Even a barn looks better when it’s painted.” 

Picture A

He didn't say anything about fixing a barn's hair, but when you compare picture A with picture B, you might notice that I did that, too.

 Picture B

In picture B, I have what would be my pioneer woman face and hair. (Well, the hair would probably be pinned up on my head if I lived a couple of hundred years ago, but when I do that, my face looks like a big, round pancake, so I don't do it a whole lot.)

The thing is, I don't have to look at myself, so I can feel just as beautiful inside as I want to whether I have makeup on or not.

I heard that Queen Elizabeth 1 (the first) took all the mirrors out of her castle when she started to look old. That way, she always felt as beautiful as she wanted, because there was no evidence to the contrary!

I sometimes think that would be a good rule of thumb (why in the heck is it a "rule of thumb?" Why isn't a "rule of pinky" instead?) for more of us to look outward and feel good about ourselves, rather than obsess over our appearance.

One time my husband, Bob, found a Facebook page of a lady who constantly posted new profile pictures of herself with kissy faces and pouty lips and 3/4 glamour poses. She was quite pretty, but my husband's only comment was, "Is she full of herself, or what?"

I don't know if I'm "full of myself" when I put my face on, but it only takes me about 5 minutes, unless my mascara is ornery and gets in my eye or smears my cheek. Then it might take 10 minutes.

The last thing I'll mention about Bob is that he says 90% of a woman's beauty is her smile.

(So put on a happy face.)

So do you like to get made up, (or shaved and combed, if you're a guy) in the morning?

Or do you prefer to just hop out of bed as God made you and head out for your day's adventures?

Birthday Hair Bow

On the day I wore "the bow," a man asked me, "What's the occasion?"

Since I didn't of what "occasion" he was referring to, I gave him a blank look.

He gestured toward my head. "The bow. What's the occasion?"

I was truly surprised, because I hadn't thought my bow was noteworthy. I'd just worn it because I liked it and thought it went with my dress. 

(Doesn't it?)

 But judging by this man's question, my bow was NOT appropriate for general society. It was only appropriate in Shirley's World.

So searched my mind for a "normal" answer, unsure what that might be.

Finally, I pulled out of my brain, "It's my grandson's birthday." (Because it was.) Offering no explanation for why I would be wearing a gift bow on my grandson's birthday (shouldn't he be wearing it?) I left.

I didn't think the bow I put in my hair was weird at all, not until someone else commented on it as if it was out of the ordinary.

Tomorrow is my son, Scott's birthday. If I wore this bow to visit him, he wouldn't think it was weird at all.

(Come to think of it, I don't think any of my boys would think it was weird, at least not on my head.)

Do you wear what you want?

Or do you seek expert advice?

Birthday Surprise!

I don't know if I posted this last year...but it's worth a re-post even if I did!

When I came home from work on my birthday last year (2016) I found HAPPY NOTES and FLOWERS by my bedroom door! It lifted my spirits and made me smile! Thanks for the love, people!
How do you like to show love?
How do you like to receive it?

Happy Birthday All Life Long!

Just because you get older doesn't mean you get to skip your birthdays.

 Maybe I shouldn't tell you how old my husband, Bob, turned on his birthday this month. (He's far left in top photo, cutting pie... no birthday cake for this hombre! He's a peach pie man, no candles, please, they tend to melt in all that gooey goodness filling.) 

One thing I WILL tell you is that his knee is younger than the rest of himself! It's less than three weeks old. (Maybe that's why he babies it!)
Along with us are our sons "Bobaloo" (bottom picture, right, looking at me with an expression that could be interpreted as, "What are you doing?" Or maybe it's more of a "Dad, please hurry up with the pie...") We also have l-r, "Polo," "Mo", "Mom", and "C.L.B." (Bob's scooping ice cream in the bottom photo.)
On the top picture, we have l-r: "Bobaloo," "Grammy Junior," (the back of "Mom") the back of "Abe," and "A-Rob" (with a beard.)
Do you like your birthday? Do you like cake? What would be your favorite birthday celebration food?

A Motorcycle Party, in Honor of my Mom's Birthday!

Hey, look what I found! Pictures from this past summer when I discovered evidence of a motorcycle party in downtown Ephraim! (2013 Ephraim, Utah Population: 6,431)

 You may see the bikes parked in front of Towne Theater and deduct that they all stopped to watch "A Mouse and His Motorcycle," but it's not likely that they stopped to watch a movie. See the little blue sign on the building next to the theater? It says, "Main Street Diner."

(I wonder if they ran out of pie?)

Interesting anecdote... while driving down the freeway one day, I watched a motorcycle rider toss a glove over to another motorcyclist while biking along at 75 mph. The second rider reached out to catch it, and missed by just 12 inches. (No, they didn't stop to pick it up. They just laughed and kept on going.)

These motorcycles remind me of my mother (Happy Birthday Mom! She turns 90 years young today!) because Mom has always wanted a red convertible sports car. That's the next step to a convertible!

Do these motorcycles make you want to hop on and go for a ride?

Do you have a motorcycle heart? Or are you a four-door kind of person?

Cutie Pie Birthday

This Cutie-Pie granddaughter of mine just turned 5!

I just love her imagination. Can you guess what she's holding? I asked her, and she was quick to reply. What does it look like to you? Come on, formulate a guess before you look ahead.

Ready?

What did you think of?

This is what my granddaughter said:

"They are my puppets."

Makes sense, doesn't it? You can put your finger in the end of a bitten pepper and say in a funny voice, "Hi, I'm Peppy, and I'm wearing a stem hat. Do you want a stem hat, too? Then go plant your feet in the ground and stand there for three months!"

What would your puppet say?

Decorate Once and be Done!

Here's an idea... save time by just putting out decorations for all the holidays at once! 

These homeowners have it covered with a Santa "Welcome" sign, a patriotic wall hanging by the door, two pumpkins hanging from their porch just waiting to be baked into a Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, and a Halloween ghost crouched by the steps. When they answer the door, perhaps paper Valentine's hearts fall on your head while you're presented with a birthday cupcake and a candle to blow out!

(Make a wish!)

What's your favorite holiday?

A Bright Boy

My youngest son, Monkey, is the last of my children who still doesn't look down on me. But he just had a birthday, and his short term goal is to become taller than me. (No fair using a ladder!) May I just say, boys are great? I love being a mother of sons.

Never Too Old...You Might Be Amazed To See What I Learned To Do In Time For My Birthday!

I woke up happy today because it's my birthday!

For the very first time in my life, I learned how to HULA HOOP! Check out this clip from last week! (I know you're jealous of my headband. Just go get a scarf and tie one on!)

Oh, just a suggestion-you don't have to watch to the end...it's a little embarrassing... just stop at the 30 second mark where I applaud... really... don't watch to the end.)

 I never could do this hula hoop thing as a kid, so thanks to my family for their adjust-your-method, Shirley feedback!

But that's not all! I am also working on typing speed with the Dvorak (say that 5 times real fast) keyboard method. (Why I would attempt to change at this stage of life? See why here: https://www.facebook.com/ShirleyBahlmannAuthor?fref=ts)

But wait...there's one MORE thing!

See what Merrill Osmond and I recorded a couple of weeks ago in Salt Lake City! http://www.radiogoldproductions.com/thegoodword/merrill-osmond-and-shirley-bahlmann-interview-episode-135/#.UabJLbU3uM4

And now on to the next adventure in my life! (I'll keep you posted.)

A good day for smiling

Here's my sassy sister Rebecca with a cool fashion tip for you: when you wear glamorous scarf like she does (she pulls it off so well, don't you think?) then PIN the scarf to your shirt so it doesn't flop around like an octopus tentacle when you're trying to get some work done. Look how classy! (Rebecca is a classy lady.)

It's fun to smile when your sister Loraine (in the green) makes you laugh. Of course she would do it on a day when I (in red) was without my waterproof mascara on! (Now that's funny!)

But the best reason of all to smile today is because it's my son Zack's birthday. I don't care how big he gets, he'll always be my boy. 

What is it that makes you smile today? If you haven't smiled yet, go out and do a smiley thing, then come back and tell us what you did. Happy people want to know, and sad people need to know!

A Surprise in my Yard

REGULAR LIFE:

As a mindful mother, I sent my son Scott a 30th birthday card. (Actually, when I was presented with the opportunity for a sudden visit to Salt Lake City, I was his house guest and left it on his pillow.) On his actual birthday, I did the electronic messaging thingy.

MYSTERY:

 When I got home that afternoon, there was an unfamiliar car in front of my house. I wondered who could be there. When I saw a flyer taped to my door, I figured the car belonged to a person canvassing the neighborhood with flyers. I went inside without a second thought.

SURPRISE:

I dropped my purse and put my keys away and wandered into the kitchen. When I glanced out the window in my back door, I had to look twice. There was a familiar looking person out there. To my shock, it was my birthday son! He'd come to visit as a surprise on his birthday.

(The picture above is birthday boy Scott, me, and Michael.)

I was so glad!

(Zack, Brian, and Michael scraping off "cottage cheese" ceiling)

I was also glad we had new carpet in our living room and a newly textured and painted ceiling, thanks to my hard-working boys!

(Brian sweeping on ceiling texture)

(Zack aplying texture to ceiling)

As an interesting side note, we found this when we pulled out the old carpet. The paint around the edges was to accommodate a piece of carpet covering the center. Since our house was built in 1895, I can only imagine the process of rolling up the carpet every so often and taking it outside to beat the dirt out of it!

Since our carpet was pulled up, our furniture had to wait outside for the new stuff. Michael opted to eat his lunch on part of our sectional furniture which was, of course, outside.

New carpet... picture taken at night with only a lamp on. Mysterious!

-All I can say is, it simply feels good when nice things happen. Sometimes we humans seem to hold bad times in our memories, the struggles we have, days when things don't go right. But I'd rather live like the 99-year-old man I once interviewed for a newspaper article who said, "I've never had any real troubles in my life. My first wife died, but that's to be expected. I have a good life. When we're done talking, I'm going out to work in my shed."-

Live happy!