Vote for Brandon

One of my favorite bloggers is Don. Don's brother Brandon is currently involved in a music showcase and contest. Don, being the proud older brother is directing our attention to his brother's talent. And, once I listened for myself I could hear why. Brandon has a voice that should be heard!

PLEASE, PLEASE, take a moment and take a listen.
Brandon has written and submitted: "Thine Own Son" http://music.mormontimes.com/contest.php?id=737

You can read a little about Brandon,
and hear the other song he has posted, "Bring Me Home"
which is every bit a wonderful as the song he has entered in the contest.

Then, please register (it is free!) and VOTE for Brandon Osmond.

Please - go now, listen and vote for Brandon Osmond's "Thine Own Son" And, if you are so compelled, go back every day and vote again. It would mean so much to me for you to listen and cast your vote for Brandon. His voice is amazing!

Thankgiving Traditions

Every household has it's own traditions for the Holiday season. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I love the warmth of the time the family shares enjoying each other's company. I love the laughter and the happiness. I love the traditions of recipes which have been handed down and shared from one family member to the next.

Our family gathers around the table to share a delicious meal which includes a turkey stuffed with my mother in law's stuffing which she learned how to make from her Mother's recipe. It is fragrant and delightful. I am not sure what we enjoy more, the turkey or the stuffing .... hmm!

Irene taught me the recipe about 12 years ago, and I have to say, I love it. I love eating it, and I love to prepare it. We hand grind the onions, celery and old fashioned white bread together and then blend in sage sausage, eggs, chicken broth and a combination of spices including ground sage, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.

Last year, Manda prepared the entire turkey dinner; from refrigeration to cleaning and preparing the fresh Zacky Farms turkey, to making the stuffing and placing the bird in the oven to proudly serving us a meal which had been roasted to perfection. Every bite of the meal she prepared for us was a delight to our taste buds.

The 18 pound turkey came out juicy and tender, stuffing bursting with flavor, moist and dense, each layer of flavor full and vibrant. Her mashed potatoes were thick and creamy, fragrant with fresh ground garlic and topped with real butter and a dash of pepper. Manda created a gravy using the turkey drippings and the meat from the neck and innards, which she had carefully ground into small pieces. It was delicious! The yams were baked with just a touch of brown sugar and butter, their sweetness a refreshing partner to the vibrancy of the stuffing.

Yum! My stomach is already growling.... and it is not even lunch time!

One of the other things we always take the time to do during the holiday season is to reflect on all the reasons we have to be thankful:

I am thankful for the love of my family and friends, our health and happiness, and the joy we share. I am thankful that in these tough and uncertain times, there are family and friends to seek comfort and understanding in. I am thankful for the sound of laughter and the sight of a smile. I am thankful that I am getting to know new friends and fellow bloggers and appreciate that you each share your wisdom and sense of humor with me. I am honored.

I hope you and your families have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Twilight

.............. was simply AMAZING!

That is all I have to say ...........

AMAZING!

Well, okay, I do have more to say, but for those two or three people who have yet to see (or read) this amazing story ~ I'll keep my mouth shut and let them discover what they are missing.

Special "Thanks!" to the wonderful group of teens I had the pleasure of sharing my movie viewing pleasure with. Each one of you is an awesome person, and I really enjoyed our excursion to the theater!

Amanda, Brittani, Tori, Brandon, Morgan, and Madison --- these teens know how to make every moment a hilarious one. Thanks, guys!



Check out this great site for more Twilight fun: http://twilightersanonymous.com/
Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

A GREAT DOG STORY

Anyone who has pets will really like this.

You'll like it even if you don't, and you may even decide you need one!

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named Lucky. Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy.

Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing. Mary or Jim would go to Lucky 's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky ' s other favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease.... in fact, she was just sure it was fatal. She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky.

A thought struck her ... what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary 's dog through and through.

'If I die, Lucky will be abandoned ' , Mary thought. ' He won't understand that I didn't want to leave him. '

The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death. The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated,and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks.

Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining and miserable. Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom.

Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap. Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.

When Mary woke for a second she couldn't understand what was wrong. She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned!

While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement, bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life. He had covered her with his love. Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every day.

It's been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky? He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box, but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

Remember ... live every day to the fullest And never forget ... the people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones who care for us.

With thanks to my wonderful Mom for sharing this treasure with me! And, with special thanks to Lisa and Carrie for keeping Miss Tapping Toes doing cartwheels of joy! You ladies are a true treasure!

All Rise!

Here comes the judge .....

Manda had the pleasure of being a defense attorney for Teen Peer Court last night.

Her case was a tough one that centered around a 16 year old Hispanic male who had been charged with battery for pushing his mother and punching is father. While Manda's client speaks English, his comprehension and use of it is limited. Neither the father or mother speak English; the primary language spoken in the home is Spanish and of course, Manda is only learning Spanish in high school. Luckily the client's 18 year old sister speaks fluent Spanish and has a decent command of the English language so she was able to assist with translations during the deposition portion of this case.

Manda's 16 year old client was charged with battery of his parents which occurred when the mother refused to allow her son to take the family car. The client pushed his mother and stormed past her into the family apartment where a verbal argument ensued. The father who was outside at the time of the argument came inside to resolve the issue, and unfortunately, was unable to do anything but make matters worse.

The 16 year old client ended up punching his father several times, and when ordered to leave the apartment and never come back, he picked up an orange from a nearby counter and threw it at the back of the father's head. Further argument ensued, and random items of clothing and boxes were also thrown at the father by the son, and at the son by the father.

When the 16 year old refused to leave, a member of the family called 911 for assistance. The 16 year old left the premises before the law enforcement agency arrived on scene. Neither parent required medical assistance, but they did elect to press the charge of battery against their son.
It was noted that earlier in the day both the father and the son had been drinking beer outside.
The father had drank 4 beers, the son 2. The 16 year old client who had left the family home was gone for nearly 48 hours before returning.

Since this time there have been no further incidents, and the family is trying to move forward and get past this trouble. (talking to Amanda it seems there are other issues and "things" which the family needs assistance with, and this incident is actually fairly minor in the grand scheme of their every day life.)

The prosecuting attorney asked for the following penalty to be assigned to the 16 year old:

8 times served on the jury
40 hours of community service
AA meetings

the prosecuting attorney felt that the 16 year old needed severe punishment to learn his lesson and change his behaviour.

Amanda asked for the following penalty and assistance to be assigned to the 16 year old:

2 times served on the jury
20 hours of community service
Anger Management Counselling
6 months of AA meetings
Family Counselling

As the defense attorney and being privileged to know more of their inside story, Manda felt the family could better benefit from a direct assistance approach, and that counselling and AA meetings would be more beneficial to the future of this family.

The jury found the following penalty to be appropriate:

2 times served on the jury (one for each parent he had physical contact with)
20 hours of community service (10 hours for each parent he struck)
Family Counselling
Anger Management
6 months AA meetings

When questioned by the Judge on their determination of the penalty and why they chose the exact penalty as requested by the defense, the jury replied:

"People make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes are not made by one person. Sometimes the family is the reason. This family seems to need help, and if the defendant is punished too firmly, he made decide to rebel and get into more trouble."

Additionally, the director of the Teen Peer Court program instructed that the 16 year old client (who incidentally turned 17 today) do the following:

get a job
get a driver's license (or stop driving)
take a parenting class (he has an 18 month old daughter)

Amanda and her mentor attorney felt like their client received what was needed to hopefully re-direct him onto a better path of choices.

Unfortunately, only time will tell.