Motto of a powerful woman

(May be changed to apply to a man)

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Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders & says...

"Oh crap....she's awake!!"

Answer to yesterday's puzzles

In lieu of writing my own post today I am simply going to repost my brother Mike's comment that he left in answer to yesterdays puzzles.

Mike's answers not only include the official correct answers, but also his reasoning and other possible answers he came up with.

I couldn't have written it better myself.

Puzzle #1

1. A young explorer called his expedition chief in great excitement to report that he had just found a golden coin marked 6 B.C. The expedition chief fired him. Why?

Mike's answer:

1. My first thought was that the expedition chief was a pinko liberal who did not want anyone working for him to refer to years by "Before Christ" (BC) and "Anno Domini" (AD), but instead by the terms "Before Common Era" (BCE) and "Common Era" (CE).

But after further reflection I think that in order to mark the coin 6 BC, the coin maker would have to reference an event in the future.

This has often proven hard to do.

I for instance, have a hard time even predicting what the dining facility will serve tomorrow night, much less the birth of my Lord and Savior.

(Though there were a number of prophets who predicted the birth of Christ, we are assuming that none of them minted coins based on this date).

Puzzle #2

2. You are in an airplane which is flying 500 miles an hour through the air. If you throw a ball above you and it spends five seconds in the air, how far behind you will it land?

Mike's answer:

2. This one has me really perplexed.

I've been in some big airplanes.

I've been in planes big enough to hold M2 Bradley fighting vehicles and M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks.

Even in these huge planes I don't think you could get 5 seconds of hang time for a ball throwing it straight up.

So I'll have to make the assumption that the plane has an open cockpit, much like the biplanes of WWI.

With an open cockpit, if you were traveling at 500 mph per hour and threw the ball straight up, the air moving along the fuselage of the plane would instantly stop the upward movement of the ball and propel it toward the aft of the plane where it may or may not hit the tail fin further deflecting the ball and making this question even harder.

It would be virtually impossible to avoid this effect, no matter how hard you threw it up.

You could minimize the effect by launching it ultra fast, but then the ball would probably stay up in the air for longer than 5 seconds.

Then, even if you could throw it up and avoid all these dilemmas, you'd still have to know the elevation of the plane and even current barometric pressure and wind speed which could also affect the answer.

A swallow might even grab the ball why it was in the air. The swallow could grip it by the husk or skin of the ball.

On the other hand, if you created a plane designed tall enough to let you throw a ball up in the air for 5 seconds, the ball would just fall straight down into your hands so you could catch it.

You'll have to give me more data, to include how many swallows there are in the area and how good they are at gripping things by the husk before I can even try to figure this one out.

(Mike would probably also want to know if they were african swallows or european swallows, and I don't know, so we'll go with the simple answer that it would fall straight down).

Puzzle #3

3. These words follow a logical progression:

SUNKEN

MONASTICISM

TUESDAY

WEDGIES

THUMB-SUCKER

FRIVOLITY

.

Which of these could be next?

SQUANDER

SATIATE

MINE

TABLE

Mike's answer:

3. The pattern might be that the first four words have vowels as the second character.

The next four would have vowels as the third character, so the next word would have to be Squander, followed by a word like brother which also has a vowel as the third character.

Or it might be that the words all start with the first 3 letters of the days of the week.

In this case, the answer would be Satiate.

(Again Mike is right with the answer being that they all start with the same letters as days of the week).

Puzzles

The first 2 are pretty easy. The third was a little harder.

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1. A young explorer called his expedition chief in great excitement to report that he had just found a golden coin marked 6 B.C. The expedition chief fired him.

Why?

.

2. You are in an airplane which is flying 500 miles an hour through the air.

If you throw a ball above you and it spends five seconds in the air, how far behind you will it land?

.

3.These words follow a logical progression:

SUNKEN

MONASTICISM

TUESDAY

WEDGIES

THUMB-SUCKER

FRIVOLITY

.

Which of these could be next?

SQUANDER

SATIATE

MINE

TABLE

I Found Jesus!

He was behind the couch the whole time!

Just kidding. (But that is one of my favorite bumper stickers).

I actually have found Jesus in a few new and different places lately.

I know, I know, Jesus is always with us. But right now he is on the front of and inside of my china hutch.

Apparently one of my kids wiped their face on the glass door of my china hutch leaving a greasy smear that actually looks like -you got it- Jesus.

Here are a couple of the pics I took of it.

I don't plan on charging devoted catholics admission to my dining room to see it. But I do think I might clean it sooner or later, so if they want to see it they better come soon.

Unless you think I can sell the glass pane on Ebay. What do you think?

Next:

On our recent trip to Palmyra I admired a 10" statuette of the Christus in a gift shop.

I have always particularly loved this rendering of the Savior.

When I used to work in the St. George, Utah hospital if room 417 was uninhabited I could go in there to look out the window at the 10' version across the street in the Temple visitors center.

My adoring husband noticed me admiring it and a few minutes later put a box containing my own copy in my hands.

It is now in my china hutch, (which I really use more as a curio cabinet than for china), slightly above and behind the face smear Jesus.

I'll keep looking behind the couch for Jesus, and I'll keep talking to him whether he's ducking behind the blinds or not. And if I think he's coming I'll try to look busy. But in the mean time I'll enjoy my statuette.

And sooner or later I'll pull out the windex.

Search labels: Image of Jesus

An old building, and an old friend

Okay, this is the last of the pics from the trip.

Our last church history stop was the Peter Whitmer Farm.

They have built a beautiful meetinghouse on the property that once belonged to Peter Whitmer.

We visited on a sunday, so the local ward was having their services that day.

We sat down in the room where the tour began and I turned around to watch the ASL interpreter.

I had a childhood friend named Barbie who tried to teach me sign language, and I have always enjoyed watching sign.

As I looked around the room at those watching the interpreter I saw- Barbie!

I hadn't seen Barbie, -she goes by Barb now- in 13 or 14 years.

She immediately recongnized my parents, but had to clarify that I was Della and not Lydia (Lydia and I do look a lot alike).

I missed out on a lot of the tour because I was visiting with Barb.

I got to see the original home where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was organized. There were 6 original members, as was the law at the time for starting a new church, but 30 or 40 people were there that day. Many of them outside listening through the windows.

What as awesome event!

I also didn't take many pictures as I was catching up with my old friend. But CJ took a few.

And I got a picture with my friend Barb outside of the Peter Whitmer home.

After saying goodbye to Barb I went to dinner with my parents. Shortly after that we left CJ and Mark with them and we got in the car to come home.

CJ and Mark are spending the next couple of weeks in Utah with them.

I really miss them.

Oh, one other event I want to add: At the Palmyra Inn, where my parents stayed, all of the cars with Utah license plates had their plates stolen. Including my folks.

One set of plates, that were Purple Heart plates, were returned the next day.

My dad filed a police report, but it is doubtful the plates will ever be recovered.

We theorized that the theft may have been committed by some of the anti-mormons who were there to protest the pageant. We came to this conclusion since it was only Utah plates that were taken.

I would love to be wrong about this, since stealing someones license plates seems a very silly way to try to prove you are a better Christian than them.

It was a great trip. I hope to be able to go again next year too.

Update on Me

In April I set a goal for myself to walk or run 500 miles by the end of the year.

I track my miles with my favorite thing, my Nike Plus. I can upload my workouts to nike.com and track my goals.

I am currently at 229.18 miles.

And with my goal of running the Virginia Beach Rock and Roll Half Marathon next month and the training that goes with it, I am making good progress towards my goal.

I am at 49.9 miles so far just for the month of July.

The day that I am running the VB R&R 1/2 marathon is also the day that Nike has coordinated for the world to run the Nike Plus Human Race, (1ok), in 25 cities around the world, or where ever you are.

So I am killing two birds with one stone and running both at the same time.

You can check out my Human Race pledge at >>this link<<.

Go Me!

The Hill Cumorah

One of the fun parts of the pageant is that before it starts the cast wanders around and mingles with the guests.

We got to ask many of the cast members what part they played and what it was like to be in the pageant.

We also got pictures with some of them.

These were the 3 Wise Men who visited the baby Jesus.

This family all had different parts in the pageant.

This was their family vacation this summer. To go to Palmyra and be in the pageant. Sounds like a blast to me. Who needs Disney World? We need to share the gospel! Pretty cool.

This is a (shaky) picture of the stage before the pageant started.

And another picture after it started. I was too far away for the camera to see much.

The Hill Cumorah Pageant was awesome. Unlike Chris' original expectations of mormon girls parading in modest swimsuits and evening wear (I forget sometimes that my husband was not raised around this stuff and doesn't automatically know everything) It told stories from the book of Mormon.

My favorite was when Christ appeared to the Nephites. But that's one of my favorite parts of the BoM too, so it makes sense I would like it.

I think it was great for my husband (who again, wasn't raised around this stuff and hasn't been previously exposed to it), as well as my boys to get to experience it.

They got to see that the scriptures aren't all boring. There are great stories in there about wars, battles, ships almost sinking, people getting burned at the stake and entire cities getting destroyed. (Cool!)

The next day we went back to the hill to see it in the light. It was rainy, so it looks dark even though it was noon.

We joked that if we had a daughter we could name her Cumorah. She would be Cumorah Hill.

(Chris laughed, but quickly clarified that it was only a joke, and not to be expecting any daughters).

10-4 good buddy.

This is on the base of the monument.

We got to see the pageant stage from above.The boys couldn't climb on it, but got to take their picture near it.

I think we may plan on going again next year.

The Smith Farm

After the Grandin Building we visited the Smith farm.

This is their log cabin where The 11 member family lived.

I don't know how they all fit.

You can see the path behind the house leading to the woods where the sacred grove is.

I had thought it was farther away for some reason.

This is the room where the angel Moroni appeared to Joseph 3 times during the night.

He shared a bed with his brother and another bed slept 2 other brothers, but they didn't wake up even though an angel spoke to Joseph for much of the night.

The sacred grove woods are only about a hundred yards behind the log cabin. But we don't know exactly where in the woods Joseph had the vision.

Even though the grove still remains, most of the original trees in the grove have been chopped down over time for building, furniture and firewood.

This tree is one of the few that remain that may have stood here, even though it would only have been a sapling, at the time of Joseph Smith's first vision.

It was wonderful to wander around in the grove, even get a little lost, and feel the spirit that still seems to infiltrate such a sacred place.

I felt a little like I was wandering through the halls of the temple, but with my children running back and forth, pointing at large trees, rocks and birds.

As we walked back to the car I got a picture of the Palmyra Temple through the trees.And CJ took a picture of me and Chris with the grove behind us.

The E. B. Grandin Building

As I said, the first stop on our trip was the Grandin Building.

It cost the church $3000 to print 5000 copies of the Book of Mormon.

Martin Harris mortgaged about 160 acres of his 320 acre farm to help pay for it.

This was quite an undertaking that took about 8 months to complete.

Every single letter in the entire Book of Mormon had to be individually placed in the type setter upside down and backwards.

The printer could print 16 pages of type at a time on one huge sheet that they then folded until it made a small booklet.

After all the booklets were glued together, and pressed flat they would shear off the edges so you could actually turn the pages.

One part of the job that took longer and made it more expensive was that all 5000 copies were bound in sheepskin, so they would last longer and be a better companion to the bible, as all bibles were bound in leather at the time.

CJ was the photographer for these pictures, and had to ask our guide, Sister Lyman to hold the book up again so he could get the picture.

This is the orginal copy that the church has on display. I couldn't use a flash on it, and the shutter takes longer without a flash, so it's a little fuzzy.

One of these original copies sold at auction not long ago for about $190,000.

There is one copy at the library at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA that you can actually hold and look through.

The Main Street in Palmyra was pretty cool too. There is a great candy and fudge shop 2 doors down from the Grandin Building. A place called Mark's Pizzaria across the street that had fabulous pizza, and a few book stores.

All in addition to the anti-mormons who stood on the sidewalk wearing t-shirts that said "Repent" and "You are not a God in embryo".

It was a fun experience all around.

Did you miss me?

I'm sorry I've been busy and haven't blogged in a few days.

We got back today from...

-prepare to be jealous-

the Hill Cumorah Pageant in Palmyra, New York!

It was awesome.

We got to see some great places that are so important in church history.

We started with a 14 hour drive to New York.

Which would have been 11 hours, had we not hit DC at 5:00 pm on Friday.

(Note the Washington Monument).

Our first stop in Palmyra was the Grandin Building.

Where the first original copies of the Book of Mormon were printed.

We also found my parents there. They spent the 2 weeks of the pageant as volunteers at the Grandin Building.

Part of the fun of the trip was spending time with them.

Other stops on our trip included The Smith Farm, the Sacred Grove, The Hill Cumorah, the Pageant, and the David Whitmer Farm. All of which I got pictures of that I am anxious to share, but that will have to wait till tomorrow to post.

It was so awesome to see these places and feel the spirit there. Tune in tomorrow for the promised pictures.

-Della

Half Marathon here I come!

I may regret this later, but I am now registered to run the Virginia Beach Rock and Roll Half Marathon.

It's on August 31st. That only gives me 6 1/2 weeks to train.

I guess it's a good thing I'm already running 3 to 4 miles a couple times a week, but I'm gonna have to step it up.

Go me!

This is the story of Rick and Dick Hoyt.

The father and son team who compete in marathons, triathalons and Ironman races together.

Not side by side though, as some father and son teams do. This pair competes with Dick (65) pushing Rick (43) in his wheelchair, or towing him behind him in a dinghy while swimming, or on a sled while cross country skiing.

So forget about your own problems and sit down and shut up for about 6 minutes to watch this video.

You can read more about these guys on Snopes or at the Hoyt's own website.

Thanks to my niece Echo who sent me this story.

My favorite line:

"It must be a buzzkill to be a 25 year old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?"

More good advice

More good advice from an e-mail from Grandpa.

(The additions in parenthesis are my own)

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

2. 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."

3. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness." (World of Warcraft)

4. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

5. You should not confuse your career with your life. (Unless they happen to be the same)

6. No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.

7. When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy.

8. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

9. Never lick a steak knife. (unless it has A-1 on it)

10. Take out the fortune before you eat the cookie.

11. The most powerful force in the universe is gossip. (I thought it was duct tape)

12. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.

13. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

14. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers. (I am)

15. The main accomplishment of almost all organized protests is to annoy people who are not in them.

16. 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.)

17. Your friends love you anyway.

18. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

What would you choose?

I subsituted in the 11 year old Primary class today.

The lesson was on the consequences of our actions.

The attention activity was this:

Imagine you were in a raft in the middle of the ocean hoping to be rescued.

You have several things on the raft that might be helpful, but the raft is riding low and you have to throw out all but 2 things.

This is what you have:

-life jacket

-emergency flares

-fishing pole and tackle

-bottles of water

-chest of gold

-2 way radio

-large can of shark repellent

.

The answers from the kids in the class were all different. We talked about the consequences of each choice.

The class went very well. It was probably the best primary class I have subbed in.

But I want to know, what would you choose?

How to Stay Married for 41 Years

This is how.

___________

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Just Kidding.

It probably also has something to do with:

-Unconditional acceptance of one another.

-Regular affection.

-Communication.

-Commitment to similiar goals.

-Praying together daily.

-Unity in marriage with freedom to be individuals.

-A sense of humor.

-Unconditional commitment to each other and to God.

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I am sure there is more to it than that. But watching my parents as I grew up, these were some of the things that were obvious to me.

I will always remember Dad coming home from work, meeting Mom in the kitchen and kissing her heavily, with a lot of tongue and butt rubbing included.

Mom would giggle and seem slightly embarrassed, but I knew that my dad was in love with my mom.

That knowledge gave me comfort.

And I think that I am more successful in my own marriage of 11 years because I had them to learn from.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad.

I'm glad God helped you find each other. And I'm grateful I got to be one of your kids.

-Della

My Brother is the real Hero

The USO sent some people down to Iraq to visit the troops.

These guys stopped by Camp Victory in Bagdad, which used to be one of Saddam's palaces.

My brother Mike, who is stationed there, got to meet a few people of interest.

This is Milo Ventimiglia from the tv show Heroes. Oh, and the huge guy next to him is my brother Mike. This is the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. You might notice the huge ring on this guy's finger. It's his superbowl ring. His name is Osi Umenyiora. He and his team, the Giants won the superbowl this year.

Another NFL player you might recognize, Drew Brees.

QB of a team called the New Orleans Saints.

Another thing you might notice is the palace behind him. This place was just one of Saddam Husseins palaces, where he lived while his countrymen didn't have enough food to eat.

God bless the USA, and the troops that fight for peace.

-Della

Puzzle

A history test had three questions on presidents of the United States.

Here are the answers of six students:

1. Polk, Polk, Taylor.

2. Taylor, Taylor, Polk.

3. Fillmore, Fillmore, Polk.

4. Taylor, Polk, Fillmore.

5. Fillmore, Taylor, Taylor.

6. Taylor, Fillmore, Fillmore.

Every student answered at least one question correctly.

What are the correct answers?

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This one took me a few minutes, but I figured it out.

You can too.

Did you know I love Lions?

This is the story of Christian the Lion.

This is a great lion story.

It's also about pets, people and relationships.

I couldn't decide which video so I put both.

The first one is a little shorter and has better music, but the story is the same.

Did you ever wonder?

Did you ever wonder what the speed of dark is?

My brother Mike's been trying to figure that out for years.

Just wondering.

Great home remedies

AMAZINGLY SIMPLE HOME REMEDIES

1. IF YOU'RE CHOKING ON AN ICE CUBE, SIMPLY POUR A CUP OF BOILING WATER DOWN YOUR THROAT. PRESTO! THE BLOCKAGE WILL INSTANTLY REMOVE ITSELF.

2. AVOID CUTTING YOURSELF WHEN SLICING VEGETABLES BY GETTING SOMEONE ELSE TO HOLD THE VEGETABLES WHILE YOU CHOP.

3. AVOID ARGUMENTS WITH THE FEMALES ABOUT LIFTING THE TOILET SEAT BY USING THE SINK.

4. FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE SUFFERERS ~ SIMPLY CUT YOURSELF AND BLEED FOR A FEW MINUTES, THUS REDUCING THE PRESSURE ON YOUR VEINS. REMEMBER TO USE A TIMER.

5. A MOUSE TRAP PLACED ON TOP OF YOUR ALARM CLOCK WILL PREVENT YOU FROM ROLLING OVER AND GOING BACK TO SLEEP AFTER YOU HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON.

6. IF YOU HAVE A BAD COUGH, TAKE A LARGE DOSE OF LAXATIVES. THEN YOU'LL BE AFRAID TO COUGH.

7. YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE - WD -40 AND DUCT TAPE.

IF IT DOESN'T MOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40.

IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THE DUCT TAPE.

8. REMEMBER - EVERYONE SEEMS NORMAL UNTIL YOU GET TO KNOW THEM.

9. IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.

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DAILY THOUGHT: SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.

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I know I've posted a couple of these before, but advice like this is timeless.

Sunday Post

Could we with ink the ocean fill

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill

And every man a scribe by trade

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry,

Nor could the scroll contain the whole

Tho' stretched from sky to sky.

-Frederick M. Lehman

.

I know my Heavenly Father loves me.

-Della Hill

Happy Fourth of July

We had a great 4th.

We went down to Sandbridge Beach early in the evening to get a good parking spot.

We had a big picnic and played in the water and sand waiting for the fireworks.

I didn't know what to expect since I hadn't been to Sandbridge for the 4th before.

It was probably one of the best fireworks experiences I have had.

There was not one group pre-organized to set off fireworks. Instead, everyone brought their illegal ones and set them off all up and down the beach.

It was a blast. Literally.

At times I couldn't see all of them because they were going off on both sides of me, or directly over my head.

People had plenty of legal ones too and many kids were running around with sparklers.

I stood for a while with my back to the ocean, letting the waves wash over my feet and ankles, feeling the fabulous breeze and watching explosions of colored light all around me.

It was fabulous.

Sorry I didn't get any pictures. I'm not sure I could do it justice with a thousand words either.

How about this: Come stay with me next Fourth of July and we'll go see them together!

-Della

Because I Know You Want to See My Feet

I was letting Sammy out in the middle of the night the other night and stubbed my toe on a stool

.

.

I injured my poor toe, the one I lovingly refer to as "Had None", right inbetween "roast beef" and "Wee".

(*Credit must go to the Goddess of Sewing for the creative toe names).

As you can see, poor "Had None" has in fact a pretty bad bruise.

It hurts.

You know when the 6:00 news has a slow news day?

This must be a slow blog day.

For more and hopefully more creative foot blogging >>>Click Here<<<.

My new hair do

Before:

After:

Ever notice how people are soo much happier in their "after" pics?

The Landscape of my Life

Growing up in Utah I woke up to mountains every day.

And I love my mountains.

Now I live at and love the beach.

I hope to see many more beautiful scenes in my life.

But I am grateful for the ones I get to see every day.

There are magical things that happen when you are close to nature.

It reminds me of the words to a hymn:

. "When through the woods, and forest glades I wander, And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees. When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur, And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Savior God to thee,

How great thou art! How great thou art!"

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There should be a verse in there about the ocean.

Enjoy your summer. I hope you get to see some wonderful things too.

I'll try to find time to post in between my errands, excursions and the rest of my life.

-Della

Something to Pass the Time until I Have Time to Post Again