Real Friends

I'm reading a book about friendship called, "Nobody's Cuter Than You" by Melanie Shankle.  (I listened to her read her book "Sparkly Green Earrings" and loved it even if it was all about motherhood.  I especially enjoyed listening to her Texan accent).  It makes me think of the many real girlfriends I've been blessed with and wishing I had a close one that I could visit daily here in Phoenix.  I'm making friends here, but not like the ones I had in Charlotte where I stopped by their houses all sweaty after the gym, with no make up on and stayed until lunch time visiting, all the while eating pretzels or goldfish crackers as they cleaned up their kitchens from breakfast.

My first recollection of friendship started with Jenny S, who lived across the street from me when I was growing up.  We use to read books and share them with each other.  Sometimes our "playing" meant we were reading books, but sometimes it was playing Life or pool, or running through the sprinklers.  I'm grateful for the friendship that we maintain today.  She is a great travel buddy and I have so many memories of times shared with her.

Amy J and I met in first grade.  Our friendship continued to strengthen throughout High School as we went on a lot of double dates and watched our hot high school boyfriends play together on the basketball team.  When I was in the hospital with OVC, her son was having his appendix out and mom ran into her in the cafeteria.  I will never forget her brief, but meaningful visit as she sat at my hospital bedside.  Funny that I ran into her at random places more in that year than in the past several years.

I met Jenny N when I was in Kindergarten and we quickly became friends.  She passed away in 1999 from an illness.  She was the kindest person I have ever met.  She never spoke ill of anyone and had the most beautiful curly hair.  We spent a lot of time going on double dates, attending sporting events and just hung out together in High School.

Pamela moved to Nampa when we were in High School. We had so much fun with our group of friends playing games on weekends, including cards with my Grandparents.  When I was having chemo Pamela sent me the sweetest get well package that had scriptures and quotes attached to different items that would help me get through the tough times ahead.

Kaycee and I were sorority sisters and quickly became great friends.  I have so many fun memories of our crazy college days and dates to The Beanery.  We still get together several times a year to catch up over a good meal.

One Summer Semester was all I needed at BYU to meet the dearest Aubry.  When Tenielle and I drove up to our new apartment, Aubrey came over to us, introduced herself and helped us unpack our Toyota corolla.  That was all it took to develop the bond of friendship that we have to this day.  Talk about a true friendship.  This girl is the epitome of friendship.

I'm positive that the reason I needed to go to Grad School was to meet the friends that I met there; Dave, Brandon, Jamie, Kristin, and Kirt.  Going through that difficult 2 years of school couldn't have been done without these friends. I'm grateful that we continue to stay in contact and get together when we can to share the things we have seen and learned in our careers.

Grad School is also where I met Pam in Kentucky while doing my rotations.  If I could do one year of my life over again, it would be the year I lived in Kentucky.  We had so much fun at Natural Bridge, spending time with cute guys, having dinner parties and Kentucky Derby Celebrations and going shopping at the Gap Outlet and the Pottery Factory.

I couldn't have been blessed any more than being directed to Charlotte after Grad School to meet the wonderful friends that I did.  These are my "Adult Friends" the ones I have leaned on when I was in a rut, needed help painting, putting up a picture or sharing Chocolate Chip Cookies with out in Charlotte far away from my family.  I treasure the times I get to return to spend time with these people:  Nick, Lauren, Karen, Emma, Cassie, Vickie, Steve, Rachel, Katie, Wendy, Sharon and many others.  I may have cut my "physical ties" (as Nick tells me) with these people, but not my lasting friendships.  As long as I have these friends there, I'll always have a tie to Charlotte.

And now here in Phoenix I'm blessed with new friends, Ofa, Stacie, Janelle and Jolynn and I'm starting to develop friendships with ladies in my ward including Miriam, Jone, Andrea and Nicole.

Of course my oldest and" bestest" friends are my sisters and my cousins.  We have awesome memories and I know only more are in the future.  How grateful I am for these amazing friends of mine, for Heavenly Father putting such influential people in my life who have helped me become the person that I am today.

Goodbye Spring, Hello Summer FF

1.  When it hit's 100 degree's in Phoenix I've decided that means it's Summer.  That event happened today.  All day people kept coming into work saying how hot it was.  To myself I thought, "Really, it's Phoenix what do you except and just wait a few more weeks."  I LOVE Summer!
2.  Sunday I had dinner at Aunt Leslies with my cousins.  It's always fun to have Sunday dinner with family.
3.  Tuesday and Thursday were my day's off this week.  Tuesday I finally saw my primary care physician who got me scheduled for an Ultra Sound of my Gallbladder which I had on Thursday and showed 3 gallstones.  I wasn't surprised because every time I eat my RUQ hurts.  I've been telling my Oncologist for a year that I think I have gallstones and he keeps telling me it's scar tissue.  I knew I was right.  At least I know the cause of the pain now.  But of course I don't have time to have it out yet, so I will just have to keep eating a very low fat diet so that it doesn't hurt too bad.  I hope I can wait until Christmas when I can have a good excuse to take 2 weeks off.
4.  I've spent 4 hours at the pool this week, but still don't have much of a tan.  I'm working on it, since this was the first week that I've had time to enjoy the sun since I was at Martha's Vineyard last Summer.  People think that if you live in Phoenix you go to the pool every day, not so my friends.  I wish I had that kind of time. 

 5.  We had some sad news this week.  My sister-in-law Danielle went to have an ultrasound at 22 weeks to see what they were having and there wasn't a heartbeat.  The cord was wrapped around this sweet babies neck several times.  We are so sad that this little girl won't be joining our family on Earth to dress up and watch her grow, but we know that in the Eternities she will be ours and we will love on her then.  They named her Kaelin Mae which I just love, especially because she bears my middle name Lin.  Her feet prints are so tiny.  She only weighted .94 ounces.  I'm so glad that Tyler and Danielle were able to hold her for a little while.

6.  If that wasn't enough for them, little Kaeson nearly bit his tongue off tonight when he fell and hit his chin on a table in their living room.  Poor thing.  Definitely the 2nd worse tongue laceration I've ever seen.

7.  I finished a great book this week, The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck.  I loved it!  I especially loved it because there was no sex or profanity in it.  Sometimes it's hard to find books at the library that are wholesome.  Of course it was a book on cd, because of all my driving I listen to a lot of books on cd's.  It makes the drive not seem so long.
8.  It's that time of year again when raspberries are 88 cents at Albertsons!  Love me some raspberries!  When I was getting my raspberries and talking to mom on the phone they put out york peppermint patties in a cart with a sign that said 2 dollars a bag.  Mom ordered 5 bags, because she loves them and so do I, needless to say I took all 7 bags in the cart.
9.  I had a groupon that needed used this week so I went to lunch by myself.  It was pretty good, however I'd not take the recommendation for shrimp pizza again (I only ate 1 piece, not the entire thing).  I had heard the brushetta was delicious and it was, especially the apple one. 

10.  Last Friday my computer slid off of my chair and the video went out.  I took it to the Apple Store on Tuesday and they couldn't figure out the problem there so they were going to send it out for 300 dollars and would have my computer a week.  I consulted my very smart, computer savy brother Tanner who told me to take it to a computer store that worked on Macs.  I found one in Scottsdale who diagnosed the problem in 2 days and only charged me 95 dollars.   I'm so grateful for smart computer people.
11.  When I was in Scottsdale I stopped at a mall with a Talbots to take a few things back.  This was the biggest Talbots I've ever seen in my life.  Next time they have a big sale, I'm there!  There are so many cute things there that I've got my eye on.  On my way out of the mall I passed through the kids shoe department in Nordstroms.  I found the cutest pair of size 5 sandles.  They were slightly big and I asked the sales associate to see if they had the shoes in a smaller size in a different store, since these were the only pair.  She came back to tell me they were a special order and no other store in the system had them, but she was able to put in some more holes in the straps and they fit perfect!
12.  I registered this week to take my boards for re-certification.  Gahhh, I'm taking them in 48 days.  Better start studying hard core.
13.  All week I've been thinking, "1 year ago I was in Europe."  It was by far one of the best experiences of my life!  I'm ready to start planning Europe trip number 2, I'm thinking Italy.

I'm Official and From Mullet to A-line FF

I really did write this post last Friday, but just as I was going to put pictures on it, my computer slid off my chair and the video cord came loose (that's what I know now).  I just got it back today and am updating...Stay tuned for tomorrows FF from this week....
1.  It's nice to travel, but it's also nice to be home.  This week has been a great week!  I had 4 days off Friday-Monday, worked Tuesday and Wednesday.  I'll take it!  I feel like I've gotten so much accomplished, but feel like I still have so many things to do before going to MVY in just 3 weeks!
2.  Saturday we had a baby shower for my cousin Laura and her twins.  I'm excited to be able to hold them soon.  I also went on a little shopping spree. 

3.   Sunday I went to a Marven Goldstien and Vanessa Joy fireside.  It was so enjoyable, especially the filled cup cake they had afterwards.
4.   I got my hair cut Monday by Aubreys sister Brooke.  She did an awesome job!  The mullet came off and I got a slight A-line.  I finally feel like I have a normal hairstyle and am not just growing it out after chemo.  I will admit I'm getting really excited for the shortest layer to hit my neck.  Wooohooo.

5.  Monday was a me day, (ok most day's are me days), after I left Brook's I went for a massage.  I'm not one to splurge on massages, but I bought a groupon for 3 and so I had my first one.  This girl was amazing and gave me the best massage I have ever had!
6.  I'm official!  I have both an AZ drivers license and license plates.  I dread going to the DMV, but I got my car inspected and got both a license and plates in less than an hour.  How often does that happen?  I admit I was a bit sad to have to give up my NC license, because my hair was long and I think it was the best drivers license picture I've ever taken.  This one isn't so pretty.

7.  Because I didn't have to spend my entire day at the DMV I decided I'd spend a little time at Talbots.  I'm a Talbots snob, especially when they have 50% off the lowest marked price.  Sometimes a girl needs to shop twice in 1 week!  I did get rid of several shirts in my closet this week to replace the few that I bought yesterday, one included the shirt I wore almost 11 years ago when I graduated from PA school.  Silly that I've kept it all these years.  I looked at it thinking, "wow I was so tiny then."  What happened?  Cancer grrrr.
8.  Today I learned how to fold socks and towels correctly at the Temple.  It was actually fun.  I'm pretty sure my mom would have been proud of my folding skills
9.  After the Temple I picked up my cousin Lauras kid's since she is on bed rest with her twins.  I took them to Cafe Rio and then we spent 3 hours at Tumbleweed Park.  It is such a fun park.  Deborah and her kids joined us at the park.  It is fun to sit and chat with Deb.  Today was the perfect Spring day, 80 and windy!  I don't know what Aunt Leslie complains about, the weather this month has been beautiful!

Goodbye Grandpa Young

My sweet Grandpa Young said goodbye to us for now on May 6.  I'm so sad that I wasn't able to be there, but the morning he passed away, I was able to talk to him on the phone (I was in Charlotte).  He told me that he was proud of me and that he loved me, but that he wanted to go see his Katie.  It was a conversation I will never forget.

Grandpa didn't suffer one bit.  He passed out the day before because of lack of oxygen, but came to with more oxygen.  Wednesday morning they put him in ICU because his oxygen was so low.  It was such a blessing that my Aunt Leslie was visiting.  Before he passed away, he told everyone how much he loved them, ate dinner, drank a Pepsi and his last words were, "It didn't take the cowboys in the movies this long to die."  He closed his eyes and just like that he was gone.  He had all 10 of his children around him when he passed away.

I have so many memories of my grandpa.  He was always happy, always had a joke and a song.  Grandpa was like the local newsman; he knew everything going on with everyone and reported to everyone.  We never left his house without an ice cream cone, a sucor or two and a "love ya, love ya."

There were so many wonderful stories given at his funeral on Tuesday.  My favorite was one I'd never heard.  My uncle Chris who is rather quiet talked about how Grandpa was one time talking to a stranger.  It was a cold day and the man didn't have a coat.  Grandpa started heading for his car after their conversation, but then turned around, took his coat off and gave it to the man.  Such a Christ like person.  I learned a lesson from this story to give more of myself, to help others, to not judge and to love more.

47 of the 50 Grandchildren were able to attend Grandpa's funeral.  My cousins who live in NYC weren't going to be able to attend the funeral because it is so expensive to fly from NYC to Boise on short notice.  When I was at Laurens house she had a quote in her kitchen that said, "Have I done any good in the world today?"  I immediately started looking at plane tickets, which were rather expensive, but then I looked at how many miles it would take to send my cousins home.  Grandpa would have used his miles to get them home and so I did what Grandpa would do not only because of his example, but also because they needed to be home with our family.  They missed my Grandmas funeral because they had just moved to NYC and I didn't want them to miss Grandpas.  It was fun for them and all of us who saw the video of them surprising their parents when they walked in the door on Mother's Day.

 It was my pleasure to play the organ at the funeral, one that I first practiced on when I was a young girl.  You see, Grandpa and Grandma cleaned the oldest church in Nampa for 7-8 years before retiring.  As kids we were always so excited to help them clean.  It was a beautiful sight from the organ, to see our entire family sitting in the church that Grandma and Grandpa attended for many, many years.

My brothers and cousins wore grandpa's suspenders and some even wore his ties.  What fun it was to see them wearing these.

The day of the funeral was absolutely beautiful. At the cemetery there were flags and servicemen to honor grandpa's service in the navy. 

Just goes to show kids are watching and imitating what we do.

 The church people typically do a luncheon, but my cousin and his friends made us breakfast including pancakes with strawberries and whip cream in honor of Grandpa.  It was awesome.  Funny thing was I told my dad earlier in the week that I thought they should do breakfast for lunch.  It was delicious and I felt that Grandpa and Grandma were there looking over their flock.

5 cousins all born the same year

I love my Aunt Leslie!

We had planned on having a celebration in July for Grandpa's 90th birthday.  We still plan on having it and I look forward to a relaxing weekend where I can visit with my cousins and build relationships with them and I know Grandpa and Grandma will be there in spirit.

Before I flew back to Phoenix I had to stop by grandpa's one last time.  It was sad for me to see the house all picked through from everyone taking what they wanted.  I would have appreciated people to leave things where they were for all of us who were coming from out of town so that we could enjoy grandpa and grandmas house the way remembered it one last time.  I did discover the treasured turkey pot and a few gallons of honey (which Grandpa Young got from Grandpa Randy kind of cool) in the laundry room and my aunt so kindly gave me the candy dish and grandma's jell-o bowl that I had hoped for.  Grandma collected bells and had at least 100 of them.  When I got there only 4 remained.

Yep I even have the candy grandpa kept in the candy dish.

 I did(thanks to my dad wanting nothing else) inherit two mirrors that hung in the bathroom for as long as I can remember.  I will always remember my grandma when I look in them.

Actually my dad wanted the pot, so I left it home.

Grandma and Grandpa had the best back yard with a trampoline, playhouse and swing.  They even had their own vineyard, well it was like one anyways with grapes along the fence.

 I did get to spend a little time with my cute nieces and nephews and I had one of favorite's:  Snow Cones!

 

Grandpa's Obituary

Charles Read Young, Sr

Aug. 20, 1925 - May 6, 2015

Charles Read Young Sr. 89, passed from this life surrounded by his family, Wednesday, May 6, 2015 in Boise, Idaho.

Dad was born in Nampa, Idaho on August 20, 1925 to John and LaVerda (Read) Young. 

He was the fourth of five children. 

Nampa would be Dad's home all of his life, although his childhood was spent traveling with his family from job to job as his dad worked as a superintendent for Morrison Kundsen. These adventures would take them to different parts of Idaho, California, Yellowstone, and Oregon (just to name a few). 
In the summer of 1943, a construction job for the Railroad took Dad and his father to the small town of Caliente, Nevada. While there Dad met a cute little girl working in a cafe'. Two weeks later he and Katherine Thomas were married.

Their marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake LDS Temple in 1948. Shortly after their marriage Dad served in the US Navy as a cook (but he also passed the ammunition) during WWII. 

After a very long 2 1/2 years, Dad returned home to Nampa where he and mom started their family

and built the home they would share all of their lives. (Grandpa loved Cadillacs)

Dad was a very hard worker all of his life. He worked for J.O. Young and Sons and later he started his own company, Read Young and Sons, and began digging basements under existing homes. This gave him the opportunity to provide for his children and teach his boys to work (my dad took the business over years later and is one of the hardest workers I know).
Dad was a stranger to no one. He would talk to everyone he saw. He loved to serve others and taught all of his children to do the same. Dad loved to cook his family breakfast, especially pancakes. He was always the last one to eat making sure all of us were taken care of first.

He was always whistling or singing a song (or telling a joke). Dad was not a sitter and even as his body began to fail he pushed to the very end to keep moving with the help of his scooter, much to our dismay (which he would take to Wal-Mart and McDonlads). Dad loved his Pepsi and he passed that love on to all of us!! (But not me, I like coke zero).
Dad was a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served in many callings over the years. He was a devoted home teacher and loved serving with mom in the Boise Temple.   
He was preceded in death by his wife Kaye, of 68 years; his father and mother; sister LuRene, and brother Dale. 
He leaves behind his brother J.O. (Pearl) Young of Nampa; sister Carol Garrison Brown of Yukon, Ok; his 10 children: Scott (Carol) of Nampa, Leslie  (Gordon) Gaisford of Phoenix, AZ, Read Jr. (Dorothy) of Nampa, Tony (Linda) of Nampa, Douglas (Candice) of Twin Falls, Charla (Dan) Hughes of Nampa, Rebecca (Doug) Emery of Homedale, Sherri (Stuart) Vickers of Nampa, Chris (Cindy) of Nampa and Karra (Michael) Ramirez of Nampa.

He also leaves his greatest possessions, those being his 50 grandchildren
and 98 great-grandchildren, with 4 more expected this year.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 12 at the LDS Chapel, 504 11th Avenue North in Nampa.

A viewing will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, May 11, at Zeyer Funeral Chapel, 83 N Midland Blvd in Nampa and at the church from 9 to 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, prior to the services.
We are so grateful to be the result of two people falling in love, and thankful to know they have once again been reunited together forever.

 Dad never told us goodbye without telling us "Love Ya, Love Ya! "  Dad we Love Ya, Love Ya!

Thank you to my cousin Katie who wrote this beautiful life sketch.  It was so well done and captured all of the important points of grandpas 89 year's.

An East Coast Visit

Charlotte!  Oh how I love you!  I no longer feel like I’m home when I visit Charlotte, but I love the sights, the food and oh the dear friends I have there.  I’m so grateful for wonderful friends. 

Lauren picked me up from the airport late on Tuesday.  Wednesday her kids were super excited to see me and to see my hair.  Lauren has 4 adorable little boys.  The youngest just turned 5 and went around the house calling me, “Miss Tewah.”  It was so cute.  We took the boys to school and headed to the craft store where we purchased fabric and ribbon to make headbands for our race.  We then went to the Vera Bradley outlet where I splurged a little.  My big purchase was a backpack.  I have been looking at backpacks for months and got a different one than I had my eye on.  I also got a darling teal and orange bracelet, some hair stuff to keep my hair out of my face while it grows long enough to stay behind my ears and a few gifts.  For lunch we went for sushi, not my favorite Wasabi Café, but another place.  It was pretty good, but not Wasabi Café.  We then went home and basked in the sun for an hour before picking the kids up and going for a Sonic run.  Sonic happy hour there is for 3 hours instead of the usual 2.  We then chatted with the neighbor across the street who actually use to be my next door neighbor when I lived in Charlotte. That evening after dinner we made our headbands.

Brody had fun swimming.

I love this stretch of road by my home in CLT

Thursday while the kids were at school we hit a few stores and then I had lunch with my dear friend Rachel.  I haven’t seen her for over a year.  It was so wonderful to catch up.  

At the first Teal Diva Survivors Luncheon I attended just after I finished chemo, I won a cooking class for a few friends and me.  Thursday night Karen, Emma, Vicki, Lauren, Katie and I learned how to chop vegetables and fruit the correct way.  We also were able to pick a few dishes to make and we made them.  We had a blast!  We will definitely do the follow up class when I go back in December.  

I learned how to make Quinoa to where it doesn’t take long and tastes delicious. 

1 Cup of Quinoa to 1 ½ cups water.

Brown the Quinoa alone in a pan until it smells toasty, add a sprinkle of salt and then the water.  When this comes to a boil, cover and turn to low for 12 minutes.  That’s it!

We made quinoa thai peanut bowls with this. 

For a drink we had Coconut Italian Sodas:  club soda, fat free half and half, and sugar free coconut syrup with Sonic Ice.  Yummy! 

Vicki brought me a banana pudding.  Yummy!  Yes, I ate too much food while I was in Charlotte, which means I will have to workout extra hard in the next month. 

Friday morning we went to Aldi’s to get more quinoa and then my friend Michael from work came for lunch.  We fed him leftovers and the healthiest meal he has had in years.  He loved it though.  It was so fun to sit and talk with him for nearly 3 hours.   

When he left Lauren and I went to have pedicures and manicures.  I needed some teal polish for the upcoming OVC event. 

Nick met us for Food Truck Friday and then for ice cream.  It was so good to see him.  I stayed Friday and Saturday night with him.  Tenielle flew from SLC to Baltimore where our friend Pamela picked her up and they drove to Nicks.  Crazy, because they got stuck in DC traffic which put them at having a 9 hour drive to CLT.  They didn’t get to CLT until 3am.  They got a few hours of sleep and then we got up bright and early to head to the first ever Teal Diva 5K. 

Saturday morning was absolutely beautiful and so was the walk route.  It was so fun to have several of my friends there to support this great cause.  They raised over 45,000 dollars and had over 400 walkers/runners.  I loved the signs that they had along the route.  I also got some beautiful Kendra Scott earrings for being a survivor. 

We went back to Nicks to shower and get ready for the day and then met both of his Grandmother's, 2 aunt's and 2 cousin's for lunch at the Soda Shop.  They have lunch every Saturday together.  Kind of a fun tradition I’d have to say.  

Yes I got my fill of bbq and cheerwine!

We did some shopping at an antique store, had a sweet treat at a new bakery and then headed to CLT where we continued our Food Tour at Pinky’s (which has the same cooks as the Penguin use to have).  They have the best fried pickles! For dinner we went to VaPiano where we shared a few dishes, then got dessert from Amelies.  We took dessert home and had it later, because lets face it we were pretty stuffed.

Sunday morning we left for Baltimore.  It was a long ride, but not as long as Friday night’s.  This was quite the sacrifice and such a short trip for Tenielle and Pamela.  I’m so grateful for their support and willingness to spend their time traveling and such for me.  We made some wonderful memories for sure.  Pamela’s kids are absolutely darling!  She has a 3 year old daughter that is full of spunk and her 5 month old baby was so good to travel and be lugged around CLT.  Pamela's husband Ryan who I went to High School with had dinner of BBQ when we got home.  It was delicious and we had Nicks banana pudding for dessert.  Yummy!  It was fun to sit and chat with Ryan and Pamela that evening.

Today my friend Sarah that I met in Jr. High and who lives in Virginia came to Pamela’s and we all had lunch on the Bay.  It was so fun to visit with her for several hours.  I talk to Sarah usually once a year on her birthday and the last time I saw her was 10 years ago.  This was such a treat and it was just like no time had passed at all. 

 And now Tenielle and I are flying to Boise for my Grandpa’s Youngs Funeral.  He sadly passed away on Wednesday.  We will definitely miss this amazing man.