I KNOW, I KNOW...

...it's been three months since I updated this blog.

A lot has happened...a wonderful trip to NY--which included eating breakfast at Bubby's (OH YUM! WHAT A WONDERFUL BREAKFAST IT WAS! The blueberry muffin was to die for... and we found out that the owner is from Utah.) We also ate at Junior's Cheesecake and the Italian street fair and visited most of the touristy sites, including ground zero. Then we boarded a cruise ship and cruised up the coast to Nova Scotia, Canada, St. John, Canada, Bar Harbor, Maine, New Port Beach and Boston. I saw many of my relatives in Canada...thanks to all of you for spending the day with us! In Maine, we ate lunch with my sister, Martha, who lives there...thanks to you Marth for driving to meet us in Bar Harbor.

We celebrated my one year anniversary of being cancer-free in Boston with Boston Creme Pie! YUM! Thanks Amy, Mary and Lis for your long trip to buy the best in Boston!

Would you please visit the following website and watch my son, Andrew's entry into a contest. He took 5th in the first phase and now there is the "most viewed" phase... view it and it counts towards him winning more $! THANKS!

http://tongal.com/app/submissionDetail.action?id=623;FK1431

Have a wonderful Christmas Season,

and to my non-Christian friends, Happy Holidays!

One Year Anniversary

I won't be near a computer for awhile and would feel ungrateful if I didn't mention that September 25th marks my one year anniversary of being cancer-free! What a year it has been. A new daughter-in-law and a new granddaughter were added to my wonderful family. I'm humbled by the blessings and want to thank my family and friends for their support. I love you all.

Here is the post the day I talked to the Dr. about a week after surgery:

10.02.2008
Pathology Results....
NO CANCER in LYMPH NODES =NO CHEMO!!!
Can I tell you what GREAT news this is...I am so humbled and thankful.

REMINDER: IF YOU'RE 50

OR OLDER AND HAVEN'T HAD ONE...

GET A COLONOSCOPY NOW!!!

16 Years Ago

Thank you to my dear family for the beautiful white roses. Every year but one (we were out of town) for the past 16 years I have received a gorgeous bouquet of roses---usually white, but sometimes a pale pink. These roses are a reminder of our daughter and sister, Alison Elisabeth, who was born and died on Sept. 6th. My heart is deeply touched each year as you remember and express your feelings that Sept. 6th is a tender day for me and all of us. Leaving the hospital with empty arms was difficult, but I am thankful for the knowledge that Alison is part of our eternal family and is watching over us all. I love you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!

Andy at his wedding in May.

Andy with Rueben and Jack who are "beggin'" for bacon bits.

Our oldest son, Andrew, is celebrating his birthday today. He's over 30---but I won't be the one to disclose his age! Andy was a very unselfish little boy and had the patience of Job. I remember Millie and Andi (the mothers of his two friends in Bay Village), saying how much he would take from the other kids and how kind he was. As a man, he's still kind and unselfish and as for his patience, I'll have to ask his wife, Jessi. We're proud of his accomplishments and so grateful to our Heavenly Father for blessing our lives by sending Andy to our home--it's been an adventure... you're incredibly loved.

Love you son!

My world

My new world for the past week+ has been:

Word World
Curious George
Thomas the Train
Builder Bob
And Sesame Street...again...our kids had this one.

I also brought Jack: play dough, coloring books, water colors, cars, trucks, puzzles...and introduced him to Smarties!

To hear him say: "Jack loves Grandma", melts my heart! And to hold sweet little Sadie...who is right from Heavenly Father... is humbling.

What an education!!!

Jack, Grandma and Sadie

Jack did smile and have fun in subsequent pictures...
but then Sadie and I looked even worse than in this one.

For Uncle Huff...

Just so you know Aaron...out of the blue today, Jack said" I love Uncle Huff!"
So, we see Jack intently watching TV last night and low and behold he was watching...
(I think it was) Chicago play San Diego. It was interesting how mesmerized he was. Ang had no clue he liked baseball. After he watched a bit he got his bat and ball and started batting practice! CUTE!

Welcome Sadie Jane!

Angela had Sadie Jane today at 4:51am AZ time. She weighed 7 lbs 11 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. I am SO excited to get there and hold her! Congrats Ang, Tommy and big brother Jack! I Love You All! See you Saturday. Happy Birthday Aunt Amy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY!

Today. August 13th, is Amy's birthday. She is our oldest child.
She was born in Utah, and has lived in Utah, Arizona, Ohio, Kentucky, Ohio again, Utah again, New York, Romania, Arizona again and now Utah again!
She loves to travel, has a cat named Madison, drives an Audi, and loves it when Friday the 13th rolls around. Amy is a terrific Aunt! She LOVES chocolate and cheesecake.
Amy, YOU ARE LOVED!

"Aren't you too old?"

That's the question I was asked by one of my children when I told him I had been called to serve as the Young Women's President in our ward!!! Well, to be honest...I was floored when the Bishop extended the call! I've been in many different positions in YW since I was 19. In
the 80's when we lived in Kentucky, I was the YW president...but that was about 25
years ago! I'm humbled by the confidence the Lord has in me and I pray my
presidency...which consists of incredible women, will make a difference
in the lives of the wonderful YW in our ward.
AND
Tim was called to serve as 2nd Counselor in YM!

My "little" sister!

My younger sister is taller than me so I shouldn't say "little"...anyway... her daughter posted this picture on facebook and I love it--so I stole it for my blog! Look at her beautiful eyes!
I love you Mary!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON!

Hey Jack...grandma and grandpa love you tons!

Hope you have a great 2nd birthday!

Enjoy the presents!

Salon OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Just wanted to get your atention...it's only one O!

My daughter-in-law, Jessi, (Andrew's wife) is the new salon director at Salon O. Visit their website, then book an appointment (online booking coming soon). http://www.salonoslc.com/

801-746-1010815 East 400 SouthSalt Lake City

BLT sandwiches tomorrow for dinner...

My first good-sized tomato is ripe and ready to eat...YUM!
There is nothing like a tomato right off the vine.

TALBOT'S Women's Clothing Store--WARNING!!!

I purchased two pairs of shoes from Talbot's online. Two days later I received an e-mail stating they were having 25% off sale merchandise... interestingly enough the shoes I purchased were on sale AND they are included in the sale. SO, I called and asked for a price adjustment....I hadn't even received an e-mail saying my merchandise had shipped and figured they should do it. Well, the snotty people I talked to on the phone...I could just see them rolling their eyes at me by the tone of their voices... told me their policy is not to give price adjustments on sale merchandise...only on the first markdown from full price. WAKE UP TALBOTS... your e-mail said NOTHING about the offer of 25% off wasn't good on previous purchases. So, I told the man I spoke to that since my merchandise hadn't shipped, to cancel my order and I'd get back on the internet and repurchase...it would save me $25. I LOVE quality clothes but don't like to pay inflated prices. Well, he then informed me that my items had shipped today so he couldn't cancel my existing order. I'm NOT impressed with Talbot's customer service and have a very nasty taste in my mouth for them. So, if you purchase from Talbot's....BEWARE, they do not treat their customers well!!!

"Grandma, Grandma!"

So...this handsome boy is my grandson, Jack. Here's what he's done to touch my heart twice in one week. First of all, Tim and I were ichatting with him and his mom, when he wanted to go join his dad in the living room he hugged and kissed the computer monitor and told us good bye---not only once, but a couple of times! Thank heavens for technology that can bring this sweet guy into our home even when he lives hundreds of miles away. On a recent trip to the mts. to get away from the Phoenix heat, he went around their hotel room calling, "Grandma, Grandma"! Then he went to the door between their room and the ajoining room and called for Grandma and Amy (his aunt, my daughter). This behavior puzzled his parents for awhile until they realized that Jack has only been in hotels and on cruise ships with us and he thought we'd be there with them...Jack, I wish we could have been there too! I love you buddy!

Handsome groom and beautiful bride!

This is Jessi, Andy's bride, isn't she beautiful!

Andy and me dancing at his wedding.

Isn't he handsome?!?!?
(I don't like the picture of me though.)

Welcome to the family, Jessi, we love you!

So proud...

Our youngest son, Aaron, has been "giving back" as he has been coaching West Side Babe Ruth Baseball this year. It has sure taken a lot of time, energy and patience (with the boys and their parents/grandparents). Aaron and Tasha live in Holladay and this league is on the west side of SLC so travel time was one of the sacrifices he made for these kids. Last night was the awards dinner and game between the coaches and 15 yr old players. Nine of Aaron's boys were named all stars and Aaron was "Coach of the Year"!!!

Congrats Huff...you're the "Man of the Year" in my book!
Love you!

Three more pictures from Peru

A baby sloth. Picture taken at a remote village in the Amazon of Peru.
Cute little sloth wouldn't you say! I had seen adult sloths in Costa Rica and their fur looked so coarse. The baby sloth's fur looked coarse as well,
but he was so soft and cuddly!

AMAZING!!!

Is this REALLY a Dairy Queen Birthday Cake????

It has been our tradition for over 20 years to have a Dairy Queen birthday cake for our birthdays. Since there isn't one close to our home anymore we drive quite a distance to get one. Angela is visiting and even though her birthday isn't until June 14th we are celebrating tomorrow by going out to dinner and coming back to the house for cake.

When Tommy walked in the house with the cake, those who saw it made negative comments about it, I was busy and didn't think anything of it....then when I realized what they had said I had to go to the freezer and look for myself.

This cake looks like a 10 year old made it. It is NOT the quality of work that the Centerville, Utah Dairy Queen usually turns out when I order a cake from them. I called and complained, but I imagine nothing will change... he tried to send me a coupon, I said I'm not trying to get anything from you I just don't want to EVER get this quality of bd cake from you again. I told him it was supposed to be yellow, orange, peach and white with green leaves on the roses. Well, for one thing you can't even tell that there are roses on this cake most of them look like blobs of frosting. The quality of frosting is terrible...it has tons of air bubbles in it and like I said the cake looks like it was decorated by a 10 year old...it is hideous--to quote one of my kids. And what about the mechanics blue...I didn't order any shade of blue...

So, anyway these pictures don't do the shabby work justice...
Happy Birthday Ang...

Everyone makes mistakes but you usually try to cover them up.

You should see this mess in real life...

The blob of yellow icing is supposed to be a rose...and all of the flowers are very, very small.

The quality I expected and usually got can be found at: I can't download this image in my blog for some reason...

http://www.dairyqueen.com/us-en/eats-and-treats/menu/treats/dq-cakes/

Piranha Fishing

Well...I can now say I've been piranha fishing in the Amazon...yep, yesterday after hiking in the jungle and lunch, we went piranha fishing and also saw giant lily pads, a snake, sloths and other various insects. Though I didn't catch any piranha many in our group did and they also caught some Amazon catfish. I put bait (beef) on my hook and made noise on the water with my pole and watched the piranhas snatch the bait off the hook bite by bite. It became a game with me to watch them and I didn't care if I caught one or not. There were 3-4 piranhas who would attack the bait as I watched. We saw pink and gray river dolphins again as well. After dinner there was a show put on by some of the locals and we celebrated Cathy's birthday; a few days before we had asked our tour guide, Carlos, to see if he could arrange a birthday cake for Cath. When the Ceiba Tops Lodge employees went to Iquitos they bought a cake and it took a 2 hr boat ride back to the lodge. After the show the band and the employees of the Lodge sang to her and the rest of us joined in. All in all it was a fun day in the hot, humid Amazon Jungle/River. I enjoyed the people but I don't think I want to come to the Amazon region again though. No pictures yet...will post when I do.

Peru...being sent FROM the Amazon Jungle...

So, I thought walking on the Great Wall would be #1 on my list of things I've done...not so,  I've now climbed into Machu Picchu and it was far more amazing!  

We've also visited a remote village and took them school and medical supplies and we are now in the Amazon Jungle...a lodge with free wireless internet which blows my mind--not the free but having it in the jungle!

Today we took a ride down the Amazon (we saw pink dolphins that swim in the Amazon River) to visit a tribe of Indians...can't remember the name.  They were fun people and two of the kids had tiny monkeys for a pet and one boy had a baby sloth. 

This has been a great trip so far.  We haven't uploaded the pictures from the Amazon yet, but will post some when we do.

Jack came to SLC for an hour!!!

Big boy Jack at the SLC airport.

Grandma running to keep up with Jack.

Jack found MANY buttons to push!!!

Jack and Tim on escalators...we all rode the up and down escalators at least 4-5 times with him...in addition to riding the elevator!

Jack and Grandpa

Aunt Amy holding Jack so he'll eat dinner.

Jack and his best buddies...Grandpa Huffaker and Mr. Elephant

Jack couldn't figure out why we weren't going with him.

Our last good-bye!

On their way to visit Tommy's parents, Jack and Tommy had a layover in SLC; here are a few pictures of our fun. All Jack wanted to do was RUN, RUN, RUN....AND ride the elevator and escalator--he couldn't get enough. Ang, these are for you!

Darling and Delicious!

Tasha's (Aaron's wife) sister, Brooke, has started her own business. I ordered her famous coconut lime cake for Easter dinner. This is a picture of it; she decorated it with fondant. Visit her site and drool
and if you're in SLC...order from her!!!

I can't get this to link...it's late, I'll do it in the morning. If you need to see the site right away...go to Aaron and Tasha's blog and click on the
3 C's Confections link..it works...

www.teamhuffaker.blogspot.com

Happy 50th Birthday Roy!

This is no April Fool's Day joke. My younger brother was born on April 1st; Roy would have been 50 today. He died when he was 37 and I miss him. Roy, take care of Mom, my Alison and our grandparents! Love you lots.

Peggy's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week!

I've had the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad flu this week and YES, I had a flu shot. There's not anything good about the flu--except that I was able to watch some movies... so it's been a depressing week. I've accomplished NOTHING. I guess the two bright spots are: as I posted Angela and Tommy are having a baby girl--Sadie Jane and people have been very kind in wishing me Happy Birthday...which is the first day of Spring...today, March 20th! I'm getting really old and that's not fun either.

I teach the lesson in Relief Society Sunday and it's taken from the talk given by Pres. Uchtdorf at the women's broadcast on: Happiness: our heritage. Hummm....this hasn't been a happy week, in fact it has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week--in more ways than just the flu; I've been tested in many ways and I know I've failed the test--this is difficult cuz I usually don't fail. I guess I need to snap out of it so I can teach with the spirit and hopefully teach the women in my ward what they need to hear. I guess I need this lesson more than anyone.

Please remember me in your prayers. I need to shake the remaining flu and the emotional and physical drain that comes with being sick, and most of all, I need to count my blessings and be happy.

Thanks for "listening" and caring!

IT'S A GIRL!!!

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Angela had an ultra sound today and when she called it a him to the tech., she was told she'd better start referring to him as a her!! Sadie Jane will be born the middle of August. She will be our second grandchild; her brother, Jackson, is our first. Jack looks just like his Daddy and we'd love for Sadie to have curly, auburn hair like her Mommy!

Beautiful picture of the Salt Lake Temple

You've may have seen this picture before, apparently it's been forwarded a lot. My sister, Mary, sent it to me and I hadn't seen it before. Here's what she wrote:

"Well I think this is just about the most beautiful picture ever!
The story is that someone took it from the Hilton Hotel during the fog and inversion a few weeks ago.
It has probably made the rounds a few times since I got it from two different people."
Enjoy!

Pictures of our trip to San Francisco coming up!

Happy Anniversary Tim and Peg and Bobby and Lis!!!

Tim and Peggy
Aaron and Tasha's wedding 2008

Lis and Bobby
Wyoming 2008

My niece, Lis, was married on our anniversary...Feb 11th. Tim and I have been married 37 years and Lis and Bobby 4 years...Congrats to us all! (These pictures aren't great, but I had to post something!!!)

Pay it Forward...

The first FIVE people to respond to this post will get something from me! My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I do, but I'll try!
2- It'll be done this year. (might be a little while)
3- You have no clue what it's going to be.It may be a story. It may be poetry, shoes, bags, or a little invention of my own! I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something. I may mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
4- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. Believe me... it may blow your mind!

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win from me when you get it!
Sounds like fun, right?

So, let's play!

My Dough Girl

One of my co-workers brought cookies to work yesterday...they were purchased from My Dough Girl which is located in Salt Lake at 770 S. 300 E. They are INCREDIBLE COOKIES....you can find her website here. She names her cookies after women; my favorite is Vivianna. Vivianna's description is: Feel the warmth of the equator. Orange dough, mangos & dark chocolate...YUM!!! My second favorite is Audrey: Almond dough packed full of adoration, almonds, cranberries and white chocolate. I'm not a white chocolate fan, but these are delicious! I can't wait to go in and try the red velvet and Ricki. Ricki's description is as follows: One might find themselves saying "Ooh Aah All Man's Joy!" Coconut dough with chocolate chips, coconut, and almonds. You can either purchase the frozen cookie dough balls, take them home and bake one or a dozen...or you can buy them already baked. Oh, my, if you're in SLC, stop in and try them, you won't be disappointed.

It's about time!

When Jack wanted Tim to take him outside he'd go get Tim's shoes and take them to him.

My son-in-law ran a half marathon while we were there... beat his previous record by 4 minutes! Way to go Tommy! Jack is playing with Tommy's medal in this picture.

Peggy and cousin Kathy

Camille and Mike

I know, I know...it's been over a month since I posted. I should have done something after Christmas...

Tim and I went to Phoenix to visit Ang, Tommy and Jack. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed our time there very much. Jack is growing up and changing and LOVES his Grandpa Huffaker. He loves me too, but there is a special bond between the guys. Side note: we were iChatting with Jack and Ang the other night and were about to sign off, Ang told Jack to kiss Grandma, so he leaned up to the monitor and kissed me...he did the same to Tim..talk about melting our hearts especially since he doesn't give many kisses and hugs.

We met my cousin, Kathy, who is from Nova Scotia, Canada, but living in AZ, at the Mesa Temple. She brought some of her kids and two of her brother's kids (who were visiting from Nova Scotia)...along with a few if their spouses. Richard's (Kathy's brother) beautiful granddaughter was there as well. It was wonderful to see everyone!

A nice bonus: we had dinner with a good friend, Camille, and her husband, Mike. They were married in September and I had a ticket to come to AZ for the wedding but instead...I had to have the surgery for my colon cancer. They are so cute and happy; thanks guys for meeting us for dinner!