I am so thankful!

I know, not the most flattering photo of Hannah and I, but Pat was so kind to take a quick pic of us after Aunt Dana and I finally got all of the dishes done. This was as good as it was going to get!
So since I am sitting at work and have no way to download my pictures from this last week this one photo will have to do for now.

Heather Epperson posted an A-Z thankful list...so here is mine, just a little shorter.


A- America. I am thankful to live in a place where I have the freedom to express my thoughts and feelings without persecution.
B- Boots. Warm, fuzzy snow boots when it snows.
C- Children.
D- Dads.
E- Education.
F- Forever Families.
G- Grandma's who love us even when we are a pain in the rear.
H- Hope. Man, gotta have hope. And Hannah.
I- Icicles.
J- Jokes. I love to laugh.
K- Knowledge. Especially the knowledge I have of the gosple.
L- Love.
M- Moms. And mittens for those tiny little hands that just have to play in the snow.
N- Night. Love the stars and the crisp night air.
O- Orange juice.
P- Prophets.
Q- Quirks, the ones that make us unique and lovable.
R- Reality checks.
S- Sleep.
T- Tutors! And tables. The big ones that the whole family can gather around to eat and laugh.
U- Underwear. The long, warm ones.
V- Video night. Cuddle up under the covers and just be together. The best thing in the world.
W- Words. Especially the right ones at the right time.
X- Gotta love those "X's" Lessons learned, my friend. That's all.
Y- Yahoo...I love being able to keep in touch with email.
Z- Zippers that work!
So there it is, my thankful list. Feel free to add your name to the appropriate letter. More to come on the blog...just be patient!

Little update

Holy cow! Has it been a whole week since I posted on this thing???

Here is a short and sweet update:

School is going pretty good! I finally rocked a test in Physiology...fingers are crossed for the final! Math...well, still a bit of a struggle for me, but I have an amazing tutor that I need to spend more time with.

Hannah is growing like a weed! She has her first dance recital of the year on December 6th, Saturday. (Swiss Christmas) If anyone is interested I think she dances about 1:00. I tried to talk her into staying home from school today, ok, not really, I was just messing with her, but her response was this: "But mom, I have sooooo much to do today! We have projects to finish and 4 recesses!" I lost that fight.

Heather is going to be here tonight! I'm taking her out on the town tonight for her b-day tomorrow (the big "30"). I plan on having some excellent blackmail photos on here within the next week!

Last, but DEFINITELY not least, dating. Love it, love it, love it!!!

That's all folks!

6 Quirks of the Heber Girls

Here are my 6 quirks...
1. I push the snooze button exactly 3 times every morning. If I have to get up early, I set my alarm earlier so that I can get in that 27 minutes of snoozing...I am not much of a morning person.
2. I don't know what color my hair is. I have colored my hair so much since high school that I don't really know what color is underneath...grey?
3. I have a real honest to goodness phobia...spiders.
4. I don't like basements. Especially unfinished ones! There are big freaking spiders down there...(Refer to #3)
5. Leftovers. I don't like them. I like to eat something once. My dad, on the other hand, can eat reheated lasagna for a week. That is just weird to me.
6. I don't like sweets. Go figure. Now if you put something salty in front of me, that is a different story!

Hannah's 6 quirks...
Well, I wouldn't consider her "quirky" but here are 6 of the cutest things about my little Hannah-Balloo...
1. She likes to make beds. I don't. She makes grandpa's bed for him. What an angel.
2. She likes oysters. You know the smoked kind in the can you buy at Wal-mart? Well, give her one of those, some crackers, and a fork and we are good to go. (She gets this one from G-pa Duke)
3. She doesn't say "without"...she say "fur-out"...example "You aren't going to the store fur-out me are you?" I laugh every time.
4. She calls herself "Rascals Mother" (In case you don't know, Rascal is the dog I got for her when she dropped the 'I want a baby brother' thing on me...)
5. Hannah loves to sing. She has a little Hannah Montana guitar with a microphone that plugs into it and she will hang out in her room singing made up songs all day long.
6. Hannah loves the monkey bars at school. She refuses to wear dresses to school because that ruins her being able to hang upside down on the monkey bars (that never stopped ME...).
So there you go...quirks of the Heber Duke girls...hope you got a good laugh.

Who are you?

This weekend was busy. Between sleepovers and shopping, primary practice and programs, it was just too much for a little six year old. My poor little Hannah was so worn out that she passed out watching TV last night aroung 6:45. She coughed all night long so I let her stay home from school today as long as she promised to rest. Well, she wanted to dress up, so I let her dress up. (I'm a pushover.) So, my dad stopped in for lunch and Hannah ran down the stairs to see who was there, and he says to her, "Who are you? Wait...let me guess..." She stares at him while he is trying to think of 'Jasmine'...then she pipes up..."I'm absent!" We started to laugh and she said "Well, I am!" What a funny little girl.

A good walk, ruined.

Mark Twain once said, “Golf is a good walk, ruined.” Let me tell you about my “good walk” that was ruined...not by golf…but by thousands of people protesting the LDS church and the ruling on same-sex marriage.

Last night I had a date…the plan was to go to Temple Square and take a walk and try to see the movie at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Sounds simple? Yeah, right. Traffic seemed crazy as we got closer to downtown, but I had no idea what was to come. Thousands of protesters were circling Temple Square shouting and chanting about equal rights for same sex couples. We decided to not let that ruin our plans, so we attempted to go anyway, but unfortunately, the gates had been locked due to the obvious disturbance. This brings to mind another major debate over the LDS church…remember when they wanted to buy up a block of main to make a beautiful little place for people to go? Well, thank heavens that the Church owns a little peaceful strip of street on Main Street...we were able to go and sit by the reflection pool on the street and enjoy the beauty of the temple.

Meanwhile, there was a helicopter circling overhead and protesters were gathering near the corner of the Church Office Building. We sat for a while then headed back to the car and had to walk right toward the protesters. A little uncomfortable? You bet. They would look right at us and scream their little issues at us...It was hard for me to keep my mouth shut! You can bet I thought of some great things to say, but I really didn’t want to get my butt kicked last night.

Anyway, I’ll make this short…I am a firm believer that marriage is between a man and a woman. That is it. If you want to go have sex with people of the same sex, go for it. As long as you are two consenting adults, that is your issue, but don't walk past me on a public street...next to a place I consider to be a holy place...and try to shove your ideas down my throat. Talk about disrespect. I live my life, you go live yours. And remember, the same democratic right that we were given to vote on this issue is the exact same thing that gives you the right to scream and act like a freaking idiot in public.

P.S. I had a great time with the most amazing guy. Maybe I’ll have more to tell in a future post…

Open letter to our new President-Elect

I found this letter from my favorite columnist, Robert Kirby, in the Tribune today. He couldn't have said it any better.

Dear Mr. President:

Congratulations on your victory at the polls. You are now the leader of the free world whether anybody likes it or not. Frankly, I give you about a week to figure out that you don't.

As a participant in the process that put you in office, I am writing to offer you the benefit of the common man's advice. Men don't come more common than me. Ask my wife.

First, please do not let the victory go to your head. You aren't smart as you think you are. In fact, you aren't even as smart as your supporters claim. We're all going to find that out in the next four years, so there's no point in pretending otherwise.

It doesn't take a genius to be president. I offer as proof any number of dolts we have elected to the country's highest office. So please remember that the trust we've placed in you isn't necessarily a compliment.

The truth is that most Americans could do your job. They could even be good presidents if they remembered to keep things simple. And that's what I'm writing to you about now.

Most Americans know what needs to be done. We learned it growing up, or at least those of us with decent parents did. Presumably, that includes you. Here's what my parents taught me that would also work in the White House.

ENVIRONMENT -- If you make a mess, you have to clean it up. It doesn't matter how long ago you made the mess, or who else helped, you still have to clean it up--even if it takes all day.

FOREIGN POLICY -- You are not the most important person in the world. If you think you are, you need to be taken down a notch or two.

EDUCATION -- Stupidity will always cost more than tuition.

NATIONAL DEFENSE -- Bullies always have to look over their shoulders. Be strong but don't pick on your sisters, or your father will kick your ass when he gets home.

CRIME -- A punishment equal to or worse than the deed is the most effective way of remembering not to do it again.

ECONOMY -- If you want something, go earn the money for it. If you borrow more than you can repay, you deserve to have your thumbs broke.

HEALTH CARE -- Eat right, work hard, don't smoke, brush your teeth, wear your seat belt, and look both ways before crossing the street. If it's not your fault, we'll help you pay to fix it.

There's more, but I think you get the point. Our problems aren't that complicated. Your presidency shouldn't be either.

Best of luck

Robert Kirby

Salt Lake Tribune

This looked fun...One word tag

So I've seen this on a couple of the blogs I read...Looked like a little something to distract me for a minute...So I am tagging anyone who reads this and has never done it!

One Word Tag
1. Where is your cell phone? TABLE
2. Where is your significant other? NONE
3. Your hair color? BROWN?
4. Your mother? HERE
5. Your father? HILARIOUS
6. Your favorite thing? HOPE
7. Your dream last night? NOPE
8. Your dream/goal? EVERYTHING
9. The room you're in? WORK
10. Your hobby? HOMEWORK
11. Your fear? LOSS
12. Where do you want to be in six years? HAPPIER
13. Where were you last night? BED
14. What you're not? COMPLETE
15. One of your wish list items? COMPUTER
16. Where you grew up? HEBER
17. The last thing you did? TEXT
18. What are you wearing? UNIFORM
19. Your TV? OFF
20. Your pet? SILLY!
21. Your computer? CRAP
22. Your mood? ANXIOUS
23. Missing someone? DEFINITELY
24. Your car? NOISY!
25. Something you're not wearing? EARRINGS
26. Favorite Store? CHEAP!
27. Your summer? OVER
28. Love someone? ALWAYS
29. Your favorite color? BLUE
30. When is the last time you laughed? TODAY
31. Last time you cried? TODAY