Category Archives: Memories

Brands, Favorites, Links, Memories, Travel

Adventurous Travel in the USA (amongst the places I have been)

  1. Kenai Peninsula, Alaska – Road trip, get a rustic cabin, visit the tip of the Homer Spit, see moose, avoid bear, stop at the Ranger Stations to chat with locals  (http://www.kenaipeninsula.org/)
  2. Maui, Hawaii – Visit the top of the Haleakala Crater, take the Road to Hana and make all the stops, swim under waterfalls, take a surfing lesson, kayak with whales, rent a condo on the beach from my friend
  3. Phoenix, Arizona – Only go in the winter, hike the desert, float down the river, golf, search for the Lost Dutchman’s gold, drive north of Mesa at night and view the glittering city
  4. Boston, Massachusetts – Follow the Freedom Trail’s red line through town to tour history on your own, order seafood, wander Boston Commons (with a friend), take in a museum
  5. New York City, New York – Choose your top 3 must sees and count everything else a bonus.  You could explore this city for weeks, maybe months, and never see it all.  Museums, skyscrapers, sports, exhibits… Take in a Broadway show, skate at Rockefeller Center, rub the Wall Street Bull’s unmentionables for good luck, pose for a pic with the Naked Cowboy in Times Square, eat authentic cuisine from another culture, see the Statue of Liberty, relax in Central Park or any of the smaller ones scattered through the city, ride the subway, wear your walking shoes
  6. Los Angeles, California – Hit the beaches… Huntington for ocean swimming, Venice for weirdo-watching.  Visit Hollywood, drive into Hollywood Hills to see the city, take in a professional sporting event, wander a pier at dusk
  7. Boundary Waters, northern Minnesota – Plan with an outfitter, rent a canoe, and tour your way through the beauty of the North Woods.  Be sure you know what you’re doing or hire a guide.  Portage trails, paddle lakes, camp in remote wilderness, watch out for bears
  8. Chicago, Illinois – Museums, sporting events, tall buildings, shows, shopping, visit the sand dunes and beaches surrounding Lake Michigan
  9. Juneau, Alaska – Fly or ferry in since there are no roads into this capital city.  Visit glaciers, hike trails, view wildlife, cough up the funds for a helicopter tour that will land you on top of a glacier
  10. Grand Canyon, Arizona – Hike or trail ride into the canyon but only with thorough preparation.  Incredible views, challenging trips, white water rafting, desert camping
ERA Helicopter tour to the top of Taku Glacier, Juneau, Alaska
Family, Favorites, Holidays, Memories

Favorite Easter Memories

  1. Early morning Sunrise Services, sitting outside, shivering in the early desert air
  2. Breakfast in the church fellowship hall
  3. Beautiful dresses sewn by my mother
  4. Dying eggs  –the smell of vinegar, writing on eggs with a white crayon, leaving them in the dye a long time to get vivid colors
  5. Hiding and seeking the eggs
  6. The year my dad hid an egg in the rafters of the front porch and it wasn’t found ’til months later
  7. Easter hymns: “Hear the bells ringing they’re singing that we can be born againnnnnnn…”
  8. Imagining the wonder of the women who found the empty tomb
  9. Easter baskets with chocolate and jelly beans and plastic grass

    Easter Sunday, Late 70s
Family, Favorites, Memories

Things I Miss About My BFF Wendy

  1. Her laugh – the way she would throw her head back and clap her hands together and laugh with her whole soul
  2. Her ability to get things done.  Now.
  3. Her willingness to stop whatever she was doing to do something more important for her friends.
  4. Her enthusiasm for life.
  5. Her refusal to let the cancer define her as a person.
  6. Her stubborness.  It’s a trait we share.
  7. Her slightly naughty sense of humor, which probably most of you didn’t get to see.
  8. Her all encompassing love for her children, all 5 of them.
  9. Lunch at Chi-chis.  Or Bishops.  Or Hardees.
  10. Girls time in DesMoines with all 3 of us BFFs
  11. The way she never ever ever complained about anything.  Not the cancer, not her divorce, not the chemo, not even at the end.
  12. Her drive and ambition.
  13. Her cream cheese mints.
  14. Planning events with her.
  15. When she would load up all the 8 million kids and take them to her house to make cookies.
  16. How she always told me the truth.  Always.  No matter whether I wanted to hear it or not.
The 3 of us - www.wendysbutterflygarden.com
Links, Memories, Work

Jobs I’ve Held

Cutco Cutlery & The Forever Guarantee
  1. Babysitter
  2. Landscaper
  3. Retail sales – women’s clothes
  4. Telemarketer
  5. Preschool teacher
  6. Grocery store clerk
  7. Retail sales – lingerie department
  8. Retail sales – shoe department
  9. Personal sales – Cutco cutlery
  10. Personal sales – House of Lloyd decor
  11. Retail sales – ladies wear
  12. Assistant to department manager – electronics
  13. Retail sales – electronics department
  14. Stockroom / Dock
  15. Internet research
  16. Telephone transcription
  17. Choir teacher – 5th grade – High school
  18. Secretary
  19. Sales Manager
  20. Lifeguard
  21. Horse wrangler
  22. Kitchen/ Dish room
  23. Water exercise instructor
  24. Lifeguard instructor
  25. Swim instructor
  26. Children’s “Rhythm & Rhyme” movement instructor
  27. Copywriter, editor, blog marketing
  28. Lifeguard supervisor
Favorites, Memories, Travel

Awesome Places I’ve Been

  1. The rainforest of Juneau, Alaska
  2. Sugar Beach, Maui, Hawaii
  3. Sunbeam Lake campsite, Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada
  4. Mogollon Rim, Payson, Arizona
  5. Twin Falls, Maui, Hawaii
  6. Manhattan Beach Pier, Manhattan Beach, California
  7. Mendenhall Glacier & waterfall, Juneau, Alaska
  8. “Canadian Adventure” camp, north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
  9. Blackwater Trail, Superstition Mountains, east of Mesa, Arizona
  10. Empire State Building, New York, New York
  11. Sears Building, Chicago, Illinois
  12. Cape Cod, Chatham, Massachusetts
  13. Homer Spit, Homer, Alaska
  14. Eagle River, Alaska
  15. Scarface mountain, Apache Junction, Arizona
  16. Pearl Harbor Memorial, Oahu, Hawaii
  17. Grand Marais, Minnesota
  18. Boundary Waters, Ely, Minnesota
  19. Neil Simon Broadway Theater, New York, New York
  20. Fox Theater, St. Louis, Missouri
  21. Top of the St. Louis Arch, St. Louis, Missouri
  22. Ozark mountains, Mountain Home, Arkansas
  23. The rolling hills of Kentucky
  24. Top of Haleakala volcano, Maui, Hawaii
  25. Secluded cabin on the Kenai Peninsula, outside Soldotna, Alaska
  26. Estes Park, Colorado
  27. Casa Grande Ruins, Coolidge, Arizona
  28. Boston Commons, Boston, Massachusetts
  29. Top of the Taku Glacier, Juneau, Alaska
Lesley & Caleb, Twin Falls, Maui

Honorable Mention (Not quite as awe-inspiring to me, but still deserving mention)

  1. North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Payson, Arizona
  2. Times Square, New York, New York
  3. Hollywood Hills, Hollywood, California
  4. Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
  5. Norfork Dam, Mountain Home, Arkansas
  6. Hoover Dam, Mohave County, Arizona
  7. Tortilla Flat, Arizona
  8. Salty Dawg Saloon, Homer, Alaska
Top of the Taku Glacier