Word to my MOTHER!

SO!!! My Mom is having a birthday today and I would like to celebrate her day by doing a tribute post. Since she would NOT like me to divulge or to focus on how YOUNG she is, I will exploit myself and list something about her for every year she has been MY mother!

33 Things, here we go....

1. SHE IS A SHOPPER! She loves to look, touch, feel, try on, everything. When she is stressed- Shop, When she is sad- Shop, when she needs a release- Shop, when she is happy- Shop. There is never a bad time, and doesn't necessarily buy something all the time, but she loves to shop.

2. In addition to being a shopper, she is a HUNTER! A true blue Bargain Hunter! She can find a great deal on just about everything, and doesn't buy it if it isn't a good deal. In fact, it's almost a disappointment if you didn't get a deal! I can certainly relate to this!! :)

3. She is on the cutting edge of fashion ALWAYS! She is always telling me what is "big" this season, or what is "out". I wonder who tells her... I don't know, but she always seems to know! And she looks great!

4. She is very spiritual. She is sensitive to the things of the spirit and is always sharing stories of faith or quotations from prophets and apostles.

5. She is a great speaker. I have heard some say after she has spoken in a church meeting, "It was just like listening to someone from the General Relief Society Presidency." She really is THAT good....

6. She is a determined person. She lost over 75(?) pounds on weight watchers several years ago and has kept it off. She has actually inspired others to do the same!

7. She is a sporty car kind of grandma. She had a wanted a Saturn Skye

but then remembered that she would need somewhere to put the grand kids, so she decided on a Saturn Vue. Maybe next time....

8. She has terrible teeth. Now don't get me wrong, they don't LOOK terrible, they look great! But because of this, I can blame my OWN bad teeth on genes. Plus- living with "Mr. Nothing has Ever Been Wrong with even ONE tooth of mine", it is nice to be able to call my mom and get sympathy and understanding. :)

9. She loves peanut butter, pistachios and pasta. Unfortunately none of these things are very nice to her...

10. She has these little pear and apple shaped perfume bottles that I loved to look at as a kid. And a tall black bottle of Chanel #5 on a little mirrored tray on her dresser.

11. She is a great Grandma and loves her grad kids soo much! She makes things with them, shops for them (ALL of our kids have a t-shirt for 4th of July, Valentines day, Halloween etc.) and with them (My kids about went CRAZY when she said they could pick out 3 of anything they wanted from the dollar store!!) and loves to have them for the weekend- even without us!

12. She sends a card for every holiday complete with a sheet of stickers.

13. She might not be an athlete herself, but she can cheer with the best of them. She did for me, my sisters and her grand kids.

14. Even though she has very little time to herself, she is a temple worker every other Saturday at a temple 2 hours away, and loves every minute of it. (Plus the fact that there is a great outlet mall on the way home is a bonus too!!)

15. She is resourceful. When they had their house for sale and she had someone that wanted to come over for a showing at the last minute, she started making some homemade spaghetti sauce to make the house smell good. Well- they happened to be Italians and bought the house!

16. She is a leader. She has served in many leadership roles in church. In fact- I am sure she will be called as the General Young Women's President before too long.... At work she is a leader too. Except she pretends not to be. She makes the boss look good, all the time knowing it was HER who did it. :)

17. She fell in love with my dad when she was Mary and my Dad was Joseph in the ward Nativity re-enactment. Actually- I think she said EVERY one was in love with my dad then, she just got to be Mary..

18. She fell in love with my dad for good when her boyfriend put my dad in charge of "looking after her" while he served a mission. And after all these years, he still is. (Thank GOODNESS you didn't wait for that other guy... Geesh!!)

19. She is the most thoughtful gift giver. She doesn't like to give gift cards because she thinks they are too impersonal. You will never forget what my mom got you. It means even more because you KNOW she put a lot of thought, effort, and bargain shopping into it.

20. She works against all odds to help look after her aging parents. She loves and cares soo much about them regardless of the resistance she has to go through to do it.
21. She has worked at the same business for 30 years even though the company itself has changed 4 times. She is more permanent than anything else there!

22. She used to have a makeup kit in the bathroom that I LOVED. It was a treasure chest shaped wooden box with a "Art Deco" type woman's head (is that such a thing?) on it. Inside she had a big thing of pancake makeup, a sponge, and Mary Kay interchangeable lipstick container. She always put her lipstick with a brush.
23. She is a great hostess and most of the family events with extended family are held at her house. She lights candles, sets the table festively, and has hoards of adorable paper products. And I can't forget the little dishes full of candy and nuts.
24. She has endured my dad being the Bishop twice and serving in the stake presidency for over 10 years. In addition to that when we were growing up, he had to go up north to work every week during the winter and only came home on weekends. She always slept with a pair of heavy all metal scissors under her pillow (is that really true? Or were they in her bed side table?) especially after a drunk walked into our house one night when my dad was gone.

25. She used to make spaghetti for dinner but it was always served by candle-light. I love that! Why don't I do that? It seemed every candle in the house was on the table that night!

26. She never let us listen to the song "Jack & Diane" by John Mellencamp, but we all knew the words. Funny though, I remember listening to Donna Summer's "Love to Love Ya ,Baby" without any problem :)

27. She frequently does dinner and a movie night with my dad on Friday nights.

28. She also frequently watches my kids so Nathan & I can do dinner and a movie on Friday nights.

29. Actually she is in New York now watching my sister Nikki's kids so she can go to St. Thomas with her husband.

30. Waited TWO and A HALF weeks for me to come out AFTER her due date. That in itself is heroic.

31. She named me after my uncles girlfriend and a soap opera character. Did she already know how much real life drama I would cause her? (Sorry!!)

32. She a great planner. She is always writing things down and taking notes.

33. She is always there giving great advice, telling me where she found the latest deal, giving us all support, and being a strong, motivated and inspirational mother. Thank you have done and continue to do. I LOVE YOU!