Why frown when you can smile.......or better yet laugh out loud!

     Quite a few years ago I had an experience that changed the way I look.  I went to my hairstylist and as I sat in her chair she said " why don't you ever smile?"  I told her " I do smile.  I smile all the time!  What  are you smokin? "
     She had been doing my hair for a couple of years.  She had never asked me this question before and it puzzled me.  I thought to myself does everyone think I don't smile?  I decided to fix that and I started smiling at everyone.
     I have had some funny experiences smiling and saying hello to everyone.  Recently I came out of a store in Farr West, Utah.  As I was coming out of the store a man was coming in to the store.  Well, naturally I smiled at him because I smile and say hello to everyone.  He smiled back and asked me how I was doing.  Then he said " Oh, are you Ginger?"  I chuckled and said " No, I'm LeeLee ". Haha
     The other thing that happens when I smile at people is they take a double take.  Sometimes they smile back and other times they have a questioning look; like do I know you?
     The best thing that happens is that people start having conversations with me like I am somebody they really know.  It happens quite frequently at the grocery store.  I have had people stop and tell me about their families.  I have had people stop and tell me how great I look and ask me how am I losing weight and how much weight have I lost.  (none)  Just last week I smiled at a lady while I was checking out the eggs to see if any of them were broken.  All of a sudden I was in a full blown conversation with her about her husband and family of five.  She was talking to me like I was her best friend and I just nodded my head and smiled some more.  I wonder if she ever figured out that I wasn't who she thought I was.
     The very best thing that has happened since that initial conversation with my hairstylist is that recently someone payed me this compliment I love you.  You always SMILE!

                                                       Smiling with the grandkids!

                                                         Smiling with the Silver Fox!

                                                         Smiling with complete strangers!

                                               Smiling with Georgie and Monica!       

                                            

                                                  Smiling with my daughters!

                                                       Here's to smiling at you!!!

The leaf who was an answer to prayer........aka Cami

Cami's Story

     I believe that God hears and answers prayers.  Last Friday I was able to attend the Bountiful, Utah Temple.  It is a place where members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints can go to perform sacred work for the living and for the dead.  There is a beautiful room called The Celestial room where people can go and meditate and feel closer to God.  As I was in this room I had a prayer in my heart that my Heavenly Father would help me with some questions I needed answers to.  One of the prayers I took to the Temple was concerning my blog.  As I had experienced some opposition concerning it my prayer was for my Heavenly Father to aid me in knowing whether this was my idea to start a blog or a way for me to be an instrument in his hands to help my fellowman.  I asked Him if it was his idea to let me know who he wanted me to write about.  As I have experienced several times since starting my blog, I, didn't have to wait long to find the answer.

     I went to work later on in the day.  I had been there for an hour when in walked this cutie........

     Her name is Cami.  She shared her story with me and I loved it and I love Cami.  She has a very sweet and innocent spirit about her.

     Cami came in to HairMax to find a product for her hair.  I went over to help her and I noticed that she shakes just a little bit.  I asked her what I could help her with and she said she needed to exchange a product because the one she got wasn't the one she was looking for.  She told me she was looking for a product she used to use when she attended Cosmetology School.  She told me that she had a stroke a year ago on March 17th and things in her brain were still shuffling around a little bit.  She had a can of root lifter in her hands and told me what she wanted it for and I assured her that she was buying the correct product.  I said " How does someone as young as you experience a stroke. "  She said it wasn't a pretty story.

     I told Cami that I had a blog and that I try to write about people who have had an impact on my life.  I asked her if she would be willing to share her story with me.  When she found out that it might help even one other person she agreed to tell me.

     Last March 17th Cami's husband found her on the floor.  She was dead.  She needed action quickly and was taken to the hospital.  She had accidentally overdosed on pain medication.  The doctors told her she had twenty different strokes.  They told her the strokes were so severe and the medications she took were so strong it would have killed a horse or a cow.  Look how tiny Cami is and she survived because God has a purpose for her.

     Cami was in a coma for two days.  She doesn't remember anything about that time period.  She was in the IMC hospital for over a month.  She wasn't able to eat and wanted her diet coke.  Her family and the hospital wouldn't let her indulge in diet coke until she could get something in her body.  That something was ensure.  As long as she could start drinking ensure she was promised she could have her diet coke.

     Cami was in and out of hospitals until June.  She has neuropathy on the left side of her body so she is in constant pain.  She was told she would never drive a car again.  She was unable to wear socks or shoes for a long time because of the pain she is experiencing.  While she was in the hospital her husband decided to divorce her.  She has a seven year old son who she has been able to see every two weeks but as she is getting stronger she is going to be able to see him more often.

     The first thing Cami started to do was to swim.  Swimming was the only thing she could do at the time that felt good on her body.  She now goes to the gym and is weight lifting, riding bicycles and doing some other exercise to make her body stronger.

     She just got the o.k. for her to get her drivers license back.  All of the above exercises and driving she was told she would never be able to do and she is doing them.  She has tremendous hope for the future.  She cried as she told me her story and I cried as I listened to it.  She had become addicted to several pain medications because of surgeries she had.  Recently she had a benign cyst the size of a 50 cent piece removed from her breast.  It was the first time she took a narcotic in over a year.  She gave the medication to her mom to be her nurse and only took a few for the severe pain.  Her mom got rid of the rest.

     I asked Cami what she would tell someone experiencing the same addiction.  She said that the addict doesn't believe she has a problem.  She said the best thing family members can do is to take the initiative to get the person the help they need.  She said she was in complete denial that she had a problem and that she fought it.  She said if she would have listened to a family member she wouldn't have had to go through the experience she has had the last year.

     Thank you so much for sharing your story with me Cami. You are a beautiful daughter of God.  You have a family who loves you and who hated to see you suffer.  Sometimes the most perfect looking people on the outside are suffering tremendously on the inside.  I am glad you found the inner strength to push through pain and to start to heal.  Your story is an inspiration to me!

LeeLee's Likes.....Hatched another batch of chicks!

     I want to share one of my favorite treats.  I have seen similar recipes floating around the internet.  I started making these treats at least 30 years ago.  It is a recipe my sister was given.  She made them.  I loved them and I make them every year at Easter.  It has become a tradition to have these peanut butter treats as part of our meal we have when we get together for our annual Easter egg hunt.
     Two memories I have from making these treats:  some years we were so poor it was a luxury to be able to buy a box of graham crackers to even make them.  My niece Jessi loves them.  It is one of her favorite treats I make.  She is in Colorado now and won't be able to enjoy them with the rest of the family this year.  Poor Jessi!  Poor us!  We miss her!

Reese's Peanut Butter Cookies

     In a large bowl blend together one cup butter (softened) and one cup peanut butter:

     After these are blended well, blend in three and three fourths cups of powdered sugar and one and a half cups of crushed graham crackers.  Crush them well with a rolling pin.  They don't need to be super fine like sand.  It's nice to have a little bit of texture when you bite into them.

     After these are mixed together well. Pat the mixture onto a cookie sheet. 

     Next melt one ( 12 0z. ) bag of chocolate chips in the microwave.  Heat in a microwave safe bowl for one minute.  Stir.  Heat again in thirty second intervals until chocolate chips are melted.  Pour over peanut butter mixture.  Let set until hardened.

     Now for the fun part.  I use a metal cookie cutter to cut out the cute chick shapes.  When that is done I put yellow frosting in a decorator bag and outline the chicks.  You don't even need to be an artist to do this part.  Just relax and have fun!  I prefer the treats chilled in the refridgerator but you can eat them at room temperature too.  They will just be softer.  Enjoy!

It's a beautiful day!

     We have had some crazy weather in Utah the last few days.  It has been sunny, rainy, snowy all in the past six days.

      I have had the opportunity to travel near and far.  I have been as far away as Sydney, Australia to the West and Glasgow, Scotland to the East and lots of places in between.  One of the most beautiful places I have ever been is my home state of Utah.  Spring in Utah is phenomenal!  Today I had the opportunity to capture these photos on my cell phone.

     We even had hail this week.  But here at the Bountiful, Utah Temple you will only find a little bit of heaven on earth!

My loveable leaves......aka The girls and boys in the hood.

The girls and boys in the hood

     Some of the very best experiences I have in my life are when the girls and boys in the neighborhood come by after school to get a treat from me.  This all started about seven years ago when my daughter Kim still lived at home.  She was a primary teacher to a set of twins in our neighborhood.  They loved my daughter Kim.  They were only four years old at the time and they had an older brother who was six years old at the time.  

     They would come by on occasion to see Kim.  Since I am the queen of treats we always had something for them in the pantry.  These visits lasted while Kim was living at home.  Kim married six years ago but fortunately for me the visits from the M family didn't stop.  Over the years the M family has grown.  The oldest boy has moved on to junior high and doesn't stop by anymore but the twins still do.  Word got out that there were treats to be had at my house and so daily traditions with kids from various families stop by.

     Today I was watching my granddaughter Rae when my doorbell rang.  To my delight the twins, their younger brother, and my loveable L were at my door.  I opened up the door to four smiling faces.  They had so much to tell me.  This is the most important part of being the queen of treats.  I get to hear the best things from them.

     First thing my loveable L  pulled up his shirt high enough up so I could see his badge.  It was attached to his pants pocket and it read  I have the Power.  He was beaming from ear to ear as he showed it to me.  I asked him if he got it at school and he said he did and gave me the thumbs up.  

     Next thing J told me that he got his retainer out.  I asked him if he was nervous about getting it out.  He said he was but that it only took five minutes.  He said before it takes twenty minutes to get his dental work done and rolled his eyes as he was telling me this.

     As soon as he told me about his retainer being taken out loveable L told me about his braces getting off.  ( however that actually happened about six months ago, but, you know he had to keep up with the J's.

     Cute E  she just wanted to talk to Rae and get her to talk back.  Rae loves it when the girls and boys in the hood come by.  She gets so excited and talks and waves hi to them.

     Alas, it was time to get the candy jar.  Being the polite children that they are they asked how many treats they could have.  I told them they could have two.  The next thing I knew all pandemonium would break loose as eight hands all hit the candy jar at once trying to get to the treats first.

     The experience this gave to me today was gosh dang it if loveable L has the POWER well I have the POWER too.  You have it and the person next to you has it and so on and so on.  Let's all put our POWER together and make this earthly experience the best that it can be!!!

     LeeLee

    

Tuesdays Tastebuds.........These bunnies look good enough to eat!

     Recently my older leaf Lori (aka as my older sister)and I got together to craft.  Lori picked out the cute project at a store close by her home in Midvale, Utah.  It is called The Wood Connection. If you live nearby you might want to go and check it out. 

     They supply various unfinished wood projects for peeps like us who love to craft.  We started with the unfinished wood shapes, delta paint, pre-cut vinyl, and of course my favorite invention glitter!  A few hours later we had six of these cute bunny projects finished.
     SURPRISE!!!!!! We are giving them away!!!  There are two ways to enter.  If you are fb friends with Lori you can like and leave her a comment.  If you are a reader of my blog, you, can leave me a comment in the comment section of my blog.  

     I have to say just a few words about my three favorite peeps. They are my family leaves (aka my mom and my two sisters.  These three are pretty much my favorite peeps in the whole world.  We have been with each other from the beginning.  Through thick and thin, through poverty and wealth, ( and I mean wealth in the many blessings we have had over the years as a family )  through happiness and sadness,  through health and through sickness.  You name it we've seen it and we have stuck together like glitter and glue!!!
    I don't know what I would do without these three peeps in my life!  I love you special family leaves of mine!  Lori is the peep in the red and blue plaid shirt.

Chicks have hatched at LeeLee's house

     I have wanted to try out a fun new Easter dessert.  I found the recipe for these cute little chicks in the newest issue of Family Circle magazine.
     I thought they were cake pops but they are not.  They are doughnut holes.  How easy is that!

     So to get started you need these ingredients:
     Mini chocolate chips
     Three and a half cups of yellow dyed coconut  ( put coconut and three-five shakes of yellow food color in a baggie.  Shake to the tunes of Shania Twain until you reach the color desired).
     Cake doughnut holes you have purchased from your local bakery
     Frosting
     Some kind of soft, pliable candy to cut into a chicks beak.  I had fruit snacks on hand and so that is what I used.

      Measure out one fourth cup of frosting and save it.  Microwave the remaining frosting for two to three minutes until it is the consistency of honey.  Stab the doughnut hole with a skewer and dip it into the melted frosting.  Cover completely and then tap on side of frosting to shake off excess.

     Roll your doughnut hole into the colored coconut.  Cover completely.  Put on cookie rack to set up while you dip the rest of the doughnut holes.

     After you have rolled all of the doughnut holes in the frosting and coconut you are going to place the one fourth cup of remaining frosting in a decorator bag.

     Now, very carefully, you will pipe a small amount of frosting on an equally small chocolate chip and carefully place it on the little chick-a-dee.  Next roll out the fruit snack in between your fingers as flat as you possibly can and with a pair of scissors cut out a beak shape and place it right smack in between the chicks eyes.  How easy and cute is that!