HEART ATTACK

John had a major heart attack last Saturday morning. Because he is in such fabulous shape, he managed to walk the last 1/2 mile home after the heart attack hit on his morning run, even though there was a total blockage of the main artery leading to the left part of the heart. The doctors and nurses were amazed he didn't drop dead in the road, as callous as those comments may sound. I've been sending email after email to family all weekend. He's ok, and home now. If you have not been on the family email list and would like more info, feel free to ask. We're counting our many, many blessings over and over and over again.

BROCCOLI!

My broccoli has arrived! I picked it this morning.

I love my big chopping knife--it helped me turn this













into this--















which, after much blanching and cooling, became 33 pint bags--like these:














But, then I was left with this:
(plus a smelly house)













It's a mess I'm more than happy to deal with, because...I LOVE BROCCOLI!

Poor Newton

My little dog, Newton, will be 16 years old in November. Part of doggy old age is doggy warts. Newton had alot of them...alot of big ones. He doesn't have them anymore. When he went in to have his teeth cleaned, I asked the vet to remove some of the big ones. She removed pretty much as many big ones as she could find. Some she could burn off, others had to be cut out and stitched up. My poor puppy. He looks like a patchwork something-or-other...or maybe a very old stuffed animal whose fur has been rubbed off in places.

CFO OF THE YEAR

Today John and I attended a luncheon for the CFO of the Year awards, sponsored by Utah Business Magazine. John was one of three recipients in the small, privately-owned business category. They had a special video presentation of each recipient, (we have a copy) and he received a very large framed certificate to hang in his office.
You can go online to Utah Business and read the article, but I've saved you the trouble by cutting and pasting it below! This isn't the official photo they used...I had to use one of my own.

John Hiatt//Career Step//Under John Hiatt’s financial leadership, Career Step increased its earnings by 25 percent, its sales by 30 percent and its product offerings by 50 percent during 2009. “John Hiatt has been crucial to all of these changes because of his ability to balance the needs of investors (new and old alike), maximize available resources, institute proven business practices, understand the company’s strengths and weaknesses, and choose the best partners to take advantage of available opportunities,” says CEO Mike Wilstead.

Another major accomplishment for Career Step during 2009 was the closure of a transaction in which private equity investors purchased 55 percent of the business. Under Hiatt’s leadership, the equity partners made an additional investment that further reduced the founder’s stake in the business, which ultimately served the needs of both parties.

“I was the primary representative of the company in both of these transactions negotiating and structuring the deal with the legal team,” says Hiatt. “To me it is very gratifying to have the trust of the stakeholders. When a member of the board, a work associate or a third party to the business says, ‘I want to hear what the CFO says about a particular topic,’ their desire to have my stamp of approval is very satisfying. This trust others place in my honesty, integrity and opinion because of my title is important to me and I don’t take this responsibility lightly.”

Father's Day

We were lucky enough to have our whole family with us on Father's Day. What a fun houseful! Let me preface this post, though, by telling of the trip Sarah Anne and I took to the Strawberry Days boutique. We found a booth selling wonderful princess dresses--3/$25. I couldn't resist, and couldn't wait to show the grand-daughters. Sarah and I were just sad that Jessica wasn't big enough to wear one. But we'd bought her a cute summer outfit earlier in the week, so maybe that's ok. Anyway, the pictures in the slideshow include all the princess dresses.
Thanks for coming everyone, and thanks for making Daddy feel so loved. He was treated to his very own potato salad and pecan pie! We had a great time.



The moms are always behind the camera, so there are no pictures of them. And Jessica was too little for the rough-housing, so no pictures of her, either. Here is a picture of her in the new summer outfit. She is now learning to support herself on her arms. I wish I'd gotten a picture of her in her new dress, but she wasn't feeling great--tired and fussy, and Sarah wasn't feeling very well either, so I didn't want to pester about it.

Catching Up

I realized that I've been negligent, and that I really did have fun pictures and things to post about before now. So, I took the time to sort out photos and choose events. Here is my first catch-up post/slideshow--it's from a Sunday dinner with Kathy and Brice.

Summer

Well, no pictures, but I have been doing fun stuff for summertime.
John and I took a quick trip to Vail, CO to check out family reunion sites for next summer. Vail is a really beautiful place. I highly recommend it.
My whole family (many of them) came to our house for Newbold FHE.
I've been to three new release movies with Melody, and the Strawberry Days Boutique with Sarah Anne.
I witnessed Kathy get her hair cut short for the first time in 20 years.
I was fitted for glasses to go over the top of my contacts so I can see the music perfectly as I play the piano. (Getting old is not my favorite thing.)
I'll also be getting new general use glasses--new frames, even. My old frames will have the piano playing lenses in them.
I've read three books and spent a ton of money on groceries.
I'm about 1/3 of the way through a CD course on Listening to Great Music,and half way through another Geology course (my third one). This one is on DVD and I watch as I use the treadmill.
I am really hoping that the Celtics win the NBA championship!