I'm not a pepper any more...

Anyone that knows me well knows that I love my Dr Pepper. I started drinking Dr. Pepper way back in 1979, before it was even popular.

I was working at the distribution center of Marci's, a clothing store for women, in El Cajon, CA. Stopping at 7/11 or Maverick for a fountain drink on the way to work wasn't an option, because they didn't have them. There was an old pop bottle machine that only had three choices, Fresca, Dr Pepper or Coke.


At first I chose not to get drinks at work because I didn't like Fresca, and since I didn't drink caffeinated drinks the other two were not options for me. I'm not exactly sure why, but one day at work I needed a drink. I had tasted Coke before and didn't like it, and I knew I didn't like Fresca...so my only option was Dr Pepper.

I remember that first bottle to this day...believe it or not, I didn't like it. Dr Pepper definitely is an aquired taste. A few days later I wanted a drink again, so I got another Dr Pepper. Soon I was getting one every day. There have even been times in my life where I was waking up in the middle of the night to get a sip of Dr Pepper from a bottle in the fridge...Sad, I know!

Over the years I have tried to quit several times. Twice I even quit for six or seven months. Both times after quitting, I ended up somewhere...a restaurant or hotel...where the only drink I liked on their list of choices was Dr Pepper. Each time I "just had one" then another one a few weeks later, which lead to my daily Dr Pepper.

One of the times I quit was just over a year ago. I had had surgery for a prolapsed bladder and the urologist suggested I quit drinking caffeinated drinks. Now I kick myself for starting up again, because it was very easy to quit that time. No cravings or headaches!

Now that I am almost 50 one of my doctors told me I should have a bone density scan to start monitoring any bone loss. The scan showed that I have Osteopenia. Osteopenia refers to bone mineral density (BMD) that is lower than normal peak BMD but not low enough to be classified as Osteoporosis. My doctor informed me that it is reversible with vitamin D therapy. He also asked if I drank any caffeinated beverages. Then he explained that coffee could help to improve it, but caffeinated sodas would make it worse because of the carbonation, and suggested I quit all carbonated beverages.

So...it's been three days since I've had a Dr Pepper. Keep your fingers crossed that this time it's for good!

I've Got a New Hat

I am a woman of many hats... nurse, taxi driver, head chef, housekeeper, gardener, teacher, confidant, personal shopper, finance manager...the list goes on. I now have another hat to wear...that of student. I have gone back to college to finish my degree. I was SO close when Eli & I got married, that I kick myself for not finishing then.

Dad's One-liners...

Eli took Dad & Tanner to see Avatar at the dollar movies Saturday, but arrived a bit late so the only seats left were in the front row.

After sitting down, Dad turned to Eli & announced, " I wanted to watch the movie, not be in it!"

Don't Forget to Pray...

One of the memories I have from my teens is waking up early to get ready for Seminary and school. In California there is no "release time" to attend Seminary during the school day as an elective...we attended Early Morning Seminary! Depending on the time of year that meant getting up before the sun (and sometime wearing pj's under my coat because it was just too cold to get undressed that early in the morning!)

I can very vividly recall coming out of my bedroom to go to bathroom to shower and primp for the day and being able to hear dad's voice coming from the living room in low whisper. Then tip-toeing quietly to the end of the hall to get a peek at who dad was talking with at that early hour. There was no one else in the room...Dad was on his knees, with his scriptures open on the table in front of him, praying. This was a daily occurrence...unless I was late getting up. In that case he was in his chair already reading his scriptures.

Dad was always a great example at remembering to pray...before every meal, at the end of the day or at the beginning of any trip a family prayer was always said. Now as Dad's memories are fading and he sometimes forgets that we are living in my house and not at a hotel or that Connor is only 17 and not on a mission...he continues to remember to pray. At the dinner table it is not uncommon for him to forget that we just blessed the food and he will pause to say an individual blessing, and in the evening as he is in his room getting ready for bed I can hear him in his room praying before he reads his scriptures.

What a comfort it is as I watch my father's memory deteriorate to know that even though he sometimes forgets that I am his daughter, he is still a great example to me and prayer continues to be important to him.

Where Did February Go!?!

February always seems to disappear for me. I once heard that the older you get the faster time flies & I am beginning to believe it! Normally as one month runs into another it doesn't bother me, but I have a problem when February disappears...Connor's birthday is March 4th! Now, his birthday is only a few days away & I still haven't figured out the perfect birthday present for him! What do you get a 17 year old that doesn't really ask for much? Hmmm, you'd think it would be easy, but the fact that he doesn't really want anything makes it even harder.

Hello 2010!

We welcome 2010 with open arms! 2009 was a tough year, but as we look back we see lots of opportunities for growth as a family.

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Traditions...Old & New

Three of my favorite Christmas traditions began sort of by accident...

Shortly after we were married, Eli’s sister Naomi needed surgery, so her four kids came to stay with us for about five or six weeks during the summer. We were having so much fun with them that I suggested to my sister-in-law Toni that my niece Guinevere (who was 9 at the time) come and spend part of her summer break with us too. Toni thought 5 kids might be too much for a newlywed couple living in a two bedroom condo to handle & suggested maybe Guinevere come visit during her Christmas break…so began the tradition of my "California" nieces & nephews coming up to Utah at Christmastime when they were nine years old. It was tradition that I think we all looked forward to birthdays for, however it ended as soon as there were no more nine year olds.

Guinevere & Mickey at a Escamilla family Christmas party.

Guinevere's mini snowman...there wasn't much snow

As a Christmas present in 1991 my mother gave Eli & I a beautiful glass ornament shaped like a heart. The outer edge of the ornament is framed with poinsettias with two love birds perched at the bottom of the heart and the center has Our First Christmas Together 1991 embossed with gold lettering. The beautifully delicate ornament looked a little out of place on our tree among the brightly painted Santa Clauses, toy soldiers, stars and other little wooden ornaments we had bought to decorate the tree, but we placed it prominently at the front.

Our first Christmas tree...you can't really see the ornament

On Thanksgiving Day 1992, we moved into our first house & the next day promptly began decorating for Christmas. We had so much fun shopping for the perfect tree…looking back at pictures now, it looks more like Charlie Brown’s famous Christmas tree. Shortly after we decorated the tree a Christmas card from my mother arrived. Inside the card was another ornament. This one is also in the shape of a heart, but it is gold & has a house intricately cut out of the center. Around the edges it reads, First Christmas in a New House ~ 1992…so began another new tradition. The next Christmas was Connor’s first one, so we found an ornament of Santa at a baby’s cradle & every year since we find an ornament that represents something that happened with our family during the year. Some of my favorites are Santa riding a whale in his swimsuit from 1999 when we spent Christmas in California, Santa at a desk on the phone with a ton of paperwork from the year we started Print Media Consultants, a fire truck from the year we had a fire in our house & a beautiful bell that looks like a quilt from the year my mother passed away. I like the bell because it reminds me of a saying my mom had embroidered & framed, “Families are like quilts: pieced together and stitched with love.”

Our very own Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

Christmas 1993 was spent in California with my family. We stayed with in Oceanside with Suzy, Brent & the boys and had a very enjoyable stay, but Christmas morning we felt a little bit like we were invading on their Christmas. After that we decided to go to San Diego for Thanksgiving & stay home for Christmas. So the next year, on Christmas Eve as we were wrapping gifts for Connor and putting them under the tree another tradition emerged. One of the gifts was a really cool train/car track set that was called Flip Track. The train tracks were on one side of the track pieces & the road for the cars was on the opposite side. It had these awesome mountains with tunnels that the tracks could go through, along with a filling station, airport & a dock. Not only did it have trains and cars, but there was an airplane and boat also. It was just too much for Eli to resist…instead of wrapping it he ended up setting it up. We decided to leave it set up by tree, so we could see Connors excitement upon seeing it. Every year since then, Santa has always left an unwrapped gift out for each of the boys. It was kind of a nice tradition when they got a little older…they would go out & find the unwrapped gift to play with and let us sleep in a bit.

This year we stumbled across two new traditions… Eli has wanted to deep-fry our turkey for I don’t know how long and even bought the fryer about six years ago, but for one reason or another it hasn’t been used. This year we planned ahead enough to figure out how much oil was needed & purchased it. Christmas morning I was a little nervous as he started setting things up…especially after I saw an Allstate commercial quoting facts about how many homes get burned down each year from people trying to deep-fry their turkeys. OH MY! The turkey was SO good! It was the moistest turkey I have ever had…this is definitely a new tradition!

The second new tradition came about when Connor was visiting his girlfriend Alyssa & they decided to make homemade eggnog. I guess they messed up following the recipe & it didn’t taste so good. Needless to say, when he got home Connor wanted to go buy the ingredients to try again. Now I am not a big fan of eggnog, but he had whipped it so well that it was nice and airy instead of thick & heavy. It turned out REALLY tasty! Another new tradition to look forward to next year!