Favorite Granite Cleaner

Granite counters. So pretty and shiny and durable and I love them but I hate to clean them. They always end up dull and streaked unless you spend extra time and effort wiping them down. Wiping off your counters should not be a project.

I think I have tried every product out there that guarantees a clean streak free shine - Not - as well as a few home made concoctions - Fail.

But I have finally found one I love. LOVE!

In a spray bottle add:

1/4 C. Vodka or Alcohol (I used Vodka because that's what I had on hand and for those of you that know me it wasn't to drink but for a pizza sauce recipe that Bret makes and is to DIE for.)

3 drops/squirts Dawn dish washing soap (This is also essential if you may be tempted to drink your cleaning solution)

1 C. water

I use a regular dish cloth nothing special and have no, I mean NO streaking, my counters shine and the alcohol disinfects.

Try it. You will LOVE it.

Troy, Thalia, & Tourettes

I went to school with Troy

We were friends

I remember him having slight "ticks" but didn't think much about it

After graduation, I would run in to him occasionally at the grocery store where he worked

Fast forward 25 years

This is Troy now

I can't in good conscience sit idly by and do nothing

And so I will share his story and his way of life with as many as I can

Imagine the millions in blog land

If only 10,000 parted with $10, lives would be forever changed

For the better




Donations can be made at any Wells Fargo bank - if you don't have one in your state then a Wachovia bank will link up.

Make your deposit to the Troy J. Marley DBS Benefit Donation Fund

We Are Hurricanes

This seasons hurricanes.

Bret's name is even spelled correctly.

Side by side.

Hopefully we won't cause any damage.

Lift, Lighten, Love

This may be familiar to some. It's a song I find myself humming every now and then and thought I would share -

Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyone’s burden been lighter today
Because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?


Then wake up and do something more
Than dream of your mansion above.
Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and love.


There are chances for work all around just now,
Opportunities right in our way.
Do not let them pass by, saying, “Sometime I’ll try,”
But go and do something today.
’Tis noble of man to work and to give;
Love’s labor has merit alone.
Only he who does something helps others to live.
To God each good work will be known.

Can you imagine what our planet, our nation, our communities, our families would be like if each one of us chose to lift someones burden, lighten someones load, and love someone in a deeper way all on the same day?

Keep the Refrigerator Klosed!

Today there was black smoke in the sky.

The lights dimmed and then later went out.

Sister called, her husband was okay. Transformer blew.




Kids thought the end had come.

No air conditioning (Remember it's like 182 degrees outside in the shade)

No TV

No lunch (their excuse was that mom kept calling out, "Keep the refrigerator closed!")

No toilet

Wait - what do you mean no toilet?

Lesson about energy, water and the function of the toilet was quickly taught.

Brother in law and crew got the power back up and running in 2 hours! way to go guys and so glad none of you were hurt!

June @ 107

My indoor personal weather station read 107 degrees outside. Thats with the gauge meassuring from the shade. You'll notice it's 8% humidity and I am keeping the indoors a nice cool 72 degrees. Yes, I like it cold and Yes, it costs me a bundle.





So what do you do when it's this hot?

The kids do nothing. They don't want to and frankly neither do I




We swim

We keep Sonic Ice in the freezer for instant ice cold water

We try to remember to water the plants because when you don't, they look like this - oops I forgot.





We remember that it's easier to stay cool than to warm up. June, July, August and September and then the best winters ever.

Irresponsible Indescribable Irreplaceable

It began 22 years ago. My husband and his best friend had a trip planned. Our friend challenged me to come along and bring my boys, then 3 and 18 months.


"Bring a chair and sit there. We'll do everything else."



I nervously went along and a love affair was born. Every summer since that August so many years ago I have packed up our family car with gear and taken my boys to the mountains to camp. It didn't matter the age, my pregnant condition, or the weather predictions. Pack n Plays, baby swings, toys, bikes, coats and swimsuits, cooking gear, lanterns, coolers, food, sleeping bags, tents, first aid kits, and so much more have filled every tiny crevice of our car then truck then Suburban. If Bret couldn't come then I would load up the boys and we would go without him. Sometimes if work permitted he would join us on weekends but often times I went at it alone.



It was on these mountains that I caught my first fish, saw my first bear, hunted my first deer, stayed awake to listen to the coyotes yelping and elk bugle. I sound like a guy.



I overcame my fear of thunderstorms after being stuck with my children all alone in a tent in the most ferocious thunder and lightning storm that I had ever experienced. I learned how to cook on a camp stove, in a dutch oven and over a fire. I am much better in a camp kitchen than my home kitchen. I learned to love the outdoors.



I gained a confidence and independence that filtered into other parts of my life.

We had a favorite area that quickly became my "happy place". My children believed that this was where the 3 little pigs lived. And so that it what we called it. The 3 little pigs.



Every time I've wanted to run away from life, this is where I've gone. Even If I couldn't actually take the time to literally go there, my mind would at least allow me to visit.

On May 29 a fire was left unattended. That fire, or what some have described as an uncontrollable beast, has devoured my mountain. It has become the largest wildfire my state has ever had. The lookout tower that my boys all climbed and "marked" is now a tower of twisted metal. The aspens that crossed the road letting us know we had 3 more miles until we got there will no longer quiver in the breeze. The fresh scent of pine after a rain storm will never, in my lifetime, smell the same. Not in this forest.



My biggest sorrow is that I will not be able to continue this tradition with my youngers and my grands. Their memories of our trips to Westfork will be short and limited. Their adventures were few. And my grands will never know their Nana's happy place. Yes, we'll go back. But the landscape is forever changed.

One irresponsible act led to indescribable destruction that is irreplaceable in my lifetime.

BUT - I have my pictures. I have my memories. I have great family stories to tell. I have a love for the outdoors that I am forever thankful for.



Here's to you Kim for challenging me to do something that would forever change my life and My Bret, who had the trust and confidence in me to let me pack up and go each and every summer.