Time Heals

It's been a month since Liz passed away. I have to confess that I've been trying hard not to think too much about it, but everyday things remind me of Liz, and of how much I miss her. For instance, every time I hear the song "Quack Quack" by The Wiggles, I can see Liz singing and dancing to the tune. When I watch a chick flick, I'm reminded that she always knew the best chick flicks and had a huge collection. The PJs I'm wearing right now were once hers. Her favorite color is the same as mine, pink. The cold weather reminds me of the times I would drive to Logan and spend the weekend with her and Dave. Liz even gave me a tour of USU when I was trying to decide what to do with my life. She is the one who pointed out that Me, Dave and Darren all had the same funny eating habit. My friend Missy wrote a title of one of her blog posts that popped another memory from the 2007 family Christmas party where she and Dave sang the song, "Baby it's Cold Outside" written by Frank Loesser in 1944. There were no dry eyes in the room after they sang. Every time I bundle Ian in his blanket I'm reminded that it's the last thing she ever made.

Days after Ian was born she asked to hold him, and since we were in a hurry and he was already bundled and asleep in his car seat, I didn't want to get him out for her to hold. This memory will haunt me, as I knew at the time that she was very ill, but I believed that there would be plenty of other opportunities for her to hold him. I was so wrong. When she started to decline, it all happened so rapidly that we were all in shock. By then, it was too late.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I miss Liz. I'm sorry that I didn't get to tell her how much I loved her and how she blessed my life. I'm sorry for all the missed opportunities I had to call and chat with her. I'm sorry I moved too far away to visit her often and help out with her kids. I wish I could have held and hugged her in her last days. Oh, how I miss sweet Liz.

It's Been 2 Months!

As of yesterday, Ian turned 2 months old. He is healthy and growing bigger each day. He's already in 3-6 month clothing. He's not chubby, just big. He is adored by his big sister, who is constantly trying to share toys with him, is anxious to keep a binki in his mouth at all times, and loves to give him a thrill ride when he's sitting in his swing. It's hard to believe that he's only been a member of our family for 2 months, as I can't imagine how we ever did without him.

Choosing Paint Colors

This weekend I decided that it was time we started to make this house our home. It's hard to call a place home when you seriously dislike the colors of the walls. With some help from Levi's mom, we selected some fun color samples and started to imagine our walls differently. We started to paint the main living area of our home on Friday night and have been happy with the color choice. It's Valspar's "Dust Bunny" color. Late last night we started to switch out our soft white bulbs for the full spectrum energy efficient bulbs. Our walls suddenly have an attractive purple hue when the lights are on. This does not bother me, but Levi finds this sudden change to be quite disturbing. So we're going back to the soft white bulbs for now.

It's interesting how lighting can completely change a look. For instance, last month at the salon I had high lights and low lights colored into my hair. After the coloring, I could not see any difference in my hair appearance, although both hair stylists kept talking about how beautiful my new colors looked. I figured the florescent lights were making it difficult to truly see the change. Once I got home and was able to see the changes in soft white light, I realized that I should never have tipped the woman so much money!

Which by the way, I'm now looking for a new stylist. Anyone have any excellent recommendations?

Salads

I have been craving salads for several months. I'm not talking about the boring salads with just lettuce, tomatoes, croûtons and dressing. I want the fancy salads that make you say "Wow, is there more of that available?"

It all started at the first of November when I was passing a kidney stone while in my 9th month of pregnancy. The Relief Society President called Levi and asked if we wanted meals to be brought in while I was down. I said "No thank you", but Levi had the phone and responded, "Yes, that would be wonderful". The next several days as I was still suffering from the kidney stone pain, my mouth was on a field trip to an exotic culinary wonderland (My pain killers may have had something to do with that). Every night we had delicious meals brought in, and the salads still stand out in my mind.

I have never been one to be adventurous with salads, only because I lack the imagination to appreciate strange things mixed with my salad greens. If only I had experimented earlier, my taste buds could have been much happier years ago.

I tried one out tonight called a Mushroom Spinach Salad that I rather enjoyed. I found it on the All Recipies.com website.

I am still searching for delicious salad recipes to try and if you have one, please make this mouth happy by sharing it with me.

Heirloom Tomatoes

It's the time of year where I start to day dream of warmer days and continuous sunshine. Instead of daydreaming of living on the beach eating hotdogs, I'm making plans for my first vegetable garden.

I just love tomatoes. Last summer at the local farmers market, I found a grower who sold unique tasting varieties. With a little research, I discovered that they were heirloom tomatoes. These tomatoes are non-hybrid, open pollinated fruits. Each week I would search for my favorite stall and hope that there were some tomatoes left. My favorite variety is the "Black from Tula". It was always the first to sell out, almost always just moments after the stall opened up.

This year I'm not going to fight the crowds to get the best tomatoes. I'm going to grow the most delicious ones right here in my back yard. I have ordered the seeds from Tomato Fest.com, and should receive them soon. I have ordered the following varieties:
Cherokee Purple-Tomato Seeds
Earl Of Edgecombe-Tomato Seeds
Tobolsk-Tomato Seeds
Amana Orange-Tomato Seeds
Angora Super Sweet-Tomato Seeds
Austin's Red Pear
Black Cherry-Tomato Seeds
Black from Tula
Black Prince-Tomato Seeds
Blondkopfchen-Tomato Seeds

10 different tomato varieties may seem a bit much, but it will be such fun to try them out.
I'm also planning to grow green peas, carrots, squash, peppers and herbs. In another area of the garden, there will be raspberry and blueberry bushes, as well as strawberry plants.

It's such fun to dream of this future garden!

Elizabeth Marie Lloyd

Elizabeth Marie Lloyd finished her earthly mission and returned to her Heavenly Father on December 29th, 2007. Family and friends joined together last Friday, January 4th, 2008 to celebrate her life and mourn for her loss.

Here is a photo of Liz taken the summer of 2007 at our cousin's baby shower. With her is our niece Tilly.



You can view her obituary at this link.

I will also post a copy of the obituary here.
"Elizabeth Marie Lloyd 1974 ~ 2007 Elizabeth Marie Lloyd passed away Dec 29,2007. She was born June 21, 1974, to Duane and Tamara Davis. Married to David Bryant Lloyd Sept 9, 1995 in the Salt Lake Temple. Received a Bachelors in Family Human Development at USU. Elizabeth was a remarkable, wonderful, and beautiful woman. Her greatest achievement and treasure was her family, her husband and two beautiful children whom she always put first. She had a quick sense of humor and loved to laugh. She also loved life and always saw the beauty around her. Making friends was natural to her. She was just herself and you couldn't help but love her. Elizabeth faced her battle with cancer like she did with everything else, head on. To her family she was our love, our strength, and our life. Elizabeth, we all will miss you, we will never forget you and will always keep you in our hearts, and will always love you. Survived by her husband David and two children Emma and Tyler, and large extended family. Funeral Services will be Friday, Jan 4 at 11:00 am. at the W. Jordan 23rd LDS Ward, 7255 S 2200 W. a viewing will be held one hour prior to services. Online condolences at serenicare.com Special Thanks to Intermountain Hospice, and Garden Terrace.
Published in the Deseret News on 1/3/2008."