kooper beebug

Whiteboard Quotes

2012-01-16T08:14:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to wipe off a few quotes from my whiteboard before I begin an intense semester of human anatomy and human physiology. I need all the space I can get while I try to trick my mind to remember body parts and chemical reactions.

This was a quote from a wedding I attended this past summer:
It doesn't matter how they came together, it matters how they stayed together.

The next two are off-hand comments I made during conversations with friends. I liked them:
Aren't we all caught up in our own dreams and believe they will come true?

Love is a funny thing, it helps make us willing to shoulder the burdens of another person.

I heard this quote at church one day last year:
It will all work out in the end, and if it hasn't worked out yet then it is not the end.

2012 New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-04T18:35:00.000-08:00

The time has come to post my NYRs for this year. How exciting. I feel like this year is going to be a great year.

In order to kick start this year and get in the mood for goal making might I suggest you all go watch S3E12 of The Middle on Hulu.com, titled: Year of the Hecks.

Can't say that last year was one of my favorite years to experience but I know that no matter how hard I try there is no way that I can replicate 2011...mostly because I don't want to replicate it. So, 2012 already has great potential to be better.

I was telling Cindy that I thought I'd try to accomplish 75% percent of my goals this year and she gave me a strange look and I realized that I should shoot for the full 100%. But that was what I liked about my previous goal making, that I didn't put the pressure on myself to accomplish all my goals. Guess this year is going to be different. And I am OK with different and better.

I've selected Simple Life by The Weepies as my theme song for 2012.

That means this year I want to continually look for ways to simplify my life and find satisfaction in simple things and simple solutions. So, each month I want to do something that makes my life more simple. Last year was to do something Christmas Letter worthy each month, this year will be to simplify. Maybe I will put those simple delights in a Christmas Letter at the end of the year. Maybe not.

1. Create and follow a budget
2. Do my 2010 and 2011 taxes before April
3. Read the Book of Mormon and finish my study from last year
4. Read 25 books (I'll be back in school so I am reducing the number since I really won't have as much time)
5. Keep a clean car - weekly clean the interior and monthly clean the exterior
6. Fix the paint job on the hood of my car
7. Write something academic
8. Write something spiritual
9. Write something fun (fictional)
10. Get a better job or start a new career path
11. Go to the dentist
12. Run two marathons, at least one outside of Utah
13. Visit my family and friends in the Bay Area
14. Organize the insects at home, pin and label those that have been forgotten
15. Reduce, reuse, recycle, and sell the stuff that is cluttering my life
16. Participate in a sprint triathlon
17. Take up swimming
18. Purchase and use a road bike
19. Run a 5K at an 8.5 min. pace
20. Run a marathon at a 9 min. pace (sub 4 hour)
21. Hike with Lindsey, Olivia, Wendy, Becky, Pam, Cindy...someone...anyone
22. Go to all the temples in Utah
23. Write a business plan (popsicles, track-er, shooting instructor, etc).
24. Improve my shooting, work on my instructor status, help with at least two Appleseeds
25. Be more active in my ward and church responsibilities
26. Compile my recipe book
27. Try out a new recipe each month
28. Get a new haircut
29. Read David Copperfield
30. Visit the La Sal Mountains or the Ruby Mountains
31. Visit a National Park or National Monument
32. Get an A in anatomy and physiology
33. Express gratitude more often and in diverse ways
34. Curate the bees at BYU
35. Pick a reoccuring service activity
36. Finish 3 eternal projects
37. Finish Dianthidium, Anthidium, and start Osmia guides
38. Update my resume

As I look over the goals I just set I really don't think simplification. What have I gotten myself into?

Oh, and if you want to participate in any of my goals feel free to bug me about it and spur me along. I love company.

Accountability - NYRs 2011

2012-01-01T09:37:00.000-08:00

I accomplished more than 50% of my goals this year!!! Yeah!!!! - I just noticed I don't have a goal #16...what to do...I'll add another goal at the end of the page of something I did accomplish to beef up my numbers.

1. Do something each month that can be worthy of being featured in a Christmas Letter at the end of the year.

I enjoyed this goal the most because it made me really make the most of my year.

2. Run 3 marathons: One local, one regional (Utah), and one global (out of state).

I ran the Sojo Marathon in South Jordan for my local race (Oct), the Huff to Bluff Marathon in southeast Utah for the regional race (May), and I ran the Colorado Springs Marathon for my out of state race (Sept). And for good measure I also ran in the Sawtooth Mountains Relay in June and the Pinedale 1/2 marathon in Sept.

3. Get a road bike - Failed - I spent my bike money on a trip to Paris.

4. Get a usable pair of cross country skis - Failed - I have a pair of skis I need to get bindings put on them.

5. Write something and submit it for publication - Failed - I didn't work on this at all.

6. Train for a private triathlon with Rachel - Failed - Rachel got married and forgot about this goal...so did I.

7. Write a "Christmas Letter" and send it out on my birthday.

I revised this goal. I had my Christmas letter started by my birthday but the year wasn't over yet and I didn't want to send it on my birthday since it wasn't finished yet. The letter is fully written and now I need to send it out. But I consider this goal accomplished.

8. Travel out of the country

I went to Paris. You can read about it on this blog. I posted 6 days of travel updates.

9. Build up my savings again - I'd like to double what is currently residing in my account - Failed.

10. Go to the dentist - get a teeth cleaning and x-rays - Failed. But I did get references from friends now I just need to call and set up an appointment.

11. Sell the old wedding ring and get a complete temple outfit I actually like - Failed. but I did get my ring appraised and I do carry it around with me so I can get a second appraisal. Looking for a jewelry consignment store.

12. Give blood again

I gave blood sometime in Feb I think. I am scheduled to give blood again this coming week.

13. Read 50 books

I got my 50 read. This coming year I am going to lower my number because I'll be back in school with less time for fun reading. That aspect of going back to school makes me sad.

14. Hang art and other appropriate items on my bedroom walls

I hung up 4 botanical drawings on my wall. This goal was accomplished.

15. Curate bees at BYU again - Failed. I really need to spend some time down there this year.

17. Read the Book of Mormon and New Testament - Failed.

18. Finish at least 3 old projects that have been kicking around for 10 years - Failed.

19. Take some college courses

I did enroll in school and took a technical college course so I am counting this goal as accomplished. I took Phlebotomy and decided not to become a phlebotomist. I also enrolled at Salt Lake Community College for the coming term that starts Jan 2012. Yeah for self improvement.

20. One last attempt to write and publish the research from my thesis - Failed.

21. Photography class and skill development - Failed.

22. Plant and grow a more successful garden and create a useable compost pile

I'm counting this as accomplished. I used my compost pile this year and have some good soil brewing for 2012. My garden was full of tomatoes (unlike last year) and I also got a small harvest of beans. I have garlic in the ground for a 2012 harvest and I am starting to plan the garden for this coming spring.

23. Refresh my plant names and learn some bird names - Failed. I forgot about this goal.

24. Hike with Becky (my big sister) - Failed. I forgot about this goal as well. Darn me.

25. Junk reduction - Sell my excess stuff that has been sitting around waiting to be sold

I did do some junk reduction. It felt good. I can't wait to keep on making a dent in the old junk. Most of it was from a different era in my life that I don't like to revisit so this stuff sits unused because of pride. Time to sell it or get rid of it so that the junk can find a more caring home.

26. Get my Rifleman designation at an Appleseed Shoot.

I accomplished this in Oct. Yeah!!!

27. Use my last 2 tickets to Beaver

Took care of this goal in March.

28. Compile and bind a recipe book - Failed. I really wanted to do this goal. I kept track of the recipes I loved but I didn't get around to actually compiling a book.

29. Backpacking in the Sierras with Lindsey (and Olivia?)

Lindsey and I went Point Reyes in Jan. Not the Sierras but pretty darn close so I count this as accomplished.

30. Core Training - Weight training and 6-pack abs

I'm going to count this even though I didn't get 6-pack abs. But I did lose about 5 real lbs from weight training and I did work on my abs with a Jillian Michaels dvd for about 30 days.

31. Tour Kennecott Copper Mines

When I ran the Sojo Marathon in Oct. I ran past the Kennecott Copper Mines. After the race Cindy, Tom, Luke and I decided to go up and take a tour. It was awesome.

32. Visit BERET

In May I took a trip to SF and visited with Beret. I will do this trip again soon because I was unable to give her my undivided attention.

33. Visit a national monument or national park - Memorial Day trip?

In April I toured Zion with Craig's family and Daly's family. That was great fun. I got to do all those hikes I've heard about but never made it to. I still need to hike the subway.

34. Go to the temple TWICE a month - Failed.

35. Certify on some level at Front Sight

I graduated from the basic course in November. Yeah!!!

36. Humanitarian Service - quarterly activities - Technically I failed. But Marie and I did get 2 or 3 quarters covered. The last quarter we slacked off because we wanted the calling to disappear. It did but not until the end of the year. So we missed one quarter of service.

37. Become a shooting instructor

I think I can count this one if I revise it since I didn't really understand the steps I needed to take. While I didn't become a shooting instructor I did pass the test to start my training as a shooting instructor for rifles.

#16 - Clean out the food storage room and increase food storage holdings.

Cindy and I cleaned the storage room and we have so much room now. I also added 2 buckets of wheat and one bucket of rolled oats.

Paris - Day 6, The End

2011-12-26T04:31:00.000-08:00

After finishing a long day at Versailles we headed back to Paris so we could hit The Louvre. Luckily on Wednesdays they are open late so we would still be able to take our time and see what we wanted to see...except that our feet are killing us and our energy is lagging.

I didn't take that many pictures because the lighting was too dark for my camera to take good pictures...plus, it's a gigantic art museum and this is not an art history blog or book. Plus, I took a ton of pictures at Versailles so I think you are all pictured out, I know I am.

First things first, we stopped and got nutella, banana crepes. Yum. I had coconut in mine...that was a bit of an overkill. Too much coconut so that I couldn't taste the banana and the nutella. I want a big round flat crepe/pancake stone. I could have that to haul around with my popsicles. Crepes and Popsicles!!!

Then we walked to the Louvre. I took this one picture because Cindy thought this was something she'd been talking about earlier and wanted to see. It wasn't what she thought it was but for a brief moment we were excited.

There are no lines at the Louve on a Wednesday night in the middle of winter. Remember that when you go to Paris in summer and see all the trees in leaf and have nice warm weather and long days of sunlight but you have to stand in line for HOURS.

This lady greeted us as we headed to the areas in the Louvre we were interested in. The paintings. Neither Cindy and I had the energy to walk around ceramics and artifacts so we headed straight for the oil paintings.

Then we headed over to the Mona Lisa to see her smile. We took our mandated tourist pictures with her to prove that we got to see the painting that for some reason is more important than all the other paintings in the world...I just don't get it. Why the Mona Lisa?

I thought this was fascinating. Look at the blood squirt. And the abdomen looks very odd. Anyway. Enjoy. There were a lot of painful looking crucifix paintings. I think I've always imagined the blood was minimal...why would I think that? Christ must have been exceedingly bloody when his body was removed from the cross and carried to the tomb...yet in my mind the reason the ladies wanted to wash his body was to wash off dust and sweat. Weird that I never imagined they needed to clean his body of blood.

In one room the security person was asleep. I suddenly had this wild desire to scratch, slice, and mark on all the paintings in the room. Luckily Cindy gave me an odd look and reminded me to behave.

I also felt like running up and pulling this security person's hand.

Here are a few of the pieces I liked. If you want to know the names and the artists then message me and I will look it up. But right now I am too tired.

Look the apostle is wearing PINK.

These ladies just look happy and loved and like they are genuinely good people with good morals. I like them.Romeo and Juliet
These next paintings are some I want to acquire as my Christmas art and just regular art that I want to hang on my walls along with some Minerva Teichert.

I need to remember this painting for my documentary on nursing. It will go well with the National Geographic photo with the polar bear mama nursing her two cubs.

I would like to have some panels made depicting the events in Christs life and hung like these. I wouldn't mind having these panels too but I think they are a little out of my price range.

I like the frame on this painting.

After the Louvre we headed home to pack and fall asleep. We decided to be safe we'd try and get on an earlier flight on Thursday morning because it looked like all the flights were oversold for the next two weeks and the early flight had the shortest standby list. Lucky that we made that decision. We were able to fly first class back to the US and the ticket agent told us that the rest of the flights were oversold for the next few weeks so getting on was going to be hard. And the standby lists were quite large on the those flights.

We flew to Chicago and got on our next flight without a hitch. We made it back to SLC in the early evening. And I was in bed by 8pm. It was great. I only have a few regrets. I also came back with too many euros. That is lost money now. Oh, well. Great trips can have a small price attached like lost money and the desire to go back to see the rest of the sights we couldn't fit into one trip.

Paris - Day 6 : Versailles

2011-12-23T17:36:00.001-08:00

It has been a long time since we got back from Paris. So hopefully I can remember what we did based on the gazillion pictures I took on that day. I won't remember all the wise cracks and jokes we made...but I didn't remember those for all the other days even when I blogged the night of...you aren't missing much. WARNING: There are a lot of pictures in this post, it took me 2 hours to upload all of them (mainly because blogger has such an outdated photo uploader). Upon deliberation I have decided to break this post up into two parts. This will be the post about Versailles.

Wednesday was a fully packed day. We got up early and took the train to Versailles.

It was a COLD day at Versailles so I am glad that part of the adventure was indoors and that there wasn't a line to get into the palace.

I thought I'd take a picture of the corner of each room we entered to highlight the ceiling and walls and in some cases the floor. Since I really love the moldings in most of the rooms. Such ornate decorations. Because of this brilliant idea I had HUNDREDS of photos. I tried to limit the photos to the very best. Here I have 3 montages of corner photos (but one of the royal bedrooms couldn't be corner-ized so it gets its own photo.)

This is a ceiling form somewhere in the palace. Somewhere towards the start.

This was the floor throughout most of the palace. I love wood floors...but I also love carpet. Hmm, I think I am a wood floor person for kitchens and hallways but I like carpet for living rooms and bedrooms. And I prefer tile in bathrooms.

A fireplace in one of the very first rooms we entered. I was still cold and wished it had a roaring fire lit.

The doors were super ornate throughout the palace.

I love tall windows.

The ceilings were amazing.

Look at this bed. The bed looks so tiny because of all the decorations and fixtures and gold and drapes...but really it was a regular sized bed.

Look at how HUGE this painting is. There was a similar sized one on the opposite wall too. I have no clue how you'd paint something so huge. I'd get lost each time I picked up the paint brush and stepped in to do something...guess that's why I'm not an artist.

As we started to head outdoors Winter greeted us as a statue by Francois Girardon. Thanks for helping to prepare us for the sting and bite in the air.

Then we headed to the women's wing of the palace. It was less ornate. So I took less pictures.

Then we headed outside to tour the gardens. I sort of didn't want to go outside. I sort of wanted to curl up on a bed inside and read a book.

We kept telling ourselves that what we were seeing was just like how the gardens would look in summer so that we wouldn't feel like we were missing out on anything.

And it didn't bother us that the statues were all draped and covered...nope, that's how they'd be in summer too.

Mistletoe.
The royal swans were freezing too.

Then we made it over to some other place on the grounds. I forget the name. But it had a moat.

There were a lot of pink rooms...and a yellow room...and luckily a green room. But way too much pink.

I did enjoy looking at the tassels that were hanging on a few of the curtains.

Pool sticks.
Then we visited Marie-Antoinette's place.

Outside I saw a tree that I liked. And when we got closer to it I found out why I was drawn to it. It was a Cedar of Lebanon. Yeah! I saw one in real life.

Then we toured the grounds and the little tourist village/farm. Went of the beaten track trying to find something on the map that didn't exist. Got me worried that we were lost. And then we found our way back into the thick of the tourist portion of the world again.

Thatched roofs are amazing. I want to try to do this.

By this time we were starving and we needed to get back to Paris so we could see the Louvre. Our feet are so tired and sore. I think we've walked 1/2 a marathon at the very least. The next post will finish up the Paris adventure. There isn't much left. But I am tired and this is all I want to do right now.

Paris - Day 5

2011-12-13T14:13:00.000-08:00

Cindy and I got up bright and early with the plan to visit the Louvre because we knew it was supposed to be a rainy cold windy day. Our plan was practically perfect...until we got to the Louvre and found that it was CLOSED on Tuesdays. We were so wet by the time we got there that all we wanted to do was go back to the apartment to dry off and take a nap and eat cheese.

But we decided to take a roundabout way home to see a few shops that had been recommended by Jordan the day before. Cindy stopped in a tourist shop for a cheap umbrella because the one she had loaned me for the trip wasn't much of a two-person type umbrella...not that our heads were wet from the walk to the Louvre it was our legs and feet that were soaking. Turns out her cheap umbrella was so defunct that she was better off not using it at all. But it did have the word "Paris" printed on it over and over...I wish we had umbrellas in Utah like that only I'd want the word "Brigham" printed over and over on my cheap tourist umbrella. FYI Cindy left it as a thank you gift to our host when we vacated the apartment the next day. What a gal!

There was a need for a handy street bathroom experience. Cindy looks very frightened to enter. I was wondering if she'd end up stuck inside during the wash phase of the public toilet...like in some murder-mystery-CSI show I saw recently. She didn't, she got out, and the experience apparently wasn't all that exciting...I don't know for sure because I didn't go inside.

Here is a street cleaner taking a break. He probably thought I was silly for taking pictures of my friend Lou at the loo. ( I should have taken one of Lou at the Louvre at the loo. Zut!)

So we found one of the recommended shops, Merci. It was great. I saw several things I liked...now you have to endure photos of things I liked in the shop so I don't forget.

I love these dishes!!! I want to take a pottery class now.
I want a rough wood umbrella stand.

I like these recycled paper stools and the rough wood stool. I want both. I want to make both.

This wooden bench made me happy too.

I want wood baskets in my house.

And I really like these cutting boards. I need to find me some fallen logs.

As much as like the stools around this table I really really REALLY like the table. (I think chairs around a table should have backs on them so these aren't what I'd want to be dining on).

Like.
Like.
I like this wood and steel table too! But I DO NOT like the chairs.

After some shopping we made it home to our lovely cheeses. We bought a baguette and chowed down. The first cheese (left to right) was my favorite but I can't remember what it was. The next one has two cheeses in one separated by a line of ash - it was good too. The next one was very very strong to the point that I couldn't eat any more of it than the little morsel I had taken to sample it. And the last was sea salt butter. Not a big fan of cold butter on my bread but I ate it anyway and it wasn't bad.

Then as we finished lunch and looked outside to see blue skies and sunlight we both fell asleep and napped away the great day. We woke up ready to make the most of the evening and off we went to see the Arc de Triomphe and what ever else decided to delight us.

A typical roundabout.

These dog balloons delight me. They are funny. And they appear to walk because they have accordion legs and a slight breeze makes them sway.

A floor in a covered mini-city-thing-of-a-ma-bob which is basically a mall...but old school.

I want to make these tinkling bell stars and balls for my christmas next year.

A feathered gown. The picture is horrible but the dress is exquisite. I want to raise pheasants so I can have a dress just like this.

This is to get a project rolling because someone is going to scoop it if I don't do it first.

Oh, yeah. We tried to see the L'Hôtel national des Invalides but it was closing when we got there. We walked around for 10 min but couldn't go inside the building. Drats! We missed seeing Napoleon's tomb. Guess I'll have to come back to Paris at least one more time.

Here is the bridge leading up to Les Invalides.

This was something else we missed seeing. Another reason to come back to Paris.

On our way home we stopped at the Church of the Madeline. It was pretty and had just finished an organ recital so it was after tourist hours. We ended up taking pictures inside because we missed the small sign telling us it was forbidden and nobody was on monitoring duty.

Baby Jesus is missing still.

We also missed seeing the opera house so I guess I'll have to come back.

But we did see a small bit of this fancy mall. We bought expensive macaroons and looked at the Christmas window display.

I like this bowl and vase...but the colors didn't come out very well in this photo.

The lights above the window displays for Chanel. I didn't take any pictures of the window displays...funny me.

Then we made it home. I lost my mittens when I bought an eclair at a pastry shop. And we did a lot of walking. And we had fun. And then we went home. Tomorrow we are going to try and cram Versailles and the Louvre into one day. Fun!

Paris - Day 4

2011-12-12T15:08:00.000-08:00

I started sleeping during the Paris night so now I don't have the same amount of time to blog. I don't know if I will get all the commentary into this post before I need to leave for the day. I will come back and do it later...might be weeks later...but I will do it. I also have photos from day 5 waiting for me to comment on too. And day 6 is beginning in a few minutes...we woke up late and I thought I'd try to do something before we actually head out.

We woke up to a beautiful winter day. No rain or clouds!!! Amazing. So, as planned we headed out to see the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe (I just learned how to spell it the french way rather than the kim way).

Here is almost our first sighting of the Eiffel this morning...I figured you don't want to see all 200 photos as we approach and leave the tower so I'll give you the highlights.

We opted to climb the first 2 levels by stair and then take the elevator up to the top. That way the experience would be more real rather than just an elevator ride straight up. It was real.

It only took 668 steps to get to the 2nd level. Not bad. I could have done that with my legs tied behind my back. We are going to be so sore tomorrow.

Ahh, the pretty Parisian sky line with me to accent the view.

If you look out this window really hard and squint your eyes you can see the US.

Can you see the shadow of the Tower as if falls across Paris?

This pigeon was also touring the tower. He seemed to be having a great time.

Back on the ground. A little shaky but ready for the next set of stairs (and there WILL be plenty more).
We met up with Cindy's friend Jordan for a late lunch or an early dinner. She showed us the traditional side of Paris. She took us to a cafe, a pharmacy, a cheese shop, a pastry shop, gave us directions for a few shops that she felt we shouldn't miss, and sent us on our way to tackle the next few days of Paris.

Look at who we found in the pastry shop buying doughnuts...the stereotype is worldwide.

Then we headed out to see the the Arc. But first we got to see the Eiffel again.

Then we climbed some stairs.
And we walked through a christmas boutique.

There was ice skating on a little patch of frozen water.

Me and the Eiff.
Then the Arc de Triomphe

Where we ascended another 260 stairs.

Back on the ground as we strolled along the Champs Elysees.
We tried out cooked chestnuts. They weren't very good. Now I know. Maybe they'd be better made into a powder or salted.

Look at how angelic Cindy looks.

Notice that Christ is still missing?

Then back home on the subway.

Paris - Day 3

2011-12-11T16:49:00.001-08:00

We woke up early…I think I got 2-3 hours of sleep because I just couldn’t fall asleep last night. I was a great surprise to Jaron as he wandered in after 2 am to find me huddled in the corner with my laptop blogging…he said I was creepy. I said I wasn’t tired. He fell asleep, Cindy continued sleeping and I sat up typing and uploading pictures. The same might happen tonight…hopefully not. I am so tired.

We woke up early to go to The Notre Dame to participate in a Prayer Service and the Greggorian Mass. It was so COLD during our walk and even colder in the cathedral. The services were so boring and long and cold (it was all in French and they didn't give us hymnals so we could follow the music). If I ever wanted to be catholic before I absolutely never want to be catholic again (no offense meant to any of my catholic friends and family). I can’t believe how COLD I was. And I was so tired and they kept making me stand up when all I wanted to do was sleep. I think I should try the services again in spring when I am well rested, not so cold, and well fed (rather than constantly hungry due to the forced diet here in France...portion control is everywhere since they don't have supermarkets and bulk goods in their tiny shops...shopping is an all day adventure as you go from one store to the other to get everything on your list and in small quantities so you have to do it all over again in two days.)

Morning view as we exit the apartment.

Cold morning view of Notre Dame.

Afterwards we looked at the line for the roof and changed our minds. There was no way we’d be able to stand in line for a few hours because we were so cold. So, we headed over to the Latin Quarter to try and find food and a warm place to sit. Bruce, my cousin’s husband, recommended we try out a Le Grec pita. This was a great idea and perfect for two cold girls. We ordered and sat in a warm little shop and ate the delicious sandwich. I love shaved meat sandwiches.

Next are just some street views.

Then we strolled down to the Museum d’Orsay. There we stood in line, but luckily we were still warm from our food and walk. The line moved pretty fast, good thing because the museum would prove to require a lot of our time. There were 5 floors needing to be perused. We perused them in leisure despite our barking dogs and screaming backs. Such great art. The meanest part of the museum was the Art Nouveau section that had lots of chairs on display but we couldn’t sit in them…those poor chairs are not fulfilling the measure of their creation. And they didn’t let us take pictures so you are all spared the plethora of pictures of art pieces I found particularly pleasing or obscene. There sure were a lot of nekkid women and men in this museum. My eyes are hurting.

I found a few of my favorite pieces:

Levy Dhurmer

Jean-Leon Germone (Jerusalem – Golgotha)

Homer Daumer

Fernand Cormon : Cain

This installation was also a big hit with Cindy and I. It was on floor 5 and although it was crowded with lots of people and the fabric looked well rested on we couldn't resist the chance to lie down and close our eyes for a few seconds.

I have decided I really want to put sculptures in the round-abouts in Utah. I'd put an armoured Rhino in one for sure.

When we left it was getting dark. We figured we’d go home and see if Jaron wanted to go out to eat. But then we spied the ferrs wheel in the far distance and decided to wander over and see about taking it for a spin. It was a lazy two turns around with a great view of the evening skyline of the city.

Cindy found a way to do a good turn today. She helped a lady with a stroller go up stairs. This is the lady (very fuzzy) scurrying away from the crazy Utah tourists who had nothing better to do than help her with her kid.

I thought the next two kind of cool:

While we were up on high we heard a cacophony of sirens and looked down to see a parade of emergency vehicles going somewhere (probably transporting a dignitary somewhere social). Blue lights on the left. Red lights on the right is traffic.

The nice attempt of the man and his kids on the ride with us to take our picture...my camera requires a steady hand when it is dark.

The walk home took us past the Arc de Triumph Carousel again and the Louvre.

Time to head home. We’ve gotten better at finding our way back to home so there wasn’t any getting lost this time. Jaron had made beef stew that wsa delicious and perfect for a cold night home. Then we watched Jean-Claude Van Damme movies and One Crazy Summer. It was a nice lazy night at home. Perfect way to end the day. I went in and out of sleep and now I am wide awake.

Jaron also made Banana Nut Bread with a special secret ingredient that I hope to try when I get home, I’m not telling because I want to surprise you all. And I want to make chocolate ginger nougat/ganache sticks that I want to try and replicate when I get home. AND I want to make a scarf with a fringe of flimsy material. And I want to wear more skirts and tights and be like a womanly and typical French lady…which means I need boots and scarves and skirts and sexy legs.

Below are notes to myself:

These are the artists I need to revisit – some are spelled wrong because I can’t read my chicken scratch now that I am home and relaxed (I need to remember to take a bigger piece of paper with me to the Louvre so I don’t have the same problem later):

Levy Dhurmerhttp

Jean-Leon Germone (Jerusalem – Golgotha)

Camille Passeirro

Honore Daumier

Joseph Urban (Chaise)

Léon Frédéric (Les âges de l'ouvrier)

Bernhard Hoetger

Rodin

Georges Seurat

Francois Pompon (Grand-duc)

Pierre Bonnard (Le Chat Blanc)

Fernand Cormon (Cain)

Paris - Day 2

2011-12-10T16:37:00.001-08:00

I can't sleep so I decided to post at around 3 am Saturday night/Sunday morning. Yikes. I have to get up soon.

We slept in LATE this morning (Saturday morning). I was wearing earplugs and was tired. We woke up around 11am. After showering and getting ready we headed to the Metro for a quick 16 min. ride to the catacombs other than the hour long walk Cindy and I had planned. Jaron was the one to set us straight. Good thing because with our shortened day we ended up using the metro 3 times and still didn’t see everything we had planned for the day.

The catacombs had a nice long line. We got sandwiches and headed over for a long wait. Jaron joined us soon after…he took his scooter and had an even shorter commute, he decided this portion of our excursions was worth his time. The tour was about 45 min. long. The site was amazing. There were bones stacked up all along the tunnels beneath the city. So many bones, so many skulls, so many dead people. AMAZING. It was so dark though so I didn’t take as many pictures. Sorry. We did walk down about 130 stairs to see the catacombs and up 83 stairs to return to the street surface.

This is one of the many long halls, only this one is pretty. Most of the walkways are narrow and short and dark and dank.

Here Cindy is just about to enter the catacombs.

This is what greets you as you enter the catacombs. And this is just the beginning of the layers and mounds of dead people.

Most of my pictures down int he catacombs are fuzzy. Enjoy.

I tried to get some ghostly pictures. This one is Cindy.

And this one is Jaron.

After the catacombs Cindy and I headed over to the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur. We took the Metro. That was a pretty place. There was a French-African street performer on the steps in front singing John Lennon songs. He did a good job. There was quite a crowd and he had amps so he was able to draw in even more people than normal. There were about 100 stairs to get up the hill to the Basilique. Our legs were getting sort of tired.

This is a view from the base of the cathedral.

The Cathedral was beautiful inside. But we couldn’t take pictures. There was a large mural of Christ in front. This was definitely the cathedral that pictured Christ in a loving and welcoming way. I really wished I could have documented it. You’ll have to go online and see for yourself.

Then we did a quick tour of the crypt and the dome. The crypt was rather boring and quick. Here are a few pictures. FYI – it was only about 30 steps to get into the crypt.

BUT it was 236 steps to get to the dome and 236 to get back down! My legs were shaking later. The dome had a BEAUTIFUL view of the city. And since we were up there for the setting of the sun we saw the city in the day and in the night. I have lots of pictures of this.

Here is a beheaded statue in the crypt. I find that France has a long history of being fascinated with beheadings.

Those shiny things are all hearts.

This is part of the hike up to the top of the Basilica.

As I took my first glimpses of the views from the top I could hear the street performer singing Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here. It was very fitting because I could think of many people who I wish were there with me enjoying the sights, sounds, food, relaxation, and excitement.

A few photos from the grounds looking up.

Then we casually wandered down the hill looking for the Moulin Rouge, food, and cute shops. There was no hurry and there was no particular order we needed to do those three. We didn’t find the Moulin Rouge where we thought it was but we did find two other windmills. Those were pretty.

A mime performing. I couldn't get a good picture. It was too dark and he kept moving.

We found food below at a carnival of sorts. We bought doughnuts, crepes, and baguettes. Nothing too fancy. Tomorrow might be more substantial food.

We wandered around looking at shops and candy…maybe I was the one really looking at candy and sweets...I can’t help it there are some really good pastries out there.

Hey look Andi! Raclette! (If Andi even sees or reads my blog these days...I have been so absent and unexciting that I've lost most of my 12 readers.)

And in our wandering we found the Moulin Rouge. Wow, not really, but we found it and then we kept on walking until we found a metro entrance. And then we were homeward bound. We spend the evening blogging, journaling, and crafting. Old ladies in Paris have fun no matter where they are. No movies tonight because I took over the internet to blog yesterdays news, now it is time for bed because tomorrow we have to get up bright and early for another full day of adventures!!!

Now I am going to try and sleep for a few hours. Hopefully I'll be rested and ready for another full day. And hopefully I'll have time to post day 3 at the end of the day.

Paris - Day 1

2011-12-10T12:07:00.000-08:00

I did the last thing I thought I'd ever do on my first night in Paris. Nope, I didn't drop frozen eggs from the Eiffel Tower. I didn't try my hand at oil painting on a canvas and easel trying to capture a romantic rainy night. And I didn't stroll along the Champs-Elise in the moon-light with my lover's arms around my waist as he gazed passionately into my eyes. Think something a bit more basic. I watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. For some reason I had never seen it before and the night was still young when we retired for the night so it seemed like a movie was in order. What better way to kick-start the holidays?

Now for the rest of the story.

Cindy and I left Thursday morning to the airport with standby tickets and a wish for an adventure in Paris. All week I've been telling myself that there was a possibility that we'd have to change our plans last minute and fly to Peru with all our winter gear...because there was a possibility and I wanted to prepare myself for a different adventure in case that happened. Climbing Machu Picchu in winter boots during the middle of summer actually sounds like a great change of plans.

First leg was to get to Atlanta. Second leg was to Paris. We made both the flights and got to go 1^st class from Atlanta to Paris. For those who feel envious of 1^st Class tickets let me tell you that on a7 hour flight the flight attendants spend 5 hours feeding you so that you feel fat and you only get about 2 hours of rest. The only good thing about 1^st Class is watching unlimited movies (well it is limited to the length of the flight) but the movies are all complementary. So, I took advantage of some of my feeding time and watched The Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Crazy Stupid Love. The Ape movie had so much potential but it fell short of my high expectations and Crazy Stupid Love is terrible and made me angry.

This is what Cindy and I look like on a plane in coach. The picture of us in 1st class didn't get taken because we weren't by each other. But basically it would have been of food, of our eyes glued to the movie screen, and of us snoring under a fluffy blanket while lying down next to strangers.

We got into Paris at 5 am Friday morning. Got our bags and found the RER (the train to Paris) but couldn’t use our American credit cards at the kiosks…but once we found a live human being at a ticket counter everything went smoothly. We got on the train to Paris and then transferred to the Metro, to the stairs to the surface and saw that we were in PARIS!!! and then walked a few blocks in the dark cool rain to Jaron’s apartment. The foyer was dark but Cindy found a light and we carried our bags up 3 flights spiral stairs to rap on Jaron’s door. He welcomed us in and told jokes and stories to us until it was time for him to leave for work and time for Cindy and I to sleep for a few hours before our adventures begin.

This is what it looks like in Paris when you wake up. It was a drizzly day. But that meant the photos were going to be terrific...as long as we didn't go into really dark dark dark cathedrals and buildings...

After trying to wake up we headed out to see Notre Dame and walk around the outside of the Louvre. Today was a day to get our bearings. Tomorrow the real touring begins. Cindy bought a huge beautiful crepe from the street. It was a frommage and jambon crepe. I want one tomorrow but today I wasn’t hungry…the airplane food was still making me feel fat.

Then we wandered over to the Louve and the Arc de Triumph Carrousel.

We thought we were seeing THE Arc de Triumph but were corrected when we saw a little sign in French and I spied the real Arc through a distant Carrousel down the way. Good thing we got that straightened out.

Do you see the heart? I think I am going to collect hearts from Paris on this trip...afterall it is the City of Love where they speak the Language of Love...I want to watch Better Off Dead now...

The real Arc de Triumph is behind the caroseul in the background. Can you see it?

Then we wandered down to the Sienne and saw some of the signs of love around Paris. Scarred birches and love locks on bridges. Ahhh, if only I had some one to lock my heart to. I’ve got a prayer in the Prayer Wall in Jerusalem but I don’t have a lock on a bridge in Paris.

Do any of you know someone with the initials E.A.? He needs to be single and available because apparently we were MFE.

You can't see from here but I did notice that there was something on the bridge fencing...can you tell what it is? I thought it was Christmas ribbons...nope.

We found another bridge that was full of locks too. We need to do this somewhere in Utah. I imagine I could make a killing on cheep locks.

Some scenes by the river, the first being the most important lesson I learned during the day:

I loved these heads on the bridge. They were all different. All so very dramatic.

I've decided I want to live on a house boat on the Seine (or another river, I don't want to be too picky) someday.

Then we went to the Notre Dame and walked around inside.

In the next photo I want you to notice Baby Jesus is missing. He is missing from all the Creche exhibits we've seen so far. Is France trying to make the statement that Christ is too often missing from Christmas? or do they have a tradition not to put Christ in the manger until Christmas day? I'll never know since I won't be here on Christmas day.

I love cathedral architecture. Hopefully we make it up on top of the Notre Dame some day soon. Then there was more wandering and more churches to walk about.

This cathedral was near the Pantheon.

Why is baby Jesus sitting on that book? I think there is a deeper meaning but I am too tired to think about it right now. Just make sure you let Christ whisper to you while you read the scriptures.

Then we made our way to the Pantheon and saw the tombs of Marie Curie, Voltaire, Victor Hugo, and Louise Braille. That was interesting.

I loved how this guy was saint was picking up his head and the little bit of celestial light that showed that his greatness was something to astound.

I love ceilings and arches.

This was just a nose-less girl's head that I took a picture of.

This guy became a Christian and this is his baptism. I thought his blond flowing hair and mustache was kind of funny looking so I took a picture of him.

This is the view of the Eiffel Tower when we came out of the Pantheon. Pretty.

Part of our walk home had us return by Notre Dame. Very pretty at night.

We stopped in another church during our long-way home, who needs short-cuts when you are in Paris and there really isn't anywhere you have to be. I'm not sure the name of the church but there was a long-bodied Jesus statue that I took a picture of.

Dinner was a street panini. I wasn't hungry the whole day due to the airplane feast but this panini came just when the hunger pangs were starting to kick in. Tomorrow we go back out and see what more we can see. I hope I get a crepe. And I hope I find a really yummy chocolate Panini or chocolate crousant…today’s chocolate croissant wasn’t very chocolatey.

Leave it TWO Beaver

2011-03-09T18:14:00.000-08:00

Finally, I finally accomplished one of those NYR goals that keeps getting rolled-over from year to year!! That means I've made progress in my life. The goal I speak of is to use my two remaining graduate student ski passes to Beaver Mountain. I did! I did!

I don't know why this took so long. I like skiing. Obviously I don't make it priority or I would have used all my passes way back in 2006. I had a great time skiing this year. I have a strong desire to get a season pass for next year...but that would be silly since I don't really want to be working part-time and commuting to Logan barely making ends meet. SO, I think I will hope for a better job and a better commute and with the savings that brings into my life I will easily be able afford a season ski pass to a smaller ski resort somewhere at full price rather than at the special pre-season rate that is SO affordable.

Ellen is taking the picture, left to right: Jamie, Joyce, Jon, myself.

Funny Kid

2011-02-09T05:56:00.000-08:00

I was walking in downtown SLC with one of my nephews last summer and he did something funny. We were crossing the street and I noticed he wasn't with me anymore. When I turned around he was smiling and asked me if I could take a picture of him. He cracks me up.

Pt. Reyes - Lindsey's take on the trip

2011-02-06T07:06:00.000-08:00

Just in case you wanted a different perspective on the Pt. Reyes trip here is the link to Lindsey's view of things.

Logan-SLC-Reno-Point Reyes-Reno-SLC-Logan

2011-01-29T20:58:00.000-08:00

Get ready for an ultramarathon of a post...remember how I used to post really long posts way back in the early days of blogging? Well, I am resurrecting that tradition again...at least for this post.

My friend Lindsey took me to the crappiest national park I've ever been to. There was so much scat on the trails that I kept expecting death from hoards of coyotes, horse and small critters with every step I took. Below is a sampling of the stuff...although one picture isn't of poop but of a crap mimic. Can you tell which one?

So one day I get a message from Linds with a crazy fun plan to take a mid winter backpacking trip somewhere warm where you can see the sky and feel the sun. I thought it was a worthy plan. I sure needed a break from the long dreary inversions that have plagued Logan and SLC this winter. And I most desperately needed to go hit the trails with an overloaded pack and lots of laughter.

With miles of road ahead of me I gave a hearty endorsement. Which meant one day I left Logan for SLC to throw a few supplies in my pack and pick up a few audio books at the library. Then bright and early the next morning I was on the road. I took a quick stop in Elko to visit a favorite missionary companion and another pit stop to chat with a friend on the phone while I stretched my legs (FYI there is NO cell phone reception along most of I-80 in Nevada). The trip went decidedly well and I got two more books finished towards my goal of 50.

Anyway, I pulled into Reno right on time. Within a few hours Linds and I were on our way to Point Reyes. We stopped to get snacks outside of Sacramento and for some reason forgot to purchase our food for the trail. Such a silly oversight, don't expect to find flavorful bread and cheese at the mini market near the Park entrance.

We slept in Lindsey's minivan in Point Reyes Station along a shaded quiet street near the police/fire station. It was one of the best sleeps I've had in ages...I am now an avid supporter of minivans. I want one. I want one something bad. And I also want a baby to put in it but that is another story.

We woke up and lazily wandered the town. We stopped at the local grocery store and bought dry flavorless extra sour dough bread, bland swiss cheese, some candy, and a blah avocado. We opted to eat the eclectic assortment of foods I brought from my pantry for the rest of the trip. Obviously food wasn't the purpose of this trip because if it was then we failed. This was obviously a trip about being out in nature, seeing the coast, backpacking, getting away, being warm, seeing the sky, feeling the sun, breathing fresh air, finding clarity, and rekindling positivity.

We bought breakfast at the local Bovine Bakery. The food was divine and indulgent. Linds had a chunk of berry pie and I had a mushroom/goat cheese/artichoke crescent thing. We noticed that this town was rather innovative with their community planning. There was a huge hay barn with a side room literally sandwiched between an attached landscaping supply lot...guess what was in that side room. A yoga studio complete with Himalayan prayer flags to set the mood and help you forget the beeping of forklifts and sweaty swearing men.

Enough long-windedness. Let's get to the pictures.

Here at the trailhead is a group of starlings. There were many more at one point but they got scared by my camera. They were enjoying the cracked wheat I was being generous with.

Here is the start-line. We are fresh and eager. The trail is wide and hard packed. And our bags are heavy...yet not even close to as heavy as they could be.

We were amazed by all the green things we saw. It's January! Lindsey even saw molding poop!!! That would be hard to find in Utah. Molding poop! Who ever heard of such a thing?

Had to stop and take an artsy photo. The trees were so tall and happy...we were happy too.

The evidence of fire.
Finally after 4 miles we spy the coast. That is where we are heading. Yup, right down there to sit in the sun and read books.

This is exactly what we were hoping for. Notice there are no footprints? We were relatively alone on this beach...relatively speaking...and only for a little while.

Second thing we saw on the beach was a dying crab.

He blew bubbles to express his annoyance. Poor guy. It's warm out and the birds look hungry.

At one point in during our relaxing phase the sound of pounding hoofs greeted us as horses ran past us in the surf. How romantic for this couple. I snapped a shot of them casually walking by on their return.

Then it was time to explore the only spot on the beach with "tide pools".

A star fish...but it looks more like a pink blob.

A muscle.

Sea anemones.

Kelp.

The view.

A kelp bed.

Then it was time to set up camp and hurry back to watch the sunset. BUT we got distracted by a rope swing. A ROPE SWING! In a National Park!

But we still made it to the beach and watched the sun set into the sea. How very nice.

Night came next and we slept...or rather tossed and turned. Boy was it cold that night. And the dew came with a vengeance.

Morning took its time coming so I got up and wandered down to the beach in the dark. The tide had come in. Sorry, no wild and crazy stories to tell.

This is what I looked like once the sun came up.

This is what camp looked like. Each campsite was enclosed with bushes so it felt rather private. But we did have neighbors: young Herm (we couldn't tell if he was a her or a him) and two other girls, the guy with the box of wine and the cool brown tent, Snoring man and his buddy (they each had their own tent but I don't think that helped the buddy sleep better because we could hear the snoring way over at our campsite so I imagine his tent walls weren't much of a sound barrier...they should have just brought one tent), a pack of scouts, the strange guys who drug wood around on the beach, and the (single?) mom who biked her son (Aldo or Aldin) and a bike trailer down to the beach.

We packed our stuff and headed on down the coast. We had about 13 miles to cover before the day was through. My greatest regret was that we missed the trail down to Sculptured Beach. I don't know how that happened seeing as all the trails were CLEARLY marked. It looked like the beach had an arch...it would have been so pretty to look at.

But we did walk down to this beach. Where I washed my hair in a small waterfall. And we saw a random art installation.

Look at this sky!!! Look at the breaking waves. Look at the clarity that comes from a jaunt to the beach. I see clarity EVERYWHERE.

Then we headed to Arch Rock where we spent a bit of time watching the waves crash into the rock walls on a hidden beach below.

This is me in the afternoon.

A view from the top of the look out with a rather friendly seagull.

See, this is a very friendly seagull. Tickle, tickle.

Time for meditation.

A look down the coast.

This was a happy moment. See these two little flowers. SOUR GRASS!!! I grew up eating the stalks of this plant. I miss it. So it was a blessing to see these two little beauties. Sorry guys, we ate the only two sour grass stalks I saw in the whole park. Whoops.

Then we made it to our other campsite. We set up the wet tent and laid out our wet bags and clothes to dry while we took a late afternoon jaunt 3 miles down the beach to see the much talked about waterfall. Hmm, seemed a bit less than grand. It was here that we encountered the most people on the whole trip. Lots of young fresh people on dates. I guess this is a popular day hike.

Later we were buzzed by a plane.

We got to watch the sun set into the ocean again. Very pretty.

Then back 3 miles to our campsite. It was uphill the whole way back but Linds and I pretty much ran because at sea level we had the strength of a hundred horses.

This is what I looked like on the last day. Since I didn't have a mirror I relied on my camera to make sure I was not offending anyone with my homely appearance. The bandanna was extremely necessary at this point.

This is the hike out. Good-bye greenery.

The because I am such a sucker for a fun hike I stayed in Reno overnight to hike up the little hill behind Lindsey's house in the wee hours of the morning.

Afterwards I drove back to SLC after stopping in Elko for a second brief visit with the ol' mission pal. And then after sleeping in my bed for a few hours I was off to Logan for work. Quick whirlwind trip. I need to do this more often...where should I go next month for a good little 3 day backpacking trip?

2011-01-19T06:32:00.000-08:00

I've been reading, or rather listening to, a fun little book by P.G. Wodehouse called The Adventures of Sally. I was a bit worried that I had picked another dud but I have been enjoying this story and humor. This part stood out to me because the differences between men and women have been on my mind. There is some truth to the statement...but I realize that there many men who put their wives and significant others first and those are men that understand and value their "help meet".

In this era of bubbling joy, it was hard that Sally, the fairy godmother responsible for it all, should not have been completely happy too; and it puzzled her why she was not. But whatever it was that cast the faint shadow refused obstinately to come out from the back of her mind and show itself and be challenged. It was not till she was out driving in a hired car with Gerald one afternoon on Belle Isle that enlightenment came.

Gerald, since the departure of Miss Hobson, had been at his best. Like Fillmore, he was a man who responded to the sunshine of prosperity. His moodiness had vanished, and all his old charm had returned. And yet... it seemed to Sally, as the car slid smoothly through the pleasant woods and fields by the river, that there was something that jarred.

Gerald was cheerful and talkative. He, at any rate, found nothing wrong with life. He held forth spaciously on the big things he intended to do.

"If this play get over—and it's going to—I'll show 'em!" His jaw was squared, and his eyes glowed as they stared into the inviting future. "One success—that's all I need—then watch me! I haven't had a chance yet, but..."

His voice rolled on, but Sally had ceased to listen. It was the time of year when the chill of evening follows swiftly on the mellow warmth of afternoon. The sun had gone behind the trees, and a cold wind was blowing up from the river. And quite suddenly, as though it was the wind that had cleared her mind, she understood what it was that had been lurking at the back of her thoughts. For an instant it stood out nakedly without concealment, and the world became a forlorn place. She had realized the fundamental difference between man's outlook on life and woman's.

Success! How men worshipped it, and how little of themselves they had to spare for anything else. Ironically, it was the theme of this very play of Gerald's which she had saved from destruction. Of all the men she knew, how many had any view of life except as a race which they must strain every nerve to win, regardless of what they missed by the wayside in their haste? Fillmore—Gerald—all of them. There might be a woman in each of their lives, but she came second—an afterthought—a thing for their spare time. Gerald was everything to her. His success would never be more than a side-issue as far as she was concerned. He himself, without any of the trappings of success, was enough for her. But she was not enough for him. A spasm of futile jealousy shook her. She shivered.

"Cold?" said Gerald. "I'll tell the man to drive back... I don't see any reason why this play shouldn't run a year in New York. Everybody says it's good... if it does get over, they'll all be after me. I..."

Sally stared out into a bleak world. The sky was a leaden grey, and the wind from the river blew with a dismal chill.

The Recent Past

2011-01-12T20:00:00.000-08:00

As promised in the last post here are pictures for your enjoyment. Unfortunately many of these pictures have been seen before but some are new to the digital world. The pictures aren't anything to write home to mom about...although this blog is sort of like writing home to mom but I seriously doubt if she will be checking my blog any time soon.

So, here you go. Pictures from the recent past. Maybe a recap of the last few months except that I didn't have my camera with me for most of the things in my recent past. So, these are just isolated events that happened to be documented.

July

August

September

October - Can you spot the funny funny in the picture?

October / November?

November

December

NYR Update

2011-01-07T14:45:00.000-08:00

Don't worry I won't be giving updates each week about my goals. I just didn't have anything exciting to post so I thought I'd give you all an update as to what I have done this month. I promise my next post will include images. There is too much text on my blog page right now.

I have just enrolled in the Huff to Bluff Marathon scheduled for May 21, 2011. How exciting! That's a step closer to finishing 1/3rd of goal #2

I have been working on Jillian Michael's 6-Week Six Pack program. Tomorrow will end week 1. I don't feel very different. But that means I am approximately 1/6th done with half of goal #30.

I have finished 2 books this year putting me 1/25ths towards completion of goal #13.

I am 3 weeks away from being eligible to give blood, goal #12.

I've been reading the BofM almost each morning. Goal #17.

I have almost scheduled a first quarter Humanitarian Service activity (the senior missionaries weren't available to take my call so now I have to wait until Tuesday when they are back in the office, but at least the preparations are in order). Once that is scheduled I'll be 1/4th of the way to completion on goal #36.

And I have contacted a few people about the Gun Safety lecture I am creating and the a Gun Instructor course I want to take. Goal #37.

Cindy and I have talked about potential Natl. Parks/Monuments to visit this year because she has already booked campsites at another Natl Park for her 4th of July weekend thus bringing herself closer to that goal. Goal #33.

And I tried out a new recipe I think I might like to keep, its called Fairy Gingerbread. They are pretty good. I made some substitutions already so I don't really know what they are supposed to taste like. I almost used grapefruit extract instead of vanilla but decided I shouldn't deviate too much the first time through. Goal #28.

Breaking News!....added a few hours later after posting the above info......Breaking News!!

I just hung Art on my bedroom walls. Goal #14 COMPLETE...although I might add more things to my walls in the near future.

2011 New Year's Resolutions

2010-12-21T13:39:00.000-08:00

I love making New Year's Resolutions. There is something so very hopeful and optimistic about making a list of things to accomplish for the coming year. As per my usual NYRs Plan I am posting my 37 goals/resolutions for this year. At the end of next year I will report back on my progress.

This year my NYRs are based on my #1 goal - to make sure each month I do something exciting and worthy to be posted in a Christmas Letter. Just so you all know I don't actually plan on sending that Christmas Letter at Christmas time. It will be sent a little earlier...see goal #7.

Good luck to me!!! And Good Luck to YOU on all your 2011 NYRs!!!!

1. Do something each month that can be worthy of being featured in a Christmas Letter at the end of the year.
2. Run 3 marathons: One local, one regional (Utah), and one global (out of state).
3. Get a road bike
4. Get a usable pair of cross country skis
5. Write something and submit it for publication
6. Train for a private triathlon with Rachel
7. Write a "Christmas Letter" and send it out on my birthday.
8. Travel out of the country
9. Build up my savings again - I'd like to double what is currently residing in my account
10. Go to the dentist - get a teeth cleaning and x-rays
11. Sell the old wedding ring and get a complete temple outfit I actually like
12. Give blood again
13. Read 50 books
14. Hang art and other appropriate items on my bedroom walls
15. Curate bees at BYU again
17. Read the Book of Mormon and New Testament
18. Finish at least 3 old projects that have been kicking around for 10 years
19. Take some college courses
20. One last attempt to write and publish the research from my thesis
21. Photography class and skill development
22. Plant and grow a more successful garden and create a useable compost pile
23. Refresh my plant names and learn some bird names
24. Hike with Becky (my big sister)
25. Junk reduction - Sell my excess stuff that has been sitting around waiting to be sold
26. Get my Rifleman designation at an Appleseed Shoot.
27. Use my last 2 tickets to Beaver
28. Compile and bind a recipe book
29. Backpacking in the Sierras with Lindsey (and Olivia?)
30. Core Training - Weight training and 6-pack abs
31. Tour Kennecott Copper Mines
32. Visit BERET
33. Visit a national monument or national park - Memorial Day trip?
34. Go to the temple TWICE a month
35. Certify on some level at Front Sight
36. Humanitarian Service - quarterly activities
37. Become a shooting instructor

Sneak Peak - New Years Resolution

2010-12-20T20:58:00.000-08:00

When reviewing this last year and toying with the idea of writing a Christmas Letter to send to all my friends and family I came to the realization that I don't have much to report...so there you have it, don't expect a Christmas Letter from me this year.

Want to know my hypothesis for my lackluster year? Scroll back through my posts this year, keep on scrolling...okay stop. You didn't have to go far to realize that I did not post my NYRs for 2010. I didn't set any. I never got around to doing it. Nope. I was lazy, preoccupied, and feeling bleh about life.

So, get ready. This coming year will see the return of my NYRs...there are going to be more this year than any other year, a whole 37 Goals!!! Featuring this one: Do something each month that is noteworthy enough to be posted in a Christmas Letter at the end of the year. Yup, that makes me excited about this coming year.

Have a Merry Christmas in case I don't get around to posting until New Years Eve.

Crying on My Pillow

2010-12-11T09:21:00.000-08:00

I've had some really great friends move away from me over the years. It has always been extremely sad for me to see them go (or in rare cases for me to leave them). Sometimes it's harder than other times because they played very distinct roles in my life that for some reason or other is hard to fill with the existing or new friends I make.

Recently my hiking buddy, Lindsey, moved away from me. She filled a role in my life that may never be filled again...although I really hope to find an eternal hiking buddy one day that will partially fill that role by taking me into the wild on fabulous adventures because it's the right thing to do (but guys just aren't the same kind of hiking buddy as other girls are).

Anyway, I was just sitting in bed feeling sorry for myself and realized I am a nerd that needs to get off my butt. I am going to be in Provo for the entire next week and I really really want a hiking partner down there to go hiking with me at random times and drop-of-hats...you know, like in the evening when the rest of the world is sipping tea by the fireplace curled up with a book or early in the morning to watch the sun rise even though we'd most likely be down in a canyon without a clear view of the event because it's hard to make it to the top of snow/ice covered mountains this time of year. Most of the people I know in Provo are way too busy with their hoard of kids that hiking is a major event that has to be planned well in advance of the time you really feel the need of going. Plus, they don't really have accommodating husbands that understand the NEED I have for this activity. Or they are in the midst of starting a family and their significant other might not understand why they feel the need to go off hiking with another girl when they should be spending their limited free time building and strengthening emotional bonds at home. Sometimes being responsible for other people is such a drag on those who have hardly any responsibilities.

So, while lying around feeling sorry for myself I realized I need to be a bit more proactive in my adventuring. I am determined to get out and do some fun snowshoeing/hikes regardless of who or who is not with me. If my friends who move away have to hike alone, I will hike alone too. I'm going to stop moaning about friends moving away (no I'm not, I miss my friends and will always moan about their loss). But these legs of mine were made for hiking and that's just what they need to do.

I've been spoiled too much with good friends that I need to realize not everyone in the world has friends and I shouldn't think I any more deserving then them...I hear that there are children in China and Africa that don't even know what the word "friend" means.

Ouroboros

2010-08-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

Who would have thought that there is a term (ouroboros) for when a snake or dragon eats its own tail and forms a circle. Weird. I wonder what the term is for a chicken that eats its own tail...that won't form a neat little circle no matter what chicken you use.

So, my creatively silly sister came up with a fabulous idea that involves my snake beans. It involves braiding the beans with a strip of chicken and cooking it. I decided to try it yesterday. The method and recipe is not yet perfected...I think the chicken might require a light marinade of at least salt and pepper. And I need a different something to serve it upon.

I think I need to make this for my sister Pam when I am next up visiting. Maybe Pam could create a beautiful drawing of a dragon choking on its tail?

Quite Contrary

2010-08-27T18:20:00.000-07:00

So, sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Especially when it comes to gardening in containers and cracks.

My garden has been a big failure this year. It cannot be described as overflowing with fruit and vegetables this year. And I have developed an unhealthy case of GARDEN ENVY when ever I see ANY other garden anywhere.

Wanna know what I planted?

6 tomatos (6 different kinds including one grape)
5 peppers
2 cucumbers
1 zucchini
1 butternut
1 watermelon
2 dill
50 beans (Cranberry, Snake Beans, and some other ornamental kind)

cranberry bean plant and flower

snake bean flower with 2 baby bean pods

ornamental bean flower from Georgia

Snake beans hanging out

Cranberry beans...way too small

I planted the beans in a crack in the cement between Cindy's and the neighbor's yard. They took off right away making me feel successful and strong. Only the snake beans produced. The Cranberry beans have tiny little bean pods but I believe the beans inside have all aborted. And the ornamental bean has just started producing beautiful flowers.

the first tomato

Until just recently I was getting nothing on the tomatoes until I started buzz-kissing and flicking the flowers (apparently the bee population in the area does not contain the proper pollinators for tomatoes...) so now I have about 20 little green tomatoes trying hard to get ripe before the end of the season.

The peppers just recently decided to set fruit so now I have about one pepper per plant and an itty-bitty jalapeno just said "hi" to me today.

Earlier this week I harvested my one and only cucumber but I gave it to my neighbor because he has been eyeing from the time I started pulling up sod to make my garden.

Believe it or not but my zucchini has NOTHING on it but male flowers, same with the butternut. It's a sad day when you can't even get a zucchini to grow.

And the watermelon...that was a waste of time and energy. The vine is the length of my forearm and has been for a long time now with no indication of growing ever again.

That in a nutshell is my garden.

Maybe, just maybe I am returning...

2010-08-05T12:33:00.000-07:00

I think it is time to return to blogging. Facebook has gotten a bit old and I don't really want to put my life out there for so many people to see...as opposed to this public blog. I think I want to keep Facebook a one-liner but my blog is where I can use up all those words that don't get spoken aloud each day.

Time will tell if this is just another hoax.

My Monster

2010-06-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to jump start my interest in blogging again I submit this post:

My Monster.

I got jealous of Cindy's dog, Starla a.k.a. Monster. So I decided to create a pet just for me. I started throwing all sorts of ingredients into a jar and when I finished I showed it to Cindy and told her this was my pet.

About an hour later I learned that my pet needed attention too. I had created a monster.

See what happens when you ignore your pets, they start acting out. But the nice thing about this pet will be the delicious foods I will make with its precious innards. May I present the newest member of my family, Alaska Sour Dough Starter a.k.a. My Monster.

Quill PIg

2010-01-17T10:21:00.000-08:00

It's fun to re-read an old childhood favorite, The Capture of the Golden Stallion. I borrowed it from the library as an Interlibrary Loan. I hope I will be as lucky at finding the rest of this series by Rutherford G. Montgomery, when I was younger I could only get the first two books, but technology has made finding old books easier. NICE.

I just couldn't pass up the chance to share this great passage with you:

"...In the trail ahead of them stood a white-faced bull. He was a short yearling and he had his head down as he pawed at the turf. His angry bellow echoed across the gully.
"What's the matter with him?" Ellen asked?
Charlie looked at the bull and saw the quills in his lips and muzzle. The yearling had gotten fresh with a quill pig.
"He mixed with a porcupine," he said.

Past Fun

2010-01-03T22:02:00.000-08:00

Let me get you up to speed with my Holiday adventures. I only had my cell phone for most of the adventures so picture quality isn't the best. And sometimes I didn't take very many pictures at all. So there. (I have them in reverse chronological order because I didn't feel like changing the order of the pictures.)

1. I already posted about the New Year's Eve snowshoeing trip under a blue moon. But here is the group of us.

2. I should have taken a picture of my freshman dorm reunion. Several of us (5) got together and reminisced about the good ole days. It was great fun to get together with Derek/Sandy, Steve/Krista, Stephen, and John. I hope we keep it up. I love my friends and hate losing touch...it happens way too often.

3. Starla got spayed. At first everything was going well. She'd been really good about her boring life and it looked like 10 days of being a calm dog would actually be possible. But then she got an infection in her incision and she decided to pull out her sutures. She had to go back in and get staples and a cone of shame. Now she has another 10 days of recovery. 10 days with a plastic cone on her head. 10 days without being able to scratch or bite or chew on anything. She is going stir crazy and she needs a bath something bad. Poor puppy.

4. I took a trip out to Antelope Island to bird-watch and see a glimpse of a sunset. There was a pretty nasty storm going on all around the island but for a very brief moment the clouds parted and the sunset could be seen.

5. Sunday after Christmas I ate dinner with some new friends. It was a hoot and a riot. Some people just know how to say witty things and make me chuckle.

6. I spent Christmas morning at Cindy's house with her family. For some reason Santa didn't leave stockings. I wish I had thought to make a pair for her new house to hang by the chimney. I also wish I had thought to write a change of address letter to Santa...I better let the Cupid and the Easter Bunny know so that those holidays can have better success. Then I drove up to Logan and saw the siblings there. The only pictures I have of this Christmas in Logan are of Rachel pretending to be a puppy.

7. Christmas Eve found me wandering the streets of Salt Lake City with my friend Jaron. We found this crazy house up I Street. There was a count down till Christmas and so many lights. I kind of got dizzy.
We also wandered around Temple Square looking at the lights and the nativities. This nativity was kind of interesting. Look at the ears on that donkey!

8. Becky's oldest just turned 12. So I decided to begin a new tradition. I now take my nieces and nephews to lunch for their 12th birthday. We went to Cafe Rio. This boy can stuff really large pieces of burrito into his mouth. He had a nice birthday with extended family visiting from California. I always find it a treat to see his California relatives.

9. Cindy finally had her house warming party. It was quite successful. There was standing room only for most of the night. I didn't even get to say hi to most people who came. I am not a very good hostess. But I did get to make some cookies. I found several recipes that looked fun. For a week beforehand I mixed up the dough and let it chill in the fridge. Then I spent the day baking up a storm. It was quite fun. I don't know if I would do that again...of course I would. I really do love to cook and bake.

10. Brent and Lesli's little girl had her 1st Birthday. Luckily I was able to attend that party. She loved her cake and the attention. So did her big brother. Just before her party I got to visit with Danna and her girls by unwrapping and setting up all sorts of Nativity sets. It was great fun. A good way to get into the Christmas spirit.

It's Tradition

2010-01-01T07:55:00.000-08:00

I have a new New Year's Eve tradition. For the last 3 years I have gone snowshoeing on New Year's Eve. I love it. Now that I've done it for 3 consecutive years I think it has become a TRADITION. Yippee.

2007-8 Snowshoed with my friend Dave up South Fork Canyon an offshoot of Provo Canyon.
2008-9 Snowshoed with Olivia, Lindsey, and Dennis up Logan Canyon on the Crimson Trail.
2009-10 Snowshoed with Heather and Rachel up Millcreek Canyon in SLC under a Blue Moon.

All are welcome to join me next year.

Here are photos of this year's tromp in the snow.

This is the group of us. From left to right: Rachel, Me, and Heather.

We stopped and celebrated the New Year with some sparkling pear juice.
See what fun you can have sober.
It was nice to sit under the Blue Moon and feel its influence from above.

Afterward we tried desperately to watch the fireworks, but for some reason we did not find a true display on the whole horizon. We did catch a few private sparkly explosions here and there which we allowed to signal the end of the old and beginning of the new.

Happy New Year 2010! Happy New Decade too!

Bee's Knees

2009-12-30T11:14:00.000-08:00

I found a great explanation of the term "Bee's Knees". It's not a long read and there is a comic strip at the end, so don't be afraid. I also want to explain that not all bees collect pollen in pollen baskets on their legs...so don't fall into that trap.

Can you tell that those two knee caps look different. One is more pointy at the lower end. That is how you tell those two species apart. Don't look at the color difference of the hairs, that has to do with the lighting differences when I took the pictures. I didn't take the time to manipulate the picture to adjust the colors.

Second Pair of Running Shoes

2009-12-29T09:46:00.001-08:00

I forgot about this picture and these shoes. Maybe you had wished I hadn't found this picture. Maybe you don't like my shoe posts. Too bad.

These are the second pair of real running shoes I ever owned, and the first pair of professionally fitted running shoes.

I ran my first Half Marathon in these little beauties. It was the Moab Half Marathon in March 2003. I had never run that far before in my life. The weekend before had been a 10 miler, also a milestone. I finished the race, but my feet hurt so badly. I never put these shoes on again. I probably only put 100 miles on these puppies...at the most, but probably more like 60 miles. What you see in this picture are very worn shoes from someone else's miles. I gave them to Ellen and she wore them to the quick.

Suspense

2009-12-28T08:15:00.000-08:00

The suspense is killing me!!!! I get to make new NYR's for the 2010 edition in only a few days. I have no idea what goals I want to make this year.

So suspenseful.

Plus, I have totally forgotten about last years goals...so reviewing and reporting on those is going to be almost as surprising since I have no idea how well I did this year.

Aren't NYR's great?

Merry Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T14:06:00.001-08:00

I know, it's been a while. But I still love all of you even if I've taught you not to check my blog by NEVER posting.

This is my sister's tree. She is carrying on the family tradition. This tree makes me proud.

Moving

2009-09-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

Some of you don't know it, actually most of you...actually only some of you because most of you are my family and you should know it, but a few of you are friends who might have been asleep or out of town and are unaware, but I am moving to SLC today.

Because the cord that allows me to interface with my computer is packed away somewhere I am unable to post any of the pictures I have been randomly capturing (sometimes it wasn't random). Once I move I am hoping to become more committed to blogging again because I will be away from my family and they'll all be wondering, just wondering all the time, what I am doing. So, get prepared for blog-mania...but don't prepare too quickly because I have to paint my room and move all my crap into a small space again and situate it in such a way that I can access it in a womanly fashion (don't ask what that means).

But I did want to leave you with something new and interesting. My bro-in-law just launched a new blog. I think it is genius, or at least I think it is worth following. It won't take up much of your time so go ahead and add it to your list of blogs you follow each day (or week, or in my case each year)...in other words this new blog is going to be, shall we say, minimalistic or brief or to-the-point....Movie Reviews in One Word: Reviewing movies, one word at a time.

My dream swimsuit

2009-08-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, but something in the news got me all happy and excited to post something on my blog again.

Finally a swimsuit I would want to wear, it's called a burquini. I need to get me one (they come in a variety of colors, and there are even a few Australian lifeguards that wear them). Apparently France is outlawing them at public swimming pools. They claim they are unhygienic and unsafe to other swimmers...don't ask me how this is possible. I think France just doesn't like modesty in any form.

I wonder if I will be kicked out of the public swimming pools in Utah?

Now you all know what I want for Christmas this year, my very own burquini.

You snooze...

2009-06-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

One more of my bright ideas have been snatched up by someone else. I thought of this many years ago, back when Brent and Lesli were living in Logan and we were coming up with business ideas left and right.

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1905545,00.html?cnn=yes

I could have been doing this for the last few years. I guess I still could.

Bang Bang

2009-06-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted about a few shooting classes I have gone to this year.

The first was outside of Vegas at Front Sight back in January. That was a 4-day Defensive Handgun class. I learned a whole lot. I feel very comfortable with a gun now. VERY comfortable. I also learned that I really need to practice and improve my aim.

By the end of the class I could pretty much hit in the general location of where I wanted the bullets to go. Below is an example of my shooting ability. All the little holes are supposed to be in the box on the two bad-guys' heads (they are the ones in grey). Those bad-guys are holding Cindy hostage. Notice that I accidentally shot Cindy in the shoulder? I hope she doesn't hate me forever. She may never have full use of that shoulder and it may be a permanent weather indicator, but at least she is alive.

This is me at the class. Those people in the background are our highly competent instructors. They were very patient and great teachers. If I could I'd take the class again and again. It was well worth the time.

The second class was last weekend in Kemmerer, WY. It was an Appleseed Project Shooting class (Mike wrote a pretty accurate description of the weekend here). We shot rifles not handguns. It is also a worthwhile class. I have taken the class before and wrote about it last year. The Appleseed Shoots are all over the US, so if you want to take an affordable and worthwhile class using cheap .22 ammo then that's the class for you.

Here I am at this class. Notice that my cheeks have filled out a little? That's because I have been sessile for the last 3 weeks. But also notice that I am wearing a patch? That's because I have learned that I am left-eye dominant, which makes hitting a tiny target really hard to do unless you can trick the weakling right-eye into doing the work or unless you (I) start shooting left-handed (which I am not ready to try and do just yet). That patch was really helpful in making me use my right eye, I need to get one of those things for everyday wear.

One of the biggest surprises for me on this trip is that Kemmerer has a great Chinese Restaurant. I highly recommend eating there. The portions are HUGE, so bring some friends along to help you eat.

What you see on these plates are after 8 people have eaten their fill from 3 plates of mouth-watering food (albeit was a bit salty).

Mike pointed out that the restaurant might have previously been a Christmas Restaurant, a place where you could get Christmas dinner all year round. Notice the seats. Do you think they had elves serving the food?

Summer Reading Program

2009-06-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

Remember those summer reading programs offered through your friendly neighborhood library? I do. And I miss them. So, I am starting up my own library reading program which means a list of books that I hope to read before the summer ends. Feel free to join me on any of the books listed below:

Walden, or Life in the Woods

Mary Poppins

Economics in One Lesson

Angle of Repose

If Chins Could Kill

The Case Against the Fed

Dragon Slippers

Breaking Dawn

The 5000 Year Leep

The Omnivores Dilemma

The Federalist Papers

Mainspring of Human Progress

1984

Up From Slavery

The Beetle

The Origin of Species

Uncle Toms Cabin

Lonesome Dove

Andromeda Strain

Watership Down

The Last Lecture

The Covenant

Ravens in Winter

City of Ember

Janitorial issues

2009-05-31T17:43:00.000-07:00

Just to keep you all surprised with my sudden resurgence in blogdom I give you yet another post to read or ponder or ignore.

Actually there isn't much to this one. It's really me griping. I entered a bathroom on USU campus the other day and noticed these floor tiles. Who thought it would be a good idea to add the little white tiles as decoration? Why not just keep the floor one solid grey color? Why add the 4 tiles of white? They look like little pieces of tissue paper and make the room look dirty. It's a big bathroom and I pretty much took pictures of the only clusters...why? Why? have just four widely spaced clusters? Either put in more or leave them out.

Ogden Marathon May 2009

2009-05-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

I have never been to Odgen until this year...at least not that I can remember other than to get gas or drop Cindy off for a blind date with some jerk. But so far this year I have had 4 memorable trips to Ogden. Once to go to the Ogden Temple, once to attend Taco Tuesday, once to sightsee a marathon race course, and once to run a marathon. Each time I was surprised by how nice Ogden seems to be (I've always heard it was kind of slummy and dull). It has really made it's way up in the world and improved it's image. The only negative thing I have to say is twice I had to wait way too long for my food at two restaurants that should have been more on top of things, and when I say way too long I mean an hour after ordering finally getting the food. But the other two times the food came at a decent speed, both those times I ate at the same place: Roosters (they get my endorsement because they did a fabulous job, although I suspect they have listening devices at every table because once it felt like the waitress appeared a little too quickly to poor my water right after I said something about it really quietly).

This time round to Ogden was for the Ogden Marathon. (Ellen told her story here.) Ellen and I headed down the night before to get our bib numbers and a good night sleep. We are becoming old hats at marathons, this being our 2nd (I am being sarcastic). We stayed with some family friends from Hayward who recently relocated to Ogden and bought an historic house with elephant skin walls. They are in the process of renovating it, I can't wait to see what the final outcome will look like. Surprising to me, but I actually had an excellent nights rest before the marathon...no waking up hundreds of times worrying that I overslept, I slept right up to the 4:15 am alarm.

We ate dinner at one of the slow restaurants downtown. Good thing we didn't have any where to be because when I say slow I mean slow. Then we took a stroll back to the car and passed a barber shop that was closed for the evening. Not a soul in sight except Ellen and I...you can see us in the mirror. Ellen's eagle eye noticed something out of the ordinary which is why we stopped to take this picture. Can you see it?

There is hair still on the floor. Is that regular procedures for barber shops to close shop without cleaning up?

The next morning we woke up bright and early, the buses were leaving at 5 am to take the race participants to the start line (starting time is 7:30am). That's a long time to wait in the cold burning calories that you'll need for the race. This time I came prepared with lots of food and a book. I ate the food but I didn't read the book, the atmosphere is too charged to read books. Next time I might bring a blanket and pillow (I saw someone else with them). We have a little bag with our bib number on it to put any personal affects that aren't needed during the race, this little bag gets put into a truck and transported to the finish line where we can be reunited with it if we finish.

Anyway, the race went well. I had been sick for two weeks before so I had a two week rest period before the race where I didn't run at all. I was worried about the effect this break would have on me since I am a really slow runner and our longest run had been only 19 miles which hurt me and made me bitter. Turns out that it was a very good thing for me. When I finished the 26.1 miles I felt good...tired but good. I wasn't sore beyond belief, in fact I could and did reach down and pick things up off the ground and sitting down and then standing up wasn't a chore that made me apprehensive. But like I said I was tired so I moved slowly everywhere I went. Where two weeks earlier I had sworn off marathons my feelings changed at the end of this one and I actually started planning my next one (this isn't uncommon because running a marathon is actually quiet easy it's the training that is hard).

Anyway, I have forgotten all the stories during the race. It is all a blur. Apparently all the photographs of me during the race look like I got punched in the gut and I hate my life, but I seem to have forgotten the pain. To me now the race was a picnic in a quiet lazy park with servants all around to assist my every need.

Here we are at the end with our medals around our necks. Don't we look like a color coordinated running team?

So, next stop on the running circuit this year is the Sawtooth Relay in Idaho. Then we begin Speed Camp 2009. Later we may hit Pinedale for a half marathon and most certainly St. George for a full marathon. I need to spice things up this summer and add something else to my regime, most likely it will be biking. What kinds of exercise goals do you have this year?

Grand Memorial Day Vacation 2009

2009-05-28T22:19:00.000-07:00

Here is some photos to get the ball rolling of my Grand Memorial Day Vacation 2009.

Last year we hit Mt Rushmore, The Badlands, and Devil's Tower. This year we made our way south to a once GRAND portion of Route 66, The GRAND Canyon, and Kolob Canyon which is near the GRAND Staircase.

A portion of Route 66

In honor of the movie Cars, which was filmed on location along Route 66, I ask you the following question: If you were a car what kind of car would you be? And is that car the same as your favorite car? I'd be a Toyota Tacoma or a Jeep Cherokee. But my favorite car right now is that sexy 2010 Mustang. A few weeks ago my bishop got a new 2010 Mustang (white with a blue stripe), I think it is the only on in Logan. I'd never seen one before and I felt a welling of envy bubble up inside me. On this trip the 'stangs were out in full force. I guess everyone and their dog owns a 2o10 Mustang...almost makes me rethink whether I like it or not, but each time I see one I covet just a little bit. Cindy on the other hand would be a Jetta (she actually chose 2 cars, but I can't remember the other one), but her favorite car right now is a Dodge Challenger (also a very nice car, if I had to have one I wouldn't be sad). Once again, if we weren't being passed by a Mustang it was a Challenger making my little Saturn look even wimpier than it is. Everyone else and their dog had gone out and bought a new Challenger last weekend. I couldn't tell by all the fancy cars on the road that the economy is bad.

A view of the Grand Canyon

Isn't that just beautiful? I wish my cell phone had 5megapix camera at the very least and the pictures could download larger...oh well, try clicking on the picture to see if it gets bigger. (Or maybe, if I am going to make some wishes, I should say that I wish my camera had a panoramic setting.)

Next road trip you take try out this little game to pass the time:
This works really well as a 2-person game. You go through the alphabet and name the other person in the car a new name starting with each letter of the alphabet, they will do the same for you. It is really fun to see what the other person thinks of you by the names they think fit your person. You can reject the names they choose and they can pick another, but eventually you have to move on to the next letter whether you are satisfied or not.

Mountain Pine Beelte Races

2009-05-03T15:57:00.000-07:00

One week ago today I posted that I was going to start posting once a week. That means I better get going on that deal.

So, to make things easy for myself I am going to post about my new temp job that is about to end because it was only a 3 month gig. It's a job of intense excitement. I am a referee at the local Beetle Larvae Races. I am pretty much one of 3 referee's, and it's a pretty cool gig.

Here are some pictures to describe my job:
My work station

An incubator for the little beetle larvae. We are measuring the effect of temperature on the growth of pine beetle larvae from two populations of pine beetles. The incubator holds 7 phloem sandwiches which are the nurseries for the little developing larvae.

A phloem sandwich with the galleries containing wriggling larvae (my job is to follow the little larva along its gallery and measure its size each day. There are 4 juvenile stages (called instars) that it must go through before it becomes a pupa and finally an an adult.)

Sometimes the phloem sandwich gets funky with fungi (that's the green/grey stuff).

I know these look disgusting...like these larvae are growing in your larynx or something. Or I've just documented alien life on a distant planet...Jupiter. Really, it's just the effect of taking a picture through an eyepiece on the microscope without a camera mount. I didn't want to take too much time fiddling around taking pictures, so this is what you get. It is actually quite beautiful under the microscope. The larvae are off-white or pearly-white depending on which life stage they are in.

I know, I am one lucky lady. Best part about the job is that I can listen to audio books. I have listened to several classics this way. Here's the list so far for those of you who aren't on Goodreads with me (two of which are now in my top 20 favorite books of all time, they are denoted with a star):

*The Virginian (Owen Wister)
Love Among the Chickens (P.G. Wodehouse)
The Phantom of the Operal: The Original Novel (Gaston Leroux)
Pollyanna (Eleanor Porter)
The Last Man (Mary Shelley)
Pollyanna Grows Up (Eleanor Porter)
Kim (Rudyard Kipling)
The Last Trail (Zane Grey)
*Tarzan (Edgar Rice Burroughs)
The 3 Musketeers

Enough with the yoga pants!

2009-04-26T14:48:00.001-07:00

I know that some of you have been quite perturbed with the lack of posts on this blog. Sorry, I keep forgetting that it is here. I am making a new goal. I want to blog something at least once a week. That should be do-able...right?

Coming up next...
My trip to Roosevelt
My trip to DC
My new temp job

I just uploaded the pictures to my computer so that should make posting them possible.

Good luck to me.

Yoga Pants

2009-03-10T16:01:00.001-07:00

I have to confess that I am in-love with my polyester/spandex black yoga pants. They are SO comfortable that I wish I had 7 pairs, one to wear everyday of the week. But I fear wearing exercise clothes 24/7 because then people would expect more from me...like being able to pick up huge pianos, or run tirelessly around town doing errands without a car, or chopping 2 or 3 cords of firewood for a afternoon of fun...I just couldn't take that pressure. And I don't know if they are flattering, but then again so few of my clothes can be called "flattering", mostly they are just functional so I shouldn't even worry about flattering (is spandex ever flattering? Pam? Danna?). Oh, I lament when I must change from my yoga pants into anything else I own, LAMENT I say.

On another note, I lost my US Presidents flashcards when I was working on the last 10 presidents...I was just about finished. Now I have regressed, although a few really stand out in my mind like Harry S. Truman (33) thanks to Derek (your memory trick for that one was GENIUS).

Oh, and did I mention I am currently playing with beetles for another one of those part-time temporary jobs I seem to be fond of. I am watching beetle larvae race around digging tunnels and eating the phloem of pine trees, I just snoop for a few minutes on their work and take measurements of their development. Quite fun. Maybe I'll take a picture so you can see what fun I have.

US Presidents: #7, 8, 11, 14, 17, 18, 19

2009-03-02T19:05:00.000-08:00

I am trying to memorize the US Presidents. Some are easy, like the first 3 because I have read lots of books about them. Some are hard because I they are the lessor known guys. Today I worked on 1-20. Hopefully I my long-term memory will remember the little tricks I came up with today, let me share a few...

7 and 17 go together because they are (7)Andrew Jackson and (17) Andrew Johnson..."a" comes before "o" in the alphabet to help keep things straight.

8 rhymes with hate which goes hand-in-hand with Martin Van Buren...there are good reasons...such as the extermination order against the Mormons...or if you don't like the strong "hate" word then you can think Mormon's baptize at 8 and Van Buren did nothing to help the Mormons when they were being persecuted...

11 rhymes with leaven, yolks aren't very good leavening agents, and yolk rhymes with Polk...Levin Worth is a prison which could be likened to Fort Knox...tada...James Knox Polk.

Some kids can get their ears pierced when they are 14...Franklin Pierce.

18...this one is a toughie...when you are 18 you can get college grants...Ulysses Simpson Grant.

19...another toughie...I knew a girl named Ruth...Rutherford Bircham Hayes.

I know some of those aren't very good. I am open for suggestions, but right now I can tell you the first 20 US Presidents so it is working. Tomorrow I tackle the last 24 US Presidents.

Happy Double-Helix Day!

2009-02-28T14:41:00.000-08:00

In case you need reminding this is the anniversary of the discovery of DNA. Here is a post from last year in case you forgot my obsession with this holiday. Today I wear my DNA socks. I love those socks and they are getting old, I don't know what I will do when I can no longer wear them comfortably. I will have to make a DNA scarf or belt or get a DNA broach.

So, I propose that Double-Helix Day be an alternative holiday. To celebrate you give samples of hair, blood , inner cheek cells or skin to your friends in little vials that can be worn as necklaces or charms. And you watch movies like The Race for the Double-Helix (1987) or Gattaca (1997).

Happy Valentines to YOU!

2009-02-14T16:36:00.000-08:00

Sometimes dreams do come true...if you like roses...or is this a case of false advertising? I didn't go in and ask because I don't particularly like roses. I hope some girl got a dozen rose bouquets. I wonder how many roses were in each bouquet?...probably one.

Piano Concert

2009-02-09T14:00:00.001-08:00

The two older nephews just performed in a piano concert where they could show off the prowess of their flying fingers. Here are a few pictures from the concert (they aren't that great because of the dim light, sorry...I need a new camera that takes pictures in low light):

Nephew B at the piano

Nephew A at the piano

The family watching the performance

Nephew C wanting attention

The niece finds a mini piano (organ) outside that she thinks has been made just for her, only she was frustrated by the fact that no noise issued forth when she tried to play...it wasn't plugged in.

I didn't record the boys at the concert, but here is an after the fact recording:

The Day the Music Died

2009-02-03T09:02:00.000-08:00

Today, Feb. 3rd, is the anniversary of The Day the Music Died or in other words when Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J. P. Richardson died in a plane crash during their "Winter Dance Party" tour. The song American Pie by Don McLean immortalized that day as well as other events in American history that impacted his life.

My niece loves American Pie. She sings it all the time. But of course when I put her on camera she messes it up just a bit, but you get the idea. You might think it odd that she'd like this song so much, but really it stems from that Weird Al song My My This Here Anikan Guy (you can watch that on Youtube) which was a big hit with my star-wars-junky nephews. They would sing that song all the time so the niece started singing it too and we figured she needed to hear the original and then that spiraled into her taking it on as one of her repertoire, which includes beloved classics like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Rock-a-bye-Baby, and Jingle Bells...and now American Pie.

Here she is singing three of her songs for you in her princess attire, enjoy:

Man Alive!

2009-01-29T12:09:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been wondering the origin of "man alive," an expression I have used over the years and recently more often. I don't know why it is my preferred expression right now...maybe I like to say things with the term "man" or "men" included...squeeze my knee and you'll see I am boy-crazy.

Anyway, I have been wondering the origin of this word...I couldn't think of what cuss word it was replacing/substituting, and all my little unimaginative brain could think was that somehow I was taking Adam's name in vain by saying "man alive" which sounded kind of silly because I have never heard anyone use Adam's name in any from of curse. But every time I actually wondered the origin I was far from a computer to do a quick search, and when I was nearby a computer of course I didn't remember I wanted to search the term. Not today. Today I am home and finding all sorts of distractions to keep me from my work and from cleaning.

I am happy to know that the phrase is a seaman's term indicating a survivor of a shipwreck had been spotted. So, when I use it I hope that I am showing optimism and rejoicing...I shall have to watch and see when I actually use it to be sure that I am not cursing good fortune and wishing ill to those who have survived despite the odds...I have a feeling that I have been using it in the latter sense without thinking about it. Although I could just be saying to express awed disbelief without actually implying disfavor or annoyance...but then again I could be a jerk and feel put out that something positive for someone else is spoiling my plans.

Or maybe every time I use that phrase I am just agreeing with People Magazine that Matt Damon is the Sexiest Man Alive, because I pretty much do think that. See it always comes back to the fact that if you squeeze my knee I will freak out and possibly hit you because I am boy-crazy.

Caveman Hug

2009-01-27T18:42:00.000-08:00

A few nights ago I learned about the all important "caveman hug." For some reason I never really knew about this form of hugging before, I am not sure if I will incorporate it in my repertoire of hugs, but I will file it away in case a situation presents itself for its use...I recommend you do the same.

(By the way, click on the pictures to see some beautiful eyes. This boy has always had very beautiful eyes.)

It all started with some sort of argument between two brothers at the dinner table, not unheard of at our home. Back in the day...oh, about a year ago the fighting was usually about who got what color cup usually the green and the brown cups were the hot ticket item, or it was about who got to sit on the north side of the mom. Nowadays the arguments might be over something less meaningful like singing at the dinner table or nonsense words steaming out of a couple of verbose children's mouths, I can't keep up with the causes for dinner-feuds, nor do I try.

Anyway, suffice it to say that some sort of argument began and one brother said to the other brother, "I am going to murder you." This prompted the father to intervene with a biblical reference to why that was the MOST inappropriate thing to say to ones brother and told him to go to his room, and we began dinner without him, a little shocked at the outburst. When a child is sent to his room this means "out of sight out of mind" until the forgotten child calls from his room to ask if he can come out now, but I think on this occasion the father left the table to explain the wrongness of the statement on a more personal and one-to-one level. Not long later they returned to the table together.

As the errant brother sat down to the table to eat his father reminded him that he could not join us without first doing something. This is the funny part. This child approached his wronged brother from the side and with fists clenched and arms straight proceeded to grip him awkwardly with his elbows and then he returned to his seat to eat his dinner. I looked at the dad a bit quizzically because I didn't understand this ritual...how did that make things better? The dad said quite simply, "Caveman hug."

Editor's note: By the way, I have the #1 position for Caveman Hug when you google it. Totally cool. I can't believe no one else has talked about cavemen hugging one another...didn't cavemen ever hug?

Snowflakes at the bus stop

2009-01-26T09:44:00.000-08:00

Today when I was waiting for the bus that was 15+ minutes late I got to be amazed at the tiny snowflakes falling on my gloves and the guy standing next to me...he was the one who actually brought the snowflakes to my attention. I only had my little quicker-clicker camera so the pictures aren't the best...and I had two heavy bags and an umbrella draped on me so I wasn't too steady...but you'll get the idea. They were so teeny tiny and sweet. I could have stayed outside with them all morning...

Poetry

2009-01-23T19:08:00.000-08:00

In case some of you missed seeing this commercial, like me, here is a link to watch pure simple poetry. I embedded the video too, but in case I am violating copyrights and it gets blocked then go to the link.

2009 NYRs

2009-01-18T15:13:00.000-08:00

Editor's note: I just added #35 to the list. Somehow I forgot how old I was.

Why do I choose to parade myself in front of all of you? As I am not getting any younger I kind of wonder if I really want to keep broadcasting my age by doing this NYR tradition in such a public manner. This might be the last year that my blog will include my NYRs. We shall see.

So, here you go. Enjoy.

1. Learn Spanish or Russian.

This year I need to make some real headway on learning Spanish. No more expecting myself to wake up with the gift of tongues. But if I just can’t seem to get anywhere with it then I might as well move on to Russian so that I can be prepared in case I ever visit a Russian speaking country.

2. Learn my Capitals and Presidents

I don’t consider myself un-American but it is time to be more informed.

3. Learn binomial names (and common names) for native plants, mammals and birds

I am making flashcards and re-learning my native plants. I will throw in a few mammals and birds for kicks.

4. Run the Crimson Trail sub 1 hour

I really want to run the whole trail in less than an hour. Last year I was on my way…and then it snowed. This year I will get there before the snow flies in fall.

5. Marathon, relay, half-marathon

Half-marathons are easier so I must make it a goal to do a marathon. I am digging the relay thing so this year I am looking forward to running in another, and for good measure I plan to run in a half-marathon (seems like I never did one in 2008 even though those are my favorite races).

6. Ride in a bike race/event

I don’t particularly like riding a bike, but I think I need to do it more. So I think I am going to train for the Little Red Riding Hood that is held in Cache Valley.

7. Finish: rug, baby blanket, cubes

Yup, there they are again. I decided they don’t deserve their own number anymore. Its all or nothing.

8. Improve my nutrition

I really need to improve my nutrition, especially since I will be training for a marathon, a relay and a bike race all in the first half of the year. I will not be iron deficient and I want my hair to be thick and luxurious.

9. Write: Book, article, or manuscript

If I actually finish my manuscript from my thesis then I will consider the year a success regardless of all the other goals.

10. Insect reduction

I must get them pinned-up or thrown away. Also, this includes putting together Steve’s insect collection promised to him years ago.

11. Photo storage solution

I really need to get my photo’s backed-up and in a more stable place then only on my hard drive.

12. Less computer wallowing…limit computer time: Earn computer time

I have lost control of myself this year and spend WAY too much time with my laptop. I am working on ways to reduce my dependence and become more productive…my solution: I can earn my computer time by my daily actions. If my nephews earn computer time by doing homeschool and chores then I can too. (This excludes email and legitimate work).

13. Learn something about computers, become a bit more savvy

I need to do some updates to my abilities

14. Job

This should be obvious. I need something not funded by soft-money.

15. 10% reduction in junk

Imperative.

16. Practical car/truck/suv for a more exciting lifestyle

Crucial. The Saturn just isn’t keeping me satisfied.

17. Backpacking gear update

I shouldn’t be missing things like a stove and tent, yet I am…why is that?

18. Southern Utah

I love you.

19. National Monument visit

This is something Cindy got me thinking about. The trip last year to Mt. Rushmore was awesome…I want to see what else is out there in my back yard that I call America.

20. Photos for previously worked on guides

This shouldn’t be too hard…if I go to work.

21. Make 7 bee guides this year

At the very least I should get 7 guides made.

22. Revise part of a bee genus.

I really do want to do this goal. But this will require a lot of unpaid work…am I really going to do it?

23. Read 50 books

Last year I only got 45 books read, all but 5 of them by July.

24. Read the Book of Mormon (or Bible) everyday

I can do this too. It isn’t hard to read the BofM everyday.

25. Attend the temple regularly (at least once a month) and get a temple dress

This one is already off to a good start…Thanks Cindy.

26. Start up the mid-singles of Logan, or at least make some new mid-single friends

I keep talking about it, now I need to do it.

27. Pot-luck dinners with someone monthly

Sure, I already do this with my family, but I need to reach out to other people and step out of my comfort zone.

28. Shooting improvement, competition, safety

I need to do something with the skills I have been acquiring…if only to practice and not loose them.

29. Meaningful Cub Scout Den Meetings

This will require planning and action.

30. Pendoodlers

I need to get the homeschool writing club back on its feet and functioning again.

31. Pick up a new skill or hobby: Unicycling

I say unicycling to make Cindy nauseous, but really unicycling is just code word for learning something new.

32. Dentist

The time has come when I need to get these teeth of mine cleaned and cared for. So, I need to use up those 4 containers of dental floss from last year so the dentist will be impressed with the health of the space between my teeth and my happy gums.

33. Record a few audio books and learn Audacity tools OR tour the southwest looking for my great-great-grandma’s nude art work

I figure I need to put these back on the list or I’ll forget about them.

34. Use my last two tickets to Beaver

I obviously don’t make skiing an important part of my life ever. Although this looks like an easy goal it isn’t those tickets are from 2005 or 2006. What a nerd. Who knows if they will even be honored.

35. Wild Card!

I forgot to post this one...guess I thought I was younger than I really am. Anyway, I am going to leave this one open this year as a wild card...then as the year progresses I can think about it a little more. But I am thinking that I should help set up a tradition with my high school buddies to start getting together once a year and be friends (they all get together without me because they live closer to each other, so really this will be so that I can get together with them and show them that I love them still).

Accountability: 2008 NYR's

2009-01-18T14:48:00.000-08:00

Editors note: Sorry if the red and blue colors hurt your eyes. But I am not going to fix it. At least not right now.

The time has come when I realize I am a failure and I put it out there for you all to see. So humiliating. Why do I do this? Because it's a tradition? Because I am a glutton for punishment?

Anyway, I didn't do to well with last years NYR's. I started the first half of the year with flying colors, but then my life got a bit complicated, cluttered and cramped and I kind of gave up. July through December resulted in very little productivity.

I did accomplish 47 % of my goals. I think last year was 39% and the year before that was 24%.
Hmmm. Interesting.

Here they are. The blue ones I have deemed satisfactorily accomplished. The ones in red are those uncompleted.

1. Clean out my email box.
I cleaned out the email box at the beginning of the year and then left it to become a bigger and uglier mess for 2009. I need to do it again, but I don’t think I will make it a NYR.

2. Read a few long planned books rather than putting them off.
While I didn’t read the few titles I had listed in the original post I did read some that were on my “to read” shelf for a long time: Hitchhiker’s Guide, a few Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey books, books on Thomas Jefferson…I also read books specifically recommended by friends: …And Now Miguel, Botany of Desire, Ender’s Game, Hattie Big Sky

3. Really read the books in the Reading With Craig Book Club
Whoops…only read The Law. I am far, far behind.

4. Run again
I ran again. I even ran in my first relay (the Wasatch Back Relay)…and it was a really hard one.

5. Improve my aim: Archery, rifle and pistol.
I worked on my riflemanship abilities this past year (attended an Appleseed class in Wyoming), and signed up for a defensive handgun class that I took this year.

6. Personalize my new phone
I used it quite a lot and it was like my best friend. But then I dropped it one too many times and lost the head phones so now it is like a friend who’s time has come and gone but you keep them around because you’d feel bad to leave them home.

7. Reduce junk by another 10%
I don’t know. I think at the beginning of the year I was gung-ho, then I got waylaid mid-way through the year, and now I think I have acquired more than is healthy for a girl living in close quarters.

8. Make a few quilts
Oh, I started this one. I planned a few quilts and I even began quilting a great baby-blanket. But then I got side-tracked and I haven’t gone back to work on it again…but if it make anyone feel better the half-way completed baby blanket shares my bed where I wake up and fall asleep seeing it and feeling more and more guilty (that probably isn't a good thing for the psyche).

9. Organize a homeschool race
So, technically I didn't finish this one...BUT I did organize an on-line writing club for a bunch of homeschoolers. I think it counts.

10. Finish the Haliplid Rug
In all fairness I lost the pieces for this rug and just barely found them. This rug will get to live for another year before I burn it if incomplete.

11. Write a book
I’ve worked on a book, I think I have 3000 words...but I am far from finished.

12. Write that stinking paper
I am a loser.

13. ½ a gospel talk a month
Why do I kick against the pricks?

14. Read scriptures daily
I can’t believe I let this lapse, life kind of got out of control in July.

15. Record a few favorite books with me reading, learn Audacity tools
Like I said, this year wasn’t my best.

16. States/capitals and presidents
I know the first 3 presidents and the last 4 presidents well. I did carry the flash cards with me on a few trips, but I didn't really look at them.

17. Get a job
I have no defense.

18. Make contact with old/new/past/young friends again, more than once a year.
Thank goodness for Facebook.

19. Blog again
Maybe not the best rally, but I did blog again. Now I need to put in some important trips like Costa Rica 2007 and Israel 2008.

20. Send out a mass letter
Why did I set this goal? I did make a mass gift for everyone, but I haven't printed it yet to distribute...hopefully soon.

21. Thank you cards
I bought some. I sent a few. Not enough, but it’s a start.

22. Steve’s Insect Collection
I thought about it more than once this year.

23. Pin up a ton of past insects and get them deposited to the right people
This is a hard goal to accomplish when you don’t have your room for a few months.

24. Smile more
This got me into trouble. Just like it did when I smiled at the guy who flashed me back in college. I think I will give up smiling.

25. Sleep in my own snow cave built by my own two hands
What a great adventure.

26. Crosscountry Ski
I am a funny person.

27. Backpack in Escalante-Grand Staircase again
Didn’t make it to S. Utah, but I did backpack in the Logan environs. So I think this counts.

28. Road trip to see my Great-great-grandma’s nude paintings
Gas was too expensive this year.

29. Volunteer my time to someone other than my family, my job and church
Started shelving books at the library.

30. Trash collection
I picked up trash once or twice this year. Not as much as I should have.

31. Build a bee guide a month
I failed. But for the first half of the year I did a great job.

32. Use up 4 containers of dental floss
I don’t think anyone uses 4 containers a year.

33. Review my goals periodically so that I don't forget about them until the end of the year.
Cindy helped me by giving me a nice little pocket sized printout of my goals. I reviewed but did not accomplish.

34. Learn a language?
I began Spanish. I learned more Spanish this year than any previous year. So now I can say 10 things rather than 2 things.

I know...

2009-01-17T08:40:00.000-08:00

it's been a while since I posted one of these on here, but I need filler so you'll not completely leave me and to draw a few of you back to checking my blog. This one came from Mike, Thanks Mike.

Barack is very disappointed with me!

I only scored 22 on the Obama Test

Get ready...

2009-01-16T16:35:00.000-08:00

get set...fooled ya! Never fear my 2009 NYR's are almost here. Just give me the weekend and hopefully I will post them for you to see my failures in 2008 and my aspirations for 2009.

Funny email

2009-01-14T18:44:00.000-08:00

My sister forwarded this email to me...it was funny.

Heaviest Element Known to Science: Governmentium

Lawrence Livermore Laboratories has discovered the heaviest element yet known to science.
The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons..

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second, to take from 4 days to 4 years to complete.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2- 6 years. It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of morons promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass.

When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Snowshoeing from another point of view

2009-01-05T07:20:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd give you a link to a friends blog where she posted pictures of the same New Year's Eve excursion...only she posted pictures of the stuck vehicles and video of our fun (I know all of you really wanted those additional pictures and video...I just know it.)

A'ole pilikia

2009-01-01T13:08:00.000-08:00

A'ole pilikia is Hawaiian for "No problem".

That's what you say when:

1. you go snowshoeing with friends on a nice and beautiful winter day (Why wouldn't you say that?).

2. the car gets stuck in the snow at the beginning of the adventure, blocking the narrow bridge for anyone else who might want to go snowshoeing on this particular trail (why unstick it in the daylight? The trail is waiting. Luckily I didn't get a ticket for blocking access to the bridge and the parking lot, but if I did get a ticket they should give the snow a ticket too).

3. your backpack containing your camera, trail mix, and ski goggles, and extra gloves slides off a cliff when you were checking to see who is calling you on your cell phone (luckily you just pulled out your jacket and phone so those didn't disappear into uncharted territories, and luckily it was able to be rescued).

4. your snowshoe won't stay on your foot for the last hour of the fun after the sun has gone down (who needs snowshoes? The deer and moose don't use snowshoes).

5. the adventure, thought to be a 3-4 hours of fun, turns into 6 hours of exceptional fun (now that's what you call FUN, and no one whined...well I kind of did when I got really annoyed at my snowshoe for not working and my fingers were cold, I started growling at them, but then I realized there was nothing I could do since I couldn't see what was causing the blockage to the buckle and the sun wasn't going to go back up and give me light).

6. it takes an hour to get two cars unstuck from the snowbound parking lot and bridge and your hips hurt and your feet are cold, but you know you just spent an excellent day on a trail you weren't sure you'd see until summer (you should have seen me limp around that night, but surprisingly today, the next day, my hips feel fine...guess I don't need hip surgery after all).

Here are some visual reasons why A'ole pilikia was what I thought during this whole adventure:

Here are my traveling companions, 3 friends and 3 friendly dogs (dogs will appear in other pictures, actually I just checked...I didn't get good pictures of Jack and Maggie, so only K-So gets to be famous).

And I was there of course.

And this was the first of many of the beautiful canyon view. Notice that the sun is rather high in the sky. It will slowly descend as time goes by.

The guy in the background, he was my hero on this trip. He rescued my bag that slid down a smooth snowy hillside and over a cliff, we thought it was lost for good.

This is a common sight on these kinds of trips. Cameras are out often. How can you pass up such beautiful sights.

Really...can you pass this up?

Or this?

Or this?
Or this?
And who can pass this up?

This was the same canyon as above once the sun went down. It was nice and quiet and the snow reflected lots of light. With a full moon the shot would have looked much brighter.

But what didn't get captured by me was our descent down the mountain when we found the perfect slopes for sledding on the backend of our snowshoes and a bit of our rumps. Others videoed that kind of stuff. I also didn't get pictures of the stuck vehicles and the joy of removal of said vehicles. Hopefully others will post those pictures and I can link you in to their accounts.

All said and done, one of my favorite New Year's Eves (did I punctuate that right?).

Jogging isn't so bad

2008-12-31T21:27:00.000-08:00

Maybe some of you should do a little more than just think about running. This brief video from the Commie News Network (CNN) gives a few good reasons to start running/jogging this year.

Don't forget to set your 2009 NYR's. I'll post my new ones soon and a tally/accounting of my 2008 NYR's in the next few days...probably on Sunday the 4th. How exciting. I can barely wait.

Friendly Competition

2008-12-31T11:34:00.000-08:00

I am a bit partial to this little girl, but I think she did such a great job singing Jingle Bells. The would have kept on singing if I hadn't stopped the video and showed it to her. This is her rendition of the old classic and she did such a nice job. Sorry about the quality of the video...it's from my phone.

So are you asking where the friendly competition comes into play? Check out this cousin's performance of the same song...I think we have a winner...anyone else want to compete?

Christmas and beyond!

2008-12-30T16:07:00.000-08:00

I said I'd post and I am trying to be true to my word...and it is going to be long, so buckle-up and settle-down.

Here are a few pict's of Christmas. A few of Geoff and Annita's big day. And then a few others. Sorry for the camera-phone photos, I failed to remember to charge my battery before Christmas, and other times I forgot that my camera was only minutes away if I'd just stroll down to the car and retrieve it.

I am always up way before everyone in this house. Christmas morning is no different. So, I got up, showered, milked the goats, delivered the newspapers, watered the lawn, read a book, played online for a while, and painted a bedroom and wallpapered a bathroom before I heard any stirrings upstairs. Then I took a stroll through the living room and documented the scene.

Soon there was the pitter-patter of little feet on the stairs and a bit of arguing...seems as though this little elf-kid thought he'd stretch the rules and come down the stairs on Christmas morning in his pj's. The other kids quickly recalled him and made him get dressed.

See doesn't he look better? I think next year the rule will be clothed and hair brushed.

The niece-kid had to be awakened from a deep sleep. She was sort of upset at being dressed and marched down the stairs...but she found her stocking without crying. She caught on quickly, she is no dummy. She picked up this habit called Christmas like a pro and practice is something unnecessary for the coming years.

Ah, look. I got a present. Thanks nephew-boy.

Looking for more presents. I always love seeing them look for more presents. They remind me of little duck-butts poking out of the water.

Okay, now for the grand finale: The niece-girl got a great big group effort present. Can you see where it is?
Neither can she...look how she is looking around for the last gift.

Ta-Da.
I think she liked it.

Then she went right to work playing with the doll house. The funny thing is that she immediately undressed a doll and started looking for a bathtub...the one thing not in this doll house is a bathroom...whoops.

Here's the inside.

Oh look. Here is a sister-baby (Pam's girl). She is trying to smile at me, but her gums hurt and she would rather drool. Plus, she was very fascinated by my phone every time I tried to snap a picture while she was really smiling.

After Christmas morning we had Christmas afternoon...I didn't take pictures. Suffice it to say the two other siblings and their families joined us for food, puzzles and craziness. All the while it snowed outside.

Speaking of snow...come the next day the roads were in bad condition. We barely got word in time that the mountain pass was open and we'd be able to make a run for it if we wanted to attend the wedding of a little brother, Geoff. So off we all drove in our three little cars full of beloved children and parents, and the Aunt. Slick and slidey would be the way to describe the roads, thus we made it to the temple 1 hour late, or 30 min. after it was supposed to start. But we made it and luckily the temple wasn't packed solid with weddings so they held the ceremony until we all arrived safe and sound. Finally no more wedding in this family for a little while! Yeah! I know, I know...what about me? Well, I think I will elope. No need to put everyone through all that again.

What a lovey-dovey couple. She looked like a princess.

I wonder what he's looking at?

The photographer. He is so handsome. Too bad he is WAY too young for me and WAY to hot...look how the snow melted all around him.

Proof that I was around during the festivities. Of course I had to take a picture with my brother who went stag to the temple.

Then after the wedding it was off to the 2nd brother's house for a baby-blessing. Here we are all standing around looking quite thrilled with taking yet another photo.

At the reception we had to, of course, take a shot with the kids and the married people. But it wasn't as cute as it could have been with all the girls and the princess. That would have been a better picture.This little niece-girl (Pam's kid) she followed the princess around whenever she could. Finally we asked for a photo with the princess. But the princess bent down and the dress was hidden. Darn. Oh, well, it wasn't like the fluorescent lights of the church made for the most glorious picture ever. Nor my flash. I had to snap it when I could...the princess was really busy.

This little niece-girl is Danna's kid.

Not so gross as the last post

2008-12-30T05:34:00.000-08:00

Those pictures on my last post are gross. I can't even look at them. Just one gross picture after another. I need to post something else to get those images out of my mind...so stay tuned...today I will put something new up...something that doesn't induce vomiting.

In the meantime...

I have so many pictures on my computer that need to be uploaded and posted. Here are a few that might help to bring joy and gladness into your life.

These are the storm clouds amassing. Was this Dec. 12th? I think it was. And this would be sometime in the afternoon.

And this is the result of those storm clouds. Which was nothing compared to what fell for Christmas. I didn't take pictures of the Christmas snow. This would be considered a light dusting compared to that.

Isn't snow pretty? I think it is pretty. Can't you just hear the silence? If only I could bottle the sound of snow falling and play it when things get a wee-bit noisy...I love the sound of silence and the crunch of snow underfoot...and the brightness of a moon-lit night on snowbound yards and hills.

Christmas Eve Thoughts

2008-12-24T18:36:00.000-08:00

First, Happy Birthday to my Mom. In honor of her birthday I made Garbage Soup. It was mighty tasty. My mom was always the Queen of Garbage Soup. I seem to following in her shoes...only I am more picky when it comes to picking chicken off of carcasses (no cartilage or small bones). I throw too much away, I wouldn't have made a good Depression Era woman.

It was complete with whole wheat kernels from breakfast, last weeks funeral potatoes, two different chicken carcasses, broth, rice, your typical vegetables from the crisping drawer: corn/mushrooms/carrots/onions/garlic, and last but not least...cream (amazingly the cream was from half a year ago and it was still good). Now the fridge has a little more room for all the broccoli I bought today.

Second, this was the sunrise this morning. The first time in days that we have been able to see the sky. It turned into a nice sunny day. A great way to prepare for tomorrows storm.

Third, how do you feel about this? I was a bit nervous walking past all of these unloved, undressed, unwanted beauties. They will surely be headed to the Island of Misfit Toys soon.

Fourth, look at this lucky find at DI today!

They are really that pink. I think next year for Halloween I am going to be a Pink Robin Hood. So exciting to already have the most crucial part of the costume, leather fringe boots that go up to my knees.

And fifth, in preparation for tomorrow (in case I don't post anything):

MERRY CHRISTMAS!