I just got back from a night-time welcome home parade for a soldier here in Heber. He's younger than me and just got back from Iraq today. Can I just say, that is one of the coolest things I have ever done, and one of the coolest parts of living here in Heber. Where else would families drop everything at 9 on a Saturday night to line the streets to wave flags and cheer? Where else would a firetruck and police escort come through the city, sirens blaring for a brother returning from war? It was amazing.
I was touched to the point of tears - grateful to this courageous young man who has put himself in harm's way to protect my city, my country, my freedom.
Ladies and gentlemen, you may not agree with President Bush leading us to war. You may not even agree with President Obama's pull-out plans. But you cannot fault these young men and women who voluntarily put themselves in harm's way to protect our country, our freedom, and our way of life, in fact, our very freedom to proclaim whether we support this war or not. Support the policy of war or not, but we are ungrateful if we do not honor these young men and women when they come home, and hold in remembrance those who are not so fortunate.
"Thank you" just doesn't seem adequate. We are forever indebted to you. We love you. We honor you.
Today being the official beginning of my very favorite season of the year, I felt it deserved a post.
In spite of a few minor setbacks, which I've learned to giggle about (a flooded apartment, brand new tires thought to be flat but only low on air, an abnormally large number of behavior issues at school, roommate and friend drama), life is going spectacularly for me. I've found myself giggling and humming to myself, skipping, and just generally happy lately, and I'm virtually positive it's at least partially due to the season change.
Here are a few of my favorite things about the upcoming season and life where I'm currently living (the beautiful Heber Valley), in no particular order:
* the people I've met here who are so caring and fun * Wasatch Mountain State Park * Halloween and the costume and candy excitement coupled with the traditional pumpkin shaped cake and potato soup * pumpkin dishes - pie, cookies, bread, cheesecake, etc. * sweater weather (and long sleeves) * Fall leaves! * apple picking at Huber Grove * the return of Orion, Jupiter high in the sky and other stargazing wonders (including the Orionid meteor shower) * bike rides and evening walks * hot chocolate * Christmas is ever closer! * Thanksgiving * My birthday * pumpkin pie * more time inside for reading, movies, games, and bookbinding * the beginning of piano lessons *General Conference
*** Also, Happy Elephant Appreciation Day!!! ***
***** all recent beautiful images courtesy of my phenomenal photographer friend Alice! *****
So, my roommate is moving out the beginning of October, and since she told me she's leaving, I've been looking for a roommate. If you know anyone, let me know (I'm nice, and it's not a bad price for an AWESOME apartment in Heber). As an alternative, since I'm not willing to move because I know I'm where I'm supposed to be, I've been thinking about alternative means of paying for this apartment by myself that I would enjoy. My thoughts turned to my friend who teaches piano lessons, and her sister who makes and sells cute knitted hats.
Thanks to encouragement from several friends, I will begin taking piano students the beginning of October, AND selling, on order, homemade books that I've learned to make. I'll be setting up a blog soon with pictures of my books, but, they're pretty cute. :)
Anyway, that's what's going on in my life. I'm actually extremely excited about these new opportunities in my life - they are both things I love to do, and as an added bonus I can get paid for them! :) Oh, and teaching third grade is going splendidly! I'm sure there will be plenty more updates about that in the future.
About two weeks ago, some cachers I know put what is called a travel bug in my unlocked car... Well, this particular travel but was not the typical Happy Meal toy with key chain attached... No, no... This was a full-sized TRAFFIC CONE - that I managed not to notice until the morning after it was placed in the backseat of my car. :D
Anyway, after hoarding it for about a week, we decided to have a little bit of fun with it. After finally getting the rambunctious children settled and buckled we were on our way. We made a pit stop at Trade Federation and Cone spotted the cache! At Walkers, Cone took a while to choose his treat, but left satisfied with a Rewards card and PB Twix. Then we were on our way for some caching fun. We stopped at Cone Head for Cone's first date... At another cache, Cone was a little on the curious side, but, we helped him break the cycle. Don't mind us.... We're just looking for a geocache! At our last cache, Theed Palace, we had to be extra careful crossing the road, and pretty stealthy ( like in Toy Story), but it was still GREAT fun!
By the end of the night, we decided that it was time for Cone to have a new home with others who could appreciate his personal charm and magnetism.
I was so glad I was in town and was able to get off from work so I could go with Lewis, Brenda, and Tyler to the MTC.
The night before he left was, obviously, an emotional one for me - we had a family devotional, and I couldn't hold the tears. I am SO proud of this kid. He is AWESOME! And his service will not only bless the lives of the people he meets on his mission, but also the lives of those of us at home - and I can't adequately explain how much we desperately need those blessings these days.
We were able to get Tyler a Utah license and have lunch before we dropped him off around 1 pm. The days of the families going in and watching the video thing, are over. And quite frankly, I think the new way is better. We didn't have a lot of time to take pictures (which if we had understood it a little better, we could have), but, we dropped him off and there was a line of over 100 missionaries assigned to greet the new missionaries and their families, and then escort the new missionaries to their rooms. These Elders were so enthusiastic and happy, and the drop-off itself was so fast, that you couldn't help but be happy for your missionary, and there wasn't time for tears... Until I was driving home by myself afterward.
So, a week and a half ago, I went with some friends to the Jon Schmidt concert at Thanksgiving Point. I have been waiting for years to be able to go to this particular concert, and to say the least, it did NOT disappoint. In fact, it was AWESOME!
I have plenty of pictures and videos (yay!) of Jon and his awesome cellist, Steven Sharp, but seeing as my camera is currently in another city, uh, that part will have to wait.
My favorite moment - when they played Love Story Meets Viva la Vida - PHENOMENAL!!!! It was incredible! And the spontaneous standing ovation afterward was proclaimed to be their favorite concert moment ever! It was so cool!
Oh, yeah, and then this guy proposed to his girlfriend there, on stage... And then Jon played Love Story Meets Love Story to celebrate, since she said yes. Pretty cool! :)
So, if you're in the Salt Lake area around Christmas, I highly recommend attending his Christmas concert. I will be there with my friends, for sure! Merry Christmas to us! :D
I was informed last Friday, near the end of school, about President Obama's broadcast to students this coming Tuesday. I did not vote for our current president, but, I will say, as an educator, that his education policies were of particular interest to me. But, when I heard about his broadcast coming on Tuesday, I was immediately uneasy. Why at school, and why on such short notice? Why can't anyone preview his remarks? What is he saying to students, that parents shouldn't also hear? As an educator, I wanted the opportunity to prepare to respond to my students following the broadcast. Many of my friends have posted concerns and comments on facebook, which, in several cases, have started quite the political discussion. This is my response to one of them, and I think it accurately crystallizes my feelings on the subject.
As an educator, having the moral obligation to field questions from 29 8-year-olds Tuesday morning, my gut reaction, with no influence from ANYONE, was, "Hmm... why the late notice? and why during school instead of at home with the students' parents?" My personal, gut reaction, was, it's a little strange that this is late notice (at least from my ... Read Moreschool district both here, and in VA where I'm from), and I felt uneasy. The second reaction (why not at home with their parents?) is due to my experience as an educator - I have SO many students who WANT to do well, and TRY very hard to do well, but when those students' parents yank them out of school for nothing, and don't support them in practicing reading at home, those students struggle - A LOT. If President Obama's speech is simply about the importance of education and setting and achieving goals in that area, it is not a speech that only needs to be heard by the students, but also their parents, who, for my students, most of which will be at work. THOSE parents need to hear that too. As for healthy foods - fine, but, fund it, and be the one to make the students eat it. You can't control who's bringing lunches from home, or if those lunches are healthy, and quite frankly, if students don't like it, they won't eat it, and it's ILLEGAL for me to shove it down their throats. ... Read MorePersonally, I'd rather have a child who has eaten something, even if it's not a salad, than a child who is hungry, and therefore CAN'T pay attention and learn. Thirdly, I agree with Brian - I feel it's important to vote, and I wear my sticker proudly on voting day, and have discussions about the responsibilities of being a citizen of the United States regularly with my students (which includes supporting the president, no matter if you voted for him or not). But, while, as an educator, I have my own strong opinions about NCLB (which is good in theory, but, poorly implemented and funded), I cannot share them with my students. It would be ethically wrong for me to do so. If that is part of President Obama's message on Tuesday, it is neither the time nor the place - those decisions and agendas, are concerns for adults, not children, and they should not be burdened with them. Although I do not have children of my own, as a responsible educator, I plan to preview the speech on Monday, and ... Read Moreprepare myself to field questions and lead a class discussion following the broadcast on Tuesday. I have been present for several family discussions, and heard of several others of parents explaining to their children how to handle the broadcast on Tuesday - encouraging them to support the present, but also to decide for themselves if what he is saying is right and good, and not to follow blindly. That is the same counsel we are given about following the prophet, and should apply to every leader we ever have - both spiritual and otherwise. All in all, the broadcast will happen, and thankfully, living in the US, we all have the right to react as we will, without fear of recourse. But, really, as parents, teachers, and adults in this country, we hold the moral obligation to discuss this with our children, and quite frankly, the home, rather than the school, seems to be the better venue for this entire event.
In case you were unaware, here are the two videos, announcing the broadcast, and a link to the information available with it.
The commercial:
The interview:
The website with educational resources: http://www.whitehouse.gov/mediaresources/
The live feed (for Tuesday's broadcast:
Needless to say, I HIGHLY encourage ALL who possibly can to view the broadcast and discuss it with the children, and adults in our lives. Living in a democracy is a blessing, but also bears great responsibility - not following blindly is part of that responsibility. Listen and decide for yourself.
Last weekend, I had the opportunity to go camping with some friends, and their extended family up in the mountains. Our purpose for going was to gather wood for the family, which was hard work! However, the weekend, at least for me, ended up being so much more than that. It was a perfect final vacation before school starts - a break from the drama, frustration, and stress of beginning school. At one point, we went up to find a geocache on the top of a nearby mountain with 22 of the kids that were there. The view was absolutely breathtaking - a full 360 degrees of beautiful mountain peaks. From there we could see both Timpanogas and Nebo, two of the highest peaks on the Wasatch front and countless other peaks. I was amazed at how calm and happy I was throughout the entire weekend - the stress and responsibilities of school were the furthest things from my mind. As I attended church last week, the reason for the peace I felt in the mountains came sharply into focus as we discussed temples. The Lord commanded Nephi, Moses and countless other prophets to "get thee into the mountain." WHy the mountain? Because there, as with the temple, we are removed from the noise and tumult of the world, and even our own shouting thoughts of anger, worry, and fear. There we learn to clearly hear His whose voice is there to protect, comfort, cheer, and guide. I also realized quite profoundly this weekend that the Lord knows exactly how to reach us, in whatever circumstance we may be in - whether it be physically in the temple, in a Church meeting, or even in the mountains. He can reach us, and touch our hearts if we are listening.
No, this is in no way, shape, or form an announcement!
With that disclaimer out of the way, I can explain that two of my friends went on a river trip at the end of this week, and I volunteered to babysit their 5 kids (ages 11, 9, 7, 4, and 2) while they were gone. You probably think I'm slightly crazy (my friends did), but these kids are just like family, and so I was excited at the prospect. Well, to say the least, it was an adventure!
Let me begin by mentioning that my friend, who is the mother of these kids, reminded me a few times before they left that there was no cell phone reception and quite literally no way to contact them, even in an extreme circumstance, like one of the kids dying. Ahh! NO! There will be absolutely NO death while you are on this trip - here, there, or anywhere! All jokes aside, it is a weighty matter to be solely responsible for five children, even weightier still when the parents of those children will be gone for 4 days, with literally no contact, and the next of kin are an hour away. A daunting task to say the least.
To top it off, the night before I was supposed to go over to babysit was an adventure all its own. I got stung by a bee and had to take benadryl to prevent an allergic reaction, making me quite drowsy. When I got home around midnight, I chose to eat a bagel with cream cheese (smart, considering I'm lactose intolerant) and watch one episode of my favorite show, Ed, before retiring for the night. When I woke up on my couch, it was 3 am, so I went to grab my cell phone/alarm clock, and made my first realization of the night - I had left my phone in my friend's truck, yes, the very friends who were leaving the next morning and were going to call me so I could head over to begin my babysitting adventure. Excellent. I turned on my computer to attempt the ever-reliable facebook method of communication, and made my second realization of the evening - I am suddenly feeling very sick, as in, I just might pass out. Great. No phone, suspected food poisoning, and I'm going to pass out. Well, considering that the walls in my house are quite sturdy, I made it to my bathroom relying on their strength and whatever contaminants had messed me up promptly exited my body. Nice. Again relying, however less so, on my sturdy walls for strength, I moseyed back out to grab my computer and crawled into bed to begin the process of digital communication. Thanks to a friend and a Verizon wireless internet card, the endeavor was successful.
I woke up the next morning to my friends calling my name and my phone landing on my lap. They "randomly" checked their truck before leaving in their car and spotted my phone, and brought it over to me. Yes folks, that is as much a coincidence as my friend getting online at 3:40 that morning to help me test my internet-texting and my roommate leaving the door unlocked when she left for work at 6 that morning. Two hours later the real adventures began.
Day One consisted of watching the kids play, and begin rehearsals for the "movie" they want to perform for the neighborhood in the next couple of days. I got to figure out how to use the microwave rice cooker (which is a really cool little contraption, I just didn't know how to use it, at first, but I learned!), and unexpectedly pick up my roommate from work in Provo because she was sick. And of course, right after bedtime, a thunderstorm popped up, so, we postponed bedtime in favor of watching the lightning through the front window.
Day Two was awesome. The rehearsals for the movie continued until the acting company broke up, but not before they decided to walk the neighborhood in their costumes inviting their friends to come to their show. My directionally-challenged-ness was compounded that evening on the way to Pack Meeting by the rain. Yes friends, it was an outdoor pack meeting. But never fear, prayer works - they prayed the rain would be withheld until we were done, and it was, and when it started raining again after the closing prayer, that was our cue to leave, and of course find a geocache on our way home. At Pack Meeting, the eleven-year-old received his Webelo and Arrow of Light Awards. The Webelo award wasn't a problem, but, no one warned me I had to have artistic ability as acting mother for the Arrow of Light Ceremony! In the back of my mind, I'm cursing my friend, thinking, "C'mon Mr. Scout Master! You couldn't have clued me in so that I could at least paint the arrow correctly?!?!" We giggled our way through it, and he and his brother got all of their awards, with plenty of fun pictures to boot!
Day Three consisted of the kids playing with some of their friends, which made life easy. We then decided to have dinner at my house (I learned how to use a wok!), and were going to swim until the thunderstorms started. So, we pulled out the sofa bed, which was a HUGE hit, and watched The Land Before Time and Harry Potter.
Day Four, at the end of the day, was entertaining. We had planned to go to the zoo, but when it was storming again, we decided against it in favor of waiting out the storms and swimming instead. The sun DID come out, but it was still below 70 all day, and they were doing work on my pool, so we couldn't get in. Again we opted for movies instead, with a light sprinkling of games throughout the day. By the end of the day, we decided that a visit to the McDonald's Play Place was in order to get rid of a bit of energy. About that time, Mom and Dad called to say they were on their way home, so, we headed home for bathtime and a movie. I learned not to ask a 7-year-old to draw the bath water without supervision - she chose to empty what remained of the bubblebath (about 1/10 of the pretty-large bottle) in. Needless to say, the three little kids looked like Santa Clause, and I'm not sure who was wetter at the end of it all - me, or the kids.
All in all, it was a fun adventure. I learned that there is divine wisdom in the fact that children generally come one a time - it's hard to learn with five, although the age spread was a definite blessing, considering that the big kids were really good to help out! I learned the proper way to paint the Arrow of Light. I was glad to have a friend call and check on us every day, and be ready to help at the drop of a hat. I also learned to appreciate the silence at the end of the day, knowing that all five of the kids were safe, and resting peacefully. I wish that I had kept a quote board of the funny things the kids said that made me giggle. "I scared the cwap out of Miss Herring!" (following the sudden appearance of the 4-year-old in dinosaur costume), "My did it!" (everytime the 2-year-old escaped his self-made blanket fort), etc. I had a lot of fun, but it will be nice to sleep in my own bed, without companions! :D
10. Go camping and worry about bears or other large carnivores coming to eat you. 9. Listen to others around you snore, or grind their teeth, etc. (generally occurs on a campout, in a hotel room, if you have a slumber party somewhere, or if you're married and/or have children). 8. Think deeply about things or are otherwise unable to make your brain shutdown into "sleep" mode. 7. Watch a movie. 6. Go star-gazing. 5. Read a book. 4. Play a facebook game and/or obsessively update your status, comment on your friends' posts and/or take facebook quizzes 3. Talk and/or giggle with a friend or roommate. 2. A combination of #'s 4 and 3. (If you can do #'s 3, 4, and 5, you're a master multitasker!) 1. Find a geocache. (What else would I put here?!)
*Note: If you are married and disagree with my #1 statement, there's no need to comment, we already know, but, as I'm not married, that's not an option. :)
It is 10 pm, and rather than get sucked into a facebook game, I am turning my computer off and going back to my apartment and quite possibly going to bed. It's 10 pm. This is revolutionary. Maybe I have the willpower to become diurnal again after all!
So, I just posted this on my roommate's Wall on Facebook. I felt it was clever, and blog-worthy, especially in my currently sleep-deprived state. I hope you enjoy it, and that it makes you giggle:
Dear Annaleigh*, Crap! Just realized I forgot to tell you where I was, until now. So, to take the edge off the 1 AM text, it's coming via facebook, which has inherent excitement attached: I'm staying in Draper tonight, and then coming home at some point tomorrow after converting my cousins to geocaching, only to turn around as quickly as possible and go to a camping cache event after getting new glasses, and with any luck, a new, functioning star pointer, and my internet thing. BOY HOWDY! What a busy, fun couple of days it's going to be! I hope work was fun, and that if you went/go to Roswell that you are safe and DO NOT get abducted by aliens. Love, Your Favorite/Only Roommate :D
*Note: Names have been changed for privacy purposes.
Hee hee hee... I'm giggling internally after re-reading that for the fourth time, being currently sleep deprived and the only person awake in a very quiet house with nine other peacefully-sleeping people. Good night.
… being an analysis of the social commentary that is the movie He’s Just Not That Into You.
I watched the movie, He’s Just Not That Into You with my roommate Kristin last night, for the second time. The first time I pretty much hated it, but we were amazingly intrigued by this movie last night, and so watched it – with a purpose this time! I watched it with the intent to create this post.
Truth #1: “We’re all encouraged, no programmed to think that if a guy acts like a jerk, he likes you.” No seriously. This is true. We as a society do this to each other. And while the movie was geared toward the women “He’s just not that into you,” but I think it is safe to say that, while it is to a lesser degree, men have their part in this too. I’m sure we’ve all heard about the various signals member of the opposite sex send. Well, we all send them, however, I think generally, we all have a hard time making those signals align with what we actually mean. Then there’s the analysis of those signals – generally, that phase is an all-around disaster! Even, and maybe especially, in mixed company, we can never seem to agree on what those signals meant. While the signals are actually pretty straightforward, since there is some variance from person to person, we can never agree upon what the said signals mean.
Truth #2: “If a guy is treating you like he doesn’t give a [crap], he genuinely doesn’t give a [crap]. No exceptions.” Having been the rule my entire life, I can attest to the truthfulness of this statement. No, really, it’s true. Hence truth #3.
Truth #3: “We’ve got to stop listening to stories like that because we’re not the exception. We’re the rule.” As a corollary to rule #2, this is also exceptionally true! If you’ve never heard some insane story about how someone in the exact same situation as you turned out with some fairy-tale happy ending, please stand up and take a bow, you are the exception. I think we’ve all heard a story, that was probably intended to make us feel better, but which was in fact an exception to the rules.
Truth #4: “I just need you to stop being nice to me, unless you’re going to marry me afterward.” Now, in the context of the movie, this was a legitimate concern – if you’ve been together for 7 years, it’s about time you get married. However, in the context of the real world (as in the non-Hollywood world), what the heck?! Since when does someone being nice to you indicate a desire to marry you?! Um, to all the BYU zoobies, and the members of most LDS singles wards, let me just say that, contrary to what your roommates and friends may tell you, just because he [or she] is nice to you does NOT indicate a desire to marry you – especially if you haven’t been dating each other exclusively for an extended period of time (typically, weeks, is not considered an extended period of time. Contrary to the content of the remainder of this post, there are exceptions to that rule. The extended-period-of-time rule, not the niceness-does-not-necessarily-lead-to-marriage rule).
Truth #5: We all need a friend like Alex, who is brave enough to tell us, “Ok, [insert name here], he’s not interested,” without tip-toeing around our feelings, because he’s “just trying to help.” Really. Being the beneficiary of several such friendships, those friends are seriously invaluable. It is nice to have someone (or several individuals) who will really be honest with you, and who have your best interests at heart. Though what they may tell you hurts a little at first, you still know they love you, and you can depend on them. Oh, and they’re probably game to join you for the recovery movie and ice cream, and probably the associated tears.
Truth #6: “If a guy gives you his number instead of taking yours, he’s not interested in you.” This rule only applies to girls. Boys, if she gives you her number, especially if she comes up with an elaborate plot to do so, she probably is interested, or at least potentially so.
Truth #7: Endorphins make you not think clearly. Don’t exercise with someone that you’re attracted to. Especially if you’re married. Unless that person is your wife. And don’t go skinny-dipping afterward. That’s just a general, common sense rule. In fact, I once had a friend tell me to go running with a guy I was attracted to, because endorphins would make us more attractive to each other. True story. Didn’t do it. Glad I didn’t. He’s happily married, and we’re still friends.
Truth #8: If he [or she] interrupts a date or make-out session to talk to another girl [or guy], for any reason, he’s [or she’s] just not that into you.RUN! No really, this is true. The reverse is also true. If you find out he interrupted one of the above things for you, then, you can quite possibly take that as an indication that he IS into you. Sorry I can’t prove this with personal experience, haven’t had any. But, I think it is probably true.
Truth #9: “You all (women) eat it up because you love it. You love the drama.” True. Girls, you know it’s true. We are creatures of drama. We do feed off it. Incessantly. It’s actually pretty insane the level of drama we think we need to feel like we’re living. Whether it’s our own, or a friend’s or a friend of a friend’s or a total stranger’s in the news, we totally feed off drama.
Truth #10 (and my personal favorite) “Someday, you will meet a wonderful guy and get your very own happy ending. Every movie we see, every story we’re told implores us to wait for it: the third act twist, the unexpected declaration of love, the exception to the rule. Sometimes we’re so focused on finding our own happy ending, that we don’t learn how to read the signs, how to tell the ones who want us from the ones who don’t, how to tell the ones who will stay from the ones who will leave. And maybe this happy ending doesn’t include a wonderful guy. Maybe it’s you, on your own, picking up the pieces and starting over. Freeing yourself up for something better in the future. Maybe the happy ending is just moving on. Or maybe the happy ending is this: knowing that through all the unreturned phone calls, the broken hearts, through all the blunders and misread signals, through all the pain and embarrassment, you never ever gave up hope.”: The truth of the matter is, there are happy endings for all of us. We are the exception to someone’s rule, the right one’s rule. But, we are most attractive when we are happy and confident, when we manage to remain level-headed about the whole proposition, but always, above all else, keep that hope that one day we will find our own happily ever after.
I got to go to the Mountain Valley Stampede (part of Wasatch Co. Fair Days) tonight with some friends I haven't seen in awhile, and several new faces. This is my second year attending, and it is something I seriously look forward to every year, and here is why:
10. It's in Heber, home of genuine cowboys. 9. I got a new cowboy hat for dirt cheap. My old one has been annihilated. 8. They have delicious fry bread - essentially, scone meets navajo taco. DELICIOUS! 7. The announcers are actually pretty funny. 6. They play good music. 5. It is action packed - I seriously saw a bull run a cowboy into the ground tonight. 4. The rodeo clowns and officials are so good, everyone walks away bruised, but rarely bloody and never dead (that I've seen). 3. They have an event called hide racing, which I would personally like to try (not in an arena with 7,000 spectators, but rather in someone's coral on a ranch with no spectators). 2. I see people I know. It's one of the advantages of living where you work when you're a teacher. 1. FIREWORKS! There is a fireworks show at the end, during which they play great music. I LOVE it!
So, if you're ever in Heber City, UT, during the first weekend in August, stop by the Mountain Valley Stampede. You won't regret it! Oh, and if it's Saturday, be sure you're Tough Enough to Wear Pink! :D
This has been the 100th post of A Beautiful Life. I hope you enjoyed the post. This is a pretty momentous occasion!
So, many of you know that I am a big fan of geocaching. Well, some friends and I recently recruited my roommate, and she wrote this amazing note explaining why geocaching is so fun. So, with her permission, I copy it here for those of you who follow my blog more than my facebook. Enjoy, and try not to laugh so hard that your tears run down your legs! :D
I have recently become involved in a lesser known activity known as geocaching. For those that don't know what geocaching is, I will explain briefly.
Geocaching is a planned event occurring at any time of the day but normally late at night because that's when it is most fun. Typical tools needed for geocaching are flashlights, a GPS, and walkie talkies.
Before a geocache run is planned, one geocacher might say to another, "hey! Let's go geocaching down provo canyon!" while the second geocacher would say, "yeah, we should. I'm 3 short of my quota for the day..."
While this language may seem strange or foreign, I must add this is in fact the usual way geocachers begin to plan a run. Once it has been decided they will make a run, another more important decision must be made. Who will the geocachers invite to come along? This is of course the most important factor in every geocache run for several reasons. First, who you bring with you changes everthing. If you, say, brought along an expert geocacher, they could help you find the harder caches he or she has already found, thus cutting the search time in half leaving more time to find more caches. Second, the more people you invite to the cache run, the more people are there to look, also cutting down the search time leaving even more time to find more caches.
It is important to carefully examine who you bring with you on a run, because it also affects the mood. For example, its much more fun to bring along people that get along with each other and joke and laugh and throw up and have to go to the bathroom when they are in the middle of nowhere. These kind of geocachers are the quintessential kind. These seemingly random events make the geocache runs unpredictable, and therefore more exciting and fun. Not to mention hilarious. With the right geocachers present, one never knows when one might pee their pants from laughing so hard.
A typical geocache run lasts from around 10 PM til 1 or 2 AM, depending on everyones schedules the next day. And a run usually includes at least one of the following: waking up everyone on the block the geocache is located on, finding some kind of reptile or bug hiding in the shadows, talking on radios while driving up the canyon in separate cars (to keep in contact), or running accross a field to the car only to drive insanely fast to find the nearest bathroom with more than one stall.
Another form of geocaching is what's know as a geocache event. A geocache event is different from a run in several ways.
First, a run is generally planned the day of the run and is usually last minute, while an event is planned days, if not weeks in advance. Geocache events usually include some kind of delicious food and careful planning on the part of the geocacher in charge of the event. Both geocache runs and events have their own pros and cons, and both are fun in their own way. Runs are fun because they are more spontaneous and a great way to rack your geocache numbers up. Geocache events are fun because more cachers usually attend, and there is food involved. And the anticipation of a caching event makes it even more exciting, discussing beforehand the fun possibilities of the cache event.
A quick thanks to the following geocachers for making my first geocaches fun, exciting, and full of laughs. And lastly, for getting me addicted to caching.
Well, considering that I have recently become nocturnal, I can answer that question: You go all week enjoying your nocturnal lifestyle until Sunday comes and you accidentally sleep through church.... OOOOPS!
So, since I overslept, I decided to drive to Manti to visit my favorite temple. I took the scenic route via Fairview Canyon. Everywhere I turned things were SO green - it looked like what I would expect Ireland to look like. Here are some trip highlights:
* blasting my music while traveling back roads (always a favorite pastime of mine). * Makin' Bacon ranch near Mt. Pleasant, UT. Bet you can't guess what kind of farm THAT is! * Electric Lake - SO pretty. You'll have to wait on the pictures. They're on my cell phone and getting them off is a rather long process. * kamakazi chipmunks. Seriously, they were EVERYWHERE! Every 50 yards or so, they scampered across the street. Don't worry, none of them became roadkill at my hand, or wheels, as the case may be. *"Culinary Water No Camping" Signs... Seriously, what does that mean?!
It was a nice little ride. Trying out the new ward will have to occur next week. I'll try pretty hard to become less nocturnal so I don't oversleep this time!
So, the other night, when I was having a personal struggle, this song came on my iPod. I've just been having the feeling lately that, in one particular aspect of my life, that I'm in the wrong place... So, besides being an all-around awesome song in general, it gave me a lot of hope and comfort, and assured me that I am at least moving in a good direction. So, here it is:
One Day You Will
by Lady Antebellum
You feel like you're falling backwards
Like you're slippin' through the cracks
Like no one would even notice
If you left this town and never came back
You walk outside and all you see is rain
You look inside and all you feel is pain
And you can't see it now
[Chorus]
But down the road the sun is shining
In every cloud there's a silver lining
Just keep holding on (just keep holding on)
And every heartache makes you stronger
But it won't be much longer
You'll find love, you'll find peace
And the you you're meant to be
I know right now that's not the way you feel
But one day you will
You wake up every morning and ask yourself
What am I doing here anyway
With the weight of all those disappointments
Whispering in your ear
You're just barely hanging by a thread
You wanna scream but you're down to your last breath
And you don't know it yet
[Repeat Chorus]
Find the strength to rise above
You will
Find just what you're made of, you're made of
So, you know that saying about how negative publicity spreads like wildfire but positive publicity rarely spreads, so avoid negative publicity like the plague... or something along those lines.
Well, I'm going to do my small part to change that adage, by throwing out some positive publicity into the world wide void-ness.
If you live in Utah County (or even nearby) and are in need of a mechanic, I highly recommendRay's Campus American Car Care Center. It's on the corner of Canyon and Bulldog in Provo by the Wendy's across the street from BYU. Seriously, Ray and Randy who own/run that place are AWESOME! Let me tell you why.
Several months ago I noticed my car was pulsating in the front when I put on the brakes. No worries, I drove to CO and back with it like that, not to mention the daily canyon drives... Well, being car illiterate, I couldn't really describe the problem very well, but they figured out that not only did I need front ball joints, but also brake pads, rotors and bearings. Joy. Well, when I found out it was going to cost over $900, I asked which was most pressing, and then I'd bring the car in and have the rest done two weeks later after pay day. My mechanic told me he'd rather have me driving a safe vehicle, that they'd fix it all, and I could pay it in chunks. Now answer truthfully, how many mechanics would really do that?!
Yesterday, when I noticed the pulsating again, but this time in the rear part of the vehicle, I took my car in for a brake check. It turned out that I needed not-so-free rear bearings. They ordered the part, but the guy quoted my mechanic the wrong part and at a lower price than the correct one and brought incorrect ones. When my mechanic tried to fix the problem, they only had one bearing. So, I hitched a ride home and they finished fixing it this morning... only to realize on the test drive that the real problem was the bushings. Lovely. So, instead of making me pay for everything, they took the new bearings out, and ordered the new bushings which cost about the same for parts and less for labor. They also told me that once it's fixed, if the cost is less than I paid (since I paid in advance, hoping it'd be fixed overnight and I could pick it up this morning - no such luck since the parts didn't arrive) then they'd give me a free service. Yay, since I need an oil change and safety inspection this month!
Ok, seriously, talk about people that bend over backwards to help you out!!! They are wonderful, and always try to get you the best quality service at the lowest cost. You can't say that for everyone, and I hate to say it, but the truth is, you can't say that for every mechanic, either.
I have to say I'm sure glad that I stumbled upon these guys, and so I highly recommend them to you, if you're ever in need of some car maintenance or service!!!
So, in case you didn't know, I LOVE the 4th of July. It is my favorite holiday, second only to Christmas.
This year I celebrated by getting up insanely early to go with my friends Brian and Stacey to a geocache event in Provo. We literally left my house at 5:30, and didn't return until 10:30 because we were trying to get a challenge cache which required 6 different types of caches in one day. We got a little carried away and I ended up getting 16 caches including 7 different types and even placed a new one: Star-Spangled Spectacular Cache. If you have no idea what I am talking about, visit www.geocaching.com and begin your own addiction - geocaching is SO fun!
When we got back we took a little break, during which I decided to make the traditional July 4th Strawberry Shortcake American Flag-style. It is truly one of my favorite parts of the 4th! Then I traipsed over to Brian and Stacey's and we watched the kids play in the pool, played games, and of course barbequed and lit off our own fireworks before watching the show at Memorial Hill from their neighbor's yard.
So, these are a few of my favorite things about July 4th: 1 - the fireworks. I am a pyro at heart, even if it scares me a little on the outside. There's no place better to be than right underneath them, where it looks like they're falling on you (but not actually doing so), and you can feel the boom in your stomach! 2 - the music - patriotic music always makes me cry, and I make a special mix that I play for several days before and after 3- the clothes- the kids are so cute, and I love getting to wear my own red, white, and blue combinations all week. 4- the date - although historically incorrect, it means that it's summer and that school is out! 5 - the parades - they're pretty fun to watch, and I even got to march in one every year of high school. 6 - the food - I LOVE strawberries, and I love barbequing. I get both in abundance on the 4th of July! 7 - the surrounding testimony meetings - each year when I was growing up, a family friend, Ira Dunn, who has now passed on, would get up regularly to remind us of the sacrifices made so that we can live in this blessed country, where we are free to choose to be and do whatever we want to be and do. I know that I am a patriot at heart at least partially because of his example.
(aerial view of Arlington National Cemetery, I saw this when I flew back to Utah this week - a humbling experience)
8 - the Greatest Generation - if you haven't read Tom Brokaw's book, read it. It talks about the men who fought in World War II. I love that book, and while I revere all the men and women who have and continue to sacrifice so much for my freedom, this group of men is very close to my heart, as my grandfather is one of them. Unfortunately, many of these men have already, or will soon have passed on, but we could learn much from a generation unmatched in humility, comitment to duty, and selflessness. Men and women who did what was required without being asked, and without receiving a reward, simply because it was right, although it was rarely easy.
So, amid all the festivities, the meaning of this holiday is easily forgotten, but take a moment to be grateful to those who made it possible for us to celebrate, and to have a reason to do so.
