Pillow Talk

It's a classic scene. A husband and wife are laying in bed at the end of a long day. As they sink into relaxation, suddenly the wife has the desire to start talking - just a little chit chat to unwind. Maybe get some things off her mind. The next thing you know, the husband is snoring away, classically timed with when the wife asks, "What do you think?"

Yesterday as we were laying down for a Saturday afternoon nap, I started talking about an episode of "Clean House" I saw while at the Rec Center earlier that morning. The couple needing help with sorting through the disaster of their house had moved into the husband's mom's old home who had moved and left a bunch of her belongings included huge ugly furniture and paintings. The wife hated it and wanted it gone, but the husband wanted to keep it because it was calming to him to have things the way they were growing up. I was explaining to Ryan how I could kind of see both sides, but ultimately I think it's important to make wherever you are living feel like your own home. "You need to have your own space, you know?"

No response.

I shook his shoulder.

"Yes!" he shouted. (Notice how well trained he is? It's usually safest to agree with your wife if you aren't sure what is being talked about.)

I shook his shoulder again, obviously not convinced he was awake or listening at all.

"Rabbit! Rabbit!" he shouted. (And just like that I discovered what he was dreaming about.)

I shook his shoulder harder.

"Your own space! Rabbit!"

All I could do was laugh. At least his subconscious was listening to me. Good thing it really wasn't an important conversation. But I am curious to know how rabbits and "your own space" worked together in his dream.

Later that night as we were getting ready for bed, Dodger began a series of soft "woofs" in his sleep. He almost sounded like one of his squeaky toys. We watched him as he lay there dreaming, his "woofs" coming in a random order, "Woof.... woof woof woof... woof.... woof woof..." Ryan and I smiled. That little rabbit must have hopped its way into Dodger's dream as well.

I think my favorite "Rabbit! Rabbit!" like story from Ryan happened months ago. I sat up in bed reading my scriptures while he slept soundly beside me. Without warning, he shot up off the pillow while simultaneously yelling,

"Got it!"

I started giggling. I knew at once what he was talking about, but decided to ask anyway. As his head groggily lowered back to the pillow, his eyes fluttering open and closed in that layer between consciousness and dreamland, I asked,

"What'd ya get?"

"A fish," he sighed sleepily.

"Was it a big one?"

"I don't know. I didn't have it out of the water yet."

I could see it all perfectly in my mind: Ryan crouched beside a river, patiently tossing his fishing line out to the current, careful not to draw attention to himself on the shore when suddenly - BAM! A strong bite. I can see his reaction - the fluid jump to a standing position while jerking back the pole to ensure a strong hook - all while shouting triumphantly, "Got it!"

It's a shame the shout woke him up. I am sure he would have really enjoyed seeing how big the beauty was on the other end.

Surprise Prize

Remember the grand old rumor that if you found a complete Indian Chief and star on your Tootsie Roll Pop that you could redeem it for a free sucker?

Apparently that isn't true. At least it wasn't started by the company. In fact, they don't really know where it started other than the fact that the Indian Chief and star are only printed on about a 1/3 of the wrappers, thereby making them kind of "special." There are a few independent stores that decided to redeem the wrappers for suckers, but it was not funded or founded by the Tootise Roll Company. Did anyone actually get a free sucker? It seems like I vaguely remember trying to redeem mine at the old Macey's store before they moved, but I don't recall if I ever got anything for it.

Well the other day while teaching piano and eating animal crackers with my student, I came across this:

Kind of cool, right? I think I deserve a prize!

Books, Books, Books

I am a read-aholic. I love books. When I was first hired in the ER I realized that for the first time in 4 years, I had time to read what I wanted to read instead of having to wade through course work textbooks and novels. Don't get me wrong - there were some great books I read for school, but there were a lot of books I never would have read in a million years on my own, and if given the choice I would never read them again.

In the last several years I have read a lot of books. Along the way I kept thinking, "I need to keep a list of everything that I have read," but I never did. Finally the other night I tried to write it all down, but I am sure I am missing a bunch. I don't have as much time to read now that I am in the office more, and because of that it takes me a lot longer to get through a single book than it used to, but I am always open for suggestions.

And without further ado, here is my rough list of things I have read over the last couple of years.

1. Harry Potter - Yes, my first time through them. I may have been 10 years behind everyone else, but better late than never. LOVED them!
2. Twilight - Yes, my first time through them. HATED them! The idea is really cool, but there is SO much missing. You could cut out 3/4 of each of those books and not lose any content. Nothing happens.
3. The Chronicles of Narnia - LOVED them! Possibly my favorite children's book series ever.
4. Hunger Games - LOVED them! Fantastic read. So unlike anything I have read in a long time.
5. The Great and Terrible Series - by Chris Stewart. Good read. 6 books in the series. Humbling story following a family from the premortal existence to their life on earth in the last days. Kind of frightening to think how easily the US or any other nation could crumble, but how the Gospel keeps things pieced together when nothing else can. I definitely recommend them.
6. The Kingdom and the Crown Series - by Gerald Lund. Good read. I never finished the Work and the Glory because there was something in the writing that bothered me. But I didn't notice it with this one. I enjoyed this series because it really brings the matter of faith home to me. Even though I have never seen Christ on earth, I know that He lives and I believe in Him with all my heart. Would I have found it so easy to believe if I lived on earth during His ministry? If I lived in Jerusalem and heard Him teach? I pray I would have. But would it have been harder to believe that the carpenter's son could really be the Savior had you grown up there? Known him? It's harder to say, but I love the people in this story and in the scriptures that literally gave up everything to follow Him. That is certainly how I want to live my life.
7. Anne of Green Gables - LOVED them. I think I may actually have one left in the series, but I am not sure. What a sweet story. Beautifully written. Wonderful characters. Charming. Clean. A breath of fresh air.
8. Deception Point - by Dan Brown. First book that has ever made my jaw literally drop from shock. I really enjoyed it. This was my introduction to the mystery thriller genre and I fell in love. I want to write these kind of books!
9. The Lost Symbol - by Dan Brown. Thumbs up.
10. Angels and Demons - by Dan Brown. Another thumbs up. I don't think you can really ever go "wrong" with Dan Brown. There are only two things that I don't love about his writing. 1. His characters have the habit of being annoyingly knowledgeable. Especially Robert Langdon. Even "experts" don't have the answer to everything, and just in the nick of time. And though I found this improbable, it wasn't enough to make me stop reading. 2. There is always some big shock toward the end. Granted, I never know what it is until it hits me in the face, and then I find myself thinking, "I should have seen that one coming." But aside from that, great books. Super short chapters so they flies by. I particularly like the historical fiction part of things. I love books that deal with things I might recognize or connect with.
11. Map of Bones - by James Rollins. Thumbs up again! He is very similar to Dan Brown in content, but his characters aren't as all-knowing as Brown's often are. I actually like Rollin's better. This one was similar to Brown in that it dealt with Catholic Relics, but it was a fantastic mixture of the history and science. Very cool.
12. Black Order - also by James Rollins. This one deals with Nazi science experiments post WWII. I really enjoyed it.
13. Marley and Me - by John Grogan. LOVED it! So so good.
14. Dewey - by Vicki Myron. LOVED it! Same genre as Marley and Me, but it's a true story about a library cat.
15. Above Suspicion - by Betsy Brannon Green. It was okay. This was one of the first LDS author mystery thrillers I had read. Not my favorite though. The plot sounded really dumb, but compared to another one I read around the same time it was tons better.
I can't recall the other book's title or it's author, but that one is the first and only book I have ever read that made me physically gag with its cheesiness. I am girl and I like a little bit of romance. I love watching chick flicks. But oh goodness - that book was horrible. I was marketed as a mystery thriller, but there was no mystery and no thrill to it. I knew exactly who the bad guy was the whole time and was incredibly annoyed that no one else had considered him a suspect - especially considering the crime in question was selling US secrets.
16. Backtrack - by Betsy Brannon Green. HATED it. Listened to it on a road trip with a friend and we only kept listening hoping it would get better, but it didn't.
17. Hazardous Duty, Above and Beyond, Code of Honor - Betsy Brannon Green. Of the Green books I read these were definitely the best. Still a little cheesy and over simplified, but pretty good.
18. The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Stick with Disney. It sucked.
19. A Time to Kill - by John Grisham. Good read. Really long, and absolutely no action. I am surprised this book held my attention because nothing happens. It was just fascinating I suppose.
20. A Banner is Unfurled - Good read. These books are written about my Great-great-great(ish) grandpa and his family. It is written by some cousins distantly related, probably by one of the other wives back in the day. We get these for Christmas each time a new one comes out. Good family history. But also great for anyone of the LDS faith. It follows the early establishment of the Church.
21. Three Cups of Tea - I haven't finished this one yet. I really enjoyed the first half, but am getting stuck right now. The story is really amazing and inspiring, but I am just at a point where it's not about the story and more about history right now and I have just having a hard time staying focused.
22. The Bourne Identity - by Robert Ludlum. LOVED it! SO different from the movie, but equally as good. They have so little in common that it's easy to love both because they are two totally different stories. They have the basics in common - a trained assassin that has lost his memory and is found in the ocean. And a girl named Marie is involved.
23. The Hiding Place - by Corrie Ten Boom. I am about half way through but I LOVE IT! Such an amazing book! The writing is incredible and what an amazing story. I recommend it!!!
24. The Long Walk - by Slawomir Rawicz. LOVED it. Absolutely incredible. It's a true story about a prisoner of war taken to a Siberian work camp, his escape, and his trek to freedom. Humbling and powerful. I definitely recommend it.

I have already thought of a couple more, but I can't remember what they were called, and they weren't very good either. I guess if anyone wants me to find out what they were called and post the title so they know to avoid them, I would be happy to do that.

Have you read anything that you would recommend?

Call Me Proud

Something tragic happened at our home a number of months ago.

We live in a basement apartment beneath Ryan's sister and brother-in-law. They signed up for Comcast on one of their great promotions and through some fluke, we were getting the signal as well (since we never ordered a second box). We could watch all the same great shows they had, but just didn't have a fancy remote to pull up the side box to see what else was playing at the same time. But who cares? We were just happy to get anything other than normal TV.

It was during this phase that I discovered my potential for serious addiction - HGTV and the Food Network. I would watch them for hours and hours.

I love "home" stuff. Anything that has to due with decorating, painting, or remodeling - I love it all. My "happy place" stores include places like TaiPan, Hobby Lobby, Roberts, Michaels and the likes. I love crafty stuff, but I don't do much of it because I don't feel I am very good at it, don't have much time for it, and because I don't have the money to buy a lot of the stuff. But I enjoy looking and getting ideas for that "someday" part of life (I at least think I have a pretty good eye for things.) One day when I have a house of my own...

I also love the idea of cooking. I say idea, because for me - it really is usually just that. I have my safety net of about 10 recipes I feel competent with and rotate through them. I really want to be a better cook. My brother is an amazing cook. He can whip out anything, any time. He can take random leftovers and turn it into a gourmet meal without even trying. Me on the other hand... I will follow a recipe to the "t" and still have it turn out wrong. I just don't have the knack for it. But I do want to get better!

Anyway, a number of months ago, our cable disappeared. They still had it upstairs, but for whatever reason, our connection had been severed. At least we still had regular TV... for a little while. Then one day, we were down to three channels - Discovery Channel, CSpan, and some other worthless channel. This lasted for a day or two, and then nothing.

I was devastated. Mostly because my beloved HGTV and Food Network were gone. You mean I was actually going to have to do something productive instead of sitting in front of the TV for hours on end watching "First Time Home Buyers" and "Iron Chef?" Gasp! It couldn't be! But it was. And now months later I am proud to show that with a little motivation, I could do a little HGTV"ing" and Food Network"ing" on my own.

I'm so proud of myself #1: Scripture Totes!

I was just recently called to be an Activity Day leader for the 11-year-olds in my ward. I was nervous, but excited. I see these kids on a weekly basis since Ryan and I have been in the primary now for 4+ years, but I have little direct interaction with them. (Ryan and I taught sunbeams together for the first year, and then I was moved to piano where I have been for the last 3+ years, and Ryan has bounced from class to class and was just recently promoted to Sr. Primary).

One of our first activities we had with the girls was to finish their scripture tote bags they had started months previous with their other leaders. For those of you have may not have heard of this little craft, they are super easy, super cute, and growing in popularity.

These are even more fancy than the ones we did. The basic idea is to pick out a place mat and find ribbon to match for handles. You sew the ribbons on, then fold the place mat in half, turn it wrong-side out, and sew down the sides. Next, flip it right-side out and ta da! Instant, cute scripture tote! You can of course accessorize with extra ribbon and flowers, but we just did the basics.

The really fun part for me was getting to use my sewing machine! My mom bought me the Brother EX660 Computerized Sewing Machine for my college graduation 4 years ago. I have only used it once or twice, mostly because I haven't had any projects to work on, and also because I don't feel very confident in using it. This machine is amazing and is capable of doing so much... I just don't know how! After this activity I made a promise to myself to watch the instructional DVD and learn to master the machine. As it was, when we first began sewing down the sides, my machine squawked and beeped at me. My first thought was that it must have been because the fabric was too thick - but this machine has quilting abilities, so it couldn't have been that unless it was on the wrong setting. Once I finished a single side, I flipped the place mat over to behold a bird nest of thread. I showed it bewildered to my companion, and she said it must be that my tension was off. "Tension? What's that? I mean, I know what tension is, but how do I fix it?" Yeah... if that doesn't tell you how far I need to go with my sewing abilities... My companion showed me the dial on the front of the machine to fix the tension and then everything was great from there. There were 2 smaller hiccups after that - one was that the thread kept slipping out of the needle right before I started sewing, and the other was that we did the whole thing backwards - we sewed the sides and then tried to put on the handles. It still worked, but it was much more difficult. The girls loved the bags and were thrilled to finally get to take them home, but I am quite confident that I was far more excited about it than they were. I sewed! I used my machine! And the creations turned out super cute! I was rather giddy about it and my companions girl's were great to boost my confidence with congratulations and praise. Hahahaha - yes, my ego was bloated due to an 11 and 13 year old telling me that I did a good job. I felt like a little puppy, wagging my little tail, oh so proud of myself for accomplishing something relatively simple.

I was going to bring my camera so I could take pictures of all the girls helping out, but I forgot. So the last girl there posed for my camera phone and showed off two the completed bags.

Pretty nifty, huh? Watch out Sabrina Soto! I might be taking over your job! Just kidding. She is my HGTV hero though. Love her.

Moving on.

I'm so proud of myself #2: "Fruit Smoothie" No Bake Cheesecake!

Ryan and I were invited to a dinner and games night at my friend's home Saturday night. I asked what I could bring and she said dessert. I didn't just want to bring cookies or a cake, so I set to work trying to decide what to make. I went to the store Saturday morning with four recipes in hand. I walked up and down the isles pricing out the items I would need and the time and effort required. I really wanted to try out this new recipe I have for a strawberry pie, but strawberries are definitely out of season and are about $6 for a small container. Thanks, but no thanks. I settled on the Fruit Smoothie No Bake Cheesecake. It sounded simple enough.

I headed home and began the graham cracker crust. I followed the recipe exactly, but discovered that in doing so, there wasn't even enough crust to make it all the way across the bottom of the pan - and that was with me spreading it really thin. So I whipped up a little extra to fill in the holes. The filling was also pretty easy. Cream cheese, sugar, a bag of mixed smashed berries, and whipped cream. I asked my sister-in-law if I could borrow her hand held electric beater to whip the cream cheese. I don't own one of these wonderful gadgets and hardly ever use one, so I would be lying if I said I wasn't surprised by the gusto it put out, even on the lowest level. ...There may, or may not have been cream cheese splattered all over the microwave and wall due to this surprise and lack of control. And my dog may, or may not have very happily licked the creamy stuff from the wall as quickly as it appeared. After the cream cheese was mixed with the sugar and the berries and whipped cream were folding in, I began spooning it onto the crust. It just kept coming, and coming, and coming. I was dumbfounded at how much filling it produced! Especially since there was a paper thin layer of crust for it to sit on! I decided to make some more crust and make a smaller dish of it for Ryan and I for another day in order to use the extra filling. So aside from the strange proportion balance of crust to filling, it turned out pretty good.

The dinner party was a blast. The food was delicious and the dessert turned out really yummy. If anyone wants the recipe, let me know! And the great thing is, if I can do it - anyone can do it!

All in all I would say it was quite a successful weekend! 4.5 years of marriage and look at that - I am starting to get the basics down. :)

Staking Our Claim: A Novel

There is a great scene in Far and Away starring Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise near the very end where together they throw a flagged stake in the ground, their eyes locked and determined on the unseen, yet endlessly unfolding future, claiming their land as others race past them on thundering horses in search of their own piece of Oklahoma territory. It's an inspiring scene in many respects, and one which makes me often ponder where our stake will be planted in the future. More appropriately compared though, is the moment just prior to this scene, where hundreds of land hungry hopefuls stand horse to horse, wagon to wagon, waiting for the gun to sound so they can race off into the wide world and stake their claim. The anticipation is palpable, the hope visible on each face. Ryan and I are at a very similar place physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Ryan and I have been married for 4.5 years and have loved every minute of it. About a month after we got hitched, Ryan got a job at UVRMC in housekeeping. It has a 6 month commitment before you can move departments, and he hoped that he would be able to serve his time and move up into something different. About a month following that, I got a job at the Target Portrait Studio. It was a decent job, but I didn't love it. I only lasted there a few months before I decided that I wanted to find something different. This was in part because I really wasn't enjoying it, and partly because I had to work on Sundays - and though there are many jobs where working on Sundays is inevitable, the portrait studio was not one of them. They paid me, or whoever the unlucky soul who happened to be working, more in one 4 hour shift on any given Sunday than they ever made. Once in a while a shopper would pass by and decide on the spur of the moment to get their kid's picture taken, but this was very rare. So I quit. In retrospect, it probably wasn't the most wise decision since I didn't have another job offer at the time, but I did it anyway. Thankfully I was teaching piano on the side, so I wasn't totally incomeless. I quit in December, the same month I graduated from UVU with my Bachelors in English - Creative Writing. I, like all graduates, had a feeling that somehow just by graduating, that I should automatically be worthy of some great high-income job. Hahahaha. Deep down inside, however, I knew this was false. Actually, it wasn't even "deep" down. I always knew it. I understood when I first enrolled at UVU that I had the unfortunately lot of deciding between three equally "worthless" degrees: Music, Dance, and English - the three loves of my life. My disclaimer, of course, is that I know there are plenty of people that have been successful with these degrees behind their names, but I knew that I was pursuing an education, not necessarily a career. I love music, but I knew I would never be a professional singer, pianist, or songwriter. And dance - sigh - oh how I love dance! But I knew I would never be a professional dancer or studio owner. Truthfully, I would love to simply be a choreographer - but due to my body deciding much earlier than my spirit that I couldn't keep up with the rigors of a dance degree, I decided that wasn't the best option either. English it was. It had always felt right, but you have to at least think it through, right? The goal? I want to be a writer! I want to write books! And that is something I could at least work towards while being a mom and working a "real" job if needs be. So I jumped in. The program was awesome and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But post graduation, the simple reality came round again - there was no amazing high-income job waiting to make me a success. I would have to find that elsewhere.
I spent about 3.5 months "unemployed" beyond my piano students until one day I received a call to interview at UVRMC as an ER Registrar. The position was on call, but I was pretty excited about it none the less. Thankfully, I was offered the job and was hired at an amazing time when they had so many needs to be filled that I jumped from on call to full time within a couple of months. The job is a blast and I have loved every minute of it. I have seen the most amazing things - from the heart breakingly horrific to the side-splitting hilarious and everything in between. As of last year I was offered the position of Office Coordinator for the ER registration group. I now work in the Administrative Offices for 30 of the 36 hours a week working on the schedule, calling on returned mail, keeping up on reports, going over every demographic form that comes through the ER and checking for errors, and doing payroll. I am constantly learning and growing. It has been fabulous! I have the most amazing boss in the world who would do just about anything for you. I love her! I still work one 6 hour shift out on the floor to make sure I am still up to date on everything, which I love. My co-workers are incredible and I love being with them. I have been working in the ER now for almost 4 years. I am still teaching 13 piano students on my days off, and occasionally substitute teach dance classes. Life is full and wonderful.Ryan served his 6 months in housekeeping and then was able to secure a job as an Anesthesia Tech in the OR. He has been there ever since. It is an incredible job which he has really excelled at. If I think I see amazing things in the ER - oh the things he sees in the OR! He works with an incredible team of doctors, nurses, techs, and the likes. The training consisted of several months worth of on-job training before being considered able to take call and be on your own. Ryan passed with flying colors and often trains others as they come into the job. There is so much you have to know for the job. It's incredible. Every doctor wants their IVs and bags set up differently, their medications placed in a specific place, the equipment set out just right. I don't know how they ever keep it straight. Ryan is responsible to set up for the cases as well as assist in pumping blood, holding body parts where they belong, know where everything is supposed to be and be able to dash to get it at any point. He was named Employee of the Year from the OR a few years ago. I am always impressed with how hard he works and how he puts his all into everything he does. Pre-mission Ryan was a business major, but when he came home, he felt that medicine was where he belonged. He decided early on that he did not want to be a Biology of Chemistry major because he wanted a little variety and a wider scope. The answer? Community and Public Health. This meant that he would have to do all the pre-med classes on the side, which is pretty much at least a minor's worth of classes. But he plugged along faithfully taking full time classes each semester and working part time (24-35 hours) a week. The goal has always been med school. It's what he has wanted from the moment he got home from his mission. Things were going great too... until about a year ago. I believe all that Ryan had left to finish his pre-med classes was the second half of organic chemistry. The problem, we discovered, was that it was only offered in the afternoon 4/5 days of the week and Ryan works 3/5 days of the week - all in the afternoon. It's not possible for him to rearrange his schedule at work, and there was nothing we could do about the class selection at UVU. So we looked at other possibilities. We tried Salt Lake Community College hoping that he could go in the summer. They did offer the class, but it was only offered in Taylorsville, again 4/5 days a week during the day, and at this point Ryan had an internship at the Health Department in Provo during the day, and work in the afternoon. So there went that idea. We couldn't get into BYU for the summer semester that year because it was well past application acceptance. None of the technical schools like Stevens Heneger or Provo College offered the course. So we turned to online options. After much searching, I found that Oregon State University offered the course online - the exact same as the on campus class. Ryan would need to take the lab at UVU obviously, but it seemed we had the answer. That is, until we found that UVU doesn't accept Oregon's credits. (Well they do, but it would have transferred as a much lower science credit and that helps no one.) Our last resort was BYU the summer semester following graduation from UVU. But we learned that at that point he would have to apply to BYU as a post-bach instead of a visiting student (since technically he would be graduated by then,) and that pretty much slices our chances of being accepted for even that one class to nothing.

At this point we had to ask ourselves two questions:
1. Is this a rock Heavenly Father has placed in our path that we are meant to overcome and make us stronger? Or
2. Is this a rock Heavenly Father has placed in our path to help guide us a different direction?
It was one we couldn't, or wouldn't answer for a while. It was heart breaking to even think of - working 4+ years towards something, to be within months of reaching it, only to have it drift farther away. And all because of one class! But over the summer as Ryan became more involved in his internship with the Environmental Health Dept, life and light began creeping back into his eyes. Then one day, about a month into fall semester, he began talking about graduate school. And not just talking about it - he had begun researching. He had already found several programs he liked and sent me link after link for Public Health and Health Administration. He was really getting excited! We realized we had an immediate decision to make. If we hurried, Ryan could take the GRE and we could apply for schools right away. Most applications are due at the very beginning of January. That meant we could be going away to school within a year! The prospect was both terrifying and thrilling. (The chances of us staying in Utah for grad school are pretty slim because only a few schools offer the programs we are looking and I haven't loved any of them. I think Weber or West Minister, can't remember which one, is the only one that I would say maybe to, but there are so many incredible schools out of state!)

After a week or two of anxiety trying to decide, we felt that now was not the time. Ryan is hoping to find a job in a related field to gain some more experience. He feels that if he can find the right job, and if the opportunity presents itself, he may just be able to work his way up the chain of command as many do in the field. But if not, maybe grad school fall 2012. I have no fear is saying that this is a reasonable goal because no, the world is not going to end in 2012.

Ryan officially graduated from UVU in Dec with his Bachelors in Community and Public Health and a minor in Health Education. (And an unofficial minor in science stuff.) Yeah!!! I am so proud of him! Sure, our path isn't as clear as we had hoped it would be at this point, but we don't fear it. It's hard for me personally to not know which direction we are heading, but I also don't worry about it. I know that things will work out the way they are supposed to. In the mean time, we are both still working and loving life. Ryan is looking for jobs and still collecting information on schools. If he can find a job, awesome! We will see where it takes us. If not, awesome! We will throw more effort into finding that perfect school. But for now, we are just happy to be here, relieved that school is done for a little bit, and enjoying life's adventures as they come along. We are blessed to have both families close, so we are really enjoying the time that we are able to spend with them, especially knowing that may not always be the case, but we will see.

I am really looking forward to the moment when our own personal race clock gun will sound and we can bolt of onto the next phase of life. It's hard to imagine life ever changing from what it's been for the last 4 years, but it will, and as much as I love things exactly the way they are, I know change will be great too.
And now if you have made it through this incredibly long blog, you deserve a reward. Go stretch and eat some of your favorite treats, maybe some chocolate or some gummies. ;) The simple fact is this: I know I could have written this entire thing in maybe a paragraph or two and you really wouldn't have missed out on much. But I am a writer, I am a woman, and I love to talk.

Trash Cans, Ice and Rotten Fruit

Last week as Ryan and I were leaving my sister's house, our eyes were instantly drawn to a man bent over the middle of the ice covered cul-de-sac. His head popped up as the door shut behind us. The three of us stood there, staring at one another, transfixed, and unspeaking. The man was momentarily frozen, bending over two trash cans, both knocked over flat on the ice. There was a strange tension in the air, one described best by unspoken assumptions. And then I giggled. And couldn't stop giggling. I pictured it in my mind, the man driving along in a daze until -WHAM! Thankfully the trash cans were empty, much to his relief, I am sure. I felt bad about my giggling, but I couldn't help it. I should have offered some help, or at least said something to joke about the situation, but I didn't. As we walked towards our own car, that's when I really took note of the scene. There was no car anywhere near the trash cans, no idling vehicle in the frigid air waiting for its owner to return. And that's when I began to wonder, "Does he think we did it?" His silent gaze and choppy hesitance as he hovered over the trash cans made me think that perhaps he thought we were responsible and was therefore unsure if he should leave them sprawled on the ice for us to pick up after ourselves. I really can't be sure. He made his decision anyhow and uprighted both cans before walking inside to a neighboring home. Who knows, maybe both parties were totally innocent. Perhaps it was the wind, or another driver all together.

Even as I continued my giggling in the car as we drove home, assuming it was that man who knocked them over, I couldn't help but feel compassion for him. After all, I have done that once... or twice, but I was not nearly so fortunate as to have an empty trash can behind me.

The car rocked with force as I hit something I thought for sure must have been another car. I tossed the gear into park and jumped out in panic. My relief at seeing it wasn't a car, but a trash can instead, was quickly replaced by a feeling of dread as I watched dozens of rotting plums spill from the mouth of the trash can and roll in every direction out into the street. I ran to the trash can and closed the lid, then began the nearly impossible task of righting the beast. I assure you, lifting a trashcan full to brim of rotten fruit is no easy task. I am positive it had to have weighed easily twice my own body weight. But pride kept me from returning inside to ask Ryan's dad for help. So I pushed and pulled and strained against the dead weight until it was finally standing again. I then began the task of dashing through the street collecting as much of the rolling fruit as I could. Thankfully, or dreadfully as the case may be, many of the squishy things hadn't made it very far due to being far past their prime. This required me to scrape their splatted bodies from the concrete before I called it quits. I inspected the back of the jeep for any dents, which gratefully I didn't find. I climbed back in the car and drove home with my palms pressed against the steering wheel, my fingers splayed wide with stenching goo clinging to each tip. First thing I did when returning home was scrub my hands vigorously, but not before vowing to myself not to admit to the event for years to come.

In all my years of driving I have only hit a trash can twice (which I know is easily far more than many people) and both happened at Ryan's parent's home. I don't remember much from the second episode other than it was rather uneventful. I must have been lucky enough to have an empty can that time. Needless to say, I am much more careful when backing up now.

So I would like to apologize, Mr. Unknown in the cul-de-sac, for giggling at your misfortune, or for assuming it was your misfortune if it wasn't. I promise next time, if there is a next time, whether here or some other part of the world, I will be more helpful- or at least say something instead of standing there, gawking, imaging in so many different ways the way it must have happened. But if it's any comfort whatsoever, and this isn't a justification, ... but it could have been so much worse!

Blogging On Blogging

Once upon a time, during the first semester of my senior year at UVU, the English department decided it would be a great idea to add an "Introduction to the English Major" to the current curriculum. Genius really, considering I, and many others were only a semester away from completing our Bachelors degree, but whatever. The class was above all other classes I had taken, a huge waste of time. We did nothing. We learning nothing. ... At least that was my impression until just recently. For an entire 3.5 months, all we talked about was how blogging was the future. If you wanted to do anything, you had to blog. If you wanted to get anywhere, you had to blog. If you wanted to be anyone, you had to blog. At the time, blogging really wasn't that big of a deal. I had never even heard of it until I took this class. And, very much in accordance to my nature, I decided I wanted nothing to do with whatever "everyone else" was doing.  Blogging as a whole went in one ear and out the other.

           

As of late, I have had several people request that I start a blog. I argued that I didn't have a reason to do it. Life is very much the same day in and day out. I told them I really didn't have much of anything worth reading about. But thanks to my brother who lives across the United States, a co-worker, and an old dance friend, who all reassured me that they would indeed read my blog, I decided to give in. And like so many times before in my life, I have realized that what "everyone else" was doing really was worth it. (Except for Twilight.)

           

It all makes sense! Yes Fred, Corinne, and Stacy, you can be quite proud. With all the social media out there, I think I have finally found my nitch. How silly of me not to realize it sooner. I am a writer after all! Facebook is fun for pictures and relinking with old friends, but still rather impersonal. I have my journal, but I can type 10 billion times faster than I can write by hand. I have my scrapbooks, but those are mostly pictures. This is my happy medium. I am finding that I want to blog about everything! Small thoughts to big events - finally a way to capture it. Yes, blogging is quite ingenious. The other day I thought to myself how much I wished I had a computer hooked up to my head to capture all the thoughts that run through it on a daily basis. Sure, some of them aren't worth dirt, but others - they are golden. At least I will always maintain they are. Hahaha. I will continue to do my scrapbook and my journal, and occasionally visit Facebook, but I think this is my new home.

           

Thank you to Corinne and Stacy for becoming my first followers, and Mike for adding my page as a link. It seems silly, but it's amazing how much that seems to validate things. Made me feel special. And as Fred said to me once, "You are special Diana." Yeah well, we can argue the meaning of that one later.

In conclusion, as I suddenly feel the need to include a "wrap up" paragraph in reference to my school days, blogging is cool. I thought it was silly and overrated when I first heard it mentioned 5 years ago, but turns out the world was on to something... and I was just too stubborn to recognize it until now. And even if no one chose to follow my blog, the important thing is for me to do it for me. It's my own way of capturing the smaller, and the bigger things. Brace yourself world. You are about to be bombarded by the many thoughts and adventures of Diana. Dun dun dun!