LYS-A-LICIOUS

Ghosts of New Years past...

2010-01-02T23:58:00.007-07:00

I've never been a huge New Year's celebration type person. Many years I'm lucky to even stay awake to see the ball drop. On my way back from Cali to Utah this past weekend, I spent the night in Vegas at Kim and Michael's. We got to talking about some fun memories from one of my favorite New Year adventures. So I decided to make a quick post here.

For New Year 2006 I decided to round up a group of friends to head south to Zion National Park. We booked a couple of hotel rooms (one for boys, one for girls) right outside the entrance. The boys definitely got the better end of the deal as there were only 3 of them and 7 of us. We used up every possible inch of space in the girls room and getting ready for church on Sunday (btw, church in LaVerkin is a whole separate story to be told at some point!) was a bit challenging. Here we all are (minus Michelle the picture taker)piled onto the beds in the girls room.

We headed into the big city (ie St. George) for dinner. On our way back we decided to stop at a bowling alley in Hurricane and whoop it up. We bowled and played pool and air hockey. If I remember correctly, we were the only patrons and there was also some random mangy dog roaming around inside (yes, inside) the bowling alley.

We also spent some time hiking around and exploring the park.

All in all we had a great time, but there was one more adventure awaiting me on the ride home. This was our happy group as we were starting our journey.

We stopped at a gas station in Nephi and as I was browsing the shelves, I happened upon a section of items quite literally marked as "Mexican Goods." There were some hats and some blankets and I don't remember what else. I made the mistake of handling some of these items and shortly after getting back in the car started to have some sort of allergic reaction. My eyes were itching like crazy so of course I rubbed them, with the hands that touched the goods, and made things even worse.

I was becoming increasingly miserable and began to take little capfuls of water from my bottle and throw them directly in my eyes to see if I could get some relief. And what true friend would pass up the opportunity to snap a picture of someone in such distress?

Needless to say, this picture has been and is a favorite among our friends and everyone they show it too. My reaction was so bad that we had to stop at a Walmart in Payson to get me some Benadryl. By this time my eyes were almost closed shut and I had to be led by the hand into the store. We got the Benadryl and I attempted to complete a debit transaction which was complicated by the fact that I punched in the wrong pin number because I couldn't really see the touchpad. Heidi had to put my pin in for me and then led me to the bathroom to help me wash my hands and my eyes.

**MORAL OF THE STORY--NEVER, I REPEAT NEVER TOUCH MEXICAN GOODS**

The other funny thing that came out of this trip was a few months down the road. On one of the hikes, it was our good friend Michael Adams and three of us girls setting out to explore. Of course we had to take many pictures along the way. And somehow it occurred to Michael to put together a little April Fools joke that he then emailed out:

Just a bit too real looking, no? The ironic thing is that he didn't end up marrying any of us, but did end up marrying another one of our friends that came on the trip but not on the hike. Sad thing is, I am now the only one still unmarried...anyone looking for a sister wife out there? :) Good times from New Years past...and here's to many more memories to come in 2010 and beyond!

Time Out for Women

2009-11-16T21:12:00.001-07:00

I'm so not Molly. Anyone who knows me would probably agree. Not that being Molly is a bad thing (take no offense Mollies). Anyway, I'm as surprised as any of you to have found myself attending a rather Molly function this past weekend...Time Out for Women presented by Deseret Book. It was a two day conference held at the Salt Palace. I went with some long time friends--Maree & April as well as April's mom and sister Rachel. All I can say is that April must have been inspired to invite me all those many weeks ago because this conference was exactly what I needed. I laughed, I cried, I laughed so hard until I cried and I learned a ton.

A lot of what I heard really helped to validate and reconfirm things that I am experiencing in my life. Feeling this "God confidence" (i.e. peace of conscience) really helped to increase my self-confidence. I feel like my heart was very open and receptive and I was touched by so many things. Allow me to share just a few:

If the veil were thinned and we could remember who we stood by (Jesus Christ) and the covenants and commitments we made to Him and each other, we could begin to fulfill the measure of our creation. Sister Nelson said we all have a "pre-mortal commitments to do" list and that as we seek after these commitments and follow the associated promptings we will become more our true selves and find joy in fulfilling the measure of our creation. I believe I have been experiencing this to some small degree as of late.
As women, and particularly as latter-day women of God, we have a unique influence. Who am I influencing? Who and what am I allowing to influence me?
The adversary has 3 main tactics to derail us from our divine potential: a) he tries to confuse us about who we really are (divine daughters of God); b) he tries to keep us from understanding the Atonement and how God can help us; c) he tries to keep us from learning how to receive personal revelation.
It is crucial that we know not only who we are, but who we have always been.
We have the ability to create a little piece of blue heaven even when we are surrounded by dark heavy rain clouds. We need to cultivate optimism--cheer and happiness are choices we actively make.
You can go to sleep with the assurance of knowing that God is still awake. One sister has a plaque in her kitchen that reads, "At the end of the day I turn all my problems over to God because I know He'll be up all night anyway."
As the Christmas season approaches, we need to ask ourselves, "Is there room in my heart to let in the miracle of God's son?" (comparing this to Joseph asking if there was room in the inn for the imminent birth of the Savior.)
Appearances can be an outward manifestation of an inner commitment. But do we spend so much time on the appearance that we neglect or fake the inner commitment?
Giving up our will to Heavenly Father may just be the hardest thing we do, but it will change us in ways we can't comprehend.
Of course Heavenly Father will give us things we can't handle--why else would we need the Savior? What He will not give us is anything that we can't handle when we rely on the enabling power, the grace of Jesus Christ.
A sense of humor and the ability to laugh at yourself and your circumstances is an extremely powerful thing.
AM I FOCUSED ON WHAT REALLY MATTERS?

That's only a sampling of the many truths that were imparted. I love hearing the gospel related in such down to earth and humorous ways. There was great power in being assembled with over 3,000 other women who were all there for the right reasons. For all you Mollies and non-Mollies, if you ever have a chance to attend one of these conferences--DO IT!!

On a side note, we escaped the hectic atmosphere at the Salt Palace to have a nice quiet lunch at The Beehive Tearoom. I love quaint little random places in this city and if you haven't been to the tearoom, you should definitely check it out.

A mighty change...

2009-11-15T10:49:00.004-07:00

Ezekiel 36:26 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."

If you have been around me over the past few months, you will have noticed that I have become a very changed person in about the last six weeks or so. Such a noticeable change that while my boss was on vacation she got numerous emails saying that it was like she had a new person working in her department. So much so that a housekeeper I never talk to came up to me and asked why I was smiling so much now because she had never seen me smile before. So much so that people have wondered if I am taking medication or have started dating someone (neither of which is the case.) So much so that people tell me I even look different physically.

On one hand, it makes me very sad to come to the realization of what an unhappy, miserable person I must have been...and for quite a long time. But on the other hand, my heart is so full of gratitude for the change I have experienced and the new outlook I have on life. I guess my purpose in blogging about this is to document it for myself, but also to explain a bit of what I have gone through in hopes that it may be helpful to someone else.

Becoming such a miserable unhappy person didn't happen overnight. It was a gradual and subtle process influenced by many factors. The weight of life's daily stresses, my own unfulfilled expectations, neglecting things I should have been doing, being critical of myself and others, you name it. Each one of these little things, unattended and undealt with, hardened my heart more and more with each passing day. I chose to turn away from God and embrace my anger, bitterness and unhappiness. I hated the person I had become, but didn't know quite what to do about it. I felt consumed by negative thoughts and emotions. I was unhappy about practically every aspect of my life.

In May, I was at my wits end and didn't want to live my life like this any more. I decided to meet with my bishop to see if he could give me any guidance. He explained to me that what I was experiencing was extreme spiritual discouragement but that I shouldn't be too hard on myself. He taught me that it was an inevitable part of my discipleship and that this discouragement existed because I wanted to be a better person. But that in some ways I was creating my own distress because the natural man in me was trying to manipulate my circumstances to be what I thought they should be instead of trusting God's design for my life.

He told me that certain aspects of my life circumstances are part of the plan that I agreed to before I came to Earth. They were pointed out to me and I understood and agreed to them. He told me that the mere act of being on our knees and giving thanks to God for our trials and life circumstances will change us. This would require the understanding that these trials are tailored to my personal spiritual growth and to help me increase in faith. He recommended that I read a book called Spiritual Lightening by M. Catherine Thomas (great book!)

I learned a lot from this book but it was hard to internalize it all. Here are a few of the ideas that stuck out most to me:

In most cases, the actual details of the elements of our lives matter less than what we choose to become in the midst of them.

When we move toward the light, immediately the great plan of redemption is brought about unto us (Daniel 10:2 "Fear not [Alyssa]: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard.")

Resistance to our spiritual natures manifests itself as guilt, despair, resentment, self-pity, fear, depression, feelings of victimization, fear over the scarcity of needed things & other forms of distress (this described me perfectly!!)

It is easy for us to live on the assumption that we have a right to be satisfied by life events and by the people in our lives. But those that we have relationships with were not given to us to satisfy us, nor were many of the most important events of our lives. Our expectations are a function of the futile mind, the telestial, selfish and self-serving mind, not the mind of God.

We have been endowed with the divine power to generate positive energy--mentally, physically and spiritually--by carefully choosing attitudes, actions and words according to the teachings of the scriptures. We can choose to generate positive spiritual energy to which the Spirit of the Lord is attracted, with which He connects and which He magnifies for good.

I could go on and on, but that will do for now. Suffice it to say that this book holds many profound teachings. But as I mentioned earlier, at the point that I was reading this book, I was not yet at a point to fully internalize it or apply it to my life. In fact, just now as I have been reviewing my journal to write this blog I am just starting to realize how the gradual application of what I read has played such a big role in my change of heart.

Anyway, I digress. Meeting with the bishop and reading the book were helpful but didn't really make a significant change for me. I think this may have to do with my own pride and my inability to let go of my perceived suffered injustices, etc. But as we learn from the Book of Mormon, "blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble..." Seeing as how I did not choose to humble myself, the Lord saw fit to compel me a bit.

In the span of a few weeks time, four of the main pillars of my life were turned completely upside down. I felt like my little snow globe life had been turned upside down and shaken vigorously and that I was left in the midst of furious flurries, wondering how the pieces would all settle. I was angry and discouraged. I am a strong person and felt that I could handle maybe one or two major trials...but four at once? How could that be fair? Or possible to overcome?

I felt overwhelmed. It was all I could do to get out of bed and put one foot in front of another. When the fourth, and most unexpected, pillar was overturned I really questioned my ability to recover and ever find happiness in my life. I was so very angry with God. I could not comprehend why He would do this to me. I reached out to friends and family for comfort but despite their wonderful efforts, found little relief.

There comes a time, or maybe at different times in our lives, when we hit rock bottom. My rock bottom came on a Sunday afternoon. I had gone to Liberty Park to try to clear my head a little. I had my ipod and a little notebook with me. I sat myself under a tree and began listening to one of my favorite church cd's--Journey Toward Zion by Jenny Phillips. Although I had heard this music numerous times, on this day the songs spoke to me as if they were written specifically for me and I found myself sobbing uncontrollably. I had so much pain in my heart, so much sadness that it was almost unbearable. On a page in my notebook, in all caps, I scribbled the words, "I CAN'T DO IT ALONE GOD. PLEASE HELP ME!!"

I truly believe that that moment in time was my turning point. I had been compelled to be humble. I released my pride. I turned to my God. I submitted my will to His. I put my trust in Him. And immediately the plan of redemption was brought about unto me. In the following days I somehow began to put into practice the idea of creating positive energy. I came to understand that I really can choose happiness. My life circumstances have not changed. But my attitude has. And taking back my own free agency to choose happiness and optimism is the most liberating thing I have ever felt. The weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders because I turned to God. Interesting to realize that perhaps the weight of my world was my will---the will of my natural man.

Doctrine & Covenants 58:3-6 "Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation. For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand. Remember this, which I tell you before, that you may lay it to heart, and receive that which is to follow. Behold, verily I say unto you, for this cause have I sent you--that you might be obedient, and that your hearts might be prepared to bear testimony of the things which are to come."

We read that scripture in Sunday School the very day I had my breakdown in Liberty Park. It touched me at that time. It inspired me to trust that God did have a design for me which I could not comprehend at that time. I know that there are many parts of that design that have not come about yet, but I am prepared at this point to give testimony of the blessings I have received from that day to now. I am a different person, a better person, a happier person, a kinder person. The Lord has mercifully removed my heart of stone and has given me a heart of flesh. For that I will be eternally grateful. Now it is up to me to continue to do the things that will keep my heart soft and pliable in the hands of my Creator. Thanks for letting me share my journey with you.

I've lost that bloggin' feelin'...

2009-06-28T19:08:00.007-06:00

It has been many a month since I last posted on my blog. And even longer since I made a substantial post on my blog. At this point, who knows if anyone out in cyberspace even bothers to check my blog anymore. Have you ever noticed that we often become that which we most despise? I used to hate going to a friend's blog only to see that they hadn't updated anything in ages. Now I am that person. Shameful, absolutely shameful.

I think the biggest reason that I haven't blogged in a while is that I have been having an affair with Facebook. There, I admitted it. I cheated on Blogger and I think I may even love Facebook more. It's less time intensive, it gives me something in return...almost instant gratification if you will. Status updates, quizzes galore, online chat...what more could I ask for? Blogger has never given me so much power at my finger tips.

But eventually I guess we must return to our roots so here I am. I guess for now I will just throw in a few little tidbits about what's been going on the past several months in hopes that I can slowly get back into the habit of blogging. Where to begin?

Let's head back to March 2009. Probably one of the two most significant things that happened that month was, first, that I attended the open house for the Draper Temple. What a beautiful building! I can't believe how many temples are in the Salt Lake Valley alone! Which, here is the shameless plug...from now until August 1st, there is an open house for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It is free and open to the public. They just ask you to make an online reservation for certain times to help with crowd control. You can make a reservation by clickig here: http://http//www.lds.org/temples/openhouseinfo/0,12357,1921-1-597-0,00.html

Secondly, I went on a trip to El Paso, Texas and it's not-so-beautiful sister city Cd Juarez, Mexico. There were a few of us from work that went on this "fact-finding mission" to explore options for making changes to our outreach clinic held there. Border cities have long been dangerous places, but with the escalating warring between drug cartels, Juarez is now considered "the most dangerous city in the Americas." Fortunately we have not had any problems at our clinics...in fact, I feel as safe going to our clinic now as I did when I started going 7 years ago. However, that does not change the fact that Juarez is EXTREMELY dangerous and anything could happen at any time. Our fact-finding mission was not entirely successful because there only real viable option is to move the clinic across the border to El Paso and our border patrol is not willing to cooperate to make that happen. Anyway, I'm ok with that because the clinic itself runs very well...the only problem with it is it's location. And again, I feel safe in our clinic because it is literally a stone's throw from the border (I could probaby spit into El Paso if I tried).

Now onto April. Heidi, Hurley and I made our spring pilgrimage to visit my family in California. We ended up dejunking my mom's garage yet again (she ended up with a lot of furniture and other items after my Aunt JoAnn died) and organizing her food storage. We also found plenty of time to play. We went to the Santa Monica Pier, LA Farmer's Market, the tattoo shop featured on LA Ink, Universal Studios and enjoyed America's favorite pastime at a Dodger's game.

Me & the fam at Santa Monica Pier

High Voltage Tattoo, aka LA Ink

Me & the fam at Universal Studios

Heidi and I at Dodger Stadium

April also included another trip down to Juarez, this time for clinic. We knew that we had a large amount of patients scheduled and also wanted to screen as many new patients as possible. To make a long story short, the majority of clinic staff (minus the doctors, who never wait for their "dead or wounded") missed the return flight to SLC. So we spent an extra night in El Paso and wearily arrived the next day.

May's main events were the Bear Lake Golf weekend with the "Ladies Plum Golf Association"--some friends from work that I have been golfing with for the last few years. We had absolutely the best weather of any of our trips and just a grand old time. One of my friends, Angela, has a cabin up there so we always plan our itinerary full of our favorite foods, games, movies and a round of golf. I sure love those girls and look forward to our good times together.

Me, Robin, Angela & Kristen

Best dang food at the covered wagon

Memorial Day brought a trip up to Heidi's grandparents' cabin in Kamas. It is so nice to get away and relax. I really hope that one day I will be able to have my own mountain retreat to escape too.

Now to the present month. Besides the unbelievable monsoonal rains that we've had this month, the highlight of June...and every June for the past 5 years is the annual canoe trip with the LCLC (Labyrinth Canyon Ladies Club). Forgive me for being lazy in recounting the happenings of the trip but two of the ladies have already blogged about it so you can read Kim's account for more details. There are some picutres for your viewing pleasure on Facebook because it takes too stinking long to upload them all here. Here is the album

On a final note, I know some of you are missing the quotes from my crazy ward. Well, today was a doozie that shouldn't be left out. An older sister in her 80's spoke in Sacrament Meeting today. She is a super funny and random lady...if you've read the other ward posts, this is dear Sister Dachsund (who sees Jesus when she looks into the eyes of her Dachsund). Anyway, as she's talking she kind of stumbled over some words and then said, "I hope you heard that ok. I'm having a little trouble with my teeth today. Oh well, at least I found them this morning." At the end of the meeting, she and another sister were to sing a duet for the first two verses of the closing hymn, with the congregation joining in for the last two verses. Well, as she started singing, you could see her top teeth fall off her gums & kind of swim around in her mouth until she chomped them back upwards. This happened a couple of times. At the end of the first verse she said, "Just a minute, I need to take my teeth out." and proceeded to spit them into a Kleenex. She then "gummed" her way through the rest of the song. Priceless, simply priceless!

I'm all out of love...

2009-02-27T13:12:00.002-07:00

I'm so lost without you. I know you were right, believing for so long. I'm all out of love, what am I without you. I can't be late to say I was so wrong...

For the 3rd year in a row Analee, Candice, Heidi, Kim and I will be making the pilgrimage to watch two old men relive their glory years...running around on a stage as if it were 20+ years ago. Yes, friends...it is time for the annual Air Supply concert. They're back in Wendover this year and I really couldn't be more excited.

I hope you enjoy the picture I chose to represent what our experience will be tonight. The only thing missing is the short guy in skin-tight leather pants. Which I can guarantee he will be wearing tonight. And I can also guarantee that the tall guy will be dressed as above, a bit hippy or even Austin Powers-esque.

I don't know why going to these concerts bring me so much joy. Perhaps it's the 2 hour drive to Wendover, Air Supply's Greatest Hits blasting, singing along at the top of our lungs. Maybe it's the two oldies strutting their stuff as if time has been standing still for them and them alone. Maybe it's trying to take some pictures on the sly of other concert goers with their fashion faux-pas or bad hair choices. All I know is it is one dang good time.

So say what you will, mock if you choose, but as for and my friends, we'll be enthralled to watch Air Supply "Making love out of nothing at all" yet again!

When RS meets WWE...

2009-01-27T22:10:00.003-07:00

This past Sunday provided me with a very unexpected experience...I never thought that church and wrestling would collide but I was proven wrong. So yes, the title of this blog post is "When RS (Relief Society) meets WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment)..." If you have read previous posts or talked to me about my experiences in my new family ward then you know I am congregating with quite an interesting demographic group. Hence, the need for a quote book to jot down my weekly experiences and I've now learned, quite possibly the need for a referee. I'll try to do the story justice so here goes:

Things started brewing during the Sunday School lesson. "Sister Feminist", as we will call her, was commenting quite frequently...mainly comments to bash on her husband or men in general. Including her reasoning that "Joseph Smith didn't get the gold plates at first because he wasn't yet married and needed WOMAN POWER." Hmmm... Things heated up when the teacher incorrectly called Joseph Smith's family indignant (unworthy) instead of indigent (referring to their economic struggles.) Sister Feminist felt that it was extremely unjust to call his family indignant but calmed herself down in a fairly short time.

The random somewhat inappropriate comments continued into the Relief Society lesson. The teacher shared a personal experience about being 14 and her family not having a lot of money. She said it was hard for her to go to church at that time because she was the youngest of the group and the smartest and had to wear hand-me-down clothes that didn't quite fit right. The other youth did not treat her well. Sister Feminist piped up and said "Why didn't you just go to another ward?" Teacher: "I was 14, I didn't really have a choice." SF: "You should have just switched wards...mumble, mumble mumble."

Teacher continues on to say that at that point she decided to pray morning and night and read the scriptures more. She finished by saying that because of doing those things she came out of high school much better than most of the people had treated her poorly. Sister Feminist came unglued at this point:

SF: "What do you mean you were better than them? You should never say that you are better than someone else!"

Teacher: "What I said was that I came out of the experience better because of my decisions."

SF: *raising her voice* "Well, that is a horrible attitude to say that you are better than someone else. And you should never have been ashamed for being smarter than those kids. That is a gift from God. But to say you are better than them..."

Teacher: *starting to get flustered, raisng her voice* "Ma'am...what I am saying..."

SF: *almost coming out of her chair, raising voice again* "Ma'am?! MA'AM?! YOU KNOW THAT MY NAME IS LOUISE!! IT'S LOUISE!! MA'AM?!?!?!?!"

--Granted, I think calling her ma'am probably wasn't the best response...perhaps "Sister" or using her name or whatever. But still, SF was waaaayyyy overreacting at this point. People are trying to shush SF to no avail. The Relief Society President (who, by the way, has been very sick and was barely able to drag herself to the meeting) decides to intervene.

RSP: "Louise, let's just calm down. I don't think Teacher was meaning that in the way..."

SF: *interrupting RSP mid-sentence while doing the ghetto girl oh-no-you-didn't head wag (I hope that makes sense)* "OH NO, I HAVE AN AXE TO GRIND AND I WILL GRIND IT HOW AND WHERE I WILL!!"

You could have heard a pin drop....we all sat there with our mouths agape. RSP ran out of the room crying. Teacher turned her back to the class to write on the chalkboard and try to move on with the lesson while SF continued to rant and rave incoherently. A counselor in the presidency says "Louise, why don't we step into the hall for a minute?" SF/Louise: "I'm not going anywhere...mumble, mumble, mumble." More shushing from the rest of of the sisters trying to get her to quit talking.

She continued to mumble and grumble under her breath for a few minutes before exaggeratedly getting up, grabbing her coat and stomping out of the room. It was a very awkward and uncomfortable scene for all of us. I honestly wondered if SF was going to come back with some weapon and go postal on us! The poor RSP eventually came back to the room but then broke down again at the end of the lesson while trying to wrap up the meeting.

Anyway, that's the long and short of it. I hope my "transcript" provided you with somewhat of an idea as to what went on but in reality I think you had to be there to truly grasp the words and insinuations and feelings associated with it all.

At the end of the day Heidi and I felt so bad about the whole thing that we decided to take some cookies to RSP and Teacher. Come to find out from RSP, this is not the first "smack-down" to happen in the ward and likely won't be the last. According to her "We cycle through this every few months and we were about due for a smack-down." WOW!! Guess that gives me something to look forward to. I wonder if I could supplement my social work income by tapping into the WWE's business plan and trying to sell tickets or put it on pay-per-view. Hmmm...better look into it. Sunday's only a few days away! ;)

Wintry adventures

2009-01-18T18:19:00.003-07:00

I've been wanting to try snowshoeing for many years and on Saturday I was able to fulfill that wish. Heidi's coworker and her husband were nice enough to lend us some snowshoes and take us out on the trail. We were also accompanied by their dog Paws and little Hurley (who did quite well holding his own might I add.)

We loaded up the Subaru (c'mon in SLC, what else would it be?) and headed up Millcreek Canyon. My only other visit to this canyon was for a friend's wedding (gorgeous!) a couple of years ago so I was excited to actually have a chance to enjoy some of the beautiful scenery.

Anyway, I won't bore you with every little detail of our journey, but here are the important facts:

1) Snowshoeing is quite fun and it's nice to finally find a winter activity that I can enjoy.
2) I'm out of shape and snowshoeing kicked my butt a little bit...no shocker here.
3) My asthma doesn't do well in the cold...I was super close to giving up and dying on the side of the trail but I'm glad I didn't.
4) this experience reconfrimed the fact that Hurley has no idea how small he is...he thought he could do everything that Paws the 60-70 lb golden lab was doing.
5) I love the mountains of Utah !!
6) I hate the inversion/pollution that blankets the Salt Lake Valley.
7) I want to snowshoe again and perhaps by my own snowshoes eventually.

Inversion over the valley

These poles saved me numerous times!

Me, Heidi and Hurley

At the overlook

Sidestepping the creek didn't go so well...

A new year, a new twin?

2009-01-04T13:05:00.009-07:00

Well, first off...Happy 2009! I'm hoping it will be a much better year overall. It is certainly off to an interesting start though. Our church switched to 9 a.m. which is actually a good thing. As Heidi and I were walking to the chapel in the freezing cold I started laughing because we totally looked like sister missionaries in our black skirts and dark jackets. That got us to laughing about how everyone either thinks we are the same person, that we are sisters, or better yet twins. And today we got more confirmation of that. Anyway, first off here our our missionary pictures:

So we get to church so we can print off the programs and greet our lovely ward members. As we enter the chapel, we realize someone has left some pamphlets where the programs normally are. Thinking, of course, that this is something church-related, I pick one up and am very surprised to see the following:

WHAT?! Very random. Good for you if you choose to be a vegan. And I am all for animal rights...although I do enjoy some lovely pork or chicken or beef as well. I guess the major issue here is that leaving these kind of pamphlets in the chapel is completely inappropriate.

Ok, now back to the twin confusion. Even though we have been doing our calling for 2+ months, we have never been set apart. So two members of the bishopric set us apart after the meeting. I go first and give them my full name, Alyssa Lyn Wilson, no problem. Then Heidi goes and gives her full name, Heidi Jean Merryweather. As the counselor is about to start speaking he says, "Oh wait, did you say Heidi Jean Merryweather?!" We're pretty sure that he was about to set her apart as Heidi Jean Wilson. Cuz, you know...we're sisters, twins even!

Just when we though it couldn't get any better, along comes Relief Society. As it is the beginning of the year we are given ward directories and a photo directory of the RS sisters. Last time this photo directory went around somehow Heidi's picture wasn't even in there. Mine was there with my name. Well, here's what everyone has their hands on now (this is 100% true):

Yep, that's a picture of me...with Heidi's name under it!! We were crying we were laughing so hard. HILARIOUS!! I guess the only drawback is that now even more people will be confused about who we are. This is why we have decided to give in and just say yes the next time we are asked if we are sisters. It's not worth the explanation any more!

The gingerbread house that wasn't...

2008-12-23T22:20:00.005-07:00

We don't have a ton of long-standing traditions at Christmas time. And I'm certainly not a crafty person by any means. But as we were browsing the aisles at Target the other day, this little gingerbread house kit almost jumped off the shelf...taunting us with the utter and complete ease of having a festively decorated house of our own. Note the green bubble: "everything included! pre-made icing, E-Z build tray and lots of candy."

I know what you're thinking...where could this go wrong? Well, let's just say by the time we got everything unloaded out of the package we realized (just a little too late) that our two roof shingles were broken into multiple pieces. Did that deter us? Heck no! I figured with the super strong pre-made icing I could just patch the shingles back together and they'd be good as new except for a few cracks.

This was all true up until the time of actually trying to attach the shingles onto the rest of the structure. It didn't take long to see it was never going to work...unless the look we were going for was a post-earthquake gingerbread house. I say hey, work with what you have...and after all, this IS Southern California so it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility. Here's a view of the disaster from the front (note the remaining pieces of shingle debris to the right side):

And the overhead side view with the support wall collapsing as well:

What the heck is this guy so happy about? Doesn't he see his house is in shambles?

So much for trying to start a new Christmas tradition. Megan and I were so disappointed we didn't even open the packages of candy to attempt to decorate our disaster zone. Maybe next year we'll get a kit with everything intact. Or maybe we'll just come up with some other holiday activity with a better success rate!

Thoughts on and from the ward...

2008-11-10T21:43:00.005-07:00

Tonight I got together with some friends from my singles ward. Amongst the food and conversation we reminisced about "the good ol' days" (none of us still attend the ward). We even busted out the year end DVD from a couple of years ago and basically laughed ourselves silly. It was good to be with some old friends and it was really good for me to remember the experiences I had in the Roosevelt Ward. Even though I found that it was time for me to move on from there, I will be eternally grateful for the great leaders, friends, lessons, activities etc that formed a HUGE part of my life. It will forever be the best singles ward I had the opportunity to be a part of and it was good to remember/feel that again.

Moving on... As mentioned in my last blog, my new ward is quite interesting. Heidi and I decided that a quote book is a must for our experiences there. Yesterday in church I was reading some of the stuff from past weeks and decided it was time to post some of the quotes on here. I realize that some of them might be "you just had to be there" quotes but I'll post them nonetheless. Disclaimer: names have been changed to protect the innocent.

October 12th, 2008--Fast Sunday

-As we stand to be read in as new members of the ward, a man enters the chapel yelling and throwing a fit. We stood for a very long time. Can you say awkward?

-The therapy dog is the first one to the pulpit.

October 25th, 2008--Primary Program

-We find out that we are now officially considered of High Priest age. There is a fireside for High Priests and their wives...plus all single women over the age of 31.

-During the Primary program Brother "Lucky" (he looks like a leprechaun) gets up and starts taking pictures of the children while they are performing.

-Our Relief Society teacher, Sister "Smiley", is on some sort of an upper. Or multiple uppers.

-A man from Jamaica says something to Heidi but she didn't know he was talking to her. I thought he said to her, "I like your bra." Later he said it again, "I like your brown." We think he meant her brown bag?

-When passing out hymn books, a woman says, "Sorry, I can only see out of one eye, okay? Thanks for sharing."

November 2nd, 2008--The Callings

-Heidi and I are called into the bishop's office-together-and are called to be Sacrament Meeting greeters-together. We thought moving to a family ward would have gotten us away from made-up callings. We are asked to coordinate reverence measures for our ward.

-When the counselor in the bishopric findso ut that our condo faces his street he confesses that he has always liked "snoopy" kind of things and that if he lived in a tall building he would have binoculars so he could see what everyone is doing. A) creepy! and B) why would you divulge that to new ward members?

-The therapy dog yelps during the sacrament prayer.

-Sister "Tina-look-alike" bears her testimony and says she doesn't know who to vote for as president. She says, "I wish God or Jesus was here because I only want to vote for them."

-Sister "Dachsund" bears her testimony about finding her teeth-the good ones for the top-inside her couch.

-The therapy dog is napping on his bath mat (yes, I said bath mat) but almost loses his life because his owner has also fallen asleep and drops a binder smack onto the mat.

November 9th, 2008--Greetings to all

-We begin our calling and hand out programs and our reverence flyer. I fail at keeping the reverence as the first lady I try to greet is so deaf that I finally end up practically yelling "How are you today sister?"

-A man who sounds exactly like Chewbacca from Star Wars randomly breaks out into scary noises and yells all during the meeting.

-Sister "Therapy Dog" stands up to give the opening prayer and nearly has a heart attack when they lower the pulpit for her. She screams and jumps back from the microphone.

-We are sustained for the 2nd week in a row as the ward greeters. What exactly does this mean?

-When talking about the signs of the 2nd Coming, Sister Dachsund wonders if the "moon turning to blood" may have aready been fulfilled because man has walked on the moon and those men had earthly blood in their veins. Very loose interpretation to say the least.

Oh yes, my friends. Good times are had by all at the Ninth Ward. So please feel free to join us any Sunday from 1-4 p.m. on the corner of 5th South and 3rd East. Or at the very least, stay tuned for more updates from the quote book!

P.S. FOR SOME REASON THE FORMATTING ON THIS POST WOULDN'T CARRY OVER SO I'M SORRY IT'S ALL SHOVED TOGETHER WITH NO SPACES. I TRIED!

A new ward = new challenges

2008-09-22T16:24:00.003-06:00

So way back when I took a poll because it was time for me to change wards. Congratulations to those who voted for the family ward because that is where I have decided to go for the time being. Given that I live downtown, I was somewhat prepared for this to be an interesting experience. However, as I learned yesterday, this is going to be one heck of a ride. When we talked to the bishop he gave us this info on what is found in the boundaries of our ward (I call this "informed consent"):

2 women's shelters

A halfway house for schizophrenics

Transitional housing for the recenly homeless

Housing for people with AIDS

2 towers of fixed income living (mainly geriatrics)

400 members with a 50% turnover each year (200 in, 200 out)

A core group of 40-some-odd folks who keep the ward afloat.

Needless to say, we are in for quite a change from the relative stability of the singles ward. But based on the above, I would argue that they could use a couple of gals with some leadership ability...and a social worker to boot. This is going to be a big adjustment for me but I am hoping that I will be able to find ways to serve that maybe I haven't experienced before. I am a little worried about my own growth in gospel knowledge/understanding but I guess that means I'll need to focus more on my personal efforts in that area.

I am excited for this new opportunity in many ways. I was also a bit scared/taken aback by a few things yesterday. Is it bad to laugh out loud at some of the stuff that happened? Heidi and I will be starting a book of quotes that we hear and I'm sure I'll post some of them here. Your sampler from yesterday, as given by an elderly woman in a flowery dress:

"Sometimes when I look into the eyes of my Dachsund, I see the eyes of Jesus."

SAY WHAT?!?! Stay tuned for more adventures in the Liberty 9th Ward.

Moochie's

2008-09-15T11:27:00.004-06:00

Every couple of months or so I get together with my "married with children" friends Maree and April for a girls' night out. We usually pair some sort of activity with dinner at a random SLC place. Last time we went to the driving range to hit some golf balls and went to Mama's Southern Plantation followed by a quick stop at Sawadee Thai for some yummy desserts.

This past week we were going to take the canoe out for a spin and have a picnic up at Silver Lake. The weather didn't look too cooperative so we opted for some good times at Bonwood Bowl and dinner at Moochie's Meatballs. I have driven by there a million times but had never gone in. It's an Italian-ish place that also boasts a mean Philly cheesesteak sandwich. They also sell pottery inside. Kind of a random place but fun at the same time. We ordered 3 different dishes and 3 different desserts so we could try a variety.

Moochie's--232 E 800 S

Apparently Moochie's is quite popular at lunch time. They are only open past 3:30 from Thu-Sat so don't show up on an off night. Perhaps the best part of the whole experience involved the swamp cooler...yes, the swamp cooler. We placed our order and decided to eat outside. When we asked if they would bring our food out or how we would know to come get it, the girl said "Listen for your name through the swamp cooler." WHAT?!?!

We made our way out to the picnic tables and I decided to go try to set up my camera on my car to get a picture in front of Moochie's. When suddenly we hear the word "APRIL" booming as if it were a voice from heaven. April looked at me, thinking I had called her name from my position over by the car. And even though we should have been expecting it, it took us a minute to figure out that her name had indeed come from the swamp cooler and our food was ready. You probably had to be there but it was quite hilarious.

"APRIL!!!!"

Moochie's is located in a house type structure. Their overflow seating is another "house" next door. Note the bathroom complete with tub full of plants. :) Again, very random...but that's what I love about finding these little places. So if you know of any random local dining establishments in northern Utah, send suggestions my way. In the meanwhile, you can check out Moochie's for yourself or if you want a preview, check out the show "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" on Food Network sometime in October where Moochie's will be featured.

Interesting bathroom set-up

Labor Day weekend in Escalante

2008-09-14T16:49:00.005-06:00

It's kind of hard to believe that Labor Day was two weeks ago. I wanted to post this earlier but between having a nasty cold and then traveling to Phoenix and California, there hasn't been much time. Anyway, having purchased my new canoe nearly at season's end, I was anxious to get my vessel afloat. Labor Day weekend is prime camping time here in Utah so most every spot was already reserved. After much looking, I located a campsite near a body of water that we could reserve ahead of time...Posey Lake near Escalante.

I had never been to Escalante before but had heard plenty of good things about it. The only major drawback was the distance but after inviting some folks, I soon had enough to fill up the car and head down. Many thanks to Heidi, Hilary, Analee and Jose for joining me on this adventure. And let's not forget Hurley, who experienced his first real camping trip.

We loaded up the car on Friday afternoon and hit the road. Thanks to Mapquest it took us FOREVER to get to Escalante. **Note to self, don't always trust Mapquest.** Once there we still had to drive 15 miles up a gravel/dirt road to get to our campsite. After a wrong turn at a fork in the road and some impressive map reading skills by Jose we finally arrived at our camp a little before midnight and set up our home away from home.

Saturday morning we headed out to drive the scenic loop over Hell's Backbone with a stop at an overlook. It was indeed quite scenic. We then made a stop at Anasazi State Park and let's just say it's a good thing we only had to pay 2 bucks to get in. I was certainly underwhelmed. We then proceeded to the trail head for Upper Calf Creek Falls. Hurley did a pretty great job hiking over the slickrock and I think would have done much better if not for the heat.

Greeting us at the end of our journey was the waterfall and several pools of water. We jumped in to refresh ourselves and about froze to death. Jose showed us his best impression of an Acapulcan cliff diver and we also enjoyed a small natural waterslide. The sky around us began to darken and we could see a storm was rolling in.

We were able to hike back out before the rain hit but by the time we got into Escalante it had been raining at a steady clip. We stopped at the small town grocery store to get some cold medicine for Hilary as well as some needed camping snacks...oh yeah, and a toothbrush for me seeing as how I had forgotten to pack mine! My favorite thing about the store was the sign at the checkout that said something along the lines of "Please bring money when you shop. We will no longer be writing down your groceries."

We started making our way the 15 miles up the canyon to get back to our campsite and began to see the signs of flash flooding that is very common in Southern Utah. Water was pouring over the mountains in waterfalls here and there and rushing alongside the road in some places. There were also large rocks that had washed into spots in the road and some places that were extremely muddy. It was a bit nerve-wracking at points but thanks to the 4WD of my beloved Passport we were able to mush on through. I have to admit I really enjoyed digging in the mud...it had been a long time.

I had seen the weather forecast before leaving and knew it was supposed to rain and be a bit colder so fortunately we were somewhat prepared. I don't think we realized just how cold it would be though. It continued to rain all through Saturday night and most of Sunday. So we either huddled in our tents or under the small tarp I bought last minute that we rigged up over our cooking area. **Note to self, next time get a bigger tarp.** Poor Hurley was so cold that he was shaking so at one point I actually bungee corded my sweatshirt on him. **Note to self, bring warm clothes for the dog too.**

When we got a break in the rain on Sunday, we took the canoe out on the lake for a while. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it would seem Hurley did too. Sadly, for some reason none of us could figure out how to get into the kayak that Hilary had borrowed from her friend. **Note to self, try out kayak before you haul it over 500 miles roundtrip only to not be able to use it.** We then started up a campfire for a quintessential camping meal of roasted hot dogs and s'mores. We also played a game, whose name I can't remember, but consisted of "would you rather" situations and was both hilarious and disgusting at the same times. Example: Would you rather eat 1 cup of toe jam or a bowl full of hair pulled from the drain?

Sunday night was quite cold and rained some more. I wouldn't have been surprised to have woken up to snow but we were fortunate. The weather finally cleared up Monday morning but was still cold. By this time I think most of us were done with the wet and the cold so we loaded up and started back to SLC. Thanks to a tip from the campground host we were able to cut out about an hour and a half of the drive, which made things much more tolerable.

All in all, it was a good weekend adventure and the scenery was beautiful. I wish the weather had been nicer so we could have done more hiking and canoeing but I am most definitely planning to return to the area in the future. Here are some pics from the weekend:

Hell's Backbone

Jose prepping for his cliff dive

Pool above Upper Calf Creek Falls

Deep pot hole

Natural waterslide

Storm rolling in

Bungee cord fashion

Posey Lake

Canoeing it

Circled round the campfire

Hurley and I at the lake

I heart Jack!!

2008-08-25T20:29:00.001-06:00

A week ago today I went to the Jack Johnson concert with my coworker and friend, Kristen. We had really great seats--the first row just beyond the mosh pit. Although Jack really isn't the kind of music you would normally mosh to. Guess somebody should have told "crazy dancer guy" that...he was either drunk or high or maybe both. He looked like he was doing some weird pow-wow dance pretty much the whole concert. Good times. But nothing could take away the wonderfulness that is Jack. His music is just so relaxing and fun and chill. Oh yeah, did I mention he's hot and he's from Hawaii and he surfs?! Bring it on! Anyway, it was a great concert and I wish every Monday could be a day spent with Jack. Here are some images from the night:

It was waaaayyyy too hot before the sun set.

Jack introducing the band.

Sing to me baby!

So much cooler when the sun went down!

My favorite pic of the night!

Yet another reason why Utahns should stop bringing their small children to concerts--use the $50 for a babysitter so your kid can sleep in a bed not on the ground!

The worst part of every concert--the parking lot traffic jam.

One thing I can say is that Jack is one of the few artists I have seen that sounds as good as or better than the recording! I could have listened to him for many more hours, but alas, every good thing must come to an end. I got to hear all of my favorites, but perhaps the best part was his encore as he came out alone...just a man and his guitar...and sang 6 or 7 more songs for us. So yes, now and forever, I *heart* Jack!

"IF I HAD EYES"

p.s. I tried to upload one of my favorite songs of the night but I think Blogger didn't like the size of it or something cuz it was a no go. Maybe I'll try later.

Costa Rica--PURA VIDA!!

2008-08-10T19:28:00.002-06:00

I'm sad to say that it's already been a week since I left the beautiful land of Costa Rica. I wish I could go back tomorrow. I certainly do plan to return in the future and would seriously consider owning property there at some point. I found it to be a very forward thinking, socially responsible, peaceful, animal loving, friendly, organized, wonderful country and would highly recommend it to any traveler. Anyway, here's a bit of a day-by-day of my adventures there.

FRIDAY JULY 25TH
After a red-eye flight from Denver we arrived into San Jose about 5:30 a.m. Passing through immigration and customs there was a very easy process. We found our man with the CARAVAN sign with no trouble and were soon whisked away to our hotel, the Barcelo San Jose Palacio. We were met by our tour guide Patricia who made every effort to get us into our room earlier than the 3:00 p.m. check-in time. We were very fortunate to only have to wait until about 10:45 given that check-out for other guests wasn't until noon. We wandered around the hotel grounds a bit but then fatigue took over and we passed out on a couch in the lobby area. I'm sure we looked like scraggly vagabonds but we just couldn't help it!

I was pleasantly surprised to find that San Jose is not very humid. It was really overcast and actually quite cool. Apparently its location makes for a very temperate climate, ranging from about 60-80 degrees year round. Yeah, I could definitely handle a place like that! Anyway, we got into our room and did some heavy duty napping and lounging for a while. Our accommodations were fantastic!

We finally roused ourselves in time to go to our Caravan orientation at 6:00 p.m. We did brief introductions of our group--46 in total--and some general overviews of the tour. Our meals at this hotel were provided in a high end buffet area so we headed there and then went out by the pool area to sit and chat for a while. We were too tuckered out to do much else so we watched a little TV back in the room and hit the hay.

SATURDAY JULY 26TH
We all piled onto the bus for our first day of sightseeing. We had a brand new black Mercedes Benz bus...very nice...and one heck of a driver, Luis. We drove through some of the cities of the central plateau en route to Poas Volcano...a dormant volcano with a large crater with a lake. We visited Costa Rica in the rainy season so I should have paid attention to that little nudge I felt to pack my real rain jacket instead of just my emergency poncho. Oops!

We arrived at the visitors center in pouring rain and crazy wind. It was actually quite cold as we were almost at 9,000 feet. I donned my emergency poncho and started hiking up to the overlook area. It was a disappoinment as the whole crater was covered by clouds and we couldn't see a blessed thing. My emergency poncho held up quite well under the circumstances. We decided to take the loop trail back to the visitors center (which thing I will never do again)...I finally realized this was the "death hike" I overheard some girl talking about in the bathroom. At least it was pretty scenery, right?

We left and hit the road again, stopping at a little restaurant for lunch. The food was quite good...the typical Costa Rican meal is called "casado" which means "marriage" and consists of rice and black beans with either chicken, beef or fish accompanied by some sort of salad and fried sweet plantains. It is amazing and I was in heaven most of our trip. I'm actually surprised that I didn't gain any weight as I am not used to having 3 solid meals a day. I also ate more beef on this trip than I have probably in the past 6 months or more. But the food was just so dang good!

The restaurant was situated overlooking the central plateau and afforded wonderful views of the hills and valleys. I just wish it hadn't been so overcast. We finished off the day returning back to San Jose and visiting the National Museum. Quite interesting. We took some time to relax once we got back to the hotel and then Heidi and I took off to play racquetball. Yes, I said racquetball!! What luck is it that our hotel had 3 racquetball courts? I could hardly believe my eyes. It was fun to play...a perfect end to the day. We took a quick dip in the pool, which was actually quite cold and then tried to warm up a bit in the sauna. We finished with dinner and went to bed as we had an early departure the next day.

SUNDAY JULY 27TH
Today we departed San Jose to begin our way to the Caribbean coast. We drove through Braulio Carrillo National Park (although seriously, the whole country could just be one huge national park...it's that pretty!) We made a stop at a supposed top-rated tourist attraction--the aerial tram through the jungle canopy. It was nice but definitely overrated.

We started out on a walk through the forest with our guide. As luck would have it, the three of us who HATE snakes are the ones who ran into a nasty brown one on the side of the trail. The guide later confirmed it was a poisonous snake. Perfect! I spent the rest of the walk on edge with my eyes darting every which way hoping to not see any more yucky creepy crawlies.

We then spent about an hour and a half on the aerial tram part. It is a two-cable tram where your gondola glides through the upper level of the rain forest and you return via the other cable to see the lower level. It was very peaceful and beautiful. Perhaps a bit too peaceful though as I kept dozing off! The only wildlife we saw was some birds. I did purchase a ring and a Costa Rica patch from the gift shop though so the visit was worthwhile. Hehehe.

We continued on towards the Atlatnic coast and stopped for a wonderful lunch at a place that had a butterfly garden in the back. Costa Rica has many beautiful butterflies but if you have never seen a Blue Morpho you are missing out! Back on the bus and we eventually made it to Cano Blanco where we boarded a motorboat for a 1 & 1/2 hour ride through the rivers and canals of Tortuguero National Park. You can only get to this area via boat or plane as there are no roads. Tortuguero is sandwiched between the river/canals and the ocean.

It was really awesome to boat through the rainforest...so gorgeous! It reminded me of the Amazon on a smaller scale. We arrived at the Laguna Lodge and had a wonderful passion fruit welcome drink. The lodge consists of a number of small buildings that are divided into simple cabin type rooms. When we arrived at our room we found our triple accommodations consisted of two twin beds pushed together. Yeah right!! We went back to the reception area and were soon provided with third bed and linens.

It was definitely more warm and humid in this part of the country. We decided to take a dip in the swimming pool, hoping that no rainforest creatures had made their way into the pool to join us. The main meat at dinner was fish so Heidi and I were out of luck. Randomly there was some shredded turkey meat on the salad bar and they were also serving mashed potatoes so we had our own mini Thanksgiving meal. There really wasn't much else to do as it got dark pretty early and we didn't have a TV so we called it a night.

MONDAY JULY 28TH
We were finally greeted by our first full sunny day! And what a day to have the weather cooperate. We took a morning cruise through the park's canals and saw iguanas, various birds, a troop of howler monkeys and caymans (similar to a crocodile but smaller.) After the cruise we went to the Caribbean Conservation & Sea Turtle Research Station to watch a short video about the nesting of the sea turtles. This was also known as Alyssa's nap time--I couldn't help it--put me under a fan and turn out the lights and I'm a goner. Yet another sign of old age! We then walked along the beach for about 10 minutes until we arrived at the town of Tortuguero where I had about the best tasting ice cream of my life. It was so hot there in the midday sun but I actually wish we would have had more time there to explore and shop.

Instead we had to head back to the lodge for lunch and then we attempted to takea very hot sticky uncomfortable nap. It reminded me of being on my mission and trying to sleep when there was no electricity to run my fan! Then it was time for our afternoon boat tour. We had such an excellent guide and driver and were able to see more birds, including toucans, spiders, spider monkeys (one with a baby on its back) and a cayman that came too close for comfort!

We had signed up for the night tour to watch the sea turtles nest on the beach. There were two groups--an early and late--to be determined by drawing. As luck had it, we got the late shift from 10 to midnight so we had dinner and tried to take another quick nap. We met up with our group of 9, which included the Baltimore crew from our two and an unknown couple. The organization of this tour was impressive. The conservation society divides the beach into sectors and send out two scouts on the beach who then radio back to the guides when it is time for us to come out. Apparently the turtles are very sensitive to disruptions until they actually start laying the eggs...then natural instinct kicks in and they literally can't stop the process until it is complete. We were not allowed to take cameras or any lights onto the beach. Only the guides and scouts can use red night lights so as to not disturb the turtles.

We awaited our turn and let me tell you, it was pitch dark on that beach. I thought I was going to stumble to my death a number of times. Our first time around we didn't see the turtle lay any eggs but we did see her use her huge flippers to send sand flying to cover up her nest. We had to rotate with other groups every couple of minutes so that everyone could have a chance. We were then able to follow one of the turtles on her journey back toward the water. We were this horseshoe of people walking behind her as she made her way back. It was one of the most moving and amazing things I have seen. We were able to see another turtle nesting and in our rotations got to watch as these perfect white eggs dropped into the whole she had dug. What an experience! As we waited for our boat to come back and pick us up it started to pour down rain. I was grateful we were transported back in a covered boat.

TUESDAY JULY 29TH
It seriously poured rain all throughthe night. I expected to wake up and have to swim to breakfast! We got back on the boat for the 1 1/2 hour journey back to Cano Blanco. At one point the water was so shallow that our boat got stuck and we were asked to move to the front of the boat to off-set the weight. The guide was pushing with stick while the driver gunned the engine but eventually our guide actually had to get out of the boat and push it from behind. It was pretty hilarious! We loaded back on the bus and along the way stopped to see the workings of a Del Monte banana factory. Quite the process I must say...and I will not take the beautiful bananas in the store for granted any more. We made another quick stop at a rain forest lodge and were able to walk about across a 300 foot suspension bridge. Kind of cool. We spent a lot of time driving today...our destination being La Fortuna near the active volcano Arenal.

We first got a glimpse of the volcano from a distance. It was so cool looking. Little did I know how close to it we would be staying! The town of Fortuna is quite a cute little town. I wouldn't mind living there if it wasn't so humid. As we drove up to our hotel, Lomas del Volcan, I could hardly believe our good fortune. We were right next to the volcano...and we each had our own little cabin with a view of the volcano off our back porch. If you go to Fortuna I would highly recommend staying here. They also had free internet access...non-existent at other hotels we stayed at. We unloaded and checked in and quickly piled back on to the bus to drive around the backside of the volcano where it is the most active. We were able to see some lava flow and a mini explosion from the top. UNBELIEVABLE! I really love this place!

WEDNESDAY JULY 30TH
Today we decided to stay back from the offered tour (another jungle cruise recommended for bird lovers). It was kind of nice to sleep in a bit and have a leisurely breakfast. Against my better judgment and fear of heights I agreed to attempt a zip line tour through the forest. We ended up with about 10 or 11 others from our group that went with us. We got suited up and my blood pressure was rising. The nice thing about this zip line is that they have a little training line for you to start out on. Leave it to me to be the special ed student that had to repeat the line twice. Somehow my hand slipped out of the brake glove the first time around...oops! Ok, so the zip line was actually really fun! I loved it and was not scared of heights at all. It was breathtaking to zip through the trees on the side of the volcano and look out at the valley below. And then we came to the Tarzan Swing. Um yeah, the only reason I didn't back out of this was that I didn't want to be the only chicken in our group who skipped it. I was soooo scared. They basically attach your harness to cable and rope hanging from a very high tree, open the gate and you step off a platform that is at least 30 feet up and then swing like a pendulum Tarzan style until they start slapping your legs at the bottom to slow you down. You can see my video here. I screamed on the first drop and felt my heart leap out of my body. Needless to say, I will never be doing that again but I am glad I didn't chicken out.

We were transported back to the hotel and had lunch. We then decided to hop a taxi into town with some other folks to do some shopping. Again, I really liked the town of Fortuna...I mean, c'mon, they actually have a Burger King! :) I was able to find a few cool souvenirs including a long tribal mask that you'll just have to come see at my house to appreciate. We then met up with the rest of our tour group who had gone on the boat tour and proceeded to the next adventure...volcanic hot springs. I was hoping it would be much more rustic but it was actually like this huge resort. They had different pools with different temperatures of geothermally heated water. The hottest we got into was about 118 degrees. Yikes! The most comfortable temp was around 93 degrees. This pool also had 3 waterslides (which they called waterfalls). We got some peer pressure from a kid in our group to go down, which I mistakenly did and got a huge wedgie on impact. We later witnessed some older lady knock herself unconscious going down. Needless to say we didn't brave it again.

We went back to the lodge and attempted a quick swim in the pool (as we were already in swimsuits) but the water was pretty cold. We had a great dinner (amazing spaghetti for me!) and then I wanted to take advantage of the free internet. Because there were only 2 computers I had to wait for a while. In the meanwhile this insane thunderstorm rolled. I have never felt, yes-felt, lightning like I did then. We were right in the middle of it all because this massive lightning would zap through the air and was almost immediately followed by absolutely deafening thunder. It was quite scary. And it didn't let up. It went on for hours. I thought I was going to be struck dead running back to my cabin from the reception lobby.

THURSDAY JULY 31ST
I was really sad to leave our fabulous hotel and Fortuna today. I'm sure I'll be back some other time. Today we spent a lot of time on the road as we made our way to the Pacific coast. We drove through a lot of windy curvy roads which left me with a bad headache and upset stomach due to motion sickness. We stopped in a cloud forest area and my first order of business was to buy a Coke to try to help my stomach. It was the best tasting Coke in the world...so different than ours here. Anyway, we then hiked with our naturalist guide and I really enjoyed the experience. We were given bamboo poles for a hiking stick and I wish I could have taken mine with me. Then back on the road with a stop at a "cloud forest" restaurant. They also had the best souvenir shop in all of Costa Rica and I did my part to sustain the economy by purchasing nearly the whole store!

After a very long day on the bus we finally arrived at our posh hotel, the Doubletree Punarenas. We had the all-inclusive package which certainly made the drinkers on our tour happy but we were pretty pleased to get as many virgin pina coladas as we could down! Our room was nice and had the strongest air conditioning unit I've ever experienced. We watched TV for a little while and then wandered about the resort grounds checking things out. I didn't really like the dinner buffet but I guess you shouldn't complain about free food, right? We attempted going to the night show put on by the resort but found it to be even more ridiculous than a cruise ship show so we soon ditched out on that. Candice went off on her own with some of the tour folks and we opted to spend some time relaxing.

FRIDAY AUGUST 1ST
We again opted out of the offered tour today partly because of the 6:30 a.m. departure but more because it involved a 2 1/2 to 3 hour bus ride (one way) to then hike 45 minutes (one way) to a beach before reversing the process to get back. It seemed like a lot of commitment with little return. Besides, who can resist a day in the sun at a posh resort? We had a nice breakfast and then decided to take advantage of the included non-motorized water sports. We took out some sea kayaks with the Durgin brothers from Pennsylvania. Getting the kayaks out over the waves near shore was a feat and we got a little beat up. It was nice to be out in the ocean though. After a while we decided to head back in and Heidi and I would have had an awesome ride on a wave had Candice and her Durgin not decided to ride in backwards, crash into us and just about kill everyone. I was bashed in by paddles, kayaks and some human bodies at various points while also being dragged underwater. Not fun! We all came out with bruises and cuts as proof.

We then checked out some boogie boards...the waves were really strong and I was getting frustrated because I was having a hard time catching a wave. Then on two separate occasions I thought I was near drowning so I took a breather on the beach before heading back in. My luck was better the second time around and I caught some awesome waves. Somehow, don't ask me how, a wave actually pulled off my over shirt at one point. Had my arm not been attached to the boogie board strap I would have lost my shirt. Then at another point a wave pulled my shorts off too. The ocean was not playing my friends! We all climbed out very waterlogged and made our way to the snack bar for lunch. Taking advantage of the beautiful day we spent another few hours in one of the pools. I don't know that I've spent that much time in water any one day! We enjoyed virgin pina coladas and strawberry daquiris from the swim up bar. Does life get any better?

We were lucky to have only gotten a little bit sunburned based on the amount of time we spent in the sun. We probably should have reapplied sunscreen more frequently but all in all it wasn't too bad. We went back and showered and relaxed for a bit. As dinner hadn't been too good the night before Heidi and I headed out to the snack bar before it closed as it was a safer bet. We spent some time wandering around the resort again and tried to give the night show another shot with only marginally better results so we had to ditch out again. As there really wasn't much else to do (I didn't really want to head to the discoteca for dancing) we headed back to the room for a movie before bed.

SATURDAY AUGUST 2ND
We had to make our way back to San Jose today. En route we stopped in Sarchi, the artesans' town to see where they make traditional ox carts. More souvenir shopping was on the docket and I got to put my Spanish to good use helping the Durgin family buy a beautiful wood table and chairs. I will definitely furnish my house with items frm that furniture store...a family run business with beautiful pieces! Once back in San Jose we visited a coffee plantation. Although I am not a coffee drinker, it was interesting to learn more about the process...again, not something to be taken for granted. We took a group picture there as it was our last stop on the tour. Once at our hotel we had to say goodbye to our wonderful bus driver Luis. He did an amazing job of keeping us safe, taking care of our luggage and taking extra good care of us.
We dropped off our goods in the hotel and Heidi and I walked a few blocks to a grocery store to buy some candy and food items to take back to family and friends. It was a funny adventure that required two trips to try and spend the rest of our colones! We then got ready for our "fancy" farewell dinner on the top floor of the hotel. Sadly it was the worst meal I had the whole trip. We had some toasts and played a trick on our favorite oldy, C. Wayne from Texas. Then it was time for goodbyes and a few hours of sleep before we had to leave for the airport at 4:00 a.m.

CONCLUSION
Costa Rica is wonderful. I couldn't have asked for a better experience or a better tour guide. I was sad to leave but I know that I will go back someday. If you have never experienced group travel, give it a thought. You can pack a lot in for much better prices and great accommodations. Plus, group travel is like taking a little slice of America and sticking it on a bus for a week or more. A pretty interesting social experiment if you ask me! If you're interested in touring Costa Rica, drop me a line and I can answer any questions and also give you more info on our great experience with Caravan. I had issues trying to get my slideshow to post directly onto my blog so you'll have to click here to see the pics:

http://www.slide.com/r/vYNXOQxC6T_3nBPddQG-Vyj_TGZqnap1?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

Don't call cuz I won't answer...

2008-07-24T14:37:00.003-06:00

If anyone is looking for me in the next 10 days or so I may be at any of the beautiful places pictured here or any other number of exotic locations. I have wanted to go to Costa Rica for a long time so I am very excited to finally fulfill this travel wish. I'll come back with some beautiful pictures of my own and good stories to go along with them. Until August, my friends!

The Dark Knight

2008-07-24T14:27:00.003-06:00

I decided that I really didn't want to leave for my trip before seeing the new Batman movie. I'm glad that I had the day off and that our plane doesn't leave until tonight. This morning Heidi and I headed down to the IMAX theater at Jordan Commons...we had heard it was the way to go for this movie.

This movie is amazing!! If you haven't seen it yet, get out of your bat cave and get to the theater! Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker is soooo disturbingly brilliant! I've been a Heath Ledger fan since the good ol' "10 Things I Hate About You" days but this truly is his capstone performance. It's a tragedy that we have lost his talent. I would whole-heartedly endorse an Oscar nomination and win for him.

And of course, who doesn't love Christian Bale? By far the best Batman in my book. Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox) is great, as is Michael Caine (Alfred) and Gary Oldman (Lt. Gordon) but he was great too. Maggie Gyllenhaal is not my favorite but definitely a big improvement over Katie Holmes.

I loved Batman Begins and I dare say the Dark Knight is even better. So a definite 2 thumbs up and 4 stars from me. I'm really glad I saw it before leaving!

River Rat part 2

2008-07-07T00:30:00.001-06:00

I almost spent one third of the month of June living on the Green River...and LOVED it!! I've been home from my last adventure for almost a week so I figured I'd better get something posted before life carries me elsewhere.

From June 26-30th I had the privilege of participating in the Un-limb-ited Amputee Whitewater Rafting Camp. We took 10 teenage amputees from 4 different states on the Lodore Canyon stretch of the Green River. We had 8 counselors on the Shriners side as well as 7 staff from the National Ability Center. I had never been on a multi-day whitewater trip before but let me tell you...it was awesome!

We put a lot of preparation into the camp and it came off pretty much without a hitch. As the resident social worker, my main job was to run the nightly group discussion around the campfire. I was in cahoots with our resident rec therapist of the trip, Andrea, and I have to say we pretty much kicked butt!! We did a Native American (NA) theme for the trip and tied the daily crafts/activities into the nightly topic for group discussion.

After a very long bus ride to the remote put in location in Moffat County, CO we loaded up the boats and took off. The first day was pretty chill...all flat water but we still managed to get wet with some massive water fights (a pervasive theme throughout the trip!) We got to camp and got set up and then had the campers make our tribe flag incorporating NA symbols and other things they wanted to use. I was pretty impressed with their flag and thought the tribe name was hilarious. They named us "Those Who Use the Groover." Click here if you don't know what a groover is. Anyway, our first night's discussion centered around group guidelines as well as personal goals. Everyone was given a medicine bag and introduced to the idea of earning a different bead each day as they worked towards their goals.

Day 2 was good. We had a few little rapids but still mostly flat water. It didn't take us all too long to get to our next camp. This camp had a nice long wide beach but it was hot out so we threw up a shade canopy and some umbrellas to chill. I was able to wash my hair and take a river bath...go Camp Suds! It was luxurious. Once the sun went behind the canyon wall we started our dream catcher activity. Let's just say there's a reason I don't often do crafts. It took me like 500 hours to do mine and I couldn't even follow the real pattern for the weaving. Oh well, at least I finished it! That night at group we talked about hopes and dreams and everyone was able to share what their dreamcatchers represent about them. It was an awesome group discussion and I was impressed with how people were able to express themselves through the craft. Maybe there is something to this rec therapy stuff after all!

Day 3 started our big rapids. We hit Upper and Lower Disaster Falls kind of without knowing it. Then unfortunately one of the NAC river guides totally sliced his finger down to the bone so we had to make a stop for our camp nurses to bandage him up. It was really bad! Then we hit our biggest rapid of the trip (Hell's Half Mile). It was awesome!

Our campsite that night was near some reported mountain lion sightings so we were on high alert. The river guide had to be taken further down river to be evacuated by a ranger because of his finger injury. The day's craft was tribal masks...painted/decorated on the outside to represent how others see us or their perceptions and the inside to represent how we see ourselves or our true selves. This was a big hit with everyone that participated. The group discussion was about fears and limitations (those others put upon us and those we put upon ourselves.) Everyone shared the tribal mask they had made and again, I was so impressed with the expression and openness and honesty.

Then during a lull in the discussion one of the counselors yelled "There's a SKUNK!" and a little creature scurried through the campfire. Well, pandemonium ensued and it was hysterical!! I had heard word of a prank happening that night so I didn't freak out. Instead I got to sit back and watch everybody else's reactions. It was probably the funniest thing I had seen in a long, long time. I was laughing so hard I was crying and couldn't catch my breath. People screamed and ran away...or for the kids that couldn't get up fast enough...rolled away! I later learned that Angie (the camp nurse) actually pushed one of the more fragile campers out of the way in her hurry to escape. HI--LA--RI--OUS!!!!

After the group was composed again, we finished up the night sharing the story of the great explorer John Wesley Powell...himself an amputee. It is an inspiring story of perserverance in the face of challenge after challenge. The kids really related and dug it. I think it was our best group discussion of the trip.

Day 4 was fun...most of the Shriners counselors ended up in the same boat so it was fun to get to know my coworkers better. We hit the confluence with the Yampa River and saw chances in the geology as well as water flow. This was the hottest day of our trip but also fun because we ran into more rapids...not as wild but longer and just fun overall. Unfortunately our boat missed the campsite for the night and long story short we all had to go to a different campsite a bit further downstream.

There was little shade there and LOTS of mosquitoes (we had been plagued a few other nights as well) so things were kind of miserable all around. The craft of the day was hemp necklaces incorporating the beads everyone had earned each day...to represent the cumulative experience and achieved goals of the trip. We had a super late dinner followed by group without a campfire. Everyone was able to share what the experience meant to them. Each camper and then counselor was able to cut a piece of the flag to take with them which was kind of cool. Overall I think we exceeded expectations for the crafts and the group discussion. We got good feedback.

Day 5 was fun...lots of rapids one right after another. We had a bit of a scare flying over this huge rock, which almost flipped the boat. Then we got stuck in this wicked eddy right behind the rock and it was crazy trying to get out. We had to high side twice to avoid flipping but it was pretty cool.

I was sad and glad to see the trip end. It was such a great experience for so many reasons. Some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen, wicked rapids, big horn sheep butting heads, neverending stars, yummy dutch oven food, new and/or strengthened friendships, LOTS of laughs, and some of the most amazing and inspiring teens I have ever met. What a blessing...and to think I got paid for it. I hope I am lucky enough to be involved again next year. In the meanwhile, enjoy a few pics from the scrapbook:

Amputee Camp

2008-07-06T23:45:00.002-06:00

River Rat part 1

2008-06-24T22:54:00.002-06:00

Well, it's been a while since I've posted on here...not because I've lacked things to share, but rather I've lacked the time to share them. This has been a busy month and next month is even worse. So before I head out on my next adventure I thought I'd better at least try to post on one of my more recent adventures.

As has become the tradition every June, the Labyrinth Canyon Ladies Club hit the high waters of the Green River from June 12th-14th. We decided to add an extra day to our trip this year so we could actually take some time to enjoy the trip a bit more. It was a luxury to set up camp during daylight and not have to hurriedly cook our meal and jump in bed. Not to mention actually getting to hike and explore other parts of the canyon. Perhaps the best thing was that we didn't have to kill ourselves paddling full-speed at any point. I guess we should give some credit to the high water from the spring run-off as well.

Anyway, we had the small 4 person crew of Kim, Analee, Heidi and myself again this year. We had a blast and really the only big disappointment is that we didn't get to swim as much as we would have liked. The water was FREEZING!! Thanks again to the snow melt. Other than that the biggest tragedy was me getting stuck along the banks of the river in the thick quicksand mud. I honestly almost had to sacrifice my Chaco to the river the first night because I was up to my knees and had to submerge both my arms to first get my foot loose and second pull my Chaco out. DISGUSTING!

I love doing this trip every year. There is something amazing about the simplicity of floating along the river with the canyon walls towering above us. It is also wonderful to spend time with good friends and celebrate the forging of our relationship on this same trip back in 2005. I'm grateful that Kim and Analee, both newly married, were willing to leave the husbands to fend for themselves for a few days while we enjoyed our bonding time with nature.

The day after tomorrow I am off to the Green again...this time to the northern portion (Lodore Canyon) for a whitewater amputee camp with my work. I'm sure I'll have stories to share afterwards. In the meantime, please enjoy these pictures from our canoe trip:

LCLC trip 2008

2008-06-24T22:54:00.001-06:00

LOST party!

2008-05-30T13:43:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was a day for two big events--Heidi's birthday and the season finale of LOST. We decided to celebrate them together so we had a LOST bbq and then watched the finale. Everyone was assigned to dress up as a different character and it was pretty awesome. I know, I know...we're LOST geeks, what can I say? And thanks to those who aren't LOST fans but still played along. Besides, every adult needs a good excuse to dress up in costume more than just on Halloween! So here are some pics from last night. You'll see the real character on followed by the person in costume :

BENJAMIN LINUS

CLAIRE LITTLETON

HUGO "HURLEY" REYES

DR. JACK SHEPARD

KATE AUSTEN

JOHN LOCKE

JAMES "SAWYER" FORD

SAYID JARRAH

SUN KWON (AND BABY JI YEON)

THE REAL LOST CAST

OUR LOST CAST (SORRY WE'RE NOT IN THE SAME ORDER AS THE REAL PIC)

Pelican Lake

2008-05-18T19:51:00.001-06:00

You may be asking yourself, "Where is Pelican Lake?" Well, after having been there I don't know that I can answer that much better except to say that it is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. In this case, the middle of nowhere turns out to be 20 some odd miles from Vernal and Roosevelt. This weekend I made the trek out with Heidi's family for their annual fishing excursion.

Ok, let's set the scene. I have only been "fishing" maybe a handful of times...all of them at or before about age 8. I have a strong memory of a fishing trip I took with my Grandpa and Grandma Wilson when I was 5. I remember my grandpa heading off downstream in his waders. I also remember me screaming and scrambling away up a hill when my grandma actually pulled a fish out of the water. When I was about 8 my Grandpa Bea was visiting me from Florida and took me fishing at some trout farm near Ogden. My strongest memory of that experience was getting the hook stuck in one of my fingers and being too afraid to tell my grandpa because I didn't want to look stupid.

So with that wealth of experience behind me, I purchased my first official fishing license at Wal-Mart and headed out with the fishing pole Heidi had given me as a gift a few months ago. Oh, and lest I forget, my special fishing hat that you will see in the pictures. We got out to Pelican pretty late on Friday night and basically only had time to set up our tent and get settled a bit before heading to bed. Hurley had an interesting night as it was his first camping experience and I don't think he was a big fan of the whole tent idea.

In the morning we loaded up the boat (complete with Hurley in his life vest) and headed out. We spent about 4 hours or so out on the lake but it didn't seem like that long. I really enjoyed being out on the water in the boat and I must admit I actually liked the act of fishing. I say the act, because I certainly have no desire to touch the fish--or have them touch me for that matter. Nor do I have any desire to eat said fish. In fact, I was actually quite traumatized to see that I could be the cause of an animal dying so I was very happy to practice the catch and release method. I know, I'm a total wuss!

Not very far into the morning I heard a snap and watched as the top part of my fishing pole broke off. I'm not sure what exactly happened but I think it may have had something to do with it being a telescopic pole. Or maybe that I have no idea what I'm doing?! Fortunately there were some extra poles so I was able to continue fishing. Shortly after that problem I reeled in my first catch of the day. I was quite pleased that I actually caught something as I feared I would be the only one to come up empty handed.

The rest of the morning was spent alternating between dragging in lake reeds and catching a few fish here and there. I cast out and thought I had hit a big snag of reeds so I kept pulling and pulling trying to get my hook and lure free when lo and behold we discovered that I was actually reeling in a fish. And a big one at that!! Call it beginner's luck, but I had the biggest catch of the morning! Heidi was really encouraging me to take some "trophy" shots with it, but as previously mentioned I do NOT like touching fish. The solution was to double glove with some surgical gloves and try to smile for the camera while secretly freaking out about holding the fish. But I was happy to let my little friend "Billy" (as named by Heidi's soon-to-be sister-in-law) back into his watery habitat.

Hurley had his first chance to try "swimming" in his life jacket. He really looked cute doing his best doggie paddle next to the boat. We dunked him a couple of other times to try to keep him cool. Pelican Lake is freaking HOT!! As in--located in a desert complete with lizards and scorpions--hot.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the campsite trying to find shade (a rare commodity in the area) and packing up while the afternoon fishing group headed out on the lake. It was soooooo hot and I was very happy when the time came for us to load up and head home. It was a long trip there and back for a few short hours of fishing, but enjoyable nonetheless. And before I forget, I really do have to thank Heidi for being patient with my fish issues and helping me free all of my catches from the hook so they could be released. Here is a slide show with some pictures for your enjoyment:

Thanks Uncle Sam!!

2008-05-15T09:08:00.004-06:00

There are varying opinions on whether George W's economic stimulus package was the right thing to do or whether it will actually help boost our economy. All I know is that yesterday I got $600 buckaroos deposited to my bank account by good ol' Uncle Sam and I, for one, ain't gonna complain. COSTA RICA HERE I COME!!!!

The last few weeks

2008-05-12T09:13:00.002-06:00

I recognize I have been absent from posting for a while. In an attempt to excuse myself, and also catch you up on the happenings in my life, I've decided to give a brief synopsis of the recent events that have kept me so busy.

Wed 4/23: Time to head down to El Paso for the Juarez clinic. I dragged my coworker (and friend) Kristen with me so we could attend a Juanes concert. For all of you who don't know Juanes let me just say that he is a super hot Columbian rocker. We had a great time at the concert although I can guarantee you that I was the only full white person there (Kristen is 1/2 Guatemalan.) Doesn't matter though, this "gringa" rocked it out with the best of them.

Thu 4/24: We held our wheelchair clinic in the truck bay of the fire station. It was a miracle as all 11 scheduled patients showed up. We kept busy with them and were able to see 3 additional patients before heading back across the border. I also did a TV interview with local media. Did the usual pre-clinic preps in El Paso and Kristen and I braved the super cold pool at the hotel...quickly opting for the lukewarm hot tub instead!

Fri 4/25: Juarez clinic in full force. This is the biggest clinic we've had in the 5+ years I have been working there. It ran surprisingly well though. We accepted 35 new patients (a record #) and saw 177 patients on the Shriners side (also a record!) In addition to that, we probably screened another 75-100 potential patients that were not accepted. This is the hardest part of the clinic. For the first time at clinic I was really sick! And trust me, the fire station in Juarez is not where you want to be sick. I actually had to go lay down in the van for a while but finally perked up by early afternoon. Just in time to do a live radio interview via telephone! Yes, I am a celebrity of sorts in good ol' Mexico. :)

Sat 4/26: After getting back late the previous night I then had to get up and head over to the SL temple to attend the sealing of Patti, a Chilean friend of mine from the BYU days. It had been a while since I had seen her but she looked very beautiful. Unfortunately, after this I had to head up and put in a few hours of post-clinic work at the hospital.

Mon 4/28: Analee and Jose had a housewarming/ birthday/graduation party at their new place up by the Capitol. It was good times and I really love how they decorated their place. I'm pretty sure Jose is studying the wrong thing...he should be an interior decorator!

Thu 5/1: Is it really May 1st if it is snowing and your first golf game of the season gets cancelled? I am so sick of the crazy Utah weather. On a brighter note, we were able to attend graduation at the U for Analee (and Jessie). Welcome to the world of underpaid social workers my friends! We capped off the night with dessert at the Freaky Dee's on 21st and 7th. Always a good time!

Fri 5/2: I got together with my friends Maree and April for a late celebration of April's birthday. I think she likes to make holidays stretch out for as long as possible! Anyway, we headed out to the driving range to hit a bucket of balls. I think there was more talking than hitting but we had a good time. Afterwards we went to dinner at Mama's Southern Plantation (on W Temple near the Franklin Covey Ballpark). The food was good, but again we were the only white people there. Oh well, we wanted to try something new. I wish I had pictures but they are on Maree's camera. We then hit Sawadee Thai restaurant on S Temple for sticky rice and mango and fried banana desserts. It doesn't get much better than that!

Sat 5/3: Ok, now I really had the first golf game of the season. Candice, Heidi and I headed up to the course at the U and it was a perfect day for golf. Not too hot, not too cold and not too busy. Man am I out of practice! I need to get out there more often. We had fun though. After that I had some errands to run, including a visit to the REI annual sale but lo and behold REI closes at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Who ever heard of such a stupid closing time on what is likely their busiest day?! Lame!!

Sun 5/4: Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles randomly decides to come to our ward. He spends Sacrament Meeting with us and shares his testimony at the end. Awesome spirit!! I was able to shake his hand. Another monumental occasion--I taught my last Sunday School lesson (and was very grateful that Elder Scott didn't stick around for that!) I have learned a lot in this calling over the last 18 months but I am grateful for a break and a new opportunity to serve elsewhere in the future.

Mon 5/5: Feliz 5 de Mayo!! We celebrated with a yummy potluck at Jose and Analee's place, complete with a showing of "Three Amigos"--what a classic!

Tue 5/6: Fed up with gas prices and hoping to force myself into some exercise, I took the bus to work. It's actually a snap except for the fact that I have to be at the bus stop by 7:15 (some days I'm not even awake by then) and it takes 3 times as long as just driving. But I actually enjoyed it. I had a change of clothes and walked home after work. 3 miles seems like 30 when you are walking instead of driving. :)

5/7 Wed: I'm a public transit user again, along with the guy at my stop who has a full-on conversation with himself every morning. Walking home doesn't seem quite as bad this time and I actually enjoy walking through the Avenues looking at all of the cool old houses. I make it home in the exact same amount of time so I guess I now know what my exact slow pace is! Maybe it will get faster if I keep doing it.

Thu 5/8: The HOA has arranged for everyone to have their radiant heating/cooling, thermostats and washer water connections checked. The guys come to my place this morning and spend 3 hours working on my stuff. I am not crazy...I truly have had NO control over the temperature in my unit since I moved in. I now have a new thermostat that works for heating AND cooling (what a novel idea). My radiant tubing stuff is halfway fixed but my "manifold" (say what?) is completely shot and the part used is so old it is not even manufactured any more. The guys will now have to custom make it in their shop and come back to finish the job. I didn't have the heart to tell them that the washer connections, which they didn't have time to even look at, leak like crazy! Guess we should plan on at least another 3 hour visit the next time. Maybe I should make cookies?

I went into work for a few hours and then it was time to head to the airport for another work trip. This time to Phoenix, and as usual, I ditched the rest of the group to go back to the hotel. I swam in the nice pool and had it all to myself. The hot tub was excellent. Relaxed in my room to watch Grey's and LOST. Aaaaahhhh!

Fri 5/9: Phoenix clinic is always a good time. Half of my kid from Mexico don't show up and I'm not sure why. I need to talk to the social worker down there when I get back. The awesome P & O people order in pizza for lunch. This is a most welcome relief from the box lunches the Shriners usually provide us...complete with a sandwich that tastes like it's been wrapped up in a mildewy dishrag. There was a nice, new, pretty cute resident with us. I keep my hopes up until clinic is over and I hear him call his wife to say that he will be home on time. WHY DON'T MARRIED MEN WEAR WEDDING RINGS?! One of my pet peeves...oh well.

I fly from Phoenix to Burbank and spend 1/2 an hour freezing on the curb waiting to be picked up. My mom's Chilean nurse lady doesn't see well at night and got on the wrong freeway to come to the airport. Somehow my sister helps her figure out where to go. We have a white-knuckled drive home and I make my mom promise that she will never send Tina alone again!

Sat 5/10--present: Nice to be home with the fam in Cali. We have had a mostly relaxing weekend with a few errands here and there. I was glad to be able to spend Mother's Day with my mom and tell her how much I love her. I am also very glad to have a comp day (from clinic) and stay an extra day today.

So that's the wrap-up on what I've been doing. Maybe now you'll forgive me for not posting sooner. I wish I had more pictures to share but some places I didn't have my camera and other places the pics ended up on someone else's camera. Here are a few from El Paso though:

My coworker Kristen looking oh-so-lovely on the plane!

My hotty Juanes--you can listen to one of his songs on my playlist.

Our "wheelchair shop" in the fire station truck bay.

One of my favorite Juarez families (check out the lady in the background trying to be in the picture!)

Where you at, yo?!?

2008-04-19T19:59:00.000-06:00

I saw this on another blog and thought it might be a fun way to pinpoint (literally) where all my faithful readers are checking in from. Please feel free to upload a picture and lock in your location. I'm counting on Morgan and Chanda to make me look oh-so-cool by adding their exotic location (no pressure!) And for all of you non-exotic readers, don't worry...I still think you're cool! Take a look at the map below:

Please sign here!

2008-04-19T19:57:00.001-06:00

To playlist or not to playlist...

2008-04-19T19:12:00.003-06:00

I am considering adding some music to my blog. Before doing so, I wanted to take an informal poll. Do you prefer blogs that have music that you can listen to while you are reading or do you find the musical blogs a hassle? Help me decide whether I should beef up my blog with some tunes...

Spring has sprung?

2008-04-13T22:29:00.007-06:00

Only in Utah would that statement have to have a question mark behind it rather than a period or exclamation point. If you have never lived in Utah then you are not lucky enough to know that springtime is a weather rollercoaster...you can go from snow to 70's within a few days. And during a very special year you can even get snow in the city as late as May or June. With the snow pack averaging well above 100% of normal this year, I would ask you to refrain from talking to me about global warming. :)

Anyway, enough of that. The point of this blog is to actually celebrate the arrival of spring. At what says spring better than baseball? So this weekend, thanks to an offer from good ol' Larry H. Miller himself, some of the girls and I enjoyed a Salt Lake Bees baseball game for a very nominal ticket price. It was a grand old time and the Bees actually won the game which is always a bonus. I was so stuck in winter mode that I forgot the sunscreen and ended up a bit rosy but ,MAN!, did that sun ever feel good. Here are a few pics from the game (courtesy of Natalie's camera):

Candice, Heidi and Katrina

Me and Hilary

Heidi, Katrina and Natalie

The whole gang

Effects of sun exposure after a long winter?

Good times in the land of Disney!

2008-04-06T16:28:00.001-06:00

I thought I would post a few pictures from our recent trip...most from Disneyland. Sorry it's taken me a while to get these on here. Enjoy!

Road trip baby!

Happiest place on earth!

Kickin' it in the teacup!

Cinderella's castle made Heidi almost giddy!

Peter Pan wasn't as exciting as I remembered. Great nap though!

It's called Splash Mountain for a reason!

I don't recommend sitting in the very front!

It's a Bug's Life in 3-D at California Adventure...

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Against my better judgment, I went on the Tower of Terror ride at California Adventure. Heidi and I had totally freaked ourselves out before we even got on. Only Megan was smart enough to stay on the ground. Anyway, we screamed our fool heads off and here is the proof. Notice how calm and collected everyone else looks...smiling, laughing, having a grand old time. Then look at our close up. Heidi looks like she is fearing for her life (side note--she was still screaming after the ride had stopped.) I didn't have anything to hold on to so I had the death grip around Heidi's arm. I'm pretty sure I must be yelling at her and blaming her for making me go on the ride!

This picture was too funny not to purchase!

Not our bravest moment by any means!

Spring break baby!!

2008-03-24T09:36:00.004-06:00

I'll just preface this by saying that perhaps the best part of this post is knowing that on any other Monday, I would be sitting at work right now. Ahhhh...life is good! I guess technically I don't qualify as getting a spring break any more. I've been out of school for going on 6 years now but the great thing is that my roommate and partner in crime (and/or travel) is a teacher so we plan trips around her different breaks. And therefore I am able to enjoy spring break again.

This year we decided to head down to beautiful sunny Southern California. We opted to road trip it and bring Hurley the wonder pooch along (I think my mom would have probably disowned me if I showed up without him.) Anyway, we've been enjoying great weather so far and things are about to get into full swing as we will be seeing Wicked tomorrow night and then spending a couple of days at Disneyland. Of course somewhere in there we'll hope to get to the beach even though the water won't be very warm. At least we can feel the sand on our toes.

More to come later on our adventures. In the meantime, have a lovely spring break everyone. What's that you say? You don't get a spring break? Hahahaha...SUCKERS!!! :) Just kidding...but I had to gloat just a little!

Another anniversary...

2008-03-16T23:39:00.002-06:00

Today is the 11 year anniversary of the death of my father. It seems hard to believe that he has been gone so long. Sadly, with each passing year my memories fade a little more. What I wouldn't give to be able to hear his voice clearly, to laugh at his goofy sense of humor, to spend time getting to know him now that I am an adult. My dad has been gone for about 1/3 of my life and the majority of my adult years. My relationship with him was not perfect, but I do miss him and I look forward to the opportunity that I will have to someday get to know him for who he truly is.

Roger B. Wilson
December 26, 1944-March 16, 1997

I drove to Payson today to leave flowers at his grave as well as those of other Wilson relatives. Being in the cemetery makes you reflect on all of the people in your life, not just the ones who have passed. Life is too short and too unpredictable to get carried up in grudges and misunderstanings. Life is too short to not forgive one another and to not let people know that you love them and take an interest in them.

That really hit home again tonight when a friend of mine came over to tell me that a close friend of ours had just lost her younger brother. My heart is filled with sorrow for her family and I can only pray that the Holy Spirit will comfort and sustain them in this hard time.

I'll keep this short because it is late and has been an emotional day. I just want to end by saying that if you are reading this, you are probably a part of my life and I want you to know that whether we talk every day or our communications are few and far between--I am grateful for you, you have touched my life and continue to in ways you may not know. I love you and wish you nothing but the best. Just thought you should know...

Your input requested...

2008-03-10T00:26:00.002-06:00

Ok, friends. I am at a crossroads in my life. I am past the age that I should be to remain in my current singles ward. The leaders have kindly overlooked my age and have not kicked me out so far. But...you know when you get that feeling that it's just time to move on? Well, I'm just about there. The Roosevelt Ward has been good to me. In many ways it is the best ward I have been in, but it just doesn't "fit" any more. My dilemma is to now decide where I should go. As I see it I have three options with their own pros and cons:

I can choose to go to the older singles ward in hopes of still having some semblance of a social life. Then again, I have heard some horror stories about these older wards.
I can choose to go the the regular family ward in my area and give up nearly all hopes of a social life. Then again, maybe there are people I need to serve or from whom I can learn.
I can choose to go to a Spanish branch somewhere in the valley...again hoping for a social life and hoping to serve and learn.

I don't like change, but sometimes it is necessary. And I haven't been able to shake the feeling in terms of this current situation. Of course I plan to check each place out to see what feels most right, but I thought the input of trusted friends and family would be helpful as well. So please take time to make your vote known (it'll be good practice for November!)

Dominican Republic Santiago Mission

2008-03-09T23:48:00.002-06:00

So this past week I hit the 9 year mark of finishing my mission in the DR. It's hard to believe that so much time has gone by but in some ways it feels like that experience happened in another lifetime. Anyway, what with the anniversary and all, I have been a bit nostalgic about the time I spent serving in the DR and wanted to share some brief thoughts as well as some pictures.

I was really excited when I got my mission call for a few reasons: 1) I wasn't going anywhere in Asia (which had been a big worry of mine); 2) I was excited to get to learn Spanish...and perhaps most importantly; 3) When I opened my call I just knew it was where I was supposed to go (even though I had never even heard of the country.)

I actually had a very hard time adjusting to living in the DR. I was blessed to pick up the language pretty quickly but couldn't help feeling as if I were trapped in a Spanish soap opera. My first 10 months on the island were spent with native companions and when all was said and done I only ended up with 2 American companions. It was often hard for me then but I am so grateful when I look back on it now.

I'm not sure exactly when I made it through my acculturation process, but by the end of my mission I considered myself more Dominican than American. I dreaded the thought of having to leave behind a people, a culture and a country I had come to love. I would often say (and sometimes still do), "Soy gringa de aprariencia pero dominicana de corazon," which loosely translated is "I may look like gringa but I'm a Dominican at heart."

As I reflect on my life, many of the biggest blessings I enjoy now are directly related to having served a mission in that place at that time. Many qualities I gained, friends I have and even my current job would not have been possible if it weren't for my time spent in the DR. Serving a mission is easily one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have been fortunate enough to go back and visit the DR 4 times over the years and someday hope to maybe even have a vacation home or condo there. I will be eternally grateful for the 16 months I spent there as a missionary and invite you to join me on a trip down memory lane:

Yet more to learn...

2008-03-02T00:03:00.001-07:00

I never knew I could find out so much about myself by taking little tests on the internet! I'm sure they're all completely accurate as well. Interestingly, the way this one describes me makes me think of #88 on my list of "100 things..." I wish I could figure out how to be more light hearted, confident and well-adjusted as I have been in the past. Is this merely a natural consequence of getting deeper into the stresses of adulthood or do I have hope of becoming a more carefree spirit again? Comments or suggestions anyone?

What Alyssa Means

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.
You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.
You have the classic "Type A" personality.

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.
You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily.
Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in.
You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising.
You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong.
You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know.
You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

LOST

2008-03-01T11:17:00.005-07:00

Usually I try to steer clear of the newest fads in TV when they first come out. Eventually some shows break me down and I have to play catch up when they are in a second or third season. Two of my favorites have a J.J. Abrams connection....Alias and LOST. Can we just talk about how kick butt cool Jennifer Garner was in Alias? What a totally awesome show the first oh, about 2 1/2 to 3 seasons. I think Alias made a departure too early and that resulted in the last two seasons being kind of silly and hokey as they tried to tie up loose story lines.

I am currently engrossed in the return of LOST but I am hoping it doesn't meet the same fate as Alias seeing as how they announced that it will run for a few more shortened seasons. So far this season is really great...which was a nice surprise given the fact that I wasn't too happy with last season's finale. Anyway, it's been fun gathering with friends on Thursday nights to watch the latest twists, turns, flashbacks and flash forwards unfold.

p.s. Did I mention that Jack Shepard(a.k.a. Matthew Fox) is totally hot? :)

p.p.s. For a little fun, find out which character you are. I hope I don't ever become bald!

Which Lost Character Are You?

More on Lost. Created by BuddyTV

100 things you always (or perhaps never) wanted to know about Alyssa

2008-02-24T23:36:00.001-07:00

So what could be easier than just doing a little free association and writing down a hundred random things about myself. Here goes:

1. I was born 9 months and 5 days after my parents got married (can you say honeymoon baby?)
2. I used to label my socks by side and number (ex. R1 and L1) so the foot pattern would always wear the same.
3. I'm a reality TV junkie (yes, I'll admit it) and would love to be on the Amazing Race.
4. I got a parasite on my mission (to the Dominican Republic) and named him Charlie.
5. I skipped a grade in elementary school...only did the first half of 2nd grade and the second half of 3rd grade.
6. Because of #5 I do not know how to write in cursive.
7. I am horrible at small talk.
8. Even though my mom does not believe me, I am ADHD.
9. I was an only child until age 11.
10. My Grandma Wilson lived around the corner from me and was my best friend growing up.
11. I worked at the laundry in Yellowstone Park for 3 days...the 3 longest days of my life!
12. I seriously think I am addicted to chocolate.
13. I love to play racquetball.
14. My dream job would be to have a show on the Travel Channel (you know, like a much less annoying and much funnier Samantha Brown) and get paid to experience new places and cultures.
15. My first overseas trip was to Taiwan at age 15 where I toured the country for 10 days playing violin with a performing group.
16. I love to go on canoe or rafting trips.
17. One of my favorite places in the whole world is Waterton Lakes National Park near Cardston, Alberta.
18. I am 37.5% Canadian give or take.
19. I am afraid of little babies...I'm quite sure I will break them.
20. I wish I were more self-motivated.
21. I hate change.
22. I studied German for 5 years and then got called on a Spanish-speaking mission. Go figure!
23. If I could be a Latin singer, I would be salsa queen Celia Cruz (azucar!)
24. If I could be an English singer, I would be Norah Jones.
25. I'd love to wear flip flops, shorts and a t-shirt year-round.
26. I have a BA in Psychology and Sociology (double major).
27. I have a Master's degree in Social Work.
28. My dad died in a house fire in 1997.
29. I would love to devote more time to photography and have fancy cameras and equipment.
30. I have been snorkeling twice but scared out of my mind both times because I don't want the fish to touch me.
31. I don't want to eat fish or any sea creatures/items either.
32. I hate running just to run.
33. I have ridden an elephant in Thailand.
34. I have been to 3 of the New 7 Wonders of the World (Machu Picchu, Chichen Itza, Taj Majal).
35. I helped build 2 houses in Posoltega, Nicaragua.
36. I am afraid I will die young of a terminal illness.
37. Because of #36, I am afraid of doctors but recently went to one for the first time in many years.
38. As of today, I have NOT been diagnosed with a terminal illness. :)
39. I love buying shoes and have way too many for my own good.
40. I have a red miniature poodle named Hurley.
41. I have done numerous radio, print and television interviews in Mexico. Soy famosa!
42. I am a pack rat and have a sentimental attachment to many silly things I should just toss.
43. I love Dr. Pepper!
44. If my dishwasher is not loaded the way I like it, I will unload it and reload according to my likes.
45. I inherited #44 from my mom.
46. I had a bulimic college roommate that would purge while listening to church music. Go figure!
47. Another college roommate from that same year is a member of the Surly Girlies roller derby team in Arizona. Go Candy Cannons!
48. I have to plug my nose when I go under water.
49. I'm not very creative when it comes to blogging...either that or my life is too boring.
50. I hate folding clothes and ironing.
51. I wish I didn't snore.
52. I like to listen to NPR.
53. I've been in a singles ward so long I can hardly remember what a family ward is like.
54. I do not like other people's naked feet.
55. Despite #54 I actually like getting pedicures...the mecca of others' naked feet.
56. I wish I had more patience.
57. When I was little I once used my mom's toothbrush to brush our dog's teeth. She found out about it later from my grandma's neighbor.
58. I am a lot more emotional, sentimental, nostalgic, sappy etc than I let on to.
59. Almost every movie can make me cry (ex. I actually shed tears in "To Wong Foo--Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar."
60. I almost drowned in the ocean while boogeyboarding.
61. I am a worrier.
62. Sometimes I think I have a communication disorder.
63. I have been in a long distance relationship...more than once. Obviously it doesn't work for me.
64. I had a Navajo foster sister when I was in 4th grade.
65. The first night she stayed at our house I fell off the top bunk of our new bunk beds and broke my arm.
66. I am allergic to bee stings and make a fool of myself whenever one comes around.
67. I tend to overanalyze just about everything.
68. Historically, I have not been very good with money but am getting better.
69. Math is not my friend.
70. I love to tease people.
71. Some of my nicknames are or have been: Lys, Lyssy-Lou, Grover, casco de chivo (goat head), Alyassa and some others I can't remember.
72. I am afraid of dying in a plane crash.
73. I hate wearing make-up.
74. I am an impulse buyer and emotional spender.
75. I worked a summer as a camp counselor and went by the name Snow.
76. I love Air Supply and have been to two of their concerts.
77. My first car was a 1984 Honda Accord manual transmission that I bought without knowing how to drive a stick.
78. I am a horrible procrastinator.
79. I used to be an amazing speller before learning Spanish.
80. I sleep smack in the middle of my queen size bed.
81. I would love to be in a play if I were a bit more confident.
82. I am a karaoke addict under the right circumstances.
83. I have a ghetto alter-ego named Laryssa.
84. I get nervous when I have to call someone on the phone.
85. I sing alto in a community production of Handel's Messiah each Christmas.
86. I love the beach and the mountains. I wish I could be close to both at once.
87. I only have 12 cousins total between both sides of my family.
88. I think I have changed a lot and wish I could go back to being more like I used to be.
89. I am afraid of heights.
90. I am deathly afraid of snakes and rats/rodents.
91. You couldn't pay me enough to relive high school.
92. I like to people watch.
93. I wish I hadn't quit playing the violin.
94. I wish I could play the guitar.
95. I love camping and hiking.
96. I wish I were a better cook...or at least had more of a variety in my repertoire.
97. I would like to learn Portuguese.
98. I should be in bed right now instead of doing this. I tend to stay up way later than I should...I'm not as young as I used to be.
99. I don't know my blood type but hope to remedy that soon.
100. I'm a much better dancer in my head than what my body exhibits.

A new addiction?

2008-02-19T01:04:00.002-07:00

This blogthings place has too many quizzes period. I think I am easily entertained. I've probably taken another 20 quizzes but this has been the tops in terms of ringing home with me:

The Part of You That No One Sees

You are balanced, peaceful, and sincere.
You're the type of person who goes along to get along.
And you're definitely afraid of rocking the boat.

Underneath it all, you fear your world falling apart.
You'll put up with a situation that you don't like in fear of changing it.
Disruptive and forceful people intimidate you - and sometimes exploit you.

What's" the Part of You That No One Sees?

Here's another one...

2008-02-19T00:32:00.003-07:00

Ok, this one I agree with a little bit more:

Your Dominant Intelligence is Interpersonal Intelligence

You shine in your ability to relate to and understand others.
Good at seeing others' points of view, you get how people think and feel.
You have an uncanny ability to sense true feelings, intentions, and motivations.
A natural born leader, you are great at teaching and mediating conflict.

You would make a good counselor, salesperson, politician, or business person.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Is this who I really am?

2008-02-19T00:20:00.002-07:00

Thanks to Chanda, I ended up taking this personality test. I'm not entirely sold on my description, although some of it hits close to home. What I'd really like to know is where my inner chef is hiding? Cooking is mentioned twice but it's not something I do regularly nor do I think I'm especially good at. Hmmm...

Regarding the other parts of my personality results, the ones I don't really agree with, I wonder if I am going through a phase or if my overall personality is changing? There are parts of my "old" self that I miss...so I'm hoping they 're not lost or changing but rather just buried for a time. Anyway, on with the results:

You Are An ISFJ

The Nurturer

You have a strong need to belong, and you very loyal.
A good listener, you excel at helping others in practical ways.
In your spare time, you enjoy engaging your senses through art, cooking, and music.
You find it easy to be devoted to one person, who you do special things for.

In love, you express your emotions through actions.
Taking care of someone is how you love them. And you do it well!

At work, you do well in a structured environment. You complete tasks well and on time.
You would make a good interior designer, chef, or child psychologist.

How you see yourself: Competent, dependable, and detail oriented

When other people don't get you, they see you as: Boring, dominant, and stuck in a rut

What's" Your Personality Type?

Our prophet dear...

2008-02-01T23:55:00.000-07:00

PRESIDENT GORDON B. HINCKLEY

1910-2008

Today I waited for three and a half hours for the opportunity to pay my last respects to our beloved prophet. I waited outside for nearly an hour as we were then ushered into the Conference Center to sit and await our turn. While waiting, we were able to watch the 95th birthday celebration for President Hinckley and again reflect on his work, his example, his humor, his love for his wife, the profound effect he had on members and non-members alike and his unwavering devotion to the Savior.

Section by section we were brought across the second level of the Conference Center to then go up to the third floor to the Hall of the Prophets where the viewing was held. As we got closer to the area where President Hinckley lay, the Spirit intensified. It was an honor and a privilege to be able to file past his casket and to see the vessel that housed such an immense giant of a man. I can honestly say that, even in death, he is the most beautiful, kind, gentle soul I have laid eyes upon. It couldn't have been much more than 15 seconds that I was able to see him as we filed through that room but I would have waited double the time for even a glimpse of the man that has been my personal prophet, seer, revelator and leader for almost half my life.

The organization and management of such large numbers of people was just amazing to me. I was deeply impressed by the many, many volunteers who were helping to keep things moving. The lady in front of me kept commenting to these volunteers on what a long day they must have experienced. I was touched by one man's response who said, "It does not matter if this ends at 7 p.m. or 2 a.m. We are happy to be here. President Hinckley is worth it."

I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who were gathered with me to participate in the viewing. In a way, I felt a sense of responsibility to attend, not only for myself, but for my family and friends who would have wished to have gone but live too far away. As I have reflected on President Hinckley's life and mission, there is not much I can say to add to what I have heard said by many others. His influence, love, kindness, genuineness, humor, leadership, dedication and example reached across the world and touched the lives of countless numbers of God's children.

We rejoice in the plan of salvation and the understanding that we have regarding what happens after death. And although we will miss President Hinckley greatly, we rejoice in knowing he has been reunited with his beloved companion Marjorie. We rejoice in knowing he has been welcomed home by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We rejoice in knowing that he will receive a just recompense for his service in building up the Kingdom and in loving and leading us, his brothers and sisters.

God be with you 'til we meet again our dear and beloved prophet. The world is tangibly dimmer without your light, your laugh, your love and your leadership. With grateful hearts we celebrate your life and vow to do our best to follow your counsel to "stand a little taller, rise a little higher, be a little better..."

New Year's Resolutions

2008-01-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

First off, I want to wish each and every one of you a prosperous and joyful 2008. It is hard to believe that another year has come and gone. As with each year, I have experienced many ups and downs but hopefully the end result is that I come out a more refined person.

At the beginnig of each new year, millions upon millions of people make resolutions about things they want to change or do differently in the upcoming year. According to Franklin Covey the top 10 most common New Year's resolutions are as follows:

Get out of debt or save money.
Lose weight.
Develop a healthy habit (e.g., exercise or healthy eating).
Get organized.
Develop a new skill or talent.
Spend more time with family and friends.
Other.
Work less, play more.
Break an unhealthy habit (e.g., smoking, overeating).
Change employment.

Personally, I ususally end up with many of the same resolutions year after year because I am not very successful at achieving them. I will refrain from putting my personal list here because, seriously, do I really want y'all to know what a mess my life is? Hehehehe!! Suffice it to say, I think I could count all of the above-mentioned most common resolutions among things I would like to undertake. With an adjustment to number 10. I don't really want to change my employment but I would like to change my attitude about my employment. Many of the other goals I have for this year will fall under the umbrella of number 7--other. This will be my broad category for spiritual goals and character development goals.

If you are setting resolutions this year, best of luck in your endeavors. I'm hoping to have a little luck with my own. As a parting question, why is it that "it's the thought that counts" when it comes to gift giving, yet in terms of goals "the road to hell is paved with good intentions"? Just a little food for thought...

In loving memory...

2007-12-29T01:35:00.000-07:00

JOANN WISE WILLIAMS

1938-2007

It is with a very heavy heart that I now write about the passing of one of the greatest women I have known. Just a few hours ago my dear Aunt JoAnn left this mortal existence to find the peace and rest that she so deserves. She was in the midst of battling cancer for the third time and had recently started chemotherapy again. This last dose proved to be too much for her as it left her very weak and with very few white blood cells. She was rushed to the ER earlier with breathing problems and eventually her heart stopped and the blood pressure was so low that they could not bring her back.

There is a gaping hole in the hearts of our family members and "Josie" as I lovingly called her will be so greatly missed. Everyone who met her could not help but love her for her genuine character and fun personality. I have so many fond memories of her and both my sister and I were blessed to have a close and special relationship with her.

I am very grateful that I was able to see her twice while I was home for the holidays. On Chrismtas Eve day my mother and I picked her up to help her finish up some last minute gift purchases. I only briefly saw her on Christmas Day as she was not feeling well enough to join us for dinner. Instead, we dropped off some food at her house. Oh how I wish now that we would have stayed and spent some more time with her. But I think there are always things....the "could have", "should have","would have" things that we would change if we had only known how soon those opportunities would be gone.

However on both occasions I was able to tell her I loved her as we parted ways. I hope there was no doubt in her mind how much I love her and esteem her. I certainly never doubted her love and concern for me. I don't know if she heard me in the hospital tonight but I expressed my love to her one more time...and later my anger for leaving us when we still weren't ready to let her go. :)

Grief and loss are unavoidable aspects of this life. But there is no grief and loss if we have not shared and loved. My own grief is bearable but it is so hard to watch my sweet sister and my cousins (my aunt's sons) grieve. My heart also goes out to my other aunt Sue who was in Hawaii with her family as this all unfolded. She will be on a plane in a few hours. But the most unbearable thing is to watch my dear mother grieve. She said to me tonight (paraphrasing), "I don't know what I'm going to do. I've never had a day of my life without my older sister." My mom retired just one week ago and was very much looking forward to spending more time with my Aunt JoAnn.

The next few days and weeks will be hard for our family. But along with all of the grief and loss and sadness also comes peace and comfort. Josie suffered many things throughout her life but she was a classy wonderful woman who loved a good laugh and I will miss her so very very much. I am happy to know that she is no longer held back by her physical problems and that she has been reunited with her parents and loved ones.

There will never be another Josie...I am glad she is mine. I will hold her close to my heart and will look forward to being reunited with her at some future date as well. I am grateful for the Savior and his Atonement that provides us all the opportunity to be restored in the Resurrection and reunited with those we love.

Here's lookin' at you Josie. You're one tough old bird and ain't nobody gonna fill your shoes. Keep on dancing and keep on smiling. We love you and already miss you more than we can stand...

Bahama Mama

2007-12-27T22:10:00.000-07:00

As promised, I am returning with a synopsis of my most recent travel escapades. Most of you probably know that over Thanksgiving I went on a 4 night cruise to the Bahamas with 4 of my friends. It was such a blast and I highly recommend Royal Caribbean for all of your cruising needs. Things couldn't have gone much better for us.

Sunday, November 18th

We flew into the Fort Lauderdale Airport and met up with our ground transportation. It was about a half hour drive to our hotel in downtown Miami. We ended up getting to the hotel sometime around midnight and we were all starving. Kim and Heidi headed across the street to Checkers (a burger stand) across the street while the rest of us dropped off our luggage.

We joined up with the girls and Checkers and soon discovered that perhaps our hotel wasn't in the best part of town. This guy...I swear he was totally high or otherwise wacked out...wouldn't stop talking to us and the overall vibe was not good. We escaped with only two meals and ran back to the "safety" of our hotel room. Guess that's what you get for a $60 deal on Hotwire, eh?

Monday, November 19th

The next morning got off to a much better start. We had some time to burn before heading to the port so this really nice valet or porter or someone pointed us towards a homestyle diner so we could grab some food. I'm sure we looked like total dweeby tourists as we walked the few blocks. Here's a self-portrait with some Miami high rises in the background:

I really enjoyed our diner experience. We had this great waitress that honestly seemed more like a character from a movie than a real-life person. We had awesome cheeseburgers and Candice got hit on by some Coast Guard guy and another guy bought her a piece of cake because he somehow ended up with the burger that was supposed to be hers. In case you are wondering, Candice was definitely the resident hottie on the trip. Anyway, here we are outside the lovely diner.

We made the short taxi ride to the port and found the embarkation process to be very easy. We went to our staterooms to drop off our luggage and tried to explore a bit. However, not too far into our explorations we had to suit up for the muster drill before we could hit the high seas. It was interesting to me that although our rooms were next door to each other, Heidi and I were assigned to a completely different muster station than Candice, Analee and Kim (hereafter referred to as the CAK.) Therefore if the ship were to go down we would not be able to know the whereabouts of our friends...hmmm. Anyway, we weren't too worried as you can tell by this picture of me and Heidi suited up in our oh-so-fashionable-prison jumpsuit-orange life jackets.

Shortly after the muster drill we were on our way and to make a long story short we had an enjoyable first night on the ship. I did have a little bit of sea sickness but nothing too bad. We also got quite a kick out of standing at the front of the ship and having our hair blow sky high. I can't find the picture I wanted to post of that right now so I'll try to remember to do it later.

Tuesday, November 20th

We arrived in our first port of Nassau, New Providence Island in the Bahamas. We had signed up for a "Forts and Pirates" tour which turned out to be much less exciting than we anticipated. We boarded a mini bus and got kind of a narrative tour through the city before stopping at Fort Fincastle. We got a little rowdy so they put us in Bahamian time out:

From there we moved onto Fort Charlotte where we could have chosen to pay yet another $5 to actually tour the fort and take pictures of the harbor. Instead, we took this picture for free outside the fort.

Our next stop was the Pirates of Nassau Museum. I was really looking forward to this because I have always been a bit fascinated by pirates. This museum was touted as the "highlight" of our tour and it sure was something. We were led on a guided tour by a crazy man dressed as a pirate who kept scaring the children on our tour recycling his same lame pirate jokes every 3 minutes or so. Needless to say I was a bit disappointed. I suggest you save your money and take the online tour yourself. The scariest pirates around belonged to this crew pictured on the left.

After the tour we spent some time on the beach. It got pretty windy (I think I still have sand in my left ear) so we headed back to do some shopping. There wasn't really anything exciting souvenir wise and the CAK headed back to the ship while Heidi and I forged on. She ended up with a couple of things and I bought a license plate.

Back on board it was time to get all glammed up for the Captain's Gala or something like that. Basically it was formal night and so we all got fabulous and had a great time posing for the formal portraits, including some rather awkward poses suggested by the photographer...we were laughing hysterically. I must say we all looked very nice and although I was skeptical before the trip, Candice was right...formal night was quite fun!

Wednesday, November 21st

This day's port of call was CocoCay--Royal Caribbean's private island. While the island wasn't all that exciting, it was actually really nice to have a day to just lounge in the sun and not have to do much of anything. The water was a bit colder than I expected but Kim and I had fun with the waterproof digital camera although our underwater self-portraits didn't turn out as well as we hoped:

Thursday, November 22nd--Happy Thanksgiving!

Our third port of call was Key West. It's kind of crazy to think that it is closer to Cuba than it is Miami. I thought about swimming the 90 miles to Havana but I'm just a little too afraid of the open water. But more on my fears later. Our shore excursion in Key West was called "The Big Three" which involved sea kayaking, snorkeling and dolphon watching.

Our first adventure was sea kayaking which I had never done before. It was quite enjoyable but I would like to try it in a one person kayak because I am too chicken of capsizing the kayak. Had that happened it wouldn't have been much of a problem though as it was low tide and many of the areas only had a foot or so of water. Here are Analee and Kim, the kamikaze kayakers:

We then suited up for snorkeling. I had been snorkeling once before in Cancun and for the life of me couldn't figure out why I had signed up to do it again. **Confession--I have an irrational but very powerful fear of being touched by fish or other sea life while in the water.** This makes snorkeling some what challenging, and at times, terrifying. However, I decided to buck up and try to be brave. I only said a bad word in my snorkel once (hehehe) although my heart got pumping a number of times. Overall it was a much better experience than my first time but I was still ever-so-grateful to get back on the boat. Thankfully the waterproof digitals were able to capture footage of my bravery.

On the way back to the ship we were tried to find some dolphins. We wer very lucky to run into a pod of about six of them and we followed them for a good twenty minutes. They were quite playful and just amazing creatures to watch close up. One even jumped out of the water for us. It was pretty cool.

This is our cruise ship, the Majesty of the Seas:

I was sad that it was already the last night of our cruise. We had such a fun time and even the stereotypical things about a cruise were so great. We enjoyed going to the cheesy shows in the theater and making fun of the horrible choreography and singing. The exception was the comedian they had the first night because he was funny and clean! Anyway, we wanted to commemorate the theater in a photo...notice the people behind us...definitely kindred mischevious spirits of ours!

Friday, November 23rd

It felt like the blink of an eye our cruise was over. However, we had scheduled an Everglades tour in Miami so we loaded on the bus and headed out to the Gator Park for our airboat tour and gator show. I really loved riding on the airboat even though our guide was a more annoying and less-funny version of Larry the Cable Guy. The Everglades are impressive and we were actually able to see a couple of alligators in the habitat.

After the airboat tour we moved on to watch alligators being fed and then a show about some of the wildlife in the region, including gators. Perhaps the coolest thing of all was that I got to hold a young alligator in my very own hands. Their skin is very cool to the touch and has quite an interesting texture. It was sooo cool!

I made some new friends at the Gator Park:

After the Everglades tour we went back to downtown Miami and checked into our hotel. We then took some local transportation (Metro mover) to an open air mall along the dock called Bayside. We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe and wandered around for a while before barricading ourselves in the hotel room again. We did not make the mistake of another late night run to Checkers! :)

Saturday, November 24th

The days flew by way too quickly and it was time to head home. We had an early morning flight and had to leave our hotel by 4 a.m. which means we only got a very few hours of sleep. Despite the grumpy tired looks on our faces on that early morning we had a GREAT time on our cruise and I would happily do it all over again. Thanks to Heidi and the CAK for another great set of memories!

I'll be home for Christmas...

2007-12-24T08:44:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that Christmas is tomorrow...seriously, where has this year gone? Regardless, I am happy to be blogging from lovely Simi Valley, CA and happy to be home for Christmas. I get to spend a glorious 10 days with my family and I couldn't be happier.

Thanks to the many people who responded to my last blog. I appreciate your support and encouragement. I am happy to announce that things have been much better in the last couple of weeks...even with all of the added holiday stress. So don't worry, I'm not as close to the edge any more.

There are so many things I've wanted to blog about but just haven't had time. So now that I'm free of work and a lot of other responsibilities for the next little while I hope to at least post something about my trip to the Bahamas last month. Stay tuned....

In other news, it's already been an eventful holiday break. I flew home on Friday night and thanks to airport delays didn't get home until long past midnight. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, however, the next day we all hopped in the car to head to Vegas to show some support for the Cougars at the Las Vegas Bowl.

It was a lot of fun for us all. My mom hadn't been to a football game for a good 30 years and my sis hadn't been at all. Our seats were great...thanks to taking my mom's wheelchair. The only bad thing was that it was FREEZING cold...c'mon Vegas, we expected something better from you!

Anyway, the Cougars didn't play as well as they have at other times this season, but a win is a win! And we can give a big thanks to Eathyn Manumaleuna for helping us put a mark in the W column. In case you missed the highlights and the amazing blocked field goal with 3 seconds left...here you go:

Somehow I managed to forget to pack the USB cable for my camera so unfortunately I won't be able to post any of my own pictures from the game. I know...I can practically hear your disappointment over that one. Next time I promise to try to not be so thoughtless.

So after the game we headed back to the Stateline (aka Primm, NV) to spend the night at Buffalo Bill's. Not the nicest accommodations, but it will certainly do when you've been in the car for a good chunk of the day. The best part of the stay was that we got two free tickets to ride the Desperado roller coaster housed at the hotel...pictured below:

Yes, friends, that's a 45 foot drop straight down. Megan (my sister) and I braved the ride together. She's usually totally freaked out by roller coasters so it's a miracle that I got her on it in the first place. And well, I'm not a huge fan of heights either so I doubt it would have ever happened without the free tickets. I mean, do I look stupid enough to pay to risk my life on something like that? Never mind, don't answer that question.

Anyway, I must have been a little more scared than I thought because I seriously dreamed about that stupid roller coaster the whole night! But I have to say, it was totally awesome. I screamed for the first 2 seconds of that big drop and then it literally took my breath away. I was really proud of Megan too...I think she might have been less scared than I was!

The only bad thing is that now I will have to find something new to tease her about. It's been a tradition for me to tease her about us going on that roller coaster every year when we drive by. Oh well, now we have a great memory to last a lifetime.

On the edge...

2007-11-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't really been feeling like myself over the last few months. It's been a crazy and hectic life...the good mixed in with the bad. But the end result has been me feeling a lot like the picture above. This week at work we had our annual health fair and I picked up some information from our EAP. What I found on the stress checklist confirmed that I really am overly stressed right now. Let's see how you measure up:

Do minor problems and disappointments upset you excessively?
Do the small pleasures of life fail to satisfy you?
Are you unable to stop worrying?
Do you feel inadequate or suffer from self-doubt?
Are you constantly tired?
Do you experience flashes of anger over minor problems?
Have you noticed a change in sleeping or eating patterns?
Do you suffer from chronic pain, headaches or backaches?

Unfortunately I answered yes to most if not all of these questions. Now the purpose of this post isn't to say "oh poor me" or whatever. It's just kind of a reality check as to where I am at right now. And I guess for anyone who reads this and may feel similarly to let you know you are not alone. Society tells us we must be perfect or we do not have worth. However, perfection is a journey, not a destination so maybe sometimes we have to be a little flexible in our expectations of ourselves and others.

I've been introspecting (can you say that?) quite a bit lately trying to figure myself and my life out. I consider myself to be a fairly strong, resourceful person with good coping habits but I just don't seem to be measuring of up as of late. Not that the tasks and trials are insurmountable...more that I just don't feel up to the task. My capacity to cope hasn't been up to par. I hope this all makes sense.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago in our Relief Society lesson, we read a section from the manual, "Teachings of the Presidents of the Church--Spencer W. Kimball" that helped me identify one of the keys of my current struggles:

"There are in our lives reservoirs of many kinds. Some reservoirs are to store water. Some are to store food, as we do in our family welfare program and as Joseph did in the land of Egypt during the seven years of plenty. There should also be reservoirs of knowledge to meet the future needs; reservoirs of courage to overcome the floods of fear that put uncertainty in lives; reservoirs of physical strength to help us meet the frequent burdens of work and illness; reservoirs of goodness; reservoirs of stamina; reservoirs of faith. Yes, especially reservoirs of faith so that when the world presses in upon us, we stand firm and strong; when the temptations of a decaying world about us draw on our energies, sap our spiritual vitality, and seek to pull us down, we need a storage of faith that can carry youth and later adults over the dull, the difficult, the terrifying moments, disappointments, disillusionments, and years of adversity, want, confusion, and frustration. …"

As I read this, the proverbial light bulb went off in my head! I think one of my main problems is that I do not have a reservoir to draw on right now. You may have heard what I like to call the analogy of the bucket. Basically it's a very similar idea to the reservoir. We are each a bucket...which can be filled or dipped from. Sometimes life fills our buckets and sometimes it dips, sometimes we fill each others' buckets and sometimes we dip from them. But crucial to our reservoir is also our own effort to fill our buckets so that when the time comes we have sufficient reserve to dip from if necessary.

So I guess that's one place I can try to focus some of my energy. I need to work more on doing the things that will fill my bucket so that I can get out of my current situation and hopefully prevent it from happening again. But I have to find a way to do that while still maintaining all of my other responsibilities and commitments. Anyway, hopefully this continued introspection will benefit from some time away from my normal daily pressures as I soon will be leaving on a Thanksgiving vacation. Sorry that this post is kind of a downer!

Long live the 80's!!

2007-11-04T20:40:00.000-07:00

So for Halloween this year, some of my coworkers invited me to join them in reliving the 1987 prom of Sweet Valley High School. I told them that it would be a cold day in you-know-where before I donned a puffy-sleeved prom dress but that I would try to come up with something that would fit in with the theme. Little did I know that my costume would turn out to be such a big hit with everyone.

Which brings up the question...is it a problem if people seem to like you better the way you look in your costume than your normal day-to-day look? Is it time for a complete style overhaul? Or does it mean people just like to see a different side of you? Or in this case that you brought back a vintage piece of a beloved decade? I guess it partially depends on who is giving the opinion. But I guess I'll let you guys be the judge as well. Here I am in all my glory as an 80's punk rocker:

I have to admit, I really dug the whole punk thing myself. I felt like I had full license to pull an attitude and give someone that "Are you asking me to kick your butt?" look whenever I wanted. Maybe it felt fun to look the part of the bad girl without living the lifestyle. I guess the whole idea of Halloween is getting to be someone else for a day. Stepping outside of your normal life and getting creative. Maybe I missed my calling in life. I think I would have made a totally awesome punk chic!

One of the benefits of working at a children's hospital is getting to celebrate the holidays, especially Halloween, in a big way. We have an annual kids' costume parade followed by the employee costume contest. I am proud to announce that my friends from Sweet Valley High and I took 1st place in the group category. We must have looked quite hot strutting our stuff to vintage Cyndi Lauper--"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." Here are 3 of my friends as prom queens as well as myself and another punk friend (our lone male representative was the emcee for the contest and therefore not in the picture but looked great in his checkered suit coat, thin tie, converse and mullet wig complete with braid!)

Halloween is always a good time. I sometimes dread coming up with a costume, but more often than not when all is said and done it's worth the effort. I'm glad that Halloween is for "grown up kids" too... We all need the freedom to cut loose and get a little goofy now and then. Guess I'd better get thinking about next year's costume. In the meanwhile, I am sad to retire the punk costume which turned out to be much funner than I ever imagined. Of course, I can't promise that the fabulous wig won't show up somewhere before next Halloween!

My two month hiatus...

2007-10-28T23:27:00.000-06:00

(noun) A break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc.

So I've been missing in action from the world of blog for about two months now. I can't say that I have a good reason as to why I have been missing but I think there are a number of influential factors including:

1. It took me so long to blog about India that I was all blogged out.

2. Work has been incredibly busy and after the long hours the last thing I have wanted to do is sit at a computer again.

3. Free time has been at a minimum especially considering I have been to Phoenix, Simi Valley and El Paso in the past 6 weeks.

4. My brain is fried and I have a pretty boring life so I have struggled to find something to write about.

That being said, I am going to try to start posting a few things here and there now that I have jumped the big hurdle of my first post back. Thanks to those of you who have actually looked at my blog in hopes (fear?) that something new would appear. I guess it helps to know someone actually looks at this so I'd better write occasionally. Ok, I've gotta hit the sack...Monday morning will be here all too soon. Until the next time...

Adventures in India-part 3-"Bombay to the USA"

2007-08-26T23:54:00.000-06:00

And now for the long awaited third and final chapter in my India adventures...

Monday, July 30--I was really sad to be leaving our awesome hotel but at the same time I was ready to leave Jaipur behind. It was time to say goodbye to our serious but very nice driver Nagender (notice the cute "driver outfit" he has on) and I couldn't tell if he was more excited about his tip or the prospect of finally being rid of the crazy Americans! We were a bit worried about our domestic flight via Spice Jet Airlines but it really wasn't too bad. When we arrived in Mumbai (aka Bombay--many Indian cities are reverting back to more native-like names to further establish their independence from the British regime that ruled them for so long...) it was raining at a pretty good clip. It was evident that we would be experiencing more of the monsoon season along the coast.

We were a little worried about hiring a taxi and trying to get to our hotel. We really had no idea how far it was or how to get around the city or how much it should cost us. Upon exiting with our baggage we were promptly whisked away by two men who loaded us up and we thought we were on our way. They showed us the tariffs according to the zone of the city and it listed separate prices for a car with a/c versus without. As it was raining we told them we didn't really need the a/c but they didn't seem to like that choice so they promptly gave us a much better price for a car with a/c. The next thing we know we are at this random parking area where we, along with our luggage, were transferred to another awaiting car and driver. It was pretty strange and we were worried that we had really made a mistake by hooking up with this group.

It's hard to explain, but Mumbai is very different than any of the other cities we visited yet still very much India. This is one of the few places you can still see some of the footholds of the British Empire...many gothic buildings, British looking taxis, double decker buses, etc. It definitely feels like more of a cosmopolitan city than Delhi...the closest comparison I have is kind of like the New York City of India with a little bit of L.A. mixed in because it is the home of the Bollywood film-making industry and there is even a part of town known as "Film City."

Anyway, it was quite a long ride from the airport to our hotel...not to mention the fact that our driver had never heard of the hotel. Fortunately it is near a very well known train station (Victoria Terminus) so he at least knew how to get to the area. After having to turn around a number of times we finally realized that our hotel was housed inside some random building on the third floor. We were grateful to be out of the car and out of the rain.

We hauled our goods up to the hotel and presented them with our Travelocity reservation. They whipped out their big log book (although India has made many strides towards modernity, each hotel we stayed in had this huge book or ledger where we had to fill out our information for check-in)...anyway, they whipped out their book and my name was nowhere to be found. We were escorted to a waiting room where we sat for nearly an hour doing who-knows-what before they took us to the room.

The Empire Royale Hotel, as I mentioned, takes up the third floor of a building. This "floor" has been renovated into two separate levels with rooms. They were honestly the lowest ceilings I have ever seen and I'm not even a very tall person. Our room was nicely appointed but definitely had the look and feel of a cruise ship cabin. The bathroom seemed totally mismatched in terms of decor and layout. We also opened our window to get a load of our view and were greeted by this guy on the roof of the building next to us. WHAT?!?

Fortunately for us, there is a McDonald's situated right on the corner of the building we were staying in as it was a bit late and still kind of rainy. We ate something and being a bit tired from our travels just headed back the room. We watched the only English channel available, nothing less than the Hallmark channel, played some cards and called it a night.

Tuesday, July 31--We talked to our hotel about renting a car and driver for the day and they wanted to charge us double what we had paid in Delhi. Mind you, we knew that Mumbai was much more expensive than Delhi but this seemed ridiculous. We then ascertained from our guide book that where we were headed wasn't all that far away and decided to try our luck in a city taxi. Yeah, the ride over cost us just one measly dollar.

Our plan for the day was to take the ferry out to Elephanta Island to see some supposedly amazing cave sculptures. The ferry took probably about an hour and, in a brilliant move on my part, I got kind of seasick because I had forgotten to take a Dramamine back at the hotel. But it was kind of refreshing to be away from the crush of humanity and be riding a boat across Mumbai harbor. As we neared the island it looked like a lush green tropical paradise.

We unloaded and started the walk up towards the staircase that leads up to the caves. But ne'er you worry...if you're feeling too tired to walk, there is a lovely little train that will take you for the low, low price of 10 rupees. Random!! It was definitely more humid on the island but didn't feel as hot. It was pretty overcast but no rain fell. There whole island is teeming with monkeys and that was pretty cool.

We had to climb about a gazillion stairs to get up to the cave entrance. By the time we got there I was sweating just as profusely as if I had been at the Taj Mahal again...lovely! I definitely did not feel like an attractive person at any point during my time in India. Anyway, the cave itself was amazing...totally just carved out of the mountainside.

Elephanta Caves is an area filled with sculptures of a number of Hindu gods and goddesses and supposedly dates back to 600 A.D. The most highly touted sculpture is the Trimurti--a depiction of Lord Brahma the creator, Lord Vishnu the preserver and Lord Shiva the destroyer--as a 3 headed personage. The sculptures are all very cool but very difficult to photograph because there is not good lighting inside the cave obviously.

Other than the caves, there is really nothing else to do on the island...except for shop. The stairs to the cave are lined with all of these people selling their wares. We actually found some pretty cool stuff that we had not seen in any of the other markets we had been to so we made some good purchases. The road back to the dock is also lined with shops and Heidi inquired about the price of a wooden elephant only to have the owner follow her for a few minutes calling out different prices.

As we were still walking an Indian family was passing by us also on the way to the dock and the man struck up a conversation with us and gave us some tips on haggling for prices. It turned out that this man, Vijay, is actually a Christian missionary serving with his family in Saudi Arabia. He and his wife Leslie and two children Steven and Sarah (not the typical Indian-sounding names, eh?) were on vacation and in Mumbai for the first time as well.

Heidi had mentioned that her brother was a missionary in India a few years back and we ended up having a really great discussion with him about the similarities and differences in our beliefs. Vijay and his family belong to the Church of South India which he described as being somewhat similar to the Baptist Church although from what I've seen online it is described as more aligned with Protestant beliefs.

Anyway, as I mentioned, we had a great conversation with him during the hour-long boat ride and we were able to touch on many of the important topics covered in the old missionary discussions. I was very thrilled to find out that Heidi had put her small military copy of the Book of Mormon in her camera case so we were able to write in it and leave it with Vijay and his family.

I (we) had murmured some about the cost of coming to Mumbai and feeling like it was a waste, but after meeting Vijay and his family the purpose of our side trip there was very clear. It was amazing enough to meet a Christian family in India but even more amazing that we would meet a family who has been living in Saudi Arabia and would likely not have the chance to be introduced to the gospel as the LDS Church has no official presence there. We were definitely on somewhat of a high to have the great opportunity to meet them and share our beliefs with them.

We returned to the mainland anddecided to do the walking tour outlined in our guide book. It was kind of lame but we did see a lot more European-looking architecture as well as passing Bombay University. We decided to check our email in this little cyber cafe that was hotter than you-know-where and had the oldest computers known to man. But the best part was that it only cost 25 cents for a half hour. With no other options nearby, we had to suffer through another McChicken Burger at the golden arches and then retired to our room for more Hallmark Channel and games before bed.

Wednesday, August 1--We got up and checked out of our hotel but had them store our luggage so we could go out before going to the airport. We wanted to go to Mani Bhavan which is a house that Ghandi lived in and worked from off and on from 1917-1934. It was really hard to find a driver that knew where it was...which we found funny because they call him "Father of the Nation" and he is on all of the currency!

Anyway, it was a really cool place and they had photos of his life, letters he had written, a library of stuff by and about him, paintings and sculptures of him and a whole section completely dedicated to dioramas depicting different events from his life. Probably one of the biggest highlights was seeing the room he stayed in with some of his original belongings. We also went on the rooftop and it was incredible to think we were standing where Ghandi himself once stood.

I left the museum with a great respect for this man. It just goes to show the power that one person can have to influence people for good. In some ways Ghandi reminds me of President Hinckley in that he was a leader and a friend to the people because he traveled many places and was among the people. I was also reminded of Joseph Smith acknowledging that he was willingly going as "a lamb to the slaughter" because two days prior to his assassination Ghandi said, "If I am to die by the bullet of a mad man, I must do so smiling. There must be no anger within me. God must be in my heart and on my lips..." They both also reportedly shared very similar last words in crying out to God as they were being assassinated. It was a great experience to learn more about Ghandi and we bought some books about his life and his teachings.

We went back to the hotel and had to wait forever for the taxi they had called to come take us to the airport. There was another huge downpour the whole time we were driving there. I had to go through an extra security check at the airport for no apparent reason so that was kind of annoying. We arrived back in Delhi and were met by our driver who took us back to our hotel...or at least what we thought was our hotel. There had been some mix-up either by our travel agency or the hotel and they did not have a room for us. We were promised the same quality accommodations and were taken to a nearby hotel that was not that great but we didn't have any other choice that late at night. Needless to say we were not happy at all with the situation.

Thursday, August 2--Our last full day in India! We checked out of our gross hotel and were taken to another one that was only slightly better. As we did not want to waste the whole day to find a hotel that we would basically only use for showering and packing that night we just agreed and moved on.

This was the day we had designated to get the rest of our souvenir shopping done. Unfortunately it was raining on and off, which made things difficult at times. Luckily we had found this great area while Candice was with us that had pretty much everything we could ask for. By this point I was really feeling very "done" with the whole pushy vendor scene and the multiple "Excuse me madame"s as we walked around. Boddu had planned to meet up with us but with the rain and traffic got there a bit late. We took him out to lunch at a nearby TGI Friday's to thank him for all our help.

Later we all piled into an auto rickshaw as we went clear across town in search of some things that Heidi's brother Adam had asked her to buy. Sadly the first rickshaw broke down and Boddu had to negotiate with that driver and another one to help us continue on our way. We were able to get the things we needed and then Boddu took us to see the chapel he attends. It is a beautiful house that was converted as a church meetinghouse. We also ran into the missionaries who just happened to be there waiting for an appointment to show up. It was great talking to them and hearing a bit about their experiences.

It was time to say goodbye to Boddu and we were sad because he is such a great person and we had such a good time with him. We are hoping he will have a chance to come to the US some day soon so he can see the Salt Lake Temple and other church sites and visit his mission companions. We went back to the crappy hotel and stayed up again all night packing as we had to leave for the airport at 3 a.m.

Friday, August 3--This was probably the longest day of my life as we traveled about 36 hours to get back home thanks to some flight delays, including a 3 hour delay at JFK. I thought we would never make it. I was very happy to be back on American soil but even happier to walk into my own home.

India was such a crazy experience but such a good life experience. I wish I could truly communicate what it is like there but I think the only way to really understand is to experience it yourself. My one word of advice for most people is to strongly consider going on an organized tour if you want to go to India. I think we could have avoided some of our frustrations going that route but it is definitely doable on your own as well! Anyway, I hope you have been able to get a glimpse the unique world of India through my travelogue and pictures. Thanks for tuning in...

Adventures in India-part 2-"Agra & Jaipur"

2007-08-19T23:21:00.000-06:00

I'm back with the second installment of my India adventures. I think there should only be one more after this...or at least I hope so. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post all of this. It would probably help if I wasn't so OCD and ADHD. I want everything to look just right but I get distracted as I go along so it takes twice as long!

Friday, July 27--We packed up our goods and piled into our little car to hit the road for Agra which was supposed to be about a 4 hour drive. It was interesting to see the changes as we moved out of metropolitan Delhi...still tons of people everywhere on the outskirts. As we moved further away there was actually a lot of green space with towns that would pop up here and there. The craziest thing was seeing camels hooked up to carts (as if they were oxen or horses) pulling loads down the road! It was also crazy to see buses fly by with a bunch of people riding on the top!

I'm not sure what our driver had eaten that morning but let's just say I don't think it agreed with him. I would have given anything to not be sitting right behind him! Our driver stopped the car a number of times...just pulled over to the side of the road for no apparent reason and would disappear for a while. Later we stopped at this "motel" type place that had a bathroom if we needed it, a restaurant and a slew of overpriced souvenirs. Mind you, none of us had asked for a bathroom break but we soon learned that the driver had his route marked and stopped where he wanted no matter what.

It was a pretty long drive and we were grateful as we finally pulled into Agra. Our driver stopped at Akbar's tomb and we were grateful to stretch our legs and check out another site. It looked a lot like some of other tombs we had visited but there were some sort of antelope or something roaming the grounds. They had the craziest swirly antlers.

I really am quite impressed at how well preserved these sites seem to be. They are very old and I am sure that a ton of people visit them each year. But I think there is great care taken to maintain and restore them. We had to walk down this long tunnel to get to the actual tomb and were surprised to find some random guy there "standing guard" and doing some weird chant. But it was definitely a pretty cool place.

Our driver then took us to our hotel--Holiday Inn Agra (yes, we decided to splurge a bit and enjoy a more "American" atmosphere.) It was very obvious that this was a higher class establishment than where we had previously stayed. We even had a cool doorman in full Maharaja costume. It was strange to walk on carpet again but we were pulled back to Indian reality when we saw that the rollaway bed again consisted of a folded wooden platform.

We got to the hotel in the early afternoon so we had a whole evening ahead of us. Heidi was really wanting to go see a Bollywood film so we talked to the front desk and they pointed us in the direction of the local mall. The mall was actually pretty normal although you had to buy the movie tickets on the ground level and the theater was on the top level. Weird.

Anyway, we chose to see the movie "Partner"--not only had the hotel recommended it to us, but it happened to be showing at just the right time. People kept looking at us like we were crazy..."You know the movie is in Hindi, right?" Little did they know it was more for the experience than anything. Anyway, the theater was actually really nice and had comfy seats. We were on the very back row as this is the reserved seating they gave us even though the theater wasn't very full.

So, here's the lowdown on Bollywood films in case you haven't seen one (try Bride and Prejudice if you're interested in learning more.) Anyway, these films are 3 hours long with an intermission...yes, an intermission in the middle! Randomly during various parts of the movie it cuts away to these massive song and dance numbers that have nothing to do with the plot. Hysterical! Plus people in the theater are clapping and standing up all during the show when they see something they like. Part way into the movie we realized that "Partner" is almost a perfect rip-off of "Hitch" so even though it was in Hindi we had a good idea of what was. All in all it was prett fun and I'm glad we got to experience it. Our little driver was waiting for us outside the mall and took us back to the hotel for the night.

Saturday, July 28--We got up really early...5-something to drive to the back side of the Taj Mahal to watch the sunrise. To get there we had to drive through some pretty poor parts of town...people sleeping all along the road and shanties made of tarps and plastic and whatever people could find. I was surprised to see how many people were out and about at that early hour. We got to the end of this road and had to walk down through some fields. Mosquitos kept biting us and we were sure we would all get malaria from it!

Sadly, it was way too cloudy and we never saw the sun come up. But it was nice to see the Taj...we practically had it all to ourselves except for some Indians that came to gawk at the 3 whities taking pictures! We got some good shots, including Heidi and I playing London Bridge with the Taj...yeah, yeah, I know...tacky tourist photo but it was just too funny.

We went back to the hotel and took a nap before getting ready and heading out for the day. Our first stop was Agra Fort and our driver asked if we wanted to use the company tour guide for the day. We said yes and boy was that the best decision we could have ever made. Our guide was Raj and he is officially my second favorite Indian (after Boddu.) There were a ton of vendors outside the fort and we were swarmed the minute we got out of our car. This was true in a number of places and probably on of my biggest pet peeves about India.

Agra Fort is a very impressive complex and it was nice to have a guide. It is across the city from the Taj and you can see it from different areas of the fort. The builder of the Taj was actually later imprisoned in Agra Fort and had to look upon his beautiful creation from his confinement. The Fort also boasted a couple of moats to improve its security and many beautiful areas designed by different members of the reigning family such as one daughter who loved the light and wanted lattice work with large spaces and another who hated light and wanted lattice work with very small spaces.

After the Fort we headed back to the hotel to meet up with Candice's coworker Melissa who had traveled up from Bangalore. We then went to have the full Taj Mahal experience. All I can say is that this place definitely deserves its spot as a Wonder of the World!! The intial view is so breathtaking and it seems almost surreal to be standing there taking it all in. The outside structure is amazing, but once inside it's just like any other tomb. And to think that this was all built as a tribute to the love one man had for a woman! Not to mention that many workers and designers either had their tongues cut out or their thumbs, hands or arms amputated so it could never be recreated!

I think I have never been as hot in my entire life as I was at the Taj. I honestly thought it would possibly be my last day on earth. But I figure, if you're gonna go there are a lot worse places to be buried than the Taj Mahal. Worst case scenario they could have just thrown me in there next to old what's-her-name! I didn't know my body could produce that much sweat and not get any cooler!

After we finished Raj took us to learn about artisan work that was used in the building of the Taj--specifically marble inlay work (all of the designs in the Taj are inlay, not paint.) Precious stones are crafted and used as inly design in the marble. This type of work is of Persian origin and all of the workers were brought in from Iran. This artisan work is still performed today...mainly as restoration work for the Taj. The learning of this work is a closely guarded family secret...those who do it now are the 12th generation descendants of the original Taj workers and are paft ofa family guild 7,000 strong. Part of the year they work to restore and maintain the Taj and the rest of the year they create artisan pieces to keep their skills honed. It was interesting to see them working. We were then led to the show room where we all ended up buying something...most of us got something small because it was expensive. But with something as unique as that, how could you pass it up.

It was getting late in the afternoon and our driver was pretty anxious to get on the road. We were supposed to have stopped at more ruins (Fatehpur Sikri) on the way out of town but with 5 hours ahead of us we opted just to get on the road. What followed was honestly the drive from hell. Not only was the road bad, it was under consruction and I would not suggest driving at night. I was claustrophobic (we now had 5 of us crammed in a small car) and the lights from oncoming cars gave me a headache. It was honestly just miserable and I thought we would NEVER get there.

After what seemed like an eternity, we finally arrived in Jaipur and checked into what is quite possibly the coolest hotel I have ever seen--the Umaid Bhawan. Highly recommended to anyone who might be going to Jaipur. We had a huge suite with stained glass windows, great Indian furniture and decore and a huge bathroom with a shower and separate tiled shower/huge tub thing. We stayed there on advice from one of my old college roommates and it was great.

Sunday, July 29--We got up in the morning and left for Amber Fort. On the way we drove through the old part of the city which is all painted pink. Hence, Jaipur is also known as the Pink City. We drove up through some hills to the base of the fort and were then able to ride an elepant to the top where the entrance is. How cool is that?! Once up top I made the mistake of taking out a bag of candy to give some to some kids and was promptly accosted by children and grown men alike who all wanted to get their hands on some. I didn't think it was possible, but the vendors in Jaipur were even more aggressive than in Agra and we were grateful once we entered the actual fort and were out of their reach.

Again, this was a really cool complex. It was different than the
other places we had seen because it is not built out of red sandstone and is also set up in the hills. There was so much cool architecture and lots of great photo opportunities. We had to walk back down the big hill to get back to our car and were hassled by more people trying to sell us stuff...I've never met so many persistent/pushy sales people in my life!

We went back to Jaipur and opted out of paying more money to tour the inside of the City Palace. It just didn't look that interesting. We paid a minimal fee to wander around this dumb outdoor astronomy thing that made no sense. Then as we came around the corner we ran into the coolest thing in the whole world--genuine snake charmers! We all stood there practically in shock. I think we were almost just as mesmerized as the snakes were! It was crazy!! You can see a short video here...

We spent the rest of the afternoon trying to do some shopping as Jaipur is supposed to be famous for jewelry (particularly silver), silk and other things. We really did not have a positive experience shopping here (just ask Heidi about the pushy silk bedspread guy) and because of the pushy agressive people trying to sell us stuff we really had a bad taste in our mouth about Jaipur in general. We stopped in to grab a quick bite to eat before we had to get Candice and Melissa to the airport it was sad to see Candice leave but I am so glad we got to spend a few days with her. Heidi and I were pretty much done battling the people of Jaipur so we just went back to hotel, wrote some emails and relaxed the rest of the evening.

TO BE CONTINUED....

Free at last!

2007-08-15T23:41:00.000-06:00

I would like this image a bit better if the date circled on the calendar was 15 instead of 13...it would be more accurate that way. Oh well. The important thing is that it is with great excitement that I announce to you all that TODAY, yes, TODAY I paid off my credit card balance and thereby became debt free!

Debt is a big problem in our society and seems to sink its ugly teeth into all sorts of people. I inherited some great traits from my dad, but along with those I inherited some less-than-effective money management skills, an impulsive buying streak, and an almost-impossible-to-deny urge to snap up anything that appears to be a good bargain. I begrudgingly admit that on more than one occasion my father referred to himself as "The Daddy of Discount." Did I mention that I also inherited a small bit of his goofy sense of humor? :)

Anyway, I haven't always been the best at managing my money. I had some credit card debt before my mission that I was able to wipe out and hoped I would never get in that situation again. Well, after coming home one thing led to another and I was in debt yet again. Having had the oppressing cloud of debt lifted from my life once before, I knew that I would feel much better being able to escape that weight again once and for all.

So for the past handful of years, one of my annual resolutions has been to become debt free. And while I occasionally made good progress and whittled my debts down one by one, I was always left with my principal credit card debt. To help me in my endeavors, I created yearly slogans or catch phrases as a reminder and motivation. Let me share them with you:

"Debt free in 2003"

"Debt no more in 2004"

"Debt won't jive in 2005"

"Get out of my fix in 2006"

and finally.....

"Debt free heaven in 2007"

And so this morning, at approximately 9:30 a.m., I did indeed enter the pearly gates of debt free heaven as I paid off the remaining balance on my credit card. It has not been an easy process to dig my way out...as those of you who have been or are in debt may know from experience. There were many setbacks along the way, but I am grateful that I have been able to make more sound financial decisions regarding budgeting, savings, retirement investment and becoming debt free (insert a shout-out to my "Financial Life Jacket" lessons from Kimmie.) So from now on I hope that my new and everlasting slogan will be:

p.s. I promise to return you to your regularly scheduled programming of the captivating series "Adventures in India" in my next blog so stay tuned...

Adventures in India-part 1-"Smelly Delhi"

2007-08-14T01:29:00.000-06:00

Ok, first off let me just say that most, if not all, of India is smelly. But there is only one city that rhymes so well with said description. Let me also say that it is probably very dangerous for me to be trying to post at this hour so bear with me. I didn't have a chance to write anything over the weekend so I thought I'd take advantage of my jet lag issues and get things going.

Sunday, July 22 and Monday, July 23--All in all it took us about 34 hours to get to India. We were only supposed to have a 3 hour layover at JFK, but that turned into a 7 hour layover for a reason that was never disclosed to us. But we did get a food voucher from the airline and the chance to catch up on some much needed sleep. I was actually pretty surprised at how quickly those 34 hours seemed to go--especially seeing as how our row of the plane had electrical problems and we had no audio for the movies nor light to read by.

Finally, we arrived exhausted and a bit exasperated at the airport in Delhi. The customs process was very smooth as you have to arrange a visa before arriving in the country. We had to wait quite a while for our luggage...mine came out at least a full half hour before Heidi's and that caused some tense moments but fortunately nothing was lost. By that time it was after 3 a.m. and we were now more than 4 hours late. We had little-to-no hope that our hotel transfer would still be awaiting us...but to our great surprise they were still there. I swear to you that my name has never looked so beautiful as it did written on the grimy little paper our driver was holding!

We finally made it to our hotel and were pleasantly surprised at its offering for a 3 star (Indian standards) establishment. I think more than anything we were just happy to shower and fall into bed...especially since I had the worst cankles I have ever experienced in my life!!

Tuesday, July 24--Most of this day was spent in a complete stupor of jet lag, interrupted by three phone calls...one asking if we wanted breakfast, another from Heidi's brother's mission companion and a third asking for a copy of our reservation confirmation. I groggily grabbed the paper and headed out for the lobby, not realizing that the floor was wet and thereby falling down the stairs and landing flat on my back. OUCH!! I'm just glad noone else was around to see my moment of grace.

After the front desk/stair fiasco I went back to bed for a bit but eventually we decided to rouse ourselves and venture outside in search of the internet and bottled water. The hotel staff led us to a travel agency where some guy let us use his computer and proceeded to talk to us about our options while in India. We decided it was better for us not to commit to anything in our stupor but promised to come back the next day.

Wednesday, July 25--Our first real day in India began with hiring a driver to take us around to the sights. We first went to Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque. Our excellent planning in having skirts in our backpack allowed us to actually enter the mosque. It is quite an impressive building and there were many people there (as I soon came to understand, there are many people everywhere in India.) We encountered people staring at us as if we were aliens and others who took pictures of us or with us as if we were celebrities. I'm sure we looked as interesting and unique in our own right as they did to us.

I neglected to mention that our driver suggested we move around Old Delhi via bicycle rickshaw as parking in the area is difficult. Heidi and the driver rode in one rickshaw and I rode in the other. It is a great way to see things but I have to admit I felt guilty having this little Indian man try to pedal the big American around in unbearable heat! One of my favorite things was when he told me to put my feet on the metal bars hooking the rickshaw to the bike and said "This is your seatbelt." :)

Anyway, we proceeded to head to the market area of Chandni Chowk, which holds a number of markets for the locals including a spice market, wedding market and jewelry market. It was amazing to navigate maze of the narrow alleyways of the market right along with throngs of people, motor bikes and other rickshaws. I wish I could have truly captured the experience, but the best I could do was a short video which doesn't do it justice.

Afterwards we were dropped off at the Red Fort. By this time we were feeling pretty dehydrated. I was so hot I could hardly stand it. The bottled water for sale near the entrance looked a bit "iffy" so we opted for orange soda instead. It was so miserably hot that it was all I could do to put one foot in front of another. The fort is a pretty great place but I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I could have if my body hadn't entered a nuclear meltdown. Here's Heidi outside the fort:

Anyway, the whole point of going to the Red Fort was to meet up with Boddu (Heidi's brother Adam's mission companion.) Apparently "Indian Time" is similar to "Latin Time" or "Mormon Standard Time" and so we toured the Red Fort waiting for him to show up. He was finally there when we resurfaced on the outside and it didn't take long for us to realize why Boddu is one of Adam's favorite companions. He is definitely our favorite Indian. We made a stop at India Gate which is a memorial to the Indians who lost their lives in World War I. This is me and Boddu at the gate.

Heidi had a list of things she needed to buy for her brother so we headed for an area called Connaught Place and entered a spiraling underground shopping area called the Palika Bazaar. This was our first introduction to the very persistent Indian vendors who tried to attract our attention by calling out "excuse me madame!!" By the end of our trip I was so tired of hearing this phrase that I thought I was going to pull my hair out. Anyway, Heidi was able to buy some of the things on her list and also bought an outfit for herself after being assured that the store carried "Ma'am-size options" (if you want the full story on this you'll have to ask in person...needless to say it was our ongoing joke for the whole trip!)

Boddu then took us to a nearby restaurant serving vegetarian Southern Indian food. He ordered this sampler type thing for each of us that consisted in a large steel dish that had a banana leaf on the bottom and small shot glass type steel containers of different types of sauces or concoctions. In the middle of all this was an Indian bread called roti that we ripped pieces off of and dipped into the various sauces and concoctions. Some of the stuff was okay but a lot of it was too spicy for my delicate palate. I did enjoy the roti and another bread called poori though...very tasty.

We eventually made our way back to the hotel to await Candice's arrival from Bangalore. Her flight was delayed but she arrived safe and sound. It was good to see her after so long. After much effort on our behalf, the hotel finally provided us with the extra bed, which consisted of a folded wooden platform that laid out semi-flat and had a thin mattress on top...hmmm! We talked for a while and then crashed to rest up for the next day of sight-seeing.

Thursday, July 26--Thanks to the time difference, I was able to place a call this morning to wish my mom happy birthday back in the States. We then headed out with a new driver to tour the sights of New Delhi. We started by driving past the president's palace and some other government buildings. Following this we went to Humayan's tomb, which was a predecessor to the Taj Mahal. There were a lot of cool structures here and it wasn't entirely swarmed over with people so that was nice.

We then continued on to Qutb Minar which is the world's tallest brick minaret (spire.) This was a really cool tower and I just couldn't believe how tall and well-preserved it is. The tower is 239 feet tall and was completed in 1230 AD. There is also a lot of detail work and really neat carvings all around the complex. Just to show you the impressive size of this structure, I am the tiny dot in the center at the bottom of the tower. Wow!

Afterwards we went to the Lotus Temple of the Baha'i Faith. We had to take our shoes off to go inside and I swear my flesh was grilling up right there on the pavement it was so hot. The temple is beautiful though and is reminiscent of the Sydney Opera House. Perhaps the best part of all is that you are not allowed to speak or make any noise inside the temple, which was a very welcome change from the utter chaos of the streets of Delhi.

We did a little more shopping that afternoon thanks to a recommendation from one of Candice's Indian coworkers. As we finished, we spied a Pizza Hut across the way and decided that would be a safe way to curb our hunger. The pizza was slightly different, but good nonetheless. As a side note, in restaurants, menu items are denoted vegetarian by a green square with a green dot in the middle next to the item, while non-vegetarian items are denoted bya red square and dot. We made it back to the hotel and enjoyed just relaxing and talking more before hitting the hay.

TO BE CONTINUED....

The curse of jet lag!

2007-08-08T23:18:00.001-06:00

Ok, maybe you thought (or hoped) that I had completely given up on my blog...but alas, that is not the case. Internet access in India was not the greatest...essentially we had to kick some employee off of their work computer either at or hotels or the travel agency to even check our email. Therefore I didn't feel that it would be very appropriate to take the time to post a blog entry.

Nonetheless, we have been back in the States for a few days now. I promise to post my travelogue when I have a bit more time (perhaps this weekend.) In the meanwhile, I wanted to make quick mention of the curse of jet lag. I'm beginning to wonder if I am getting too old to travel half way around the world because jet lag is still kicking my trash at this point.

I don't remember how badly I suffered from jet lag coming back from Thailand a couple of years ago...although I do remember how completey trashed I was tyring to go back to work the very next day after getting home--BAD idea! Needless to say, I opted to give myself a couple of days to recover before jumping back into life with both feet.

My first attempt at sleep did not go well. I ended up going to bed at 4:00 in the morning on Saturday when we got home but then the dog wanted to get up at his normal time of 6:30. Although I tried to get him to go back to sleep with me, I couldn't rest much for fear that he would either pee on my bed or jump down unbenownst to me and destroy my house. Fortunately at around 9:30 a.m. Heidi's sister came and rescued me. I then passed out until 1:00 p.m. and decided I should get up so I could try to get back on schedule.

Saturday night went a little better, although I couldn't fall asleep until late and didn't feel rested getting up. Sunday night was a complete mess as I fell asleep at 1:00 a.m. and found myself wide awake at 4:00 a.m. I do not suggest attempting one's first day at work after vacation on only 3 hours of sleep. Another tip is to NOT have your picture taken for a new ID badge on that same day. I look slightly drunk/stoned/challenged in the picture...as if my coworkers didn't have enough fodder to back up that idea anyway. Hmmm...

The past couple of nights have gone a bit better thanks to Benadryl. However, I find myself fighting with the alarm clock for over an hour every morning...which isn't usually like me. And then there's that nasty fatigue wall I hit between 3:30 and 4:30 in the afternoon that completely sucks the will to live right out of me.

A coworker mentioned to me that it takes him 2 weeks to adjust back after going to China. For everyone's sake, let's hope that isn't true in my case. Perhaps I should head to COSTCO to stock up on some industrial size Benadryl. :) Any other suggestions/remedies? Wish me luck, time to hit the hay for tonight.

To the other side of the world...

2007-07-22T04:42:00.001-06:00

So it's just about 4:45 a.m. as I start writing this blog entry. Heidi and I leave for the the airport in about an hour and a half. We have been up all night and I just barely finished packing. That leaves just enough time to shower and straighten things up for our dog sitters (thanks Aline and Mom Merryweather!) We have been up all night...which thing I am too old for now I might add...originally thinking it would be a good way to start trying to adjust to the time change (India is 11 1/2 hours ahead of us.) But as fate would have it, staying up all night turned out to be necessary in order to get everything done.

I apologize for being absent from my blog for the past week or so...things have been beyond busy. Last weekend I drove my family home and went to my cousin's wedding and flew back on my birthday (don't ask how old!) I was here for a few days and then had to take off to Mexico for my clinic and got back late on Friday night. I also had to put in 7 hours at work to leave stuff organized there and well...you get the picture.

Anyway, I just wanted to say goodbye to everyone for now. Wish us luck in India...it still seems so unreal! I know we'll have plenty of good stories and pictures to share when we get back. So until then...keep on keepin' on!!

My first hula lesson...

2007-07-13T23:28:00.000-06:00

Every year my singles ward has a service auction to raise money for our ward campout. Just about anything and everything you can imagine is up for bid--from house cleaning to computer services to gourmet meals to private airplane tours of the Salt Lake valley to hula lessons. Yes, let's stop with that last one as it happens to relate to the title of my blog.

My first purchase at this year's auction was a hula lesson from my friend Tara who served a mission in Hawai'i. Why would I purchase such a thing you ask? Is it because I am a wonderfully skilled dancer who needs a new genre to conquer? Definitely not!! Let's just say if I found a magic lamp and could have 3 wishes from a genie, one of those would be to be able to cut a rug with the best of them. Not that I am completely without rhythm mind you...it's that I am a much better dancer in my own head than what my body chooses to do. I think something is lost in translation between my brain and my appendages.

The real reason I bought the hula lesson is two-fold. First, I went to Hawai'i in November of last year and ever since then I have thought about Hawai'i at least every other day if not every day. I used to wonder what the big fuss was all about but after having been there I must have been hit with the spirit of Aloha or something. I'd give anything to be there right now in fact. Second, I thought it would be fun to share this lesson with my sister during the annual family trip to Utah. Megan is by far a better dancer than I am and has taken a number of different types of dance classes so I thought she might enjoy this as well.

So a couple of nights ago Tara came over armed with some cd's and even some lavalavas (which I somewhat reluctantly put on I might add). Since Heidi was around as well, we made it a lesson for three. Tara began demonstrating her mad skills and throwing out Hawaiian words that I honestly cannot now remember. We learned the different steps and then started to put them together as choreography for a specific song.

I did much better with some steps than others. I have rediscovered that I am not very good at trying to get different parts of my body to do different things at the same time. I know I looked pretty ridiculous attempting some of the stuff although I think I pretty much nailed the "vamp" (which is just about the most simple step which is kind of used as a break during the instrumental portion before the next verse of the song starts).

Anyway, we learned a whole song in my cramped living room and it was really fun!! In the past I have been discouraged trying to learn other forms of dance. But I must say I really enjoyed learning a little bit of hula and although I am nowhere near as graceful as Tara or other real hula dancers, I wasn't a complete loss. Megan and Heidi really enjoyed themselves as well and I'm pretty sure Tara got a kick out of my lack of coordination. I tried to switch places to be out of her peripheral vision but my coordination problems were so widespread there was nowhere to hide! Here we are with our kumu (teacher) after the lesson (l-r Heidi, Tara, Megan, me):

Mahalo Tara! It was a blast!! I videotaped her showing us what the dance is supposed to look like so I can practice on my own until I get it down. So next time you see me, feel free to ask for a demonstration of my new skills...and until then...A-LO-HA!!!

The men in my life...

2007-07-07T11:17:00.000-06:00

Ok, before you get all excited let me preface this blog with the following dislcaimer: this entry has nothing to do with my romantic endeavors, or more appropriately the lack thereof. Now that we have that out of the way I can proceed....

I have two main men in my life. One has been around for just a little over a year and the other is a more recent addition of about two months or so. In their own respective sphere (one human, one canine), each is just about the cutest thing I have ever seen and I can't help but love them, play with them and want to spoil them. Some of you may know them, but for those who don't....let me introduce you to my boys (from L-R, Hurley & Ian):

We'll start with Ian first as he has been my main squeeze for a little over a year. Despite the fact that my friend April (Ian's mom) and I were convinced that he was a girl before the ultrasound confirmed otherwise, I couldn't be happier with my little guy. And he is definitely all boy...he's rough and tumble and likes to get into everything and play hard. For those of you who know me, I have been afraid of small children (specifically infants) for quite a while. They say that babies and dogs smell fear so I think the feeling was mutual. However, sweet little Ian has been so good putting up with his crazy "tia" and his mom has also been brave enough to allow me to get my feet wet and overcome my baby-phobia. I cherish every chance I get to hold him or play with him or spoil him rotten (my checking account has been suffering I must admit!) But how could you not love this?

Now on to the more recent addition in my life. My friend and roommate Heidi and I are both dog people and fortunately my condo is pet-friendly. Therefore we decided that we wanted to try our hands at raising a puppy. For anyone who has not gone through this experience I must say it can be quite frustrating at times and gives you many opportunities to feel like a complete failure. I also now realize why I don't have any children yet (besides not having a husband of course)...if I can't even handle raising an animal, why on earth would I ever be trusted with a human?

Anyway, at the end of May we found a classified ad and went out to look at some toy poodle puppies. It didn't take long for us to fall in love with one of the puppies and for him to fall in love with us. He practically hurled himself out of the box trying to get to us. Our little Hurley has been mostly a delight ever since. Were it not for the chewing/biting and potty-training issues he'd be a complete delight! Anyway, I am really proud of him because he really has learned a lot and is becoming a well-trained dog at his young age. Not to mention that he is the darn cutest thing you've ever seen. Everywhere we go with him people ooohhh and aaahhh over him. And he just LOVES people...he's great with everyone. You should come and play with him sometime...he's a real hoot! Here's his mug shot when he gets in trouble. But with a face like that you can imagine he never stays in trouble for too long!!

So that's the long and the short of it. These are the men in my life for now...but trust me, there is plenty of love to go around so if you know of a decent guy out there that might want to have a place in my heart along with these two, please drop me a line **shameless plug for getting set up with someone** :)

Road trippin' it!!

2007-07-03T12:26:00.000-06:00

Ahhh, one of the great American traditions...well at least it used to be before gas got so darn expensive. In today's fast-paced world it may have become somewhat of a lost art as well. Who wants to spend 12 hours in a car when you can get there by plane in about 2? I, however, am still a big fan of the occasional road trip.

I, however, am still a big fan of the occasional road trip. I went on an awesome roadtrip last summer with Heidi as we hit 4 National Parks in 11 days (Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Glacier and Waterton Lakes in Alberta Canada). I think we covered over 2.000 miles that trip and that was only what we did by car. Who knows how many miles we hiked...probably not in the thousands although by the end of the trip it felt that way. But who could pass up seeing views as beautiful as this? I would definitely recommend a visit to Glacier and Waterton (which is basically the Canadian side of Glacier) for those of you who haven't been there. It truly is heaven on earth!

Every year for the past 5 or 6 years I have had an annual road trip to look forward to. For those of you who don't know, my mom and little sis live in Simi Valley, CA (between the San Fernando Valley and Thousand Oaks). Every summer they come up to spend a couple of weeks with me here in SLC and also have a chance to reconnect with friends and family in the area. This annual emigration usually goes like this:

I fly down to California, usually on a Friday.
Saturday and Sunday I drive the family van back to Utah.
We party it up and have a grand old time for 2 weeks, give or take.
We load up the van & retrace our steps back through the desert over 2 days.
I fly back to Utah and collapse for a couple of days.

Anyway, this past weekend was the first part of the annual emigration and so I am now enjoying the company of my family. However, I am completely convinced that they are far more excited to be spending time with my new puppy than they are me. I guess I can't fault them though...he is definitely much cuter and fun than I am. Here's to road trips and being together with friends and family!

Mama Donna and Meg-a-roo

I'm going to India!

2007-06-28T00:28:00.001-06:00

Anyone that knows me knows that I LOVE to travel. Some people spend their money on big houses or fancy cars or boats or expensive clothes or ________ (fill in the blank.) I, however, choose to spend my money on travel. I love to see new places and new faces and learn about cultures and customs and history of the world.

I have actually wanted to go to India for some time now. And basically ever since I heard that Candice was going to India for two months I have had a somewhat unquenchable desire to join her for at least part of that time to fulfill that dream.

The big news is that today Heidi and I confirmed our tickets to go spend nearly two weeks in the world's 2nd most populous country. This is even more exciting because it has been somewhat of a drama to get the tickets squared away. Let's just say I found out the meaning of the saying "you can't get something for nothing" or, in our case something for next to nothing. This could be a whole blog in and of itself if I ever decide to go there one day. In the meantime, suffice it to say that if it looks like a shady deal in the Rite Aid parking lot and you are hopped up on cold medication, it probably is a shady deal in the Rite Aid parking lot.

So after paying the largest sum of money for an airline ticket I have ever paid, I am now in the process of getting an expedited visa to India (even more money), updating my vaccinations from the mission (yes, I'm that old...and even more money) and trying to figure out what we want to fit into our 10 days in country.

I may not be an expert traveler, but I am not a novice either. Regardless, I have heard time and time again that India is unlike any other place and that you will be shocked and thrilled all at the same time. I have a hard time grasping that concept (even with all of the adventures Candice is sharing) but I look forward to experiencing it all firsthand and very soon! I am not, however, looking forward to the long flights that will carry me over 9,000 miles to get there. But on the bright side, one of our connections is in London and that will be my first stop on European soil, even if it is just the airport!

Anyway, just thought I'd share my exciting news with everyone. I'm sure I'll have some good stories to tell when I get back so stay tuned...

Labyrinth Canyon Ladies Club

2007-06-19T10:24:00.000-06:00

Full membership of LCLC--2006 trip

Front--Kim, Candice, Alyssa

Back--Analee, Margot, Heidi

A few years ago I moved in to a new singles ward here in Salt Lake City. To make a long story short after about 6 months into my experience there I got linked up with a group of people that were planning a canoe trip. The group started out rather large but by the time the trip came around we were down to just a handful of girls who had actually committed to go. Our plan was to canoe Labyrinth Canyon on the Green River because our fearless leader, Kim, had been on that stretch a number of times with her family. If I recall correctly, I don't think that any of the rest of us had ever done much canoeing.

In June 2005 we loaded up our gear and our canoes and headed down to Green River State Park. It was raining cats and dogs and continued to do so throughout the night. I ended up sleeping in Lake Alyssa on my side of the apparently not-so-waterproof tent. We got up the next morning, rain still pouring, and actually went to a laundromat to dry some of our sleeping bags and other gear before packing up for the river.

Again, long story short we practically risked our lives crossing flooded out roads to get to the launch area and then braved hypothermia and death to get on the river in a cold downpour. We were still practically new acquaintances yet we pulled together and forged onward in the face of many challenges and ended up having a wonderfully fulfilling experience that has bonded us together and forever formed the Labyrinth Canyon Ladies Club.

We have now made our canoe adventure an annual trip and this past weekend we made our third journey down our stretch of the Green. Unfortunately with Candice in India and Margot otherwise occupied, we were down to four faithful members of the LCLC. Here we are the night before jumping on the river (the front of our shirts paying homage to our missing comrades):

It seems like every year we face a new set of challenges. This year it was the heat, low water, almost non-existent current and on day 2 the wind. Who would have ever thought that you could come face-to-face with white caps and waves crashing into your canoe on what is supposed to be one of the flattest stretches of water around? At one point we struggled to make headway on about a 1/4 mile stretch until we could reach a large sand bar in the middle of the river. While there we played "worst case scenario" and actually considered having to stay another night on the river. That idea seemed not so great once we saw the large feline-esque paw/claw prints along the bank of the river. Hmmm..

So we prayed for some guidance and waited it out a bit knowing that it was already 4:30 p.m. with 10 miles to go and that we wouldn't make the take out area in the dark. And NO ONE wanted to float the 52 miles past our take out until the next one! We were able to get back on the river and even though we did battle the wind on and off, I know that we were given strength beyond our own to keep paddling and make unreal time to finish the last 10 miles in just about 2 1/2 hours. So just remember that life lesson...perhaps God will not calm the winds that beat against you, but he will give you the strength to press forward.

We didn't get back to SLC until about 3 a.m.--entirely exhausted in every way imaginable. But despite this year's challenges, the annual LCLC trip is something I wouldn't miss for the world. There is nothing better than getting far away from cell phones, TV, work and the stresses of every day life and floating down a river in between beautiful red rock canyon walls. I am so grateful for the canoe buddies that have become like family to me and that we can celebrate our friendship every year with a little kick-butt canoeing! Paddle on ladies, paddle on!!

The shadow of our car on the red rock heading out of the canyon...I thought it looked pretty cool!

The road out of Mineral Bottom has a ton of curves with steep drop-offs. Nice work behind the wheel Kimmie!

After 2 days and 22 hours of paddling we earned our merit badge for tough chick canoeing!

2--not necessarily better than 1 or 3

2007-06-18T16:20:00.000-06:00

The title of this blog likely seems a bit strange so let me explain this numbers game:

2 not better than 1
Doing 2 jobs is definitely not better than 1. See my blog from a couple of days ago about changes at work. Today I began the task of doing my job along with someone else's. I know that most of us have experienced that at one time or another as we have covered a coworker on vacation or for sickness, etc. But usually in that type of situation one has a definite light at the end of the tunnel--this being the date that said missing coworker will once again return to the ranks.

In this situation I don't have a light at the end of the tunnel. At least not a specific date to know when the added stress will shift away because my missing coworker will not be coming back and we have to hire a replacement. We have had a lot of turnover in our department but it has been a long time since I was the only Spanish-speaking coordinator around. This will be a tough position to fill because finding a bilingual social worker that wants a not very clinical job at non-profit pay is hard to do. At this point my boss hasn't even posted the job yet and is now on her way out of town. I am working on taking things into my own hands as much as possible to get this job posted and filled as it is definitely in my best interest to hire someone soon! Today 90% of my working time has been dedicated to the other job and not my own. I think I need to clone myself...or find that dream social worker soon...or move away on sabbatical. Wish me luck.

2 not better than 3
I am hoping to have more time tomorrow to blog on my canoe experience from this past weekend. Suffice it to say that when one takes a stretch of river that should be done over at least 3 days or maybe more and tries to condense that into 2 days it doesn't always work out as planned. I am still extremely exhausted and sore (I'm no longer the spring chicken of glory days gone by.) More stories and pictures to come...

The danger of "DO IT YOURSELF"

2007-06-13T11:03:00.000-06:00

There are a number of things in life that I have figured out on my own. I'm not the most technologically savvy person but from time to time I do serve as my mom's computer help line. Of course the fact that I know more than her may just be generational. Anyway, what you see above you is the surround sound system I bought from Circuit City last week (a shopping experience that could be a blog all on its own.) I have been pretty busy lately so it has been sitting in the box until last night when I decided to attempt installation.

Now here is where the danger of the "DO IT YOURSELF" mentality comes in. My sales associate offered me the option of having someone install my new TV and surround sound for me. As I watched the sales total continue to rise with every new cable or accessory that was needed I decided I would save some pennies and install it myself. As I unloaded all of the speakers and accompanying DVD player and began the process of actually hooking things up, that pretty picture of the speakers soon became a jumble of wires looking somehwat like this:

The best part of this tangle of wires is that my beloved sales associate had touted this system as "wireless" surround sound. With further research I found that there is separate accessory that is the wireless receiver which would be an additional $100+ if I decide to purchase. This only added to the Circuit City joy I had experienced during the purchasing process. But suddenly that installation service looked so much more appealing, regardless of the cost. Maybe because at about this point I think I looked something like this...

And let me briefly discuss the helfpulness (or lack thereof) of the installation manual. If only I had brushed up on my Japanese perhaps I could have deciphered the instructions a bit better. Ok, so it wasn't actually in Japanese but it may as well have been because I couldn't make much sense of it. So after about an hour of struggling to hook up the tangle of wires to the main unit and then shove them through the small hole at the back of my entertaiment stand I was ready to hook them up to the TV itself. This process seemed to go much more smoothly than expected and I thought maybe I had finally won the battle.

I turned on the TV and powered up the main unit so that I could be blown away by my surround sound experience. And I definitely was blown away...by the fact that NO sound whatsoever was coming from my magnificent set-up. I went back to my trusty manual to see what I could have missed. And there in the shuffle of pictures I see the text that might possibly be the key to experiencing life in Dolby 5.1--"connect audio cable from main unit to TV (audio cable not included.)" Let's review that last part..."audio cable not included." This is when all sense of reason left me because I cannot comprehend how one could buy an impressive surround sound audio sytsem without having the audio cable needed for it to work to be included in the box. So there I sat, watching the opening scene of "What about Bob?" in complete and utter silence. I think next time I'll abandon the "DO IT YOURSELF" mindset and invest a few extra dollars in my sanity!

2007-06-12T11:02:00.000-06:00

So I actually remember a time when I liked my job. I guess you could even say I loved my job! I would get up in the morning and look forward to coming to work. Don't get me wrong...I don't hate my job, but it's just not the same as it used to be. And that makes me sad.

A brief sypnosis would be that when I first started my job almost 5 years ago I was part of a different department and my job description was a bit different. It was a different time in terms of the whole organization as well. Things seemed to be more carefree, we had quality folks to work with and we were a happy little Shrine family.

Shriners has a little slogan that says "Having fun and helping kids." I am still helping kids but I am not so sure what happened to the having fun part. A few years back my old department was dissolved, the people I truly enjoyed working with were moved to another department and I was combined into an already existing department. Over the years I have come to appreciate my new cohort in their own way but it just isn't the same.

My department now feels like a bit of a dumping ground for everyone else in the hospital to get an issue off their desk and on to ours. More and more programs and responsibilities seem to be absorbed by us and it's becoming more and more unrealistic for us to keep up with those demands.

I think the biggest frustration for me is that we have had a LOT of personnel fluctuation over the past three years. It's like we can never get fully staffed and settle into a model of how we want things to work. Hence, the title of this blog entry. I try to be optimistic in thinking that we will eventually get settled but instead I am repeatedly learning that the only thing constant is change.

If anyone has suggestions on how to deal better with change I'd love for you to throw them my way. I've never dealt well with change and this latest round has me feeling that I may be the next personnel fluctuation they experience. Somebody help me put the fun back into helping kids!

World of blog

2007-06-11T14:21:00.000-06:00

Ok, so it's really not that I'm behind the times or anything. I've known about blogging for a long time. I've looked at many a blog...but I'm not a "blog voyeur" persay. I mean, the blogs I have seen are kept by people I know. It's not like I sit alone in my room late at night browsing random blogs because I need something to fill the void. My life is sad, but it's not THAT sad! :)

Anyway, I guess I've decided that it's time to try something new. To get out there and publish somewhere. Not that I think I have anything terribly exciting or ground-breaking to share. Who knows, I may create this blog and only post every 17.4 days (give or take). Or maybe this will be my one and only post. Or maybe I'll post numerous times a day. The point is...there is a whole world of blog out there to explore and it's time I get my passport stamped.

As Itake a leap into the world of blog, I make no promises and therefore break no promises. So don't come complaining to me if you don't like it. This blog is yours for the viewing. Proceed as you wish...