Blah.

Do you ever feel that way? Just blah? I can't really describe it much better than that. It's that plugging along bit of life that just really gets to you sometimes, you know? At times I feel like I'm trudging through this mud pit from which one just can't escape. Then sometimes you feel a little lighter and think maybe you're coming out of the mud, then you look back and find you've left your shoe behind you back in the quagmire somewhere. Is there a grassy meadow ahead? Perhaps I'm just tired; perhaps I'm just up way too late--perhaps I just need a slobbery kiss from one of my nieces or nephews and hugs from my brothers and sister? Anyhoo, just felt I needed to make my presence known again in blogging land. Still here, feeling blah, but still here. In any case, I will trudge on, nay, I will triumph!

Life is...normal

Well I'm back finally. I feel I have been out of the blog-o-sphere forever. I've just been catching up on some blogs and figured mine needed some updating. So the firestorm is over I suppose and life for us is pretty much back to normal. I do say that with some guilt, however, because I know there are so many people in our area who won't be able to say that for a very long time. Other than a long work week, a little less sleep than normal (which isn't much anyway), and realizing that we really need to clean out our closets so we can find our most valued treasures, our lives were pitifully little changed by the firestorm. I can only be grateful that we are safe and don't have to deal with the headache of property loss. Now we are starting to hear all the sad and touching stories related to all of the fires. I liked one story I heard this morning. Apparently a policeman who was getting ready to head up to the fire area was stopped on the street by a homeless man. The man asked if the policeman was going to the fires. When the policeman replied that he was, the homeless man handed the policeman his tent. A very meaningful gesture I thought. The closest effect of the fires that we felt personally was that the property of Ian's former boss was severly damaged and some of his animals were killed. It was very sad. It will definitely be a long recovery for many in our area.

Not to detract from the previous subject at all, but I must mention one little incident to end on a lighter note. There is actually one casualty of the last couple of weeks that I must report. Sadly, our trusted friend, the good old "Hoover Soft & Light" has sucked her last suck.

(By the way, being the traditonalist that I am, the fact that it is called a "soft & light" makes it female in my book. You may argue amongst yourselves if you disagree.) She was a good little vacuum that served us well. Hailing from the Logan Walmart, she cost us just $45 in the first year of our marriage. Now 8 years later she has sucked faithfully from Logan all the way to San Diego. Her last effort was in vacuuming almost the entire apartment, giving out just before she could get to the last corners of the kitchen. But alas, she did not go quietly. I was just vacuuming along, when the stench of burning rubber became decidely more pronounced. I put my face right down close to take a look into her depths, and yes, I saw sparks. That's when she exploded. Fearing for the safety of my scarless visage, I nearly jumped out of my skin and not wanting to touch the moaning vacuum I ran to the outlet and unplugged the vacuum, and then stood rooted to the spot with my eyes bulging and my heart racing. This is when Ian came running from the office.

"What was that?"

"The vacuum."

"What did you vacuum up?"

"Nothing. It exploded."

"Huh. It smells in here."

So guess what we bought at Walmart last weekend?

Still here...

Just wanted to put a quick note out there if any one was checking. This is a picture of one of the three very large fires burning in our area. We are located in the small triangle just below the 56 freeway on the east of I-5 (lower left corner). As of yet our area is only voluntary evacuation. We are packed and ready to go, but hanging out at home. We don't expect to have to evacuate. We are situated in between the two largest fires. I think if we do have to evacuate it will only be if the worst should happen and the two fires meet. I'm helping out at my hospital during the day and Ian's camped out at home keeping tabs on things. Right now we are safe and comfy. Of course we will let family know if anything changes. Pray for better weather!

Perspective

I have to mention an interesting couple of patients I saw at the hospital the other day. One particular patient had a diagnosis that profoundly affected his appetite. He had been losing weight and was not eating much in the hospital. I went by his room to see if there was anything I could do to help him find something that he would be able to eat. Our kitchen was his limit. His family in the room promptly told me upon my entering that his appetite was just fine, that it was our substandard food that was the problem and that our turkey sandwiches looked like cat food. (Cat food? Really?). Let me just say here that these sorts of outbursts really don’t faze me anymore. (You don’t like our food? Well I don’t make it and we aren’t a hotel you know!). One of the family members even suggested that perhaps if she helped in the kitchen she could show our cooks a thing or two. I told her that I was sure they would love her help (very graciously of course). So in the end, I was surprisingly little able to help the poor man and encouraged his family to bring in food for him.

Next I went to see another elderly patient a few rooms over. This patient, because of his diagnosis, was only able to have liquids at that point and I went into his room to discuss his medical conditions, his recent weight loss, diet for when he went home, etc. He was a delightful man and soon he was asking where I was from, was I married, etc. He noticed my last name on my name badge, which invariably brings on a conversation about Ireland. He told me about his visits there and encouraged me to visit there with my husband. After a wonderful visit, I was preparing to leave and jokingly lamenting with him about his exciting diet of broth and juice. To this he replied “Hey, I spent 6 years in a prisoner of war camp, its all relative.” Is it ever! I wished he could go tell the other patient down the hall a thing or two!

That got me thinking. Life really is so much about your perspective and how you choose to react to things. The only problem is it takes so dang long to gain that valuable perspective that allows you to see things in their proper place! Take Ian’s grandfather for instance. The man is strong Irish-stock, has gone by ‘Red’ most of his life, and single-handedly beat up 6 teenage boys when he was about 70 (they tried to steal his radio). He’s lived through 3 major wars and been shot three times. At 78 he had the right side of his colon removed and when prior to surgery the physician tried to reassure him, he just told the doctor that this was really no big deal and he already knew he’d be just fine. In recounting this to Ian, he filled Ian in on his big secret. “You just choose to be positive” he said.

So here’s my question. Do you have to be a prisoner of war, be shot three times, or have your colon removed to be able to learn how to have the proper perspective on life? Or do we all need to experience starvation, poverty, or depravity in order to learn how to have a positive attitude at all costs? Of course these are extreme examples, but in reality, if you want perspective, I do believe we have to endure a little suffering now and then. As privileged as I am, I guess I just hope that what little I do endure will be enough. I guess that’s what is meant by the vicissitudes of mortality. With the ups and the downs we learn to discern the bitter from the sweet and learn the difference between grief and joy. Perspective is good, but I prefer the joy.

Buddies

Oh, they just make my heart strings twitter.

For Mom

I've been thinking a lot about my Mom this week and wishing I could give her a call, so I wanted to share a little tribute. Forgive me if I go on and on about myself, but this is my blog after all so here goes. You may know from reading Jess's blog that I did a violin recital a little while back. Doing a recital had actually been a goal of mine for a few years. The night of the recital I shared with the audience that the recital had been a long time goal of mine and part of my original intention in doing the recital was so that my Mom could come hear me play again. As you know, I wasn't able to achieve that goal before Mom passed away. Thus the recital had become my way of honoring her and the gifts she left us. I played five pieces that night, and I dedicated the last piece especially to her. Many of you will know the piece as a family favorite--"Ashokan Farewell." I have to say that I think that night was one of the most incredible that I have ever experienced. The joy I felt in achieving that goal and in being able to provide a tangible tribute to Mom was indescribable, and all of the emotion that came with that feeling I poured into that last piece. I really can’t describe the feelings I had during that piece and then when it was all over. I felt elevated and filled with just pure, sweet joy. I know this is starting to sound fairly cheesy, but it's the best I can do. Again, forgive me for laying out for you all the inner thoughts of my head, but I just share it because I'm so grateful to have had the experience and most importantly, am grateful for the saint I knew as Mother. I probably sound overly dramatic and actually feel kind of stupid for posting this, but at the same time feel like its something I want to share, so anyway… The following is a clip of the last piece, "Ashokan Farewell," at my recital. Hope you enjoy.

Tagged

My gracious me I have something else to post about! Jess tagged me ages ago and here it is finally.

Jobs I've Held:
1. Counter girl at Training Table
2. "Landscape Maintenance Technician" for Kaysville City (aka lawn mower and gravedigger)
3. Hostess at Ruby Tuesday
4. Clinical Dietitian for Scripps

Places to go for a weekend getaway:
1. San Diego (there's still plenty here I haven't explored)
The rest is my wishlist (hint hint to hubby)
2. L.A.
3. San Francisco
4. Vegas to see Phantom (and Abby!)

Movies I can watch over and over:
1. Emma
2. Pride and Prejudice
3. Ghostbusters
4. Moonstruck

Guilty Pleasures:
1. A good book and tortilla chips
2. Chips with Ian's guacamole or pico de gallo
3. Walking down the beach right at the water's edge and splashing around a little when I think no one is watching
4. Afternoon nap with my kitty curled up next to me

Places I've Lived:
1. Shreveport, Louisiana
2. Kaysville, Utah
3. Logan, Utah
4. San Diego, California

What were likely the first things you thought of when you saw your significant other for the first time:
1. Nice hair (it was longer than mine was at the time)
2. He must have tons of friends
3. He'll never talk to me
4. I feel very small (short freshman looking at very tall junior)

Places I've been on vacation:
1. Wenatchee, WA
2. Waldport, OR
3. Cancun, Mexico
4. Maui, HI

Favorite Foods:
1. Strawberries
2. Peanut butter
3. Marinara sauce
4. Chips and salsa

If in a "jam" with your spouse, what tactics do you use to get out of the doghouse?
1. Say I'm sorry
2. Give him my cutest puppy dog face
3. Give him a "power hug"
4. Give him a neck rub

Websites I visit almost daily:
1. Email
2. Blogs
3. Work
4. Google

Places I would rather be right now:
1. The beach
2. Anywhere with my family
3. On vacation with Ian
4. ? (I must say I already am in a pretty cool place)

Who sent this to me:
Jessica

Four blog buddies to do this survey:
Who hasn't done this? I'm guessing--
1. Ian
2. Jared
3. Mike
4. Niki

Lions, Tigers, and Bears

So about our lions that Jess referred to. We went to the Wild Animal Park a few weekends ago. I've heard that some people don't really enjoy the park, so I think how much fun you have kind of depends on the day. We must have gotten lucky because we really enjoyed ourselves. We were completely amazed at how close you can get to the lions. Here are some of our pictures (using our nifty camera with all the great tricks and zoom features).

Here's me at the petting zoo.

Here we are on the tram ride around the Africa pens.

Here's a real cheetah.

And here's some of our lions.

Just where I wanted to go today, the cell phone store!

Megan's cell phone was sitting on the kitchen counter.

The cat, Maximus, enters.

Blog unto others as you would have them blog unto you.

Hey bloggers! After months of haunting all my family's blogs without making myself known, I can ignore my adoring fan (i.e. Jessica) no longer, and I am finally making my own blog. Making a blog has actually been on my infernal to-do list for ages, I just for some reason have had this mental block against doing it. I must admit there was some fear involved. Fear of becoming addicted and ignoring other virtuous pursuits (such as doing the dishes), fear of my own perfectionistic tendencies, even fear that you would all finally realize just how boring Ian and I really are. Nonetheless, I am forging ahead into cyberspace with great hope in my future blogging prowess. I am optimistic that blogging will introduce added dimensions of happiness in my life. I look forward to your comments telling me that my idiosyncrasies are perfectly normal, I am hopeful that the need of something to blog about will help Ian and I actually get out a little more, and I expect that the need for pictures will make us use the ridiculous digital camera that we purchased. (You know--the one we bought because Ian, that's right I'm blaming him, just had to have because it had all those cool, extra features that we have yet to learn how to use.) Anyway, at the very least, I hope that if every now and then I include some pictures of the beach, you will be tempted to drop in for a peak (or even tempted to visit!).

So here's my little family. There's a picture of Ian and I (it's kind of an old picture, but one that shows Ian with a little fat on him so we like it) and a picture of our cat Maximus making himself right at home. Welcome to our world!

P.S. Ian made a new blog too. His link is on my page. He will have the monopoly on political commentary for the family.