THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 24 6 to go

Incommunicado

Remember the good old days before cell phones? Ahhh, it was a much simpler time wasn't it.If you were lost, you figured it out. If you were meeting someone, you had to show up - no texting to say you lost track of time. No worries about dead batteries, being out of range or service, not to mention those expensive bills. How did we ever live without them? Somehow we managed. I mentioned to a friend last week that I was going to go without my cell phone for a day. She told me I was crazy, and that it is dangerous. What if my car broke down or if I had some other kind of problem. I gave a lot of thought to what she said. True, having that cell phone handy does make you feel a bit safer. But I just kept thinking of how we managed before cell phones just fine. I decided to give it a try. And for extra incentive, I accidentally left my charger at my parents house, so it was dead anyway. Maybe that was a touch of serendipity. I charged it with my roommates charger so I could use it as an alarm. I got up this morning and turned off my cell phone immediately,  got ready and drove off, sans phone. I went to my carpool's appointed meeting spot only to find that my carpool wasn't there. 15 minutes later, still not there. Not having a cell phone to call or text her, I drove off. I couldn't wait any longer. After getting to school without incident, not having my phone was not such a big deal. Later, I asked my friend what had happened this morning, and of course she said "Didn't you get my text?" Nope. Not today. She told me that she got up late and texted me that she would just drive herself. So, a little mishap, but no big deal.
I think I may have found an answer to the question "how did we ever manage without cell phones?". The answer is that no one  else had a cell phone either. Everyone was in the same boat. Today, you just assume that everyone has a working cell phone on their person if you need to contact them. In fact, it's almost taken as rude if someone doesn't respond to you. Why didn't you respond to my call/text that I sent less than 10 minutes ago? You have your phone right there, right? Well, on the day that you don't have your phone right there, will you survive? I have, so far.

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 23, 7 to go

Hallelujah
Last week, I learned that the Mid single adults in our region are performing Handel's Messiah for Christmas. I have never been to see a Messiah performance or even heard it all the way through. So, I was very excited for an opportunity to not only sing in a choir again, which I haven't done since high school, but in the Messiah! About 10 minutes after the scheduled starting time, there were only 4 of us there. I was worried. Then the director said that if it was just the four of us, we could trade off with the solos. Now, I past worry, and moved to terror. Solos? What had I gotten myself into? Fortulately, more and more people began to trickle in. We ended up with about 20 people in all. Much better. We began to practice our parts together and then joined together again. We practiced the familiar Hallelujah chorus and a couple of others that I hadn't heard before. This is tricky music. Really fast and complicated rhythms. But, it was fun to sing with a group again. Some of the people there were really good. I am excited to see how this turns out. I'll keep you posted on the date of the performance!!

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 22, 8 to go

It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad world...
We all have those movies, TV shows, books, or other things that we hear a lot of good things about but just haven't seen for ourselves yet. "I'll get around to it" we tell ourselves. Someday. I have too many to count and I finally got to see one of them for myself. I have always heard great things about the show Madmen, including its many Emmy awards. I don't know much about it other than its about advertising agencies in the 60's. Thanks to the wonder of Netflix, I am able to watch any episode  on my computer at any time. My friend Tifani were scrolling through the many options available to us and we came across this show, and we both said "I have always wanted to watch it", so that was it. We watched the first episode and we were intrigued. The main character, Don Draper, at first seems to be somewhat decent, just your typical brilliant advertising exec, but by the end of the episode there is more than meets the eye. It is a very interesting show and admittedly very well done. It looks like a movie - the costumes, lighting, sets, etc. I am definitely going to have to watch more to see what these characters are really about. I get the feeling there are a lot of layers to each of them, very complex. So, like an onion, I will attempt to peel away at this show, one episode at a time. Hopefully without any tears.

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2, Day 21, 9 to go

There's an app for that.
Nowadays there is an app for everything. I am always hearing about the latest and greatest in the android market. That's cool! I'll have to try that out! Well, I was determined to find my own app to make others rush to their own phones to download my awesome find. So, I opened up the market on my phone to see what I could find. Soooo many options. I decided to look in the technology section. I Tunes...perfect! Not having an actual Iphone, I thought, what could be a better combination then smart phones and I tunes? Well, there was an app that would allow my phone to work as a remote for Itunes. Awesome! I paid the small fee and downloaded it right away. Now, I can control Itunes on my computer from anywhere in the room. It will access my playlists, control the volume, anything I can do on my computer. Excellent! Truly, there is an app for everything.

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2, Day 20, 10 to go

The witches are out...
Every year, I have seen numerous billboards and heard radio commercials etc. about the witches at Gardner Village in West Jordan. Despite all of this advertising, I have never been to see the "witches at Gardner Village". My younger sister texted me and said she was taking her kids tonight if we wanted to come. Thank you Fall Break!! I was happy to be able to go. We met them and walked around a bit, my niece and nephew were both geared up in adorable Halloween attire. I love those kids!!! We walked around and looked at some of the witches and shops for a while. A favorite was the Halloween village - Ryder loved the moving parts. So did we, although $60 for one house was a bit much. We then went on to dinner at Archibalds. Yummy! They sure have some good eatin' there. Ryder had us all in stiches when he joined in our "adult" conversation without skipping a beat. We were talking about someone that a friend knew who had to move away with her husband, someone made the comment that both of them had to move. Ryder said "Both of them? How TERRIBLE!" It was classic. After dinner we walked around with the kiddos some more. They enjoyed seeing the decorations and light, just being outside. No one bought anything, except my mom bought a small toy for the kids. Aren't grandma's the best?  It was such a fun night. I just love any opportunity I have to spend time with my neices and nephews.

this was Ruby's favorite: the dancing, hula-hooping witch. She was dancing along.

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 19, 11 to go

A rare luxury

Thanks to a fabulous holiday- Fall Break- we were able to have a very early day. School dismissed at 1:30, and the teachers got to go at 2:00. We had suspected we were going to be able to leave early so a few teacheres made some plans to hang out. We thought it would be fun and somewhat luxurious to watch a move and get some snacks. How often do yo uget to do that on a Wednesday afternoon with your co workers? Never!! I brought some Chex Mix and KeriAnn brought some brownie mix. Not just any brownie mix, Ghiradelli Mix. So gooey and chocolatey. Just delicious. We then set out to pick a movie to watch. Sharra, a fellow teacher, had a huge book of DVDs. We narrowed it down to 5 and each assigned "points" to the movie(s) of our choice. We each had a total of 10 points to vote. We narrowed it down to School of Rock, Rocketman, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Ringer, and another that I can't remember. The Ringer was the winner. Only Sharra had seen it, so we were excited. It was hilarious!!! It is about a guy who pretends to be mentally handicapped in order to fix the special olympics. I was a little unsure if I should be laughing at times, but it was very funny. I have heard about this movie before and have been very curious.
Anyway, I enjoyed spending afternoon in luxury in the middle of the week with my most awesome coworkers. We were talkling about how lucky we are that we enjoy eachother so much that we voluntarily spend time together over our break. Loved it!!!

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 18, 12 to go

Dear Mr. Postman

We have been talking about government and community helpers in school this week. I decided that it would be a perfect time to spread some of the love to our wonderful community helpers. I wrote a letter to our mail man (or woman...) and put it in the mail slot. I wrote that we had been talking about community helpers in our classroom and that I wanted to say thank you for the hard work they do. I must confess sometimes I think it would be so nice to just drive around all day, but I know that it's not that easy. A very lonely and thankless job. I thought I would give a thank you to a very unappreciated job.

Thank you, postal workers!!!

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 17, 13 to go

Where did that come from?

Have you ever wondered where some of our famous saying come from? Why must it rain cats and dogs? Did people really chew the fat? I thought I would do a little research and find out about a few...

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw, piled high, with no wood
underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the pet
dogs, cats and their small animals: mice, rats & bugs - lived in the roof.
When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and
fall off the roof, hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs."


The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt, hence
the saying, "dirt poor."

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When
visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a
sign of wealth and that a man "could bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat."

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would
sometimes knock them out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the
road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid
out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather
around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up, hence the
custom of holding a "wake."


England is old and small and they started running out of places to bury
people. So, they would dig up coffins and would take their bones to a
house and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, one out of 25
coffin were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized
they had been burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a
string on their wrist and lead it through the coffin and up through the
round and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the
graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell, thus,
someone could be "saved by the bell," or was considered a "dead ringer."



Now, I am not 100% sure of the accuracy of these meanings (who can believe everything you find on the internet) but I found it interesting nonetheless.

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 16, 14 to go

Homemade Bread...

Who doesn't love homemade bread? Not me. I love it! Not so easy to make though. In fact, I never have. My sister gave me an old bread machine a while back, and I have been wanting to use it for a long time. Well, it may have even been my mom's, I'm not sure. But somehow, I inherited it. I did not, however, inherit any sort of manual or recipes. I looked up my model number online and fairly easily found the recipe and instructions. After a quick trip to the store last night, I was ready to make some bread. I put the ingredients in the machine before I went to bed, set the timer for 10 hours. Not having made bread before, I wasn't sure how it would turn out.

 This morning at 8:30 I went upstairs to the smell of baking bread. Is there anything better?? I let it cool and took it out of the pan. I was a bit worried becuase the crust was so hard. It seemed like it was a rock of bread, not a loaf of yummy, soft, warm bread. After I cut into it, I was relieved! It was soft, warm, and perfect! Time for breakfast.

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 15, 15 to go

Temple

After such a fun night, I was up for a somewhat low key adventure. My friend had contacted me earlier in the week about going to the Provo temple today. Now, of course this wasn't a first for me, but it has been a while, ok, confession, over a year since I have been to the temple. Also, I haven't been with just a friend before. I was excited and grateful for the opportunity to have my recommend and go again.
We had planned to meet outside the temple at noon. It was a gorgeous day, so I didn't mind waiting a while for my friend to get there. Sitting on a bench by the fountain, watching a family who had been sealed together get pictures taken was a perfect way to spend a Saturday.

My friend arrived and we made our way inside. It was a great experience and it felt so good to be at the temple again. We went to Cocoa Bean after and got a cupcake and talked for about an hour. She told me that she and another friend planned on gonig to the temple every second Saturday of the month. I am so glad to have someone to go with.

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 14, 16 to go

Tonight I Gotta Cut Loose...
Well, tonight I have to say was such a fun night! But it didn't start out that way though. I was working until 7:00. Ugh!! I kept telling myself I had fun plans later and that next week is a 3 day week. Once I finally left work, I went to meet my friend KeriAnn for dinner and a movie. We went to Red Robin and Keriann said she knew a server there and we requested to be seated in his section. I had planned for today to have our waiter pick my dnner for me. I was worried that our waiter wouldn't want to take the risk and wouldn't order for me. I was assured that Tyler, KeriAnn's friend and Red Robin employee,  was good at ordering for his guests. I let him know that I didn't want anything with vegetables... he asked if I wanted chicken or beef, or a burger or pasta. I told him to surprise me... This is what I got.

Mmmm. Chicken Parmesan. I was a little unsure of not getting a burger at Red Robin. But the pasta was soooo yummy. It was hot, cheesy, and the chicken had a delicious, crusty breading on it. I was extremely happy with the choice. Tyler has some mad ordering skills.

Don't let the face fool you - he was hilarious!

After dinner, we somehow got our extremely full bellies to the movie theater for phase 2 of the evening. Footloose! I have been waiting for this movie for a long time and was extremely excited. Like dinner, it did not disappoint. It made me so happy! I highly recommend it. Also, if you ever have a waiter who is up to the task of choosing your meal, do it! It was so fun to have a surprise dinner brought to my table.

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 13, 17 to go

Stranded

On my way home from glitter toes my friend KariAnn, who was in car with me, saw a minivan all alone in the parking light with its lights on and hood open. She, being a good samaritan, wondered if they needed some help. We decided to turn around and check. I have never offered road side assistance before. I lack any helpful skills in those kind of situations, not to mention I am a little scared to talk to strangers on the road!! I figured that since I wasn't completely alone and it was an innocent looking minivan - we should check it out. We made a quick U-turn and drove down into the parking lot. We approached cautiously and rolled the window down, with the car still moving in case we needed to make a quick getaway. There was one lone man standing by the hood of the van who appeared harmless. KariAnn asked if he needed help, and he said no, he had just turned on his lights because he needed to see his car better. I guess he was trying to fix it and had it under control. He assured us he was fine and we drove away and took a picture since this was something I have never done before and I immediately thought I is something I could add to my list.

I hope the man was OK and got away safely and I am glad we did too! I don't know if I will ever do this again, unless I am with someone I feel safe with. KariAnn is just the type of person who says "if there's a problem, yo I'll solve it". So, I figured we could try to be of some help together. Even though he didn't need our help, we tried! 

THE NEXT 30 DAYS PART 2. Day 12, 18 to go

Apple Bake

Today, I put my newly purchased apple slicer/corer/peeler to use. I have been craving apple bars for quite some time, and I thought it would be perfect to take them to glitter toes tomorrow. I got off to a bit of a late start since I didn't even get home until 7:30 due to 2 hours of piano lessons followed by grocery shopping. I got home, made some dough. It proved to be a bit of a challenge to roll it out to fit in the cookie sheet and to make it the right thickness. Finally, I got the pan lined with dough made from scratch. Then apple slicing, peeling, and coring all in one motion. I know I keep saying slicing, peeling, coring... but I love it!!
My favorite part was adding the butter and cinnamon sugar and butter on top of the apples. YUMMY!

It was 9:45 when these babies came out of the oven and I still needed to shower. Late night, but good treats. Can't wait to eat them tomorrow... I hope they turn out as good as I remember.  

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 11, 19 to go

On the farm
There is a somewhat famous place in Santaquin: The Big Red Barn. They sell what Santaquin is all about: apples. I have never been, but since this is the season, I wanted to stop by and get some beautiful red Samtaquin apples. My friend from work, KariAnn who carpools with me, came along for the ride. On the way, we kind of took a scenic route thinking would take us to the barn. Well, we ended up going for a short drive up Santaquin canyon. It was beautiful drive with the fall colors and sunshine with a friend. After a few minutes, we realized this was not the right way to go, so we turned around and headed for more familiar territory, the freeway. We shortly arrived at the barn. It was a great sight!





 We entered in search of apple-y goodness. We were in for even more delicious treats! They had really cute aprons, dishes, candy coated peanuts, orange colored hot chocolate, honey, apple crisp mix, etc. So much good stuff. Of course there were 2 larger than life pumpkins...

We walked into the freezer like room where the "money" is kept. The apples. I picked out a few as well as an apple peeler, corer and slicer. I have been wanting to make these delicious apple bars that my mom makes, but they involve a lot of thinly sliced apples. Now, with the easy turn of a handle, I can make them with ease!! Well, after picking out the healthy stuff, we found the ice cream, fudge, and caramel apple station. My friend and I bought a caramel apple and she also bought some fudge. Oh, it was sooo good.

Well, I am happy to have checked out the Big Red Barn, finally and to use my new apple slicer!!

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2 Day 10, 20 to go

Operation Socialite
Last week I was given a challenge. I was talking with a coworker and we somehow got on the subject of dating. She asked what I am doing to change that... We of course got on the subject of church, family home evening etc. She told me I needed to go to Family Home Evening today and she would ask for a report the next day. Well, going to family home evening is not one of my favorite things for many reasons. Particularly in a Mid Single Adults setting. I am not a super outgoing person. I am not shy, just not outgoing. So, to go to Mid Single Adults events where I don't know people is a bit hard and not something I enjoy. I have a hard time approaching people I don't know and initiating conversations and it seems like when I do go to things, no one seems to initiate conversations with me, so I don't feel it's a productive night. Anyway, this was somewhat of a challenge for me, not something I wanted to do. Well, my friend from work was kind enough to come with me. When we got there, we listened to a lesson and had cookies and some mingle time. I talked to a few people that I knew and a girl that I hadn't met before. No boys tonight - but that's an assignment for next week :)

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 9, 21 to go

Testimony.

Today, being Sunday, I felt that I should share my testimony to the virtual world. It's been a very long time since I have shared my testimony in church, so this was the least I could do. I had heard that on mormon.org you could share your testimony and create a profile. So, I now have a profile and my testimony is on the world wide web for the world to see. It was interesting to think about how to put my beliefs into words that anyone could read. In a few days, after my profile has been reviewed, it will be posted on mormon.org. My username is rockyage.

THE NEXT THIRTY DAYS, PART 2, Day 8, 22 to go

I had hoped for something a little more grand today than what it turned out to be. For the last month I had planned to host a BYU Footbal game party at my house. I checked the Cougar's schedule and found that today was the Homecoming game. Perfect!! I talked to some friends and was planning to have some good food and friends over to enjoy a great game. Well, things changed a bit. We found earlier in the week that the game was going to be broadcasted on ESPNU. This was a problem. I don't have this channel. Luckily a good friend of mine has the channel and we relocated to her place. I didn't get to host a game day party, but I still got to go to one. I don't think I have ever gone to someone's house for the sole purpose of watching a football game. Well, after a great dinner at the Pizza Factory and a stop to pick up some treats, we settled down to watch the BYU cougars vs. the San Jose Spartans. It was a great game! The cougars won 29 to 16. Way to go Riley Nelson!!! It was his first time playing this season (I believe) and was a great fill in for Jake Heaps. It was my friends Kariann and Sharra and I. Just a girls night, watching some football! I had a great time and was impressed with my friends' knowledge of the team and the game. A great group to watch the game with. Maybe we should make it a tradition...

THE NEXT 30 DAYS PART 2, Day 7, 23 to go

The laws of the land

When creating my list of things to do for the month, I really wanted to keep it fairly well rounded. I felt I should have some social, artistic, spiritual, things as well as become a bit more invovled in the community. I attended the city council meeting this week and I decided to learn a few laws of our great state and country as well. Be they random, unusual, meaningful, or downright ridiculous. Three of each, as a matter of fact. Here's what I found:

UTAH LAWS:

18-1-1. Liability of owners -- Scienter -- Dogs used in law enforcement.
(1) Every person owning or keeping a dog is liable in damages for injury committed by the dog, and it is not necessary in the action brought therefor to allege or prove that the dog was of a vicious or mischievous disposition or that the owner or keeper of the dog knew that it was vicious or mischievous.

The part of this law that was interesting to me was that it seems pretty clear cut. If you own a dog, you are responsible, whether you know it is a vicious dog beforehand or not. Also, you can't say that the dog has a vicous or mischievious disposition. Is that what that means? I had to read it a few times to make sure.

 20A-3-501. Polling place -- Prohibited activities.
Basically, this law says that it is ok to solicit votes or persuade voters as long as it occurs more than 150 feet from the polls, and  as long as is doesn't interfere with safety. Also, you cannot block the doors or entries to the polls. Remember this next month on election day!

And lastly, I thought I would post it in its entirety:
30-1-1. Incestuous marriages void.
1) The following marriages are incestuous and void from the beginning, whether the relationship is legitimate or illegitimate:
(a) marriages between parents and children;
(b) marriages between ancestors and descendants of every degree;
(c) marriages between brothers and sisters of the half as well as the whole blood;
(d) marriages between uncles and nieces or aunts and nephews;
(e) marriages between first cousins, except as provided in Subsection (2); or
(f) marriages between any persons related to each other within and not including the fifth degree of consanguinity computed according to the rules of the civil law, except as provided in Subsection (2).
(2) First cousins may marry under the following circumstances:
(a) both parties are 65 years of age or older; or
(b) if both parties are 55 years of age or older, upon a finding by the district court, located in the district in which either party resides, that either party is unable to reproduce.

So, it's OK to marry your first cousin as long as you are too old to reproduce

FEDERAL LAWS:

TITLE 20 > CHAPTER 48 > SUBCHAPTER I > § 3401
(3)parents have the primary responsibility for the education of their children, and States, localities, and private institutions have the primary responsibility for supporting that parental role

Enough said. Parents truly are the most important teacher a child will have.

TITLE 25 > CHAPTER 5 > § 179, § 179. Driving stock to feed on Indian lands
Every person who drives or otherwise conveys any stock of horses, mules, or cattle, to range and feed on any land belonging to any Indian or Indian tribe, without the consent of such tribe, is liable to a penalty of $1 for each animal of such stock. This section shall not apply to Creek lands.

Hmm. guess I'll think twice about driving my cattle on those Indian lands. But then again, it is only $1

TITLE 21 > CHAPTER 15 > § 1037, § 1037. Prohibited acts

(c)No egg handler shall possess any eggs after the eggs have been packed into a container that is destined for the ultimate consumer unless the eggs are stored and transported under refrigeration at an ambient temperature of no greater than 45 degrees Fahrenheit, as prescribed by rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary.

I've always wondered who can handle my eggs before I buy them from the store.

I hope you learned something about our great state and country. Be safe and obey the laws of the land.

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 6, 24 to go

Pieshakes!!

There is a place in Provo I have driven by many times. The sign out front of it has always caught my eye: "Famous Pie Shakes". Yes, it's Sammy's. I have never been before but have been wanting to try these famous pie shakes for a long time. I mean, come on. Pie. Shakes. Together. How can you go wrong? My friend went there recently, also for the first time, and raved about these shakes. I decided to amend my list and try one out. I got a banana cream pie shake, and my roommates wanted an oreo chocolate cream pie shake.

It was delicious! They use real pie in the shake and there are yummy bits of crust that add some yummy crunchiness to an ice creamy delicacy. I highly recommend picking one up. But don't take my word for it.

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 5, 25 to go

The ABC's of me

Today, I wanted to do some introspection and compile a list of my favorite things. Rather than use the same old list that circulates around, my roommates helped me by compiling an A-Z list of things to write about. Thanks roomies!!!

A: Animal cracker shape: giraffe
B: Bath and Body Works product:  coconut lime and verbena wallflowers
C: Car freshener scent:   Anything lemony or pine.  - I love fresh scents.
D: Doris Day movie:   Pillow Talk (the only one I've seen)
E: Easter Candy: caramel filled chocolate eggs
F: Full House episode: the one where Jesse and Becky get married (particularly the song "Forever")
G: Girl Scout Cookie: Tag-a-longs
H: Harry Potter Character: Ron Weasly
I:  Immigrant: Craig Ferguson
J:  Joke: "Have you heard about the new pirate movie? It's rated "Arr"
K: Knick-Knack: The Globe Theater in my mom's Dicken's Christmas Village
L: Leading Man: Robert Downey Jr.
M: Magazine: People
N: Neal Diamond song: Coming to America
O: Favorite Ocean: Atlantic
P: Pasta: Cavatappi
Q: Quirk: Watching TV to fall asleep
R: Ride at Disneyland: Tower of Terror
S: Showtune: I Could Have Danced All Night
T: Temple: Laie, HI
U: Underdog: Raj Koothropali from The Big Bang Theory
V: Volcano: Mt. Saint Helens. I was there when it erupted and we have a jar of ashes at my parent's house.
W: While You Were Sleeping Quote: "I like mass in Latin. It's much nicer when you don't know what they're saying"
X: Xanthic object (xanthic means yellow) Yellow rain boots. The shiny, slickery kind.
Y: Yogurt: Danon Light, Strawberry and Bananas (minus the actual strawberries)
Z: Zipcode: 90210

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 4, 26 to go

Beer me a city council meeting.

Last year I wanted to go to a city council meeting, but it didn't work out for various reasons. This year I was determined to make it work. As I set off to go to the Provo City Municipal Council meeting, I had a lot of expectaions. I expected to exciting words like "zoning" and "taxes' etc. I expected it would not be a short meeting, nor an exciting one. I was wrong.
My roommate warned me to be careful not to catch the political bug. I was not worried about that at all.

As I arrived, I was surprised to see that there were a lot of people in attendance. Most notable were about 15 fireman... Not too shabby. There was a stand with several chairs with mics for each of the council members, just like I had been picturing in my mind.

The meeting began with a prayer and the pledge. Someone was a little emphatic saying the phrase "under God", he practically yelled it. That was my first clue that this was no ordinary meeting.  The fireman then gave a presentation about the upcoming Fire Prevention Week, was very interesting and enlightening. Apparently 5 people have died in fires in Provo during the last 2 years.

After that presentation , the floor was open to the public. The first man was an older gentleman who was a bit confused. We couldn't understand him very well, but I heard something about homosexuals and a parade... then the moderator told him to talk into the mic, and I could hear him better. He began to talk about 2 signs of the second coming: the destruction of Abinidi and Sodam and Gamora, and that our society now is so accepting of things that were once illegal and immoral. I was shocked to be hearing about these things at a city council meeting. There were a lot of other people who talked about repealing the ban on beer sales on Sunday in Provo which was on the agenda for a later vote in the meeting. Some in favor of repealing the ordinance and several not. Lots of religious and moral comments, which again, I was surprised to hear at this meeting. After the public floor was closed, they moved on to 3 other things to vote on, and then to the biggie. Repealing the ban on beer sales on Sunday. They asked if anyone else wanted to comment on it. One man, Howard,  who already commented earlier stood up again. The moderator told him he had alread had his turn to speak on the subject. Howard said no he hadn't, but the moderator said the council had already heard from him. Howard continued to argue saying he spoke when the floor was open to the public and not when they asked about the ordinance specifically. The moderator got pretty angry and told Howard to please sit down. Howard was not happy and walked away from the podium asking other people to make their comments to the council as well. The comments went on for about 20 minutes. people were talking about freedom, about what makes our city unique... etc. In the end. the council voted to repeal the ban and adjourned.

While I did not catch the political bug, the meeting was extremely interesting. I think I picked the best week to attend and I think that other meetings would only go down from this one.

If you have never attended a city council meeting before, I recommend checking it out. You never know what drama may be there.

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 3, 27 to go

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!!

In preparation for an upcoming adventure on Saturday (hosting a football party) I thought it would be a good idea to resarch and learn a few things about the game... and its players.
Here are a few things I didn't know before. (Don't laugh at what may be considered ignorance) and correct me if my research led me astray.

A kickoff happens at the beginning of hte 1st and 3rd periods, and after every touchdown

A punt is usually made on a 4th down when the offense has to surrender possession of the ball

A 2 point conversion is when the offense, after scoring a touchdown, gets the ball on the 2 yard line and gets the ball across the goal line.

A safety is 2 points, and the most important thing is impetus (an offensive player that gives the ball momentum...) The defense gets a safety if the ball goes into the opponents endzone and it becomes dead without changing possession. It can also be awarded because of a penalty or when a blocked punt goes out of the kicking team's end zone... still a bit confused about a safety, but learned more than I knew before.

The ref's sign for 4th down is raising his fist above his head.
Loss of down is both hands on the back of the head (looking like he is about to kick back and relax...)

If the QB is standing about 5 yards behind the center, there's a 98% chance he'll pass the ball, otherwise he'll pass to the running back.

And lastly, I decided to get to know a few of our local BYU Cougar heroes. Ok, maybe that's a little optimistic given their past performance, but they still deserve recognition, right?

Jake Heaps, QB
Bryan Kariya and  JJ Di Luigi (is this Mario's brother???)  Running back
Graham Rowley and Eathyn Manumaleuna, our defensive ends
Cody Hoffman and Ross Apo- our wide receivers Going long. chasing those beautiful passes

Well, I think I learned a little bit more about this game and am somewhat more prepared to host a football gameday party at my house on Saturday, If you want to come, let me know - I'm providing french dip sandwiches. Also, if you can think of anything else I need to know about this great American pasttime, leave it here.

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 2, 28 to go

Happy Trees... (and mountains)

Today marks the first TRULY new thing to add to my list for this month. Now, I am many things, but an artist is hardly one of them. I have only ever painted for school, and I hated every minute of it. I decided that I would try my hand, literally, at painting. My good friend Tifani, in a great showing of support, provided my with my art supplies. Armed with (3) 5x7 canvases and numerous paints and brushes, I was ready to make some happy trees. Talking with my family about what I should paint, I decided on a "Fallscape". I began my first painting between conference sessions.

Messy, but hard at work

I had fun mixing colors and creating my own interpretation of autumn.

 I decided after finishing it that I would probably just do that one painting. Not because I didn't want to do another one, I just couldn't think of another thing to paint. Many ideas were thrown out there: Joseph Smith and Thomas S. Monson, the golden plates, the "Hot Dog Dance" from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse... That led us to Disneyland. When my sister said that I should paint all of the mountains from Disneyland, I immediately said "Challenge accepted." This was a little more challenging - there are a lot of colors and textures in some of those mountains and I don't know how well I captured them, but it was sure fun. Probably the most fun I have had on any of my new adventures I have ever done.

Can you tell which mountain is which???

THE NEXT 30 DAYS, PART 2. Day 1, 29 to go

Spontaneous Feng Shui

I must begin this month long adventure with a confession. My new thing for today, was actually done last Saturday. So, it appears I am starting off a little unorthodox. Oh well, deal with it! It was something I have wanted to do for a long time and I felt too good about it to leave off of this list.

Last Saturday was one of those super productive Saturdays where I got the job done. I did some major grocery shopping, all my laundry, cleaned my bathroom, bedroom, and basement, cooked up some chicken and hamburger to put in the freezer. After this was done, I got out of the shower and looked around my bedroom. Newly vacuumed and dusted and cleaned, I thought "What else can I do in here? I know, I'll rearrange my furniture!" I have been living in my apartment now for 3 years and realized at the moment that I was ready for a change in my somewhat small bedroom. Moving a dresser, bed, and bookshelf by myself in a small space was a bit challenging, but I got some good exercise in and moved everything around. I must say I am very happy with it! Rearranging mybedroom brings the feeling of starting over again and an inspiration to be a little more organized and productive. It was the perfect end to a successful work day! Saturday truly was a "special day".

My newly arranced room

Long time... no blog...

Once again, I notice I have been seriously slacking in keeping up my blog. I think that 30 days of new adventures project may have been something of an overkill and I kind of quit cold turkey. No excuses.

Well, to play a little bit of catch up now with more to come later (as my mom would say "a lick and a promise"*) here's a rundown of the last six months of my life:

Christmas was possibly one of the best ever. It was our year for the whole family to be together and we also had the cabin. Family + cabin = AWESOME times. We had so many fun activities planned and it was just so good to spend time with everyone.

During the rest of the winter, not much exciting happened (snow, school, more snow, more school...) but with the spring came a grand adventure: EUROPE! This is where I give the aforementioned "lick and a promise". I will write in much more details about the trip later when I have my trip journal in front of me. Suffice it to say for now it was fantastic and unforgettable.

May brought a couple of noteworthy events. Once again, another school year comes to a close. This completes my third year of teaching. Wow! I am now ready for a level 2 license!!! Wahoo! If only that meant more than essentialy a $120 piece of paper and a lot of work creating a portfolio. You do what you gotta do to stay employed, right?

To add to the end-of-year celebration, the night before school got out was the long awaited U2 concert. It was supposed to have been last June, but poor old Bono hurt his back and they had to postpone the show for a year. It was worth the wait. It was one of the best concerts I have ever been to. I went with my friends Andrea and Amber. I knew Amber in high school, but haven't seen her much since. The funny thing is that we actually flew to Seattle together in highschool to see U2. Oh, my U2 buddy. The stage: awesome!

The music and performances were just phenomenal. If you haven't seen U2 in concert, I highly recommend it. Your life will never be the same!

Now that school has been out for a few days, it's been uneventful. We have had an extremely wet and cold spring and no summery, sunny weather to speak of yet, which makes pool time nonexistent. Tifani and I tried to use our season passes to Seven Peaks yesterday only to find out that they don't open until 4:00 this week while most kids are still in school. Oh well. Plenty of time left.

Well, stay tuned for more info about the Europe trip. Coming soon...

My Most Excellent European Adventure, Part 3. Day 11. Frites!!

Today is our last day :( I can't believe it, it's gone by so fast and has been so amazing. To start off our final day, we left at about 10:30 after a breakfast of pain au chocolat at the house. We had about an hour and a half drive to a beautiful old town called Brugges. Lots of shopping and eating! Not to mention beautiful buildings.

 After parking a ways out of town - it was crowded- we walked around a bit and had lunch at of the many open air restaurants.

Our waiter was a slightly better waiter than a photographer... I AM in the picture, I promise...

The food was ok- I think I had the best luck of all of us. A delicious cheese croquette and a croque monsieur. After lunch, we split up for a while. Betsy found another flea market- she has a special radar!

Meanwhile, Angela went shopping for some clothes, and Heidi and I went wandering around. We struck gold at this shop. 

 This place had the BEST chocolates possibly I have ever had. Beautiful and relatively inexpensive, it was so pure heaven!!

We all met up again to take another canal tour of the city. While we waited, we got another picture of the whole crew...

Aren't we cute??

 It was such a beautiful and charming tour for many reasons...

beautiful buildings...

beautiful weather...

towering steeples..

very attractive, and ridiculously charming, Flemish tour guide...

Our tour guide was so funny! When we got off the boat, I thanked him in French and he told me not to start speaking French- to be smart and speak English. Then as he was helping me out of the boat, in my true to self-clumsy fashion, I lost my balance a bit as the boat rocked. We did a little dance together right on the dock.. Oh swoon... Loved him! 

We tore ourselves away from the beautiful canal, and our tour guide... and headed to a church called the Holy Blood. Supposedly, they have some of the blood of Christ in a vial and you can pay a donation to touch it. Very interesting and beautiful church.

More colorful than the stone and stained glass churches we have seen elsewhere. We wanted to go to another church where they have a statue by Michelangelo, but it had already closed. We got some famous Brugge frites- or fries. If you are ever in Brugge, don't forget this local delicacy!!

Andalouse sauce is the way to go!!

Don't eat with your hands!!


 After the frites, I drove us back to Brussels for the last time and we began the sad task getting ready to go home. Laundry, packing, charging up electronic devices... So sad, but I think we are ready to be home, but not back to real life. It's going to be a rough transition I'm afraid. But I am so excited to see everyone and tell them about this wonderful, amazing adventure. I have been really lucky to have the opportunities I have had to come here several times and hope it's not the last!! Until then, au revior and auf wiedersein! 

*another delicious food day- here's what was on the menu:
pain au chocolat
cheese croquettes
croque monsieur
waffle
chocolate
frites


Do I really have to go back to American food???

My Most Excellent European Adventure, Part 3. Day 10: In the Trenches

 After such a chaotic couple of days, it was nice to have a relatively low key day. We slept in a bit and and left at about 10 to go to a local farmer's market where we assured the best Belgian waffles around. It is such a different way of life to buy all of your food in an open air market - and just a few things at a time. No buying in bulk here. It would be very hard to get used to, I think. It was very charming and fun. The best part was of course the waffles!!

Delicious bread. 

Olive bar

Beth scoping out the wares

Apparently this market is known for having the best waffles. The secret is this: they put big chunks of sugar in the batter so it sticks to the waffle iron and kind of carmelizes each waffle.No toppings, syrup or anything else needed. They are amazing on their own.

The piece de resistance... 

I enjoyed every bite

After the waffles we wandered the market for a bit and I found some mausches (chocolate sprinkles)  at a local store and we were off to to town of

Ypres... or Ieper... It is known by many names but is pronounced (ee-pray) This is a beautiful town with a lot of WWI history. We went to a fantastic WWI museum- probably the best museum I have ever been to. Lots of interactive things and multi media (music, voices reading texts, sound effects, videos... you name it!) 




They gave each of us a ticket with a person's name on it to scan in and learn about throughout the tour. At the end you got to find out if the person lived or died.

This was my person. She was a nurse who did not survive the war.

I learned a lot about the history of the war and the area. There were so many battles that took place here and this was also the location of the famed Christmas Truce. 

On the way we stopped at a few historical sites. First up was Yorkshire trench.

Our next historical stop was Flander's Fields. This is the location of the famous poem by the same name. This was written John McCrae.

The fighting that took place here and where the fallen soldiers are now buried was in someone's farm. I can't imagine a war taking place in inhabited areas, or literally in someone's back yard. Quite sobering. This was such a beautiful area dotted with sad reminders of a World War all around.

We arrived at the Passey's at about 5:30 and relaxed for a while. We decided that we would treat them to dinner as a thanks for their hospitality. To Pita Palace! Once, again the fries and andalouse, meat and other fillings did not disappoint. We just chatted, played some games with the family and headed to bed. Only one more day to go! I've been thinking about Dad's surprise party tomorrow night at home. Mom and everyone must be so busy getting ready. I feel bad I am missing it, but not much I can do. Hope the surprise goes off well. I am sure it will be a fun party. Can't wait to hear about it in a couple of days. 

Thought I would include a list of the yummy food we had today:

waffles in Brussels

Italian ice in Ypres

Eclair

Pita

Various chocolates 

   = Yummy!!!