Monday, January 29, 2007
Ahhh....breath of fresh air!
Snowmobiling up at Strawberry Reservoir/Daniel’s Summit. First time out of the inversion in a week. I’ve never seen Utah Valley so disgusting before. I want to get one of those SARS masks to wear around. Up at Daniel’s Summit, I sprawled out on the ground, took a deep breath of clean air and enjoyed feeling the sun on my skin instead of the sticky grey air in the valley. Snowmobiles are so much fun!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
I'm an aunt (for the 12th time)
Lainee Scott Whitesell was born early this morning and weighed 6lbs 6oz.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Ode to Macy
Macy left us to go play rugby for the BYU Hawaii team and things aren't the same without her!!!!
Not for the weak stomach...
Moon got his hind foot stuck in the slats of an extremely heavy metal gate out at the farm last weekend. Guessing by the massive trail of blood he left in the snow…we figure he drug it around for a while before freeing himself. Three of his 4 legs were thrashed and swollen larger than I’ve ever seen before. Jake, Courtney, Melissa, and I have spent countless hours playing vet with him. We’re hoping the coronet band won’t be too badly damaged and that he’ll walk away with no long term problems and just the inevitable scar.
Brrrrrrrrr!
The weather has turned quite bitter here in Utah Valley as of late. James, Courtney, and I went riding down by Santaquin on Saturday, and it was the coldest ride of my life. When we finally got back to the trailer and dismounted I realized my feet were completely frozen. Ok, maybe only my boots, but they were literally frozen stiff in the position I'd ridden in. Anyone who has ever jumped off of a horse in cold weather knows of the shooting pains I experienced when my feet made contact with the ground. Ouch! I waddled like a duck around as I unsaddled and put Dollar's blanket back on him. He's pretty miserable too. The icicles hanging from his whiskers have now been there for 4 days and I can’t keep the water troughs busted up. I hear it is the upper 60’s in SC.
Things I enjoy about this weather:
-Watching people slide around the roads is really fun and exciting to me
-Obviously snowboarding
-The feeling of taking a hot shower and rediscovering my hands and feet
-Making snow cream for Utah natives who have more snow than they know what to do with but somehow never thought to make it into the amazing dessert we southerners love
-Sleeping in hoodies and sweatpants
-The way the mountains look covered in white
-Wearing my favorite green hat (I know it's not stylish, but it's my favorite hat-enough said)
-Saying "nice toboggan" and watching the confusion
(BTW- Toboggan is what you westerners call a beanie, a sled is, well, a sled)
-Cuddling (I miss you Amanda!)
-Seeing my breath and quoting Sanka in “Cool Runnings”
Things I enjoy about this weather:
-Watching people slide around the roads is really fun and exciting to me
-Obviously snowboarding
-The feeling of taking a hot shower and rediscovering my hands and feet
-Making snow cream for Utah natives who have more snow than they know what to do with but somehow never thought to make it into the amazing dessert we southerners love
-Sleeping in hoodies and sweatpants
-The way the mountains look covered in white
-Wearing my favorite green hat (I know it's not stylish, but it's my favorite hat-enough said)
-Saying "nice toboggan" and watching the confusion
(BTW- Toboggan is what you westerners call a beanie, a sled is, well, a sled)
-Cuddling (I miss you Amanda!)
-Seeing my breath and quoting Sanka in “Cool Runnings”
Sam Walton owes me!
So I took my car to Wal-Mart to get my oil changed. When I went to pick it up, I paid and then the gum smacking teenager told me the manager wanted to walk me out to my car. I thought great….here we go; he’s going to tell me I need to buy this fluid and that fluid, or my car is going to blow up. Well, I was wrong. As we walked he said, “we had a lil’ accident with your car.” I said, “you’re pulling my leg right?” He said, “no” as if thinking what kind of stupid joke would that be!?! The video shows they dropped a wheel off of this machine and it crashed into the side of my car. My favorite part of the story- they actually charged me for the oil change before telling me they had an “accident” with my car.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Catching up with an old friend~
I had the opportunity to go and visit Josh Cramer three different times while I was home. The visits were such a big part of my trip home, I wanted to write something about them. The first visit was quite intimidating, contrary to what I had expected. I walked up to a door amidst towering fences heavily covered with razor wire. As I stood in line I observed the other people waiting and imagined what tragedies they had been through that brought them to such an uninviting place. We all had something in common; we cared about someone inside. After being searched and checked in, I was then shuffled through numerous doors/rooms and down a long walkway. I finally made it into the visitation room. I checked in there as well and took a seat. I was then informed by a friendly fellow visitor that the tables were assigned and there was a correct and incorrect side of the table to sit on. Once I was compliant with all the rules, I found myself internalizing the thought that I was about to see Josh face to face. It had been over 9 years since I had seen him and probably 7 since the last letters were exchanged. I was nervous. What if there wasn’t anything to talk about. Do I hug him? Will conversation be forced or easy? What will he look like? In about 10 minutes he walked through the door and we both had enormous smiles spread across our faces. (I’m sure partly from being nervous) I could type ten pages of the rest of this visit and the following two, but I’ll just share a general overview.
Conversation was never hard; Josh is a great conversationalist. He was extremely happy, upbeat, and positive to be around. He is writing a fictional book based on some of the characters and events in the Book of Mormon, and has become a superb wood worker, building anything from clocks to mini pool tables. He told me all about the jobs he has in a wood work shop making specialized/custom flooring. There’s much more to it than that, but I’ll play the girl card; I don’t know exactly what he does, only that it is very labor intensive. Companies pay the state $7 an hour for labor, the state keeps like $2 of each $7 and after an augmented amount of tax dollars are withheld, he keeps $1.50. You may ask…what does he need money for? A lot! For example, to keep pictures he receives he needed an album. The only way to get stuff like that is to order it from an approved catalog. The catalog charges $X and then the state charges Josh $X plus whatever profit they want to make. They can’t get fruit because too many people were making wine, and they lost their thick wool blankets to a much thinner version because people used it to escape the vicious razor wire. They have rules for everything because you can assume someone abused the freedom somehow.
We also spent a good bit of time reminiscing about high school days: Mrs. Gutierrez and the antics we each pulled in her Spanish class, Josh’s wrestling days and his numerous state championships, football games, and common friends. After my visits I felt a real love for Josh. I’ve always loved his family, but had now had a chance to get to know him all over again and in a more real way. 10 hours of talking had felt like 4, and I drove away with a new and better perspective of the blessings in my life.
I wanted to share my experience for 2 reasons. 1) As I said earlier, it was an important part of my visit home 2) I encourage all of you who knew Josh or would like to know him again to write or visit. It was a very positive and enjoyable experience.
Conversation was never hard; Josh is a great conversationalist. He was extremely happy, upbeat, and positive to be around. He is writing a fictional book based on some of the characters and events in the Book of Mormon, and has become a superb wood worker, building anything from clocks to mini pool tables. He told me all about the jobs he has in a wood work shop making specialized/custom flooring. There’s much more to it than that, but I’ll play the girl card; I don’t know exactly what he does, only that it is very labor intensive. Companies pay the state $7 an hour for labor, the state keeps like $2 of each $7 and after an augmented amount of tax dollars are withheld, he keeps $1.50. You may ask…what does he need money for? A lot! For example, to keep pictures he receives he needed an album. The only way to get stuff like that is to order it from an approved catalog. The catalog charges $X and then the state charges Josh $X plus whatever profit they want to make. They can’t get fruit because too many people were making wine, and they lost their thick wool blankets to a much thinner version because people used it to escape the vicious razor wire. They have rules for everything because you can assume someone abused the freedom somehow.
We also spent a good bit of time reminiscing about high school days: Mrs. Gutierrez and the antics we each pulled in her Spanish class, Josh’s wrestling days and his numerous state championships, football games, and common friends. After my visits I felt a real love for Josh. I’ve always loved his family, but had now had a chance to get to know him all over again and in a more real way. 10 hours of talking had felt like 4, and I drove away with a new and better perspective of the blessings in my life.
I wanted to share my experience for 2 reasons. 1) As I said earlier, it was an important part of my visit home 2) I encourage all of you who knew Josh or would like to know him again to write or visit. It was a very positive and enjoyable experience.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Good-bye 2006!
1/2/06 oops I mean 1/2/07
Welcome 2007!
I was reading through my journal on my plane ride back to Utah. What a crazy year! I went on some fun trips (Moab, Zion, Goblin Valley, San Rafael Swell, AZ, NM, WY, ID, FL, SC, NC etc…), I moved Dollar up from AZ, descended my first class C canyons, got a chance to be an assistant canyoneering guide, purchased my first mountain bike, learned to ride in powder, learned to ride regular and goofy on my board, hitch hiked numerous times, experienced my first aneurism, got to wear a neck brace, ran up Y mountain, threw up on Y mountain, went through 10 roommates, moved twice, went white water rafting without a guide, slept on the sand by the Virgin River all alone, didn’t fall off a horse, get bitten by a horse, or kicked by a horse all year long, bought my first Australian saddle, landed my first salaried position, received flowers from a guy I liked, attended my grandpa’s 100 birthday party, made my first batch of rice krispy treats ever, danced on a table, slept in my car, did not get a parking or speeding ticket, I did laugh so hard I peed my pants, I cut my own hair, raced a train on Dollar, went running bare back through hay fields, jumped off cliffs, went sea kayaking, went surfing, napped by the ocean, went to Disney World, met lil’ Lexi and Nicholas, I’ve been happy, I’ve been sad…..I could go on for quite a while! 2006 was amazing and I can’t wait to make 2007 even better!
Welcome 2007!
I was reading through my journal on my plane ride back to Utah. What a crazy year! I went on some fun trips (Moab, Zion, Goblin Valley, San Rafael Swell, AZ, NM, WY, ID, FL, SC, NC etc…), I moved Dollar up from AZ, descended my first class C canyons, got a chance to be an assistant canyoneering guide, purchased my first mountain bike, learned to ride in powder, learned to ride regular and goofy on my board, hitch hiked numerous times, experienced my first aneurism, got to wear a neck brace, ran up Y mountain, threw up on Y mountain, went through 10 roommates, moved twice, went white water rafting without a guide, slept on the sand by the Virgin River all alone, didn’t fall off a horse, get bitten by a horse, or kicked by a horse all year long, bought my first Australian saddle, landed my first salaried position, received flowers from a guy I liked, attended my grandpa’s 100 birthday party, made my first batch of rice krispy treats ever, danced on a table, slept in my car, did not get a parking or speeding ticket, I did laugh so hard I peed my pants, I cut my own hair, raced a train on Dollar, went running bare back through hay fields, jumped off cliffs, went sea kayaking, went surfing, napped by the ocean, went to Disney World, met lil’ Lexi and Nicholas, I’ve been happy, I’ve been sad…..I could go on for quite a while! 2006 was amazing and I can’t wait to make 2007 even better!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)