Graduation In Lander

I would have written yesterday, but I happened to be in Lander, WY at that time with no computer. It all started Saturday when I was at my nephew's (a.k.a. Iron Man's) 4th birthday party.



Mike showed up to the party late because he was working, and he had one thing on his mind - seeing his son graduate from high school. The problem was, his son lives 5 hours away from us in Lander, WY. (Quite possibly the most boring little town in the entire USA.) We had planned to drive up early the flowing morning, but Mike was worried about not getting enough time with his son, Daylen, because Daylen was leaving Wyoming immediately after graduation for a summer marching band tour. Hence, our hasty decision to leave Utah that night and get to Lander about 12:00am.

Five grueling hours later we arrived in Lander and were greeted by the Russian mafia. Ok, maybe it was only the motel clerk who checked us in who had a Russian accent and said, "Your room have two beds, but I only charge you for one so don't use other bed." Let the record show that we only slept in one of the beds.....one horrible, uncomfortable, bed.






Both Mike and I barely slept at all that night, and YES, that last picture is of the STAINS that were on the bed. I also never discovered a single towel in that hotel room that didn't have stains on it. But I digress. We were awakened in the morning by the lovely sounds of possibly birds and small rodents fighting in the next room. This was about 5:30 AM. We couldn't sleep any more than that because our bodies WOULD NOT TOLERATE ANOTHER SECOND IN THAT BED. We got dressed and practically ran to the check-out desk. We were surprised to find our car unharmed where we had parked it in the gravel lot near an abandoned washer and dryer. At least that hotel room had a nice t.v.



It's like the owner decided to skimp on everything, but God forbid he have crappy t.v.s. By the way, Mike took all the hotel pictures. I assumed he would turn off the t.v. before taking the picture. I assumed wrong.

The rest of our time in Lander was fairly enjoyable just because Daylen was there. I can't even describe how happy Mike was just to be with him.



The only other downside was our brief experience with Catholic church. Daylen's mom had him go to church that morning for a religious graduation ceremony, and Mike and I tagged along to support Daylen. Well I had never been to a Catholic church before then, and if I had known what it would be like I WOULD HAVE NEVER GONE. It's not that I have anything against religion. People can worship how they like, but that mass was NOT HOW I LIKE TO WORSHIP. It was all about repetition and chanting and singing boring, tuneless hymns. The best part was when the priest actually stopped chanting and gave a sermon. If I was catholic, I'm pretty sure I couldn't stand going to church more than once, IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. I think 90% of the mass is the exact same every time. Have some originality. Spice it up a little. That's all I'm saying.

The actual graduation ceremony was not bad except for the seating. We had to sit on bleachers which were not at all behind-friendly. It took all I had not to yell "FIRE!" during the ceremony just so I could stand up. As it was, I tried to distract myself by counting how many people in the crowd were wearing cowboy hats. A lot of people there wear cowboy hats. That is not because they are actual cowboys, but because they want to pretend they are cowboys even though they are really middle-aged men who work somewhere like Maverick.

Here are some pictures of the graduation. They are blurry for the most part because in spite of getting to the graduation an hour early, we still didn't sit close enough to get a decent picture.





On the way home I took this picture of the clouds because they looked really beautiful.



They are the one good thing left in Wyoming since Daylen will be leaving for college in Ohio. Congratulations Daylen! I know you will do great things with your life!

In The Wee Morning Hours

Writing a blog yesterday didn't quite work out how I planned as in IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. From the time I got up yesterday to the time I went to bed I felt like very little of that time was just for me. I worked, I babysat, I cooked, I cleaned, I watered the plants. So today, I unbelievably have extra time before I have to be to work. By extra, I mean 5 minutes. That is good for me. Usually I am running out the door with only one shoe on and yelling something to Bear like,"Be good! Don't eat any remotes!" So I might as well knock this one out of the park while I have time. Or at least bunt it. Today doesn't promise to be much better since the lawn needs to be mowed and the fingerprints on the coffee table are calling my name. Then there are birthdays and graduations and appliance sales galore over the Memorial Day weekend. So don't expect too much from me. I can only do so much.

Is It Just Me?

I guess it's just me who thinks that 95% of new music today is total crap. Everywhere I go everyone else seems to be jamming out to one of those songs that they only play 13 million times a day on the same radio station. At the risk of sounding like an old geezer, I want to say that OLDER MUSIC IS BETTER. I'm not talking about classical, although that's what I grew up around and it certainly has its merits. I'm talking about music that was made as little as a few years ago and older. It seems like musical artists back then just had more passion and meaning to their music. It wasn't so much about being a celebrity as it was about being able to truly express yourself through music. Now music is more about how outrageous the singer can be and what songs they can hurry and produce to make a quick buck. There are so many songs now about getting drunk and partying. Don't get me wrong. Music is made for parties, but does it have to be so one-dimensional? Where is the music with passion? The music that takes risks? Sometimes I seriously feel like I am in the twilight zone where everyone in the world likes bad music. Is it just me......?

Oh Holy Tent

I would like to introduce you to the latest addition to my family. The magnificent, the amazing, the plasticy.......tent!



Ta-dah!

I haven't had a chance to put it up yet because it has been raining for the past few days, and there is absolutely no way ANY tent will fit inside our house. But I'm pretty sure it will be stupendous! Mike may not share my enthusiasm for the tent, but he still bought it for me and I love him for that. I don't even completely understand my love for camping. By all accounts I should hate camping because I don't like being dirty, and believe it or not I do enjoy the comforts of technology. Maybe it is because of all those fond memories I have of camping as a child. Maybe it is the simple fact that nature can make me feel a peace that nothing else can. I am constantly in aw at its beauty and majesty. Give me a day that is free of temperature extremes and excessive amounts of bugs and I will almost always choose to be outside, basking in the beauty.

I Don't Remember

I know my posts have been sparse lately, but so have ideas of things to write about. I don't want to write about just any boring old thing. I have standards damnit! This hobby is sure difficult.

I think one thing that makes being an adult harder than being a kid is that the older you get the more you have to remember. When you are a kid all you have to remember are basics like family birthdays, your address and phone number, and when your school assignments are due. When you become an adult, things get far more complicated. For starters, more kids are born into your family, so you have all those birthdays to remember. Then there is your anniversary and the anniversaries of any siblings. Then this is where it gets difficult -

What bills to pay
When bills are due
When to change the oil in your car
When to mow the lawn
When to do the laundry
When to run the dishwasher
When to register your car
When your friend's birthdays are
When to buy ink for the printer
When to get a dentist check-up
When to get a doctor check-up
What your social security number is
What your address is
What your locker combination at work is
What your phone number is
When to do taxes
When to get health insurance

I could go on forever. Of course for those of you who are less uptight about having things right, the list is much shorter -

What to do right now

I envy people with that list. While I am constantly amazed at the capacity of the human brain, there are many days where I feel like I have reached my limit. I JUST DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER ANOTHER SINGLE THING! That is why I am a big believer in simplicity. Sometimes you have to remember to forget some things.

A Walk In The Park

Today Bear and I went for a walk at the Ogden River Parkway. It all started with Bear pacing across the kitchen floor ALL MORNING. All I would hear was click, click, click, as she walked back and forth, and then once in a while her head would peek through the doorway and she would look at me like, "Why aren't we doing anything?" So finally, to save my sanity and avoid any more "clicking" I decided to take her for a walk. Also, I could probably stand to do a little exercise since my midsection is ignoring my pleas for it to shrink. When we arrived at the parkway and started our walk the weather was beautiful and the walk was very enjoyable. That is until we got to the part of the path that was unexpectedly closed for construction. A smart person would have probably turned back and returned the way that they came. Judge me as you will, but I decided to "go around" the construction and try to rejoin the path. It didn't quite work that way. I ended up in downtown Ogden trying to find anything that even resembled a path. To make matters worse, Bear looked like she might pass out any second from heat stroke. Luckily for me, the Ogden street system is very easy to follow and Bear and I made it back to the path fairly quickly. In fact, we made it back to the part of the path that we would have gotten to had we TURNED AROUND AND WENT BACK. Once we got back near the river I let Bear off her leash so she could cool off in the river. I couldn't stop her from drinking the water, so let's hope she doesn't get sick from that. I don't need her to hate me any more than she does now that I took her on that ordeal. She acted very patient during the whole walk, but inside she was probably fuming with anger an annoyance. Now she is passed out from exhaustion and probably thinking, "I will never let that woman take me for a walk again."

Barely Presentable

I might have blogged sooner today had I not been sewing my shirt for AN HOUR. Some shirts that I own seem to be poor quality because they get MILLIONS of tiny holes in them. Maybe the company (ahem, Old Navy) should consider making better products. Anyway, no harm done except for that HOUR I LOST FROM MY LIFE. I know most people would probably consider the shirt a lost cause and throw it away. You know me better than that by now. I could never do that. I save my clothes until the bitter end even if I do look like a slightly dressed up hobo. You can't even see the sewing, see -



Oh wait, there it is -



One more hole and I am throwing it out....seriously.

I also want to announce my success at mowing the lawn! I would like to thank my husband for showing me how to use the temperamental lawn mower and for making dinner like a good housewife while I was mowing. I would also like to thank Bear for all her support and encouragement and for her unique way of fertilizing the lawn. No thanks to the lawn mower. You're a bitch. I came away from the experience with only slight injury to my hands. My palms hurt whenever I put any pressure on them. I guess that is the price you pay for a beautiful lawn. Ok, a barely presentable lawn.

Working On My Man Skills

It's amazing how fast the days go by when you have to come up with something to blog about. Since I am not like every other woman my age in Utah, I can't blog about just giving birth to my THIRD child. Oh yes, I read other blogs and no less than FOUR of them are mothers my age who are on their third child. Oh well, I guess my day will come if I ever conquer the greatest evil ever created - health insurance. For now I will blog about my adventures with lawn mowing. Tantalizing, isn't it? Today I decided to mow the lawn for the first time in MANY YEARS. I really have no problem with mowing besides the the whole sweating thing and the possibility of sunburn. However, I grew up as the only girl in a house of three brothers. Any physical labor was alway differed to the boys first. Even though I know this is sexist, I had no real problem with it until I grew up and I didn't know how to fix a car or work a lawn mower. Yes friend, as I write this the lawn is still not mowed because I COULDN'T START THE MOWER. I'm not sure if this has something to do with my weak, flabby arms or with my lack of lawn mower knowledge. Ether way, I must now wait for my man to return home from work to show me how it is done. I may be weak in the "boy skills" department, but let me tell you I can sew a mean quilt.

Ah Rain, How I Love You

I don't believe I have ever mentioned in this blog how much I like the rain. There. I said it. I like the rain. Well, technically, not any sort of rain. I like thunderstorms the best. If there was a thunderstorm EVERY DAY followed by sunshine and warmth, I would eat that up! Yesterday, Mike and I went into a store and the weather at the time was fair. Not too cloudy and not too cold. Well, about 10 minutes into our visit, we start to hear rain POURING onto the roof. Not just sprinkling, but POURING accompanied by loud thunder. I was thrilled! I truly need to get one of those electronic devices that play rain sounds while you go to sleep. I think I would sleep like a baby every night. Another reason I love rain is because it waters the lawn. I don't have any sort of sprinkler system in my yard and I really don't enjoy dragging the hose around every few minutes to try and get every corner of the yard. Also, rain gives you a good excuse not to mow the lawn. Ah rain, how I love you.

One little side note. I have to show off this beautiful bracelet that Mike got for me on his business trip. He got me one other gift while he was away, but the only thing I can tell you about that gift is - sometimes adults like to wear stretchy pants.....just for fun. Thank you babe.

I Can See Clearly Now

If I could have just gone through life without needing glasses, that would have been a huge load off my stress level. But no, I only made it until 9th grade. My dad is nearsighted and my mom was farsighted, so I was doomed from the beginning. It appears I have my father's eyes. Anyway, glasses may not seem like a huge stress to all you "normal" people, but to me they burden me considerably. I have to think about eye exams at least every two years, and what if I don't have vision insurance? WHAT THEN? I also have to worry about becoming the victim of some huge natural disaster in which my glasses are lost or broken and I have a live in a hostile world without being able to see farther than 5 inches. OH GOD! What if I get stranded on a deserted island without my glasses? YOU SEE THE DANGERS OUT THERE?!

There are several solutions to the glasses dilemma. One is contacts. Me and contacts were getting along fine for about ten years until suddenly they decided,"Let's scratch her eyes out!" No more contacts. If you think about it, contacts really aren't better than glasses in any disaster scenario because you can only leave them in for a few days at the most and then you are out of luck. However, contacts are wonderful for everyday life. No constantly cleaning your glasses or bumping them into things and bending them or getting rain spots on them when it rains. Too bad my contacts turned against me. I guess my only other option is the laser eye surgery. But what if they mess up and blind me? And how am I going to pay for that? And what if.........?

Forever On The Fence

Day 5 without Mike. Going stir crazy. Have become Zuma Master. TOMORROW MIKE COMES HOME!

I have been thinking lately about horoscopes and how most people seem to look down at you if you believe in them. I wouldn't say I totally believe in horoscopes, but I don't completely discount them either. I look at them more like advise. If it can help me have a better life, great! If not, no big loss. I find it kind of entertaining to see if the horoscopes can actually describe how I feel that day. A lot of the time they are way off, but sometimes they are pretty accurate. That may just be luck or whatever, but if it is entertaining, why not do it? Well, you probably shouldn't do it if you are one of those people who base every aspect of their lives on their horoscope. There is no "manual" for life that tells you how to do everything perfectly. Sometimes you have to make mistakes and sometimes "good enough" has to do. I believe we make our own destinies and sometimes things "just happen." I don't believe much in divine order, or fate, or predestination, or whatever you want to call it. However, I am always open to hearing something that might change my mind about such topics. The things I hear may sway me closer to one side or the other, but it is always a sliding scale for me. I am very rarely set in stone on my opinions. I know it must drive plenty of people crazy that I am forever on the fence (Mike), but life is too mysterious to be closed minded.

No One To Blame But Myself

While my husband is out of town for job training what do you think I do with all my free time? The answer is - a whole lot of nothing. The only thing I might accomplish is setting a record for hours spent watching t.v. Ever since Mike came into my life he has been my sidekick, my partner in crime, my best friend. We haven't been apart for this long in almost four years and frankly I don't have much fun without him. I mean, who is there to laugh when I spill something on myself for the 234,829 time? Bear? She just stairs at me like the idiot I am. Who is there to take Bear out in the wee morning hours to do her business? No one but little old me. Who do I have to drag into clothing stores and wait in boredom while I look for hours? Not my best friend. The only thing I really enjoy about having Mike gone is how easy it is to keep things clean. I am not saying Mike is a slob or anything, but when you only have yourself to clean up after, well, you only have yourself to clean up after. You make a mess, you clean it up. No one else to blame it on. Sigh....

At least Mike is living in the lap of luxury in this fabulous hotel room -






Yes, that is a full kitchen AND a king size bed AND a 30-inch flat screen t.v., AND an awesome shower head. Grrrr I feel myself turning green.

Adventure

Last night Mike and I watched a show about the history of America. Personally, I am totally enthralled by history. Maybe that's why I like classic books so much. They bring you back to an earlier time. Maybe it's just me, but I love to see how people lived and what they did in the past. I try to put myself in their shoes and wonder how they would have felt. The show about American history informed me that 7 out of 10 of the early American settlers died on the way over to America. Can you imagine?! What a great adventure to be setting out for a new land, but also such a great risk. The greatest risk people take these days is getting in their car and driving 5 miles to work. Even then, everything is made super safe. I love to think of the excitement of exploring a new land and creating a new colony. Today, we are so bogged down by paperwork and so caught up in the "virtual" world. It is sad to me that our adventurous spirit seems to be lost. Maybe that is only because there are few places left to explore. At least I can still find adventure in my books.