Camping

As I said in my last blog, Mike and I went camping last weekend. It actually turned out to be really fun after Mike got over his initial reaction of "I'm never going camping again!" Granted, he said this shortly after we arrived at the campground.....in the dark......in the rain......without a coat.......without a tent. I may have had similar thoughts for a few moments. Fortunately, our friend showed up right about then with our tent. Then his truck promptly broke down, blocking the campground entrance. At least we had a tent. So Mike spent most of that night helping our friend out by driving on treacherous roads, in the dark, dodging cows, so that they could find a place to buy fluids that might fix the truck. Didn't work.

But really, after that first night I swear it was fun. Maybe not so much for our friend, Gil, who borrowed a tent that unfortunately looked like this -



I can't help but laugh every time I look at that. Later on, Gil borrowed a much better tent from our friend with the truck.



Of course, me and Mike's tent was the best. We were very cozy in there on our new air mattress, and we didn't mind the rain at all.



Bear enjoyed the trip almost too much. I don't think she sat still for more than 3 seconds aside from the time she was hunting squirrels. Apparently, squirrels rule the campground we stayed at, and they were very upset we were on their land. They had no fear of us or Bear and regularly came within feet to taunt us and throw pine cones. It took all that Bear had just to keep from chomping one of those little guys in half.




Even though it rained 90 percent of the time and we had to make several trips into town to get cell phone reception to make arraignments to get the truck towed, the whole trip was worth it for the stunning scenery.






Mike has already vowed to go back with everyone he knows and to make that campground our regular camping spot. I didn't disagree.

Maybe Just A Little

I know I have been majorly slacking on my blogging. I guess it comes from a combination of working at 4am, Mike smashing his foot and becoming incapacitated, and preparing to go camping.

Let's start with the 4am thing. I don't mind working at 4am. I like getting things done before all those bothersome customers start showing up. The problem is, contrary to some people's beliefs, there is more to life than work. If I only had to worry about work, 4am would be no problem. But this silly little thing called "life" gets in the way all the time. I have to go grocery shopping, or put gas in the car, or take Bear for a walk, or a million other little things. Then there are also the unexpected things like Mike injuring his foot. Now I can't bring him anywhere because he has a hard time walking and because the motorized chairs at Target don't go more than 3 feet before they run out of batteries. Also, it takes extra money to go to the doctor, just for her to tell you there isn't much she can do aside from prescribing Lortab which, when he takes it, subsequently makes your husband think he can perform in Riverdance because his foot doesn't hurt anymore.

The one thing that has kept me going through all this is that we are going camping today. It is a miracle I even got Mike to go since he doesn't like camping and we have never been camping together aside from that time we went to the cabin in Colorado. This time we will be staying a tent......we will see how that goes......
Now he is all excited about it, but we will see what happens after two days in the woods without electronics and......with BEARS.

Mike has me to do all of the actual planning. Here is the stuff I have gathered so far -



Mike thinks it is a lot of stuff, but if left to his devices, we would be eating uncooked hot dogs and using leaves as toilet paper. NO THANK YOU. I guess being the planner is the the price I pay for getting Mike to go camping. He thinks I do it because a like it. Well.....maybe just a little.

Precious Time

It seems to me that many people today are choosing to live a fantasy life rather than a real life. I think this comes, at least partially, from boredom. Gone are the days when we had to fight to make a living or even stay alive. Long hours working on the farm are replaced by long hours of nothing to do. All the necessities for life - food, clothing, shelter - come so easily to us now. If anything, survival is much more psychological these days. We have to think about how to make money and how to avoid debt. But we also have to fill the time where we are not thinking about survival. That's where video games and movies come in. Whereas our ancestors had little time to spare when they were not working to survive, we have days and even years of idle time to fill. What to do with all this time? Many people who are not satisfied with their "real" life turn to video games or movies to fulfill their fantasies. Instead of actually doing something with their lives, it is like they are just keeping themselves entertained until they die. Is our goal in life to be entertained or to make a difference? I am not trying to place blame on anyone. I am as bad as the next person when it comes to idling away my life. I would rather like to issue a friendly warning to myself and everyone to not take life for granted. Really think about how you use your time. Try not to waste it, because it is a precious thing that is gone all too fast.

Stubborn

Bear can be a very stubborn dog when she wants to be. Here she is waiting for Mike to get out of the shower. I know she likes Mike more than me because she never waits for ME to get out of the shower. She also gets WAYYYY more excited when Mike walks in the front door than when I walk in the door. Sometimes she doesn't get excited at all when I come in the door. She goes straight to her bed and lays down and looks at me like she has done something very bad. You would think I beat her or something. Mike says I should be glad she doesn't jump up on me when I get home because her claws are very rough on the stomach. But if clawing someone in the stomach isn't love, I don't know what is.

Lately, Bear has taken to not performing her morning duty. When we take her outside first thing in the morning and tell her to go potty, she almost immediately lies down in the grass. It is like she is saying, "This 'going potty' is way too much effort for me." Quite possibly she does this on purpose so that we have to continually take her out throughout the day.....and because she knows it really annoys us. Here is Bear when I told her to go potty -



But in the end she always wins because who couldn't love a face like this?

Farmer's Market, Food Network, And Fries

As I may have mentioned, last Saturday was Mike and I's second wedding anniversary. We decided to go to Salt Lake for the afternoon, since we have already explored every nook and cranny of Ogden. Our original plan was to stop by a certain book store that we both like and then get lunch at a place that we saw on Food Network. So easily influenced by t.v. are we. So we headed out to the book store without any address because Mike "knows where it is". Well, after driving around Salt Lake for what seemed like a long time, and becoming increasingly frustrated, we couldn't find the book store. Someday, Mike might decide to look up the address even if he "knows where it is". Even though we couldn't find the book store, luck was on our side, because in all our driving we drove right past the SLC Farmer's Market, and we were like, "Let's go there!" We finally found parking in a lot with a very unusual payment system. Basically, you shove $3 into a slot that has the number of your parking space on it. Neither Mike nor I knew how they would tell if we didn't pay, but being the wimps that we were, we paid anyway.

The farmer's market was enjoyable if not for the VERY hot weather. It probably wasn't too hot in some people's books, but I felt melted by the end of it. After the farmer's market we got back in the car to find the place that we saw on the Food Network. Unlike Mike, I had printed out an address and map for the place. However, after several minutes of driving around in our car, which, by the way, has very poor air conditioning, we realized that the restaurant we were looking for was directly across the street from the farmer's market. Ok, so maybe having a map isn't always helpful. But at least we found it. I'm glad we did find it, because this place has the most amazing homemade waffles and fries you have ever had. Mike ordered a large fry which should be called a "So you think you can eat this gigantic serving of fries by yourself?" Even though I had a waffle with delicious sliced peachs on top, I also ate a fair amount of Mike's fries, and we still couldn't finish them. But ohhhhhh were they good! They were so good, it almost made me not mind that my hair got incredibly tangled on the way home because we had to drive with all the windows down due to the impotent air conditioning.

Going The Way Of The Dinosaur

I really thought I wouldn't have time to write today with it being my second wedding anniversary and all. But my brain decided it would be fun to wake up at 7AM, so here I am waiting for Mike to wake up.

When I was younger I never thought I would live to see things become obsolete, but I was wrong in a big way. Things become obsolete so fast now you can barely get them home from the store before they become obsolete. Think your cell phone is the greatest thing ever? Not five minutes from now. There will be something newer and better by then. When I was a kid we didn't even have cell phones. GASP! I know. I figured I would never utter the phrase "When I was a kid...." or at least not until I was much older. But seriously, when I was a kid, I loved going to the video rental store to rent a VHS movie. Don't forget to rewind it when it's over! There are still a few video rental stores, but they a quickly going the way of the dinosaur. Now you can order a movie online and watch it without ever stepping foot outside your house or handling any sort of DVD or VHS. I admit that is pretty amazing, but it also cuts out a lot of contact with the outside world. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be shut up in my house my whole life. I want to see the world first hand, not in a travel show.

Another thing I remember as a kid is cassette tapes. CDs came around when I was still a kid, but I remember thinking, "CDs will never replace cassette tapes. We will just have both now." It didn't quite work out that way. Now, CDs are almost old fashioned. You can download music directly to your I-pod without ever seeing a CD. Excuse me for sometimes wanting to deal in more concrete terms. Everything is floating around on the internet, but where does it come from? What is it exactly? For example, is my bank account just and "idea" since I rarely see the cash? Yet ideas can get you in big trouble like, if you overdraw from your bank account. You may have never seen the cash, but now you owe an overdraft fee. Music and movies are the same way. They don't just come out of thin air. People make them using a lot of time and effort. I think many people that buy movies on the internet have no respect for how much work it took to make that movie because it is so easy to get. Movies are a dime a dozen now and are treated as such.

Anyway, I know when I am ranting, so I will just stop right now. Hopefully there will be many fun, concrete anniversary experiences today!

Pardon My Dust

In the past four years since I have lived with Mike and Bear I have seen more dust than I have seen in my entire life. I'm guessing most of it comes from Bear since she can shed insane amounts of hair, she probably also sheds skin cells, which, if you didn't know, makes up most of all dust. (Sorry if I ruined your illusion that dust comes from fairies.) Then again, the amount of dust in our house is so great, I don't know if any one living being is capable of producing that much dust. Just the other day I cleaned out the bathroom ceiling fan which was COMPLETELY CLOGGED WITH DUST. I had no idea that was even possible! It's FAN! It's supposed to blow dust away! What kind of sick, superhuman dust is this?

To keep up with all the dust and shedding, I try to vacuum at least once a week. I am one of those weird people who actually don't mind vacuuming. It sucks away the dirt to an undisclosed location, and then I can rest at ease. However, I have several problems with my current vacuuming situation. First of all, the power switch to my vacuum broke long ago, and since I couldn't afford a new one I brought it to my dad who "fixed" it by placing the power switch in the "on" position permanently. This means that my vacuum turns on as soon as I plug it in and stays on until I unplug it. That wouldn't be too much of a problem, except for my second issue. Whoever designed the placement of the electrical outlets in my duplex obviously was three-years-old. All of the outlets are in very inconvenient locations and half of them don't work or have to be turned on by means of a switch on the other side of the room. Thus, vacuuming becomes a full-fledged work out as I scale furniture and run from room to room to plug/unplug the vacuum. Finally, my vacuum has a feature where it filters the air in the room as you vacuum, which is wonderful! That is, unless the thing you are vacuuming the most is dog hair. Then the vacuum spreads the lovely "Odor 'O Dog" throughout your house. Oh well. I suppose I will be vacuuming dog hair as long as I love Bear, and that is forever.

It's Curtains For You

Yesterday I suddenly decided that I wanted curtains for the living room. Well, maybe I didn't suddenly decide. There are many things I would love to do to improve my poor little duplex. But, being a renter, I really wish to save my money to put into a house of my own. Curtains are something I can take with me when I leave this place. Also, the vertical blinds that were there before were testing Bear's patience. Every time the wind blew through the window, the blinds would hit each other making a clicking noise. Bear is so afraid of this noise, or perhaps wind in general, that she will hide as far away from the blinds as possible. So I basically put up curtains to give Bear some peace of mind.

Buying the curtains and the rod was the easy part. Putting them up was something else entirely. You would think putting up curtains would take maybe five minutes. Well, that's not the case when you have no tools and you have to borrow a drill from your dad. Then your dad gives you a 20 minute lecture on how to install a curtain rod, complete with pictures. Never mind that you already know how to install a curtain rod. Oh how I long for my own tools! Right now my tool collection consists of a free screw driver from Wal-mart that had an unnatural odor about it when I got it, a pair of pliers, a tiny tape measure that only goes up to 60 inches, and a hammer that I have borrowed from my dad indefinitely. (Shhhhh! Don't tell him I have it.) Such a pathetic collection of tools. Anyway, it probably took me over an hour to finally get the curtains up. It was then that I discovered they were too long. *sigh* Luckily, the curtains came with some iron-on adhesive to shorten the curtains. So I spent another hour measuring and ironing. *double sigh*

The positive side to all of this is the final result. I couldn't be more happy with how they look. Yes they are plain and white, but I love them for their simplicity. They soften the room and keep out just enough sunlight. The very best part is, when the wind blows, there is nothing but sweet, sweet silence.

Anything But Boring

So whatever happened to board games? Does anyone remember? Things change so fast now that something that happened 10 years ago seems like a lifetime ago. Being a member of the nerdy family that I was, we played board games regularly. Especially on family night, which was Monday night. I remember learning so much from board games and loving them even when, more often than not, a fight broke out because someone was cheating and the dice ended up being thrown across the room and lost.

My family had a whole closet devoted to board games, and to be the picker of the game was to be god. Even at my grandma's house there was a game closet, and as a child I remember being fascinated by all the old games. In current times you rarely hear anyone say, " Yeah, I can't go to the movies tonight because I am going to play board games with my family." People just aren't interested anymore. They would rather play video games or watch movies. Even a lot of board games now are becoming electronic. It has to light up, or talk to you in a weird voice, or shuffle the cards automatically, or require batteries. Never can you have something as simple as A DICE AND A BOARD. The would be boring. Except....somehow....I remember being anything but bored when I played board games.

Adventures in Auto Parts

Last Saturday both Mike and I had the day off work. We had hoped to lay around lazily or maybe do some window shopping after having worked our butts off all week long. I will just tell you now, it didn't happen. The story of that fateful day goes something like this......

Long, long ago in a far away land there lived as king and a queen who were very happy together. One day the king decided to get some new tires on his carriage. While the king was driving to Ye Old Tire Shop, disaster befell him and the driver seat to his carriage broke so that the back would not stay upright. The king swore out loud because he could not drive laying down and it was very uncomfortable to drive with no back to his seat. So after getting his new tires, the king and queen both headed out to visit the queen's father, the Car Wizard. The Car Wizard told the king and queen that they must search throughout the land for a new seat. After searching far and wide the king and queen finally found a seat in the Dungeon of Doom. The king would have to go into the Dungeon of Doom with the Car Wizard and brave the incredible sweltering heat. If he came out alive, he would be rewarded with the seat. The queen was taken hostage by the evil goblins who guarded the Dungeon of Doom while the king was trying to get the seat. Thankfully, the king and the Car Wizard returned victorious and rescued the queen. The king spent the rest of the day being trained in the ways of the Car Wizard so he could be wise enough to install the new seat in his carriage. The queen looked on at the king from her tower and morned the loss of a perfectly good day. The king finally completed his training and left the queen to go celebrate with his friends at the tavern. The End