California Dreamin'

With the crazy Utah weather we've been having (bipolar in the extreme) I'm very, very excited to be heading out for sunny California tomorrow morning!

I'm even more excited to be sharing in the union of two remarkable people. There's something amazing about attending a wedding when both bride and groom are good friends -- it's like double the excitement, fun, and bliss!

Here's to road trips, weddings, and camping on the beach!

R.I.P.

Baby and me, circa 2007

A week ago today we had to put our cat down.

His name was Baby and he was nearly 12 years old. As an out-door cat, he was pretty much ancient. He was a great mouser and we found him nibbling on things he'd killed all last summer, and until about three weeks ago he was in great shape. The vet was pretty sure that he had a stroke and it was just down hill from there. Poor thing.

One summer several years ago our neighbors warned us that hawks had gotten to all of their kittens and if we wanted to save ours we needed to protect them somehow. Since cats are useful in Erda to catch mice and other rodents, we wanted to save the kittens. Plus, these were some especially cute kittens! The decision was made to keep the three momma cats and their squirming litters of tiny kittens in my closet. I was in a basement room with sliding windows that the cats could easy open by shoving a paw in between the frame and glass and then working their noses in to widen the gap, making it easy for them to visit the out doors for a restroom break or snack.

I let the mothers come and go as they pleased and the only upset was when a cat pounced on me in the middle the night as they jumped to or from the window since my bed was immediately below.

Baby was a tom cat in every sense. We used to joke that he was like the James Bond of cats with a lady friend everywhere he went. He was also very social. He would saunter over to greet anyone who pulled into our driveway with a loud purr and then beg to be petted. If you put your hand out, he would stand on his back legs to pet himself on your fingertips. He also accepted belly rubs with a booted foot and acted as though it was a great luxury. Easy going and patient, he was a great cat for small children. I've stepped on his tail before and all he did was yelp and then come back to be petted properly.

When the mommas and the kittens were in my closet, Baby seemed to feel a little left out. At first I didn't object to him spending time in there with all of the other cats, but I soon realized that he didn't care about the kittens and just wanted to be surrounded by his harem. He would go right up to the mommas, sit on the kittens and refuse to move as muffled squeals of panicked kitten pancakes arose from beneath his massive backside.

I objected to this.

Fed up, one night I kicked him out the window and told him not to come back in angry voice.

Literally three minutes later Baby was back, looking very smug. He came with a peace offering dangling lifelessly from his mouth, fresh blood beading at its neck. A vole that had probably been alive and well not 90 seconds earlier.

Surprized by this scene in my window, I screamed.

This startled Baby.

He dropped the vole.

Directly onto my pillow.

Before the vole could bounce twice, I had shot up the stairs, screaming bloody murder the whole way.

Needless to say, I had to wash all of my bedding that night. I also tried to reassure Baby and let him know that he was indeed a good cat, but I never wanted any "presents" like that again.

While he would occasionally insist on eating his prey outside the front door (and always received ample praise for his hunting prowess), he never left dead things for us to find later.

I'm very glad for that.

We miss Baby, but take a great deal in comfort knowing that he was a generally happy and healthy cat. I'm glad that we got to enjoy him for so long.

Ten Top Dates of 1971

While reading articles on lds.org about marriage and dating (a compilation project for a friend which I'm sure I will share here soon), I came across this jewel!

To be completely honest, most of this looks like fun. Some of it is pretty weird...but it was 40 years ago. I particularly enjoy the use of the word "fellow" instead of "guy." In fact, I've decided to start using it in my common vernacular.

I wonder what the Ten Top Dates of 2011 would be?

Enjoy!

. . .

Ten Top Dates of 1971
by Jaynann M. Payne

Everyone, it seems, is constantly looking for enjoyable social experiences, no matter how old or young he may be.

But as anyone who has ever been on a date knows, it can be either an enjoyable or a miserable experience, and generally those that are lackluster experiences are that way simply because no one took the time to make them really enjoyable.

So with an eye to improving the memories and experiences of all who date, in both group and twosome dating, the following ideas are presented.

They are (drum roll and bugles, please!) the Ten Top Dates of 1971:

1. Star in Your Own Spectacular. Arrange with four to six couples to each bring a box lunch and several funny, weird costumes or some old clothes. Take a movie camera and several rolls of film and head for the nearest interesting site—perhaps a ghost town, a seaport shanty, a Japanese pagoda, a historical site, or a beautiful scenic mountain or seacoast locale. When you arrive, assign everyone a part and let the cast put on their costumes. Let them suggest plot and actions and then begin filming your own do-it-yourself superspectacular, with all cast members competing for Oscars. After finishing the movie, everyone relaxes with box lunches. This date almost guarantees a second fun experience, because a few weeks later a follow-up party brings everyone together again to view the completed film, with Oscars going to the best, worst, and funniest performances. This is a superb way to fill a memory bank.

2. A View and You—by Candlelight. In the late afternoon two couples are picked up in a chauffeur-driven car (the chauffeur being a friend or member of the family of one of the boys) and taken to a designated place where tandem bicycles await, guarded by a younger brother dressed in some sort of uniform. After leisurely riding and chatting for an hour, the two couples arrive at some scenic view—a mountainside, a seaside, a lake, a river, or a hill. At a prearranged time, the “chauffeur” returns, whisks from the car a card table, four chairs, a lace tablecloth, a candelabrum with lighted candles, pizza, soft drinks, salad, sweets, and voila! A candlelight supper with a view—and you! Again your chauffeur returns at a prearranged time, after you have eaten and watched a beautiful sunset. He clears the table, returns everything to the car, and departs, leaving the two couples to take a leisurely return ride home by bike.

3. Wash-the-Wagon Date. Each couple brings a car that needs washing and plenty of buckets and soap. It is advisable to wear bathing suits or grubbies, because most of the fun will happen after the cars are washed and a water fight ensues, using balloon-and-bucket props. Rules should be drawn up and the fun confined to those at the party—no attacking of passing cars or pedestrians! Conclude with plenty of towels and hot stew, homemade bread, jam, and salad. A camera is always a good way to record the hits and provide future enjoyment. This date is lots of fun for neighborhood parties, where group dating is just the thing.

4. Create Your Own Masterpiece. A most memorable date can be a creative experience in which you and your date make something together. How about writing a children’s storybook and illustrating it with pictures cut out of magazines? This is an activity made to order for one, two, or three couples, and it guarantees an evening’s time spent in fun and thoughtful endeavor. The finished book could be given to a member of the family for a birthday or to a child in the hospital. This idea is great for a wet or wintery evening. Chili or stew served with fruit, cheese, and sweet rolls will nourish the hungry authors. If you really want to get to know a person better, if you want to know what he likes and thinks and feels, creative dates like this are the finest!

5. Paint-the-Town Date, or A Tom Sawyer Special. To two couples, add four paintbrushes and several gallons of paint. Find a widow or a family with a fence, garage, home, or barn that needs painting or find something around your own home that needs to be brightened up. Make all arrangements previously with the owner as to color, kind of paint, and so forth. One young couple painted the girl’s father’s cement mixer with a wild assortment of colored flowers. A backyard barbecue may complete the afternoon, or aluminum foil dinners of meat, potatoes, onions, and carrots cooked in coals will carry out the Tom Sawyer theme. If you wish, you can ask the couples to dress like Tom or Huck Finn. The best results from this date are the warm and productive feelings you gain from having made one spot on earth more beautiful.

6. A Sew-Sew Date. Clothing is so individual and cosmopolitan, why not get together with another couple and spend an evening creating a specialty, such as a leather vest, a belt, a wallet, or a purse? One fellow bought an inexpensive blue denim jacket and then faced the front with leather. Macramé is also fun. Another couple made for a younger brother a cute sleeping bag in the shape of an alligator. Finish the evening with pancakes, bacon, and eggs.

7. A Kindergarten Date. Call four to six couples, tell them to come dressed in playclothes, and meet at the local school playground. Play all the silly little games you played in grade school, such as drop the handkerchief; run, sheepie, run; London Bridge is falling down; kick the can. Be sure to bone up on all the rules of the games beforehand. Use the playground equipment. Also have everyone bring or tell about his favorite childhood comic magazine or the story that was his favorite when he was six. Afterward, go to the home of one of the girls and fingerpaint and make ice cream. Top off the party with hamburgers and ice cream. If you want to turn this into a special party or a birthday party for one of the fellows or girls, secretly collect baby pictures and a funny story about each person from parents or family members. Then type up each story, without using names, and attach the baby pictures. After eating, everyone tries to guess which baby picture and story belongs to which person. The results can be hilarious.

8. The Play Is the Thing, or “To Be or Not to Be.” Choose a short play, preferably a comedy. Have as many copies made as there are characters in the play; then invite a corresponding number of people. Don’t worry about the number of girls or boys in the play, because sometimes it is more fun for a girl to take a man’s part and vice versa. Upon arrival, each person is given a script and is asked to choose his or her part. Each couple is allowed a few moments to look over the script. Then, with appropriate sound effects and music, the play begins. Each person reads his part and acts out his character, making his own sound effects or being helped by others. The evening may conclude with fondue or fix-it-yourself sandwiches and sundaes.

9. An International Holiday. Plan with three or four other couples to celebrate the Chinese New Year, Jewish Rosh Hashanah or Hanukkah, Hawaiian Kuhio Day, Irish St. Patrick’s Day, Mexican Cinco de Mayo, or any one of the many holidays from the nations of the world. Find out what the people do on their special holiday, what they traditionally eat, how they celebrate, and why. This may take a bit of study and planning, but it can be very rewarding and interesting. With so many returned missionaries to aid you, this shouldn’t be difficult. One young couple celebrated the Chinese New Year with firecrackers and a Chinese dinner served on a low table. Everyone ate while seated on cushions on the floor. After dinner each person was given a piece of paper and asked to think up an original Chinese proverb. The host couple gave a brief account of how the Chinese celebrate their new year. Background music and artwork from the country had been checked out of the local library, and for a few special hours, everyone enjoyed being part of a distant land.

10. Happiness is … This is a date where you do something for someone else, such as—

—Planning and preparing a special family night for her (his) family, complete with lesson, games, and treats. If agreeable, the couple’s families could join together.

—Gathering up your little brothers and sisters and some of the neighborhood kids and flying kites or playing ball with them or taking them on a hike or a picnic.

—Making some goodies and taking them to someone you know who is ill or housebound.

—Ultimately being worthy to accept the greatest date of all, going to the temple of the Lord.

After checking the above ten suggestions, it is easy to see that for the most successful and memorable dates you need to—

1. Plan ahead, even for informal dates. Most girls cringe when a boy arrives for a date and asks, “What do you want to do?”

2. Realize that movies and spectator entertainment won’t help you to get to know a person very well; making and creating things together will—and it will also be the most fun.

3. Double date or plan dates with four to six couples, depending upon the activity.

4. Keep your dates fairly simple and inexpensive.

Cold Air and Solitude

Today was Earth Day, Spanish Valentine's Day, and Good Friday.

I admired the world and the beautiful things it has to offer.

I received a rose from a secret admirer for Spanish Valentine's Day. Actually, it wasn't a secret and all of the other girls at work got one too. The company that owns the company I work for is from Spain. I guess we celebrate Spanish holidays.

I decided to make today a good Friday.

Today I received many compliments on my new hair cut. Don't worry, I'll post pictures as soon as I can take some. I will take pictures as soon as my face isn't hideous. My face will be less hideous as soon as this horrible zit decides to vacate the painful swelling I once called my nose.

Today I decided to make some decisions. So, I'm going to look into that.

Today I wanted to crawl into a corner for a nap but realized that the only place I could do that would be on the dirty floor and chose to remain upright instead. I just traded out bio waste containers instead and took in the cold air and solitude of the bio waste container closet. There's something about being alone that I crave and need on a daily basis. When life gets hectic, the first thing I want to do is remove myself from life and find someplace to be alone. Not that things were hectic today. I don't know. My mind has been hectic all week. Maybe I just need to sleep more and shut off my mind.

But then, I know that my dreams will be all over the place.

Can't win for losing.

Cubby In My Heart

Circa 2007

As I awoke this morning, sharp blast of the alarm clock wailing, I thought I saw you in the corner of my mind. The crook of your smile, the star-light in your eyes, a memory of your touch – I thought I remembered it this morning. A memory from beyond the time of remembering, as much a part of me as my parent’s DNA tied up in neat little packages within each of my cells. My heart has always had a cubby with your name on it. You carved it out in a place beyond all places. It used to ache, this hole that belongs to you, but now it is filled with hope because I feel you are near although I have no way of knowing you. So unique, it can only belong to you. You keep me waiting, but I wait patiently because your cubby has your name on it and no one else can belong there – that would be against the rules. My friends don’t have cubbies within their hearts. I used to envy them their pain-free existences. But then I realized that with hope living all cozy and safe within this hole in my heart, I still have a heart while they take theirs out of their bodies to offer passers-by who like to admire for a time but then leave them in the dust to become shriveled and dried out. My heart is not overly soiled. It is merely lonely.

The Band Perry - If I Die Young

Smokin' Spider

Oh, what a night!

After a crazy cleaning spree last night that postponed bed time until 1am, I'm woken up by a shrill alarm. Having woken up an hour before with the cords of my alarm clock and bed-side lamp in my hand, I didn't think much of it and began pushing every button on my "broken" alarm clock in attempts to silence it. I was worried that it would wake the entire house. It was 4:00 AM, after all.

Sounds from down the hall confirm that my little brother and sister were both up.

"I'm trying to fix it!" I thought as I continued to pound on all of the buttons fixed on top of my alarm clock.

That's when my youngest sister opened my door and shouted, "Fire! It's saying Fire!"

Everything clicked in a moment.

It was not my alarm clock, but the fire alarms that blared.

That's when the questions began pouring from my groggy brain.

Why are the fire alarms going off?

How do we turn them off?

Is there actually a fire?

Everyone grabbed shoes and a jacket and met up in the middle of the house, instinctively grouping. We decided to confirm an actual problem before calling the fire department. After several sweeps of the house for visual or olfactory signs of fire or electrical problems, we concluded that we didn't have a fire on our hands but a malfunctioning alarm system.

Nerves jarred and adrenaline still coursing through my system, I attempted to lay back down for a few more winks at the night. I tossed and turned twice before the alarms went off again. The shrill beeps notified us that something was still amiss and needed attention.

My little brother was on the phone with dispatch in a moment and we had the Sheriff and a slew of volunteer fire fighters in two fire trucks in front of our house in no time.

They used a heat gun on all of the walls to detect fire in the electrical system, and carbon monoxide detectors for, well, carbon monoxide. The only thing they found was an orange blinking light where it should have been green. This let us know that the alarm in my parent's master bedroom was  the culprit.

Of course Mom and Dad would be out of the country when something like this happened.

*tsk, tsk*

We chatted with the firemen for a while and learned that small insects or dust will sometimes get into the fire alarms and set them off at random times. We committed to cleaning the alarms, putting moth balls behind them, and changing the battery in the alarm that went off.

I was just really glad that my cleaning spree had set many things right that would otherwise have been deeply embarrassing. There is no excuse for a messy house.

My little brother climbed a ladder to the vaulted ceiling where the evil fire alarm was placed. Upon examination he discovered a tiny spider.

It might still be in there.

We were Skyping with my parents at the time and everyone agreed that the spider must have been smoking something up there and that's what really set off the alarm; not mere spider legs tickling the sensors.

In any case, bed time was stretched back to 5:00AM and the disruptive sleep has left me feeling a bit queasy. Good thing that today is my day off. Tender mercies come wrapped in strange packages.

What You Call Love

This song has been stuck in my head all day.

I love it.

I hope you can see why.



Guster -- What You Call Love

I caught a piece of the sunshine, put a little hope in me
But after the flood raged, there's nothing really left to see
But I was not done, or beat, the violence was a source of strength
Not everything is always just as it seems

What you call love, is just urgency
What you call love, is a place you turn in an emergency
Would you give up, when it's not what you want it to be?
But that's not love, what you call love

I caught a piece of the sunshine, burned a little hole in me
But after the flood raged, there's nothing really left to see
But i was not done or beat, the violence was a source of strength
Not everything is always just as it seems

What you call love, is just urgency
What you call love, is a place you turn in an emergency
Would you give up, when its not what you want it to be?
But thats not love, what you call love

What you call love, is just urgency
What you call love is a place to turn in an emergency
Would you give up when its not what you want it to be?
But thats not love, what you call love
No thats not love, what you call love
Thats not love, what you call love

Rakish

Work was intense today. The job itself is pretty easy but when 30 people all show up at the same time, it can get pretty hairy, especially since we can only seat 40 people at a time when we have enough phlebotomists to meet ratio -- which almost never happens.

We had to call in reinforcements from the lab. That's why our Lab Dude was out on the floor in the first place.

The personality types that are attracted to making a quick buck via plasma donation can sometimes be a little . . . strange.

Case in point: Donor Dude.

Donor Dude always has something strange to say. He has no filter and is not shy about loudly broadcasting this fact. It is very difficult to remain poised when Donor Dude begins speaking. He is, however, very intelligent.

So, Donor Dude finished his donation after an hour straight of bizarre comments featuring some of the following doozies (paraphrased and changed based on my faulty memory, but you'll get the gist):

"Have you ever tried to woo a woman by singing Neil Diamond songs to her? I've been listening to a lot of Neil Diamond lately and I wonder if it would work. His lyrics are ridiculous!"
"...So, I just need to find a beautiful woman in the jungle of Southeast Asia...Yeah, like that would work."
"...I have a friend who knows Slovakian dances, he could teach people. Wouldn't that be crazy?"

As Lab Dude disconnected Donor Dude from the machine, getting his bottle ready to process, Donor Dude begins with a rather benign observation:

DD: You look like that singer from Reliant K!
LD: Who?
DD: I don't know his name, but you both have a rather rakish appearance.
LD: What is "rakish"? Is that even a word?
DD: I can't really define it without seeming like I'm hitting on you and that would be weird.
LD: . . .
DD: Hey! (directed toward me) You've heard of the word "rakish," right?
Z: It is a word, but I couldn't use it in a sentence. What's the definition? Use it in context.
DD: Rakish: it's like the guys on the cover of those romance novels -- wind-swept, rugged sailors. You know, those romance novels.
(Everyone within ear shot is laughing.)
Z: Like, heaving bosoms and Fabio hair?
DD: Yeah, my mom used to read those books all the time. You know, right?
Z: Are you sure your mom would be fine with you telling us these things about her? I've never read those books.
DD: (Still trying to defend the definition of "rakish") It's like dashing sailors from those books. My mom used to keep some by the toilet the whole time I was growing up.
Z: Whoa, you should really be more careful of what you admit about your mom when she isn't around!
LD: *not excited about the conversation*
DD: It really is a word.
Z: I know it is, but it's the way you're defining it that makes it funny. Sorry to laugh at you, but it's just the whole situation.

Donor Dude walks away to be paid and we all bust up laughing so hard, it hurts. A few minutes later, I was taking a bottle back to the lab for processing and Donor Dude was still trying to receive validation for his use of the word "rakish."

DD: It is a word.
Z: I know it is, and I'm going to look it up tonight. Remind me next time you come in!

. . .

So, I came home and looked up the definition of the word "rakish."

rak·ish 1 (rksh)
adj.
1. Nautical Having a trim, streamlined appearance: "We were schooner-rigged and rakish, with a long and lissome hull" (John Masefield).
2. Dashingly or sportingly stylish; jaunty.


Donor Dude was totally right!! Just in a weird, abstract sort of way. He kind of morphed several attributes of a romance novel hunk into being a rackish sailor. But, I can see how he got there.

What's more...

. . . Lab Dude totally looks like the main singer for Relient K, Matt Theissen!!

Up until this week, Lab Dude's hair even looked like Matt Theissen's!

Very rakish, indeed.

Way to be, donor dude. Way to be.

Today: A Wednesday

1.) Wednesdays make me think of my 8th grade homeroom teacher who was also my geometry teacher. He had a monotone to rival Ben Stein and always said the most awkward things. He called "Colon" all year instead of "Colin" just to be ornery. He also called Wednesday "hump day." His explanation was that once Wednesday is over, you are over the "hump" in the middle of the week and you can coast down to the weekend without difficulty. I just think it sounds dirty. But, then again, I'm known to have a dirty mind at times...No, I've evaluated my memory and I think he actually meant to sound dirty but then tried to hide it.





As a random side note: I sometimes worry when telling plasma donors to "Go ahead and pump now," that they hear "Go ahead and hump now." I get funny looks sometimes.

2.) I love Wednesdays because I get off work early for orchestra rehearsal. I love working earlier in the day and having more time in the afternoon and evening to do what a want.

Definitely got myself some caramels from Sees Candy today while I waited for rehearsal. Mmmmm, sweet, salty caramel dipped in rich, creamy milk chocolate. Nom, nom, nom.

3.) We'll be playing a compilation of Star Wars themes by John Williams in our upcoming May concert! I'm so excited!!



4.) Driving in a rain/sleet/snow storm is so much better when accompanied by a personal sound track including Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries! Just try it sometime and try to tell me I'm wrong. You won't be able to; it's too awesome!



5.) After six years of only using math for physics and chemistry, it takes a little bit to get the cogs running smoothly enough to help a high school student study for a math test. Yeah, I forgot the vocabulary term "parabola." The important thing is that I remembered how to graph one!

More Music

Last fall a friend posted a song on Facebook. It was written and performed by her friend and roommate, Emily Brown.

Emily's vocal timbre is lovely and unique but similar to other artists I enjoy.  It's like listening to a little bird warbling about unrequited love. If her music had a scent, I imagine it to be fresh rain over newly sprouted grass. Organic, untainted, pure.

She has recently launched an album! I intend to buy it soon but have left my purse downstairs and my laziness inhibits me from crawling down and then climbing back up to do so. You can find it here and listen to each of the eight songs in their entirety before, perhaps, purchasing it for yourself.

While the following recordings are not the best quality, these are my favorite songs from those I've heard Miss Brown sing and neither happen to be on the album.

Enjoy!

Blood of Healing

As it turns out, sleep is actually necessary for an appropriate level of functionality.

Who knew.

I was only zonked out for maybe 4 hours last night. But that was interrupted sleep with a very long period of non-sleep in the middle. I struggled today.

Last night I went to sleep before midnight and dreamed crazy dreams. I briefly woke up to turn over after a particularly strange dream. Turning my head, I could feel something...strange. Warm stuff was coming out of my nose! Jumping up, I ran into the bathroom next door and discovered that blood was gushing from my face. It was almost surreal. Standing there, all I could think was, "This never happens to me!"

I've helped plenty of people staunch the flow of a bloody nose, but I've never really thought about it for myself. In fact, the last time I can remember such a river of precious bodily fluids draining from my own face was when I was four years old. 

My little sister and I were twirling around in the living room pretending to be ballerinas. Arms out-stretched, we spun in circles to make our skirts catch the air and become full. Dizzy and happy we continued to dance faster and faster until one ill-fated turn sent my sister's hand colliding with full force into my nose. My face immediately irrupted into volcano of blood.

Shocked by the unexpected pain, I contorted my little body into a position meant to avoid bleeding all over my clothes. Bent at the waist, my face was turned ground-ward with one hand clamped to my nose and the other stretched out for balance. In this manner I blindly hobbled around the house like a child zombie, yelling for my mom to come help me as large drops of blood dripped in my wake.

But I couldn't find her.

I anxiously searched for Mom, screaming her name with increased urgency as I roved each room of the house and then somehow made it outside. She finally found me on the driveway. I had removed the hand from my face and discovered a trailing blob of bloody slime coming from my nostril. This freaked me out worse than just bleeding and my cries become quite panicked as I stumbled around screaming about a "bloody booger" attacking my face.

Mom took care of me, though, and soon the mighty river of blood was staunched.

Last night I didn't have a Mom to take care of me. It was 2:30 in the morning and I didn't want to wake anyone to apply a cold compress to the back of my neck or pet my hair as I tried to control my adrenaline-junkie of a heart. I merely waited for the blood to stop. I waited for my body to do what I know it is meant to do -- to clot and heal the busted blood vessel.

The human body is amazing. The healing process never ceases to cause wonder and adoration in my heart. We are made to be healed.

I've been thinking about this all day.

On our bodies is written a personal Book of Life. Everything that happens to us also happens to our bodies, and it keeps a record. I have several scars on my body from accidents, surgeries, and sheer stupidity. But no matter the cause, they have all healed over and most can barely be seen.

What a beautiful gift we all have to heal the natural consequences associated with residing in a mortal tabernacle of flesh.

What a beautiful reminder that through the blood of Jesus Christ we can be healed from wounds to our immortal souls.

While repentance can hurt a lot at first, the scars heal and are usually forgotten over time as though the wound never existed.

Weekend "Ah-ha" Moments

1.) A couple in love radiates adoration.

2.) There is nothing sweeter in this world than being cuddled by a baby. Nothing.

3.) When the earth is warm and the air is cold, snow falls in large, white clumps but does not stick. This is when magic happens.

4.) Time must be the true test for friendship. How we spend our time when we're together and how we feel as though no time has elapsed when we reunite after an extended absence helps me to know that we are the best kind of friends: the real kind.

5.) The Lord has a sense of humor. We must be objective observers of our own lives to be privy to the joke, and then we see that He laughs with us -- never at us.

This time last year, I was tromping around England with my sister, nephew and brother in law. This is one of my favorite photos from that adventure. Mr. Rossy in the sunset at Cape Cornwall.

This weekend has been full of beautiful moments. I've been lucky enough to share in the wedding celebration of a close friend, spend time with soul sisters, learn new things, meet new people, give away candy, give and receive thanks, be happy for instead of jealous of, see something from a new angle, sing gorgeous songs, and continue on a path that has already given me so much to be happy for.

My blogging has been less than consistent over the last few weeks. This is probably because my life has been less than consistent but really awesome over the last few weeks. I'll attempt to regain my regular posting schedule for those of you who check in every morning before getting ready for work. You know who you are.  Even if I don't answer your emails immediately, I will still try to give you a peek into my zammity existence. Mmm-kay?

A List of the Recently Learned

1.) While driving during a dark and stormy night, turning up Wagner's Flight of the Valkyries is pretty much the only way to go from here on out.

2.) Filing taxes feels amazing! No longer needing to worry about filing taxes feels even better. Waiting for a sizable refund feels pretty great, too.

3.) My new nickname is "Angle Eyes." Thank you, plasma donor.

4.) Dreaming about oversleeping, while horrible, is a lot better than actually oversleeping.

5.) Homemade french pizza is way better than frozen french pizza. Plus, it makes coworkers jealous. Mmmmm.

6.) Always initial and date food stuffs put into the work refrigerate. If you don't, it will be thrown out.

7.) Murphy was right.

8.) Sometimes having a great day is all about deciding to having a great day.

9.) Happiness is unexpected good news.

10.) Mindfully doing things to make you happy can actually make you happy.

Yep, it's Spring!

General Conference

A friend at work asked me what this conference is that takes over Salt Lake City twice a year. She was surprised that people come to town from out of state and even more amazed that people would come from other countries. She inquired after the reason for such a gathering. Knowing that she is a practicing Catholic I made a loose analogy between the Pope coming to town and listening to the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Would she travel to the next state to go listen to the Pope? This made a little more sense to my friend and she walked away to attend to work matters.

A few minutes later, she came back and asked me what we talk about during the conference. A simple answer came to mind: We talk about ways in which we can be better people. The messages are useful to all with a few talks directed toward LDS listeners, specifically.

I then invited her to listen, telling her the times of the meetings.

Perhaps she did, but probably not. The exchange helped me to focus better on this conference, though. What messages were there that specifically spoke to LDS listeners and what messages catered to a more broad audience?

I found that the majority of the speakers addressed the world, not just the LDS population of the world. They spoke on faith, charity, loving others, and facing adversity with courage. Many other themes were addressed over the two-day conference, of course, but those were the themes that stood out to me. They are the things with the Lord whispered to me as I quietly made time to hear Him.

Over the next few months, I intend to listen and read these talks over again; to comb them for wisdom and bite-sized nuggets of peace. The turmoil in my heart is calmed by the words of real life prophets.

I invite you to come listen to the prophets voices, here.