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June 22 FunnyI like to look at the statistics feature for this blog, which tells me how many times it has been viewed and from where. It's sorta fun to see what kind of hits I get. I get some googlers looking for random things sometimes, but this morning I had a funny discovery. Apparently if you are in Greece (I know this because the google search was in Greek) and you google "hot dog poster," you get my blog. And it's because of this picture from an earlier post:
 Melissa, your picture might be hanging in a restaurant somewhere in Greece, advertising hot dogs!
June 14 I Live in an Gorgeous PlaceThough pictures can never do places justice, here are a few to try and show you a couple of places that I have been hiking lately. These don't even include Zion National Park which I have been to several times in the last few weeks and I haven't taken any pictures because nothing I take seems to capture Zion adequately. The places below are around Santa Clara and near Snow Canyon State Park, which are both within about 15 minutes driving distance from my house. The longer I live in St. George, the more impressed I am with its natural beauty and this week I'm going to be introducing you to some of the sights I see every day.
Pretty desert flowers
   Petroglyphs
    Notice the three kinds of rock you'll see in these pictures from yesterday's hike: black lava, red sandstone, and some kind of rock that looks like I landed on a planet or the moon...no, I don't know what it's called...
      See? Gorgeous.
June 10 Here's a PoemIt Is Raining on the
House of Anne Frank
by Linda Pastan
It is raining on the house
of Anne Frank
and on the tourists
herded together under the shadow
of their umbrellas,
on the perfectly silent
tourists who would rather be
somewhere else
but who wait here on the stairs
so steep they must rise
to some occasion
high in the empty loft,
in the quaint toilet,
in the skeleton
of a kitchen
or on the map--
each of its arrows
a barb of wire--
with all the dates, the expulsions,
the forbidding shapes
of continents.
And across Amsterdam it is raining
on the Van Gogh Museum
where we will hurry next
to see how someone else
could find the pure
center of light
within the dark circle
of his demons
*********
 Starlight over the Rhone, Vincent Van Gogh
"Despite everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." Anne Frank, 1929 - 1945
June 08 Race for the Cure 2009The first time I ran the Race for the Cure was in 2001. I ran it as a goal - I decided that I wanted to get in running shape enough to run a 5K and so followed a plan I found (I think it was called "From Couch Potato to 5K," appropriately enough). I was in some long term training for work at the time and was living in a hotel in Denver when I started running. Mostly I remember watching some kind of weird show on TNT at 5ish every single morning as I ran on the hotel treadmill, getting in my mileage. I drove home from Denver for the weekend to run the race in Salt Lake City and it was, in every sense of the word, awesome. I had never run any kind of race before, so there was the excitement of a first. I was accomplishing a very specific goal that I had set for myself so there was a thrill of satisfaction. And, as I ran the race, surrounded by others running in celebration of cancer survivors or in memory of others not so lucky, there was an overwhelming feeling of being a part of something really great. Since then, I have run it whenever I have been able to. In 2005 the race took on a different meaning when Michelle and I ran it. I think I can safely say that most everyone I know knows someone that has been affected by breast cancer, but in 2005 it became more personal, when our cousin Kristi lost her battle with the disease. This year, we all ran it. Well, we all walked it - Mom, Michelle, Staci, Anne-Marie, Becky (virtually), Jackson and me. We weren't the only ones. The newspaper said that approximately 18,000 people ran it this year in Salt Lake - a record. See: http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12332296
 Jackson gearing up beforehand
 It was Michelle's birthday and we got her this fine racing stroller
 Cute Anne-Marie
Us walking, plus some darling dogs
     Not a record time, but we were in back of 18,000 people!
 This one's for you, Kristi. May 31 ExperimentYesterday I finally broke down and bought a Barnes and Noble membership. I realized it just might be worth it, since part of my reason for buying it was being tired of having the check out people always ask if I have one. Basically you pay $25, then get 10% off everything in the store and on their website for a year - more if you buy a hardcover book. Turns out that friends and family can use the discount also. In order to use it, you just give them my phone number. I have decided to conduct an experiment. I want to see how much "return" I can make on my $25 investment. So, please use it! If you decide to buy anything from B&N, just give them my phone number and they'll give you the discount! Then just let me know how much you saved and I'll tally it up at the end of the year. So far I've saved $2.80. If you don't know my phone number, then I don't know you well enough for this experiment, or you'll have to get it from me. Yes, I realize this may be free advertising for B&N, but I don't care, since I love B&N.
May 17 Our Day at the BeachThis post is coming to you from Pace, Florida, from two guest posters - Ellen and Jane Burbank. Yesterday we spent the day at Navarre Beach, which is very close to our house and the best kept secret in Florida. There was a fire behind us, and it was awesome because it made a really cool cloud. We found tons of beautiful shells. Ellen caught a couple of awesome waves. The water was 78 degees and the sand is white like sugar. We made a huge drip castle and Jane made a bridge to the castle over the water in front of castle. Our dad took Jane on a wave while she was in a floaty, and Jane landed upside down! A little later Jane pretended to be Molly the Mermaid, and she dived in the water and back up - it was fun for her. Christian and Camille were there also. Christian had a fun time playing in the waves and Camille had a fun time playing in the sand. It was a great day and we had so much fun!
 The cloud caused by the fire
 Catching waves
 Ellen and her boogie board
 Ellen and Jane
 Drip castle fun
Christian
Camille
Seashells for Heather May 14 HoustonSo now I'm in the Houston International Airport. It is HUMID here. I know I'm used to the desert, but geez Louise. Also my purse strap broke just as I got to Camme's house in Vegas. She got me some duct tape, but I should have used more, because it did not hold up. Granted, my purse is very heavy, but now it looks really ghetto with one purse strap flying around with duct tape on the end of it. I have traveled a lot and still haven't learned to have some things for such emergencies - a safety pin would be a lifesaver, and when I get home I'm going to permanently pack in some glue for these kinds of unanticipated things. How do some people manage to look so effortless as they travel? Right now I'm already frizzly haired and have a ghetto strap. The AirportDoes anyone like flying? Other than the fact that it is usually the fastest way from point a to point b, I hate it. I have racked my brain, and can find nothing pleasant about it. I remember when I was a teenager being entranced by the whole process - I felt excited by it all - the anticipation of the destination, the thrill of leaving the earth and seeing cars, houses, people, mountains becoming teeny tiny in size, the people-watching, all of it. There used to be something almost romantic and adventurous about it. Now, I hate it. I hate the rush of getting to the airport in time, which, I unfortunately discovered about an hour ago, now means arriving at the airport at least an hour and a half before your flight, not one hour, if you fly Continental out of Vegas. Yes, I missed my 6:50 flight, which I actually woke up for at 3:15 am this morning. Yes, I still missed it. I hate the security line. I understand it's for a reason, but that doesn't stop me from hating it. I hate the smell. I hate the uncomfortable hard plastic chairs. I hate paying $15 to check your bag. Whoever said that "it's about the journey, not the destination" did not live during post 9/11 and have to fly anywhere.
However:
I am writing this on my new laptop, using McCarran airport's free wifi, from a convenient "re-charge zone" where you can plug in and not use up your battery. At least it's one way to kill time waiting for my new flight, which doesn't leave for two hours! May 01 The only way I really like DisneylandI am not a fan of:
Hence, I am not a big fan of amusement parks. Disneyland has all of those things. It also has that certain brand of Disney magic and little girls dressed up like princesses, which are really quite adorable things. Recently I discovered that the best way to do Disneyland is when someone gets you in for free. Then it doesn't matter if you don't hit all the rides, and you can just choose your favorites without having to feel like you need to get your money's worth. Also, you don't feel like being extra careful about buying food, because you've already saved yourself the exorbitant price of the fare. And that Space Mountain ride is really awesome.
April 23 Things that are GoodI will be in Los Angeles (which includes a free trip to Disneyland) for the next 5 days. Yes, I might be bragging a little.
April 22 Here's a poemThe Vacation
by Wendell Berry
Once there was a man who filmed his vacation.
He went flying down the river in his boat
with his video camera to his eye, making
a moving picture of the moving river
upon which his sleek boat moved swiftly
toward the end of his vacation. He showed
his vacation to his camera, which pictured it,
preserving it forever: the river, the trees,
the sky, the light, the bow of his rushing boat
behind which he stood with his camera
preserving his vacation even as he was living it
so that after he had had it he would still
have it. It would be there. With a flick
of a switch, there it would be. But he
would not be in it. He would never be in it.
April 16 Things that are GoodI've heard some people say that you're either a mountain person or an ocean person, meaning you either love the mountains or the ocean. I say, how can you choose? Over the next couple of weeks I will get to see the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, so I'll be an ocean person for those times. I love Utah, though, for the mountains. Here's a pic of the Wasatch from a hike last summer:
 And here's the Atlantic, from a beachside in Colonia, Uruguay:
 How do you choose??
April 03 Another NoteMarch 17 Melissa, this one's for youI have a great friend, Melissa. We were roommates for 4 years in Salt Lake City, and lived through all the craziness, good and bad, of being single and being heavily involved with our Mormon singles' ward (first she was the RS pres, then I was). This included, but was not limited to:
So much more, but I will stop for now. Last summer we went to Los Angeles, to get away and have fun for a few days. We saw Wicked, went to the beach, went shopping, and stayed in the most darling of hotels, called The Farmer's Daughter, which was across from the LA Farmers's Market at Fairfax and The Grove, a great outdoors shopping mall. The farmers' market had a great crepe restaurant and we had crepes for breakfast daily. I know you're jealous. We also went to Venice Beach. Venice Beach is of course, on the beach, but it also has a boardwalk of sorts filled with all sorts of craziness - crazy people, vendors, performers, fortune tellers, weight lifters, and people that obviously smoke pot. We bought Maroni's famous hot dogs which were so big, they made us feel scared, and got in some serious people watching. Melissa, eating the scary hot dog:
My favorite part was when Melissa got roped into some guy's dance act. If you know Melissa, you will know that is SO not her thing. I know she is going to be mad at me for posting these, but I can't help myself. No one reads this, Melissa, so don't worry! Yes, I had tears running down my face as I snapped these pictures: Getting started:
Some instructions as the music starts:
And here we go:
We had a great time in LA, and I'm so glad to count Melissa as my friend. And here's a picture of the beach we went to:
Beautiful. February 18 Things that are Disturbing....
February 17 Update: New Year's ResolutionsSo, here's how I'm doing on my resolutions (I know you were wondering...)
1) Organizing - I recently organized my recipes and I cleaned out one of my cupboards at work
2) Eating better - I do good somedays and somedays I don't. Let's just say I don't eat a lot of bad stuff, but I don't eat all of the good stuff that I should either. I did recently make Moroccan couscous with seven vegetables (I even used whole wheat couscous), which turned out delicious and it was very healthy.
3) Getting fit - I don't exercise as much as I should, but I did go out for an hour and a half yesterday and went dancing not once, but three times, last week. That so counts as cardio.
4) Travel scrapbook - Zero progress
5) Writing more - I bought two books on writing from Amazon and am really digging the advice I'm getting
6) Getting married - Um, no prospects, but so working on it...
This is a pic from when I went to Vegas at this same time last year - it's to celebrate Chinese New Year, so it goes with my theme:
 Oops, I forgot about my "be nicer" goal. For the most part I am doing well. I have a hard time with an employee. That is because this person is an idiot and uses this idiocy dangerously. That probably wasn't nice, what I just said, was it? I do not care though, because it is the truth.
February 07 Here's a picfrom last year's trip to Pike Place Market in Seattle, otherwise remembered as the trip when Megan lost a pink frog, gained a new pink frog only to be therefore rejected as new pink frog was not old pink frog, only to be henceforth accepted happily the next day...no pictures of said pink frog, but here are some pink flowers:
 Doesn't it make you eager for spring? Of course, if you live here in St. George, it already is..... January 30 BenchI bought an old whitewashed bench from a consignment store in Salt Lake. It smelled very weird. After three trips to Lowe's (wrong brushes, wrong paint) and lots of paint stains, I was finally successful and now it is not white anymore, nor does it smell funny. Here it is:
 The seat even lifts up and reveals a storage compartment. Cute, huh?
A year ago A year ago (well, more than that as it was MLK jr weekend), I went to visit Grandma in Mesa. Here we are, with cousins Julie and Karen, eating out. It only took me a year to post this picture. Not bad.
January 19 Some Pictures...January 17 ResolutionaryI haven't been blogging much lately. One of the reasons (other than sheer lack of desire to do so) is that I have been busy with New Year's resolutions. I read something about the success rate of such resolutions (not good, as you might imagine), which had suggestions on keeping them. One suggestion was to share them with others so that you have more pressure to keep them. So that's what I'm doing. Some are small, some are big, some require help, and yes, some may in fact require a miracle. Additionally, I reserve the right to change them at any time. So here they are, in no particular order:
There they are out there for the world to see. Any help would be appreciated.
January 02 Things that are IronicPer my Writer's Almanac daily email, today is an important anniversary for lepidopterists - people who study, collect, or observe butterflies and moths (Does anyone know anyone who does this? What a strange profession. How do they get paid?). On this day in 1975, an amateur naturalist, Kenneth Brugger, discovered where monarch butterflies from North America spend the winter. Scientists had been studying monarch migration for more than 30 years, and they had found out almost everything about the butterflies, except where they spent their winters.
Kenneth Brugger was an American textile engineer (Did you know there was such a thing as a textile engineer? Nor did I) living in Mexico City. He remembered driving through a storm of monarchs once on a vacation, in the mountains west of Mexico City. He went back there, but he couldn't find anything, and the local farmers wouldn't give him any information. Then he brought his Mexican wife Catalina, and the locals warmed up. A farmer led them up the side of a remote mountain, up to 10,000 feet, and suddenly the fir trees were so thick with butterflies that they looked orange instead of green. Scientists estimated that there were 4 million butterflies per acre.
Brugger was elated, but he couldn't fully appreciate what he was seeing - he was colorblind.
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