New Device

I found this wonderful little pillow at Toys R Us on Saturday. If you have kids, no doubt you've turned around and felt bad at the cricked neck position your children fall asleep in when they're in their carseats. Nat loves this little pillow and I thought she was so cute with it on. It's our favorite find of the week!

Feeling Like a Princess

I found this picture of me the other night. It was one of my favorite bridal shots. When I decided to get married, I looked around at all the various veils available but none seemed just right so I hired someone to make it. It was absolutely the most beautiful veil I have ever seen and went literally down to my knees. Plus I had a layer that went over my face during the ceremony. I love the way it nearly takes up the whole picture providng me the perfect soft backdrop to my princess moment.

Upcoming Construction

I'm going to begin telling a story that will likely continue for several months. And since no doubt it is going to cause me enormous consternation of which I will need a venting post (my blog), I will start with the beginning so I can vent at will in the future...

I live on a pretty busy street in Bountiful and they are planning to install curb & gutter along my street on our side stretching for about 1/2 mile. Construction has already begun to the south and several retaining walls have gone in. The track-hoe's are heading our way and I'm told that within a couple of weeks, they will be demo'ing my front yard as well. This is the "before pic" taken July 18th:



I'm sure you noticed that we ALREADY have curb & gutter. Yes, well the logic is mystifying.

Part of the agreement with The City was that in exchange for the property necessary for the project, they would cut down this enormous pine tree in our front yard. This tree stretches well up to 70 or 80' tall and we hate it for so many reasons. The first of which is the ardently distasteful curb appeal. Second is the obnoxious pine needles; third is the area under the tree which is just ugly...and that's just a few reasons.

I don't know when this "tree-deraising" will occur but I'm anxious and fascinated about the process. So in case you're driving by, that's what's happening. It's normal...it's good...THAT part of the construction will be good times. The rest of the experience will no doubt be forthcoming.

Snippity Snip

This post is mainly for my friends & family that don't see me a lot since my close-by friends have seen my new haircut. It's not that unusual from what it used to look like other than it's shorter in some spots and the coloring makes it stand out a lot better than it ever did when it was all squirrel brown.

I was losing my mind with my old hair. But I went absolutely insane with my old hairstylist. The woman was/is bi-polar, pregnant and another friend believes she's doing drugs (this friend goes to her also). She literally stresses me out so much when I go see her that I've lost the energy to call her up for an appointment. I can't put my finger on why she is so nutty, but I feel this unusual jumpy energy everytime I'm around her, not to mention her non-stop chatter about really weird, weird things. So I tolerated my hair as it grew and grew and when I was finally forced to resort to a pony tail everyday, I found someone new.

There's a girl in my ward, Shannon, who does hair and out of desperation, I went to her. She did an amazing job and it was seriously the fastest haircut I've ever had. It was then confirmed to me that she is moving in like 2 weeks to Wyoming. Since my "old" hairstylist is mentally unstable, and I'm not sure she won't stab me in the eye with her rat-tail comb if I go back to her and she sees that obviously someone else has cut my hair, I'd go back to her possibly. Now I have 4 weeks to find a replacement.

In any case, I'm loving my hair, and when I walk by a mirror, I take a step back and look twice!

Why Can't Women Be More Like.....Me?

If you are a fan of the movie, "My Fair Lady", you'll know this line well. It's a song in the movie and a self-centered man sings it about how everyone should be just like him so as to make the world an easier place to get along in.

In a way, this song strikes a chord with me and could it be because I'm self-centered? I don't know. I was talking to a friend recently about personality types, shyness vs. being outgoing and what it's like to have those characteristics.

Natalie is very outgoing. For instance we went to Cherry Hill today and she had no one to play with. She's an only child; it happens frequently. A mom and her kids, including a 3 year old girl sat right by us. True to form, Natalie followed this little girl around for about 10 minutes until the girl finally started playing with her. Maybe she knew she wouldn't be able to get rid of her unless she played. But here's me sitting next to her mom and bored. I start talking to her mom. Was she shy? Was she having a bad day? Who knows, but she seriously would not talk to me! And this happens a lot!

I am more like my dad in this way and will strike up a conversation with just about anyone for a few minutes just to ease the boredom of a grocery line, sitting at Cherry Hill by myself or whatever. But I've noticed that about 50% of women just won't talk back! Whatever! I KNOW it's not because they don't like me. They don't know enough not to like me so what's up with them? Are they just naturally introverts, are they rude, or are they just shy? It doesn't make any sense to me! I don't want a lifelong friendship; I'm just a happy person!

I'M FRIENDLY...WHY CAN'T YOU BE FRIENDLY TOO, AND WE CAN BE FRIENDLY TOGETHER! I won't keep trying, it's not my nature. Like me and my friend discussed, we hope Nat won't get disgusted either and quit trying. I feel bad for her rejection though!

Ancestors

My next door neighbor spoke in church today about his ancestors and I was absolutely transfixed! I was aware that he was very interested in his family history but I had no idea he had managed to find such details about his ancestors!

I too have had a strong desire in the past year to find out about my ancestors. One in particular is my great-great grandmother, whose name is Susan Lukas-Zajic-Roberts. She actually emmigrated from one of the Scandinavian countries when she was in her twenties, had four children 2 of which died when they were children. She moved with her family to Pennsylvania where her husband was a coal-miner. Coal-mining in those days was very dangerous work, and I can't imagine the stress she was under each day as she worried about her husband and her family. Other than these few facts, however, I've not been able to find out much else and am envious of my neigbor for all of the wonderful information he has found.

This particular weekend, where in Utah we celebrate the Pioneers, I am so grateful for the sacrifices that my ancestors made, LDS or not. To uproot oneself from your native country to travel to an unknown country where hopefully things are better is a huge & scary risk, especially to do so with very young children. Many of my ancestors did so and I am so honored they did. Here I sit in my comfortable, climate-controlled house in a country where I say and do what I please is only because of the sacrifices & trials of strong-willed people in my family. My daily decisions ("should I go float in the pool, or should I clean house today") would likely seem superfluous and rediculous to them. I hope there are other ways in which I make them proud!


Some Ancestors Unknown to Me - possibly great-grandparents??

So Far It's a Perfect Day

Now this day started out RIGHT! I was up EARLY actually! It's a miracle. Well not exactly - I have been doing it quite a bit more lately but today it just felt great! I got plenty of sleep last night so that certainly helps. I got home, watered all my flower beds, showered, dressed, got all my chores done, worked outside for awhile fertilizing and stuff. Then Nat got up and she seemed surprised to see me not in bed which was adorable. She helped me outside, then we came in and had a wonderful breakfast of fresh (yeah!) tomatoes w/toast & feta cheese. How nice not to have Rice Krispies for a change. What a great breakfast! It's only 9am and we're both dressed and ready to go. She's playing play-doh and we haven't had the TV on once! I wish all days could start just like this one. In my perfect world, they would.

Oh - and I'm finally getting my hair chopped tonight! I can't wait!

Summer

I LOVE summer! I love the hot weather, tending my gardens, watching various flowers pop up in their time, the smell of fresh cut grass, laying in the sun, & fresh tomatoes!

I've also been lucky enough for the past 5-6 years, to have fruit trees in my yard. My last house had apricots, pears & plums. This house I have peaches & apricots. Fruit trees are beautiful and Natalie and I love singing the popcorn song in the spring. The way the fruit trees go from blossoms to fruit is amazing. My apricots are on, and the tree is laden! It it such a beautiful tree (some of you might know about my obsession with trees), and when the pretty little orange apricots are on it, it's wonderful! My mom came over the other day to pick them. And anyone else is welcome to do so - anytime; just show up! These pics are of the tree during blossom stage, and then it snowed - and now with the fruit.

That Time of Life

My friend, Kelly and I often talk of the wrinkled little old people we see and how under all their wrinkles and gray hair, they are the same people they were when they were younger. That seems trite and obvious but it's sort of profound. It's sometimes hard to imagine all of the feelings, thoughts, memories, character and personalities that underlie each and every single older person. It's easy to categorize them and overlook them but I challenge you to look further.

I meet a lot of old people at work, and this week I met an 86 year old lady whom I talked to at length. She was brusque at first, but I pushed past it and sat talking to her for a long time. She's lost her stature, very gray and wrinkled. She has a hard time walking and came in for hip surgery because she fell and broke it. A typical patient. But while talking, it came out that back in the thirties when she was very young, she eloped to Idaho with her husband. They just couldn't wait and drove to Idaho in the middle of the night, got the Justice of the Peace out of bed and they were married at 4:00am. They had like 8 kids! I just couldn't help trying to imagine this little old lady as that extremely vital, excited, anxious young person very in love and driving up to elope! I asked her if she was pregnant and she laughed and said no, but that everyone thought she was.

She talked about all of the relatives she's known over the years, and stories for some of them, mostly from when she was younger. I thought of the people in my life - my sisters-in-law, friends etc. I realized with a jolt that this lady has probably seen many of them die already. That this little tiny lady who remembers being young, remembers being young with all of those relatives has likely experienced a great deal of death; lots of people she loved & cared about including that cute husband. She's a widow. It's a thought most of us adjust to and don't think about a lot but it was profound to me in that instant.

I talk of this today because my husband's grandmother is dying. She's had vascular dementia for the past 6 years and my DH's mom has been caring for her. DH drove to his hometown this morning to pay last respects before she dies. She's on hospice. I realized that only about a month ago, we were doing the same thing for my grandfather who lives in California. He actually is still living but I understand is not doing extremely well. With this grandmother, DH will have lost all of his grandparents. When my grandfather dies, I will have on my grandmother left. She's still very vital and active and hopefully stays that way. Of all my grandparents, I've always been closest to her. I even lived with her for a year before I got married.

My point in all of this is that it's funny. We are now at that point in our lives where were are experiencing the first touches of death that that little old lady has had so much of. It's part of life, and comes in small doses to get us used to it. It makes me a little sad.

The Power of Scent

There is a particular scent when I go into Natalie's room. It's the same scent that is attached to all of her clothing and her both of her precious "blankies". It's not the same scent she had when she was a little baby, which was also very unique. It wasn't quite the smell one associates with "baby", the baby wash and lotion, the smell of their milk breath etc. It was a little Natalie smell. It's evolved since then. It's still very much her own and I love it so much. I was thinking the other day how wonderful it would be if I could bottle it so I could have it for life. I'm sure it will change again and I'll lose the toddler smell forever. Maybe when she's done with her little blanket, I can put it in a zip loc bag and it will keep for a while. Eventually it will be gone though. The power of smell is so strong - it takes you back with just a whif. Why hasn't technology progressed to where we can capture these crucial smells that enable us to re-live precious moments in our lives years later?

Nat finished her Level I swimming lessons today. She passed! Not that I was worried. I highly recommend this cute girl Whitney at Bountiful Rec Center for lessons. She was great with Natalie.

Watch Where You Drive

In all the minutes, hours, days, weeks, years I've been running, I've come across some unusual things. I found an unopened [yes, sealed] tube of Chapstick once (Rachel can attest) which Todd prompty decided was full of poison (I used it and am alive today!)... I have found all manner of clothing - even a mitten of mine I had lost on an earlier run. I've found enough change to fill a small glass. I've seen enough trash to fill a dumpster. I've seen binkies, an entire novel with all pages in tact, & miscellaneous jewelry. But in all that time of running, and all of the miles I've run, which are easily hundreds by now, I have never even so much as SEEN paper money. Until just the other day I found a twenty dollar bill, right at the exact place I stretch each day as if it were waiting for me. Keep in mind that a lot of people run this particular route, up & down this same road each day and my liklihood of finding that particular bill was amazing. Another five minutes, some other runner would have come along and found it instead. It's probably a silly thing to blog about but I've always wondered why I never find money! Oh, and don't think I'm some sort of scavenger. I don't pick up and keep all of these items. They're just curious oddities.

Lastly, let me tell you - I run a lot similar routes each day but every SINGLE day, I'll bet I pick up at least 3-4 screws or nails a day off the side of the road. Be careful where you drive! No wonder we get so many screws & nails in our tires! Stay close to the middle if you can!

BONES IN THE ATTIC

I went to add a title to this post and I double clicked on the title square and a whole bunch of weird titles came up. Some of them were ones I'd already used in other blogs but some of them I'd never heard of...like this one. I'd really like to have read whatever post was talking about Bones in the Attic. Now I don't know a great deal about computers but doesn't that only happen when someone types those words on the computer you're using? So who else is blogging on my computer is what I want to know!

Someone told me today that I haven't blogged enough and that my posts are too few and too far between. Well, I knew that. I've actually been sort of crazy these past few weeks. I've been feeling very disconnected from my life which usually means I'm not sticking to my routines enough. My goals aren't going to the way-side exactly. I'm just at a point of assessment and figuring out how they can jive permanently with my life on an on-going basis. So far, I've completed about 50% of them, and am still committed to finishing them.

I've been working at Lakeview Hospital for the past few months and have really enjoyed it. I always thought working in a hospital would be fun. Scrubs are the nicest working clothes - so comfortable and you don't worry about getting messy. Plus, I like the patients. Most of them are older and have lived in Bountiful for a long time and are so neighborly & friendly. But, I have been considering going back to Davis School District once school begins again. It's more hours per week which I'm not thinking will be so great, but I do love that job. It's just so much more my style. Schedule-wise, I do my thing and it's great. I have a few more weeks to make up my mind.

Natalie and I have been busy with swimming lessons. Well, she has anyway. I've been busy trying to make sure we get there on time. I realized in about 1 minute that we were past the Mom-&-Me phase and she'd get more from a teacher-student situation. Her teacher, Whitney, is so great to her. She's the cutest girl and seems to really like Natalie. She carries her around on her hip like she's her own little girl. The best thing is that Natalie has gone from not even wanting to sit on our laps on a raft in our pool (previous post), to being fine to float around in our pool with just her water wings on. She'll even float in her water wings in the lazy river at Cherry Hill all by herself. All this in just 2 weeks. She has 2 lessons left. $30 well spent.

My garden has gotten away from me. I fertilized my flowers and veggies a couple of weeks ago and although I'm harvesting veggies already, the weeds got fertilized as well and I'm inundated with them! Yikes! I need a good few hours just to devote to weeding! But I picked several zuk's and even made zuk bread last weekend. I've picked some snap peas, spinach and lettuce already. The herbs are good to go also. But I'm still waiting on the tomatoes. I've got tons already but none of them are red yet. I'm sure I'm not alone. Waiting also on the beans & I think the green peppers are starting to produce too. Fun!

BTW, in case anyone hasn't heard yet - I won the 10 lb challenge! I've officially lost 13 lbs. since Christmas and I'm more than a little proud of it! If I don't get pregnant in the next few months, I hope to continue this downward trend all the way to where I was when I got pregnant. That's only 13 more lbs to go.

I just heard tonight some very upsetting news that my friend Katie and her family are moving out of our ward soon. They're building a house not far, but far enough away she won't be at church anymore, nor just down the street. I'm so happy for them since they've been wanting a new house for such a long time and now that they're having a baby, it will be nice to have a brand new home but it's still sad for me that they won't be so close anymore. Well, I guess I'm just being silly. I think they're only moving 5 miles away. They could be moving to Tucson like our friend Rachel (my old running partner) did. That's quite a bit too far!

Well, enough of my rambling. Sorry for the extra long post but that's a re-cap of the past few weeks. Happy, healthy, hard at work!

Scrapbooking at my house next Thursday 10am! Be there or be...somewhere else I guess.