A Distant View

Right now I am cruising at about 35,000 feet in a Delta airplane but I have no idea where we are because the air is so smoky that I can't see the ground. We had a great view of the fires in Pocatello and could see the plume from the Colorado fires. From this height they just look like large puffy clouds, but I know that the experience at ground level is much different.

Just yesterday a fire broke out in the neighboring community of Harriman that quickly destroyed several homes. Although this morning we could see on the news that the fire was still burning, from our vantage point about 20 miles away, the air was clear and it was a beautiful day.

Isn't that like life in general? We can be in a mighty struggle and feel like we are holding on to the last knot in the rope, but to other people, it appears that things are fine and that we have smooth sailing. The distant view tends to soften the hard edges of reality. That's why it is easy to get so wrapped up in our own life struggles that we neglect to notice the challenges that others are facing.

I don't know about you, but I get overwhelmed when I pay too much attention to those world issues that I can only see in the distant view. Poverty. Hunger. War. What can I do about problems that are so huge? I assist when asked, but I will admit that I don't really go out of my way to find ways to be involved.

I am interested in affecting change, but I have to do it on a smaller scale. I can help teenagers learn and grow. I can help neighbors who are facing challenges. I can stand up for community members who need their voices heard. I can donate money and clothes to those who have lost their homes to these crazy fires.

Lehi Cattle Drive

It hasn't happened for 75 years, but it happened this week.  A cattle drive.  Down Lehi's Main Street.

There was quite a bit of concern about safety.  I mean, we have all seen the videos of the running of the bulls in Pamplona, but in the end no one was gored or trampled.  Phew.  I hear that there were some issues. . . some of the longhorns were not interested in the whole idea of a parade and they ended up staying at the rodeo grounds.  Others wanted nothing to do with the railroad tracks and tried to turn back.  And rumor has it that someone let some of the bulls out overnight which made for an interesting morning.


Now you can't celebrate a cattle drive without parade, so we had the Lehi High School Band and the Lehi Silver Band, the City Council, a County Commissioner, and various rodeo queens. It was short, but it was appreciated by the surprisingly ample crowd. A pretty cool event for our fair city.

 Council Member Kaye in her fringed shirt

Cattle turning off Main Street

 A rare sight

Lehi Silver Band

He's Losing It.

I am so proud of my amazing husband.  At the beginning of 2012 he decided that he was going to lose weight and on Saturday he hit the 100 pound mark.  I have been really impressed with his tenacity and positive attitude.  Check out his blog- he just made it public on Saturday.

http://itsminetolose.blogspot.com

He looks so good that maybe I'll even get going again!

Re-Evaluating

The last few weeks have been pretty tough. I have been really busy finishing up my British Lit class, going through the system to get recertified, helping with marching band, and applying for jobs. I wish that I had been busy having interviews, but I've only had two.

It is really frustrating to have such a hard time finding a job. I know that lots of people have been going through the same thing, but I guess it is different when it's you!

This week everything kind of came crashing together. I did not handle it all very well. I just could not stop crying for about 2 hours. I decided to write out my wants, needs, and finally, my goals. How interesting to discover that the things I was really upset about were not only totally out of my control, but also had no bearing on my reaching my life goals. All of a sudden I wasn't so upset.

Now I am back to my mantra. The words "be still and know that I am God" go through my mind on a frighteningly regular basis. I am overall confident in God's plan for my life. I just falter every once in a while. Like this week. But now I am back on track! Que sera sera .

Snap Judgements

This morning I needed to run into my local grocery store to grab a few items.  I had the items, had checked out and was headed out of the store in about 5 minutes flat.  On my way out the door I saw a lady coming in wearing jeans, and black turtleneck, and a sweater comprised of silver sequins.  Completely covered, not just a few sequins.

My first thought was "What the heck?  Why is she wearing that sweater here?"

But just as quickly the next thought came.  It was "Why not?  Life is too short to not wear things that you love!"

I'm disappointed in myself that my first impulse was so negative and judgemental.  All I can do is try to do better next time.  I have a yellow scarf that I haven't worn yet because I know someone will make a snide comment. 

So, wear those crazy shoes, that yellow scarf, the sequins!  Live it up and let your joy show.  I think I'll wear my huge sparkly bracelet to Council tomorrow. . .just for kicks!

Meet and Greet

This evening I talked DiAnna into attending the:

                                     
We cruised down there in the awesome orange Challenger.  At first we couldn't find Soel, but then we spotted the HUGE crowd of people and knew we had found the spot.  Soel is a cute shop with some beautiful items, but I probably only saw about 25% of what they had because the place was packed with bloggers!  It was so loud from everyone talking at once!  Crazy.  Just crazy. 

I actually saw some friends there, but I didn't get to talk to any of the people that I follow.  I spotted one or two, but then they disappeared into the crowd.  Here are our observations about bloggers and current trends:

1.  Bloggers are young.  I think I was easily the oldest person there!

2.  Bright colors are in.  A pop of color is a must now.

3.  We are glad that we do not have newborns.  DiAnna is so happy about that that she's ready to get that IUD replaced for another 5-10 years of safety!!!

4.  It's all about hair.  It has to be stylish, which seems to mean long and curly or short and spunky.  There were a few shoulder length bobs but they were usually somewhat assymetrical.

5.  Bloggers are friendly. . .and loud! 

It was crazy and fun, but after a little while we headed out and walked every aisle of JoAnn Fabric.  Now, THAT was awesome!

An insidious intruder. . .

Sometimes things just creep up on you. You know what I mean. I'm not talking about Zombie Apocalypse or the end of the Mayan Calendar. This is much worse, because it is real. I am almost afraid to admit it, but

Ed and I have gotten old!

Tonight we went out for our Valentine' s dinner since I will be at City Council on Tuesday night. We were seated and given menus.

And neither of us could read them!

Ed thought it was too dark and I knew that I needed my reading glasses, so after a good dig through all the pockets of my purse, I found them, put them on, and started a dramatic reading of the menu. I soon found what I wanted and set my glasses down on the table. And then came the moment we all dread. . .

Ed picked up my glasses, put them on, and started reading the menu. Ok. That may not sound like a big deal, but that is a serious clue that we are old! I almost laughed out loud, but I didn't want to deter Ed until he had figured out what he wanted.

We had a lovely dinner, sat and chatted for a few minutes (sans glasses), and then paid the bill and left the restaurant. And that's when the next clue came. We looked at the clock in our so-awesome-but-I'm-having-a-mid-life-crisis car and realized that it was 7:17. PM.

It's bad enough that we can't see the menu, but to have your evening grinding to a halt at 7:17 in the evening is just sad. We managed to stretch it out with a trip up to Sandy to the Ulta store so I could get some foundation to hid my blotchy skin and wrinkles. When we got home at the more respectable hour of 8:30, Colby told us that he and Danaca were going to the movies- for the 10:10 show.

Can you say, "Rub it in?"