Kate

Better late...

2012-01-30T16:06:00.001-07:00

Since it will be February in two days...I thought I would post some Christmas pics :-) I'm good like that...

I took quite a few, shocking I know. Here are some of my favorites.

We have so much fun doing the Nativity with the munchkins.

This little one loved his coloring books and was content to sit with Papa and color for hours.

And this sweet girl just loved everything. Watching her open gifts was magical.

My amazing Dad, who knows me so well, got me the perfect gift. Completely unexpected. It's in this cute box.

Yeah. Nightmares for a week. Thanks dad.

My Zumba instructor gave us these cute ornaments that she made.

Okay so my parents really do know me well. They got me this:

Yup! A little movie theatre popcorn maker. I love it. I constantly has popcorn in it.

Thank you!!!!

Family, and anyone else that cares, here are the rest:

I was having fun with the new Picasa collage maker :-)

The sound is messed up...just mute it for now. :-)

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's Eve and that you are having a great year so far!

Hello!

2012-01-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

Hello strangers! I have not blogged in quite a while. Not sure why. Just not feeling it. I'm going to try harder though.

Today will be short. I want to share something cool...from Pinterest...yeah, yeah, I know. But this is very cool.

A couple of weeks ago I repinned a cute, simple image about having a great mom:

I liked it. I have a great mom and I love her. I pinned it.

Then the cool thing started. People started repinning it. A lot of people. And commenting. And every comment was about how much they loved their mom.

Here's the status as of today:

9,262 repins to other boards and 76 comments.

That is a lot of love right there. And it just really made me happy. There are a lot of good people out there and a lot of love. And if Pinterest crashes and dies next week or starts to get annoying like Facebook, I will still have this amazing moment of shared love with almost 10,000 other people... total strangers...and that is brilliant.

The end.

I'm popular! Finally!

2012-01-16T15:42:00.001-07:00

Kidding. I'm not really. But I feel that way today! I've officially made almost 3,000 people smile. Yahoo!

You know my little Pinterest obsession? Well a cute saying that I posted (I didn't even make it up, just repinned it) has received a lot of repins and likes. And today it made the "Popular" tab! What is the "Popular" tab you may ask?

I'll tell you. Just chill.

At the top of the page you can click "Popular" and it shows you all the trending pins. I was scrolling through and SAW MY NAME. Seriously. I've peaked. There's nothing left to achieve. Done. ;-)

I know. I'm a dork. But I felt popular for a second. I took a screen shot. You have to document these monumentally momentous moments (monumentally momentous moments???) in life.

So what have you lot done lately? Passed the Bar? Run a marathon? Given birth? Saved lives? Jumped buildings in a single bound? You've got nothing on me ;-)

Thoughts

2012-01-13T10:09:00.003-07:00

I'm so glad the holidays are over...I love Christmas, it's a beautiful holiday, I love being with my family and celebrating the birth of Christ...but it's also a really hard time of year.

I get really depressed around the holidays. It gets worse every year. I get very lonely and tend to focus on everything that is missing in my life.

I know. I shouldn't. But I do anyway. I think it will get better once I'm married and start having kids.

But for now, I get very nostalgic for Christmases when I was young, and it's rough.

I'm also addicted to Pinterest. How are these things related? Let me tell you.

I keep finding images and sayings that help me. I never thought Pinterest would inspire me this much.

Here are a few of my recent favorites.

Give up the thought that you have to be perfect, look the part and have no weakness before you give your heart and put your self out there.

And slightly unrelated...but awesome:

Resolution: actually blog...

2012-01-10T16:39:00.000-07:00

I'm officially a really bad blogger. The holidays were crazy. The end.

A few glimpses into my oddness:

Bear has finally warmed up to my dad. I know. I never would've believed it either. But look, I took a picture. Christmas miracle.

Tres Leches cake from Tarahuma (the best Mexican restaurant on the planet. Just saying) Isn't it pretty?!

Creepy clown juice marketing. I was walking down the aisle and it was watching me.

Gorgeous sunset. No snow yet (not good), but amazing clouds and sunsets. But really. We need snow. Can anyone say drought coming???

Big project at work. We have clients coming in and I wanted to spruce up the joint. It's very blah.

All of the walls were this color:

Not anymore!!!

I've spent the past two days painting and such and I really like how it turned out. My boss is still getting used to it, but I think that really (really) deep down inside he loves it :-)

So what have you all been up too?

KongTime

2012-01-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

This is what I need for Utah! I have been looking for something like this forever...and of course it's completely out of stock EVERYWHERE. If you any of see one...please let me know!

Home...

2012-01-06T11:09:00.001-07:00

Could I live here please?

http://ohpioneer.com/post/13201186179

Women love dragons??

2012-01-04T16:30:00.000-07:00

I mean, I actually do like dragons...but that's besides the point!

I keep getting this same ad on Facebook and it really bugs me for some reason.

Party time. Excellent.

2011-12-28T07:30:00.000-07:00

Tehe :-)

So for our family Christmas party this year my awesome parentals took us all swimming! It was great fun. The whole famdamly was there (except Levi. Boo) plus lot's of extended family and friends. We had pizza and goodies and lot's of fun in the water. We have a lot of kidlets in our family right now, so this was the perfect party for them.

Here are a ton of pictures. Please excuse the quality. My brain hasn't been working very well lately and I forgot my camera. I had to use my phone. Fail.

This little kidlet loves the water.

And so does this crazy bigger kidlet!

Can you see JB at the top of the slide? Scary!

They came down so fast, they blurred!

He loves the slide.

Baby W is always the center of attention.

Watch EJ inching over as I try to get a shot of W.

Superstar!

These munchkins love playing with their papa!

Do you see the small drowning critter that CJ is holding under? And he's laughing!

Kidding. That's crazy L-girl. She is a fish. CJ was actually making sure she came back up at some point. She forgets that she needs oxygen :-)

This pool complex is so great. They have a huge shallow area for kids, a slide, lazy river and lot's of fun toys and sprayers.

Grandma!!!!

Fer cute!

Cami. Yup.

I love this pic of W and papa. Look at that tummy! Healthy baby :-)

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Bunny-Kitty

2011-12-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

Just a quick pic before the glut of Christmas photos.

The sweetest most patient cat on the planet.

She lets the munchkins haul her around and maul her with nary a compliant. I wish we could clone her :-)

Hello!

2011-12-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

Hello blog world! It's been so long. I hardly recognize you anymore!

I have been very sick and it's the holidays. Those are my excuses for slacking on the blog front.

Here is a major catch-up:

A few days before I got sick, I babysat the muchkins and we decorated a gingerbread house.

Getting started...it was careful and a bit tentative...

But then...bring on the icing and candy!

Done! Awesome job guys! It's beautiful!

Yes. That is a lot of icing.

Cool picture of Bear.

New pair of shoes I made. I love the sparkly heels!

It was uber foggy one morning on our walk. Utah ended up looking like Old Man Winter.

I washed my car...you're welcome Mom ;-) And tried taking pics from inside the carwash.

And at work...we got a yummy, beautiful Christmas gift from a vendor. Did you know that I love packaging/wrapping? I do. And these guys know how to package.

It is a box of truffles from Telluride Truffle.

It's a triangle box! And when you open it...

Pretty star paper and ribbon. And then...

Gorgeous hand-decorated truffles nestled in a bed of gold.

They were yummy...but I was seriously impressed with the wrapping :-)

Yes, I have issues.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2011-12-07T11:52:00.001-07:00

Well, inside at least. We need snow!!!!

On Saturday my wonderful brother and SIL brought me a tree (i've been sick). Thank you!

This is what it looked like after he put it in the base.

I was little nervous...

He promised that it was just frozen and once he added hot water it would thaw and the branches would fall down. I was skeptical and watched it intently for the rest of the day.

Well he was right...again.

This was about two hours later:

And this was another few hours later:

So pretty!

Of course it was then that I found out that all the lights I had were broken...

But two days later...I finally got it decorated!

I love Christmas trees. I love nighttime when I can turn all the lights off except the tree lights and just sit in the glow.

Sigh.

I also love ornaments! And I have a thing for stars and moose. Odd combo, I know. Here are a few of my favorites:

Moose Angel

Glass moose

Santa on a moose

Piggy. I have a cow too.

Glittery sand dollars. I made about a million of these a few years back...and they are all on my tree.

And finally my poor pup.

He was quite confused by the whole process but has been such a good boy. He hasn't eaten a single ornament yet! Knock on wood...

Enchantment

2011-12-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today is Walt Disney's birthday! Hip hip hooray!

But first...yesterday was my SIL's birthday! I love her a whole lot and wanted to wish her a very happy birthday.

Love you!

And now Walt. Yes, we are on a first name basis. He was born today in 1901. Can you believe it's been that long?

What an amazing man. I mean seriously. Look at what he has given us. Think about the world without him. It would be VERY different don't you think? No Mickey Mouse, no Dory, no Disney princesses...or princes...i mean really, i just started thinking about it and it was weird. So much of our current culture is wrapped around Disney creations.

Think about the wonder on a child's (or adult, admit it) face at Disney Land or when they watch their first Disney movie and fall in love. The joy that he has blessed us with is a bit overwhelming.

Here are a few of my favorites things...

From this:

To this:

I mean wow. Yet they both enchant us.

Beauty and The Beast - Sigh. I have this entire movie memorized (yet I can't remember the multiplication tables...)

Side note: Is this just me? I like The Beast so much better as The Beast. Look at him. So handsome and adorable...And then he changes.

Blech. Whatever.

Prince Eric. I've loved him for years.

Kiss the girl!

I loved Fantasia. Mickey was so adorable.

And Shang was totally hot!

Okay, I'm worried about how many crushes I have on cartoon men...

Anyway. Thank you Mr. Disney for all of the wonder and enchantment. Your mark on the world will live forever. Happy Birthday!

What are your favorite Disney memories? Share!

American Boy

2011-11-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

I found this essay on ohpioneer.com (amazingly beautiful blog. You will love it)

It made me cry. It gave me hope.

Now don't get me wrong. There are amazing MEN out there. I have them in my own family. But this is a problem that I have seen and my women friends have seen. And Josh Abe just says it beautifully.

A CONDEMNATION OF THE AMERICAN BOY BY JOSH ABE

What we have a right to expect of the American boy is that he shall turn out to be a good American man.
The best boys I know–the best men I know–are good at their studies or their business, fearless and stalwart, hated and feared by all that is wicked and depraved, incapable of submitting to wrongdoing, and equally incapable of being aught but tender to the weak and helpless.
In short, in life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is: Hit the line hard: don’t foul and don’t shirk, but hit the line hard.
—Theodore Roosevelt on the American Boy

There’s been a post that’s been floating around lately that states that men don’t protect you anymore, and that they never should. I usually don’t post my own diatribes on this blog, but this has been a major topic of discussion lately, it’s an issue of great importance to me, it’s somewhat in keeping with the theme of this blog, and I wanted to cast a bit of vision from what may be a uncommon viewpoint.

In this day and age, the prevailing pattern is that there are many boys who refuse to grow up and be a man, and I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be this way.

Our generation has seen the decline of the American man, and has produced boys who are unwilling to take responsibility for their own actions, who refuse to do things that are hard or require sacrifice, and who are remaining in an adolescent state of mind well into their mid 30’s. Consider this number for demonstration; the video game industry’s most profitable demographic isn’t with teens and pre-teens, but with males age 23-36. These men (I use the word loosely here) cling to an age of ease and comfort and spend more time advancing their level in Black Ops than advancing their career or improving and maintaining their mental and physical wellness. This stems from an attitude of selfishness, and causes many men (again, loosely) to shirk responsibility when it comes to life, career, spouse, family, and country.

When something is wrong, these adolescents are quick to place the blame on something or someone outside themselves, they are hasty to complain about an unpleasant circumstance when in fact, they have all the necessary equipment to be the catalyst for change in that circumstance, or at least to find peace and courage in the face of that circumstance. They are spineless ninnies who look for every possible escape from hard work or discomfort. When an obstacle arises, they find away around it or retreat, rather than facing it head on with fortitude and steadfastness. They refuse to take responsibility for the consequences of their own actions, and are slow to face the realities of their self-manufactured situation. They have selfishly constructed for themselves a life of ease and comfort, and they are quick to avoid or retreat from any undesirable responsibility that may get in the way, which regrettably, but far too often includes spouse and/or family.

The essay I’m referring to talks about the fact that women don’t need men to protect them. I agree with it in one sense. Women don’t need men in the sense that they shouldn’t find the entirety of their self-worth in the affection of a man, and this goes equally for men. Each should find their own identity wholly in themselves and God, and the quality of life should never be contingent on the approval of any other human being.
In addition; it is true that “the choices you make, your day-to-day actions, determine the person you are.” Again, I’m advocating the importance of self-reliance and personal responsibility.

What I do have an issue with is the fact that women seem to have given up on finding the knight in shining armor they once dreamed of. The romantic notion of a strong, stable, and dependable man has been crushed by too many years of experience, and women have adapted to have a low expectation of men so that they aren’t disappointed. This saddens me on the deepest level. We have begun to perceive manhood as an optional aspiration, and the American man has ceased to be a necessary staple. Women have found that they can get on just as well, if not better, without the “help” of their male counterparts; only because it’s less headache and heartache in the long-run. This should not be so.

If American boys grew up to be truly responsible and reliable Men (upper-case), they would be indispensable and highly desirable, even irresistible. If all American men were steadfast men of character, I believe our country’s stability would reflect the stability of its citizens. The American man should strive to be a leader worthy of being followed, developing the fortitude to face impossible tasks with courage and a fixed gaze, not shirking responsibility, manufacturing excuses, or retreating at the sight of doing something “hard.”

So, ladies; I’m here to apologize on behalf of mankind for our selfish and adolescent behavior. It’s not your fault that you don’t trust us. Our lack of action and courage has set a precedent that we are ill equipped for leadership, and it has forced you to take the reins instead.

But I’m also here to say that there are a few of us who still strive to be a leader worth following. There are still a few of us who are about the business of getting things done, and being true to our word. There are still a few men who are comfortable with doing hard things, don’t shy away from sacrifice, and are doing their best to maintain a healthy mind, body, and spirit. I’m sorry that you’ve lost faith in us, but I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to lose hope. We’re still out there, and we’re looking for you.

(For more on how to be a man: start with THE STRENUOUS LIFE by Theodore Roosevelt. It’s a small book with small words.)http://ohpioneer.com/post/12882875855/a-condemnation-of-the-american-boy-by-josh-abe

Thankful

2011-11-28T07:30:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely Thanksgiving this year. My wonderful SIL let us invade her home and she decorated beautifully. The food was delicious and the company great.

Aren't the place settings lovely?

The kids got cute little bottles of cider with their initials on them

I remember having to sit at the kid table. I used to stare longingly at the big table assuming that they were getting something much better than me.

Turns out we had it pretty good at the kid table and so did these munchkins. Macaroni and Cheese is much more enjoyable than turkey and green beans when you are little :-)

And no one at the grownup table was playing with olives!

BUT...the grownup food was darn good...I had a little bite of everything and it was divine.

Then after I got to hold this little puddin' pie. He fell asleep of course and when I took him into a quiet room...i fell asleep too...and missed all the fun and games. But it was worth it :-)

Well, I did make it back out in time for a session of Torture EJ. It brought back fond memories of me and my three brothers trying to tackle my dad and take him down. It never worked. I've discovered over the years that other families didn't "fight" like we did. Sorry Jayne and Amanda. Your husbands are just like their Dad. There will be wrestling/tackling/fighting in your home...and you may end up trying to break it up "before someone gets hurt!" by pouring water on everyone...like my poor mom did. Just a fair warning ;-)

CB loved the fun and games too...but she stays out of the ring so far. She is saying "CHHEEEESSSSEEE" while making this face. It's pretty darn funny. She does it anytime you try to take a picture of her.

Thanks to my family for a wonderful Thanksgiving!

We missed you Levi!

I hope all of you (that live in the USA) had an equally lovely holiday! Bring on Christmas!

LUSH Giveaway - WINNER ANNOUNCED!!!!!!

2011-11-24T19:44:00.001-07:00

12 entries!!! A new record for me :-)

And the winner is....

Rachel M.!!!

Congrats! You will love this shampoo...it's kind of changed my life.

Do you have a PO Box or do you want me to send it to the apartment?

Thanks everyone for entering! I will do this again soon!

Love ya!

Ends tomorrow!!! LUSH Giveaway!

2011-11-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

- Giveaway ends the 23rd! I will pick a winner (RandomGenerator) on Thanksgiving! -

You may recall this post awhile back: What would your hair come back as?

Wherein I raved about LUSH products and Reincarnate shampoo in particular. I also mentioned giving a bar away...but it took me this long to place an order...sorry.

I finally have it though! A beautiful, shiny bar of Reincarnate shampoo just waiting for it's new home with one of you.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment saying "Hey". Only one entry each please. I will leave this one open until Thanksgiving. That will give you time to receive the shampoo, use it, fall in love, and demand it in bulk for Christmas ;-)

Side note: They have a body wash I'm trying called It's Raining Men...and it's amazing. To die for. It has lots of honey it. Done.

Good luck!

A PW-esque disclaimer: LUSH is not sponsoring this giveaway. LUSH has no clue who I am. I just really like their products.

Oh help

2011-11-21T17:27:00.001-07:00

I am currently wandering aimlessly around the grocery store. A minute ago I got really excited because I remembered that I made a shopping list this morning. I pulled it out and found it to be super helpful:

Yeah.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

It's the little things in life...

2011-11-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

A beautiful sunset, the perfect key, possibilities and laughter. Odd? Yes. But haven't you come to expect that?

Ready?

Beautiful sunset:

The perfect key:

I'm saving my pennies and having the pup walked while I'm at work. I went to have a key made for the dog walker. And found this key. See? Perfect.

Possibilites:

I received a letter today telling me about another trip to Israel next summer with the same guide. I'm thinking of going.

I'm very excited.

Laughter:

I found this clip online yesterday. I laughed until my cheeks hurt and I was crying a bit. I pretty much love Tom Hanks.

A Tuesday Ramble

2011-11-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

I've got a random one for you.

The Bunny and Utah have finally slept together (not like that you weirdo!). It's taken how long? Five months. They have been getting along up till now...just not sleeping in close proximity. They play until Utah drives Bunny nuts and she favors him with a claws out smack. But this is the first time Bunny has laid down on Utah and fallen asleep...and Utah let her. Progress.

A perfect huge harvest moon presented itself. Sadly I only had my camera phone...and i've never been able to take a good picture of the moon in my life...but this will give a good idea of how big it was.

And CB has found a new babydoll...one that breathes ;-)

We went to visit WR and CB was enthralled. WR look a bit nervous...

JB got in on the action too. He was much less interested...there were cars, blocks and a super fun cousin to play with.

See.

Random.

The End.

Something else to take up your time ;-)

2011-11-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

Have you all heard of Pinterest? I think I'm getting onboard really late here...but I just found out about it (thanks Jayne)...and i'm totally addicted(thanks Jayne). If you live under the same rock I do and have not heard of it...it's basically a giant virtual cork board where you use a giant virtual pin to tack up images/links of cool things you find/make.

There are so many amazing projects and ideas and funny quotes and beautiful art. This is going to sound weird, but it sort of renews my faith in mankind to get on there. There are so many talented, nice people out there sharing their gifts.

This is a screen grab of my boards, you can see that i've been finding all sorts of fun stuff.

Check it out if you haven't already...but be warned...it will suck you in.

Cacti Conundrum

2011-11-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of plants in my office. I take care of them all.

I have a cactus desk in the lobby. It gets the most sun. They are really doing well there.

Too well. They are all too big for their pots and need transplanted.

How does one go about transplanting a cactus?

Yes I know, very carefully.

I don't mean that part so much, i'll wear gloves.

I mean do I just go to a bigger pot? I still feel like I'll have the same problem. Do I bury more of the plant under the soil? Can you cut cacti back?

I need some cacti advice please. And yes, i've googled it. I'm having trouble finding good info about house cacti. It's all about outdoor cacti.

Help!

Maybe I should do a cactus giveaway ;-)

Thank you.

Done.

Fall Back

2011-11-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

Daylight savings ended this past weekend. The sun is set by 5:30 PM. It's noon and it's a balmy 31 degrees. Winter is here.

So yes please. I would like fall back! I was confused about where fall had gone and why it only lasted about two seconds. I then remembered that I live in Utah. 8ish months of winter. One week of spring. Four-ish months of summer. One week of fall. Rinse and repeat.

Don't get me wrong. I love it here. I just wish spring and fall would stick around a bit longer. I love fall.

Here's why:

Evening hikes in the crisp mountain air with the fam...

And the dog.

Even though I didn't realize that it's still hunting season and these three hunters were shooting very close to us. Good job Kate. Next time we are all wearing hot pink.

Adorable cold-weather clothes the make JB look like Charlie Brown.

The pup doesn't get so hot on hikes, he is much happier and will do tricks for the kidletts.

Scary brown bears hiding in the sage.

Bear attack! Play dead!

Did you know that Utah is home to the rare Wasatch Tigger? No? Check out this fine specimen below.

Very scary. I almost lost a limb or two. The trick is to stay just behind them like my SIL is.

My brother taking the pup and running him into the ground. Thanks CJ :-)

Halloween. And it was warm enough to leave the snowsuits and thermals home this year!

Harry Potter

Tooth Fairy

Scary Ghost

King Kong ;-)

My doofy pup playing in the leaves.

EJ discovering leaf angels.

Utah getting so excited about chasing JB that he actually blurs. Serious. That's not the camera. He was moving that fast. Zoom! Flash Gordon. ;-)

EJ playing in the leaves.

Yup. I love fall. What is your favorite season?

So??

2011-11-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

I found this article and it really struck a chord with me...thanks Oprah...so i'm sharing it with you. I need to go read it 10 more times now...

It's long but well worth it if you have a few minutes.

The Cure for Self-Consciousness
Oprah.com | From the July 2007 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

It's one word—one little word—but it has revelatory power.
You step into the party feeling reasonably confident. True, your favorite little black dress feels somewhat tight, but it's still elegant, and the wind outside only tousled your hair a little. Then, just as you're preparing to mingle, it happens: You pass a mirror and glimpse your reflection—your horrifying, horrifying reflection. The dress isn't just tight; it fits like Luciano Pavarotti's diving suit. Your hair looks as though a crazed weasel nested, bore young, and died there. Aghast, you wobble off your high heels and sprain an ankle. All eyes are glued on you. All conversation focuses on your disgrace. Everyone begins texting hilarious descriptions of you from their cell phones.

In your dreams, baby.

I mean this both literally and figuratively. Most of us occasionally dream about being embarrassed in social settings. But even in waking life, many of us operate as if Simon Cowell is doing a play-by-play of our work, wardrobe and snack choices. One team of researchers has dubbed this phenomenon the "spotlight effect." In the beam of imaginary spotlights, many of us suffer untold shame and create smaller, weaker, less zestful lives than we deserve. Terrified that the neighbors might gossip, the critics might sneer, the love letter might fall into the hands of evil bloggers, we never even allow our minds to explore what our hearts may be calling us to do. These efforts to avoid embarrassment often keep us from imagining, let alone fulfilling, the measure of our destiny. To claim it, we need to develop a mental dimmer switch.

Turning the Lights Down Low

Thomas Gilovich, PhD, Victoria Husted Medvec, PhD, and Kenneth Savitsky, PhD, the psychologists who coined the term spotlight effect, also devised numerous ways to measure it. In one experiment, they had college students enter a room with other students while wearing an "embarrassing" T-shirt. (The shirt bore the likeness of a certain singer, whom I won't identify here. I will say that for days after reading this study, I was medically unable to stop humming "Copacabana.") When the mortified students were asked to guess how many people in the room would remember the face on their T-shirt, they gave a number about twice as high as the number of students who actually remembered the shirt.

Other studies support what this one suggested: The spotlight effect makes most of us assume we're getting about twice as much attention as we actually are. When Lincoln said, "The world will little note nor long remember what we say here," he was wrong—but only because he was president of the United States. If you are currently president, rest assured that millions will note and long remember if, say, you barf on the prime minister of Japan. However, if you are not president, you're probably pointlessly blinded by the glare of imaginary social judgments.

These judgments aren't limited just to times when we mess up. Our distorted perceptions mean we not only exaggerate the impact of our errors but also undersell our inspirations and contributions. For example:
You modestly mumble an idea in a meeting, assuming that co-workers will be awestruck if they like it, appalled if they don't. Net effect: Nobody really hears the idea—until the annoying extrovert across the table repeats it more loudly, and gets all the glory.

You wear clothes a bit duller and more concealing than the ones you love, only to look back years later and wish you'd bared and dared more in your youth. (As one of my friends sighed about her self-conscious daughter, "If she only realized that at her age, you're beautiful even if you're not beautiful.")

You sing, swing, and mamba only in the privacy of your home, never with other people. Repressing the urge to sing "Copacabana," you miss the joy of sharing silly or sultry abandon with the people you love—and the people you may never get to love because inhibition robs you of the confidence needed to form a bond.
These self-limiting behaviors have no positive side; contrary to what many assume, they rarely save us from doing things we'll later regret. In fact, Gilovich and Medvec have found in other studies that, in the long run, people most often regret the things they failed to try, rather than the things they bombed at. Trying yields either success or an opportunity to learn; not trying has no positive result besides avoiding mockery or envy that (research shows) wouldn't be nearly as big or bad as we fear.

How to Free Yourself from the Glare

1. Double everything.

Just knowing that the spotlight effect is real and ubiquitous can begin to liberate us from its inhibiting clutches. I find it very comforting to have an actual number associated with my shame-based illusions: Spotlight effect studies suggest that people typically pay about 50 percent as much attention to me as I think they are. The first time I actually stood under a spotlight, in a high school play, the director told me, "Small gestures look embarrassed, so they're embarrassing. If you're going to do something, and you don't want to look foolish, do it BIG." Now, thanks to Gilovich, Medvec and Savitsky, I know how big to make my actions—about twice as big as I think they should be.

I've been experimenting with this in many different circumstances: raising both my hands, instead of one, to ask a question of a lecturer I much admire; pausing twice as long for dramatic effect while telling a story to some friends; eating two servings of a fabulous dessert at a literary club luncheon. The result? I do seem to have attracted more attention, but rather than the disapproving judgment I expected, most people seem to feel pleased and liberated, made safer in their own skin by my willingness to live large in mine.

I believe this reaction is a major reason a lovely lady from Hawaii named Brook Lee once won the Miss Universe pageant. When asked what she'd do if she had no rules to follow, she replied, "I would eat everything in the whole world—twice!" That one word—"twice!"—struck a chord with me, the audience and the judges, landing Ms. Lee squarely beneath the spotlight she actually wanted. Why not join her by doubling the social behaviors you usually limit: the energy with which you communicate, the intensity of the colors you wear, the number of times you laugh, the clarity of the opinions you voice. You may think this will attract massive disapproval from others. Actually, you'll be lucky to attract more than a passing glance, and my experience (not to mention Ms. Lee's) suggests it will be more approving than not.

2. Think through your limits—not to them.

"You can't break that board by hitting it," my karate teacher told me. "Hit something 10 inches behind it. As far as you're concerned, the board doesn't even exist."

"But," I pointed out, "it does exist." (I am a trained observer.)

My sensei shrugged. "That's what you think."

Mentally noting that this man had been hit in the head many, many times, I proceeded to batter my hands to smithereens, trying to break that unbreakable board. When every knuckle was swollen, tender and bleeding, I said, "My hands hurt."

"Yes," said my sensei. "Your mind is really damaging them."

You get the metaphor: We smash into barriers of shame, embarrassment, and regret because we pull our punches in myriad social situations. Stopping at what we think is the limit of embarrassing behavior, we let others claim the credit, the opportunity, the job, the person we love from afar.

The next time you feel performance anxiety in any form, remember that the negative attention you fear does not exist except in your mind—if this works with the hard, cold reality of my ice block, I guarantee it will work with something as vaporous as other people's opinions. Act as if there is no spotlight on you, even if there is one. Say, do, and be what you would if no one else were looking. It will be scary at first, but if you persist, there will come that liberating moment when you'll feel yourself sailing straight through your life's most inhibiting barriers without even feeling a bump.

3. Ask yourself the Universal Question.

Once, I had an intense, emotional cell phone discussion with a friend while riding in a taxi. At a certain point I fell into a strangled silence.

"What's wrong with you?" my friend asked. "Why aren't you talking?"

Covering my mouth with one hand, I whispered, "The driver can hear me."

At this point, my friend said something so lucid, so mind expanding, so simultaneously Socratic and Zenlike, that I memorized it on the spot. I've gained comfort by repeating it to myself in many other situations. I encourage you, too, to memorize this question and use it when you find yourself shrinking back from an imaginary spotlight. My friend said—and I quote:

"So?"

This brilliant interrogatory challenged me to consider the long-term consequences of being embarrassed (really, who cares?). It reminded me that failing to act almost always leaves me with more regret than taking embarrassing action. Here are a few instances where the Universal Question might help a person break through imprisoning inhibitions:

"If I say what I really think, people might disagree with me."

So?

"If I leave my drunken abusive husband, his crazy family will call me a witch."

So?

"If I go windsurfing, I'll look like a klutz. Plus, people will see my cellulite."

So?

There are endless applications for the Universal Question. I suggest using it every time you feel yourself hesitating to do something that might deepen or broaden your life. The answer to the question "So?" is almost always "Well, when you put it that way…" It pushes us into the spotlight, showing us we can survive there and freeing us to act on our best instincts.

Today, remember that what you perceive as prudent social caution is probably limiting your life to about half its natural capacity; that if you did everything you long to do twice as often, twice as boldly, twice as openly, you wouldn't attract a shred more social pressure than you already think you're getting. Consider that vaulting well past the limits of your inhibitions will probably earn you more positive attention than negative judgment. More often than not, this will work out well. If it doesn't, remember the most enlightening of questions: "So?" Little by little, you'll feel and see that the worst consequences of living in the light are less oppressive than the best advantages of hiding in the shadows. And you'll have little to fear from the rest of us, who will only be inspired by your daring as we sit, blinking and bedazzled, in the private spotlights of our own attention.

Chapter 39876...

2011-10-31T07:30:00.000-06:00

In the book, The NeverEnding Story - Israel Edition.

We are nearing the end though...it's the last day of the trip. We are headed to Mediterranean and then to the airport. Sigh.

On a happier note. I LOVED Caesarea Maritima. It was amazing. It was a city and harbor built by Herod the Great about 25–13 BC. Like everything else in that place, it had been taken over, razed and rebuilt many times.

A serious archaeological excavation began in the 1950s and 1960s and they uncovered remains from many periods, in particular, a complex of Crusader fortifications

Crusader hall. The Crusades were horrific...but they were quite the architects. Beautiful.

Crusader carving

and a theatre. There is a temple dedicated to Caesar, a hippodrome and a double aqueduct that brought water from Mount Carmel. You should read more, if you are interested. Fascinating site.

And the best part??? They aren't as strict about touching. You can walk all over the ancient village

The ancient village

and touch the old mosaic floors and walls and pick up shards of pottery sticking out of the floor.

I loved it. Did I already say that? Too bad. I'll say it again. Love.

Being able to get a really close look at stuff was great...and I loved walking the streets and into the rooms where people lived 2000 years ago.

Oh and Herod really did earn his name "The Great", which was given to him because of his building, NOT because he was great. He was a douche. But man could he built stuff.

There were no natural harbors along this coast...so he built one. He (his slaves) sunk huge boxes filled with a type of concrete in the water and literally built a harbor on them.The dark spots in the water are the remains of the artificial harbor.

This is the hippodrome:

It is in the shape of a long "U", with 10,000 seats in 12 rows. They held horse races, special events, and games. I'm guessing a lot of blood was shed here.

These are the remains of Herod's pool which he built on a promontory. The pool in the center was nearly Olympic in size, and was filled with fresh water. A statue once stood in the center. You can see the remains of beautiful mosaic floors and baths. The man lived in absolute luxury.

They restored Herod's theater and use it for concerts and performances. It sat 3500 and is super steep. And I can't imagine sitting on those stones for hours...

But what a view...

They had some very cool artifacts scattered about. A coffin...

and statuary...

We headed down the coast just a bit to the aqueducts and got to get in the ocean!

Well, I did anyway. I don't think anyone else did. I just can't help it. I see an ocean, I get in. Especially the Mediterranean. Who knows the next time I will be in it?

I don't generally like people taking my picture but Dixie snuck this one and it's proof that I stepped in the Mediterranean, so I'm keeping it :-)

The aquaducts were pretty cool too. Once again, something that has managed to last for 2000 years. There was no fresh water nearby so they built a 10 mile long aqueduct to bring water from springs at the base of Mt. Carmel. To get the water to flow by the pull of gravity, the aqueduct was built on arches and the gradient was carefully measured. Amazing engineering.

This is broken off end.

Looking at the ocean side.

This woman...is a complete stranger. She is Israeli and lives nearby. She and her two kids were playing at the beach and suddenly a bunch of crazy American tourists showed up and asked to take pics of her...

The kids were so gorgeous though! She was super sweet about it, as you can see by her smile.

Lovely place, lovely people, lovely time. I miss it.

Bully??

2011-10-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

I have been doing a lot of research lately trying to find the best dog chew treat/toy. Utah is an aggressive chewer.

He is good boy, he doesn't chew my stuff...but his toys...don't last long. Have you heard of the Kong toy? Thick, strong, supposedly indestructible rubber toy. He punched his tooth through one and got it stuck. He's super smart.

Everyone was telling me to try bully sticks. Their dogs loved them. They are all natural, no plastic or chemicals. The dog can chew chunks off that won't get stuck in his throat like bones do...cuz he gulps like a shark.

So you're probably thinking, "Kate, what is a bully stick?"

Well, I'll tell you. A bully stick...is a bull penis. NBD.

I'd never heard of them. Had no clue what they were. On the ingredients label it reads "Bull Pizzle". I had no idea what the heck a pizzle was either. So I looked it up:

Pizzle is an old English word for penis, derived from Low German pesel or Flemish Dutch pezel, diminutive of pees 'sinew'. Pizzles are almost exclusively used/produced today as chewing treats for dogs. They are a fibrous muscle, and are prepared by cleaning, stretching, twisting and then drying. Bully Sticks, as they are commonly called, can be smoked in a traditional smoker. They can also be sun dried or oven baked. The result is a very hard, 80–100 centimeters (30–40 in) long brown stick, which is then sawed into pieces appropriate for the size of the dog.

So here is your mental image to set the stage for the story: Me standing in PetCo, in front of a hanging display of extra large bully sticks...as the light slowly dawned on what I was looking at.

I was torn. This is a healthy treat for my dog. It's also disgusting. Could I really pick a couple up and carry them to the register and hand them to the cashier...and then take them home and let my dog eat them?

As I was standing there contemplating the meaning of life...a PetCo employee came up and asked if HE could help me. Of couse it was a man.

I blushed bright red. Turns out I'm a blusher. Who knew.

He chuckled softly as he glanced back and forth between me and the bully sticks.

I muttered, "I don't think I can do this", and started to turn away. He laughed and said that he could show me where some smaller ones were. I possibly made a crack about size and it actually mattering...

We walked to another display with much smaller bully sticks, some were even braided and curled. I said something about the smaller ones being much easier to handle...I wasn't thinking!!!!! Turns out that when you are discussing pizzle...everything sounds dirty. We were both blushing at this point and I told him that he needed to just walk away. He did.

I grabbed a couple bully sticks, paid for everything and got the heck out of Dodge.

Needless to say, Utah loved them, I will have to buy more now.

What's that hanging out of your mouth bud?

NBD.

If you want to find them for your dog, they are at PetCo and I'm sure at other pet supply stores.

This is the best brand to buy: Merrick

They are made in the USA, Texas bulls. And their product description is hilarious:

"Although this treat is definitely a conversation piece, we do not suggest that you bring it with you on a first date. It has been known to cause severe blushing. This is one of the most popular treats in the pet world and it is no secret that dogs love it. This 30 inch bully stick boasts that bigger is better and is made right here in America. You can have the peace of mind that they were manufactured under our country’s regulations and standards."

The end.

Book Winners!!!!

2011-10-22T13:47:00.001-06:00

Sorry, I guess it's not really morning anymore...

But here are the winners! (Selected by Random.org)

9 - Kat
4 - Sue
11 - Janaan
3 - Mac

I definitely need more participation next time. When I put in 12 entries at Random.org...the computer laughed at me ;-)

But THANK YOU!! to all of you who commented! This was really fun for me. I will be doing more giveaways soon!

I will get your books in the mail ASAP.

Aunt Sue, I know your mailing address.

Kat, Janaan and Mac, I will email you to get yours.

Thanks and Congrats!!

Soon

2011-10-20T22:02:00.000-06:00

I love the October night sky.

Ursa Major hangs low and heavy-laden in the north...

...and Orion is slowly making his way home to me.

Baby Fix

2011-10-18T17:31:00.001-06:00

I have not mentioned a uterus since May 2010 so I figured that you all would be ready for some more!

Yesterday mine imploded. NBD.

Here's why:

My SIL had a beautiful baby boy whom we will call WR. I got to go see him after work and that's when things started imploding...

Have you ever picked up a newborn and sniffed its head and its milk breath and rubbed its tiny toes and fingers...and then your uterus imploded? I would think that i'm being sexist to say that it only happens to women...but men don't have uteri so...

He's already got grandma wrapped around his finger :-)

I call this

Evolution of a Yawn

He came out with the longest fingernails!

I'm sorry if this post has caused a wake of imploded uteri.

Here this will snap you out of it:

Yup. Done.

But not really! Don't forget my book giveaway here! All you creepy blog stalkers have to do is say hey to be entered ;-)

Kidding on the creepy part...sort of.

Sorry LH ;-)

2011-10-17T11:48:00.002-06:00

Not the only kid anymore!

He seems okay with it :-)

More pics to come! So excited! Congrats Zachary and Amanda!

Book Giveaway! - Where is Dewey when I need him...

2011-10-13T15:08:00.000-06:00

No, not the duck...the Dewey with the Decimal System.

I have a lot of books. Not enough of course...I could use many many more...but a lot.

And I lose track of which ones I've purchased. The root of this problem may lay with Amazon. I love them but their cart lets me add duplicates and then I'll buy a book but later I'll find it in my cart and it will look really good...so I'll buy it again. Most of the time I can return them but I have a few where time ran out or they were used, so I was stuck.

Bummer.

But not for you!

I will be giving away three today (well actually four but I'm going to give two of them together as they are sort of a series) which works out well since I think I only have three readers...maybe four. You each get a book! ;-)

I was going to do the giveaway over on my "book" page...but I don't think anyone knows it exists so...here we go:

The Woodcutter by Kate Danley

I actually won this book on Goodreads First Reads. And now i'm paying it forward. If you like it and want to be nice to the author, go here after you've read it, and leave a review. It's her first novel and she needs all the good press!

Cinderella is dead and one of Odin's hellhounds has gone rogue. The Woodcutter, protector of peace between the Twelve Kingdoms of Man and the Realm of Faerie, is charged with finding the beast and returning him to the Wild Hunt. Unfortunately, it seems the forces of evil have other plans. It is a race against time as the Woodcutter travels east of the sun and west of the moon, up beanstalks and down to the bowels of the earth to unravel a mystery that can only be described as Grimm.

I really liked this book. I get nervous about retellings of fairytales but this is a different take on things and very entertaining. It's a little dark so probably better for high school age and up but very clean.

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

This is one that I double-bought. I've been loving Robin McKinley lately and this is the first book in her Damar series. Well actually it's the second book...but it's a prequel...so I would read it first. Amen.

Aerin is the only child of the king of Damar, and should be his rightful heir. But she is also the daughter of a witchwoman of the North, who died when she was born, and the Damarians cannot trust her.

But Aerin's destiny is greater than her father's people know, for it leads her to battle with Maur, the Black Dragon, and into the wilder Damarian Hills, where she meets the wizard Luthe. It is he who at last tells her the truth about her mother, and he also gives over to her hand the Blue Sword, Gonturan. But such gifts as these bear a great price, a price Aerin only begins to realize when she faces the evil mage, Agsded, who has seized the Hero's Crown, greatest treasure and secret strength of Damar.

If you like fantasy, you will enjoy this book. Very exciting. Strong hero and heroine. Listed as a Young Adult novel but very clean. I would say high school and up again.

The Truth-Teller's Tale and The Dream-Maker's Magic by Sharon Shinn

There are actually three in this "series" but you can read these two just fine without the first...which is good because I don't have the first one to give!

Innkeepers daughters Adele and Eleda are mirror twins, identical twins whose looks are reflections of each others and their special talents are like mirrors, too. Adele is a Safe-Keeper, entrusted with hearing and never revealing others secrets; Eleda is a Truth-Teller, who cannot tell a lie when asked a direct question. The town of Merendon relies on the twins, no one more than their best friend, Roelynn Karro, whose strict, wealthy father is determined to marry her off to the prince. When the girls are seventeen, a handsome dancing-master and his apprentice come to stay at the inn, and thus begins a chain of romance, mistaken identity, and some very surprising truths and falsehoods.

Kellen's mother has always insisted that her only child was born male, not female—so Kellen has been raised as a boy. At school, she meets Gryffin, whose mind is as strong as his legs are damaged, and the two become friends and allies. A few years later, the two get jobs working at an inn nearby. When it is discovered that Gryffin is the kingdom's new Dream-Maker—someone whose mere presence can help dreams come true—he is whisked away to the castle, leaving Kellen behind. By now, their friendship is shading into something more. Will it endure?

I am loving Sharon Shinn right now too. Her books are very entertaining. These would probably appeal more to girls...they are a bit romantic...but still have adventure and intrigue. They are "Young Adult" and the School Library Journal rates them for grade 8 and up.

Okay - THE RULES

Just leave me a comment with your favorite book from your high school years. If you can't think of one, just say hey. I will leave the contest open for one week when I will draw three winners randomly and announce them Friday morning (21st).

Thanks for visiting!

Big rock candy mountain

2011-10-12T11:26:00.000-06:00

I love the first snowfall of the year (have I said that already?)

It looks like the mountains have been dusted with powdered sugar like a funnel cake.

A giant, powdered sugar covered, mountain confection.

Then I start thinking about how big a creature would have to be to enjoy a powdered sugar mountain...

And totally creep myself out.

Then I have to change the subject before I give myself nightmares.

Anyone else craving funnel cake??

Just when you thought it was safe...

2011-10-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

...to read my blog and not see anything about Israel.

It was Yom Kippur Friday, which reminded me that:

A) I loved Israel and the people and the cultures...everything...and I wish that I had been in Jerusalem for this holiday.

2) Turns out I'm not Jewish. It's odd that I know all of their holidays. I worked with a Jewish girl and I had to teach her about her religion and heritage... (my great grandpa was Jewish, that's got to count for something eh?)

Thirdly) I never finished posting my Israel pics

IV) My loyal readers are out there crying themselves to sleep because I haven't finished posting my Israel pics

5th) I don't like crying

So I'm going to try and post the rest in the upcoming days. I may get bored again... but I shall try :-)

I was looking through my album and thinking about what a land of contradictions Israel is. I could get really deep here with politics and culture and religion...but I'm not going to. Just take it for what it's worth.

This is view out my hotel window in Jerusalem.

When I first looked out I saw the spires of that gorgeous cathedral...Then I looked down and saw a simple home with laundry on the line.

Up North at the Sea of Galilee it was so beautiful.

This is sunrise from my hotel there. Just gorgeous. But those hills the sun is rising over are the Golan Heights. Enough said.

Still up in the north. Beautiful rolling hills, thriving farms and fields, ancient ruins...

...land mines.

We were warned at several places to stay on marked paths and not to wander. There are a lot of land mines still out and about. Occasionally a cow or sheep wander where it shouldn't and find a hidden mine. So kind of them. Who needs a metal detector??

"We'll soon be there with snow..."

2011-10-06T13:45:00.002-06:00

Too late. We're there. With snow.

Yup. It's snowing. Big fat Christmas flakes. The first snow of the season. It's lovely but I feel bad for the trees. They haven't lost their leaves yet which = broken branches. I have a feeling it's going to be another Utah Halloween where the poor munchkins have to wear thermals under their princess/superhero costumes...or puffy giraffe costumes that are rated to 60 below. Look at the stuffing in that tush! You could drop this kid in Siberia and she'd be toasty...

My drive to work. I love the defined snow line. If you look at the mountain in the background you can see the ski runs covered already.

This was the only filter on my phone that would show the snowflakes.

BTW - My cruddy old phone's camera is officially interfering with my blogging capabilities. It's time to break down and buy a new phone.

I'm going to go hibernate now. See you in the Spring!

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle just a little bit...

2011-10-05T18:14:00.000-06:00

Headline = awesome Zumba song. Wiggle Wiggle by Fulanito. So fun!

I'm coming up on my 10 month Zumbaversary (I possibly made that word up) and I love it even more now. I'm addicted. I get cranky if I have to miss a class. I blame you Lisa and Natalie ;-) I'm trying to find more classes so that I can go six days a week...NBD eh?

A couple of weeks ago we held a big Zumba fundraiser for breast cancer. We raised a bunch of money for the Susan G. Komen foundation and had a blast doing it. (most of these pics were taken by Jay Fite Photography. He is really good, and so sweet to deal with us crazy women.)

Everyone wore pink...which makes for interesting photos.

We had a great turnout, which makes for more fun.

I have the best instructors on the planet. Literally. I'm not sure how to prove that fact...but it's true.

This ladies (and Chris) have so much energy and love and they have passed that on to me. (Thank you so much for all of your patience, love and support! I really am so grateful!)

Three of our regular group are breast cancer survivors:

And of course they had to get on stage so we could cheer, clap and generally embarrass them!

We danced, laughed and sweated for two hours...and here's the great thing about Zumba...we were still laughing at the end...just with more sweat :-)

Natalie and Gara tearing it up. Nat always has the best dancing hair.

Check it:

I'm working on getting my hair to fly like that, haven't figured it out yet.

If my hair looks more "Cousin It" than normal...it's because I crimped it.

Gara, or Zumba Barbie as I call her. She just got certified and is a great teacher. That's next on my list. Get certified. Also, get a boob job so that I can look more like Gara ;-)

The Phinneys. THE cutest couple ever. They both teach Zumba and put up with me... ;-)

More cool Zumba hair.

Yes! Bring on the hip scarves! I love the hip scarf dances. I'm learning belly dance too and it's so fun.

Anyway, the fundraiser was a blast, like Zumba always is. I have two more Party In Pink Zumbathons to attend in the next month. I don't know if it's like this everywhere but Zumba has exploded in Utah. There are fun master classes and special guest instructors almost every weekend.

Last month Fabio Barros came here from Miami to teach a special samba class at Fuego (coolest dance studio ever. Go there). It was so great. Here we all are after:

We have had a couple special master classes in my town with guest instructors from all over the state:

I was looking at pics from 10 months ago and while I still have a long way to go, Zumba had definitely helped me get in better shape!

If you have not tried it, I encourage you to find a class and go. You will love it.

Hmmmm...

2011-10-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

I started making a grocery list at work yesterday but got sidetracked by something...like work maybe...who knows. I got back to the list later on and it made me laugh.

Yeah...

Anne-girl

2011-10-02T15:17:00.000-06:00

My sweet friend Anne was married two weeks ago. She was one of the happiest brides I have ever seen and I wanted to share the joy. The wonderful man she married carted her off to Minnesota (eh) to live right after...but we still like him.

Her photographer Caption Photography, was awesome. All of her photos are watermarked (and the only good ones) and link to her site so you can check her out if you are in the market for a photog.

Her reception was...perfect. She is from Georgia...so no typical "Utah Mormon" reception for her! I won't go into the odd wedding traditions that have become the norm in Utah...that is a whole post unto itself.

They were married for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple.

Such a beautiful bride.

Her "cake" was brilliant and charming.

It was cupcakes...

with a small top tier cake that they could cut.

And it was delicious!

Anne is a dancer. It brings her joy. And dancing with her new husband? Happiness doubled.

There was no doubt that there would be dancing at the reception.

Dancing with the mom and dad...

First dance together...

Congo line...

Dance with Grandma...

And dancing in a circle over the camera...

Oh is that not normal? Yeah I didn't think so.

Her brother had some sweet moves as did her dad. It's a dancing family.

Does he remind anyone else of Jake Blues here?

We even got to dance with sparklers. Possibly my new favorite way to dance.

It was so nice to spend a joyous evening with good friends and family.

Finally the big moment came. The throwing of the bouquet. A small group of ~~sad~~ ~~determined~~ excited single women gathered to fight it out.

But first we had to use the force to fry Anne for getting our hopes up ;-)

This is one of Anne's signature moves. If you know her, you get it :-)

I didn't catch it. Anne's super strength sent the bouquet shooting over our heads to land on the steps. We looked at each other with a predatory gleam in our eyes and dove for the pieces. I came up with an almost perfect half of a rose. What do you think that means??

Shortly after that I saw Anne grab her husband and say "let's get out of here"...and they did.

I know this is a horrible photo, I really need a new phone...but I still really like it for some reason.

Congratulations Anne! I wish you every happiness.

More carnage

2011-09-28T07:30:00.000-06:00

Lest you think that I only kill animals I give you...

Planticide

When I moved into this house in the spring I was so excited about the yard. It needed a lot of work (still does) and I attacked with gusto.

On the side of the house there was a bed with a huge peony plant and a large flowering bush of some sort, and some quakie shoots that I decided to let grow. There was also a big nasty weed coming up everywhere. It had a super thick stalk and big, rough, ugly leaves. And I was determined to eradicate it. I put poison on the shoots a couple of times a week. I used a shovel, hoe and my hands to rip every one that I saw out. And I got most of them. Then about a month ago I noticed that a few had escaped and gotten big. I gave up and ignored them. They weren't going to last long, they looked like this:

I'm guessing that was the poison...just a guess.

About a week later...two of them bloomed. Two.

The hideous weeds that I spent hours killing...

were hollyhocks.

Sob.

The whole side of my house would've been covered in big beautiful hollyhocks.

But no. I have this:

I love the star shape in the middle and how the petals overlap and change the opacity.

(The PW Colorized action turned out beautiful on these. I tried it on a few.)

Close ups of the baby octopus in the center ;-)

I love the little pollen drops on the petals.

Any of you know about hollyhocks? Will they come back next year?

Maybe if I ask really nicely...

Kate - Goddess of The (accidental) Hunt

2011-09-27T07:00:00.000-06:00

Yup. That's me. Except I've never actually gone hunting...

The thought of killing a critter makes me kinda sick.

Yes, I know where beef and chicken and fish come from.

Yes, I know that people all over the world have to hunt everyday for survival.

I'm just saying that I don't want to do it. And if the time ever comes that I need to hunt and kill an animal for food...well that'll be interesting.

In spite of my dislike of killing critters...I've managed to kill a lot of critters.

On accident!!!!

The reason I am thinking about this odd phenomenon in my life today is this:

I was in the garage looking for something on the shelves when I happened to glance into an "empty" tote. There I spied 10 (yes 10) large dead spiders.

A) Why do they go in the tote?

B) Why can't they get back out?

3) Why don't those dang spider traps I buy work this well?

Seriously. All I did was stick an empty tote on a shelf. Why did it turn into Spider Apocalypse 2011?

I have a long history of accidental carnage.

Long-time readers will know that I worked at a scout camp up in the Teton wilderness. There were a lot of mice up there. And there were usually a couple still there when I left. Poor little things.

Don't get me wrong. I really don't like mice. I've spent too many hours at camp cleaning up after them and finding them (and their poop) in my bed, the cupboards, the fridge, the oven...

This is the Deer Mouse. It's the most common one in these parts.

And I've killed...a countless number of them...on accident.

- Drowned in pots of water left out to soak
- Drowned in large cans of pudding left out for the scouts to pick up
- Drowned in buckets of water used for shaving our legs in the teepee
- Smashed by #10 cans being stacked (okay one of these was on purpose)
- Falling in totes during the night and getting stuck (they were always dead in the morning...not sure why)

- Smashed in sleeping bags when we crawled in at night (yeah you heard right)

- Caught in oven when I didn't realize they were in there and turned it on

And here's the worst one:

I was the camp cook. If I was in a good mood I would heat up the pancake syrup on the stove for breakfast. No electricity = no microwave = cold syrup most mornings

The syrup pot boiled over quite often. I would clean the syrup off of the stove top and not give it another thought.

One day I was making breakfast at 4:30 AM (yeah you heard right). I could hear a faint squeaking but looked around and couldn't find the source.

I went about my business but could still hear that squeaking. After breakfast was over I started to look in earnest. That was a mistake.

I finally got down and looked under the stove.

Unbeknownst to me a large puddle of syrup had been forming down there. (My stove was a massive propane run, cast iron beast with a griddle and 10 burners , not your typical home stove/oven)

Unbeknownst to be, mice like syrup.

Unbeknownst to me, between 10 and 15 mice had gotten themselves stuck in the puddle of sticky death. Think dinos in a tar pit. It was really horrible. All of their fur was coming off as they tried to pull free. I was crying so the guys helped me free the ones still alive. We only got two free and they looked a bit like this:

Only sadder and stickier.

We let them go outside but I'm guessing they didn't last long.

I'm Sorry!!

Okay last example. I hope.

I have "hit" deer three times in my car. I say "hit" because the deer actually ran into me. Really. Twice I was at a complete stop and the third I was driving very slowly. And the evil deer slammed into my car. I dislike deer.

So just FYI.

Highly effective killing machine here.

It's a gift. I wish could return it...

Give a kid a camera...

2011-09-25T18:01:00.002-06:00

And this is what you'll get.

Same event, Sheepdog Classic.

I handed the camera to JB and EJ at different times, at their request.

It was pretty interesting to go through these and see things through their eyes.

Still life - My knee. JB's shoe. Ice cream sandwich.

I'm assuming that he is looking at the pretty bloodhound back there...we met her before the show...

but I could be wrong.

I like that he caught three stripes of color.

Was he aiming at the casings on the ground?

Here we go. He got it:

I don't even remember this bag being near us...

SUV

There are three officers and a dog attacking someone back there...but the camera decided to focus on the wire fence. Hmmm....

Honeybuckets - by JB. I think van Gogh would've liked it.

Legs. A perspective.

EJ took this one. I like it. I forget how low to the ground they are.

She took this one too. I was saying hi to a friend. Interesting angles and boundaries...

Hand your camera to a kid sometime. It's really fun to see what they see. And you will be more grateful for your height :-)

A surprising lack of dogs...

2011-09-24T19:45:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Jayne and I took the munchkins to the Sheepdog Classic up at Soldier Hollow. It's a very cool event, these dogs are seriously smart.

But we didn't see any of them :-)

Turns out that sitting on bleachers and watching a sheepdog herd sheep halfway up the mountainside is not so enthralling for kids. Who knew?

But they had a lot of fun activities for the little ones and we took full advantage.

They loved the dock diving dogs. These pups jump so high and far!

They had a wild animal show (rescued critters that can't go back to the wild) that the kids loved.

Wily coyote.

Tiny the snake.

Bearded Dragons.

EJ was very brave.

A big tortoise.

Look at that sweet face. She was so patient and let all the kids pet her and poke her.

They had one of her babies there and it was soooo tiny. I didn't get a good photo but it would've fit right on her head.

They also had a skunk, cockatoo and pygmy hedgehog. So cute.

They had a petting zoo with lots of mini animals and babies.

Not sure what this is. I thought it was an alpaca but they said it wasn't...

Mama pony and foal.

She passed out and nothing would make her budge. Look at that little mouth.

Cute Overload closeup.

Pony ride. This girl is a born horsewoman.

Giddy-up!

They had a sweet K9 demo. The kids actually really liked it. I was worried that they would get bored but it was exciting and they had a ton of questions...which I may or may not of started making up answers for.

Crazy bad criminal trying to escape...yeah right. He wasn't going anywhere.

This beautiful pup was searching for drugs.

Ripping the arm off of a convict ;-)

This was actually a great demo right here. Look how the dog "hugs" the leg of the target. I didn't know they did that. And the Sheriff was showing that he had his hands on the dog and was safe. These dogs are not mean or vicious. It's a game, their job, and they love it!

The newest member of the K9 team.

Hi pretty girl.

If you are in the area next year I highly recommend heading to the Sheepdog Classic. Great time to be had by all!

Alooooooha

2011-09-23T07:00:00.000-06:00

Thought I would throw a little eye candy your way on this beautiful Friday. And if you are a guy...sorry...you get to find out about a cool new show!

They brought back Hawaii Five-O last season. I was skeptical but love the lead actor so I gave it a shot. It's really good! And funny. McGarrett actually says "Book 'em, Danno". It really makes me miss Hawaii...and realize that I had no idea there was so much crime there! :-)

On to the good stuff.

The lead actor is Alex O'Loughlin. I pretty much love him.

Aside -

It totally cracks me up when I/anyone says things like that. Cuz you can really be in love with a complete stranger who may or may not be a complete douche. I mean I have no clue if he is a nice guy. All we see is the public face and the roles they play. It's very interesting the way that we treat/think about/"love" celebrities. Basically I should say that I like the characters he's played, I think he is a great actor...and he's hot.

Amen.

With the last name and the first role I saw him in (Irish rocker) I totally assumed that he was Irish or Scottish...nope! He's an Aussie. Yet another handsome, talented actor from Australia. Something in the water down there.

So I first saw him as the angry Irish brother in August Rush.

He then got a tv show, Moonlight. It was actually good but wasn't picked up...of course.

Then he was in The Backup Plan with JLo. You may remember the tractor/car into a tree scene...

And now he is Steve McGarrett in Hawaii Five-O.

And can I just point out the very correct way that he is holding his firearm? He's had some good training. Just saying.

He also looks pretty dang good on horseback.

And in a boat...

Chin is Daniel Dae Kim from Lost. And Danno is Scott Caan, whom we all know and love from the Ocean's Eleven movies. He is great in this show. Very funny. Look at him and his proud papa.

Oh and McGarrett's arch nemesis from the original show is back. Wo Fat. He is a bad dude. And he is played by none other than Mark Dacascos.

I kinda love him too. He is the chairman from Iron Chef America and so good looking. And talented! Seriously look this man up. He has been trained in just about everything.

Like sword fighting. Yup.

Anywho. If you want a great show to watch Monday nights try Hawaii Five-O. The second season just started. Very entertaining. Hot guys. Lot's of fighting and explosions and stuff too if you aren't so interested in the hot guys ;-)

What would your hair come back as??

2011-09-22T07:30:00.000-06:00

I've started using this kinda crazy amazing shampoo called Reincarnate (LUSH). Cool name...hair is dead cells, so giving it life makes sense. But if it (the hair) is being reincarnated would it really want to be hair in it's next life? If it was good hair it would be able to upgrade right? Like come back as a tree or butterfly or something. And if it was bad hair, it would probably be downgraded to...toenails? I don't know. These are the things I wonder about.

Anyway.

Back to the shampoo.

It was a gift for my birthday (thank you Aunt Susie!!!).

It has cool ingredients like Rhassoul mud from Morocco, Red Henna, rosemary and Irish moss powder.

I was a little hesitant to try it.

A) It looks gross. Muddy and grainy with chunks of stuff.

B) It's a solid bar shampoo and I had little faith that it would clean my hair (crazy hippies and their solid shampoos)

C) I looked up the company - Lush. It's not super expensive but it's more than I usually spend. Which i why hadn't used it yet. I'm weird. I save really nice things and don't use them. They are too nice. Figure that one out.

My Aunt finally asked if I liked it and I had to admit that I hadn't used it yet. She smacked me around a bit and told me to get on it. I did.

I LOVE IT!!

Awesome shampoo. Makes my hair super soft and shiny and my poor abused scalp loves it. Very soothing. It has mud in it and I smoosh it onto my scalp and let it sit. Sigh. So nice.

The first bar, that Aunt Susie gave me, was kind of rough and did not work into my hair very easily. I started cutting off a chunk and letting it soak in a little water overnight. It mushed into a nice thick paste that was much easier to use. I thought that was just the way it was and loved it anyway...

But then I ran out and ordered another bar. It was much smoother and creamier. All of their products are handmade so I'm guessing this batch was just milled a bit finer.

I get it wet and scrub it over my hair and scalp and it lathers up nicely. I usually twist my hair up with a claw and let it stew for a few minutes while I'm showering, makes it even shinier.

If you haven't noticed by now...I really like the stuff. Two thumbs way up. You may have to order it online, very few stores carry it. But it's worth it.

They have other amazing products too. LOVE the Ocean Salt Cleanser. And they all sorts of yummy body soaps. I got a free sample of Karma Soap and really like it. One reviewer said that she though it smelled like dead hippy, which totally cracked me up. It's the patchouli. But I like it. Ooh and the Summer Pudding soap! Smells so yummy.

Anyway, check them out. They have a ton of really great product. They have no clue who I am...I just like their stuff.

Maybe I will do a give-a-way and the prize can be some Reincarnate shampoo...good idea Kate, let's do it. Stay tuned.

New Fall wardrobe...

2011-09-21T21:37:00.001-06:00

Look at this totally wicked cute shirt I bought! I think I will have to wear it once a week from now until Halloween. I love that it's orange. That it says "totally" (so 80's). That it says "wicked" (so Maine). That it has a broomstick (so halloween...). Yeah.

Oh fine. It's for my niece. Turns out that they don't make shirts like this for grownups.

Whatev

Sunrise, sunset. Sunrise, sunset. Swiftly flow the days.

2011-09-20T07:00:00.000-06:00

Actually I just have photos of the sunset...it was really foggy every morning. But the days did swiftly flow...

We witnessed some amazing sunsets. I'm pleased with several of mine but I had to borrow some of Caleb's...his were amazing. Like this one:

CJKepsel

He was bummed about these next three. He was trying some sort of motion thinger...but didn't have a tripod with him so it didn't work. But I actually like them. They have a kind of mysticallyishness. Look that word up, I dare ya.

CJKepsel

We are big fans of sunset. After dinner everyone would head to the beach for a walk and talk while watching the sunset. Some would head to the beach in interesting ways ;-)

My mom and aunt. We owe them for this amazing vacay. Thank you! (although from the looks of this pic they would've come without us)

CJKepsel

What's better than sunset? EJ and I showing off our sweet moves AT sunset. I know. It's almost to good to be true.

CJKepsel

I took this one! I took this one! Can you tell that I'm proud of it? I just love it. The end.

I took this one too. The color this night was just amazing.

Amazing story for you. I know. You didn't think that anything could beat my puking story...but this one just may.

I was walking down the beach alone, minding my own business, snapping pics of the sunset, dodging gooey piles of jellyfish, kelp and dead bird, contemplating the meaning of life, keeping an eye out for rogue waves (never turn your back on the ocean!!!) and an eye out for sneaky seagulls (they like to poop on your head) when I stumbled upon...

A huge shark tooth! I had just watched Shark Week...so I knew what I was looking at. The razor-sharp eating utensil of the majestic and deadly Great White Shark. Velociraptor of the sea (Fact: they've been seen stalking through galleys and turning door handles). I was very excited. It was huge! I mean the shark it came from would be massive. A record-breaker. A genetic wonder. I tucked the tooth into my pocket and headed home to start writing museums.

My family...none of whom watched Shark Week, sooo...tried to convince me that it was the broken off tip of a surfboard...but come on, that's just not logical. I'll let you know when I hear back from the Smithsonian.

Okay, back to the sunset. Couple more pics.

The next two pics are post sunset. The color was incredible. The black stripe is the ocean and at the bottom is the wet beach reflecting.

These are SOOC. And it's my camera, so the color was even better in real life. Pretty eh?

Okay then. The sun is down. We're done. See ya.

Oh fine.

I'll give you a parting shot.

Uncle Levi and EJ playing at sunset.

Pretty much perfect!

It's going to be a bright, bright sunshiny day...

2011-09-15T05:00:00.000-06:00

We did have some beautiful sunny days and we spent every minute outside soaking up the rays.

How gorgeous is this photo??? It was of course taken by Caleb.

Gotta wear shades...

Turns out that if you encourage small children to run/crawl as fast as they can up a huge sand dune....

They sleep really good that night :-)

Teaching EJ some sweet moves. The boys weren't so interested...

Poor JB was still cold even on the sunny days.

Then Papa started creating huge sand mazes...

And that warmed him right up!

A rousing game of tackle Papa will also keep you warm. It was so fun to watch them. I remember when my brothers and I were young and used to all tackle Dad just like this. We never won.

Kung Fu JB! This move is called Galloping Sand Shrimp.

One day it was so warm that ~~everybody~~ two crazy people decided to go boogie boarding.

Racing into the waves

Um...

She could sit in the sand for hours creating cities and stories...

These two were smart and rented wetsuits. They said it made a huge difference...I just took their word for it.

EJ what do you think about warm sunny days at the beach??

Made In The Shade

2011-09-14T07:30:00.000-06:00

Sweet album.

Also an apt description of our vacation in Oregon.

I've had people ask me why we go on a beach vacation in Oregon. It's a valid question. The Oregon coast is not Waikiki....

But if you go at the right time of year, it's warm and most days are sunny. There are always a couple of misty, grey days but it's still beautiful. And a little rain never kept any of us off of the beach.

Bonus: it is SOOOO nice not to have to worry about slathering the kids or ourselves with sunscreen six times every day. And then still having a sunburn by the second day. We were outside all day, every day and not one sunburn.
Sun or shade these little munchkins had a great time.

It was great to watch them meet cousins and be friends by the end of the trip.

LOVE this pic. The movement is great. (CJKepsel)

On the second morning JT woke up, ran into the living room and said "where is my new best friend?"

You may be able to tell by EJ's jaunty step that she is just happy to be on the beach. Rain or shine.

This little munchkin was in heaven. Dirt. Water. Family. She didn't care what the weather was like.

(CJKepsel)

You can still haul heavy buckets of sand for sand castles...

You can still fly kites with Lala (although you can't really see them when they get up there)

You can still chase Papa and wear really cute swim trunks.

A daddy can still fly a kite with his son. (I know this photo looks sunny, Caleb's camera was in a funky setting...)

You can still jump, tackle and dive in the sand.

You can still splash with Mommy.

And you can still poke sand crabs

Those last two pics...that's LT. He is crazy cute. We were all in love about 30 seconds after we met him.

See! Now you are too.

This little munchkin is pretty dang cute too. A sweet little sand sprite :-)

One day we dressed the same...She pulls of the brown and black combo much better than I! Also she looks really cute in a hood, I have too much hair.

Best of all you can still run and scream and race your daddy down the beach when it's misty and grey.

I love this shot too. I think maybe I have a thing for action shots :-)

Baby got back

2011-09-13T13:00:00.000-06:00

So I always thought that those Shape-Up shoes were ridiculous. They just look silly and I had grave doubts in their effectiveness. But my very giving parents bought me a pair and I decided to give them a try. Also they changed the style and I think they look more normal now. This is my pair:

See? Not too bad.

And guess what. They work. I mean I'm not sure exactly what they are doing...but it's something.

Last week I started wearing them to walk the dog twice a day...and I've been sore! My calves, thighs and tush have been sore all week.

And I do Zumba five times a week so I was thinking that I was getting into pretty good shape. Dang shoes are working something in there though.

Wanna see before and after shots?

Before:

And after:

Tehe. I crack myself up. That is most definitely not me. Someday maybe....

(I will give you prize if you can tell me who's butt that is.)

So seriously, it's only been a week, but I'm impressed with the shoes so far.

I'll keep you updated.

I know you are super excited.

What do you get when you cross Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee?

2011-09-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

JB.

Possible the very best part of this family vacation was watching all of the munchkins meet and become friends. It is so important for them to know their extended family and have amazing memories of time spent with them...in my opinion :-)

JB is such a sweet kid. Not the type to push, tackle or otherwise fight for a ball or frisbee. Now I'm sure that he has gotten into his fair share of fights at home with EJ over toys...Jayne can confirm or deny...but he is generally non-agressive.

JT diving on the frisbee and and JB shrugging and wondering what in the world JT is doing :-)

So it was especially great to watch JB get to know his cousin JT and then study his every move to learn how to tackle and dive and basically sacrifice the body for the ball.

Watching intently...

Go JB Go! I think JT still has the jump on him.

But JB slowly went from letting everyone else have the frisbee, to racing and tackling to get it

I cut myself out of this next pic but I'm actually standing just outside of the frame yelling "Get it JB!! Tackle her! Kick, bite, pinch!!!" He looked at me like "but it's my sweet Lala!" I may of yelled "There are no grandmas in frisbee!!! GET HER!!!"

And he did :-)

We got some amazing body dives into the sand!

Good arm buddy.

GO JB!! Thank you JT!!!

We then went back to a safer game...making sand pies...

Land Shark

2011-09-06T07:30:00.000-06:00

Did you know that there is a real shark problem on the Oregon Coast?

Well there is.

It's an especially aggressive group of Great White that have developed a taste for ~~human flesh~~...

er...mac n' cheese.

This is what happened to the shark after Emmy got done with it. Don't mess with that girl's mac n' cheese.

I kinda love this family photo. It's all sorts of wrong...which makes it just right!

EEK! There's another one! Hide the cheddar!

Never mind. This one is behind thick glass.

We took the munchkins down to the aquarium one day and they had a ball. So did I...

They have a great touch pool where the kids (and I) could touch sea anemones, sea urchins, starfish, all sorts of cool tidal critters.

And they have shark tunnels! These were the coolest.

You get to see the underneath of the critters and get really close to them. Loved it.

You could also be stalked by creepy fish. JB did not like this guy following him around.

They had a huge piranha tank that kids (and Caleb) could climb in.

Well not IN. Duh. It was a bubble inside the tank. Fewer missing body parts that way.

CB was having no part of the flesh-eating fish. In fact she looked a little shocked/disgusted the entire time.

Speaking of flesh eating...This is an alligator snapping turtle.

He was very creepy/prehistoric/cool looking. He was swimming up against the glass and would try and snap at my finger. My sweet three-year-old nephew LH was very worried. Every time I put my finger up there he would snatch it back and hold my hand. A little girl (complete stranger) came up and put her finger up to the glass and he reached out and grabbed her hand too :-) We moved on.

To the jellyfish! I kinda love jellyfish. In tanks. I stepped on many of them while living in Hawaii and it wasn't my very favorite experience. Close...but not my favorite.

But in tanks...so cool! They fascinate me.

These ones were quite large.

And this was a tank of tiny ones. So cute!

In a...stringy, gelatinous, bulbous, over 90% salt water, no brain, central nervous system, specialized digestive, respiratory or circulatory systems...sort of way.

This is one of the tiny ones above...dead.

Just in case you've always wanted to see a dead jellyfish. Voila! Your wish is granted. Like a genie in a bottle.

Wanna see some more dead stuff on the beach?

Perfect.

There was a dead sea bird too, but I've decided at this very moment to spare you.

Let's leave off with something adorable...and very alive. He's just sleeping. With a shark. A land shark that his grandpa bought him at the aquarium.

You're welcome.

It's not that easy being green. Having to spend each day the color of the leaves.

2011-09-02T18:05:00.000-06:00

We went on vacation to see the ocean but Oregon has another marvel of nature that we desert dwellers are not used to seeing...

Green stuff

They have trees. Real trees that don't have the word "scrub" in the name. And soft, green moss grows on everything and grass and flowers grow...and you don't even have to water them...craziness.

(BTW - if you happen to notice a quality difference between images, several of them were taken with my brother's very nice camera. I will try and give him credit when they are his but if I forget you can just guess that the really pretty ones are his. Also you should visit his blog. He takes amazing pics and maybe if he had more traffic he would update it more. Hint, hint Caleb.)

On our last day...I know, I started in the middle and now I'm moving on to the end. I may reach the beginning at some point, but you never know...we went on a little hike to Munson Waterfall. It's absolutely gorgeous and easy enough that the munchkins can walk it on their own...not that they did. Why walk when your sucker Aunt will carry you :-)

Or your sucker Papa :-)

This little one though.

She loves to hike. She didn't want to be carried at all. She's an adventurer

Isn't she just cutest little bug? I think she looks like an elf. Or an Ewok. And Elfin-Ewok. Amen.

There were so many pretty flowers...and green things. I love the smell. It smells...green. Figure that one out...

See. CB was in shock. She had no clue what all the green stuff was. Green overload.

I think this pic is adorable because I know CB and how much she loves to fly high...but it's also a great shot of the lushness.

The locals must think we are nuts. Walking around taking pictures of leaves and grass. (Just like down in Southern Utah/Zion National Park. The European and Asian tourists go nuts over the mule deer, take tons of pictures. We laugh so hard. They are vermin around here. The deer, not the tourists...most of the time.)

(this shot is SOOC. Greenest plant ever! And we have no clue what it is. It was the only one in the area.)

Two more of CB because...well...turns out she's really cute.

There is a really pretty waterfall at the end of the trail. We could not get CB to look up and see it. I guess that if you have no frame of reference for a waterfall, you don't even notice it.

Tada!

And then we had to take more pictures of course.

I liked this on with a 70's vibe.

(CJK Photo)

The wonderful parents.

(CJK Photo)

Lala and her girls.

Sisters :-)

I don't like to be touched...

(CJK Photo)

But I do love my mama!

(CJK Photo)

Monk and CB. Happiness.

(CJK Photo)

Lala was so excited to show JB the Banana Slug she found.

(CJK Photo)

He was less than enthusiastic.

We then headed back to the cars and left Oregon. Goodbye ocean. Goodbye green stuff. Goodbye oxygen.

Oh wait! I still have so much to blog about! Okay, blogging about the end of the trip first is great. I still have so much to look forward too!

Parting shot: Biker Babe EJ.

The grandmunchkins love Papa's motorcycle. He rode it out to Oregon from Utah. Long ride but he says he loved every minute of it. Now my mom just needs one and they can be a cute biker couple tooling around the country.

Fish heads, fish heads, roly poly fish heads. Fish heads, fish heads, eat them up, yum!

2011-09-01T06:30:00.000-06:00

Warning: LONG post.

Let's start at the very...middle...it's a very good place to start!

Midway through our amazing, spectacular, incredible, pretty cool family vacation, my dad took my three brothers deep-sea fishing for their birthdays.

A little father and son bonding time.

Venturing out upon the briny bosom of the sea to wrest sustenance from the icy hands of the fathomless deep.

(um. yeah)

Of course, I went too. I really did try to let the men go on their own but my sweet parents knew how much I wanted to go. Sorry guys.

Turns out that fishing = early mornings. We had to wake up at 4:45...A.M.! Just saying. This might be the reason that I'm not a professional fisherman. Also I live in the desert.

We arrived at Tradewinds Charters, along with a surprising number of equally crazy people, and were assigned a sea-worthy vessel.

(side note: Tradewinds Charters is awesome. If you are ever in the area I highly recommend taking one of their trips.) (And they have some really cute crew guys.) (Just saying.)

Our boat was the Morning Star. Our captain's name was Roman. I mean come on. How is that for the perfect sea captain name? And he was good looking. (at this point I'm starting to think that sea fishing on the Oregon coast is the life for me...)

They guys were super excited to get going...You can just see it all over their faces. See it? Right there. Excitement.

Captain Roman gave us a short, "try not to sink the boat or fall off but if you do fall off or sink the boat grab onto something that floats", speech.

To which we listened intently. Did you know that C and Z can sleep standing up with their eyes open?

(another side note: you know I love my PW actions and for some reason I love using the 70's action on pics of Z. Just works well.)

We were ready to head out into the deadly waters. To brave the mighty tempest.

"I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride

I'm wanted dead or alive Wanted dead or alive"

It was thick as pea soup out there...and the ocean was totally flat and non-tempestuous. Whatever. I'm still riding a steel horse. Riding a steel horse through jellyfish soup...there were literally thousands of jellyfish in the water all around the boat. Capt. said that he has never seen that many swarming before. It was gross.

Sunrise was beautiful through the fog.

(Yet another side note: the guy standing behind me there is the 1st Mate. Justin, I think. I'm bad with names. He was cute too. Do people still "stow away"? I think i'm going to give it a shot.)

I was having fun taking random nautical photos.

Look at these pics? It looks like a lake. Totally flat.

My dad's glasses were super reflective. Do you see me in there? He was calling me a dork as I took this.

We sailed...sailed? Is it still sailing if there are no sails? What would you say? The engine moved the boat across the waters to the prime fishing grounds.

"I'm sailing! I'm sailing! I sail! I'm a sailor! I sail!"

The Kepsel men got right to it, they knew how to fish and had a blast. It was really nice to sit back a bit and watch them have fun together. Oh and it turns out that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Who knew?

We were told to 'cast' the cute little fishy lure out a ways. I said "okay, so we throw the lure out thata way right?" We then had a short argument about the difference between 'casting' and throwing. I eventually caved (the crew is cute remember) but will forever believe that they are the same dang thing.

Oh! and there is this wire thingy that you have to flip over if you want the line to release. That one took me a minute...

Capt. Roman kept giving us a depth reading so we would know how much line to let out but I had to subtract a good 12 feet off of that as my lure generally just dropped straight down the side of the boat. I was having a hard time chucking the lure.

The fog burned away and it was a gorgeous day. A gorgeous day that is about to get amazing... because I caught the first fish on the boat! Look at that beautiful sea bass!

Casting-schmasting.

I was more than a little leery of grabbing the sucker by it's lips for the picture. It's bladder had inflated from coming out of the deep so fast and it was coming out the mouth. Um. Sick.

After I caught my magnificent bass I went and sat down on a bench. The crew asked what I was doing and I told them that I only needed one fish, I was done. They found that funny for some reason.

The guys all proceeded to catch one in pretty short order and we were all pleased with our haul.

Pops reeling in his monster bass.

I know. I'm a natural.

Really. I am. I caught three more! I was totally trash-talking after catching the first one...cuz I was the girl...but then it just got better with each one I caught. The Capt. had a big one on the line that got away right at the boat. He was really disappointed so I offerred him one of mine...cuz you know, I had plenty and I'm real nice like that :-)

Luckily everyone on the boat knew that I had no clue what I was doing and they thought it was pretty funny when I kept catching fish. I just hope my dad and brothers weren't too embarrassed by my trash-talking...Or my loud singing (they had on 70's rock...i had no choice but to sing)...Or my shrieking every time the fish came back to life in the bucket...Or my screaming and yelling "fish on, fish on!!!" in my horrible Jeremy Wade voice when I hooked one (when you do that a cute crew member comes running over to help you so...duh).

I really did stop fishing after my fourth. I mean really, I had to leave some fish in the ocean for other people.

OH! Good story for ya.

Between the third and fourth fish...one of my brothers started to look a bit pale. He then proceeded to regurgitate his breakfast and share it with the fish. He's real nice like that. I had been doing okay till then. A bit nauseous when we were stopped but nothing serious. But i'm a sympathy puker. If I see someone else hurling...game's over. I tried really, really hard not to look at him but looked over when I thought he was done to ask if he was okay...and he threw up again. Done. I started gagging over the railing. I hadn't eaten anything so it was just gagging but blech. And of course the cute crew guys came up to the bow to see if everything as okay while I was bent over the rail gagging. My brother felt fine after puking and was back to fishing. So it just looked like it was me. All my street cred...gone. Thank you brother dearest.

It was finally time to head back and we had a pretty good catch!

(Last side note: Did you know that dumb ole fish keep flopping around a really long time after you catch them? It freaked me out every time they started jumping around in there.)

My dad stood at the bow, spread his arms wide and shouted "I'm the king of the world!!"

Kidding. He hates that movie. If you ever want to hear one of his good rants, start talking about how awesome that movie is :-)

Fishing is really hard work. The boys all fell asleep for the hour trip back.

They had a filleting station on the dock and we got our catch all sliced up. These guys were so fast! It was very impressive.

Finished product: a bag of delicious bass. That's a good days work right there. Yes sir.

We took it back to our waiting family and pronounced "We caught it. You cook it." And they did.

We fried some in a yummy cornbread breading.

And grilled the rest.

It was soooo yummy. Nice mellow flavor and not fishy at all. Turns out that fresh fish tastes different than the stuff from the meat counter at Smith's in Utah. I know right?!

Levi enjoying some of our hard-earned sustenance.

He looks happy-ish but you don't want to know what he is saying to me...rude.

We managed to eat a lot of bass that night but still had plenty left over for fish tacos the next night. There really is something very satisfying about catching your own fish to eat. If you ever have the opportunity I would encourage you to try sea fishing. And if you are ever on the Oregon coast hook up with Tradewinds and the Morning Star. You will have a great time.

And thank you Dad, I love you!!!!!! and thanks guys for letting your annoying sister tag along :-)

Fish keep flopping for a LONG time...

2011-08-30T17:17:00.001-06:00

I've been processing fishing pics for my first Oregon post...but I'm not sure I will have time tonight to actually do the post.

I have a lovely little teaser for you to really get you excited about the amazingly awesome post that is coming.

Prepare yourselves for the greatest fish-story of your lives.

My hair has asked that I move to the coast...

2011-08-28T20:04:00.000-06:00

It's true. My hair loves the ocean. My skin too.

I mean I love the ocean too, it makes me happy. But this finicky head of hair of mine seems to really love it. I know. It's weird. Most people hate what humidity does to their hair but I love it. On the coast, my hair gets super curly, thick and soft and my skin is really soft too. I keep waiting for the ocean to work some miracles on my face and pants size...not holding my breath ;-)

Another great thing is that I feel like I can run 100 miles! But that is because I live at 6,000 feet, so sea level feels like an oxygen mask.

I'm not saying that humidity is amazing...I've lived in Mississippi...humidity is horrible. But on the coast, in Oregon at least, it seems like there's always a nice ocean breeze, so it's nice humid not gross humid.

So. For the sake of my hair. I'm moving to the coast.

I was hunting for a picture of my hair at the beach...turns out that I don't like having my picture taken...who knew? I found this one from two years ago. What was I smoking with those sunglasses?

Kidding on the moving. I have no plans to move...as yet.

But the idea is definitely taking shape in the sometimes used brain sitting under my hair.

I have a ton of great pics to share from the Oregon Coast vacation but I'm waiting to get ahold of my brother's as well. He takes great pics. Coming soon! I know you are waiting with bated breath!

Heaven

2011-08-21T17:34:00.001-06:00

Foggy heaven. But still heaven :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Pacific city, OR

Heat, puff balls and sagebrush

2011-08-18T07:50:00.001-06:00

I decided to take bonehead on a hike yesterday instead of our customary morning bike ride.

We headed out to the Dutch Hollow trailhead, which is a beautiful area with many trails to choose from. They also had a large sign announcing that it was bear and mountain lion country and there had been several sightings this season. I was feeling very happy to have a large dog, a gun and a phone with reception... I had also called my brother before leaving to tell him where I was going. There have been so many lost hikers this summer...I did not want to become one of them.

I chose the trail that was just under two miles long...decided to take it easy on the pup as he is still getting back into shape and losing some weight. I thought he would be fine as Levi used to hike with him in the desert all the time.

Turns out that we need to build back up to that.

At the top, Utah drank my entire bottle of water and then crammed himself under the very small bench, that the nice BLM people put there, for some shade. Sagebrush doesn't offer much in the shade department.

I had to pull him out from under there to get a picture.

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace. ~Milan Kundera

This is the beautiful Heber Valley. I love living here.

And this was behind me heading up into the hills. I love sagebrush.

Things that we grow REALLY well in the Utah high desert. Sagebrush and scrub oak. The end.

I imagine that this:

Used to look just like this:

Before they damned the river, created two reservoirs and built a town.

And I think it must of been beautiful. I like to imagine what places must of looked like to the first settlers and the natives before that. I'm weird like that.

Utah and I then had a little heart-to-heart and I convinced him that coming with me back down the mountain would really pay off in the end. He was convinced the staying under the bench was the way to go...but I reminded him that mountain lions LURVE smooshy golden retrievers.

We saw a plethora of pretty wild flowers but I was loving the giant puffballs. I'm guessing that they have an actual name...Caleb?

Here is the original:

My macro was actually playing nice for once...

And here are all the fun actions that I played with. I love actions.

We made it back to the truck without being mauled by a bear, mountain lion or rabid chipmunk...barely.

And when we got home Utah climbed into his pool and cooled off...while I cleaned the house.

I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful. I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful

2011-08-16T07:43:00.001-06:00

In the past two weeks I have learned:

It is not necessary to wash my hands every time I touch a dog*.
If you walk/bike around your neighborhood twice a day, every day...you actually meet your neighbors...and they are nice!
Screen doors aren't as obvious to everyone as they are to me.
If I had extra money I would totally hire someone to come scoop the poop in my yard.
Yellow dog hairs go with every outfit...and I don't mean they match...I mean they have literally attached themselves to every item of clothing I own.
It feels great to have somebody that needs me...yes I know I have a cat...it's not the same
Dogs have amazing internal clocks. Seriously. It's almost creepy.
This annoying, dopey, messy, hairy, totally mental, sweet, loving boy makes me smile

This is Utah.

He is the newest member of my household and I heart him. I truly was not planning on falling in love...but about three days in...I was smitten. I was in deep smit. I also noticed that I had called my mom approximately 6,000 times in that same three days to ask her advice or tell her about something that Utah did. She is going to have to upgrade her phone plan when I have kids.

My wonderful brother and his family have fallen in love too. He built Utah this amazing dog house. And he stops by during the day to take him on a hike or play with him, and I am super grateful.

Isn't the dog house great? And it looks like Snoopy's! I love Snoopy so this made my day. I'm going to put lights on it at Christmas.

Does anyone know how to train a 90lb dog to balance on the roof of a dog house while wearing aviator gear? Get back to me on that...

Utah has found his ranking in the house quickly...below the cat.

Bunny somehow managed to kick poor Utah out of his crate so that she could take a nap.

If you look closely at this one you will see that once again she forced him to move off of his comfy bed so that she could have it. Cats have mind powers. It's official.

*So jumping back to the hand-washing thing. I'm heading towards some Bob Wiley issues. The longer I live alone the more germaphobic I get. Just ask my poor nieces and nephews. I tend to shriek and have visions of the Black Plague when one of them eats a cheerio off the floor at church.

Usually I wash my hands a lot.
Especially after touching a dog.
Turns out that when a dog lives in your house...your hands can't handle all the washing.
I've had to chill.
Dog germs won't kill me.
Unless he has rabies, leptospirosis or leishmaniasis.
Crap.

Okay. Deep breaths. Focus on the clean critter in my house.

Look at that clean, soft, white tummy. Gotta love an animal that spends 20 hrs a day bathing itself. Sigh. Okay. Better.

I have not had a chance to take a ton of pics of Utah yet...but i'm guessing that you will see a lot of him around here in the future. Brace yourselves!

Thank you Levi for moving to Washington ;-) Thank you Zanda for seeing that we needed each other. Thank you Jayleb for the dog house and the walks and helping me with training. Thank you Mom for not turning off your phone :-)

They're coming to take me away, hee hee!

2011-08-15T12:25:00.007-06:00

{image via ffffound}

Sorry I have not been a very good blogger lately!

Life just seems nuts right now. I'm working on simplifying, organizing and redoing my routine.

Hopefully that will help :-)

Thanks for checking in and commenting, I love it more than I can say!