DAY 90- Three Months, Roswell, & Amarillo by Nightfall...

It was day 90 and it’s kind of hard to realize that 3 months has passed.  The time has just flown by.  I’ve done a lot in those three months; visited 11 national parks/monuments, went horseback riding for the first time, gone on a scenic motorcycle ride and boat ride, almost worked my way through 6 states, been on parts of Route 66, tasted a bit of wine, did a bit of gambling, tasted some wonderful food, visited a presidential library where I walked on an old Air Force One, biked some interesting spots, driven through some wonderfully scenic areas, did some hikes, attended a wedding, gotten stung by a bee, and several other things.  The list could go on for a while.  All these things I wouldn’t have done if I hadn’t taken that first step and said to myself,” No excuses; I’m doing this!” 

I’m really glad I did that and sometimes I admit I get a little bit uneasy because I’m SO out of the box that I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to fit into a box again.  Where does this all end?  I’m very unsure and I never really thought about an “exit strategy”.  I just jumped in with both feet and never thought too much further.  I’m just going and living in the moment day by day.  I meet new people almost every day and have some of the most interesting conversations. 

But I know that this will need to come to an end.  The money will run dry and I know that over time I just can’t physically continue this pace of going and going and going.  Sometimes, you just need to stop and pause; give yourself sometime to evaluate where you have been and where you need to be.  I’ve got this going on in the back of my mind; mainly in the evening times before I fall asleep.  I ask myself—what do I really want to do when I grow up.  It’s silly but in essence this is a HUGE growing period for me and I’m not sure where I’ll be when I come out on the other side.

Okay, so with all that being said let me get going on what my day 90 was like…

I woke up to rain in Roswell, NM.  Ugh!  I managed to keep a bowl of cereal down this morning; that was a plus.  I’m wondering if it was something I had for breakfast or dinner the prior night that had caused yesterday’s sour stomach.  I had just gotten done with the shower when my hotel room door was opened by a maintenance staff.  Another two minutes later and he might have caught me without my towel.  He might have gotten a REAL eyeful!  LOL!  I think he was more embarrassed than I was; he quickly apologized and said that the front desk said I had checked out.  He left quickly closing the door behind him.  I had gone down stairs earlier to return a movie I had borrowed from the hotel and put an extra bag in my car but I wasn’t checked out yet; someone had jumped to conclusions.

Photo- The International UFO Museum and Research Center.

Later, I dropped off the keys at the front desk and said that the maintenance guy could now get in my room to fix whatever needed to be fixed.  They were all sorry for what had happened but I kind of found it a bit amusing.  I asked one of the gals for directions to the International UFO Museum and Research Center.  Then, I was in my car driving along the rainy Main Street area of Roswell.

I will tell you that most of the businesses rather play up the space alien stuff here in Roswell.  You’ll be driving along and a fast food sign will have a space alien holding the enter sign or there will be green statues standing on each side of the door.  Green aliens with HUGE black eyes are a common sight in Roswell.  I drove along to the old part of Main Street to the old theater that is now the place where the International UFO Museum and Research Center resides.  It’s rather hard to miss this place; and there are another couple of places nearby that stand out too.  I narrowed it down to just visiting this one place from doing a bit of web surfing the night before I found this place seemed a bit more authentic and interesting than the other tourist traps along the main drag.

Photo- It's set up to let you decide what to believe.

I paid the $6 entrance fee and started off in the Museum area.  There was a timeline of newspaper articles and pictures of UFO experiences in other parts of the world starting with the 1940’s.   Then, on July 4^th, 1947 the Roswell experience happened.  There was a timeline of the next days, then weeks, then months afterwards.  Some of it was newspaper articles, some of it contained copies of signed affidavits from those that saw what happened.  It was all laid out in a fashion to let you decide what happened in Roswell.  To tell you the truth, it made me wonder about all of the possibilities and I’m undecided.

There was space alien art done in one corner and then the museum worked its way through the subjects of what a UFO is.  Then it showed photos of what people thought were UFOs; some of the photos had been examined and disproved for one reason or another, but others, well, they just don’t know.  Then, the museum covered the subject of space aliens being in art of ancient cultures and showed some examples.  Next, were the crop circles and the theories and possibilities.  It was all very interesting and rather entertaining.  They had a space ship with aliens out in a large open area that would periodically start making noises, lights would flash, and fog would come out.  But is there other life out there?  I think it’s egotistical of us to think we are the only ones but have they already tried to contact us.  I don’t know.

Photo- A fun little alien invasion within the
International UFO Museum and Research Center.

I went back through Roswell to head north; the goal was to be in Amarillo before night.  Hey, isn’t there a song about that?  I stopped before I left rainy Roswell at a place called the Rib Crib; a BBQ place that I would hope to have some of that famous Texas BBQ.  Though, I have to admit that I’m a HUGE fan of Kansas City BBQ so it’ll take a bit to dissuade me from that.  Well, it turned out that this was a BBQ chain and quite a few of their restaurants were in Kansas.  They even had one in my home state of Iowa; Mason City.  Well, I wouldn’t therefore classify this as Texas BBQ.  Oh, well but then again what did I expect… I was still in New Mexico.  Hello!??

The drive from Roswell to Amarillo was rainy and very, very flat.  I thought that Nebraska was flat but in comparison Nebraska is interesting because they have ponds and trees that they plant almost everywhere there along the highways.  This was barren and flat.  There were abandoned houses along the way, and a lot of people living in trailer homes out in the middle of nowhere; literally.  The rained started to clear up more as I got closer to Amarillo.  Just after the town of Hereford, there was a HUGE cattle holding pen area along the railroad.  It was a pretty smelly stretch for about 1 mile there.

Photo- A section of flat Texas.

The landscape did have a few hills getting up to the plateau that Amarillo is on.  I got to my hotel in Amarillo and got out of my car and there was that mild smell of cattle that permeated the air.  As some people would say, that’s the smell of money.  It’s not a new smell to me; growing up in Iowa which is second to Texas for beef producing I’ve gotten my fair share of smelling that, especially attending an agricultural college in Iowa.  But I have been living in a city in Utah for almost 23 years and have forgotten what that smell is like.

I ended up asking the hotel clerk about a good BBQ place and he was directing me to Famous Dave’s which is a BBQ chain that is all over the west.  I was looking for more local.  He told me of another place but it was closed on Sundays.  Then, I said that maybe I should just try an Italian place to which he gave me a suggestion of another chain restaurant.  Please don’t tell me this indicative of the people in the south that they love chain restaurants because then I can skip half of Texas in one fell swoop. 

Photo- The sunset from my hotel room window.
I made it to Amarillo before nightfall.

I opted to go to a place down the road called Salt Grass Steak House.  I’m sure it was another chain restaurant but I will admit that I had never heard or been to one of these before.  It wasn’t too bad.  The steak was good, cooked to order and I had sweet potato fries alongside the steak but they put maple syrup on the sweet potato fries which I thought was a bit too much sweet.  I ordered ranch dressing for the fries and the server looked at me funny.  I was half tempted to explain I was a Yankee to see if that might explain my strange behavior.  I have the feeling that I’ll be falling back on that excuse as I go along.

Ever Have One of Those Mornings...

Part of my brain and body says…
“Hit the snooze!  They won’t notice if you are a few minutes late.”

The artistic part of my brain says…

“Come on get up and let’s get another layer of a poured watercolor done. They won’t notice if you are a few minutes late.”

The vanity part of my brain says…

“Come on get up!  You need to fix that shitty nail polishing job you did quickly yesterday morning and Ye GADS! Please shave your legs!  OMG!  This is not a fur factory! Besides, they won’t notice if you are a few minutes late.”

The athletic part of my brain says…

“See I told you!  You should have gone to the gym last night.  You would’ve slept better and now you are going to be a few minutes late.  Thank the Lord they won’t notice.”
…

Naw! Me neither!  Though, I did get the legs shaved!

Belated Happy Fat Tuesday & Somber Ash Wednesday?

Yesterday was the Happy Fat Tuesday; or as it’s probably better know as Mardi Gras.  In the US, Mardi Gras brings up images of wild parties in New Orleans, masks, beads, and women baring their breasts. It’s the day before Ash Wednesday when you do a last bit of splurging before giving up something for Lent.  Then it’s forty days of going without or limiting or whatever deal you’ve made with yourself and God.  Quite often in years pass I’ve given up coffee, chocolate, and caffeine or I’ve limited my sweets, or tried to be nicer to other people.  Sometimes, I’m successful at these things and at others I’m a total failure.  The total failures I knock up to “pie in the sky” ideals when my feet are firmly planted in the clay of the earth. 

Today is Ash Wednesday.  It’s that time of year when us silly Catholics get ashes put on our foreheads.  More than almost anytime of year, the church will be filled to almost overflowing and all of these Catholics even the “cafeteria” Catholics like me want ashes on their forehead.  There’s just something with the symbolism of smeared ashes on your face.  It certainly makes you stand out in the crowd when you go to the grocery store afterwards; especially in Utah.

I remember in years past purposely going to the grocery store after the evening Ash Wednesday Mass.  I wanted to stand out and try to be different from most of the LDS culture.  It was like I was trying to be a thorn in the side.  I would go down the aisles and just wait for someone to say that I had dirt on my forehead.  But nope!  No one said anything.  If anything at times it seemed that everyone was avoiding me.  Talk about clearing out an aisle at the grocery store!  There was no eye contact with from the girl at check out.  It seemed as though I was ignored or worse avoided like I was demon spawn.  It took all the fun out of it.  So after a few years, I stopped running errands afterwards.  I would go straight home and wash off the ashes just before bedtime.

Then I changed to going to a noon Ash Wednesday Mass at the Salt Lake City Cathedral.  I would take a longer lunch to go.  It would piss off a fellow co-worker who I am convinced has never liked me since she found out I was Catholic.  Talk about being the demon spawn in this case I might as well have been.  I would come back from my long lunch hour with the smudged ashes on my forehead and she would glare at me every time she went by desk during the afternoon.  Talk about how to lose friends and alienate people, I was on that path!  Well, after a few years even attempting to piss off a co-worker got a bit old, and I felt it just wasn’t at all in the spirit of the Lent season.

So this year, I’ve kind of opted out of the whole Ash Wednesday.  I’m not sure if I’m going to be giving up or doing anything for Lent.  It just seems like after years of trying to be a thorn in the side; I need a year of backing off and getting some space.  I guess that’s one of the benefits of being a “cafeteria” Catholic.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I have never been sure about what to think about this commercialized Holiday.  It's kind of nice in that it encourages people to say how they care and feel about others; which in most cases I think is a good thing.  Or I should say as long as it's something in a positive way of stating one's feelings, it CAN be a good thing. 

But this Holiday also has a way of putting a great deal of people on the "spot" to say something that they may not feel comfortable with.  It could force some one's hand or encourage someone to jump three squares ahead when they are not even ready to proceed.  I, often, wonder if Holidays like this have lead or should I say compounded to the high divorce rate.  I know it's kind of morbid thought on such a day as this.  But these are the thoughts that go through my head.  I might be called cynical for making such a statement, and I don't mean to be a cynic.  It's just one of those off the wall thoughts that hit me every now and then.

I've never felt comfortable with Valentine's Day myself.  I've never really been one for flowers or chocolates.  I'm allergic to gold so that counts out at least 50% or more of the jewelry ideas.  And lingerie, well... no!  So what does that leave for someone to get me?  Well, something for my bike or coffee related would always be a safe bet.  Or how about an expanse of fresh newly stretched canvas?  Yeah, as you can tell I'm a REAL romantic one! (** Note the HEAVY sarcasm there!).

I think the other problem with Holidays such as these.  They sometimes encourage the easy answers which I don't always think are the RIGHT answers.  It doesn't encourage creativity or thinking about the person who you are giving for.  Sometimes, the most romantic things that can be done on a Holiday such as this are the smallest of things that can make that person feel special.  Small things like doing a sink full of dirty dishes for your wife, or going for a quite walk locally just the two of you, or cooking his favorite hard to make dessert.  I think some of the best things don't involve any money either.  Hmmmm... but that could also be the cynic in me too.

But anyway, for what it's worth Happy Valentine's Day!

Flash Month...

Wheeewwwpp! That’s the sound of January made as it went zinging past.  The full realization of its passing didn’t hit me until today when a co-worker wished me a “Happy Groundhog’s Day!”  WHAT?!!?  Yep, sure enough January had come and gone. It went by in a flash!  Here today and gone tomorrow.  I also realized I forgot to drop off the check for rent yesterday.  OOoopppss! (Guess where I’m going immediately after work today!?)

Photo- "Jane's Addiction" - watercolor on paper done by me.

 The first two weeks of January, I was dealing with preparing for my art show and the last two weeks I was recovering from the art show.  Meanwhile, January just breezed on by.   On the good side of all this is that I’ve managed to sale quite a few paintings; which has been rather cool.  I’ve also managed to rack up about $525 total donation to the Salt Lake City Habitat for Humanity charity.

The bad news-- I didn’t work out at the gym for a little over two weeks during the month.  I found I had gained 5 lbs. in the two weeks.  Ugh!  But in the last week, I’ve ran about 8 miles and had two pilates classes.  I got on the scale yesterday and discovered I had lost 3 of the 5. 

AND I still need to come up with some New Year’s Resolutions!  Not that I MUST make them but I kind of feel like I’m rather aimlessly wandering around in life without some extra goals to attain.  So thus I’m going to give myself a deadline for New Year’s Resolutions…tomorrow.  And hopefully, unlike the Groundhog Movie, tomorrow will come? I HOPE...

How Did I Get Here? & Month End Stats

Ever get one of those quiet reflective moments that you are sitting there and wondering WTF happened to bring you to this point? That was me this morning at 5:45AM waiting for the Pilates Reformer Class. I will admit that I wasn’t feeling like my usual self and thus, I guess I wasn’t on auto-pilot.  I found myself in a reflective mood.

Photo- Diane Ross eat your heart out.  It's Ollie in drag!

I’m quietly sitting waiting in my frigid car in front of the pilates studio and attempting to think warm thoughts. The car heater hasn’t really been working since this latest cold snap and I’ve been meaning to check out to see if it’s just the anti-freeze that needs topping off. (I hope that’s all.) But I’ve been too busy to get it checked out and I’m not mechanically inclined at all. So, here I am freezing my butt off.


Just as my teeth are about to chatter, a car pulls up in the next parking stall. It’s another gal that’s in the pilates class with me. She’s sitting in her less than one year old shiny silver gray with black four door sedan Cooper with tunes and probably a heater that works. Meanwhile, I can't help but think about all of the steps that have led me to be sitting here in a freezing 11 year old scratched and dented (small dents & scratches from leaning my bike on it) silver station wagon that looks like I live out of it. Not that I’m jealous of the situation. I could be sitting there in a newer heated car if I chose to be. But it’s kind of strange that I’m relatively happy sitting here freezing in the old car that has me perplexed. What happened along the way that made me okay with that? Hmmm… Did I have a few screws that came loose along the way?!?


The more I thought; the more I found myself comparing...  I bet she lives in a cute little house with a spoiled cat or a springy young dog that loves to run. Meanwhile, I live in a one bedroom apartment that doesn't allow pets where most days my living room serves as a painting studio which leaves me inclined not to invite guests in. She probably has a productive job that she enjoys and she’s good at it too. Meanwhile, I’m passing the time as a lowly secretary/receptionist that answers phones and sometimes back talks to my boss. I really should be fired but for some reason I’m not. I will admit that my work is not fulfilling but I’ve reached a point where that’s not what I’m looking for. I opted out years ago to settle for an 8-5 type of steady job and I’m okay with that.  Not all of what I AM or who I AM is my job like some people.  I would have to say that I’m everything BUT my job to a certain extent. But overall, I’m happy with my life. Not that I couldn’t use some changes but overall I’m happy.


The pilates studio opens its doors. We both get out of our cars to head in and I can’t help but compare myself.   Now, is this mentally unhealthy of me to do this? I don’t think so. I see it as a litmus test. And so the comparison continues… She’s a tall blonde slender and looks like she’s ready for to model for a layout in a yoga magazine. Her hair is in smooth ponytail with matching headband. She’s wearing a matching black jacket with long yoga pants and black sleek tennis shoes.


Here I am looking like I’m homeless and look like I HAVE been living in my car. I’m in an oversized fleece jacket with a mismatched hoodie and almost threadbare yoga capris. I’m wearing knee high shearling winter boots, fingerless colorfully striped knitted gloves from some third world country and have topped off the whole affair with a black & gray skull cap to cover my bed head hair that is in BAD need of a color dye. So, in another words I look like I was literally dragged out of bed from my car.


We walk in and she (Ms. Yoga Model) is all sunny “Good Morning!” Meanwhile, I mumble “good morn” as I’m consciously trying to tug my hat off so my hair isn’t sticking straight up. You see, I really had a time trying to drag myself out of bed this morning for some reason. Which is really not LIKE me at all but my lack of being “put together” this morning seems very obvious when I’m staggering in with Ms Yoga Model next to me.


It’s later after the pilates class as I’m heading home in my still frigid car that I think that there MUST be a few screws loose as I’m happily puttering home to shower and change for work.  But I will admit that I wasn't happy with the scale when I got home.  It had been almost two weeks since I've stepped on it and I found myself up by 3 lbs.  Ouch!  Yep, there's some things that I want to change.

November's Monthly Stats--
27.5 miles running
60 miles cycling
3hours 11 minutes on the elliptical
Read 2 THICK books this month (bringing to a total of 55 books for year)
and ...
I'm up to #95 on the 100 Salt Lake City Porches Painting Project.  To view the progress of the project you can click here.  Here's the latest...

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.95"; Oil on 12" x 12" Canvas

Ode to a Grandma

Grandma 1922- 2011

My last living grandmother passed away this last weekend. She had a series of health issues in the last couple of years and had recently, out of necessity, been put in a full time care facility. I guess we all saw it coming. But even with that expectation, it seemed like the end came faster than anyone expected. That often seems to be the case. But I would like to think that in quite a few cases that it’s a blessing to those that we love that they don’t suffer.

Honestly and sadly, I can’t say that I really knew my grandmother. My memories are fleeting childhood visits to the Northwestern Iowa farm where she & gramps lived. Gramps was the predominate personality in the relationship. He was always laughing, talking, and telling stories. Meanwhile, grandma always seemed to be floating around in the background frying something on the stove in the kitchen. I do remember that she always fed the wildcats that roamed the farm. She would set up food for them out behind the garage. She always chastised us not to try to pet the cats. Of course with my habit of learning the hard way, I chose not to listen and ended up pretty scratch one time.


I must say that most of the other memories that I have of my grandma are not positive. She quite often seemed to be complaining or criticizing one of her daughters (my mother & aunts). She really didn’t seem to care for my mother. It almost felt like she hated her for some reason which I never could figure out. I remember seeing pictures of the other grandkids or the neighbor’s kids in the old farmhouse but never any photos of myself or my little brother. Years ago one spring I drove back to northwestern Iowa from Utah. I stayed with an Aunt that was centrally located among other relatives. Grandma wouldn’t drive the 25 miles down to come see me. If I wanted to see her, I could drive up to see her. But I never did drive up to see her because everyone else had drove over to see me. I thought it would have been rude to leave everyone to go see her.


I know that grandma had a hard life; the few stories that I heard of her life growing up sounded like a very hard life to survive. But it just always seemed to me that she was unhappy. I find that sad because I see life as an attitude choice. I believe that if you choose to be happy you will be. Granted, it doesn’t always work that way but the chances are greater if you approach things that way. Goodbye Grandma! Now, I just hope that you will now find the happiness and peace that you deserve in the afterlife.

My Bucket List...

 I've been thinking about it all this last week.  I've been adding and I still may have somethings to add over time.  There may be some crazy and different things that might surprise some you you, but then maybe not.  But this is what I came up with....
**************************
1. Go canoeing


2. Go kayaking

3. Try rollerblading

4. Attend a traditional Greek Wedding (I mainly just want to see if they really do spit on the bride as she goes up the aisle.)

5. Get a henna tattoo

6. Go on a retreat that’s at least 4 days and at least 100 miles from home-- either spa or sports related.

7. Learn to speak Spanish

8. Brush up on my French

9. Write & Publish a book

10. Go horseback riding

11. Go whale watching

12. Try pole dancing (this might be dangerous due to my lack of coordination.)

13. See a Circque du Soleil Show in Vegas

14. Eat a meal prepared by a world class chef

15. Do a bit of stand up comedy

16. Cycle the diameter around Crater Lake & possibly Lake Tahoe too.

17. Make a difference in someone’s life. ( I see this as an on-going thing.)

18. Experience a nomad lifestyle for an extended time frame. (thinking possibly 2 years)

19. Visit all 50 states

20. Participate in the Burning Man

21. See the Northern Lights

22. See an Atlanta Braves Game

23. Go on an Alaskan Cruise

24. Visit some National Parks (not in Utah)

25. Go skinny dipping

26. Visit the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.

27. Walk along the Coney Island Boardwalk

28. Take a tour of the Hershey Factory in Penn.

29. See the Grand Canyon

30. Visit Historic Williamsburg

31. Visit the Art Institute of Chicago & see American Gothic by Grant Wood in person

32. See the Cherry Blossoms of Washington D.C.

33. Cross the Golden Gate Bridge

34. See the Liberty Bell

35. Visit the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston

36. Visit the Guggenheim Museum in NYC

37. Bake a French loaf of bread that’s not like a rock.

38. Visit a nudist colony

39. Kiss a complete male stranger & make it a good kiss!

40. Have several pieces of my artworks on sale & hanging in a professional gallery

41. Phrases I want to say before I die---

--- You can’t fire me, I quit!; --- A martini shaken not stirred. (Gold finger)

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I invite any feedback or comments you may have.

An Update & Prelim Bucket Listing...

Good news to share with the update which is surprising considering it’s been a couple of weeks since my last update. I was on vacation last week and was basically away from the blogsphere of the world. I got on the scale this morning and was really amazed. I’m down (drum roll, please!) a total of 22 lbs. as of this morning. Yeah!!



BUT I will admit that yesterday I DID work out what would be considered by some as being excessive. I woke up very early and decided to go for a 3 mile speed walk/run at my local favorite park. Then, I biked into work with a backpack of gear that weigh at least 15 lbs. After work, I biked over to the start of my normal Thursday evening Bike & Brew ride. I thankfully was able to stow my backpack in another bike club member’s car while I rode the 23 mile ride. I ended up having to change a flat tire with 2 miles left on the ride. Not fun at all! Then, I claimed my backpack and biked for home. I totaled 34 miles on the bike for the day.

Last night, I watched the 2007 movie The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Sometimes, I admit I find it amusing that a movie with two older male actors has created somewhat of a phenomenon. Bucket Lists have sprouted everywhere and have become a common theme in quite a few of people’s lives. Then, here is me Ms. List and I don’t have a bucket list.

Part of the reason I always thought was that I don’t want to have a life that’s planned out with goals and things to do. I like having an open-ness to life and feel that life is an adventure. Some of my best remembered moments have been totally unplanned; me just going along for the ride. Sometimes it has been rather hairy but overall it’s been very fulfilling. I’ve done quite a few things that have been on other people’s bucket list. I done half marathons, tri's, indoor skydiving, all kinds of cycling, and various other things.  To sound a bit like a Nike commercial but quite often I just do it and quite often its not planned through as well as it could have been.  For example, the Slow Salty Dog Tri that I did two years ago with only about 2 months worth of training.  OUCH!


But I’m thinking as of late that I could maybe open myself up to doing part of a list. Part of it has been my recent trip to Helena, MT. It has opened my eyes up a bit. There are places I would love to explore a little more if I had the time and there are experiences that I wouldn’t mind having.

Off the top of my head, I have always wanted to see a Cirque Du Soleil show in Vegas but I look at the ticket price and question myself. I also have always thought it would be a wonderful experience to bike the road that goes around Crater Lake. They are not big things and if I really sat down I’m sure I could come up with some more. Maybe I’ll think about this for a little while and come up with my own bucket list. I might even share it.

A Pause Button...

This morning as the alarm beeped I reached over and hit the snooze.  It was as I was lying there that I felt a delicious cool summer breeze blow through the window.  I also heard the gentle hum of the interstate.  Hmmmm…I rolled over and slowly doze off to sleep again; only to have the alarm beep 7 minutes later.  I reached over and pushed down on the snooze button.  I felt another delicious cool breeze, and the nice gentle hum of the interstate.  I started to doze off. 

As I dozed off again, I couldn’t help but think that I could use a pause button.  I SO wanted to stay here and enjoy this moment between being awake and asleep.  It was after the 5^th time of pushing the snooze button that I had to finally start thinking about the reality of myself being late for work if I didn’t get going.  Darn it anyway because I would have loved to hit that pause button and enjoy this time frame for a bit longer.  I would’ve enjoyed staying in this laid back stress free zone for at least another 30 minutes.  But no—its back to reality for me as I hurriedly got ready for work.  Thank goodness I packed my bike clothes for the weekly Emigration Canyon ride last night before I went to bed.  Because I barely managed to make it on time.

Weighing In & Preparing to Yurt...

Good news!! I’m down!! It is another week where I’m down 2 lbs. for the week. I’m feeling good about the whole process. In fact, this puts me now at the half way mark of what I wanted to lose. I have 16 more to go. It seems quite a bit more doable than the original formidable 32 lbs. that I had original set out to do at the beginning of the year. I’m averaging about 5 to 6 lbs. weight loss in a month. Slow and steady seems to be the key.


I know that when I really start in biking season in the next month or so; the weight will just come off me as long as I watch what I’m eating. The major problem in the past has been swinging by a fast food place on the way home after a bike ride.

I’ve lately been getting ready for a yurting expedition that I’ll be going on next week. For three days and two nights I’ll be “roughing it” at a local yurt. What's a yurt you may ask?  It's like a semi-permanent tent set up in the wilderness area.  This yurt is a four mile hike in with a backpack containing what is needed for the entire yurt experience.  The yurt is a total of 8 miles from any civilization.  It rather sounds like a wonderful form of R&R vacation to me.  I have a couple of friends that can't understand my wanting to do this.  Their idea of "roughing it" would be staying at a Motel 8 with no room service.

Photo: 2 years ago - Me cross country skiing in the same area near where the yurt is.  A BEAUTIFUL Area!

Sometimes, it’s just nice to get away from the constant hum of “civilization”. I guess you could say I’m strange that way. I often find myself thankful when the power goes out at my place. I welcome the quiet of it. I don’t think we are aware of the constant hum of electrical products going on around us. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for quite a few of those amazing and well performing products. But at the same time, I quite often like the peace and quiet that comes without all of those “things”. When I’m captured up in those quiet moments a thought comes to mind… “Are we really in charge or is it the necessity of these things that is really in charge?” Gee, maybe it’s too scary a thought to have me thinking through these philosophical thoughts?

Ground Hog Day Lessons?

This morning I was talking with a fellow co-worker and he mentioned that it felt like Ground Hog Day. I had to rather agree with him today; especially when I woke up to snow being on the ground. Today had that strange feeling of dejas vous about it and sometimes I tend to wonder if I might be locked up in the same day. Days seem to blend in together and I seem to be lost in time.

(Photo: Snow on the tree this morning outside my window.)

I almost believe that maybe I’m destined to live over and over the same day until I learn what ever I am supposed to learn. I’m just hoping that my learning curve kicks in sooner than later. Lately, it seems that I’ve been running into some strange problems during these Ground Hog Days.

I’ve played “Furniture Jenga” twice in the last week. Yep, they didn’t come to clean the carpets the first time! So I got to move my furniture twice. It all started when I called my apartment manager the day before to warn that there were two wet oil paintings hanging on the wall in the bedroom. I just told her that they needed to be careful around them. She passed the message on to the assistant manager since she was on vacation the next day. Well, it’s sort of like passing the word down the line…you know where the word starts as one thing and as it’s passed down from one person to another the word slowly gets changed. Thus, I guess the carpet cleaners were afraid to show. But yesterday, I finally got the issue worked out and now I have cleaned carpets. Can I say lesson #1 learned? Watch what you say because you never know how it may be taken.


Problem #2 has been occurring at work. I arranged for a shipment to be picked up last Thursday from a supplier. The freight company showed up to pick it up on Thursday but the supplier didn’t have it ready to be shipped. Friday the supplier was closed for some strange reason. The weekend, of course, everyone was closed. Then, the freight company was TOO busy to pick up the shipment on Monday. Finally, after calling everyone and their mother on Tuesday the shipment was picked up and is on its way. The whole time my boss was over my shoulder and wringing his hands. The lesson learned this time? Hmmm… Try to follow up more often on things to ensure results?


The third problem happened last night, while I was unaware and enjoying a local haunted house with friends. My yahoo email account was hacked into with a virus. OUCH! I’m currently emailing with Yahoo Email to get it straightened out. I apologize to all of you who may have received an email virus. A warning out to all of you that if you should happen to receive an email from me with nothing in the subject line, DO NOT OPEN IT! Lesson learned on this one? I’m SO glad I keep most of my pass words underneath my keyboard! :)


That’s all for problems though if any of you are good in with the weather gods I ask for you to put in a request for good weather for this Saturday’s Tricky Treat Bike Ride. Otherwise, I have all these prizes that I’ve put together that I won’t know what to do with. Darn it! I just may have to claim them all for myself. :)

Do You Ever Slow Down?

This questions was thrown at me on Monday night as we were walking from the restaurant to the opera. I took the night off from preparing for my Art Show that takes place this Saturday. But the question has been rather plaguing me since.

"Do you ever slow down?"

At the time I stopped cold in my tracks in the middle of State Street (a busy downtown street). The ladies I was with just cracked up at my reaction. I'm standing in the middle of a downtown street with my jaw hanging out, and a perplexed questioning look on my face. I quickly recovered with a laugh and continued on.

As we were chatting and catching up during dinner I had revealed over the meal all that I had been up to... training for a marathon, possibly training for a 70.3 triathlon, preparing for a solo art show, and volunteering, with my friend Diane, as a volunteer coordinator for the Little Red Riding Hood Ride (which has all ready filled up in a month's time with 3000 female riders). Then on top of this I'm working on a schedule with one of my dinner companions about leading bicycle rides up Emigration Canyon for the cycling season.

"Do you ever slow down?" The question has been haunting me. With my art show coming up, my whole world is in STRESS mode. I keep on thinking that I just might need a retreat or something. I remember a while back Diane mentioned on her blog about going on a retreat. At the time I checked out that retreat and got to thinking about the idea of it. But it was mainly just pipe dreaming. I looked at a couple of running retreats that looked interesting but then again would THAT really be considered a retreat? Hmmm....?

I would like to find something inexpensive and retreat-like. Maybe a "Day Spa"? Though, I don't really consider myself the pampering type. Earlier this month I had to forgo the yurting expedition because of getting ready for this show. Darn! Anyone have some suggestions out there?

The other issue that came up with this haunting question

"DO you ever slow down?"

Am I my own worst enemy? I am creating all of this stress for myself. It's all on me and no one else. It's like one of those "Aha!" moments. It's all true and it's all my fault... Now what am I going to do about it? The funny thing is that I always classified myself the type "B" personality but it seems that I woke up from a dream and discovered I'm really the "A" type personality. YIKES!! What happened? Was I deluding myself before? WOW! Talk about pipe dreaming! There must have been something real good in my pipe!

"Do you ever slow down?"

I think I need to ponder this....

A Foot Closer to New Zealand?!!?

I woke up this morning to discover that New Zealand is now a foot closer to Australia. WHAT?!? It was the first thing I heard on the talk radio station that I wake up to. Well, I had to check this out on-line, of course. Gee, it turns out that it’s true! On July 15th there was a 7.8 earthquake that took place in New Zealand and now part of its southern island is a foot closer to Australia. I’m not too sure if those New Zealand er’s like being a foot closer to those Aussies, but there’s still almost 1400 miles between them. So I imagine they’ll be okay. I hate to think of them being up in arms.

Wow, and here I thought the expression of “it’s a small world” was just a reference to technology making our world smaller. But what if, our world is getting smaller? Imagine it getting smaller and smaller very slowly over time. I know, I know this sounds like “Chicken Little” with the sky is falling; and I will admit to taking this train of thought a little too far and probably to the point of absurdity. BUT I will admit that I rather find this fun to do from time to time.

What if? Oh, those wonderful “what if’s”! But I continue to ponder what if all of this global warming is shrinking our planet. It’s kind of like that favorite cotton shirt that was left in the dryer too long. It shrank a little but it’s still wearable. I would prefer to think of our planet shrinking at this smaller, milder, and slower rate. Preferable to the idea of it going faster like those plastic shrinky dinks that I remember coloring and then putting in the oven as a kid. Hey! It’s the incredible shrinking planet!! It gives the movie "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" a whole new angle, don't you think?

But more than anything what amazes me is.... (You're gonna love this) Is that I didn't do a darn thing last night and this morning I woke up and I'm either a foot closer or a foot further from New Zealand. It's sort of like a different version of those ads where you earn money as you sleep. Only in this instance I woke up a foot closer to New Zealand! Hey, possibly more if you consider the earth is shrinking! Gee, am I playing with a full deck of cards? Yes, I know some of you may be wondering!!

Facebook Fashion?

Okay, okay. I've joined the ranks! After 5 invites and everyone saying they chatted on Facebook (and me feeling a little left out), I'm finally giving in. I am now on Facebook.

So I sign up and made all kinds of discoveries--- like friends I hadn't had contact in years, those friends that you didn't think were computer savvy( gee-maybe it was me?), and even my little brother. Gee, where have I been? I guess I was totally out in the wild blue yonder twiddling my thumbs!

I will admit that part of the reason that I held out from joining Facebook was due to the privacy issues. All the press about this has kind of made me put Facebook at arms length. But also I keep on thinking of all those people from my past that can now look me up. I hate to think of some fellow elementary student hitting me up for that $5 loan that I forgot about. I mean with the interest, and penalties and what not, I'm looking at some hefty pocket change, and I can't hide behind those black shades on this one. I know I'll have to cough up the dough.

Another one of my concerns is that I have a real tendency to "open mouth insert foot". I think I inherited this from my mom. (Sorry Mom!) Try as I might I still have those moments when my mouth engages before my brain has scanned the contents. Ooopps! A great deal of you can attest to me doing this, and know me well enough that you know it was not meant in harm. But with this new outlet, I can't help but get concerned that I may quickly type before I think or that people who do not know me may take it wrong.

It's kind of strange, though, all this contact through the cell phones, pda's, computers, email, text messaging, and etc. The list goes on as the technology progresses. I'm not sure if I like to be in this much contact with the world. I often feel like I'm on digital overload and that life is swirling out of control. I sometimes WANT to purposely be disconnected. In this day and age, it's getting harder and harder to be that way. I don't have a "land line"---my cell phone is my home phone. It just kind of made sense but sometimes it can be very inconvenient. I, sometimes, will just turn it off or leave the cell home on purpose. I mean what did we do before cell phones?

I find myself searching memories of a time before all of this electronic age stuff. I can remember a time when my dad was a night janitor for a place that had computer punch cards. I remember those cumbersome "brick" phones when cell phones first came out. And meanwhile, here I am sitting at my desk in a paisely print shirt that would have fit in well with the decade of disco. Why does it seem that fashion is going backwards of late? Retro is like the "IN" thing now. Why? Is it a response to all of this progress in technology? Or have we really done all we can with clothing and can't help but to revert back to the past? Well, in that stead I chose this picture of the t-shirt(above) as a fashion statement for this Facebook blog posting. I'm calling it the latest in Facebook Retro Fashion. What do you think?

Oh, and P.S. You can now check me out on Facebook...

A Day of Rest After a Day of Discoveries...

I know, I know traditionally Sunday is the day of rest. But believe me after a day of doing a Mini- Triathlon (or Sprint Triathlon), my whole body is SCREAMing for a day of rest! Do I dare say I'm dog gone tired?! So for all intent purposes my body is having a Sunday, while my brain is enjoying a Saturday. Yes yesterday I survived the Mini-Triathlon. Diane and I did 22 miles biking, 3 miles running/walking, and almost ½ mile swimming.(Diane did do ½ mile swimming, while I went kaput a lap too early.)

Yesterday was a day of discoveries and fun. But oh, how my body is feeling that fun today! OUCH! Yesterday started with me at Liberty Park preparing my bike and gear for the Tri. While I was checking for the 15th time that my car keys were in fact in my fanny pack (I have a fear of locking myself out of my car); a third person had come up to me and started talking away. Strange, three people in 20 min. When Diane pulled up, I asked her if I had a sign on my forehead that said, “I’m lonely. Please talk to me!”(Photo: Myself and Diane before we started the "Freedom Festival Tri" Check out the Downhour Family Chronicles blog for more pictures.)

Oh this day of discoveries and fun. Diane got to discover the gates and the bike path out at the Salt Lake Airport. We had fun shouting and yelling through the tunnels at the golf course section. While I amazingly discovered that I could still manage to run a 1-1/2 mile in 17 min. after biking 22 miles.

Then we both discovered why they don’t put the swim at the end of a Tri. Besides the fact that people can drown, and I was certainly drank more than my fair share of chlorinated water. We also discovered that your arms can feel like they have lead weights attached to them. I ended up using a paddle board for two of the laps, and felt like I was totally regressing when I passed a little girl in the next lane using her paddle board. A little 5 year old was putting me to shame! Another discovery that I made was that swimming goggles make me feel Closter-phobic. So no swimming goggles for me. Sorry eyes you’ll have to deal with it.

Diane and I ended up having lunch at Emigration Market. It was a nice little local grocery market that I had driven and biked by but never been in. They have a little café up front and then a cute little store in back. We explored the store after we had a light lunch of sandwiches with plenty of beverages. I shouldn't have but I bought bread pudding with caramel sauce. YUM! After that I proceeded home where I called Mum. Yes Mum, my “ticker” did not give out and I had managed to survive the Mini-Tri. Then I laid down for a well deserved short nap. Then as a “celebration” I went to a movie and dinner with my friend Laura. Oh, and just FYI--- My Sister’s Keeper is a good movie but is a REAL tear jerker.

Yes, it was a full day, and I had even planned more but my body was not cooperating at this point. I was going to bike over to Granite High school to watch the 4th of July fireworks display, but at the appointed time I found myself sitting in a chair on my balcony with my feet propped up. Ahh, I was too comfortable, and starting to get stiff. So I sat and watched what fireworks I could see over the trees.

Today I finally crawled (literally)out of bed at 9AM due to the call of nature. I staggered to the kitchen to make a pot of joe. And was stared down menacingly by a bag of garbage that needs to go down to the dumpster 3 floors down and across the parking lot. All I can think is OUCH! And sometimes I REALLY hate living on the third floor. Gee, maybe I can bribe one of the neighbor kids?! Or maybe I can drop it from my balcony and hope a Good Samaritan will take it the rest of the way? Nah, not how my luck runs. This might be an all day event... the "Garbage Tri" where I'll try to go down the three flights of stairs and across the whole expanse of parking lot. Meanwhile, I might be ambitious enough to swing by the mailbox that I forgot to stop by yesterday. We'll see... but in the meantime, let me wish you all a Happy Fourth of July!

A Lazy Rainy Saturday

One of my favorite things are lazy rainy Saturdays. Rain always seems to be cleansing, refreshing, and relaxing. It's like a Spa day for the soul. I find myself wanting to curl with a good book, and of course, a cup of coffee. And thus, this morning shortly after waking and hearing the light patter of rain, I started a strong pot of my favorite hazelnut creme coffee. As it brewed, I set up a chair and a stool on my covered balcony. I shrugged on a hooded sweatshirt and brought out a small blanket for warmth. Out on the balcony I went with a cup of Joe in one hand, and my latest read ("The Friday Night Knitting Club") in my other hand.

I camped out on the balcony, quietly reading as the sound of rain pattered on all around me. Periodically, cars would pull up below and I would watch people bolt for the doors. I always wonder why people run in the rain? Yes, you get wet. But it's not as though by running you are saving yourself from getting any less wet. There's also the possibility of getting even more wet if you slip and fall. It's not as though we are the "Wicked Witch of the West" and live in total fear that we are going to melt. Well, at least not most of us.

I always liked the rain for the most part. Though, it doesn't mesh well with my preference to be out cycling during this time of year. I have had to cancel a few rides this last two weeks due to all of the rain that we've had here. But rainy days have always held fond memories for me. I've had my days where I've donned my galoshes with raincoat, and played the BIG kid splashing my way through the puddles. I remember as a kid, we would jump into the car with Dad and scout out large puddles on the street. "There's one!" We would thrill as Dad would step on the gas and swerve through the puddle. We would shout with excitement and watch with animation as the spray would build higher and further out from the curb areas. Later as the rain died down we would go in search of night crawlers.

Here I find myself on my balcony, quietly reading as a symphony of light rain patters and birds chirp. AND what is it about rainy weather that always makes me crave a good bowl of hot soup? So for lunch I find myself making a cheddar potato soup with some diced tomatoes thrown in. Yum! It's like a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup in a bowl. Something else that I remember enjoying as a kid. Yummy!

The rain continues to patter on forming mini lakes, and small rivers. I think to myself I wish that this relaxing and quiet day would just go on and on. But I know the reality is that it can't which makes me treasure these quiet relaxing moments all that much more.

Mothers, Insurance, Tornados, and... the Wizard of Oz!

It's that time of year when we celebrate Mothers. What wonderful women who put up with us as kids. The kind and gentle souls that often fixed our scrapes, and kissed our boo-boos, then sent us holy terrors on our way to perform more damage. It's amazing that they put up with us as kids, and now a day each year we celebrate them doing all that they do. But I have to admit, as humans, we all have our quirks, foibles, eccentricities, and weaknesses. Mothers, the unconditionally loving souls, are no exceptions. And on this I find myself commenting about my mom...

About a week back I received an email from my Mom....

"... we had a tornado warning out in CR this evening. But it all went north of us in to Wisconsin. The wind is really howling now! Don't worry I have insurance. Love, Mom..." Yes, it's tornado season in Iowa, and throughout much of the Plains.

MOM?!!??!!! Well, of course, I quickly sent her off an email back stating that insurance does not replace her, so thus I WILL worry.

But the more I thought about the email I had visions going through my mind. Visions of the charcoal gray shingled slab house that I grew up in spinning through the air. Spinning and spinning through the air. Of course, totally intact, it lands in the land Wizard of Oz.

My mom steps out on to the porch with her dyed strawberry-blond spiked hair in a Dorothy like outfit. She has the white short sleeve shirt on, topped with the blue gingham print jumper dress. Only she's wearing bright red high-top Keds with red & white striped shoe laces. A much more practical choice than ruby slippers she would explain. (Yes, this is where I got my "good head on my shoulder's" from.)

She's carrying a picnic basket which would of course, contain a wonderful casserole dish that you just have to heat up, and a chocolaty caked dessert with no nuts. You see, you have to keep an eye out for those individuals that have nut allergies--- just to be nice to those poor souls that can't enjoy them.

Instead of a little black dog named "Toto", there's a little mostly black cat called "Buddy". Buddy is wearing a bright rubied collar with a red leash. Yes, Buddy is leash trained. You see, my mom's cat has been treated like a dog since she first got him. She was bound determined to make this cat a "car cat", and go with her on car rides like a dog would. For any of you that are aware, cats naturally have motion sickness issues. But DARN it, mom was going to turn Buddy into a "car cat". And that was that! (Yes, this is where I get my slightly stubborn attitude.) (Photo: Buddy the Lucky Cat!)

Well, she did it! Buddy now often goes with her on trips to the store, or on car trips to northwestern Iowa to see relatives. He rides willingly in her lap, or in sunny back window area. I tell you this cat has it made. Car rides, toys galore, and even his own personal window bench to look out the front window to check on the "goings on" in the neighborhood.

Mothers! Are they not just amazing?! I love her but there are things that I really have to shake my head at. These are those things that make her all that more endearing, and lovable to me. But she's one of the few people I know that will buy a car based solely on a well working radio. I remember a variety of used cars with interesting issues that we went through. We named them interesting names like "White Stallion", and "Ghetto Cruiser". As a single mother with two kids, she couldn't afford much for a car. BUT hey, the radio always did work!

Mom, I love you! And Happy Mother's Day to you and to all of you that are Mother's out there too. No matter what you quirks, foibles, eccentricities, and weaknesses, we love you. Because you've managed all of these years to put up with our quirks, foibles, eccentricities, weakness, and our general naughtiness too. Thanks, mom!

Happy May Day!!

This is not the “May Day! May Day! “of distress calls. This is the May Day of my childhood. The first day of May! The day that often felt like the first REAL day of Spring to me in Iowa when I was growing up. The first of the flowers were blooming and it was warm enough to go outside with just a sweater or a light jacket on; if needed.

One of the most popularly known May Day traditions is to hang a basket full of spring flowers and/or other small gifts on a neighbor's doorknob or porch. The trick is you don't want the neighbor to see you! If you get caught, you are supposed to get a kiss. (Yuck!) We often would fill these homemade paper baskets with popcorn, jelly beans, and chocolate kisses. We had a great deal of fun, sneaking up to the neighbor’s porch, carefully placing the basket, knocking on the door (or ringing the doorbell), then RUN! FOREST, RUN! Very rarely did we get caught. Most often, we rather prided ourselves on having the neighbor never figuring out who it was that left the basket on their porch. We would hide in the bushes and wait. (Above Photo: "Maypole Singers" an oil painting I did based on singers in a May Day Festival in Amana Colonies in Iowa.)

When I first moved to Utah, I tried this May Day basket thing. But it just left my neighbors perplexed. They had never heard of this May Day tradition, and rather acted like I was a creature from another planet. (Which I have to admit, sometimes, I feel like that in Utah.) It wasn’t until years later that I had a neighbor move in across the street, who was originally from Michigan, that I was able to start up the tradition again for awhile. She understood the tradition, and she often would have each one of her young sons deliver and dash baskets to my front porch. It was all sorts of merriment that I would run after them and warn them that I was going to catch them. But quite often, we would be laughing so hard that we would be rolling in the grass across their front yard.

Another popular activity on May Day is to decorate a pole with brightly colored ribbon or paper streamers. Some also add flowers and balloons. The pole is usually carried in a parade and then placed in the ground at a designated area. People then dance around the May pole, holding the ends of the streamers or ribbon in their hands. The Maypole Dance as it’s called. One year when I was back in Iowa visiting my Mom, we went down to the Amana Colonies and attended their May Day festivities. One of which was a Maypole Dance. The girls doing the dance were dressed in dresses with aprons and their hair is swept up in buns. I did some paintings based on photos of this a few years back. (Above Photo: "Maypole Dancers" an oil painting I did based on Maypole Dancers at a May Day Festival in Amana Colonies in Iowa.)

It’s interesting all the different cultural celebrations there are for the same day. I recently surfed the Internet; I discovered all kinds of ways that people celebrate May Day. In London, May Day is celebrated with the children going from house to house. They bring flowers and get pennies in return. The pennies are then thrown into a wishing well. The pennies are then donated to charity. Gee, and I remember picking flowers and trying to sell them to the neighbors as a kid, but I usually kept the money. Am I bad?

In France, cows play an important role in May Day. The cows are led in parades with many flowers attached to their tails. The people watching the parade try to touch the cows; it is believed to be good luck. Cows are good luck? So what about cow tipping? Does that undo the luck? In Germany, one tradition is for boys to secretly plant a May tree in front of the window of the girl they love. Interesting … So is this an early form of courtship? And what is the parent’s reaction when a boy is digging a hole in their front yard? I wonder.

The people in Hawaii celebrate their own version of May Day; they call it Lei Day. People give Hawaiian leis to each other. They put them around each other's necks and sometimes give a traditional kiss. Gee, and I thought this happened all of the time in Hawaii. At least according to all of the tourist brochures I see, it does. They are such a friendly lot!

But anway, Happy May Day to you! Which ever way you may, or may not, celebrate it!

Spring Cleaning.....

Less is More?

I like the concept. Less is more which actually provides me more space by having less "things". "Things!" I would like to help ensure that the "things" don't own me, or keep me in a rut where I need to spend time maintaining "things" or trying to earn the almighty buck to acquire "things". "Things, and things, and more things." It can be a vicious cycle but I would rather be out doing "things". Sorry, I couldn't resist the final temptation of how many ways the word "things" can be used. Hopefully, I've endeared one English teacher out there? Nah, probably not!

Yes, it's that time of year when I find myself going through the closets and evaluating what to keep, and what to get rid of. And with the rainy weather we've been having it seems the perfect thing to do. I just wish our emotional lives were this easy to clean up sometimes. Living in a one room bedroom apartment I find this yearly chore a necessity. The rule of thumb that I try to stick with is... "if I haven't used it in a year it goes!" Well, I should say I start with that rule, and eventually, I arrive at a piles of doubt and maybes, and those ever terrifying piles of "what if I may need it?"

Well, the obvious one for the "definitely get rid of" pile were all the VHS tapes. The VCR died a slow and tape eating death at the hands of movie "Dogma" which in a way I saw as fitting, I guess. It was a lot cleaner than dieing at the hands of a peanut butter sandwich, which happened to a friend awhile back --- I really think he was looking for an excuse for his wife to buy a DVD/DVR, and tend to wonder if he bribed one of the kids to do it. So here I am with a good pile of VHS tapes, a good start!

Then I look at the empty shelf areas around the TV. Hey, I can move books to here! It's amazing how one thing leads to another. So, I decided to move books and while I'm moving my books I decide to go through them. After all, I am Spring cleaning! There's the rule of thumb--"if I haven't used it in a year" and I decide to but a bit of a spin on it. If I haven't loaned the book out in a year, or re-read it in a year, I figured that I would put it in the "maybe" pile and then if I had room on the shelves I would save a few more. That would work.

Wow! Before I know it I've almost managed to empty all the books off the leaning dollar special of a bookcase in my bedroom. I think to myself, I could get rid of that shelf and have more space in my bedroom floor plan! Okay, I take jewelry and other nick-knacks and move them to other places in my apartment. Yes, I did it! I empty off the entire bookcase! Yahoo! (Gee, I really need to get a life!) But now I have an extra 1' x 3' space in my bedroom. A little more room so hopefully now I won't stub my toe in the dark on the way to the restroom in the middle of the night. A MAJOR accomplishment--- who said sarcasm is dead?

Then, next to the now empty bookcase is the closet. I'm a bit of a clothes horse, some of you may call this an understatement. But , this is where the challenge is for me. So, first off are all the winter clothes that I will eventually need to put up and away on my top shelf in the closet. Okay, did I wear it this last winter? If no, then into the pile. Then as I'm bringing down the summer clothes I look at them, and decide if they were just too trendy to try again for this year. Sometimes, I buy thrift items that are of a spur of the moment that I wear once and Ugh! What WAS I ever thinking?! Those items go into the "definitely get rid of " pile.

Shoes are next. Most of them I purchase at the thrift store I will admit. I'm cheap when it comes to footwear. I just never got into the status and style of expensive and trendy footwear. I guess I just don't like the idea of people staring at my feet. Sorry I think that the foot IS the ugliest part of the human body, and WHY would you want someone to stare at them? Okay, so I'm going to finally get rid of the brown pair of high heels that I've glued the heel back on at least 10 times in the last year. I'm also getting rid of the two pairs of summer sandals that are just collecting dust. Yes, they were on sale for REAL cheap but I discovered that I hate having a cord between my toes to keep a shoe on. SILLY, I know! I also managed to get rid of two pairs where the soles are about falling off. It's funny but I find a comfortable pair of shoes and I just don't want to let them go.

Next, is the hall closet. This has turned into a collective of the scary B movie victims of miscellaneous items that I'm not sure what to do with and have been cluttered together in hiding here in the hall closet. Now comes the day of reckoning! Oh my! What will it be? If these items had feeling I'm sure they would be shivering in their shoes. Some of the items are easy, and are even off to the garbage can. Old finger nail polish, lip sticks that I bought and for some reason only used twice, and other makeup products that you are supposed to throw out if older than a year. Others like tools and plastic cake holder covers, I struggle with.... Oh, these are the 'what if I need them" items. That bring my Spring cleaning to a slow staggering stop!

Boy, that pile is getting awfully large, and I think I'm going to be making at least a few runs to the D.I. (Dessert Industries--the Utah LDS version of the Salvation Army) with the station wagon, minus my bicycle that's usually riding in the back. Why would I want to continue on? Besides, I've spent enough time on this "Spring cleaning". So thus, I talk myself out of continuing on with the whole project, and only half of the hall closet gets processed through.

And that's how you do "Spring cleaning".... ;-)