One day

A little library, growing larger every year, is an honourable part of a man's history. It is a man's duty to have books. A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessaries of life.

Henry Ward Beecher

Once a Duck. Always a Duck.

I spent the weekend in Oregon for my brother's PhD. graduation from the University of Oregon.

Here are some highlights from the trip:

Hogwarts professor or PhD graduate?

Visiting with Kaydi Rae.

Portland Rose Garden.

Blue Lake Regional Park.

Relief

I turned in my resignation letter this morning and my last day working for the state will be August 27th. I'll soon be a private support coordinator doing the same job I currently do, but working from home. In my free time, maybe I'll write a book. Learn to cook. Improve my musical abilities.

Life is good.

Shoot!

What did I do over the weekend? I'll show you.

Woodland creatures courtesy of photoshop.

*No animals were harmed during this shooting extravaganza. I cannot say the same for the watermelon, cantaloupe, or lettuce.

I'll Wait for You

My friends and I were leaving a fireside and noticed two guys looking at us. We got in the car and that's when things got interesting. One of the guys came to my window and handed me the following note:

(I have crossed out last names and phone numbers to protect the young, but not-so-innocent guys. If you would like their numbers to ask them out or last names so you can add them as a friend on facebook, let me know).

We responded with the following message and their response is also included:

Ah, the innocence of youth. At this point a guy on a motorcycle pulled up and asked what was going on and then drove off. Our response was "Good luck. Unfortunately, we are a little older than you." Our car was separated from the guys and we again saw the guy on the motorcycle. The driver of our car rolled down the window and let motorcycle guy know she did not appreciate him cheating on her with someone else. And no, I was not the driver.

I do hope Stephen has a great mission and may Sam find love.

Rise and Shout

My friend Kristen and her husband Rob bought a house 8 months ago and vowed in this post to paint over a blue Y on the basketball court. I visited their home yesterday for Kristen's baby shower and this is what I found in the backyard.

Go Cougars!

VIP

I love summer. I love concerts. I love summer concerts at Red Butte Gardens. I saw Chicago last night and Indigo Girls in July. My friend's employers gave us VIP tickets which meant we sat on chairs provided by Red Butte and had access to an unlimited supply of bottled water.

We don't live in a vacuum

I was sitting in on a therapy session for a client and the therapist said something that resonates with me. "When life gets tough we push away the people closest to us."

Guilty.

Stop! I'm tired

Rugby tournament. 100 degrees. Black shorts. Black shirt. Running. Tackling. Exhaustion. Dehydration.

One rugby player loudly exclaimed "Stop. Stop. I'm tired." Everyone, including the player, started laughing and yet, you could tell there was some truth to his statement.

There are times in my life when I also want to yell "Stop! I'm tired." Those are usually the times I pack up and head to Idaho for some much need rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation. You see, I'm not one of those people who receive energy and strength from spending time with others. I need some alone time. Scratch that. I crave alone time. And I guess the important thing is that I recognize when I've stretched myself too thin and need to take a step back. It can be easy to simply go along with life without much thought as to where I'm going and then one or a dozen things happen that cause me to realize that life is both precious and great. People care and want to help.

Life. Running. Ruminating. Tackling. Exhaustion. Joy.

Pesto Mayo

My friend Lisa and I met at Mimi's Cafe for lunch today. The server was bringing the food to the table and I heard her say she dropped the cup filled with pesto mayo. I looked down and didn't see mayo on the floor, but I did see it on my shirt. The server apologized and I laughed while cleaning the mayo from my shirt. The ladies at the table next to me offered assistance and Lisa was kind enough to help clean the mess I couldn't reach. The manager offered me a free meal and I gladly accepted. In the rush of trying to clean my shirt, I forgot to take a picture. This is not my first encounter with Mimi's so I think I'll wear a poncho over my clothes the next time I eat at Mimi's or maybe I should stop ordering the condiments on the side.

Countdown to September 5th

On September 5, 2009, I will be here cheering for BYU. I may not be a Dallas Cowboys fan, but I am definitely taking the $15 tour of the stadium.

Another Break

My brother in law Travis was 4 wheeling with friends at the Sand Dunes in St. Anthony, Idaho when he flew over a hill and crashed. After a bumpy ride on a sand buggy followed by an ambulance, Travis found himself admitted to the hospital where he learned he broke his left forearm and his right shoulder. He was in surgery for six hours and has pins in his arm and a metal plate, screws, and pins in his shoulder. He has a long road ahead of him but the doctors are saying he will have a full recovery.
On the bright side, his daughter Avry is no longer the only one in the family with a broken arm.

Broken

My niece Avry fell Monday night and fractured her elbow. She will have a soft cast until the swelling goes down and then will have a hard cast. As the Dr. was applying the soft cast Avry said "Stop! I changed my mind. I don't want to do this anymore."

Spotted on 33rd S...

A man riding a motorcycle with a blow up doll behind him. For a moment I thought I was dreaming or I was in the movie Lars and the Real Girl. Sadly, no pictures were taken to document the moment for I was too shocked to get my camera out before 'they' drove by.

Love Story

I need this sheet music. Anyone play the cello?

I can do hard things

5 weeks down, the rest of my life to go.

Wild Things are Coming

A day in the life of Shellinskaya

Once upon a time there was a girl named Shellinskaya who liked to sit and read by her pool. She read all sorts of books: books about love, books about vengeance, and books about how to win friends and influence people. One day, as Shellinskaya was sitting in her favorite spot by the pool, the sun beating down on her intent figure…

A handsome young brute happened by and said "My...what a nice figure." He said this to himself because, well, thinking aloud is generally frowned upon. The strange thing about the brute is that he was lost. He had been busy fighting dragons and slaying filthy rich rastards from the Netherlands when suddenly, *POOF!* he happened upon the fair Shellinskaya at the pool. It seems he'd entered some kind of time continuuuum vacuuuum wormhole and nobody has ever understood those so just go with it.
He greeted Shellinskaya with a "Holla back now!" Shellinskaya battered her eyes. Actually, she battered her fries and batted her eyes. Yes, that's it. Her eyes. "What up, G?" The Brute, thus addressed, firmly replied, "Wiggidy wack. Love." His name was Peter. Oddly, the main character in our heroine's book was named....Petro.

"Do I know you?" Shellinskaya asked wondering where the brute came from and why he was talking to her. Peter explained that he was a secret agent for the Russian government and was fighting dragons from the Netherlands. The last word Shellinskaya heard Peter say was Russian. You see, Shellinskaya loved Russian novels and dreamt of visiting the motherland one day.

The odd thing about Shellinskaya is that although she had a Russian name and loved Russian literature, she was actually a very small and shrewd African-American who has been denied all the luxuries of life--thus we enter into a B-movie with little to no plot line but some very good dancing...

Peter and Shellinskaya continued their strange conversation, which only continued to get stranger as Shellinskaya confused Peter with Petro, the character in her book (Petro, as we all know, means Peter in Icelandic). Peter explained, as people often do in these sorts of stories, that his greeting to Shellinskaya was actually a secret code...that she failed with flying colors.

The even odder thing about this odd pair is that they had managed to enter the time vacuum device together and now found themselves on a beach in Madagascar. You know, spider monkeys and such. Well, thankfully S-Dawg was a small shrew--er, shrewd--Africanish woman, so she knew all about spider monkeys. But did she know about mad, rabid, evil-terrorist-plot spider monkeys? A good question. That's where our story gets interesting. Spider monkeys are known for their anti-Russian-African-Scandinavian-American tendencies, and this one was no different. As soon as he spotted the twitterpated couple he began plotting against them. The goal? To kill their love, their puppy, and their very souls. In that order. Or maybe love and souls are synonymous. Semantics. (Narrator interjection: If you'll recall, semantic is different than semitic. So if you hear a band called Anti-Semantic, don't alert the ACLU. Can't we all just get along?)

So anyway, the evil arachna-monkey anxiously awaited his opportunity to destroy our main characters. And he waited with a switchblade...

I not

I not going to smile for pictures.

Happy Spring