Wide Open Spaces

Wide Open Spaces

I made it to my storage shed today.  Everything looks like it made it.  :-)  As I left to head home, I noticed the mountains above.  It reminded me of this Dixie Chicks song that I've always loved.  And it made me happy that I'm living in such a beautiful place.

Across the valley, you can see Mt. Timpanogos on the left and then to the right of that is Y Mountain (and BYU).  I have many memories of driving up to Salt Lake as a kid in our big blue suburban with kids piled everywhere.  We would excitedly look for the "Y" on the mountain (not so easy to see the white "Y" when the mountain was covered in snow!) and then "Timp" always reminds me of the legend that says Timp's peaks hold the outline of a sleeping Indian princess.

Then, if you look south, you can see Utah Lake.  I love that a thunderstorm seems poised to sweep through the south end of Utah Lake in this photo.

The view to the South...

To the North, I can Point of the Mountain (which is steadily being chopped away by the companies mining sand and gravel from it) and the Adobe building in Lehi.  Wide open spaces, indeed...

Point of the Mountain is to the left...

The movers did a good job with the storage unit.  This is what it looked like when I opened it up:

Can't hardly wait to unpack this...NOT!

The main reason for going there was to get my passport, which I need for my first day of work tomorrow.  I opened up one box and didn't see it.  Then I realized that I was in trouble--because I really need my passport to verify my employment eligibility and I didn't want to spend all day hunting through boxes!

I said a quick but sincere prayer.  Then I opened another box:

Eureka!

Or perhaps more appropriately, Hallelujah!  It was literally an answer to prayer!  And I was so grateful.

I am so excited to be here that I couldn't stop myself.  I'm staying with my sister and her husband for a little bit and I couldn't help but notice a couple of items that needed a quick fix.  Luckily, I had my toolbag and set about trying to make myself useful.  Here's a partial list of some of my projects today:

• Fixed the shower knob (this was total self-interest...It was working, which forced me to have a cold shower last night.  I didn't want to have another one tomorrow!)
• Fixed the toilet paper holder in the master bathroom
• Fixed a slow draining sink in the guest bathroom (out of respect for my sister, I am NOT posting pics of the clog)
• Fixed the towel rack in the guest bathroom (it was pulling out of the wall because the builder hadn't used drywall anchors or drywall screws)

That was all before dinner.  Dinner was at one of my sister's houses (J.--I have 5 sisters!).  She put on quite the spread!

We finished off the evening by going to visit 3 more of my sisters...it totally felt like a family reunion!

Three of my cute sisters

New city...new job...lots of stuff to do...but I feel like I'm off to a good start.  I've traded the beach for the mountains, but I'm loving the wide open spaces!  :-)

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Yesterday was one of those days.  A series of unfortunate events combined against me, only this was no Lemony Snicket novel...it was real life.

First, we got socked with a heat wave that pushed temps to the mid-80s.  It was so hot, that I decided to push my training run to the night so as to escape the heat of the day.

Second, I had a big work project that kept me chained to my laptop through the heat of the day.  At least I was inside where it was cooler, but I couldn't take my kids to the beach or do something fun.  I am pretty busy during the week, so I try hard to keep my weekends free to do family stuff with the kids.  Yesterday would have been ideal to hit the beach, but my project made it impossible.

Third, our good friends (Royal and Nicole) are moving to Arizona and their farewell party was yesterday afternoon/evening.  The party was fun and the food was fantastic.  Nicole is pretty much a gourmet baker of desserts and her talents were on full display.  I consciously had to hold back for fear that my workouts would never be able to keep up with the calories I was consuming.  I'm happy for Royal's great new job, but selfishly I'm going to miss both of them. A lot.  Royal has been a great race partner and Nicole has always been super nice to me.

During the party, I handed my iPhone to Baby M. to keep him occupied.  Big mistake.  Baby M. decided to channel Cy Young and threw my iPhone down onto the concrete.  My iPhone responded by giving me the "Dreaded Green Screen of Death."  Hence no pics of Royal and Nicole's party.  The phone is barely functional.  Worse, I hate breaking things and losing things, so breaking my phone at the party that was already making me sad did nothing for my mood.

My brother came up after the party and we were supposed to do our run together, but that didn't happen.  I was consumed with trying to get my iPhone fixed and I found a kiosk at the mall that claimed to be able to fix it.  I jumped into my car to drive to the mall only to find that the battery was dead.  Kaput.  I got the car jumped just as my brother arrived.  The car turned on [barely] just as he pulled up and made a horrendous sound.  My brother diagnosed the problem for me...my engine was blown.  Those were unfortunate event numbers five (dead battery) and six (blown engine).

It doesn't look that old does it?

At this point I was too despondent to deal with R.'s complaint that his Kindle wasn't working.  I told him to charge it overnight and we'd check it in the morning.  I think at this point I was afraid of anything else that I owned falling to pieces!

My brother was kind enough to drive to the mall.  I figure that my day had finally hit rock bottom with the realization that my car (which has nearly 245,000 miles on it) was going to be towed out of my driveway and I'd never see it again.  I can tell you that I had plenty of other things in my budget to spend money on.  My car is 8.5 years old and nearly a quarter of a million miles on it, but I was in no hurry to replace it.  When you have kids, it seems like there are always things that they need more than I need a new car.  In addition, I really don't have an ego about my car.  It works great and doesn't cost me a lot to get around.  I'm good with that.

We got to the mall and the kiosk guy "fixed" my iPhone.  The battery on my phone was dead, so I had to charge it before I could start using it again, so I went to the Verizon store to charge it.  I got the phone charged and guess what...still broken.  :-/

At this point, I had the Verizon guy check the account and turns out I had free replacement coverage on the phone through my job.  After what seemed like an eternity, I left the store without a phone (bummer), but with the promise that my brand new iPhone is being shipped directly to my office for Tuesday (yay!).

Then we got home.  It was late and my brother and I were both tired. I grabbed my keys and walked over for one last look at my poor car.  I distinctly remember saying to my brother as we walked over to it: "It's too bad you can't give a car a priesthood blessing."  His reply: "Yeah, but that would be like trying to heal a 100-year-old man.  It's had a good life."

Yes, it has, but I started it up anyway.  To my surprise, the car started and worked!  I got back in it today and was able to drive it to church. It was "good as new"--as if nothing had ever happened.  I really and truly do believe that it's a miracle.  I wish that I could say that it's because I was living right or that I somehow "deserved" divine intervention.  But I don't think that's the case.  I do think that it was an example of Heavenly Father being merciful though.  And for that I'm grateful.

La Ferrari -- My next car?  ;-)

It has got me thinking that I should be prepared to replace my car at some point.  It is probably unrealistic of me to think that I can get it to drive a million miles--or even another 250,000.  Anyone have any good ideas?  :-)

So in the end, it all worked out.  I was so relieved that I was able to replace my iPhone for free and that I wouldn't have to spend thousands of dollars on a new car, that it overshadowed the series of unfortunate events that had befallen me earlier in the day.  So much so that I was almost tempted to name this post after another book--Shakespeare's "All's Well That Ends Well."

PS--I also fixed R.'s Kindle today too!  What can I say, I was on a roll!  :-)

Conclave

White smoke pours from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel

The eyes of the world were on the Sistine Chapel this week as Catholic cardinals gathered from around the world to elect a new pope.  Personally, I was shocked by the non-stop media coverage of the Vatican firefighters erecting a new chimney and then endless media shots of that chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel.

While I didn't care who was elected pope, I have to admit the conclave process fascinated me.  The word "conclave" derives from two Latin words "con" (or with) and "clave" (or key).  "Con clave" literally means "with key" (yes, I admit that I learned that after reading Angels and Demons) and describes the process by which the cardinals are locked in the Sistine Chapel until they can come to an agreement on who the next pope should be.  No one gets in or out to disrupt the process.

Black Smoke

Historically, the cardinals were even denied meals if it took them too long to reach a decision.  Along the way, they literally send up smoke signals to update us on their progress.  They burn the papal ballots after each vote.  Black smoke means no decision.  White smoke means its over.  I'm still not quite sure how they manage to make that happen.

Apparently, even the Vatican hasn't foolproofed the process.  In 2005, when Pope Benedict was elected, someone apparently goofed and sent out gray smoke.  Oops!  No one knew quite what to do.

So conclave ended today, after only two days.  The historic tradition seems to have worked and Catholics all over the world are elated.

Statuary Hall in Washington D.C.

Since conclave worked so well for the Vatican, I'm wondering if we should maybe introduce the concept to our own country.  Its been five years since Congress and the President have been able to actually agree on a budget.  How long do you think they'd be able to hold out if imposed our own "federal conclave" and locked them in Statuary Hall until they were able to reach an agreement?

My So Called Life....

Despite my spate of recent posts, I am sometimes reluctant to blog because I'm not sure that I have anything that is particularly "blog-worthy."  When I read other people's blogs sometimes, it can be overwhelming when to see how funny, entertaining, and/or talented the bloggers are or how exciting their lives may be.

I think sometimes, however, we can be blinded by how mundane our routine tasks can be that we don't realize that we can still be uncommon despite the fact that we are performing common, routine tasks.

In addition, given that it's November, I've been thinking a little bit about gratitude.  So with that in mind, here are five mundane, common place things from "My So-Called Life" that I've been up to in the past week and that I'm grateful for:

#5 - Went To Church

We were recently released from our service in the Spanish Ward after several years.  Truth be told, I miss it.  Not necessarily the calling I had, but I miss the people.  Now that we are back in our "home" ward, I feel like I don't know a soul and I'm starting over.  It is very surreal.

Still, I'm grateful for the opportunity to go to church and for our friends  and neighbors who have been anxious to get us back (at least that's what they tell us!).  ;-)

#4 - Did Stuff With My Kids

I've been frantically working with R. trying to finish up the requirements for his Webelos Arrow of Light.  Poor S. keeps asking me when we are going to work on his Cub Scout stuff!  I told him that we still have months to his birthday so we're good.  R. has only another few days to finish up his last two requirements!  We are in triage mode here people!

As soon as R. finishes those requirements, we can spend lots of time teaching S. how to do really important Cub Scout stuff like a front somersault and how to properly tie his neckerchief!

I've also been spending some quality time with M.  We have a standing date pretty much every night.  Here's how it works.  He starts crying.  I go get him and feed him his bottle.  Then I change his diaper so it doesn't explode in the middle of the night.  M. cries because he hates his diaper getting changed.  However, once it's done he calms down and I put him back in his crib.  He goes to sleep. I pass out, but I am grateful for my kids.  They really are a true blessing.

#3 - Laundry

Is there anything more glamorous than doing laundry?  It reminds me of that quote from Christmas Vacation where Chevy Chase ("Clark Griswold") gets his Christmas bonus--a membership to the "Jelly-of-the-Month" Club.  To say that Chevy Chase was disappointed would be an understatement.  As Chevy prepares to go ballistic,  Randy Quaid ("Uncle Eddie") leans over and tells Chevy Chase: "Aww Clark, that's the gift that keeps on giving the whole year round!"

Laundry is kinda like the gift that keeps on giving the whole year round.  Just as soon as you finish one load, there are more dirty clothes!  I got all my laundry done yesterday, including folding it and putting it away.  I know, I know, it's a miracle!

Exhausting and unending as it may be, I'm grateful for a nice washer and dryer that make the laundry process as painless as possible.

#2 - Worked Out

I went running at least once this week!  It wasn't very far, but I kept up a decent pace and I wasn't too sore the next day!  Ever since the Pumpkinman, my race calendar for the year is pretty much done, so it's been tough to go motivated to go running--especially late at night when I usually have time to do it.  If I don't keep up though, I am going to look (and feel) like Homer Simpson at my next race!

Still, I am grateful for a body that allows me to do fun things like triathlons, races, play basketball with my brother (we played together in the championship game tonight and S. had 6 three-pointers, including 4 in the first half!), and keep up with my kids--even though I'm getting old and slow with every passing minute!

#1 - Got a Haircut

My haircut wasn't quite this short!  ;-)

Yes, this is incredibly mundane, but it can be a bit stressful.  I've never been able to quite find a barber/salon that I like in the city where I live, so I often find myself driving for what seems like hours to get a haircut at the salon in the town where we used to live.

Sadly, I feel like I've had some bad haircuts and it's not that fun.  I have blogging friends who have tried Groupons for haircuts and had bad experiences.  Mine weren't that bad, but I always worry that that's going to be the worst case scenario.

Frankly, I'm not sure what's harder...trying to find a decent salon or actually getting a haircut that J. thinks looks good.  The last time I got a haircut, she didn't even think that I'd gotten one!  Apparently, this one didn't make the grade either.  ;-)  Oh well, everyone's a critic!

I guess I'm just grateful that I still have enough hair to need a haircut at my age.  I can't say that for all of my friends or high school buddies!

My haircut

What mundane things are you grateful for?