Livin' It

14 April 2014

Moon Shadow

There is something to say for the night sky when you live in the middle of nowhere. The milky way is visible every clear night. The constellations are easier to pick out. The shooting stars are somehow brighter and last longer. But I think that the greatest thing about the night sky in the middle of nowhere is the moon.

As the moon rises each night, it peaks between different monuments, almost as though it may be tired of making the same journey across the night sky.

Tonight the moon is so full and so bright that the monuments are darkly silhouetted against the moonlit night sky. Tonight the moon is so bright, I can read my watch without hitting the indiglo button. Tonight the moon is so bright that there is an ethereal calm which has settled into this secluded little corner of the world. The moon owns this night, with all of its splendor. Tonight there will be a lunar eclipse, called a blood moon, and I'm debating between sleep and nature. I hope nature wins.

Tonight is a night for recalling memories under the moon, with and without ambient city lights. Tonight I remember pausing during many a soccer game at Carson High School to watch the big, orange moon rise over the mountains. Tonight I recall moonlit conversations with many a friend and family member. Tonight I am in awe of the power light has to overcome darkness.

I can't help but be happy under the moon in the sky tonight.

26 February 2014

Expeditions

It has been a treat to explore South Eastern Utah. There are many things that I have enjoyed doing, but I decided to only post three pictures because when you live in the middle of nowhere, the internet is s l o w uploading your pictures.

This is in a slot canyon not far from where I live. It's called cork screw, with good reason.

This is an Anasazi ruin, once again, not far from where I live.

And here we have Teardrop Arch, which looks down on where I live. If you look closely you can see Monument Valley in the background. Oh, and there's also a handsome six year old with me. He is my adventurous neighbor who often gives me valentines and dating advice.

I've also gone on a jeep trail which led to another ruin which is more complete and still has pictographs on the walls, but I can't wait for any more pictures to load tonight.

My door is always open to visitors, in case this looks intriguing to the few people who read my blog. This is for you C & D. ( :

07 February 2014

The Truth

This week I had an interesting conversation with one of my five year old neighbors:

Me-You're funny
Neighbor-You're funny
Me-You're awesome
Neighbor-You're awesome
Me-You're pretty
Neighbor-You're awesome

Don't worry, it wasn't like this happened in the middle of lunch with all of my co-workers listening.

29 January 2014

I'm Still Here

I know, I know, it's about time I dust off my little book of passwords and log in to this blog thing again.

It has been a while. A lot has happened. I want to play catch up. Catch up never works. But I always try.

Maybe not this time.

I live in the desert; the red rock, red sand, red dust desert.

I love living in the desert, especially during winter.

The sunrise over the monuments each morning is new and different and breath-taking every time.

The sunset over the mesas is pink and beautiful and peaceful.

Everything that happens in between those two events is complicated and busy and demanding.

But I get to live here. I get to.

I get to experience moments like the the dawn and dusk of every day, in the desert. And for now, that's enough.

08 May 2012

Buggin' me

My mom went to England on her mission and consumed over-cooked, over-buttered brussel sprouts for a portion of that mission. I don't know if my grandparents also fed her sprouts, but she NEVER had those on our dinner table growing up, probably because they also cost a lot. The first time I ever had brussel sprouts was as a twenty-one year old missionary.

My dad came to visit me a month ago and I fed him brussel sprouts, which I don't think he has had since he has been married to my mom. He liked them!

A few weeks ago I purchased some fresh brussel sprouts from a local grocery store.

I kind of love brussel sprouts.

I was excited to have some fresh sprouts with my dinner that night. I rinsed them off and steamed with a little bit of salt and pepper. Mmm. So good.

As I was in the middle of eating a lion's share of sprouts, I pulled back the leaf of one of them and noticed that there was a small steamed insect in that leaf. Ew. I pulled the leaf and insect off, then just about popped the rest of the sprout into my mouth, when I hesitated and pulled back another leaf to reveal five more steamed bugs. Yummy. I kept pulling leaves back and kept finding more bugs. I shuddered at the thought of the other sprouts I had already ingested and was able, with some effort, to keep them down. I threw the rest of the sprouts, bugs and all, into the trash. Sad day. I think I may have problems eating sprouts in the near future.

06 November 2011

End of Summer

The end of Summer found me back in Carson, trying to smash in as much hiking/fun/backpacking as I possibly could. ( : I spent the beginning and ending of my last week of freedom on Mt. Rose in the Sierras. The first trip was with a friend, we ran the whole thing (about 10 miles) in three hours. The second trip was with a group, we backpacked the whole thing over the course of two days. Both trips were fun!

On our way down from the run...

My hero, on her first backpacking trip

Lovely views from the top

Conquering pose?

The group at the top

The group all geared up

I also found myself with some visitors at the end of the Summer. One of my former roommates came back to stay for a few weeks, and I also randomly saw one of my companions who was on vacation!

Kayla eating an amazing stuffed hamburger.

Becca and her family at the lake. ( :

Overall, this has been my favorite summer since I have been a kid. It reminded me of being a kid because I didn't work a lick-first time in a long time that I have had the ENTIRE summer off. I could get used to this.

Middle of Summer

The middle of my summer was spent with my family. I just love those people. We played a lot, camped a lot, laughed a lot and enjoyed one another's company. We even got to spend some time at a reunion!