Issues with Life

Last night I attended institute and had the most amazing lesson that really got my thoughts going.  The lesson was on true and appropriate repentance. About wasting time dwelling on our shortcomings and sins as opposed to getting up and getting to work.

 I don’t know if I will share this publicly, but feel a strong desire to get this off my chest. I have so many truly amazing friends, I have not always been so fortunate to have friends who show such love and support. Therefore I am grateful beyond what I can express for those friends I have who are there. 

Through much of my life I’ve always been pretty good at telling people either take me or leave me as I am. I am a spazzy, quirky person overall. Sometimes I wish I was a little less so, at least less awkwardly clumsy anyway.

Unfortunately, I have spent far too much time recently allowing others to define me and tell me who I am and what I am worth. I have wasted too much time listening to the negative voices in my life telling me that I am not good enough. And believe me when I say that it has been coming from all fronts—both external voices and internal thoughts.These thoughts have led me down a dark road of late. I have moped around feeling that I had nothing to offer the world because I was so worthless. I feel like Satan has been working overtime on me to coerce me to feel this way. Which leads to the question why? What I am supposed to be doing in my life that I am not because I am wasting time hating myself and focusing on the things I don’t like about myself?

There are things in my life I wish were different or that I wish I had handled differently, but I need to stop defining myself based on those moments. I need to acknowledge that there are things in my life that are out of my control but that is ok. I don’t have to fix everything. I can only do what I can do.  Because that was the main point of the lesson last night. To not let ourselves become so bogged down in our transgressions that we forget to go out and help others. I am human, I will always make mistakes. There will always be things in my life that I wish I could change or wish I could be better at. But to sit around blaming myself and beating myself up will serve no one. And I can honestly say I love serving those around me. With so much misery and sadness in the world, how can I not try to ease the burdens of people who mean so much to me?

I am not valued nor defined by my marital status, my family status, where I come from or what I look like.

Inane Conversation

So I work at a college. And sometimes while at my job we have to send employees out with checks to pick up things we need immediately that we cannot wait to come in with a delivery. As a state run institution we are tax exempt, it is in big bold letters on every check we send out.

The other day one of our food service employees needed to make such a grocery run. Upon returning he brought me the receipt and check stub and informed me that the store would not deduct the tax because they claimed that they did not have the appropriate information to prove we were really a tax exempt entity. Well, I thought to myself, this is easy to resolve. I will simply call them and get an email to send off a copy of the proper forms. Well our conversation went something like this (if only I could include copies of my facial expressions during this conversation, I was told they were highly entertaining):

Me: Hi this is so and so from such and such company and I understand that we just had one of our employees come in to your store and he said that you needed documentation showing that we are tax exempt. I was wondering if I could go ahead and email you a copy of a W-2 that should have all the information you need on it.

Manager: (deep long suffering sigh before she continues, sounding very angry throughout the entire conversation) Well, your employee just walked into our store, took what he needed off the shelves and then just took it all up to the cashier.

(long pause. I was scratching my head and repeating to myself what she had just said trying to find the problem)

Me: Is there, um, another proceedure that we need to follow?
Manager: Yes! He just expected the cashier to just ring everything up right then and there!

(another pause, with me biting back the numerous funny yet so unprofessional comments coming to mind)

Me: Ok, so...... is there a different proceedure that we need to follow when making a purchase?
Manager: Well my cashier didn't know that it was tax exempt until after the fact and then we would have had to issue a return, and then go  ring everything up again and..... (I'll spare you all the long explaination she gave as to why issuing a return was such a hassle. I mean really, if it's that much trouble to fix a mistake a cashier or customer makes then this store really needs to analyze the way it does things, I mean really this went on for several minutes)
Me: So in the future what do we need to do if we need to purchase anything else from your store?
Manager: You guys need to call ahead of time so that we can have everything pulled and so that we have warning that you are coming into our store and be ready for you.
Me: So you would like us to call ahead if we are going to purchase anything from your store?
Manager: Yes! I just said that!
Me: All right ma'am thank you for your time and we will be sure to give you advanced warning if we need your services in the future. (I figured the conversation was a lost cause at this point).

Seriously, we have never had these kind of problems from any grocery store we have gone to ever before. I made a note to the department director that she may not want to use this branch again.

April Fools Days Gone By

This year I did not pull any April fools pranks--mostly because I just didn't care enough to do so. However I did get a good chuckle remembering April Fools pranks I used to participate in.......

--Such as putting alarm clocks in the heating vents
--kool aid in the shower head (I simply stood by on this one, it seemed a bit more mean than funny to me)
--silverware in a bucket of water in the freezer
--filling up someone's basement doorwell with balloons filled with tootsie rolls and confetti
--filling someone's car with same balloons
 --wrapping saran wrap in front of a roommates door and filling the opening with balloons
--tying the doorhandles together from opposite facing bedroom doors
--placing a mattress in front of a roommates door
--a strategically placed poster of the joker from Dark Knight to a poor roommate who is creeped out by said joker
--snap-its under the toilet seat or on the hinges of doors

The last one had me laughing out loud. I had an old roommate who tried to pull this on myself and the girl I shared the bathroom with. She put snaps under the toilet seat. You know, the snaps that you get on the fourth of July that you can throw on the ground and they make a loud snap sound, yeah those ones.

Well, neither my roommate or I were home much and were both tiny girls. So the snaps never went off. My roommate playing the prank was disappointed thinking that she had simply missed the snaps going off. Well a few days later we had a game night at our apartment. One of the boys went in to use the bathroom. Shortly after he shut the door we all heard a long snap followed my this poor boy making a yelping/screeching sound. Everyone turned and watched the bathroom door when he came out, curious as to what on earth was going on. When he came out he exclaimed loudly that he thought our toilet had just blown up on him. My roommate who had played the prank suddenly burst out laughing and sheepishly told us of the prank. 

Disease called Perfection

I have recently come to recognize a disease that I have suffered with for my entire life, one that I am constantly trying to overcome. It is a disease of the need to be perfect. For as long as I can remember I have felt a strong need to be perfect. Perfect at school work, house work, cooking, craft projects, event plans, dating, friendships and so forth. Part of this need for perfection I have come to realize is based on pride and part of it is based on a strong desire to genuinely be a good person.  The true irony in this is that when I see others around me who are not perfect I never give it a second thought. All I know is that I enjoy spending time with this person or that because they are fun and not afraid to be themselves. Why can I not be so kind to myself? Often times I see only the flaws in my own life and wonder why anyone would want to spend time with me when I am such a mess so often.

The pride part of perfection is the part that everyone around me sees. The part of me that has to be perfect at homework, perfect in dance class, perfect at cooking for others, and anything else I try that others will see. When I go to activities or am asked to share a talent I spend tortuous hours making sure that whatever I am going to share is perfect. I can't show anyone what I am doing until I am convinced it is beyond critique. I refuse to share my talents until I am certain that those around me will be impressed by my accomplishments. Part of this is pride, part is my lack of confidence in my own abilities. This is part of a vicious cycle that I have ever so slowly been learning to recognize and therefore stop.

Then there is this other part of the disease called perfection that stems from a deeper place that is more difficult to address. It stems from the fact that I really do want to be a good person, to treat those around me kindly and fairly, never to be cruel or unfair to my friends and family; to be able to face the Lord with clean thoughts and conscience. Yet I am a human being. Perfection cannot and will not be achieved in this life. It is a difficult lesson for me to learn. Accepting the imperfections is the first step. Sometimes I will be cruel or unfair, sometimes I will judge too hastily or unkindly or lose my temper with those I care about. I wish it wouldn't. But it has happened before and will happen again. As a human it will happen. But when these events inevitably occur all I can do is ask for forgiveness from the person I have offended and try to do better next time.This is all part of the painful growing process each and every one of us must endure. We will all offend each other, and be offended at some point in our lives. Then we learn to forgive and move on from past grievances.

There will also be times when I have thoughts that I should not. Or waste too much time watching the television or fall asleep before I read my scriptures. These are all things that I struggle with frequently. Yet I know I will continue to commit these transgressions. I was in a church lesson the other day when the teacher spoke of a misconception she had had since childhood that she could not truly repent of a particular sin until she stopped the sin completely. Yet is is important to repent constantly, always try to do better the next day. I realized that I have also had this misconception. I tend to put off repenting until I am certain that I will never, ever be tempted to commit that sin again. I want to show God that I am sincere in my repentance, to go and sin no more. Unfortunately, I am human, and therefore will continue to sin. I can still ask for forgiveness and then try my utmost to abstain from that particular sin to the absolute best of my abilities. However, if I should fall again I have to get up and try a little harder next time. This does not mean that I am less sincere in my repentance or my desire to be righteous, it simply means that today I fell down and tomorrow I will try harder not to.

These thoughts are not stemming from any great grievance recently occurring. In my ward, however we have had some very interesting lessons on the problems with trying to be perfect-or rather how we handle life when we fail to be as perfect as we would like. Today my bishop and his wife gave a wonderful lesson in Sunday school about this disease called perfection and it really brought to light to me the fact that I also suffer from the disease. But there is hope, that is the bottom line. Perfection will not occur, and it is vital to recognize this fact in order to keep going.

Grrr......

Why do some people just assume that they are entitled to anything and everything regardless of consequences? What makes them think that they have the right to walk all over everyone else? They think that they can just take whatever they want whether or not it belongs to them.  If it doesn't belong to you, then you do not have a right to steal it.  Not a hard concept for anyone with half a brain.  Gahhh!!! Why do I have to deal with stupid people? Well, stupid person.

Blog

Everyone should read this blog.  I know some of the family but not Avery herself--but this girl is my hero.  I made the link to the post that just about made me cry but you can navigate through it to see how she's doing now.   It's a blog about a little girl named Avery who was diagnosed with leukemia when she was four years old. 

http://avery-j.blogspot.com/2011/06/coconut-club-aka-short-hair-club-party.html

Random Happenings

A few random happenings from days long gone and some not so long gone.  The stories are probably funnier for those who know the people involved. So Shawesome and Sunshine, I guess this post is mostly for the two of you.

KGB and Beemer watching some hospital show on TV where a girl can't get a transfusion because her religion prohibits it.
Beemer: I've never heard of a religion that prohibits transfusions.
KGB: Well they're usually smaller groups.  Probably cause they all die!

KGB, Beemer Melody playing with legos.  Melody is making a castle.
Melody: This door does not look like the door I am looking for.
KGB: Your face is a door.
Melody: I know, that's the problem!
(brief pause as KGB and Beemer burst out laughing)
Melody: Wait what! Hey!!

Beemer and her cousin James.
James (sing song voice as he bounces down the stairs): I found my pocketknife! I love this pocket knife it's my favorite it's so cool!
Moments later he comes back up holding his hand.
Beemer: What happened? did you get cut?
James (sheepily): um, yeah. with my favorite pocketknife.
Beemer tries not to laugh. 

Melody, KGB, Beemer, Mitch, Boss
After Melody's graduation the boss house went to her parents for dinner.  Afterward they were driving home and not everyone could find seatbelts.  Hence in the back seat Boss, Beemer and Mitch were laughing hard and being enjoying playing "corners"(much more entertaining with no seatbelts) when Mitch said the fateful words "Just don't get pulled over and we should be fine."
Well not five minutes later we saw red and blue flashing lights behind us.  Melody began muttering as she pulled over and we all groaned at Mitch for jinxing us.  Oh and the inevitable scrambling to try to hide the fact that we only had one seatbelt for three of us. Yeah.

After a BYU vollyball game as the boss house is trying to find someplace to eat dinner.  They disagreed on which way to take.  Finally Kami won stating that the stairs would be quicker.  Stairs, on the BYU campus are horrendously steep and never seem to end.  It's like going through a never ending tunnel of stairs.  However, not being from Provo, we were clueless as to the treachery of said stairs.  Halfway up KGB and Beemer stopped to catch their breathe for a moment.
KGB: Whose idea was this again?
Beemer (turning to look at the offending party growled out): KAMI!!!!
She didn't mean to growl like that ... it just sort of came out.

Melody, Boss and Bemer trying to settle on playing Life Star Wars or Life Pirates.
Boss: Ok lets do a paper rock scissors.  Melody, you be a Jedi and Beemer you be a Pirate.
Melody: Ok
Beemer: Can I be the Jedi?
Melody: No I'm the Jedi.
Beemer: But I want to be the Jedi.
Melody: But I'm already the Jedi.
Boss: Ok I think we should just play star wars.

This and That

Some days I feel like my life has been boring. I have never traveled anywhere, or won any contests or had any adventures that people would feel like hearing much about.  But then I think of the little adventures I have and think, maybe it's not as boring as I think. A few tidbits......

--running around St George lingerie shopping for a roommates wedding, a town in which there is none to be found. All the while in high heels
--watched a friend of mine catch a wedding bouquet and promptly throw it at the girl next to her yelling "It's yours!!!!! Take it!!!"
--another friend had a truck crash into her house. Yes, a truck, through her master bathroom and into the bedroom. Two feel over and it would have killed her.
--Last summer I went camping down at Zions. We couldn't find one bag of tent stakes, it was a windy night. Sometime during the night when the tent hit me in the face and the wind was blowing the canvas up under me I thought it was a wild animal and I jumped on my roommate who was next to me shouting something about a bear. She was far from amused however.
--KGB and I can apparently hold conversations in our sleep. Completely random yet entertaining ones from what I'm told.

Weird Dreams

Caution, if birds creep you out, you really should not read this. 
Most of my life I have had very vivid dreams. I generally remember a great deal of them, and they are pretty adventurous. Lately I have still been having very vivid wild dreams. However, almost nightly now I have been dreaming about dead birds. Now, dead birds creep me out immensely ( I mean really, who doesn't get a little creeped out by loads of dead birds), so it's horrible to have them all over in my dreams. Usually I am dreaming that I am going about my day either running off to work or going to the gym or something but I have to keep moving to avoid all the dead birds on the ground. And last night I dreamed that I was just trying to get into my old apartment but I had to climb the railing to get up there because the stairs were covered with bird carcasses. It's creepy! And not just one type of bird, although usually pigeons, but also little yellow and black birds as well.  It's weird. And creepy. And gross. I don't even like any birds at all anymore. Hmm, I wonder what the symbolism of so many dead birds is? Any suggestions?

Six Months

Well I have officially lived here for 6 months.  Half a year.  Wow.  I have to say, it's turned out not remotely like I thought it would when I moved here. It feels like so much longer.  I had too high of expectations when I came here. I still feel like I want to turn and run away from it all.  Sadly, life doesn't always give us what we want.  I still wish I had a full time job, but any job right now is good to have.  I may still wish things had worked out with the boy, but they didn't.  Oh well, life really sucks like that sometimes.

So, instead of being mad that I don't have a better job, or crying because I got my heart broken, I think I need to take a more proactive route.  What that is I'm not sure at the moment.  I do know that I'll keep looking at jobs, full and part time and see what happens.  I do think I'll start planning some real trips in the not too distant future.  I have always wanted to see the world, but figured I should devote my resources to my future and family.  Well, if I keep waiting for my future one day I'll wake up and realize I've missed it.  I think my first stop is going to be Ireland.  I've already been pricing tickets (can my pocketbook say ouch?I think if it could it would be) but it would be worth it. I do need to get healthy first, and get my student loans paid off, but if I am careful with my money it could be a possibility.  Sadly, the airfare will probably cost almost as much as an entire week venture through the Emerald Isle, and since I'm that far a quick trip to London may be in order.  I have a good friend in London whom I miss dearly and would love to see.

Nothing is set in stone at the moment, it all depends on my health and my finances.  But it's on my bucket list. Oh, and Miss Kelsi or Sunshine, I think you are oh so invited should I go, I fully intend on spending the night in a castle at some point while I am there.  Currently I am thinking September of 2013, or maybe May 2014.  Those months are cheaper because it's not during the typical tourist season but the weather is still pretty nice.

PS, we should totally still plan our Europe trip in 28 years, you know who you all are ;)

Revolution!

You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right

You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We'd all love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well, you know
We're doing what we can
But when you want money
for people with minds that hate
All I can tell is brother you have to wait
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right
Ah

ah, ah, ah, ah, ah...
You say you'll change the constitution
Well, you know
We all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well, you know
You better free you mind instead
But if you go carrying pictures of chairman Mao
You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right
all right, all right, all right
all right, all right, all right

*All lyrics property of the infamous Beatles rock band.  

Bleh bleh and bleh

What a night.  It all started when I realized only yesterday that I had a wedding reception in Layton at 6 and a bridal shower in Provo at 7:30.  I thought I could make it to both if I rush in, say hi to the bride and groom, rush out and then book it down to Provo.  Well the best laid plans.......

Traffic getting to Layton was horrendous, halfway there I wondered just how good of friends I was with these people that I was going through all the traffic, and big semi's-- I'm sure everyone I know knows my feelings on semi trucks being near me on the freeway.  But it would be the first time I had seen a lot of my old friends for nearly half a decade, which would be nice I decided.  I finally got into town a little after 6.
I was walking in thinking to see a few friends, grab food and run.  Nope didn't happen.  I thought after all this time I would have learned to keep my heart a little more guarded.  Nope. Still haven't learned.  I thought a little space was what I needed to get over him, nope.  Why can't I be right about something?

I Ended up blowing off the bridal shower, partly due to the fact that I would have been an hour late and partly due to the fact that I didn't think I could handle any more wedding stuff.  Decided I wanted to make sushi rolls for dinner, that would make me feel better.  But even in this big ol' city do you think one can find a place that sells seaweed sheets after 8 at night? Nope.  I couldn't find any. I may as well have been back in Cedar for all the luck I had.  Finally settled on cream cheese won tons for dinner. Healthy I know (sarcasm intended). Was feeling slightly better after I got home and got some oil heated up.  Then I couldn't find the tongs.  The result of this is that tonight I learned that attempting to pull won tons out of hot (spitting) oil with a fork onto a plate merely results in burned fingers and a broken plate. Then do you think I could find a dustpan to even sweep all the broken glass into? Nope.  I did find a piece of cardstock  I used.  but of course all the glass wouldn't sweep up very well, hence the cut finger.

Yep, it's been one of those nights. 

The East side of the Canyon

I've never been to the east side of Zions.  I don't think I realized it was so vast, or that the road was quite so.... slightly terrifying? It might not have been had we not all been squished in like sardines. I was pretty much sitting on the lap of the girl next to me.  All in all, successful journey, beautiful views, and we all survived.  Even with one person in the back/trunk of the Subaru, and the fact that the driver drove up the middle of the road and jerked the car over whenever we met another car--which usually wasn't until the last minute (hence the terrifying part).  And the fact that not a single person in the back seat could have worn a seat belt if we had wanted to.  It was an excellent week however.
I went to several weddings, found out I have a few more this coming week plus another bridal shower.  I wonder what is in the drinking water around here and where I can get some? I have at least 5-6 weddings to attend within a 3 week period (not including the two engagements announced over Christmas!) .
Anyways..... It was fun. And I actually felt like taking pictures again, hooray! Lately I had been feeling like I didn't care if I took pictures anymore, I never even had my camera with me anywhere I went (gasp, yes it's true!) I didn't even know where it was for about a week, then discovered the battery had been dead for ages.

So this sign is actually a 30 MPH sign.  Normally I won't condone vandalism... but this made me laugh when I drove by it on my way into town.

It also gave me great pleasure to leave the dreary inversion of the city and head south.  Just look at that smog! No wonder we haven't seen the sun for weeks around here.  Seriously gross and scary looking.

At Zions we saw longhorn sheep next to the road, and we went through the tunnel.  It was long and dark and very awesome. 

Don't worry about this bridge, if you fall you will only fall several hundred feet into that deep ravine......

And what better way to end an excellent day of adventures than with barbecue.  Sonny Boys' in Cedar has absolutely amazing food! I'm hoping that they will soon have a store in Salt Lake or Provo as well.

My Love/Hate Relationship with Christmas

I love Christmas, I love the lights, the music and the smells.  I definitely enjoy the tasty food.  I also love how it tends to bring out the best in people.  It can bring out the worst in some people as well, but I'm not going to spend time expounding that at the moment.  I think that it's a time of year when children get to really be children and believe in magic.  It's a time when adults get a chance to create a little magic not only for their children, but for their fellow man (ie, layaway angels I've been hearing on the news about).

It's a time to remember the Savior and to celebrate his birth (even if it didn't really happen in December, its nice to have a time set aside to celebrate it all the same).  It's when we all have something in tie us together, to remember that we ought to value one another as individuals with all of our differences.  To remember that we are all children of the same God, and to treat each other as such.

So, with so much awesomeness, what can there possibly be to hate about Christmas?  Well, it's a bit personal.  Very personal rather, I have been debating if I would post this, but writing seems to be very therapeutic to me to get things out.

Christmas is a time to be with family.  It's a time to celebrate family.  And sometimes for me it's a just a reminder that I come from a very dysfunctional family and don't really fit in anywhere.  I know everyone's families have their problems and have dysfunctional moments.  But mine really is.  I remember as a child I would sit at the kitchen window and dream about the day when I could just get in my car and drive away and never come back.  It's a horrible thing for a child to think, but I did.  I do not enjoy spending time at my parents house, it is so full of negative energy and bad memories.  The longer I am there the more I am down on myself and depressed.  I often leave feeling like I am only three inches tall.
I am so very different from anyone in my immediate family.  My mother and I in particular do not see eye to eye on, well, just about anything you can imagine.  I often feel that she is constantly irritated at me for everything I do.  I feel that she wants me to be one sort of person, but I am another entirely.  This may sound somewhat vague, I don't know, but the details I could on about would take days, weeks even to sort through.  But what I need to realize is that I am an adult and do not need my parents approval to feel like I am a good person, easier said than done.  

So when the holidays roll around, I generally enjoy them but I dread Christmas eve coming around.  I dread going to my parents house.  While living down south with no car, it was not too difficult for me to find excuses to stay.  I usually had a job that would not allow me to leave anyway, and everyone around me would say "Oh you poor thing!" but I never really minded staying to work every holiday.  Now I have a week off work and the holiday is fast approaching.  I love the holiday in general, but would gladly skip the actual day in a heartbeat.   

Hmmmm.......

Hmmmm well I have nothing too terribly exciting to blog about.  Life is pretty much the same.  I go to work, I go home, I get headaches more frequently again (not just little headaches, headaches that make me lock myself in a dark room headaches) but on the upside I have more days where I feel well enough to eat real food.  Meaning, anything other than jello, pudding or other soft and unsatisfying substance.  Hoping for good weather next weekend to go south for a day or two.  Warm weather sounds very enticing at the moment.

Speaking of the weather, I don't know if my memory is just faulty or what the deal is, but I do not really remember being this bitter cold in Cedar.  I'm sure it was to be honest, but I have just conveniently forgotten it as I've been gone for so long.  And in the heat of a southern summer it is very very easy to forget the bitterness of the wintertime.

However, I do seem to recall a few memorable winters in Utah's Dixie.  My sophmore year of college we had a bunch of people over to play games and a huge blizzard sprang up and some of the people ended up sleeping on our couch because they couldn't get their cars out.  A friend brought his truck over and pulled them out the next morning.
Another time there was a huge ice storm and everything was frozen solid.  I don't know how the driving was, I had no car.  But walking was fun.  Did I say walking? I meant sliding and skating on the frozen roads and sidewalks.
That same year our furnace broke, we had no heat.  It was COLD in that house.  Our bishop lent us his nice space heater and we slept in the living room near the space heater for a month.  We covered the doorways with blankets or something and just camped out in the family room, slept on the couches.  At the time I was highly miserable, being cold all the time and stuff, but I sometimes miss those days in some ways.  I miss the people more than the circumstances at any rate.
I remember dancing in the falling snow in the parking lot behind the Villa apts with an old boyfriend, and I remember making snowmen in the front yard with my roommates.  I also remember one night during a light snow storm I went on a walk with my roommates and we were running up our street falling into random yards making snow angels.
I also remember walking to work in snow so deep I was practically doing bunny hops through the knee high drifts.
All in all, snow isn't so bad.  I just dread driving in it, or having to trudge through it to get to work and then sit in my office in wet clothes for several hours. 

Happy Memories

Title says it all.  Lyrics are in no way mine, I think they belong to Billy Joel or someone who wrote them for him maybe? Who knows, I just love this song.

Piano Man

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin

He says, "Son, can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes."

la la la, di da da
La la, di di da da dum

Chorus:
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us all feelin' all right

Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke and he'll light up your smoke
But there's some place that he'd rather be
He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me."
As his smile ran away from his face
"Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place"

Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talkin' with Davy, who's still in the Navy
And probably will be for life

And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessman slowly gets stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinkin' alone

Chorus
sing us a song you're the piano man
sing us a song tonight
well we're all in the mood for a melody
and you got us all feeling alright

It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about their life for a while
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"

Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum

Chorus:
sing us a song you're the piano man
sing us a song tonight
well we're all in the mood for a melody
and you got us all feeling alright

Tidbits

I heard a great story from my cousins the other day. I have embellished only a little bit since I was not present at this event and can only derive some things from the times I have heard this story told to me.

When my cousins were little, my aunt worked a lot and was gone most of the day. My uncle worked from home. When C and J were 6 and 4 respectively, they had an minor adventure that has been often repeated.

One day C and J were hungry. Their mom was at work, their dad was in the basement also working. They went downstairs to ask for lunch and their dad told them to be patient and he would come up shortly to get them something to eat. Well, the kids did not want to wait until later, they were hungry right then. So, without bothering to put shoes on (as it was summertime) they went out the door, down the street and rang the neighbors doorbell. When the neighbor opened his door he was surprised to two little children looking up at him with sad faces. "We're hungry, can you feed us?" asked C. The neighbor was shocked, but took them in and fed them peanut butter and jelly sandwich's.

When his wife got home she was also surprised to see the two children sitting at the table happily munching away at their sandwiches. She called their mother, who was slightly horrified and apologized profusely while thanking the kindly neighbors for taking in her children. The neighbors were highly amused at the whole thing. I was also highly amused, hence I attempted to put to words the entertaining events which I have heard told repeatedly.

Epic Weekend: Bryce, Chuck, and Three Little Nuns

At long last I went to visit the land of red rocks and warmth.  I didn't even have to scrape ice off my car the entire time I was there-- it was great. Thursday afternoon I decided I didn't care if I was broke on all fronts, so I just ended up taking off for the weekend and seeing who was there.  I was pleasantly surprised by the number of friends I got to see or spend time with.  I spent the entire weekend visiting Bryce, chatting with three little nuns, and watching Chuck.  It was an epic weekend.
On my random adventures I saw many interesting things.  In Fillmore I saw a big bear, and what I think is a buck deer.  There was a sign that said not to climb on them sadly enough.

 

Although exhausting, this trip completely recharged me, I went from feeling like I was 90 to only 60.

But back to the positive side, Bryce Canyon was AMAZING! It wasn't even cold up there, perfect hiking weather.  I think that spur of the moment trips seem to agree with me rather.

Things I am Grateful for

It's strange how lately I find myself loving things I used to rather dislike on various levels for various reasons.  Social media being a good example here.  However, I am now finding that things I used to have mixed feelings about for whatever reason I now am grateful I have, or some of these things I just liked to begin with in all honesty.  Like sleep. I have always like sleep, just not to the excess I have been doing it in recent weeks.

-Sleep
-new pajamas
-movies
-Jamba Juice
-old roommates
-texting
-free phone upgrades
-social media (yes, believe it or not the day has come when I am promoting social media! I can type instead   of talk, which is much easier lately, and keep in touch with people who live far away who I don't see on an ongoing basis)
-gift cards that I can get movies and crafts with to keep me occupied
-ice packs for achy joins and muscles
-asprin
-ice cream

The Last of the Summer flowers

Well the last one is slightly out of focus, but I can't believe it's already autumn.