Terrible Morning...Beautiful Evening

I can barely remember the last time I was as angry as I was on Friday morning. I won't go into it too much detail because it involves a lot of personal information.  But there was yelling, tears, preventative measures and a line which my son finds absolutely hilarious.  It went something like this, "Slow the hell down.  You don't know how to speak English, and I can't understand a damn thing you are saying."  I believe the gentleman was Indian. Not Native American Indian but India, Indian.  I know this because I talk to them almost everyday at work....although this was not related to work.


Finally, I asked myself:  "Is there anything else I can do about the problem right now?"  The answer was "NO" and I resolved to put the crappy morning behind me and enjoy the rest of the day. 

I repaired the caulking around the bath tub and bathroom counters.  Then Mixer Man and I met up for an evening of fishing in the mountains.  Few things relax me as much as the mountains, fishing, and Mixer Man.  Even though he frustrates, annoys, and confuses the crap out of me most of the time, he has a relaxing presence. I will NEVER tell him this though. 

Our fishing spot.  Just a small section of a large reservoir.

Looking in the other direction.  I love the reflection of the mountians on the water.

Mixer Man trying to free my line from a snag.  I couldn't get a shot with his face.  He hates the camera unless he is showing off an animal he just hunted or he is on his snowmobile.

My GIANT, two inch fish.  I caught two of these.  Austin says I am well on the way to  solving world hunger.  Mixer Man made sure he was holding it away from himself so that I would not get him on camera.

A couple stopped by our spot as we were getting ready to head out.  As fishing people do, we exchanged our bad luck stories and started walking back to our cars.  During the short walk, I learned that they are from Texas and are stationed here with the Air Force.  They love NASCAR and fishing.  The woman and I both have black and pink fishing poles and her husband and Mixer Man are huge Tony Stewart fans.  They both have the die cast cars, jackets, etc.  As we parted ways, Mixer Man thanked him for his service to our country and we wished each other a safe trip home.  I regret that we didn't get their names or spend a few more minutes talking to them.  I think this is a couple I would have liked to get to know better. 

So while the day started out terribly, it ended beautifully.  Watching the sun set on the water.  Meeting interesting people.  And of course fishing.

Picturesqe

My blog title skills leave something to be desired but I couldn't think of anything else for today.  I had one in mind for a Friday post but then remembered it was only Thursday. 

Grandma left this afternoon to spent the weekend with her sister in Idaho.  My uncle is heading to Montana and is dropping her off and picking her up on the way to and fro.  I am kind of excited to have a free weekend.  I have no idea what I will do with myself. Perhaps Austin and I will go for a hike or to a movie.  Or do nothing.

Monday Austin and I took Grandma for a drive along the Alpine Loop.  The Alpine Loop is a scenic byway that starts in American Fork canyon continues past Sundance (yes, the ski resort owned by Robert Redford), and ends in Provo.   If you are ever in Utah I highly recommend taking this little side trip.  The weather was cloudy, the camera was not ideal, and my child deleted most of the pictures he took but here are a few. 


I used my sunglasses as a filter.  Other than the little purple spots, I am rather pleased with it.



This is called "The Theatre in the Pines" and is not too far from Sundance.  It is a shame that it doesn't seem to be in use anymore.




A little wild flower.

 

Austin took this picture from the parking lot at Sundance.

Places like this remind me how blessed I am to live in such a beautiful area.

Sunday night again...

Which means Monday is a mere hour away.  I know I should be sleeping soundly. But sleep eludes me lately.  I am not under a lot of stress.  I am not feeling particularly anxious.  I just can't sleep.  But oh well,  I will take a nap mid afternoon tomorrow and all will be well.

My NASCAR pick for today's Brickyard 400 was Tony Stewart.  I was worried when Austin and I came back from a trip to the store and saw that he was in about 29th position.  Due to some pit stops and yellow flags he made it to 1st but alas, he did not have enough fuel and had to make a pit stop.  He finished 6th which wasn't too bad for my points but I am still about 50 points from the leader in our little NASCAR points match.  I chose Jimmie Johnson for next week and the man better not let me down. 

The top 4 people in our little NASCAR points game are women.  Mixer Man expressed his frustration that the "girls who know nothing about NASCAR" are winning.  If we had been in a more private area when he expressed his opinion, I may have done some bodily harm to the dolt.  As it was, I simply explained that I didn't know about the others but I DO watch the races and pay attention to who is doing well and not so well.  I watch how the pit crews are doing. AND I pay attention to the driver's past performance at the track.  I make informed decisions about my picks.  I do not ask my boyfriend/husband/friend/coworker/post man who HE thinks I should pick.   Mixer Man redeemed himself by telling me that he understood how I would be doing so well but not how certain other people were doing it.  My answer "Her husband tells her who to pick."

Jo may be the only one who cares about my NASCAR talk...so moving on.
 
Saturday was an action packed day.  We went to the grocery store then spent a couple of hours spreading mulch around the flower beds.  The mulch being Nutri-mulch found at the IFA (Intermountain Farmers) and consisting of turkey compost.  My son remarks that we spent the day spreading "turkey crap and stuff around the flowers".

While at the IFA, Austin found a Captain Jack rubber chicken toy for Indy.  It WAS a very cute $13 toy that the dog enjoyed for about 12 hours.  He would not let Austin take it away from him.  He loving lay next to it and protectively covered it with his front paws when Austin tried to get near it. That night he dragged it into his kennel with him.  Glaring at Austin if he dared try to take it.  Come morning, the poor chicken had lost it's head, toes, and the end of his peg leg.  The little bit of stuffing  was strewn about the kennel.  And I remembered why my dog does not get more toys. 


In the morning we take the Rolling Wreck Blazer to my mechanic so I should try to fight off the insomnia and get to bed. 

Have a great Monday!

Thursday Thoughts

Oy!  I am so frustrated.  I spent a couple of hours (Yes! Hours!) writing a post on Tuesday about the Sawyer Brown concert Monday night.  It was cute, it was witty, it was like reading a story.  I even added a little youtube video.  I hit the "Publish Post" button and saw the message that my post was published.  I didn't check. I was pretty tired of the computer.  Today I discovered that my post did not post at all.  It was saved as a draft though.  I opened it to edit for a post today, and only a small part of the post was there.  I don't think I have the desire to try and re-write the whole damn thing. So, in summary, Sawyer Brown puts on a fun show. I went with Mixer Man.  It rained..... A LOT!  Show started an hour and a half late.  It rained...A LOT!  Lost my Drivers Licence on a trip to the bathroom.  Good samaritan turned it in.  IT RAINED.  Fireworks accompanied the show, though not by the place holding the show.  It was a holiday in Utah, every Tom, Dick, Harry and Betty Sue were doing fireworks.  IT RAINED...ALOT.  I didn't win a drawing for $100 to Ruth's Chris.  IT RAINED.  And Sawyer Brown is a lot of fun to watch...even in the rain.

I have been storing up my random thoughts this week.  Have a peek:

1- I want to go skinny dipping. Find a very secluded lake, stream, river, horse trough, or puddle; strip down under the stars and let the water wash over me. If you hear a story in the news of  whale siting in Utah, then you will know I have done this and the place was not secluded enough.

2- Sometimes I think it would be nice to have a recorder attached to my brain so that I could play back all of the random, wise, and stupid thoughts I have during the day.  Since I often think of stories or have dreams that read like a novel, I could probably become a successful writer.

3 - I need to go shooting. My aim is terrible and…well, I just need to go shoot a piece of paper, a box, my computer, something non-living, my computer.

4 - I was pruning the rose bushes which made me to think of – well – roses. As flowers go they are pretty high maintenance, thorny, snobby, pretentious bitches. Sure they are beautiful and smell fantastic when they bloom but get too close and touch the stem just wrong and you’ll bleed. I would not want to be compared to a rose. I am neither high maintenance nor thorny. I am simple and friendly with a hidden wild side. More like a daisy or a non-poisonous wild flower. Yep. That is what I am.

5 -I have been reading, Julia’s Chocolates and The Last Time I Was Me by author Cathy Lamb. I love this ladies writing. She is funny, witty, sarcastic, and down to earth all while dealing with some pretty serious stuff. My take away is that no matter what life throws at you, you can always fight back, survive, and live on your own terms. Her stories include some random nakedness, quirky characters, wise women, and a little craziness. Her writing style reminds me of my bloggy friend Jo (except for the naked parts). Jo, you should read these books.

6 - My favorite quote this week:
“When you’re sad or depressed, you might as well get something done. Pretty soon, you’re not sad or depressed, and darned if things aren’t done.” - Aunt Lydia, Julia’s Chocolates

What the...?!?!

WTF! WTH! Whatever you want to call it, it seems like there are some crazy interesting people / events out there. 

A Utah woman got her nursing bra all twisted out of shape during her breast feeding (child nourishing/bonding) time while at a grocery store.  In an amazing turn of events other customers complained because she was not covered up.  Employee's asked the woman to either cover up or move to a more private place in the store.  How dare they?  How dare they make her feel that she is doing something bad by nourishing her child?  Hopefully, y'all are catching the sarcasm here.  I am all for breast feeding.  Did it myself.  And I am okay with breast feeding in a public place if you chose to do so.  Personally, I would pump and have the bottle handy as I am not all that comfortable whipping out a breast in public.  What I am not okay with is seeing a child sucking on a woman's boob on public.  For hell's sake is it a crime to request that you cover yourself?  Apparently this lady thought so.  I get the fact the she wants to do this. I get the fact the she is proud of it.  What I don't get is why she is in such a tizzy about being asked to cover up.  Click here to link to the story.

Officers at the Utah County jail are unable to identify an inmate.  A man in his mid to late 60's was arrested for trespassing in a parking garage used by police.  He has been in jail for 3 weeks and refuses to tell police who he is.  They have taken his fingerprints but have not found a match.  Apparently he sits in his cell covered with a blanket.  My take is that he is homeless and wants a place to crash.

Have you heard about the 51 year old actor Doug Hutchison (or Doug who?) and his 16 year old bride?  No I did not stutter or fat finger that number: 16.  Apparently this all went down with her parents consent.  And surprise, surprise, according to Entertainment Tonight there is talk of a reality television show about the couple.  I don't even want to imagine what the audience demographic would be for that show. Here is a link to the story at People.com.

Finally there i, what I like to call the outsourcing of our space program to the Russians.  I am a little appalled by this.  One witness said the landing of the last shuttle mission was like a funeral procession.  Thousands of people at NASA have been let go, not to mention the impact to the industries that provide services, materials, parts, etc to the shuttle program. Let's not forget the generation of children growing up right now, looking up to the skies and thinking "I want to go there."  What is going to happen to their dreams?  What is NASA going to do next, IF anything, or are we giving this one up?   It hurts my heart a little every time I see this on the news. 

Have a great weekend everyone.