The High and Low of my Memorial Day Weekend

The High:

Angel's Landing at Zion National Park

The Low:

The Grand Canyon

I decided that Memorial Day weekend would be a great time to jump start my goal for 2008 (for the record, yes, I am aware that 2008 began five months ago). One of my great passions in life is traveling. I love to meet new people, explore new surroundings, and examine new cultures. In order to add a little spice to my life I am making a goal to travel somewhere every month for the rest of the year. It's kind of been a tradition of mine for the last several years to go to Zion National Park over Memorial or Labor Day weekend, so although I didn't travel anywhere new, I started the year off traveling to the much loved Zion National Park. I have some friends who flew in from out of state and we decided to keep up with our tradition and hike Angel's Landing. You'd think hiking the same hike every year would get boring but this is such a great hike that you can do it over and over again and it's breathtaking every time. You feel like you're on top of the world! I took some great pics but my computer is on the fritz and isn't too keen on letting me download anything else that requires memory so here are some that I found online:

commons.wikimedia.org

http://www.dankat.com/

They're not the greatest photos but the view is just amazing. The peak of the hike is 5,785 feet and you can see almost the whole canyon. It's awesome! After church on Sunday we all decided that it would be fun to take a drive and see the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We stopped at a park and had a picnic and then drove to Arizona to see one of the seven natural wonders of the world. I had visited the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on a family vacation a couple of years ago and was excited to see more of it. At it's deepest the Grand Canyon is 6,000 vertical feet from the rim to the river and at it's widest is 18 miles wide. It was so amazing to see the beauty of the world that we live in from two very different perspectives!

http://www.pinker.wjh.harvard.edu/

www.student.britannica.com

It was a great trip and a fantastic way to start off my year of traveling the whole world over (or at least traveling the whole continent over, or the whole country, or the whole state......we'll see how my funds hold up!).

Black Thumbs and Other Various Disappointments

So with all the free time I have on my hands now I have been able to notice things that I want to change. A lot of things. So many things that I don't think that I would be able to accomplish them all if I tried. First and foremost is my yard. Since I mowed it last week I don't think it currently qualifies as the most ghetto lawn on the block but it's pretty close. I think the only house worse than mine is the one that totally deadend the lawn for some reason and now has various vehicles parked on it. I've never been much for yard work and I guess I didn't realize when I purchased a home how much effort it takes to actually maintain a decent looking yard. Why didn't anyone warn me????? I now know why so many single females purchase condos or townhomes......no maintenance. I was all motivated this last Saturday to get some work done, mainly weed pulling and lawn treatments. The first hour as I was jammin' out with my iPod I thought to myself, "This isn't so bad. I can actually kind of see why people would enjoy doing this." The second hour I started to get a little fatigued but was proud of myself for sticking with it. The third hour I was about to die from exhaustion and the fact that I had only made a small dent in the massive amounts of work I have to do. To top it all off, today a lot of the weeds are back and it doesn't even look like I did anything!!!! Life was so much easier when I really didn't care about my yard! But I really have started to care now so I guess I'm SOL. I hear that if you do a little bit each week that it's not so bad to stay on top of it but I'm inside updating my blog right now instead of pulling weeds so I'm guessing that's not the best way to stay on top of it. Oh well, I have always enjoyed complaining about something before I actually get around to doing it!

Another problem I've come across is that I've tried to take up cooking. I know my mom laughs at me every time I call her about some things because it's probably common sense but I'm so paranoid about ruining it that I make her give me specific step by step instructions.....like how to maranade chicken. I'm sorry but that's just not stuff that you learn in your accounting classes at school! She'll probably post a comment about all of those cooking classes she gave me as a younster but that was almost 20 years ago so I think time is on my side with this one, don't you think?

Cleaning is always an issue with me and keeping up on a 5 bedroom house isn't the most fun in the world. In my defense I do like vacuuming but my vacuum broke (again) so I'll have to fix it before I can do that and put off my other chores. Don't be too impressed that I know how to fix my vacuum. It only took 4 previous breakdowns (the vacumm's and mine) for my dad to teach me how to fix it. I think the problem is all of the hair that I shed that gets caught up inside. Consequently I have decided to shave my head and use my hair clipping to make a wig. That way I won't shed 100 pieces of hair per day or whatever the quota is, which will result in a fully functioning vacuum, which will also result in additional financial savings, which will result in an overall more pleasant demeanor on my part. Also, if I ever come down with cancer I'm thinking that wig will come in real handy.

I'm beginning to realize that it's not so much fun being a responsible adult....

Mom's the Word

I've realized that approximately 93.7% of my blog readers are mothers so I could not let this holiday pass without giving a big shout out to all of the maternal beings out there! I admire you!

Not only is it Mother's Day, but it is also my own mother's birthday. This time of year is always just the teensiest bit stressful because I have to come up with two gift ideas for my mom, ideas that outshine the prior years' gifts. I'm not going to lie to you....I've had some pretty outstanding ideas and it's increasingly getting harder and harder to outdo myself. This year.....I have failed.....sigh. In order to re-gain some creditability as the most creative and favorite daughter, I have decided to post a tribute to my mother. As some of you know, I have posted a Tribute to My Ma before, and although it could possibly be classified as my most creative work yet, I do not think that it does my mom justice. Therefore, I have decided to make a second attempt and hope that this Mother's Day isn't a complete letdown for the brave woman who brought me into this world.

Tear jerker alert: Mom, do not continue to read this post unless you are properly equipped with an ample supply of tissues.

For those of you who don't already know how absolutely fabulous my mother is, I just wanted to post some facts that you may or may not know about her.

1. She loves my dad. I'm not talking about the unspoken love that kids automatically assume exists between their parents, I mean she really loves him and outwardly displays that daily. When I was little I used to think it was gross that my parents would kiss in front of us kids and I just assumed that it was normal that moms and dads went out every Friday night on a date. I also never remember ever hearing my parents argue or raise their voices toward each other in front of us. The older I get the more I realize that this behavior is the exception rather than the rule. I also realize what a source of comfort it is as a child...and an adolescent...and an adult, to have the knowledge that your parents really love each other. They have taught me a lot about creating an eternal marriage and I think my mom is one of the best examples of what it means to be a wife.

2. She goes walking every morning. And has done so for the last 20+ years. She also hasn't ever missed a month of visiting teaching since she became a visiting teacher. She also woke up every morning while her children were in school to make us sack lunches. She also never missed a piano recital that my sister and I have ever been in. She also cleans the house every Monday morning and has done for as long as I can remember. These may not seem like significant accomplishments to some but to me they speak volumes about my mom's character. She is the most diligent person I know and growing up I took for granted the stability that these small actions created for me and our family. She is a model for what it means to be consistent in the areas of life that matter most.

3. She is a great cook. It runs in the family. Most of my aunt's are famous for their cooking and my mom is no exception. I have fond memories of coming home from school to freshly baked cookies or homemade bread. When I went away to college I knew that whenever I went home I would leave with enough meals to last me for a week. Even still whenever anyone goes to her house she always wants to give them something to eat and there is always something delicious available. Eating a homemade meal as a family around the dinner table is becoming a rare behavior but my mom still makes time to cook for her whole family every other week....and I still look forward to those leftovers. Her skills in the kitchen have provided her with great opportunities to serve others within and without the walls of her own home.

This list is by no means all inclusive. My mom has so many more incredible qualities that I admire. She's smart (even though she claims otherwise), funny (anyone who has ever read one of her poems can attest to that), and she's got great genes (how else would I have been born with such fabulous hair?). I know that I've never made life easy for my mom. I've probably been the most emotional of all of her children and my perfectionistic tendencies are enough to drive her batty, but she has always been a great support to me and continues to inspire me to become a better person. When I grow up on of my greatest desires is to be the kind of mom that my mom has been to me. I doubt she realizes the magnitude of love and appreciation that my siblings and I have for her but I hope that on this Mother's Day she will be able to understand what an impact she's had on those who surround her, especially her family.

Happy Mother's Day!