Vacation Barbie

            On Tuesday Jaime wanted to go out to Sandy and hang out with my brother Keith and his wife Natalee.  We called first to see if we could come.  We did not know that it would lead to our becoming another’s house guest.  Natalee had already made plans with a former neighbor of ours.  She and Marj (aka Peggy Bird) were going to see “The Barbie Movie” and had invited us to attend with them.

          To be honest, “The Barbie Movie” was never on my agenda – especially for something to do while in Utah.  I was a bit floored to learn that it was something Marj had wanted to do.  Not only that she had offered to put Jaime and I up during the rest of our stay. Somehow the  wires were crossed and Marj seemed to be under the impression that Jaime and I were sleeping on the floor (which we were not)

          As school was scheduled to start the following day and my allergies had been acting up (I'm guessing the dog hair for one), I decided it would be best to leave Shelly’s and temporarily move in with Marj.  I felt like an intruder but things worked out.  We saw the movie and went out to lunch.  We also went grocery shopping.  Nat picked up some things for herself and Jaime and I did some light shopping for ourselves and for Marj.

        Jaime had really wanted to spend time at the Valley Fair Mall - opportunity missed on Monday.  I asked her if we could just go to Fashion Place as it was within walking distance.  Thought it was crazy to learn that none of the Malls open until after 11:00.  So on Wednesday we walked over to the mall and browsed around. We did get lunch at the food court and then walked home. 

                 Nat came and took us back to her place for a few hours. They fed us dinner.  We played all of the games that Jaime totes around with her.  Keith taught us the game “Oh, Heck”.  It was good to visit with them.

Every Day is Saturday: Days Two and Three

             Cow Creek was given a huge amount of vaccines for their tribes and those working at Seven Feathers.  By the first week of March it was announced that any friends or family of those employed at Seven Feathers.  The announcement said that candidates had to be at least 65 years of age.  But when we called to get Roland set up, it was learned that I could be vaccinated also.

Roland and I received our first shot on March 16.  We were given cards which provided a date indicating when we would be available for our second shot on April 13.  We hadn’t heard from the clinic and so went down to see if we could get in.  That’s when we learned that April 13 was not the accurate next shot date but the date of eligibility.  We still had to set up an appointment. The soonest we could get in was yesterday.

Now just to backtrack a bit.  If you are a faithful reader you will remember we spent Roland’s first day off washing cars.  The weather was HOT nearing 90 degrees.  Could anything beat the excitement of washing cars?  The next two days offered awesome weather.  Overcast skies, cooling wind.  Perfect yard work weather in my opinion. So here is a summary for the rest of days 1 and the start of day 2. 

Day 1

            After breakfast and a bit of TV, Roland went out to use whatever machine while I tried calling the bank and a pharmacy to see if we can schedule an appointment for Jenna to receive a shot as the state will now vaccinate anyone over the age of 16.  I felt like I was getting the runaround with machines talking at me and providing choices – but none applied and I wasn’t allowed to talk to a human.  Roland decided we would all pile in the car (except for Bonnie who we left at home) and drive to said places to talk to humans.

            Our first stop on the agenda was at the saw shop as Roland’s appliance needed fixing.  With mask over face, Roland went in while Jenna and I waited in the car.  It was small enough that the shop employees could take care of it without calling a specialized mechanic. They figured they’d have it ready for him within a day or two.

After that we ran to the bank.  Again, only Roland got out of the car while Jenna and I waited in the car while Roland knocked on the door of the bank to see if he could set up an appointment.  After that we went to Safeway Drug.  Roland took Jenna with him, but they returned in less than a minute.  Although Safeway does offer a vaccination drug, it is not that one that Jenna qualifies for and so we had another number,  name and website for another runaround.  At least we knew that we’d end up at the fairgrounds on Saturday but would feel better about getting that appointment scheduled rather than just show up.

After that Roland decided to treat us to A&W for lunch.  Enjoyed the rootbeer.  It’s been a while since I’ve had A&W.  No frosty mug.  Only 5 persons allowed to dine at once.  I don’t think the food was worth it.

 Day 2

The reason for our visit to the bank was to sign some paper work which required two signatures plus a notary.  We met our friends who were on their way to the coast for a few-day getaway.  I was grateful that they allowed us their time.  I’m certain that signing documents was not the highlight of either of our “va and stay cations”

I had told Jenna that I would take her out for a scavenger hunt as soon as I returned home (pictures to come) and Roland dropped me off in the driveway and backed up to the side and told me to take the Saturn as he would need the bigger car in the event that his garden tool was ready to pick up – which it was.  He left the house before Jenna and I got into the other car.

Most of the scavenger hunt could be done at home, but there were a few places that we needed to drive to.  I told Jenna to take different pictures from the ones that I took and we would each enter the contest.

Roland said he had knocked out some of what he had planned but was on the couch when we returned.  He took a couple of naps which I think is a remarkable way to spend a vacation.  I know he hasn’t slept well for whatever reason and so I am glad he is taking it easy. More to come.  Aren’t you excited?

Avatars and Peculiar People

          Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have always been referred to as “a strange and peculiar people”. Perhaps one reason is because many members will spend time getting high on life instead of drugs.  We march to the beat of a different drummer in many minds – and while there are many who may find us odd, there are just as many who may admire us because of our values and being able to face challenges with a different perspective.

          I remember both Corey and Joh were present when my youngest son got married.  As they waited for us on the outside and walked around temple square (I guess) Joh had many questions and would ask Corey – who by then had not been a member on record due to his excommunication (see here) 

It was then that Corey understood why members are often called “a strange and peculiar people”.

          I remember one time one of my brothers (Patrick, I think) either purchased or had received a CD featuring Huey Lewis and we listened to it and all of us danced to each song.  We were in their living room and the curtains were drawn away from the window.  I wondered how odd we may have appeared to any passerby.  It didn’t matter.  We were having fun.  I cherish the memory of us as we really enjoyed ourselves. I am reminded of this memory each time Jenna and I “work out” and our front door is open.

Jenna has decided that we must exercise each day.  Her workout choice is to dance.  She will play videos on YouTube and we will follow the dance moves – or attempt to.  Mostly she has been pulling up “Just Dance” videos with Wii avatars, but occasionally we will try to work out or Sumba with real live people who are always in sync even though we’re not.  Especially me. I don't know if anyone has seen us through the door.

         

          The other night we asked Roland to join us.  He joined us for one song.  Jenna selected “Living La Viva Loco” as she really appreciates the single avatar who dances on a flatbed it appears to be moving through the dessert.  Roland mostly just did the arm movements, but occasionally I could see that he may have been working his legs – although we were all looking at the screen more than one another.

         

          After I got up yesterday, I went over my normal routine of checking email, checking facebook, downloading the dailys on my kindle and then attempted to make breakfast.  Jenna, who normally has left her room by 5:00 was still in her room when I started breakfast.  Three poached eggs, three slices of ham, two English mufflins (as our toaster will only do four slices) and whatever cheese was left in the container.  I made two sandwiches pretty similar to the McMuffin and Roland and I ate.  When he returned to his office to work, I asked Jenna if she would like me to fix her some breakfast.

          I put another muffin in the toaster and she unloaded the dishwasher while I made her sandwich.  We asked a blessing on our food and began our day with prayer and watched “Come Follow Me” which covered Enos, Jarom, Omni and Words of Mormon.  And then we danced. We finished watching the 2^nd Jumanji and each did our own thing.  I  attempted to crochet some dishcloths and played several puzzles on my kndle.  I think Jenna watched more videos and made some tiktoks.  Silly girl.  

Why is this orange shaped like a pear
and why does my hand appear to be twice
the size of my head?

Jenna had asked me to send the above photo to my brother-in-law as the face I am making reminds her of the ones he makes.  He is a professional photographer and may cringe at the result of pic

Documenting Day 7.  Jenna's bored.

          Once Roland got off work, we headed up to the big city of Roseburg and went about our regular activities.– like those who had brought this virus outbreak upon us had finally finished the Jumanji game and things felt normal.  The traffic flow felt normal.  The recycling plant was open – not overly crowded with people – but well more than ten standing closer together than you think the “accepted social distance” would allow.  No one wore masks, though there were a few patrons who wore gloves.  The majority of the hands that I saw were naked  After turning in our bottles and cans, we headed to Stewart Park to feed the ducks.  

And since we were already there, we went into Fred Meyers to pick up some milk and cheese. 

          There weren’t any monitored lines as we had witnessed the last time we had attempted to go to Costco.  

There were many shoppers – no panic- no distance.  The only thing that had changed was the number of unhoused people standing between the park and store parking lot holding signs, begging for financial aid.  I saw only one shoeless woman standing holding a sign.  It said “God Bless” and she had drawn a red heart.  Near her was a cart full of cloth bags – I don’t know if they contained all her possessions.

          We had heard her singing, and when Roland returned to the store to purchase a forgotten item, Jenna and I took the rest of the groceries to the car.  While we waited for Roland, Jenna approached the sign holder and asked her if they might sing a duet together.  Jenna made another Tik Tok of the two of them singing “This is Me”.  I thought it was great!

          Traffic wasn’t outrageously heavy going back to Tri-City, but there were a good amount of cars.  Enough to make it feel as though nothing about the week had changed and changed and then changed again.  But after we returned, Roland had turned on the TV.  The newscasters had taken us to Italy where the virus has gotten out of hand.  And I wondered how many of my followers who live in Italy would comment about how careless I have been.  Or if they would agree with my wrecklessness. 

          It’s said that the rural areas will be hit hard eventually.  Rural hospitals may not be prepared to handle the outbreak.  I believe that only because of the reputation that many will say are unable to deal with what was thrown at them before COVID-19.  There is one hospital in our county which I mentioned is geographically the same size as Rhode Island.  Douglas county has just over 109,000 persons occupying space whereas Rhode Isand houses over a million residents.

          I’m not scared.  I refuse to live in fear.  I do wonder what other restrictions lye ahead.  I predict that soon we will be grounded to our houses and will be breaking the law if we drive our cars.  Almost matches the description of the restrictions put on citizens during World War II.

         

The Day (and Night) Before New Year's Eve

          Roland had tweaked a recipe found in this book:

           The reason being is because we did not have all the required ingredients, but it was good.  A little dry.  The next day I decided I would go to the store and purchase some queso to add to it as Roland made enough for 12 people and we didn’t have that many eating.

           I was just going to go to Ray’s or Dollar General and come right back.  But Roland asked could I pick up this and that and oh, how about some shrimp . . .?  I wasn’t planning on going to Roseburg.  Dollar General doesn’t have shrimp and I doubt Rip Off Rays would have it either.  And if they did . . . really?  Was I willing to max my debit card for the assortment of items?

          Jenna had just barely cleared the table for a day of playing games which turned into another day of grocery shopping.  Well, hey, as long as it became a part of the agenda why not just do something different and go visit the Winco in Grants Pass instead of two different stores in Roseburg (as Costco would not have all the items or maybe we just wanted a sample rather than 90 pounds of whatever). 

         

          On our way to Grants Pass, I received a text from a friend who had wanted to take us to the coast to see the lights at Shore Acres (here) 

This is where we entered to walk around

I think this is the first attraction we saw after the above

this exhibit (or one similar) was just before the gift shop

the lake was gorgeous with reflections of lights and trees

there are rooms to view in the house;
they also served cookies and hot cider

we ate our cookies and cider in the pavillian

          It was almost 12:00 when I received the call and she wanted to leave at 3:00.  I am married to a shopaholic who savors opportunities to pick up merchandise and ponder with real intent  - weighing all reasons (well, most, as money rarely ever seem to be a factor for decision making) to purchase said item.  Roland enjoys shopping.  He relishes the opportunity.  I have made it no secret that I don’t enjoy shopping for anything.  My goal is to get in and get out.  None of this “savor-the-shopping-moment”.  Blah.

Thus on Monday when we were in Grants Pass, I thought I had added reason to hurry our shopping along – growing impatient with Roland's desire to milk every minute on each product as he read each label of different items he'd come across.  I had set a time limit for us to be back on the road so that we would arrive home before Carolyn showed up.  I had deprived him of basking in something that he truly loves.  I need to stop with the unpleasant attitude and be grateful for his enthusiasm and willingness.

With all the correct ingredients, Roland started another batch which he put into the oven just before Carolyn showed.  She had hoped to take all of us, but Roland really didn’t want to spend that much time driving to the coast – which turned out to be longer than either Carolyn or I had anticipated. 

We thought that if we went early enough we could get to the facility and park the car. We didn’t know we’d have to wait in a line of cars for 20 – 40 minutes.  Oh, but it was so beautiful. 

  

Lights created movement of a hummingbird fluttering its wings, frogs, seals, and dolphins jumping into the water.  It was a fun experience.

Too Busy To Be Called “Vacation”

            It feels like a Saturday.  I suspect most of the days this week will feel like Saturdays.  On the 21^st my post gives a little detail about my dental experience.  The Novocain wore off eventually – long after the dentist was closed.  I don’t know when I first noticed that my teeth were not feeling right.  Well, two in particular.  Was it the tooth he just worked on?  The bite on the right side of my mouth made contact before anything on my left.  It didn’t hurt but was quite annoying.

            I remember the dentist and his assistant having me bite on a paper and saw off some more.  Wait a minute!  I don’t think I am finished.  Something is sticking up that’s not supposed to.

            That was Wednesday.  I allowed myself to “deal with it” for the next four days and called the dentist yesterday to see if I could get in before my next appointment in January. 

            I don’t know what time I called.  Something was going on.  Rather put me on eternal hold, the receptionist took my name and number and said she would get back to me.  I think it was forty minutes before she got back to me!

            I was pulling out of my driveway as I had a 10:00 meeting.  I wasn’t even trying to get in yesterday.  It was actually NOT a good day for me to try and fit into my schedule. There had been a cancellation for this morning.  Perfect! 

            The meeting could have gone better, I suppose.  Seemed like we got off track a bit.  We do get things accomplished, but never anything on the agenda. When the meeting was over I returned home and ate a sandwich before Jenna, Roland and I went to the school for parent/teacher conference.  Not much to be said as Jenna is a great, wonderful, awesome student and everybody loves her.  No questions.  Just introductions more than anything.

            Next: the Big City of Roseburg.  Jenna wanted to see Frozen II.  We purchased tickets and then went to get something to eat.  Back to the cinema and  then to Costco to pick up Thanksgiving supplies. 

            Roland allowed me to stay in the car and play on my kindle.  Have I mentioned that I really really really really (that’s probably not even enough really) don’t like shopping.  I was even willing to miss out on free samples (if there were any?) and played a few games before Roland and Jenna returned to the car.

            It was probably only 5:00 when we returned, but it always feels later when it’s dark.  Our usual routine: Roland unloaded the car, Jenna brought food into the house, I put away.

            Roland was tired and so I took Jenna with me to the dentist.  I spent an hour in the dentist chair last visit.  I think it was only ten minutes this morning.  The tooth was filed down!  No more grinding!  Evenly chew.  Well sort of.  I have jagged teeth.  Mostly where it can’t be seen. 

            Jenna and I did not return home right away.  We hit a bunch of stores – the same that we can find in Myrtle Creek, but in Winston we could have walked to each of them and stayed parked in one space.  But the weather hasn’t been too friendly the last couple of days – not just here but all across the nation – probably the entire globe as well.  Not a lot of traffic.  I appreciated that.

           

            Roland wanted to do a trial run of the food so that he knows how to time it Thursday.  When Jenna and I returned, “lunch” was ready.  We had Waldorf salad (not a part of my Thanksgiving tradition, but Roland said he really wanted to have some) yams, turkey and stuffing.  I was hungry and enjoyed the food.  I think the stuffing will taste better on Thanksgiving after it’s been inside of the turkey (what we had today was from a boneless breast)

            Roland decided to go to the barber and asked me if I’d like to come along for the ride – just to get out of the house.  He obviously had a nap and maybe hadn’t notice how long I’d been gone.  I’ve been out.  I got wet.  I’ll stay home and create a new post.  I’m good.

            Now he is on his way to purchase three big propanes in case the power does go out again – like it did in February.  It sounds as though blow out before I get this posted.  He is the one that freezes when we don’t have any power.  I am still opening the window (if only a crack) when it’s only 30 degrees outside.  I don’t like the electric heat that is the only source of heat we have to warm our house.

            The hilltops are capped in snow now.  The wind is howling.  I hope it doesn’t blow the shingles off our roof (or whatever else is up there). The elements sound very unforgiving right now.  It’s rare to hear the wind howling as we’ve not heard much of it the entire time we’ve been in Oregon.  We did in Salt Lake.  Don’t miss that at all.

How Great the Art of Being Able to Laugh Despite the Pain of Observation

            On March 22 of this year Corey posted to his blog for the first time in two years.  Apparently it had been due to a request made when I mentioned how much I had missed reading his posts.  But that is his most recent - nothing more.  So last night he called me to relate his "Walmart" experience - although he really was not at Walmart.  It just felt like he was.  I laughed at his misfortunes.  It was nice to go to bed with a smile on my face.  But Corey does have a knack with relating experiences and telling stories and even making announcements with an entertaining flair.  So the following is a second-hand account of the things that he related to me.

            First off he had to renew something - he must have mentioned it at least three times, but I failed to understand exactly what it was that he was renewing, but whatever it is, it needs to be renewed annually.  He has the option of driving a far distance to the location of whatever it is or he can do it thorough the local Albertsons.  Albertsons is a grocery store that had several locations throughout the Salt Lake area, but to the best of my knowledge had all gone out of business;  I was not aware that they were in other locations outside of Utah, but evidently there is one near to his house.

            So he drove to the Albertson's and as he was passing the McDonald's anyway, decided he would get a shake or frappe or something that he likes.  He got in line for the drive through but learned that the line was not moving as he was blocking traffic of any other idiotic drivers who were trying to leave or enter the McDonald's parking lot.  NOTHING McDonald's has to offer is worth my time, but evidently Corey had a hankering for a particular product.

           

            Realizing that the line wasn't moving and blocking traffic had become an issue, he decided he would just go into the McDonald's.  I imagine he drove into the lot and parked his car as Corey just does not seem like the type to abandon his car at the drive through - even if the line wasn't moving.  I don't know how busy it was on the inside, but Corey assured me that the employees had managed to get every single order wrong - including his as he had ordered (and probalby paid for) a large but received a small.  And while the customers ahead and behind him opted for their orders to be corrected, he settled for his puny sized beverage thinking it really wasn't worth the extra time to get it corrected (I don't think it would have been worth any amount of time)

            He finally is able to put the McDonald's fiasco behind him and move onto Albertson's where normally he has to wait for the renewal, but did not as night crowd isn't as exhausting as daylight.  It would have been perfect if he could have just left it at that.  But no.  He is a good guy who has decided he will pick up a mega hand sanitizer to take to his work and waits in yet another line.  The customer ahead of him is standing in line with her kitten who she is holding like one would hold a human baby.  Corey does love cats, but does not take them out in public - certainly not to the grocery store to wait in line.  I think he must have felt like he was in the twilight zone.

            The lady with the cat had a credit card or store card or something that required a phone number.  Only the phone number isn't working.  She's aware that it isn't working and would like to use her membership number, but the clerk says she doesn't know how to do that.  She hasn't been trained for entering membership numbers, only phone numbers.  She calls the manager over to assist.  Fine.  The thing takes her membership number and it was easy and the clerk had learned how to do membership in the event that she will need it again.  But for the purchase of how many ever items the cat-lady has, her card has been declined.  And so she asks the cashier to take off the chips, take off this, remove that, until she is down to 1.80 which is the amount that she uses to put on the card.

           

            For the entire time she is in line, she ever so often turns to Corey (who is standing behind her) and apologizes for the inconvenience. When he finally got up to the register, he was praised by the cashier for his patience.  She didn't hear his inner thoughts asking, "What the hell?" All he wanted to do was purchase the sanitizer and leave.  By the time Corey finally returned home (after what should have been 30-40 minutes max - but was more than twice the length) he felt he had had an experience that he needed to show.  As Joh was still at work and Corey was off from work (another plus in his favor) he called me as it was a blogworthy post that he said he's not going to take the time to blog.

            Before there was interference between our phones and somehow we were cut off from one another, ironically we had been talking about the insecurities or "bugs" with electronic systems and illegal hacking or whatever possesses the electronics to "think" or seemingly change on their own.  Allow me to use his security system as an example.  For no apparent reason, it started reporting which doors/windows had been left open in French.  It had always been set for English.  Corey was both disturbed and amused as he has taken French and understood the reportings but couldn't explain why they were being broadcast in French.

           

            He called the security company and was told that he'd been the second to report that the reports were given in French.  It may or may have not been an epidemic - weird. We discussed how each of us refer to the echo dot as "she" and how often "she" spouts information for no apparent reason or seems to take on a human personality at times.  Joh tells Corey he needs to be nicer to Alexa.  It's funny, but it also feels like it could be a danger.  I thought about how Steven Hawkings had advised against AI (one of many references found here)

            Earlier that day Roland received email on an unpaid Chase bankcard.  We don't have a chase bankcard.  I got a scam phone call from "Microsoft" supposedly.  As if my phone is even connected to Microsoft.  I've also had calls about other unknown credit cards.  All machines.  All scare tactics.  Reminds me of Orson Wells War of the Worlds.  There's going to be panic eventually.  Some of us will be able to shake it off - unfortunately we may not be able to control those who are panicking around us - those who may go to desperate measures without complete understanding.  That's how most people vote, I think.  Not everything has to be black and white.  Look for what's beneath the surface.

PowerPoint part 3: DST is so Annoying!

       As I was somewhat stressed by the midterm and final of my history class, I decided to get a jump start on the final for my philosophy class (which ended May 26 this year).  I ended up changing the PowerPoint three times however as I was supposed to work fallacies into the document - which I didn't foresee as a problem until I was told I'd have to provide the name for the fallacy.  Oh, Oh ... I thought that might be a problem. 

       So we were supposed to pick a topic and have premises and conclusions for the Pro as well as the Con . . . my original PowerPoint was very one-sided and so I had to redo to include the opposite.  I brought in a fallacy slide which didn't feel like it belonged.  I didn't think I'd receive full credit as it still felt one-sided.  It was hard!  The more research I did, the more biased I was about having to set clocks every six months.  So this was the very first slide that I created:

 

I brought each of these in one at a time as I would discuss them

            "With online universities, it doesn’t matter if the instructor lives in Florida and her students live in 16 other states, lectures at the university I attend happen to start on Mountain Time as they are based out of Utah. Two weeks ago a student signed on five minutes before the lecture ended. This student lives in Arizona and according to her clock, it was 5:00 Mountain Standard Time.  

           "Utah and Arizona are both on Mountain Time. But not all of Arizona observes daylight saving time.  Utah happens to be on daylight time.  This time confusion made her late for class. Though Utah and Arizona are in the same time zone, their clocks are in sync only six months of the year.  Except for certain parts of Arizona.  This pink area observes daylight except for the reservation in this red section. Except for this purple tribe which observes daylight saving time.  There are some places in Arizona which display two clocks as to display each time.  How confusing is that?"

         I have always found that adjusting our clocks every six months extremetly annoying.  Until I'd been given this assignment, I didn't realize how harmful that is as it disturbs our sleep patterns.  There are statistics and proof of studies in which disturbed sleeping pattern may lead to stroke, heart attack, headaches and so forth.  Forget DST being inconvenient (which it is) maintaining proper sleep patterns and thus better health is a great reason to do away with DST.

         The Pro side will also argue that the extra hour of sunlight is good for one's health as it helps with the adrenaline.  I could not find any statistics.

         My initial  PowerPoint included a slide to point out that DST upsets both farmers and travel industries. As with many others, I had grown up believing that DST was an agricultural thing.  Research shows that it farmers were just as opposed to DST as I am - although the only statics given was specifically for dairy farmers

              Have you ever heard that saying about trains always running late or never on time?  After my research, I think I have figured it out.  It's too much cost to change the schedule every six months. Especially when not all states or countries use DST.  Daylight Saving is harmful to airlines as well as the traveler.

           The pro side argues that daylight is better for business - certain businesses maybe.  Like those involved in retail or selling merchandise.  Malls use to be flooded with consumers.  But guess what?  Some malls are a thing of the past (see here).  Over 25 malls across the nation have shut down.  We have entered a new century where online shopping has become a hot item.  What difference does it make where the sun is in the sky when we're online shopping?

             If, with all the technology that has taken place throughout time, someone were to invent a way to actually take that extra hour of sunlight that is supposedly "saved" during DST and apply it to standard (so that children are standing in "daylight" waiting for bus ALL year round especially in the winter) I'd be impressed.  I remember waiting for the bus in the dark.  And you know, we're always going to have the same amount of hours of darkness in the winter and light in the summer regardless of whether those hours fall between 5:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. or 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. - so why not just go with one or the other and leave our clocks where they are and avoid adjusting them every six months?

7th Day of Christmas

    

                Today’s challenge is to think about the best parts of my life while waiting in line or at a stop light.  I am done waiting in line this season.  There is one traffic light in Myrtle Creek and one in Tri-City.  I am never at either light long enough to reflect my life.  The best part of my life may be now or since we moved to Oregon because I am not so uptight.  I miss my sibs and families, but overall, I really am happier living in Oregon.

                Day four I had a problem.  I wrote a lot of detail about why.  Roland wanted to go shopping.  I don’t like shopping.  I try to remain positive.  It was a Saturday in December. He wanted to go furniture shopping.  He wanted to take Jenna with us.  The idea of shopping with both Roland and Jenna is a challenge for my emotions.  There is ALWAYS tension between them when Roland is shopping.  She really didn’t want to go and I told her she could stay home if she wanted to.  I love Jenna.  I really do, but allowing her to stay home would be preventing some of the negativity, so that counts, right?

                We’d gone to a baptism first.  I had been asked to speak about the gift of the Holy Ghost.  I printed out two talks – one with pictures for my primary student and one for me.  It was probably the best part of my day.  I think I was pleasant throughout the remainder of the day.  Whatever negative feelings were inside of me stayed there – but I don’t guess they were eliminated.

                I did well on day 5.  When I do give compliments, they really are genuine.  I gave out more compliments on day 5 than yesterday. Perhaps I should have switched the two around.  My soul purpose for leaving the house yesterday was to have the opportunity to run into others that I might fulfill complimenting three different people.  I forgot.

                On vacation from my emotional class – though I had set up a goal to write down my emotions each day.  I’d somehow forgotten about that too.  I guess my mind really did go on vacation . . .