Hmmm . . .

In the last few months, there have been some major changes in my life. For example, I have a California drivers license. I have a full-time job. I have a husband. And I now have a Mac. All these things are a step up from where I was, to be sure, (mental image: the circa 1990-something Taco Bell commercial about all the grande stuff: Taco. Taco Grande.) but now and again I feel like there's still something missing. Today, I figured out what it was. I miss the right-click function. That's all. 

Schedule me in for next Thursday . . .

Me: Good morning, Mr. M., it's time to get up for the stroke education class.

Mr. M: Oh, I don't think I need to go to that. I didn't plan to have my stroke. I just went in for a routine check-up and I'll be going home soon. Since I wasn't planning on this, I don't think it applies to me.

Me: Mr. M, no one plans to have a stroke (it's really called a cerebral vascular accident - unplanned by definition). This class is just to inform you about the changes to your mind and body since your stroke and will give you ideas about how to prepare for home. 

Mr. M: Ah, well, I guess it can't hurt. I'll go see what this is about. 

I've giggled about that all day. "Oh, I didn't plan this . . . " Some days, I love my job.

What we've been up to . . .

We're baaaack. Look - more than one post in a month. I told you I'd get better!

We went to Huntington Beach for the 4th of July. There we enjoyed spending time with Brent's family, playing in the waves, eating Chronic Tacos, and visiting the Newport Beach Temple. A jam-packed weekend of fun. 

When I was at BYU, I had roommates who used to laugh at me because I could always run into a cousin (which often met meeting new ones). Apparently the knack has followed me to California. Here we are standing on the beach with my cousin, Brig. I had no idea he'd be there. It was fun to finally introduce him to my husband. Yea for cousins!

Out to breakfast. Yum!

My beloved husband has known since we met that I have a terrible weakness for John Mayer. It's not something I can readily explain. He's easily one of my favorite musicians of all time. I love his voice, the voice of his guitar, his lyrics, the way his music is deep and easy to relate to for all kinds of people in all stages of life. It's like a good friend I come back to again and again. The same song can give me comfort in a myriad of situations. Pretty much, I'm hooked.

Anyway, Brent surprised me with tickets to the John Mayer concert in July that was in San Jose. We agreed that the roadside fruitstand we found would have been worth the trip on its own. Next time we won't try driving home in the middle of the night. 

The best part about this concert was that, while Brent bought the tickets to appease my sensibilities, he learned that he had a taste for John Mayer as well. It's now a love we can share. I love finding a new fan!

Then we took a camping trip in Arizona! I love camping and I love Arizona and I love camping in Arizona with my family. The makings of a wonderful trip. It was a pretty interesting drive - neither Brent nor I had ever taken Highway 58 and 40 straight west like that.

On our weekend camping trip, we went canoeing at Lake Mary. Brent wanted to try his hand at fishing there, but there wasn't a lot biting, and we didn't have as much time to sit and fish as we wanted. We did see an incredible osprey in flight right above us. He was washing himself off after a kill and a feast and we got a little to close and startled him. I've never seen a bird do this, but about halfway over the lake, he decided to fluff his feathers. He plumeted toward the water, but spread his wings and caught some lift at the last minute. It was beautiful - one of those moments when I'm struck by the magnificence of God's creatures and I'm so glad I took a minute to enjoy it and let go of the burdens of my life. 

Cousins at the camp.

Turns out Brent and my dad get along pretty well. Phew!

The man and his dwelling. (Granted, I helped. Just a bit.)

Do you see, my friends, what I see? That's right. There's water on these leaves. While we were camping, it rained in the middle of the night. I was engulfed in my favorite sound and favorite smell. I had honestly forgotten what rain smelled like. I love being wrapped up snug in your blankets while listening to rain beat against your tent. Mmmm. 

Pines and quaking aspens. Can life get better? I submit that it cannot!

We didn't eat the mushrooms.

That would be my brother. He makes me smile. A lot.

Lake Mary. It's a little hazy because there were clouds. Those are those fluffy white and gray things that hang in the sky and occasionally drop water on you. In the perpetual brownish-blue haze I live in, I had forgotten how much I LOVE clouds. 

Cousins! I can't even begin to say how much I love these two girls!

Lockett Meadow. Truly, this place is Eden for me. It's a place my family camped a lot when I was younger, so it holds a wonderful sense of nostalgia for me as well.

The Meadow at sunset.

We discovered these on Highway 40. Unfortunately, they are NOT boosts to make your car go faster. What a disappointment. 

A Hitch In Our Git-Along

I know, I know. You've missed me. I've missed you too! I'm a bit ashamed that it has been almost 3 months since my last post. In my defense, things have been a little busy. And, it's one of those things where you want to post, but it's been so long and you have so much to catch up on that you don't know where to start. But I promise to be better. I'm just going to have you up on the most recent events and hope to have a chance to fill in the holes in due time.

So, last Friday (08.08.08) after the amazing opening ceremonies, Brent and I decided to go see a movie with our friends, Quin and Natalie. We had a great time and enjoyed our company and then drove homeward. A date night like any other date night. We were driving home with the windows down because it was a surprisingly pleasant night. About halfway home, we were coming up on an unidentified object lying in the road. Unfortunately, there was median to our left and an indecisive TransAm to our right. We were coming up on the looming object fast, but we had no room to swerve. Brent decided to take it straight on. I didn't hear anything under the front tires, but then I felt the car lurch. 

We craned our ears, but we weren't sure what we heard. It sounded like there could be some rushing air, but the sprinklers were at work in the median so we weren't sure if that air noise was our tire or just in our heads. We drove a few more yards and then Brent decided we should pull over. You guessed it, we had a flat. Of course, we were on one of the darkest portions of the street - no streetlights to illuminate our dire plight. We quickly called our friends and Brent got to work loosening the lugnuts. As Quin and Natalie got there to shed some light on our dire plight, a police officer offered his assistance too. Since we weren't under a streetlight, we were glad that he moved in behind us with his lights going because we'd almost been hit by someone who didn't see that we'd stopped and nearly smashed us. 

Once Brent got the tire off, Quin and Natalie started looking for the hole. They didn't find anything in the tread, and we were hoping maybe we'd just popped the bead. As Quin set the tire in the trunk, I noticed a small gouge in the rim. That was when we saw it - an inch and a half gash in the wall of the tire. So much for that tire!

Once the police drove off, we all drove back around to see what could inflict such damage to our tire. We parked in a vacant parking lot and ran out to the middle of the street to find the offending object. I got there first, and what did I see lying unassumingly in the middle of the street? A trailer hitch. The whole hitch. No wonder we had a gash in our tire! When Brent took in the car to fix the tire, he made a $5 profit on the hitch. I guess it wasn't such a bad misadventure after all.