October Outcomes

In England, the first week of October is Children's Book Week.  What a great idea.  Germany celebrates Unity Day and Canada has its Thanksgiving.  Columbus is the second Monday, Apple Day on the 21st and everyone's favorite, Halloween, is on the 31st.  It is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  October's birthstone is the opal and the flower is the calendula. 

The weather really started changing this month.  The mornings had that great crisp, clean, cold smell of fall.  We even had some snow.  The wind blew for days, but there's still some hardy leaves hanging on for dear life.  How can I rake them when they're still up there?  Guess I won't.  Here's what happened in my life.

2.  I mowed the lawn for the last time this year and I turned on the heater.  (This is going to be a really slow news month)
3-4.  General Conference.  Some really great talks as usual.  Sometimes it's nice to just on the couch in your pj's, eating breakfast and getting your spiritual cup filled. 
14-18.  Mom, Mark, Susan and I drove from Salt Lake City to Reno for our annual fall trip.  Luckily it was overcast on the drive west, and we saw some beautiful skies and interesting lights on the hills. 

With a low tank, we almost stopped in a little hamlet called Puckerbush, but Mark felt like going on to a bigger hamlet.  I'm not sure there is anything bigger between Winnemucca and Reno, but we did finally find a station before the tank was completely dry.  We checked into our rooms at Circus, Circus and ate dinner at The Smokin Gecko BBQ, located int the hotel.  I had barbecue chicken with baked beans and corn on the cob.  Mmmm.  We had such good luck with food on this trip, never a bad meal.  Except for the McDonalds breakfast the next morning.  That was probably our fault as we couldn't seem to get our orders straight.  We headed west to Donners Pass.  The visitor's center there was so interesting, reading about that ill-fated pioneer group, their courage and will to survive.  While driving over the pass, we saw the worse weather of the trip, some cold rain; but the pass is beautiful with great craggy rocks and cliffs.  Then down into sunny California.  We turned left at Auburn and went down a windy road toward Sutter's Mill, passing through Cool.  We had a good time boning up on our gold history at the Mill.  Lunch was at Mel's Original Diner in Placerville.  Great hamburgers.  Next came Lake Tahoe.  What a beautiful view as we traveled up the west side of the lake.

Mark and Susan climbed some rocks overlooking the lake but it was getting dark so we headed back to Reno.  A light night snack at an ice cream shop and we were ready for bed.  Friday we did the river walk in downtown Reno. What an amazing place to have right in the middle of the city. It was absolutely beautiful. There was a sculpture exhibit right off the river that we had a great time perusing. Next, it was south towards Carson City and the the capitol building. What beautiful fall colors that city had. The capitol building is completely surrounded by trees, you can barely see it. And it is very small. The legislature and judicial branches have separate buildings. We took a driving tour and looked at some historical houses around the city. The Governor's Mansion was completely decked out for Halloween. That's a big day for Nevada as it joined the nation on Halloween. However, I thought the Governor overdid it, very gaudy. Still it was fun to see everyone put so much effort into this holiday. We drove down to Gardnerville hoping to see some Basque culture, but missed it. Heading north and west, we came to Genoa (accent on the o since we are not in Italy) to see the first Mormon settlement in Nevada. It was closed for the season but we did walk around the fort and read some of the markers. We did some shopping and visited with some storeowners, very friendly and knowledgeable. There is a great candy store where we spent some time. The owner kept winking at me. What???? We tasted several samples of gelatto before realizing that several had alcohol in them. Annnnyway, it was a fun experience. We then drove back to Tahoe to see the eastern shore. It's a gorgeous lake but way over populated now. This is my favorite shot that I took of the lake. My camera with the zoom was acting so weird and took multiple shots every time I pushed the shutter. So I would have two or three pictures of the exact thing.

Coming back into Reno, we decided to visit the temple. It is not an easy building to find. We even called to get directions but that was just a little bit of help. The problem is that it was dark, you have turn on this certain road; and we just couldn't see the street sign, drove past it two or three times. Mark kept his cool but  it was hard.  Eventually, we made it up the hill and took some pictures of that. The temple sits on a hill overlooking Reno and has a great view. Here's Mom, Mark and Susan huddling up as it was a bit cold.

That night we ate at Louis' Basque Corner. You share a table with other diners and we hit the jackpot with the two couples we ate with. Bryan is of Basque origin and gave us great tips on what to eat. He is a government contractor.  He and his wife were in town opening a major highway. Very fun people. The other couple are college professors from a small town in Northeastern California. Very interesting and fun to talk to. We had a great time. We got up early on Saturday and headed to Virginia City. Since we got there early, we were able to get a good seat at a restaurant that had been restored to fit the Old West. Great breakfast in a great setting. The town itself is way overcommercialized. We were going to take a wagon trip around the town to see the sites, but the wait was just too long. We walked up and down the boardwalks and went into a few shops. I really would have liked to have bought a deck of cards for Nevada, but every deck I saw was a used casino deck. I already have one of those. Rats. We did see the picture of the bride with the silver dollar dress. She is huge and the dress is made up of silver dollars, gold dollars for the belt and her jewelry is dimes and nickels. Then we started the long trek to Ely on the Loneliest Highway in the country. It's pretty desolate and empty. Thank heavens Mark is such a good driver.  Our last night on the road saw us eating pizza in a hotel in Ely.  Pretty good pizza too.  The next morning we walked across the street from our motel  to a park to see paintings on the library wall, the duck pond and some statutes.  Then we headed north on a road even lonelier than the day before.  Needless to say Mark made great time.  It was great to see the Salt Lake and the Salt Flats coming in from the west.  And it was great to get home. Wonderful trip.
28.  Received word that my boss is retiring the end of November.  Big changes.  I'm not excited. 
29.  First snow of the season.  It melted quite quickly but I'm still not ready. 
31.  I went to Jeffery's baptism.  I can't believe he's eight already.  I was moved as John baptized and then Grandpa Myke confirmed him.  Jeff will always be able to remember that he was baptized on Halloween.  And he and Megan were my only trick-or-treaters.  Thanks for not forgetting your old aunt. 

Books:  I read or listened to eleven books.  I am finishing the last two of the Narnia chronicles this week and enjoying them very much.  No five ratings this month, but I gave three books 4.75:  Catching Fire, Stargazing, and A Rule Against Murder.  I spent hours on Halloween reorganizing my books.  I found I was missing eleven books that I showed I owned and haven't read.  Grrrr.  After thinking it over, I realized that my sister has one, two I had already read but didn't check off the TBR list, and one I thought I had bought but apparently didn't.  Don't know where the other eight are.  If you have my copy of Pippi Longstocking, it's time to give it back.  I also found six books that I really didn't want to read so I listed them on Bookmooch.  They were snatched up almost immediately.  Did I act too hastily?  There were ten double entries plus I deleted nine I didn't want to read after all from the list.  The list would be getting smaller except I found sixteen books that weren't even written down.  Maybe I need to quit playing with my lists and read more.  Get that thought behind me.  This is my hobby and I'll hobby it as I want to.  Besides I cleared up some room on the shelves so it was a good thing. 
TV and Movies.  I am totally into Dancing with the Stars, Castle and Gray's Anatomy.  Other than that, I rarely turn the TV on.  I'm sad that Louis Vito got voted off DWTS last week.  He can't dance at all, but he's so darn cute.  Castle just gets better and better.  Saw no movies. 
Overall Impression  The end of October means we're heading into the holiday season.  I'm not ready.  I love Thanksgiving but buying gifts for Christmas is so stressful.  I just want fall to last longer. 

September Summary

September is one of my favorite months.  The change from summer to fall is so beautiful.  Cooler evenings and mornings are my favorites.  A drive up a canyon just illustrates how beautiful fall really is.  And, even though you know winter is on the way, you can still enjoy this time of transition.  Here's how I spent my month:

3rd.   I finished my personal Book Around the States Challenge.  The goal was to read a book set in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.  I started this challenge in August, 2007.  Two years to read 51  books.  There were some really good books included but also some pretty bad ones.  Here are the ones I rated the highest:

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver, Arizona

 Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury, Illinois

More Than You Know by Beth Gutcheon, Maine

English Creek by Ivan Doig, Montana

              The Valley of Light by Terry Kay, North Carolina

                 Peace Like a River by Lief Enger, North Dakota

                Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos, Washington

                                                  October Sky by Homer Hicken, West Virginia

                                                Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink, Wisconsin

3rd  I bought a new toaster.  This might not seem very momentous to you, but I've had that old four-whole toaster since I got married in 1977.  It was time.  I still need to get used to the new one and figure out the best setting, but I'm not mourning the old one.

5th  My thirty-year-old cottonwood finally got a much-needed trim.  It was expensive and I'm not sure it was trimmed enough; but it is still a vast improvement.  I'm not worried any more about a big wind breaking a limb and having it fall through my roof.  I just hope the trimmer got all the diseased portions out. 

6th & 7th Jason, Rachel and baby, Robby, came out to visit.  Robbie is such a cutie.  It was good to hold a smaller baby again.  We played games and went to breakfast on Monday at JB's.

11th & 12th  I went to Provo for Lincoln's second birthday.  It was a traumatic day for him.  He was pushing on the backend of a toy pickup when it flipped and hit him in the face.  So heartbreaking.   Two Tylenols later, he was feeling better and enjoying opening all those presents.  I was happy that he was excited about his Curious George movies.  Lincoln loves Curious George and that was the theme of his birthday party.  His two cousins wore monkey masks but Lincoln refused.  Stacey had bought balloons and had a ring toss game with prizes.  There was even a delicious monkey cake which Lincoln loved.  I can't believe he is two already and getting so big.  In some ways, it's sad because he's not a baby any more; but he just gets more fun all the time.  Wonder what he'll be like at fifteen.

26th & 27th  I went to Provo again to take Lincoln and his parents to the circus at the Energy Solutions Arena.  (Delta Center is so much easier to say.  I wish they could hold onto thier sponsors)  I wasn't sure he would make it through the entire performance, but he did.  It wasn't easy though.  We were late and caught the tail end of the horse performance (tee hee).  Lincoln loved the dogs and clapping with the audience.  Then there was a lot of singing and dancing that reallay tried his patience and subsequently ours also.  It was pretty silly.  He was mesmerized by the elephants, but we had to buy popcorn to keep him entertained after that.  Sadly, the tigers did not impress him at all and there were NO monkeys.  What's up with that??  I'm sorry to future grandchildren but I probably won't repeat that again.  Circuses aren't what they used to be.  Isn't his new haircut cute?  He looks so old.  Sunday I took Jordan, Stacey and Lincoln to breakfast and then drove to SLC to see Cassie.  She had just returned from the British Isles and I got to see all her pictures.  It was so good to see her.  It's been a while.  It sounds like she had a great time for the most part and the pictures were fantastic.  I'm going next summer if I can find someone to go. I think Mark and Mom are on board.  Anyone else?

Obviously, the highlights of this month revolves aroung seeing Lincoln; but I have to tell you how beautiful the drive to Provo and back was on that last trip.  The tree were turning and there were brilliant splashes of yellow, orange and red among the evergreens.  The weather was wonderful and the skies bright blue.  It snowed in the mountains that Sunday but I missed that.  Hopefully, we can go without snow for a little while longer; say three months????

Books Read  I read eleven books and listened to two on CD.  None of them rated a five, but I gave October Sky a 4.75.  It's a wonderful book, well-written and a great view of West Virginia.  I also read all five of the Gardella vampire series.  I liked it but don't feel the need to read it again.

Movies and TV  I watched no movies.  Good thing Cassie is back.  Maybe she'll visit soon and we can see a movie together.  Dancing with the Stars started again.  There is a great bunch of dancers this year.  The two worst got voted off the first week, but there aren't too many that aren't fun to watch.  I'm thinking Mya will win.  Donny Osmond is pretty good ad has a large fan base and Natalie Coughlin is a good bet since gold medal winners always seem to do well.  But I really like Derek Hough and his partner, Joanne.  She's just not very well known.  I'm loving Castle and Gray's Anatomy. 

Overall Impression  I mowed my lawn on Labor Day and then forgot about it until October 1st.  It's actually doing pretty good.  Still eating fresh tomatoes and even put up some corn and zucchini. Haven't tried the carrots yet.  Next year, I really need to plant a better garden.  The month started out hot and ended just right.

August Actions

August has been a very quiet month for me. Things have been slow at work. I did get a new boss finally. Preston had been trying to watch over Vernal while doing his new job in Provo since the first of the year. Now Don Cook from Moab is taking charge of the Uintah Basin along with the branches in the southeast. He's been great and it's good to have things settled again. I haven't gone out of town since the first weekend. Not much to talk about this month.

1st-2nd Saturday was the last day of the family reunion. We were in charge of breakfast so we had fruit, muffins, eggs and milk and juice. Spent way too much money. We made a quick run to Barnes and Noble where I bought a couple of books. Just what I needed. Back to the reunion where we played cards for a while before heading back to Salt Lake. I went to Stacey and Jordan's to play with Lincoln while they continued packing for their big move. We met everyone at Zupas for dinner. The next morning I took Stacey, Jordan, Lincoln and Cassie to breakfast at the Red Rooster Waffle Co. Everyone seemed to like it except me. It was just okay.
6th I picked my first tomato. It wasn't quite ripe, but we had this torrential hail storm and my almost ripe tomato took a direct hit. So I had to eat it. Not bad but I am excited to get some more ripe ones. It was a fantastic storm. Lots of lightening that night and rain.
18th-23rd Kevin and Debbie and their family came to visit Mom. I didn't see them until Thursday at a picnic at Myke and Cheya's. It was good to see all of them again. Cassie came out Friday and so did Brett and Angela. A little nerts that night and the name game on Saturday. Good times. And it was so good to have Cassie home again. It's been quite some time since she last visited Vernal. On Sunday, a bunch of us attended the temple dedication broadcast for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. Wonderful talks.
30th Instead of regular church, a four-stake conference was held to create a new stake in Vernal. It was exciting to see what the changes were and all four stake-centers were packed. They moved two wards out of stake and about six families from my ward were moved to one of those two wards. A few families from the two changing wards were moved into wards in my stake including Mom. I guess it made the boundaries more regular. Anyway, not much change for me. The talks were wonderful though.
Books Read I read fifteen books, including the first four of Susan Albert Wittig's Beatrix Potter series. Very good. The other two I really enjoyed were both Young Adult books: Framed by Frank Boyce Cottrell and Peak by Roland Smith. One takes place in Wales and the other on Mt. Everest.
TV and Movies I didn't watch any movies except for bits and pieces of movies that Cassie watched. I am watching America's Got Talent which I am really enjoying. I don't always agree with the judges, they seem a bit more sentimental about some contestants that I am but it's still fun to watch. They reran a couple of Castle episodes. I'm hoping that show gets picked up this fall. I really like it.
Overall Impression I can't imagine what I did all month. Read, I guess. It's been a good summer, not too hot, but we could use more rain. I'm loving my chairs and bench outside. I don't have air conditioning but it still gets so cold inside my house (trees are great) that I take my book outside and sit and read until I warm up. I also bought and mooched a bunch of books online. I don't know where to put them but at least I have them. And I have harvested quite a few tomatoes. There are some scars from the hail and a few are pretty odd looking, but they taste great. I had my eye on one perfect tomato that was almost ripe. When I went to pick it some animal had got to it first. It was laying on the ground half eaten. Grrrrr. My carrots are coming along but are nowhere near big enough to pull up.

Lincoln

Waiting for the jets

Cooling off in the sprinkler

Amazing fireworks

I didn't know he could open his mouth this big.

I know I said these pictures would be below my July Jottings, but you are all so smart, I knew you could figure it out. To get the full scoop, keep reading.

July Jottings

I'll bet you'll be amazed to learn that July is the hottest month of the year in the Northern hemisphere and the coldest in the Southern. Actually, we've only had a few really hot days this year, but don't think I'm complaining. (Could use more rain though) I tend to spend a lot of time indoors avoiding the heat and sun, even though this year I may have spent a bit more time outside. In June, I bought two adirondack chairs for my patio. This month I finally got them painted and assembled. Whew, that was a lot of work but I really like them. Guess I'll have to spend even more time out there sitting in them. I'll just hop from one to the other. July's birthstone is the ruby, flower - larkspur or water lily; and it's named for Julius Caeser. Good stuff, huh? Surprisingly, ten countries celebrate Independence Day during this month. Only the U.S. celebrates it on the 4th and only Utah celebrates the 24th of July. You can read a great post on building a float for the 24th here . Here's my doings for the month:

July 2 - I caved into pressure from Jordan and bought a new cell phone. I just couldn't take the snide remarks about my antique phone any more. After a month, may I just say that I really miss that old phone even if it isn't as pretty as the new one? At least I could hear it ring.

July 3 - Jordan, Stacey and Lincoln came to visit. They stopped by the bank so I got to show Lincoln off. We ate at 7-11 (not the convenience store, Vernal has a restaurant that's been here for years) and went home to watch National Treasure 2.

July 4 - I got everyone up early to watch the annual Main Street parade. I knew Lincoln would be excited about seeing the jets from Hill Air Force Base fly over. Well, the parade was a let down. It was really hot and everything started late. Lincoln was not happy about being unable to run free in the crowds, especially since there were some fun-looking dogs close by. Then he got sunscreen in his eye. Not a happy boy. When the jets finally flew by, it was pretty anticlimatic. They didn't even make that huge noise like they used to. We hurried home to bathe the poor child. After his nap, Lincoln went outside to run through the sprinkler. Isn't it amazing how much fun a kid can have with so little? Then we went to Cheya's for the annual barbecue. Fantastic, as always. A little before nine, we walked over to the ballpark to watch the fireworks. It took forever for it to get dark enough and Lincoln does not like to sit and wait. Plus it was way past his bedtime. Fortunately, he loved the fireworks, at least for a while. I posted some pictures of him below. All in all, it was a fun day and I loved having them all here. Cassie elected to go to Cedar City this year. I hope she doesn't make a habit of that.

July 7 - 8 I traveled to Provo for training and ate at Zupas. It is my new favorite place to eat. I bought a new flat screen TV and DVD-VCR for the bank and an MP3 for me. It's a Sony Walkman. Wonder how long it will take me to figure it out.

July 9 - Maddy and I stayed to oversee installing all new computers and printers at the bank. It was supposed to be an all-nighter but we were done by midnight.

July 14 - 15 More training in Provo. Dinner at Zupas again. For lunch, we went to an Italian restaurant just east of the main Wells Fargo in downtown Provo. Can't remember the name but it was very good and reasonably priced. I'm really tired of training.

July 24 This is a big holiday in Utah. I mowed the lawn, watered and went to Lowe's. I spent a small fortune on new sprinklers, tree food, bug killer, bug fogger for inside the house, weed killer, spray paint and an electric hedge trimmer. That night we ate at Steve and Verona's in their beautiful back yard.

July 25 - First thing, I went to Smiths to buy ingredients for muffins to take to the family reunion next week. Home again, I put out the bug killer. I hate those box elder bugs, earwigs and little black beetles. Sprinkled tree food around the trees. Made muffins. And I painted the chairs. The salesman at Lowes told me one can of paint should do both chairs but I should buy two, just in case. At nine that night I went back to Lowe's for three more cans. Why do they make those lids so hard to get off? By the time all the pieces of those chairs were painted, my fingers were permantly curved. Looks evil, somehow.

July 26 - I finally figured out the Walkman and downloaded a couple of books. Funny, how when I downloaded the software to my computer, all the books I had deleted from RealPlayer copied over. No wonder my computer's memory is full. I deleted them with the new software and it gave me the option to delete them from my computer. Man, I hope that works.

July 27 - Day off from work. First thing, I went to Lowes to return a sprinkler and then Walmart for who knows what. All I know is it took longer than it should have. I almost missed breakfast at McDonalds. Then I took my Walkman and my drill outside to assemble the chairs. Several hours later and after a trip to True Value to get a screw I had drilled into an anchor out of the anchor, one chair was finished. It took me an hour to finish the other. Now that I've got it down, I really should assemble some more. Except absolutely no painting. I was even able to listen to the entire book called Nation by Terry Pratchett. And to round things off, I washed clothes and sheets and got all the beds made. I need a day off to rest but no, I have to work the next day because we are so shorthanded.

July 31 - Mom and I traveled to Salt Lake on out way to the family reunion in Layton. We decided to meet Cheya and Myke, Susan, and Mark at Zupas on Redwood Road. The only problem is there is no Zupas on Redwood Road. It was my suggestion and I feel guilty especially since it took us another hour to get to the Zupas on 123rd. Only Mark didn't make it because he has no cell phone so we could tell him the change in plans. Thankfully, it was worth it. So good that we went to the one on 106th the next night. But that is August so will have to wait. We made it to the reunion in Layton after a circuitous drive. Always fun to listen to Myke and Cheya navigate. I was just glad that I wasn't driving. My cousin, Tom, had reserved his ward's bowery and park. It was beautiful and a great place for a reunion. It was good to see everyone. Cassie and Kevin even came up from Salt Lake and Vernal respectively. Kristi and Ronnie came the next day. Mostly we ate with our own families but did play the Newlywed game which was fun. Cassie was my spouse and we did pretty good.

Books Read I read or listened to ten books this month. My favorite was The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, a great kid's book. I also enjoyed Lemon Tart by Josi Kilpack, a mystery with a middle aged woman who solves the crime. Still pluggin away on reading a book from each state. I have four more to go.

TV and Movies The Batchelorette is finally over. Jillian chose Ed. I was rooting for Kipton. Such drama. The whole thing is getting a little over the top for me but I will probably still watch the next one. It's like a train wreck. There's not much else on. I'm not getting much of a bang for my Dish Network buck. I watched National Treaure 2 with Jordan and Stacey and enjoyed it as always.

Overall Impression I'm really tired.

A Visitor

I walked in my kitchen tonight after changing the water on my lawn. In the middle of the floor sat my visitor. It was a chipmunk!!! I ran back outside; he ran down the hall. Rats, I can't have a rodent running around in the bedrooms. Leaving the back door open and armed with my trusty broom, I ran to the front door and open it. I turned around and there he was, sneaking behind the couch. I screamed. Yes, I'm not proud; but this is a truthful accounting. And that ridiculously high-pitched squeak (it was a poor excuse for a scream) confused the critter who turned in a circle and ran into the kitchen. I didn't see where he went (the little beggar is very fast); but I'm assuming he had some intelligence and headed for the open door. I ran down the hall and closed all those doors and the front door. But just in case, the back door is still open (a welcome to all those flies outside) and I'm typing with my feet held as high off the floor as I can manage. I've always enjoyed the rare glimpses I've had of this fellow when he ventures out of the woodpile into the great beyond of my yard. But I think he crossed a line today. I know he looks cute, but that doesn't thaw my cold, cold heart at all. What if he made it back into the bedrooms when I wasn't looking. How will I sleep tonight? EEEEEEEK.

June Jumbles

I just re-read my May posting which talked of turning off the gas heater. Well in June, I turned it back on . . . twice. I know, the first day of summer is in June, but this June has been unusually cold and rainy. But I'm not complaining, I like the rain. June's flower is the rose . . . wait, that's May's flower. I guess they have to share. The gemstone is a pearl or an alexandrite. Father's Day falls in June as well.
So here's how I amused myself this past month:
6th Mark was in town so I went to dinner with Mark, Mom, Cheya, Myke , Steve and Verona at Don Pedro's. I had the Carne Adabada. Sooo good. I can't remember if we went and played games afterwards or not. Hmmmm
10th & 11th I have written in my calendar on these two days: "Days from Hell at work. Wonder what that is all about? I think we had people calling in sick right and left and Maddy was on vacation.
11th We had a office party at Maddy's ranch up past Red Fleet reservoir. She has the wonderful picnic area down a little hill from her house. Since it has rained hard that day, we had to be driven down the wet, slippery, muddy road down the hill to her house and then walk a short ways to the picnic place. But it was beautiful there. Maddy's husband, Bob, had built a fire in the firepit and there were peacocks on the shed roof watching us. The food was great and a bunch of people played bocci ball. They played it quite bit differently than how I played it a few years ago with my family but it was fun to watch. I didn't stray too far from the fire. The party was just what we all needed to relieve tensions that had been building at work. I work with a bunch of great people who I consider to be good friends. But we really, really needed that party.
19th - 21st I took some time off from work and spent a few days in Salt Lake visiting Jordan, Stacey, Lincoln and Cassie. Naturally, we went out to eat. Friday night we went to Johnny Carrinos which serves scrumptious Italian food. Cassie and I babysat Lincoln while Jordan and Stacey went to a movie. It was Angels and Demons. Jordan came home upset. It was his favorite book and I guess the movie botched it. The next day I took it easy. Jordan and Stacey and Lincoln went to Lindon for a birthday party. That night, we went to dinner to celebrate Cassie's birthday and the restaurant we had finally decided on turned out to be closed. So we settled on Tempanyaki's, a Japanese hibachi-grill restaurant. It was quite expensive but sooo worth it. It was fun watching them cook our food but eating it was even better. It may just be my new favorite place. Cassie and I saw a movie, The Proposal, with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds which we both liked a lot.
23rd Cassie birthday. I can't believe she's 27. That must make me 42. :)
Books Read 9
Pages Read 2603
Books Listened to 1
The Good Good Pig by Sy Montgomery, rated 3.5
Agent in Lace by Tristi Pinkston, rated 4.5
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, rated 5 (One of my favorites this year)
Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fanny Flagg, rated 4
Where Rivers Change Direction by Mark Spragg, rated 4.25
The Secret Life of Houdini, by William Kalush, rated 4 (audio)
Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos, rated 5
The Lost German Slave Girl by John Bailey, rated 4.5
Indigo Dying by Susan Wittig Albert, rated 4
Spanish Dagger by Susan Wittig Albert, rated 4.25
TV
I am still watching The Bachelorette. There is one bachelor named Wes that eveyone hates except for Jillian. He is such a player. You'll have to wait until next month to hear what happens next. That's it. My TV is getting dusty just sitting there.
Movies
The Proposal, see my comments above.
Overall Impression
It was great to have a few days off work but I still have massive amounts of PTO to use up. I just wished I had something fun to do or a trip to take. It was still rainy off and on but warmer. My lawn is starting to get dry but I have carrots and tomatoes growing. Mmmmm, something to look forward to.