#46 - Moosed Out?

I am sorry to do yet another post about the Moose in my yard...c'mon, I got some decent pictures at least. I was on the deck one morning this weekend when I heard the unmistakable sound (I love hearing the "unmistakable" sounds because all other sounds start to sound like moose...until you hear the unmistakable one) of branches breaking and looked up to see a Mama Moose w/ her tiny baby crashing through the trees. I was just about to go out front to begin working in the yard for the morning and made a mental note to pay attention...good thing.

I was out by the mail box cutting off dead poppy stems when I heard a noise...I look up, and sure enough, here they come walking down the street. Needless to say I suddenly became quite spry and jumped over some rocks doing a quick step to my open garage door taking cover by my car. They ended up across the street in my neighbors yard eating the lilac bush. In case you are wondering, the baby is IN the bush.

I went inside to grab my camera and when I came out, I heard the sound of a dog collar...hmmm, is that unsuspecting walker coming from up the street or down the street. I was loathe to leave the shelter and quick retreat by the garage door and the next thing I know a lady and her dog are by the mail box having totally missed the moosen across the street due to my lovely flowers distracting her. I was gesturing discretely, so as not to spook the moose, and whisper talking "hey" when she finally looked up and said, "your flowers are so lovely" - I kept pointing past her and she turned and said with very little concern, "Oh, I didn't even see her there...ha, ha, ha". I thanked her for the nice compliment and she just went on her merry way.

Then the baby popped out of the bushes and they started across the street...



Where they began enjoying the bushes in my yard...I ventured out as far as I dared to get this darling photo..

Then a brown lab was coming over and barking, REALLY agitating the Mama, so she chased him off accompanied by much clattering and grunting...

Then the baby poked it's head out to see where Mom went...I gently encouraged him to get back in the bushes and wait for the all clear sign from Mom...he did, he slunk right back in there until Mama came to collect him.

Don't ask why I have garbage sack wrapped tires in the trailer...you will need to ask Trav why those are still in our driveway. Doesn't that baby look like a stuffed horse?

Trav and I have seen a lot of moose up her by the house, but it just never gets old.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "It is quite possible to leave your home for a walk in the early morning air and return a different person - beguiled, enchanted." Mary Ellen Chase

Day #45 - Happy Happy

Last Saturday when we were up North at the Eagle Scout project my niece Josie asked Travis and I if she could come over for a BBQ on the 28th..."SURE"...how sweet that she would want to come up AND that she would ask. I didn't realize until yesterday it was actually her B-Day today...I was pretty amazed she'd want to hang with family on her 17th Birthday.



Happy Birthday JOSIE DANA!!

Before they came to my house they went to the zip line at the Olympic Park in Park City. They all said they had a fun time were only nervous until the door opened and they zoomed out onto the line. Josie brought her boyfriend Josh with her as well. We all really like him; he will be leaving to serve an LDS Mission to Fort Lauderdale, FL in September...I remember those days well - saying 'good bye', sending packages, writing letters & better yet receiving letters...such a long time ago.

Here are a few other photos:

Ah Family...Gotta love 'em. THANKS for coming to our home and celebrating your day with us Josie - it meant a lot to us. I am so proud of Josie - she has done so much in her short life; she has been on two service vacations (that's what I call it) to foreign countries, she is in the process of getting her CNR (is that right? Certified Nurse something) to complete an internship at Huntsman Cancer Institute to pay for a scholarship and she really seems to have a good head on her shoulders. She has a bright future ahead of her & it is thrilling to watch her grow up.

Incidentally, thanks to the family calendar, I realized it is also Melissa and Kevin's 19th wedding Anniversary today...I hope I get to read a good story about how wonderful it was...

I Am Grateful,

HB

Diva Quote: My sister shared my Dad's words on his feelings about service - I don't want to lose them in the comments, so share them here:

"The way I see it is all we have is time, and that time is very precious, but you could give of yourself- every minute of every day, and you would yet remain an unprofitable servant...The more you give... God just gives you more, you can never get on top of it." Dad Dana

Day #44 - I like to learn, but...

Do you not LOVE it when you have a know-it-all in class that has to comment on EVERYTHING the Instructor is trying to teach? I know, I know...I often admit to my own know-it-all classification, BUT I like to think I can temper it when necessary.

To keep my Real Estate license active I am required to take 18 hours of continuing education every 2 years. So far I have taken about 4 hours and my license renews in September...I've got a ways to go. Today I had the opportunity to take 6 hours of CE credits for free...I did NOT have time to take it, but I MADE time since time is quickly running out.

The first class was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo BORING! At first, there was a great tidbit that was useful and interesting and then there was a lot of good information that was repeated over and over and over in different ways. THEN it finally picked up in the last 30 minutes with tons of information being thrown out - the info we had been waiting 2.5 hours to get to, and this KNOW-IT-ALL just keeps interrupting the instructor to tell him how SHE does the same thing, giving the distinct impression her way is the "right" way.

At one point I said under my breath, "It is only a suggestion" and was considering turning around and "steam rolling" the lady when the instructor pointed at her with his red dry erase marker and said VERY sternly, "I do NOT have time to debate with you!" She said, "But, I...", Instructor, double jab point, "I do NOT have TIME to debate with you", she said, "But when I..." Instructor, both hands (marker in each hand) held out to his sides, "AGAIN? I DO NOT HAVE TIME TO DEBATE WITH YOU!!". It was SO funny. The very best part is...this lady wasn't even fazed. I snuck a peak at her to witness her red face and puckered mouth tight with anger and frustration...nope...nothin'. She looked normal and even talked to her buddy for a second after the incident. Weird.

The only other thing that I enjoyed about the day was seeing "my" agents at the class. It was fun to feel some camaraderie as agents from my office walked in. One of them sat with me in the first class, he's one of our 'big deal' agents and I got to get to know him better and watch him doodle pictures all over the handouts knowing he was thinking the same things I was and trying desperately not to nod off.

I will admit the information was good, just needed to get on with it in the first 3 hours. The 2nd class was MUCH better. We stayed on task, the information was new to me and know-it-all didn't make it to this class. It was a crazy day since I had to do my normal stuff in 1 hour instead of 8 (you know what I mean), but I am SUPER glad to get 6 hours out of the way.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote - For my know-it-all friend, take it from me:
"I’ve seen how you can’t learn anything when you’re trying to look like the smartest person in the room.” Barbara Kingsolver

Day #43 - Tree Down

We have 2 rather large aspen trees that died the first year we were here in Summit Park and there are other smaller trees around the yard we have been meaning to get rid of...FINALLY, Travis and my Dad got out the 'ol chain saw and took care of business.

There are actually 2 big tree stumps. Dad left one tall enough for me to put a bird house on top of the stump the other (on the left by the green hose) was cut to the ground and just looks like another rock.

It is amazing how much space was created by removing those two trees. It makes me realize we could really have a back yard if we cleared out the brush and bushes, trees and weeds. Maybe someday...all it takes is hard work and money.

Travis and Dad - my heroes. While they were hauling wood it started to POUR rain...Mom and I just sat on the covered deck while the rain poured down...Sometimes it is good to be a woman (not that I couldn't have helped out, but I was making dinner).

Now all I need to do is call the fire department to see about them coming and turning these branches into bark for us.

On another note...I am a pretty patient person when it comes to other peoples animals, mostly because my own are such crazies at times. BUT there is a dog out there tonight that has been barking steadily for over an hour now. I hope the owners are not home, because if they are, and their dog is making that kind of racket...I guess that would make them very inconsiderate neighbors.

ANYWAY, Thanks Travis and Dad for getting that dirty job done...glad it was you & not me...I love you both.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Blessed are those who give without remembering. And blessed are those who take without forgetting.” Bernard Meltzer

Day #42 - Look Up...

Eagle project day at the Dana's house. Seth Dana got a bunch of people organized to do some trail maintenance in Kaysville. The trail he picked is one Travis, Jason, Mel and fam have utilized many times over the years. They did some badly needed grooming and widening of the much used trail.

When I found out about it I was planning to go help, but I was basically told my job was to go keep Mom, Keri and Amy company...geez twist my arm. Travis ended up being one of the team leaders and I think he had a good time hanging out with the kids he was supervising (his nieces Josie and Abby among them). I guess it was pretty hard work, but Travis said he was proud of how hard all the kids worked and he himself got a huge blister on his hand.

I think the funniest thing that occurred was Golden came away with a bunch of burs in his leg hair and dad had a few on his head that Keri had to cut out...whoops. Travis told Golden he should shaved his legs like he does for biking to avoid unnecessary burr action. Too little too late I am afraid.

I was super proud of Seth. He did a good job getting the group organized, laying out the instructions, setting up the groups and their assignments and seeing the project through. I hope I get the chance to read his written report about the project as well.

Soon we will have 2 Eagle Scouts in our collection of Nephews!! Way to go Ethan & Seth!!!
I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will." Vince Lombardi

Day #41 - Bear Aware

I have had this night on my calendar for weeks...it was Bear Aware night for Summit Park residents at the library. It was a pretty sparse crowd at the beginning, but people eventually filtered in. I have wanted to support the local HOA for some time because I keep picturing normal everyday folk like me trying to get the community to participate in beautification projects, clean-up suggestions, give a $#@! PLEASE parties and then have 5 people show up...I know how that feels and have been meaning to be more supportive of the people that do care about our community. Well, tonight was the night.

I can't remember if I have already mentioned it, but there have been 2 black bears spotted in our direct neighborhood recently. The wildlife folks were called in and both bears were removed within a few weeks of each other. Depending on the bears behaviors they either move the animal to another location OR they put the animal down. In the case of these bears they decided just to relocate both, but one, a female, didn't come out of the tranquilizer.

I have a pretty good knowledge of bears simply because we have a book called "Bear Attacks" and would read stories from it when we went camping after we first got married...it was better than ghost stories when we were camping in bear country. I know not to lay down and play dead, I know not to run away & to make your self look bigger, don't look the bear in the eye, don't climb a tree and if, on the long shot, the bear does attack you? Fight with ALL your might - punch the nose, poke out the eyes, round house kick...whatever it takes.

Things I didn't know...Bear Pepper Spray works 90% of the time to deter a bear. There are ONLY black bears in Utah. Bears love sugar water and bird seed. Bears clack their teeth together when they are nervous.

Regardless, as much as I love wildlife and seeing such great animals from a high deck is amazing and wonderful, no matter how prepared I may feel to react, I am not anxious to meet one up close and personal no matter how "scared" they might be of me.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise.” Winnie the Pooh

Day #40 - Random Old Clothes

The other day I was cleaning out some shelves to do a DI run to donate some clothes I no longer wear that have just been taking up space in my closet, when I came across some black capri pants I totally forgot I own. "Hey...I remember you guys...huh..."

It is that same great feeling you get when you find a $20 dollar bill in that jacket you wore last Spring...It isn't like they are the best pants of the century, or even my favorite pants, neither is twenty bucks a Ben Franklin, but it still feels like getting away with something sneaky or winning a raffle at the fair.

I can't believe how many clothes just hang in my closet being unused...there were 3 shirts I never wore and was too unorganized to return, that have been in my closet for 3 years now. There is another shirt that I love the idea of wearing, but it hangs funny, so I don't wear it. I would have put that in the DI pile, but I think I can talk my sister Amy into making it into a decorative pillow...it has lots of ruffles on it.

Then there are those things I just can't bring myself to throw away...3 pairs of ratty slippers (resisted, but finally relented), a black shirt that has lost 2 buttons and has several snags in it, but I still love that shirt and convinced myself it can be repaired, a skirt that has 2 holes down the sides that I also convince myself CAN be fixed, but the fabric is a fragile over skirt that is shear and will most likely not hang right if I try to sew it up, a few white t-shirts I believe can be saved and that weird spot will come out if I only believe hard enough...we can only try.

I guess I am not really sure what the point is of this post, but I do know I am happy I found those pants.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Impossible only means that you haven't found the solution yet." unknown

Day #39 - Roots

I just started listening to "Roots" book on CD. At first it seemed like it was going to be a little boring, a real snooze fest, but now that I am a few hours in I begin to see how it is already imprinting on me. The cover says it is a story about an American family, but the story starts in Africa. I am just waiting to see how they get taken from their home and way of life, which I have come to admire so much, to become a slave family in America. I am dreading finding out who will not make the trip, which of the main character's brothers or friends will be killed in the process and if his parents will be taken or if they will be left behind.

The way love is expressed in the culture is very interesting. It is not physical or verbal, but subtle and super touching. The way children are raised is so strict. The bonds are strong, communication so honest, respect - important above all else. It has been interesting to watch the characters develop and to gain a fuller understanding of the culture, learning at the same time Kunta learns the way of his world. I wonder how the way Kunta was raised will affect the way he is a slave in America and how he will handle his experience.

I know how incredible America is, but I am also reminded that our way is not the only way or even the best way in some cases. I think again how easy my life is compared to so many others and how much I have that I can really do without; how much I want that I don't necessarily need. I flinch inside when I think about the slave traders and how shameful it was to rip people from their lives, how impossibly horrifying for the people who were taken and how incredibly unbelievable that people felt ok about it at one time.

I'm not saying I wish I lived in Africa and experienced Kunta's way of life...no thank you. But I am reminded, once again, how much we can learn from other people's culture and how rich other peoples lives are because of how and where they were raised. Maybe this book will make me more interested in my own background...my own Roots, and I will take the time to study all the information gathered by my Aunts over the years.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: Kunta's Father, Omoro, holds his infant son up to the starry night sky and says: "Kunta Kinte, behold the only thing greater than yourself!"

Day #38 - Hair Ker

Circumstances recently aligned for an opportunity to have my sister, Keri, color my hair. My hair started going gray when I turned 20...these days I am blessed with my mother's white wings at my ears and salt and pepper throughout the rest of my hair...lots and lots of salt. I do not feel quite ready to give in to the mature older woman look, so I have been coloring my hair for many years.

Keri, Golden and Seerie came up to our house yesterday and Keri colored my hair...it did take a long time and did not have the same convenience of a salon, but we did get to spend several hours together getting caught up on each others lives. When I made my recent list of things I wanted to do to make my life more enjoyable I added "spend more quality time with my sisters". I think spending a few hours with Keri every 5 weeks is a good start.

How did it turn out? There is one spot that needs to be fixed, but I like how Keri just takes the bull by the horns and goes for it. I now have quite a bit of red in my hair. Every time I looked in the mirror today it felt like I was wearing a wig. Keri also darkened the bottom layers and overall base color, so my hair is much darker than it was 2 days ago. I was actually startled how heavy the color was once it was all on my head:

I don't have a "finished" photo yet...I'll just go take one real quick....Here it is...the lighting is kind of lame and this is my hair being wrapped in a bun for an afternoon after sweating to death while washing Sunday dinner dishes...aka "not the way I normally style it".

Sometimes it looks more brown and other times it is more red...anyway, we will see how it goes. It is always fun to try new things.

Now for the cutest photo I got of the day...

The first thing Seerie does when she comes to our house is to start asking about the Kitty, whom she calls "Boss". Her real name is Echo, but we started calling her "Little Boss" because she pretty much thinks she owns the joint, of course the name stuck. Luckily we were able to locate the cat first thing and several additional times throughout the afternoon. I am very pleased that Seerie seems to know how to touch animals - very softly. We loved having them here.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Life is an endless struggle full of frustrations and challenges, but eventually you find a hair stylist you like."  ~Author Unknown

Day #37 - What Schedule?

I will tell you something...it is hard to break old habits. The last several days have not gone exactly according to my new brilliant plan. I have decided there are not enough hours in the day. I would prefer 36 hours to each day...12 hours work/chores, etc., 12 hours fun/reading/writing, 12 hours for sleep. If I ever get to create a world this is how I will set things up. I think I will also lay off the heat waves....ugh; nothin' like a neck sticky with sweat. I don't know why temperatures need to get higher than 85/90. I'm sure there is some reason for the rule, but it probably has to do with some life form - I think I would just do away with said life form instead.  

Anyway, schedules are tough. I'm also trying to stop drinking too much caffeine...not going so hot and I keep nodding off as I write this. I am doing better with my time at the office, which is stellar, but my time here at home MUST be better spent.

Must-close-eyes...

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Sleep is Good. Go Worship" Jim Butcher

Day #36 - Listen

So...fun fact (at least for me); my husband now has a love of the book on CD...AHHHH FINALLY. I love how he wants to talk about what is happening, but he can't because I haven't read it (listened to it) yet. I don't have a problem with 'spoilers' (I like to read the last 5 pages of most books), but he insists I have to wait. We will see.

Tonight I mentioned an agent in my office and he perked up, repeating the agents name as a question. "Yes, that is right" I tell him. "That is the guys name in the book". "No it's not." "Yes, it is...I am pretty sure." Apparently, the book I picked for him at the library on Saturday is action packed and good so far (1 day in). I love it. Now he can feel my pain of having all that excitement built up and wanting to share it with someone. I guess that is why there are book clubs, or friends with similar tastes in reading.

When I was on my way to the library to exchange our books I asked if he wanted to come and pick out his next 'read'. Originally he said yes, but then he told me part of the fun is having me bring him back a surprise. I think I believe him and it makes me happy standing in the MP3 isle reading action adventures deciding which he might like best..."Killer Summer" "Watchman" "Sentry" "Locked and Loaded" "Pride and Prejudice"...hmmm, maybe not...LOL.

Anyway, if you can't read it, listen to it...pretty great stuff.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: ""Bore, n.: A person who talks when you wish him to listen." -  Ambrose Bierce

Day #35 - Self Analysis

Well...I did it. I finally sat down with myself for 1 hour and did my deep self analysis on what I want out of life. It is apparently as the forefathers thought..."life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"...well, pretty close anyway.

I asked myself, "at the end of my life, what do I want to have accomplished". I asked this in the broad sense of the meaning, not the specific sense in actual accomplishments. I decided I want to be happy, I want to enjoy living my life and I want to make a difference; I want my life to have mattered. Easy enough and pretty common I would think. The bigger question is, what do each of these really mean to me?

Things that make me happy:
* A happy husband actually makes me more happy
* Feeling good about myself
* My Family - their successes make me happy
* Doing a good job w/results both at home and at work
* Learning new things
* Being productive
* Financial Security

What do I currently enjoy? What am I passionate about?
* Reading
* Writing
* Gardening
* Sharing what I learn w/others
* Learning new things
* Accomplishing my goals

I also wrote down things I would LIKE to do to increase enjoyment in my life (i.e. traveling).

I then made a list of people whose lives I directly affect - the list is actually pretty long if you really look at all the people you come into contact with daily. I wrote down broad and specific things I can begin doing to make a difference in the lives of those around me. I have long since known I am happiest when those around me are happy...I believe this is a trait I inherited from my Mother.

Finally, I wrote down a daily schedule to work out the details on how to increase my chances of success in these three areas of my life. One thing I know about myself is, I tend to live my whole life on the weekends, ALL chores inside and outside are done on Saturday/Sunday and anything Trav and I do for fun usually fall on those days as well. This makes weekends exhausting and short. I have decided to try a new strategy of being more productive during the week so I can do more enjoyable things on the weekend.

This is just a sampling of how I am starting to shift my focus from "roll with it" to "create it"...should be fun and interesting. I will let you know how it goes.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "You can close your eyes to the things you do not want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel." Johnny Depp

Day #34 - Happy 4th Y'all

My friend Amy Pascoe came to Utah for a visit...she just finished school and is a Registered Nurse working in the ER of a hospital in South Carolina. She told a few stories and all I can say is..."good for you - I am glad someone can stomach the work".

Today we went to lunch with the mother-of-the-year (truly such a good Mom and such great kids), aka 'other friend Lori' and caught up on each other's lives a bit, made fun of each other, laughed loudly and made plans to meet somewhere in exactly 2 years for a girls trip to celebrate our old advanced age of 40 year old. We told Karen, Amy's sister, she could come if she wants to chaperon us young 'uns (she is only a few years old than us, but why wouldn't we bug her about that?).

These ladies are two of my 3 best friends from high school. Truly, they were my saving grace and the best part is, we have stayed good friends for the last 20 years. We all ended up in different places and doing very different things, but we still care deeply about each other and I am so glad the friendship still feels strong after so many years.

Here is a picture with Karen, Amy's older sister. This is the Karen that gave me that amazing Christmas ornament this past year. I will say this about Karen - she is such a good sport. We hassled her pretty good while she was here, all in good fun, of course, and she took it like a pro. I loved hearing about her life, the stories she has written and her ambitions to go back to school - why not? I hope she goes back to be a geologist like she thinks about doing...go for it!!

I just want my girls (that includes YOU Karen) to know we are going on a trip for our 40th year. We have 2 years to save our trip nest egg...get crackin' so we can meet up somewhere cool...!! Love you guys - I will be thinking of you, Amy & Karen, as you make the drive back to South Carolina.

I Am Grateful,

HB

Diva Quote: "A friend is someone who will bail you out of jail. A best friend is the one sitting next to you saying, "Boy, was that fun." The Maugles

Day #33 - If Wishes were Fishes

I am going to wax philosophical for a minute...the other day at work my boss was teaching a class on leadership; he asked the question, "When I am under pressure what comes out of me?" I have actually always performed pretty well under pressure and struggle more with the down time than anything else so I felt ok going into the discussion around that question, but then he started talking about some key points of leadership:

1) Leaders have a clear vision
* OK - I need to DEFINE my vision of life and work. I have realized recently that I have lots of goals, but I am lacking a real clear overall vision of what I want to accomplish or how I want my life to look. I haven't really thought that thru for a long time.

2) Leaders have confidence (i.e. clear purpose/serve others/etc.)
* There is that clarity of purpose again...I can't say I have total confidence very often...there are moments, but it is not a consistent feeling for me.

3) Leaders take ACTION
* Ahhhhh, there is the kicker. ACTION, ACTION, ACTION...

This 3rd one was where a lot of time was spent and a lot of information resonated with me, such as:

Most people live their lives wishing for good things to manifest or spending their days immersed under intentions (oops...is that me?). People do not take action in most part because of fear...Fear of not being loved (this one is not my fear - I over assume people will love me and am always surprised when they don't); or Fear of not being enough (hmmmm...is this a sister to not being loved? perhaps) i.e. fear of failure or rejection. The 2nd reason for fear is all mine and is akin to love now that I write it down.

So...I need to define my clear purpose and will be working on that this week. Today he asked again, "When was the last time you got connected with the things that drive your life?" Good question...It sounds like I have some work to do.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "You will become as small as your controlling desire, as great as your dominant aspirations." James R. Allen