On the Road Again...

Ahhhh, life on the road.




Sucks.

Dish Network came by yesterday and they hooked up our beautiful new 61" television up. So I for the first time in my life have a chance to sit down and watch HD-TV and I have to leave.

Not to mention the fact that I have to leave my amazing wife and children, AGAIN. As I mentioned in a previous post I would love to visit some exotic locales, but I am now in Salt Lake City. Sort of like being home, but this doesn't feel like my home anymore.

As soon as I came over Point of the Mountain and into the Salt Lake Valley there was the thick blanket of smog. Lots of cars and rude drivers at that. Where is my red rock, my clean air, my half redneck, half hippy town?

Tomorrow is an early one, helping No More Homeless Pets in Utah set up for their Super Adoption this weekend. Technically I am here more to observe, but they are making sure I get a piece of the hard manual labor as well. Good, since I will be doing it all again in a month in Vegas.

I sound like such a whiner right now.

Suppose I shouldn't blog when I can barely keep my eyes open.

Our Illness

So, I have this little problem. By way of background, I will say at my own insistence, I am the household treasurer, bookkeeper and bill payer (and usually am on time but every now & then I space something and get it in late). As a general rule, I’m also pretty on top of things at work. But as life moves along in a fast paced environment, multitasking is required I typically grab a pen & notepad (scratch paper; paper towel, whatever) on which to take notes so I don’t forget anything. In speaking with my dear father on the phone tonight, I realized yet another thing we have in common. Besides blood type, hairline, and feet, we have the same apparent memory loss.

Let me preface the former statement by saying that over my life span my father has threatened several times to take back his genetic material. Honestly, I can’t really say I blame him. But it’s been several years since the most recent threat, and it’s really moot at this point. So back to this problem I have. For the life of me I can’t keep up with my wallet. I “lose” it all the time. Usually it turns up under a stack of papers, the console of the truck, between couch cushions…but a few weeks ago my wallet was missing for almost an entire week and I feared the worst. Could I have dropped it at the grocery store, or in the parking lot of the post office? Maybe someone stole it (yeah right)…maybe the cat ate it. Anyway after an agonizing week my dear husband located my wallet. It was in the cupboard above our washing machine. (???) Apparently a set of keys to his truck was up there with it. I can’t explain how any of it got there. I mean, obviously I put it there but I have absolutely no recollection of it. And at best, that is just creepy as hell to do something and not remember. And then to wonder, among other things, “Why in there?”

So flash forward this morning I get an email from my father. “Your mother had a flat tire and I have lost my wallet with all of my credit cards and it’s not even 9:00 a.m.” Well, Triple A took care of the flat but he was so freaked about the wallet he called and put credit holds on everything. All day I guess it was just eating away at him so he attempted to retrace his steps. He met up with some friends last night, and had gone and bought a pizza to take to the gathering. He had taken his license and a few cards out of his wallet but pinpointed that purchase as the last time he recalled having them. Today he called the pizza place, and his friend to see if he’d left the cards behind…nada. So he called all of the credit card companies, and probably the worst part of all was that he just could not figure out what the hell had happened to his cards.

He found out when he got home.

After a daunting day in cube-land and on the phone and worrying and whatnot, he went home and put on his comfy clothes. And then saw, tucked neatly inside of his shoe, were the missing credit cards. The mystery was solved. Evidently at the friend’s house he had slipped off his shoes and put the cards in one and his keys in another. Of course when it was time to go home, he retrieved the keys, but not the cards. The best part and most humorous bit of this entire story is that he walked around his office all day with the credit cards in his shoe. Even the laundry room cabinet can’t beat that.

Next time I lose my wallet, I’m blaming the damn cat.

Vacation.....ya right.

Whoever said Animal Welfare isn't sexy?

I joined the Army some years ago, and I truly did get to see the world. I spent a year in Korea among other places. Exotic.

Tomorrow however I leave for a place I have always dreamed of seeing.

Death Valley.

Yes, that's right, don't be jealous. I am off to see a lady who needs some help raising money for her Burro (Donkey) Rescue. It's actually an interesting story believe it or not.

If you want the back story click here to see a story I wrote on the issue.

I first head to Vegas to pick up a couple of colleagues heading in from Salt Lake, and then we drive for the desert. Doesn't sound like it will be a long stay in Death Valley. Thank god, 'cause I am not sure this fat kid could handle it.

After that I have some stuff to do in Vegas, and then home hopefully by Saturday.

Then next week is Salt Lake (leaving Wednesday). I am helping organize a Super Adoption in Vegas, so they want me at the Salt Lake event to take part and observe. Should be good, firstly I could use the info. I know so little about what I am doing in this job. I can take the knowledge whenever offered.

Secondly I will get to see Jaime's folks, my friend Scotty. Even another friend Ben says he wants to hang out so it should be a good week!

And THEN, come the 22nd, I am off to Chicago. But not like the pretty waterfront Windy City...oh no...the GHETTO.

We have a guy there that works with kids to stop them from getting into bad shit, including dog fighting. He is rescuing dogs, and he does work for us, so we are helping him with several projects (which I will be helping to organize).

So yeah, join animal welfare, see the world.

Live the life you love, love the life you live

I talked to my grandparents tonight. Well, mainly my grandfather. My grandmother is so very sweet, but can’t hear worth shit and gets confused very easily. My grandfather, who is one of my ultimate heroes, has been battling cancer for about two years now. Recently we found out the cancer is beginning to win again and he has been undergoing chemotherapy, which has taken a toll on his already frail body. He is a feisty old German, though, and has been fighting it tooth and nail all along the way and taking it all in stride. Let me just tell you it’s so hard to see someone who, for so long you envision as being so resilient and superhuman, getting knocked on their ass by something so invasive. It sucks beyond belief.

There is so much petty bullshit I have left behind in my life, and I couldn’t be happier about it, but no matter how much bullshit you let go of, you can’t stop the process of aging or death. So “get over it or die pissed”, as my mother would say. All I know is hold on tight to the ones you hold dear while you can because in the end we have nothing but time and it is so, so precious.

The New Giclee

Purple Shadow Game Time by Cyrus Mejia

So I'm Old. So What?

So contrary to prior posts that may or may not be interpreted as morbid, I will say here (hopefully to add pics later) how great my birthday celebration was. For starters, and possibly one of the ultimate coolest gifts I’ve ever received, was a signed, numbered giclee print of a painting by local artist and BF founder Cyrus Mejia. The piece is entitled “Purple Shadow Game Time“. If you don’t know of Cyrus and his work, you should definitely check out his website. Not only is he incredibly talented, he is also an extremely personable fellow and all around nice guy.

My sweetheart had evidently been scheming and planning this gift for over a month. Made several visits to Cyrus’s workspace and gallery, trips to the art framer, and so forth. I knew he was up to some kind of surprise, but I never suspected an art piece, which makes it that much sweeter.

On Saturday before an evening out I got a cut & color at the local salon, which Jon had arranged, and he also presented me with a gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure for later this week. Yeehaw! It’s almost like we live in a real city! Except that they couldn’t get me in for the mani/pedi until a week later. (But that only prolongs the excitement, right?)

My parents called me from a weekend away in Wendover, NV where they celebrated my mom’s birthday (2 days after mine). It was a milestone birthday for her. I won’t reveal her true age for fear of torturous retribution. (And also, it isn’t polite). She isn’t ashamed of it, as well she shouldn’t be. She’ll tell you if you ask, it’s just not my place to spill the beans, so I’ll just let you ask and she can tell you.

The weekend continued with as most pleasant dinner followed by a gathering afterward where many, many beers were consumed by yours truly surrounded by friends, cards and poker chips. So many thanks to all who contributed to an awesome kick ass birthday. Especially Jennifer & Daron who generously lent us their home & backyard for the occasion. Mwah!

Postscript: I forgot to mention the CAKE. Jon had the baker at the local grocery store make me a cake in the likeness of a SOFTBALL. (Realize sick humor implicated here by reading my post from Aug. 9th). Needless to say, it was a big surprise to say the least. Also, see a few pics from the party by visiting Jen & Daron's Blog. I'm hoping to have more pics to post once they're rounded up (including pics of the cake) so stay tuned for future posts.

Reality Bites

Today is my birthday and I was reminded of my own mortality first thing this morning. I wish a funny anecdote was to follow, but unfortunately that is not the case.

I was slated to join the interns on their last day as Jill (their advisor and my fellow office mate) was taking them on a hike at the sanctuary. I got up and set off early so as to be ready as we were scheduled to meet up fairly early. As I passed the interstate weigh station in the canyon and approached the shooting range, traffic came to an abrupt halt. I suspected there was an oversize load or a person hauling a boat that was jamming up the flow, but as we sat idly for a few minutes, which turned into five, then ten, I realized this was not a typical delay.

As I waited, I saw an ambulance pass us in the oncoming lane to where the traffic came to a head up above us. Another few minutes, another ambulance. Not looking good. A few people turned around in our lane and headed back toward town. I briefly considered doing the same, but figured I might as well stick it out. I soon saw someone I recognized coming toward me and approached his car as another employee of the sanctuary chatted with him from the driver’s side window. “Is there an accident?”, I asked, to which he answered “Looks that way”. He headed on in the other direction when I noticed several other sanctuary staff exit their vehicles and begin chatting along the side of the highway as we all waited. I finally got a clue and turned off the engine to my truck and joined them. Someone had muffins. We were all relieved we didn’t have coffee (so we would have to ‘go’) since we were out in the open and there wasn’t really a place to go to the bathroom. I also let the girls out of the truck, since they hadn’t been out to have their morning potty break either. The girls and I stood with the other folks and we chatted in the chilly air as we watched yet another two ambulances, three tow trucks, and a life flight helicopter arrive. After a long time, two of the tow trucks came back down the canyon, one with a large pick up truck with the front driver’s side smashed, and another with a van with a smashed front and rear.

After a while a man in an SUV drove by telling everyone it should only be another 20 minutes or so before things were cleared. We saw the helicopter fly away, and then the road was finally opened. A few hundred yards up the road, just around the bend from where we had been waiting, was the shooting range, and right in front of the turnoff was a mass of metal and plastic, and a mangled sedan with a tarp draped over it.

I don’t know a whole lot in life but I do know that having a tarp draped over a totaled vehicle at an accident scene is not a good sign. I said a silent prayer for whoever was in that vehicle (as well as the others) and continued up the canyon. Although I have my suspicions, I don’t know if anyone is deceased. I certainly hope not, but don’t know that that is the case.

Needless to say, I missed my hike but I received a good reminder in the value of life and appreciation for it. Apologies for the possible grim interpretation of this note but I'll fill you in on the joy of celebrating and receiving my birthday loot in another post.

Home Ownership

So I have never personally owned a house and of course that changed when I met and married Jaime.

When we lived in Salt Lake, things like yardwork never really meant much, because our yard was a piece of crap and we didn't care, but here in Kanab it is different.

We moved in to a home with a landscaped yard. Brand new sod, sprinkler system, beautiful rose bushes. I feel like a real ass if I don't mow my lawn here for the obvious reason of feeling like a lazy piece of shit, but also because others on my street have beautifully manicrured lawns. Like I think they spend hours cutting each blade with a pair of scissors. So anyway, bottom line is that it sucks. Xeriscape here we come.

Oh also been really into The Pick Up Artist on VH1. It actually is a horrible, excruciatingly sick hour of TV, but like a car wreck you CANNOT look away. I mean I don't need to see a show like that, just ask Jaime. I GOT the moves yo.

Oh and remind me to blog about the human waste in the downstairs bathtub. Home ownership can be a pain in the ass.

Love Dogs

My dear friend up north calls me a callous, bitter, asshole. Is that a bit harsh? Neh, she knows me well, and she still loves me. We’re tight—we were both in each others’ weddings. She also knows a side of me that many do not. That being said, here goes for one of my favorite Rumi poems. So much attached to this. So much, so long ago, and now. In part, I present to you, Love Dogs.



~Love Dogs~

This longing
you express is the return message.

The grief you cry out from
draws you toward union.

Your pure sadness
that wants help
is the secret cup.

Listen to the moan of a dog for its master.
That whining is the connection.

There are love dogs
no one knows the names of.

Give your life
to be one of them.


~Rumi

This verse usually makes me cry or gives me the chills at the very least. I’m going to be posting some other little gems from Rumi, and also Thich Nhat Hanh. My husband will probably accuse me of being a freakish hippie but I’ll just have to remind him yet again that that’s what he signed up for. :)

Take Me Out To The Ball Shame

If you beg them they will come.

First off, I am pleased to report that my parents arrived this evening in Kanab in good order. Tonight we had a most civilized dinner at Escobar’s and the proceeded to Fredonia for a Best Friends softball game. You see, the regular season is over (I think—or is close anyway) but tonight was a make-up game that was rescheduled in light of last week’s thunderstorms. So we packed up the cars, the coolers, the lawn chairs, the parents, and headed over to the field. Jon has been a member of the team since early this season and has really been enjoying it. I’ve been to most of the games with him, in support of the endeavor. My presence as a sideline cheerleader and designated beer drinker ended tonight.

Tonight, I batted.

I would like to say that I was wooed like a celebrity to join the game but really it boiled down to the fact that the team has a shortage of women players and would have to forfeit if they didn’t have another female on the roster. So, in effect I was begged and then finally conceded.

Never played the sport, never really watched it either, so I was pretty far out of my comfort zone. Still, the team needed me, and while I warned them that they would be better off taking the out, they put me in anyway. As a result, I’m not sure who suffered more.

I was informed that I would play catcher and that I didn’t need to do anything but stand at home base, catch the missed pitches, and toss them back to the pitcher. Fair enough. A few throws back and forth and I had that bit down. Then came the batting.

As it turns out, we were first up to bat. Being the newbie, I was (thankfully) placed near the end of the list, but alas we made it almost through the cycle and I was up. I gingerly made my way up to home base and assumed the position. First pitch came, I balked. It fell beautifully in the center of the plate. Whoops. Steerike. The ump was trying to explain to me that meant I had 2 outs (because that’s the rules or something) but to me it was all gibberish. I nodded to him as if I understood and then turned from the ump and faced the pitcher again. He pitched. I swung. I made contact. I was shocked, and I paused. And then I ran for my life.

I’m pretty sure the infielder had already caught the ball and outed me, but I figured I’d put my heart into it. What happened next, I can’t really explain. I’m sure it happened in slow motion. A glorious skid to first base, you ask? Ummm....not so much. About three quarters of the way to first base I tripped over my two left feet, and proceeded to gacefully careen downward, and in an instant….I ate MAJOR SHIT.

I fell on my right side, mostly on my upper arm and shoulder, but managed to scrape off a layer of skin on both my right knee and elbow. You have to understand that this southwest sand diamond is not just regular soft dirt, to the contrary it’s this very unforgiving red sand and pebble graveyard. It was like skidding across a cheese grater on all fours. Yeah, pretty gross.

I gimped away to my lawn chair where my parents were stationed and grabbed my beer trying to shake off the sting. Blood was dripping dramatically from my knee and elbow. Strangely, it didn’t really hurt that badly, in fact it was numb. I’d just succeeded in removing a layer of my delicate epidermis, but oddly my ego was in more agony than my body.

Needless to say I was pretty horrified by my embarrassing mistake and declared myself out for the rest of the game. Jon took off his undershirt (a Nightside t-shirt, no less) and we sopped up the blood on my limbs. Our friend Rich retrieved a first aid kit from the concession stand and patched me up pretty well. I am pretty sore (my shoulder and arm are pretty wrecked, and I somehow pulled an ab muscle in the mayhem) however I am disappointed to report that all of that blood and gravel equates to some pretty benign looking scrapes on my knee and elbow. Oh well.

It will likely come as no shock that I have at this time retired from my softball career. I like to be good at everything, but I suppose that's not so realistic. But I must say I have a pretty great life. Great husband, great parents, great pets, great house, great job.

I guess you can’t have everything.

Eww

In our back yard just witnessed the dogs chase and stalk the biggest, grossest cockroach I've ever seen.

Awesome!

[sarcasm]

Mission Accomplished

So, we made it up to Salt Lake last weekend. We were there for about 24 hours total. We left Kanab Saturday morning and drove the 5 hour ride to SLC and went out and had Indian food with my dad. It was pretty good. Under new ownership from when we used to go there, but it seemed all right. Afterward, we went and hung out with my dad for a bit, then went to bed. My mom was in Vegas, so this was a dad-only visit. The next morning we got up, went and got my bike from our old neighbor’s house, loaded it up into the back of the Avalanche, and then drove it home. We had no problems getting it off the truck (I was extremely worried about it). So it’s here now and I can officially continue to be the big mama biker I am at heart.

Another funny story I had to jot down. When we arrived in Salt Lake at my parents’ house, Jon and I were pretty gross from traveling so we opted to shower before going out to dinner. Reminiscing back to days in our old house where you could not shower while watering the lawn, or washing clothes in the washer, and further you had to wait an hour or so after doing laundry before being able to get warm water for a shower, I asked my dad “So, can two people shower at the same time here?”, to which my father calmly replied, “Oh, we’ve never done that here”. I asked again, “but can two people do it at the same time” and he repeated himself, “we’ve never really done that here”. I finally realized he thought I was asking him if two people could shower together in the same shower. Jon and I both laughed and said, “No, no! We just mean can two separate showers run on the water heater at one time?”. We all had a nice chuckle. I’m not sure what my dad thought we were going to do, and whatever it was I’m sure it made him feel uncomfortable so it was pretty funny once we all realized what the confusion was over.

Needless to say, no romantic interludes were had in the shower at my parent’s house but it was a pretty funny misunderstanding.

Lull...

Sorry two dear readers. We have failed you.

Tuesday

Today I drove home from work and the truck is so nasty filthy that I could barely see out the window. I thought about taking it to the car wash but it's just going to get filthy again tomorrow....is that bad?

Jon is still in Nevada helping out with the cat sanctuary down there. He is ready to come home, although tomorrow he spends the day in sin city doing business. Among other things, fueling some poker machine along the way I'm sure...

Small Miracles

I cried on the way home today.

Probably not for the typical reasons a person might cry over while driving home from work. But as I wound down the dusty trails of the sanctuary to reach the canyon and the main road, the floodgates opened.

I received an email from which an excerpt follows, although I have changed the names of the actual writer & her son to maintain some degree of anonymity.




Dear Best Friends,

I just wanted to let you know that my son, Matthew, donated a Kuranda Dog Bed from your website. Matthew will be 4 on July 27th and instead of receiving a present this year, he decided to buy a dog bed for a dog that did not have a home. He decided to do this after our beloved dog, Sadie, passed away 2 months ago at the very young age of 5. Matthew and Sadie were best friends and loved playing in the stream together and going camping/hiking. Matthew would like a special dog to receive the bed and hopes that they enjoy sleeping in it as much as Sadie enjoyed sleeping in her special bed. We hope you all have a wonderful day! Keep up the good work.

Sincerely,

Matthew’s Mom



Okay, so maybe I’m a little volatile from the heat and perhaps from the emotional nature of uprooting my life and moving away from all that I’ve known for many years. But that has just got to be one of the most sentimental things I have heard in a long time. It’s no miracle, (or is it?) but these things happen every day here. I can’t even begin to express how moving it is to be involved in something like this. And so for the moment, I cried.

The Oven

For starters, I haven’t blogged recently because

a) we have been in the process of moving and things have been nuts

b) we haven’t had internet access until 3 days ago

c) I’m freaking tired.

It’s been over 100 degrees every day for the past two weeks. But right now it’s thundering and lightening up a storm. Came out of nowhere and I’m sure it will be gone just as quickly as it arrived. I just ran out to the driveway to get something out of the truck when the downpour started. Who ever said it never rains in the desert? Well, it rarely does. BUT I felt compelled to jot down what I witnessed just now. As soon as the rain started pelting a little girl – 8 or 9 years old?—across the street ran out her front door and into her driveway. She stretched her arms out and looked up at the sky as the water poured into her face. Then she lifted her arms upward as if to catch the raindrops and thank the sky above for releasing them. And then in all her glory she looked across the street and noticed her creepy new neighbor (me) watching her and ran back inside. Can’t really blame her for that. I wasn’t intent on being lecherous, though. Just observing her spirit and really actually relating to her actions. As such I walked around the house and did not physically replicate the ritual, but I sure felt relieved and thankful for the precipitation.

My First Rapid Response

So today I will head out to Pahrump Nevada. There is a cat sanctuary there in need of our help so I am off as part of the first team to respond to the place and get it all in order. 400 cats. Should be fun.

Not a usual part of my job, but Pahrump kind of falls in my territory. I am not sure how helpful I will be as a rapid responder but we'll see. I love cats, so 400 in one place should be an interesting experience. I will only spend a couple of days there working the long days, back breaking work, staying in an RV. I'll be off to Vegas for Wednesday and then back to Kanab.

For those who would much rather hear from Jaime, #1 I don't blame you, and #2 I am trying to get her to blog more.

Maybe once I am gone for these three days she will get on the ball?

The Edge of your seat....

I know, I know. You have been on the edge of your seat wondering how we are doing. Did the truck come yet, you said? Are they moved in? Did Jon and his Best Friends softball team win?

Yes to all.

The truck arrived today. It was indeed two days late. For some reason the truck was not picked up Monday night at the ABF terminal in Salt Lake. The plan was for that to happen, and then it would be to us on Tuesday. I smell a refund in the works.

So the truck is here, I bought a dolly from the hardware store in town. The next few days will be simply unloading hell! Yay!

We did get into the house over the weekend. It is so awesome. We moved in Saturday and even without a single possession in the place it totally feels like home. I have no idea what on earth we will do with the 2900 sq ft. but I am sure I can find a few uses (bar, and poker room anyone?)

And yes, I made my Best Friends softball debut on Tuesday night. I am 1-for-1, hitting a 1,000 and I have not yet made an error (fielded one ball). So that's good. Another game tonight.






Although I am not entirely sure I can actually move. Advil is my friend. In fact I thought the feeling I had after running to first base would be the worst I would feel. Apparently not. Even today it still hurts.

Too Hot?

Oh believe me. I know it can be too hot. This may sound silly since we just moved to Kanab, but anything over a hundred it just too hot for me. Also it apparently is too hot for airplanes.




I took a five o'clock flight last night from SLC to Saint George. It was the easiest way for me to get down here since my car was already here. The flight takes about 80 minutes, and it takes about 90 to drive to St. G from Kanab. So Jaime and I essentially left at the same time.

About halfway into the flight the pilot comes on...

"Yes, ladies and gentlemen, from the flight deck. You probably won't be surprised to learn that it is hot in Saint George. And you'll notice we just took a left turn, we will be doing another, and going back to Salt Lake. It is to hot for us to land in Saint George."

I have done a lot of flying in my life, flown all across the globe, but I have never heard in my life that it is too hot to land. Apparently it's something to do with air density, or molecules or something. I was never good at science.

So I had no way to call Jaime. She was almost in St. G by the time we landed back in Salt Lake. I did make the next flight so she just had to wait for 2 1/2 hours.

A US Citizen?

I know this is not Kanab related. Sorry about that. Anyway, I have been going over the idea of finally becoming a citizen of the US. This is a test I came across on MSNBC.com....

---------

Do you have what it takes to become a citizen?

You answered 95% of questions correctly. Here's your rating:

0-20%: Maybe you're still thinking too much about the Old Country.

25-40%: Mmmm. Do you really want to be a citizen? This kind of performance isn't going to impress those nice immigration folks.

45-60%: Not too bad, but you really need to break out the civics books again -- word is, the INS is looking for an 80 percent score.

65-80%: Hey, you may make a good citizen yet! Look at your wrong answers and a little revision should do the trick.

85-100%: Welcome to the United States! (And, truth be told, you know more about this great land than most Americans.)


-------------

I was actually going to post my 19/20 correct answers, but I figure it might spoil it for others. The dumb thing is, the only question I got wrong was the date of the writing of the constitution.

Take the test by clicking here through to the MSNBC website!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Wagon Train

So, I made it to the Brandon. Well, officially it’s now called “The Flagstone” (motel) but everyone in town calls it the Brandon, so we do too. First off, I am pleased to announce that the animals and I arrive unscathed with the exception of one accident had by the infamous Coconut. We made an unscheduled stop in Scipio to take care of business. The cats both (but Karma in particular) yowled the entire way here. They apparently do NOT like the car. I gave them each 2 tranquilizers and they still screeched the whole way. Poor things. Actually, I should correct myself. They didn’t scream the entire way. It’s a five hour drive and they only technically hollered for the first four hours…..

Anyway, Moki & Kona have become quite the seasoned travelers, so they were fine until we arrived…when they were so anxious to get out of the truck they both tried to jump out the window in the front seat.

But now both of the dogs are crashed on the floor, and the cats have both taken up residence underneath the bed. Fine by me. We do have one escape artist (Karmie) so as far as I’m concerned ‘under the bed’ is far superior to ‘on highway 89’.

I start work tomorrow and I’m really excited. I’m sure it will be mostly an orientation day with HR and whatnot. The only concern I have is leaving the animals at the motel while I’m gone. When Jon gets here (flying to St. George on Friday after the moving truck gets packed) he can take them to work with him. But I’m not really comfortable taking the drooling mongrels to the office…not even sure yet if it’s kosher in my dept. so hopefully they all do ok on their own during the day for the time being.

That’s it for now. I’m off to breathe some fresh air and drink some clean water.

Moving Sucks

I could not be more excited to start the new adventure in Kanab.

We are just having a hard time getting there.

Jaime organized a moving company last minute. It was our fault, I mean we really didn't get on the ball. We found someone who said they could do it. As we grew closer to today, I started to wonder about the company, and more specifically if they could accomodate all of our stuff.

Thursday I talked to the girl, and she mentioned that they had a trailer. Not a truck, a trailer. A 21x9 trailer at that. Not enough for our stuff.

At this point it's too late, and the recommendation she gave us was to try rent a u-haul. In June. On a Saturday. Day of. Moving season.

Yeah right.

So we are not doing anything today. Jaime is taking a well deserved nap, and I am blogging.

All is not lost however. I just spoke with ABF U-Pack and they are awesome! They are dropping a semi truck thingie at our house on Tuesday sometime. They will then pick it up on Thursday. It will then be delivered to Kanab on the 10th. We hopefully will close on our house in the 9th! It is the fraction of the cost of the other companies, and quite frankly cheaper than even a damn u-haul.

So, all we need now is some good strong lads to help us do all the heavy lifting!! On both ends LOL

Jaime will be in Kanab tomorrow. She will drive down with the kids while I work from up here for a couple more days. Once the truck is packed I will depart for Saint George courtesy of Sky West. Then, just maybe I will be in the office again Thursday.

A Zillion Degrees

I’m still in Kanab as Jon rounds out his second week at Best Friends. I haven’t seen him this energized in months. While I think his job anchoring the news was very suitable for him, I don’t think it was all that interesting to him by the time he decided to move on. I have yet to begin my two weeks but at this point am scheduled to begin July 2nd. We are driving to SLC tomorrow and will be there through the week. Jon has a few meetings up there so he is going to work from home which will be nice since he can help me pack things up in the evenings. We have a mover scheduled to come on Saturday and haul it all down to Kanab. It will probably cost a small fortune, but we need the help and hopefully it will not be an expense we will need to shell out for again any time soon.

The girls are easing into life here in Kanab. They are still suffering anxiety when separated from us; me in particular. They are ok with Jon but they prefer me I think. I am, after all, the momma. We have been moving around from motels to rentals and whatnot and they just don’t get it. Kona had an anxiety episode at daycare the day we left, and she has been a little off since then but seems to be doing better. The other day I went out to my truck to get something out of the front seat. Understand, it is 8 zillion degrees outside, and probably 9 zillion inside the truck. They both hopped in the back seat and wouldn’t get out. I had to coerce them for about 5 minutes, and actually physically lift Kona out (bad leg) but that’s how confused they are. Poor babies. I think they will adjust in time, though. They are such great companions.

Ok, so that worked...

I have now been in Kanab exactly seven days. The first week has been hard without a doubt.

Some jobs you start, and it takes a while before you are getting in there and really working. It took me about 6 hours.

So far I have done many things, but most importantly I have helped to organize an adoption for 37 animals from 2 centers that are closing. The short story is that if we didn't help, and get this together they would have died.

It's exactly what we came here to do and it is a good feeling. It's pretty amazing to be able to do a job where you help, and you also feel pretty damn good about yourself too.

I want you guys to check out our network at Best Friends. It is, I think, the kind of thing people have been trying to do on the web for the last couple of years. Find that next thing, I think of it as web 3.0

http://network.bestfriends.org

You can find people in your area, find any particular issue you care about, and find out things you can do to help.

Yet another reason why Best Friends ROCKS!

We obviously still have a lot to do in terms of moving, and getting Jaime down here full-time and working, but we will get it done. Hopefully we will be in our new home by the middle of next month, and then we expect regular visits!!

Hello?

Testing, testing, 1-2

Buying & Selling

Things are moving along with the selling of the house. Made an offer on a new (well, not new but new to us) place in Kanab. It's a little older but has been remodeled inside. It's huge and in a great in-town location. Should know by 5PM tomorrow if the sellers accepted the offer. If I wasn't already so old & grey, I would be really excited by all this hype. But honesly, I'm just tired. So I guess I'll just go soak my bunions.

The Good News

No, I'm not pregnant.

But, this is a post that is long overdue. I vow to begin anew and keep up with this thing, as it seems now more relevant than ever. First off, the good news: we have accepted positions with Best Friends Animal Society based in Kanab, Utah. We have sold our house and are moving down south. It is a HUGE change for us both but we are so excited to take on new challenges in a new arena. I guess we don’t do things half assed. Get married, go on kick-ass honeymoon (I’ll still be posting further journal entries from that, btw) sell a house, buy a new house, quit long-held career positions and switch gears all together. Yeah, it’s a lot to stomach.

Based on this stress related scale, combined we are well over 300. Yet we’re hanging in there, and the bottom line is that the change is all for good. We wanted and needed change, and boy did we get it. Things have been going so smoothly through the transition (as smoothly as can be expected) and although we have shed many tears over leaving our local friends and family, we will only be a half day’s drive away, and hope that folks will utilize our new awesome location when visiting Southern Utah and its recreational possibilities.

Second. I’ve re-named the blog. While you may or may not know that I haven’t entirely taken Dunn on paper I don’t mind being referred to as one. Plus it’s kinda kitschy for this purpose.

Third. Jon will be adding posts. So if there’s anything off colour or offensive, don’t necessarily blame me out of the gate. Of course, your comments, as always, are welcome. :)

I’m in Salt Lake finishing out my notice and then hopefully getting the house closed. We have a house we are thinking of offering on next week in Kanab, so wish us luck that things continue to transition smoothly.

To Placate The Restless

The first post from the honeymoon. Sorry it's taken so long but we've had a few things going on. Writing out thank you cards and getting the house put back together, among other things. Thank you to all the family and friends who made the trek. We had the greatest wedding EVER. (And I have the beverage invoice to prove it if you have any doubts!!) xoxo P.S. - pics to follow....



Monday, March 26, 2007 4:35 Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Well, the wedding went off beautifully. I mean absolutely flawless. I can’t even begin to describe how well everything went down. Everything was perfect.

All of the family made it in for the event, and we saw them all off yesterday morning. It’s about 4:35 in Rarotonga right now, and again, everything is amazing. Jon is sleeping. We finally lied down to watch a movie and both of us crashed and burned. I only slept for about an hour, and he’s still out. I don’t remember the end of the movie.

I just stepped inside from our porch. It is incredible. Right on the water. It’s a little windy today, but the sun is shining on the crystal blue lagoon, and again, we are awestruck with the beauty of this place.

We left SLC for Los Angeles last night around 7pm MST. We then went through the international terminal at LAX (translate: complete nightmare) but we got checked in and boarded our flight with Air New Zealand around 11:30 PST. We then flew for approximately 8.5 hours, and arrived in Papeete, Tahiti. I was able to sleep on the plane for about 4 hours although I continued to wake up several times through the trip so it was not restful to say the least. When we arrived in Tahiti, we deplaned once again for about an hour, and then re-boarded for Rarotonga. That flight was about an hour and 45 minutes. It was less than full so I was able to commandeer an entire row in the center and lie down for a good nap. Jon was more anxious to sit by the window and witness our spectacular landing, which I did wake up in time for. Evidently the airstrip in Rarotonga is exceptionally short. As a result, our pilot ‘missed’ on the first approach. Something about an air gust throwing us off. I’ve never in my 30+ years experienced a ‘missed’ landing, but Jon said he has had it happen a few times to him. Anyway, we flew past the airstrip, circled around, and successfully landed the second time. We were near the back of the plane but were practically the first ones off; almost running down the jet way to get our luggage. A man was singing to the new passengers and playing a stringed instrument (similar to a ukulele?) and that was a nice welcome. We grabbed our bags, dashed through customs, and our ride was waiting to take us to our villa. Oh, and he adorned us with fresh flower leis. That was a nice touch.

Once we got settled in we went for a short walk in the lagoon, a dip in our private pool and then took a jaunt down the road (on foot) to pick up a few groceries. Upon returning we decided to go forth and rent a car for the duration, and made arrangements with Budget Rentals and then picked up our small Daihatsu compact. We headed to the center or town, Rauva, applied for a driver’s license (we are now both fully licensed drivers in the Cook Islands) and grabbed a quick cheeseburger at a burger stand. There are chickens running around freely, picking up our crumbs, so that lent for some amusement. We later headed to the food market and liquor store and came back home. After having a snack and another Foster’s Lager (or was that a Steinlager?) we passed out in front of the TV watching the Borat Movie. We are trying to hold out until tonight to fall asleep for good so we can acclimatize to the time difference and not be on a weird waking schedule.

Tomorrow morning we have spa appointments at a nearby resort and for now we are off to bbq burgers by the private pool. Cheers.

In Case You Missed It

Ok, I thought the Governor's Mansion was a big deal. But this is the big time. I got (indirectly) mentioned in Ethan's blog, slcspin.com.

What he says is true. Rhonda Kamper, Henry the Chihuahua's mom and other supporters organized a rally this weekend in front of the Governor's Mansion. Yep, the day we are getting married there. Reminds me of an Alanis Morisette song or something since Jon and I met volunteering for NMHPU.

Of course, our allies and fellow pet lovers came through in yet another demonstration of how loyal we are to one another, let alone the animals. The rally was kindly rescheduled to take place earlier in the day. Ain’t life grand?!

Wednesday

All of the out of towners’ welcome gift bags are ready. All of the sheets and towels have been laundered. The house cleaners came. The dogs are groomed. The guest counts have been tallied. The musical selections have been chosen. The work at my office has been left for better or worse. The airport itineraries and shuttles are scheduled. The tuxedos are ready to be picked up. My hair is colored. My dress is here. It’s show time folks. Let’s party.

Right after I take a much neeeded nap.

List This

If I never make another list of things to do for the rest of my life, I feel confident that I will have experienced my fair share and then some.

If I never make another list of things to do for Jon, he will love me forever.

wha, huh?

It's 5:08 a.m. I went to "sleep" at 12:15-ish. This is ridicious. I spent the entire evening working on lists for this and lists for that plus getting the house semi organized so the cleaners can come today. I also spent some time hunting for some important documents that I have somehow hidden from myself in all the chaos. I have looked EVERYWHERE and they are nowhere to be found. I haven't seen them in about 6 weeks so lord knows where they are. Here's a little silent prayer that I can find them....eeegads.

One Possible Problem

The absolute only possible foreseeable problem with the Cook Islands is that I can't take my animals. Can't think of any other negatives.

Oh, and at some point I have to return home from them.

Shit.

The Heat is On

Long day. More last minute details. Schmetails. Daylight Savings blows. Diet blows. I'm tired. And grumpy. Pooped is a nice descriptive word.

Met with DJ today, chose some song lists. Also paid off reception vendor. Got INS straightened out (the green card is still not here... another blog for another day but at least the boy can get back into the country). Reviewed string quartet selections. Mocked up ceremony program. Worked 8 hours. Buggar.

Semi-coherent cognititive sentiment: Not sure who is bigger clown-- Sean Hannity or Rocky Anderson.

TBD

Brain is Fried

Fried is brain. Brain fried is. Is brain fried? Fried brain is.

Brandy & Jeff's Christmas party last year. Fun times! I think we had to leave because one member in our party fell asleep on a downstairs couch, others were slurping down Jagerbombs, and then a huge snow blizzard hit. On the way home we did a 180 in the middle of 1300 south. It was great!

Ouch

I found this pic in an old album. I'm not sure what's going on. I might have just sucked a lemon. Or broken a little toe.

Woe is Toe

Update. Toe is indeed broken. Will attempt to scan image so rest of world can enjoy seeing my fractured bone. As most people know, there is not much that can be done to treat a broken baby toe. They taped it to the next toe (official medical term "buddy bandaging") and sent me on my way. Not even any good drugs. The doctor must think that someone who is capable of breaking such a useless bone should not be entrusted with barbiturates. DOH

March 1, 2007

Is it just me or does blogger completely blow as of late? I can't ever get into my account, so it's a wonder I ever post anymore.
The bridesmaids dresses arrived yesterday. Good news and bad news. The bad news is, I took a major digger on the sidewalk in front of the bridal shop (ice patch). Classic. Ate major asphalt and skinned my knee pretty good. It's not that deep a shade of purple, but it sure felt like it would turn blue and disintegrate. Boo. The good news? The dresses are more beautiful than I could have imagined. Majorly pleased. Stoked.

So tonight I go out to the tanning salon. I know, cancer, melanoma, wrinkles, blah blah blah. But let's be honest (and I am crediting my mother with this quote) "Tan fat looks better than white fat. It's unfortunately true. End of discussion. So I get home and slip on something in the doorway to the bathroom (invisible banana peel?) and go spread eagle with both feet crashing into opposite door frames. Picture YMCA meets Saturday night fever, only without the polyester and testosterone. So the baby toe on each foot smashes into opposite door frames as I do the involuntary splits. I lurch forward in effort to save my feet from the impact, and wind up crashing on top of the same knee as last night. I swear to Buddha I am not chemically impaired. Just about as graceful as Chris Farley on crack. I think the pinky toe on my right foot is broken. It's swelling up nicely. I have been ordered to go elevate it and put frozen vegetables on it (we don't pressently have any ice packs). So yeah.

Dumb.

February 23, 2007

Okay, so I have been a total slack ass as of late, but there has been so much going on. Wedding fever over here, the Trolley shootings (total bummer) and last but not least, my office move. The Trolley thing is just awful. So awful that I'm not going to comment. If you want to know about it, click here (KSL).

But today? Today was the big day; the big move. What a mess. I have been weeding out files and papers and so forth from my office little by little over the last several weeks. I threw away two large garbage bags full of CRAP, and brought home about as much, and I STILL think I had more boxes of shit than anyone else. I threw away many of my extraneous personal items, so believe it or not most of the stuff was actual work stuff. Yes, contrary to popular belief, I do actually work when I'm at work.

New office. Very nice Parleys Way locale. Mountain views, large windows. I am with the small lot in the basement offices, tucked away behind row upon row of shelves of city directories and storage files. At first I was a little irked to be shoved away in the basement, but upon further consideration, I think I actually made out better than many of the jokers upstairs. It's fairly large, quiet, right by the bathroom (which I only have to share with one other gal) and I still have an entire wall of window. Still, I couldn't help but feel just a teensy bit like the character Milton in the Mike Judge flick, "Office Space". If you've never seen it, you must go now, immediately and buy, rent, borrow, whatever. Do it. Especially if you work or have ever worked in an office environment. You will laugh your ass off, I guarantee it. So I'll just be mumbling to myself in the basement preparing my new coversheet to the TPS reports. I don't have a red stapler, but something can be arranged. My stapler is actually black, but it IS a Swingline…(the last two sentences will only make sense if you've seen the movie)….

Bridal portraits tomorrow. Early nail appt., then hair & makeup, then the shoot. Definitely not a typical excursion for me. I am by far more comfortable BEHIND the camera, but I think I can manage. I can't believe we are only a month out. Can we go to the Cook Islands already?

So after a full week of work, full day of moving, I am beat and I'm off to chill with the dogs and cats. Ciao.

Chocolate Cake

We made it to Atlanta and back, and what a trip. Rach & Andy's wedding was fabulous and went off without a hitch. I wasn't around Andy much prior to the ceremony but Rachael was cool as a cucumber. Radiant in her Carmela Sutera gown and she looked like a real princess. She was so excited beforehand, and you could tell how much she loved the dress and being the bride. She was literally dancing around the locker room in it at the country club. Very sweet. It was a bit of a whirlwind trip to and from GA in 4 days but a great time was had by all.

So we are back and it's like I've been hit with a brick wall. I started dieting this week (good luck) and we've both been hit with a head cold. Lucky Jon has pretty much recovered from that but I'm still ailing. I wonder if there is a connection between the cold and the onset of dieting. Maybe I should go eat some chocolate cake.

We got our first round of invitations mailed, and the second round is in the works. I'm a little neurotic I'll admit, but I just do not want to have a billion things to do at the last minute--I already know I will have a billion things to do at the last minute so I am trying to do as much ahead of time as possible. Cross your fingers. We still need to contact the Squatters people so we can get the rehearsal dinner menu arranged, and we also need to work on our ceremony format & vows. Apparently the Governor was in the studio last night and Jon touched base with his right hand aide, Mr. Mower. All systems go...

Jon is volunteering for the Primary Children's yearly radio-thon this year. He went to the kickoff luncheon today at the hospital and they gave out these big candy bouquets with a bunch of candy bars. I want to eat the entire thing. I'm obsessed with sugar and its because I can't have any. Phooey. It's ridiculous, too, because we have a bunch of candy stuff and crap sitting around still from Christmas that we haven't touched and I'd like to devour all of it. So much mental control.

Or perhaps, non-control.

REK For Real

We picked out the tuxes. They are gorgeous. A black long tail-type cutaway jacket with a red vest & euro tie. Very pretty. My dress is ready to be picked up but I am leaving it in the custody of my bridal shop (Bridal Corner) for now as I am at a loss as to where I can keep it safe from animals and people. It needs to be laid out in a quiet room away from potential harm. Good luck.

My bridal portraits will likely be taken at some point next month. So that’s exciting. Next week we are going to Atlanta to visit the fam and attend Rachael Dunn’s wedding. That will be fun. Can’t wait.

So further to my previous post about being a fan of Robert Earl Keen, get this. Last Saturday we went to Suede in Park City for the show. We got there pretty early so we swiped a few chairs and sat along side of the front stage. We had a great time. I drank many Shiners, and danced and sang. What a show. Afterward, Robert Earl was signing autographs and we got to meet him. Jon took some pics of us together, which I hope to post soon, even if they didn’t turn out so great. Over all we had a blast and it was a time I won’t soon forget. Thanks, lovey you’re the greatest.

Splitting Headache

Yesterday I experienced the most intense headache of my life. It was a bona fide migraine, and I was literally physically ill. It was so strange. I’ve never had anything like that happen before. I had a stressful day, and that could have contriubted, but I’ve never full on gotten ill from stress. My right eye felt like it was being stabbed from behind and I couldn’t keep it open it hurt so badly. My vision was blurred and after a few hours the nausea caught up with me and I tossed my cookies. Thank God work was over and it was time to go home. I slept most of the evening and on into the night. I feel better today but I’m a little fearful it could come back as my sinuses have been problematic in the past. Watch out. I suppose I’m just fine, however, since my appetite is back to normal. Oops.

Tick Tock II

The clock is ticking. Ten week countdown is upon us. Eegads.

I should be doing something wedding planning related right now.

Who, me procrastinate? Never.

Fat Lip

So right now I’m stalking this pan of lasagna from dinner last night. I can’t wait to heat up my leftovers and go to town. There is a problem, and a reason that I have not yet dug in. Half my face is asleep from the dentist’s anesthesia. Yep, drooly face here had a cavity and had to have the thing filled. It was actually on a tooth that already had a filling so the doc actually had to pull out the old composite and refill the entire thing.

I know, gross.

After the initial shot of anesthesia, the dentist started to drill and I winced as I could still feel a little bit, so he shot me up with an extra dose. After about 15 more minutes of waiting he went back to work, and the entire thing was over in about 20 minutes. Not too bad, except now the entire side of my face is void of sensation and I’ve got a big fat numb lip & I’m afraid to chew anything.

And so I sit. And wait.

The numbness is starting to wear down now, and my mouth is a little sore. But I don’t think it’s too sore to chew lasagna. Well, maybe a little, but rest assured it is not likely to stop me.

B’bye.

Another Christmas

Another successful Christmas and we are more spoiled than ever. How fortunate we are to have our families and our comfortable life, the animals, and all our friends.

We’ve become addicted to the Nintendo Wii game system. I have a new iPod Nano. Fun times. The coffee table is littered with miscellaneous electronic components. Wires, adapters, USB cables and whatnot. Apparently I’ve turned into some sort of techno gearhead in my old age. Now that we are running the NMHPU myspace page, I’ve even dabbled in a little html coding. Now that’s amazing considering I’m the only person I know who failed college algebra more than once. Ouch.

Oh, and I ended up gathering a small cache of furniture, household items, toys and clothes for the refugee family in need from my prior post. That and about $275 in cash for purchasing other basic items while they get on their feet. My father told me how proud he was that I was spearheading such an endeavor. I told him that my motivation was the hope that, should I ever be in such a position, that others might in turn help me out if they could. Warmth, shelter, and basic items with which to nourish a family.

That is the true meaning of Christmas.

Countdown to Wii

Nintendo Wii game system. Accessory bundle! Six games, memory card, extra 'nunchuck'. It's all been shipped. It's supposed to arrive tomorrow. It could be here within 24 hours. Jon is asleep on the futon, and he will rest up, lest it should arrive early tomorrow. He will be ready to rid the universe of monsters and all evil, and play simulated sports. And I really hope he doesn't put a hole through the bigscreen with a flying controller. God help us.

Helping Others For The Holidays

I know everyone has their own things that they do to help people & animals in need at Christmas time

BUT

A friend of mine is a social worker in Salt Lake and she and the other case managers at her clinic are trying to get the word out about a refugee mom and her three young children who just settled here and need assistance. There is a 6-year-old boy, 2-year-old girl, and 8-week-old infant (dad is still in the country of origin). The clinic has arranged housing, but the mom and children have NO furniture, kids clothes, toys, etc. The little boy has a chronic illness and they are really struggling. They have very few basic items in their empty apartment. The baby is currently sleeping in a car seat.

In the last two days we have gotten a couch, crib, and playpen donated, and next Monday (12/18) I will be taking my truck to help move these items from the donor’s home to the family’s apartment. I am also gathering items to donate including clothes, toys, baby items, etc. Unfortunately, they have no prospects for Christmas in terms of being a family that gets a sub for Santa which is why the case managers are trying to coordinate this effort, independent from the assistance the clinic (where they work) can provide.

If you have any items at all that you can donate, second hand or otherwise please let me know. If you have large items (furniture, etc) that need to be moved, the caseworkers & I can arrange to have them picked up from your home. If you are like me you already have an ongoing “for charity” list or box you fill with random items around the house you no longer use or need.

Please consider if your belongings could help this family. Otherwise, they need diapers, clothes for the kids, toys, canned food, etc. and I will gladly be accepting donations. I am also collecting cash or grocery gift cards if you would like to contribute in that regard.

Thank you for your generosity and kindness.

I Had To Laugh

No, we're not getting divorced because he's a unfaithful. Hehehh. After I posted the last random rant about the tv show "Cheaters" I wasn't able to log into my blogger account for a while as it was being converted over to the beta format. It occurred to me that it could outwardly appear that the last post had some hidden meaning. But I assure you it doesn’t. To the contrary, all is well and we are looking forward to celebrating the holidays again this year. We are also working on a few charity projects which I will be posting about later.

All in all life is great and the wedding of the century is still in progress. Cheers!

Cheaters

Okay, have you seen this trashy reality show? Admit it, you have. It plays on WB sometimes, and I’ve seen it on the dish on “G4” whatever channel that is. It’s this ridiculous reality show where they feature a person who suspects his/her partner is being unfaithful. So they track the suspected cheater raw P.I. style, and film his/her antics, play the video back to the victim, and then there’s usually a great big dramatic confrontation. Great schmut. I sat down after running around doing housework for about an hour tonight and caught the end of this really intense episode. Usually the cheater gets busted going to a bar or on a date with another person, but this was like full on red handed people scrambling to put clothes back on type stuff. So you know what I did…nope, didn’t change the channel as any self respecting human being would…. instead I had to go check the website to see what I had missed earlier in the episode. I couldn't find any info about that particular show, but the website definitely had some interesting content.

So they have all these links and information about infidelity and private investigators, legal representation, etc. And then my personal favorite…. a dating service! No, folks, I am not making it up. See for yourselves. http://www.cheaters.com/

It Needs To Be Done

Ever get burned out on something? I think everyone has. With some things we have a higher endurance than others. Like that neon day-glo fad in the late 80's. Gross. That was here for like 5 minutes. But other things, like online commerce and gasoline engines? Well, those have both been around for a while now, I don't suppose they'll disappear anytime soon.

After I graduated from college in 2002 I found that I had a lot of free time on my hands. Instead of fixing up my ailing 85 year old home or getting a second job, or even sitting and home feeling sorry for myself, I started volunteering. For a year or two I volunteered both for No More Homeless Pets In Utah, an animal welfare group and for the National Ability Center, a recreation mecca for persons with disabilities of all varieties located in Park City, UT. On February 21, 2004 I participated in the world's first adaptive bobsled race. That season and the season prior (2003/2004) I volunteered in varius capacities most memorably as a 'test subjet' or 'guinea pig'. I would ride brake (that's backseat) of the 2 man sled for various athletes in training. The Olympic track goes up to 80+ mph during some runs. Talk about fierce rush. I was in the presence of greatness and I won't soon forget it. Especially the spills, and bumps and bruises--I do have some battle scars but I have no regrets whatsoever. In the summer time I also participated in the adaptive cycling program at the Ability Center. I basically got to hang out and meet more awesome people and ride my mountain bike. Beforehand I think I had to learn some basic first aid or how to fix an adult trike or hand cycle or some such nonsense, but of course I never had to use that knowledge.

In the Fall of 2004 I became more involved with NMHPU and was approached to oversee the Animal Ambassadors program, which includes community outreach and education, and merchandise sales. Animal Ambassadors are volunteers that go to various festivals and gatherings throughout the community and talk to people, spreading the word and message of No More Homeless Pets In Utah. Handing out literature and educating, and fundraising via the sale of merchandise. Spring of 2005 I became increasingly involved with NMHPU and was unable to commit to the Ability Center that summer. Which was probably ok, as the cycling program was pretty stacked with folks to assist the year prior. I likely wasn't missed that much. I worked tirelessly the summer of '05 for NMHPU traveling to various events, often far outside the city, often by myself. I'm no wimp but hauling around hundreds of pounds of boxes of tee shirts, tables, chairs, event canopies and media displays can take its toll on anyone. What was my motivation? It needed to be done.

And there is still a lot more to do. Animals have brought me a great deal of joy. And despite as cliche and cheesy as it sounds, it is my way of paying them back. Unfortunately, companion animals are still dying in shelters daily because there aren't enough homes for them. But instead of dwelling on this negative, I can only myself push forward and 'do what needs to be done'.
I have been less involved with the volunteer effort over the past 6 months, for a variety of personal and professional reasons. A lot of the volunteers think it's because I am getting married. That is part of the reason, but not entirely. I think we all need a break from some things from time to time. That being said, may have been burnout, maybe not, but for a while there I was in sheer survival mode in my personal life, so like the Ability Center the year prior, something had to go. I didn't volunteer much at all over this past summer. So while I hope that was only a temporary pause in the continuing endeavor of NMHPU, no matter what my involvement level, and no matter if it is sanctioned by an organization, I will always remain loyal to my feline and canine friends because that is all they have ever been to me. It just needs to be done.

I Blew It

So I finally made it back over to the Red Cross. I didn’t make an appointment, I just showed up. I don’t think I spent much more time there than I would if I had made the appointment. And I don’t know if I mentioned a prior post that you can’t really donate in someone’s name. You can donate for yourself if, for instance, you are undergoing surgery and may require a transfusion. But for the rest of us average Janes they just take your blood and some of it goes to hospitals and clinics for patient use and some of it goes to labs for experimentation, so who really knows where mine is going. Regardless, if it’s possible that I’m replenishing the overall blood supply on behalf of a loved one who has drawn from it in recent months in some rough estimation, that’s good enough for me. My primary reason for this tangent is that I really blew it this time. What’s the first thing they tell you to do when going in to donate blood? DRINK LOTS OF WATER. What did I fail to do today? DRINK LOTS OF WATER. In fact, in retrospect I drank very little over the course of the day, so besides a cup of chai this morning and some turkey noodle soup for lunch, I really didn’t consume much fluid at all. And boy did I pay for it. I’m slowly rehydrating but I felt pretty lousy when I left the donation center. And my arm actually hurts. That's never happened before. I suspect I'll have some fancy drug-shooter-looking tracks in the days to come. Thankfully, I’m off to loaf on the couch with a big stinky mutt dog any moment now. That usually fixes most things wrong with the world.

All joking aside, the moral of this story is DRINK LOTS OF WATER. Especially if you are charted to donate blood. Regularly drinking lots of water and donating blood are things you should be doing that anyway.

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we speak I have just taken the bird out for its first basting-- 16 pounder (and change). Our guests are due to arrive in 2 or 3 hours. A small gathering this time around-- last year was my first meeting of the Dunn/Konigsmark clan in Atlanta. It was only a short year ago but seems like soooo much longer. We will miss seeing the Dunns, although we will not be the only ones absent from that reunion. And of course we will miss the Aalens who are gathering in San Marcos, TX for fried turkey at Uncle Ace's house. Lots of people scattered this year. Rachael and Andy will be in Cleveland, Damon & Pam in Chico, CA.

Much love to all who, if not at our table, will be in our thoughts and in our hearts.

Cheers!

And This One Time, At Band Camp

I tried to make another appointment to donate blood today, but they were booked. I could’ve wandered down to the Red Cross after work and hung around until an appointment was open, but I had to pick up the girls at daycare by 6:00, and there was no guarantee I would be back in time. Let me clarify when I say ‘the girls were at daycare”. We don’t have human children. I’m referring to our two lab/heeler mutts going to doggie daycare. It’s just occurred to me that I’ve officially become a yuppie. Not that I’m any more or less a yuppie than I was, say, a year or two ago, it’s all just become more apparent now. But hey-- least I make my own café latte at home on the Via Veneto instead of buying Starbucks. Wait….

We got a maid service for the house, too. We haven’t even tied the knot yet and it has already saved our marriage. We really don’t have anything to argue about anymore---we have come full circle. We’re only in a year deep and nothing to bicker about. This could get interesting.

Thanksgiving is only two days away and it’s 63 degrees outside. Now that is phenomenal. Oh, and worth mentioning is that we almost had a random crisis today. Our travel agent emailed to tell us there was a glitch with our honeymoon itinerary. As I scanned the email in an almost full-on panic, I relaxed as I realized what the problem was. Apparently, New Zealand Air has changed their scheduled flights in and out of Rarotonga to certain days of the week. As a result, we will have to stay an extra day and night in paradise. Needless to say, we are both crushed.

Finally, as I write I must mention that a large brown dog is snoring in my ear. We are talking full on lumberjack chainsaw next to my head. She sure is cute, though. The dog is on the couch, while I sit on the floor. So yeah, I’m a yuppie. Sue me. And then go fetch some bottled water for me and the pooch.

Make Your Dog Happy And Go To Yappy

All of the hep cats and cool dogs will be at Yappy Hour Thursday, November 30th at Butterfly in the Gateway. A benefit for No More Homeless Pets in Utah.

Don't miss Yappy Hour in the Grand Ballroom at Butterfly in the Gateway on November 30th. It will be a fun-filled night of food, drink and Salt Lake City’s hippest live auction. Well-behaved canines are welcome to spread their wings at the VIC (Very Important Canine) Lounge. In the VIC, your pooch can get that perfect pawdicure or meet with our pet psychic to finally answer those burning questions like “Where did I bury that bone?” and “Who keeps putting the lid down on my water bowl?” Tickets are just $35 and include all your tasty food and drink. Limited tickets are available so hurry. Last year Yappy Hour sold out so don’t miss Salt Lake’s coolest party for you and your pooch.

The event is a blast and sold out last year—get your tickets while the gettin’s still good by calling (801) 364-0370 or vist: http://wwww.utahpets.org where you can purchase your tickets securely online.

The Stars At Night Are Big And Bright

Jon & I recently celebrated a landmark in our relationship. One whole year. And what a year! He surprised me with a dozen red roses & a pair of tickets to see Robert Earl Keen. The roses were beautiful, but the tickets are more meaningful to me than I can probably convey.

First off, it’s meaningful because it was a complete surprise—I didn’t even know REK was coming to Utah. But more importantly, Jon despises country music, and it was his idea to go…just for yours truly. Robert Earl isn’t traditional contemporary country music, though. Huge folk influence, some jammin’ guitar, fiddle and the like, and some good old fashioned lyrical story telling. I’m not an avid country music fan by any sense of the imagination. I’m certainly not averse to it, but I wouldn’t even consider myself an enthusiast. The fact of the matter is, a piece of my heart belongs in Texas for a variety of reasons. Among others, deep family roots, and fields of vibrant bluebonnets.

I call on early memories—good and bad—that have contributed significantly to the formation of my identity. The inner Texan in me exists. It is and will continue to be a part of me, so I choose to embrace it. Whenever I hear Robert Earl, I fondly transition to a simpler place, a place I have been many times, a place I likely will never again encounter with any element of joy. No glitter, no glitz. Just dust and cobwebs now. In reality, very little was ever there --except some people about whom I care a great deal. I can’t physically reach out to them as I would prefer. So instead, despite the wistful melancholy, I choose to embrace the tunes of a storyteller from somewhere in Texas.

Blogstipation?

Okay, okay, so I’m not such the prolific writer I thought I was. That being said, a lot has happened over the past several weeks.

For starters, last week we played out our own version of ‘Meet The Fockers’. Funny as that sounds, there were actually no surprises and everyone got along famously. Jon’s father, step mother, and sister all made the trek from Atlanta to SLC. We were honored and flattered that they traveled so far to attend our engagement party. Several of our friends here in town couldn’t get off their asses to travel the 20 extra miles to my friend’s beautiful mountain home in Wanship for the occasion. I’m not talking about the folks who couldn’t attend because they were out of town, etc. I’m talking about the people that overtly chose not to join us. But that’s all I’ll say about the losers of that deal because we really had a lovely time and I can’t thank my girlfriends Brooke & Barb enough for organizing the majority of the festivities, along with our other friends Syd and Missie. Everyone who came had a great time and we are really honored and grateful to have such wonderful friends and soon-to-be blended family. We both majorly lucked out in the ‘in-law’ department, and I’m still not sure what exactly we did to deserve that.

The weekend kicked off with Jon’s folks arriving around noon. We picked them up took them on a quick spin around town, then brought them out to the house to show them where we live and to meet all the furbabies. We took them to Trio for lunch. It was ok, as Trio usually is. Nothing spectacular, and of course it was loud & crowded, but it worked. We dropped them back at the Marriott to register and get settled in, and we went home to take a quick snooze. We had dinner reservations for 7:30 at Faustina, which is probably our favorite restaurant in town. Jon had gone to the liquor store the day before to purchase a bottle of champagne for us to toast with at dinner. He went a little crazy and bought a bottle of Moet, which was nice. We had also agreed that we would pick up the dinner bill far in advance so that there wouldn’t be any squabbling over whose father paid and whose father got their nuts chopped off, so to speak. We spared everyone the awkwardness and chopped off both sets at the same time. The dads were pretty pissed off at us, but that’s not anything we haven’t dealt with (some of us more than others). We told them that if it meant that much to them then to just add it on to the tab they’re each already pitching in for the wedding. Ha!

Dinner was great. A little slow going at first but after the first glass of champagne things rolled merrily right along, and after a while in true Aalen-Dunn fashion no one could get a word in edgewise because everyone else was chatting away. It was great. We also presented both sets of parents with a framed 8x10 photo we had just had taken during our engagement photo sitting. (Which is another tale entirely)?

Halfway through dinner during a smoke break, Jon got a text message from Rachael. We knew her flight was delayed but we had no idea exactly how delayed. She sent him a quick text saying they were taking off and that the ETA was now 1:15 a.m. Ouch! Ordinarily would not be a big deal but we had a huge day ahead of us on Saturday, so that was a bit of a drag.

Dinner wrapped up with dessert and the much anticipated bickering over the kid-paid bill, but after all was said and done, the evening was, in my estimation an enormous success. We said our goodbyes, my folks headed home, and we drove over to the hotel to drop off Jon’s folks for the night. We came home and checked the Delta website and watched in eager anticipation as Rachael’s plane flew s-l-o-w-l-y across several states until finally reaching Utah. It was 2:00 a.m. before they finally landed. We drove up to the curb and scooped Rach into the truck full of the drooling welcome wagon (we took the doggies with us to the airport). We came home and of course no one was in the mood to go right to bed so we visited and looked at old photos Rachael brought. Finally we turned in around about 5:00 a.m.

Saturday we picked up Jon’s folks and took them to Squatter’s for lunch. That is where we will be holding our rehearsal dinner so we wanted to give them a taste. Midway through lunch Jon got a call from the Governor’s assistant who informed us that our walk through at the Governor’s Mansion had been pushed back for a few hours. We met my folks at the Wells Fargo Building and our caterer, Mysha, with Panache escorted us to The 23rd Floor, where our reception is being held. My parents had both been to events at the venue before so they knew what it was like, but I think Jon’s parents and sister were pretty surprised how nice it was. Not surprised like they didn’t expect it to be nice, but surprised like it was more spectacular than we could have described. Afterward, we reconvened at the Gov’s and did a walk through the first and third floors with all the folks. (The second floor is the Gov and family’s private residence). My mom was especially enamored, as I expected. She has been in love with Victorian design and architecture for as long as I can remember. I took a bunch of photos, but in all honesty they likely did not do the interior of the building any justice. I didn’t take them for display, or publication, but more planning & design although we aren’t really going to do anything but carry our own flowers and have a string quartet in the ballroom.
After our majestic tour of all venues wedding related, everyone split up to get ready for the evening. We once again picked up the Dunns and headed up the mountain for our dinner party. When we arrived the place looked fantastic. Barb, Missie, Brooke & Syd were all running around hurriedly putting things in place. I must say I felt a bit out of place not being on the hostess side of the party. All the parties we’ve had there I have had a hand in preparing for. Not this one. They wouldn’t let me pay for anything either, which is annoying. Jon & I escaped to the back deck for a quick break and agreed how surreal it was to be the guests of honor. It was kind of a little bit shocking. I think it just was finally sinking in just how cared for we are by our friends and families, and how big of a deal this wedding business is. And we’re still 5 months out from the big event! Despite our shared state of awe we managed to choke down several glasses of champagne during a toast in our honor when my lovely parents shared some charming stories about yours truly. Even David Dunn did not pull out the proverbial ‘legend of the toadstools’ (thanks a lot, dad). Overall, though, the fam and friends were very gracious and wished us well on our shared journey. And yet, we’ve only just begun

I've Just Been Informed

That I'm losing my readership (ie, Jon has quit reading because it's been so long since I have posted). Have faith, and patience o' grasshopper.

Gimme a break.

Happy Halloween

 

Glen Canyon Dam

This is undoubtdedly one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

Lake Powell in the distance

Look at the teeny little cars next to the drain pipes (four gray structures on the side of the concrete). When the dam overflows the water thunders through those...they are easily bigger than the vehicles to the left of them..

On The Road Again

Beautiful Red Rock


Right outside of Page, AZ (and more bug guts)
Arizona side of Glen Canyon

Believe It Or Not

All of these photos were taken in separate places--not in immediate succession....you get the point...

Arizona

"Entering Arizona & Indian Country Beautiful Scenic Area Bring Your Cameras" (Plus some smooshed bugs on the windshield)
"Arizona The Grand Canyon State Welcomes You" (and more bug entrails...)
Chili's for lunch in Flagstaff, AZ. We bought and decorated a chili pepper for the benefit of the children's hospital.
Jon's says "We are getting married" and mine says "I heart Jon Dunn". If Flagstaff only knew the value of these pricelesss art works they would be on ebay in a snap.

Scenic New Mexico

Wind Power, baby!
Oil derrick--saw lots of these
In case you can't read it, this yellow sign says "New Mexico, Land of Enchantment"
There was a nasty storm and we drove right through it.