today feels like this

When I go up through the mowing field,

The headless aftermath,

Smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew,

Half closes the garden path.

And when I come to the garden ground,

The whir of sober birds

Up from the tangle of withered weeds

Is sadder than any words.

A tree beside the wall stands bare,

But a leaf that lingered brown,

Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought,

Comes softly rattling down.

I end not far from my going forth

By picking the faded blue

Of the last remaining aster flower

To carry again to you.

-"Late Walk" by Robert Frost

It's a long story

For a guy who won't even consider dressing up for Halloween, J sure surprised me when I came home and found him all decked out for a murder mystery dinner. We were asked to get into character... I think he was disappointed when he wasn't required to do any actual rappelling, explosions, or sniping.

mommy moments

Saturday night we got home so late. It was way past Mason's bedtime. I took him straight to his room and put him straight into...a cuddle. He was goofy and sweet so I spent a long time holding and rocking him. It's not often he lets us hold him like that. I wanted to sing him to sleep but every time he'd look at me he'd laugh. Eventually we were both giggling and busting each other up. I finally put him in bed and he continued to laugh long after I closed the door.

On Sunday morning we were all feeling the effects of the late night. During the first hour of church we had to take Mason out three times. Then came time to leave him in nursery. His reaction entailed weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. It was horrible. I burst into tears. It was heartbreaking and humiliating and so hard to walk away.

Behold the deep, powerful, wrenching emotions of being a parent. This unconditional love stuff is wearing me out. Never before have I felt so happy, so tired, so scared, so curious, and so desperate to succeed.

lkd fjg;slorjig

I'm very behind in all the things I want to write about. It's both frustrating and stimulating to have my brain crowded with things that need to be expressed. I have found so much satisfaction in writing. I've learned a lot about myself, and not just when materializing my musings, but in examining my process. I wish I could have a thought, write about it, and be done. But no. I'm trying to overcome this quirky incubation stage where the idea bothers me like a gnat. Since I can't catch it, it flits around, driving me to distraction.

Yesterday, I had several half-formulated topics stewing. I decided to jot them down to avoid forgetting them before I got around to writing about them. I grabbed a pen and paper and... nothing. Couldn't think of a single one. I have a vague recollection concerning insomnia and there was something about feminism, but I can't pull together a complete sentence even now. I keep trying to revisit those topics, but the timing is wrong. It's like throwing a couple pounds of soft butter on a pottery wheel and attempting to make a vase. No matter how hard you try, it's just not going to happen. Trying probably makes it worse. and buttery-er.

What did you do today?

Oh, I just orchestrated the distribution of 95 produce baskets. It felt good to get so much done before 11am. Now I'm ready for a nap.

I love our volunteers. And I really really love my most strong, helpful, supportive volunteer, who doesn't get to volunteer because he's forced. Sorry and thanks, Jas'.

Caught in the act

My mom is amazing. She might not have everlasting energy but she sure acts that way. From the time I can remember my mom would get up before the sun, cook a hot breakfast for my dad and have the house in order before most people have gotten out of bed. Everything is done with a hustle and flurry. Watching a movie with my mom was never a time to kick up our feet and relax. She'd be in and out of the room, folding laundry, checking on the homemade bread in the oven, answering the phone, and unloading the dishwasher. She's just that kind of gal.

My mom is getting older. I'm not being insulting; I am finally admitting the truth. Though she still gets more done in a day than I can in a week, you can tell by the end of that productive day that she's tuckered out.

Now to tease. Sometimes my dear mom will sit down "just for a minute" between chores or while watching the evening news. Her body must scream "At last! A moment to rest!" and flip the shutdown switch. In the blink of an eye, Mom will be soundly asleep. She will not admit this. If you happen to walk in on her, she will awaken, jolt to attention, and start doing something. Anything. "Oh I just closed my eyes for a second, I'm almost done reading this book", or "I wasn't asleep, I just need to finish watching the news". I don't know why she's convinced sleep is such a forbidden act, because of everyone I know she deserves it the most.

It must run in families. And yes it skipped a generation seeing as I sleep as much as possible. Little Mason acts just like his Grandma when I open his bedroom door. He startles to standing as fast as his little body can, as if to say, "I wasn't asleep, I'm ready to go! I was just playing with...my blanket! Here it is. And my dog. Here! See? Now let's go do something". I love to watch him scramble around in his crib, picking up things, pushing animals around, embarrassed to be caught sleeping.

And I love this picture. He looks so long, restful, and boyish.

Pepperbellys: Three Stars

I don't claim to be some sort of culinary expert, but I am an expert at giving my unsolicited uneducated opinion. So I've chosen to critique Pepperbellys. It is located in Richfield, UT. I have wanted to eat there since hearing it's silly name about four years ago. If we do eat out while in Richfield, we usually go to the Ideal Dairy, which I rate abillizionstarsandtwothumbsup because of their strangely addictive ice cream slush concoction. But I digress.

As soon as we walked in, were seated, and given our drinks, and served a bucket of chips to snack on, I declared Pepperbellys to be five stars in my book. The decor was "old American truck stop" and the walls were brightly painted with industrial duct material wainscoting. I was pleased with the fresh flavor of my strawberry lemonade, but Jason was excited by the size of the drinks. They were huge! For a fellow who often chokes and requires ample liquid to SURVIVE, he is certainly qualified to be critical of drink size. Finally, the chips and salsa were scrumptious, although I had been craving salsa for weeks and that might have impaired my judgement.

We should have left then whilst I was completely satisfied. Although the service was great, the food was nothing spectacular. I do consider myself very knowledgeable and experienced when it comes to quesadillas. I have had some of the best. Pepperbellys cooked up some of the worst. It was filled with more cilantro than cheese and the chicken and tortillas were dry. The guys enjoyed their food enough to finish their plates, but that's not saying much.

In the end Jason didn't choke during this meal and they sent David home with a free drink refill to go, so with those redeeming qualities the average score ends up at: THREE STARS.

I'm dying to hear the story behind this sign

Volcanic Ash

I have to admit I have a bit of a temper. I get ticked & I can't hold it in. I can't manage to behave myself. So without further ado, meet Volcanic Ash.

She's nasty. She's bitingly sarcastic and demeaning. You'll know when she's rearing her ugly head by a series of eye rolls, head shaking, and "are you an absolute idiot?" expressions.

I went to Wal-Mart to print some digital pictures. I took my poor mom who had never used the print kiosks before. I told her it would be quick, easy, and cheap. LIE.

The machines were super slow, the printing took almost a half hour for my 11 pics. The worst was when we were dashing out the door, mutually frustrated and late for appointments, and I realized the price tag on my envelope said $40! For 11 pictures! wHaT?!

I went back the next day to tell them they made a mistake. Imagine how ugly it got when they said it was not a mistake. When I get mad I tend to use very intelligent comments like "Are you freaking kidding me?" and "You've got to be crazy" and "This is SO NOT OKAY." Also, I know it really pleases the person I'm talking to if I talk really slowly and forcefully in hopes I can pound my message into their dense brain.

In the end they did a price correction that still left me fuming and with a deficit in my budget. But Volcanic Ash doesn't cool down easily. To make myself better I won't drop the issue until I get at least $10 more refunded, if not a complete refund for my pain and suffering. Also, I'm telling everyone within my circle of influence to NEVER use the Wal-Mart photo center. EVER. The UPS Store would have charged under $7 total for the same prints. Wal-Mart did not have the price anywhere for 5X7 enlargements and they feel fine charging me for the 8X10 price.

Silly me for assuming the inch increase would still be a reasonable price. I guess they think 160 times the price is reasonable.

Wise Advice

I had a clear piggy bank and some coins out for Mason to play with. It seemed like a good small motor skill activity to try to fit the coins in the little slot and then get them out of the bottom. Mason was playing on the floor and Jason went and sat with him. Quietly I heard Jason, our dear thrifty Jason, say, "That's right Mace, put all your money in there. And then go find all the money you can and keep putting it in there and save it the rest of your life."


Here's a picture of Mason playing with Mommy's wallet back in May.

Catch up on Words of the week

"Next we have Jonny. He loves his pets. He has three cats, Muffin, Swishy, and Princess. What? What? Oh. Oh Dear. Swishy is....no longer with us." -Lady introducing kids at Jackson's baptism

"Ryan woke up not feeling good. It might have been the Toaster Strudel I fed him". (Me to Kristi) "No, it was all the candy."-Nephew Ryan

"Ashley! Come quick! There's something wrong with your rocks."-Nephew Casey after Nate parked his jeep up on the boulders out front

"Seven Foods your Kids should Eat: Avocados and good Fats, Grains and Oats, Beans and Lentils, Fish, Alcohol...."-iVillage article. I think the link was wrong. Maybe not...

Growing Pains

I was just updating Mason's blog, and posting pictures of him on Halloween. I just keep looking at the pictures and I can't believe how quickly he changes. This time last year he couldn't even stand up. Everyone told me how fast he'd grow, but I'm really noticing it. "Exner" is a word my friend uses to describe that "excited/nervous" feeling. I am excited for all the new things he can do. I love witnessing his growth and learning. I'm nervous that I'm not doing a good enough job.

I also get nervous when we are apart. Before the summer I could leave him with family members and it wasn't a big deal. During the summer it was just us. My friend Kyndall watched him for an hour once so I could go to a lecture, and Sarah came over one night when he was asleep so we could go downstairs to a restaurant. That is the total amount of "babysitting" experience.

Today my brother Nate had Mason for THREE whole hours. I tried to enjoy the break and get errands done, but I couldn't relax. I felt like puking most of the time. I KNOW it is good for Mason, I KNOW it is good for me, but I still feel anxious. In two Sundays Mason will be old enough to stay in nursery by himself during our church meetings. I've gone with him to nursery a few times because he screams when we sit down for Sunday School. I KNOW he'll do fine. It's me I'm worried about.

I didn't think I'd be like this.

Why he can never retire

This is my husband Jason. Building a shed in our backyard. In three days, from the ground up. In the snow. With his bare hands. Pretty much.

Once upon a time the Starr family was moving, yet again. We had three days until we needed to be on the road. "You know, we need a shed", was how it started. A call to cousin Clint and another call to a cement company and then we were in the backyard with shovels (I brought mine along for looks). Three insanely long and cold days later and WE....HAVE...SHELTER!!!!

Next story. Jason kills himself all summer working himself ragged. Summer ends and fun starts. After a few weeks Jason says he doesn't feel productive. He goes and works at the ice plant for a few days until he's earned enough extra cash to buy a nice chainsaw. Did you know that owning a chainsaw makes you a manly man? That's what I heard. Anyway, Jason goes all lumber-jacky on me and spends long days on the mountain and late nights in the back yard getting firewood. I thought he was *maybe* going a little overboard until suddenly it snowed and it's FREEZING. Lucky me, I have a ton of wood and a charming cozy fireplace.

Although we are uber conservative with our money and can usually make our summer money last all year, with a mortgage it was going to be too tight. The bachelors degree turned out not to be such a good investment with the pitiful job market. Bummer. Hopefully that will change, but until then I am blown away by Jason's work ethic. He stayed busy working odd jobs, until another opportunity opened up. Now he leaves early in the morning and works pretty late some days. I know he doesn't love the job, but he loves to work.

The other day he didn't get home until 9pm. 13 hour day. He grabbed some dinner and then dashed to church ball. He had the next day off so I figured he'd take it easy. By ten the next morning I heard his famous line, "I don't feel productive" and he was off! Fixing bathtubs, working on cars, and doing whatever it is guys do in the yard.

So this is why he can never retire. As much as he likes fishing I just don't think he could relax long enough. After a few days of that and I think we would hear, yet again, "I don't feel productive".

Small Town Saturday

This is why I love living in Cedar. Jason left early in the morning to go up to Crystal Springs to get a load (or two!) of firewood with Bo. Mason and I left the house early and went to a few yard sales. I'm especially excited to have found a sturdy little table and part of Mason's Christmas. I regret not buying the paintball gun (sorry boys). On our way home, Andy texted to see if we were going to the parade. What parade? It doesn't matter, Cedar has parades for any random reason. I didn't plan on going but I realized I was on the "wrong" side of Main Street and it would be easier to go than to try to find a way home. We met up with Andy, Emily, Nate and kids, D'Var and Bethany, Long lost Lehn, and other friends. We saw Carolyn and Collin for the first time in almost a year. We may have been the only ones NOT in Wranglers, as it was the Cedar Livestock Festival after all. The parade was full of all things cowboy. Mason almost ran into the hundreds of sheep that come last, but was saved by the fast reflexes of cousin Casey. Everyone went to the rodeo grounds, but we headed home to put Mason down for a nap. After the nap we went to a grocery store, DI, and then bought a chicken chile tamale off the street. I've been craving another one ever since. I love being able to go to fun events, get from one end of town to another in 10 minutes max, and live near the mountain and my family.

I'd really enjoy traveling through time to tell 17 year old Ashley that she'll wind up moving back and loving Cedar. She'd probably not believe me.

HUGE SAVINGS!

Silly Wal-Mart

Starr Reunion

I used Mason's blog to post most of the family reunion stuff, but here are a few more pictures of my beloved Cedar Mountain.

And here's one from the family pictures. I haven't seen the final results from the actual photographer, but by the end my attitude was, "well, at least we tried". Mason had a rough time. Here's a candid shot Janell snapped for us. You know how I always talk about adopting, well that sort of explains the extra kid. I do not have the words to try to explain J's "dragon attack".
Last one. Those of you that have ever played the "hey, can you do this?" game with Jason might understand what he's doing on the WRONG side of the barred off cave. Poor Mason. It freaked him out and he continuously barked "DAAAA"! like a car alarm until Jason climbed back through. Speaking of car alarms, remember that once when Joe locked his keys in his car at Mammoth Caves?

Dear Dave, Made salsa...

Dear Dave,

Made salsa, generally following your recipe. You said yours was like fresh pico from heaven. Mine is like vegetable vomit with an after taste of battery acid.

Sadly, I have no self control. Though my lips are throbbing, I can't stop eating it because I can faintly detect my favorite flavors of lime and tomatillos. Also developing severe stomach pain.

Please advise.

-Little sis

encouraging words

Ry and I

I'll draw you and you draw me.


Ryan and Aunt Ashley

It worked!

Yesterday, I was waxing the floor early in the morning. I know you don't believe that I wax the floor (what decade is this anyway?) or get up early in the morning, but you'll just have to trust me. I opened the back door and suddenly an ear piercing siren fills the house. Mason's eyes grew big and he froze, breakfast hanging in his mouth. After a few very long seconds I realized that I tripped our security system. I ran to the panel punched at the buttons until I managed to enter the code. Jason's yelling from the bedroom "Ash! Are you ok?"

Seconds later his cell phone rings (we don't have a home phone or else they would have talked to us through the panel). "Mr. Starr, this is APX Alarm, can I have your password?" Then they asked if everything was okay. He told them we were fine and the drama was over.

Here's the funny thing. I didn't really think the alarm worked. Not that I thought it was broken, but I didn't realize how fast it goes off and how quickly they respond. Jason's dealt with a couple false alarms in the past, but I'd never witnessed it for myself.

And the kicker- This is what my husband does for a living. He installed our alarm system in our house as soon as we moved in. We go around the country installing for thousands of other people. Well, now I understand it, am thankful for it, and will rest easier knowing ours "works".

my nephews kicked my trash

I've always had a desire to hike Angel's Landing in Zion National Park. I've also always had a pretty acute fear of heights. Gravity does not just pull me down, it pulls me out over the edge of things. Just seeing people close to edges gets me in a frenzy. For that reason I never thought I would actually hike up a mountain where the path is so thin chains have been installed to assist you. My brother Nate organized a trip to go and I agreed to join him. My coping mechanism was to avoid thinking about the situation. Even once on the trail, as people described the perilous path ahead, I just tuned them out. We started very very early in the morning. It was so cold I was shaking, and trust me, shaking does not help settle an already anxious stomach. After quite a journey up very steep switchbacks I saw a summit ahead and thought to myself, "Wow, I made it. That really wasn't too bad. People really exaggerate this hike". As we walked what I thought to be the final steps, a rock tower jutted into view. We had to go down into a saddle and then up, up, up. My feelings at that moment are captured in a picture above (top right picture). I told myself not to think about it and just move. I'll admit I did not take many opportunities to enjoy the stunning view. At one point Jason says, "I'm going to try to not use my hands the entire time". I'd been scrambling on my hands and knees for over 5 minutes when he said that. My darling little nephews were egging me on, showing how brave they were, and acting silly to try and distract me from my vertigo. You know, there are times in life where you can either laugh or cry. I am proud to say I laughed my way to the top. After a few minutes at the top I laughed my way down. The view from Angel's Landing is amazing, but I prefer the view from bottom. It felt good to look back and celebrate that I had accomplished what I never thought I'd have the guts to do.

I'm glad we went. I'm glad we started early and were done before it got too hot. I'm glad everyone made it safely up and down. I'm glad Casey stopped to pee no less that 8 times. I'm glad that when I asked Clain what the hardest part was for him he responded "waking up early".

And that is why...

I went for my first big coupon shopping trip since being out of state for the summer. And although I promised myself I wouldn't clutter this site with "brag photos" every time I go shopping, this one was too good not to post. It's not my usual "look what I got all for four bucks" picture. I spent a lot more (about $30) but still stayed under budget. The highlights of this trip include: 2 boxes free Life cereal. Pop Secret popcorn for $0.20 a box. 15 boxes of Healthy Harvest wheat blend pasta for about $4.00. My favorite dish soap, Palmolive Pure + Clear for a buck each. Boxes of Quaker granola bars for $0.50 a box. Total savings: about $130!


And THAT is why I coupon shop at Albertsons.

B is for...

Baskets. Bountiful Baskets that is. We enjoyed a wonderful meal last night. BBQ ribs, sweet potatoes, artichokes, fruit salad (apples, cantaloupe, grapes, pears) and amazing 9 grain bread. We didn't pay full price for any of it. The ribs were on sale, the BBQ sauce was free from coupon shopping, and the produce was part of our co-op basket. We got TONS of produce for $16.50. Last week was the first time this service was offered in my area. It was fun, it was exciting, and the joy of the healthy eating doesn't stop. I got a call from the state volunteer coordinator with the good news that they will now be offering an Organic Basket as well for the state. Saving money, being healthy. It's about as good as it gets!















The first pic is the basket from when I went up north to train. The basket was cute but couldn't contain all that I was given. The second picture is my dad, loading up his basket from the local site.

PS I was very excited to get artichokes. Sadly, Jason didn't care much for them. I sort of figured he might not, so darn, I had to finish them off myself.

That is NOT OKAY

I looked at my blog yesterday and saw that it was infested. MY BLOG. My personal space. MY WORDS were covered in slimy green and double underlined. This is called "In Text Advertising". This is NOT OKAY. I do NOT want ads in MY BLOG. I went through all my settings, and even changed some of my words to see if that helped. I am now using Firefox exclusively and it seems to have helped. I am still disgusted.

Be careful what you ask for

One day we were sitting around, a little bit bored.

I want to remodel the downstairs bathroom, says I. The shower leaks and we should have a tub down there to bathe our 12 children we will someday have.

Okay, says Jason. I will help, says Robert.

Two minutes later: (listen carefully and you can hear Jason say "should we turn the water off?" to which Robert replies "no" with a laugh.)

A day and a half later the demolition was complete. The wall and shower are completely gone. Two and a half weeks later and...um...well, the demolition is complete! I got bored of that project and started painting the downstairs family room. It's not done either. I got bored again.

Fish Lake at LAST!

Jason works hard during the summer. Very hard. And his work is very stressful. He doesn't have much time to do anything else and we miss out on the normal summer activities of camping, hiking, fishing, and fun having. In June we started making plans for September so we'd have something to look forward to. My friend gave us some buddy passes before I left SkyWest so we could go anywhere. Canada? Costa Rica? Jason voted for Fish Lake (where the only flying involved is fly fishing). We rented a little cabin and Janett's friend hooked us up with a boat. Most of the Starrs were able to come up for part of the time, which was wonderful to spend time with them and have Mason get reacquainted with the extended family. Most of all it was so nice to be up in the mountains and enjoying nature.

A big CONGRATULATIONS to Jessica who got engaged while up there. We are excited for ya!

Why I love this day:

Today I woke up knowing I would have free Internet access. And the next day and the next day and the next. I was feeling very cut off from the outside world. Luckily we have very generous neighbors who gave me their network key. Oh happy day.

Speaking of generosity they also gave us a three room tent. And since it might be a while before we can use our lightweight backpacking tent again, we might as well set up in style.

Today also rocks because I got to spend the morning with my niece Elli. She's sweet and fun and her very presence helps my little Captain Whine-face chill out. As soon as he's sees her he starts giggling.

Speaking of my Captain, he's still napping. It's almost been three hours! He's getting molars in. Apparently molars and napping are like Letterman and Oprah (Did she ever show up on his show?)

Also loving this day because we get to help my mom out. We're taking her YW group to the APX building to watch a movie. It's a really fun facility (think giant projector and ten love sacks) and Mom is excited for our little party. And I'd do anything to bring a smile to her face.

Finally the kicker for the day is saving money. I just filled out a rebate to get $10 for buying deli items. And I just looked at the sales for tomorrow and printed off a bunch of coupons. I get really excited when it comes to saving money, so the free Palmolive soap from Smiths is making me giddy.

May your day be just as delightful!

Yeah, we do that

To my Amy

::Restaurant lady wiggling fingers singing:: “Happy, happy, happy, happy.”

Happy Birthday to “we sister”. Good thing we stopped sharing a room or else we might have never become friends. From the time we had matching pink coats in grade school to the time we learned how to swing fire balls in front of your apartment in college; you’ve always been there for me. You’ve taken me to concerts, picked me up from far away airports, plucked my eyebrows, taught me how to make chicken barbacoa, planned my wedding, and drove my car across the country for me, THREE TIMES! You are like Search and Rescue, Mary Poppins, and iTunes all wrapped into one.

I’d like to formally apologize for that once I called you, bawling because my computer was stolen. I was so upset over the loss of pictures you thought someone had died. As long as we’re at it, sorry for sneaking out of the house in high school when you were in charge. I knew I was busted when I came back and the window (and every other window and door) was locked.

These things I know:

You always smell good. You are a natural when it comes to driving on the wrong side of the road. You had the guts to kayak the waterfall. Your house always looks like a magazine and your car always looks brand new. You know more random stuff than almost anyone (except possibly Joe *). You are freakishly good at Dr. Mario.

This is such a huge milestone in your life. Just think what the next few years will bring! As Seuss put it best, “Oh the places you’ll go”.

Love, your little sister.

More Nauvoo: The Brick yard

More Nauvoo

Uncle B's Home

Red Brick Store House

"I can't pull the wagon myself" (Name that movie)

Parley's Street

The Journey Home

I'm getting behind on our adventures! Here are some of the highlights of our trip from Virginia to Utah. We stopped by South Carolina to visit our dear friend Joan. We also met her son Peter and his wife. We thought we'd spend a lot more time in Jason's mission area but were only able to visit twice throughout the summer.

We took pictures on the famous porch swing. It's a special place where elders sing, testimonies are gained, friends converge, and memories are made. This is Tennessee. Right before I took this picture the car Jason was driving lost traction on the road and he fought hard to keep from crashing. We were both pretty shaken for a while after that.

Carthage Jail., Illinois.

We extended our trip by a few days to see some LDS Church history sites. Jason had been to these places on his senior trip but I'd never been.

Nauvoo, Illinois.

Mason did so well on the trip, although he didn't enjoy listening to the sister missionaries. Every time one would open her mouth to share stories or information he would start screaming. We had a terrifying moment when we realized we lost The Binki. It's the only one Mason will take and we have to order them from Hawaii. We fortunately found it in a parking lot by the carriage rides. It had obviously been ran over. If we didn't have over 1500 miles to go I would have thrown it away. Instead we cleaned it up and gave it to a very grateful Mason.

Home home at the Ranch

Oh it's good to be home. We ran up to the Heaton Ranch for the annual Labor Day weekend. We were small in numbers but the weather was great and we had a lot of fun (and did a little work).

My boys practicing walking.

This Week's Favorite Words

“Amber waves of grain” –America the Beautiful. I witnessed this. The line is perfectly descriptive and the sight is inspiring.

“You’ve made my day, my week, my month” –Joan, our dear friend in South Carolina

“Look! That cloud is the shape of a PONY. You don’t see it? Look! A teddy bear!” –Jason on cell phone in the car in front of me.

“Paducah, Kentucky” –A city we’ve gassed up in a few times on our various travels. I don’t know anything about it other than its dirty gas stations and twangy name. Pa-DO-ka!

“We don’t do nothing fancy like that” -Missouri waitress in tight stone washed jeans when asked for a candy bar milk shake.

“I am a convert. When I learned there was just one man responsible for all this, I just had to come see where it all happened.” –Fellow cross-country tripper and Nauvoo tourist.

“In One mile, Exit Right” –The GPS voice telling us we were finally home after 5 days on the road.

MoViNg DaY!!!

It’s moving day. It’s moving day.
Hip Hip Hooray. It’s moving day.
We hate to go, but we’d hate to stay.
Hip Hip Hooray. It’s moving day.

We must travel for many a day.
And try to keep our sleep at bay.
What will we see along the way?
Lands of brown and green and gray.

I do not have enough words to say,
So SHOUT with me, It’s MOVING DAY!

It's not you, It's me.

Dearest Virginia,
I don’t think this will come as a surprise to you. It’s time we go our separate ways. We were just not meant for each other. I need to move on. I need to see other people, other places. I have felt from the beginning that you were holding me back, you with your traffic jams and long red lights. And if we are going to be really honest with each other I think we both know that I was using you for your beach. You deserve someone that will be here for you long term, pay taxes, and vote for local leadership. I will always cherish the good times we had together and you will always have a special place in my heart.

Craving home

It's hard to get rid of all the food in my cupboards. I find security when the shelves are full and I have two extra of my Most Valuable Ingredients. August is hard for me to use it all up and not replace it. This year has been a little easier because I got caught up in the joy of cooking. I found away to bake away my homesickness! I made Mom's Suzy Q cake. We ate Kristi's Top Secret Chicken Rolls until we were stuffed. Kaprena's Soft Pretzels were a huge hit. The guys came over for goodies almost every night last week.

Now we have only a day or two left and the cupboards are mostly bare. I don't know what to make with a can of pineapple, tortillas, lasagna noodles, and a dozen half-empty condiments. But for the most part I did it. Mission accomplished.

Neptune

He knew no man was ever alone on the sea. -The Old Man and the Sea