Squash Babies

This is my second attempt at growing squash, and my third time trying to garden.  What I wouldn't give for a REAL garden.  For now I just have to settle for gardening in pots.   The first gardening attempt didn't go so well.  I got some plants from Wal-Mart and some pots and soil and I went at it.  I got a few tomatoes and some bell peppers out of that, but what I got out of it I am sure didn't come anywhere close to the amount of money I spent on everything.  Then I tried to grow some squash out of seeds that I had scooped out of some tasty squash that I cooked.  I got them going but then they died.  I think that both times I overwatered them.  I guess I just figured any extra water would drain out the hole in the bottom, not so.  I also want to blame the NASTY grasshoppers that seemed to fancy my tomato plants.  This is my third and possibly final attempt at gardening.  At least this time I didn't spend any more money.  I just used some seeds from squash that I ate and have saved for probably 2 years, and I reused old pots and soil.

Fingers crossed that I will have some amazing bundles of joy to show you when this summer is over.  I am a little concerned that some of the pots aren't big enough and then I have the problem of two plants growing too close to each other but I will be grateful for anything I get at this point. 

 

There's No Place Like Home

So I just spent the last week in Laie, HI and after being there and meeting with the people I could work with, I am pretty sure that I can be just as happy at home, here in Salt Lake.  I feel like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz when she says, " if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with!"  I have done this a few times in my life.  It sure is easy to be unhappy about a certain aspect of your life, and it is even easier to fantasize about a perfect life without any problems, but there are always going to be problems and challenges and if there weren't then this wouldn't really be life, where we have to be challenged to learn and grow. 

Hawaii was great and I did have fun catching some rays and waves, but it would also have plenty of challenges as well.  The cost of living is a LOT higher, the LDS Mid-singles population seemed non-existent, bugs run rampant, mildew is a reality, and everything either seems to rust or wear out faster.  For now I am just going to keep it as a favorite vacation spot, and learn to be as happy as possible in my current situation.  

 

 

REJECTED

I applied for two jobs in Hawaii.  I had an interview with BYUH that did not go well.  I am just too out of practice, so it was good in the sense that it gave me more experience, but it didn't go so well and I knew it.  I got my rejection email from them last Friday. 

I applied for another position with the Physical Facilities Department in Hawaii, and my coworker Steve even put in a good word for me and I just got the email from them telling me that I was not selected for an interview. 

I should maybe feel sad but the truth is that I feel nothing but relief.  I had a lot of anxiety building up to such a huge life changing move and it was getting to be too much for me.  I think for now I am just going to work on being happy where I am at, because the truth is my life really isn't so bad.  ;)

Meeting Cameron

So I have been watching this guy on the bus.  I saw him a few times a few months ago but I had not seen him for a while.  I swore that the next time I saw him I was going to try to talk to him.  He seems like he is in his 20s and he has a mullet cut that he may have given himself. The other times I saw him my heart ached because after watching him I am sure he has some type of mental disability and people seem to be so rude to him.  He is probably one of the friendliest people I have ever seen and he smiles, waves and says hi to everyone in close proximity and one by one, I watch as everyone around him seems to act like there is something wrong with him.  They may say hi, but they usually seem annoyed that someone is interrupting their reading or they can't tell that he has special needs and they think that he is strange.  I am sure that he is probably just lonely and is trying to make connections and in the end I don't know how he can leave that experience on the bus not feeling more ignored and alone.

I don't know what it is about a lot of special needs people but it seems like they aren't all bogged down with the same fears that seem to keep so many of us trapped in our own prisons that we make for ourselves.  I remember when my sister Marie, who has Down's Syndrome,was in gymnastics or out on the dance floor looking for a guy to dance with.  I am trying to remember when she ever showed any level of social fear.  I can't think of a time. 

Well I saw this bus routine happening for the third time today and I just couldn't take it anymore.  I have never been one of the people he has talked to because he usually sits towards the front and I am up in the back of the bus, I have always tried to make eye contact with him and smile at him but he rarely looked back as far as I was.  I wasn't sure what I was going to say but I had to say something so I picked up my bags and I went and sat behind him at the next stop.  I said, "I have seen you on the bus before, and you seem very friendly, are you looking for someone to talk to?"  He said, "Yes, I am very friendly."

He asked me if I was going to work and I said that I was going home from work.  I was surprised that he didn't even know where Temple Square was but he knew what Welfare Square was.  I asked him if he had a job and he said that he didn't but he wanted to work at Salt Lake Archery.  I asked if he liked to shoot bows and arrows and he said he didn't but it just seemed like it would be a nice place to work. I asked him if they were hiring and he said that he didn't know.  I told him I had been there before and he didn't even know where it was.  I tried to give him directions because it was close to where he was getting off.  Hopefully he found it okay.  He was first going to check out a new skateboard park nearby.  He said that he did like to skateboard.

Hopefully I will run into him on the bus again soon.  Hopefully he doesn't think I am hitting on him but that is just the price you pay to be nice sometimes.  I just wish Marie was here in Utah and I would take those two out for a good time.  I would just have to keep my eye on Marie.  She is in need of a good chaperone when she is in the company a man.  She has been boy crazy about as long as I can remember.  

Lightroom 5

I have a new toy.  This one I can see is going to be quite time consuming as I get to learn the program better.  Perhaps I should try to take a class on it and then I will hopefully learn faster.  Well here is what I have done with it so far and I don't even know what I am doing.  I took some pictures up Millcreek Canyon and the lighting was pretty bad.  Here are before and after my retouches.

 

 

Not bad eh?  Makes me feel like I can make anything look amazing.  We'll see about that, and yea, I should probably find a community education class or something. 

Hawaii Interview

So I had my first interview with BYU Hawaii, but right before I had it, I had been feeling like perhaps I wasn’t ready to take on such a big move.  There is a LOT of stuff that needs to get sorted out before I go.  The most overwhelming is, selling my home, my car and all of my furniture.  Then there is also that part about getting all of my possessions down to three suitcases.  I KNOW I can do it, well I take that back, I KNOW I can do it with the help of the God but it’s a lot. 

The interview didn’t go super well so in a way it was a relief.  At the same time I feel like I need a change.  There is still one other position that I have applied for over there with the FM department of the church, so we’ll see about that although neither of those positions will offer me any help when it comes to financing my move.  There is one other position that Abe has his eye on for me though.  It is a management position, so there may be some help with the move but there is no guarantee that the position will actually open up. 

The biggest thing that makes me want to get out of Utah is the winter inversion.  Last winter was a bit depressing.   I have been talking to my boss and he may try to work some of his contacts to get me a position in a warmer climate within the US mainland but then the biggest challenge would be selling my home and likely some furniture, but I could keep my car.   I wouldn’t really lose much money on my place except the realtor fees that would be over $7,000 unless sell by owner and that probably isn’t going to happen under a tight time frame.  Then my final thought is, do I try to sell it now in case something does open up? Will I regret it later?  I guess I can at least wait till Friday to see if I get a job offer even if it does seem HIGHLY unlikely at this point.  Ahhh...   But then again look how lovely it is over there!!!

 

Refrigerator Art

Ever since I moved into my place and had my own fridge, I have felt like it wasn't really complete without some children's art.  A few years back my niece Luna drew me this picture.  It was right after she attended a primary class where they talked about how God is a king and because we are his children we are all princes and princesses.  That lesson must have hit home for her because right after that she drew this picture of herself holding her dad's hand and my sister Marie's hand and they are all wearing crowns.  My heart melts every time I think of it. 

So when Ian and Reagan were in town I wanted to get some pictures from them but Ian was the only one interested in making me any.  Here are the additions to my collection...

I honestly didn't help him write this at all and he is just finishing up kindergarten.  This is a picture of me with my pigtails I suppose, and he is asking me if I "like" Fat Cat's.  He visited Utah a year and a half ago and he fell in love with Fat Cat's and hasn't stopped talking about it.  So of course we had to go there again.  He had an even better time because his dad and sister scored 500 tickets and he went CrAzY!!  I just can't believe that kids in kindergarten can read and write.  Sure wasn't that way in my day.

 

This is Ian's pointy rainbow that includes all the colors, even black. 

 

This last picture I tried to get him to explain to me, but I couldn't seem to get it all to make sense so I am just going to leave it open to interpretation. 

Okay, I lied.  I just found the above that must have been made by Reagan because I know there is no way that Ian would color with pink and purple.  What I gem!  I am just kicking myself for not asking Reagan who that is in the picture on such a happy sunny day.