Kurplop!

One of the tasks that I have been working day in and day out at the Nursery is planting plants into 20 foot long mats. This tasks involves a lot of time walking through ponds retrieving the plants and then lining up the mats once all the plants have been planted into the mats. The ponds are just higher than ankle deep and maybe a little bit deeper in some areas, but not much. This job is pretty redundent but the time seems to creep by a little faster than other tasks I've had in the past. And just to make sure we don't miss our break and/or lunch we are often checking the time.

At the beginning of the week while working this job the time was nearing our lunch break and so I was keeping an eye on the time using my cell phone. Nobody else in my crew had a watch or phone to know the time themselves, so they relied on me to tell them when it was lunch time, on the dot.

One of the crew members asked what time it was and so I quickly tried to dry off my hands on my shirt as best as I could before reaching into my pocket to pull out my phone and check the time. With slightly wet hands I retrieved my phone and slide it open to check the time. I had to turn slightly in order to provide a little shade in which to see the screen. As all of this was happening in just miliseconds, my phone slipped out of my hands, hit the ground and slide down the short bank right into the pond I was standing next to making a "kurplop" sounds as it went under water. With no delay I went in right after it! My phone was only in water for a couple seconds, maybe one and half seconds, but it was enough to do the damage.

The options on my phone went burzurk! It was like my phone had a mind of its own but it was a crazy mind and I couldn't do anything about it because the buttons wouldn't work! It went through all of the different options my phone has over and over again at an intense speed. Not being able to control anything I pulled the battery out so it wouldn't do something irreversable or delete everything on my phone. I set everything out in the sun to dry in hopes that my phone would dry out, return to a sane state and work properly again.

I discovered that the only two buttons that worked were the on/off button and the 'back' button. Out of all of the buttons these two were the most important in this case. There was one point were my phone decided to send a text message to everybody in my phone. In an attempt to stop it I had to repeatedly push the back button. It turned into a speed contest. My phone wanted to see how fast I could keep pushing the back button before it sent the text message that was full of text-templates. I won....thank goodness for the on/off button.

Discovering that the only TMobile store that I knew of in Rexburg was no longer in operation I rode my bike across town to another cellular phone company. When I handed the employee my phone he immediately recognized it as a TMobile phone and asked, "How come you came here instead of going next door to the TMobile store?" I felt dumb. I didn't even notice the store right next to it was a TMobile store. He looked at it anyways and quickly told me that my phone was a gonner because water basically zaps the fuses inside the phone. He then told me that water damage is usually not covered under the warrenty. Things were not looking good.

I decided to take it into TMobile anyways to see what they would offer me. They tried to get me to buy another phone, which of course was really expensive, but with some insistance they finally said that they could try to fix it. I didn't have too much trust in them but with a prayer in my heart sent heavenward I walked out of the store leaving my phone behind for a hopeful successful repair that would take a couple days.

I'm not going to lie, I kept my phone in my prayers. There are messages, texts, pictures, and recordings on my phone that I have saved for a long time that mean a lot to me that I didn't want to lose. Plus, having to buy a new phone would be a lot of my money out of my pocket that was reserved for other things.

My prayers were answered! I went into the store today to check up on my phone's repair and after waiting for a very long time I was so happy to hear that it had been fixed! I had to wait again for a very long time until the manager who had fixed it came into the office could give it to me. But it was well worth the wait. I checked all the functions and everything seemed to work great! Nothing had been lost or deleted which was another relief. With just a small labor fee I now have my phone back!

Not having my phone for a few days felt a little weird, but there was a small feeling of freedom that came with it. Although I felt somewhat cut off from things it was kind of nice to not have it. I have gone without my phone for weeks at a time, but tha was because I was working at Anasazi and there is no other choice. It was a little different to be in the 'city' and not have my phone verses being out in the wilderness, but it was a nice little break.

On another note, I have been making a mental list of the perks my two jobs have. Here's the list so far:

- I get to wear my chacos at both jobs!
- I am in the outdoors
- I get to wear grunge clothes (shorts and a tshirt) to the Nursery job
- I get to work on my tan, particularly my chaco tan line
- I get to listen to my own music on my iPod while working at the Nursery
- I can ride my bike to both jobs
- I get to help and serve the elderly
- My eyes are being opened to the world of what it is like to be old - the pros and cons
- The eldery I work with touch my life with their sweet personalities and spirits and great sense of humor and gratitude.

A few great quotes from a couple of the elderly I work with:

"Stay young for as long as possible! Getting old is hard."

"This plane is hard to fly in the rain. I think we're going to have to take the wings off."

"Old ladies are just antique little girls." (This came from my friend who also works with the elderly - LOVE this quote!).

[When walking into the empty residence's room] "Oh, the bed is occupied. I need to kiss the kittens goodnight."

"Do you want to get into bed with me? I'll move over." [I was asked this when putting one of the male residence to bed....]

Duckies!

As highly suggested by our friend Destin - Jessica and I took a little field trip to the Nature Park to check out a little domesticated duckling. According to Destin this duckling is quite friendly to the point of hopping up on your lap if squatted down and allows you to pet him freely. Knowing the ducks at the Nature Park we knew this was something we had to experience ourselves.

This isn't the little duckling, but another duck playing hide-n-go-seek in the long grass by the water.

This is the little duckling we went to see. Isn't he so cute!?!

I got pretty close to the duckling at this spot. It was neat to discover the egg that was in the nest. I was surprised that there were still eggs still hatching. All the little ducklings I saw in early spring weren't so little when I saw them today.

After chasing him around the park for a little bit he retreated to this nest where he took a quick snooze. He was all tuckered out.

This is one of the two adult ducks that stayed by the duckling's side the entire time we were there. If we came too close they would hiss at us. If you look closely you can see this duck hissing at me. I was quite close at this point and so the duck had reason to hiss at me. I discovered that ducks have tongues. I never knew that!

Jessica and I thought this duck was so funny looking. We don't know what happened to his feathers/wings, but they stick out to the side on both sides. We thought he looked like a sports car with spoilers. Odd duck.

Little Happenings

I haven't posted in a couple weeks and so I just wanted to post a quick little update on the little happenings that have been going on because there isn't any big events to share.

July 15th

This day was the definite highlight of the month! My body has this natural habit of waking up around 5:30am each morning. This is about the same time the sun is rising. When I wake up I always sit up in bed and look out my window to see the sun rise. The sky is usually a bright light blue as the sun rises, but I was greeting with a gorgeous sunrise on July 15th!

This is the first time this year that I have seen such a colorful and beautiful sunrise! What an amazing way to begin the day with!

It was my friend's birthday that day and I planned a scavenger hunt for her to go on at a park in order to receive her gifts. When I pull pranks or do things where there is a reaction or action going on I LOVE to hide and watch. I wanted to watch my friend on her birthday scavenger hunt and so just to make sure she wouldn't recognize me I dressed in disguise. I borrowed clothes from a guy friend of mine and put on the image of a skater. My friend looked at me a couple of times during her scavenger hunt, but didn't recognize me at all. And even at the very end when I finally showed myself she didn't recognize me as I was walking up to her. It was an awesome success!

I wore my nike shoes along with this outfit or else she REALLY would have identified me in a heartbeat with my Chaco tan line on my feet!

I have been wanting to try my hand again at the enchiladas I made several months ago that I mangled. (Enchilada a la Mangled). I followed the directions and made sure that I didn't make the same mistakes as before. I did the prep work (meat mixture and sauce) the day before and then made the tortillas the day of so they were fresh. Everything turned out fantastic and they tasted divine!

Enchiladas a la Success!!

Last summer I made a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with some Rhubarb that a professor I worked with in the Health Science Department brought into work for grabs. It was the first time making this pie and being the healthy conscious person I am I made it with a whole wheat crust. It was a huge success! My roommates raved about how tasty it was. With Rhubarb being in season again I decided to make it this year. Again, it turned out very delicious! With a little Chocolate Fudge Brownie Soy Ice Cream, it was a perfect touch and finish after the enchilada dinner and to a FANTASTIC day!!!

Bike Ride

Today Jessica opted to go on a 20 mile bike ride instead of her 10 mile run for her training for a half marathon. She invited me to tag along for the ride. We geared up and hit the road. Jessica didn't really mind where we went and so I decided to do a little exploring and go on some rural Rexburg roads I had never been on. We headed out towards Beaver D's park, but turned south a few miles outside of Rexburg and wound our way through the farming roads.

Jessica isn't used to sitting on a bicycle for an extended period of time and after about 5 miles started to get a little saddle sore. Surprisingly, she took my sarcastic suggestion of sitting on her camelpak serious....

A highlight of the bike ride for me, besides the beauty of nature, was when we began our ride back into town. The road that we turned East on to go back to Rexburg took us right to HWY 20. Jessica was a bit behind but I had the perfect clear to cross the HWY to get onto the other side heading North towards Rexburg. When Jessica crossed and met up with me there was fear written across her face. She was scared to be riding along side of the HWY, but with trust in me and at a faster peddaling speed we continued on towards the first Rexburg exit.

On HWY 20, like most HWYs, there are "wake-up" strips on the shoulder. Instead of the continuous strip there are intermitted wake-up strips about every 15-20 feet. As we were riding along the HWY I started talking with Jessica and we discovered what these wake-up strips did to our voices. From then on we both began making all sorts of noises, sounds, and sang bits and pieces of songs. It was quite funny and entertaining!

Work

After some strategic organization I was able to land and work out working at two different jobs. I am working a tentative part-time schedule at both jobs currently, but will go full time with both jobs at the beginning of August.

I am still working at the Plant Nursery. It has gotten a lot better since the first day. I have worked a variety of jobs besides weeding and watering. The greatest highlight that I have had at work was when I worked in the Greenhouse one day. Often times butterflies fly into the Greenhouse, but can't find their way out. So whenever we find butterfly in the Greenhouse we rescue them. The butterfly that I caught happened to be a Pink Lady Butterfly - the same kind of butterfly that I raised in my Butterfly Garden. I caught the butterfly and then walked out of the greenhouse to release her. She stayed a while on my hand in which I was able to get a good look at what a beautiful butterfuly she was! Then she was off! And instead of just fluttering around she flew higher and higher into the sky. She really spread her beautiful butterfly wings and soared!

The other job that I got is at an assisted living home. The biggest realization that I had upon beginning training with this job is that it is different than a nursing home. The majority of the people in an assisted living home are capable of doing most of the normal daily activities, but just need a little assistance. And they haven't lost their minds for the most part. (I say that last statement with all the respect possible). Working with the elderly has been something that has intimidated me my whole life for some reason. But from the day I went in for my interview I have had nothing but great experiences interacting with the residence. I have enjoyed it and look forward to getting to know the residence on a more personal level.

When my real shift begins in August I will be working the weekend night shift - Fri/Sat/Sun from 7pm to 7am. This frees up my weeks to enable me to work full time at the Nursery until it ends mid/end of August. I will continue to work the weekend shift and have the week days to play as well as have time to take some online classes. Hopefully it'll all work out as planned and I'll be able to pay all my bills.

Let Freedom Ring!

The 4th of July for me was a day in which I seemed to just bounce from one thing to another. I didn't make any plans in advance since I had overheard my roommate and a friend already brainstorming ideas over a week before the holiday. There were wish-list things I had in my mind of things that I would have liked to do, but knew that it would be disappointing if I didn't join the group of friends in their planned activities. So, I just sat back and let the day roll -giving one activity suggestion - but not putting too much hope into it in case it fell through and we didn't do it.

The day started with the Rexburg parade. I had a very pleasant walk from my apartment to downtown/Main street as I talked with my little brother Ben on the phone. I ended up getting there just in time to see the last two parade cars reach the end of the road and everybody beginning to pack up and leave. I called me roommate and met up with her and the gang at Destin & Nate's house where we attempted to make plans for the remaider of the day.

It was about lunch time and we decided to hit up a place for a bite to eat and then go to a friend's house to jump on their trampoline with the sprinklers under it. Out of the six of us, only three made it to lunch at the Great Harvest and then we bagged the trampoline idea because of other obligations people had. But lunch at the Great Harvest was VERY tasty and the company was great.

With still no set plans for the evening except the Chucker's baseball game that evening in Idaho Falls I got dropped off at home expecting to find my roommate home cleaning up the house - it was her excuse and ticket out of going to lunch. But I found the apartment empty and her car gone. Shortly after arriving home I received a phone call from Jessica inviting me to join her and Amber at Smith Park to walk around and see all the vendors and whatnot. I asked if I could bring my slack line equimpment and if they would be willing to try it out. They both seemed excited about it. That made me excited because I have been itching to go slack lining for a long time and it takes a few people and their man-power to set up a good, tight slack line.

I grabbed my slack line bag and headed out the door. As I was walking to Smith Park I learned that Adria, my sister-in-law, was in town with her whole family visiting. I was very surprised that she was in town. We quickly made plans to meet up in Idaho Falls for the firework show.


I found Jessica and Amber quickly upon arriving at Smith Park and our first activity was to ride the carosel. This brought back lots of childhood memories as we sat on the galloping horses and went around and around in a circle.

Jessica and Amber enjoying their horsey ride.

I suggested that we have a race to see who could get around the carosel by jumping from horse to horse. Touching the ground was illegal. Neither of them didn't seem too excited about the spontaneous and random adventure idea, stating that we'd get kicked off. With some truth to that statement I was still disappointed that they didn't want to join me in the fun. Sure we may have gotten kicked off, but that was probably only as far as it would have gone. Plus, there were no signs that prohibited that kind of activity.....

After the horsey ride we found a good spot in the park to set up the slack line. It took me a little bit to remember how to do it since it has been a year since the last time I set one up. But nonetheless I was able to get it up! I taught the basic principles of slack lining to Jessica and Amber and then watched in great amusement in their attempts to do it - of course, supporting, helping, and encouraging them as they did it.

As they were taking turns walking the slack line I scanned the park and did a little bit of people watching - something that I love to do. I noticed across the street from where we were located a family BBQ going on. As I watched their activities for a little bit I began to recognize a few people. "That looks like Adria's mom. That looks like her older brother.....her younger brother..." I grabbed my cell phone and texted Adria to ask if she was near a blue canopy tent, holding a baby, and having a BBQ. A few minutes later I looked back over there and Adria was standing on the side of the street waving to me. It was her!

She crossed the street and we chatted for a bit and I attempted to persuade her to try out the slack line, but she was insistant that she didn't, which I didn't understand. She didn't seem to have a problem learning how to longboard after meeting my older brother, which is a significantly more dangerous sport than slack lining. Maybe the fact that a boy was attached to the longboard was more motivating for her.

I walked back across the street with her and visited with her mom and little nephew for a little bit before my roommate came over to tell me that they were done slack lining and wanted to head over to Wal-Mart to get a frisbee. So Adria and I said goodbye with the plans of meeting up again later that night for the firework show. It was SO great to have that random chance of seeing her.

Making the final preparations for our evening in Idaho Falls, Jessica and I met up with Amber, Marilee, & Chad. We piled into my truck and were off by 6:00pm for the Chucker's baseball game. A couple of us weren't too thrilled to go to the baseball game, but went to support others and for the social atomosphere. Upon arriving in Idaho Falls we discovered that all of the direct routes to the stadium were blocked off, but we managed to find some back roads that lead us to the stadium. We were about half an hour late but we managed to get good seats as well as meet up with Amber's friend David.

The baseball game was a lot more enjoyable than expected, which was a bonus. I enjoyed the company I was with and kept an eye on the events of the game at the same time. The one and only suggestion that I made to contribute to the 4th of July activities was to hit up the Outback Stakehouse for some good food and great seats for the fireworks. This is what I did last year with my good friends. It was a great success and a TON of fun. We literally had to lay on the ground to watch the fireworks because they were being shot off right in front of us. Surprisingly everybody agreed to make this attempt.

Four of us left the game early in order to get into Outback Stakehouse before it was full. I was very weary and didn't have much hope of getting into the parking lot there because of how late we were leaving to go try. But when we pulled up and said we were here to eat they said we were lucky because there were only two spots left. We were so excited and mostly surprised we made it. We parked and then went in for a delicious dinner.

Amber and Dave met up with us shortly after we finished eating and we all climbed into the back of my truck, which was laid with the futon pad, blankets, and pillows, and we all got comfy and we waited for the fireworks. Marilee brought glow in the dark sticks which we had fun playing with as we waited.

The firework show was qued with a local radio station. We tuned into it and cranked it up and listened to it as we watched the half an hour long firework display. It was a great show and really brought the feeling of pride for being an American, living in America, and a deep sense of gratitude for all the people and sacrifices that happened in order for this country to be a free country.

Isn't it great to be an American!!

Lightening & Thunderstorm!

Right now I am sitting on the edge of my bed looking out of my bedroom window at the lightening and thunderstorm that is going on right now in Rexburg, ID. This is the first lightening and thunderstorm of the summer. I love the pulse of light followed by the strike of lightening that flashes across the dark rolling clouds in the sky. As I have been watching this spectacular lightening show and listening to the rolling roar of the thunder my mind has taken me back to the last time I saw lightening and heard thunder. In fact, I was right in the middle of it.

So there I was...it was my first week back on the trail after graduating in July 2007. I was in the boys group and the other Trail Walker (TW) I was with was actually the newly hired nurse who was going through his first week on the trail. This is typical of hired office staff to spend a week on the trail in order to understand trail life up close and personal. But there I was - in charge of 4-5 boys and training a new Anasazi office employee - all on my own after being away for 8 months.

By day four (Saturday) we had only reached our day two (Thursday) destination due to very slow packing in the morning by the boys as well as very slow hiking from the nurse due to some physical limitations and dehydration which ended up turning into heat exhaustion. All not a very good combination. On day five (Sunday) we were able to pull the nurse out of the group in which two other TW's joined me for that day's hike. We high-tailed it as fast as we could to the rendezvous point where these two TW's would then be switched out by another TW who would be with me the remaider of the week.

As we neared the rendezvous point - it being Arizona's monsoon season - thick, dark clouds began to move in on us. It didn't take long before rain began to fall and thunder began to pound throughout the sky. By the time we reached our camping spot we could see lightening bolts stricking the earth not too far away from us. We quickly figured out the logistics of our campsite and then went to work in putting up shelters. I quickly made my way to the nearby river bed to gather the needed rocks to secure my shelter down using the light from the lightening to find the rocks. By the time I made it back to my pack the rain had began to fall heavy on us and the snap of thunder was piercing to our ears. We were all scrambling as fast as we could and as efficient as we could as our bodies shook with chills and our hands were swollen, stiff, and numb.

I was just finishing untying my pack when I stood up to begin the next step of setting up my shelter. As I stood completely up, in the split second that I looked up and straight ahead of me and lightening bolt struck the barbed-wire fence that was about 20-30ft in front of me. In that instant and all at the same time I felt the hair on my arms stand up and the electrical current of the lightening bolt run through my body as I dropped flat to the ground. Fear shot through my heart as it skipped a few beats. We quickly told the Young Walkers (YW) to spread out in the open field we were camping in and get as low to the ground as possible and away from the trees.

I grabbed my pack and the extra tarp I had and ran! Being clear from the surrounding trees and away from any other person I dropped to the ground, covered myself up with my tarp, and spooned with my pack in order to keep it from getting wet. I laid there and plead for my life as I listened to the crack of thunder, the pounding of the rain on my tarp, and the strikes of lightening hitting the trees. I literally thought I was in the last moments of my life and plead that I wouldn't be taken like that.

After about half an hour the storm had passed over us and it was safe for us to resume our task of setting up shelters. I quickly set mine up and then helped some of the boys get their shelters set up as best we could in the dark. Once we were all situated and everybody was tucked away in their sleeping bags I changed into some drier clothes, slipped into my sleeping bag, and said a long prayer of gratitude for the safety we had been blessed with and again plead for that safety to continue throughout the rest of the night as we slept.

Fear from that experience still effects me and I am grateful that I can view the occuring storm through my window in the safety of my apartment. I love mother nature and the magnificent shows and wonders she displays. I just don't particularly enjoy being in the middle of a life-threatening display of mother nature's power. This lightening and thunderstorm is amazing and I only wish I had a camera in which I could take a picture of it and share it with you.

Our 2nd Amendment Rights

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

For the first time in my life I was able to take advantage and use this right. (Sorry, paintballing doesn't count). A friend from BYU-Idaho, Chapan, invited me to go shooting with him one evening. Never having gone before I was excited for this new adventure. We drove 20 minutes outside of Rexburg - out in the middle of no-man's land - and followed a dirt road which even furthered our entrance into the middle of no where.

Once we arrived Chapan pulled out the box of clay pigeons and we walked to the nearby hill. He handed me about 8 or so pigeons which I set up amongst rocks and shrubs. He set up a number of pigeons himself creating a hillside of orange spots. He then introduced me to the guns.

A 22 Rifle and a 12 guage Shotgun. In the past as I have been around guns, mostly handguns, I have already gotten a very weary feeling because I know that that object can take a life. But surprisingly I didn't get that same weary feeling as I was around and handled the rifle and shotgun.

Chapan loaded the 22 Rifle and invited me to shot first after giving me a few pointers. I wasn't too confident in my shooting ability, since I hadn't ever shot anything but a paintball gun before. I was quite impressed with the accuracy of my shots while looking through the scope. On my first round of shooting I hit more pigeons than I missed. Very surprised and very excited. Chapan shot a round after me and then we pulled out the 12 guage Shotgun.

I was a bit nervous to shoot the 12 guage Shotgun. The first shot threw me back a foot or two because of the unexpected kick, but I got comfortable with it when I shot it as it rested on the boxes we had stacked up on the trunk of the car. I was pretty accurate with the Shotgun as well. Another pleasant surprise. Chapan wanted to mix things up by throwing some pigeon into the air as I shot at them. I kind of laughed at this idea; the thought of me trying to hit a flying object during my first time shooting a gun was quite humerous to me, but I was still definitely up for the challenge. I got into my stance and held the gun up tight against my shoulder. I yelled, "pull!" when I was ready for him to throw the pigeon. He threw it high and as it began its decent I pulled the trigger - BAM - I hit it! I cheered in excitement and shock! I actually hit a flying pigeon! Chapan threw two more, but missed both of them.

We switched back to the Rifle for a few more rounds before going back to the Shotgun. Chapan had me walk closer to the hillside this time, which meant that I was using my own strength, which isn't that much, to hold up this shotgun while I shot at the pigeons on the hillside. After shooting a few times my arm began getting really tired from the weight of the gun. I began focusing my attention on holding up the gun with my left arm and not paying attention to how the gun was positioned against my body. The next shot was painful. Since I didn't have the shotgun tight up against my shoulder, when I shot the kick of the gun threw the gun back into my shoulder creating an insta-bruise. It was painful, but nothing I couldn't handle. I still had a few more shots left in the gun. For the last shot Chapan again threw a pigeon. Being a little nervous about getting hurt again I didn't put too much concentration on hitting the flying pigeon. But I aimed and then quickly pulled the trigger. I obliterated the pigeon as tiny pieces went flying everywhere. I gave a good hoot of excitement after that shot!

To wrap things up before it got dark Chapan allowed me to make sure we couldn't see anymore orange spots on the hillside. I used the 22 Rife for this and was able to hit the remaining visable pigeons without too many misses. It was a really fun and educational experience! And I got a nice battle wound in the process.

This is the 12 guage Shotgun. It was in this round of shots that I received my battle wound.
Here is Chapan with the 22 Rifle. He has a very fast and accurate shot.
Showing off the guns!
The hillside we shot at with the orange pigeons. You may have to click on the picture to enlarge it so you can see the pigeons.

The battle wound insta-bruise.

The beautiful sun was setting behind us while we were shooting. I love when streaks of sunlight burst through the clouds as well as seeing the silver lining on clouds.