Book Review

Things that make the world better: Frosting crackers (I tried peanut butter crackers with cream cheese frosting, and it was good. Try it!), and spiritual activity. After a terrible, horribly bad day, I went to Rapid to attend institute, ate some frosting on crackers, and the world was good again. I haven't been back to work yet, but I have all hope that it will be a better day.

On to the book review:
I've been trying to get into "The Scarlet Letter," and it has been a hard read. While the other classics that I've tried to read have ended in an unfinished pile, I am determined to complete this one!
So far this is what I've gotten from the book:

~ I've wondered if the sex offender registry is a modern day example of the scarlet letter, which the wearer must be adorned for life?

~ I think that one of the main thesis' of the book is the question of whether it is worse for a sinner to be publicly shamed, or to be silent- suffering torturous thoughts of shame inside. I think for one thing, true repentance involves confession, and with that confession comes eventual cleansing. This book definitely shows the demonic effects of un-confessed sin. I do not wish for that to be on my conscience! The scarlet letter, in a way was freeing, as well as damning.

~ Hester, the wearer of the Scarlet Letter is an interesting character. She is ostracized from society because of adultery, and pretty much becomes a shadow of her former self. It makes me wonder if the wearing away of personality is from the original sin, or the way it was dealt with. Perhaps both? Honestly, repentance to me is there to make us better people, not to rob the person of who they are.

All in all, it's very interesting. I should be finished with it by tomorrow. What should be my next book? I have a lot of flimsy reads, which should be a good break from all this thinking :)

Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you DON'T.

Today stinks! I hate everything... how is it that everything seems to change so fast? I wonder what I'm doing here, I'm wishing I weren't the only one with standards, and I want a "real life!" Besides that everything is good. Too bad you can't live your entire life on a hike, or at the most fun dance you've ever been too :( The real world is just that, REAL.

Hiking Solo

There's just something about going on a hike by yourself that is different from any other experience. As I solo hiked this week (yes, people knew where I was, and get this, I EVEN TOOK ENOUGH WATER WITH ME :D), I felt rejuvenated, inspired, and at peace with myself. It's like you discover a part of your inner being, that's usually hard to channel (am I sounding existential enough yet?); as soon as you're free from outside "noise." It's just you, the wind blowing through the trees, and God. The actual physical exertion of hiking has its own rewards, because for one, you are forced to concentrate. Then when you reach the overlooks, the views mean much more because of the "sacrifice" you made to get there.

As we go through the drudgery/excitement of a usual day, it is just too easy to loose our "true self!" The pressing things of the moment need attention, and inquirings of the deep inner being are often passed over. How often do we think of the riches of eternity, or see ourselves as the glorious children of God that we are, with His light shining through us? How often do we simply stop and stand still? In thinking about this, I am reminded that the temple is a great place to reconnect with the spirit, and commune with our Heavenly Father. Since I'm so far away from one now, I am grateful that the beauties of nature are so near.

I feel like I found myself all over again as I jumped over and climbed around boulders, or sat overlooking the hills from various points along the trails. Now I remember why John Muir says to "come to the mountains... wash your soul clean"!

From June 2009

Thankful Thursday

In honor of thankful Thursday, I'm going to write all of the things that I'm thankful for... with the ABC's. bE PREPARED: I've never done this before, so it might be a little silly!

A- I am grateful for my AUNTS, especially Cheryl :D Thanks for your charity.
B- BOYS, especially if they happen to be my nephews.
C- COMMUNICATION, what would we do without it? Even when there are MIScommunications, I appreciate those who are willing to hang in there until it's cleared up.
D- DRIFTWOOD Ln. My home turf.
E- EMAILS. Love love love them, as well as EGGS in the morning.
F- FRIENDS, old, new, and in-between
G- GRANDPARENTS, especially those who share their stories with me :D
H- HIKING, what else?
I- Ireland, and the fact that Annie is there living her dream, INSPIRING me to live mine.
J- inside JOKES that never get old. I still read over my happy thoughts notebook and laugh :D
K- Kathy and Kristy and KIND people everywhere.
L- LOVE, ahhh how sweet.
M- my marvelous, magnificent, majestic, MOTHER.
N- NUTS, I like them too... People, and the "seed."
O- Oooooook lahoma where the wind comes rushing down the grain- I drew a blank.
P- The word PLEASE. It's nice to hear common manners once in awhile. Wait, am I a hypocrite?
Q- QUESTIONS, question balls, questions that get answered, and questioning everything yet being ok without knowing the answers now.
R- ROBINSON FAMILY CAROLERS- we should really call the new CD that, REALLY.
S- SCRIPTURES! SINGING with the fam! SUNSHINE after the rain! SOUL expanding days... S is a good letter.
T- TESTIMONY, Truth, Tenfold blessings... and Technology to share it all.
U- UNDERSTANDING that comes with time. Understanding friends and family that love you even when you're crabby. Understanding, the sign, I like that one.
V- VELCRO- enough said.
W- WEATHER. There's a lot of it here. I wouldn't want to be bored!
X- eXclamation points? I'm really drawing a blank.
Y- YOGA, especially BYU TV's- it's modest and everything :) And of course my Yoga Partner- miss you too Taffy!
Z- the Buzzzzing of bees? Who thought of these letters at the end of the alphabet?

Compliments that can last a month?

I think it was Mark Twain who once said that a good compliment could last him for a month. I've had some great compliments this past week, but I actually have mixed feelings about some of them. Take for instance:

~ Why isn't Carrie married? She's pretty and nice...

I appreciate the pretty and nice part, but ummm, is there really an answer besides the fact that I date the wrong guys- for me?

~ Carrie's the sweetest girl here...

This was kind of strange, coming from a maintenance guy who is about 50. Good thing he said that about Hera a few seconds before he said my name!

~ I can't imagine you not smiling (as in I never get mad or something, ha!)...

This one brought to mind the days in St. David AZ when I put a perpetual smile on my face, when I was feeling intimidated in softball! Am I feeling intimidated here? I also realized from this compliment that I definitely change with my environment. Here I feel like the church will be judged by my conduct, so I'm careful to be cheery/calm/and not too opinionated around here! The other day we had a YSA (young single adult) conference, and some of the guys were getting into it in regards to politics. I felt intimidated and kind of unintelligent--- and thought about all the time I was overbearing in my political ideas. Sorry if I made you feel intimidated and stupid! I think if I were back in UT, I'd probably spout off conflicting ideas like I used to, but life is different now. Good/bad? I haven't decided. I'm sure there's a happy medium somewhere.

~ "You would make the best missionary."

I don't know when this comment will stop hurting, because it's been about 4 years since the mission drama and I still get a gut ache when I think about it :(

~ "Even if there's stress behind the desk, you always give the customers great customer service." then later, "Wow, you just roll with it, I would be shaking (or something like that, after a mean guest yelled at us across the lobby THREE different times)."


I don't have a problem with the first one, it was nice to hear! For the second one I wanted to say, "Compared to people dealing with sexual assault, this was cake."


~ "I took an informal poll, and they said you were the funnest one to dance with!"


This one I definitely don't have problems with. The YSA dance was the most fun one I've been to--- EVER. I had lots of fun being goofy, and I guess the guys did too.


So, all in all, compliments are great to hear, and I should try to give them more often! Maybe I'll have to take time to think of how it might be taken before that though...

I Miss You!

So, for the first time that I can remember, I'm feeling homesick. Not really missing home, just my babies!!! I miss the way Kaden would call me Ree, and bang on the door excited to see me. I miss seeing Autumn in her peacefulness, and I want to see those smiles :D I miss Jenna and all the funny words she is starting to say, and how could I not miss her tounge? She loves to stick it out at every opportunity. Then there's Elina who was just learning how to say "I Love You" in sign, and the way she would call me Turrie. I miss Aaron's gushyness, and his most adorable smiles :) Caleb and Sammie, and their trying to play soft with the little kids. I miss Caleb being so excited about things like Transformers, that he'd run around the room being one. Sammie and her dramatic princess role, and her "Samie-isms. What energy she brings to the world. AND baby Tommy, who is so energetic that he'll probably run before he walks, and he's the cutest little elf there is. I am so blessed to such great kids to be my nieces and nephews!!! I hope they can come to visit as planned. What better time to see Buffalo, Mt. Rushmore, and the 1880's Train? Caleb and Samie are the perfect age... please please please let it work out. I really miss you guys!!!!!!! Kisses, muwah.

Third post in one day, aren't you excited?

Ok, it is now 4:38 am and I'm a little tired.

These are ideas that I've come up with when you need to stay awake but feel tired.
you can:
~ run up and down the hallway (in the downstairs employee part, away from sleeping guests),
~ sing or whistle to yourself :)
~ do jumping jacks in the back office, just in case a random person does slip in and sees you.
~ Walk outside in the rain for a minute or two... if the darkness doesn't scare you!
~ Poke yourself in the eye, it might help you stay awake!
~ Standing at the desk helps instead of sitting in the nice comfy chair behind the desk.
~ Make paper airplanes with the extra paper from the day, then throw them as close to the
center of the carpet, on the deer's tail.
~ Yoga moves, again in the back office ;)
~ Try pushups on the counter
~ Practice dance moves, cha cah, solo polka, and of course the jitterbug :D
~ Hop on one leg for a count of twenty, then switch legs. . .

Now the question is, can you guess which of these I have actually done?

P.S. Did you know that it starts getting lighter right now? The sky is a dark blue instead of black... It's so early! what's with that?

P.P.S. Watching the sun come through the windows as it rises makes me look at the place I see every day- differently. Hmmm, what else am I missing? Please note that I did catch the fact that old buildings creek, and that the employee dining room is creepy in the dark!

Three cheers for my night at the hotel being over, as soon as Hera gets here... I made it out alive! No dinosaurs, or tiny fighting cowboys/indians to speak of (a hotel isn't as cool as a museum I guess). So sad.

Good Week

Well, besides the guy drama (see the previous post), this has been a really good week. I'm working all night tonight, and the lodge is quiet for the moment (it had better be since it's 4am!). I haven't heard any ghost sounds, yet, so it's not as exciting as I planned on, but I also haven't had any drunk people come in, so yipee for boring graveyard shifts! This week's highlights:
1. We conquered Harney Peak as well as Little Devil's Tower. Lots of fun, but I need to get in better shape before doing both in one day again.

From June 2009

2. Darren, my little brother finally made it to South Dakota! I was so excited to see him, especially when I found out that he did remember to bring my games. We got to spend the evening of Saturday and the morning of Sunday together, and I think he had fun. We drove over to see the buffalo, but it was so foggy I didn't think we'd be able to see them. Finally when the wildlife loop was almost over we saw a few by the road, that we probably would have missed if there weren't three other cars in front of us, with their break lights shining through the fog :) He's now seen things he's never seen before: Buffalo, Art Alley, a lake completely invisible because of fog... it was fun to have him here. He slept in my Indonesian Friends' room, and they stayed up watching a movie and playing their music. I'm not alone in the world!!! I'm so glad to have my baby brother here so we can have some shared experiences and can go into "remember that time" stories when we get home. Those are the highlights, but it's been a good week. I was right, the first two weeks are the hardest, then you get your place and feel ok. Poor Ryan, Darren's friend who came to the scout camp from Enoch- he's really homesick and might actually leave soon. One thing about our family, we rarely get homesick. Why that is, I'm not sure, but it sure comes in handy when you're far away. Independence is a great quality to instill in your children, good job mom!

Guy complaints... before the blessing post :S

Somehow I thought the guy situation couldn't get worse, but today it definitely did....

My international guy friend actually had the nerve to ask me if I would think about marrying him so he could get a green card, and be in the US army! He was serious, I still can't get over it!!!!! That was yesterday; then today we were doing a Book of Mormon study, and we got in a big argument about my life! He thinks something is really wrong with me because I have a degree, yet I'm working for a tiny amount of money. Seriously, many of the international workers think that if you're a US citizen you have it easy, and you can get any job you want! I tried to explain that I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with grad school etc, but all he said was that if you have a plan and work for it, it will work out! PUHH-LEASE. I am the wrong person to tell this to. Do you know how many times I've made plans and something came up to change them (all it took was dating Nate, then getting Mono, then loosing my job, then the economy dropping, to mess up the marriage/family therapy plans- but yah, if I had worked towards that goal it definitely would have happened. *SARCASM strongly used in that sentence*)? It's only happened every other time I make a plan of any size. Again, Puh- lease! I am so bugged right now. I don't see many problems with taking some time off, working in a fun area, and taking a step back to see what it is I really want to do. What do I need money for anyway? Don't you think that I've already gone over the "I have a looser status because 1. I don't have a great career (here) or 2. family (UT)?" All I need is some guy to tell me this, especially after yesterday's "lovely" conversation. Why are men like they are? It finally dawned on me that every time I'm with him I get annoyed, even if he is the only other LDS guy here (who hasn't been to church for 1 1/2 year). Maybe I should get the hint!

#2 guy, I still like the prison guy. I found out what he was in for, and it's really not a big deal... but I also know that I have a tendency to float to people with issues... so I'd better not get too close right? Why does he have to be the most cute/spiritual (probably from repentance, ug) one???

#3- guys in the branch. I got asked out on a date - on Facebook the other day (first for me). The only problem is that this guy works crazy insane hours, and told me today that he can't really think of a time that we can actually go on a date. hmmm. No time for me? Flattering.

#4 As I was driving to SD, in the middle of the nothingness of Wyoming, I got a call from my friend Melissa. She wanted to set me up with her neighbor... but I never heard from him! Then after my whole stupid guy day, I get on my email and there is an email from him! I can't think of a worse time really. He'd pretty much have to be perfect for me to even think of him in a nice light right now, just because of his gender! Maybe I should read his email again tomorrow... not the night that I'm having a "Night at the haunted hotel" night, as I'm here doing the night audit until 6 am. Actually my manager did it and had me pretty much watch. It's so confusing! The directions say "it should be balanced" but from what I've heard, it NEVER is, and the directions don't say how to fix it!

Fun Fun Times.

Pictures from a fun 31/2 day weekend in Rapid City. Thanks Jackie for letting me stay in the dorms, with my own room- what service :D


Movie night with the branch- UP is a great movie!!! Watch it.

From The most fun weekend of all time :D

Hiking at Falling Rocks


US Air force Airshow! It was amazing. This plane could carry a hummer.

South Dakota Thunderbirds, flying in tight formation. How do they do it???

If only this were the only use for bombs :'(

Where is it?

Solo tour of "Art Alley" in downtown Rapid.



And the statues in downtown. They're all over the place :)
This would much more fun with somebody else to go on a statue tour.