Flood Waters!

We still don't know how this happened, it had not even rained that hard!

My living room, we had to evacuate everything out of the basement.

The bathroom where water was pouring in, along with mud.

You can tell how deep the water got in the window well. We had to climb down and bail it out with buckets since it was pouring into the basement.

Epic Fail Bread Bake

Errors of Misdirection

I would consider myself a pretty skilled navigator. Before I learned to drive my dad used to get in the car with me and then tell me that I had to give him directions on where we were going. Even if it was somewhere we had been a hundred times he would make me give him directions to get there. As a result I can give pretty concise and accurate directions. This is not always helpful to people who don't know which direction is north or south. I took a trip this weekend with a friend and as the front passenger I was tasked with the navigation. There came a point however when it was obvious that we were lost. We had been given to different sets of instructions to our destination, neither or which were faulty. The problem that made us go 20 miles past our turnoff was a lack of signage. At no point were we aware that we had even passed through the town that contained our turnoff. In both directions there was no indication that the two houses and one country store even was considered a town. Luckily for us one of the directions had included which mile marker to look for and we were able to backtrack enough to find our way again. My friend who pointed out that in this particular instance I had led us all astray and maybe my sense of direction was not as great as I thought. The experience made me think of a couple of quotes:

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who'll decide where to go.
-- Dr. Seuss


I don't care whether you're driving a hybrid or an SUV. If you're headed for a cliff, you have to change direction.
-- Barack Obama



The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all direction.
--Chanakya

The Romance Ruination

It is hard to know whether I have been more indoctrinated by chick flicks or the romances of those around me. I take a look at my reality and can't decide if I am being unrealistic about my expectations because I expect too much, or not enough. Does romance even exist in the traditional sense anymore? It has become increasingly more common for people to meet their mates online. I know someone who "met" his wife while playing an online shooter game. For the most part I consider myself a realist, I am aware that every relationship will have it's problems, every person their own faults. Thanks to movies and the relationships of friends, I keep wondering why I am not getting "just because" flowers from the men I go out with. Or I wonder why someone doesn't just show up at my house because he knew I had a bad day. The thing about it is that while I love flowers and surprise visits I don't want to have to tell someone what I want and/or need. I know it's ridiculous because no one knows what I am thinking but me, it would just be nice to know that someone is thinking of me without any prodding. A great example of a fabulous marital relationship is my parents but I think that they are perhaps the exception instead of the rule.

My current expectations come with an understanding that the older I get the more awkward dating has become. So many things about dating have changed. It used to be that there was a waiting period between when you went out with someone and when it was considered appropriate to call. Now you can text someone as soon as you leave with comments about your date. It was also considered a major faux pas to ask someone out by email or text, that should be done in person! Am I a fuddy duddy for wanting to build a relationship on actual time spent together instead of time communicating through an electronic device? Are we so insecure about ourselves that honest conversations can't happen in person anymore?

Ahh the movies. Where boy meets girl, something happens to tear them apart, all is forgiven and they live happily ever after. Can any woman really claim that a man has bought her 1,000 flowers, one for every moment he thought about her? I doubt it. I realize that I am coming across as a cynic and in the past I would have agreed. But now I come back to the original question. Do I expect too much or not enough? As I have been dating these last few months I have been of two minds. The realistic side of me accepts the fact that despite having been out with someone multiple times, I have never received flowers, words of undying devotion, sacrifices of time to spend with each other or blissfully long staring contests because that is not real. The other half of me wonders why when I have a spare hour effort is not made to spend it with me, or why I had to spell out in pretty specific terms that after so many dates it is expected that there should at least be some hand holding, or why even slightly encouraging words of affection are not expressed because that is just how romance works.

I guess that while I know that things that are worth it are worth working for, I have begun to wonder how much is too much work? Is it every just easy? Ever? I have a suspicion that the answer is probably an unequivocal no. And herein lies the rub. I have been indoctrinated/brainwashed for so many years that I can't even tell anymore which of my expectations are, in fact, my own or those that have been forced upon me.

The Beauty Inside

I had a discussion with my roommates recently about where we would like to be married. Two of my four roommates share the same faith as me and the three of us gave the location of several different temples. One roommate couldn't understand why one would be different from the other because as she said "they all look the same." And to her they do. As we got more into the discussion it became apparent that our reasons for choosing temples were basically the same, it was not the outside that made the difference to us but the inside. Not only the way things looked on the inside but also the experiences and feelings we had while being inside of these temples. If only all things in life could be like that.

A Long Trek Indeed

I spent most of yesterday in the middle of nowhere Wyoming. And before you say it, yes I realize that most of Wyoming is middle of nowhere. I drove out with my mom to the place where Mormon pioneers crossed the plains at a place called Sweetwater Crossing. My parent's stake was in the middle of doing their pioneer trek with the youth and my mother went to read some journal entries before they crossed the river.

Without going into all of it, the short of it is that four men who had come to help the pioneers cross this river in November when it was crusted with ice ended up carrying some 500 people across the river. There were three groups that I watched re-enact this scenario and each time it got a little more difficult for me to watch. I watched these teenage boys pick up grown men and women alike and delicately carry them across a river. I am so grateful for those brave pioneer women and men who gave up so much for a better life, free from persecution.

L-O-V-E

Have I mentioned how much I love the new stuff from Jon Schmidt? And these Piano Guys rock my world.

The Dating Inquisition

I will be the first to admit that my dating history has been interesting and kind of spotty. I have heard that I can be perceived as intimidating, which is frustrating since I often feel anything but. I have had a streak of "good luck," lately and of course this attracts attention from people who care for me. I have found myself sometimes irritated when people inquire how the personal life is going, partly because I don't even know myself, and also partly because I have never had to field these questions before. Since I am older than the societal norm for my area, and not married, there is naturally some curiosity about how I am going to fix that. I am usually pretty certain about things in my life as far as my personal relationships go and if I am not sure, then I find out. This time around as I have been doing my dating I have been trying to enjoy the process (is that possible?) This is not my favorite because it usually means I am holding back to avoid scaring the poor man to death. At this point in my life I am relatively certain of the things that I am looking for in a mate, I also am an open book. I am a pretty good communicator of my feelings and emotions. I am not afraid to share things with people but have discovered that sometimes mystery is not a bad thing. I just don't like not knowing how the other person is feeling.

For some reason I was under the horrible assumption that as I got older dating would get easier. Ummm, yeah, no. It turns out that I still end up feeling like an angst ridden teenager, just one with bills to pay and the frantic worry of watching my child-bearing years fly by.

Semi-Rant

It's time for a rant. As I have been spending a lot more time on the road lately due to the location of my job, I have the opportunity to see a lot of personalized license plates. Here is my problem, some of them suck. I can't tell what it is supposed to say and it aggravates me. Help me out here:

• CRPNCOP
• NU PH1
• VIVRE
• OL GUP
• RBRDFLS
• ORAYK

Ugh. I realize it's a silly little thing but it is extremely annoying when I follow someone for 20 miles and can't figure out their license plate.