License to be Inconsiderate, I Mean Drive

WARNING: Ranting to follow.

Lately, I have starting wondering if when a person receives his or her driver's license, the clerk politely says, "Now, remember that you are the only important person on the road. So ignore the traffic laws unless absolutely necesary and avoid paying attention to what other drivers are doing so that no one will be safe on the road." I mean, seriously, if this doesn't happen why do the following things happen to any single driver at least once a day.

The person in the lane next to you accelerates to cut you off only to slow down and turn at the next intersection, meanwhile there are no cars behind you for at least one block.

The light starts to turn yellow just as you enter the intersection just to slam on your brakes to avoid hitting a car turning left that does not have a right of way green arrow.

The frequent red light runner. Never mind that you were half a block away when the light turned red, you just plow right through without any regard for traffic traveling in the opposite direction with a green light.

My personal favorite, pulling out past a "Stop" sign into an intersection without enough room to complete a left-hand turn and cutting off on-coming traffic with the right of way (no "Stop" sign). This is my personal favorite lately because I have had to slam on my brakes and swerve to avoid T-boning another car at least half a dozen times in the last week and all I was trying to do was go home.

Accelerating slowly while turning into oncoming traffic, making everyone else slow down for you.

Not using a blinker to change lanes, indicate turning at a stop light, or even to indicate that you will be turning at the next street. Heaven forbid that you should be courteous enough to let the other drivers know what your intentions are.

The slow driver. The speed limit is posted, the road is well maintained, and your car can actually do 35 miles an hour, but going under the speed limit is so much more convenient and helps congest traffic.

The speeder who either tailgates you for miles or races from place to place so fast that he or she would not have even noticed if someone else was hit or property damaged because he or she is too concerned about the speed.

The road blocker who pulls into the intersection in bumper to bumper traffic as the light turns red blocking the cross traffic from moving as well. Or the parking lot blocker who pulls far enough into an entrance or exit to not allow enough room for a car to pull in either next to them or behind them.

And another favorite, the cars that ignore pedestrians at designated crosswalks even when they are the third or fourth car back with a clear view of the pedestrians from up the street.

Yeah, I have been experiencing a lot of frustration with the way other people drive lately, and I have been really glad that I have a big vehicle to haul my kids around in so that we don't get totally smashed by other drivers.

Our Fence is Done

The naked fence posts. I forgot to take pictures before the fence posts were put in. Michael and Matt put a lot of fence posts in so that we could fence in our yard. We are extremely grateful for the 1st time homebuyer's credit, or we couldn't have afforded to fence in our yard.

We are going to plant climbing roses on either side of the arbor so we will have a fragrant entrance to our backyard.

We are so excited to have our backyard fenced in so that we can enjoy our yard more and not have to worry about the safety of our kids as much. Plus, it makes the yard look fabulous!

Swing Vote

First off, I did find out that there really is a Texico, New Mexico down by the Texas border. The movie was very entertaining and we really enjoyed watching it. I think it did a great job of displaying how political candidates will act if they want something bad enough. It was a fun movie and worth the viewing!

Second off, while this movie is a fairly good representation of a SMALL portion of New Mexico inhabitants and ways of life, it is far from complete or accurate. I do not understand why New Mexico gets such a bad rap with Hollywood and the rest of the United States. Some of the best people I have known are from New Mexico. They are sincere, honest, intelligent, and care about what is going on in our country. Even U.S. Senators think New Mexico is a foreign country. Having spent 7 years of my life living all over New Mexico it is one of the most diversified states in our nation. The people, the climate, and the living circumstances. I learned a lot about people, geography, and myself living there. Like anywhere else in the world, don't take someone else's limited perspective as an accurate presentation of the facts, especially Hollywood. But, do enjoy the movie!

Rock Band Mania

We had a family get together on March 22nd with all of the cousin's on my Mom's side of the family that live up here and Aunt Wendy's family who were visiting from out of town at Mallory's house. Thanks, Mal and Aunt Wendy! After dinner people meandered downstairs to play rock band. Benjamin got to sing, play the drums, and play the guitar, with help of course, and he was in heaven! It was fun to watch him exercise his musical talents and concentrate so hard to try to do it exactly right. I think we might have a muscian on our hands.

MUM - Job Description

I received this story through an email forward. It was so true I had to keep it and I thought I would share. The story goes as follows, and as far as I know the author is anonymous:

If it had been presented this way, none of us would have done it!!!!

POSITION: Mother, Mum, Mummy, Mom, Mama, Mommy

JOB DESCRIPTION: Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an, often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities. Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES: The rest of your life.

• Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5.
• Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly.
• Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.
• Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets, and stuck zippers.
• Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects.
• Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.
• Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next.
• Must handle assembly and product, safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices.
• Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
• Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION: Virtually none. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: None required unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION: Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS: While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right.

Marshmellow Temples

The other night we had a ward activity about temples. We had two guest speakers and a marshmellow activity for the children. The goal was to tap into their creativity using marshmellows and toothpicks to build "temples." Benjamin asked Mom for help and as soon as we were done he promptly asked, "Can I eat it now?" To which Mom responded with a smile, "Yes. You can eat it now."

Lunch Out with Dad

One day this week I went running errands with the kids and I tried to teach them the concept of window shopping (I'm not sure they got it). At the end of our window shopping expedition we went to Costco for some necessities and I called Dad to meet us there for lunch. We shared pizza, a hot dog, and a berry-berry sundae. It was a nice change to our usual schedule. Thanks for going out to lunch with us, Dad.

Doughnuts

This post is for Scott and Amme. For Christmas we received a deep fryer and a doughnut cutter and I finally found a doughnut recipe that works. The last time I tried to make doughnuts they did not turn out any good. Last Sunday I tried a different recipe and used the temperature regulated deep fryer and the result was delicious! Thanks for the memories. :D

People: Humans or Titles?

My capstone course in college discussed the concept of viewing people as human beings like ourselves instead of objects that are in our way or to be used to achieve a purpose. As I strive more to view people as human beings like myself (I am far from being perfect at it!), I am also beginning to realize that we ascribe the object scenario to titles that people have as well. For example, we expect a cashier to be courteous and friendly and to know the prices of various items. If the cashier is less knowledge or friendly than we expect, we often think or say that the cashier was bad at his or her job. We often do not take time to consider that maybe the cashier was having a bad day, just received some bad news, is new on the job, or is not feeling well. Why do we find ourselves doing this? Because it is much easier to view someone as an object than to think he or she has thoughts and feelings like ourself.

I have been thinking about this concept a lot since this class and I have finally started to notice a change in myself in the past few months. It's the light bulb idea. Oh! (light bulb goes on) I actually had a conversation with a person instead of wishing the cashier would get business taken care of. This new "light bulb" has also brought to my attention other ways that I objectify people by their titles. I expect cops not to speed, the Relief Society President to be observant about passing remarks on challenges or absences from meetings, I expect the librarians to know everything about the books I borrow and return, etc. I find myself thinking twice about why and how I am viewing others in respect to their "title" or job description. It is helping me become more compassionate towards other, but it also makes me want to share what I am learn with others so that we can all work on objectifying others.

So, back to my capstone course. Objectifying others: viewing others as objects that are in the way or to be used to achieve a purpose. Viewing others as human beings: the person in questions has thoughts, feelings, goals, and ambitions just like we do and we need to acknowledge and respect that. An intriguing concept that takes a lot of practice to make a habit and change the way we view others in the world around us.

I Can Fly!

Benjamin is into superheroes lately, especially ones that can fly. When I woke up the other morning Benjamin had to show me how he could fly. He was so darn cute that I had to keep taking pictures until I took one that caught him in mid-air. Thus, we have a whole sequence of pictures of how Benjamin can fly.

Mom Took the Kids to the Zoo

We actually saw a wolf. He is perched at the top of the stairs.

Even though we didn't get to see the live tigers, the children loved playing with the statues and the information screens about tigers.

This little fellow had to watch Bekah eat her snack while he ate his breakfast. (She was eating grapes and he was eating carrots or sweet potatoes.) He came right up to the glass and put his on it while he ate, watching us intently.

A tree frog, what more can I say. Our family seems to have a frog fetish going on.

Benjamin informed me that the gorilla was his dad for the day. I don't know if he was referring to Michael directly or just his absence. Michael was at home working while the kids went to run errands and go to the zoo with me.


This side of the ape house has you see how you measure up to an orangutan. I am pretty sure that their 'wingspan' is larger than a gorilla's even though they are shorter.

This horned owl didn't like me taking his picture, can you tell? He puffed out his feathers in frustration the more shots I took of him, but the result was a pretty cool picture.

"Spiderman" finally was able to play on a real web.

Bekah wasn't sure what to make of the bugs and animals at the playground, but it sure tickled her tummy to watch brother come out of the snakes mouth when he went down the slide. Her giggle was contagious!

Here Benjamin informed me that this bridge was from Kung Fu Panda

and he was Tylon, the leopard.

One of the giant bugs at the playground.

Benjamin was fearless, as usual.

It took some convincing, but I was able to take a picture of

Benjamin inside the turtle house. Where did the turtle go?

Log Art

We had these big cotton tree stumps on the edge of our property that we had talked about using in our yard as art or turning into furniture. I did NOT picture this in our discussions of possible uses for the logs.

Michael and Matt (he's putting our fence in with Michael's help) used the Bobcat to move the logs into the yard after they were done digging the post holes one Saturday. Michael keeps trying to convince me that I like it and I keep trying to convince him that I would like it better if it wasn't in the middle of my front yard.

Winter Picnics

We have discovered a solution to wanting to be outside when it is cold. We get out our picnic blanket, spread it on the floor, and have an indoor picnic. A nice reprieve from always eating at the table and we get to pretend we are outside enjoying the nice weather. The imagination is a wonderful thing!

The Southern Reception

About three weeks ago we went to my parents' house for Mary and Gary's second wedding reception. My Dad asked Michael to be the photographer so I have lots of pictures to share.

My Mom and her 4 siblings were all together at the reception. Grandma was also there, but Grandpa was missed due to health issues.

Gary was not too happy to find out that his truck had been decorated, but his brother made sure that someone did it.

This is the result of peer pressure! The crowd was not satisfied with a polite cake sharing and egged the couple on until they were satisfied with the results.

Mom & Mary

Beautiful Kristina!

She let me do her hair. I had fun, can you tell?

Benjamin waited anxiously for them to cut the cake so he could have some.

Instead of finger sandwiches or the usual reception fair, the newlyweds decided to have a baked potato bar with real Idaho potatoes.

Randy, Gary's brother, and his daughter

Bekah was playing with the pebble decorations from one of the tables.

Mom trying to entertain her children.

Aunt Lisa made the beautiful wedding cake.

Bekah loves Aunt Mary's "princess" dress and pretty flowers.

Oh, I guess we better get this party started!

Our cousins, Jake and Blake.

This cool reflection pictures shows the spot where Gary's niece touched the cake and it had to be patched up. Everyone thought it was funny that she was so quick to get to the cake and have a taste before anyone else.