Slightly Damp

It's rained for the past two days which means that all the shoes I've worn are soaked, including those currently on my feet. Generally it's not so bad but I neglected to grab my umbrella yesterday which meant I got drenched on the way home. Honestly, I want to kiss whoever invented umbrellas, they are seriously my best friend.

So I made sure to bring my umbrella along this morning which kept most of me dry on the way to work. Rain was not on the top of my list of concerns today, though. No. Today, I had an appointment with the dentist. I don't think I've ever met anyone who likes going to the dentist. Frankly, I don't think those people exist : P It's not that I had some horrific experience as a child or anything, I just don't enjoy people poking around in my mouth with sharp and spinning objects. There was some minor drilling today which always stresses me out. I was given laughing gas for the first time in my life and I don't think it really did anything. So, you may ask, why refuse the novocaine the dentist already had prepared? Well, in my experience, novocaine doesn't kick in until after all is said and done and I'm not a fan of walking around the rest of the day with a numb mouth. Been there and so done that. What I found interesting, entering the room in this dentist office I've never been to before, was the little TVs they had rigged up with the chair. I'd never seen TVs in a dentist's rooms before. I suppose it's telling that I was disappointed when I learned they were for watching TV. I thought maybe I'd be given a view of whatever they would be doing in my mouth. At least then you'd know where all that dust actually comes from, right?

In other news, I've added some to my Pandora stations as of late and as a result, have discovered many new things to share!

For those of you, like me, who didn't think Lion King could get any better (and haven't seen the musical) we were wrong! Zazu just got so much funnier : D

Now, not all of them are happy, of course. This musical was recommended to me by a recent acquaintance. If you've never heard of The Last Five Years I'd go Google it. Myself, I want to find where this is playing, if anywhere.

This one reminds me of BYU ><; Both the guy's planning and the girl's reaction.

I just love this one : )

Over the past few days I've alternatingly effectively destroyed pieces of relationships and slowly begin to rebuild them. I don't always say the right things and I don't always respond the way I should. Things don't move more smoothly simply because you've gotten older, there's always more learning to be done. This is going to be a busy summer and there are a lot of things to be done, some people might get toes stepped on, some might be the ones stepping on toes. I'm remembering every day, though, that somehow, step by step, we all make it through and that the goal I'm working toward is worth every minute of it : )

Here comes the sun, doo-n-doo-doo

I have long [meaning for the past two years] believed that Utah, at least northern Utah, only has two seasons: summer and winter. This year the weather seems to be determined to prove me right. Just as things were warming up at the end of April we got hit with two days of snow and now we've hit 60-70 degrees all this week. People have been seen in the pool. Need I say more? Right when I thought we would maybe get some temperate springtime Utah comes back with snow and then thrusts us immediately into the preface of what will be a blistering summer. I need to get sunglasses and soon otherwise I will spend the entire summer walking around with my eyes closed, no joke, I have actually had to do that before.

So, mini rant for the day. Do you remember when you got to college and you were like "wow, college kids, they're so mature and smart and college-y"? Well, in the words of Mrs. Turnblad "I came down from that cloud real quickly."
College kids aren't, by default, any more mature than high school kids, something that, just as you forget it, will come up shrieking in your face. When I moved into my new apartment I also moved into a new ward which seems fun and nice and everything but nothing's ever as decent as you want it to be. No, some of these lovely people still seem completely unable to give others some general respect. They seem, in fact, unable to pass by a breezeway where a couple is simply talking without making some "smart" remark. Honestly, these are the times, you know? The times when you really wish that beating the snot out of someone was the answer. Since that's not the case, though, I really hope that karma comes back to seriously bite those individuals, see how they like it : P

In spite of occasional social irritations, I really do love it here, especially as things start to warm up some.
Case for loving life #1:

Yes. Baby ducks. The first ones we saw were on my birthday [Easter for everyone else] when we were walking to church. Last night Tim and went down to the duck pond and there were loads more cute little guys to watch as they flitted around the pond. I really love baby animals, especially fluffy ones. But remember: do not pick them up. If you do then the mother will abandon them and then congratulations, you have killed a baby animal. I know, most people probably know that already, but not everyone does and I'm out to educate the world.

Case for loving life #2:

It's warm.

Well, generally. I still get cold in my office but that's because we don't really have windows or outside ventilation. : P Warm weather means going outside and enjoying the grass and trees and sky. Warm weather means more walks with Tim and the promise of hiking in the mountains.

Case for loving life #3:

Time to be with family and friends.

Right now Tim and I are on opposite schedules, I work days and he closes which means we don't get a lot of time during the week and with his calling Sunday's are even more full than usual. It's a struggle sometimes between being tired and wanting to spend time together but I know we'll make it. And the time that we do get provides some of my favorite memories so far this summer. I love being able to go down to his parents house and see his family on occasion. Mine's so far away that it's nice to have that warm, welcoming and at home-ness again. Not to mention that these trips give us about and hour and a half both ways to just talk and laugh : )

What I'm not such a fan of this summer is how far away Chelsea is. She left at the end of the semester to go home to a place that isn't home for her and left Amber and I here. I'll see her in June at her wedding and then in July or early August when she and her new husband move back here but by that time so many things will be different. It's disorienting already to have something fun or exciting to share with her and then remembering that she's not here and that those things are often things that wouldn't make sense to anyone else, even just for context. And for those of you asking why I'm complaining when we live in the age of technology, Chelsea has never been a very prompt text responder, esp when she puts her phone on silent ( : P ) and she doesn't even have one right now anyway. Besides, Chelsea is something you have to experience in person or the best parts are lost in transition. I guess I just miss my friend.
We were never meant to spend our lives tethered to our friends but loosening your grip can hurt a lot like growing up.

On a somewhat lighter, and more baffling note, how is it that it's 70 degrees outside and I'm sitting here wearing my coat zipped up to my chin? I'll never understand : P

Together let us explore the stars

Anyone who knows me well can tell you that, when outside, I'm more often than not looking at the sky, especially on interestingly cloudy days and clear nights.

Star-gazing is something that Tim and I both have a love of and, bless him, he's willing to put up with my sometimes high-maintenance needs in the interest of not freezing to death. Some night, when I'm in an appropriately not-light-polluted area, I'd like to set up a camera and leave the shutter open all night to capture the constellations moving across the sky.

Last night Tim got off work earlier than usual and we absconded to Taco Bell before heading up to a park in the foothills of the Rockies, overlooking the valley and the lights of busy lives. I love landscapes, especially expansive ones like these from TV Hill by Delta. My mom always complained that there aren't any people in my pictures : P

The best part of last night wasn't the scenery though. Tim, who claims he's never really danced, surprised me by rolling down the windows and coaxing me out of the car with a blanket [as the warm day had cooled off quickly with the disappearance of the sun and a bright breeze] to dance in the abandoned parking lot. For someone who's never waltzed before, he took to it fabulously and I can honestly say that's one of the best dances I've ever had : )

Often, it's the little mercies and the small moments in life that keep you going when things get hard or don't work out the way you want them to. It's those smiles that sneak up on you, the laughter that breaks free when tears still stain your face.