the answer is YES, always always always YES

I could've been the girl that moonwalked, or the girl that thought moonwalking was cool, or possibly the girl that tripped over her own shoes while trying to moonwalk.

I was none of those things.

While at Miramar for the Friday Night Activity at the conference, nearing the time we were supposed to board the buses to return to the hotel, some fellow attendees and I emerged from the back room and found our way to the main area, from which we'd been hearing a preponderance of 80's music throughout the evening.

There was a dance floor.

And on that dance floor, there were a bunch of computer programmers and accountants (How do you tell if your accountant is an extrovert? He looks at your shoes while he's talking to you, instead of his own.), paying no attention whatsoever to the tour directors trying to get everyone to board the buses, but instead, getting their groove on while the camera crew went wild capturing this unheard of activity. (Give a bunch of introverts a little alcohol, and watch the fun begin! (except for those of us that don't drink, like me))

They were all having so much fun, they beckoned everyone to come and join them. Including me.

But did I hop onto that dance floor? Oh, no. I did not.

Unlike my friend there (Joy? I'm no good with names. But she was really nice.), I just couldn't seem to make myself get out there.

Instead, I hung at the edges, grinning at the spectacle, and trying to make myself forget my insecurities.

Then, a Michael Jackson song comes on. Billie Jean. And they are all dancing in a big circle, choosing one after another victim to come to the center and show off their best MJ moves. I'm watching, waiting for someone to at least attempt to moonwalk, but nobody does.

"This is my moment," I say to myself. (I did Drill Team in HS, and we did indeed learn to moonwalk, and used it in a routine. Not something that often comes up, but when it does, I usually show off my moves.)

But, no. My natural shyness is winning the battle. Anxiety takes over. I wonder if my shoes wouldn't glide properly on the wood floor. I consider taking my shoes off, but realize that my stockings may be a bit damp, owing to the rain that night. I hesitate.

And then the song is over. And I'm in agony, because I can't believe I didn't just jump on in with the rest of them.

How lame can I be?

Disappointed yet?

It gets worse.

I promise myself that if another MJ song comes on, I will not hesitate, I will just glide onto the dance floor and do my thing. None of these people know me. I will probably never see any of them again after the conference, so what am I worried about?

(When you travel, you can be anything you want to be. You can try new things, and it won't matter if you don't like them, because nobody you know saw it happen, so nobody has to know but you. For all these people know, this is how you always are. You can either be boring and forgotten, or fun and memorable. Either way, no harm done. Besides, you might find out you like whatever it is.)

I am telling myself all of this while standing, still grinning stupidly, at the edge of the dance floor.

One of the programmers (or tech support guys, not sure), we'll call him Deconflicted (funny story from the bus ride to Miramar), he sidles up to me, (and yes, he's cute. adorable even. and funny.) almost leans into me (but from the side, shoulder to shoulder), and says, "I haven't seen you out on the dance floor yet."

Clearly, this is my chance. This is where I can strip off my insecurities along with my jacket, and just get out there and have fun. My inner "fun girl" is jumping up and down, cheering - yes! you just got a second chance! nobody gets a second chance! go for it!

Instead, I hear myself saying, "Yeah. I'm already so far out of my comfort zone, just trying to meet new people and all, I'm just not sure I can do it."

And what does Deconflicted do? Does he grab my hand and pull me out there anyway?

Alas, no. He's just as introverted as I am, so he just nods, lets it go.

AAAAAUUUUUGH!

It is a full hour from when we set out to get on the bus before they finally pull the plug on the music (literally! they were packing up lights, speakers, etc - but until the music stopped, these people just weren't going to leave).

I stood there for an HOUR, grinning stupidly, and NOT DANCING.

I know.

Next time, I'll do better.

Next time, I'll remember the travel mantra that makes every trip I take, no matter what the destination, no matter what the company, that much more fun and memorable.

Just say YES!*

Someone wants to take you to their favorite sushi restaurant, but you're not sure if you really want to eat raw fish? Get over it. Say yes, and then let them order for you, too. Tapas? (what the heck is that?) You bet! Would you like to go see this band you've never heard of? Of course!

I promise, if you didn't like it, whatever it was, nobody is going to make you do it again. But chances are, you WILL like it.

I generally do.

If I ever, ever, for whatever reason, get to go out of town for another conference, I promise, I will not be that girl grinning stupidly at the edge of the dance floor, forgotten before the conference is even over. No, that won't be me.

Instead, I'll be that girl who moonwalked. Even if they don't play any MJ.

*to clarify, yes, it is okay to say no when it conflicts with your personal morals. I don't accept alcoholic drinks, or mind-altering substances, and I'm not your girl if you're looking to "hook up"

Whatcha Doin'?

In spite of all the time I was away from home last week, and all the time I then had to spend at work this week, I have gotten a few projects done.

I carved pumpkins with the Seattles:

Knitted a Dead Fish Hat for one of the Seattle nephews:

he chose the colors!

Made yet another Pence Jug, this one for a co-worker:

And managed a good bit of progress on the lemonade socks:

I don't actually know these guys, but they were awfully nice and knew just about everything there is to know about that flying machine behind them.

Sometimes, it seems like the more I have to do, the more I can get done, you know?
Does it work that way for you?

Beautiful San Diego

from the walkway, looking back at the city

the light fixtures in the ballroom at the Hilton Bayfront

Mormon Battalion Museum

My first day in San Diego, I was able to go over to Old Town and see a few sights. The Mormon Battalion Museum was listed as a can't-miss item, so I went there first.

Their presentation is extremely well done. It was a slow time of day, so it was just me and the guide, but she still did her whole presentation, just like she would have with a crowd. Loads of fun.

It's raining here

All day today, rain. In San Diego.

Still went out, though. Skipped lunch to run (literally) over to Seaport Village. I would never skip a class, but I figured lunch was optional. And I don't want to come back and not have seen anything outside of the hotel, you know?

I got wet. And my legs were not all that happy with me. Also, a little hungry. But I went over to Seaport, and I did a little shopping, and mostly was just happy to not be sitting in a class.

One more day.

Birthday Fairy in the City

We took the bus into Seattle (the bridge we crossed floats!) and then the monorail to the Space Needle

where we waited

and waited

and waited

until we finally got to take the 41 second elevator ride to the top.

We walked around a couple times outside, looking at the scenery, finding my brothers office building and the like.

Back inside to wait for the elevator down

and that was it

The Birthday Fairy had been pretty good to us. We caught the right bus, got to the monorail platform just before a huge line formed, and really didn't have a forever-long wait to go up the Space Needle. We had just enough time to make all the kids some stamped quarters before our return monorail got there, too.

Back at the station, we decided we'd test our luck one more time and try to make it over to Pike's Place Market, just in case they had summer hours later than 6pm (they did for the shops, though the stalls were all closing up), and my brother ordered us a pan of the "World's Best" Mac & Cheese (and a tub of fresh cheese curds) at Beecher's, while my nephew declared: I DON'T WANT TO EAT HERE! I JUST WANT TO GO HOME! and my niece and I found some cheese with pretty purple flowers pressed into the top of it, which I could have sworn I took a picture of but apparently not.

My niece fell asleep before we'd reached the station again.
That girl is heavy as lead when she's sleeping.
And we still had to have her Pretty Pink Party once we got home.

Getting Ready, or, Am I Pretty Yet?

(back to the Seattle trip - I'm taking this in smallish bites)

After a quick late lunch, we got ready to go into the city proper. Any of you who have littles know that this can be a bit of a production, this getting ready to go anywhere. No exception here.
The two boys were ready pretty quick, but my sweet niece likes to dawdle. And wanted my company while she did/didn't do what needed doing before we could leave.

Me: are you done yet?
P: no....what's that?
Me: (putting on mascara) I'm putting a little pretty on my eyes, so I don't look so tired
P: (nods)
(I finish, and go put away my make-up bag)
Me: are you done yet?
P: not yet....where's your pretty?
Me: I finished, so I put it away.
P: (mumble) need your pretty
Me: (thinking, um, mom & dad are not going to be okay with purple mascara on a 3 yr old, but maybe I can just pretend - she won't know) oh, okay
(I go to fetch the make-up bag - everyone is getting tired of waiting - we have a bus to catch)
Me: okay, I'm back....you done yet?
P: no....do the pretty
Me: (getting out the mascara and pulling out the brush) okay, now open your eyes really wide
P: (shaking head) not me - you. you need more pretty.

oh.

If you can believe it, by this time, I was starting to feel a bit less patient with the child. Not that it helped.

Eventually, we were out the door and off to the bus stop. This would be a first for the kids, riding the bus, so this should be...entertaining.

getting there

Friday morning, still tired from staying out too late Thursday night, I went to work like I should, and then, around 11am, was overcome by a serious need to hop in a car and go to visit my brother and his family, even if it was a 14 hour drive. (Yahoo Maps said 12 hrs 57 min. It lies. But I will forgive it, because it may have been the 12 that drew me in.) I called mom, and she was disbelieving, but totally on board if I was really going to leave work and get on the road. My office mate was checking rental car rates and telling me I had to go.

So it was decided.

I did what work I felt couldn't wait for Tuesday, tapping my foot and shaking my fist at the computer when it wouldn't work as fast as I wanted to.  I was outta there by 2pm.

Meanwhile, mom had booked the rental car, and we had both tried to enlist other road-trippers, with no luck. (I did, however, omit to invite my baby sister, totally by accident, which was really really sad, because she says she would have come along. That would have been triple the fun, and I feel bad that I forgot. (Forgive me?))

Somewhere in there I remembered I still hadn't done my laundry, which meant I had no clean undies to pack. Whatever.

I sped home and packed in about 15 minutes, and raced over to pick up mom. More toe-tapping at the rental car place (when I'm ready to go, nobody is fast enough for me), and then a quick detour to park my car in the driveway. (This is when I realized I hadn't packed pajamas and had to run inside for some. I was in and out in a heartbeat. Seriously.)

We hit the road by about 3:30, just in time to run into commuters in the Northern end of the state. (More toe-tapping.)

Mom and I like to stop and stretch when we travel by car, to keep us from getting "car leg". We stopped for dinner in Snowville, where we walked the short distance to the post office to deposit my Netflix I'd meant to send back from the office. (I can be forgetful.)

A couple hours later, we stopped at a rest stop, and gave an old water wheel a spin.

That thing spun for quite a while, once we got it going, which gave us a fit of the giggles, as it tended to spin one way for a while, hesitate, and then spin the other, due to the broken bits.

This rest stop also boasted some serious hand driers that made ripples in our skin, sending us off into laughter again.

We're easily entertained.

Later, we stopped for the night, in Meridian. It was apparently totally un-exciting, as the camera didn't make an appearance at all. We were on the road again by 6am.

Many Rest Stops and gas station fill-ups later, among them a slightly longer stop at a Fruit & Antique shop, the sign of which declared ANTIQUE FRUIT, where we saw these irresistible (but how would we get them home?) set of outdoor chairs:

we arrived in Kirkland and were greeted, a little shyly, by this little angel and her family.

lunch, international style

Our meal of choice while traveling in Europe. Available at just about any train station, it was cheap and filling, and the brie was always excellent.

Just one of the many things I miss about Europe.

Lava Hot Springs Highlights

First, I must tell you, despite my lack of excitement beforehand, Lava is a GREAT place to be! Seriously...I wanna go back, like, RIGHT NOW! Super-fun. For reals.

Okay, so, this is where we stayed:

It's called Aura Soma Lava, and we stayed in the Conference Center. There are 7 twin beds, and 2 hide-a-beds, plus plenty of room for air mattresses and such. I got to sleep on the landing:

(I've always wanted to sleep on a stair landing. Seriously!)

It has it's own private hot springs pool:

(which was not filled when we got there -

some lame excuse about how they have to refill while adding cold city water, or it's too hot, so they didn't like to do it the day before? Whatever. Because they were also mowing the lawn when we arrived...I wish I was kidding.)

It has a great little yard and patio area that looks out on the river:

(The river on which we went tubing. (Of which I have no pictures. Because, though there were some of our party that chose not to tube, they did not think to come take pictures of us screaming and hooting as we went over the "rapids" under one of the many bridges. And I didn't think to ask until later.) Suffice it to say...it was AWESOME! Can I go again? Like, right now? Pretty please?)

Um, but, first things first - the reason we were there - my youngest brothers' wedding:

This kid, the ring-bearer, would not move out of the way. I don't know why. He kept wandering around in front of the bridal couple. I don't know if the photographer got any better shots than I did, but I sure hope so. Mine were too shady to see their faces.

We had a nice dinner,

and a lovely evening. As it was getting dark, I was wandering the little field next to our place,

(These guys are in the center of one of those spirals, the kind you walk for meditation? There were a couple of Chinese dog statues in the middle, too.)

and looked up at the hillside (not mountain) to see they had a sort of lame little L outlined in lights:

Which, to me, looked rather flimsy after a week of seeing the Y lit up in Provo.

The next morning, we had a hearty breakfast, got ourselves packed up, and headed out to get some tubes so we could have some fun! (not that the wedding wasn't fun, because it was)

The tube rental is super-cheap. Only $5 for a half-day on a single! We got a quad, and, I have to say, I'd do that again, and get strangers to go with me, rather than go down on a single. It's safer, I think. And more fun, because your people are right there with you, and you don't have to try to hold on to them, they're just there.

One tip: when you come to the rocky bits (of which there are many, hence the "rapids" and mini waterfalls), keep your butt up out of the hole. I have this massive bruise on my hind-parts. Massive.

You do have to walk back up (or get someone in your party to drive down and haul you and the tubes back up, which we didn't), but, even though we floated down quite a ways, it's not a bad walk back to the starting point. It never seemed like it was tiring. There's this path by the river, so you walk most of the way back along that. Then, at one point, you have to cross a bridge. I wish I had a picture of this one, because every time we walked up to it, it had me giggling. The little sign next to the bridge said "Tuber Path" with an arrow pointing over the bridge. It just struck me funny: now we're potatoes? or maybe rutabagas?

I had gone around, before tubing down the river for the first time, slathering sunscreen on everyone. Rubbing the serious stuff on their noses and tops of their ears. Making sure everyone was well-rubbed with sunscreen. Except, I guess, I only got Twin1's face. Because his poor ankles got seriously burnt:

Funny story here...he says I can show you this picture of his bare feet, but only if I share the whole story. So, what happened is, my friend did glitter toes on my sisters and my nieces, and then my baby sister went out to get ultra-fine glitter so she could do them herself on whoever might want them, once we were in Lava. She does my aunt, my mom, the brides' grandma (!). Then, my niece asks Twin1 if he'd like some, too. He says, "sure, nobody will know, because I always wear shoes and socks" (true). We knew we'd be wearing water shoes while tubing (a must - do not wear flip-flops - they just come off your feet and get lost), so no chance of anyone seeing them even then. But, then he sunburned, and he couldn't stand to have socks or shoes on, and he spent a whole day and a half wearing flip-flops and showing off his glitter toes. Yup. I'm glad he can see the humor in that situation. My niece kept offering him polish remover, but he said, no, it was a funny story, so he was cool with it.

Anyway, there's some of the highlights. I could go on. I'll probably come back to it, share more funny stories. A good trip, and a great place to stay and have some fun.

camping and such

In case anyone out there is wondering what goes on around here that isn't fiber-related...

Mom and the boys and I went camping a week ago Friday. We used to go all the time, when the boys were little, but some years, of late, we hardly get out the sleeping bags at all. Such a shame.

We went up to Hope Campground, just 20 min away, up Provo Canyon. We'd driven up the week before, just to check it out, maybe decide which site we'd like. It must have been at least 10-15 degrees cooler up there! Every site is fully shaded, and it's so beautiful!

(It is also, however, what I would call "rustic". Meaning no electricity, "outhouse" type toilets (though they do provide paper), with (potable) water spigots near each bathroom only, none at your site. All sites have a fire pit, picnic table, and grill. FYI.)

That said, we do love it there!

I left work early Friday so we could get an earlier start, but, somehow, it just takes longer than you think it should to pack up the car for 3 people staying one night at a campground (that's just me and the boys - mom did her own packing). When we were finally all packed in to the car, loaded down with way too many things to fit in the trunk, sleeping bags piled on laps, we stopped at moms, loaded our gear into our (borrowed) trailer, picked up dinner at Wendy's (we know how to rough it!), and then finally piled into the van and headed up the canyon.

Backing the trailer into site 18 was a little trickier than you'd think. I know the basic principles of backing a trailer, but somehow, it wasn't working quite the way I pictured. A lot of "forward again...straighten the wheel...back...to your right...no, left!...okay, forward again..." later, we got it nicely parked in the driveway. Only to find out, after several tries with the "legs" and many blocks of wood, that the driveway might be just a tad more tilted than it looked (which maybe explains why the trailer didn't seem to be able to go the directions we thought it should), and we'd just have to live with sleeping in a non-level trailer, because my hands were starting to cramp up, and my biceps had gone all noodly. It was definitely stable, not about to tip or roll away, but, according to our level, not level.

Oh well. Let's go see how Twin2 did with building the fire, shall we?

(um, if I'd been thinking, I would have had the camera out...)

The fire looks great. Soon, we'll be ready to roast marshmallows.

How did Twin1 do with the tents? (Because there's only one (king size?) bed in the trailer (and a loft bed that we are pretty sure won't hold their combined weight), and because the Twins like privacy, we brought 2 tents, one for each.) Hmm, 2-pole tents must be a little trickier than they look? No, wait, he's got it. But that tent pad sure slopes downhill. Good thing I'm sleeping in the trailer on that huge bed.

(These things are so much better with visuals...)

We get settled, and eat our dinner. Or, mom and I eat, since the Twins ate on the drive up. Then it's time for 'smores. Twins are disappointed that we only brought Nutella and a Dark Chocolate spread instead of chocolate bars. Mom and I don't like that chocolate bars don't melt enough, so we packed the chocolate in spreadable form. I tempt Twin2 with giant marshmallows. He goes for it, and at least roasts/burns himself a massively huge, fluffy marshmallow. Mom has a 'smore. I toast a massive marshmallow, slowly. We talk.

The Twins, one at a time, drift off to their tents. We keep talking.

Talk turns to her reconstruction (it's big - remove carport, add garage with apartment on top, and a great-room over the main floor of the house), and things she wishes she could do, that would make it just that much better. Further conversation discovers that maybe, just maybe, she can manage that one more thing.

We finally get ready for bed, put out the fire, and settle in with our books. (Because this family reads, y'all.) After a while, we're drifting off, too.

A while later, mom's getting out of bed. I figure just a bathroom break. I'm not totally comfortable - my silk sleep-sack leaves me too cold, but a blanket is too warm. I try to sleep anyway. I hear her come back, get something from the car, get her book, and leave the trailer again. As she's going out, I ask what's up? She says she can't sleep, for thinking about that one more thing to add to the construction. To which my mind replies, "Just four little pieces of flagstone", though I don't say it out loud.

She's outside for a while, reading by the fire pit. When she comes back, she goes to sleep pretty quick, and as I'm drifting back to sleep, I suddenly hear, very loudly, four definite footsteps, right next to the trailer. Someone with a long stride, so probably a man. Not so sleepy now, I sit up and listen, while telling myself there's nothing to be scared of. I realize it must be one of the Twins. Sure enough, a few minutes later, the footsteps return, and I hear the tent zippers.

Then, I really do sleep.
First thing in the morning, as soon as we're both awake, I say, "Four little pieces of flagstone", which cracks us both up. Mom says she had the same thought.
We love that scene.
(from Mr Blandings Builds His Dreamhouse (Cary Grant, Myrna Loy), based on a novel, and which inspired both Don't Eat the Daisies (Doris Day) and Money Pit (Shelley Long, Tom Hanks). For our family, this movie is a must-watch during any reconstruction, redecorating, or drawn-out project. Get yourself a copy and watch it. Seriously. Because I can't describe this scene without it loosing something. I tried.)

Anyway, back to camp.
We have breakfast - yogurt, kashi.
And we reminisce about our favorite serendipitous camping trip, where we found, spilled under the tables, a lot of seed beads. Not just the beads, either. Enough fishing line to string them on, too. Suddenly we had a project and a souvenir, all in one. That was just the coolest.

For this trip, I brought some shell bracelet kits, and we get those out and make up about half of them.

It's getting a little warm, kind of humid, and looking to storm, so we put away everything we can, just in case it decides to rain.

We finish just as it starts to rain. This quickly turns to a downpour, and then hail, as we pull away from the campsite.

Back at home, I get myself up on the roof (again), to check out why the cooler isn't working so well. Lately, I'd been coming home to a house that was hotter than it was outside. And I'm kinda cranky in the heat.

(I'll entertain you with that story later. It's kinda longish.)

quick getaway

I ran away for a last-minute retreat with my good friend (and somewhat sister) this past weekend. I had a certificate for a free night at Zermatt up in Midway, and since it was about to expire, I thought I'd better get myself up there PDQ.

We stopped at Seasons of Home and Everything In The Barn before checking in. This town closes up early, and we didn't want to miss out. We found some cute stuff, and skipped up to the resort quick so we wouldn't be late for our spa appointments.

The room was lovely

the bathroom was spacious

the view was tranquil (we saw a badger on this hillside - for reals!)

and the weekend was just right.

I had the pedicure, she had a facial. I did a little knitting while I relaxed in the massage chair.

For dinner, we headed over to Heber and got ourselves Train Burgers (Have YOU been hit by a Trainburger lately?) at the Dairy Keen, followed by the best shakes ever (a bit delayed, they lost the shake orders, we had to wait, so we got coupons for $2 off next time - bonus).

Once back in our room, we changed into our bathing suits and headed for the jacuzzi. A relaxing 1/2 hour in there, a few laps in the refreshingly cool outdoor pool, and we were ready to wind it down for the night.

We somehow slept in, missing the chance to have an early morning swim or steam-room session. Ah, well, that's what a getaway is for, right? We got ourselves ready to face the day, packed up our stuff, and checked out just before 11am.

But on the way to the car, we were distracted.

They had this uber-cool chess game set-up out in front.

After stowing our stuff in the car, we raced back over, wishing we had something just like it at home. We soon discovered that the little playhouse where they stored the pieces

also contained checkers! (good thing, as neither of us knows how to play chess, and we were considering just having a game of checkers using chess pieces, which could have looked...odd.)

We quickly set up for a game and made our first couple of moves

I then proceeded to beat the pants off her (I'm playing white)

I did a little victory dance (not really), and then we replaced the chess pieces, ready for the next victims.

They also had an 18 hole mini-golf course nearby, but by that time, we'd had enough of the heat and were ready to get into town, step into something with air conditioning.

A little window-shopping in town (literally, since the shops were closed), then over to Park City, admire the stuff in Whimsy, and head for her place in Fruit Heights. (we picked up Panda for dinner - yum!)

It was nice to extend my break a little, relaxing at her house and talking. We also threw together the pillowcases from Seasons of Home (her kit was for her son). As soon as I was home, I slipped it on my pillow, ready to settle in for a good read before bed.

We had such a great time!

this was my weekend

Twin2 chose to walk at graduation ceremonies, even though he still has a lot of work to do in order to actually graduate. Brave, I thought. (I knit some on my jaywalkers during the grad ceremonies. Almost ready to start the heel gussets!)

We all went for an easy hike in Capitol Reef. Twin1 looks like he's all alone here - but there were tons of us.

My sweet niece Ms P was the life of the party at the campground. (Her daddy is a park ranger this summer at Capitol Reef - lucky girl!) Her favorite words seem to be "hug", "help", "down", "hat", and "pretty". This little girl is in heaven, practically living in the biggest "sandbox" ever ("sand"=very soft dirt).

Dangerous sandbox, with pretty, blossoming, prickly pear.

This nifty carved rock was just to the side of the trail, calmly waiting to be noticed. I had to wonder if the rock was originally more like the shape of the carving, and has worn away over the years, or if the person who carved this was just adding their own interpretation.

I carefully selected and packed various knit and crochet projects for the camping trip. I even started on my knitted radish just before we left:

If I'd been a passenger instead of a driver, maybe I'd have a lot of finished objects to add to my list.

Instead, inspired by some cute little pincushions available at the Gifford House (located right there in the campground), I started working on this: