Contentment in small things.

Today, once again, my client did not come to our pre-appointed meeting, and so I was unable to begin actual work. I'm supposed to call tomorrow at nine to set up a new appointment, but I'm not holding my breath. My lack of hours and other recent events (about which I have been advised to hold my tongue) have impressed upon me the need to find a second job. Which I really can't do until I have established hours with my clients. I suppose I shall apply at Walmart. They're always hiring, and can provide steadier (and more) hours than I'm currently putting in at Turn. Which is both a relief and a frustration at times.

My friend Krutika recently returned from a month-and-a-half visit to her family in India, and we (while waiting for the non-existing appointment with my client) hung out for a few hours today. We enjoyed the library, and the cool, beautiful weather, and each others' company. As always when she comes back from India, Krutika was full of stories about the deplorable living conditions and perilous political situation. This time, they didn't leave the house for nearly the whole visit because of all the rioting and bombings going on.

It, like everything else, makes me think a lot. We, as Americans, really don't realize how good we have it. Like cattle, being fattened for slaughter, we don't care about anything except how much food we can shove our faces with and how to get out of work so we can go lie down in a corner and fatten a little more. We don't think. We despise hard work, always looking for the fast buck, and expect the world to be handed to us on a silver platter. Why do we expect this? Because it always has been. The world in all its greatness dwindles down to mediocre and miracles become commonplace. The great beauty and accomplishments we have achieved with so much sweat and blood lose their wonder.

I think this is partially what has (recently) been fueling my desire to leave this place. I want to get out of here. I want to go and live somewhere where I have to work hard for what I get. Where life is simpler. Where miracles regain their splendor and want takes second place to need in the minds of men. I want to go somewhere to feel some danger - to know beyond a shadow of a doubt, how fragile life is, how much of a struggle it truly is, and to have only one place to turn in the face of it all. How can one truly know what it is to trust fully in a God when all around them, life's luxuries boldly proclaim that mankind can do very well on its own, thank you. Obviously, it can't. But to put oneself in a position where one has no other choice I think is where the first step lies.

Lately, especially, I have been striving to be content with small things. But I don't want to be so content with what I have now that I lose all desire to take my life further. Therefore, I make goals for myself. Here is my intention.

I have always wanted to go to Africa. Actually, I've always wanted to go a lot of places, but this one sticks out particularly. It is my intention to graduate from college with my bachelor's degree, and if I can, join the Peace Corps (or some other organization - I plan to continue researching this) and go to Africa. For how long, I don't know. A few years at least before returning to the U.S. to get my Masters degree. I want to do something meaningful that will not only offer me a profound perspective on the world as I have never seen it, but help to offer hope and light to those I will be around and among.

Now, I've been out of the country before - and even to impoverished countries, yes. So why should this be different? Because with TMI, the farm/plantation we stayed on was owned and operated by Americans, and I was surrounded by other Americans. There were some locals around, yes, but we didn't live as the locals lived, eat as they ate, or work as they worked. It was an American summer camp in a foreign country, and really, it never felt like a different country until I was actually leaving.

Part of contentment I think is for me to be happy here while I am here - which I am. But I watch with trepidation because the day is coming when I will not want to come back. This country is diseased and is infecting its inhabitants with unrealistic and sickening expectations of life.

My raving and ranting is done for now... :)
--Anna Grace

The Adventures of Sleep-Deprivation Woman!

So... the real question. Who is Sleep-Deprivation Woman's mild-mannered alter-ego? Me, of course. I shall explain. After getting to bed around two in the morning the previous night, I was looking forward to a good night's sleep. Which didn't happen.

The day started out ordinary enough, but when I found out that I wouldn't actually be working, I called Jared and Greg, because we'd had an idea that it would be fun to go swimming at Sand Hollow. Jared said he could probably get off work a little early, and Greg doesn't have a job to worry about. Anyway, Jared called me when he got off at three, and we all met up at Wal-Mart. I provided Mountain Dews for the trip.

We drove down to Sand Hollow, making a quick stop at a dollar store in Hurricane to purchase flip-flops, a pair of goggles, and some swim-trunks for Greg. Anywho, there's a big red-rock island in the middle of the lake. (Well, in the middle of the swimmers' portion, anyway.) So we swam out to it. It was so awesome! It was made of all these awesome red sandstone formations, and there were very, very deep pools of water everywhere. Jared went cliff-jumping no few times. I would have, but the wind and the water in my ears was giving me a horrible earache. But the water was so blue and clear and beautiful, and deep. It was gorgeous. So we hiked/rock climbed around the island and swam back.

Being pleasantly tired, we were all kind of hungry, too. So Jared, being ever generous, bought us all dinner at Jack-in-the-Box. Chicken. Mmmm... Jared said he'd been looking for some sports store he'd found there a while ago (in St. George, that is) but couldn't remember it or where to find it. After stopping at a gas station and asking for directions, we realized that it was the Sportsman's Warehouse, and Jared picked up a new saw and extra blade just as the store closed.

So we headed back to Cedar and they dropped me off at Wal-Mart so I could grab my pickup and go feed my dog. Which I did. They got lost on the way to my place (it was quite dark by then) so I stood out by the road until they could find it. I hopped in my truck and followed them to Jared's place. We were going to watch 10,000 BC. None of us had ever seen it before, and it looked interesting. We were probably about a half-hour into the movie, and Greg got a phone call about midnight.

One of his friends had been coming down from the scout camp up on Brian Head. It's on the top of a very steep mountain, and the road down is horribly bumpy, dirt, and very twisty-turny. In the dark, his pickup missed one of the turns and he went off the side of the mountain. His truck was stuck on some old dead logs and some of the trees on the mountain. He was okay, though, and the truck seemed fine. He was stuck, though. He couldn't reverse back up the mountain because it was too steep, and he couldn't drive the pickup down the embankment because of all the deadfall in the way.

So once again, we all piled in Jared's pickup, packed up the chainsaw, an axe or two, flashlights, and lots of caffeine, and took off for Brian Head. Brian Head is approximately a half-hour drive from Cedar, but we made it in about forty-five because we didn't take the freeway. Jared's truck doesn't do well over 65 mph. So we headed up this winding, rocky, narrow dirt road and caught up with Dustin walking down the road. He didn't stay with the truck because he said he could hear a bear nearby.

So we picked him up and he showed us where the truck was. I am still amazed that Dustin is alive, much less that he sustained no injuries to him, or the truck. The truck was stuck fast against two humongous rotten logs about three feet from smashing into a rather large, solid tree face-on. We grabbed the chainsaw and cleared the deadfall out of the way, We cut down the tree (which was so hard, the chainsaw threw sparks against it...) and moved the rotten logs. Once the truck was free, we eased it down the embankment (which was rather a little more like a cliff) and onto the road below. Mission accomplished.

Dustin drove home, and we drove back to Jared's house. We got back at about three, went back down to the theatre, and fell asleep to the background of 10,000 BC.

I got up quarter to ten this morning and went home. Good times. Now, I shall partake of a nap.
--Anna Grace

Spontaneous combustion!

Man... If I could pick one word to describe today, what would it be? ShazZam! KaBAM! BOOM! Wow! Something like that. It started out normal enough. Fairly slow and not bad. I got called into work about one, since my other client was supposed to be there and I was supposed to meet her. But... she didn't come, so I put a few gallons in my pickup and went home.

After that, I was sitting around painting when I got a phone call. It was from Greg, my ex-boyfriend. He was bored and at Walmart and wanted to see if I would hang out. I said "sure," and gave him directions. Anyway, Greg kept telling me about his favorite mud-hole and how much fun it was to go "muddin'" in his blazer. So, he headed down to the mud-hole, and got stuck halfway through. That mud was wacko. It was hard enough to walk on, but underneath the surface, it was like thick pudding. Nutso. Anyway, Greg tried to push, dig, and drive us out, but it looked like we were going nowhere. He tried to call like a zillion people, but none of them answered.

Finally, he got ahold of one of his buddies, Pat, who came down with a huge, 4-wheel-drive Chevy and pulled us out. Then he got a call back from his friend Jared, who also wanted to come play in the mud. Once he got there, Greg the ever-determined, decided that he'd have one more shot at trying to go across the mud-hole. Obviously, he got stuck again, and this time, Pat and Jared had to hook their trucks together to haul him forth from the mud. Needless to say, I wasn't too impressed after that little display.

Anyway, suddenly, Jared decided he wanted to go see the "C" on the mountain. He asked if we wanted to go too. I did, and I guess Greg did, so we took Jared's Ford Ranger up Cedar Mountain to go see the "C." The view was incredible. Jared, who is from Arkansas, was very interested in the local plantlife. Me, being slightly experienced in such things, endeavored to explain things. It was cool. Anyway, we saw the "C," and I happened to mention my ambition to climb the mountain next to the Canyon Creek Park.

"Why don't you?" Jared wanted to know. That kinda got me to thinking... why didn't I? So we decided we were going to climb the mountain. So we left the "C" headed toward the mountain. We were just hitting the valley floor when Jared noticed Coal Creek. He's only been in town a few months, so he hadn't seen it before. So we stopped and played in Coal Creek for a while. Jared also likes cool rocks, so we picked up some river rocks and stuff. We headed off to the mountain just when the sun was going down.

It was so scary to climb! It was very steep and covered with shale and loose rocks and things. We found a lot of awesome rocks that we stuffed our pockets with. I found a piece of obsidian that was transparent except for an orange streak and black-lacy looking markings on it. It was quite thin. Jared said he'd never seen any rock so awesome, so I gave it to him. Anyway. We made it to the top of the mountain and looked down at the view. Not as high as the "C," but it was incredibly gorgeous. We watched the sun set from on high and breathed the fresh mountain air. I taught Jared about Mormon Tea and we climbed back down. It was so scary being so high... half the ridges on that mountain were more like sheer cliffs that we had to walk along the top of, but we conquered it, by George!

Just when it was starting to get dark, Greg got a phone call telling him somewhere he could get a bunch of old, dead microwaves and things behind a resteraunt that had been closed for a few years. Greg's comment was, "dude! Let's go blow them up!" So we headed down to the resteraunt picked up old pieces of junk - no microwaves, but some old tubs and containers and an old soap holder - stuck them in the back of Jared's truck, and took off for Jared's house. I went with Jared and Greg followed us.

Jared lives with his aunt, who has positively the biggest house I've ever been in. There was a theatre in the basement, a bar, and a pool room. Super cool. Anyway. Jared mixed up a few home-made poppers (for security sake, I won't disclose the ingredients) and we headed out in the middle of the desert to finish off the night with a bang. Five of them, to be exact. They were quite fun - small enough to be harmless and large enough to make noise and blow the targets to pieces. I had the honor of lighting a few fuses. It was great. Anyway...

We got done with our fun about quarter after eleven, decided that we're definitely gonna go have some more fun in the future - swimming at Cross-Hollows, for one, and Greg drove me home. Awesome day.

Anyway, there is one worry I have. And that's Greg. Greg's a great friend. But... just a friend. He kept making remarks to me - asking me if I'd been dating lately, kind of hinting about him and I "hanging out" in the future - that kind of thing. I'm kind of worried that he might be trying to get me to go out with him again. He just broke up with his fiancee, so that might have something to do with it. Honestly, I could be jumping at shadows. But there were a great many shadows. Greg is my ex for a reason... But that Jared... He's somebody I could be interested in...

So today was awesome. Here's looking forward to more mountain-conquering, mud-bogging days!
--Anna Grace

Gone to the dogs...

Since Jeremy's been gone, I get to take care of Ryan (his dog, and Tovie's brother) for him. And Lady, the 18-year-old senile cat. But anyway. The original plan was that I'd move into Jeremy's place when he was gone and house-sit for him. Have the whole house to myself... and whatnot. But I couldn't do it. I got there... and sat around for a bit... and it just felt too weird. Weird and uncomfortable. Living in someone else's house is one thing. Living in it with no one else there is entirely another. So I'm still at Angie's.

I'd moved Tovie over to Jeremy's though, because since there aren't people there, I figured that Ryan might need someone to play with. I tied them far enough apart that they couldn't tangle each other up but could still touch each other. The first thing that happened was that Tovie got more wired and hyper and bad-mannered. I'd had him pretty well trained not to jump on people before this, but he seemed to forget that fairly quickly. The second thing that happened was that he quit eating. Tovie's not a fat dog in the first place. In fact, I've worked hard to put a bit of covering over his ribs - feeding him eggs with his food every day and whatnot. He just started burying his food and not touching it.

The last thing that happened scared the crap out of me and persuaded me to bring him back right away. Ryan has a reputation for somehow being able to get off his chain. There are no marks on it, it's not broken, and it almost looks like he's been deliberately unhooked. In fact, just a few days ago I found him so wound around his post that the cable had actual knots in it, like someone had turned the dog loose, tied his cable in knots, and clipped him back on. I don't think it actually happened like that, but that's what it looked like.

Anyway, Jimmy and Marcie (the neighbors) were out looking for a few chickens that had disappeared, and decided to go look at Jeremy's. The chickens wander over there all the time. So when they got there, they found Ryan running around off his lead, and his lead attached to Tovie. Who was choking. I got a frantic phone call and ran over there immediately. The cable - which again, looked like it had just been unhooked - had tied a knot at the front of Tovie's collar, then it went through the clip of Tovie's chain and back out. I can't imagine how in the world either of them managed to do that. It took Jimmy, Marcie and me to get the thing undone, and we thought we were going to have to cut the collar off. Anyway, Tovie was okay, and I moved him back to Angie's straightaway. I don't know how that happened, but it's not going to have a chance to happen again.

Oh, and to cap off the happy ending, Tovie's eating again, and has regained most of his good manners. Ryan hasn't though. But then, he didn't have much to begin with...

The fun continues!
--Anna Grace

Weekend adventures!

Since my dad was home for a few days in between trucking school and his internship, I decided to go home for a visit for a few days. I packed up Tovie and left on Thursday. The first real issue was in getting Tovie home. He gets carsick, so I'm generally reluctant to put him up front with me. Plus, Tovie doesn't like the front. I roll down the windows and he tries to escape - or, he tries to sit in my lap or crawl under my feet. Since he'd just broken two chains, I was a little reluctant to chain him in the back, opting instead to borrow Angie's kennel. I put the kennel in the back of my pickup, Tovie in the kennel, and headed off down the road.

For some reason, the kennel just doesn't like the back of my truck, and it turned over several times and began to attempt an escape from the back of the truck. At that point, I pulled over, put Tovie in the front with me and called Jeremy to come get the kennel. The drive home was accompanied by much drool, lap-crawling, and construciton work (the pass was being re-paved).

Finally, we got home, and I tied Tovie in the shade with food and plenty of water. I also gave him his bone, because Dane was not there to steal it. Unfortunately, right about then, Mom turned Drover loose, and Drover came and stole it. And disappeared with it. That's two of Tovie's bones down to scratch. Anyway... Tovie behaved himself very well at home, and also had a bath, which he didn't enjoy very much.

Other adventures included computer adventures and mishaps. I installed Linux on my computer because Windows was eating all my memory and computing power. It took around ten minutes to boot up and shut down my computer because of Windows junk. I'm now down to about a minute. So that was fun.

One mishap was that I went outside to help my mom with chores, and when I came back, the latch to my laptop was broken. I don't know who, or how, but somehow, it no longer closes and the spring in the latch is gone. So now it either is on and running or turned off. I can't put it on standby to conserve my battery. No fun. Another mishap is that somehow my battery cord melted. Well, not the cord itself, but the box that has the adapter in it. It would take some serious heat to melt that thing, and the case is warped and has bubbly imprints in it and started to come apart at the seams. I wrapped it in electrical tape to keep it safe, but I still have no clue how that could have happened, short of someone tossing it in the oven - which couldn't have happened, because none of the rest of it is melted. Plus, these things are made to withstand the heat that they produce.

Anyway, it was a lovely visit home. I got some laundry done and played some Monopoly with Ari and Lori. Lori won. But only because Ari made a rotten decision to hand over his two railroads for Parkway... Then everyone landed on the railroads. Fun stuff. Anyway. On the way back today, I just tied Tovie in the back like I should have done, and it worked fine. He wasn't even as sick as he usually is. So he's over at Jeremy's now, and I've got to start moving some stuff over there. I'm kinda nervous about staying there all by myself, honestly. I mean, it'll be cool to be completely on my own (other than Jeremy's paying for utilities and whatnot) but... do I really want the whole house to myself? I kinda think it'll be a bit lonely. But maybe with work starting, I won't have time to worry about that.

And that's the last thing that I wish to discuss in this blog - work. I begin it tomorrow. Just a quick mention of this - but I pretty much won't be mentioning much about my work. There's confidentiality laws and stuff that protect the people I work with, so I won't be saying much. I can say, though, that I'm going to be helping teach people how to live independently. I'm also going to be taking them swimming! Hooray! Anyhow, I start tomorrow. I'm sort of nervous, but kind of excited, too.

Anyhow... More updates on life as it comes along!

--Anna Grace

The Battle Plan!

I have finally followed through with my idea to make myself a schedule to try to healthy myself up. No schedule can really be complete without goals to guage progress, so I have implemented the following complete strategy.

Goal: To gain ten pounds. I know... this is probably going to be the toughest thing I've ever done. But hey, if you set your sights low, you can achieve them anytime. I want to be able to be proud of a tough accomplishment.

Three part Battle Plan!
1. Exercise! Most people use exercise as a method of losing weight. Why? Because it burns off fat. But - it also builds muscle, and muscle is heavier than fat. You've got to lose the fat before you can start putting on muscle, though, which is why many people lose weight when they exercise. For someone like me with no fat in the first place, I'll go right to building muscle. I've decided to start slow and work my way up. I'm going for a twenty-minute workout every other day, and a twenty-minute run on those off-days. Every day but Sunday, because a day of rest is healthy. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I'll do a workout and Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays I'll run. I've already had my run today, and it reminded me how seriously out of shape I am. Plus, I'll be taking Tovie on my runs. He was just as tired as I was, today... :P

2. Eat! All that exercise takes energy, and as I am known to have a fast metabolism, it will take more than the normal to give my body the energy it needs and have extra to put on that extra weight. Therefore, I've decided to set myself a goal of 3000 calories daily - not junk food. Good food. Plus a fruit, a vegetable, a vitamin, and plenty of water. Running days I should have no problem with the water. Man, I'm thirsty right now! Anyway. I'm also going to attempt to kick the Mountain Dew habit. I've attempted it before, and it wasn't really successful. Perhaps by making it part of the larger plan I can help myself avoid it.

3. Rest! A lot of the reason that I haven't been getting up and doing things is that I have been tired a lot lately. I figure that this is partly due to caffeine consumption late at night, and partly that perhaps I've been getting too much sleep. Which also makes people tired, so the cycle continues. I've decided to carefully measure off the sleep I get every night and confine it to eight hours. Then when I get up and start doing things, I'll feel more awake and can properly tire myself out, which will lead to a better night's sleep the next night.

The next thing I'm going to do is monitor my progress by weighing myself every day. My starting weight this morning was 121. I'll record my weight every day and see how I'm doing. The last thing, which is very important, is a reward of some kind. When I reach my goal of gaining 10 lbs, I need to reward myself with something. I'm not sure with what yet... but something cool.

Anyway, the entire plan is drawn out large, and in plain sight on my chalkboard wall so that I don't forget it or try to talk myself out of it. The next safeguard I've put in place was posting this on my blog, on the internet. Hopefully, by doing so, I've just made myself accountable to anyone that cares. Those people can then encourage me not to back down or give up, and perhaps ask me how the progress goes once in a while (hint hint...). Anyway. That's my sneaky plan. :)

As for now, I'm going to go take a shower because I'm all gross and sweaty. Then I'm going to go clean my room and get my truck safety inspected. Lovely stuff, hm?

Auf wiedersehen!
--Anna Grace

My first day as a productive member of society...

The morning's activities started out a bit rough. The orientation schedule said I was supposed to bring a deposit slip or a voided check. However, they didn't like the deposit slip I brought. The instructor told me I needed to go and get a different one. So I went back to the bank. There I was told that they were sorry, but there were no other kinds of deposit slips. In the end I had to get a counter check with my savings number on it and void that one. They took that one, thankfully.

Anywho, orientation lasted a very long time and encompassed an enormous amount of paperwork. We watched several cheesy training videos from the sixties and took some competency tests and whatnot. I passed the food handlers' test, so I'll be getting the permit shortly.

I had to go get a TB test too, and for about three hours, my arm felt like it wanted to fall off. It's okay, now, though. I have to go back on Wednesday and get the results figured out, then take the paperwork into the office. Then I'll be able to start right away. My problem at the moment is that I'm only scheduled for ten hours a week. For two hours per day, five days a week, and all the pay that would earn me, I could pretty much just work at McDonalds and not have to bother with all the health tests and certifications. Therefore, I need to have a chat with the supervisors about this.

I also registered my truck. I still have to get a safety inspection for it; I'm doing that tomorrow. Then I take in the results and get my new SUU license plates. Woohoo!

Anyway... more complications with Jason's daughter. Apparently, now that Jason has arrived, the girl's mother is changing the story, saying that the hearing is closed and he can't come. It's just to determine the guilt of the stepfather, not to decide custody of the girl. It's starting to look more like something the girl's mom made up in order to gain control over the girl. Which, I think if that's the case, she ought to be taken away anyway. Children shouldn't be used and humiliated in that fashion. Sickening. If it does turn out that it's the truth, though, there's a good chance that Jason will get his daughter, we hope. At any road, he'll have to get another job when he gets back home. It will be seriously upsetting if he had to use the last of their savings and fly down there for a farce and a power play.

The road winds ever on and on... down from the door where it began...
--Anna Grace

The merit in tragedy.

There is something to be said for tragedy, and the way it brings people together. It inspires acts of desperate bravery, and for a few moments, makes people forget all the differences and enmities that lie between them. Today's tragedy does not belong to me, but to Angie's entire family. Jason has another daughter, who he has not seen since she was seven years old. She is fourteen years old and has grown up in a home where her mother taught her to hate Jason and Angie, and their family. She does not know about Meghan and Daniel.

Today, Jason received word that her stepfather has been abusing her. She has been taken out of custody of the mother and stepfather and is in Reno, where court will be held tomorrow to determine where she will go. Jason is flying out tomorrow morning to file for custody. He will probably be taking her to live with his mother for a while, because the girl knows her grandmother. She does not know Jason. Jason is using the last of their savings to fly to the court.

This situation is heartbreaking to the whole family, who have always loved the girl from afar, even if she doesn't know them. This isn't going to be easy on anyone - Jason especially, who has made the decision to take responsibility for his daughter, that doesn't know, that for all he knows, hates his guts. I'd say that takes a great deal of courage on his part, and the family to stand by and support them.

I may be a little bit insane, or maybe just imagining things, but I have this overwhelming feeling that everything's going to be okay. I have had this feeling before, and it has always turned out the be correct. I'd tell you when and what happened, but then you'd really think I was nuts... I really think it's going to be alright, though, if not in the way that people might expect, or in the time they think it will. It'll be rough going for sure, but it will be well in the end. If I may quote the Bible for a moment, "All things work to the good of those who love the Lord." Somehow, this is going to turn out well.

Please don't think for a moment that I'm belittling this girl's pain and suggesting that we sugar-coat everything to say that the situation isn't absolutely horrible or that we can just ignore it and it will go away. That's not what I'm saying at all. I have the greatest sympathy with both the girl and the family. I only pray that the girl has the courage to continue with what must be done.

Just weathering another storm.
--Anna Grace

I'm sleeping in!

I'm finally done babysitting. Oh, but sometimes children are monsters. Justus is going with his dad from now on, who is now headed to Wyoming until August. And I'm house-sitting, so I'm packing up my junk and moving next door, with my dog, who will definitely get in less trouble there.

I'll have everything I need - washing machines, dishwasher, everything. Except for the internet. I'll still have to go back to Angie's for internet. I'm gonna miss my music... However, this can be dealt with. It's gonna be kinda lonely, though, since I'll be there all by myself. No big deal, though. I'm okay with being by myself. I tell myself that I can always head over to Angie's if I'm feeling lonely, but truthfully, I don't know that I will, since I severely dislike barging in on people without an invitation.

In other news, I'm planning on coloring my hair again, quite soon. I'm not yet sure what color I want it. Reddish brown, though, I'm thinking. Thankfully, I've made enough money that I can pay my mom back what I owe her, and maybe even fix and register my truck - before my real job even starts. The problem with registering now will be getting Jeremy down to the DMV to get a replacement title and then sign it over.

Anyway... I'm so stinking tired. But I'm done babysitting, so tomorrow I'm sleeping in. Then I'm going to get up and write City Council!

Hooray for weekend freedom before starting real life!
--Anna Grace

In which life continues...

I babysat Justus. Nothing unsual happened. Screaming, drooling, hair-pulling... One new thing, though, is that he's starting to walk. He stood up and took two steps by himself. He took about five the other day for Angie and Jeremy. Walking children are terrifying... imagine all the stuff he'll be able to get into!

Anyway, Jeremy got home about two, so I went home and relaxed on the couch for a bit. During which time Jason thought it would be funny to dump a glass of cold water over me... I tried to stuff some ice cubes down the back of his shirt. It didn't really work, though... Apparently Marines are all trained in ice-cube self defense. This isn't over, though... I'm gonna ice cube him when he least expects it!

Anyway, I was also called into Turn to sign some papers and confirm my starting date, which is MONDAY!! I'm rather psyched. The lady in charge said she wants to start putting me on the schedule ASAP. Apparently, they're stretched for hands. I haven't got a problem with that. Boy, do I need a paycheck. I just sunk my last $8 on this planet into my gas tank to get home. The thing is, that because of this late start in working, I'm not going to have much saved up. At all. My bank account is empty. My first paycheck will most likely go to paying back my mom (since I owe her plenty, plus, she's lending me money to register my pickup) and to fixing my pickup, which needs a new water pump. Not the cheapest critter to put in. That's assuming that they pay monthly, and not bi-monthly, in which probably my first two would have to be dedicated to repaying debts. After that, I have about one more month to work before school starts. Hopefully I'll have saved up enough to at least buy my books.

That leaves one more worry. Somewhere to stay. Angie and Jason are going to be remodeling, so the room that is currently mine will be demolished and turned into part of the garage. I'm not going to have time to work at Turn with everything else that's going on, and the Journal, though I love it, doesn't even pay enough per month to make rent on a camp trailer, much less to live on. I can't afford the gas back and forth from my parents' house, either. So... the backup plan...

My friend and ex-editor, Angie (not the Angie I live with... I know lots of Angies...), once theorized that all a person needs to live comfortably is a car, a gym membership, and a cafeteria meal plan. Sleep in the car, shower in the gym, and eat at the cafeteria. My happy little pickup has a camper shell to put on the back, and I have quite a few happy memories of camping out in the back of a pickup. Now luckily, at SUU, a student can use the swimming pool, and consequently, the locker room showers, for absolutely free. Therefore, I wouldn't even need a gym membership. The small salary that reporting pays will keep gas in my truck and food in the cafeteria, as long as I'm frugal.

Now, before you go off your rocker about how I'm actually considering this bit of insanity, chill for a second. I don't consider it as "ooh, I'm destitute, I live in a truck," I think it would be an adventure! Need a change of scenery? Fine! Park somewhere else! The Journal office has a fridge I can keep things in if need be, as well as a bathroom, and computers I can use. And, it's open to anyone with a keycard at all hours. A keycard, which I shall acquire at the beginning of the semester. Economy living at its best. I really think it would be fun! Now, this isn't some brand-new idea manifested recently. I've been wanting to do something like this for years. I always wanted to camp out under the bridge by the high school. I love the idea of roughing it.

The only real problem would be Tovie - as in, what would I do with him? Obviously, he can't stay locked up in my pickup forever. Speaking of the little butthead... he got into the garbage tonight. Between him and the wind, it was scattered all over the yard. Jason was not happy. I was not happy either. Stinking little garbage hound. He seems to enjoy chewing on dirty diapers, and this was the object of his garbage diving tonight. Little stinker. I've got to figure out a way to break him of that or I doubt that Jason is going to tolerate him around much longer.

I have been wondering lately, about dreams. About whether they really mean anything, or if they're just random babble our brains spout during the night. Last night I had a weird/disturbing dream. There was a wedding, and I was helping set it up. It was Jim/Virginia's wedding (they're already married, so that's a bit odd). I was setting things up, when suddenly, we received word that Aaron, who had gone back to Iraq, had been killed in battle. It was three days from his own wedding. Mom and I were horrified, devastated. Obviously, we didn't feel so festive about planning the other wedding anymore. Jerry, who was supposed to perform the ceremony, was very angry with me, because I couldn't pretend I was happy while I strung up balloons. He told me that at the moment, my brother's death wasn't the important thing, and that I needed to focus on Jim and Virginia. I got angry, and I left.
What the heck kind of messed up dream is that, and how did it get in my head?

Anyway... tomorrow beckons! Aaron is getting married tomorrow, and Justus will be cranky, and there's city council meeting. Ever life continues onward.
--Anna Grace

Blood in my Mountain Dew system?

I'm so tired... Mountain Dew is no longer helping to keep me awake. I think my body has finally started to recognize it as a natural body fluid... I babysit Justus again tomorrow.

In other news, as long as nothing's changed in the dates again, Aaron and Lauren are getting married the day after tomorrow. It's so hard to believe... I mean, I'm excited, for sure. It's a strange feeling, having one's family expand. I mean... from here on out, I'll be able to tell people that I have a sister-in-law! Isn't that weird? And someday I'll have nieces and nephews. I keep telling Aaron he's my only shot for me to be an aunt unless Ari picks up better hygiene habits. Probably not, but it's a fun joke sometimes. In reality, Ari's better than he used to be.

Anyway, my eyelids are rebelling against me, so I feel compelled to close them in preparation for tomorrow and another long day...

Good night!
--Anna Grace

Grey hairs...

I wouldn't be surprised if I get grey hairs this week or the next. Justus is cutting teeth, so he's cranky and won't sleep, which makes him crankier. Which makes me lose sleep, which makes me crankier. Jeremy's working longer, leaving earlier, so he doesn't get back to relieve me until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. By which time it's too late for me to take a nap.

This was supposed to last five days, but it's turning into a two-week endeavor. Two weeks of slobbery, fussy, cranky Justus and a complete caffeine dependancy - since I have to be there before 5 a.m., as Jeremy has to be at the airport in Parowan around 5:30. Handy dandy.
Then, I got a call from Christina, who also wants me to babysit. Tomorrow. In the middle of Meghan's birthday party. By which time Jeremy will not be back, so I'll have both of them at the same time. Christiana is a little easier to watch, thankfully. She can just run around with the other kids. No biggie. I want a backpack for Justus, though.

If I have hair left by the sixteenth, when I start my job training, I'm betting it will be iron grey. If I'm ever crazy enough to say I want kids, I fully expect someone to shoot me and put me out of my misery, right after reminding me of these two weeks from Hell.

A bit of catching up...

I haven't blogged much lately, so there are a few things you should know, just in case you don't already. Firstly, I finally (FINALLY!!!) got my drivers' license. No longer will I be a burden on my friends in gasoline and time. I need to go today and price out a water pump for my pickup. Oh... I need a rear-view mirror, too. Other than that, there's a little less than a quarter tank in it, so I should be good to go.

Also, I sort of have a temporary job babysitting Justus - hence the reason I've not been around much. Jeeminy... that kid is so sweet when he's in a good mood - he's the smiliest baby of the brood. But when he's cranky... Wow. It never seems too early for naptime. He screams and crawls all over you... pulls hair, wants up, wants down, won't drink his bottle... I don't think I could handle a kid like that for overlong. He doesn't quite walk yet, but he crawls well, and consequently, gets into everything. I know... story of babies, right? Nothing remotely unusual.

In other news, it's raining today. The sky is silver and beautiful, and I hear thunder in the distance. My window is just a tad open, and that fresh, clean, scent of rain is coming in. Mmmm. Beautiful. I do love days like today. And while the rain is certainly needed and it's absolutely gorgeous and nicely cool, I don't really relish the opportunity to drive in it with my stick-shift pickup that I'm not quite used to yet. I've got to go to city council meeting tonight. Hopefully it will have cleared up by then, though. I also need to swing by the auto shop and see what kind of pump I need. Fun stuff.

Anyway, things are going well at the moment. I shall post again when another blog-worthy event comes along.
Au revoir!
--Anna Grace