What a Fabulous Week

This week has been a good week. What made it so great is that I was able to have my best guy friend from California come and visit. Granted, he did have other motives for coming but I am going to say that it was for me that he decided to traverse the vast expanse of nothingness called Nevada to spend a little time with me here in Happy Valley. It was great just being able to see him and remind me why I love him as a friend so very much. It is also great because work, while still insane because it is Walden, was a little less so, in some aspects, due to the fact that it was TimpLodge week. This means that all the students, with the exception of the Kinders, spent some time up at TimpLodge and were able to have tons of fun. Sadly I had to stay down in the normal world, despite some protests from the kids that I tutor, and do other adult things that needed to be done. The bright side is that one day I got off because those that I teach were all gone and I nothing to do expect nap and take it easy for a day. It was wondrous.

Another thing that was good about this week I was able to see my Aunt Nan on the news. The miraculous thing about this is that she had been dead for about 3 months. Fox news was running a special thing at 5 that was paying tribute to the organization that she helped to create for kids a place they can go and to keep them off of the streets. All of her biker buddies, she was a serious Harley-biker, had a church that set this up out in Tooele. I was able to call up my Grandpa and Grandma Jensen, Nan is Grandpa's daughter my grandma's step-daughter, and let them in on the news. They were so excited to hear that she was on the news and they are trying to get a copy of it so they can put it with her memoirs, of sorts.

Jake and I went on a date. This may not sound overly exciting to most, but we don't get to go out very often together since he works and goes to school all day. But! We went to a play at BYU, Dial M for Murder, and it was fantastic! We plan on going more often now that school is in session and plays will me more accessible to us. I am so excited since I absolutely adore going to plays/musicals!! What a blessing it is to be so close and have the means of going to them again.

I am loving life and I couldn't be happier with what I have. I am truly grateful.

Scenic Views

Every morning I wake up at 7 am to get ready for work while Jake runs off to the gym or just running. I leave the house by 7:50 to get to work. Aside from waking up before I want to I get the greatest view each morning. I have the opportunity to see the beautiful mountains in all of their splendor. It is amazing how the mountains a ginormous pile of rock, dirt, and plants that could be so awe inspiring. I love being able to watch the colors change from that deep purple to lighter shades as the sun decides to creep over the peaks and spread rays of light warming the the cold dark earth. It is beautiful. I don't know what it is that makes me love it so much but I do.
While the morning has such a power over me the evening does too. When I go to the gym in the evening I get to see the mountains lit up with the most glorious shades of red and orange. I almost ran a stop sign because I was mesmerized by it beauty. It always amazes me how the same sun can have such different affects. One being soft and subtle chasing away darkness, yet when setting have such an intensity that takes the breath away while welcoming in the darkness after a long day. I love it!!

Don't get me wrong. I love the Golden Hills of California. I love the way the green or golden grass waves on the gentle rolling hills as the wind blows with the cows peacefully graze. It is glorious to see it standing on a quiet hilltop after a invigorating hike. I do miss California. I miss being able to go the ocean after being on the hilltop and watch the endless blue/gray waves tirelessly crash on the rough sandy shore. The sound of the waves pushing and pulling on the sand making a hissing sound every time it pulls away. The smell of the sea carried effortlessly on the continuous ocean wind. How the ocean gleams with the rays of the sun bounce off the horizon creating rainbows in the spray or having the sky lit up from fire red to the deepest blues with stars peeking our as it sets.

It is hard to decide what is more amazing to watch. I don't think that I could ever choose since I have been able to experience both and love both. If only I could put these two loves together then it would be perfect. Sadly that wont happen. I will just have to live with my memories of California sunrises and sunsets and drink in the beautiful wonder that Utah is able to provide for me now. I do love living in Utah and I do not regret ever moving here for I have found plenty to be grateful both in the scenic beauty and the beauty of family. Both are beautiful to witness on a daily basis and something that I can never tire of viewing time and time again.

One-Two-Three Kick!

Recently I joined the gym with Jake to shed some of the unwanted pounds I may or may not have gained since I moved. It has been great because I can feel a difference in mood. I feel better, I am sleeping deeper, for the most part I still have "those nights", and I seem to have more energy to get through the day. Granted my days aren't that strenuous...but still! I am loving it. What makes it better is that a friend of my mine from Livermore, yes Livermore the town I hail from, lives in Orem too and she is at the gym as well. It is always great being able to go with someone to be a more motivated to go after work.

So we had an adventure yesterday. We decided to go to one of the classes that they offer. It is the Body Firm class. We thought it was going to something that we would be able to pick up with little problem...this is not the case quite the opposite actually. Within the first few minutes we were so turned around that we couldn't really get with it. I am not joking when I say we were almost run over several times by an energetic old woman. I don't see how people are able to be so energetic and not die of overexertion. I have to admit that we felt really dumb flapping our arms and kicking our legs at weird angles and times while most of the others were hopping, bopping, kicking, punching, and hi-yaing with the over stimulating, not just the tempo but volume, music. We couldn't hear what was being said. While this sounds like a horrible experience I have to admit that it was fun being able to do it with someone who I have a friendship with so I didn't feel to idiotic. It was also nice to break the routine that we had and be able to do something different. All in all I think I'll stick with Richard Simmons with Sweatin' to the Oldies in all of his wonder of ultra-short shorts and hilarious expressions.

Change of the Season

Summer is on it's way out and with it goes the heat. Thank goodness! Don't get me wrong I am certified California sun-worshiper, but the way the heat turns my apartment into a sauna is unbearable. I can't tell you how many times we had to go to sleep with the fans on full blast, on top of the blankets, a mile from each other (because we will burst into flames if we touch for more than a second), and with otter-pops pressed on our bodies to help ease to intensity of the agony of heat.

BUT!!

Summer is retreating and now Jake and I can enjoy nights of cuddling without having to sweat half our bodies weight for a few moments of husband and wife time. Not just that!! We were able to go and purchase our comforter for the bed. It is wondrous. Jake loves it because it adds the weight, heat, and classic conditioning that winter is coming. I am just happy that I can be in the apartment and not melt. I do have to admit that the cuddle time has gotten longer and more enjoyable, especially if it is a rain night and we can hear the sound of the rain hit the leaves outside our window, feel the breeze come in through the window, and smell of clean and wet while snuggled deep in our many layers of blankets. What a wonderful thing to share with someone you love, adore, and want to make those memories and connections with.

With the change of the seasons I also have this uncontrollable urge, need, and desire to make and eat all the holiday sweets. I am grateful that I don't have the resources and I have to the willpower to resist. But there is something about the cold weather that makes me want to bake and just swim in the delicious aromas that can be made, not to mention the savory tastes and textures that come with it. I also love the family time that ensues with this time of year. Family is a very important concept for me and when you can share these things with them, what could be better? I say nothing.

I say farewell to Summer and I gladly welcome Fall with open arms.