Computer Hacking Skills

Forget computer hacking skills I pretty much have zero computer skills.  Not even the basics.  I mean, I know how to turn on the computer and I can surf the net, build excel spreadsheets, keep a blog, use the word processor and I can even manage my facebook account and do some online banking.  When it comes to downloading games for my kids - not my thing.  I have a big test tomorrow for History and was continually distracted from studying this evening whilst trying to unload some game for Andy.  I figured there would be nothing to it.  I was wrong.  When we finally got it downloaded and got him going on it nothing would work.  Then it messed with the entire computer set up and I pretty much blew my stack.  This kind of stuff gets under my skin and the fact that I was continually distracted from what I was trying to do... I was mildly upset.  Mildly is not the right word.  I was not a happy man.  So no, I don't have any computer hacking skills, none at all. 

The Brave Pilgrims

Tonight the boys and I just finished listening to Rush Revere and The Brave Pilgrims by Rush Limbaugh.  We thoroughly enjoyed this book and adventure in history.  I had planned on reading this to the kids for some time but we were in Bill Bennett's Book of Virtues and didn't dare start another book before that was finished.  That is a big book!  Anyhow, we finished that earlier this year and I had not picked up Rush Revere yet.  We are now in the middle of our first Louis L'amour book that a customer gave me to read to the boys. Last week I was returning an audiobook to the library and decided to see if they had Rush Revere there on audio.  We listen to books whilst driving in the car.  They had a copy.  I decided to pick it up and went about listening to it.  Awesome!  I have been a fan of Rush since I was a teenager when he first came on the Radio.  I think we picked it up while living in Hawaii, driving around with my dad in his convertible rabbit.  I definitely remember listening to Rush when we moved to Carson City, again, driving around with dad in the family wagon.  Obviously there are those that don't like Rush, sorry folks you're missing out.  I happen to be a fan and listen when I can.  I have heard reports on these new Rush Revere books and have been looking forward to them.  This first book did not disappoint and my boys thoroughly enjoyed the story.  Lots of laughs!  I am looking forward to enjoying then next two books with the boys.  There are wonderful lessons in history and especially in the founding of this great nation.  

My Favorite Meeting

Ever since I was little I can remember attending Fast and Testimony meeting.  When I say little I guess I should qualify that.  I remember those meetings beginning about the time that I was 7 turning 8 and we were in the Sandy 40th Ward.  Orange material on the pews.  Distant memories now but no matter.  I remember feelings I felt when members of the Ward stood and shared their testimonies.  Those feelings were warm, comforting feelings and were confirmation from the Holy Ghost testifying that what I was hearing was true.  I am grateful for those meetings early in my life and for the impact they had on me.  I am grateful to have had many Fast and Testimony meetings to worship in over many years.  My life has been blessed and strengthened through the testimony of others and the confirming witness of the Holy Ghost.  I am grateful for those blessings.  Today was no exception as I felt the spirit bear witness of the truth and divinity of the Savior and of His church. A sister in our ward shared a particularly powerful testimony of how our Heavenly Father is aware of each of us.  She spoke of her new born child and some complications that kept him in the hospital for an extended period.  There were many problems and it was very hard on her and her family.  On the 6th night in the hospital and unable to have her baby with her she knelt in prayer and said she changed her prayer from the Lord taking away the problems to her surrendering to the Lords will and trusting in Him.  She said she experienced a very powerful and sweet confirmation that the Lord was aware of her and knew her needs.  He did not leaver her comfortless.  A few hours later her baby was brought into her and later that very day she was able to take her little baby home.  It was sweet, it was powerful and it was a reminder to me that indeed the Lord does know who we are.  He desires to bless us and is there, ready and willing.  I love the Lord.  I am grateful for His hand in my life and for His hand in the lives of friends and family.  Truly by the testimony of others I am richly blessed which blessings often come in Fast and Testimony meeting when stories and testimonies of faith are shared.  

Snappy

Jack recently discovered snapping.  I'm sure he discovered snapping a long time ago but he just now managed to become a snapper.  He loves it.  He snaps to the left, he snaps to the right, he loves to snap all day and all night.  I know, I am very creative.  Anyway the snapping has added a new dimension to our conversations.  He needed to tell me something about pontoon bikes or something he had seen and the entire time he is describing them he is snapping.  It was catchy and I started to snap.  He stopped talking, stopped snapping and asked if I would stop snapping because it was distracting.  I stopped, he continued on with his snappy tale of pontoon bikes.  I'm a fan of the snapping.  I think it is wonderful.  I have learned, however, that it is not to be mocked. 

Made It!

I managed to get to bed a little after 2 in the AM.  That is not my favorite bedtime.  It made for a tired day today but I was able to get through.  That's right, somehow I made it.  Not without some tired eyes.  Surprisingly I did not fall asleep in my Geology class.  That is usual a class I struggle with.  Anyway, it ended up being quite a busy day at work.  We approached summer time figures today.  It is good to have a day like that.  Things will most certainly get busier here as we approach summer.  We'll see a big bump at SUU graduation followed by a bit of a decline during the rest of May and some of June.  Come the end of June things will get pretty crazy.  It is good stuff.  I just hope I can manage the last month of school and keep everything else going. 

You Only Believe in Science!

Tomorrow is the science expo or fair or whatever they are calling it at South Elementary this year.  That can only mean one thing.  Yep, that's right, I am in the middle of helping Jack with his science project.  It is going to be a late one.  I still have my own homework to do.  His project - well, it dealt with hot wheel cars and if they travel farther distances when propelled by gravity or by a booster.  We set some stuff up, ran some trials, recorded some numbers, took some pictures and made some graphs.  You might think the power booster would do the trick, not necessarily.  It was a bit tough with the surface we were working on, lots of wipe outs but ultimately the gravity fed trials turned in bigger numbers.  All I can say is that the surface was the same for both the gravity fed and booster fed trials.  Not the most complex of science projects and have to say that since he reminded me about it late last night I am completely fine with his simplistic idea. 

The Shoot!

I had a message first thing this morning to contact the manager of the hotel next door.  I called him.  There was a request from a TV show to shoot an interview in our restaurant this afternoon.  We decided we could do that and so they came.  I am not at liberty to say which TV show or anything else about it really.  I took some pictures of everything happening and then asked one of the guys if I was allowed to share any of it.  Turns out they don't want me doing anything like that as they do not want to have anything leak.  Shortly after that I was approached by the crew member that must handle legal things.  I had to sign a document, I didn't read it, it was a property release with some legal verbiage.  These guys were impressive.  The crew is completely tied in to each other with this little headset device.  They constantly communicate different responsibilities and what not.  It was impressive.  I am allowed to say whatever I want about it and share pictures when the episode airs.  If I remember to do that I will.  Pretty exciting stuff though to have our restaurant included in this program.  We also fed the entire crew today and will do it again tomorrow, Friday and Saturday.  Pretty dang exciting.  

Make Their Day!

I had a customer today whose card got declined.  She tried calling the bank but could not get through.  She talked of running home and getting cash to cover it.  I had decided before she ever got on the phone to the bank that I was going to take care of the sandwich today.  I gave her a card for a free sandwich and then asked that she give it back.  She did. I said, good, this one is on me.  She was shocked and couldn't believe it.  She came back later and gave me a big chocolate Easter bunny and tried to order a sandwich, hold the side, hold the sandwich and she wanted to pay me for it.  I told her no, that the sandwich was on me today and invited her to come back.  She was still shocked.  That was fun.  We have cards printed up, just business card sized that are for a free sandwich.  I have given some away and try to do that more often.  I was in the store tonight and saw a young couple with a new born baby.  I asked them if they liked to go out to dinner.  They said they did.  I told them I was from the Brick House and gave them a card for a sandwich on me.  They were excited about it.  It felt good.  I saw another couple at the check out.  I know this couple from my ward.  I gave them a card for a free sandwich, they were excited, had never eaten at the Brick House and had no idea I was affiliated with it.  They are young newlyweds and new to the ward.  It was good.  Sometimes it isn't easy to walk up to people you don't know and give them something.  They probably think I am a bit weird.  Oh well.  I am excited to do it and I think young married couples are great to give it to because they will come together and get to enjoy an experience at our place.  I would say that a majority of people love that experience, we want everyone to love it.  We've always talked about providing an amazing experience for our customers.  Maybe giving away a free sandwich will help with that, maybe it will set a tone that this is something unique.  I don't know ultimately how it is received but hopefully we make someones day. 

Bombed

So I left the psychology test today feeling like I didn't do so great.  Maybe in the 80's, maybe.  There was so much information to know for this test and I just don't know that I had 100% of it in my head before hand.  If I didn't put any study time in that would be one thing but I put in some hours trying to get ready for it.  My only consolation at this point is that this is how I felt when I finished the first exam and ended up doing really well.  It won't hurt my feelings if that is the patterns here.  I don't know that it will be.  Again, hoping for something in the 80's.  It was rough.  There was something on there that I didn't study because she didn't include it on the study guide and I may have answered it wrong.  It had to do with development of the fetus and I may have been off on my answer.  Frustrating because that was not included on the study guide so I didn't review it.  Dang it.  Well, we will see how it goes. 

Big Test Tomorrow!

Psychology test number two is tomorrow.  I am feeling immense pressure as I managed a 101% on the first exam.  I don't have that kind of confidence going in to this one but I didn't go in to the last one with that kind of confidence so maybe this will turn out okay.  I will get up in 5 and a half hours and go through the study materials and notes that I have compiled.  I am a tad nervous about the vast amount of information that is part of this exam.  So much to remember.  My brain my simply be fried by the time I get into it.  One thing I have to say, I am enjoying psychology.  I have learned a lot in this class and still have so much to learn. 

On another note, I was asked to meet with the bishopric in the bishops office after sacrament meeting today.  It was a bit of a shock to be in there with the entire bishopric.  I had no idea what was happening.  Got a new calling.  I will be released from my other two callings as a result.  I have to laugh a bit because Jack is about to turn 11 and would have been with me in 11 year old scouts.  Sad that I won't be a part of that with him but I will work with him in passing off requirements and progressing through the program. Certainly I will go camping with him and help out the scouts wherever I can.  I won't disclose the new calling until later.  It will be a bit of a change for me and will certainly give me an opportunity to grow. 

Garbage

Had a fine day.  Managed to get some studying in for an exam on Monday, still have a lot more studying to do.  I had to cut it short so I could go and help with a catering order.  There was a wedding and we were doing 14 gallons of soup for the reception.  It went well though there was a little confusion regarding picking up or dropping off.  Apparently we were dropping off but I had no idea where so we managed to get everything there and set up right before the reception started.  Fun times.  I then picked up the kids and took them out for a snow cone.  When we got home I was feeling like garbage and so I took a nap hoping that would help out.  I think it did a bit but I was still not feeling so good.  I needed to return to the reception to pick up our chaffing dishes.  The place was packed and the line was still around the front of the house so I left it for another 40 minutes.  Upon my return all was well.  The happy couple was on the dance floor and then pics were taken of there exit all the while I was able to load up a few things.  Once they left I was able to take care of the rest and was told that everybody enjoyed the soups.  It looked to me like they did as it was pretty much wiped out.  Back to the restaurant and then washing dishes for a while.  It ended up being a longer day then I had anticipated so I have quite a bit more studying to do, 3 of 5 chapters still to go.  Fun stuff.  Perhaps with a bit of rest I can conquer these ill feelings and be good to go in the morning. 

The Disability Preso

In Diversity class today there was a group presentation on Disabilities.  It was an interesting presentation with a number of moving videos.  One was a girl who has MS and runs track.  As she runs her body heats up, as bodies do when running, the heat causes certain reactions in her body and pretty soon she has no feeling in her legs.  She just keeps running.  At the end of the race her coach is there to catch her because as soon as she stops running she completely lacks the ability to stand.  It is really an amazing thing.  I quite enjoyed the entire presentation and learned a lot.  Naturally when Tourettes Syndrome was mentioned my thoughts went to Bob Wiley in What About Bob and in my head I'm saying "Shiz eating douche bag, numb nuts, twat..."  Not that this is what Tourettes really is exactly but it is a childhood memory from a classic movie.  Anyway, it is good to learn, and it is also good to go to sleep.  Oh, I think I will partake in some of that goodness. 

Battle of the Cold

A couple nights ago I woke up in the middle of the night and did not feel good.  I was getting stuffed up, sore in the throat and knew there was a cold coming on.  I decided to chew some gum.  I am a big fan of Trident because they put something called Xylatol in the gum.  One day a few years ago I happened to be listening to something on the radio and a doctor was talking about the benefits of Xylatol.  I don't remember the details of what he said but the basic message was that Xylatol helped fight certain illnesses and that chewing gum with it was beneficial.  I was chewing trident before I heard that program and pretty much made it my exclusive gum after that program.  Anyhow, I was sitting in bed not feeling good and decided to chew some gum.  I am sure I broke several gum chewing laws when I simply went back to sleep with the gum in my mouth.  Not to worry, I did not choke nor did I wake up with gum in my hair.  I don't know what Xylatol does for hair coloring and will do my best not to find that out.  Anyhow, my stuffy nose began to clear, my throat began to sooth and I slept pretty well for the remainder of the night.  Last night I slept again with said gum in my mouth.  Again the results were good.  I do not like to be sick.  My kids have been sick for a couple of weeks now with coughs and mucus and the like.  I have been doing my best to fight it and for the most part have been successful.  The cold is upon me but its affects are mild thus far.  Perhaps I am crazy and have just bought into some hype.  I don't really care, for me it helps and I will therefore continue to chew my trident gum and fight the good fight. 

Derby Bust

As I put together the derby cars for the boys I tried to follow some of the same methods we used for Jacks car last year.  The car last year was really good and performed well so something must have been good.  We didn't enjoy that same success this year and it was pretty tough on Jack.  Andy did well, just enjoyed himself.  He won one of the races but didn't survive after ending up in the losers bracket.  Jack didn't make it into the bracket.  Somehow he ended up having to fight his was into the bracket and the Mallard Steam Locomotive inspired derby car didn't get it done.  I think that was the most upsetting part of the entire deal for Jack.  He didn't really get to compete in the derby.  He didn't do well with that and had a hard time for the rest of the evening.  When the competition was finally over he had the chance to run his car a few times.  He won a few of those races and so things were better but it was rough for a bit.  Apparently I didn't get the successes of last years car quite right and both Jack and Andy struggled.  I may need to invest a little more time into this car design idea and help teach the boys what to look for in a car design.  Jack wants to continue making a car so I guess we'll be racing in the after events.  Should be a blast.  Love these wonderful kids. 

Me Legs Be Hurting

It has been a day, a day of much movement.  My legs are hurting tonight.  I did my little workout routine this morning that included a hard and fast run on the elliptical machine.  After that I got to work and it was crazy at lunch, we had to hustle the entire time which is a good thing.  It just lead to my tired and hurting legs.  Waiting tables can get pretty exhausting, there is just a ton of work to do.  It is good though sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming.  We will live to have achy legs another day. 

Andy had a wonderful day.  He threw up in the middle of the night so when he woke up he believed he wasn't going to school and had the best attitude.  He was so happy with himself for puking.  I kept him home and until we left for work he was having a ton of fun.  His class was out at PE and he started spying on them with his binoculars.  He thought that was the best.  I suggested he looked like he was feeling well and we should take him to school.  Quick countenance change.  He got to go hang out with Grandma and Grandpa.  I think he had a great time.  Big thanks to the folks for watching my very ill boy. 

The Break is Over!

I crawled out of bed this morning not ready for Spring Break to be over.  It was a sad, sad thing.  Back to school I went and I was tired.  Got to History and found that we were watching a movie.  I didn't immediately fall asleep so that was good.  I did however struggle a bit with the heavy eyes in my next class where we watched a movie about Islam.  It was not that the movie was not interesting, it was just very old and I was just very tired.  I actually did pretty well only resting my eyes a couple of times.  On my way to my next class I saw a girl who works for us and who is in my last class.  She told me there was no class today for Geology.  I was very much thrilled to hear that as I surely would have crashed out in that class, brutal.  I was just fine through my third class today.  First day back, it was tough.  I've got a lot of studying to do with a big psychology test coming up in a week.  Speaking of psychology my professor and her fiance came in today and dined at the Brick House for the first time.  It was wonderful to have them and to talk to them just a bit.  I actually quite enjoy the psychology class, well, what I understand in it anyway.

 

She's Back!

The Cedar High School band returned to Cedar City this evening sometime around 8:45.  I got the message from Natalie that she was home and needing to be picked up.  I went over and got her. She gave me a big hug when she walked up to the car and told me that she never wanted to do that again.  What?  She loved the trip, sounds like she had a great time, so why would she not want to do that again?  From the sound of it there was a little bit of drama involved.  I tend to think that no matter what happens in our lives, no matter what we go and do, somehow, someway there will be a little bit of drama involved.  We can either let that rule the day or we can get beyond it and just enjoy life and the journey that we are a part of. 

This morning as we were getting ready for church Andy was telling me how so many bad things happen to him in his life.  I wanted to understand what he meant by that so I probed.  He doesn't like it when I probe and ask him questions.  I did it anyway.  I wanted to know what was so bad in his life.  We talked about a few things.  His parents are divorced.  I said yes we are and agreed that this must be a hard thing.  He talked about how that made him different.  I said yes it does but then talked about how both his mom and his dad love him very much.  Our conversation continued and then I shared with him a quote from his great grandfather Alfred Walter Fontano.  Well, it was a handwritten note of his that I found and so I attribute this to him though it could have been somebody else who said it.  Anyhow he said 'Don't look at the flaws as you go through life and even if you find em, tis wise and kind to be somewhat blind and look at the virtues behnind em.'  And so we talked about life and some of the challenges we face and that he faces.  We talked about how everyone has challenges and obstacles that they need to overcome.  We talked about seeing the good in all things, the virtues.  We can live our lives looking at the flaws, looking for the flaws and we will certainly find those things.  We will also find ourselves in a miserable state because that is was we focus on.  On the contrary we can focus on the blessings and on the good that we encounter every day.  In doing this we will see many blessings in our lives and will receive strength. 

So it is with a band trip to Disneyland.  I am sure it was stressful at times.  I am sure there were moments when one probably just wanted to rip their hair out.  At the same time there were some wonderful moments to be sure.  There were likely new friendships made and lots of laughs shared. 

Well, whatever the case may be we are happy to have the Natty home.  I know a couple of brothers missed their sister.  Glad she is home safe. 

The Cliffs of Red

Almost 5 years ago we made our first trip to Red Rock Canyon outside of St. George, I guess more along the lines of LaVerkin if I have my geography right.  Anyhow, we have been back a few times and today we made another trip.  Natalie is still in California so it was just the boys and I.  It was a busy day there with a lot of people visiting the park.  They have also made some improvements which meant we could no longer drive down through the creek on our way in.  Nope, nice new bridge in place both at the entrance and up in the park.  There was also a guard shack of sorts.  It was manned by two ladies one of which welcomed us and went through a little pamphlet with us.  She mentioned the dinosaur tracks... wait, what?  That was new.  We had to go and check those out.  They were actually just off one of the trails we had hiked before.  It was cool to see these trace fossils.  We got back on the Silver Reef trail after checking the tracks out and low and behold there was another sign post indicating additional trace fossils.  These ones were actually right in the middle of the trail where we had walked on our first visit almost 5 years ago with Jay and Sara and fam.  It was pretty cool.  As I am taking this dinosaur class right now I found it kind of fascinating.  I also found myself looking at sedimentary structures and other geological events and wondering what transpired over the millions of previous years to get us where we are now.  Interesting things to consider.  We made our way up the trail to the waterfalls and had fun there.  We didn't get passed the last of the pool areas as there was a host of people there and the boys really wanted to play in the water.  I let them.  Jack eventually made his way to an area where people jump into the pool and, he jumped.  It was great.  We had a lot of fun out there.  I think Red Cliffs is a great little hike with some amazing scenery and fun things to do.  I still want to get up passed that pool and further back to where I can follow the creek way back.  My buddy tells me there is a trail that loops back around and there are some skinny passes to get through with the water snaking down through these rocks.  One of these days I need to get back up in there.  Maybe in a couple years the boys will be poised to do that though I might need to get back there a little sooner then that.  The cliffs of red are a lot of fun, highly recommended. 

Reminders

One of my employees came to me and said she thought she met my white whale.  The white whale is a name that Dave has given to this wonderful gal that I have gone on several dates with over the last 4.5 years.  He refers to her as my white whale because, like Captain Ahab, he feels that I am wasting my time in pursuit of this gal.  He may be right and actually I believe that I have moved beyond the white whale especially after reading the article about what it means when a woman tells you that you are nice.  Anyways, in a quick conversation we found that in fact this employee did not meet the white whale but did meet another gal I had gone on a date with.  The gal actually disclosed to her that we had gone out on a date after she learned that the employee worked for me.  I remember the date well.  I thought it was good.  I was a little late because of a issue with my children but I called her in advance and let her know of the delay.  Probably still a bad start on my part but oh well.  Anyhow, I thought we had decent conversation and all.  I sent her a text after dropping her off, I thanked her for the evening and suggested that perhaps we could go out again sometime.  Probably another bad move... I don't know, is that okay to text?  Anyways, I didn't get a reply for a solid day and the reply I got said "If I'm being honest I didn't feel the spark necessary to warrant a second date".  She didn't share this information with my employee.  I sure did.  Only because I got grilled about why I didn't ask her out on a second date and blah blah blah.  Thanks for the reminder of that ever so gentle let down.  I told her that I spent three days in the fetal position after that painful experience and appreciated her bringing it up again.  Only kidding of course.  I mean, it was rather direct and I certainly knew where I stood, I don't have a problem with that.  We are actually good friends today and she is a great gal.  She feels no spark when it comes to me but she is a great gal.  Nothing quite so direct from the white whale. 

NattyLand

I dropped Natalie off at the high school at 1:30 this morning for a band trip to the Heritage Music Festival in Southern California.  Her band is making one heck of a trip out of it.  They spent the day in Disneyland and will be back there tomorrow.  If I am remembering the itinerary correctly they went to Midevil Times for dinner tonight.  Quite the little trip.  I got a text from Natty telling me that she was in line to go on the Indiana Jones ride.  That is a sweet ride.  She sent me a text after telling me that she was going to pass out and that the ride was amazing.  I think she is in her element, surrounded by friends and having a blast being her silly self.  Another day at Disney tomorrow.  I think at some point in all of this they actually do something band/music related.  Glad she is there and had the opportunity to go.  I have encouraged her to be in the band because the band always seems to do something fun.  At least that is what I remember from growing up watching my younger siblings go through band.  Anyhow, much thanks to the folks and Jim and Clo and others who contributed to this trip.  It certainly was not on the cheap and way outside my budget. 

Well, since Natty is out enjoying NattyLand I decided the boys and I needed to go do something fun so we headed to the Aquatic Center tonight.  Probably not on the same scale of fun as Disneyland though I'm sure it is close.  Anyhow, we had a good time. 

Taxes and Derby Cars!

There was a food show today that I had scheduled myself to go to.  Dave and the folks were also going.  They are fun events and one gets to sample a lot of food at a food show.  It's like Costco free samples on steroids and I am a big fan of Costco free samples.  Anyway, I had some time this morning before I had to go and needed to get my taxes done.  No better than this morning so I got to it.  I am sure that my taxes could be a lot simpler to do but I always end up taking forever as I want to make sure everything is right.  Anyway, that took me a while.  I was calculating time and some other things I had this afternoon and decided not to go to the food show.  The boys have the Pinewood Derby next week and I had not yet cut out there cars.  We've designed them but the blocks of wood remained untouched.  I decided that today needed to be the day to cut them out.  This is Andy's first year and he wanted to go with a muscle car look and took a Chevy Camaro for inspiration.  It could turn into a nice car.  It cut out pretty well but has quite a bit of sanding that needs to get done.  Jack opted for a different kind of derby car.  We went with a train design.  Not just any train design, no, this was the Mallard which is the fastest steam locomotive ever built.  That became quite tricky to cut out but we managed.  A fair amount of sanding remains on this one as well.  Derby cars, I guess they can be simple and they can be complex.  I think we tend to get a little more complex, maybe not.  Whatever the case the derby is a fun time to be had by all or it should be.  We went from being a big loser Jacks first year to nearly winning it all last year.  He's going for gold this year but it may not happen.  The boys are also looking forward to a head to head competition... that could spell trouble for me, at least from one boy. 

Taxes and Derby cars; not sure there is anything quite as fun to do with your day!

A Puppy or Not a Puppy?

Christa, one of our employees at the Brick House, is trying to convince me that I need to get a puppy.  Her family just got a puppy, it is a Basset Pug mix, a Bug if you will.  My kids are all about having a dog, I am not.  Christa kindly reminds me that the lady they got their puppy from still has one left and is willing to sell it to me for $25.  I am having a hard time with the idea of buying myself one more thing to worry about.  I am spread pretty thin as it is and adding a puppy to the mix might just put me over the edge.  I know the kids would absolutely love the animal and they really want a dog but do they want it enough to feed it, bath it, clean up after it, walk it and all those other things you have to do with a dog?  I must be like the Bruce Willis character in the movie The Kid.  A real loser of a man; not married and no dog!  In my defense I have been married and I was replaced by a dog, a big black lab, the most terrifying dog of my childhood.  I survived.  Anyway, the Bug.  Two of my favorite dogs.  Basset's, just love them and a Pug is a dog primarily bred for its entertainment value.  It is a tough call here folks.  Since the $25 price tag was thrown at me I have been having some thoughts but I truly don't know that I can handle even one more thing in my life right now and that, that people, would not be fair to the dog.  Oh, and I guess it is supposed to be some sort of an inside dog.  I don't do inside dogs.  I am one heck of an animal scrooge!

Working the Tables!

Waiting tables - that is a lot of work.  I don't know that I fully appreciated just how much it takes to do that job and to do it well.  I don't know that I do it all that well.  I do my best just to keep up but even then I feel like I am falling behind and not getting done everything that I need to.  I think it warrants having some help in that area.  Food runners could be something to consider with how busy things get at lunch and the need to get drinks out, get food out, get checks out, get fudge out, buss tables etc.  I don't have time to stop moving, ever.  Makes me think that we need to be staffed up properly for Shakespeare and the busy season this year.  Wow.

I feel like I've had a but kicking today, constantly on the move.  Because it is Spring Break at SUU I managed to get a workout in.  I then got to work and whilst working the tables was on my feet hustlin for a few hours there.  My dogs are barking.  I'm ready to call it a night.   

Burn in the Corn!

Last night as I made my usual late Saturday evening rounds at the local Walmart I paused at the popcorn section when a new box caught my eye.  It is Skinny Girl popcorn by Orville Redenbaucher.  I'm always working on my not so girlish figure so it stood out... not really, it was more the flavor that grabbed my attention, Lime & Salt.  I'm a fan of the lime and I am a fan of the salt and so I decided to give it a shot.  I did look to see if maybe they had a slender man option but they did not so the Skinny Girl and I left together.  Shoot, I just re-read that and it almost makes me sound like I am light in the loafers.  Not the case.  Cough, cough.  I'd much rather head out of the store with the Skinny Girl than the slender man. Okay, moving on. 

I got this little lady home and decided to give it a try.  I put the bag in the microwave and set the timer as instructed for a minute and thirty seconds.  I stood and watched as the popping commenced.  The smell of lime filled the air.  My mouth was on the verge of watering.  We were a minute in and all was well, 30 seconds left.  At a minute ten I thought I caught a whiff of burning popcorn.  By a minute eighteen I definitely smelled burning lime popcorn.  I stopped the process, it was too late.  The burn had taken over.  I tried to eat it. I tried to enjoy that lime and salt flavor.  Sorry Skinny Girl, it just didn't work out.  The burn in the corn was just too much to overcome. 

Tonight I determined to try again.  This time we would go only for a minute.  That seemed to work well and this bag was much more bearable .  Unfortunately even a just a minute there was a hint of burn in the corn.  It wasn't overpowering to the point that I could not enjoy the Lime and Salt flavoring.  I found the flavor to be enjoyable and managed to tolerate the mildly burned popped corns. 

Perhaps tomorrow I will try again and see if 55 seconds is the key number to Lime & Salt Popcorn perfection. 

Worst Night of the Year!

Tomorrow is my least favorite day of the year making this the worst night of the year.  I have no love for the spring forward of Daylight Savings Time.  None! Never have, never will.  The fall back always gives a welcome extra hour of sleep.  Springing forward and losing that hour, not so fun.  It really would not hurt my feelings if we just did away with Daylight Savings Time. 

We tried to get ready for the loss of the hour today by cleaning the house.  Actually our cleaning had absolutely nothing to do with Daylight Savings Time.  I had signed up to go help clean the church today but got a call saying it was cancelled.  I then turned my attention on to cleaning our house.  It took most of the day and it is looking good.  Well, there are a few details that need a little more attention but I am feeling much better.  The house feels much cleaner and that always manages to help me feel better. 

Okay, not much else tonight.  Ready to crash out.  Have the lesson tomorrow.  If it is terrible I will blame it on Daylight Savings Time and springing forward costing me an hour of prep time. 

Spring Break!

Had a test in Geology today and then had a lab this afternoon.  Once that was all over I guess my spring break from school officially began not that it is going to be much of a break.  I am struggling with this Geology class.  I managed a 76 on the test.  That kind of sucks for me.  It is a hard test to study for.  I don't know.  I put in a lot of time but that has not been enough.  I read all the chapters, looked at all the notes.  Nothing.  I don't know what to do.  I am passing out so I am going to call it a day. 

Keeping Up

My house isn't as clean as I like it to be.  I have laundry sitting in the dryer waiting to be folded.  I have floors that need to be swept.  There are little things that start to drive me nuts and I am at a point where I am starting to go nuts.  Next week is spring break at SUU.  I think I am going to end up cleaning my house during the time I don't have to be at school.  Maybe I can work in a hike.  There really isn't a lot of free time in my life right now for recreational activities.  It is school, work and family and family includes quite a bit.  Oh, church is in there too and no, it isn't listed in any sort of priority.  I am tired.  I am struggling to keep up.  I must needs close this up because I've got a test tomorrow and I've got to study for it. 

Will History Repeat?

I just got notice that my second history exam was graded and I could pull up that grade online.  I did.  I was shocked to find that I had aced the test.  100%.  What the what?  There were a couple of extra credit questions that I think I nailed so I am estimating that I missed two questions on the exam and picked up the two extra credit questions.  I have no problem with that.  It was a good test for me over one of my favorite periods of history, The American Revolution.  So dang good.  Next up we cover Slavery and the Civil War.  The question is when it comes time for the next exam will history repeat itself?  I hope so.

A Good Relay

Brother Thorley, Brother Leko and I had the scouts up to the aquatic center this evening to pass off the second class and first class swimming requirements.  It was a good trip up to the aquatic center and we were able to get the 4 boys who needed to be there, through the requirements.  We had lap swimming, reach rescuing, pole rescuing, throw rescuing and swim rescue.  Everyone did a great job.  Everyone wanted to play the part of the drowning person.  There were some fine acting skills being displayed and perhaps a few that could have used a little more work.  Alas they are not the acting requirements but the swimming ones.  We focused on that.  When all the requirements were passed off I recommended a relay race.  We split the boys up into two teams of 3 and we ran a race.  It went well.  Isn't that a requirement with scouts at the pool?  There needs to be some sort of a competition or race.  Fun times!  This is a good group of boys.  I certainly have enjoyed being able to work with them. 

Nice

I just saw an article about what it means when a girl tells you that you are nice.  There were 9 points given and each of them were an indication that she is not into you.  I have been told the nice thing for quite some time.  I thought maybe it meant I was doing something right.  Apparently it means I am boring or too safe or unattractive or whatever.  That's nice.  I went on a date with one girl who just came out and told me that she didn't feel the spark necessary to warrant a second date.  You know what, that is nice.  It doesn't give any false hope it just says it like it is and bam! done.  Funny enough I am actually pretty good friends with that gal.  I mean we don't hang out on the weekends or anything but we are friends.  Nice - who thought it would be a good idea to make that a code word for so many other things that really just mean bugger off?  It is a cruel dating world out there.  I have nothing but nice feelings about these dating games!

Challenges

Jack is having a hard time attending his primary class.  He just doesn't want to be there and that makes it difficult.  It's not that he doesn't want to be at church, it is that he doesn't like some of the kids in his class and he gets frustrated with their behavior.  I don't know that their behavior is bad as much as little things they do irritate Jack and he finds it easier to not be in the class.  I find him and we sit together, outside of class, and practice his Articles of Faith.  He'll also go into sharing time with me, which is good.  The challenge is that next week I teach in Elders and getting him in sharing time, solo, will be crucial.  We'll keep working on it and hopefully get a good routine together for him.