The water is really sweet!

Around Christmas time, Daniel and I decided to go and visit Sweet Water Creek because we were bored and cooped up in the house. I must admit it was beautiful even if the leafs have fallen off. We drove a bit around the reservoir or what was left of it. It was easy to see how bad the drought was getting. I can't wait to go back in the spring and fall (its probably too hot in the summer) and see how the trails look different. It was really fun to find this old mill house that was torched during the civil war. The a lot of the remains were surprisingly intact.

When do we become old?

So I wanted to jot down some thoughts because I am really disturbed that people die, but not just any people, old people (people at the age of seventy and older). I don't know when this started to disturb me except that I can remember the first time it happened. I had gone to college and my mother had kept telling me about some lady in my ward who would continually ask about me. Now, I admit I came from a fairly old ward and had no idea who this lady was or what she looked like, but I liked to be asked after(I know I'm selfish). Then one day I asked about her and my mom said she passed away. I asked her if it was recent and she replied that it was a few months back. I remember being very angry that she didn't tell me because now there was no way I was going to put a name with a face. This trend seems to keep occurring, my good college mate whose grandmother was my boss passed away and she didn't tell me until four to five months later, now I understand that we don't talk all that often, but it really stinks to find out so much later. The numbers keep adding up even as recent as my wedding someone died and I didn't know until so much later. Now to top off the really disturbing dying of "old people," President Hinckley passed away on Sunday. I found out on a text message from a friend I barely talk to. I also feel that now that I don't live in Utah that it has been months since he died even though it has been a half of day. I feel old now that he is gone. He reminds me of my teenage years (which were not that bad, and mostly fondly remembered). It is now official my being "young" is over. The only thing left to nail the coffin shut is for my very hip grandmother to pass away. Then I suppose I can start calling myself old. What really gets to me about this death is the coverage. I suppose that it is expected that CNN did a terrible job covering it by stated that "Mormon pioneer Gordon Hinckley dead at 97" since when did Hinckley cross the plains or be the first member to join in his family? Now the BBC did a very direct respectful job covering it. I guess I am use to feeling the shock of it in the media since I have always been in Utah when a prophet has died. I am shocked and sadden by his passing.

ABC, 123 BABY YOU AND ME.

Last week we went to Southern Polytechnic to get books, I showed Daniel have to cut his book bill in half. He was amazed and I was quite pleased that we only had to spent $120 on books and paid half price for a TI calculator. So, today is the first day at school. We have waited so long that we didn't think it would arrive. I love to learn and with how excited I was, one would think I was the one going to school. I made Daniel take a picture in front of our door because in my family we would always take a picture in front of our door on the first day of school. We would be in our new school clothes and new backpack ready and excited (at least I was) to go to school. I probably would have not done this except I have a picture of my brother from high school like this that has magically appeared. I say magically because first it should be with all of the pictures that I gave his wife to scrapbook, second how did it even make the first move from Utah to Georgia, third it made it through another move from College Park to Douglasville, and last but not least Dos some how found it dragged it out to the middle of the floor and has play with it. By every weird "moving law" it should be lost, but here is this photo of my brother looking dated in the style of the decade with a big grin (it is a bad picture because it is a picture of a picture). I felt that it was fate and that I needed to capture this moment of Daniel's first day of college in Georgia for posterity. Now what they will think should be interesting.

Christmas Invasion

So once again, the Christmas season has come and gone, with traditions old and new. Some of the new traditions I wish would disappear. Daniel and I have taken an old tradition and made it new. In my family we have a fancy dinner (lobster and steaks), so we changed it so that we would make sushi (since that is our most favorite expensive meal). This year I blew back into town that morning, so we did a simple sushi with Chinese food. Dos had left-over salmon. The tradition I don't like is getting sick. Last year, Daniel was sick (some respiratory infection), and slept through the whole thing. This year we didn't have much time since this year, I got sick and threw up (which those of you who know me know that I hate to throw up and will do anything to not do it), and slept through the whole thing. So next year its the cat's turn, since he is the only member of the family that hasn't been sick on Christmas yet. I'm sure we will continue the tradition once we have kids. On Christmas day, we opened presents and got great gifts. Of course we got all of the seasons of Doctor Who, so now we can show people what we're nuts about (you poor souls).
The cat got a laser pointer that Daniel was sure he would go nuts over, but he played with it for five minutes, and then lost interest; later it broke and now is used as a dangling toy. Daniel received clothes, as well as the book 'Salt' which he has been nutty about. I had to give him Glenn Beck's book because after all he needed some "moderate mind" companionship. I received a tape recorder. I am excited because I can indulge myself with a hobby that I would love to make into a business. I love memory keeping: scrapbooks, vintage clothes, classic books, personal histories and anything that represents life in the past. I have already staked out my first victim. The best part is that I have never met the person, and only have heard stories from someone else, but I can't wait to find out about them.

To top it off we finished our traditions with Chinese (I must it admit it was a little too much), so that we could get our fortunes for the New Year. Juston Rindlesbach came with us. It was fun, but Juston stole my fortune because a new job would come his way. I would see an alien within the week and Daniel's was unmemorable because it was something he refused to do. I told Juston it wasn't fair that he stole my fortune; he offered to trade since he would rather see an alien. Over all we are looking forward to a new year, with more political discussions, school, job hunting, and meeting new people.