Hiking Anyone?

This weekend we finally hit the trails with our friends. The end of June, and I am finally convinced to take a hike. My poor husband gets frustrated with me, he wants so much to do things outside, and I am a very big home-body.

The hike was very enjoyable. All of the husbands took off with the children (as they like the faster pace) and us wives followed at a more reasonable pace. I am not one of those people, when confronted with the idea of a hike, who jumps for joy, twirls, and packs all the gear that moment. I tend to smile, nod, and go because my friends are going. Once there, I always enjoy it. . . so long as I can go at my own pace, there is good conversation, and it isn't terribly long. I like hikes that are between 3-5 miles round trip. These hikes are pleasant, they are challenging, but about when you are ready to stop, you can.

My husband wants to go on a 16 mile hike. That scares me. . . what if something happens, and we still have to hike back out? Hiking out a mile or two, while obnoxious, is still possible. Hiking 8-9 miles? Ouch! I have a knee that occasionally for no apparent reason, decides it doesn't want to bend and is going to be painful about it. It hasn't happened since I got married, but this was the first time I have been hiking since we got together. I know that if I stretch, it should stay healthy, but you never know. . . The idea of hobbling for eight miles until we got back to the car is not a happy one.

During our drive back to Cedar, Scott brought up how much he enjoyed being outside with me. So I thought long and hard during the 3 1/2 hours we were in the car, and before we made it to our house, I promised him that I would go out whenever he asked me. This means that if I come up with excuses (unless I am sick) he can simply say "you promised." I am still reserving judgement on the 16 mile hike, but this way I will at least be more physically ready for it if we do end up going.

Ah, Reminiscing

Last night we had a girl come and stay at our house. I knew her family in Clearfield, and she was down here for orientation and found herself stranded. Her Mom called my Dad, and Dad called me.



When I went to college, Kelly was probably 8 years old. She is now 17, and going to her first semester of school in the fall. It didn't take long for me to start giving advice. She is going to be living in the dorms, so I told about the different kinds of people she would come in contact with and what to look for in an apartment. I told her how wonderful roommates can be, that you create life long friendships with people you never would have gotten to know otherwise. We also talked about the bad roommates, how to deal with them, and how to not get lost with the new found freedom of being away from your parents.



Then Scott and I told her our story. It was quite fun. We hadn't had such a captive audience in a while. We stayed up until 1am. I realize now that we are truly parents. Staying up that late wipes us out. I remember when I could stay up till 2am talking and having fun, and then wake up at 6am to go to class. Crazy. Now I am ready to fall asleep in the middle of a good time around 11pm. I am also acutely aware of every moment that Daniel is asleep and I am not, because every moment I stay up is one less moment I will have sleep. Sigh. Comes with the territory I guess.

Danny's First Haircut

Today I cut Daniel's hair. This was a first for both of us. I haven't ever cut hair before. It was alot of fun. I now know what I need for next time. I need some bigger guards. The largest I had turned out to be pretty short. So either I can cut it that short and do fewer haircuts, or I can get the larger guard and do more haircuts, but they will look better. Hmmm.

For right now, I figure I don't have to worry about it for another 3-4 months (unless his hair suddenly has a growth spurt.)

Meanwhile, Scott won't complain about his son looking like a girl. Danny's hair was passed the collar of his shirt.

Jobs. . .

Growing up I used to watch my Dad treat his patients at our home. He had an office, but inevitably there would be an emergency one that just couldn't wait. My Father loves what he does, it excites him, he enjoys helping people feel better, and he gets to tease and laugh all day. He had been going to school to be an accountant (cause they make money) and then failed his algebra test. Disheartened, he did other things for awhile, and then finally decided to pray about what to do. The answer was to go back to school, and become a Chiropractor. To be a Chiropractor he had to take the same algebra test, and this time he aced it. My Father will tell anyone that failing that test was the best thing that could have happened to him. He cannot imagine being an accountant. It just doesn't thrill him the way being a Chiropractor does.

Dad will tell us all the time that "you need to find what you love." He gave that advice to my husband when we got married. One of his friends in San Diego was an Exterminator. . . and he LOVED it! He was one of the best in town and very sought after. "There is a job out there for everyone," Dad says. Scott took that to heart, and after working for Checker, Schwans, The Daily News, Certified Insurance, Meter Solutions, Spirit Fitness, Wheeler Auto, and now Bradshaw Chevrolet, he can definitely say the same. Every job Scott has had led us to the next one. It has been a very interesting ride. We learned alot in the process. We learned that Scott does well in sales, but that he has to love what he sells. We learned that we didn't want a job that was 7-midnight and that kept him away overnight. We learned that he learns best while on the job. We learned that he didn't do well with Insurance.

About six months before he started working for Wheeler, I told Scott he should be a car salesman. The two things seemed perfect to me: he loved cars, and he was good at sales. He was pretty intimidated by the idea of walking into the dealership and filling out an application. Because of his job with the Daily News (where he was in charge of Auto Advertising) he knew most of the dealerships on a personal basis. He was worried that they would have a poor opinion of him because of how the Daily News had wanted him to work with them. So instead he went to work at Spirit Fitness, where he met the owner of Wheeler Auto. At Wheeler he learned that he truly loved to sell cars. When he was offered a position at the local Chevy dealership, the owner of Wheeler told him to go for it. Now we are at a truly career oriented place. He is being trained (which he loves, he gets to learn and go to work at the same time) and he truly enjoys what he does. He is growing more successful every month. It has been quite the journey, but we have finally made it to a job that will stick . . . at least until he retires.

Scott's 27th

Yesterday was Scott's 27th Birthday. I hid his presents this time, and didn't give into him wanting to open them before his birthday. Once he knows I have his presents, he wants them right away. It kills him to wait, even if it is only a couple of hours. He can't keep presents a secret, he has to give them as soon as he has purchased them. He got his father a hat for Father's Day, and he gave it to him yesterday - a whole week and a half ahead of time.

He does it for my birthdays too. He goes out to get my present (without telling me) and then comes home so excited to show it to me that it rarely makes it to the wrapping stage. I think it is so cute!

I am much more disciplined. I can hide the present and put it off until the right time. If I didn't say anything, Scott wouldn't even think about it (which would be no fun.) So I will mention, casually a couple of days before the event, that I already have his gift. He will then spend the rest of the time either begging me to let him open it now, asking what it is, or looking for the gift. Life sure gets fun!

A very Long Week

I can't believe it is Saturday. I kept thinking it should be Sunday. My schedule got mixed up this week, and it is hard for me to think straight.

Schedule . . . I know at least one of my friends would laugh about me using that word. It usually isn't in my vocabulary. I make plans, I don't schedule. In my mind plans are adaptable, flexible and allow life to interfere. Schedules are more rigid. Whenever I think of Schedule, I think of a day planner with every hour ready to be accounted for.

My life is planned around events. Projects dominate my life, and I flow from one to the other. I don't need to finish one to start another. As an example: It has taken me all day to write this blog because I remember things that need to get done. I have gone grocery shopping, done the dishes, read a good book, scrubbed the bathroom, and played with Daniel. Every time I passed the computer I would add another paragraph or think "Right, I should finish that." At the end of the day I tend to have the important things done. Those things that are low on my priority list are put off for another day.

My week is viewed a little differently. At the beginning of the week I think about what needs to happen, and although I don't write it down I have a basic layout in my mind of how it should go. All went as imagined until Wednesday. Scott awoke with the flu. The 24 hour bug that needs another 24 hours to recover. So my projects for two days were put off as my Hunny was home and needed attention. Luckily for me, by the time that nasty bug made it to me, it was a 2 hour bug. I didn't even run a fever.

Thus, my weekly calendar had a two day postponement. Ah Well, Life moves on, and I am finally ready for it to be Saturday, now that it is 5 pm and almost over.