Where did August go? It feels like it was yesterday that I was doing the rush summary of July; my how time flies. I had the best intentions of blogging in August, really I did – especially considering it is my birthday month and all. So here's my offering for the month of August, I apologize for the fact it's a day late and a dollar short. I do apologize for the randomness of it all…
- To start off the month I turned another year older, yes that makes me 33 now – my plan was to write a clever blog about the number thirty three---however it turns out the only "clever" thing about thirty-three is that the Smashing Pumpkins recorded a song by that name many years ago. Unlike most years when I take the day off to celebrate (something to do with the fact that as a kid I NEVER once had to go to school on my birthday) I went to work and mourned the passing of another year in relative silence. Luckily there were many who wished me a happy day, I even got to go to the Cracker Barrel and have pork chops and applesauce for dinner (one of my favorite meals). One of my favorite things about my birthday is that my mom always calls me at (or around) the time I was born – 11:38am to be exact --- and she always sings to me…I'm just thankful my birth hour was at a decent time. Other than that it was a relatively normal day…I just think birthdays ought to be a little on the special side.
- The Annual Campout – Toby's family likes to take an annual camping trip – 3-days in the wilderness with no plans. I don't mind camping, but I don't like sitting around with nothing to do. I'm the kind of person who has to be doing something even when I'm watching television—like crochet or something. But you can't crochet in the woods, there's too much dirt there. I did have a good time playing with the fire, reading a book and taking naps though. I even got brave enough to venture out on a little hike. It was pretty chilly, but it wasn't altogether awful. I got to play with my new camera a little too.
- I finished 2 more courses towards my Bachelor's degree and discovered that I have a mere 30 credits left to get my degree --- that's a number that actually sounds do-able. That's only 10 classes – what I wouldn't give for a rich benefactor to help me pay for it!
- To celebrate the two B's I got, Toby and I bought some tiny cupcakes – I even took a picture of them in the shape of a B to add to the blog, but that obviously didn't happen.
- I've almost finished the crocheted blessing dress I've been working on for months. I've only got about 6 more rows to finish it off. Again, I was going to post pictures of that progress as well.
- I got to go attend the dedication for the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. It is always a memorable experience to attend a temple dedication.
- I ate a lot of Pila's homemade fudge—I think I gained at least two pounds.
- Spent a long weekend in St. George with Toby and Pila. We went to Cedar City to see the Utah Shakespearean Festival's production of "The Secret Garden" which was wonderful. The Secret Garden has always been one of my favorite books and the musical is worth investigating if you haven't seen it. This time as I watched I couldn't help but think what a sad story it is…so many sad people who've lost people they loved very much and they are all trying to learn to live without them. We had dinner at Chili's which was really good, though I ate TOO much – but I must recommend the baby back ribs with the Memphis Dry Rub --- YUMMY! We shopped at the outlet stores – spent way too much money on some new clothes and had a wonderful time eating and laughing and just having a ball. We to see "Aida" at Tuachan – one word – AWESOME! This was the best production I've seen (second only to Wicked). The people at Tuacahn have certainly figured out how to captivate their audience…especially if it can (almost) make you forget its 100 degrees at 8:30pm. Another food recommendation: cinnamon roasted cashews --- yummy! Gus was SO happy to see us when we got home.
- Visited two of the top ten scariest bathrooms on this trip but the Ephraim cemetery takes the cake – picture if you will hundreds of flies buzzing everywhere and no soap – and then to top it off there were at least 2 dozen large crows circling above it in the air – any sane superstitious person would have taken that as a sign to stay away.
- As a side note – August was also a month for crazy bugs – we saw a huge beetle creature near our driveway one night as we went out walking. At one of the cemeteries we visited on Sunday I was attacked by a crazy black bug that flew mach speed at my and smacked into my face, startling me and causing me to let out a screech. I then found myself being attached by these tiny flying creatures---Toby so kindly called them chiggers, so chiggers they became, they were all over me and I swear I could feel them burrowing into my skin. Yikes!
- School started AGAIN – this time I'm taking Physical Geology --- I decided it would be nice for a change to take a class where there was only one right answer – literature and professors can be so subjective sometimes.
- And to round out the month, Toby and I spent last night re-organizing out pantry, discovering expired boxes of food we didn't even know we had…how is it that pantries can become magical and make stuff disappear?