New Toy

I finally HAD to get a new phone.

Really! I had to get it.

I'd had my previous phone for about 6 years, and the battery was lasting only about a minute while using it. Having to stay plugged into a wall while using a mobile phone only defeats the purpose.

So I finally went a few days ago to the phone store, and came home with this:

Modern Testimony

Last Sunday was Fast Sunday.

Last Sunday I just had to wonder.

A young man, a returned missionary, got up to bear his testimony--with his dark sunglasses sitting on the top of his head, and his Bluetooth on his ear. Add to your mental picture that his head is shaved, so both of these items weren't exactly camouflaged by his receding locks.

Perhaps he was just prepared for revelation and vision?

Unsettling Circuitous Prattle...

...Or, "Interview Answers That Make You Go Hmmm".

I just watched this interview of Sarah Palin by Drew Griffin on CNN.

My response to her circumlocutory "answers" ? Heaven help this nation in the case that she wins the office of U.S. Vice President!

But, of course, you're welcome to draw your own conclusions.

Post Turtle Palin

I have never followed, nor felt as strongly about, another election as I have about the current presidential election. There has, of course, always been one candidate that I preferred over the other. But this year, there is one candidate that causes me to tremble with fear at the thought of her being "one heartbeat away" from leading this country (hey, if the candidates can stretch the truth...).

Yes, it's Alaska's down-with-the-peeps, soccer-mom governor Sarah Palin.

So when I saw this comment made by a reader of AOL's Election '08 "Palin Defends Her 'Terrorist' Remark", I wanted to share it as I believe it aptly describes her position in this race:

"While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old Texas rancher whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Sarah Palin and her bid to be a heartbeat away from being President. The old rancher said, "Well, ya know, Palin is a post turtle. When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a post turtle."

Seeing that he didn't understand, the old man explained. "You know she didn't get up there by herself, she doesn't belong up there, she doesn't know what to do while she is up there, and you just wonder what kind of dumb ass put her up there to begin with."

JohnDLevan9 10:05 PM Oct 06 2008

For the sake of this country, I'm hoping that some passerby will be kind enough to take this turtle off of the post and return her to where she came from.

Please.

Political Parody

The following videos were on today's AOL's Election '08 page.

Thanks to Saturday Night Live for the comic relief! And to AOL for their "survey" questions that ask: "Do comedy bits affect your opinions on the election?" and, "How much do you think they affect the election overall?"








Isn't is great that we live in a country where even the potential president can be mocked without fear of retribution? Imagine this same scenario in, say, North Korea...

Near Opportunity

At the beginning of this year, I was invited to be part of a Pa'u unit representing the island of Maui for the Aloha Week Festivals parade. I accepted the invitation mostly because it meant that I would be able to ride a horse, and partially because I thought it'd be a great new experience.

A float representing King Kamehameha and his Court

I'd always dreamed of having my own horse when I was young. And although we did have a Shetland pony when I was about 6, I never really got to ride much. So, needless to say, I was more than excited about "having" to practice riding. I even bought myself some cowboy boots!

Yep, these very ones.

Over the months we went to Uncle Harry's ranch to get matched to our horses--I got Hoku--and practice riding. The horses we rode are trained for parade riding only, so they were very mild mannered and, for the most part, easy to ride. I did have a couple of panicky moments, however, when Hoku decided that she wanted to test me out and would suddenly take off galloping. But overall, I was in horse heaven!!! I even enjoyed the saddling up, unsaddling, and washing of the horses. Anything to be close to the them.

We did fundraising--selling cookies and putting on a luau; learned to wrap a pa'u skirt (there's much more to it than you'd ever guess), prepared our outfits, and planned our pooper scooper bin design.

Now the parade is nearly here--Saturday, September 13th. And unfortunately, we won't be riding. Our princess (and group leader) is unable to leave Seattle where she is caring for her terminally ill mother. I'm disappointed that I won't have this experience this year; but maybe next year we'll be able to ride. And I'll be able to be one of these regally beautiful women in the parade:

The Princess

Her two Attendants (my position)

My Color Personality

I saw this quiz on another blog site. I took it out of curiosity, but was amazed to find how eerily accurate the answers described how I view myself.

Give it a try. Do the answers describe you? Or are they just a bunch of hogwash?

senecasis took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test! "Needs a peaceful environment. Wants release from s..." Click here to read the rest of the results.

Kids Say The Darnedest Things

#1
One day, while on vacation in Utah, I went to the community pool with my sister, her 6 year-old daughter and my 2-1/2 year-old nephew. For such a small town, it's actually a pretty big pool with an exciting winding slide and neat "sprinkler" area.

Anyway, while climbing the stairs to go down the slide, my niece's 5 year-old friend says to me, "You have a crack".

In my mind I think, "I have a crack???" And I just smile at her.

Then she says again, "You have a crack". And points to my chest.

I look down and realize what she's trying to tell me.
So I reply, "That's cleavage, my dear. Cleavage".


#2
I have a shirt that reads "Have a Coke and a Smile".

One night, my niece tells me, "I saw a girl today who was wearing that shirt that you have that says 'When you cook you have to smile'--except she was skinny.

If she wasn't only six, I'd take that as a hint that I was fat.


#3
My 2-1/2 year-old nephew calls it as he sees it. Or just gives what he thinks are valid reasons for doing or not doing something.

"No, I don't want Auntie--she's boring"
"No, Auntie. You're a bossy-wossy"

If he wasn't only 2-1/2 years-old, I'd have a complex about my personality.

Okay. It does make me wonder if I am really perceived as boring or bossy. Especially since I've had another adult family member call me bossy. But, hey, it could just be because I grew up as the eldest of seven children, or it could just be because I'm a Dragon (according to Chinese horoscope). Whichever it is doesn't matter. I'm more concerned about being boring.

Adventure to Monument Valley

For my vacation this year I felt I needed to "just get away". My plan had been to rent a car and just drive to anywhere after visiting my dad for Father's Day in Mesquite/Vegas. But, fortunately, that didn't pan out. Instead, I returned to Spanish Fork and after searching maps and points of interest in the Utah/Arizona/New Mexico areas, I disovered and decided on Monument Valley. And I am so glad that it all turned out this way. I was able to save a few $$ by camping instead of staying in hotels, I felt reconnected to life and my Native American-ness, and I had an awesome spiritual experience during my visit to the Kayenta 2nd ward. I can't wait to return and do more exploring of that area!

Here are some pictures from that trip (click on the dialog bubble for captions):

Food For Thought

I just stopped at the grocery store on the way home from an appointment to pick up a couple of things. And this is what I saw:

Roman Meal 100% Whole Wheat Bread: $5.79. Per loaf.
Meadow Gold or Viva Milk, 1 gallon: $8.99
Life Cereal, 15 oz. box (that's the small box, folks!): $6.79
Bananas (shipped from Latin America) on sale: $1.09/lb. (locally grown bananas are costlier than those flown in--one of those things that make you go "hmmm")
Fuji Apples, on sale: $1.99/lb.

Fortunately, I didn't need bread. And because I can't consume a whole gallon of milk by myself within two weeks, I was lucky and got the 1/2 gallon of store-brand milk on sale at 2/$7.00. Life Cereal--the only one on sale that wasn't a sugary cereal--I scored at 2/$6.00. I also lucked out and got some yogurts on sale @ 10/$7.00! Yippee. As for the fruit, I opted to skip the fresh and stick with the canned goods at home.

I think the reason these costs stood out so much is because of the conversations I had with my home teachers last night. We were talking about the current cost of groceries leading to the need to keep chickens, the approaching hurricane season and getting our 72-hour-kits together into one quickly-grabbed container, and the need to have a storage of food and other items for possibilities like a natural disaster.

One of my home teachers is convinced that the shipping strike in the '70's led most locals to become obsessed with stockpiling toilet paper with even the whisper of a possible "disaster"--i.e.: hurricane, tsunami...or shipping strike.

I guess I really should start thinking about getting those chickens pretty soon. For today, though, the canned goods, water, and toilet paper in the closet will have to do.

In the meantime, I'm going to the beach. And hoping that this craziness will level off sometime soon.

The Cost of Paradise

The picture below is from today's paper and was taken in Maui. The outer islands usually have higher prices due to extra shipping, but we're not too far behind on O'ahu. It's crazy! But I guess it's the cost of living in Paradise.

Why I Stay In The Islands...

For some reason I was thinking about my blog while driving home this evening. Mostly I was just wondering why I have one, because I don't really have much happen in my life that I believe is worth writing about.

Then, I got home. As I looked out over my back yard, I was awed by the beauty of the Lord's creations and thought how blessed I am to live here in these beautiful islands.