Happy Life

Summer and Fall zoomed right by me. I worked. I played. I slept. I went to church. The end. 

Earlier in the year Scott and I decided to try a membership at Costco. We are actively working on our food storage. We have made it a priority in our budget and thought the bulk items found at the mega store would be worth having a membership-even though we have to drive 3 hours to get to one. Overall we have been pleased with the membership and found several items we like. Now this jar of Nutella cracked us up! 

We expect large quantities but W.O.W!

I have lived in Vernal for 21 months and not once have I been to the little donut shop in a shack in a parking lot. Well, Scott and I tried it the other day and have been back 3 times since then. For a mere $1.75 you can get a small tray of mini donuts (6) covered in 1,000 toppings. Here in the pic is Banana Creme Pie and Orange Dreamsicle. 

I took one bite of the banana and caramel donuts and cried a little-that is why my eyes are so green. 

Not really-

They do turn green when I cry but who knows why they are green in this pic--must be to draw your eyes from my silver fillings I refuse to replace until I have to. 

All I can say is the Boston Creme Pie is fab as are their large warm pretzels! I want to try their soup but just cant--must order donuts!

Scott and I purchased a new bed. It is my first new bed in my life. I have always had hand me downs. We splurged on a king, Tempurpedic choice-that means it has the memory foam and the air chambers like a Sleep Number. We also splurged and got the adjustable bases. So every night Scott goes to sleep with the vibrating massage feature on while I read for a few and once it shuts off I can sleep-I just dont love falling asleep to the massage feature-oh well. I do however love the Zero G feature! The base lifts the head and legs slightly to remove the pressure from your back. I feel like I am floating in zero gravity forces! I love it! 

I am not sure I can express how much I love having my legs elevated! It just rocks. I have experienced 'leg aches' since I was a small child and frequently get them. Doctors have no idea what is wrong--what do they know lol. All I know is the Zero G helps!!! I am starting to wonder if the massage feature helps with blood circulation and is helping me also. . . just a thought.

Suzie of course loves the bed. She does not get kicked out as often because she has room to sleep in the big spacious king! She is notorious for trying to bury under the covers-in this pic she failed to get all the way under and made a V. I guess she gave up trying to get under the blankets and plopped right on the V part of the mass of blankets. She honestly cracks me up! The new bed is significantly higher than our old bed and she has no problem jumping up to get where she wants to be.

I guess our new bed is a success! All love it!

In October Scott and I went to Salt Lake City to a wedding. While we were there we had a picture snapped of us.--We are too cute!

The wedding was beautiful! One of the best I have ever been to. My friend from hygiene school was married--Maria!

Mair, Melissa and Heidi then Maria is the stunning bride in the back--She was exquisitely, classically, stunning! I am so thankful I was able to attend! 

Life has treated me well and life has kicked some bruises but all in all it is a happy life! 

Bad Case of Writers Block

I miss blogging. I miss being able to share my feelings, thoughts, ideas, dreams, worries, adventures, sadness and joy. For several reasons I have not been able to write in this venue. It breaks my heart. I miss all my readers. I miss thinking--oh grab my camera I want to share this with my blogger friends. I miss it all.

When I Have Grown a Foot or Two

I grew up singing a favorite primary song as a child. We sang it in my home and at church. My grandparents loved listening to us sing-I hope they call me on a mission, when I have grown a foot or two.....

Growing up in an LDS family I had great opportunities to hear many men and women give reports on their missions. One of the first times I distinctly remember feeling the Spirit was after a young man spoke about his mission. It was not until I was a few years older that I realized why I loved listening to missionaries--the Spirit. Anyway, I learned young that I loved to listen to the missionaries. I looked up to them and wanted to be like them. 

The I turned 16 and wanted to date some of them.

Then I turned 21 and decided not to become one of them for various reasons I know are true and right. 

Then I turned 25 and realized I was too old to dream about dating freshly returned missionaries anymore--I had to give up that dream. It was a hard thing to do. I had looked up to and forward to missionaries for so much of my life and to let go of the idea of dating and then marrying a freshly returned missionary was very heart breaking and quite a milestone in my life. 

Then I turned 30 and thought that the missionaries were too young.  Not only were they too young they were too inexperienced. They did not understand sin, repentance, mistakes, forgiveness etc like I thought I did.  I was no longer attracted to them and sought for deeper spiritual stimulation. Another milestone. . . 

Then yesterday at 39 years old I was cleaning a freshly returned missionary's teeth and as I did so I realized that I was 19 when he was born. Holy Cow! Where did my life go. How did I get old enough to be the mom of a missionary and still not have my own little one? How did I age this quick? What have I done with my life? 

Who knows. I think I am having a mid life---older missionary ---crisis!

4Th of July

Thursday I was sitting on the front steps and watering our lawn. I was playing a little with Suzie-she was more interested in all the neighbors. Quite a few of the neighbors had family over and were playing, giggling, laughing and simply enjoying the rare wind free night. I noticed that in the past this kind of situation would have hurt my heart. I would have felt lonely and alone and sad I didnt have family around. This year an amazing thing happened. I was not sad. I was happy for my neighbors. I was happy Scott was able to work and provide for us-even though he was on graveyard shifts. I was happy that while I was alone I was not lonely. I have not felt that way for 20 years. I am so happy that I am finally able to have a family-even if it is just Scott and Suzie. Everyone is in a different place in life. I know for me I have been in a lonely place for many years. I know my Heavenly Father loves me and that He watched over me while I was alone. I hope that I can feel this way for a long time. I do not like feeling lonely. . . .
Anyway, that was my 4th. Home alone but not lonely.

Yellowstone Extravaganza 2013

I have been to Yellowstone National Park several times with my siblings. Here are some recounts of the past adventures  In 2008 was our last trip. Jo Ann, Daniel and I went. This year Jo Ann, Daniel and I went again. This time we all brought spouses. The three of us were all married last year. Scott and I were married in February, Daniel and Hilaree were married in May, Jo Ann and John were married in October. We honestly had such a great time. I got to know my in-laws better and show Scott the greatness of Yellowstone.

http://mairslittleworld.blogspot.com/2005/06/how-great-is-land-of-yellow-stone.html

http://mairslittleworld.blogspot.com/2007/05/teton-extravaganza.html

http://mairslittleworld.blogspot.com/2008/06/yellowstone-season-3.html

Scott and I left Vernal on Thursday. We drove to Jackson, Wyoming. We stayed in this charming cabin. It had everything we needed-even a small 2 burner kitchenette. It was just wonderful! We had such a great time in Jackson. Scott found a black bear nativity set for me! He is too sweet. 

On our way out of Jackson there was a natural wildlife art museum. I just had to take a picture sitting on this moose. I thought Scott had taken the picture and was getting up when he actually took the picture-ha ha ha

A little marmot friend  checking out the day.

This marmot friend was sunning himself as we walked on by.

Scott at I as we first entered the park.

We are by Lewis Falls-the wind helps my hair look so fashionable!

We were waiting to meet with my siblings and their spouses. While we waited Scott got cold and sleepy. 

Here most of us are eating the traditional ice cream while we watch Old Faithful erupt. Jo Ann is taking the picture and Kevin is the baby of Daniel and Hilaree. 

The 3 ladies of the extravaganza!

Jo Ann hugging John in the mist of yummy sulfur!

Daniel, Hilaree and Kevin trying to keep warm in the wind.

I learned to wear a hat to keep the sun off my head and the wind blown hair out of my face!

Oh the steaming geysers

And the buffalo or bison as they preferred to be called.

We saw Mamma bear and 2 babies. . . 

2 miles later we saw another Mamma bear and 2 babies. . . .

Just too cute.

Everyone went on a short but strenuous hike. I stayed with Kevin. So Scott took pics of the water falls and of the 328 stairs!!!!

Little Kevin sporting his new bear pjs!

On our way back through Jackson we saw a field of baby geese! It was the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend. We had so much fun together and being in the park. I am so happy that I was able to add another chapter in the Yellowstone book! The memories will be treasured. 

I noticed on this trip that while the 3 of us came back again with spouses each spouse is perfect for the other. I am so content with Hilaree and John as my in-laws. They were fun and cordial. This made for such a great weekend. I am so glad we went and had a great time. Maybe next year more siblings will come and more fun will be had!

Blessed!

April 10, 2013 I was home when I received a phone call from Scott telling me he was ok but that he had rolled his truck over. A few hours later he asked me to drive out to pick him up. When I got to the location I saw this truck on it's side. 

Scott was 100% blessed. He was minimally injured and the truck was cosmetically damaged. The green pipe just inches away from the cab of the truck is a pressurized gas line. If Scott had hit that line he would be in several pieces scattered over quite a distance. Luckily he did not hit the gas line nor did he puncture his water tank. He did not cause a spill of 'dirty' water and he is here with me now.

After an exam from Urgent Care Scott was able to come home a crash-Suzie helped.

Honestly I am so glad that his accident was not worse than it was. I am so thankful that he was blessed that morning. 

March March March

March 14 is such a wonderful day! It is pi day in my world! This means that we can eat pie and enjoy the treat we have avoided since New Years. Scott and I had the chance to head down to Delta to visit my parents and sister. Jo Ann and her husband John came over for dinner and brought PIE. After a great game of Canasta we are some pie! 

We have had Suzie as part of our family for a year. We picked her up last year on PI day. Well the other day Scott had left early and I went back to bed for a little. I woke up and took a shower. I came back in and saw this. . . 

Suzie had crawled up under the covers, laying on Scott's pillow and was trying to sleep when I so rudely turned the light on-yet she laid there while I ran to get the camera. She is too funny and quite indulged!

T-Rex was dressed up for Easter.  I want you to notice the small t-rex inside the basked. I am sure it is chocolate and tastes wonderful! I just dont know how I feel about T-Rex eating it ha ha ha. Oh well I am sure they ate their young. Anyway-It drives my Mother in Law crazy that her tax dollars  pay for someone to dress T-Rex up and change his diaper. I agree is it silly but our tax money goes to much worse things-like Medicaid for drug abusers so they can get free Lortab and other prescription drugs to get high or sell or drive under the influence and kill someone which then I am paying for that person's funeral and blah blah blah. Taxes simply stink and I enjoy the T-Rex.

I hope your Easter was great fun! Mine was wonderful on so many levels. I did not color eggs, or hide baskets, or eat copious amounts of candy. I did however get taken on a surprise drive to see a field of cranes and geese, taken to the movie The Host, make traditional Easter dinner for Scott and his mom and me, enjoyed my new sofa---yup we got a brand new reclining sofa and chair. I am so happy. I missed my family who was partying it up in Delta but what can I do? So I enjoyed my weekend with my sweet husband and his mother. It was lovely-our deviled eggs did not have any discoloration from egg dye!

This year Scott and I decided to assemble 72 hour kits for our Easter baskets this year. I want to announce-Mission accomplished! Our packs are full and only missing a few items-Suzie food and official copies of our legal documents. Not too bad for working together on that gift for each other. 

In times of inflation and higher taxes and higher social security---take less wages!

Every year there is a conference for dental professionals to receive their continuing education credits and meet with friends and product vendors etc. I find most every conference valuable. While sometimes the chairs are hard and the speaker is dry the information is golden. I enjoy learning and re-learning those things that help to make me a better hygienist.

This past week Utah held their conference in Salt Lake City. It was a great time for me to catch up with friends and those women who have helped me in school and out of school become a better practitioner.  On Friday I was able to attend a luncheon for hygienists. I noticed that not many RDH were in attendance. I wondered if it was due to the price of the lunch being more than the price for the whole conference. . . .Anyway, the president of the Utah Dental Association spoke to us. He wanted us as RDH to know that he is aware of the unemployment and under-employment of many hygienists. He was shocked to learn that day in the new dentist breakfast that there were 3 (THREE) unemployed dentists in the area. Now I am not even concerned since I know of many more RDH who are unemployed and many more who want more days/hours of work. Plus dentists have the ability to work on their own. RDH's are required to work FOR/UNDER/WITH a dentist, therefore making us incapable of working more unless a dentist will employ us. Again I digress. . .  Scott Theurer is the president of UDA and his assessment of the job market for the dental community is bleak. His solution for hygienists is to take less pay! I am not lying. He actually said---you need to be more flexible with your pay. He then changed the subject and discussed the opening of the newest dental school in the area! I was sitting there thinking-nice solution dude-ask me to lower my wage, which is already $10 less than I was making in Oregon and way less than 30% of my production, and to welcome more dental students and graduates to the area. I am irritated. Why not ask the dentist to make less in my production? Why not ask the dentist who already does not pay for health insurance, 401k, vacations, sick days, or conference fees (when he paid for the rest of the office staff-just not me) to pay what I am worth? He asks patients to pay what he thinks a prophy is worth, why not pay me? I am quite irritated with Scott Theurer. He was no help. I understand that I have been out of the dental community loop since I left Utah and now that I am back I have found the hygienist association to be not helpful. I live in Vernal and contacted them about my component so I could be active in that area like I was in Cedar City. I was told my component is Salt Lake City-3.5 hours away. I cannot justify paying for an association who requires me to drive 7 hours round trip to attend a CE for free. I mean I pay more in gas that for the fee of a non-member. I am truly irritated with the attitude of the UDHA and UDA. UGH.

I am not willing to take less wages than I already am. I am not willing to work for less. I get no perks, no benefits  nothing. I need a new job-and trust me they are few and far between here in the Basin. I feel under appreciated and under valued and not part of a team.

I miss working for Dr M!

Winter wonders and 1 year mark

First off the Vernal City Library does in fact have an SD card reader for the USB ports. . . I just had to ask several workers to find the solution to getting my pics online. I am so happy now.

My internet withdrawals are ebbing and I think I will survive not having constant recipes, bank balance and email at my fingertips. 

This winter has been so cold to me. I know the humidity in Portland made me feel colder than here in Utah, but dang when it is -18 and the sun is not shining it is just plain frigid. Scott has had to work out in the cold every day. He hauls water in the oil field. The pumps bring up crude oil and water. Sometimes there is a device that warms the water and separates the two, other times Scott has to pull the water off the bottom of the tank until he hits the oil layer on top of the water. Then he takes the water to a disposal plant which cleans the water etc. The tanks of water on locations are heated to keep them from freezing-and it helps separation, but Scott's truck is not heated. So he has to hurry from location to disposal and usually the hoses and valves freeze in that time. One day the hose was completely solidly frozen. Thawing out the hoses takes a lot of precious time. One day Scott left the said hose for a later day. So on his day off we went out and got the hose and using a propane torch we thawed the hose. It took us several hours. We stood in the limited sunlight. I would hold the flame and wave it over the hose, so it heated up but did not catch fire and Scott would pound it with a hammer to break up the solid mass of ice. It was quite the experience. Here Scott is holding the torch-you cant see the flame and looking into the hose to see where the block was. 

With all the cold and ice and snow there has been plenty of salt and sand on the roads. Here Scott and Suzie are waiting for the car wash-No the temp was not above freezing but the auto wash has a pretty good dryer so we took advantage of sitting in the warm car while the layer of salt crud as scrubbed off. 

Suzie is such a puppy. She follows me around constantly. There is not much time in the day where she is not at my heels. Well I went to the temple one day and I came home. As is her custom when I have been gone she sniffs me. She will put her nose right on my pant leg etc to sniff to see if I had been with other dogs or whatever. So she was sniffing my nylons. It was irritating me. I just wanted to change and get warm (toes in nylons is not warm) and she was not letting me do it. So I ended up ruining the pair of nylons. so I put them on her head. She quit sniffing me and I was able to change my clothes and life was great for a minute ha ha ha. I know I am an abusive pet owner and a horrible person and if I had kids they would call child services on me. But since I am not a mom and Suzie cannot tell on me I allowed myself to torture the poor girl for a few minutes.  

Scott and I celebrated our first anniversary. It was wonderful! Scott took me to lunch in Roosevelt. There is a local place that is only open once in a while and when it is open it is only open for 2 hours at lunch. It is owned by a polygamist family and serves the usual fast food items as well as homemade bread, cakes and cookies. They serve this taco-I see every one ordering one or two of them. It looks like a soft shell tortilla wrapping a hamburger patty cut in half with lettuce, cheese and a sauce-pretty basic but they sell so many! I may have to try one when I get around to going out there for lunch. This place is always packed and the line is long. The family works together in an organized manner and the food gets out in about 15 minutes. It is fresh made burgers, fries, onion rings etc. The place is spotless! I could eat off the window seals. Never has such a fast food place been so clean. I am such a fan! I wish it was not 30 miles away and open once in a while. I am a huge fan. So lunch here was perfect! I am so glad Scott and I found each other. We were definitely inspired by God to meet and be together. I am so grateful to him and for him. 

Valentine's Day was one week later. Scott got me a lovely lovely lovely bouquet of flowers. There were so many closed lilies that today-a week later they are blooming and fragrant and wonderful! Scott also spoiled me with a portable DVD player. I used to do my exercise video on my computer and then I would watch a tv program to distract me a little. Well now that I do not have a computer he got me an alternative. I love it so much! He is simple wonderful to me and for me. 

We went to lunch with Scott's Grandma. We were at a local place called The Porch. They serve southern food and for Valentine's dinner they were sporting alligator ribs-but only at dinner. So Grandma got us a gift certificate for dinner and made us a reservation. She is so sweet! I had given her a homemade sugar cookie bouquet earlier in the day and still she out did us! Dinner that night was magical! It was delicious and wonderful. It was my favorite Valentine's Day ever!

I am sickeningly happy. 

Cave Woman!

Well friends, I have decided to become a cave woman. It sounds fun right? What does it entail? Well it means I do not have a computer or smart phone in my house. I do not have any way of getting my online fix at home. I go to the library about once a week. It has been pretty tough for me initially. I mean I did everything online/on computer-my recipes, my banking, my facebook, check movie times, shopping, my email, my blog (I am amazed at how easily I went back to writing in a journal--no pics but my feeling get out). Life is better without the internet. It is a little inconvenient at times and I miss the ease of looking up ward directories online and buying music but there are ways around it.

I am sad that the brand new Vernal library (opened in Aug 2012) has iPad's at the end of the isles for card catalog look up and has all sorts of new stuff, has new computers for public use and they do NOT have SD card slots!!! This became the twelfth reason I hate the Vernal library. I mean how am I supposed to upload pictures? UGH! I really am going to fit in with all the other cavemen in the area!