Oregon Coast 2017

Our long anticipated trip to the Oregon coast started at 4:30 am. We were in the car and driving out of town. We drove strait to Arcata, CA. It was a very long day with only a few stops along the way. 

Suzie did amazing! I was worried about how she would handle such a long trip. I prepared her with blanket in the back seat and a curly sheephide treat-she has part of it hanging out of her mouth-so stinky but worth the distraction for her.

We arrived in Arcata at 9:30 pm and had a quick dinner of Carl's Jr and went right to bed. We were so blessed to have a great trip and not be too tired or cranky or stiff or back aches or ANYTHING! It was such a blessed trip!!!! We know we were looked after. 

After a GREAT night sleep in the hotel with a great bed we woke early and headed north on highway 101. Not 5 minutes into our drive we saw the ocean with elk! It always blows my mind to have elk at the beach. But here it is. Nature is just too cool!

Scott and I stopped at some redwood trees for a photo op.

They are truly big trees!

We stopped at the Trees of Mystery Museum for potty break. Paul Bunyan and Blue were in the parking lot. To my surprise Paul was talking to people-live conversation. Very cool!!!

There were some HUGE lillies in the path we were walking Suz.

The bear next to Paul

Bigfoot is real. He was inside the museum!

We stopped and had lunch somewhere(maybe Bandon, OR)--I should remember better. All I know is we stopped at a grocery store and got sandwich things and stopped at the next picnic area which happened to be on the beach. 

Scott sitting at our table while I ran to get the camera

Umpqua River Lighthouse. It was windy and cold but I would rather be cold than hot!

Suz first visit to the beach

Scott just ran for it despite the cold 

Suz did not like the waves!

Seals and sea lions

My camera was zoomed in as far as it could-Scott spotted the bald eagle in the center of the pic near the seals. We had hiked down as far as we could. It was neat to see.

The bridge in Coos Bay. A very cool bridge!

Some shells and stuff

Starfish

Big starfish

Heceta lighthouse

This beach was in our background in above pic. 

Our cottage in Coos Bay. It reportedly had  beach access but it was overgrown-sad. We stayed 3 nights here. It was a nice place. I did have a tick on me one morning and found 2 more throughout the day. I am a tick magnet! ICK. We think it was from the house. 

Coos Bay sailor dude

Suzie running for her life

On the beach at Oceanside, OR

From the deck patio in Oceanside

View from deck in Oceanside

The sun was actually out as was the tide so we explored around the rocks.

Suz is really scared of the waves and did not like being in the water

Dr Monfredi got all of us a Chillbo Baggins for christmas. It was a fun little float/thing

More elk--this time in Northern Oregon

The train in Rockaway. I might just have to take that tour one day!

Oceanside beach-after a great meal at Rosanna cafe. I had crab cakes with yummy rice and green beans and Scott had a pasta dish with scallops and prawns. Our favorite meal of the whole trip.

The stairs in the middle of the pic are up to our deck.

.

Just a cool pic of the clouds.

our last night. soo sad

Suz is tired. She is ready to be home

good bye beach!

2016 Presidential Election

The USA has voted. I have voted. We cast our votes for president of the United States. Hillary Clinton ran for Democratic party and Donald Trump ran for Republican party. Trump won. The man I voted for won. The one who secured the electoral vote won. So why are so many Americans mad? The popular vote is 200,000 more for Clinton but not all the votes are in. Many mail in ballots are still coming. I am confused by all the complaining. I honestly think that spoiled Americans would be complaining no matter who won. If Hillary won people would be complaining. All we do is complain. I am as guilty as anyone. I want what I cannot have, like a spoiled little child.

I am proud that I am an American. I am thankful I live in this county and am able to vote, choose, be free. I have so many possibilities! I am frustrated today because so many people are upset, when so many  people voted. The votes did not magically appear so someone somewhere did not want Hillary to be president. I mostly think they are tired of the current president. We want a change. We need a change. We need to quit complaining and get to work. We also need to get on our knees and pray. Our future is our own.

On a side note--I hope Obamacare is repealed. I am sick of paying a fine for not having expensive health care when I work hard and make too much for welfare insurance. It bothers me. Why cant I just pay cash for my appointments with no penalty? But no. I have to pay cash for my appointments and then I have to pay the fine. Nothing like taxing me and then taxing me again. It is like we are a European nation.  Dumb Obamacare.

I am proud and thankful to be an American. Where I can vote, say what I want, live how I believe. I have so many choices and possibilities!

Thoughts and feelings with a side of murmurings with gratitude for dessert

It has almost been a year since my last post. I have missed it. I have often written posts in my head and written them down in my journal. I have realized I am too lazy and busy and selfish with my time to go to the library and write. Even today--I am meeting Korbin (friend from WSU dental hygiene school) for her bday lunch in 30 min. Then I want to get a session done at the temple and then I really need to finish preparing and finalizing my lesson for Gospel Doctrine tomorrow. Plus clean the stove and do all the other standard house chores. Right now Scott is sleeping, so I took this time to head to the library for a major internet fest. Scott is working graves this week for an undetermined amount of time. I did wake at 6:30 am and clean the bathroom, did a load of laundry and cooked big breakfast for Scott when he came home. Sat with him and visited and rubbed his feet before he started to fall asleep and I dragged him to bed and left. Poor guy. He is working at Rhett's trucking hauling water, KCl and other products for the oil field. He really likes it. He was out of work for 15 months, pretty much to the day. It has been a very hard 15 months for us. I know we have been blessed and helped! Every time our savings got empty we would have an unexpected amount of cash to deposit. It truly kept us going. I am so thankful for tithing and fast offerings. They really do help. We incurred quite a bit of debt with the start of SAMAS trucking. And then the semi truck died--dead died. It was and still is heart breaking. But now that Scott has been working for a month we are able to start chipping away at that debt instead of just paying minimum payments. I have hope that we will be alright. I just pray that Rhetts trucking will stay busy. Right now they are very busy. Busier that they can handle. I am afraid that some jobs wont get done on time and then the customers will seek other companies to do the work. Luckily Scott has proven himself to be a reliable and dependable and efficient worker. 

I am working 3 days a week for Dr Monfredi in Vernal. I am so thankful for him and the work I have there. Many hygienists are out of work and want more hours and I have all I want. I was working 4 days but Heidi (another WSU friend) just came back the first of October after a maternity leave.  Sr Monfredi was sad to have me gone. I think I could work 4 days a week with Debbie and Heidi if we had a larger office. But that is alright. I get tired after 3 days of picking teeth. It is nice to have a short week there. 

I work 1-2 days a week for Smith's pharmacy. I have been there a year. It has been nice. I still find it hard to stand for 10 hours but I try to break it up by taking laps around the store and moving as much as possible in such a tiny pharmacy with lots of people. Pharmacy work is always drama. Sheesh. Currently we are dealing with the fact that Jason Lewis the pharmacy manager was arrested 2 weeks ago. He came home and told his wife that he was leaving her for a girlfriend he had been seeing for a couple of months. A fight ensued. A big fight. A bad fight. Guns involved. Police involved. Threats involved. Jason is a very big body builder. He has regular testosterone injections. He may or may not be abusing steroids and went off in a 'roid rage and beat his wife. Then took the gun and fired it inside the house and then threatened to kill himself and any cops that came to stop him. So he was charged this week with 2 felony counts of aggrevated assault, 2 misdemeaners of violence in the presense of minors and 1 felony count of discharge of a firearm. We think he was fired from Smiths because his wife came in yesterday telling us her insurance was ending soon. We are not really sure of the details other than we are down a pharmacist. We had one pharmacist offer to help fill shifts. The whole basin knows what has happened. Sad. 

Last night we had a call from a Dr office in Roosevelt. They told us a man from New York was going around getting prescriptions for Promethazine with Codeine cough syrup. He gets 1350 mls. Which is A LOT. Well he came in the night before. And then he came in last night. So we called the cops. Later that night someone else came to pick up the prescription and we called the cops. I was helping him and stalling. I was pretty awesome if I say so. The cops came and took him away. That is all I know about the subject--other than we had filled for him earlier in the week under another name. Silly drug users. 

I had a great girls day out last week. I went to Witchfest with Ash and Eden from Dr Turnbow's office in Duchesne. I quit there in May. I miss the girls very much. We had THE BEST day! Lunch was amazing. The dirty cokes were  perfect. The weather was wonderful and the shopping was plentiful. I had a really good time. Well my 30 minutes is almost up. I need to get some books before I leave. I wish I could have this blog more often. There are some things I want to write about and this is the perfect place

For instance Dan got married in June. He emailed me in Jan telling me he was going to go back to the temple and that he was sorry he was a bad husband etc and asked me to forgive him. I find the whole thing difficult. I want to forgive him because I dont want him to have power over me anymore plus we are commanded to forgive. It is hard. I still am working on it. I dont trust his sincerity regarding changing. That is not my call to make so I will work on forgiving him and not having anything to do with him. I hate that I am failing in this area of my life. 

I am so thankful for my blessings! For being humanitarian person in my ward, for teaching Sunday School and for Scott working. Life is looking pretty good on this beautiful fall day!

Ringing in the New Year.

My sister got married--

 My sister Lori got married to Randy England on New Years Day. It was a simple beautiful wedding. Lori has been a widow for three years and was such a nervous bride. Her son Ty (13 yrs old) gave her away. He has grown up so much this past few years. I am really liking who he is.

Randy has been a member of the LDS church for almost one year. I love how he treats my sister and her children. I am glad she gets a second chance.

I really had a great day. It was fun to be with all of us crazy people. In the picture from left to right starting in the circle on LL. Daniel holding Jaxon (>1 yr old), Andrea Healton, Brent Jones, Randy England, Lori England, Jo Ann Nielsen, John Nielsen, Jenni Jones holding Nash Jones (15 months), Hilaree Jones, Susan Jones, Mary Ann Stewart, and Scott Stewart.

I have high hopes for 2016.

Blue Moon

On the weekend of the 24th of July Scott and I went to Delta to visit my parents. My father had been ill and I was anxious to visit him. My brother Daniel, his wife Hilaree and sons Kevin and baby Jaxon came up from Cedar City. 

One night we took advantage of my brother in law John connections at the Delta Golf Course (he works there--he is the family horticulturist). John got out the work gator type work vehicles and we went searching for Delta Rabbits!

Jo Ann and John with Jack-When this picture was taken he had one bunny kill under his belt. 

Mair, Suzie and Scott--Suzie has ZERO bunny kills-not for lack of chasing. 

Can you see the bunnies? We are kind of far away but in real life they were a lot closer. 

Run bunny run!

We had so much fun riding around in the evening and letting the puppies chase the bunnies. Jack was able to get 2 kills in one night. One was small and obviously too young to know any better and then the next one was a large old jack rabbit. John went with shovel in hand to scoop the carcass off the greens when the rabbit jumped up off the shovel and tried to run away. He was killed by shovel so I guess Jack had 1.5 kills that night. It was too funny. 

I had a good time in Delta. Kevin sure has a lot of energy and is a pretty tough kid. I have realized I am an old woman. I just do not have the energy to keep up with a toddler. I guess there is a reason I do not have my own children. 

Scott and I went camping July 29-31. There was a blue moon. It was beautiful and shined so bright. It was in my eyes all night long. We had the cover off out tent and so the mesh ceiling did not block out the bright night light. It was wonderful!

We woke up the first morning. I sat up and saw this picture. I had to grab my camera and show how close and nosey the cows were. It was kind of funny and spooky at the same time. 

We had such a good time camping this weekend. It was our ward camp out as well so we had free food prepared by someone else ha ha ha. It was great fun. I am really glad we were able to go. 

Scott still does not have a job. He has been doing great with dishes, toilet bowls, and cooking dinner. 

Are Dandelions Obnoxious or Charming?

During the last weekend of May Scott and I went campsite viewing. We heard of a group of campsites near Hanna and Altamont UT. We found several that would work for our planned trip the next week-which did not happen due to job loss and our unwillingness to camp in rain. 

This is a picture of Upper Stillwater Dam. It was beautiful. Such a lovely day. 

I took this picture of Suzie hanging out of the car but it showed the snow on the mountain. 

This is Upper Stillwater Dam the week of June 20. The record rainfall and the snow melt has caused the dam to overflow. Amazing! It was so beautiful.

The boat ramp. Suzie thought that was so fun!

The marker. 

We are so cute ha ha ha

Dandilions

I find Dandilions to be a week and a little obnoxious in my own yard yet on the drive to Upper Stillwater Dam the little flowers were in full bloom and I found them quite charming and lovely. 

I find it amazing that the little yellow weed can be so beautiful in a different setting!