Kicking and screaming into the 21st century!

Courtney and I, last Saturday, crossed a bridge. A huge bridge.

Finally, after resisting for many many years, Courtney and I got texting on our phones.

We’ve resisted for a long time because we didn’t want to be that connected, but over time, it has become the go-to communication method for many people, including some dear friends. That, as much as anything, is what finally tipped us over the edge to accept texting.

And we love it! (To everyone who is now saying, “I told you so,” I have a short message: Shut up.)

We told no one that we were doing it, so I took great pleasure in sending text messages to friends who know about my non-texting ways. I am almost famous in some circles for not texting.

The first text message I ever sent was to Mackay, and I did it while peeking around the corner of the house. He was in the front yard of his house playing with the kids, and I sent him a message so I could watch his reaction. He peeked at his phone, got this really confused look on his face, called his wife over, she read it, she got a really confused look on her face, and then I popped up around the corner while he was scratching his head. It was awesome.

Then I sent one to Jeff, and he sent me back a “What is this?” style message.

Then I sent another to Lee, and he waxed poetic: “What? Doth texting come from thy phone?”

Priceless.

I finally sent one to Joe, and he just busted up laughing (I was sitting at the desk immediately next to him at the time).

I’m really glad we did the unlimited plan. It’s only been a few days, but we’re already finding a lot of use and ease with texting. And no… I still cannot convince myself to get data on my phone. I still don’t want to be that connected, and I still find it pathetic (sorry all you data loving friends!) when someone ends up glued to their phone. Why would you stare at a phone when the real world is all around you?

There is nothing on your phone prettier than a cherry tree in full blossom, a friend’s face, or real human-to-human contact.

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Be good to each other

Yeah… catharsis here we come….

So it’s been a while. A long while. And I freely admit that I just haven’t been focusing much if any attention here for, well, if I’m being honest, six months. Oddly, it seems that most of the blogs I track have largely decided on the same thing.

Maybe we’re all just busy or growing or changing or whatever.

But I had two thoughts over the last few days that I don’t think are unrelated. The first is one I’m honestly not going to dwell on more than just to say that I don’t like to think about children hurting. No matter the hurt, the cause, the reasons, the whys. I just don’t like it. I find it distinctly uncomfortable and saddening.

I think it’s easy for some of us to question why God would allow that, and I don’t suppose that is necessarily an invalid question. It’s one I’ve asked myself, though never in a rebellious “God must be wrong somehow” sort of way. I know plenty who seem to get caught up in the idea that suffering and pain and injustice somehow means God doesn’t exist, that He doesn’t care, or any other myriad assumption.

Rather, I’ve always believed that our experiences shape us and that God permits us to experience both the good and the bad. As the Book of Mormon prophet Lehi might say, “We need to see both sides to understand the good.”

I also have faith in the Plan of Salvation and its personal power in each of our lives. In the Mormon faith, we believe that God has a plan for us that began long before our mortal experiences. In this plan, we existed spiritually with our God. We came to this earth and life that we might be tested to prove our obedience to His commands. And some day, that test will come to an end, we will return to His presence, be judged, and gain the inheritance we have earned.

And I believe with all my heart that this universal Plan of Salvation is both general to all mankind and also so extraordinarily specific to each of us personally that we all have within us the seeds of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. The ability to make it.

So when I hear these stories that tear at me in a place I’m just not comfortable facing, I wonder what God has in store for them. For me.

I do believe that He sent His Son to die for me, and comprehending in my own way how much I hurt when these unknown-to-me children hurt, I cannot believe that He doesn’t somehow pay close attention when His littlest hurt. Maybe even closest attention.

But I honestly try not to think about it too much. My mortal frailty is incapable of bearing the grief I feel for long.

The other experience I had was when I stood on my front porch gathering a load of firewood for our woodstove. A couple people rode by on bikes, and one of the women in the group turned and shouted as she rode past, “Cute house!” I waved my thanks and almost literally floated back into my living room.

It reminded me how good it is to be good to each other. How good it is to look each other in the eye and say, “I love you.” She certainly didn’t need to tell me she thought my house was cute, but I’m glad she did. And I will always remember her for it.

There’s a lot of suffering in this beautiful world of ours. There’s a lot of thorns among the roses. There’s a reason those thorns are there, but I hope they never distract us from the beauty of the rose nor stop us from drinking deeply of the delicious fragrance.

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Seems appropriate

Happy MLK Day. And Inauguration Day, I guess.

Usually, I would review Obama’s Inauguration speech, and that would seem appropriate, but I just don’t want to. Honestly, I haven’t been inspired to write all that much lately. At least not here. I’ve been keeping a journal more regularly, which is pretty cool. I started some time ago, but most of my thoughts lately are literally my thoughts. Not to share. So the journal seems appropriate.

But I haven’t forgotten the faithful readers who still check in from time to time.

I think I already mentioned this, but I decided that my theme for life this year would be “go.” As in get it done. Stop wasting time deciding or waiting for a better time or whatever. Just go. So about 24 hours from right now, I’ll be walking out of the dentist’s office once more officially a metal mouth. I’ve asked a few very select friends to make sure to tease me gently Tuesday and Wednesday to make sure I don’t get too caught up in myself, but today I’m caught up in myself. I didn’t sleep last night because, in a lot of ways, I’m not all that excited and yet I am. And eager. And nervous.

There are so many changes going on right now that I’m feeling just a touch overwhelmed. I was accepted to grad school and start in roughly five weeks. I’m exercising more (finally) and also seeing results (again, finally). There may be changes afoot at work, which I’m anxious to see happen. And I even stopped biting my nails! That’s something I’m not sure my mom or dad would believe…. When I was about five or six, they put that nasty tasting nail polish on to help me stop. Even at that early age I reasoned through it that I could suck it off quickly and get back to biting my nails. I can still remember the taste and the thought process like it was yesterday. I wonder if that’s when my parents looked at each other and thought, “uh oh….” I know there have been at least a few times I’ve thought that about my own kids, but nothing like Carolyn these last few weeks. She seems to be developing faster than our other kids did, which is awesome and worrisome at the same time.

And in all this change, I keep wondering where spring is. We’ve had an abnormally cold winter this year. This month has only infrequently risen about freezing so far, and We’ve still got a good 8 inches of snow sitting on the ground from the Christmas storms. Frankly, I’m tired of it. I go outside in the morning to scrape the ice of the cars and think how much more I’d rather be scraping propolis off of frames.

My three surviving hives are still alive. The only reason I know that is because there are still bodies showing up outside the front door. But that’s all I know. I was talking to Mackay about it the other day, and we’re both starving to get some bee time. After thinking about it, I’m still not sure if we’ll do four or five. Okay, let’s be honest… it’ll be five.

 

 

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Braces

So I’ve made my decision: January will see me enter the world of adult braces.

A lot of people have asked me why, and I think this is an important question for me to understand for myself. I’m not a vain guy, so this is not an appearance issue for me. I do admit that I smile differently than I do if I didn’t have my can-opener tooth, but only if I think about it. Besides, I am a strong believer that if someone wants to hold that against me, they are hardly worth considering as a friend anyway.

So it’s not vanity or for looks, though that is a great benefit.

Health? Well, braces will certainly help with some of the damage I do to my teeth from grinding. The orthodontist also suggested that the work will help broaden my mouth, which will align some of my jaw muscles. There’s a small potential that it could help with some of the chronic head aches and jaw pain I get every now and then. That’s a great benefit, and my health does matter.

But it’s not that either.

Honestly, the reason why is because it’s what I should do.

I went to have an old filling replaced just before Christmas, and I started talking to the receptionist. She’s been there for years, and is someone I often talk to. We’ve watched her have a baby and, most recently, have braces. She’s in the final months of braces, and her teeth are beautiful. There’s just no other way to describe it. On my way out after the filling, I asked her about the braces, and she talked about how happy she was with the results and how great her experience has been.

After about five minutes, she pointedly asked me if I had considered braces. I have, to be honest, and I’ve always dismissed them because… Really… why? Because I was concerned what others would think? Because they would make me uncomfortable? Hmm…. Maybe I am more vain than I thought.

The truth is that as I thought of the dismissals, I could not honestly come up with a real reason. A valid reason that stood the test of the trial. Yes, braces are uncomfortable, but so is a snaggle tooth. One is for 18 months, the other a lifetime. That kind of discomfort simply doesn’t stand the test of time. Same with what others think.

Because she worked for the dentist, she looked up my orthodontic benefit, and she was surprised to see how good it is. It covers adults (uncommon), is higher than normal, and has no deductible.

Then she looked me in the eye, told me to call and ask because what can it hurt, and then handed me the business card to her orthodontist.

I had my free consultation last week, and Courtney and I have been talking on and off about it since then. Money? We can make it work. Timing? Is there ever a time better than now? And also how cool will it be to finish my Masters pretty much the same time I finish with braces? I’m looking at a very new Dave in 18 to 24 months.

And that is all part of the reasoning.

But the real reason is I’m getting very tired of delaying big decisions.

I’m not one to make a life-altering decision without pondering it, analyzing it, pondering it again, setting it on the shelf for six months, pulling it down again and looking again, putting it back on the shelf, and then throwing it away. I just don’t do well making those decisions. At the same time, I do subscribe–and have tested–the idea that the biggest decisions should be made quickly. Not irresponsibly, but quickly.

As I look back over my life, the best things that have happened to me have all come from decisions made quickly. Marriage (a decision I feel into on first sight, although we took two years to get there), having children, and beekeeping come to mind as examples.

At the same time, my biggest regrets are decisions that I’ve delayed and delayed again.

Over the Christmas break, I was cleaning out some old files, and I found an unknown CD I had copied previously. I threw it into the computer just to see what was on it, and I was depressed by one folder sitting right on top: Grad School Application Materials.

It’s a folder I started early 2006. Seven years ago.

If I had simply done grad school then, I would not only be done with it, but I would be five years done. Heck, I could be done with a PhD in that program! But no, instead I’m still sitting on square one.

A blogging buddy I don’t check in with nearly enough chooses a word by which to direct her life each year. This year she recently announced that her word for 2013 is learn.

I’ve just decided what mine is: Go.

I could sit here forever dreaming and scheming but until action follows the dreams, they are merely that.

So that’s why. Because I want to feel what that receptionist felt, because I want to move on long-held choices, and because I’m getting pretty tired of watching dreams stay the things of imaginations, bored minds, and fantasies.

 

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Catching Up

To say that I have ignored this blog over the last month would be a gross understatement–It honestly hasn’t even really crossed my mind. But I did promise a year-end review like I always do….

Courtney and I roared passed the nine-year mark late last year. Roared is probably the right word, too: We are learning more of the things we need to work on and learning the things we already do well. I think right now–and I really do mean this instant in time–we are more happily married and doing better in so many ways than we ever have. At the same time, I think we both are realizing that cruise control is not an option for a successful marriage, and we’ve been guilty of that in the past.

It’s good to be married, but it’s great that it’s with Courtney.

Financially, this coming year will see the death of my student loans. Besides the house, it’s the only other debt we have, and I’m thrilled to know that my money actually is my own to do with as we see fit. It’s empowering.

Once we kill the student loans, I’m not sure what our next plan of attack is. We’ve talked about assaulting the mortgage, building our savings, or even saving for a new car. Child #4 is still a theory right now, but should #4 make an appearance, we’ll quickly outgrow our current vehicle. Yes, the world of minivans is somewhere in our future, and I just can’t see myself going into debt for that.

Hopefully this is the year I start my masters program. I have my tuition reimbursement application in with my work, but I am still waiting to hear if it was approved. It should be, but I’m assuming it is held up with everyone else going back to school. I’m looking at a Masters in Instructional Design, which is a great growth path for me in my current job/career.

On a different note, I’m debating a very hard choice for me: braces. I’ve got a can opener tooth (thanks dad!) that I’ve debated getting fixed for some time, and I finally called an orthodontist. My work has really solid orthodontic benefits for me, which makes it affordable (though still expensive). It would mean braces for the next 18 months, but I would like to get it done.

I find myself sitting on the cusp of interesting. Life is going to be interesting. With schooling and braces, I would find myself largely a completely different person in the next 18 to 24 months. It’s exciting and something to shoot for, which I’ve wanted for a long time.

Goalless movement is largely meaningless movement. Rudderless movement. It’s nice to have a goal.

Last thing… I’m really looking forward to beekeeping again. I am ready to play with the girls and see once again the miracle that is nature.

Have a great 2013, and enjoy it. Life’s good.

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Protected: Choices, decisions, and things to figure out

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How to lose 10 pounds in three days

My work provides free wellness checks for those that want them. I like them, and I find they help me stay on track with my health goals.

Last month, I topped the scales at 249.8 pounds. I’m a big guy (6’4″), but that’s heavy even for me. I pulled the proverbial fire alarm: no candy, no chips, more exercise, etc. I actually did really well.

i just weighed myself, and I am 228. Yes, that is a drop of 21 pounds in 30 days.

Now before you get up in arms about the danger of losing that kind of weight that fast, I know. Let me explain what happened.

The LDS faith asks members to fast (go without food or water for 24 hours) on the first Sunday of each month. That would be this last Sunday. So I fasted this past Sunday. The first thing I ate, which is never very good for me after a fast, was a big spoon of raw cookie dough. Food poisoning.

So I spent the first 24 hours after not eating or drinking due to the fast, not eating or drinking due to the food poisoning. I cannot remember ever feeling so hungry, and especially so thirsty.

But that is only half the story.

In an attempt to help my body recover, I took a kefir solution, which is basically a bacterial solution full of healthy flora/fauna for your gut. And I promptly discovered that in some people, kefir solutions take time to adjust. So what did I do last night? Why I spent yet another night puking and otherwise evacuating my system.

If you’re keeping track at home, that makes three straight days where I neither ate nor drank anything AND spent most of the time quite sick.

And that is how you lose ten pounds in three days. Or in my case, potentially 21 pounds, though I recognize a big chunk of that is water weight that I need to get back NOW.

Yes, we recognize that my condition is a growing concern, so don’t worry on that front. The mandatory evacuation zone that is my GI tract is apparently feeling better now, so hopefully we can get back to healing. I sure hope so.

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Casting out the sick demons…

Ouch.

I think this is longest break I’ve ever had in posting on my blog.

For the last week, we’ve had sickness after sickness after sickness. It all started the day after Thanksgiving. Each of us felt a little tight in the stomach. Myron threw up Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Only once a day and with no other symptoms. Carolyn has been a walking cold. Courtney spent the early part of last week fighting flu-like symptoms. Katherine never really got sick, but she also never really looked not sick either.

And then me…. I was closer to Katherine really until last night. How did I end this week of sick misery? With food poisoning of course. That’s the only way to end it.

Sigh….

I’m hoping to banish the sick demons before Christmas, but I won’t lie that I’m kind of feeling a bit at a lose of how to do that. If I could bathe my house in some awesome antibiotic, I’d be tempted.

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Recipe: Peruvian Turkey

Last Thanksgiving, the Dunsters introduced us to Peruvian Turkey. I admit I was skeptical at first, but it turned out so good that we made it for our annual practice Thanksgiving tradition.

Wow, and yummy. I’d put that up against just about any turkey out there.

Here’s the recipe:

• 1 turkey
• 1 can of frozen pineapple juice (concentrate)
• 2 to 4 sliced apples (I used only 2, and we went for a sweeter variety)
• 1 can of sliced pineapple
• 1/3 cup of soy sauce
• 5 oz of pitted prunes
• garlic (to taste)
• 1/2 cup of raisins
• salt (to taste)
• 2 tbs of chili powder
• 1/2 tbs of cumin
• 1/2 tsp of pepper
• 1 can of tomato sauce (the small one)

Part 1–The marinade

Mix the pineapple juice, soy sauce, garlic, salt, chili powder, cumin, pepper, and tomato sauce. Using an injector, inject all of it into the turkey. I poured the remaining marinade over the top. Let this sit for at least four hours or so. I did this first thing in the morning and then cooked it around 3:00.

Part 2–The fruit

Just before cooking the turkey, cut up the apples. Put applies, pineapple, raisins, and prunes all over and inside the turkey. I also took some of the marinade that had drained out and poured it over the top of the turkey.

Part 3–Cook the turkey

Cook the turkey following the instructions for your particular turkey. About halfway through, I basted the turkey.

Part 4–Gravy and enjoy

The first time we did this, we didn’t make gravy, but when I was carving the turkey last night, a small piece fell off into the drippings, and I figured I’d give it a whirl. Wow…. I think this was the key to making it just about perfect. And boy was it ever. The gravy ends up sweet and savory and makes the turkey pop with juicy goodness. To give you an idea, five people polished off an entire 14-lbs bird last night. Not one scrap of leftover turkey, and we picked the carcass pretty darn clean.

Courtney tried the fruit, but no one else did. She said the fruit had given up most of its sweetness and wasn’t all that great.

If you’re like me, I normally don’t care for turkey. This recipe was a marvelous change to the normal; we’d gladly do this again on any random occasion. No need to wait for Thanksgiving.

 

Marinate the turkey all night before with cloves, cumin, pepper and salt. In a bowl combine the soy sauce, red chili, ketchup, pineapple juice and salt. Early in the morning inject this sauce into the turkey and marinate for 4 hours. Before you cook the turkey, add sliced apples, prunes, raisins, and ½ the pineapple put all over the turkey, inside and around.

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Our D Books

Courtney and I have picked our D books. Oddly enough, we both chose the same D book, Lightning Tree by our good friend, Sarah Dunster. Knowing that we had chosen the same book, I decided to choose another book (I’ll still read Sarah’s book). This time I chose a classic: Dante’s Inferno!

I’m quite excited to read it, but at this point, I think a video is appropriate….

I may have to put this on a continuous loop while readingInferno.

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