*walks in, looks around, blows dust off the desk, cracks knuckles, sits down*
No, little blog. I have not forgotten you. I just have a day job that, by the time I'm done wrestling the alligators and gremlins of the political sphere of the internet, the last thing I want to do is compile a list of snarky-yet-entertaining thoughts for my personal blog. Even though I probably should because it would help keep me sane and feeling less like I want to take a baseball bat to a china shop.
Anyway - where was I? Oh yes - life and such.
When last we left our intrepid heroine, she'd just turned the "dreaded" 3-0 (actually, it was a lot less painful than I was led to believe. It was quite the fun little weekend, really). Summertime was in full swing, though you wouldn't know it since the Utah weather decided it wanted to be like Seattle, except with less ocean and more insufferable hipsters (I'm convinced our local hipsters are even worse than those in the Pacific Northwest because they feel like they have something to prove). There were also whisperings of a summer wedding for her younger brother, which inevitably made her retreat from some family interactions - mostly because weddings give her hives (heaven knows how neurotic she'd become if she ever had to plan one for myself. Two words: Las Vegas). And certain relatives can't keep their freaking mouths shut about such things (remember what I said about baseball bats and china shops? It's rather therapeutic. Or I imagine it would be).
But the Payson Temple open house and subsequent dedication was nice. Still have plans to go do a session there at some point.
Interesting story about the first time I drove through Payson after they started building the temple. It was November and I was heading home for Thanksgiving. It was dark by then, but as I drove by the temple site, I could faintly make out the steel structure that had already been constructed. And you know the thing that struck me the most? How close the temple was to the freeway! I mean, you drive up and down I-15 and all the temples you see are cleeeeeeeear in the heck out in the foothills or in the middle of a traffic-choked city. Even the Jordan River Temple, which is the next closest, seems to be far away and so very distant. But Payson - it's right behind Wal-Mart! In fact, you get off the freeway, hang a right at the baseball field and you're there in less than a minute. And maybe it's just the cogs in my brain working the way they do, but I felt like that was an appropriate metaphor - that the temple isn't this far-and-distant place that only the righteous and super-good get to attain and only after you've jumped through a series of uber-complicated hoops and consulted every map and GPS known to humanity to find the place. But rather, the temple is something that anyone can attain, if they have a mind to do so.
No, little blog. I have not forgotten you. I just have a day job that, by the time I'm done wrestling the alligators and gremlins of the political sphere of the internet, the last thing I want to do is compile a list of snarky-yet-entertaining thoughts for my personal blog. Even though I probably should because it would help keep me sane and feeling less like I want to take a baseball bat to a china shop.
Anyway - where was I? Oh yes - life and such.
When last we left our intrepid heroine, she'd just turned the "dreaded" 3-0 (actually, it was a lot less painful than I was led to believe. It was quite the fun little weekend, really). Summertime was in full swing, though you wouldn't know it since the Utah weather decided it wanted to be like Seattle, except with less ocean and more insufferable hipsters (I'm convinced our local hipsters are even worse than those in the Pacific Northwest because they feel like they have something to prove). There were also whisperings of a summer wedding for her younger brother, which inevitably made her retreat from some family interactions - mostly because weddings give her hives (heaven knows how neurotic she'd become if she ever had to plan one for myself. Two words: Las Vegas). And certain relatives can't keep their freaking mouths shut about such things (remember what I said about baseball bats and china shops? It's rather therapeutic. Or I imagine it would be).
But the Payson Temple open house and subsequent dedication was nice. Still have plans to go do a session there at some point.
Interesting story about the first time I drove through Payson after they started building the temple. It was November and I was heading home for Thanksgiving. It was dark by then, but as I drove by the temple site, I could faintly make out the steel structure that had already been constructed. And you know the thing that struck me the most? How close the temple was to the freeway! I mean, you drive up and down I-15 and all the temples you see are cleeeeeeeear in the heck out in the foothills or in the middle of a traffic-choked city. Even the Jordan River Temple, which is the next closest, seems to be far away and so very distant. But Payson - it's right behind Wal-Mart! In fact, you get off the freeway, hang a right at the baseball field and you're there in less than a minute. And maybe it's just the cogs in my brain working the way they do, but I felt like that was an appropriate metaphor - that the temple isn't this far-and-distant place that only the righteous and super-good get to attain and only after you've jumped through a series of uber-complicated hoops and consulted every map and GPS known to humanity to find the place. But rather, the temple is something that anyone can attain, if they have a mind to do so.
I dunno - I like that the Payson Temple isn't hidden away far back on some obscure mountain goat trail (looking at you, Draper and Bountiful), but that it's right there bordering on someone's hayfield that's right next to the main thoroughfare through town. Maybe it's the hayfield, but the rural setting is balm to this farm girl's soul.
It's strange - but while it's been quite a few years since I actually lived in Delta/Callao and there's no reason to believe that's going to change anytime soon, visiting the Payson Temple felt a lot like going home. I don't live in that district and I'm not anticipating that happening - but it just felt right, somehow. The only other temple I've ever felt "at home" like that is in the Salt Lake Temple.
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| This could TOTALLY be an Ensign cover photo, if I had a mind to submit it. |
My niece and nephew remain the cutest creatures on the freaking planet and I'll still fight anybody who contends otherwise.
Podcasting continues with the Five(ish) Fangirls. We recently celebrated our one-year anniversary
with no signs of slowing down. And the way I prattle on about any given topic - even something I have ZERO clue about - I think it's going to stay that way for the foreseeable future.
My yearly tradition of compiling a playlist of music to tell the story of my year is in full swing. While the year is only half over and I'm certain this will change between now and Christmas, I have a pretty good list of tunes that I think represent how the year's gone so far -
1. Skye Boat Song (Main Title Theme from Outlander) - Bear McCreary
2. Feels Like Today - Rascal Flatts
3. Bulletproof Picasso - Train
4. I Really Like You - Carly Rae Jepsen (blame Castle for this one)
5. Roundtable Rival - Lindsey Stirling
6. Shake It Off - Taylor Swift (in my line of work, this has become my theme song)
7. Immortals - Fall Out Boy (Big Hero 6 cemented that one on this list)
8. The Words - Christina Perri
9. Fast Car - Christian Kane
10. Breathe - Michelle Branch
11. For The First Time In Forever - Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel (from Frozen)
12. Come Sail Away - Styx
13. Spaceman - The Killers
14. Walk in the Sun - McFly
15. This Is Your Life - The Killers (will have to do some rearranging with this)
16. The Adventure Begins - Howard Shore (from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)
17. No Light, No Light - Florence and the Machine
18. More Than a Feeling - Boston
Like I said - not the final product, but it works for now.
I Also have tentative ideas for Librarian in the TARDIS, Part 2: Vortex Boogaloo, only because it's been so long since I've seriously reviewed anything Doctor Who related for myself and I remember how much FUN that whole project was. And do I really need a 50th Anniversary for an excuse to write about Who? Nope - don't think so! I'd have to think of a new structure to it - maybe just Big Finish and spin-offs? Not sure yet (Don't hold me to it, though. I mean, my Goodreads challenge is slowly falling apart and I even shortened it to 75 books this year).
That's probably all for now (well - as much as I want to post on my blog, anyway). Short, sweet, random, serious, and silly. Like you've come to expect anything else from me.
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