Conflicting desires.

My old boss called me to say they are testing for the first wave of a new job. I haven't worked since Reno, (where I worked 3 part time jobs - usually around 12 hours a day) and I am very torn. I've spent everything I made the last time I was working and with the economy the way it is and what with (my) insisting on coming back to Utah, sweet C's income is down by at least a third. We could certainly use the money. Plus, I seem to accomplish more with a schedule that I have to keep to. I really want to go to work.
On the other hand, in Reno we lived in a condo where there is no yard work. It was in unusually good shape so I had little house work to do. Here, I have 1/2 acre of vegetable garden, fruit trees, bushes, flowers, lawn and misc. ground to care for. I moved out in to the yard to work when the weather warmed up and I still haven't finished my inside the house sorting, putting away and renovations. And this is a much bigger house to clean. I really want to stay home and work here.

Sweet C has lost a lot of weight. He has worked really, really hard to do so, getting up very early to exercise and changing his diet completely. He looks younger, and prettier. I really want to lose weight to keep up with him - can't have him looking so good some other woman takes him away from me!
On the other hand, I have changed my diet a lot also, but truly don't want to give up sweets altogether (which he has done). I am always tired and don't want to give up much more sleep to exercise a lot more and I am always hungry. I don't know if he is always hungry but if he is he doesn't complain about it the way I do. I really want to keep eating cookies - they are my comfort food.

I could tell you about some more serious conflicts of interest, but you would just tell me to make up my mind and do what needs to be done. If I could make up my mind to just be good - I would be a much better person all around wouldn't I?

rubys

I have spent a large part of the last 3 days finishing the beets. I bottled most, dried a few. Beets take me a long time. Digging, cleaning, trimming, boiling, skinning, cutting then bottling. I really like beets but wheew! I only a have a few more apples then I will be done with the harvest. I have a lot more trimming, and all the bulbs to plant still in the yard, and the weather has been perfect but I have been inside putting up the harvest! I hope I can get the yard all put together for the winter. I bought 20 dozen bulbs at the Thanksgiving Point bulb sale in the summer. Hope the spring is worth the work I need to do!

To bless and sanctify

I have thought a lot lately about Christ and his role in my life. I have studied the scriptures with more purpose, and listened more carefully to what others say about Him.
One of the things I have noticed is how my thoughts about Christ are affected by the young men blessing the sacrament. When they speak clearly, enunciate well, and seem as though they themselves are paying attention to what they are saying - I find it easier and more productive to think about the life and sacrifices of Jesus. When they mumble and stumble over words and pay no attention to the reading I find myself thinking more about them and how well they read or how they live their lives, than about Jesus.
Yesterday a young man in our ward spoke clearly, distinctly and with power as he gave the sacrament prayer. I have noticed this young man in his personal life is neat and clean, hardworking and productive and truly going somewhere with his life. The young men who mumble often are also sloppy in their dress and grooming, and pay little attention to schoolwork or outside work. It seems to be all part of a pattern. . . . . .
Making me think that I need to pay more attention to the way I dress for church and temple, my own grooming and the attention I pay to other parts of my life. Have I let myself become too sloppy in all the parts of my life?

Bailout stupidity

Ok, so I haven't actually spoken to anyone who thinks the bailout was/is a good idea. One of my sons says he has. (spoken to someone who thinks it is, he doesn't!) I am NOT good at explaining myself so I suggest you go read Kip's blog, because he is.

Weathering the weather

We woke to this in the backyard this morning,
And this in the front yard.
We knew cold weather was coming, for a few days, so we picked all the apples, plums, most of the grapes, and all the red tomatoes. We spent Friday and Saturday bottling and drying the plums and grapes. Still need to do the apples. We made a lot of grape juice from what are actually table grapes. We just mixed the varieties as they are on the arbor, so the juice turned out to be a lovely rose color.

Weathering the weather

We visited my in-laws in Florida this past week and while there we went to Homassassas State Park. Our favorite thing at the park were the alligators.
While there we visited some birds, including waterfowl,
fish, ( I know this is a terrible picture but I took it through the thick glass wall of an underwater tank. There are tiny little fish swimming upside down along with the big fish)
Manatees, (He is feeding them and there are two or three gathered around but I couldn't get a great picture since they went back below so quickly!)
this is another try at catching a manatee on film.
other species native to Florida.
We also visited the beach, and our very favorite at Homassasas State Park


The baby alligator. In Florida it was warm, 85-90 degrees, and the humidity was quite high. I would come home from a simple morning walk covered in sweat. What a difference!

Between a rock and a hard place

I spent the day yesterday trying to bail my son out of one of those terrible positions society sometimes puts young people into. His car had been impounded for expired registration. He was pulled over literally around the corner from his house, and even though he actually begged the police officer not to impound, just to ticket and let him go home and fix it, the officer swore at him, called him names and took the car. He had committed no moving violations, wasn't guilty of any other crime, and certainly wasn't DUI, so he called the officer's superior, and was told that he was correct, it shouldn't have been impounded but he still had to pay the fees etc.
The problem was never that he wouldn't register it, he would have been happy to, the problem was that he couldn''t, because he couldn't get the rotor off to replace the brake pad, it was rusted on. Therefore the car wouldn't pass safety even though the brakes were working fine. He had spent a full day off here at my house trying to remove the rotor, and just ended up with a broken bolt for his trouble - you know, the ones that hold the wheel on. Now he needed the bolt drilled out and replaced too. He had called a brake shop but was told that he could never bring it in after work, even though he is sometimes off as early as 3pm, he needed to bring it in early in the day and leave it all day. But he couldn't do that, he needs it to work and he can't afford to miss a day. And he really couldn't afford to pay to have the work done.
He has searched, this boy, and been unable to find any place he can rent for less than $600 a month. (and that gets him a tiny, crumby little apartment he can barely move around in with no off street parking.) At barely over minimum wage he cannot live without a roommate, and even with, food has nearly doubled in the last few months and gas, well we all know about gas. He uses his car to work (cleans carpets for a living but the employer doesn't provide transportation) so he has to have a car, and regardless he would have to get to work.
I've seen it before. They need to register a car, but can't afford to, or can't afford to do the work on the car needed to register. So they are driving, or parking with an expired registration. They don't want to break the law, they just can't afford to comply. So the state, in it's infinate wisdom, tickets them, and if they don't pay the ticket in a certain amount of time, because they simply can't afford to, the fine doubles, then triples and keeps going up from there. They can never get out from under without help!
So, I helped. We paid the registration fee, and a late fee, and an impound fee and a towing fee, and a storage fee and then the necessary repairs to make it pass inspection. All this on a little old car that ran pretty well before. Registration alone would have cost $86. Altogether it cost over $1000 to make a car worth not more than $500 "road worthy" in the eyes of the state. Yet we couldn't let it just sit there, the fees will still keep piling up. Even if you give the car to the state you have to pay the towing and storage and impound fees. (And then you don't have any car!)
My son will be working for me for every day off for months trying to pay me back. Don't you just love government?