Archive for 08.08

summery day


I decided a month or so ago that it was time for summertime things to happen, because it always seems to happen that September creeps up on us before Cody and I remember to enjoy summery things, like barbecues, night games, watery fun, and general tomfoolery in the warm delicious weather.

One thing that was high on my summer to-do list was tubing down the Provo River. Ever since seeing the corny Utah version of Pride and Prejudice, I've had this longing to try dragging Cody up the canyon, renting some tubes, and just going for it. Luckily, I didn't have to drag or anything, we just decided to go today and went!

The day couldn't have been more gorgeous or perfect for tubing. We've been tubing down the Henry Fork river (I think that was the name) in Idaho, and that river is so shallow by mid-June that you have to get up every 50 feet to get yourself off of a sandbar. On the Provo River today, the water was pretty high and there were some rapids in some places, and there were a lot of other people in tubes, rafts, kayaks, and fishing...all of that just made it more fun. We rented our tubes from a company that shuttled us up near the dam with our tubes with a bunch of other people, gave us our tubes and a couple of tips (after making us sign WE WILL NOT SUE YOU papers) and let us all loose. The water wasn't too cold, the air was perfect, and the sun was at just the right angle to not be annoying or too hot.

There were a few obnoxious kids in the river with water guns about a quarter of a mile downstream from where we started, and they squirted everybody as they floated by. Cody got angry and started an argument with the kids' father on the riverbank, which was halted by us floating anticlimactically downstream...

Anyway, we tipped a few times, enjoyed the ambiance of the experience, and talked to a lot of random people. We ingeniously used my flip-flops as paddles to prevent us from getting stuck in the bank's shrubbery or stuck on rocks, which earned us some weird looks, but having some paddles was pretty useful. Thank goodness for my 9 1/2 shoe size, or the flip-flops wouldn't have been nearly as useful.

Once we got out of the river, we decided we were hungry and almost to Heber anyway, so we drove up to this cafe that we'd found on our honeymoon 4 years ago and have been back to a few times because it was so fantastic that first time, ordered the same sandwich we always get (a panini with portobello mushrooms, goat cheese, roasted red peppers, and asparagus) and got ourselves some chocolate and creme brulee gelato...excuse me while I drool over the memory...

It's been a great day.

blah blah blah...

I'm just wondering...what traits do you value in a friend?

strengths and weaknesses

For one reason or another I’ve been thinking about what my strengths and weaknesses are. I always seem to dwell on the defects I see in my own (and often other people’s) characters, so I thought it would help my brain to write out everything I know about myself that’s good and bad. I figure I can’t be as bad as I feel on the worst days, or as good as I feel on the best. Also, I realize that actually categorizing some of these things as positive or negative attributes is somewhat psychologically revealing. I can’t help it, I like to label things.

Strengths:

  • I’m a domestic goddess. I sew, cook, bake, and clean with the best of them, and if you give me 30 minutes warning before coming to my house you’ll have a hearty welcome and a refreshing drink or treat.
  • I’m funny. Sometimes. And only to some people…(but almost always to myself.)
  • I’m a good listener
  • I have an excellent memory for people’s stories, which helps with the listening abilities
  • I’m honest but I usually try to be tactful too
  • I’m smart enough
  • I have a strong sense of what is fair and what isn’t
  • I’m quirky (yes, it’s a strength…sometimes)
  • I spell well
  • I have good penmanship and beautiful cursive
  • I give a good compliment
  • I’m compassionate and caring about others
  • I’m imaginative
  • I’m trusting
  • I usually try to find the good in others until they either hurt me or shove the bad under my nose so often I can’t help but see it
  • I’m outgoing…sometimes
  • I try to not be judgmental
  • I tend to get along with the male gender in general

Weaknesses:

  • I’m impatient
  • I’m needy
  • I don’t like being ignored
  • I want people to like me
  • I’m petulant
  • I have bad posture
  • Grammar’s not my strong suit
  • I exaggerate without thinking
  • I am not self-confident
  • I depend on others approval for my self-worth
  • I am definitely weird/awkward around everybody
  • I’m lazy
  • I tend to be negative about myself
  • I’m shy…sometimes
  • I change my mind a lot
  • I tend to snap-judge things, situations, or people and have to backtrack frequently
  • I don’t get along with most females

What do you consider your greatest strength or weakness?