a mile high with my lovelys

My sister recently moved to Denver, Colorado to do her clinicals for her nuclear medicine program and the lovely ladies in my family decided it was time to make the trek to the notorious mile high city. Unfortunately, we were minus one due to my beautiful aunt Lorie's unexpected hip surgery. We have missed her dearly and kept her in our pocket, right next to our hearts the entire trip. The trip has consisted of sunny skies and much laughter, and I felt I should give everyone a taste of our splendid expedition.

Upon our arrival, we were all feeling famished and felt P.F. Changs would fill the void. While at P.F. Changs we encountered an exceedingly long noodle my sister dominated (pictured above). The meal was delicious and we were able to catch up in person.

Our fortunes were as follows:

Susan mother: you discover treasure where others see nothing unusual
Norma grandmother: others take notice of your radiance
Amanda big sis: you are admired for you impeccable tastes
Jordan me: everything will now come your way



The following day we took to the streets, not just any streets, the streets of commercial establishment. We gave our money willingly, sorry dad. After a rigorous search for the infamous Johnny Rocket, and failure in finding it, we ate giant, juicy hamburgers at the Baker Street Pub. please note: grandma had a BLT.



There were plenty of abandoned walls to practice our jumping skills. I taught my mother the art of capturing people in flight and between vibrating penguin like movements to stay warm, she definitely got the hang of it. It was sooooo good to be jumping with my sister, I miss her.



The highlight of the trip was the Colorado aquarium where we were greeted by a friendly shark and purple octopus (not pictured). If this was what it was like on the outside, you can only image what was on the inside...the colors.



The moment we stepped through the doors, there was a land of photo opportunities in every direction. My grandmother gave my mother blue eyes, and my mother so graciously passed them along. It was a very blue day today.



The fish were swimming in every direction, uptown, downtown, and they came in all shapes and sizes. One fish was so large it had to swim vertically instead of horizontally. If there was a chip n' dale gone fish style, this particular fish would have been "fat cat." I hope this helps with the imagination because I am not supplying a photograph of him/her.



Amidst all the fish, there was a very active tiger roaming his territory. I like to believe he was following me because he wanted his photograph taken. He reminded me of Alex the Lion (only in tiger form) in Madagascar. He was gorgeous as you can see.



The lion fish was there to say good bye as we finished our journey through the underwater world and my camera peacefully fell asleep or died or something. We ate at the aquarium restaurant, enjoying the fish and sharks as we ate our shrimp cocktails. I must say, we do love our shrimp, and grandma at least pretended she did as well.



After juicy hamburgers and filling seafood it was time for a fruit blend and time to convert my family to Jamba Juice. We got a little bored so we had a little photo fun while we drank our jambas. Please refer to a few blogs down for the outcome of our sweet crave.








The trip was wonderful and we plan to do it again, only this time with our very missed Lorie. It is a treat to finally be together and just for the record both dad and grandpa are still alive and well, and apparently well fed by the neighbors. I wanted to add an additional video of our dance party because after all, it is not a party without dancing... enjoy.

metallic flow

Metal flows through these veins,
Seeping through the tips of my fingers.
This substance does the thinking for me now.
I grow heavier moment-by-moment,
Slowly filling the chambers of my heart.
Meandering hands guide the silver presence to every pore.
My spirit seeks refuge from the metallic mayhem,
Slithering out my eyeballs.
A lifeless luster remains,
To not feel.
To not taste.
To not see.
Once subjective. now subjected.
An oblique object to do the bidding.
A maladroit mass of metal leaps to its pretending.

Note: written awhile ago. thank you.

the small significant life of jo

I am very sensitive to people and find myself hearing the life stories of strangers, acquaintances, and close friends almost daily and will gladly be late for class to hear what they have to say. I find meaning in almost every interaction I have with someone. I love reading and rarely read and generally have three books "in progress." I love going to the cinema and purchasing the overpriced whoopers and coke... although I have recently given up coke. I was doing it for others, but am finally doing it for me and it feels much better. I trying to become empowered and find everyday has its challenges. I love umbrellas and do not own a single one unfortunately. I have no idea what my first one will look like, there are so many to choose from it can be overwhelming sometimes. Green is my favorite color and no matter the hue it seems to always be pleasing to me. I am very excited for watermelon season because I can never get enough of it...but it has to be just right...you can feel it when you are eating it. something about the sound of a guitar is soothing to me and I can listen to someone play for hours and I am not exaggerating. I love going out to eat, I think it provides an atmosphere for good conversation. I can talk your ear off on almost any subject, but sometimes I do not feel like talking at all... go figure...I must be human or something. My eyes do NOT change according to my mood, they change because I change the color of my clothing which enhances my eyes. I rarely fill out the about me section because if someone wants to know things about me then they should get to know me. I started writing in my journal for the first time, well I have never had a good journal writing habit but I am going to try this time. Anyway, I do not like making corrections in my writing, if i misuse a word...I figure out how to use it if I wrote it in pen. I feel like I need to do a lot of growing up right now and I am not exactly sure how to go about it, one day at a time I guess. I do not have this overwhelming feeling like I am not doing something with my life, it is just peaceful, you can be better type feeling. I have brief moments where I struggle but come to an understanding of things relatively quickly. My mother once described my temperment perfectly saying, " you get mad and have to let it go through your system, and within 15-20 minutes you are rational to talk to again." I calm down quickly on the rare occasion I actually get frustrated, but things are tending to get harder as I get older. I have had to remind myself just who I am and what I stand for and to be strong as I clarify it for others. I decided writing is very therapeutic for me and I hope to continue with my journal. One flaw I have found within myself is I tend to concentrate on the negative side of things to often, I have to allow myself to remember all the good things that have come from a particular situation as well. I am working to improve on this. You know...one evening a group of friends and I decided to to play "you ask a question and you have to answer" game, which eventually progressed into name five things you do not like about yourself and then we will get to five things we enjoy about ourselves and about others participating. I did not have much to say on the flawed part because I was at a point were I was happy with myself, although when I was younger I never liked my nose. Now, I honestly love it, one time someone told me I was a classic beauty and I believe my "flaw" made that comment true. I was at a wonderful point at that time and have realized to be at that same place I have to work very hard to achieve it. Someone great once said, "if you are not going up hill, you are not progressing." So there we have it, the most difficult, scary, trying times in our life, can often times bring us the most reward. "What to do when adversity strikes? There is only one thing to do. Stand steady and see it through. Stay steadfast, constant, and true. The real tragedy in the whirlwinds of life comes only when we allow them to blow us off our true course." David S. Baxter - Oct. Gen. Conf 2006 So there you have it. I have to work to be better and that is what I am going to do. I must be inspired to inspire to be inspired.

we love jamba

This is the day my family committed to Jamba Juice.
We were a little bored and decided to liven things up.

The Life Aquatic

This last semester I took a scuba diving certification coarse at the University of Utah were we learned our skillz at the bottom of the University pool. Our first open water dive was in none other than the murky waters known as Blue Lake, just east of Utah/Nevada's little Vegas, Wendover. Wendover consisted of fast food, adult stores, and various casinos with rooms you could rent by the hour. This was not exactly our cup of tea, but we were there for the underwater adventures.



It took a moment to squeeze into our wet suits and get all of our gear on for the short hike to the dive site. The gear weighed about 60 lbs and made it a difficult commute for a gal my size; however, I prevailed. The first dive was not a very enjoyable experience, we felt very rushed and pushed around 20 feet below the surface and with limited visibility I had a small case of Vertigo. I felt extremely discouraged after our first dive and honestly thought diving was not something I wanted to pursue if this was what it was going to be like. Nevertheless, the next three dives surprised me, as we continued with each dive I grew to enjoy it more each time. I had a wonderful scuba buddy who kept an eye on me and we were able to finish the coarse together. We are now officially scubafied and ready for the open waters.

in your pocket

I lost my heart three times today.

You knew just where to find it.

When I turned my head,

You placed it in your pocket.

"It's safer there" you say.

Devils

You glanced my way today,
And my insides tore apart.
Butterflies went everywhere,
Three waited on my shoulder.
"Close your eyes" said the first.
"Cover your ears" sang the second.
"Hold your tongue" warned the last.
Two burst into flames,
The yellow one flew straight to you.
Our eyes met again,
Deceiving little devils.

they float

He decided to float.



She decided to float.

one wall

I wonder what this wall has seen and what it would have to say.

bucket list

There are a few things I wish to do in this lovely life I get to live.

1. climb a banyan tree
2. have a brilliant umbrella collection
3. cook a meal everyone loves
4. write a song and sing it
5. hear the blues
6. inspire someone so much they burst
7. be inspired so much i burst
8. shave my head in my unvanity. bald is beautiful.
9. dance like my grandparents did and smile like my grandparents do. they smile alot.
   
10. surprise someone and i mean really surprise someone
11. wrap my children up in a gigantic towel
12. know my neighbors
13. take the time to serve.
14. take a photo of a smiling munk
15. watch the whales
16. kiss on a gondola in Venice. cliche' but it must be done
17. create a specialty people actually ask for
18. walk through a Japanese tea garden
19. write a book
20. stand behind a misting waterfall
21. purchase a beautiful. expensive. exotic. foreign necklace
22. create a seashell bracelet from my scuba adventures
23. be in the right place at the right time for the right reason
24. really listen to my loved ones when they speak
25. paint naked inside an empty room with the windows open
26. go on a bike ride i never want to end
27. use the umbrellas i have.
28. climb a mountain. he will probably want to and i want to be with him when he does.
29. have "a song"
30. tag team the story of how we met in a church talk
31. go running with a big dog i can call my own
32. have family meals every evening and listen to my family
33. help him with his bucketlist

more to come I am certain.

The big ones...

I want my home to be filled with black and white photos of my children with sticky hands and freckled faces, wrapped up in those huge towels we just put around them. yes, i will love my imperfect, perfect family.

I want to take photographs, but I do not just want to take beautiful pictures. I want someone to see an image and let it sink to the bottom of their soul where they can see themselves someplace tucked snug inside the photograph as well. I want to create awareness, not just bubbles and butterfly kisses. I want to see the faces of the world in grief and complete and utter happiness. I want to sit down with these people and hear their story and not have to leave guessing what their eyes were trying to say. I want to print a very small photo so you have to walk up to it and individually have a moment with the image. I just want someone to walk away and remember what they felt and let it inspire them to inspire.

I want someone to listen...I want someone to be patient enough to wait until I figure out what I want to say because it can take a long time for me to know how to say something sometimes or find the courage to say it.

I wish people could meet my family more, my family really is who I am.

I want to reach that point one of my professors was talking about when you are comfortable when you are not together because you know they love you and whatever they are doing and you are doing is for the greater good. I just want to be cooking spaghetti and let it suddenly hit me that we are at that point... the point i was excited for so long ago.

I wish there was a room where people could go, a room where all feeling of awkwardness is left behind and you can chat for hours and hours, curled up on comfortable chairs, sipping on something to make you feel warm inside, a place where you can just discuss why things happened a certain way, and when you pick up your jackets at the door you could embrace and walk away with sighs of relief because you just get it now.

I want to find a bottle of clearly Canadian because it was once upon a time my favorite drink as a child and I suppose it still could be. I have not had one in years because they are nowhere to be found. I miss the kind man in a small sandwhich shop in South Dakota who used to hand me my clearly Canadian while asking how my day was going and sincerely waiting for my reply.

I want to sincerely wait for someone's reply.