Life on the Riviera!

Holy smokes. Travel. ugh.

I have a few friends who think that while I am away with Thor my life is pretty danged glamorous. Well sometimes it is. Sometimes the rooms are beautiful and the service astounding. Sometimes the settings are glorious and interesting, the people and cultures fascinating. Sometimes the rooms are just fine, nothing to write home about, however clean and fresh and as nice as they can be given the location or age of the facility. You get what you pay for. I get it. This round? Not so much.

Once again we are in the pretend world, Sodom and Gomorrah, Sin City, Ickyville. Ya'all know how much I love Las Vegas at its very base. You know, the creepy guys shoving porn in your hands and face as you walk by, the larger than humongous life video signs that advertise all manner of disgusting entertainment, the loud raucous noise the permeates your brain, the smoke, the excess, the adults acting like sophomoric frat boys on crack, the absolute abandon of your moral compass. The all around acceptance of denigration and vice that is Las Vegas! Yes, I love me some Vegas. I always look forward to the nuclear accident shower that one must take after leaving here.

Every once in a while we get a bad room, the weird decor or the funky vibe that screams "1962!"; this time, however, was creepy. The hotel is old, smokey (you could smell the smoke as you left the car at registration - outside, in the "fresh" air! It had years of cigarette smoke embedded into the plaster facade.) Bell hops or baggage handlers were surprised that we needed some help with the bags and had to scurry to find a trolley- which they had to bang down a short set of stairs because evidently there isn't a ramp. There isn't a handicap accessible ramp either (we noticed this in the restaurant also. If you need a wheelchair- no room at a table with a view of the pool! Oh no need to feel offended or slighted; the pool they brag about on the restaurant ads is now dry and surrounded by a lovely chain link fence and draped in a beige plastic tarp. Boxes and other paraphernalia included free of charge!) This place is extremely dated (seriously, they have those primary coloured posters of crayons, paint buckets, rainbows, and such from the mid eighties hanging on the walls, primary coloured furniture...even the hotel restaurant's logo is shedding appropriate tears. This place is a mess.) The unbelievably bad air brush job on the backsides of their requisite showgirls poster is obvious even to the poor sighted (one of the bare bummed beauties actually was missing the insides of her thighs, and well, part of her bottom...who edits these things? She looked like someone took scissors to her.) Historic shades of dark black and gray on the carpeting in the "traffic" areas remember the guests of years past! You get to register in a dark lobby via computer while angry workers yak about their boss, and of course our usual room with the view of the air conditioning units and ventilation systems.

The views, o.k. I get it. I'm not a princess, I can deal with the crappy (sorry, yes crappy!) views. What I am having a hard time dealing with is the lack of a window. The window is about a 4x5 and so filthy you can see the spots and smears from the other side of the room. Disgusting. The carpeting still had cellophane wrappers from the prior guests' I don't want to know what; and when I pulled back the sheet to crawl into bed, well, let's just say I don't have to be a CSI agent to know that someone had already been there. Vile.

The bathroom had a roll of toilet paper that had one use left on it. 3 Jr. High Gym towels and 1 bar of soap. The lamp shades, which yes, now I am just being WAY picky, were totally askew, as if someone had indeed worn them the night before. The room was a mess.

"No you may not switch rooms, we are booked. But we can have house keeping up there in the morning." Wow.

So- after sleeping on top of the bed all night- I call housekeeping in the morning and the gal responds to my request with "I have you as a new register, didn't you just check in last night?" "Well yes we did, however with no toilet paper, two small towels, trash on the floor, filthy windows and DNA evidence left from the previous guests on the bed linens, I just hoped we could get some fresh cleaning up here for the price we are paying for the room." "huff -- o.k. we'll send someone up." "Please let them know I will need everything changed from the top down, fresh towels and linens on the beds, including the spreads. Thank you so much." "mmmm-k. ma'am."

So I am here for about an hour and the housekeeper comes up, not happily so, but rather miffed she has to redo a filthy room while I stay and type away on my computer. Sorry ladies, I am not leaving this to you alone, you cannot be trusted.

My suggestion? Do not stay at the Riveira! * Well unless you want whatever was supposed to stay in Vegas to come home with you.

* Just FYI: The photos in the website must have been taken some time ago. Seriously, our room, the shops, the restaurant, the whole danged place looks nothing like the images on the web-page. Although they do seem to have the most graphic and disgusting in house entertainment! Andrew Dice Clay? Really?

YouTube - Charity: An Example of the Believers

YouTube - Charity: An Example of the Believers

Wow. I really wish You Tube would allow the actual screen, but alas, no. Please click the link, this is an amazing example of compassion; and lest we begin to think all teen age kids are whackadoodle, self absorbed, and just plain mean... well, after viewing these young women, you will find hope and goodness in an upcoming terrific generation. Truly, enjoy.

Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?

Life Saver Water Bottle

Watch the video. This is a water bottle designed to filter the filthiest of water into pure water for drinking. It is designed to filter out even the smallest bacteria. This is the bottle that the church has donated and shipped to Haiti. (If you wonder where your donated funds go, here's one answer. Remember 100% of your donation to Humanitarian Aid goes directly to victims and not staff or directors.) If you are interested in donating and or purchasing your own Life Saver Bottle and live in the USA here's their link: Life Saver USA .

Granted, this bottle (currently on sale) runs approximately $150.00 U.S. dollars (hello, that's a hefty sum!), however in return it filters 400 gallons into fresh pure water (from any water source available) before needing to be refreshed with new a cartridge! The company also produces larger capacity bottles and 2 different sized jerrycans for even larger water capacity or home storage use. I personally think the investment is worth saving for.

If you are in the black enough financially to purchase one and give one away or donate more than one bottle they have the means to help you do that and get it to those who need it most at the time of purchase.

Thanks. : )

A Song About Love

Hat tip my young friend Whitney, who found this you tube video and shared it with the happy folks on FaceBook. This young man was challenged to write and record a song using only his voice and household items, no real instruments. He did a bang up job. Take a moment to read or listen to his lyrics, amazingly insightful for such a young man. Enjoy!

"Give!" said the little stream.

When I was a small little girl, our family was poor. I mean really really poor. There were times when we spent a night or two in the back of an old pink Rambler, and months when we only ate flour and water pancakes, morning, noon, and night, literally for months on end. That said, I did have pancakes to eat, water to drink and wash in, and some roof over head.

I also learned to give, because there are always people who have less than I. We were taught to give with both hands, to not withhold, but to give as we would want in our time of need. Part of that education was learning the words to a simple song:

"Give!", said the little stream; "Give, oh give!", "Give, oh give!"
"Give!", said the little stream as it hurried down the hill.
"I'm small I know, but wherever I go the grass grows greener still."
Singing, singing all the day, "Give away, oh Give away!"
Singing, singing all the day, "Give, oh Give away!"

"Give!" said the little rain; "Give, oh give!", "Give, oh give!"
"Give!" said the little rain as it fell upon the flowers.
"I'll raise their drooping heads again!" -as it fell upon the flowers.
Singing, singing all the day, "Give away, oh Give away!"
Singing, singing all the day, "Give, oh Give away!"

Give then, as Jesus gives. Give, oh give! Give, oh give!
Give then, as Jesus gives, there is something all can give.
Do as the streams and blossoms do; For God, and others live.
Singing, singing all the day, "Give away, oh Give away!"
Singing, singing all the day, "Give, oh Give away!"

words by Fannie J. Crosby

The thing is, there is something we all can give. If we do not have money, we can pray. We can volunteer at a shelter or assist in humanitarian efforts so that others may benefit. Service is free! Clean out a closet, sort through some shoes, find those extra things that we can donate to someone with less. We can also look to our right and look to our left and see the need within our own reach. Lift a heart with a warm word, hold a hand, share a moment in each others' eyes. Giving is easy and the rewards are great. It is a precious gift we each received from our Father in Heaven, the ability to smile and to love. There is no time here to judge unrighteously, besides, that is God's job. Ours is to find ways to give love to one another...

Because God and others do truly live!

There is so much need right this minute. In Haiti, and around the corner. God does live and He has no hands but our own to lift the needy and poor in Spirit. Thor, about a week or so ago, commented on how amazing it is- all the "God work" that gets accomplished by all of us who are so bungling and ill qualified for the job. But God whispers to us to do more than we are capable, He fills our weakness and makes us stronger; and He, through our giving (in many ways), creates a miracle.

Seems like a fabulous day to give with a song in my heart. How 'bout you?

Haiti

Please click here for an LDS response , and how you too can help.
The cliff notes are:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has already sent baby kits, hygiene kits, and water which arrived yesterday.
2 additional planes will be loaded (80,000 pounds each plane) with water purification bottles, food, blankets, tarps, tents, and other supplies; along with medical supplies and LDS Dr.s who will set up temporary hospitals in the Church Buildings in and around Port au Prince, most of which remain in tact. These 2 planes will be in the air Saturday and Sunday. Supplies will trucked into the area via coordinated efforts with local partners already in place and also via the Dominican Republic.

100% of all donations made to and through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints go directly to the aide of these people. No personnel are paid. All volunteers spend their own money and time to help. Be assured that if you choose to donate, every penny will go directly to the victims' relief and supplies.

Thank you.

P.S. In response to a query in my mail box: "How safe are the church buildings? I heard that even the regular hospitals are unstable and they are using tents instead of being inside. I don't think any buildings are safe there."

All buildings built around the globe by or for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are built to the U.S. safety standards, and therefor are more stable than most as they meet or exceed U.S. Earthquake Safety Requirements. Most of the buildings, including hospitals and even the Royal Palace, were probably not built to retrofit or current U.S. safety standards. This explains why these buildings are still stable and standing.

Sunday

Today was a terrific and inspiring day at church.

Our speakers were a young married couple with 2 kids- 13 and 11. The mom bore her testimony of listening to the Spirit of the Lord and making a life altering decision that turned their family completely inside out. It was a decision that was difficult to follow through on, but one that she knew was coming as a direct influence of the Lord. Her testimony of the effect of following the Spirit and how it improved their lives was astounding and profound. You could feel her struggle and her resulting joy through her tears and words. Not only she and her husband, but more so her children's lives, were made better by difinitive leaps. She taught us to lean to the Lord for His will and to follow His promptings more closely... even when those promptings seem unlikely or we are unsure of how those promptings will finish.

Her husband followed her with his talk, continuing the theme of listening to the Spirit and following the Lord's will in all we do. His emphasis seemed to teach me that practise makes perfect and it is only after acting on promptings will we come to see more clearly the hand of the Lord in our everyday life. He remarked about his personal history; times when he looked back and could clearly decipher those times when he took a leap of faith and those times when because he hesitated, he lost out on experiences that would have benefitted not himself, but those around him.

He also talked a bit about difficult times and two things he said I thought were, not only profound and simple, but are hugely true and as deep as you care to make them:

#1 "Always remember, you are better off than you think you are."
#2 "Hard is normal."

#1 We are better off than we think we are. If only we could remember those words when we begin to think egatively. In almost every aspect of our lives, we are truly better off than we percieve. Water for an example. We in the U.S. use it to swim in, to wash everything in, to play with, to drink, to bathe, even to decorate with! There are many people on this planet who barely have enough to drink, much less to use on their crops, and would never ever think to use it to fill a water balloon to throw at their little brother and his friends. Think of the ways we are better off mentally, physically, emotionally, financially, environmetally, yada yada yada than other people on the planet. We are better off than we think.

#2 Think of all the things in life that are much more meaningful because we had to work for them, or because they have come to us after much effort or trial or sacrifice. Children, jobs, our homes, a new car, education, wisdom, etc. Can anyone gain wisdom without trial and sacrifice? Also, it is a common mean that we must all have experience, and most of our beneficial experiences are due to hard or difficult circumstances. If we can remember that, perhaps we won't become too discouraged when we have new challenges to face. Hard is normal.

Livin' the Wild Life

I was just leaving the temple, the sun was going down and the wonderful mid 70s warmth was swiftly lowering. The shadows were getting long and dark and the light through the grove was dim. However, as I passed the deep green trees the bright orange balls of fruit caught my eye. There were ripe oranges in the foliage and over ripe oranges on the soft gray and brown earth. The contrast drew me in... and then I saw him/her. A sweet(?) little coyote snacking on the sweet juice and pulp on the ground. She was just 10 or so feet from the road and -whoosh!- I drove by. (In the video you can see the light gray rock curb and the cars and trucks driving by! She's right on the curb!)

I pulled a quick u-turn and grabbed my camera. No light, no getting out and setting up my tripod, just shut off the engine and shoot. Most of the frames I got were so dark I had to bring out the light in a "photo shop" type of program, bleh! I hate hate hate photo shop-ing my shots, but if I wanted to see the dog, I needed to. I took this little video hoping to get a glimpse of something cool.

It's not NatGeo, but it sure was fun to see this wild little beast enjoying his visit into the grove. Enjoy.

Redlands (LDS) Temple during the day!

Redlands (LDS) Temple at night

Back to reality

Thor and The Scholar are making their way back to Durham. The Scholar had come home for Christmas, partially to celebrate, but also to pick up a car so that her life can be a tad easier out at Duke. Oy.

First, her choices were between "hmmm" and "are you sure?". One car works fabulously, is older, had good gas mileage, non working odometer (so who knows how many actual miles the car has on its engine?), and is made from a now defunct car company, so parts and mechanics will be sketchy. The other is a small truck with a shell, less efficient mileage, tougher to get into in a dress, and probably more expensive to repair if that deems necessary. She chose the truck because if she needed a $500 repair and eventually wanted to sell the truck it would still be worth about $3,500. The car? It, no matter how much money you throw at it, will always be a $350 car.

So they head out for the cross continental drive late Saturday. They made good time the first day, slept in the cab because, as privious travelors had found, there was no room in the Inns along the way. Day two brought a place to sleep, however The Scholar dislodged tooth cap! Calls were made and suggestions given until a "real" dental appointment could be had, and off they rode again.

They made Shreveport last night and reluntently stopped early to stay the night. Once in the room they heard report after report about black ice and sheet ice on the roads and many road hazards and accidents. So they hunkered down and stayed warm until the roads cleared. They have been advised to get off the road once the sun goes down again, so today Atlanta is the goal, well that and "eating on the right side of my mouth because the temporary glue set before the tooth was completely down...now it's higher than the other teeth. Bummer."

Me? I am (procrastinating on the computer until I really get to) putting away the Christmas decorations. This year there were 26 trees, 17 of which were decorated with actual ornaments that need to be taken off. Wish me determination and stamina.

Or not...

ugh, what is it with You Tube and blogger?

Well here's the link for the video, enjoy!


"Andrea Bocelli and the MoTabs

Sometime soon You Tube will post a video I sent over. It's Andrea Bocelli singing with the MoTabs! It reminded me of a time in my childhood when our family explored the Catholic Faith. Lots of pomp, lots of ritual, lots of memorizing! We learned to memorize the Lord's Prayer, the 23 Psalm, and of course John 11:35 (Jesus wept.); which came in very handy a few years later when we explored the Baptist Faith (who, during Vacation Bible School, required one to recite a memorized verse to recieve the day's piece of candy.) There were other memorizations, prayers, verses, songs... lots of songs! -but that short little verse proved profitable rather than inspirational to a small child.

Any who, I digress. Andrea Bocelli and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir = Fabulous! Check to see if you don't get chills when that man sings "Glory" (both times!). Terrific. Wonderful. Enjoy.

Happy New Year Everyone!

The New Year's Post...sort of

I have an issue: New Year's.

Most people LOVE love LOVE this time of year and wax on about how they will make resolutions and goals and so on and so forth.

Then in approximately three to four months they will bemoan, either secretly or in public about how sadly they are not accomplishing their goals to satisfaction; and somewhere around Independence Day they free themselves altogether from the bounds of these goals, dig into the potato salad and watch the fireworks.

Someone near to me proclaimed to a public audience that I NEVER make goals, and that if I do, I get extremely depressed when I fail at them. Part of that statement is true.

The deal is that I do make goals, I make them quite frequently and in fact I do, very much, become disappointed and sometimes depressed about failing. I don't like to fail. I don't enjoy feeling stupid or having heavy objects land on me or the feeling of my hand being slammed in the car door. These things should be fairly obvious to most bystanders. Failing? Not fun.

Goals are what have got me through difficult times. I am an active member of my church because of a goal I made when I was nine years old. I am married to a wonderful man, sealed to him for eternity, because I made a goal to do so and then another to stay married to the lug when things were difficult. (I presume he made similar goals for those times when I am a nag or worse.) Goals are what keep me from flinging dishes at a certain someone when I can't bear them much longer. Goals are what keep my windows washed and the oil in my car regular and clean. I could go on, but (I hope) by this point in the essay, you understand that, for me, goals are almost a daily event.

The point is that the statement, made by someone who should know me fairly well, kind of stung. It implied that I am a lazy sort or chicken even because if something fails I would not care to indulge it. Not so.

It is my fault in the long run, for, as I do make goals, I am not one to publicize them or post them about for all to critique... which I find very difficult, I don't want someone who does not live in my heart or head to judge whether or not I need to improve this or that, or if deciding to do a daily jig in the laundry room is insanity or just a frivolous waste of time. So I keep 99.9% of my goals to my self and monitor my progress regularly.

And yes, I fail quite often.

Last year I made a mistake by publicizing a few goals...all which came to a horrific failure, which yes, depressed me beyond what even I had expected. For me, I guess, the private failure(s) are easier to endure than to be a public spectacle of lack. I don't care for lack or humiliation; and why should I purposely expose myself for these? So, this year I go back to my closet and I shall produce a few good items on the personal "to do" list for improvement, happiness, or fulfillment, etc.

Good luck to me, and to you as well, on keeping our goals, and yes, Merry and Happy New Year. May it be filled, for all of us, with less stress, a tad more financial sustenance, a more giving heart and sharing hands, uplifting moments, edifying conversations, and friends who make us feel better about being our genuine selves. May we feel more love and more gratitude. May we be content, forgive more, and hold hands a bit tighter. Go ahead and smile at strangers and give a dollar to those who ask for one. Pray sweeter. Sing out loud and also in our head when we need to.

Hugs, s'mee

Christmas Birds

Christmas Day in SoCAL, 2009 -part 2

Christmas Day in SoCAL, 2009

Dear Bloggers,

I am trying to make a come back, it may take some time and some effort, but here we go again. It's been such a weird year for me! Any who, Christmas was amazing! The kids and their families were all gathered on Christmas Eve, we ate our traditional Chinese take-out and had an informal program of singing and retelling the true Christmas Story. Thor is a Bishop now, so just as we were gearing up to opening gifts he received a call for help and off he went for a bit.

In the meantime, with little ones who had waited "all day!" to open their gifts, I decided they should open a gift from Aunt Hygiene: Automatic Marshmallow Shooters! They were a tad confused, didn't really understand what they had been given. While they were being instructed by daddies I asked everyone to meet me on the front porch.

I handed each of the adults a home made marshmallow shooter (desert camo for the guys, "Hello Kitty" pink camo for the gals) and a bag of mini marshmallows. The mayhem began and boy! did we have a fun 45 minutes or so until Thor was able to join us! He came back, grabbed his shooter and began puffing the sweet little bullets around at the family! Our front yard and garage was literally covered with about 10 bags of mini marshmallows! We had our fun then came back in for the "regular" presents.

Christmas Day the kids had all gone back to their respective homes to open gifts and spend the day with their little families. The two girls spent the night with us and we got up, visited with Sister Missionaries until their parents called. They each were able to talk with their families for about an hour. It was awsome! We gave them their presents and visited a bit longer then they needed to leave for appointments.

We got in the car and headed south to a nearby beach. We hung out, took photos, and had the most glorious Christmas Day! Enjoy the video and enjoy the rest of this wonderful time of year! Remember Who we celebrate and all the wonders His hand has created. Have a blessed celebration.

book Giveaway!!!

My niece has a fabulous new blog devoted to reviewing books, usually for children. However, this week she reviewed The Pioneer Woman Cooks (she's says it's pretty danged good, too good). Any who, she loves the cookbook so much she met the Pioneer Woman herself and got a signed copy to give away on her blog!

Now here's your opportunity to grab a FREE copy (well, if you are lucky enough to win)! Run on over to There's A Book, fill out her tiny little form, and cross yer fingers! Good luck to you!