Song of the Lark

I graduated with a degree in English Literature. I love to read and my favorite literature is Western American Literature. I think Willa Cather is one of my favorite authors, so I was really looking forward to reading Song of the Lark. I even read the really long foreward. The story is supposed to be semi-autobiographical, so that drew me in.

The writing is great, but I just could not get behind the main character. In the end, I found her quite unsympathetic. In this story, she is an opera singer instead of an author, and there is a heavy focus on what the woman sacrifices to be the artist she was born to be. The sad thing is that she really loses out on all the intimate relationships she could have had because she is so focused on her art. I guess I just question the either/or mentality. If someone is meant to be great, then I don't think that having real relationships with people would put that in jeapordy. I do realize that the lifestyle of an artist comes with some sacrifice, but there was just too much for my liking.

One thing I really liked about the book was the side story about how the girl goes to sing with the Mexican community in her small Nebraska town, much to the dismay of most of the Scandinavian town folk. Her mother doesn't mind it, so she's not having to sneak away. She really seems to connect with several of the Mexican characters, but they are still shown as very marginalized in the context of the story. I think that's just part of the period she lived in.

Willa Cather really is masterful at setting a scene and taking you there in every way. I could almost feel the rain when she described the stark Arizona landscape and the afternoon rain shower in the canyon. If you want to read Willa Cather, I would recommend My Antonia or Death Comes to the Archbishop before this book, though.

A Couple Days Late for Memorial Day

Please read this very beautiful blog post. Thank you Sean for what you do. Thank you Nathan. You're the only two people I know personally who are in the military right now. I think you're pretty great for doing what you do.

Need a Laugh?

Read the comments on this shirt on Amazon.

Huh-Larious!

The Promise of Warmth

We had a lovely weekend, but this morning, it sort of felt like Summer when the DH and left the house to go to the gym in the early hours. The sun was already up, and it smelled summery. It was still cool, with plenty of dew on the ground, but I loved the feeling I got walking out of the house.

The day started out overcast and a bit chilly, but I still left home without a jacket. The thought that crossed my mind was that it was well within the rules. As kids, we were allowed to put on shorts if the thermometer got above 65 degrees. The day promised 67, so surely I could go without a jacket. I remember begging to put on shorts as soon as it looked nice out in the Spring. It may have only been 53 degrees outside, but it was BEAUTIFUL! It looked like shorts weather, so I needed to be wearing shorts, already.

I'm a little more practical now (and wear shorts far less often), but I did ask myels, when would it be appropriate to start wearing capris to work? Is there a rule about that, like no white shoes before Memorial Day? At any rate, we quickly approaching that day, so you'll be seeing me with capris and no jacket for the next few months.

Thanks, Whitney!

I've finally put away the last of the Christmas presents. Are you proud of me?

The very last thing to do was to hang the very cool note board that Whitney made for me. The magnets are from the Duchess over at Yarnation. It's all very cute.

The first pic is the closeup view and the second is the view for context.

The note board is hanging in the laundry area of my kitchen. I love how it looks! Thanks for the cool Christmas present, Whitney.

Funny Spam (Redux)

I just went to delete the mail in my Spam folder and got a good laugh out of some of these, so I just had to share. I have not doctored any of these. They were real subject lines for mail sent to my e-mail address:

• You've recieved an answer to your question
  (funny, I don't remember asking)
• Putting Holy Fire in your Marriage!
  (I don't want to know how they plan to make that happen)
• Erase your man troubles xjum
  (still wondering what the xjum is and how it might help)
• Obama: I hear voices of dead people
  (Really? would that get you to open the message?)
• Don't Waste Your Time
  (Don't worry, I didn't)
• Pqraz Wubag
  (Who opens mail with that kind of subject anyway?)
• Buy our goods -- live 200 years!
  (No thanks. All my friends would be dead.)

All that and many very offensive messages and other crazy things. I do get a kick out of some of these though.

My Fun Weekend

I realize that it's been a few days since my return, but I still need to catch up on the fun weekend I had last week.

It started with a flight to Salt Lake on Wednesday evening and then a drive to Springville to visit Camille and her brood. It was great to see all her kids. They're growing up into such great people.

On Thursday morning, we left Springville for Provo and the BYU Women's Conference. I had some trouble sitting for long periods of time in the stadium seats, but other than that, it was really wonderful. We heard some great, uplifting presentations and went away from the day spiritually full. That evening, we went to Jason's Deli for dinner and then to the Scera Playhouse to watch Thoroughly Modern Millie. It was such a fun show! Diana's father-in-law did the sets, so we got comped tickets and it would have been worth it even if we'd paid full price. It was a little different from the movie and just as fun. It was also great that Ann joined us for the evening.

On Friday, we had more Women's Conference and I also spent the middle of the day with my old friend Browynn. We were best friends during our freshmen year at BYU while we were both totally engrossed in the music program there. When we were in school, we'd meet up in the main lobby of the HFAC and then wander over to the CougarEat for lunch and laughter. For this day, we just met at a local restaurant and then spent a couple of hours remembering those days and catching up on what we've been doing in the interim. Browynn has six (yes, six!) kids and lives outside Lehi now. We talked of struggles and joys and everything in between. I had such a nice time, I almost didn't want to leave. However, I knew more fun people were waiting for me back at BYU. We finished off the Women's Conference that afternoon and then drove up to Heber City in the canyon and checked into a condo there and then went out for dinner. We talked and laughed and had a great time staying up too late.

On Saturday, we stared with an early lunch at the Zermatt resort and then went into Park City. Ann, Camille, Karen, and I went for pedicures, then met up with the rest of the ladies at the outlet malls. We took a break for a movie (the forgettable Ghosts of Girlfriends Past) and then went back to the outlets until they closed. After that, we went to dinner and then back to the condo for more talking and laughing.

On Sunday, we ended our stay in Heber with a huge buffet brunch at the Zermatt resort. It was the best meal I've had in ages. We really enjoyed it, too.

Then we drove down to Salt Lake and walked around temple square. It was gorgeous! The flowers were beautiful and we got a bit of a break from the rain while we were there, so we could really enjoy it. Then Shannon, Gwen, and I were off to the airport and had to bid the Dixon women goodbye. It was sad to leave, but we had such a great time and I was really missing the DH by then.









While I was waiting for my plane in the airport, I was sitting by a window when a huge storm rolled through. The rainbow at the end was beautiful! The picture doesn't quite do it justice, but it was a wonderful end to a great weekend.

This American Life -- Live!

Thursday night, the DH and I went to see This American Life -- Live! at a movie theater. The show is on NPR, which makes it a radio show, and the premise is that they pick a theme each week and provide several stories on that theme. The radio program has been around for years and years and they started a TV series on Showtime two years ago. I haven't seen the TV show, but I love the radio broadcast. I get the podcast download and listen to it at the gym. It makes the time go by quickly and I have a hard time being in my car at just the right time on Saturdays to hear it when it's on.

They record in front of a live audience on accasion and started broadcasting the live feed to movie theaters last year. Basically, you get to watch them record the whole show, from the comfort of your movie theater seat. I'd heard about it and really looked forward to seeing it.

The fact that I can't sit comfortably yet for more than an hour put a damper on my enjoyment, but other than that, it was great. We really enjoyed the whole thing. The show we saw will be on the radio May 7th, so anyone out there can hear most of what we saw.

More than anything, this whetted my appetite to watch the This American Life TV series. I'm putting it in my Netflix queue now.

On Being Ill

I'm generally a very healthy person with very few issues. Getting really sick is very unusual for me and certainly not something I really know how to react to. The process has helped me learn a few things about myself.

• I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, but that may be a bad thing. It kept me from going to the hospital the first time I had a problem with my gall bladder and delayed my inevitable trip to the ER.


• I have never been a fan of drugs (legal or illegal) and have really never taken anything more than Advil for most of my adult life. As a result, the pain killing drugs worked really well, but I didn't have any fringe benefits from the heavy doses of drugs. The feelings I got that were not just pain killing, were rather uncomfortable (like the room spinning), so I'm pretty sure there will never be at risk of abuse.


• I'm not very good at sitting around. I'm used to having a pretty full schedule and have had a really hard time taking it easy. I do OK on vacation, but that's with activities planned too.


• Anesthesea does a number on me. I was unable to focus on much of anything for three or four days, so I couldn't even read effectively for a while.

What a Week!

Last week at this time I was feeling quite overwhelmed by the thought of our Women's Conference coming up and getting all that done. The good news is that everything went very well. Our theme was "Rise Above it All" with hot air balloon decorations. We ended up having over 130 people show up and the classes were very well attended and people seemed to have a really nice time. We had worried because it was the day before Easter that many women would have other conflicts, but there were plenty of others who made up for those who couldn't come.

On Sunday, we had a really nice Easter dinner. I even made homemade rolls. Everything about it turned out nicely. Then later that evening, life took a bit of a left turn. My stomach started hurting and progressively got worse during the night. I called in sick to work, but tried to ignore the pain. It really was so bad I had to do something about it though. By Monday afternoon, I was scheduled for surgery to have my gall bladder romoved. Apparently, I had a gall stone the size of a boulder (the big marble in a marbles game) and I could choose to wait until it attacked again or just get it removed immediately. I chose the latter.

I had laproscopic surgery, with four small incisions. Then they super-glued me back together. It's all supposed to make for a "quick" recovery. I'm feeling a bit peeked still, but doing quite well. I decided not to take the Vicodin today and I'm managing with just a little discomfort. At this point, the most annoying part is that I can't seem to concentrate on much, so I'm not getting any good reading or video watching done. I have it on good authority that it's a common side effect of the anesthesia. I'm hoping that's worn off by tomorrow.

I'll check in later and let you know how it is on day 4.

Expiration Date

The DH and I spent a couple of hours enjoying an indie film last night. Expiration Date is a wonderfully entertaining little movie filmed mostly in Seattle. We loved seeing places we recognized (like the troll, gassworks park, and Ballard) and loved the characters in the movie. It's especially good that all this entertainment didn't include anyting lewd or really even much in the way of inuendo. I think that's the mark of a great script. I'm not sure the young kids would be interested in the movie, but you wouldn't have to turn it off if they were around.

The story is about a man whose father and grandfather were both killed by milk trucks on their 25th birthdays. As a result, our main character believes he will expire at the hands of a milk truck on his 25th birthday as well. The movie basically chronicles the week leading up to his birthday and there is a lot of comedy and drama intertwined in those few days.

We both give it two thumbs up and recommend it for everyone.

Unfortunately...

I got the biggest kick out of this. You'll have to try it yourself as it's quite entertaining. Go to Google and type in "unfortunately, [your name]" and don't forget the quotes. Here's what I found:

• Unfortunately, Noelle is not a music librarian and could not understand all of the road maps found in sheet music.
• Unfortunately, Noelle's feelings about home -- or rather, her hometown of Rose, Oregon -- were changed forever the day Thomas Sutton broke her heart.
• Unfortunately Noelle fell victim to the ball last night. The field was a little damp and covered in goose poop last night, which may or may not have added to any body malfunction.
• ... unfortunately Noelle is likely to miss the game against St. Mochtas.
• Unfortunately, Noelle didn’t think to ask about the condition of the radio until they were half an hour into the flight.

I just can't tell you how unfortunate it really is that I'm not a music librarian. I'm still wondering who Thomas Sutton is. And I hate to think of the words "falling" and "goose poop" in the same context. I'm OK with missing that game against St. Mochtas, though. I'll worry about the condition of that radio later.

Monday Pick-Me-Up

This made me smile when the DH forwarded it in e-mail. Enjoy!

Mrs. Salty's Peanut Butter Pie

I volunteered some time ago to help our friend Tina make desserts for an auction at her son's school. I originally only signed up to make one, but as it got closer, it was clear that Tina didn't have enough help, so I ended up making three. I have tons of great chocolate recipes, but they already had too many chocolate desserts, so I had to come up with something new. Tina suggested something with peanut butter, so I searched on Food Network and found a peanut butter pie recipe. The funny thing is, I keep thinking it's "Mrs. Salty's" pie but it's really "Mrs. Salter's" pie. I like my name better, so that's what I'm calling it. I think it turned out pretty good (assuming you like peanut butter). I made it again for a get-together tonight, but this time, I added some chocolate. Chocolate just makes everything better, doesn't it? Here's the original recipe:

Mrs. Salter's Peanut Butter Pie
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 graham cracker crust, store-bought or premade (I bought oreo crust)

Directions
Whip cream with 1/4 cup sugar. Mix all other ingredients until smooth and fold in whipped cream until well blended. Pour mixture into a graham cracker crust and chill for several hours before serving

I Win! I Win!

I'm a little competitive, but only on things I think I can really do well at. I had no idea that I'd be winning contests at the doctor's office, though. Who would ever think of it? And who would ever want to? I mean, who wants to have the highest blood pressure they've ever seen in someone still standing, or the highest cholesterol of anyone without heart disease? It's just not the place to get competitive.

I had a doctor's appointment on Monday, where I mentioned a list of symptoms that generally boil down to the fact that I just don't feel that great. The doctor did a blood draw and the general stethescope listening and sent me on my merry way. Last night, I got a call from said doctor. I wasn't asking to participate in the contest, but apparently I won for the lowest Vitamin D levels they've ever recorded in a patient. Lucky me! I win!

The bad news is that I have dangerously low Vitamin D levels. The good news is that just about everything I complained about can be attributed to low levels of Vitamin D. I also found out that it's quite common to have low levels and that it can manifest itself in much the same way that thyroid and blood sugar problems show up. Vitamin D also contributes to an overall healthy immune system, so people with higher levels do better at warding off colds and flu and are less likely to develop many types of cancer, including colon cancer (and who'd want that?!?).

So, I'm starting on perscription strenght Vitamin D supplements and hope to feel better soon. It won't improve quickly -- the doctor said I should come get checked in 6-8 weeks to see if the levels have gone up noticably -- but it will improve over time. That means, I should be feeling more myself over time as well. And that makes me feel like I really did win.

Highlights for another week

It's been another whirlwind week. Work actually turned out to be extremely difficult, so I was very happy to have some nice things going on outside work. My DH was great the day after my company laid off a bunch of people. He gave me big hugs and took me out to Bick's for dinner. I had my favorite, seafood curry. No one on my team got laid off, but there was a lot of drama and plenty of questions for me to answer. I guess another highlight is that no one on my team got laid off last week.

This weekend, the DH and I hung out with the nephew here in town. We started out Friday evening with dinner at an Italian restaurant and then books and bed. Saturday, we hung out and ran errands and did grocery shopping and all the while, the nephew was a great sport and had a good time with us. We also played with the Wii and watched movies. The nephew shared one of his favorites with us -- Star Wars Clone Wars. It's a cartoon and we liked it. I was impressed with the nephew's knowledge of space and I was certainly glad that I like Star Wars. I think that he enjoyed going out to breakfast with us and getting McDonald's for lunch. After all that cruddy food, we ate dinner in.

Tonight, the DH and I got to help a couple in our Ward that we're friends with. They needed help with their satalite TV and called in a frenzy. This from a couple who wouldn't call for help if a meteor fell in their backyard. We had a great time joking around with them and I called the helpdesk after fiddling with the remote for 20 minutes didn't work. All in all, we had a great time with them and we figure we can help them out any old time.

Playing on my iPod This Week (Mar 6) -- Neko Case, Middle Cyclone

I saw that my friend Ed was listening to Neko Case and was reminded that she had a new album out. The new album is Middle Cyclone. I love Neko's style and sound. She has such a haunting voice that I really enjoy. I've listened to the album a couple of times now and I'm liking it quite a bit.

I couldn't really find a single from the new album, so this will have to do. It's still interesting.

To Sleep Perchance to Dream

I had the most disturbing dream last night. It actually kept me from going back to sleep.

In my dream, I noticed that there was a little bit of green in my belly button. I pulled on it and nothing happened. Then I got a really good grip on it and pulled the little green sprout, and the large seed it was sprouting from, and the 2-3 inch tiny thin root out of my belly button. I had to grip the sprout just right and tug for a while, but it finally came out. The seed looked about the size of a large grapefruit seed. I was both relieved to have gotten it out and completely repelled by the fact that it had been there. And how had it gotten that big?!?

Seriously, this dream was worse than any when I've been chased by bad guys in the dark, been a month late for a college final, or been in the middle of some other catastrophe.

Highlights...

It really has been a good, busy week. It started off with our weekly Family Home Eatin' with the usual suspects. We really enjoy the company of those folks. On Tuesday, I had a stake relief society presidency meeting where we got more plans in place for our women's conference in April. On Thursday, we were going to home teach, but instead we spent a few hours at the hospital ER where one of the women we home teach was admitted when she lost consciousness. She's fine now and out of the hospital, but that certainly added to the excitement of our lives for a couple of days.

On Saturday, we headed out to Monroe with Beep and Bop to see our friends, the Momma's Boys. We had a fantastic dinner! I'm very lucky to have friends who are such great cooks. Nicole made corn chowder and homemade rolls (divine). Dan made the most amazing dessert of grilled pineapple, mascarpone cheese, nutella, and toasted hazelnuts. I never knew these things could be so delightful together. You can read Giada de Laurentis' recipe here. After dinner, we had a great time talking and playing fussball, ping pong, and pool. I think I could really enjoy pool if I got a little more practice.

On Sunday, I got to go to my own ward for church. I like ward conferences, but they take me away to other wards and I prefer going to my own ward, so this was a good thing. We then had a very low key Sunday with no other plans. The DH got a long nap and I caught up on some of the ABC TV shows that I can't see on TV due to the Dish Network issues with Fisher Broadcasting (Booooo! as said by the witch in Princess Bride). And now we've started another week...

Did You Know...

This provided the teacher in me with plenty of food for thought. Specifically, I was thinking how important it is for all of us to learn to be good critical thinkers and problem solvers. We need to learn to be flexible and adaptable. It's important that we know facts (like learning about history and math), but the biggest impact that information will have on us is in helping us to create a framework on which we can build the problem solving and critical thinking.