11 Years: That’s Crazy.

 I wrote this a few weeks ago, on our anniversary, June 22nd, while at Reunion Day for The Central Utah Writing Project:

Today is my 11th wedding anniversary. Forever is a long time yet with each passing year, the two of us often look at one another and say: “Crazy. It’s been this long.”

Reub’s my eternal fishing buddy. I knew he wasn’t one to “catch and release” the day he took me fishing and I never touched a hook, worm or fish! That’s my kind of fishing.

We still go, just not as much with two full-time jobs and two full-time kids. Now, he gathers tackle boxes, lures, line and rods, while I gather kids, toys and snacks… oh, and a book! I am more a fisher of words, these days, rather than gills and fillets.

But,  shore lines are still magical. The land met by cold lapping water. Water just waiting to have a smooth flat rock skipped across.  My son will spend hours doing that.

The warm sand invites holes to be dug and castles to be built. Make-believe kingdoms is where my seven year old daughter will spend hours today. 

Warm sunshine and blank paper are all I need as  I watch my favorite fishing buddy cast with professional form. Haiku are easily written about his checkered shirts, stones used for Carnes and skipping, and kingdoms where princesses are still normal and not followed around by paparazzi.  (And occasionally about zombies.)

Moments, and a little Seaglass, are collected. Seaglass can create an amazing mosaic of world history, but these moments are creating a beautiful mosaic of my eternity. This wonderful Ficklin team is more magical than any lake. Happy 11 years to us! :)

Let's Talk About Side Hustles

 Hi.  Lately, I have been thinking a lot about what I will do next in my life.  I love teaching, do not get me wrong, bur there is going to be a day when I am no longer doing it, more than likely in nine years.  (I am shooting for 30 years)

I have a list of things that I have thought about doing with my life after teaching.  

1. Get a Master's for:

    a. Social Work

    b. School Counselor

    c. Technical or Copy Writing

2. Work as an embalmer with my sister who has thought about being a funeral planner.

3. Greet at Walmart

Of all these options, the greeting at Walmart seems to be what I would like to do.  You have no work to take home and you don't have to deal with dead bodies or snotty kids.  Plus, I wouldn't need to pay more money for a degree I would only use for a while.

Of course, just saying "Hi and welcome to Walmart" seems to be a little boring after the twenty plus years in a job that you never know what will happen next.  It is quite exhilarating never having a repeat day and that whole standing at the door day in day out, hour after hour would be a let down for me. 

But really, I love working on bikes and I have recently decided that fixing up on bikes and making them rideable could earn me a little extra cash on the side for the time being. 

Reuben got me a new to me bike stand for my birthday.

Here you can see how easy it makes working on bikes.  This is Z's last bike.  With a tiny amount of work, a new saddle, and two new grips, I think I can sell it for about 40 bucks.

I also have four other projects after this one:

An old Giant mountain bike.  It will need a little elbow grease to rid it of rust.  A new chain, new shifters, and a new saddle are the big things this bike needs.

An old GT mountain bike.  It needs new grips and shifters, a new saddle, a new chain and a bit of mechanic magic.  I am hoping to get a little money out of both of these in order to get the more new project bikes.

There is also another mountain bike I can sell pretty easily without much work.

These bikes all came from the yard of a friend of a friend and had been sitting there for a long time.  

But there was also a very cool find from that pile of rust and pieces:

I am guessing this bike is from the 1970s.  It is a Raleigh Grand Prix road bike.  It has the original Brooks saddle from England, which has survived the weather surprisingly well.  Or maybe it isn't so surprising.  These saddles are the best, from what I have heard and I have thought about getting one but they are expensive.  They are probably worth the money seeing this one survived through sun, rain and snow for many years.  

This bike will probably be my next big project for me to ride for a bit before I choose to sell it.  It just looks like a very fun bike, and will make an interesting talking piece.  

Side hustles.  The in-between before the next big thing.

Media Monday: Book Review #2 The Marrow Thieves and Bonus #3

 The Marrow Thieves

Imagine a life without dreams.  You sleep at night is completely unconscious. That is what the world is like in this novel.  The only people who are found to have the ability to dream are The North American Indigenous people. The marrow in their bones possesses this power and now they are being hunted in order to harvest it. This story follows a fifteen year old boy as he battles to stay away from that harvest.  Very suspenseful read that kept me guessing what would happen next.

The Green Mean by Nick Bancock

This is the third in the Griffin and Sabine series of a correspondence between two artists.  They live across the globe from each other and communicate through letters and postcards.  The book is fun because you actually get to take the letters out of the envelopes and the postcards are artwork drawn by the characters to one another.   

Media Monday: Book Review #1: Houdini The Handcuff King

 

This was a pleasant little read.  It is based around Houdini's death defying stunt as he jumped with handcuff on into a river in Boston. It gives insight to how Houdini pulled off his stunts and a little glimpse of his life, including his relationship with his wife, Bess.  The artwork is brilliant and the book is readable in a day, which was the category I picked to read it for on Pioneer Book's Reading Challenge.  If you haven't tried graphic novels yet, here is an invitation to do so, they are fun to read.  And kids love them too!

Let's Talk About: Embracing Winter

 I don't always enjoy winter.  In fact, this time of year when it is well past Christmas, I feel like there shouldn't be snow.  I also am tired of coldness, shoveling and scraping the car windows.  I just want to curl up on the couch in pjs and never leave.  Truly, February is the dreg of winter.  

But this week, after it snowed(again), I remembered that I like winter a whole lot more when I embrace it.  So, I got out the old cross-country skis and made a trail behind my work.  

It also helps in liking winter more to buy fun winter gear.  I bought that hat last week and I love it.  It says: "Have a nice day!(If you want to)."

I really do think life is a lot about the choice to be happy each and every day.  You don't have to have a good day if you don't want to, but really, why not change it, if it isn't going the way you want.  

Embrace everything.  The good. The bad. The ugly.  Every bit of life is actually wonderful if you think about it.  EVEN WINTER.  May each of you embrace winter or whatever season you are at in your life.

Let's Talk About...Reading ADHD

 This year I have decided to participate in my favorite local bookstore's reading challenge.  

Each year they sponsor a challenge that requires you to read a certain number of books, each coming from a different category.  This year the goal is 40 books.  If you read all 40, then you receive a $50 gift card to Pioneer Book, and to any book lover, this is a win and very motivating.

Forty books is truly a challenge for me.  That averages out to being about about three books a month.  I am already 10 in and a few books ahead of schedule.  

So far, what is my trick? Well, I have ADHD of reading.  So at any one time, I am reading three or four books.  I know what you are thinking, it is hard to hold all those books at one time, but in reality, being able to go from one book to another when you get a little bored with one is fantastic.

Currently, I am reading four books: two non-fiction and two fiction.

 The Grapes of Wrath will probably be on my currently reading list for most of the year.  Steinbeck is wordy and dry, but it fits one of the categories and I feel like a failure of a English major if I haven't read anything by him.  I also read a book about the dust bowl earlier this winter and it sparked interest in reading The Grapes of Wrath, so here I am miserably trudging through it.  But, how I do get through it is by taking breaks and reading other books at the same time.  See, to read 40 this year, I have to read this way...I must keep moving forward.  Also, I do not suggest just trudging through a book.  I am going against my own rules, see the end of this post for more on this.

Chasing Down the Dawn is a favorite I have already read a few times and it fits the "Title Starts with Letter C" category.  Jewel has always been one of my favorite singers, songwriters, and authors.  If you haven't read her book of poetry entitled: A Night without Armor, you are missing out. This book is also short, which helps with the whole getting through 40 books in a year.  It is also pleasant to read because it is short vignettes about Jewel's life from growing up in Alaska, being homeless in LA, and life on the road. I don't often re-read books, but this is one of the books on my "I can read this over and over and not care" list.

New York: An Illustrated History is a daunting read in a different way than Steinbeck's book.  It is over 500 pages, which is also a category from the reading challenge. It will probably spend most of the year on my currently reading list because I often just read tidbits as I sit in the front room chilling with my kiddos. 

Being Henry David will probably be a very quick less than a week read.  It is a young adult novel where the main character wakes up on a bus with no clue who he is or what his past is.  His only possession is  a book by Henry David Thoreau so he names himself Henry David. I am only a chapter in so I don't have much else to say about this book so far but I am excited to read it.

If you are interested in joining this reading challenge or any other that are out there here are a few pro tips to get through in time:

1.  Have reading ADHD.  Be okay with reading more than one book at a time.  Of course you should pick books that are pretty unlike one another because then your brain won't mix up story lines.

2. Pick some books at are pretty short. I am sorry to say but when they say read a book by a writer with a pseudonym, Dr. Seuss counts! Graphic novels are also a great choice, as well as poetry books and children books.

3. Remember to pick books you like.  Do not assume that just because something is a bestseller and EVERYBODY is reading it, that you should too.  I often find those books aren't worth my time if they don't catch me within the first 20 pages.  Life is much too short and there are way too many good books to waste your time on a bad to you book. I learned that from a very wise librarian friend eons ago. (Isn't life cool that we have so many options when it comes to everything.  There really is something out there for every single individual taste! And this doesn't just ring true for books. Quit judging people because of their choice of whatever that you don't like.  Whether it be desserts, movies, books, music, cars, houses, clothes, etc. there isn't always the "right" choice, but rather "the right choice for you!" End life lesson preaching.)

Happy Reading.

Let's talk about...

Let's talk about...Resolutions.

There are two types of people in the world: those who make resolutions, and those who do not.

I used to be the first type and January 1st brought all sorts of dreaming about change and improvement.  But lately, I have been morphing into the second.  I actually do have some goals for this new year, yet I have not made any formal resolutions.

Underwood in Salt Lake City, November 17, 2022

I recently went to a Carrie Underwood concert.  I am telling you now, if you have not seen her live, you really need to.  She is amazing.  She also changes her clothes about ten times per concert, which is pretty impressive. Her energy on stage is something else, from playing a drum solo, to flying from the rafters in a fancy winged orb, she delivers a great show.  She also is one of my favorites because she delivers great messages through her music(and in the way she lives her life).

One particular song from Underwood's most recent album has been on my mind of late. The song is entitled "Garden" and speaks about what we must plant in our lives in order to reap good things, especially to reap peace.

These lines speak to my soul:

"Would you plant patience?
Would you keep kindness?
Would there be peace
Ripe on the vine?"

What would you plant in your life to bring you peace?  What things would you keep?  What things would you weed out?  I like the garden analogy as I think about the possibility that comes with a new year.  I am not focusing on specific goals so to speak but I am choosing to rather focus on a specific word to plant.

The song also says:

"And if your words were seeds that were goin' in the ground
And your love was rain farmers prayed about
If your life was sunlight we all needed"
What kinda world would it be?"

"If you reap what you sow
What kind of garden would you grow?
If you reap what you sow
What kind of garden would you grow?"

Words have power.  They are like seeds.  Love and the gardener's care help all seeds,(and words) grow. Living life with light does spread peace to you and to all those around you.  

My resolution is more of a vibe.  It's a word in action.  My word is: Return.

I don't know about you, but my life has derailed in many ways over the past three years. The whole Covid fiasco shook me.  I had my anxiety under control. Actually, I didn't even realize I had anxiety before, but I did, I just had coped with it really well. Since the nightmare that 2020 was, I have had panic attacks that I had never even known what were like before I had one.  I also have moments where I am very antsy; anxiety has crept in. For all of us, our lives changed and we have been yearning for a return to normalcy.

Covid wasn't the only place my life had taken detours.  My faith had simmered. I avoided the social things I had always enjoyed. I became a hermit who only wanted to sit on the couch.

And then, last fall, my mom died, spinning my world even further from where it once had been.  I went into a deep depression.  I didn't feel like doing anything that once brought me joy.  Getting out of bed felt pointless.  Staring at the wall was the only thing I had energy for after working all day. And at work, my brain was mush, and I couldn't focus.  Time was in a warp;  frozen. I truly was in survival mode.  

One day, in the past month, I was in a meeting for my church responsibilities and the word, return, came to mind.  I wanted to return to who I truly was, the Alice pre-Covid.  So, here I am planting my word-seed, watering it with self-love and spreading sunlight to others as I do.

My focus is a return to spirituality, I want to cultivate a daily habit of study and prayer.  My return to doing what I love has already started.  I am reading lots and now writing more.  I have plans for more concerts and hope to get out to some hockey and baseball games this year.  I want to also return to being present in my relationships, both as a wife and mother, but also as a sister, daughter, and friend. I am a people person and I find joy in being social.

No matter if you are a resolution maker or a person who resolves to make no such resolutions, may each and every one of you have a wonderful year.  Nurture your garden and there's no chance you won't have anything but a great year. Happy New Year, my dear friends and family!