Really? Awake at 5:30? You can take the girl out of Seminary, but not the Seminary out of the girl! I could have used a little more shut eye!
Today is Michele-Michele-Karla Day, or the Tres Amigas, as we call ourselves. Reunited after three years. This trip is due in part to Michele (ME). She helped Andy and Wendy get me here.
Our day is packed. They kept asking me what I wanted to do, though, frankly, anything with them there was perfect. I did mention how I liked the Sherman Gardens in Newport Beach, so we started there. It was, as always, beautiful. It's a wall-enclosed garden with several sections and a conservatory. The dahlias were blooming gorgeously
After that we drove to Newport Beach - THE beach.
Following that we headed to Rogers Gardens (also in Newport Beach) that is gardens and nursery. So many amazing, lovely plants.
We drove to Long Beach, then, for dinner and a movie. We went to a Peruvian restaurant - a new experience for me! I had a nice grilled flat steak with roasted vegetables. I never knew how good a roasted tomato was! Trust me, Peruvian is not Mexican, but they did have a sauce on the table that was VERY hot. A teeny bit had me heading to the bread basket for something to cool the fire!
The movie we went to was "The Abolitionists." http://theabolitionistsmovie.com/
It's a movie about child sex slave trafficking and the brave men and women who are fighting to shut it down across the world. It wasn't pleasant, but it was important. I recommend it to everyone. Just as Harriet Beecher Stowe opened the world's eyes to the plight of the African slave, this movie can do the same for child sex slavery. It's incomprehensible, hideous, and should never be tolerated!
After the movie, it was back home (the Carr's) and goodbye again, but hopefully not for too long. Who knows?
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
No big plans today, but lots of little ones. First was to go to In-N-Out to get a t-shirt for my son as a belated birthday present. He probably would rather have a hamburger from there, but it just isn't feasible. I hope he likes this.
My Dad drove me over in the afternoon to Luyben Family Mortuary where Wendy works, and where once I did (Jonathan was a tot). Of course there were changes, but some familiar faces, too.
This evening Mom & Dad took me to dinner at a restaurant in Cerritos called "Stacked."
Later...well, it's time to get my stuff together, packed, and ready to go. Vacation's over, it's time to head home. Tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Dad & I left the house at 6:30 this morning for LAX. Good thing, too. Traffic. Gotta love it (not really). But he dropped me off at my terminal about 7:30ish. Not bad. My flight isn't until 10:15.
I got through TSA quickly (despite what you hear about the 3-hour delays on the news. Probably why we decided to get there so early). So I had a wait ahead of me, but better that than worrying about getting to the plane on time. I sat down with a breakfast sandwich (airport food, expensive and not awesome), a book, and relaxed.
No delays! Yay! Other than that squished-in-a-tin-can feel, everything went smoothly on the flight to Dallas. In fact, we must have had a good tail wind, because we were there a little early. Which was good because I was unable to get my Dallas boarding pass in LAX. Something about being unable assign me a seat. It was a much shorter wait, and at my gate to Lawton I was able to get the boarding pass thingy straight.
Such small planes!
And a short flight, too, thankfully. I was talking with the gal seated next to me. I told her, "It goes up, it levels off, it comes down." She was surprised at one point when I said, "Time to go down." "Really?" And then the pilot announced our descention. To be honest, a short flight on the last leg feels so good!
My family was waiting for me right outside the doors to the airport. I was very glad to have my big boy take my luggage from me. They were glad to see me, and vice versa. But, oh, was I so tired. We grabbed dinner, drove to Altus and dropped Analiese off at the church for Mutual, and went home. I actually unpacked before I went to bed!
Thursday, May 19, 2016
First full day home, and so much to do. Some laundry (obviously), a very needed pedicure, and some grocery shopping. For some reason, my kids want to eat!
The missionaries came over this afternoon to work with Jonathan as I worked on dinner. They didn't have an appointment, so I invited them to stay. It was only barbeque cups and salad, but they seemed to like it.
Ken has to work today since he took yesterday off. Jonathan hasn't seen Captain America:Civil War with his buddies while I was gone, so it falls to me to take him. And Analiese. She is a big Marvel fan and won't be left behind.
The seven o'clock show is 3-D, the next one that isn't is 9:45, which is WAY too late for this old broad. But we enjoyed it well enough. I think the best part (Spoiler Alert if you haven't seen it and still want to) was the fight with all of them, including Spiderman and Ant Man. Those two made a stressful situation way funnier. The interaction was hilarious.
Friday, May 20, 2016
Reality hits - I have to go back to work. Co-worker had texted me in CA about something and I asked her if she needed me on Friday. "Yessiree" was her response. It's really impossible not to. We get too many deliveries at the Altus Wal-mart on Thursday and Friday for one person to do alone in a couple of hours. As it was, between the two of us, we clocked seven hours total. The biggie today is graduation cards, because tonight is Altus High School Graduation. So that section was chaos, though all the Hallmark aisles seemed busy today.
Boss called me later today to ask me to go tomorrow morning and cleaning up the graduation chaos from today. She's really nice and understanding about giving me more hours - especially since she knew I hadn't clocked many this week because of my trip.
Ken got called in to work; Jonathan had to work. This evening, it was just me and Analiese, spending a little time together. We like to look up random things on Pinterest; often it's animals and rabbits in particular.
Saturday, May 21, 2016
After taking Jonathan to work this morning, I went to Wal-mart to do a little work of my own. Boss called last night and asked if I wouldn't go and straighten out the graduation section, again. I only worked for a little over an hour. It didn't take much to do it and I couldn't reach anything in our bin in the back storage area of the store. It was all blocked off.
I spent the rest of my morning planting! It's probably a little late in the year to be doing most of these, but I figured "nothing ventured, nothing gained." Lemme explain...
The top 4x4 "box" (Box 1)hold basil and calendula. It should hold tomatoes, but this year they are in another location. To the right is Box 2, and it has watermelon, canteloupe and nasturiums. Yes, flowers are in the garden, mainly as pest-deterrants. The bottom box is #3, and it has lettuce in it, a couple of rows, mainly for experimental purposes. Number 4 is on the left and it has beans and carrots, companion plants. In the middle is "box five," which holds a zucchini in the middle, with oregano, thyme, chives and dill in the corners. Edging it between the other boxes are marigolds, a good all-around pest deterrant. I am very proud of myself; I only hope they grow!
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Nice Sabbath. I led the music in Sacrament Meeting, the hymns really brought in the Spirit. I had to take Jonathan to work after the meeting, so I missed most of Sunday School, which I love. Relief Society focused on Visiting Teaching; I really love our current President, she is just delightful!
After church, it was just me and Analiese, so after our own scripture study I took a nap. Gotta love the Day of Rest! Still, I couldn't sleep too long, because tonight was Seminary Graduation in Lawton.
I was to leave at 5:30. The elders knocked at my door at 5:00. The weather's really muggy (some storm is supposed to be coming in) and they were warm. I offered cold water and conversation on the porch, since neither Ken or Jonathan was home. They scooted just in time for me to get going.
I do not have any graduating seniors this year. I only had one student in attendance tonight because the other two are still out of town. The bishop's out of town so a counselor from our ward came with his wife. I sat next to her (She's our Gospel Doctrine SS teacher; I love her.). Seniors spoke, two sisters had a musical number of "I Love to See the Temple" on the piano and violin. They were spectacular.
One part of the program read: Testimonies by invitation. I just assumed it was for other seniors who hadn't spoke. Nope. The Stake President called on ME. My SS teacher can affirm...my head went up and my eyes grew wide. So I went to the podium and weakly said, "Surprise." And did what I was asked, albeit in a watery way, because I love Seminary and I love the Gospel and I love my students.
The ride home was uneventful, except... My SS teacher was tracking an incoming storm during the meeting that seemed to be growing heading from Altus toward Lawton. About a quarter of the way through, the lightning show started, with intermittent light rain. But the lightning was plentiful, very bright, and a little scary! Still, I am home now and able to tell the tale, so I must have survived!
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