happy pioneer day

pretty much this must have made it worth it for the pioneers. . . skies like this are so utah.

my obituary

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

wtc?

M.E.A.T.

So the other day one of the campers said to me "Zina, there is only one problem with the food here at Birch Creek, there isn't enough meat". My jaw dropped. I feel like all I do is deal with meat; I buy it, I freeze it, I thaw it, I cook it, I serve it. . . maybe we have one or two veggie meals on the menu, but those ones are usually so chock full of beans that meat would only cause a protein overload, even in the system of a teen boy. Today I really had my fill of meat. Breakfast was oatmeal, but then right after I went and bought 30 pounds of turkey boobs (I know its breast, I just like calling it that), which I brought back and promptly cut into steaks and put in the world famous Sanpete BBQ recipe. After which we opened about then thousand cans of tuna fish for tuna melts with a beef heavy minestrone, and to top the day off I cooked about 40 burgs' and 60 dogs down at the lake. REALLY. That is enough meat. P.S. that first pic is ONE turkey boob, ONE. Freaking huge.

Teen Boys

Well, I'm back to teeing it up for the summer. . .which means my blog is a year old! crazy!
The ranch is going well so far, I've been doing a lot of cooking and kitchen work so far, but am itching to take a work crew out shoveling manure or bucking bales. I've made a pretty complete transformation into boyhood. . . i'm always dirty and rarely care, I shower infrequently, and find myself resorting to Chuck Norris as a point of reference in conversation. I've been sort of accident prone so far. . . I keep finding random bruises in odd spots, the other day I burnt my hand pretty bad getting a pan out of the oven, and then today I sliced a really deep cut in my right pointer. . . I'm not really sure how bad it is, I couldn't look at it. . .I started spurting blood everywhere so I just held it tight under the sink and then hobbled to a low seat where I blacked out for a moment or too. Not my finest moment to be sure. I'm just hoping I'm having all my bad luck the first week. . . and that these events do not foreshadow some pending doom! (j/k j/k). Oh and the other thing? I'm tuckered out 24/7. . . these boys are wearing me out! Thank goodness I will never have 26 children at once.

Happy Birthday Baby Cat!

I'm not sure exactly when Reuben's birthday is, but it's sometime in the beginning of June. So he's turning the big 2, and getting more handsome and sweet each day. While most might find him hard to love, I feel like the luckiest mama cat ever. I'm so grateful for that little hairless wonder and love him to bits.

Three Wishes

Something tremendous happened this morning. I didn't know it until after my leisurely wake up, replete with stretching, half dreaming thoughts, and contemplation of the day. I finally roused myself to go to the bathroom, and upon my return found a small red string on my bed. I wondered what it could be and realized upon closer examination it was the very red string that has been tied around my wrist for precisely two years and 19 days!!!! It was a little ribbon tied on my wrist by some street gypsy guy in Salvador, Brazil The ribbon is from the church of Senor do Bomfim, a strange little church (with and even stranger side chapel totally devoted to body casts and photos of all the people who have been healed by visiting it), and the story goes that when these little ribbons are tied you make a wish for each knot and then leave it on until it falls off, at which point your three wishes come true. SO, that means my three wishes came true!!! But here's the sad part, I don't really remember what I wished for! I was so freaked out by the gypsy guy that most my wishes got used up by wishing he'd leave me alone. Nevertheless I've avoided the temptation to cut it, and then somehow in my gentle sleeping state it simply broke off. . . not during some intense outdoor activity, or Reuben (my cat) chewing on it, or any other likely activity. Though I can't recall the wishes, I can't help but feel it was cosmic on some level. . . a change in the breeze. . .a shift I have yet to perceive. . . I'm on the look out for wishes that have come true in my life.

About a week after I got it (Foz du Iguacu in the background), how it lay this morning on my bed

Last Nadar post I promise!!!

But I had to post this one. . . pretty cool. That's me, Ralph, and Ash, my incredible roommate who was the chief organizer and heart and soul behind this project.

Alternative Commencement Revisited

This article appeared in today's Daily Herald here in Utah valley. It's an ok article, not entirely accurate, it attributes the whole discussion night to me, when it's my dear roommate Ash who started all that. Plus they once again misquote the number at the event as 'a couple hundred' when we counted 1,200! Oh well, c'est la vie. Check out our site for other press coverage of the even including an article Nadar wrote about it. PS, so glad my eyes are closed in this picture! I'm such a nerd!

BRITTANI LUSK - Daily Herald

It all started in Zina Bennion's house years ago. Every Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. a group of friends would meet for discussion nights. They would talk about anything from hip-hop dancing to the crisis in Darfur, Africa.

It was the same group of friends who met on a Sunday night in late March to discuss Brigham Young University's invitation to Vice President Dick Cheney as commencement speaker.

It was there that Ashley Sanders first mentioned the idea of an alternative commencement. The idea, one of many, played out in their minds for weeks.

Many in the community and at BYU applauded the school's decision, regarding it as an honor to host the vice president. But some, like the Wednesday group, balked at the idea because of the vice president's politics -- or simply the fact that he's a politician.

The students, instead of being content to complain in hallways or basements, wanted something bigger, something with impact. So they held their own ceremony, with invitations to former presidential candidate Ralph Nader, former Democratic senatorial candidate Pete Ashdown and activist Jack Healey.

With a lot of help from the Internet, they even raised $23,125 -- more than the $20,000 they needed to pay for the ceremony.

Hundreds of people attended the event in the McKay Events Center at Utah Valley State College.

Now that Ralph Nader has taken his $12,000 and left Utah, the students, named the "BYU 25" by Nader (though the number is not 25 nor even definite), have donated the extra $3,000 dollars they raised to charities -- and they can think about what it all meant.

"We want to give students examples of three speakers who are politically optimistic and who have solved some of the problems facing America in ingenious ways," Sanders said.

What the students learned most, they said, was the impact that a few can have on the many.

"I think it's made individuals stronger," said student organizer Samantha Dickens.

Another organizer learned that determination pays off.

"If you are persistent, you can get a movement started," said Sara Vranes.

There were rough patches on the journey toward an alternative commencement. The students had trouble finding a venue and eventually had to choose the McKay Events Center, which was outside of their price range. Then the students had to raise the money themselves.

"I knew we were going to pull it off the entire time," Vranes said.

Whatever monetary struggles they faced, they also had to deal with backlash from the community, the faculty and even friends who thought they were opposing a decision made by church leaders.

Others thought the whole movement was stupid.

"I'm not a Ralph Nader fan. I think the man is ridiculous," David Balfour, a BYU senior, told the Daily Herald in April.

The day after the alternative commencement, BYU student David Ornegri said the number of his Facebook friends had dropped.

The students also received positive feedback. Ornegri got positive text messages during the ceremony. The Facebook group for the alternative commencement is plastered with positive messages like this one: "The commencement was wonderful -- powerful and articulate. Congratulations for pulling off such a successful event."

People -- even some conservative parents -- were inspired that this group of young adults could come together and pull it off.

Vranes said her conservative father came to visit the weekend the students held their first fundraiser. He gave $50 to the cause.

"That was a miracle in and of itself," Vranes said.

Mark Vranes, who said he likes Cheney, said he supported the cause, half to support his daughter and half because he liked what Ralph Nader did for consumers during the 1970s when Nader fought for safer cars.

"[Ralph Nader] saved my life when he got the Corvair off the market," Mark Vranes said.

Many of the BYU 25 weren't even in line for graduation.

Bennion, who hosted all those discussion nights, will spend the summer working at a nonprofit ranch and plans to stay active in local politics.

Dickens still has two years left in the social work program. She plans to host an event to bring Latino and white cultures together in Provo.

Vranes is thinking about attending law school when she finishes her undergraduate work. Now, she is planning to lobby the governor and others for more money to support domestic violence and rape prevention.

The extra money the students raised has been donated to Gallery One Ten in Provo, The Eugene and Charlotte England Education Fund and to establish a chapter of Mormons for Equality and Social Justice in Utah County.

Raquel Smith Callis, who runs Gallery One Ten, and others helped the students by hosting dinners for the guests. She said all of the money will go toward operating costs.

Charlotte England allowed the students to use her bank account to collect funds. She met the students for the first time Wednesday night when she invited them all to dinner at her house. In the falling darkness, the students joked about the label BYU 25. Not one of them knows what it really means or who is or isn't included in Nader's label for the group.

Chris Foster, one of the friends, looked up and asked, "Am I in the 25?"

The group just laughed.

Happy Mother's Day

I love my mom. She is a total babe. When I was a kid I used to feel sorry for other kids that their mom wasn't my mom because I was pretty sure no mom could be as good as mine. I still kind of feel that way. I could wax on and on about all the things I love and admire about her, but for today I'll name my top ten (not in rank order): 1. she has always given such unconditional love to me, 2. she is one of the most generous humans I know, 3. service is a part of everything she does in the most unassuming way, 4. she is completely down to earth and steady, 5. she has a great sense of humor, 6. she is a doer- when she wants something done she researches it, figures out what to do, and does it, 7. she is a woman of deep and quiet faith, 8. she is an incredible artist, 9. she is humble and modest always, 10. she is so kind to all people and animals she meets. (bonus 11. did I mention she makes the BEST pies anywhere? Don't believe me? Just try her lemon sour cream pie and see if you don't agree!). Yeah for moms!

Wordless Wednesday (spring)

We did it!!!!!

Pretty much alternative commencement was the best thing ever!!! We did it! We raised $26,000, got Pete Ashdown, Jack Healy and Ralph Nadar as speakers, and got 1,200 wonderful people out to share in the celebration! (thanks to all of you who came!).
It was such a wonderful feeling of community and positive change. I think we were really able to have it not be an angry, anti vibe, but rather a gathering about really finding alternatives and trying to be proactive about making good things happen. It was intense, and wonderful. At the last minute we realized that we wouldn't have time to feed the speakers before the event, and that no restaurants would stay open late enough for us afterwards. . . so I wound up cooking a meal for the whole group (pictured above!). So all day was baking brownie cake, cooking a host of lovely organic veggies into a minestrone stew, a coconut curry squash soup, lemon garlic salad, etc. My friend Raquel is a fantastic caterer and she provided gorgeous dinnerware and set up a beautiful spread in her gallery (gallery One Ten). I was blushing like a school girl when Nadar came up and told me how much he liked the meal. . .sigh. . . political crush from a far. So it was pretty much one of the best days of my life, and very much the best community, grassroots event I've ever encountered. Bravo to all that did so much! Hooray for alternatives!!!

Alternative Commencement

If you have a soul . . . come to this! It will be AMAZING!!!! It is the most powerful example of grassroots efforts I have ever witnessed/been a part of, have faith in democracy my friends! Come celebrate it!

Miss Teskie 2007

I'm not sure exactly when Miss Teskies came into existence, my guess is maybe a decade ago. . .born of the feverish brains of teen boys. . . played out in the wild of the great outdoors. . . meant for only the bravest of the brave. . . named for a much disliked elementary school teacher. . . what is it you ask? oh! well, basically you go to a remote place (for us the shores of Utah Lake), you build a big bonfire (we burned palettes procured from the back of some store), you take a large pot and melt a bunch of parafin in it. . .till it boils. They you get several fool hardy folks to get very close to the fire holding Nalgenes filled with cold water, then everyone yells "THREE, TWO, ONE. . . MISS TESKIE!!!!!!!!!!" and then the said fool hardy folks dump the cold water on the boiling wax and KAAAABOOOOOMMMM!!!!! you all watch in amazement at the giant fire ball/mushroom cloud that erupts from the water hitting the wax. It's pretty awesome. The following are: firelight friends; the Arsenio Hall off between me and Joe; fire; the ladies of the casa; the boy beats band; me and heather; boil boil boil; one of the five miss teskies we did that night.

Cheney

Dear friends and family!
Hello! The following is a letter concerning the upcoming events
surrounding Dick Cheney speaking at BYU. My friends and I are
organizing an alternative commencement which you can read about below,
or check out the website at: www.byualternativecommencement.com
I am writing to ask you to help support this effort in whatever way
you can. Monetary contributions are greatly appreciated, as well as
coming and participating in the event. If 700 people donate $20 each we can make it!!! That's not so bad. . .c'mon! Be a part of history in the making!
Thanks so much!
Zina


I am writing to ask for support for a cause that is very important to
me. Last month, Brigham Young University invited Vice President Dick
Cheney to speak at the school's April commencement. Because many
students, faculty, alumni, and community members feel that Cheney
represents neither their standards nor those of the university, we
have formed a group called BYU Students for Alternative Commencement
comprised of graduating seniors, current students, faculyt, alums, and
friends.


The purpose of BYU Students Alternative Commencement is to voice our
dissent in a constructive way by having an additional ceremony after
the official commencement on April 26th 2007. Our alternative
commencement will not be about opposition, but about
alternatives–-creative, democratic alternatives to the problems facing
our country and government. As such, we've chosen speakers for our
event who embody these principles: former Amnesty International
director Jack Healey, former U.S. Senate candidate Pete Ashdown, and
citizen activist Ralph Nader.


By having these speakers at our alternative commencement, we seek to
promote a spirit of political optimism and ingenuity. We also hope
that this event will counter cynicism and wholesale criticism by
encouraging discussion and empowering graduates to search for positive
solutions to daunting problems. We believe that preparing students to
make this kind of visionary, creative change is what commencement
should be about.


Sponsoring a large event with distinguished speakers on such short
notice is very time-consuming and costly. In order to bring our
speakers out to Utah and secure a venue we have to raise $18,250 in
less than ten days. Through hard work and many generous donors we've
already been able to secure a significant amount in a few short days,
but we still need your help. Please support us by making donation
through Paypal* at www.byualternativecommencement.com, or by sending
cash or check payable to the "Gene and Charlotte England Education
Fund" at Zion's Bank, 1060 North University Ave. Provo, UT 84604. A
donation from you of $50, $100, or $250 will make it possible for us
students to accomplish our goal and 100% of it will directly support
this event.


Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions,
ideas, or if you know anyone who might be interested in contributing.
We also encourage you to learn more on our website, tell your friends
about the alternative ceremony, and attend on April 26th. Thank you so
much for your consideration and for helping make this event possible.

Schools Out Forever!!!

Today I took the last final exam I will ever take (I think . . .). I finished my last class for my Masters, and yesterday I turned in my proposal to my committee members and have my proposal defense scheduled for next Wednesday! In order to get all this done I've been pulling late nights all week and my body is about to quit. I have to admit though a tinge of nostalgia already building as I left my office at school late late last night . . . the empty halls . . . the bike ride home on the deserted streets . . . but I won't finish my thesis till December, so I'll probably have the pleasure of a few more of those late nights. I'm just happy the days of classrooms, papers, and tests are behind me. WOOHOOO!!!

Wordless Wednesday (Oslo)

THIS. . .

. . . breaks my heart into ten million little pieces. My parents are selling my childhood home, the only home I've ever had. I understand their reasons, and at least they are staying in Spring City (that would surely KILL me). . .but still. . . its our HOME! meoow. sad kitten.

My own private motercycle diary

Those who know me, know I have an incurable disease. . . wanderlust. I'm well aware of it, and take the necessary precautions, but every so often it flares up and the itch to hop a jet plane, boat, bike, or my feet becomes so strong I just have to fly the coop. I'd like to say I have an organized method to guiding my traveling whims, but I want to go so many places, and am so open to any adventure that someone just hast to mention and idea and I'm hooked. That's how my month long trip to Peru (with a week in Chile too!) slated for this summer (mid August to mid September) came about. My friend Camille g-chatted me one day saying she wanted to take and trip, and was I up for it, and did I want to go to Peru? . . . well, I started thinking, and looking and talking to friends who'd been. . . and voila! A trip was born! Early in the plans I said nonchalantly to my friend Davey "hey, wanna go to Peru?" to which he gave an emphatic YES and voila! I have a traveling companion. Now I spend my free time thinking about, reading about, imagining, and researching all things Peruvian. So if you have any advice, places to go, etc. send them along! So far the advice we've received consists of: watch out for loose women with STD's, try some halucinagenic plant in the Amazon, and beware calm looking people on crowded buses who may suddenly vomit on your leg. We're off to a great start.

Wordless Wednesday (i heart graffiti)

krishnakrishnahareharekrishna

So last Saturday was the annual Holi color fest at the local Hare Krishna joint, you know the one, Spanish Fork, llamas, passion plays a la Krishna, huge bonfire replete with weird-o witch effigy, and the thing we all go for. . . little plastic bags filled with fine powder in a brilliant array of colors made for one purpose. . . throwing it at your friends and strangers. It rocks. Here's some pics from two years ago and this year. Enjoy. Go throw some color.