grand gulch

About a month ago I went on a short weekend backpacking trip to Grand Gulch with my friends Lindsay, Grant and Matt. I hadn't been to GG since high school and it was so fun to revisit old ruins and reacquaint myself with that beautiful canyon. It was a perfect weekend, not too hot or cold, all the cottonwoods in glorious yellow array, and a pretty nice length of hiking through the canyon. I really love being in southern Utah, so so much. I'm so grateful my parents raised me with the canyons as my backyard and that I am so lucky as to have traversed a fair amount of wilderness territory. Being on this little trip made me remember/realize how important being outside is for my soul. I love backpacking because there is so much time to just BE in nature and notice small details and think about the natural processes of the rocks and organisms, or your life, or nothing at all. I love the quiet and the stars, and sleeping so well outside. Someone once said that we love being in nature because we are surrounded by beings who are all in total compliance and obedience to God's laws. I like that idea, being in nature can't help but make me think of the most important things and make me feel like I'm a part of it all.

no words peru wednesday

by this ring

I have never been the sort of girl to dream of getting married, weddings, dresses, rings etc. All I've ever know is a) I don't want a diamond b)eloping sounds pretty great and c) if I do have a party it just might be a pot-luck, or a camping trip, or both.
BUT, some time ago I found the Erie Basin jewelery store- based out of Brooklyn, and almost every time I check the site I find at least one ring I think "I could wear that for the rest of my life". Simple, old, lovely.

Not even close to a wordless Wednesday

I really like graffiti. A lot. Where ever I am, I look for it. In Peru it took awhile to find any good stuff, but one day we stumbled into a neighborhood that had some great images. Here are a few. I have a can of gold spray paint and am itching to use it. .. I am thinking of a angle Moroni stencil. . .is that sacreligious?

Gleaning

One of my favorite things to do is glean. My mom taught me all about it as a kid when we'd go around town gathering apples and plums from trees in abandoned lots to make juice, syrup, and jams. And then there is this great film "The Gleaners and I" by the grand dame of French new wave cinema Agnes Varda that I saw a few years ago and think about almost everyday. So you can imagine my delight when my dad told me of a place where I could glean a supply of firewood for this winter at a truss mill in Spanish Fork. It's quite a particular process, wood can only be gleaned from 12-12:30, and you have to get there early to ensure a good place in line, but the wood is in ample supply and we are feeling quite prepared for the cold winter months ahead. Viva gleaning!

sushi

this year for halloween i was a piece of sashimi. I made the piece of tuna out of some foam that I cut and shaped and then spray painted. it was pretty simple and cute. here are pics before heading to a halloween show are gallery 110. tom is a monk, adam is the angel moroni, and davey is reuben cat. I wish the flash weren't so bright because you can't see the sushi that well. oh well. i did wear it all day to school and taught five classes. . . if only classrooms were run by delicious raw fish. . . .mmmm. ... . p.s. look at how scary Reuben's eyes are in the first pic! that was his costume!!! and p.p.s. you can see the makeover we gave our living room! i love the green alfalfa colored paint!
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Wordless Wednesday (Halloween Kitten)

Mom

This is a copy cat blog from my dad. . . he gave a list of virtues that my mom spoke on in sacrament meeting recently. The best thing about this list is that these are all virtues that my mom possesses. She is the best.
To be patient and kind not only when things are going well, but when things are tough. This includes people and animals. To give service, especially when not asked or assigned. To be sensitive and observant with those you live and work around; Those who are easiest to ignore or take for granted. To pray everyday. To not take offense when none is intended. To be honest with yourself. Do not make excuses or justifications for thoughts or actions you know are wrong. Live in integrity. To hold your toung and not speak guile. To not judge others. To practice repentance . To be industrious; physically, mentally, intellectually, civicly and spiritually. To be modest in action, speech and dress. To be humble in your countenance. To be obedient and submissive to God's laws. To be generous with your time, heart, back, arms and all of your wealth. To forgive with your heart, not just with your lips. To be grateful and express your gratitude. To be a peacemaker and diffuse or deflect contention. To have faith and to share it with others.

No words Wednesday (almost)

by the way that is my finger. if you like this check out the BEST website in the world.

Procrastination, its what I'm good at

So I found this little cartoon on my friend Sam's blog
and couldn't help but borrow it for mine as it so aptly illustrates pretty much my entire life right now. There seem to be a lot of those monoliths looming (thesis, teaching, post graduation apocalypse, etc. etc.) and I am working really hard at trying to deconstruct them one brick at a time. . . but the internet is always there to numb my mind and distract my fears (viva la blog! viva la facebook!). Last night I gave the lession in my FHE group about living out of faith and not fear as I felt that was a real theme for me in this last General Conference and its something that has been on my mind a lot lately. I have to stop seeing those monoliths as big bone crushing machines and more like really cool rocks to climb and see great views from. Man, this post is quickly turning into an EFY talk . . . and I just wanted to talk about procrastination.

all creatures great and small

i can't stop laughing. maybe i love it because at some real level i have to admit this dino looks like my cat a little? thank you ashleigh.

crush part deux

ok ok, so like EVERYONE else there last night, i also fell wildly in love with carlos. so so so sexy. and this is an ILLEGAL photo of him! i had to put my phone in my bra to get this. thats dedication.

(i have a crush!)

and I'm not afraid to tell the world!!! my crush de jour is THE SHOUT OUT LOUDS!! a few months ago my cool friend matt sent me their new album 'our ill wills' and it was pretty much love at first listen- maybe it was that cure-esque poppy/sexy sound, or their inherent coolness by being from sweden, or how h-ing good looking they all are. . . but yeah. I was smitten. the crush smoldered quietly these past few months, and when I heard they were playing with interpol in slc you best believe I was buying a ticket. and tonight they delivered. Sadly, they didn't play as long as I'd have liked, but they were pretty freaking fantastic and I am giddy as a school girl in love with them all. sigh. crushes are so great.

Today is the day

i am going to get control of my life. I swear. I keep meaning to, and making paltry efforts at it, but its time, I've got to get in gear, make things happen, work hard, stay focussed, have hope, etc. etc. hard core. so I'm doing it. wish me luck.

Things I miss

Stoy Peruanita

Peru rocks. I had the best time ever. I am kind of sad to be back. I don't even know where to start. . . so I'll start with these pics.

terremoto

yesterday around 6 pm we were sitting in davey´s aunt´s apartament with the family when my chair began to wiggle a little, and then a little more, and then i realized that the whole room, and the whole building was not just wiggling, but shaking. we all jumped up and huddled under a doorway hugging, holding hands and davey´s uncle ´tata´ calling out to god to spare us. for about two minutes we room surfed, i was half smiling, half imagining what would happen if the building collapsed. but we were fine. the streets were full of people yelling, running, trying their dead cell phones. we ran back to the house we are staying at, half laughing, taking pictures as we ran. CRAZY!!! i guess it was about 7.6 on the r. scale. pretty big. it hit harder in the south. 387 dead, including, sadly, the 84 year old neighbor who we had met only two days before who called me a pretty doll. sad. there is an open casket outside the front door and lots of people sitting with the body.
we are safe though, and tonigh headed for huaraz to do some hiking in the andes and hopfully breath some clean air! xoxo

Curious Llama

well. . . i leave in 6 and a half hours for PERU!!! for a month. so there will be a blogging hiatus. . . the plan is backpacking in the andes, paragliding in lima, macchu picchu (duh), chillaxin' in the 'zon (thats amazon), reed boats in lake titicaca, and river rafting in arequipa. i'll post some pics when i'm back! xoxo zlb

this is for raquel

when asked recently what my favorite summer memories were, i instantly thought of the summer solstice when my dear friend r
and her husband came and did an earth art project with the kids at the ranch. we made huge yeti effigies on the ground out of branches and stones and then covered them with cob (mixture of straw, clay and water). of course what this means is essentially and very big, very messy, very fun mud fight.

the soundtrack of my life

i'm painting my living room today (green. . . duh! alfalfa to be exact) and just got real tired. so i looked at some blogs. saw this, thought it was perfect procrastination fodder. so i did it. i really like that my life opens with phoebe snow. she's so rad. barbara ann would be a really annoying but funny song to fight to. anyhow. here's to thunderstorms, green paint and great music. xoxo
here's how it works:
1. open your music library
2. put it on shuffle
3. press play
4. for every question, type the song that's playing
5. when you go to a new question, press the next button
6. don't lie and try to pretend you're cool.

opening credits: love makes a woman- phoebe snow
waking up: heavy metal- clap your hands and say yeah
first day at school: lakes of pontchartain- the be good tanyas
in love: celebration guns- stars
fight song: Barbara ann- the beach boys
breaking up: death of a shade of hue- of montreal
prom: snow- emiliana torrini
life's ok: earthquake weather- beck
mental breakdown: space maker- air
driving: sorry for laughing- nouvelle vague
flashback: puis-je?- ladybug transistor
getting back together: new monster avenue- the mountain goats
birth of child: bathtime in clerkenwell (rise ashen remix)- the real Tuesday weld
wedding: just goes to show- shortwave set
final battle: roadrunner- johnathan Richmond and the modern lovers
death scene: fever dream- iron and wine
funeral song: 5 years- bjork
end credits: still cold- mazzy star

Girls just wanna . . .

So I'm back in P-town after teening it up for the summer at the ranch and am enjoying being able to sleep in, spend time with friends, read, bike ride, float down the provo river, etc. However I MISS THOSE KIDS!!! The first boys session was great, and the girl's session (of which I'm the director. . . yipes! parents entrust me with their kids!) went better than I could have imagined. We had 12 incredible young ladies come and I was impressed over and over by their creativity, kindness, intelligence, humor, beauty and ability to kick butt working. We had a lot of fun replete with dance parties, campfires, backpacking (san rafael swell), rattlesnake sightings (we named him checkers), a lot of fantastic guests, friendship bracelet making, and general merriment. so to you girls i heart you a lot and can't wait to see you next year!

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.