I need a nap!

With only two hours of sleep last night (I’m blaming it on allergies), I need an afternoon nap right now …

bayleaf cafe

Tried out the bayleaf cafe on Main Street and met one of the owners, Seth ... so excited to try out these comfort foods!

Loved the drinks served in large mason jars ...

I had the Chicken Adobo rice bowl and Marcy tried the Chicken Fried Chicken with their hoppin john and the cheese grits.

Semi Nordic Walking

I see this lady waking just about every morning on Main Street. Why is she Nordic walking with only one pole?

Accents and such ...

This is one of my favorite stories to tell about accents … and no lie, this really happened. Now, the story sounds a lot better when I tell it because, well … how do you do accents in writing, right? So, the accented words will be written out as what it sounded like when it was said. Anyway …

I was on my way to a party at Brenda’s house with a couple of friends (one of which was “M” who is a native of Mexico), when I got a phone call from the "hostess with the most-est" asking if we would stop at a store and pick up a few things before coming to the party. She needed three things: 1) drinks, 2) ice cream, and 3) toilet paper (she was running low and didn't want to be without with guests coming over).

As there were three of us, we divvied up the items and agreed to meet at a cash register in a few minutes. Five minutes later, we were at the appointed register except for "M" who had to get toilet paper. So, we went to find "M" in the toilet paper isle. There stood "M" looking overwhelmed by the choices of toilet paper. Basically, "M" believed that people are really picky when it comes to certain products and didn't know what brand Brenda would prefer. So, to get it over and done with I whip out my cell phone and called Brenda.

Inge: Brenda, "M" wants to know what kind of toilet paper you want us to buy.
Brenda: I don't care, just get me a small 4-pack.
"M": Tell her that there's Charmin, Quilted Northern ...
Inge: (repeats the choices to Brenda)
Brenda: Charmin!
Inge: Grab a 4-pack of Charmin.
"M": Well, which kind? There's the single-ply, double-ply, triple ...
Inge: (repeats the choices to Brenda)
"M": Tell her that the triple have more "shits"

We (except for "M") laughed so hard, tears were in our eyes ... "M" didn't talk to us the rest of the night ... but when he did finally talk to us again, "M" told us that he will also not say "beach" and uses the word "seashore" instead.

The wonder that is me ...

I've been thinking about not going to church. I'm burnt out in this singles ward. The few rotten apples have really spoiled the bunch for me. I've no plans on attending my home ward either, though ... I'm just tired. So much is asked of me and I'm not feeling like I'm getting anything out of it. I don't want to feel guilty for not going to church, eating out or shopping on Sundays, not praying or reading my scriptures. I just want to live my life as a good person without the pressure of being "perfect".

I'm certainly not meeting any men to date in this ward and at this point I'd rather find a good non-LDS man, who doesn't drink or smoke, who is true to himself than an LDS man who is a hypocrite.

Gossip

Out of breath and with a serious look on her face, a friend came running up to me before church and said, "I need to talk to you!" Worried that something bad had happened I asked what was the matter. Turns out she had just overheard that someone I might have liked (had he not gone after a girl I can't stand and would only now get my attention if he hits me over the head with a skillet) had gotten engaged over the weekend. Oh, PUH-LEEZ!

The whole thing wouldn't have bugged me so much if the next three hours were not filled with talks about marriage. I was really bugged by the conversation and after I got home I decided to call her to ask why she did what she did. Had I given her the impression that I was "in love" with this newly-engaged man? Did she really think that I was going to get so upset or burst into tears? Did I look/act like I care? No, she admitted, but she "knew" that he had "hurt" me (I was more ticked than hurt by his choice of woman he decided to pursue) and that it was "hot" gossip and she wanted to make sure that I would hear the news from a "friend" ... just in case ... So, I asked her if she also went running to his ex-girlfriend and delivered the news to her to get the reaction she didn't get from me. No, of course not.

I SO hate my singles ward sometimes ...

He's got my back ...

This week has been horrendous at work! My boss, L, had a lot of fires to put out and was really stressed. A huge closing was scheduled for yesterday afternoon and the attorney she worked with on the loan just has a different method of working that is not very compatible to L's style of working. To begin with, L, is quite easily frazzled, and all the things that went "wrong" yesterday just made her go ballistic. Well, today my boss, B, called me into his office, closed the door (which really freaked me out -- I hate closed door meetings) and we had a little chat that went something like this:

B: Do I need to talk to L?
Me: Why?
B: I saw [the secretary] she yelled at yesterday and she was really upset. I also heard that she yelled at [the other attorney]. Did L yell at you too?
Me: No, I was in close proximity of the people she yelled at, but none of the things that went wrong were my fault, so ...
B: Well, she really fought to get you as her secretary. If she ever becomes a problem, you let me know and I'll make sure that you won't have to work for her.

Awww! B has my back and will stand up for me and protect me. No wonder he has my loyalty.

Blessed by adversity

I'm so blessed to be able to come in contact with so many inspirational people. I LOVE the chocolate-flavored Italian Ice this man sells (it reminds me of New York City). A co-worker mentioned this article yesterday, but I didn't have the time to stop and read it. So today, Marcy, Julie and I stopped at the cart to get some of this cold yummy treat after lunch. Wow! I wish I had read this article before lunch. I wouldn't have asked for the extra scoop or at least I would've paid for it. Inspirational!

Blessed by adversity: Utah man refuses to wallow in past
by Lee BensonDeseret News, Aug. 18, 2009 11:11 p.m. MDT

Life. It throws change-ups. And nobody is exempt. No one wins them all. Or were you not watching what happened to Tiger Woods on Sunday?

Gary Ceran has seen his share of ups and downs. He's lost three children to cancer. He's lost twins to premature birth. He's lost businesses to the economy. And that was before his wife Cheryl and children Ian and Julianna were killed when a drunken driver plowed into the family car on Christmas Eve in 2006.

Only Gary and son Caleb and daughter Clarissa survived — all that remains of the family that could have been, should have been, 11.

I ran into Gary Ceran this past week. Almost literally. I was walking around a downtown corner, and there he was in the middle of the sidewalk, offering me a free Italian ice sample.

I looked at the nearby street vendor cart, staffed by three teenagers.

"Skoopzz New York Italian Ice" said the sign.

"Do you have coconut?" I asked.

"Of course," came the reply.

As I was walking away I thought the thought that is never far from a newspaper columnist's mind: this could be a column.

By the time I turned back I had it sketched out in my mind: This guy was an out-of-work stockbroker putting his kids to work on the streets.

I said to the vendor, "I'll bet there's a story here."

I had no idea.

"I'm Gary Ceran," he said. "I think you've written about me before."

Indeed I had, along with the rest of the Salt Lake media. Gary's story took on dramatic overtones in the winter of 2006-07, and not only because of his family's tragedy on Christmas Eve. Afterward, Gary unconditionally forgave the 24-year-old man who reduced his family by half.

It was the first of a series of highly publicized acts of forgiveness that winter, arising out of tragedies from the Trolley Square shootings to the Amish schoolhouse massacre.

Gary explained that he took six months off after the car wreck as his family healed.

Then, in the spring of 2008, he remarried, instantly gaining four more children, and after that he put all the kids to work, along with himself, staffing Skoopzz.

The Italian ice business dates back to the summer of 2003 when Gary, who was working in financial management for the LDS Church, bought the cart and put his kids to work outside Salt Lake's two downtown malls.

Skoopzz was so successful it spawned an ice cream store and a pizza place in Provo.

But success hath its own pitfalls. First the downtown malls were torn down, then Gary became a victim of his own rapid expansion when the economy sagged, and then along came that drunken driver.

Fast forward to the summer of 2009 and here's Gary, in yellow T-shirt and sneakers, again hocking Italian ice with his family.

Everything has changed and nothing has changed.

Mr. Forgiveness clearly enjoys the view from street level.

"I get to make a lot of friends," he says, "and the kids get to learn how to be entrepreneurs."

From here the possibilities are, as always for one who refuses to wallow in the past, many. Gary is learning foreign currency trading, he's writing a book (working title: "Allowing Your Life To Be Blessed By Adversity"), he's considering motivational speaking, and come wintertime he might move Skoopzz into the food court as the downtown malls re-emerge.

He definitely plans to continue to keep in touch with Carlos Prieto, the man who plowed into his family on Christmas Eve. Gary visited Carlos in prison last Christmas. "It was a beautiful experience," he said. "He's got eight years left in jail, and then he'll get deported, and yet we were able to smile and talk. He's doing the same thing we all are, trying to move on in life."

Before he moved on to offer an Italian ice sample to a construction worker, Gary remembered something his father used to quote.

"He'd always say life is like a grindstone. Whether it grinds you down or polishes you up, that's up to you."

Temper Tantrums

So, at what age are temper tantrums inappropriate? Several friends and I are on somebody's @#!*-list because at the last gathering, we stopped a very serious and slow, subtitled movie she loves for something a bit more light-hearted (which I brought). The funny thing is it's not like we don't know the storyline of the movie as she had painstakingly told us the full story from beginning to end some time that week prior to viewing the movie. We've gotten together since and had invited her to come along, but we've had no response from her to our phone calls, texts, etc. She will be moving out of state in the next few weeks and none of us want this friendship to end over something so trivial ... but what else can we do when we've made every effort to contact her and she has blown us off? Now we're hearing from other friends that she is bad-mouthing us over the incident. It's one thing if this friend is a teenager (somehow being a diva is expected of teenage girls), but she is in her 50s (at the very least) ... shouldn't she know how to get over not getting her way all the time? We humored her and watched the movie for about an hour, but when people are snoring and yawning and killing the party, I think it's time to change the movie to liven things up again ... but that's just my opinion.

Last night I did some shopping and got her a small gift card as a farewell gift. I'm hoping that she can use it after the move to get little things that will help her and her family settle into their new place. The debate is whether or not I should bring it to her or if I should just mail it to her. I so don't want to deal with the drama. Any thoughts?

Camera Phone

What did we ever do without a camera on our cell phones? Here are some fun pictures I found on my phone:

Pink flamingos at the San Diego Zoo

I call this one, "After the Rain", at the Utah Arts Festival in June

Nope, it's not a painting, this really was the billowy clouds after that rain storm in June

I've shared this one before while in a contemplative mood with the caption, "Life may not always be a bowl of cherries, but it's not always the pits either."

Gerber daisies one of my co-workers brought in to brighten the office one day

The fans at the Air Supply concert a few weekends ago

Keeping my eye on you

ALOHA from my desk!

A pink bike!

Here are some pictures friends have sent to my phone:

Faye's white board.

Ann's bowling pins.

Marcy took this one of the dark clouds over Temple Square today.