My Grandpa Was a Dairy Farmer

Right now in the refrigerator we have: string cheese, shredded cheese, cream cheese, feta cheese, sour cream, plain yogurt, Gogurt tubes for lunches, Activia yogurt, milk, and ice cream (in the freezer).

Maybe we should try other food groups?

Only In Utah

I've been looking forward to tonight's Relief Society broadcast all week, partly for the spiritual uplift and partly for the opportunity to have a nice meal and get out of the house for a little while by myself. Our stake was planning a dinner at 5:00 and then we would watch the broadcast together. I was a little late getting out the door, but still surprised by how full the stake center cultural hall was when I got there. I noticed a sign announcing the event and noting that dinner started at 4:30, so I felt embarrassed and slunk around the back to grab a plate at the buffet. There was a nice spread of pasta and salad, so I filled up my plate and took my seat at a table with an empty spot. There I nodded at the other women seated near me and tried to concentrate on my food while surreptitiously looking around to see if I recognized anyone. I found it odd that I didn't see anyone I recognized at all; I've only been in my ward for a few months but I have started to make some friends. Also, most of the women were quite young (younger than 30) with only a few older ones thrown in. That seemed suspicious given the demographic of my ward and my neighborhood. So I quickly finished my dinner, grabbed my bag, and headed to the foyer to look around. Sure enough, when I looked more closely at the sign it announced that the event was for the BYU 30th Stake (or some large number like that).

The thing is, the building is one of two on the same large lot. I had gone to it for the temple dedication, after looking up the stake center address on the computer. I didn't write down the address because I could picture the buildings in my head and was pretty sure I knew that at least one of them was at that particular address. So I headed over to the other building. This one had a sign announcing dinner after the broadcast, and the women there didn't seem right either, so I wandered around a bit and realized that all the offices said things like "BYU 184th ward bishop" on them. Somehow I managed to find two stake centers and neither one was mine. Thankfully I had a cell phone and so I called Mr. Fob and had him look up the address for me. Turns out that that it was about a block north of where I was actually at. And apparently in Utah it is possible to have three stake centers within two blocks of each other. I was able to find the right place, and some familiar faces, just in time for the broadcast. At least the pasta I had at the first place was tasty--BYU catering always does a good job.

Autumn in Utah

Right now I think fall is my favorite season. Of course if you ask me next year I'll probably tell you that spring is my new favorite, but I really like the fall. Where I spent most of my growing up years we didn't see a lot of change in the seasons and it wasn't until we moved to Maryland before my senior year of high school that I understood what kinds of colors the leaves could turn. I love the the colorful trees, the yummy fall foods, and that clear, cold sharpness that shows up in the air one day to signal that fall is here. After spending so many years in school fall also feels like a new beginning to me. I keep remembering my first fall in Utah, settling into my new apartment, learning to live on my own, buying books, making new friends, going to bed with aching legs from walking all over campus. Before coming to BYU I had not spent much time in Utah, especially not in Provo. Each fall that I live here I seem to remember the first time I saw all these places that are so familiar to me now. I spent my first few weeks here with my aunt, and so I feel even more nostalgic since she passed away a few years ago. Each year it seems that there is a moment when I look up to the mountains and realize that the trees are turning red, and each year I will take a moment to remember all the other fall days from the past.

"That Kind of Person"

A few weeks ago I read an interesting article about parents who forget and leave their children in the car. It was a horrible article to read, but fascinating at the same time. Several things stood out to me from it. First of all, a demographic survey reveals no common link between any of the parents that do this. They are all over the map, and even include parents that have gone through great time and expense to adopt children. It's certainly not a case of neglect or an absence of love. The article pointed out that these parents are often vilified in the media or by law enforcement (in many cases they are arrested and charged with neglect or even manslaughter). The writer theorized that the reason for our visceral reaction to this phenomena is the fact that in our subconscious we are afraid that we could be that normal parent who just forgets, and to escape that fear we must demonize them and turn them into the 'Other', some kind of non-human monster. Another, related point, was the fact that engineers have come up with several different kinds of car-seat sensors that are relatively cheap and easy to install. Unfortunately, they've never been able to market them in a way that people will be willing to buy them. Everyone assumes that they are the kind of person who would never forget their child and therefore doesn't need to install a sensor on their carseat.

This article came to mind again a little while ago when I was thinking about my new ward and realizing that my attendance this summer had been somewhat spotty due to vacations and other things. I found myself thinking "I don't want them to think I'm the kind of person who is lazy and inactive." Yes, I know that's ironic since my husband doesn't attend church. After having the thought I spent a while examining myself and my assumptions about people who seem 'lukewarm' in their attendance. I realized that I had also fallen into the trap of assuming that they were somehow 'foreign' or 'other' and that there was a certain type of person who would do such a thing. Clearly if there was a specific sort of person who didn't bother going to church, I must avoid being that kind of person. I'm glad that I could catch myself in this pattern of thinking and realize that all of us struggle with various things and that it is important not to label people and assume that they fall neatly into categories. Hopefully I can work on being the type of person who doesn't believe in types.

Ultrasound Results

We had our 'big' twenty-week ultrasound today, and to be honest it was sort of anti-climatic. I guess that's part of having three kids; with each one the newness wears off a little. The baby also wasn't moving around very much and insisted on being face-down the entire time so we also didn't get a very good look at much that was cute. We did get to measure all the important things and everything looks great. First of all, we are definitely having another girl. Mr. Fob and I both pretty excited about this; I'd been mentally preparing myself for another boy just so I wouldn't get my hopes up, and was therefore excited to realize that I'm getting what I want after all. Everything looks nice and healthy, and the placenta is at least towards the top and back of my uterus, which is a better place for it than other spots could be. Hopefully the next twenty weeks will just go smoothly and we will have a more calm and peaceful delivery this time around.

Why I Don't Shop at WalMart

To be honest, the biggest reason why I haven't shopped at WalMart for a few years is because it is not close to my house. I'm lazy and would rather drive to a closer store that only takes two minutes rather than ten. Today my mother-in-law asked me to pick something up for her at WalMart, and since I needed some groceries anyway I was happy to oblige. When I hit the produce section I started to question my laziness, because many of the produce prices were lower than my usual store and the produce was just as fresh. But then I tried to find some spinach in the frozen foods section and they were completely out. I had a similar experience trying to find hair detangler for S-Boogie and they only had one set of the curtains my mother-in-law wanted me to buy. Then when I got to the cash register I had to wait several minutes while the cashier chatted with another one who was apparently replacing her. No one looked at me or said anything to me like "sorry, we're changing shifts". Then several items rang up at much higher prices than they had been listed at; especially in the produce department I had trouble determining what the real price for anything was. I also don't like how they use so many bags for everything; the bread went in its own bag, the milk in its own bag, the curtain in its own bag, and so on. Then on the way out I slipped and nearly fell in a puddle on the floor; the first person I notified grunted and pointed to another lady, who barely looked up from her chat with a fellow worker to nod when I pointed out the puddle and remarked that it was dangerous and should be cleaned up.

The thing is, as much as I complain about these things at WalMart, most of them have happened to me at other stores. I get tired of being unable to find things in stock and I really dislike rude customer service. I am somewhat tempted to start shopping at WalMart again because their prices really are low, but I think I'll let laziness convince me to keep going to the stores closer to my house. Maybe I should just invest in some chickens and a cow so I never have to go to the grocery store again.

Reading Roundup: August 2009

David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism by Gregory Prince and W. Robert Wright

I liked this book quite a lot more than I thought I would; it is long and has extensive footnotes, but the writing is very readable and most of the chapters were very interesting. The book is organized by themes rather than chronologically, so it was occasionally confusing, but other than that it seemed well-written and carefully researched. I learned a lot more about President McKay and the history of the Church during the mid-twentieth century than I had known before, and many issues and ideas that come up now make a lot more sense to me after reading some of the historical precedents for them. I also realized that I am much more interested in recent Church history than in early history; I must be a modernist after all.

Gone for Good by Harlan Coben

This was another quick, fun read that definitely sucked me in until I finished it. I didn't like it as much as the last Coben book I read (Tell No One), but it was still good and enjoyable.

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

I struggled a bit with this book. I think it is partially due to the fact that Yates is writing from a particular time and place that I'm not familiar with. Actually, I'm more familiar with our contemporary versions of 1950s New England, and this was different. Plus the main characters are not very likable. They are not meant to be, and the book itself is meant to be an uncomfortable read, and so it was not necessarily 'fun', but still a good piece of fiction.

Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish-Speaking United States by Hector Tobar

Tobar is a reporter with the Los Angeles Times, and so the book is very fun to read and discusses a wide variety of people and situations. He is mostly optimistic about the state of race relations and the position of Spanish-speakers in the United States, and so it was somewhat refreshing to read a more upbeat story about 'the other America' that is growing up around us. He does occasionally touch on the darker issues that come up in a multi-lingual society, but most of the book is composed of positive anecdotes. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to know more about Spanish-speaking immigrants and the world they live in, since that world is largely invisible to the rest of us.

Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

This was a fun, fluffy read recommended to me by a friend a while ago. I had a great time reading it, alternately cringing and laughing out loud at everything that happened.

Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada

I heard about this book on NPR a while ago and put it on my list to read, then promptly forgot about it. Then I remembered it a few weeks ago and checked it from the library. I was initially disappointed because it was hard to get into; I had to really push myself through the first hundred pages or so. It's long, it was written quickly by a man who was dying from chronic alcohol and drug use, and it's full of very unpleasant things. And yet at the same time it's an incredibly compelling book and I think the story behind the novel is every bit as important as the story within the novel. It takes a lot of work to read this book, but it is work that is well worth it in the end.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

I had heard so many good things about this book that I worried it would not live up to the hype. I liked it quite a lot more than I thought I would and literally could not put it down. It is an unusual book in many ways, but the writing is quietly beautiful and truly a work of art.

The Tree House by Douglas Thayer

One of the first pieces of Mormon literature that I read was Thayer's short story collection Under the Cottonwoods. I was really moved by many of the stories in it; the imagery was perfect, the writing clear and understated, and it asked hard questions about faith in a world of disappointment, violence, and tragedy. I've read more by Thayer since then, but always come away disappointed. Until I read this book the other week and I was blown away again. There are a few flaws in it; some of the action is too heavily foreshadowed and some of it is repetitive. But the story of a boy becoming a man while struggling with loss and disillusionment is powerful. It is set during the time between the ending years of World War Two and the Korean War, a time ripe for questions about God and his role in our lives on Earth. Thayer comes back to the Book of Mormon often as a work about violence and faith, and I thought this was interesting because it seems that now we tend to de-emphasize the war chapters in favor of other ones. I could probably write an entire post about this book, but I will refrain and instead invite you to consider reading it (be warned, it is a bit graphic in parts).

Movies

Los lunes al sol (Mondays in the Sun)

The main problem with this movie is the lack of a clear plot structure or resolution; it's about a group of men who are left jobless when their factory closes down, and so the movie seems to wander with them. It's a good movie and the acting is great, but definitely not an action film.

Silencio roto (Broken Silence)

As Mr. Fob pointed out, this movie is basically Pan's Labyrinth without all the freaky stuff. It's a pretty straight-forward movie as far as cinematography and plot go, but still enjoyable. The acting is great and the scenery is gorgeous. It's also a subtle film about complicated issues without many obvious heroes or villains. If you like foreign, historic films you'd probably like this one.