Mrs. A

 i still think there is goodness in the world today. a lot of it. where? i think i found a couple of places. last night i drove to the big town, and my parents picked me up to run some errands while cowboy roped. the oil pressure wasn't working and we were stuck at the mall in an old durango. prayer came to mind, the oil pressure rose, and we were able to drive across town to drop me off and my parents made it safely home. goodness. i have a dad who is sicker than we have recognized in a life altering way. he is such a good hard worker that you would never know. goodness. last friday we got to sit through an educational meeting and stare at all the data that paints the picture of my teaching reality. my mind drifted to the valentines dance and a young 7th grade boy who decided to ask the girl who no one else would. his goodness and her face made teaching meaningful. he didn't have to, but he knew it would make her day. goodness. i was asked to pla...

I am a daily commuter. In that driving time I regularly listen to NPR. It comes on right when I'm driving to work and then helps fill the time on the return trip. This week David Greene, a host on Morning Edition, is focusing on my generation and its problem with religion. The series is called, "More young people are moving away from religion, but why? The article explains how, " One-fifth of Americans are religiously unaffiliated — higher than at any time in recent U.S. history — and those younger than 30 especially seem to be drifting from organized religion. A third of young Americans say they don't belong to any religion. " Here are statements about religion from my generation: Miriam: I find the practice of sitting and being quiet and being alone with your thoughts to be helpful, but I don't think I need to answer that question [about God] in order to participate in the traditions I was brought up with. Yusuf: Today if some guy told ...

I don't know what has gotten into me lately. I felt like writing again today. There must be something in the water I've been drinking. I reluctantly got out of my warm bed this morning, got ready for the day, and jumped into my car for the trek across the desert. I tried listening to a couple of normal radio stations with no avail, reluctantly attempted NPR's Morning Edition and soon realized that political analysis was not going to hit the spot either. I even tried a book on CD that I had started a couple of days ago; It was just too slow for this morning's commute, and I soon found myself yawning. Then I remembered that Cowboy had put four CDs into the  player. I knew they were going to be great... Let me introduce you to Don. His straightforward yet smoot h base-baritone voice, soft tones, and an imposing build earned him the nickname "The Gentle Giant" of country music. (Wikipedia) His lyrics are simply delightful... I know some folks aren't i...

Hey A, I want to remember this. That's why I'm writing it down. I had a busy Halloween full of commuting, jr. High dance preparations, teaching a normal day of school, figuring out which students were academically eligible for the Halloween dance, enduring the dance, commuting, finding candles for Cowboy's amazing cowboy pumpkin creation, making dinner, doing laundry, enjoying trick or treaters, doing dishes, watching an episode of Duck Dynasty (totally hilarious), getting ready for bed, saying prayers (especially for the future of this country), getting into bed, reading my scriptures, and then being touched by this.... And now I, Moroni, proceed to give the record of Jared and his brother. For it came to pass after the Lord had prepared the stones which the brother of Jared had carried up into the mount, the brother of Jared came down out of the mount, and he did put forth the stones into the vessels which were prepared, one in each end thereof; and beho...

Dear Readers, I had to say goodbye in the last week, and it was harder than I thought. I had been up and down and all around in my car, but the time had come to wish it farewell.    You see, I am a serious commuter. I drive close to two hours daily on this road...  which happens to be where these fellows roam and play...    Cowboy was worried about this happening.... so he decided I needed something bigger, higher, and stronger. He has had issues with Subaru cars and the stigma that comes with them as long as I've know him. He almost thought twice about dating me, because well, I drove a Subaru. Silly Willy! Well, after considering all of our options and thinking about which vehicle might fit our needs the best, we ended up at the Subaru dealership. We are now very 'proud' owners of this gem...  I know it doesn't look bigger, higher, and stronger...but oh, it is. It single handily changed cowboy's mind about ...

Here they are. It was a cold, windy, wonderful, memorable, family filled, long awaited, perfect, wedding day.  These were taken by Rebecca Zufelt. She's excellent. You can call her Professor Z if you want...

It's really raining outside, and Cowboy's pressure washing his pickup, because he saw the pressure washer just sitting on the lawn at his parents' home after we did chores. He has the hood propped open, his hood and work gloves on, and is totally loving it. Right now he's working on spraying the engine section. I bet fun treasures are flying out with the highly pressurized water. My favorite part about this whole experience is that we have to drive on a muddy, puddled road to get home. Sincerely, The Accidental Country Girl