Twice in Less Than Two Weeks

That's right, I'm on a roll. Time for a little Peterson update. Nothing's changed. Ha ha. Not really. I don't know if I posted this or not, but in January I was called to be the Young Womens' camp director for our ward, so I was all excited for that and gung-ho (I guess that's a way to describe it). I still had a primary class to teach, but it was certainly managable. Then a few weeks ago they called a new primary presidency and, no I'm not the prez (thank goodness), but I'm the secretary. Yep, still doing girls camp, so I'm a little overwhelmed. I'm way psyched about primary, so I'm losing a little focus from camp. Oops. I better get back on that. I have about 6 weeks to get everything together. Fortunately the young womens presidency is awesome and they carry a LOT of the load.

My mom is doing well. After six chemo treatments the tumor was long gone and she's been recouping for the last month-ish. Next week she has a few more scans to make sure the cancer isn't anywhere else and then they'll decide what needs to happen to make sure her heart is recovering like it needs to.

In March our friends Morgan and Jessica invited us to Phoenix to watch an NCAA Elite 8 game from his company's luxury box. It was mega fun and Troy's sure he can never go back to the cheap seats.

Troy looks a little goofy, but I promise he was excited.

Troy's just a worker. Golf season just finished (he was JV coach) and he's looking forward to being head boy's b-ball coach next year. He already has a game scheduled in Richy! That will be kinda funny. Our team with one or two white kids will step off the bus and then the Sevier County teams will kill them. Should be entertaining (I'll be torn over which team to cheer for). Sometimes Troy and I have contests over who's high school song is better and I always win because I sing better, Richfield's is longer than PVs and I get to spell in may song so there's no beating that. :)

One Blythe story--the other day I was watching TV when I heard this long rumble outside. "What the . . ." I thought. It sounded like thunder, but it's May in the desert and storms don't just pop up. But then it came again and sure enough it was thunder. Outside there were a few drops of rain on the sidewalk. Enticed by the smell of rain, I decided to go check the mail. There were a bunch of kids and and a family lined up on the sidewalk with umbrellas (even though there were only about 5 raindrops) watching the storm come in from the west. Everyone in the complex had their doors open to let the rain smell in. All in all there wasn't much to the storm, but it was a nice change.

I took this as the storm was clearing. Stupid power/phone lines ruining my pictures.

A Little of This and a Little of That

The thing about going back to work after a long break is that once work is over for the day, you don't want to do anything else. I had to force myself to do the dishes today. I wanted to play Monopoly Party or catch up on my photo blog so much more than I wanted to do my chores. But pat me on the back because I got them done. I think the next thing I need to force myself to do is prepare my Primary lesson before Saturday morning. Wish me luck.

So today I was at the grocery store getting some things for dinner (another something I had to push myself to do) and the lines were REALLY long. I decided I'd try to use the time to catch up on a few troublesome pictures that I just couldn't manage to get taken. I was trying to be discreet, but obviously I wasn't because my friend saw me and probably figured I was casing the place or something. Oh well. I just have to tell myself I'm developing a talent (or something like that).

Today I also became an official patron of our public library. I desparitely wanted to read New Moon but the high school library won't get if for at least another month by the time signatures are gathered and the order gets placed and filled. So I decided that rather than wait I'd pay a visit to my friendly neighborhood library. Hoorah. I'm on page 4.

Oh, this is an outtake of Troy and I taking pictures today. We were supposed to be looking at the TV, not the camera. That's my husband for you.

Maybe It's Because It's New Years

I'm getting in one of those "I need to accomplish something" moods. Although you wouldn't be able to tell because I still haven't unpacked and I've been on the computer all day. When we got back our patio was covered in dead leaved and pigeon poop, so I swept all that up (it's still in a pile on the cement, oops. I'll have to take care of that tomorrow) and pulled most of the weeds in my flowerbeds. I say most because I'm not sure if some are weeds I not. I know I didn't plant them, but last years I ended up with tiny white chrysanthemums growing randomly. I can see I have some of those coming up again and some other leaved that look too delicate to be weeds, so we'll see what happened. Blythe is full of surprises.

Speaking of Blythe, today when we were driving down Highway 95, I actually felt like I was coming home. I think that's the first time since we moved here. I mean, I've looked forward to getting into my house after a day out of town, but driving into the valley today, I was struck by the beauty of the desert. I found myself happy to be back in the area. It's a nice feeling. I guess the southwest has grown on me.

Lastly, when I was home of the holidays, my dad was playing with his new camera. Of course I don't want one as fancy (read pricey) as his, but I decided I want to be a better photographer with what I do have. So I've joined Kamie and have started another blog. Everyday we post a new picture featuring something new, whether it's a technique, subject or whatever. The site is www.petersonpictureblog.blogspot.com so be sure to add it to your list of places to visit daily and feel free to join us!