Trip to Logan

I spent a lot of money this week at Walmart, NPS, and the Blue Chip Group on supplies that are usually taken for granted like toilet paper, laundry soap, diapers, toothpaste, etc. At the Blue Chip group I ordered 75# of Morning Moos and other food storage staples. It seems that more people are getting the same feeling to get their affairs in order, especially their food storage. The waiting list is now 8-12 weeks for regular items like wheat, beans, milk, etc. Luckily, they had everything I needed in stock at their little store. The lady who checked me out was super slow. It was very hard not to feel irritated with an interested baby who wanted to pull all the inventory off the shelves and watch her hen peck at the keyboard. I think it took 35 minutes for the lady to check us out. Ironically, it only took me 10 minutes to assemble what I needed. Next month I will flesh out a couple of items then we are at a full years supply. That feels good.

I crocheted two hats this week: one for a lady in my ward and a hat for my sister Jana. My main project included designing 6 Photoshop collages for a photo shoot from last week.

After Justin got home from work on Friday we drove to Charity’s home for a small BBQ. I made potato salad, brought hot dogs & Better Cheddars, buns, ice cream, and some drink. Charity made a potato salad and provided a yummy watermelon. The best part was putting some dry ice into the kool-aid. We got a package of ice cream from Justin’s firm this year; the packaging included dry ice to keep the ice cream frozen. Amelia and I played with it all afternoon! We had so much fun watching it bubble and froth in warm water. Amelia started taking small steps by herself this week. We caught some footage at Charity’s home. She was very excited about all the clapping and cheering as she walked one or two paces. I think she will take another month to really start walking on her own (hopefully).

Saturday afternoon was my first photography seminar! A renowned infant photographer, Sandy Puc, came to SLC to teach about her techniques. It started at 1pm and ended around 8 pm. The topics were so interesting that it seemed only an hour passed instead of 7 hours. She showed us how to pose infants, lighting techniques, equipment basics, marketing, etc. A fellow photographer and I attended the seminar together. We had dinner at the new Café Rio right across from my home. That is dangerous. Talking with Mary Kim about all the techniques and content helped solidify the information. After the conference I debriefed Justin then wrote a summary to remember the basics. While writing I came to the conclusion that this is not the right time of our life to start a full-blown business. This is the time to practice and hone my skills. Once our children are older and in school then I can think about going professional. For now, I am happy with my small, ghetto setup. Having a harder set up to work with will help me learn how to deal with difficult situations and not take future professional setup for granted. Scott sent me an article about how the equipment doesn’t really matter; it is the artist behind the camera that captures the art. I like that; I will learn how to make what my mind imagines into great art!
Today Justin flew out to Minnesota for a week right after Sacrament Meeting. Amelia was running a fever so we went home with him. After bonking her lip, palate on the coffee table Monday night her mouth was very sore. Her gums are all bruised and her lips are white inside. Plus she is teething again and going through a growth spurt. Being little must not be as comfortable as it seems. I was very grateful for two men in my ward. Both of my neighbors on either side are not LDS. Lucky (my neighbor to the left) started an overwhelming project replacing the treads of his stairs. He was nearly in tears trying to figure out how to replace them without replacing the entire staircase. Two guys from my ward noticed his dilemma, grabbed their power drills, and started to dismantle the stairs with ease. The whole project was finished by 4 pm, taking a project that could have lasted 8 hours down to half the time. Lucky was so grateful. I was thankful these men understood the law of the Sabbath. They helped a neighbor in need even though it was Sunday and the project hard labor. The church is true!!! Jana and Jeremy came over for dinner. I prepared pork chops with a tangy rub and grilled on the grill, corn, and kidney bean salad. Jana and I talked about options for earning money while she is in an intensive program starting August. She is really concerned about making ends meet. Amelia found one of Justin’s photo ID badges and carted it around with her for a couple hours. I heard her saying, “da-dad, hi daddy” over and over to this badge. Justin melted when I told him.