Salt Lake Spring!

Today in Salt Lake City it was SPRING! I wish I could tell you of the transformation that happens inside me at this time of year. Its like all of my thoughts and feelings are painted yellow. I can even watch the news with a smile. I thought I'd pay quick homage to this amazing time of year with a list of why this is the best time of the year:
1 - you can wear flip flops which cuts down on laundry time and decision making time (i.e., what shoes or boots or blah blah)
2 - you can wear a sweat shirt if you WANT but you don't have to.
3 - on weekends the sun wakes you up.
4 - the sky is almost always blue
5 - the mountains are still pretty and white.
6 - everyone seems so happy
7 - all of a sudden there's this incredible burst of energy
8 - even though (as sara said) mini eggs have been out for a while... this is when they're truly meant to be eaten.
9 - memories of Payson and Easter egg hunts seem to swamp me every time I drive by a park.
10 - I start to make lists and actually get things done again
11 - I look better in the sun - my eyes are a bit more green.
12 - In unpacking my summer clothes I have this amazing sense of anticipation.
13 - YARD WORK! And yeah - I like it.
14 - Sunlight at 8 p.m. That's like the biggest gift ever.
15 - CANYONS CANYONS CANYONS
16 - I get to break out my camelback, tanks, and hiking shoes!

Horsepower in all things

So for those of you who know the boys in my family you will understand this conversation that I witnessed Sunday evening. My sister in law and Gardner are discussing purchasing a new vacuum but will also be building a new home soon. They are debating purchasing a Kirby vacuum or getting a central vacuum in their next home.

dad: you ought to get the central vacuum. Its so handy and great and I love it in the garage. There's nothing better for cleaning out cars.

gardner: I'm worried about the suction in a central vacuum.

dad: I haven't had anything that cleans out cars as well. Its amazing - its great to have in the garage.

gardner: With such a long hose how can it have that much suction?

dad: What do you mean? Its airtight so it has the same suction at the end. Besides its got a ton of horsepower. I'll bet you couldn't find a vacuum out there with nearly as much horsepower.

gardner: Really? How much horsepower do you think it has?

How were they able to equate something typically used only to clean the house with cars and horsepower? That's a rare genetic Crane trait.

Cancun to New Year!

It reminds me of that phrase, "it was the best of times and the worst of times." The best being lying by a beautiful white sand beach as sweet waitresses brought any drink of our choice every few minutes. The worst being packing to go home and realizing that as the plan landed there was SNOW SNOW SNOW everywhere. Merry Christmas!

Highlights Include:
the wall fountain that greeted us in the main hall. It made mom so happy.
the beautiful jacuzzi tubs in the rooms (and mine and m's worked too).
the amazing deep cavern on the way to chickenitsa.
Cliff jumping over and over so that we could catch it on camera! We didn't have to twist M's arm...
Some of the most amazing ruins I've ever seen.
But, the most important highlight was THE SUN!!!
Oh yeah... the best highlight for me was that I realized I look like mom! FINALLY! YAY!

Our company was fantastic (I can't think of anyone I'd rather share such a great resort vacation with), our hotel was beyond belief, the food was safe and yummie, and the weather was PERFECT!!!

Mouse in the House?

Above are a couple of examples of why its been hard to be back home after taking more than a week to soak up the sun in Maui...

Tonight I walked out of work with a friend and we stood in the parking garage talking. While Jess was filling me in on all that happened last week I stood fidgeting (if I listened to my mother and didn't fidget..). I began scraping my open toed black shoe back and forth over some strange lump on the floor. I wasn't really thinking, but if I had been I'm sure I'd have been thinking about ten billion other things other than the obvious: what is this thing I keep scraping my foot back and forth over? Yes - had I been thinking at all I'm sure I'd have been looking down at my nearly split ends that badly need trimming or my toes that badly need painting... the beach was rough on me!

Anyway as I said, I stood thoughtlessly scraping my almost bare foot over this lump when suddenly my friend looked down for a minute and then back up. She made direct eye contact with me and nearly screamed, "WHAT IS THAT THING?" Not too concerned I allowed my eyes to wander where my foot had been wandering.

Two points I'd like to make is that there are TWO of whatever this is and that one of them has been PAINTED over by whoever painted the parking lines. Nice work guys. Really great attention to detail. I guess had I decided to nap in the wrong place I too could have been striped.

Rolling Stones and Relief Society

This past Sunday while in San Diego with my family we attended church together. When the women were in class together we had a lesson on morality. The teacher commented about how Mik Jagger had oppenly admitted that their music was geared at making teens engage in immoral acts... she went on about how important it is that as women we take a moral stance and be sure that we choose even good music, etc... My youngest sister lightly poked my side and made pointed out that a couple rows back a girl was actually WEARING a ROLLING STONES t-shirt. It was the one with a big tongue and had the letters printed boldly over her chest... I couldn't help but squirm a bit for her and realize how perhaps our lesson should have been on understanding. I guess I just have a hard time believing that the band's goal was more financial and that their goal was to SELL ALBUMS just as that poor girl's main girl was fashion... I just don't know that it was as much about immorality...

Good news (and that's the biggest understatement I've ever made)

Maren is 18. I was thinking today about things that happened in my 18th year. One year of college, a pepper spray incident, my first bout with mono, my first crush on someone over 20, a job turning bottles at the Pepsi plant (the 3p.m. to 1a.m. shift), I lived off lettuce and Count Chocula, and my cousin and I invented long walks together. I can't remember anything super, super tough.

At 18 Maren has already had mono twice (once very seriously), worked away from home for a summer, kept me sane, had a boyfriend (one who is REAL), and found that her boyfriend had cancer. Most importantly she has remained funny and kind through all of these things. Shortly after she missed the wedding of one of our sister's (due to mono) I picked her up to take her to the wedding dinner... even though she was sick sick sick and disappointed at having missed the wedding... she managed to be so incredibly funny. I tell people all the time how funny this sister is. They smile or nod, but they don't get it. She's not just funny, she's funny at times when you NEED it.

At 19 Adam has found out that his life was in serious danger 1 week before leaving for a mission. Diagnosed with a very serious cancer he has exhibited a mental and emotional toughness that I have never seen before. I am sure that there must be moments where he feels like this is unfair, but he has never shown that. He has battled like no one I have ever met. Never in my life would I have thought that my Sunday night would entail a visit to see my YOUNGER sister's boyfriend at Huntsman Cancer Institute and I never would have pictured laughing or smiling as much as I did tonight.

For this boy there was finally good news. Numerous MRIs taken last Friday could not find this tumor about which his life has revolved for the past months. Shock fell over his oncologist who had never considered this an even slimly thought of hope. She is not sure which direction this takes his treatment since they had planned for many many more months prior to this type of outcome. She has a meeting on Monday to discuss Adam with her fellow physicians at Huntsman.

If you could see this boy who has finally put on ten pounds to his cute lanky frame you would be so impressed. He walks in the hospital now and smiles when he hears his name again (even with those dreadful chemo bags at his side). This is the boy who has more strength than anyone I know. I did not know how hard he could fight when we first got news and I must say that it was tough to go through the motions of everyday life thinking about possible outcomes. I have noticed that age plays a much smaller role in life than I had ever thought. At 19 he has shown me that there is a way to be happy and to hope through anything.

I hope that you will all pray for the minds at Huntsman to be at their most sharp during the next couple of days. I would like to think that more good news awaits Adam and his family and to my sweet, funny sister.

Maren... thank you for tonight. I love that you inspire kindness in me even in times of hurt.

Braid For Sale?

So I was in this little coffee / juice shop that is downstairs from my friend J's loft... We were waiting for our drinks and just wandering around the little shop when she happened on this flyer tacked up to one of the columns in the shop. We couldn't stop laughing and reading every detail...

Some things I'd like to bring up:

1 - This is HAND DRAWN... and by that I mean NOT A COPY either. In this computer era where we can download photos from any website in the world or scan in actual photos this person actually took the time to HAND DRAW each flyer they posted around town.

2 - AMAZING DETAIL... ok before I didn't want to purchase a braid, but now that I've seen how it can make earrings sparkle and pearls gleam I might change my mind... Plus - is it just me or would the new braid actually make me bustier?

3 - BRIGHT RED... so the actual HAND DRAWING pictures a soft orange hair while the writing in the ad boasts BRIGHT RED. Is this a form of false advertising?

4 - PLACEMENT... Seriously? A coffee shop? Now I don't spend a lot of time in coffee shops so I'm not sure, but does the average coffee drinker NEED a BRIGHT RED braid?

5 - LENGTH... 35 inches? Seriously? This is either WAY too much hair to use on your head or not enough to make a bright read hammock. Give me a length I can use!!! There is no way I can have my prince climb to my window using only 35 inches.

6 - CONTACT TAGS... At the bottom there are little tags with a phone number... All I have to say is SOME ARE MISSING???

Seriously if any of you have in your possession a little tag - THROW IT AWAY!!! To be clear I DO NOT want this for my birthday. I can think of no better way to introduce lice or any number of diseases to myself and my house or both if I decide to use it to make a hammock.