Rejected by a Car Wash

Last night we fed the missionaries, three of them. Nate and I enjoyed talking about the work they were doing, and the miraculous things that happen on missions. It was so great to be reminded of the unbelievable experiences we had on our missions. It made me want to read my mission journal! They are good Elders, and they're having a lot of success in this area.

Today I tried to get my car detailed since we're trying to sell it. I drove up and down main street a couple times and saw five or six car washes, NOT OPEN. Of course, why would they be open at 2pm on a Wednesday afternoon? Oddly, I was down in Victorville last week to run errands and I tried to find a car wash then........also not open. Maybe they're all just there for looks? They've had bad experiences with Nissan's, so they closed when they saw me coming? Perhaps they only open by appointment? Or, maybe it's just that my car is destined to be dirty forever.

President Gordon B. Hinkley

I am not sure what to say about such a wonderful man. We truly love him. It saddens our hearts to know that he will never address us again in a church conference. We will miss his voice! He has been a great example to us and we hope that we can live up to his admonitions. He always told us that we should stand a little taller, be a little better. You could feel the Spirit as he bore his testimony of the divinity of the Savior and how his church has been restored to the earth. He was a great example of a man that could be successful in all that he did and still be great father and husband. We will forever remember how he could find humor in everyday life and even himself. For those that do not know this wonderful man please see the following link to learn more of the Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley.
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/funeral-services-for-president-hinckley-announced
http://photo.byu.edu/video.php?cat1=Slide%20Shows&cat2=General&cat3=2008&cat4=Hinckley%20Tribute

-Nate

The Bus

Nate and I were so excited to write all kinds of stories about our escapade on the Greyhound, but regretfully, the trip was quite uneventful. Other than a woman who, for the first hour of the trip, kept making pig snorting noises, we just sat on the bus and read or talked for eight hours. About the "pig woman", I feel the need to mention she was not asleep, she was talking on the phone for an hour and must have had a severe sinus problem, because every two or three minutes she would give a long snort, exactly like a pig. I hope she gets that looked at.

Our trip to Phoenix was nice, we got to see both friends and family, our cute house that we miss so much, and our old Ward that we loved. Life was good when we lived there, and who knows, we may decide to move back one day.

Noblesse Oblige

I was running errands and starving the other day, so I pulled into the first drive thru I saw......a Wienerschnitzel. (This is cheating, since we're kind of on South Beach, but sauerkraut is a vegetable, right?) I get in line behind a big Animal Control truck, complete with the enclosed cab on the back with a door on it for the animals to hitch a ride. I was in line a VERY long time, and he was the only person in front of me! I had no idea what could be taking so long, but the mystery was solved when I got up to the paying window and the cute little teenage boy refused to take my five dollar bill, because, as he told me, "the guy before you paid for yours." I thought he was joking, then he thought I was joking because he said he was sure I knew the animal control man. I assured him I didn't. Anyway, all the cute little teenage boys in Wienerschnitzel had by this time come over to see what the fuss was about, and they all giggled hysterically. So then the boy at the window said that the animal control man left me a note, and indeed, on the back of a very official-looking "Notice of Violation" pink slip, the mystery man had written "God bless you, and have a great day." It was all very sweet, and I'm considering paying for some stranger's hot dog someday.

Nightmare on Barstow Street

For those interested, here’s how last night went….

1:00 am, roughly---my insomnia finally succumbs and I fall asleep

4:00 am-------Nate wakes up to get ready for work….after “snoozing” since 3:30am

5:00 am-------Nate wakes me up to pray and then leaves for work.

5:30am--------I am still fighting the insomnia monster when I hear a soft ‘ding’

5:45am---------Another ding…..

6:00am--------Ding ding

6:10am----------buzz….ding….buzz

6:25am----Ding…….By now I am coherent enough to realize the ding is the doorbell.

6:30am------Ding Ding Ding……By now I am coherent enough to get scared because the ding is the doorbell. I lay very still.

6:40am--------Ding…..what does one do in this situation?

6:51am------ding (thank my cell phone for the exact timing) I call Nate and tell him the doorbell has been ringing all morning. He suggests maybe it is the computer, so I turn down the volume and go to back to bed.

7:00am--------Ding ding buuuuzzzzzz. It’s not the computer. I call Nate again.

Me: I am going to check the front door but I wanted you to be on the phone in case I get murdered.

Nate: Maybe you should have 9-1-1 on the phone. (He is dead serious).

Me: Thanks, hon, that makes me feel better. (Sarcasm noted).

Nate: I don’t remember what he said, but it must’ve been better than his first comment, cause I proceeded to open the front door.

7:01 am-------Nobody is at the door. I ring the doorbell myself a couple times. The dinging is definitely the doorbell. Nate thinks it’s just jammed so I pull the button out as far as it will go.

7:02am---------As I am hanging up the phone with Nate, I hear ding ding buzzzzzz ding buzz ding ding ding buzzzzzz. I worry I will never sleep again. Now, maybe because it was early, but I really thought there was no solution to this problem. I just kept thinking about living here for the next year, considering how I could handle the constant ringing. I am the stereotype: useless girl, stumped by a doorbell.

7:03am-------I call Nate again. Please tell me how to make it stop so I can sleep. He walks me through finding the box on the wall and tells me to disconnect the wires

Me: What if I get shocked?

Nate: You won’t. Well, it’s low voltage, so it won’t hurt. If it hurts, I’m sorry.

Me: (Nervous laughter ) Thanks a lot. (Sarcasm again)

7:05------With the wires disconnected, I am thrilled to lay in bed.

7:10-----I hear beep beep beep beep beep…..coming from OUTSIDE.

This time, it was the neighborhood garbage truck.

It was at this point that I gave up on sleep entirely.

We've hit a new low.......

Nate doesn't really need a car right now. He carpools with a coworker who lives close to us, and stays in an office all day going over the finances of his multi-million dollar army tank maintenance garage project. So, why, we've been wondering, do we have two cars, one of which we are still paying for? Hence, the idea of selling our Altima is born. Then we worry.....for emergency purposes, we should probably have a cheapo second car. After looking on ebay and craigslist for a couple days, Scott the father-in law comes to the rescue. While Nate is telling him our brilliant plan, he reminds us that DND (the family company) owns a truck that is not being used, it's just sitting in a driveway in Phoenix. All we need to do is get there and drive it home! Hmm........we could drive there, but then we would have to take separate cars back to Barstow. That won't do. The solution? $67.85 worth of Greyhound bus tickets! We leave on Friday! And we thought we would never fit in around here!!