Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

Tonight I went to a highly entertaining show called Million Dollar Quartet.  It is based on an actual night in December of 1956 when Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley all happened to visit the Sun Records studio at the same time.  All four of them had different reasons for visiting Sam Phillips, the man who had discovered them, but the evening soon turned into an impromptu jam session.  An actor playing Sam Phillips narrates the evening, introducing the audience to the musicians one at a time and telling the back story of how each of them were discovered.  In between the stories the actors perform the amazing songs of Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley.  The actors practically channel the musicians they portray, especially Derek Keeling who plays Johnny Cash!  The crowd just about went wild when he started singing "Folsom Prison Blues."  Lee Ferris, who plays Carl Perkins, is an absolutely incredible guitar player and I really enjoyed watching him play!  I have to admit that this show was the one I was the least excited to see but it ended up being the one I enjoyed the most this season!  If you are a fan of rock and roll I recommend seeing this show if you get an opportunity!

The Enchanter's Daughter and The Sorcerer's Apprentice

The May selection for my book club was The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  I cannot even begin to describe how much I loved this book!  It is so original and it captivated me from the first sentence, which just happens to be, "The circus arrives without warning."  From that point on I was completely absorbed in the compelling story of two rival 19th century magicians who make a catastrophic wager pitting their students against each other to determine who has the best teaching methods.  The magician known as Prospero trains his daughter Celia her whole life for this competition while the magician called Alexander plucks a small boy named Marco out of an orphanage in London to be his competitor.  The venue for the competition is an enchanted black and white circus that is only open from dusk to dawn.  Each competitor tries to outdo the other by creating fantastical tents made of ice or clouds or an animated carousel.  However, the competition does not go as planned when the opponents fall in love with each other!  This book is full of eccentric characters such as the forgetful impresario, the contortionist who is not what she seems, and a fortuneteller who has her own reasons for joining the circus.  There are heroes, villains, and star-crossed lovers who all dabble in a dangerous kind of magic!  What more could you want?  Morgenstern is an incredibly descriptive writer.  Even though the color palate is black and white, the circus is so incredibly vivid that you can almost smell the caramel popcorn!  Drop what you are doing and read this book!  You will thank me later!

Memorial Day Weekend 2012

Over the long Memorial Day weekend I went on a camping trip with my family to Southern Utah!  It was so much fun and I definitely needed to get away from the chaos that my life has become!

Marilyn and I drove down early Friday morning and met my parents at the Zion River Resort, which is by far the nicest RV campground I have ever stayed at (and I have stayed at some pretty nice campgrounds).  We spent Friday relaxing and having a fabulous cookout.

Why does food automatically taste so much better outside?

Every night we really enjoyed sitting in front of our fire pit.  When the children rode their bikes through the campground they would stop and talk to us by the fire.

It was actually quite a bit cooler than I expected it to be and, since I only brought shorts, I spent a lot of time sitting in front of the fire.

Of course we made s'mores!  They are the best part of camping in my opinion!

Here are the boys snuggling up on my sleeping bag!

On Saturday my Mom, Marilyn, and I took a day trip to Las Vegas.  It was about a two hour drive from our campground.  Normally what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas but we did something so incredible that I just have to share!

We went to the Titanic Artifact Exhibit at the Luxor.  Hundreds of items that have been recovered from the wreck of the Titanic are on display.  Most of the items are personal belongings of the passengers so there are stories that go along with them.  It was fascinating.  I was surprised to learn that many passengers were booked on other ocean liners but a coal strike kept many ships from leaving port and they were rebooked at the last minute on the Titanic.  The most spectacular artifact is a large piece of the ship's hull that is 26 feet long and weighs 15 tons.  It is enormous when you stand next to it but, in reality, it is only a tiny portion of the hull.  The exhibit is extremely well done with replicas of a third class cabin, a luxury suite, the promenade deck complete with a real iceberg, and the grand staircase (which literally took Marilyn's breath away).  When you enter the exhibit, you are given a boarding pass with the name of a real passenger along with their story and itinerary.  At the end of the exhibit there is a memorial wall and you can learn the fate of your passenger.  My passenger was Mrs. Albert Francis Caldwell and she was traveling with her husband and ten month old son.  She was returning to the United States from Thailand where she had been a teacher.  She and her family, including her husband, survived.  Marilyn's passenger was on her honeymoon and chose to remain behind with her new husband.  My Mom's passenger survived but her husband died.  So interesting!  I definitely recommend visiting this exhibit if you ever have the opportunity.

On Sunday my Mom, Marilyn, and I took another day trip to the Grand Canyon.  I have wanted to visit this national park for a very long time (I have pictures of me standing in front of it as a small child but I don't remember it) so I was really excited!  We went on a hike out to one of the viewpoints that was supposedly quick and easy.  Be wary when someone tells you a hike is quick and easy.  About half way there a boy coming back told us to turn around while we still had a chance.  We should have listened...but we did get some great pictures!

Here I am out on one of the viewpoints!

On Monday my Mom, Marilyn, and I spent the morning in Zion National Park, which is one of my favorite places on earth.  I never get tired of the spectacular formations!

Since I didn't win big in Las Vegas I had to come home Monday evening to the craziness of simultaneously closing out the school year and dealing with repairs to my house!  But I am very grateful for such a wonderful interlude!

Note:  I put exactly 1215 miles on my car this weekend!

Monday Motivator

"God allows us to experience the low points in life in order to teach us lessons that we could learn in no other way."

- C.S. Lewis

S'mores Bars

I really love camping and one of my favorite things about camping is making s'mores.  I am going on a camping trip tomorrow for the long Memorial Day weekend so I thought I'd get myself in the mood for the ooey-gooey goodness by making these no-bake s'mores bars found here.  They are so easy!  Break a half of a box of graham crackers into bite sized pieces (you don't want to pulverize them) and set aside.  Line a 9 X 9 pan with foil.  In a large saucepan, heat 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream on medium until bubbles appear around the edge of the pan.  It won't take very long.  Remove from heat and add one (11.5 oz.) package of milk chocolate baking chips to the cream.  Beat until smooth and then allow to cool for about five minutes (you don't want to melt the marshmallows).  Add four cups of miniature marshmallows to the chocolate mixture then stir gently until the marshmallows are coated.  Then add the prepared graham crackers and stir gently until they are coated.  Pour the mixture into the foil lined pan and press down to fill the pan.  Chill in the refrigerator for two hours then cut into pieces with a knife coated in non-stick spray (a new trick I just learned).

They are so good!  If you can't have the original, these bars are the next best thing!  Definitely give them a try.  You can also try my s'mores in a jar found here.

Monday Motivator

"Life is thickly sown with thorns and I know of no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us."

- Voltaire

Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1

Last night was my final Utah Symphony performance of the 2011-2012 season.  I debated about going but a Brahms concerto was actually just thing to soothe my raw nerves!  The concert began with Symphony No. 2 by Beethoven which was very playful and energetic.  Beethoven wrote this piece when his deafness was becoming more apparent and he began to believe that it might be permanent.  One critic compared this piece to a wounded dragon who refuses to die writhing in agony and finally bleeding to death in the last movement.  I really enjoyed it, especially a theme played by oboes and bassoons in the third movement.  After the intermission we heard Concerto No. 1 For Piano by Brahms with an absolutely amazing soloist, Nelson Goerner.  It was very dramatic and emotional and I enjoyed the arpeggiated chords throughout the piece.  The audience gave Goerner a thunderous standing ovation and he favored us with a beautiful piece as an encore.  It was a lovely evening that was much needed.

Claims Adjusters and Contractors and Cleaning Crews, Oh My!

It has been three days since my world was turned upside down and I think I feel even more out of control now than I did when I came home to the aftermath of the fire!  When I was dealing with the fire itself I was just so incredibly grateful!  Grateful that I was safe, grateful that I had neighbors willing to put themselves in harm's way to save my house, grateful that more damage didn't occur, and grateful that I had a huge support system all around me.  Now that I am dealing with the cleanup I feel like my life is in complete disarray. 

I have gone back to school but my focus is divided.  I so appreciate the concern of my colleagues but I am growing weary of telling the story again and again.  I want to be there to help my students finish out the year, especially my seniors, but I would really rather be home coordinating everything.  I haven't made it through one single class without a phone call interrupting the lesson.  I haven't been able to stay after school to hold English lab for students or get any correcting or planning done because I have had to rush home to deal with endless inspections. I am so behind and the students are so frustrated because they need makeup work.  I feel like I am completely incapable of giving anything to anyone right now and so many people seem to need things from me.  Part of me is upset about this and part of me just doesn't care.

I have filed a claim with my insurance company which has produced a never-ending stream of people (very wonderful, kind, and caring people) traipsing through my house!  For the most part I am a very private person and my house is my sanctuary.  I normally don't invite people over unless they are very close friends or relatives and, even then, I usually feel uncomfortable.  In the past two days I have had claims adjusters taking pictures, contractors measuring every square inch, and cleaning crews looking for smoke damage in literally every nook and cranny.  I sincerely appreciate everything that these people are doing to help me, even making special accommodations for my schedule, but it is making me crazy.  I feel violated.

None of this is helped by the fact that I have literally had no sleep for three days.  Every time I try, I dream about being trapped in a fire...

Fire!

Wow!  When you wake up in the morning you have absolutely no idea what might happen to you during the day!  Yesterday was a day like any other day at school, a little more busy than usual, but nothing out of the ordinary.  At about 4:00 in the afternoon I started getting texts and phone calls from friends and family members about a report on the news of a three-alarm fire at an address near my house.  I had not been home yet because I was in charge of an event at the school later that evening and I had been setting up.  I decided that I should probably run home to see what was happening.  When I drove into my neighborhood there were police cars, more fire engines than I could count, and even more news vans.  My street was barricaded along with other streets along the golf course.  I was told that I couldn't enter my street by the police and I nervously asked the officers what was happening.  They couldn't tell me anything but assured me that no houses on my street had been affected by the fire (it turns out that only two houses on my street were affected - mine and my next-door neighbor's house).  I decided that the only thing to do would be to go back to school and carry on with the event.  While I was cleaning up with my colleagues afterwards, I joked about the fact that I might not have a house to go home to never thinking that it would be true!  When I drove up to my house at about 9:45, it was action central!  I was greeted by two Questar Gas trucks and a Rocky Mountain Power truck in my driveway, along with my hysterical next-door neighbor.  I was completely overwhelmed with what I found!

The siding on the south side and on the back of my house had melted and was really warped.

Questar Gas had to replace my gas meter.  This completely freaked me out because fire and natural gas don't generally mix well...

Most of the vegetation in my side yard and back yard was burned away.

This is all that is left of the grape vines I had growing along the fence.

When I went inside my house, to my relief, I discovered that all of the damage was confined to the exterior.  The inside smelled like smoke but, other than that, everything was intact.  I was in shock, literally, but I was able to file a claim with Allstate, my insurance company, and the agent I spoke to was very reassuring and made me feel a lot better.  Houses can be fixed but bodies sometimes can't be!

This morning I discovered that the fire started on the fourteenth hole on the golf course.  My back yard is on fairway fourteen!  The fire spread very quickly and burned 20 houses along the golf course, most of which are damaged much worse than mine.  I also discovered that several of my neighbors rushed to my back yard and put the fire out before the fire trucks actually got there and they kept wetting the back and side of my house so it wouldn't catch fire.  If not for these neighbors, my house would have burned to the ground.  I generally keep to myself so I don't know many of my neighbors very well and I cannot believe that these people would put themselves in harm's way to help save my house.  One of the men came to see how I was doing this afternoon and he told me that he had a strange feeling that he should go home yesterday afternoon.  On his way he saw my back yard in flames and rushed in to put the fire out without any thought for his own safety.  So very grateful for so many reasons!

This fire, as well as the tragic car accident that claimed the lives of two Hunter High students last week, really put things in perspective for me.  I am safe and the people I love are safe.  That is all that really matters...everything else is pretty inconsequential.