Hiking Table Rock

After a seriously busy 7 weeks, I literally turned nutso. I needed a break, so Scarlet stayed the night a Pat and Randy's. For the very first time!!!! It was good, because I was finally ready for it. We'd talked about it in the past, but it always freaked me out. Not this time. It was just what the doctor ordered. It was so cool coming home from dinner and a movie and not having to worry about anything. It was just us. It was a good feeling knowing we could wake up, when we wake up. It was just good. We had planned to go to the temple, but it ended up being closed for the week. So . . . off to Table Rock. I've been wanting to hike it for a long time now, but we just haven't gotten around to it, yet.

I pass this on the freeway all the time. A really cool plateau. I'd never seen one, before, until I moved here. I think it looks really cool.

The closer we got the more ominous it felt. It felt like a scary movie. Like that horrible King Kong movie or even "the cliffs of insanity!!!!" It just towered more and more over us.

The start of the hike.

It was CRAZY because I knew it would be flat on top, but it was just WILD!!! It felt like we were on the ground, but we were way up high. It was crazy.

There was a SERIOUSLY long path to the very edge. The whole thing was just weird. I felt like we were in some secret, fantasy land. Not that it was this glamourous land or anything. It just didn't feel natural.

We reached the cliff.

Greg found this great little spot to sit. It was like a bench, made into the rock.

It was really unsettling, sitting there. Because I was freaked I would get relaxed and forget I was right by the cliff's edge and stumble off. Also, Greg informed me that a guy got drunk and fell off and died. That didn't make me feel any better.

It was seriously good to get away and have time together. More than 2 hours of time together. It was so needed. And what do you know, Mrs. Crazy hasn't been back, since.

On the way, Greg spotted this and wanted to climb it.

So he did! Greg is really into rock climbing now. He hasn't gone for awhile, 'cause we've been so busy, but when he gets to go, he averages 4 hours a week.

This isn't a very good picture, but I've started to notice that Scarlet stands on her tippy toes all the time. I'm starting to wonder if it's MOST of the time. Sometimes it's as if she on the VERY tips, like a ballerina.

Yesterday I was chopping up veggies for dinner and Scarlet picked up an onion and I let her try it, assuming she would spit it out.

She chewed on that thing for atleast 15 minutes.

Well, Greg's about to switch his schedule PERMANENTLY for a year- YES!!!!! It will be so NICE to just have a schedule and it's NOT going to change! YEA!!!! You pick your shift based on seniority and out of everybody, Greg has 4 people below him. But he's not sure he'll even get a choice. He's thinking the last 5 spots may all be on the same team. At first we were bummed, because it's a weekend/night shift, but then we realized the hours would allow him to go to church!!!! YES!!!! Greg's gone to church at MOST 6 times in the last 6 months. And that's mostly just sacrament meeting. And honestly he's falling asleep the whole meeting anyway, because he's been up 18+ hours already. And the schedule won't be TOO different than this one. He'll just have a really rough first day. So that's what we're hoping for. We should find out in the next 2 weeks? It just depends on how quickly everyone decides.

I am lonely. The year started out and it seemed I had lots of friends and somehow it's just dwindled. There's really only one girl that has time or doesn't blow me off. Maybe no one is blowing me off, but it feels like it. I thought being a stay at home Mom would just be oodles of time but matching up schedules, working in naps, along with stuff that NEEDS to get done- it makes for a hard time meeting up with people. What I need is a lovely girl, I really connect with, to have a little baby like me and live next door. Now that would be the life. I could just walk over in my pajamas and it would be no big deal. I'm afraid that will only be in my dreams. Oh well. Keep trying.

Little Scarlet is sick. She had a fever for a couple days, that didn't have me worried at all, but then she would cry out of nowhere and touch her ears. So it made me a little worried she had an ear infection. I put it off, for around a day, because it wasn't a constant thing, by any means. But it was in the back of my head, wondering if my little girl was suffering because she couldn't tell me and I wasn't figuring it out myself. And it stunk, because it's the WEEKEND. No doctors are working, so I had to take her to a walk in office, which meant a horrible wait of basically 1 1/2 hours. That is awhile to keep a little on occupied and away from the garbage can and everything else you don't want her messing with. Well, no ear problems, but he DID discover a red throat and some pus. So he checked her for strep and it was negative (phew!). So he sent us home assuming it is just a virus. She IS getting better. Her fever is gone, but she's definitely still cranky.

Her being sick has really freaked me out about our next kid(s). Scarlet has been whinier and crying more than ever, but I was really thinking about it today, and it's never lasted more than 15 minutes. I don't know if it's lasted more than 5, if it's constant. And only a few spouts a day. It's really not that bad. I'm thinking normal kids do this when they're healthy? I don't know. It makes me think I'm going to have a melt down with the next one. And she's been waking through out the night, since she doesn't feel well. So I've been more tired. I don't know, just the whole thing. I really have been babied through this whole thing. I'm realizing more and more.

I've been meaning to take pictures- Scarlet's all scuffed up now. Little scrapes and scabs all over her toes and legs. I'm finally letting her crawl around outside. I would always hold her outside, because I didn't want her all scraped up on the pavement and dogs are peeing and pooping all over our lawn, all the time- so I was freaked about her eating the grass. And the wood chips at the playground are SERIOUSLY pokey! Like I hurt my feet all the time in that stuff, so of course I don't want her in there. I feel like a way over protective Mom, saying all this out loud. Now she crawls wherever she pleases and somehow she doesn't get hurt! I don't understand. She isn't eating everything in sight, like she used to either. Greg's made me realize, she isn't going to die and that everything is going to be fine. Oh, but my point was, her skin used to be so perfect and now I feel like it looks like I am careless with how many scrapes she has. And she's always dirty. I never wash this kid. I try to go as long as I can because soap makes my ecsema flare up, but because of this, she gets so dirty. Sometimes I can't tell if she's brown because she's so tan, or because she's so dirty. She is really tan. People comment all the time.

Oh yeah, Greg's birthday is today! 28 years old. It's weird. We're getting old. Every time Greg has a birthday, I always think- "What? You're still so young!" But I can't say that, this birthday. He works, today, so I got to see him for about an hour and a half. And next week is Scarlet's FIRST BIRTHDAY and our 6th anniversary. And he works both those days too. STINKY. Oh well. It is what it is.

I am so glad the busyness is over! I like having family time. It hasn't really existed until this week.

The not eating sweets is going good. I have had a COUPLE things that were sugary. In fact- here's the story. Greg and I had our night alone, right? We were so excited. So we go get sushi, which I had been craving, and for some reason- it was just grossing me out. So that stunk. Then we decided, let's go all out. We got the popcorn. Normally we're too cheap. I told them to load up the butter, because that's how I've always liked it in the past. But two bites in told me, "Uh, I don't really like this. This tastes gross and fake." But I eat it, 'cause we paid for it. Then I really wanted to go out to breakfast. Greg looked up a place online, that had great reviews, so we went there. It was a diner and everything was GREASY. It wasn't that the food was bad or gross. It was just heavy and lacking in anything FRESH. So then THAT was just more grease in the belly to add from last night. Also, they just brought coffee cake. It was free. So we ate it. AND this place offers a cinnamon roll with every meal and supposedly it was this amazing thing. So we decided to just go for it. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't worth it. I just felt icky after. We were so excited to just eat what we want 'cause it was a special occasion, but instead we just ate grease and sugar and it didn't hit the spot. As much as I regretted eating those things, I was sort of glad because it just sealed the deal, that I don't want to eat stuff like that anymore. And the same thing happened yesterday. I made cinnamon rolls for Greg's birthday and so I tried one and it was just like everything else. It's just weird, because I'm starting to wonder if this thing really is permanent. I mean, that was the IDEA, but I'm not an idiot. How many goals have I not reached? A lot. And I've always found such JOY in sweets. Literally. But I just don't get that anymore. They make me feel worse. I have boxes and boxes of brownies to give away, because they were on sale for a couple months and I stalked up. I also have a fresh Costco bag of chocolate chips that I need to get rid of too.

Oh yeah!!! I'm becoming a Food4Less convert. I used to HATE that place. The one here is DIRTY, gross and the people in it are too. I guess that's mean, but really- it's just a gross place and I never wanna touch anything. I also always feel lost and scattered in there. I swear it's like a jungle in there. It feels cluttered and random, not organizes at all. But I went there to get some coconut oil and they really do have a nice health/natural food section. They've got some things in the bulk that Winco doesn't. So I think I'm going to have to shop there, sometimes. I may even grow to love it. Who knows.