Cheeky, Bastard Goat

Cheeky, Bastard Goat

The sky was clear and we could see for miles and miles in every direction. My friend Renae and I were sitting on top of one of the highest peaks in the Wasatch range, Timpanogos. It felt like we were on top of the world. Peak after peak stretched out to the North and South. Utah lake shimmered to the West surrounded by tiny, bustling cities that looked like play things so far away. The peaceful, calm air was intoxicating as we sat and drank in the view. Though under the bliss, I could hear the grumble of my tired legs and Renae looked flat-out exhausted.

“Well, we made it,” I said, smiling wryly.

“I can’t believe it.” Renae answered back, triumph in her eyes. We had been hiking for the last 4 hours. I stood up slowly and started to stretch out the soreness that had begun to settle in my body. It was time to get a move on.

We shrugged on our backpacks and began to hike down the trail, careful to not slip on the loose rocks. It was a busy trail. It seemed that everyone and their dog wanted to hike Timp on the weekends. Which means you had to be even more careful as you stepped to not knock lose any rocks which could hit hikers below. We made good progress and finally got to a steep section with a bunch of short switchbacks. Here there was even more loose, shale-y rock, so our steps were extra deliberate as there was a trio of hikers below us.

Suddenly, I heard a crack, and whipping my head towards the mountain, saw a shower of stone hurtling towards us. Shock flooded my body and my brained whirled - HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT!

Instinct kicked in, and I hunched over, tucking Renae under me, slamming our bodies as close to the rock wall as was humanly possible. Rocks bounced off my pack crashing down the mountain, the noise deafening. Confusion swirled with all of the noise, dust, and pounding on my back. It was hard to breathe from being bent over. Time slowed down, and thoughts raced through my head.

Were the hikers below us getting hit? Was I getting hit? Yes, I could feel the rocks striking my pack. Was Renae ok? The rocks keep coming . . . why won’t it stop??  

And then it was over. Just like that, the rocks stopped. I lifted my head a little to peak above, but they really had stopped. We started to move gingerly, bewildered. Renae sat down looking dazed as one of the hikers below began to yell, “Who did this?! Who is up there?!” Visibly shaken, she demanded to know who had been so careless.

“Who did this?? How dare you?!” she shouted again. There was a rustle from above. In disbelief, we all looked up, and to our surprise a furry head poked out. Two black eyes glanced at us as if to say, “Oh! I didn’t see you there.”

A goat. A damn goat. A damn goat who peaked over the edge to see why we were yelling, who hadn’t thought twice about some moving rocks. A damn goat had caused the rock slide. We looked at each other in shock as the dust began to settle.

“What the hell just happened?” I breathed, shaking my head. But you really can’t stay mad at a goat, honestly.  So we started to talk and move, assessing for injuries. Between everyone there were two concussions, and one very sore arm. Miraculously, not one rock had hit me directly – just my pack. A hiker came along the trail, and helped us make a sling for the arm. They also called Search and Rescue (SAR), who helped off the mountain to safety where an ambulance awaited at the trailhead. Luckily, no one was seriously injured.

I remember the look of surprise on the face of the first SAR volunteer when I told him how it had all happened.

“Well, that was some cheeky, bastard goat!” He said.

And I couldn’t agree more.

Cheeky, Bastard Goat by Wendy Edwards is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Been awhile

And somewhere along there I lost all inspiration to write in a blog. It has been an interesting 10 months.  Looking back at my last post, a lot has happened.  Not all of what I was dreaming, but some.  I'll take some.

To begin, my biggest most stressful debt has officially been paid off!  Yup.  IRS is done.  That was a serious accomplishment.  And I'm totally proud of myself.  I'm still working on my two other debts.  Smaller debts.  Much smaller actually but for some reason have struggled committing my extra money to them.  Other stuff has come up.  Which is the second big hoohaaa that has been happening in my life.

A big hoooooohaa of health problemos.  Something I never expected to happen.  Very much out of the blue.  And just for the record hospital visits are expensive.  It all started in April when I woke up one morning with my ears swollen, hot and red.  Within a week I was in the ER getting an epinephrine shot and an IV with fluids and benedryl.  Super fun.  Luckily I had a very sweet nurse who was sympathetic to someone who has never had an IV before.  Let's just say there was hyperventilating and tears.

The next seven months were quite the journey trying to figure out what my body was doing.  I actually went to a doctor.  A real MD doctor.  If you know me at all, that would be a surprise.  I got tested for allergies.  I paid out lots o' money and discovered that for some bizarre reason I was reacting to about 30 different things in my life!  Like 30!  Things such as cats, dogs, feathers, chlorine, cigarette smoke, weeds, perfumes, food preservatives, gas fumes, but also stuff like milk, wheat, cheese, corn, sugar, celery, soy, pork, citrus fruit.  (And that isn't the entire list...)  That sucked.

In one quick stroke one of my favorite things to do went down the drain.  Eating.

Oh the deprivation I felt!  Let's just say it was an emotional cleanse as well.  But to make a long story short the next 7 months were full of allergy treatments, cleansing, detoxifying and changing my diet.  I now drink raw milk.  I haven't drunk milk in years.  I also make my own kefir and fermented veggies, full of probiotics.  Those little super helpful bacterias weren't really on my radar before.  And after all of that life is finally settling down.  I'm back to being able to eat whatever I want without have an allergic reaction.  I have to say having the choice to eat something sure is nice.  Makes you grateful.

Now looking back at my post at the beginning of the year.  I did do a lot of organ cleanses!  And body cleanses, and other cleanses which I can't think of, I'm sure.  I also did pay off my largest debt, but I got derailed when all allergic hell broke loose.  Interestingly I now find myself only half-way motivated to make extra payments on my credit card.  Next post will have to be about what emotional issues with money came up when my health went down the drain.  Wahoo.

The 2011 Year of Financial Funness

I just figured out that this year I will pay off my (long story) IRS debt! Then I did a little calculating and realized that I could actually pay off my credit card too by the end of the year! Then I did a little more calculating and I can still save up money for a new car while I am doing all of that!

I'm calling it The 2011 Year of Financial Funness.

In fact it is so fun for me, that I can't wait to make the next payment. I look forward to my next paycheck so that I can pay down my debts. And to think that in a year it could all be done. Happy sigh.

On some other 2011 fun notes...

Running a half marathon distance around Liberty Park sounds fun to me. It is only 9 laps. I can do that.

Also writing some fiction sounds kind of fun too.

I might do a couple of organ cleanses, liver, kidney etc. I'm interested to see how I would feel afterwards.

And while I am thinking about it. I have always wanted to have a savings. Money hasn't been my strong point in the past, but now is not the past. So even if it is only 20 bucks, I want to end up with something I can call savings. Not car fund. Not emergency fund. Not anything else, but just something that I am saving. For later. Much later.

Here's to possibilities!!

NEW YEAR!

NEW
NEW!
NEW!!!

Out with OLD!
In with the NEW!

Now, what is old?

Musings on Fat

I've been thinking about my fat lately. My excess fat. Been meditating on it. And I have found quite the spiderweb of emotional issues attached to it that I never thought were there. Needless to say it has been a very interesting journey.

These are some of my findings. (Note, when I say skinny I don't mean skin and bones. Just slim and lovely, with no bulges in places I don't want them.)

I feel guilty about being skinny, looking too good.
I'm afraid that others will be jealous if I have a slim, trim flat belly....like I have been jealous.
I feel like I don't deserve to have a body that doesn't have excess fat.
Part of me feels doomed to have "bad genes".
I'm a little scared of extra attention from others if I'm skinny.
And again, I don't want others that aren't skinny to feel bad.

Huh. No wonder my body holds on to fat, and especially around my tummy.

I don't want to have to eat perfectly for the rest of my life to be skinny. Or run a million miles all of the time to have that lovely slim look. It isn't me. And I wonder if I work on emotional attachments to my fat what will happen.

So the experiment has begun. Starting with a Ho'oponopono prayer for my beloved fat. (I say Light instead of Creator because it makes more sense to me for personal reasons.)

Dear Light
I am sorry for whatever is in me that causes these emotions to come up in my life.
I am sorry for whatever is in me that causes me to have excess fat on my body.
Please forgive me, and clear these from me completely.
Thank you.
And I love you.

And this is how we mow....

Yes, we are rednecks.

The goat and horses are bffs.

We Mowed

Yes, the grass finally got cut.



These are my little fire red snapdragons hiding in the grass.

In all their blurry glory.

I'm enamored.

And look how the onion flowers come peeking out.

Overgrown bits of Stuff

I think I have a big bush of honeysuckle in front of my house!



Somehow in my 2 years of living here I have totally missed this...

We kind of need to mow.

They look like they are almost too big for their britches.

More Garden Adventures in the Winter Month of May

Aren't my Johnny Jump-ups so darling?!

This would be a close up of my sister's avocado plant that is coming back from the dead.

Look at the cute little blue egg on my porch.

These little lovelies I put in a little planter on my porch. A bit of yellow yum.

Rainy Spring Gardens

First and foremost the lilacs! There are lilacs! Life is officially good.

This is my new planted pot full of petunias that are going to drape everywhere.

(The picture is a bit tippy since I was rushing in the rain)

I find myself going into garden areas at the store and just buying stuff. Half the time I don't even know what it is. Rhododendron. (I didn't know they could grow here...)

Gorgeous pink blooms of some other plant that I got. No, I can't remember the name.
But it is gorgeous, no?

Reconnecting

I made a salad for lunch. It didn't look quite as amazing as this one, but you get the point. Then I went outside, sat on my porch and ate in the delicious Springness. There was organic baby greens, avocados, pine nuts, raisins, and onions all topped with some balsamic vinaigrette. Oh and tuna. Yeah, I know. The tuna is weird. I didn't even really want to put it in, but this little voice in my head told me to. It told me that I needed some protein and omega somethings so I had better put it in. And I did. And yes, it was weird. But that was when it hit me.

I have become disconnected from my food. I still enjoy it, usually. I still notice tastes, textures and colors, sometimes. But often I pick what I am going to eat because I am afraid. Afraid, of not being healthy enough, skinny enough, beautiful enough. Afraid of not being enough. And then I eat because I feel bad, or depressed or whatever. It is kind of all the same. I am not really eating because I want to eat that avocado, but I am using the avocado to quell my fear.

It is not that I force myself to eat avocados. I really do like them. I just want to reconnect with my food a little more. Let go of my fears a little more. Be a little more free.

They survived!

My tulips survived that awful, nasty, no-good freak snow. (:D)

Here they are peaking through the lilac bush.

And I planted basil! Feeling so garden-y.

The last day in March

These were taken in my front yard.
Ah Utah...

New Post! New Post! New Post!

I always imagine those words being chanted by a mob of people outside my balcony. But I actually don't have much to say. Just wanted to get off the going through the decade. Ugh. It was too much to go back through that decade.

And on another note, it is my birthday month!! I like to celebrate my birthday all month long.

Death by chocolate? Yes, please.

Going through the decade: 2001

2001
Finished in Italy
Sadness
Relief

Going through the decade: 2000

2000
Fresh in the church
Going on a mission
to Italy

Excited to baptize
the world

Lots of disappointment
lots of amazing food

wonderful people

The sun is shining and the snow is falling

I love it when the snow falls quietly at night. Then in the morning when the sun comes out there are all of these little piled high walls of snow on each branch, on the railings, the pots and chairs. Next everything starts to fall. Branches sproing up as they dump their now heavy snow. Water drips everywhere. Poofs of snow suddenly fall from the sky. All very magical. These are some pictures of my front yard this morning.

Self Discoveries

Teeny little glasses enchant me.

SOUP! Soupity soup soup soup!

I recently discovered soup. Like I am a soup whore now. Soup. Soup. Soup. Can't get enough of it. Always find myself buying chicken broth, and beef broth and vegetable broth. Veggies stare at me in the store and whisper ideas for new soups. And beans! I love putting beans in my soups. So. Some soup pictures to make you drool...

Pros and Cons

I think I am slightly depressed. Something about how I don't want to do anything except play Bejeweled 2. Nothing seems worth it these days. Why go running? I will never lose this belly fat. Why make lovely art projects? There is no one to appreciate them. Why clean my house? There will always be something more to clean. Heh heh. Yeah. One of those days. So I was thinking of all of the pros and cons of life. Making a list like you do when you are deciding if you want to take a new job. This is what came of it.

Cons

Seasons always end. Winter always comes.
It is so easy to hurt other people. One wrong word and someone has hurt feelings.
No one ever completely understands you.
Sometimes people don't get you at all.
So much war.
Poverty.
Pain everywhere.
Deficits.
Fear.
I seem to mess things up every turn I make.
And the list goes on.

Pros

Lost of beautiful earth.
Love at times.
Understanding at times.
Chocolate.
Having enough at times.

Apparently I could use some help here....