California 2025

Visited a really cute shopping and dining area in San Juan Capistrano. I had to take pictures of the beautiful food. 

Trying out Abby's bike. This is right before I almost ran into Kristen's car. These tricycles don't turn on a dime. 

Obligatory trip to Donut Wheel. Yes, I had cash.

Kris got pluots from her neighbor, and I helped her make jam. 

My yummy Mexican food

It wouldn't be summer vacation without going to California. I'm fortunate that Kristen and Doug welcome me into their serene purple guest room every summer. I really don't love celebrating Pioneer Day in Utah. It just seems like a repeat of the 4th of July. There is nothing quaint about it, like I remember from my youth, so I love to be in California for the 24th. I arrived in San Francisco just in time for Kristen to pick me up after her temple shift and for us to make it to their ward party in a park. It was a potluck dessert and hang out in the park. It was a lovely evening and we had fun just sitting and visiting with her ward members. Some members had recently traveled and it was fun to talk about our summer adventures. 

We drove down to Sarah and Cameron's house on Friday morning, stopping at Derek and Rachel's house first. Derek was out of town at a Comic Con, but we got to visit with Rachel, Raine, Charlie, and Milo for about an hour. That was nice. We had seen them recently, when we all came into town to see Jenny and celebrate the 4th of July, but it was still fun to stop by their house. 

Happy Gilmore 2 came out on Netflix, so we watched Happy Gilmore in preparation for watching the new version of the Adam Sandler golf comedy. Saturday we had a slow, late start, which I love. We went on a walk around Sarah and Cam's neighborhood. We also went to dinner at a great Mexican restaurant. Sarah and Cam always find the best restaurants. We went to the mall to see the next Tesla model that Cam wants to buy. He wanted to know if the back seat feels roomy or not, so Kris and I got in the back seat and gave an assessment, based on his current car and Sarah's car. We watched Happy Gilmore 2 and really enjoyed it. It was just a goofy fun movie. We were prepared for horrible, since a 50-something guy acting goofy could be dismal. We were pleasantly surprised. 

Sunday we went to a Mediterranean restaurant, Pinafini, that was the MOST beautiful and serene restaurant that I can recall ever being in. The decor was all white with potted olive trees. We sat in the back room, which had a lot of open windows, allowing the ocean breeze to enter the room. I honestly couldn't get over the beauty of the place. Leaving the restaurant, we had a view of the sun setting over the beach through the front windows. I mean...come on! Unbelievable. Loved the food, too. Cam took me to a surprise that he had for me. He had recently driven past a sign that said "Killer Dana" in Dana Point. He wanted to take me there so I could get a picture. LOVED it. He's so funny and thoughtful. 

We drove back to the Bay Area on Monday, via Harris Ranch for tri-tip sandwiches. I'd been there with Maria before, but all I remember was a takeout window with sandwiches in styrofoam boxes. When we ended up in a sit-down restaurant with $22 sandwiches, I was confused. We asked, and the takeout is at the gas station down the street. We loved the atmosphere of the family restaurant. Kris and I shared a sandwich. It was great, and a step above the takeout sandwich. 

Tuesday I went to Maria's for a couple of hours. She only lives 30 minutes from Kristen's house. We chatted, went on a walk, and went to McDonald's because I'm obsessed with the miniature McDonald's happy meal toys. I got a mini tray with happy meal box and bottle of milk on it. I really love the mini soda fountain. I went on eBay and bought one for me and for Doug. We both love our soda. Doug is putting a wall in the garage to separate the cars from his workshop. Kris is his helper on the projects. Thursday is Kristen's day at the temple, so I went with her. I walked around the grounds, including the terrace. The view of San Francisco was fantastic. It was a clear day. I love that temple. I did an endowment session, the did initiatories. That night we went to dinner with Kim Cassetti, our dear friend from Pleasanton. It's always fun to catch up with Kim. She's just a lovely person. She gave us the cutest Pleasanton mugs. I put mine in my office. It's a huge upgrade from the ugly black pen holder I'd been using without even thinking about it. LOL. 

Kris and Doug took me to the airport on Friday. They went from there to grab dinner at Half Moon Bay. Mel picked me up at the Provo airport at 11 pm and took me home. It was a great trip and the round trip ticket only cost $90. I was limited to a backpack, but I did it. In fact, I didn't even wear one pair of pants and one of the shirts that I brought. 

Office before

Office after

While I was in California, Allie and Tomo jumped on a plane and came to Utah. Sad I missed their visit.

We went to a sandwich place that had high reviews. It was ok, but the company was top-notch

Family Time and Joy at Church

This week has been exceptional. I went into work and got a lot of things done, alleviating the anxiety I've been feeling. I went to lunch with my good friend Annie Oswald. We haven't seen each other in a long time because of our summer travel schedules. Friday I went walking with my friend Danelle. We hadn't walked in weeks and it was great to catch up. 

Sunday we had dinner at Kamiko and Bekki's new house. Friday we went again and had dinner there. I fixed dinner both times. Their house is so beautiful. When we sit in their sectional in the family room, surrounded by windows with a view of the trees outside, I feel like we are in a cabin. It's so wonderful. We've had great times there. Friday was a celebration of Bekki's birthday on the 9th and Kamiko's birthday on the 12th. We had Indian food and chocolate chip pound cake with ice cream. Kamiko had been going through is save box and we had so much fun reading some of his assignments from 3rd grade. Oh my gosh...we laughed so hard at a story he wrote about our family getting sucked into the TV and back in time to pioneer days. According to his story, we met pa, ma, Mary, Laura, and baby Carrie. He was referencing "Little House on the Prairie," a show that I watched as a kid and still enjoy. Evidently, my kids watched it a lot too. 

Saturday morning I picked up Mel and we hiked to Timpanogos Cave. OH MY GOSH. That hike is hard. I hadn't done it in at least a year. Mel was so patient and slowed down so we could stay together and talk. She encouraged me and I made it. I plan to go again next week with my neighbor, Rachel. She goes up there a lot. It's steep, with a lot of switchbacks. I was so proud of us getting to the top. Mel is a sweetie to go with me. Her co-worker, who is a Jehovah's Witness, was there with his wife, in their church clothes, proselyting. I was happy to meet him and tell him how much Mel likes working there. On the way home, Mel mentioned how much she loved the Trumps and my friend Amy Christensen from our old ward. Those friends always treated my kids like people, not just like Dana's kids. They still love my kids. 

After hiking, I took a nap, then went to a baby shower for Emily Dana, one of the presidency members in SFLSA. Kourtney Glenn, Abby Richardson, and Ethan Lloyd, all presidency and board members, were there. We had a great time. Since I was in West Jordan, I went to Allison and James' house to visit with them. I had some stuff from Kristen to deliver to Allison. It was a fun short visit. It was a wonderful day of family and friends. 

During general conference, I took notes by writing an impression of something I could do based on each talk. I focus on one or two post it notes with my impression each week. The note for this week said to "Find Joy at Church." Hmmm. What was that going to look like? I decided that I would have a good day at church. Well, a new sister in the ward, Jessica Carter, spoke and she is pure joy. I quickly figured out that she is divorced. She has 4 kids, ranging from 12 - 3 years old. Her talk was soooo good. I'll try my best to summarize it. Jessica told about a video that has gone viral. In the video, a woman is going to free jump. In the jump, she is attached to an expert, and they jump and release a parachute. Before the jump, the expert asks her what she's feeling. She likened that to the Lord wanting to know what we are feeling. Pray and let Him know. When they jump, she is attached to him. He has experience and will get her to the ground safely. In fact, before they jump. she says that she is scared and he says that she won't go anywhere without him being there with her. That is so much like our Savior. He is with us. Jessica said she can't imagine cutting the parachute strings, or breaking covenants and separating herself from her Savior. The guide got the woman down to the ground safely. 

What a great analogy. I introduced myself after church and she said people had told her she should meet me. I look forward to getting to know her. Joy at church. Starlyn and I went to mom's to play 5 Crowns this afternoon after my nice nap. I also went on a walk as the sun was setting and weather was cooling off. What a week. Here's to another week!

Jenny and I are going to Disneyland soon. I think I"ll wear this shirt. 

Can we just appreciate how cute Tomo is!?

New-to-me-car

In early July, my trusty 2005 Subaru Forester started smoking. It also wasn't steering well. I took it to the mechanic and the problem was that power steering fluid was leaking onto the exhaust system, causing smoke. Additionally, the rack and pinion were going out. Repairs would cost way more than what the car was worth. My cute little Forester was basically on life support. I did routine oil changes and minor repairs, but it wasn't worth it to spend much money on it. 

I always said I hoped it lasted long enough to be 20 years old and it did. It even survived being sideswiped by a bus. 

On July 5 I headed out to look for a new car. I wasn't comfortable buying an expensive car that required a loan. I also hadn't had enough time to save up for a car. I prayed as I drove north. I also asked mom and my sisters to pray for me. I felt a lot of confidence as I drove to Layton to start my search. I wanted a Subaru CrossTrek. Then I test drove an Impreza and I really liked it. It's a cute little buzz around town car with great gas mileage. So, I decided I wanted a Subaru Impreza for around $10,000 with under 100,000 miles. I knew it was a needle in a haystack, but I felt confident I could find it. 

I walked into dealerships with confidence, telling the salesmen what I was looking for. We didn't quite find what I wanted, and I walked out, noting what they had in case I needed to come back. I stopped at Subaru dealerships and used car lots in SLC, Sandy, and American Fork. After striking out, I had a feeling I'd find what I was looking for at Brent Brown Toyota (now Orem Toyota). Years ago, I did follow up mail for many of the salesmen there, including their top seller, Bob Sanders. I had bought my Forester from Bob in 2017. I had called on Friday to see if Bob was still working there. A salesman called and left a message to reach out to him if I needed help. 

So, I went to Orem Toyota and asked for him. He was busy with a customer, so someone else started helping me look. Once he was available, I told him that I had worked with Bob. He told me that Bob had retired a few months back. Bob's son works there in the finance office and I got to meet him. I told the salesman that I wanted the Bob Sanders discount. We looked through their database, but didn't find anything. He suggested we go walk on the lot because sometimes cars are on the lot that aren't in the database yet. We walked and I saw it - a dark grey Subaru Impreza. He said that it was probably in my price range. He looked it up and it was, indeed, a great price. It wasn't in the database because they were going to send it to auction. It had a branded title because it had been stolen and not recovered within 30 days. 

It seems to be in great shape. I felt calm all day and I felt calm buying the car. I feel that my prayers and the prayers of mom and my sisters were answered. It's a bit nerve wracking to buy a used car, but I did my best by praying and listening to my gut. I'm happy with it. I still miss my Forester sometimes. I miss the storage spaces it had. I miss the sunglasses storage space. I miss the pen holder in the visor. It's ok, though, I'm enjoying the more powerful air conditioning in my new car. I'm also enjoying the great gas mileage and how sporty my little car is. 

August is a Month of Anxiety

There's a thing called the "Sunday Scaries." Basically, it's the feeling of overwhelm one feels on a Sunday, knowing the work week starts the next day. I've decided that August is a month-long Sunday Scary, and I don't like it. 

I had my carpets cleaned this morning, then went to lunch with Annie Oswald. After that, I went into work. I marked my calendar for a bunch of things, printed out a bunch of papers and tickets, and worked on the recipe packet for SFL 110. That DANG packet took me so long to edit. I had to re-do a lab planning sheet and get it pasted into the recipe packet. The document I had to work with is cute, but very difficult to copy and paste. Oh my goodness. It was a nightmare! On top of that, I have people asking for updated videos, edits to instructions, etc. I just want to hide in a hole and not do anything. Every time I check something off my to-do list, 3 things are added. 

I took dinner to Kamiko and Bekki's house last night. Mel came, too. We had a yummy chicken with potatoes and carrots. I also made biscuits. We had a great time. Their backyard is especially wonderful. It's big, has trees, and is decorated with cute lights. It was so relaxing. We're doing dinner again next Sunday for their birthdays. They closed on their house right before they went to Denmark for a conference, and moved the day after they got back. I came home to a quiet house. I've cleaned and done a lot of laundry, and it's time to put things back together. I sure loved having them in my house. We played Yahtzee a lot, watched shows, and had a good time. I took Jerry for a walk most mornings. He got to the point where he would grab his own leash when he heard me open the coat closet door and get my walking hat. He was sometimes a turd, and would pull me. Other times, he was dreamy. I always took him, though, because he loved walks and I would have felt terrible going on a walk and not taking him with me. Now he has a huge yard, so he can play and get fresh air all day. 

The bright side is that I have this new Pleasanton mug for my desk. I've replaced a very generic pencil holder with this mug that Kim Cassetti gave me. I love it so much. Why didn't I find a cute mug sooner?

This is what I used before. UGLY