Zapped!

I've been zapped--zapped by a "Z-pack" antibiotic that the doctor gave me yesterday. Yes, it's true--I had to go back to the doctor again. My sinuses were totally stopped up, and all of the goop associated with my condition started turning a strange shade of yellow. So it was back to the doctor (the nurses now know me by name), and he gave me a very fast-acting, potent, three-day antibiotic. Supposedly it will absorb itself into my internal tissues and remain there for 14 days. Sounds great, but there is a problem: side effects. The Z-pack has made me feel nasty. Last night it felt like there was a basketball in my stomach, and then I got really nauseous and thought I was going to have to spend the night in the bathroom. (I know that the cause of this sickness is the Z-pack and not separation anxiety because my separation anxiety has abated significantly over the last couple of days, and it says on the Z-pack: "May cause stomach upset, nausea, vomiting, and internal discomfort.") So anyway, I need to get feeling better soon since the wedding is in 16 days!

Today Mom and I had a fun time going over to the Hobble Creek Barn boutique in Mapleton. That is one of our favorite fall activities, and they had a lot of cute things there. I love fall! It is beautiful outside with the leaves on the mountains changing colors.

Grabbing the Harley by the Horns

Seriously--I did not Photoshop this picture! I promise that if you click on it to make it bigger, you will laugh out loud. Okay, so I was driving to work this morning, cruising along Highway 73 between Eagle Mountain and Cedar Fort. I was enjoying the beautiful fall scenery, when all of a sudden I looked in my rear view mirror and saw what looked like the silhouette of the devil, horns and all, speeding towards me. I thought to myself, "What in the crimony is that?" The unidentified horned object was quickly gaining on me, so I slowed down to let it pass. I then burst out in laughter as I saw this guy on a green Harley Davidson motorcycle with--seriously--a huge pair of bull horns mounted in front of the little windshield. I said out loud, "No way!" It looked soooooooooo funny as he was driving in front of me. I had to grab my camera and snap a picture. Who puts bull horns on their Harley? Isn't having a Harley enough of a statement that you're bad to the bone? :-) He should have been all decked out in leather biker clothes--the kind that have the cow hair on them. Don't let this guy rear-end you!

A Few Random Things . . .

Yesterday when I was writing about a few things that will make moving to Illinois not so scary, I neglected to write one of the main ones: THE CUTE STOWELL FAMILY! I love the Stowells. They just had their family pictures taken at the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site (yet another reason why the site cannot close--it's the perfect spot for taking pictures), and you have to admit that they're pretty much the cutest family you've ever seen. Greg and I will definitely be taking a trip to Charleston even before it's time for me to wrap up my school stuff because we want to visit the Stowells. I've missed them very much. When I first arrived in Illinois last fall to start school, I was having a MAJOR problem with separation anxiety--because not only was I missing my family, but I was missing my Natchez friends. I thought that there was no way I could be happy in Illinois, but from the very first moment I was in Charleston, the Stowells were there with their smiling faces to help me out. They let Mom and me stay at their house when we arrived because my apartment was not ready to move into yet. If it wasn't for the Stowells, I'm pretty sure that I would have hid myself in Mom's suitcase when she flew home :-) They continued to be so very kind to me during the arduous months of school that followed. I lucked out to have Jeff Stowell as a bishop and Institute teacher, Missy Stowell as a visiting teacher, and all of the Stowell kids as my little buddies. I am very excited to see them again!

Today at Camp Floyd something kind of funny happened. A couple from Chicago stopped in this afternoon, and we had a nice conversation. They are out here in Utah on an RV trip. Their next destination will be Zion National Park, so we talked for a few minutes about the Zion book I wrote. Then, they were very interested to hear that I will be moving to their state next month and wondered what kind of job I plan to get in Springfield. I said, "Well, I was hoping to work with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, but as it stands right now, IHPA is still going to get canned at the end of November." They both nodded in understanding and agreement. They said, "We can't believe what our corrupt governor is doing to the state!" Then the wife said, "In fact, we signed an online petition about that very matter the other day." :-) I wanted to inquire further to find out if it was indeed THE online petition, but I realized that it would sound kind of funny if, after talking about the Zion book, I said: "Actually, I also wrote that petition." They would think that I was living in some kind of delusional dream world--because what would the chances be of their meeting the person who wrote the petition they signed in Illinois while they're out in the middle of nowhere in Utah on an RV trip? :-) But I'm pretty sure it must have been THE petition.

Here's a funny picture that one of my Natchez friends, Ranger Jessica (she let me live at her house during my first six months there), sent to me this evening. Her parents live in Houma, Louisiana, which is right where Hurricane Ike was predicted to make landfall a couple of weeks ago. Luckily Ike didn't hit Houma with as much fervor as people had feared he would, and Jessica's parents' house was not damaged at all. In her e-mail tonight she said, "Mom and Dad's mailbox was the only thing that was damaged during Ike. Dad fixed it. Picture attached." :-)

Tonight Dad gave a great FHE lesson about managing our finances in these troubled economic times. This is an especially good time to be mindful of these things, seeing as the stock market pretty much took a face plant today. Dad found a really great article from the Church, which you can see by clicking here. REMEMBER: don't let your spending be governed more by your yearning than by your earning!!!

Separation Anxiety Disorder

I have been self-diagnosed with a condition called Separation Anxiety Disorder. It is becoming more noticeable in me as the wedding and subsequent move to Illinois are quickly approaching. It at least helps me feel better to know that I'm not the only one in the world who feels the way I do :-) Separation Anxiety Disorder is described as:

A psychological condition in which an individual has excessive anxiety regarding separation from home or from people to whom the individual has a strong emotional attachment (like a father and mother). Present in all age groups, adult separation anxiety disorder (affecting roughly 7% of adults) is more common than childhood separation anxiety disorder (affecting approximately 4% of children). Separation anxiety disorder is often characterized by some of the following symptoms:

• Recurring, excessive distress when separated from the subject of attachment (such as significant other, the father or the mother, or home)--often beginning long before the actual separation takes place, or simply at the time of the anticipated separation
  
• Persistent, excessive worrying that some event will lead to separation from a major attachment
• Recurrent nightmares about separation
• Physical symptoms (especially frequent in adolescents and adults), such as dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, stomachache, cramps, vomiting, muscle aches, or palpitations, may be present

Symptoms of separation anxiety disorder may be exacerbated by a change in routine, lack of adequate rest, or a move to a new home. Even if changes are positive or exciting, the change may feel uncomfortable and precipitate an anxious response.

The good news is that the anxiety I'm feeling does not stem from the prospect of getting married--it's just the prospect of moving to Illinois. I've lived away from home before, but before it has always been for a specific amount of time. There will be some good things about being in Illinois though: I'll be with Greg, I'll get to work with Linda at IHPA for a little while, and I'll get to go to Abraham Lincoln's house on his 200th birthday (I've always wanted to go to his house on his birthday--but it will be especially neat on the big 2-0-0). Oh, and I'll be close enough to Charleston that I can just drive down there when I'm ready to take my oral exams, do my internship report, and wrap up things there at EIU. So it will be okay. I wish that I could take all of my family and friends, the Utah mountains, and BYU to Illinois with me though.

Here is some great news: the BYU football team is now in the TOP 10!!!! Hoooooooray!!!

Camp Floyd Days

Yesterday was so much fun!!! It was "Camp Floyd Days" at Camp Floyd, and though it was really busy and I was pooped when I got home, it was a great day. Things like this are so much fun in the fall. One of my favorite activities we did while I was at grad school was the Fall Frolic festival at the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site last October. Our job was to dress up in pioneer clothes and demonstrate broom making. It was a lot of fun just to be outside in the beautiful fall weather, going on hay wagon rides, drinking homemade root beer, and spending time with other people who love history. Yesterday was like Utah's version of Fall Frolic. The weather was beautiful, and we had about 400 people come through. We had some historical reenactors set up tents out behind the inn, and they talked with visitors about pioneer clothes, activities and food. Then we had pioneer games for the kids, rifle shooting, stagecoach rides, and Jeri made hamburgers for lunch.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the day--it's classic--Civil War uniform meets cell phone :-) This is Van, one of our volunteers, who was teaching kids how to march with toy muskets yesterday. Unfortunately his daughter-in-law got arrested for drunk driving the night before, so he had to be on the phone a lot. This picture captures the essence of historical reenacting--we can recreate the appearance of the past, but we still live in the present.

My favorite visitors of the day were Mom, Dad, Camden, and Riley! The girls were quite intrigued with my hoop skirt. By the end of the day my back was totally in knots from trying to support the weight of that blasted skirt. I can't imagine having to wear one on a regular basis like they did back in the day. It's fun to wear every now and then though.



Here we are with my boss, Mark, who gets to wear the uniform that we have in the display case at the back of the museum. As you can see, Riley isn't too sure about the strangely-dressed man she's having to pose in a picture with.






Then Mom, Dad, Camden, and Riley posed with the gigantic cannon that this random guy set up out behind the inn yesterday morning. It was a massive thing! We don't really know who the cannon guy is, but he just showed up the other day and said he wanted to bring his cannon to Camp Floyd Days, so he did.













While I went back to tend the visitor center, Mom, Dad, and the girls went over to the schoolhouse. These pictures of Camden and Riley writing my name on the chalkboards are too cute!










Then they got to go on a stagecoach ride! The stagecoach was a big hit. And it was very appropriate to have a stagecoach at Stagecoach Inn.

Mom, Dad, Camden, and Riley even discovered some old pottery pieces along the road! We'll have to do some analysis on them to find out where they came from. Great discovery! It was such a fun day, and it was especially fun to have my family there. I love fall and I love history!