Is It May Yet?

Things that are making me happy right now. Well, one thing anyway. Music. I went for a nice drive into the mountains this weekend and listened to some old favorites again. Sara Evans among others. And this morning I listened to the Sweeney Todd soundtrack. I really love that musical. The songs are fantastic. While it may not have the happiest ending, it’s still one of my favorites.

I am just doing what a lot of people are doing and trying not to go stir crazy. I am often alone but seldom lonely. Right now I can definitely say I get lonely. I was at a conference when I heard a speaker say that social media is the junk food of connection. It will fill you for a small time but has none of the nutritional value you need. That feels very true right now. I don’t want social media, I want real people. My people. My sister sent pictures of her family in the backyard with their fire pit. My other sister set up her tent in her living room and camped out with her babies. Now I’m jealous I don’t have a fire pit or a tent.

I’m dying to go somewhere. I was finally able to re-read some old favorite books so right now I’m going places with music and books. A pie shop in London for one, and an archaeological dig in Scotland for another. 😊

Up Next...

When this whole thing started, I quickly read a few books just to help cope. Books are great for that and I can think of other times in my life when reading has helped.  But as more and more time goes on and nothing is getting better, my reading has gotten less. I’m having a hard time figuring out what I want to read next and my attention span seems to be much shorter. I haven’t even really turned to the good old favorites like I’m wont to do when I can’t find anything else to read. Instead, I’ve been watching tv, looking at social media more, and baking things. I have enough treats in my freezer to last a while, that’s for sure. I’ve made it through 12 episodes of Warehouse 13. I’ve actually watched them. Not just on in the background for noise. Plus, I’m almost done with Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries. It’s not normal for me. I’ve been on social media more just to try and connect a bit and watching weird stuff on YouTube, but yesterday I realized I’m tired of it again. That didn’t last long. I’m trying to keep up with the positive but too many judgmental and negative things interfere. I think for this long Easter weekend coming up, I’m going to stay off it except for the family chat.

I know that really the best thing I can do for stress is to exercise, but I’m having a hard time doing that also. I always struggle with it and now it’s even worse. My favorite places to go are either over crowded or closed off right now, but that’s really just an excuse. It’s up to me to take care of myself, regardless. Any maybe if I was doing better at that, I’d settle on a book to read. Who knows?

General Conference Thoughts

This was general conference weekend and we all participated in our own homes as the pandemic is still ongoing.
I just have some thoughts I wanted to get out.

First off, I was thinking about a news article I recently read that was about churches trying to get an “essential” exception because it’s vital that people can continue to worship. I happen to agree that people need to continue to worship, but I would argue that it still has to be distant from each other to slow the spread of COVID-19. Which just makes me grateful for my church and the prophet and the inspiration to make us more home centered. This is our 2nd year of Come Follow Me and even though we aren’t together (and I do miss the being together) we are still studying the same things worldwide.  I do miss the Sunday worship, but as I have been trying to make my sabbath day different from the rest of my week, having my own little devotional, I have had some good time to focus on some things like stories in the Book of Mormon and of course on Jesus Christ, and I have to admit that it’s been good for me and I have grown because of it.
And then of course, there is conference weekend. I never did go to Salt Lake to see it live, so in my own house is normal (although I miss being with my family). I can’t help think how we are being guided if we listen to the prophet. I don’t know if he foresaw this exact pandemic, but President Nelson (and many of the apostles) have taught many things that have helped me personally. Even just with food storage and savings. Also, they have said this is temporary. The temples are closed and I can’t help but think that they won’t stay closed for long as there is still a lot of work to be done. As they announced 8 new temples, I have confidence that we will get through the pandemic and get back to normal. Or at least normal with a bit more gratitude and lessons learned to make us better people.

Which brings me to myself and the things I need to do and I’m refocusing on things that are important. My recommend expired at the end of March and we weren’t going to church for me to get it renewed. I should probably contact my bishop anyway to see if it’s possible right now. The prophet called for a worldwide fast on the last Sunday of March (29) and now he has called for another one this coming Friday on Good Friday. I participated in the last one and I must admit it was the first time in a while that I had seriously fasted. I don’t know what good it did the world, but I know it did me so much good. The renewal I felt was absolutely worth it. So with faith, I will participate in this next one.

Things I have gotten out of conference: I need to put some effort into my religion. I need to go to the temple. I need to remember I can’t do everything at once, but it shouldn’t stop me from doing the one thing I need to do at that moment and I should seek the help of the spirit to decide what that one thing is for today. And after this pandemic is over, there is still so, so much in the world that is wrong and has to be faced and good people everywhere (and me personally) need to do our part. And it’s ok that I am not perfect (not even close) and I have to keep trying.

I loved the one of the first songs from the choir. They sang It is Well With My Soul and I don’t remember the first time the they sang it but man, it was powerful to me this time.

And wow! A temple in China! And Dubai! The work is going forward and I want to be part of it, even if it’s just in my own circle and sphere of influence.

Egypt, Part 3 - Aswan

The last part of my trip was Aswan. The cruise ship docked there and we saw more temples. Ha ha, yes there were a lot of them. We also drove to the high dam and got to look out on Lake Nasser. Learning about the politics behind that dam was interesting. We also got to shop for perfume oils and aromatherapy and spices. Then some of the group took a short trip to Abu Simbel. I decided not to go even though I heard it was amazing. The truth is I had never heard of it when I booked the trip and it was an extra 400 dollars. Instead I got to take a motor boat trip on the Nile to a Nubian village. I loved the boat ride. The village was kind of fun but it was a little strange to be walking into a person's house and taking pictures. Although it does get them money. I don't know...

Finally, we all flew back to Cairo and on the very last day we went to Giza and saw the pyramids up close. I have to admit that even though this is the iconic Egypt, once we got there, it was not my favorite part. It was really cool, but it didn't outweigh everything I had already seen. Part of that could be that it was the last day and I was ready to go home. Also, we didn't get to walk everywhere. The parts I saw were where the bus took us. If my sister and I had been doing it we would have walked a lot. A lot. It's a huge place.

It was such a fun trip and I'm so, so glad I got to go. The group was great, and if I ever have another trip I don't want to bother planning, I would definitely use the Women Traveling Together tour group again.

Egypt, Part 2 - Luxor

I really liked Luxor. We stayed at a hotel right on the river and it was very beautiful. It was fun to see the contrast. You can definitely tell where the irrigation ends. The fields are very beautiful and green and then suddenly, they aren't. Then it's just desert.

I've wanted to go to Karnak since I knew of it's existence so I loved that part of the trip. But we also took a bus ride to the temples at Abydos and Dendera, which I didn't even know existed, but were absolutely a must see. Very much worth the long ride. It wasn't that far in distance, but the roads are small and the speeds are slow as you travel through small villages.

We had an armed police escort every time we went outside of city limits (in every part of Egypt). We were told these are tourism police and are there to keep the tourists safe. It just felt...odd. Seriously, I felt more like we had a target on our back because of it but I realize that I don't really know what's going on. And we were safe, so there is that.

One of the highlights of the trip was waking up at 4 am for a hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings. It was fantastic. After that, we actually went to the Valley of the Kings and I went down into 4 of the tombs. The big ones were really crowded but I did get into one of them (either Rameses V or VI) that had almost nobody in it and it was probably my favorite.

Then we boarded The Nile Goddess and got ready for our cruise down the Nile.

Egypt, Part 1 - Cairo

I left for Egypt at the end of February and had a wonderful time. I was a little nervous going with a tour group for the first time, but I got to travel with a great group of ladies and we had a wonderful tour guide.

We started in Cairo. I have been to chaotic cities in Asia and was kind of amazed that Cairo is just as chaotic as those in an entirely different way. Traffic is terrible and some days it takes a long time to get anywhere. We didn’t actually get to walk on the regular streets and I’m ok with that. We saw some really beautiful mosques at the beginning of the tour.

On the first night, we got to go to the Sight and Sound show at the pyramids. All of us thought it was a bit ridiculous and overpriced but I’m still glad I did it. It was a fun introduction to the pyramids and Egyptian history.

And we went to the “old” Egyptian Museum. I was a little disappointed at first because, for some reason, I had thought the new museum opened last fall, but it actually opens this coming fall. But I’m actually really glad I got to go to the old one now. As our guide explained to us, very few things are behind glass and most items are displayed right in the open where you could touch them (but didn’t). It was really kind of charming the way things seemed to be haphazardly displayed. It had just a touch of the chaos that seems to be part of the country.

Anyway, it was a fun city to be in...for a couple days. We went to Luxor next and I enjoyed the slower pace and less traffic much more. 

Life Update

So I’m not gonna lie. I’ve started to miss people. LOL, I didn’t know that was possible as an introvert. Now that I’m over my cold, but still have a cough and still have to be away from work, I’m starting to go a little stir crazy. I talk with my family a lot and I’ve checked in on social media more than normal. But I have to get out of my house. I’ve gone for a couple drives and walked to get my mail. It’s raining today but I think after lunch, I will put on my raincoat and waterproof hiking shoes and go for a walk.  Today the anxiety spiked really bad. It’s a combination of being home/virus news and because we had an earthquake this morning. I’m fine where I live but people in Salt Lake had some real damage.
I’m ok and I’ll be fine and many other people have it worse than I do. I’m just acknowledging my feelings because they are mine and I’m having them and everybody gets to feel things. I’m just getting it off my chest so I don’t hold in the anxiety and I’m going to take deep breaths and do one day at a time.