Stuff That Matters In Life

July 3, 2013 Wednesday – continued

We had planned our vacation to attend Wednesday evening worship at Calvary Chapel Salt Lake City. I always like to go to church when we’re on vacation. It’s a chance to worship in a different setting with different people. I enjoy meeting others in Christ. We carefully chose this church to attend because the time and place is right to pick up our daughter afterward from the airport to join us for the rest of the road trip.

So our faithful GPS led us to a commercial center, and it took us over 5 minutes to find the driveway to the front door. We arrived 5 minutes after the start time of 7:00pm – and there was not a single car in the parking lot…

I was so disappointed…a sign on the door says they were combining with another Calvary Chapel for a July 4 BBQ, and it started at 6pm.

Not only did we not get to worship, now we have 2 hours to kill before going to the airport.

Lesson learned – don’t rely on church websites. And don’t plan your life around a program until you call to confirm.

So we wait 2+ hours at the airport. Fortunately we always carry a book to read, and we hardly ever get bored.

Checked into Springhill Suites in Draper, Utah, where we will be for the next 2 days.

To be continued.

July 3, 2013 Wednesday – Temple Square

The Temple Square is the Mecca of Mormonism. Anything you want to know about Mormonism you can find it in Temple Square, in any language you want. We saw docents in just about every major language – their name tags show the flag of the country of the language they speak.

Most memorable:

• Life-size scenes from the Bible including the Good Samaritan with the one who was beaten by robbers. I wouldn’t want to be in the building at night when those figures could come to life! 
• The Temple is not as big as it looks in pictures.
• The most delicious turkey pot pie at the Cafe in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

Don’t worry, I did not convert.

I felt sad checking out of the Plaza Hotel after 3 comfortable nights there, but it’s time to move on.

In case if you’re in SLC and wondering if it’s worthwhile to detour to Taffy Town, my advice is Yes. While we couldn’t take a tour (have to be booked in advance and only on certain days), we bought a good sample of over 40 flavors of taffy.

Dinner: Smashburger. Smash sweet potato fries were very good.

Our day has not ended…cliffhanger…

Day 8 to be continued

July 2, 2013 Tuesday – Park City, UT

Grabbed a quick [heavy] breakfast (delicious quiche, egg croissant sandwich, and bagel sandwich, and splurged on a lemon cookie just to see what tastes like) at Paradise Bakery in Salt Lake City. Given the heat, I don’t like to waste the morning hours, so we take our breakfast to-go and ate it in the car during the 45 minutes drive to Park City, home of the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Thoughts on Park City, UT

• Would love to live there if I can afford it.
• Olympics museum is worth going. Got to hold a real curling stone.
• Saw about 10 different states of license plates in the museum parking lot, more than we’ve ever seen congregated in one place.

We had passed by Noodles & Co on several occasions and decided to give it a try for dinner. I like the concept, but the food could be better – 2.5 stars.

June 30, 2013  Sunday – Salt Lake City

Me: Is it always this hot this time of year in Salt Lake City?

Plaza Hotel concierge: No. It’s usually hot in the 90’s but it’s unusual that it’s over 100 this week.

Yes, another 105F+ day of our vacation.

When my husband told me how much we were paying for 3 nights at the Plaza Hotel, I was leery. Images of cockroaches, paper thin towels, and mattresses that sink to the floor came to mind.

But I had no complaints. The Plaza Hotel was walking distance to the Temple Square and a mall, and very close to other tour sights that we intended to see. The only thing that bothered me was the loud sound of the pipes when water is being used. We brought ear plugs so that won’t be a problem.

First order of business was finding a place for dinner. It’s Sunday and just about everything was closed. We settled on a little Chinese restaurant that was reminiscent of the restaurant that my parents owned. Combination dinners, foiled wrapped chicken, fried shrimp, egg rolls…but the taste and quality was not up to par. My aunt, the chef at our family restaurant, was an excellent cook. I miss her egg foo young and tomato beef chow mein.

It’s Sunday and normally we would like to go to church for worship. But our drive and timing did not make it possible for us to do so. But as we focus our hearts and minds on God, we were filled with praise and worship as we took in the sights of the greatness of His creation in Mesa Verde, Arches, and all along our drive. It’s humbling and exhilarating to be so close to the wonders of nature.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?

Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

July 1, 2013 Monday – Salt Lake City

We spent several hours at the Tracy Aviary. My husband would’ve slept through the whole thing if he could. But he’s a good sport and goes along. But my daughter and I find everything interesting.

Most memorable – a very cute owl just like you would see as a cute drawing, and a falcon’s wings that brushed my face as he flew by (during a show).

After that we did more walking at the Natural History Museum – indoors with air conditioning. This museum kept my husband’s interest. The architecture of the building and displays were beautifully done.

Most memorable – see-through plexiglass floor that shows dinosaur bones to simulate an archaeological underground dig and the grand entrance lobby of the museum.

What’s for dinner? Another Guy Fieri recommendation, Pat’s BBQ.  Interesting to note: The clientele there were all at least twice my size, and there were only 2 other women out of about 8 tables of customers. We were not the typical people they serve here.

I give it a 3-star. I was disappointed that the ribs were not more tender.

To be continued.

6/30/2013 Sunday – Arches

The sign in the lobby of Far View Lodge said sunrise is at 5:48am, so I set my alarm at 5:30am.

I wake up at the sound of the alarm and stumble out to the balcony hoping to catch a glimpse of glory.

Lo and behold, it was hazy, due to an impending thunderstorm.

I go back to bed. So much for that.

—

We left Mesa Verde at about 9:30am. The drive to Arches National Park is about 2 1/2 hours. It was early afternoon when we arrived. Another day of 105F+ temperature.

Everything was as beautiful as the postcards. And just as far away because it was too much to walk a 1/2 mile in the heat of the day to get up close.  A normal 80-90 degrees I can handle but I don’t want to get a heat stroke out there in the blazing sun with not a tree in sight for shade.

I highly recommend going to Arches another season of the year. The scenery is incredible.

On to Salt Lake City.

6/28/2013 Friday – Mesa Verde

The first thing we noticed about Far View Lodge is that there is no TV in the room. Woohoo! I’m excited!

We don’t have regular TV at home for a reason. We are not into pop culture. However, we do miss FoodNetwork, which is what we always watch when we stay in hotels. That’s not going to happen in Mesa Verde.

A room with a view of the mountains, that is plenty of entertainment: food for the soul, as they say.

There is also no AC, and there are moths in our room. Very much like a church retreat.

6/29/2013 Saturday – Mesa Verde

We woke up late, relaxed on our balcony to enjoy the clean air and blue skies, and an occasional hawk (or was it a raven?) gliding by.

Enjoyed a leisurely lunch while we waited for our bus tour to begin at 1:00pm.

The tour of the pueblos did not disappoint. Pit houses, the cliff dwellings, and a tour guide that talks slowly and deliberately were very enjoyable, even in 105F+ heat.

After dinner, it cooled down to a comfortable 85F,  so we walked around and explored more pit houses.

To be continued.

6/28/2013 Friday – Mesa Verde continued

Me: There’s the sign saying Mesa Verde National Park exit. Should I take it?

Husband: No. That’s not the route on the GPS. Follow the GPS.

20 minutes later, the GPS is telling me to turn down a narrow road behind some ranch house, and another turn that seems to lead nowhere. It’s also flat and not ascending up the mountain. I’ve never been to Mesa Verde, but all the pictures show that it’s a mountain and this is not looking like the pictures.

The sun is starting to set, there are no street lights, and I’m not getting a good feeling about this.

Me: Can we turn back and follow that exit sign to Mesa Verde National Park since we’re trying to get to Mesa Verde National Park? Seems to make sense, doesn’t it?

It’s dark when we make it back to that exit, no one is at the gate entrance to collect fees, and I’m wondering if we are on the right road to the Far View Lodge in Mesa Verde.

Just then a SUV with a driver that looks like she’s in ranger uniform comes up behind me. I waved her to stop and asked for directions. Fortunately she confirms that we’re on the right road, 15 miles up is our destination. I’m glad I asked.

Lessons learned, on many levels, are obvious.

To be continued…

6/28/2013 Friday – Mesa Verde

The long drive on our road trip goes by fast when we are having fun. We were prepared with downloads of the Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, sermons by Mike Erre, and a random playlist of songs from The Temptations to Jack Johnson to worship songs.

The scenery of red hills and rocks and clear blue skies were amazing enough to keep our interest. With an occasional nap, sans the driver, the ride does not seem long.

The drive from Flagstaff to Mesa Verde is another 4 1/2 hours. On the way, we got a bonus that was not on our itinerary.

Me: Hey, there’s a sign for “Four Corners Monument.” Is that the actual Four Corners?!

So I drive in and ask the lady at the gate: Is this the actual Four Corners or is it just a Monument of the Four Corners?

I have no idea why I asked that.  Why would there be a monument of the Four Corners not at the Four Corners? I thought maybe it was like the Statue of Liberty we saw in Vegas that is not the actual Statue of Liberty…

Anyway, she said indeed it is the Four Corners. We paid our fee and stood at the Four Corners, in 105F+ temperature. No crowds there that day.

Checked one off my bucket list.

To be continued…

Our vacation, continued.

6/27/2013 Thursday – Hoover Dam

After we left Vegas, we did a quick stop at Hoover Dam. In 105F+ temperature, we did not feel like getting out! Just to say we’ve been there is good enough for now. No strong desire to pay to take the power plant tour. It’s not on my bucket list.

I know the dam is a great engineering feat, but seeing a huge wall of concrete just does not hold my interest. I kept wanting to get a view the powerful rushing river that generates the electricity. Ignorant as I am about dams, it makes sense to me now that the river is no longer “rushing.”

On to a 4-hour drive to Flagstaff for an overnight stay enroute to Mesa Verde.

6/28/2013 Friday – Flagstaff

The hardest part of any trip for us is deciding where to eat.

I don’t eat simply to get full. I eat for the experience. Though we did stop at fast food places “just to get full”, we don’t default to that unless we have to, i.e. when my husband irritably says, “Just stop there, I’m hungry.”

We spend much of an evening deciding what and where to eat the next day. What would we do without FoodNetwork to help us with that search?

Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives led us to Brandy’s.

The show featured dinner, but they now close at 3pm. What’s the story? The waiter told us that the restaurant originally served only breakfast and lunch. A chef joined the staff and expanded the hours to dinner for 2 years before he left to Vegas to do his own thing. Now they are back to the breakfast and lunch only.

Nevertheless, we enjoyed our lunch there. Service was excellent, and got 10% off for checking in on Facebook.

Next stop: Mesa Verde.

We left on 6/26/2013 for a road trip to Salt Lake City. The occasion: destination wedding of a good friend.

Here are some reflections:

6/26 Wednesday – 4-hour drive to Vegas

Checked into Treasure Island

Me: [opens closet] That’s the biggest safe I’ve ever seen in a hotel. Must be for all the winnings.

Daughter: That’s the microwave!

(Why is the microwave in the closet???)

Later…

Husband: This hotel doesn’t have a microwave. How cheap.

Daughter & Me: We found the microwave!

Covered our noses as we walked through every casino, except the MGM Grand. It’s so  huge that the cigarette smoke is well diffused.

Bachanal Buffet was definitely worth the $50/person. The large open room where we sat for 2 1/2 hours enjoying every bite was a bright clean atmosphere that was a welcomed change from the congestion of the city. All the macarons you can eat.

Cirque du Soleil Mystere was not impressive. They have nothing over the China acrobates.

6/27 Thursday 

Skipped breakfast so we can get our money’s worth for lunch at the Le Village Buffet at Paris.

We’ve had enough of the Strip. Unless an occasion beckons, I don’t see myself coming back ever. It’s called Sin City for good reasons, and  seeing people lost in sin makes me sad. Being here has prompted me to pray more for God to have mercy on us all.

On to Mesa Verde.

To be continued.

Dear children,

As much as I tried to be, I must admit I wasn’t the perfect parent to you. So I am looking in hindsight and analyzing what I should’ve done and shouldn’t have done, so that you can be aware of issues you might need to work on in your life. Hopefully this will help you avoid having to go to therapy.

If you find any habits, attitudes or personality quirks in yourself and wonder why you’re that way, ask me. I might be able to give you some insight based on what I know you lived through in your childhood. Ask me soon, before I get old and forgetful.

Here’s one very important one thing I wish I had taught you.

I wish I had taught you to have a daily devotional time with the Lord. Quiet Time, QT, devos, daily Bible reading, whatever you might call it. I know you know the concept, but unfortunately I did not institute a consistent family devotional time that might have helped you developed the discipline.

When I first became a Christian, I went to a church that put a big emphasis on QT so much so that if you skip a day or two, you’ve pretty much fallen from grace. I thought keeping QT was a measure of spiritual maturity. If I skip a day of QT, I felt guilty and thought it was [one step from] the unpardonable sin.

When I started going to another church, I learned that QT is a means to an end, not an end in itself. It should not be a legalistic requirement. God is not so concern about how discipline you are as about how you actually live.

So I decided that I wouldn’t teach you about QT as a “requirement” of the Christian life. In fact, I don’t think I talked to you much about QTs at all. I didn’t want you to think that Christianity is just about the spiritual disciplines. I wanted you to love God so much that you’d naturally want to have devos.

But I realize now I swung too much the other way.

I should’ve taught you that it’s important to have a daily QT, because reading the Bible daily and praying regularly is how you keep connected to God. It’s a way to hear from God so that he can give you direction and wisdom for your days.

When we get distracted or busy with life, it’s easy to forget devos. It’s those times that discipline and habit is important. The act of the will in discipline keeps you in God’s Word. His Word changes you from the inside out.

So now that you are an adult, let me encourage you, if you are not already doing so, do develop a habit of QT. Not because you have to, but because you know that the God of the universe has made himself available to meet with you.

[See My Heart, Christ’s Home]

My son got an iPhone…I got an iPhone. My son got a MacBook…I got his hand me down MacBook.

My son went to Vietnam….I went to Vietnam to visit him. My son went to San Francisco…I went to San Francisco to visit him.

My son bought a Roomba…I bought a Roomba.

My latest purchase was a Prius…you guess it, because my son bought a Pruis a year ago.

When I became a mom, I never would’ve imagined that one day I’ll walk in my son’s footsteps.

Thanks, son for showing me what it’s like to live in the 21st century.

When you see someone with stuff in their teeth, the big question is, do you tell them or not??

Imagine feeling confident because your hair looks great. At the end of the day, you realize no one told you that there’s green stuff stuck in your teeth. All day you were thinking how everyone must be admiring your hair when they’re actually thinking how you need to floss.

It would be an act of kindness if someone had told you what you could not see for yourself.

Recently my daughter pointed out a flaw in the way I treat people. I didn’t realize that my actions were sending a wrong message. I am so glad she told me, so that from now on, I shall be conscious to correct that.

We need to help each other by pointing out each other’s blindspots. It’s an act of love.

We used to call them slumber parties.

And I’m not too old for them 🙂

We had a sleepover at my friend B’s house last night. I am thankful for my single young adult girlfriends who include me in their fun. We cook, we eat, we talk about silly things. We eat some more. We plop down to sleep wherever and whenever.

My back is not what it used to be 20 years ago, but I slept on the floor in my sleeping bag, and woke up feeling good, praise God!

Thanks for the good time, girls! 

I totally agree with this perspective.

But then I’m not at that stage. If I read this in 30 years, would I still agree?

I think I would.

“For to me, to live is Christ, to die is gain.”

“You’re lucky you don’t have a weight problem, really lucky!” Said the nurse at my doctor’s office. (I was there to see about my recent headaches. Most likely sinuses.)

Is your weight a matter of luck?

I suppose if you have a high metabolism, you’re “lucky” that you can eat a lot and not gain weight.

But controlling your weight is mostly by effort, not luck. You have to eat less, exercise more. It’s no secret, and it always works!

I majored in Dietetics in college, worked 2 years in food services at Long Beach Unified School District planning school lunches. People ask me how I keep my weight – same for the last 30 years even after 4 pregnancies.

There’s no secret – I don’t eat junk food. I don’t eat chips, don’t drink soda or other sweetened drinks, artificial or natural. I don’t eat candy and I don’t love chocolate. Yes, occasionally I’ll enjoy a KitKat or munch on a few SunChips, but the “secret”, if there is one, is to stop. Stop after one piece of chocolate, stop after a handful of chips, stop after 1 serving of garlic mashed potatoes. No matter how good something is, just remember that you have the rest of your life to eat more of it. You don’t have to gorge yourself.

But I’m not enjoying life, you say? I don’t have diabetes, I don’t have high blood pressure. I don’t think I’m missing anything. I must say, though, I need to exercise more. I’m not overweight, but I’m not strong.

And it’s not that I don’t enjoy food. I love a good steak, cheesecake is my weakness, and I use butter whenever I can. But I stop. And I drink a glass of water and go read a good book.

I’ve read this before, but The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis is certainly worth reading again, and again.

I took it off my shelf because my friend mentioned that Max McLean did a sketch of one of the scenes from the book. I started to read the book again, and couldn’t put it down.

The Great Divorce is an allegory about Heaven and Hell. It points out some attitudes and behaviors that belong in Hell that we don’t often think of as “evil”

To the question of “What about those who really want to believe, but their circumstances are against them to ever know God?”

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self – choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened. ”

To the question of “How can people in heaven have no sadness when they know their loved ones are suffering in hell?”

“Either the day must come when joy prevails and all the makers of misery are no longer able to infect it: or else for ever and ever the makers of misery can destroy in others the happiness they reject for themselves. I know it has a grand sound to say ye’ll accept no salvation which leaves even one creature in the dark outside. But watch that sophistry or ye’ll make a Dog in a Manger the tyrant of the universe. “

The last time we bought a new car was in 1999 when we bought the Honda Odyssey.

Yesterday we bought a new 2013 Toyota Prius, brand new with 2 miles on the odometer.

Don’t we all hate that part of the car buying process of haggling with the salesperson, who, when he can’t get you to sign on the dotted line, brings out the big gun “manager” who uses all the well-practiced textbook sales techniques to corner you to say “I’ll take the white one with leather interior”? Maybe some of you find it exhilarating to best them at their game, but I am glad that the internet and “fleet” dealers has made negotiating unnecessary. Or so I thought.

So here’s my story.

We contacted Costco auto program “With low, prearranged pricing…” They referred us to a Toyota dealer in Pasadena but they would not give us a quote until we come in. So we made an appointment to see the “fleet” manager.

We also contacted TruCar.com. My son bought his Prius V through their program. They quoted a “guaranteed” price through a Toyota dealer in Carson, with a price of $2,438 below MSRP.

With our TruCar written quote in hand, we went to the Costco referred dealership to see if they would give us a better price.

The person, who turned out to be a typical salesman, showed us their “dealer cost” and gave us a price based on blah, blah, blah. That price was $1,500 more than the TruCar quote. What! That’s the “low” price prearranged with Costco? The Costco that I trust for the best deals? The Costco that sells the lowest priced hot dog with drink for $1.50?

“Is that the best price you can give us?” We asked.

“Oh, we want to work with you. If you have a quote, I’ll see what I can do.” Oh, brother. Here comes the haggling that I thought we avoided through Costco.

So we take out our TruCar quote. As we expected, he goes to ask his manager, blah, blah, blah, and comes back and says he’ll match it. So he was trying to make an extra $1500 off me if we didn’t know better.

Then we said, “You’re going to take the Toyota incentive of $500 off of that price, right?”

“No,” he said. “That’s already included.”

“The TruCar quote doesn’t include the $500.”

“Yes it does.” He insisted. “You can call them, and I am sure I’m right.”

We called. He was wrong.

He said, “If you can get that price with another $500 off, buy it.”

I gave him one last chance. “You mean you can’t match the price?” Again, he told us to go buy it, but he’s very sure that the quote is just to lure us in. We promised that if they don’t give us that exact price, we’ll come back and buy the car from him.

Off we go to Carson, thinking that we’re probably wasting gas, and will have to come back to Pasadena.

I love a good ending, and here it comes right now…

We walk into the Carson dealership, the guy looks at our quote and said, “Of course the Toyota incentive is not included. You get $500 off this quote. Which color do you want?”

That’s how we drove off with the 2013 Toyota Prius Classic in Sea Glass Pearl.

It’s time to read another mystery for my entertainment, so I picked out The Nine Tailors from the local library.

I was not disappointed. Always loved Sayers writings. However, I don’t understand a lot of the cultural context. For example, there are many references to bell ringing of church bells – pealing. I just skip the parts that give details of the art of ringing.

I love the way Sayers write, and the resolution was very satisfying. 

“The older you get, the more important it is to not act your age.” – I would like to live by that.

“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?” – I would be 35 and just go do things. I often feel limited by my age now – “I’m too old for that.”, “I might get hurt.”, “It’s too much trouble.”, “What if I get a heart attack while traveling abroad.?” I never had those thoughts when I was 35.