Worth the Wait

In January of 2009, I decided to get a tortilla maker. I ordered one made by Villaware, but didn't get it because it was discontinued.

During the Christmas season last year, Dwight and his Sister, Cherisse did some research and found out that Chef Pro made a similar tortilla maker and Amazon.com was going to sell it. Cherisse and her family sent us an Amazon.com gift card so we could purchase it once it was available. We were finally able to order it a few weeks ago.

It is a fabulous thing to have. It flattens the tortillas perfectly and cooks as it presses them. I made a batch of whole wheat/spelt tortillas (which are more like wraps). We used them for fajitas, breakfast burritos and filled them with chicken salad. I am also going to try using it to make flat bread.

It was worth the wait. Thanks Cherisse!

Geode Hunting

On Saturday, after the Race for the Cure, Dwight and I went with my Dad, My Brother, and my Niece to the west desert so we could dig for geodes.

We had to drive on a dirt road to get to the digging grounds. While we were driving, we saw dust stirring in the distance. We looked more closely and realized that a line of wild horses were running through the large open field. It was an amazing site.

It's a little hard to see, but the horses are running toward
the right edge of the picture, near the center.

After the 2 1/2 hour drive, we all loaded into Nathan's 4-wheel-drive truck and followed a very bumpy road to our final destination. There is a claim on the land, but the owner allows anyone to dig for geodes. He had been there earlier in the morning and used his backhoe to tear down some of the high walls so they didn't collapse on anyone. My job was to watch as Dwight dug into the ground and let the tailings roll. If I saw a rock rolling nicely, it was most likely a geode. It took awhile for me to tell which were just rocks, and which were geodes. Luckily, Nathan and Dad had been before so they knew what to look for. There was also a nice couple that had quite a bit of experience digging too, so she showed me what to look for.

We took a large wheat bucket with us and filled it 3/4 of the way full. Most of the geodes we found were about the size of a baseball, but we also found a few softball sized rocks. My Niece got thirsty toward the end of the dig, so I walked her back to the truck to get a drink. As we were walking down the side of the sandy crater I looked down and saw a large rock that looked like a geode. I brought it home just in case. We'll have to see once we get it cut.

When we were driving back we almost (Hopefully almost, since Dwight felt so sad.) ran over a 3 foot long diamond back snake. A little farther down the road we came upon another group of wild horses. This time they were about 20 yards away from the road. They were amazingly beautiful. Just before we left the dirt road we saw two antelope. It was a great adventure to see parts of Utah I have never seen before, to dig up such fun treasure and to see such majestic wildlife. It was a beautiful drive.

Race for the Cure 2010

Yesterday we participated in what has become our annual tradition, walking in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. It's one of the few times when I don't mind the crowd. It's nice to see so many people gather together for a great cause. It's also an event that stirs up a mix of emotions in me. The first year we walked in celebration of my Mom, the past two years we walked in memory of her. As we started the race, there were survivors announcing their names and number of years as a breast cancer survivor over the PA system. It brought up some emotion to hear them celebrating. I was so glad for them and it made me think of watching my Mom march in the survivor parade in 2008, but it was also hard because she fought and wasn't there to announce the years she spent fighting.

So, I'll say here, what I wish I could have exclaimed over the PA system yesterday. My Mom is a champion, a woman who fought cancer valiantly and nobly for over 12 years.

Although I'm sure she thought about her cancer every day, she never let her cancer define who she was. She continued to live, to hope and to love. And most of all, even through all of the pain and difficulties she taught us to find JOY, and to enJOY life.

I will always be grateful for the strong and wonderful woman that was (and still is) my Mom.