Ham Blockage

I have a piece of ham stuck in my throat. Well, maybe not anymore, but I can't tell. Three years ago I had to get my esophagus stretched because its too small (not terribly common, but not unheard of). They told me in 2-3 years that I would have to get it stretched again. Well my three years is up and a piece of ham let me know that. I freaked out Friday morning (after an entire torturous night of trying to get the ham to go up or down) and made Thurm take me to the ER in SLC. They basically told me to wait it out and it would go down. They didn't have a doctor on staff that could do the procedure and they ONE doctor that they called was booked. So I've been suffering for four days and I think it has finally gone down. Moral: I will chew my food 50 times before I swallow.

Adena asked what the school district was going to do to fix our situation with the door. Apparently some time this week, someone will be out to build a wall on their side of the room. Our side will still just have a door that goes nowhere. Whatever, as long as its sound proof. Did I mention the electricity? I guess they can't switch the electricity over, so our neighbors have to pay us $30 a month in utilities. I can imagine the problems that might arise.

I had my first day of work at the elementary school as an ESL teacher today. I really dug it. But I didn't have any students today. I was just organizing my office, doing some paperwork, and looking over the teaching materials. I just liked the atmosphere and it was fun finding a book of stickers that I can hand out as rewards. After work, I went to the casino to say good-bye to my co-workers ( I missed my last day due to the ham in my throat). They had bought me a candle and wrote a really nice card : )

I am supposed to be helping Thurm grade papers but I'm guiltily blogging. Hope everyone is having a festive December!

Two become Eight

For the past week Thurm and I have had a family of six living with us. When we first arrived in Wendover our neighbors asked us if we needed our extra bedroom. They have four kids and are living in a two bedroom apartment. We, of course, sympathized and wanted to help out. So we said "Of course! Please have our extra bedroom." It was our understanding that a wall or heavy double doors would divide our two apartments and our extra bedroom would become theirs. It has been months since this transaction has been talked about and so I was surprised to come home for lunch one day and have three men in our house discussing how they were going to change over this room to the other apartment. Being ever trusting, I assumed these men knew what they were doing.
I came home from work that night and heard children in our home. But at closer examination, the kids were just in our extra room. The men had basically just put a deadbolt on our flimsy cardboard door and cut a door out of the opposite wall for the other apartment. We can hear every word our neighbors say and they can hear every word we say. Tonight I listened to the mom read her children a bedtime story as I brushed my teeth. I walked past some cheerios laying on our floor that had somehow made their way underneath the door to our side. Thurm & I have been talking in hushed whispers to try to keep some privacy. The poor little girl who lives in the room has heard every noise that comes from our bathroom.
I've been assured by the School District who owns the property that the situation will be rectified this coming week. We'll see.

My Hilarious Brother...

My brother wrote a response on his blog as to hobbies I could take up:

1.You could take up cross county skiing or downhill skiing, or salt flat skiing. I realize that local geography has a lot to do with the feasibility of this one.


2.You could take on a few craft projects that perhaps could be sold on e-bay or given as gifts. I found a bag full of old LP’s and LP covers in the shop a few weeks ago.
(I got excited about making record purses and selling them on e-bay for a week. But its never went further than my dad's shop.)

3.The Internet is full of educational opportunities, a lot of which can be free. Here's a site that has endless articles on everything you can imagine. How Stuff Works. http://www.howstuffworks.com/ You could use the time as a chance to learn how to put oil in your car for example, or how parking brakes work.
(My family likes to make fun of the various times I've tried to destroy/wreck my cars)


4.Florecita suggests starting a club that could provide a service to the people of Wendover. Perhaps teaching others about one of your passions. Examples:Music, Politics, Photography, Morality, or Anti-Snobbery.
(So I'm opinionated, sue me)


5.I have stacks of Mac magazines, they have lots of entertaining tidbits of Mac wisdom.
(I don't believe in calling Tech help for my Mac when I can just call Dave-he's programed into my phone, unlike Mac)

I need some hobbies. Thurm’s nights are spent either running or studying. He has decided to run the SLC marathon in April and has started training with Carlos, our Mexican friend who doesn’t like our red curry. He is also studying for his online teaching certificate. He has a list of twenty text books to read by spring. And I am bored! There is only so much cooking and cleaning a girl can do. And I’m a little read-out at the moment. I have consented to be the co-leader for the local Brownie troop once a week. And I am going to take a sewing class at Thurm’s high school once a week. But that leaves five more nights a week with not much too do. I have put up flyers for photography, but only a few people have called. And this town is too damn ugly to be photographed. I have told myself I’ll practice the piano and guitar, but haven’t done much of it. I think I need a new hobby to get excited about. Any suggestions?

I have been counting down the days till Thanksgiving. I feel like we haven’t left this ghost town in MONTHS and I can’t wait to see some trees. We are leaving tomorrow night to go to Idaho to see our families for four days. And after this trip we only have two more weekends to do our Christmas shopping. I guess I could do some of the shopping online, but that’s no fun.

Thurm & I have been discussing politics and war the last few days. Neither one of us knows as much as we would like about those subjects, there is just so much to know. I had a discussion with my dad one time about how I had given up on the news. I feel like we never get the whole picture, there are always half-truths, lies and cover-ups. My dad’s argument is that if you watch enough news from different sources, that you’ll be able to sift through the crap and get to the truth. Maybe.

I’m sure most generations have felt like their generation was going to pot, but I really feel like our world and our country is falling apart. It’s full of sickos that hurt children and other people. It’s full of liars who say they are looking out for our best interest. It’s full of selfish people who only care about themselves. Our government is spending more on war than on everything else combined. And what is America going to be like when the government & big businesses decide they are satisfied with the situation in the middle-east? When they’ve made enough money from being at war. What about our kid’s education? What about the drugs and violence in our society? The poverty? The lazy-ass slackers draining our welfare and social security? The illegal immigrants draining our welfare and social security? I think our government is corrupt, and the U.S. people are apathetic, ignorant, or don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m in the “don’t know what to do” category. And I think that’s why a lot of people are apathetic. It seems so futile and that my one little voice will never change anything. So why worry about it. There needs to be a revolution. The American people need to stand up to the government and change things. Not with fighting, but with a refusal to go along with how things are being ran currently.

Life's a Dance...

Our branch/ward here is never boring to attend. It is full of colorful people who make it constantly entertaining. This week Thurm & I attended Sunday school where the teacher, we'll call him John, was a bit aggressive. I'm not sure aggressive is the word... John is an older man, around sixty. And when the branch president asked if could interrupt for an announcement, John told him "no, you asked me to come teach and that's what I'm doing." I think John is just a big tease, but no one is quite sure how to take him. So his style of teaching was to play devils advocate to get the class into a big discussion. However, he was a little too good at it and some people were getting flustered or passionate. The discussion was getting pretty rowdy and John made a comment about people making mistakes in the gospel. John and the branch president were sort of talking over each other and suddenly the branch president yells "Hey, life's a dance, you learn as you go!"
It was at that moment, Thurm & I knew that you get blessing for going to church. We've been laughing over that for two days now. I can't wait for next week to see if any other country lyrics are thrown out during a discussion of the gospel.

Sandwich Artist

Tonight Thurm met me at work to walk me home. We walked past Subway and I had a craving for a sandwich for dinner, so we went in. THIRTY minutes later we left with a footlong. ONLY IN WENDOVER!!! When we arrived there was a man who was getting two sandwiches made----15 MINUTES this took. I didn't really notice the time because we were talking about work and how our days went. Five people piled in line behind us by the time he got to us. There was one man working who was, to put it nicely, slow & odd. We ordered quickly and I even passed up getting vinegar & italian spices on my sandwich to make it easier. I searched my purse for cash to make it easier, but I had to use a debit card. When he ran it, the machine started making wierd beeps. He said "oh my boss must be on the phone, I'll go tell her to get off." He tells her. Waits a couple minutes and tells her again. THE BOSS finally got off the phone so my debit card would go through. When she came out to help make sandwiches I wanted to give her the stink eye, but didn't. Bizarre.

What are you snobby about?

I'm a snob. I think I've finally come to terms with this. I didn't think I was a snob because when I think of "snob," I think of someone who cares about material things. One of my best friends, Jonathan, he's a snob. Drives a BMW, thinks of his Banana Republic clothes as lounge clothes, doesn't blink about dropping $40 on a good steak that only comes with a small potato. And I think he takes a little pride in his snobbery. But this snobbery is an endearing part of his personality.

However, I never really thought of myself as a snob. I don't care about clothes, nice cars, cool cell phones, big houses, etc. But that’s where I'm snobby. I'm above all that material stuff. I look down my nose at people who care about those things. They haven't transcended that level of life yet. They care about what about what others think of them. I started recognizing this in myself after I started recognizing it in my husband. It took a few months of me dating Thurm to start seeing that in him. And after a few months of marriage, I had his snobberies pin pointed down. It’s a beautiful thing when you find someone in life that shares your snobberies : )

So I've decided everyone is a snob about something. I take pride in not caring about material things. Jonathan takes pride in his BMW. What is your snobbery?

I really hate country music. Let me give you a sample of why I hate it so much. This is a song by Toby Keith, a white trash, male chauvinist:

"If I Was Jesus, I’d have some real long hair
A robe and some sandals, is exactly what I’d wear
I’d be the guy at the party, turnin’ water to wine
Yeah me and my disciples, we’d have a real good time.

Ooh and I’d lay my life down for you (woooooh)
And I show you who’s the boss (woooooh)
I’d forgive you and adore you
While I was hangin’ on"

I could post the lyrics to many other offensive, ignorant, lame, just plain crap songs, but I don't want anyone else to have to suffer as I have. I have had to listen to country music everyday since working at the casino's. My three co-workers favorite music is country or oldies. And one day I realized why... because that's what the casino's play! I don't think they've ever been exposed to other kinds of music!!! Their whole world revolves around the casinos. So I've decided that I don't care about being accommodating anymore. I am bringing in my CD's and forcing my music on them for their own education and growth. I've started off slow with Josh Grobin. He is loved the world over, so I figured he was a safe bet. I threw in some good 80's ballads... they need to work up from the oldies. And in the next week we'll move into the 90's with some U2. I'll have to see how it goes from there. I used to think I could stand a little Garth Brookes occasionally, but I think this experience has ruined me of all country music. Well... maybe not Johnny Cash,he's just good.

Wendover Likes
• I can walk to work
• My husband is here
• The Salt Flats are really cool
• Lots of Hispanic culture
Wendover Dislikes
• It’s ugly dessert
• The whole town is built on gambling
• Everyone is up in each other’s business
• It’s ugly.
• No trees, no green.
• Its 2 hours from ANYWHERE!
• The people who live here think Salt Lake is scary and full of rude, ignorant people.
• The mountains are not even as good as Salt Lake’s
• It’s ugly.
• They don’t deliver mail to your house.


I teared up a little when we drove into Salt Lake last week. I missed the mountains. People can say what they want about Salt Lake, but it is a great city to live in. It’s not too big, but has everything you could ever want. It’s beautiful. The streets are lined with trees. It’s clean and safe. It’s right next to a huge, beautiful mountain range. People are nice. It’s relatively diverse (compared to the rest of Utah). The crime is low. There only a few ghetto areas. Overall a very wholesome atmosphere.
People like to complain about the Mormons there. And I will admit, there are the Mormons that are clique-ish, that are judgmental, that are fake-nice. However, aren’t there people like that everywhere, religious or not? And just as annoying as these hypocritical Mormons ruining it for the rest of it, are the people complaining about it. I am so sick of non-Mormon’s complaining about the Mormons! If you lived in Boston, you’d live amongst a Catholic majority. If you lived in Alabama, you’d have to live with a Baptist majority. People are hypocrites. People don’t live the religion they believe in. That’s ALL religions! It doesn’t matter where you live, people are different from you! Just respect others beliefs and be nice to each other!
This is probably a hot topic for all my friends of other religions. But I have never said a negative word about someone else’s religion. I think other religions are fascinating. So that’s why I can sit atop this high horse ; )

We hope our children aren't this ugly!

I've been working for one of the local casinos for five days now. I work on the 2nd floor in the offices. Which means I don't have to wear a uniform. This is a sign of status... not wearing a uniform. When I "lower" myself to go to the break room down stairs where all the uniformed people take their breaks, I get funny looks. On an elevator ride up to the second floor a "uniformed" woman looked at my cup of ice & water and asked "don't they have drinking fountains up where you work?" As if to imply that I was slumming it with the "uniformies."
I'm getting my photography business up and running. Turns out Wendover doesn't have an official wedding photographer. So that should bring in some good money once a year.
Thurm's classroom has a piano in it so I've been playing a little bit. I really like it-- I don't know why I hated practicing so much when I was younger. Oh, probably because my four brother were yelling at me to stop because they were trying to watch TV.
Thurm & I discovered "Netflix" so we are looking forward to getting two movies a month in our PO Box. We recieved our first one today!!! "The Office" Season 3, disk 1.

Family Pictures

Jim & Julia's Family
Anthony's Family
Ryan & Marci's Family

Grandma & Grandpa with all their grandkids

Bear Lake Family Pictures

All the grandkids : )

Just missing Dave

Name bracelets

Racing to the next clue

Digging for buried treasure
Eating Ice Cream (an Amazing Race Challenge)
Putting on a Skit

The Amazing Race: Bear Lake 2007

Amazing Race Teams

Elise, the creator and hostess of the Amazing Race:Bear Lake. Elise learned though it was her game and her rules, every J has to have a say in how the game was played.

I've been reading the 1st of a three part series of books called "The Kingdom and the Crown." Which is basically the "Work and the Glory" set in Jesus' time. So basically its LDS fiction and pretty predictable. However, it's having the desired effect on me. I started reading it because my mom highly recommended it and I needed something to read. The story line is fine, but its the history that has gotten me so excited. I'm finally understanding the difference between the Sadducee's and the Pharisees. The time line of the new testament and how it fits into history is finally making sense. The dynamic between the Roman empire and Israel is making sense. How all of this history effects today and the wars going on in Israel is making sense. How Mormonism and Judaism are so similar and why that is! I've thought that before and of course since Jesus was a Jew, that makes sense, but its all becoming so clear. I took a Old Testament class a few years ago and I had the same reaction---excitement. I just couldn't learn enough, fast enough. Its exciting gaining knowledge and truth.

I HAVE INTERNET! I'm apart of civilization again! I really don't know how I lived without internet back before 1995. I remember getting hotmail and I had one person to email. These last two weeks there has been at least a few times a day that I wanted to google or email something.
So Thurm & I have been adjusting to our new life. Thurm has been adjusting to teaching. I think once he gets into a groove, he'll be a fantastic teacher. He has the class disciplining almost down--one class still gives him a little trouble. He still doesn't have text books, so he's been making up his lesson plans everyday, which is really time consuming. But overall, I think he has found his niche.
I have learned that there isn't a job in town that will pay me what I want. So I am settling for either substitute teaching or working for the casino in the credit department. Both pay about the same. The pro of subbing is I pick and choose my schedule. The con of subbing is that it is subbing. I don't know if I have the patients. We'll see---
Wendover is, as our new friend Carlos, from Mexico City, calls it, a ghost town. But there are lots of books I want to read : )

Below is a post I wrote last week when I thought I'd have internet.

Wendover Day 3:
I have been in Wendover for three days. I was gone over the weekend to Pocatello so those don’t count. I’ve been a homemaker for three days and feel guilty that I need to find a job soon. I’ve cleaned the house, unpacked but still have a full day left to do, did some laundry, went to the electric company, internet company, and to the post-office to get a PO Box.
Everyone keeps telling me I should just stay at home and let Thurm bring home the bacon (Thurm is saying this too). I can’t help but feel very guilty about this. Yesterday I took a nap. Its one thing to be a mother… I feel strongly that a mother should take care of her kids. But I’m just at home all by myself wondering how to pass the time. No internet, no TV. Might as well make money while I’m in this town.
I went to an enrichment night in my new branch last night. One woman I met confirmed that small towns & the Mormon church attract the crazies. But everyone was very nice. Pretty much everyone’s story was that they “ended up” in Wendover and have just stayed. Yes, WE ended up in Wendover, but I am too pro-active to just let us “end up” staying here. We do have a choice in the matter. Overall, I left with a feeling of being depressed by these women’s lives. I’m sure I’ve got the wrong attitude.
We watched Seinfeld last night and Elaine reminded me of Adena. (Adena you are very Elaine-like) Which made Nels appear in one of my dreams. Which made me think about Taiwan today. Thurm & I have been discussing his great new teacher schedule, and how we will have summers off to do as we please. We’ve decided that this coming summer we are going to try and go to Asia for 2 months and teach again. It will be the dream I hold to in the next 9 months of Wendover : )

I’ve figured out how Thurm & I are going to make our millions. We are going to become Bamboo Farmers!!! We will just have to move to Oregon and buy a lot of land and grow Bamboo. The genius is in the simplicity. Bamboo is the next cotton & wood put together. And we’re getting in on the ground floor! Who wants to be an investor?

In other news, I just had a four day vacation in Bear Lake with my family. It was four fun days of the four S’s: Swimming, Sun, Sand & Snacking! I could do without the sand. My niece organized the “Amazing Race: J Family Version.” We received clues and raced to complete challenges which included a round of mini golf, eating a raw onion, putting on a skit (per usual- anytime either of my parents perform some sort of pantomime, skit, singing, etc. hilarity ensues. Please ask me about the Blackfoot Fair karaoke machine incident of 2001), swimming the length of the pool, digging in the sand for hidden money, and eating a bowl of ice cream. Overall a great trip and I didn’t get sunburned too badly.

Favorite Weekend Quote: 5-yr old Carter (poking Uncle Jared with the orange flag while riding in a ski boat): “Um, excuse me, I think it’s time for me to go back to my family.”

Thurm starts teaching Wednesday. He seems pretty excited about it all. Which I’m SOOO glad about. I have a week left at my job, which I’m SOOOO glad about. I’ve been too busy wrapping up our life in SLC and Thurm starting his new job that I haven’t worried about my new job in Wendover, whatever that might be. I’m just excited to be able to walk to work : ) How great is that!

Yesterday Thurm & I took a trip to Walmart to purchase a small paint roller. We bought one that was only 4 inches long because we are fixing a hole in our wall. During check-out, the cashier, a 17-year old guy, looks seriously at Thurm and says "I hate to be the one to tell you this, but this (referring to the small paint roller) is going to take you all day!" haha. Its the little things that make life great : )

Wendover or Bust...

Thurm got a job teaching English at Wendover High School. We are moving there September 1st. I'm still unsure as to my employment, but a few options are in the works. Its taken me a week to wrap my head around living in a town made up of 5,000 people, all of whom work for the five casinos. Two hours from anywhere... in the middle of the desert...but I am actually warming to the idea of taking a 9 month sabbatical from the city life. It will be nice to get away from traffic. We can walk to work and go home for lunch : )
I am hoping that Wendover will just be a 9 month stint, but it could possibly turn into a 2-3 year stint. But it is going to be a great school for Thurm to get his feet wet in. Small classrooms, a laid-back principal, possible coaching positions. I think he is really going to like it there.
I'm sure my first week there I'll have goals set of how I'm going to spend my 9 months. I am FOR SURE taking up running. Nothing like a run in the desert. I think I'm going to photograph the entire town and all 5,000 people. Thurm & I talked about taking up shooting glass bottles with shot guns. Thurm thinks he might take up gambling. I could cocktail waitress in the evenings. The possibilities are endless. I need to re-name my blog www.wendovernatalie.blogspot.com.