Table for Eight

It's not too often that our family goes hiking, but this weekend we took advantage of the beautiful fall weather and hiked Y Mountain in Provo (the Y on the mountain representing B- Y -U). It was a perfect day--not too cold; not too hot. And the colors on the mountain were beautiful. I'm so glad we went. Oh! And after the hike, we went to BYU's creamery (on 9th) and had 16 scoops of ice cream! (I know, gluttons. But it was SO good.) Jay, at the entrance to the trail. It's about a 2 mile hike. The whole clan--pre-hike. Zu, Lu, Papaya, and Jr. just as we begin. Dave and Zu making their way up the trail. (You can see the Y on the left.) Lu and me--at the top. Taking in the view (and taking a breather). Sitting atop the Y. (There have been some wildfires in the valley, so the air-quality is a little off.) And this is random, but here's our a quick pic of our Sunday dinner. Can you tell I'm a bit of a

Papaya, Bam, Jay, and our favorite almost-two-year-old--at the park. I don't know about you, but sometimes I get a little too ramped up about things. Things like teenagers or car trouble or global climate change.... And I'll be honest, it's not in my nature to just take a deep breath and sing a round of Bob Marley's, "No Woman No Cry" ( Everything's gonna be alright .) when these things are going on. But as I get older, I am trying to respond to stress differently than I did-- say yesterday. Yesterday, when I was just a mere 42 years and 64 days old. See, the much wiser and mature 42 years and 65 days old Dawn knows better. I know life has its ups and downs.  But that's life. That's what it's about. (Not the hokey pokey, it turns out.) So today I'm taking a deep breath, letting go of my need to control everything, and just enjoying the good that does come my way.     Because life is good.

LuLu at the park this week. I love to write. It's honestly one of my favorite things to do--a cross between a hobby and therapy for me. And so, I know my life is getting a little too wonky when I can't even find time to blog for 15 minutes! So, I think it's probably time to do some simplifying. Any suggestions? I'm all ears.  Really! How do you keep life calm?   Email me your suggestions--if you have time (tee hee): dawn_meehan@byu.edu

My fridge. Okay, I get the Rachel Ray Magazine  (love it) each month and one of my favorite sections is the one where Rachel shows the inside of a celebrity refrigerator. I find the Celebrity Fridge section fascinating for a number of reasons: 1.) It seems celebrity refrigerators are always STOCKED with the most colorful fruits, veggies, and cool condiments. (Just once, I'd like to see someone with an empty fridge--one with mustard, ketchup, an empty container of milk, takeout, and some wilting lettuce.) 2.) Celebrity refrigerators are so dang clean.   (I can't stand cleaning our fridge. Blech.) 3.) Most celebrity fridges have very little junk food. (Now granted, these celebrities know that THE Rachel Ray is coming to photograph their fridge, so maybe they take out the cookie dough, ice cream, or other BMI-unfriendly foods. But come on! Can't someone show me a gallon of chocolate milk? Four containers of really cheap cream? Or a half-eaten Costco cake--st

Our first Halloween celebration: vampire brownies. It seems that over the years Halloween celebrations begin earlier and earlier and earlier . (PS: I think Target, Hobby Lobby, and Pinterest are partly to blame for this.) I mean, I used to think it was "out of season" to have a pumpkin on your porch before October 1; b ut here it is the second week in September and I'm already making Halloween treats! Go figure. Anyway, I'm not complainin', I love Halloween , so I'm more than happy to celebrate it for 50+ days! But I'm wondering: a re you are holiday "rule follower"?   --Do you think it's "wrong" to listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving?  --Do you pack away all of your white clothes/shoes after Labor Day? --Do you wait to put a pumpkin on your porch until October? And if so, why/why not?  (BTW: Why do I celebrate early? Because I feel like life has so many rough/grey spots, we need a

Papaya, Bam, Ray and the "Oquirrh Mountain Temple Cat." Okay, today has been the most hilarious day--and it's only noon. On our way inside the Temple this morning, we came across a kitty-cat. So ... of course, our kids wanted to see it, and hold it. (Did I mention we had 4 cats at one time in our lives--despite city ordinances banning such cat-chaos? That's another story though.) Okay, my point! The kids were able to pet and hold the kitty-cat; it was so friendly.  And as they were holding him, I wondered, How does such a friendly cat hang around the Temple without being "picked up" or sent to a shelter? And just about the time I was asking the kids that very question, they started reading the tags on his collar. And this is the part that cracked me up: because most pet tags just say the animal's name and a phone number to call when/if  they are lost. But the Temple Kitty's collar was like a paragraph in length! It read: "

(c) LaughingSquid.com It's hard to believe that more than a decade has passed since the 9/11 attacks. Like so many of you, I remember the details of that day so vividly. It was such an unbelievably horrible day.  Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives that day. Three thousand people.  That's 3,000 fathers, mothers, children, aunts, uncles, grandparents, civil servants. And 3,000 families left with sorrow and loss and grief. It's just so hard to imagine HOW something like 9/11--or any major war/conflict/genocide-- happens. HOW and WHY do people, groups, nations ... go from being frustrated and angry to actually causing physical harm to those they are frustrated and angry with? (Yes, I'm ending the sentence with "with.") It seems impossible.  It's something I don't relate to at all: that kind of anger and intolerance. And yet, if I'm honest, the more I look at my own life, the more I realize that I don't always respond to situati

Sunrise this morning. Utah. Today I'm sending all my love, strength, and prayers to my friend NeYoda. She was diagnosed with leukemia a few months ago and is receiving a long-awaited bone marrow transplant next week. (Amen.) NeYoda (aka Neola) means the world to me, so if you have any extra peace or prayers to shoot out into the Universe, will you please send one out for her today? Here's a little about her and how we became the best of friends: About three years ago I'd been cast for Survivor 21 and cut a few weeks before we were to leave for the game. I. Was. Devastated. Being on Survivor had been a lifelong/10-year goal of mine (My first audition was at age 30, and I was 40 at the time.). I just couldn't believe I was that close --and now my dream was gone. I didn't know what to do? So, I did the only thing that seemed natural: I went to the gym and met my friend Neola for a workout. (We'd been meeting at the gym for months as I prep

I was telling Dave this yesterday ... Our lives aren't perfect. We have lots and lots--and lots--of "challenges" to face. And often, once we tackle/WIN a challenge, the next one is just waiting for us around the corner (to kick our butts). BUT ... even in the midst of these challenges, I feel grateful for each day on Planet E. Maybe I'm having a mid-life crisis?  Or maybe I'm just finally getting what life's all about? Either way, what I'm trying to say is, I'm grateful for each day. And, I'm grateful to all of you who read this blog. It means a lot to me. The End. Zu, Lu, Jr., and Papaya with the "finished" experiment. We're making stalactites. (Baking soda, water, food coloring, string, paperclips, and a now we wait.) We got the Star Wars Cookbook at the library yesterday. It's been checked out forever. How cool is this? We looked at Ukuleles yesterday. Our daughter Papaya (Who'