It's NOT About the Journey, It's About the Destination

Preface:
A couple of month ago I went home for a visit to be with my parents and help out with some things. Then, on the way to the airport I did something STUPID. I sat facing Dad while we talked and made myself carsick.

By the time we reached the airport I was facing forward, unable to talk and shaky. I couldn't even go to my terminal. I had to stop moving NOW. It was terrible. How would I survive the day?

And then the flight. With a layover, where I couldn't even disembark during our time on the ground, not even soda helped. The man next to me looked worried for me and pointed his air toward me. I am so thankful for the kindness of strangers.

Upon disembarking in Austin, TX, I knew Marla, Lex and Adam had driven several hours to meet me at the airport. We were all on our way to a lake house in Center Point, TX (kind of close to San Antonio). Our friends Jeannette and Jeff had rented a vacation home for the week and invited us to come and stay for the weekend and enjoy the Center Pointe Lake on the Guadalpe River with them.

But I couldn't meet them when I got off the plane. I carefully shuffled toward a bathroom stall and locked myself in, trying to calm my tummy and head down until I got a text from Adam "Are you here?"

I will speed up the story and say the rest of the drive was on curvy roads! We had to pull over so I could escape and walk a bit. When we finally arrived (it was well after dark)  I have never been so thankful stop moving in ALL MY LIFE. NEVER.

Lesson: USE DRAMAMINE. Forget soda and crackers. It's pressure point bracelets and drugs for me next time. It didn't even cross my mind to get some until the trip was almost over. (Moan…)

The next morning we woke up and walked out onto the deck were greeted by this—and it was LOVELY. I KNEW the day was going to be drastically different from the day before. And it was. Oh how it was.

I can't believe little ole us got invited to the big kid hang out! What a day. We stayed in the water most of the time. Jeannette made awesome food. It was calm. This is the kind of thing I like. A small, good group of friends, and time spent where it's beautiful. It feeds my soul.

I am grateful for the memories we'll have of this trip. I am grateful for friends who are so kind and open to sharing their vacation with us! This trip will not be forgotten.

Here's a video of some of the fun. Password: RiverLake
Lake from Anna Zenk on Vimeo.

Dreaming of Fish

Since last year's fly fishing trip, Adam, Lee and Adam's Dad have been planning, thinking about, and dreaming of fish. I have no doubt lovely images like this have been swimming through their heads at night.

Since the drive to Utah is a long one. I imagine the guys could just hear the rushing water and feel the breeze flowing down the waterway with the cool water calling out to rush over their warm limbs….

Bah ha! What am I thinking? There's no time for that poetic mush. Guys don't think like that!
This is how it goes down.

"First, we're going to SMASH all this stuff into the car and get out there as fast as we can and catch us some fish!"

I actually can't believe this little Kia Sorento held all their gear. I was going to show a video of how they did it but—your imagination will do just fine.

The drive to Utah is a LONG one. Lee, proves that even guys take selflies when they're bored enough.

As soon as they arrived, and before even getting to camp the men pulled over and started fishing.

They stayed an entire week and fished several rivers in the area. Don't you just love all the waders hanging from the line? So homey.

Here's a view near the camp.

One river—I believe it was everyone's favorite—is only accessible by walking quite a long distance on a set of tracks. And you are FORCED to walk there as there's no real trail on either side. (These are the ones I almost cried about last year.)
Below is a machine filling the ditch along the side with dirt. Below right: Again, Lee proves something with his camera: guys like taking pictures of pretty flowers. And further below Adam proves that giving up on the tracks is OKAY.
(Just kidding. He lost his Dad and sat down for a rest while looking for him.)

Let the fishing begin!

Panoramics are cool…but there's no way in reality to actually SEE how awesome they are. How wide is YOUR screen? Oh well, you get the idea.

Those are big fish! Adam kept the one on the far right since it was a monster and they all ate it for dinner. The fish are pretty yeah? I hadn't realized there was a variety—but they are all stocked every year.

And since Lee didn't catch any fish, again he takes a selfie to prove something...

Ha ha! Just kidding again! (I'm feeling rambunctious today). Lee caught his fair share and will also be able to provide for his family during the zombie ebolalipse.

Here's a shot of dinner at camp.

One night the guys passed what they thought was a giant raccoon, so they backed up and found it was a huge porcupine! Adam said it was "being a butt." Meaning it was being a mean ornery thing—it actually turned it's rear toward the car to take it on!

Last day: The guys are ready to come home after a full week of getting up early and fishing all day.

I was very happy to see Adam had brought home two fish for us! So I fried 'em up. I love fried trout skins, and the meat inside was so moist. I really do like trout—and Adam. A week with him gone was long enough for me!

I'm sure the guys will be making a tradition out of this trip. I'm glad. I like to see Adam spend time with his best friend and Dad. What more could a guy ask for? (Well…there are other things but I'm sure we don't need to talk about those…)

Time Out for Women

Time Out for Women is a two day conference specifically geared toward women (there's one for girls too) and presented in several cities by Deseret Book once a year. I hadn't heard of it until these ladies invited me to join them for the conference and a free overnight stay at a hotel. What fun!

I was a little worried Desert Book would push its name and products all throughout the conference—they were a client of ours when I worked at SHC…oh the stories I can tell—but to my surprise they didn't and I was glad. 

Below: Me, Tiffany (who is the first counselor in Young Women…oh, did I mention that I am the Young Women President now? More on that later. Maybe.) Jeanette, she and her husband have a bunch of us over to play cards late at night when the kids are in bed. Lots of food is ALWAYS involved and it's so fun. And then Marla who I've mentioned before.

This year the theme for the conference was "Inevitable Light." I had to go find a good explanation of it because it's a little…complicated. Here is what I found:

…We found this great quote: “For those of us who feel wanting when it comes to talents and gifts, it is encouraging to know that this invitation is not to dazzle others with who we are or what we know. Rather, our light is the Light of the Lord reflected in us as we simply strive to do as He did. (Elder Lawrence Corbridge,Valiant in the Testimony of Jesus Christ)

And then it was clear. Our gifts aren’t about US. They are about HIM. And His Light.  

Elder Corbridge goes onto say, “Your light will shine as an inevitable consequence of faithfully choosing to follow the Lord whatever the cost.” 

Speakers and entertainment included: Heidi Swinton, Hudson Lights (Music), Elaine Dalton, Terryl & Fiona Givens, Hillary Weeks (music), Emily Watts, S. Michael Wilcox, Tamu Smith & Zandra Vranes, Emily Freeman.

The first day (for me) was a little disappointing. The information was presented in a way I'd already heard. One speaker repeated a message I had actually seen in a video of hers before. But the next day was much better. There was laughing and new knowledge shared. I even received information I've needed about something that's been bothering me for a while—it was inspiring and sweet to receive my answer to say in the least. 

Above left (Marla, Tiffany, Jeanette) Above right: (I dared Tiffany to walk up on stage so I could get a picture of her. Brave girl. She's got a little adventure in her. But shame on me for egging her on!)

We left midway through and ate at Potbelly's for lunch. Have you been there? Best chocolate cookies. Good wraps and sandwiches. Here are the place tags Jeanette made for us to keep our seats while we were gone.

It was a good couple of days. I am still surprised these ladies like me enough to have invited me (I'm the quiet one in the group and feel I have little to share because these ladies are SO AMAZING and have so much more life experience than me)…but this little getaway was very nice and they are a pleasure to be around. Maybe I just need to get over my insecurities….

And because I just can't STAND it I have to point out this sign. It was on stage so I was FORCED to look at it the whole weekend. The lettering on the word "light" BOTHERS ME SO BAD! Look at the "t". It's obviously thinner than all the other letters. Someone needs to fix it so my eye can stop twitching!!!

At Least We Won't Starve

Dove is edible? Those pretty birds that symbolize love and peace are hunted? Yes. There is a season for them. And it has begun. Part of Adam's job is to court people in the business—for their business. So he gets paid while experiencing fun and new things with the client. He's been dove hunting twice now…during work days. Awesome!

According to the other "dudes" Adam is a good shot. He hit the most on the last run, and brought back the maximum birds allowed. He said he's surprised he actually hits anything. (Not that he's bad, it's just that the birds are so small.)

After shooting the bird, the hunter finds the bird and quickly pops off the head. It's a quick and humane death for the animal. Adam said it's extremely easier (physically) than he thought it would be.
One bird he fetched for a fellow was still quite alive, awake and blinking and looking around. That one was hard to kill, "It was looking at me," he said. He took it back to the guy saying, "You're going to have to do this one."

To clean the birds you just stick your thumb up under the breast plate and rip the breast out. Then rinse off any feathers. Look it up on Youtube. It's the only edible part (well, the only part we eat anyway) and comes away easily. It's a dark red meat and very small. The meat has a texture a little similar to liver, especially if its been marinated. I don't mind it and am curious to try new ways to cook it. It was fun trying something new.

So, now I know… doves are an option—as long as we have a gun and there are doves we won't starve.

Addendum
After posting this my Dad responded with this story:

When I was a kid, I went dove hunting many times with my dad and his dad ("Baba" to me). I remember waking up in the dark and being out in the fields before dawn. I still can smell the pungent safflower crops we crouched in, keeping quiet and low to the ground. Baba's black retriever would run out and scare up the birds and bring the fallen ones back. My job was to put them in a canvas bag. Those mornings were chilly and the soft little bodies warmed my cold hands. At Baba's house I helped pluck the feathers. Blood made it a sticky mess. At home, Mom would bake and serve the doves whole. We learned to suck all the meat morsels off every tiny bone and to chew carefully because of the BBs. When we had a meal of dove, duck, pheasant, or venison that my dad had hunted, it always seemed to us a special family feast.

30 What!?

Being in our 30's is weird. I'm not sure I like it. I'm not sure I like my husband getting older. There are a few gray hairs on his head which catch my attention from time to time—which will probably make him look more handsome as he develops more but I don't like that it means time is flying by. He turned 33 this year. I'm just glad he's not balding!

As per his request we went out for dinner at Texas Roadhouse where he ordered his usual steak and we both chowed down on the rolls—the best ever. I am still attempting to find a good copycat recipe.

While we were there I interviewed him:

Is there anything you've done this year you'd like to do again?
Go trout fishing and hunting.

What are you really good at?
Making people laugh.

What health problems do you have?
My gut is hanging over my belt.

In what ways have you changed in the last three years?
I can't be as aggressive in sports because I hurt longer. I can't eat the same crap as I used to. And I feel like I'm more confident in my job.

What have you done this year that you don't want to do again?
Go to Walmart construction training.

What kind of music are you listening to these days?
Country, 21 Pilots, Grouplove, and Bruno Mars

What book are you in the middle of?
See You at the Top by Zig Zigglar

Who do you look up to or want to emulate?
My Dad and best friend.

What amazes you?
How to this day, that sometimes I look at my wife and am amazed that we are together. It's totally awesome. I just look at her and think, holly crap, she's mine. Best feeling ever.

And on that high note we'll move on.

A few years ago Adam requested a birthday cake with no frosting. And I thought, "How can I make a cake without frosting and have it still taste…interesting?" And then I thought, "Aha! Ganache!" And came up with this DELICIOUS concoction:

The cake is Hershey's Deep Dark Chocolate Cake recipe. I make it the night before and wrap the layers in saran wrap while they are still just barely warm. In my mind it helps the cake retain moisture. I despise most cakes and it's because most cakes are dry (because most cakes come from a box.)

The next day a few hours before we're ready to eat it, I assemble the rest of the cake.
First, the layers get cut in half and chocolate pudding gets spread in between each one and stacked. This year I made the pudding from scratch and had great success. This too helps the cake taste ooey gooey chocolatey in your mouth. Yum.

Then chocolate ganache made from semisweet chocolate gets poured over all the layers. It's not smooth because I don't bother cutting the sides of the cake—which is fine—I don't want to waste any delicious chocolatyness.

Then I whip cream with vanilla, sugar, and a few dashes of cinnamon (which is perfection) and pipe it over the top. And lastly sprinkle Heath bar all over it.

It has been such a GREAT hit, (it's even better the next day coming out of the fridge) that we have given it the permanent title, Adam's Birthday Cake and I'm pretty sure it will be a tradition for the rest of his life. We will eat it at his funeral….which is getting closer.

Lucky birthday boy got sung to twice, the Marlex's came over and then later we took cake to Dafni's house and sang again! (As you can tell, this cake does not travel well—see right photo. But hey.)

Happy Birthday my love.