Ben is actually a gardner now

Its kind of a relief to know that we can actually grow a garden. We may be a little less likely to starve to death if the stores shut down :)

We have been working hard (ok, Ben has been working hard) but it is doing well and we have been blessed with a few tasty "fruits" (and veggies) of our labor.

Soon there should be summer squash and some early bird tomatos.

Now if we could just get some grass started, our "Barren wasteland" theme isn't working out.

Love the other Bennetts

Update from the Head Household

It is May 29th and the temperature is not even approaching the warm category. It rains and rains but somehow, some way, we have not floated down the river. Weather.com claims we'll see an extended period of sunshine w/ temps on the 70's starting Tuesday. That will be nice....if the forecast doesn't change yet again. (You can call me Eeyore.)

Chan and I have been busy getting the yard into shape. After the snow melted it was clear that there were many things we didn't get done before winter hit last year. The tulips already bloomed and have started to die. So did the grape hyacinths. The phlox are beatiful right now, in spite of all the moisture. My hens and chicks seem to have somehow grown exponentially under the snow.

The back yard has been under construction during the last 2 weeks. The rain made it hard to get the work done but the landscapers finished late Friday evening. Now the perimeters are ready for me to finish putting in new plants. We may do a few more this year but the bulk of them will be planted next year. If you want to see photos, go to my FB page.

We got our garden planting done several weeks ago. If they ever get any sunshine they might actually grow! We are trying zucchini, cucumber, several varieties of peppers and a few tomato varieties. We don't know if everything will live but we're sure going to do our best to make things live. :)

Well, hopefully by the next time I blog I'll have a "sunnier" outlook and more interesting things to write about. Hope everyone is well. Take care!

The Griffiths: April & May

The Griffiths: April & May: "So sorry that We've been bad about blogging the last two months. Well, what has happened...? First off, Beth got her wisdom teeth out at ..."

Well, we are boring and very little has changed since the last time we posted. Still just waiting to get in school, working, dealing with kids and plugging along. Highlights of the past while?? We celebrated our 11th Anniversary in Feb. unfortunately it snowed the whole time, I turned older, Max is now 6 and 1 more month and Emily will stop driving me nuts about her 9th birthday (hopefully). And best of all Charlie and I can now say we are officially 20 lbs lighter than last year. Hopefully we can keep it up.

The Salt Lake City Life

I again have Internet access from home! Yay me. My previous PC slowly began having problems during the last couple of months. It was 4 years old and after waiting months for a new fan (it did finally arrive) and having other problems, I gave up. It has been donated to a friend at work who wanted something to give his 2 year old - hopefully it will prove to be an enticement for the child to play on his own laptop instead of his Dad's machine. Chan and I have been flying by the seats of our pants since my last post. This time of year is one of his busiest. He had a GIGANTIC quota to fill for March. While he didn't quite make his March numbers, he did make his quarterly numbers. He found that to be a relief. Last week is best buddy at work turned in notice to leave the company. Chan is quite disappointed - feeling like his mentor and dear friend have moved on too soon. I assured him he'll find a new one. Many changes at work have kept me very, very busy over the last few months. I've been working very long hours but have also been interviewing a lot over the last 2 weeks. Interviews always prove interesting. I see a lot of really BAD interviewees. Below are things that stick out is things the general public should learn. Interviewing pro tip #1: don't tell your prospective employer that you don't really want THIS job but, hey, it's a job so you can do it if you have to. Interviewing pro tip #2: don't make me beg you to talk. Interviewing pro tip #3: don't talk so much that I want to stuff a sock in your mouth. Interviewing pro tip #4: don't show up 30 minutes late. Interviewing pro tip #5: don't tell me how amazing you are and then refuse to articulate your salary requirements. Interviewing pro tip #6: don't BS me. If you don't know the answer to something, just say "I'm not familiar with that." You sound like a know-it-all bonehead when you talk nonsense about things of which you know little or nothing. Interviewing pro tip #7: make SOME eye contact with me. Interviewing pro tip #8: do your homework about the company giving you the priviledge of an interview. When you show up and ask me "what do you guys actually do" I wonder if you've ever heard of this little thing called Google. Any company worth working for has a Website. Usually a company website will give you a general idea of the company's direction. Going to an interview mildly educated makes you sound like you might like to work there. Interviewing pro tip #9: when you decide it's time to job hunt and you begin the interviewing process, have at least 3 PROFESSIONAL references lined up and ready to provide to your prospective employer. Your father-in-law whose computer you maintain does not count as an employer. I also don't care if your friend thinks you're a hard worker. Interviewing pro tip #10: don't pester me about hiring you. Daily phone calls will annoy me. Weekly phone calls let me know you're really interested in the position. There is a fine line. At any rate, it's late and I have more interviews tomorrow. I should be well rested. Signing off for now. V

The Griffiths: March!

The Griffiths: March!: "Well, March has been good. In News: We have a dog! She's a 3 pound Tea Cup Yorkie. She loves to nap. She doesn't und..."

December, January & February - The Griffiths

Alright - so I'm just going to do a quick recap of the last few months.

December - I finished work a week and a half before the wedding and put on "A Christmas Carol".  I need to put an album on FB of it.  It was quite awesome.  The kids were fabulous, and it was SO much fun.  Troy's mom came up on the last night to surprise me.  It was sweet of her.

We got married on the 18th.  Most of you were there, but it was a good day.  Megan made a GORGEOUS wedding.  :)  So glad she's my sister!

We went to Catalina Island for our honeymoon.  I didn't know where we were going until we were on the way.  Troy wanted it to be a surprise, but our flight was delayed, so he had to call and change the time we were taking the Catalina Express, which tipped me off.  We got to LA and took a taxi to the port.  We took Dramamine so that we wouldn't get sick on the rocky water, and it actually knocked us out for the next 15 hours.  We only woke up to get from the ferry to our hotel, and then were out cold for a long, long time.

They ended up having record rainfall while we were there.  It rained 4 out of 5 days we were there.  Apparently they rarely have rain that lasts longer than an hour, and so this was out of the norm.   It rained and rained, and rained.  Everything to do was closed, and a lot of stores and restaurants were closed for leaks/flooding in their stores.  We watched a LOT of movies to pass the time.  Finally on the last day, a glass-bottom boat tour was open.  It was fun to see the fish and kelp, but the run-off from the island made the water murky.  We decided that we could plan a fabulous Catalina trip, but wouldn't have it last longer than 2 nights, and it would be in the summer so that the water wouldn't be a bad idea.  We toured the Casino, which isn't what we think of as a Casino today.  "Casino" means a place of gathering and entertainment, so it is a theater, dance hall, and gathering place for big events.  It was a really interesting place.  It was built by the Wrigley Family (as in the gum) in the 20s, before Casino meant "a place to gamble."  It was one of our favorite parts.

We went back to Utah for a few days, and had Christmas, and prepared for Alaska.  We flew up here on the 29th, and found a place and moved in on the 31st.  It's a two bedroom, is freshly carpeted, tiled, painted, and has been a great place in general so far.  Our landlord is awesome.  Our dryer didn't work one day, and he got us a brand new one in less than 24 hours, and he's replacing our furnace next week. 

January - Our neighbors above us are in our ward, and have been awesome.  They recently lost a baby, that was stillborn (she died the day she was due), and wanted to move somewhere to get away and have a fresh start.  They have a living son named Kai, who is 3 and is a peach.  He is one of the cutest kids ever.  Don't worry, your kids are cuter.  They also had a son older than Kai, who passed away as a toddler.  They are an amazing family.  They made us Cafe Rio salads with the pork... So. Good.

I started working for Kanady Chiropractic Center and had a hard time at first, mostly because I was so far from anyone I knew, but it's turned out to be an awesome job.  I work directly with the owner, and it's part time.  She believes that part time employees are happy employees.  I believe she is right.

Troy is starting to get used to his new job.  He misses his work buddies from Idaho, but we're glad we're here.  The economy up here is SO much better than it is down there.  Apparently it's a lot worse than it was before the recession, so I can't imagine what it would have been like pre-crash.  We're so grateful to have our jobs.

February - He traveled to Barrow on Valentine's Day.  He got to stand on the Arctic Ocean.  That's about as close as you can get to putting your toes in it.  He sent me pictures, and it was solid ice.

Since he was gone, he took me to Crow's Nest for Valentine's day before he left.  I was starting to get sick, and was quite sick with a respiratory infection for several days.  It was so nice to have that night before I got too sick.  He bought me a beautiful watch for Valentine's day.  Since he left in the midst of my being the most sick, our neighbors took care of me and brought me meals and a Valentine.  It was so sweet.

Well, that about sums it up!!