Zootah is awesome!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes. I know it was like 2 weeks ago, but thanks. It was a fun day. For the weekend we decided to go to Logan. Well, initially we were going to Vegas, and then decided it was too far, so we did the exact opposite and went to Logan. I did my freshman year at Utah State, and I've always loved that town. It's a frozen icicle 9 months out of the year, but those 3 months make up for it.
There's a zoo in Logan. A lot of people don't know that. It is seriously the strangest zoo I've ever been too, but there is something so awesome about it. It's in a residential area off of Main Street. It's across the street from a church, and next door to an army depot. It's basically cages that surround a big grass field, but we loved it. You have to go with the right attitude. They had a ton of ducks, a sandhill crane, and a yak for some reason. It's pretty chill too. I think there are two people that work there. The one employee brought out a bird the girls could feed, and a bunny they could pet.
Mirinda and Priya absolutely loved it. They were excited to go on a trip. Mirinda gets funny when we go on a trip because all she wants to do is get to the hotel and go to sleep. It was 5 in the afternoon and she was asking when bedtime was.
Something I realized about going to that zoo. I love to travel. However, most of the time when I think about going on a vacation it's to Vegas (for the food) and Disneyland (for Disneyland). Both of those trips are pretty expensive. I realize Vegas isn't too far of a drive, but with a 3 and a 5 year old it's an eternity. What I realized is there are a lot of places in Utah like Logan. Maybe it's off the beaten path a little bit, or you wouldn't normally think about going there, but there are cool places to be visited, and it's all about the attitude you go with. The attitude should be we're going to explore and go on an adventure, and that's how you create memories. It's a ton cheaper, and doesn't take as long to do, so it's easier to do the trip on a weekend. That's our new goal, to start doing more of these smaller trips, and find new places. Kind of like Star Trek, but in Utah.
The girls loved Halloween. Priya did better than Mirinda did her first year. I took Mirinda to 6 houses, and she decided she was done. Priya lasted about an hour and a half. They got to go out with their friends, and it was a great night.
The girls started gymnastics, and love that too. They both love to tumble, so we figured it would be better for them to learn to do it properly. The coaches have been really good with them. I'm excited for them to learn how to do this stuff, but especially for the confidence it will give them.
I love that I have more time for hobbies, and that Mirinda and Priya can join in those hobbies. I've started doing a lot more baking, and that's something they can do with me. They both have their own apron, and they love to help. It takes more patience to cook and bake with your kids. You have to think about things you can give them to do, but man it's fun.
From what we can tell the procedure that we did for Priya to fix her kidney's has worked. She'll go back again in 3 months to make sure, but it's amazing how resilient that little girl is. She's been perfecting the art of the evil eye, and it would be more effective if it wasn't so cute. Mirinda loves to watch over her. I was telling Priya not to do something the other day, and Mirinda told me to leave her alone. It made me happy she sticks up for her, but we had a talk about dad being in charge.
For my birthday I received a book called the Unofficial Hobbit Handbook. I'm a huge Lord of the Rings geek, and it was surprising when I saw the book because I had never heard about it before. The whole first part has to do with food, and I was hooked. As I've read more of it I realized it's a social commentary on how we live our lives today, and how hobbits lived their lives (my wife pointed out that hobbits are not real). The point it makes about food and enjoying guests has really made me think about how I do things. To a hobbit food, friends, and simple pleasures mean everything. When you're a guest in a hobbits home, you are the center of attention, and they take great effort to make sure you feel that way. It's very much a focus on serving others, and in that you get a tremendous amount of satisfaction.
That got me thinking about social media, which I despise. There's a trend lately to post things that say: "I know no one will read this" or "No one reads my wall" or "I bet not one of my friends will share this". It's incredibly frustrating to me. Can we please stop with the self pitying behavior?
Here's the thing, we all have struggles, and I realized many people struggle with depression and with social anxiety. It's hard to pinpoint exactly where it comes from, as it really is different with each person. It is sometimes a chemical imbalance, sometimes something learned from childhood, or sometimes it is brought on by spending too much time with technology. There are so many more reasons as well.
The issue I think we're running into is it is starting to be romanticized a little bit. That somehow if you have these issues you're unique. Ask anyone who has dealt with these types of issues for several years, it is not fun. It is not easy. So, get some help. Whatever that means for you, get some help.
Also, realize that just because you're having some down time doesn't necessarily mean you have depression or anxiety. I had a psychologist explain it to me this way, that we aren't looking for happiness, but a healthy range of emotions. If it's a summer morning, and you're going on vacation, you're going to be happy. That's a natural reaction to that situation. But if it's a dreary day in January, and it's a Monday, and you're driving to work in a snow storm, you're not going to be happy. (I have sisters that would disagree with me on that point). All of that is OK. You'll have good days and bad days. You'll have neutral days. All these things are OK. It's a natural part of life. Now, if you're having nothing but bad days for more than 2 weeks, you probably need to go talk to someone and get some help.
This brings me back to my point with the hobbit handbook. If you are feeling lonely or alone, I've got something for you to try. I'm not saying it will fix all your problems, but it may start you on a helpful plan.
Pick someone or some people that you want to get to know better, and have a party. It doesn't need to be an elaborate party, it could be just a small gathering, but do something. Plan it out, and invite them. Pick an obscure holiday and celebrate it. Find out what food they like, and what they like to do, and make them the center of attention. (Please don't go to pinterest for ideas. It's the devils website)
Honestly I'm suggesting you act like a hobbit. Put some effort into making them feel like they are the most important person that day. What you'll find is they will notice it, and a friendship will start to improve. We all need that. We need friends and family around us that love us and want to be around us, but if we're spending so much time being afraid, or spending so much time on our phones, we can't build relationships. The other day we had a party with a lot of different groups of friends that didn't know each other. That's always stressful, because you don't know if they're going to mesh. We had an absolutely amazing time. We had activities planned, but we didn't do any of the activities because the kids wanted to play, and the adults wanted to talk. I was completely OK with that, because the activities were the back up plan. At the end of the night, I realized how lucky I was to have so many good friends, and it brought me a lot of joy.
Now, the idea of planning a party may be too much for you. I get that. So, simply start with one person you would like to get to know better, and invite them for lunch. Pick your favorite place, or their favorite place, or a new place you haven't tried before (I've given many suggestions) and get to know them.
It's about getting out of your comfort zone a little bit. Please understand that I'm not trying to minimize the difficulty that those with depression and anxiety face. What I am saying is there is help, and sometimes it's good for us to push ourselves a little bit. Start small, and do what you feel comfortable with.
My recommendation for this week is to do a dry brine on your turkey this year. I've done a wet brine for years, but stopped when I discovered the dry brine. Trust me. Google Alton Brown Butterflied Turkey for the recipe.
I know this was a long post, but it's been something I've been thinking about for a while, and needed to get it off my chest. Thanks for reading!