She's a Star

She's a Star
Originally uploaded by J Semenza.

The Party, Pt 1

Nick spent most of Friday afternoon hunting down awards, prizes, trophies, crowns, medals, diplomas and ribbons. Sunday, morning we started wrapping and attributing who gave her what.

Sunday afternoon around 5:00 p.m. we all converged at Nan’s house. It was so great to see everyone and to meet my nephew Sam. We had 21 people fill the house. The fun had started by the time I got there, everyone was talking and laughing and small children were happily running around.

Rebecca started off the presents, by presenting Nan with a blue garland crown, for being the “communication nexus” of the family. Nan then began on the big bag of presents from us. The bag included:

* #1 Foam Finger (like the ones fan have at football games), from Shanna
* Mug, Worlds Greatest Musician from Keith Richards
* Mug, Worlds Greatest Dancer from Ginger Rogers
* Plastic crown, from Amy
* Statue, Worlds Greatest Golfer from Chi Chi Rodriguez
* Package of paper ribbons with WINNER in the middle from Mister Rogers

By now everyone had realized that we had, not only a theme, but a great deal of silliness. Nick, Shanna, and I just couldn’t resist the urge to call on all of our friends and acquaintances (alive and dead) to help with this….

* Mug, Worlds Greatest Secretary, from Dad
* Banner, Worlds Greatest Mother, from Joan Crawford
* Medal, 1st Place, from Stacy Dragila
* Bib, Baby of the Year, from Sam and Aubrey
* First Place Wrestling Belt, from the WWF
* Gold Stars, from Jenny

Then came the 23 certificates and diplomas (hopefully I'll be able to list them in a "The Party, Pt 2 entry)

And yet there was still more in the endless bag.

* Blue ribbon, First Place, from Seabiscuit
* Blue ribbon, I’m a Winner, from Nanette
* Blue ribbon, #1, from Melinda
* Blue ribbon, 1st Place from Nadia
* Blue ribbon, Greatest Coach, from Igor
* Button, Best Mother, from Sydney

The bag was finally empty. Now for the high point, Jessica’s big present, a large, piñata, shaped and styled in gold, a replica of the Oscar, with Best Actress on the label. After much laughing, and a few pictures. We settled back down. Nanette did receive a couple of real presents.

Next we moved on to cake and ice cream. We had two cakes, thanks to Jen. One was a regular store bought cake and the other was a beautiful, gluten free, dairy free confection that Jen made. We had earlier discovered that Dave’s birthday was only two weeks away, so Nan dug out some candles and they both got serenaded with Happy Birthday. Most startling for me was the single puff Dave uses to blow out his candles. WOW. He wins the award for, hmm don’t know what to call it… In any case, he wins it.

We all talked for awhile longer then left for home. We’ll have to do this again soon.

After later
Jenny

The Sartorialist

Here's a blog for all ofyou fashionista's in the family. I've learned a lot about the cut of a man's suit just by looking at the pictures.
The Sartorialist

:)
Jenny

We're going to have a party...

Nanette came over a week ago and we’re hanging out chatting when she describes a conversation she had with Uncle Harry and Aunt Susan. The gist of it was ‘that the real reason to participate in beauty pageants was to win a crown and/or get dressed up in fancy clothes’. Since Nanette is a former pageant girl, this is probably very true. Nanette went on to talk about how she’s always been motivated by awards, trophies, and crowns. Recently she has discovered that diplomas also motivate her. I then had an idea, … a wonderful idea, … a wonderful awful idea. The Idaho and Utah siblings were going to Nanette’s house on Sunday the 23^rd to celebrate her birthday and to get together. What if, everyone brought her an award, trophy, crown, or diploma as a present?

I ran the idea past Nick. After all they have the exact same sense of humor. If he thought it would be funny, then so would she. For several years I had explained first to Nanette and then to Nick that the other one was trying to be funny. I wasted a lot of energy doing this. Just because I’m somewhat humor impaired, didn’t mean that they didn’t get it. Instead what I have found is that they are on the same wavelength in many areas. I sent out an email to the tribe letting them know that we now had a THEME for the party.

Anticipation grew as we all prepared for the party day…

Cataloging Books

We had a very interesting education hour today. My friend Annie taught us how to use the webpage http://www.librarything.com It's a webpage where you can organize or catalog your books. You create entries by typing in the name or ISBN. The site then searches Amazon, the Library of Congress and a few other sites to match your book to a record. It then imports the cover art (where available) and puts it in your catalog. You can add tags (aka subject headings) either at the time you add the book or later. What's really great is that you're able to access the catalog from anywhere. I've started adding my geology books and I added a marklet to the blog on the left side so you can see what some of my books in the catalog are. Very fun! Annie's brother uses her site to find books to read based on the tags and what he knows he already likes. Eventually, if I felt really dedicated, I could write book reviews and add them to the site. Wheeeeee.... gotta love technology.

After later
Jenny

Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate
Originally uploaded by J Semenza.

Here's a picture of us at one of our Faculty Senate meetings from last year. I can tell by my braid that this is from 2005. In 2006 I tipped the ends of my hair with bright red. Vitit Kantabutra from the Engineering department took this picture. He is an amazing photographer. More of his photos can be found at: http://www.pbase.com/vkantabu/root

After later
Jenny

Meetings

I have no idea how I got this. Actually, I probably received it from one of my friends via email. It’s been in my computer’s funny file for at least 6 years.

---
British Librarianship's finest hour:

Q: I read somewhere that a large group of librarians on their way to a convention had all perished on the Titanic. Is that story true?

A: Sadly, it is. The cream of British Librarianship was wiped out in a single blow. We know the full story because the minutes from their meetings were found floating on the water by rescuers. Just twenty minutes after hitting the iceberg, the librarians had already swung into action. They'd divided into two committees, one discussing "The Sink/Swim Paradigm" and one discussing "Sinking: Is It REALLY Necessary?". The second group spun off a subcommittee to discuss In The Event Sinking Proves Necessary, Should 'Titanic' Be Given Its Own Subject Heading In The Card Catalogue?". One hour later, the groups combined for a seminar: "Lifeboats: Access Or Ownership?" Debate was fractious, and several subcommittees were formed to discuss protocols for further meetings.

One hour later, the entire group drowned, only ten minutes into the "Steaming To Excellence" seminar, and without having once left the meeting room. But it isn't all in vain -- "Titanic" WAS eventually given its own subject heading, in tribute to those who gave their lives in committee.

---
For the last few years I have been on a lot of committees. My current roster looks like this:

1. Faculty Senate
Meets every other week and occasionally more often during times of crisis. This year we had the crises of Administrative Salaries, No Confidence in the President, Early Resignation of said President, announcement of new Interim President (who’s been great), and finally the hiring process for a new President.

2. Academic Standards
Meets once a month. This is a subcommittee of the Faculty Senate.

3. Library Faculty
The Library’s Faculty Senate representative chairs this library committee.

4. Library Administrative Council
Again, I’m on the council as because I’m the Faculty Senate representative for the library.

5. University Bookstore Committee
Meets only once a semester and for various and sundry reasons I was unable to attend at all this year. I had a colleague go in my place.

Four of these committees end in May sometime. WHEEEEE

However, I’ll still be involved with these library committees:

1. Public Services Meetings (once a month)
2. Instruction Meetings (once a month)
3. Reference Meetings (every now and then)
4. Education Hour (a learning session 2-3 Fridays per month)
5. General Library Staff Meetings (once a month)
6. Library Events (as needed, once a week through August)
7. Library Web Development (every other week or so)
8. Library Space Committee (every other week) I’m chairing this one
9. Library and College of Education Development Committee (once a month), I’m facilitating this one, taking minutes, etc…
10. Library Electronic Resource (as needed) I’m chairing this one too. We don’t have a budget so we haven’t been meeting this year.
11. Law Library Committee (3-4 meetings per year plus one "event")
12. Library Travel Committee (meets in the late spring and through the summer)
    

And then of course there are the impromptu meetings for every other decision. I’m tired just listing all of these. So if you want to know why it is hard to get in touch with me, assume I’m in a meeting.

After later
Jenny

Geology: Lake Bonneville - Timeline

Nick said I needed to add a timeline to the Bonneville Flood entry, so here it is.

The Timeline Addendum:

Lake Stansbury 24,400 - 20,000
The waters of the surrounding ranges began to collect in the basin. Apparently there was a climate change of some kind that held the level stable for approximately 3000 years.

Lake Bonneville 18,000 - 14,500
The basin began collecting more water. With no outlet it grew and grew until it reached the rim of the Red Rock Pass and began overflowing as a small stream.

Flood 14,500
Catastrophic erosion of the softer layers of rock at Red Rock Pass allowed the waters of Lake Bonneville to flood through Pocatello and on into the Snake River.

Lake Provo 14,500 - 13,500
Outflow through the Red Rock Pass stabilized as erosion came to a screeching almost standstill. Lake Provo was stabilized until the end of the last major ice age. The reduced flow of water into the lake caused the lake to retreat.

Lake Gilbert 11,000 - 10,000
Resurgence in water flowing into the basin created this level, before finally shrinking to the Great Salt Lake level.

Great Salt Lake Present
The Great Salt Lake is still in a basin. It is no longer large enough to flow out through the Red Rock Pass. Water can only escape through evaporation.

See earlier post on Lake Bonneville for Internet Resources

Geology: Lake Bonneville

Lake Bonneville

Lake Bonneville was sited in the Basin and Range Province. It is called the Basin and Range province because water does not leave the Basins, which are bounded by Ranges. There’s no outlet such as the Snake River for the water to use to get to the ocean. Lake Bonneville was nestled all snug in its Basin filling valleys and flats over a large portion of Northern and Western Utah. The only outlet for the water was a small stream that flowed North into Idaho. Lake Bonneville retained its level until the stream eroded through the harder rocks into soft rocks. Once the stream hit the softer rocks it eroded quickly and the dam that had retained so much of Lake Bonneville was broken. Water poured through this gap for months. It flooded North through Downey, the Portneuf Gap, Pocatello and on into the Snake River. The volume of water was about 600 cubic miles in total. The maximum discharge exceeded the total fresh water flowing into all the oceans of the earth today. Another way to perceive the flow is to compare it to the Amazon River. The Lake Bonneville flood flowed at 3 times the rate of the Amazon. The Snake River, engorged by this additional water raced to the sea. Months later, Lake Bonneville was no more. In its place was the new Lake Provo. The little stream heading into Idaho had hit harder rocks again. It stabilized Lake Provo at its new level approximately 350 feet below the Lake Bonneville mark. If the climate were to change and water rained down on Utah, Lake Provo could refill.

Take a look at the map here:
http://geology.utah.gov/online/PI-39/pi39pg01.htm

It's really hard to get a grasp on how large the lake really was. To really get an idea, look for Logan. North of Logan is Red Rock Pass then find Provo, Wendover (over in Nevada) and South to Milford. This lake was HUGE.

Other Interesting Lake Bonneville Web Sites:
Lake Bonneville -- Digital Atlas of Idaho Project
http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/hydr/lkbflood/lbfdex.htm
http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/geog/rrt/part2/26.htm
http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/hydr/lkbflood/lbf.htm

Final Report - GIS 18 (Utah State University, College of Natural Resources)
http://www.nr.usu.edu/Geography-Department/rsgis/Projects/RSGIA96/gis18/gis18.html

History of Lake Bonneville (University of Houston)
http://geoinfo.geosc.uh.edu/VR/idaho/index.htm

I'm working on a field trip guide for Nick and I to use to really understand the scope of Lake Bonneville and the effects of the flood.

Jenny

Photos...

I work with this amazing woman named Kris. She is so smart and on top of all things technological. She did an education hour on social software on the web. Education Hour is a library activity where we teach each other about new databases, reference books, web stuff, and generally work on our skills. Melinda attended a recent one where we discussed the library's disaster plan. But back to Kris and social software, she showed us this wonderful web site called Flickr. Flickr is a free site for hosting photographs. I thought it might come in useful as part of this blog since you can interlink the two.

I’ve added a few recent photos, and they can be seen at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/

Next I'm going to have to create a post that includes the pictures. :) Something to look forward to.

Jenny

April 8th, My Anniversary

Saturday, April 8

Nick and I have been married (this time) for 10 years, today. So what do we do for our anniversary? We go shopping. Of course, we're not shopping in normal stores like normal people. After dropping Erika off at Wendy practice we headed for Idaho Falls. Um, Erika (Nan's daughter) is playing Wendy in the big Mystique production of Peter Pan. Back to Idaho Falls, we stop at the Army Surplus store where Nick bought another wool watchcap.

I had hoped to find another gorgeous thick green wool blanket, but no luck. I found one there earlier this year and am going to turn it into my new camping cape. In the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism – medieval re-creationist group) I discovered that a cape was far more useful than a coat. It is easy to put on in the middle of the night when you are stumbling out of a tent in search of the nearest shrubbery. It keeps your back warm when standing in front of a fire. It makes a handy blanket when it gets really cold. And it’s shareable if you want to snuggle with your honey. The blanket I already have probably has enough fabric, I just wanted to be sure. I’m going to line it with a brown cotton velvet upholstery fabric that has a diamond pattern. I used a candle to burn scraps of fabric, looking for one that didn’t catch on fire easily. I did not take the candle to the fabric store. Instead I went through the boxes of fabric in my own home. I have way to much fabric and I don’t really sew much anymore. I just can’t seem to part with it though.

After the Army Surplus store we headed in to downtown Idaho Falls to the Gem & Mineral Show. It was quite disappointing. Pocatello’s has more vendors and a larger venue. Still, it was fun to watch Nick (Geology student) look really closely at all of the mineral specimens. I didn’t buy anything here. Nick however got rooked into buying a polished stone to which someone glued eyes. It’s now riding around in my car watching the occupants.

Next, since we were so close, we went to the D.I. (thrift store). Nick had been hoping to buy a Dutch oven (he’s taking a Dutch oven cooking class this semester). I walked him out to the back yard part of the store and there it was, a 10” Lodge for $15.00. This was much cheaper than from a regular store. We also found more amber glass serving dishes. Mom shipped me all of the amber glasses we had as kids in Taylor. It’s been fun collecting serving items to go with. I figure I can use the amber with one of my white sets of dishes or the clear glass set of dishes when having a party.

Going to thrift stores is addictive. We have a hard time stopping at just one, so we headed to the large Salvation Army. There instead of finding anything to purchase we found Susan & Jeff Crandall. Susan had called me earlier in the week and I had not gotten back in touch, even though I had wanted to. When Melinda gets out of school I think we’ll try to go to Menan, Market Lake, Mud Lake, and Camas on a big birding trip and include Susan. We had a lot of fun last year when we did this.

Next we went to the Youth Ranch and Humane Society thrift stores, but found nothing of note. There were a couple of interesting candleholders that I picked up. Candles make great Christmas presents for work colleagues.

Lunch was a fast stop at the nearby Taco Bell. We were on a timetable. I had promised to be at work by 3:00 so Nick dropped me off at the Ross Dress For Less so I could continue my hunt for the perfect purse. He went over to the Sportsman’s Warehouse to see what their prices on Dutch Ovens were. Remember the family motto of “if it is worth doing it is worth over doing.” Now apply it to cooking outdoors. We’ll certainly need more than one Dutch oven.

Nick met me back at Ross. The Dutch ovens were reasonably priced, but I had the credit card. I found a purse. I wasn’t sure if it was perfect. I now know it is, absolutely, positively perfect. It is lightweight, with a long shoulder strap, black leather with lots of pockets for all of my electronic gadgets and best of all it will fit a small notebook and a novel. On our way back to Sportsman’s Warehouse he decided we should wait on buying another one until later.

To continue my fun-filled anniversary day, we went to the library. Here, I had promised to weed the science and technology books. Every two years we have a huge book sale. The books that are not purchased are boxed back up and saved for the next sale. The problem with this is that we end up with a lot of dreck coming back out year after year. It took me a dusty hour but I removed about 75% of the remaining science and technology books from the book sale round. This 75% will now be put out in the library for the public to take free of charge.

For dinner we had Kentucky Fried Chicken. Somehow this has become a tradition. For the past two years Nick has been embroiled in heavy classes and studying. We cook better than any of the “fancy” restaurants in town. So it’s not exactly a treat to go to one of these places. Nor do we really want to cook for our anniversary, so we’ve ended up with KFC. This year we might have done something different, but why mess with tradition?

April 8th is on a Sunday next year. I hope I’m not on sabbatical.

Jenny

April 1 & 2, Pocatello to Logan to Provo and Back

April 1, 2006

We got up bright and early (6:00 a.m.) so we’d be on the road in time to hook up with Melinda at Nanette’s in Logan. Our ETA was 9:30… allegedly. The plan would have worked, except for the distraction of the geology books and maps. I wanted the books sequenced; so that I’d know what to read at which part of the journey. So instead of leaving at 7:00 a.m. which would have put us there waaaay too early, we left at 8:30 which put us there late (10:15ish).

Drive to Logan
I was shocked to discover that the Roadside Geology guides were not up to par for the road from here to Logan. Actually, I’m not all that shocked. They are definitely weaker than I’d like. If I ever have time I’d love to rewrite those books… We only stopped a couple of times to look at birds. The red tailed hawk sitting on a tree was a must to stop for. Then Nick definitely had to climb the hill by the Geology marker for Red Rock Pass. This is the pass that Lake Bonneville eroded away to flood Pocatello and parts of Idaho. What’s disappointing is that the geology marker at the bottom doesn’t tell you that the monument at the top is for a group of graves.

At Logan we found Nanette’s new place. It’s fabulous. Lots of room, plenty of storage, a great place to live. We went to breakfast at the nearby diner and then back to her house. Nick and Nan loaded the wagon wheel bunk beds into the jeep. It was raining. They got damp. Thanks guys.

Drive to Provo
Melinda left her car at Nan’s house and took off with us towards Provo. We used a Utah Geological Association (1) field trip guide to explore the geologic features around Logan. This field guide was designed to stat in Salt Lake City an end in Logan. So I had to try and read it in reverse. Not fun, but it was a lot more interesting and thorough than using one of those roadside guides So we went up the canyon, along the valley, through the snow… over the dam, around the bend, up the hill, down the highway, along the dirt track… Pretty rocks on a hillside, faults, folds, mountains, rivers, lakes, alluvial fans… Melinda brought her geography book to study for a test. I had the mini-library and we had a great time. The reasonably short trip from Logan to Provo took us 8 hours. We saw lots of rocks and birds.

In Provo, we toted the bed up the stairs of Melinda’s new place and helped her put the beds together as a trundle set. This way she can use the top bed as a shelf and the bottom bed as a bed. Nick and I drove over to the Marriott hotel. While Nick was in working on the reservation situation I called Shanna. Apparently the power went off in our part of Pocatello. Someone hit a power pole. Two hours later everything was fine. Shanna is so cool. She already had a candle lit and wasn’t worried a bit. We went to bed and I slept like a rock.

April 2, 2006

And Back
The time changed while we slept. I hate daylight savings time. Got up, got moving early and headed back to Logan (yes Melinda came with us). Anyway, we drove to Antelope Island and did ½ the field trip there. Nan called, and unfortunately she had to go to Pocatello, leaving before we got to Logan. After Antelope Island we headed for Logan. Nick and I talked geology while Melinda napped.

At Logan we parted ways and Nick and I headed for Idaho. I was tired of talking/reading. So we stopped at the nearby Borders and bought a book on tape, or rather CD., a Louis L’Amour story read/acted by Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings. It was great.

I’ve become fascinated by the scope of Lake Bonneville and the scale of the flood. I want to pursue this a little more, and am planning to do a Lake Bonneville trip soon.

Weekend Bird List:
Crows
California Gulls
Coots
Canada Geese
Red Winged Blackbirds
Starlings
Magpies
Red Tailed Hawk
Domestic Geese – on way up canyon
Chinese Swan Goose
Mallards
Horned Larks – triangle intersection by McMurdie Hollow
Meadowlarks
Kestrel
Robins
Brewers blackbirds
Kildeer
Avocets
Cormorants
Northern shovelers
Ring necked ducks
Great blue herons
Cinnamon teals
Canvasback ducks
Dark variant Canada goose
Rough legged hawk
Northern harrier
Song sparrow
Coopers hawk
Gadwalls
Eared grebes
Chukkar
Ravens
Yellowheaded blackbird
Snowy egrets
Sandhill cranes

Weekend Mammal List:
Muskrat
Bison
Coyote

(1)

“Geology of the Northern Wasatch Front, Utah: Utah Geological Association Field trip Road Log September 11, 1999. Compiled by W. Adolph Yonkee and Jeffrey G. Eaton, Department of Geosciences, Weber State University, Ogden UT.” In Geology of Northern Utah and Vicinity, Utah Geological Association Publication Vol 27 pages 378-402.

Cast of Characters: My Family -- Part 3

Last but certainly not least are my parents and my brothers. :)

The Parents
Judy (my Mom) is the person most directly responsible for this fascination I have with the natural world. She has studied, flowers, herbs, birds and many other things while I was growing up. She is interesting and interested in the world and people around her. Known for her wisdom, caring and gentleness, Mom is one of the people I turn to when I need help sorting things out.
Occupation: Mom, volunteer, knowledge repository

David (my Dad) is the guy who took us camping when there were only three of us daughters. He grew up in Island Park and has always displayed an interest in rocks. He teaches constantly. We've had lectures on physics, geology, math and other business or science topics when on road trips our whole lives. Now that I really think about it, how could I not turn into this mad naturalist? Dad is caring, practical, inspired, dynamic and has a charisma that makes him the tallest man in any room.
Occupation: Dad, inventor, and president of several companies
See: http://www.monolithic.com

The Brothers
David is patient and brainy. He has a wife named Jen and three (almost four) kids: Amy, Aubrey, and Sam plus the one on the way. They are a great family and I wish I had had half as much sense when raising my own daughter. David is a gifted writer and is launching his own newspaper business online.
Occupation: Entrepreneur

Mike is loving and fun. He is always up for a grand adventure. He can build just about anything heading up as foreman construction teams for Monolithic. He also works with computers and networks. Mike is married to Tessa and has four kids: Mike, Caty, Evie and Frank. Mike is a great dad. He loves his kids very much and can frequently be spotted toting several around.
Occupation: Construction Foreman, Computer Network Dude

That's it for the central family. I have a score of aunts and uncles and hordes of cousins. We'll just have to introduce them as they come and go from the stage.

Jenny

Cast of Characters: My Family -- Part 2

I have a very large family and I refer to them constantly. My sisters are my best friends, so let me introduce them.

The Sisters
Sarah has looked about 27 years old for a long time now. She's sweet, adventurous, and loves horses and dogs. She has a penchant for odd, arty movies that matches my husband’s tastes exactly. Sarah studied martial arts for a long time and loves beautiful poetry and jewelry. She is married to Brad, a glass blower. Brad is great, laid-back, and easy going. Like me, Brad enjoys knowing the names of things.
Occupation: Math professor

Nanette is courageous and kind. She is the communication nexus for our family. If you really want to know what’s going on, ask her. Nanette is incredibly smart and has great facility for sticking to something till it is really over. It is the only way a single mom could have ever achieved a Masters degree in Engineering. Sociability is one of her innate qualities, which is good because her four kids (Matt, Kaleb, Erika, and Sydney) and all of their friends are frequently at her house. This makes her place an ongoing party to visit.
Occupation: Rocket scientist

Sarah, Nanette and I used to ride horses all over the place. We are the three that mom and dad took camping. I have fond memories of playing card games such as War, Go Fish, and Old Maid for endless hours in the tent. The tent was huge, made of yellow canvas. The light was this golden color and the sound of the trees and water were right outside.

Melinda is smart and funny. She has great facility for words and speaks several languages. She is in school right now working towards a geography degree. Melinda is the chief birder of the family, able to identify a bird in its zippy flight into the trees, usually before I even realize there’s a bird around. She works remotely for Monolithic managing their extensive photograph collection and editing many of their publications.
Occupation: Student, Editor for Monolithic

Rebecca is the life of the party, any party. She is also smart, wise, witty, and wonderful. She will always welcome you to dinner, to spend the night, the day or the week. Rebecca is bold and adventurous, willing to travel and experience life. Although she may be our most cosmopolitan of sisters, she loves the outdoors and camping just as much as the rest of us. Rebecca manages the ever-growing and evolving website for Monolithic. She also edits their videos. Recently she began work on her own non-profit organization to provide safe structures for housing in developing nations. Rebecca is married to Brady who works in promotions/advertising. She has daughter named Hannah.
Occupation: Webmaster for Monolithic, Leader of a Nonprofit

Jessica is determined, smart and kind. She sets her mind on something and gets it done, whether that’s moving hundreds of miles away from her family or finding the perfect present. She loves fine things and people and has a gift for setting the stage for parties, get-togethers and occasions. Reticent about the spotlight, she nonetheless stands out in her own fashionable way. Jessica truly cares about people and wants to help; this shines through in her interactions with others. She is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Health Promotion and Education
Occupation: Graduate Student

Jamie is sweet and funny. She writes amusing poetry and can charm anyone. She has the gift of being open and friendly. She is only two years older than my daughter Shanna. Jamie loves anime, computer games and fun. Jamie edits pictures. She clears up scratches, erases immovable or objectionable objects and adjusts lighting and backgrounds. She has an artistic eye and a gift seeing the details. She is married to Quinton who works with computers.
Occupation: Photo Editor

I have one other sister; she passed away as a baby. Her name is Julie. Since she was older than I, I didn’t meet her. I don’t have stories that include her, but since we’re a set of ten kids with her I thought you might like to know how.

That's it for the girls
Jenny

Cast of Characters: My Family -- Part 1

I thought a few introductions might be in order:

Jenny, that’s me. I’m a librarian and curious adventurer. I’m a little prone to leaping before looking which has led me to a few odd things. As I’ve gotten older I try to plan more carefully. This doesn’t always help. I love rocks, flowers, trees, mountains, all things in nature and am obsessed with knowing their names and how they work and fit together. I enjoy the outdoors a great deal and while you may have a picture in your head of some fit, trim, athletic looking woman, let me disabuse you of it. I am a very cute, short, pudgy sort of person who is a LOT stronger than she looks. :) It is nice to be underestimated.

Nick is my husband of ten or twenty years, depending on which date you’re working from. I’ll save the rest of that story for another post. Career wise he has been in the Navy, worked as a line chief in a plant, and been a computer network dude. He is currently a geology student. He loves being outside and is an avid mountain biker, hiker and picker up of rocks. He’s very good at spotting birds and insists that he is NOT a birder.

Shanna is my daughter. She is wonderful, bright, beautiful and precious to me. She is currently a student at the same university where my husband is going and where I work. She is fascinated by all things Japanese. Her anime collection is quite large and she is taking classes to learn the language. She is more indoor girl than outdoor and can be found online by her friends at all hours of the day. Still, she likes pretty rocks as much as the next person and is always ready to dig for crystals.

Boo & Barkley are our dogs. Boo is an old mutt that my husband came with when I remarried him. Barkley is a charming and huge, cream colored standard poodle. They, of course love to go on adventures. Mountain biking and hiking around looking for rocks with Nick are two of their favorite activities.

That's my little group at home right now.
Jenny

The Semenza Chronicle

Greetings,

I am tired of trying to get people emailed about our adventures. I'm tired of trying to write my own journal entries. And, I'm tired of not keeping better track of all the fun stuff in my life. I've tried blogging before and it just didn't work out. However, this time, my topic is way more fun, and I'm far more interested in chronicling about our trips, adventures, and misadventures. I hope that you who find this are entertained. I know I have been.

Jenny