Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The Internet is weird

Alternate title: People who use the Internet are weird

Alternate alternate title: People in real life are weird

Alternate alternate alternate title: People in real life who are weird do weirder things on the Internet.

This never-ending circle could continue on and on and on.

According to the usage statistics on my site, a high percentage of Google users find my blog with a combination of words I don't necessarily want associated with my blog.

Long story short (for real this time): I had to retire a post to keep the creepers off my blog. And I can't even tell you what the phrase is, lest they find me again.

It's like I'm living in The Net*, but I don't order my pizza over the computer.

*Best tagline ever: Her driver's license. Her credit cards. Her bank accounts. Her identity. DELETED.

Monday, May 26, 2008

I'll steal your honey like I stole your bike

My, world wide web activity has been down the last few days. Did you enjoy your three day weekend? I had a smashing last few days--the big news is that I'm finally back in Boston! I did the math, and I've only slept 8 of the last 30 nights in my own bed. I've had quite the last four weeks, but there's something comforting about your own bed.

In previous posts, I raved about the lush beauty that is Oregon. Take at right for an example. In the nine days I was in town, it rained only two mornings. The rest of the time was blue skies and gorgeous weather. But no more talk of Oregon or Boston. Let's discuss what I did over the true weekend.

After flying all day Friday (with delayed flights and mechanical trouble of course) I rolled into my house at 9:30, unpacked one bag and repacked it with clothes for my weekend in NYC. Unwound while watching the Grey's finale (I kind of loved it) and finally turned the lights off at 1am. Got up at 530am, dressed and had Julie picked up by 545. I had no idea it's that light that early. I don't make it my business to get up in the 7's usually, let alone the 5's. Our plan was to drive at off-hours to avoid holiday traffic. It worked like a charm!

We needed to pack as much into our two days as possible, so I guided the quickest, fullest tour possible. For as fast as I generally move, even I was surprised with how much we got done.

Our drive was quick, and we were parked and wandering around the Financial District at 930am. I'm pretty sure I have never been up that early and going in the city. The streets were so quiet! Over the course of the next two days, highlights included shopping, the diamond district, battery park, the Staten Island ferry, grand central station, Rockefeller center, Radio City music hall, a movie, amazing food in window seats overlooking Times Square, a constant craving for Coke Zero, and asking questions to each other about sailors.

Sailors? Yup. It was "Fleet Week" in New York City, so thousands of men and women in uniform were doing their own sight-seeing and posing for pictures. You couldn't take too many steps without seeing tourists asking for photos. Julie and I had so many questions and observations about the sailors--but we never actually talked to one.

We did see quite the number of them karaoke however. Friday night, we found ourselves in this sweet karaoke club in the heart of Times Square. (Complete with background singers/dancers.) We got in before the cover charge went into effect and stumbled upon quite a few sailors having a grand ole time. FNL fans perk up. There was a sailor who kept singing (courtesy of the USS Richmond) who looked exactly like Matt Saracen on stage. I knew he looked familiar, but it took me through "Somebody Told Me" and "YMCA" to figure out the resemblance. Julie (late to the FNL game, but appreciated nonetheless) also agreed with me, and we snickered about it for quite awhile. Or maybe the whole night.

After quite a bit of dancing and singing along, we're somewhat close to leaving when guess what happens? Sailor Saracen grabs my hand and saddles right on up. It's like my true TV-meets-reality moment. He doesn't even say anything to Ju, just shoves his camera in her hand. Just call me Julie Taylor. For the record, that is not my hand on his shoulder, it's his Landry behind us. After our photo was taken, Saracen had some choice and somewhat slurred comments for me; but boozed or not, it's nice to feel appreciated by the male species. Thanks Matty; you made my night. I'm hoping Julie will post about her Flow Rider admirer. (I'll admit that he doesn't look so Saracen-esk in the upclose photo, but from the stage the resemblance was uncanny.)



My Broadway tickets lotto streak continues! We managed to win four tickets to see Hairspray at the Saturday matinee. I'd seen it before but love love loved it, and was itching to see it again. Joe and Jamar came with, and boy were our seats right in the action. Like two feet from the action. The orchestra's subwoofer was at our feet; we felt every note of the soundtrack for several hours afterward. One of the highlights? Link Larkin was played by none other than Ashley Parker Angel. You remember that hit group O-Town's awesome song "All or Nothing", right? No? Do you remember his hit MTV reality show "There and Back"? Sigh. I guess I do know/remember too much about has-beens. Nonetheless, he was really pretty great as Link. And Norm from Cheers was Edna Turnblad (Tracy's mom and the role played by John Travolta in the movie). Motormouth Mabel and Seaweed were also played by quasi-famous people. All in all, it was quite the delightful afternoon. Especially when Penny's mom had to squeeze in front of us in the front row and put Joe on the spot with funny accusations of inappropriate behavior. The only time any of us will be on Broadway, that's for sure.

I just love New York. I can't help it. A two day trip was actually a pretty fantastic way to get it done. We drove home from 1130-3am last night and avoided holiday traffic yet again. Just before leaving, we enjoyed a piece of pizza and a Coke Zero on the Upper West Side. The moment was fairly perfect; the whole weekend was much the same way--the cherry on top would probably be that LFO hit "Summertime" was the first song that played when we turned on the radio. Our remaining weekend wish was to hear "In This Club" and "Please Don't Stop the Music" before we switched from radio music. Within 15 minutes, both played, we sang along, giggled, and shifted mental gears in heading home.

Back to the real world tomorrow!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Choosing Winners

Tonight, both my chosen winners won.

1. I can't believe I actually wanted the Lakers to win. I just don't want the Spurs--it's a choosing the lesser of two evils. AND I think the Celtics will have a better shot against the Lakers.

2. Good job David. I really believed I was neutral, but when they called Cook's name, I was just thrilled. Oh so thrilled. And the baby guyliner he was wearing at the end was pretty hot.

Can Ryan Seacrest take a nap now?

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Vantage Point

I could apologize (again) for being a sporadic blogger, but I decided yesterday to stop saying that unless I really am sorry. I sat in some hole-in-the-wall burger joint in downtown Portland yesterday, staring out the window at the city streets; vintage signs on a clear blue day, casual wind rustling the trees, and made the decision.

I've been busy; caught in these small experiences, taking time to soak in the joy of daily living. The right song at the right moment; windows down in my rental, satellite radio removing the cacophony of commercials--sunroof open and a V8 at my fingertips. Long and windy roads aren't nearly as obnoxious when traffic isn't clogging the system--when there's wide open Western spaces to navigate.

May has been an indescribable month of travel and change; highlighted by these pockets of introspection and outward reflection. I've slept more nights in beds other than my own. As soon as I was unpacked, it was time to pack again. Just as I miss Boston and don't miss Boston at the same time; I miss blogging as much as I don't miss blogging. My brain is less focused on structure and more focused on being.

But enough vagueness, huh? I'm typically a straight shooter, so let's get to some bullets:


  • P.S. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm in Portland. On business. My new company is headquartered here (all 40 of them), and I'm here on a training trip. Let's stop a minute to go over the pros here: They flew me out here. They rented my sweet ride and pay for my gas. They expense a good chunk of money a day in meals. In exchange, I go into the office every day, 9-5, train, work, learn, etc. and then get to come home to my family and hang out (eat out/watch basketball). It's pretty much a vacation without using any vacation days. Lovely.
  • We've played Ticket to Ride quite a few times. Such a fun game; I should really look into getting my own.
  • The Celtics seem to play every night. If it's not a game day, it's a day to read about last night's and/or tomorrow night's game. Because of the time difference, pre-game starts at 5pm--this usually entails a quick dinner and a rush home. Good thing we had early church on Sunday (9-12) so we got to watch Game 7. (There's a reason I have a Pierce jersey. What what!) Well, most of the game due to ....
  • Mallory's birthday! Our baby is 17 now.... seems like she's been that old for ages now; I guess her actual age finally caught up to her maturity.
  • I've been out for drinks with coworkers twice now. It kind of started as a "I really should go to meet the people I'll soon be trying to boss around from 3,000+ miles away" but I'm finding I actually enjoy socializing. Several nights into hanging out, I realize I am...
  • ...the anti-Oregon. Seriously. Everything about me is so mainstream and urban. I'm a consumer, I eat at chain restaurants, I don't like animals, I drive a car, I dress trendier/dressier, I don't smoke, I watch American Idol...
  • ...ARchie for the win! Honest to goodness, I would have been happy had either David won, but I think Archuleta sealed the deal tonight. He was golden. Imagine was better than the first time--I hope they'll post it to iTunes. But really, why did he look so miserable? Why's his dad a creeper? And why-oh-why-oh-why does it surprise me that the rest of Americans think Utahns are weird--did you see the Murray City mayor? For reals.
  • Monday at 3 my office shut down and we all went bowling. Bowling and booze. And food. And then some bar hopping. Strange to work with people who are social--at my last job I could go several days without talking to anyone. This will be a welcome change.
  • My first day in the Portland office, all the Project Managers went to lunch. Someone asked me what my hobbies are. My answers cemented me as possibly the most boring person on earth. ::silence:: "Well, I like movies, and the Celtics, and I guess I read." ::silence:: But really! What are hobbies any more these days? Later in the conversation I had to acknowledge the fact I sounded boring and made mention of cupcakes. I guess tomorrow night I'll be baking to prove I'm not a snore bore.
  • For some reason, I find it easy to go to bed at 10:30 here. I don't know what the difference is. I do the same things at night here as I do at home. But really, I can't even remember the last time I went to bed before 11:30; and definitely not six days in a row. It's good to know I can have a goal going back.
  • Watched "Lars and the Real Girl" a few nights ago and really enjoyed it. Ryan Gosling is a rock star. The movie was really quirky without being over the top--it had a lot of heart.
  • "Becoming Jane"? Ummmmmm. Not really worth your time. Sorry fans. Unless you just want to enjoy James McAvoy. If that's the case, go watch Penelope. It's insanely cute and family-friendly.
  • My dad, Kendall and I are going to see the midnight showing of Indiana Jones. I'm not sure if any of us are really that excited for the movie itself, but it seems like a fun, and kind of strange thing to do... so there you have it.
  • IRON-MAN. Saw it, loved it. Didn't know much about it going in, except that it cleaned up at the box office. Low expectations are a must-have when seeing any movie. However, I think having high expectations for this movie would have been acceptable.
  • Four bullets about movies? Wow. I haven't seen a movie since last year before this week.
  • The fridge has been constantly full of leftovers from the restaurants I'm frequenting.
  • I finally got my $600 stimulus. I think I may have been the last person in the country. Plans for spending? None. Free money will get put away as I already own everything I could possibly want.
  • Or I'll save it for a little Europe jaunt at Thanksgiving. Anyone interested? Paris is my first choice for a 4-5 day jaunt. (Can Italy be done in that short of a time?)
  • AHhhhh! 10:34. Past bed time. If I want the streak of up and showering at 7:15 to continue for the sixth day, I'd best get going.

Love you, talk to you later, kay, thanks, bye.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Little Women

I’m not the type who reads for emotion--I read for the story. I’m looking for plot over description; action over philosophy. I’ve always been this way; it’s how I plow through books so quickly and don’t do well in book clubs.

Because my joy resides in plot, I don’t read much into all the deconstructive actions taught in the classes I’ve taken. Can I pick themes to analyze, motives to dissect, and theories to critique? Of course I can. Do I choose to? Not unless a required 3-5 page paper looms over my semester’s grade. The books I read are still laden with literary elements worthy of discussion. It’s just not my cup of hobby tea.

(Clearly you feel the shift in this post coming, right? Classic method of writing; the historical set-up and then the shift that gives meat to the topic at hand.)

I purchased “Little Women” at Target several months ago but hadn’t found the time to join the millions of readers who have loved the March women since childhood. I’d seen the movie some years ago, and appreciated the visual framework laid by Winona, Claire, Kirsten, and Christian. The book is lengthy, and I’ve found myself on several bicoastal flights in the last few weeks.

Little Women is the party I’m devastated to be late to.

The book holds no major surprises if you’ve seen the movie. (Though to note, it’s been long enough since I’ve seen the movie that the central plot points were hazy in memory.) Where the book trumps the movie is where the heart lies, and that is not with the actual plot, but with the March sisters. Four girls, on the brink of maturation; relationships explored through the habits of daily living; textured with the joy and heartache caused by moving on and growing up.

A task no two-hour movie could ever hope to achieve.

Each character in the book has strength and goodness uniquely her own. In turn, she isn’t perfect—at times rash, cruel, or insensitive. Passionate yet flawed; able to hurt and be hurt. At heart, however, the reader always knew that “ a peaceful presence, invisible, but dearer than ever…could not break the household league that love made dissoluble.” Louisa May Alcott does a phenomenal job developing imperfectly loveable characters you can’t help but love perfectly.

And so it is with me.

Surely you know by now that I come from a family of four girls.

And surely you can understand why this book rocked my emotional core.

I cried when the eldest sister Meg left home to be married. I cried when Beth battled mysterious disease but carried on with a smile and grace that surpassed her years. I cried in the afterward describing how hard it must have been for Amy, the youngest, to caboose the order of such strong and differing personalities.

Mostly though, I cried for Jo, who wanted so desperately for time to freeze, and the dynamics of her nuclear family to stay the same; who for a time felt life happening around her, but never truly to her.

And the parents who ruled the roost were kind and just—they guided with firm but loving hands. Not as much is said about the March parents, but the qualities and “well-breeding” visible in each of the March sisters speaks volumes to who bore and raised these women. Their nature is implied with every movement each of the girls makes. Alcott spoke to my heart with the passage, (speaking of Jo) “…for the parents who had taught one child to meet death without fear, were trying now to teach another to accept life without despondency or distrust, and to use its beautiful opportunities with gratitude and power."

The Marches proved themselves to be a ‘league that love made dissoluble’. In time, Jo accepted the inevitable changes required of a household of sisters growing up. Of a little woman growing up. She accepted life without despondency or distrust. She created beautiful opportunities with gratitude and power. She learned to trust time.

I’m rediscovering my tender heart and learning to attach myself to characters in books.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Another grouping

Wow, am I a bad blogger or what? I seem to have reached new lows. Maybe it's because my life is fuller than ever--or because I don't have as much free time at work to multiply and divide words.

Here's the sitch. It's 10:35 at night and I need to make this fast. (Will I? CHances are slim, but here's praying for quick thoughts and speedy fingers.) I have EARLY all-day client meetings and have to get up in the 6's. THE SIXES. Aye carumba. The meetings are super important and I'm feeling a little nervous, seeing as it will be my fifth day on the job and a lot is riding on this international site redesign. Here's hoping for the best!

So I guess I'll try to keep it to a dull roar here for the time being. I'm in all day meetings Monday and Tuesday, and in Portland for work Wednesday to the following Friday. The jury is out on how much desire I'll have to be blogging in the evenings as the baptism by fire at the new j continues. Ready for some shortisms? LEt's do it up.

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The weather got nice, the Boston Sailing Association had an Open House; what else to do but check it out? I definitely didn't help sail the boat one minute; it was like a mini cruise in the harbor!

I tried to dress as Ralph Lauren as possible.



















Looking at the picture above and to the left, it's okay if 1) your insides feel a little weird because I have a scarf made of human hair. 2) You think my hair is the exact RBG value of the Cowardly Lion's mane.
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I was sitting on the floor yesterday at Staples, perusing over some clearance items for my sister, when a guy in a maroon shirt started making comments. Assuming he worked there, I responded about the product. Mistake. This creeper skeever proceeded to drop this doozy on me:

I can tell by your sweater and hair that you must be part of the upper class.

Um, what? Folks. I'll be the first to admit that I can definitely dress to impress. Was I so adorned at Staples yesterday? No. I was wearing an H&M sweater and had beach ratty hair (though it had been washed that morning, it had minimal product and had air dried).

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Last night was LPug's giant "Under the Big Top" circus-themed birthday party. The invitation explicitly said to dress up in crazy/wacky colors. You don't tell me these things unless you mean them. So there I am, at a party with 40+ people in the ward, and there are three people dressed up. I am one of them. Oh well; I rocked my purple and blue nylon overalls like they haven't been rocked since stake dances. Oh yeah, I wore my "wacky" makeup dancing that night too.

I keep expecting to find the line where I should be embarrassed by the things I do.
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I made cupcakes today. One box, one batch. Strawberry cheesecake. I learn something new every time I make cupcakes. Today's tidbit has to do with the paper holders. Key word: PAPER. Don't use the aluminium ones. They lose their shape easily, don't cook evenly, and tear easily when they come out of the tin. THese were the least "pretty" and uniform of any of the cupcakes I've made thus far. Just a point to note.
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Sometimes I dread having to fight the formatting in Blogger that I don't blog. Especially posts with photos.
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We had a picnic today at a local Arboretum. Picnicking (if the spelling looks wrong, blame Blogger) on the lawns is only allowed ONE day of the year; how fortunate it coincided with Mother's Day, Laura's birthday, AND her engagement day! A cause for celebration on all four fronts. The weather was gorgeous, the colors were vibrant, and spirits were high.
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I'm only sorry I had to wear my glasses. I can definitely see how no one recognized Superman in his CLark Kent glasses. I feel like no one will recognize me when I wear my glasses; it's the strangest mindset.
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In the latest mouth update, I'm nearly healed. I'll admit, things were pretty dodgy for about a week. After my latest post, I developed a smattering of pretty intense canker sores that were swelling my mouth. But save one dime-sized friend still keeping me company, I'm on the up and up. TMI?
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Okay! Late. Blogger was taking forever to upload pics, so I'm up later than I wish. Let's hope my cutting off Coke Zero at 6pm was enough to ensure I fall asleep without much drama. BIG meetings! BIG work travel! BIG WEEK!

Keep a kind thought for me.

And lastly, a shout out to all the Moms I know and love. Thanks for having and raising the babies I can't have and don't want.(Ha. Ha.) For the rest of you, keep a smile on your face when you think of this phrase my sisters and I get a hoot from every year (circa church 2003): "I'm a woman, I'm a mother." If you're a boy and reading this blog, I don't believe it.

To bed I said!

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Unrelated Thoughts

My 500th blog and my two-year blogaversary passed with little self-celebrated fanfare.

Somehow, the world kept turning. Obama and Hillary are still wearing out the newscasters with their tennis match for the Democratic heart and vote. TNT is airing the same commercials during all the playoff games (you'd think 40 games in 40 nights would get old, but no.). Mariah Carey is still somewhat of a nutjob.

A few things have changed in the last two years. Back then, Brad and Ang hadn't yet assembled themselves a home-grown army. (I hadn't either.) Now? New job(s), new home, new state. (For me that is, not the Saviors of the Third Worlds.)

And here I am, still one blog at a time, reporting on nothing. I still love it, even if I'm sparse. Maybe my well has finally dried up!

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While I was in Utah last week, the bestie Krista was able to get us discounted seats to a Real Major League Soccer game. Lucky for us, the Beckster was in town with the LA Galaxy.

After screaming, "I wanna see him bend it!" for most of the first half, homeboy lived up to his name. Once during play and once from a penalty kick, I saw Beckam bend it twice. In less than 10 minutes. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty amazing.











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My newest grand annoyance is clammy legs in bed. It's too cold here at night for just a sheet, but my legs get kind of sticky where skin touches skin under my full covers. It's a bad, bad feeling.

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Two blogs in one day! It's true what they say, miracles in our day haven't ceased.

Wounds can't bring me down

Do you know what it's like to have a swollen taste bud? The worst, right?

Wrong.

In my twenty-five year infinite wisdom, I decided to bite the thing off. Easy enough, right? Teeth are sharp, that's what they do—bite stuff off. Well friends, I made a grave mistake. I've learned that it's impossible to bite off a singular taste bud. It's impossible to bite of a few taste buds. So instead of being the Destroyer of the Swollen, I'm now She of the Gaping Mouth Wound.

Three days of exposed muscle, irritated with every breath and bite is pretty freakin' miserable.

What's not so miserable (and may or may not be touched upon at a later date)? The rest of my Utah trip, the Celtics finally getting past the first round, Little Women (the book), a brand new laptop purchased and ready for me at my new job, Lebron's 2-for 18, an after vacation DVR chocked-full of Must See TV, Dan in Real Life, Spring weather in Boston, 14th-floor views of the Back Bay, Downtown, an the Charles from the bend in the river at my office in Kendall Square, being chosen to manage a huge and exciting account site redesign, my own bed, fun plans for the weekend, and all KINDS of free snacks and drinks at my new job's building. Every kind of fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, chip, cracker, soda, juice you can imagine… I discovered the individually sliced/packaged/rounded-wax cheeses today.


For someone with an open mouth wound and a kitchen full of free foods, this gal is doin' alright.


**6:27pm update:
Just got off the phone with my insurance company for the ninth time. My $2k leg break bill has finally been approved. The tragic break only cost me $237. You have no idea how happy that $237 makes me.

Friday, May 02, 2008

too late for a title

It's 2:51 MST. Pretty late. Really late. Even for my low-key, laid-back Utah vacation, this is late. But I want to blog; and if I don't now, it'll be next weekend before I get another chance. And you have no idea how true that will probably prove to be.

Today was my fourth full day in Pleasant Grove, and a delightful one at that. Far and away, the majority of my time has been spent at my sister Alaina's; mostly while she's at work, dinking around in my borrowed pajamas, surfing the web and walking to Panda Express for lunch. (One day I made the 1.5 mile trek to the Del Taco in gale force dirty wind. It was more than worth it... Mmmmm... spicy jack quesadilla.) I haven't spend this much time in Utah County since I graduated from BYU three years ago. It's been a different trip on a lot of levels--I have thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with my older sister and niece (even if she screams "no!" every time she even sees me after a tragic two hours I spent babysitting Monday night didn't go so hot), but I have loved revisiting my true Utah roots -- my time spent at BYU.

I've spent two nights in Provo with friends from my freshman year--kids I don't see very often. It's been super fun reliving old old memories. I've also eaten three Smart Cookies.

Speaking of the Utah goods I've eaten; Costa Vida, Cafe Rio, Brick Oven, the Del, my favorite Albertson's donut, Panda, cinnamon bears, and Chili's chicken enchilada soup (that's right, they don't make it in the 617). Did you know Utah is also the home of the Big Gulp? It's socially acceptable to drink large fountain drinks here--I've been a frequent user. I need to leave this state before I get fat.

I'm sleeping with a legitimate white noise machine. It's not the same as my fan and took a minute to get used to. I wouldn't even give waterfall, rainforest, ocean, songbirds, or running stream a chance. The closest noise I could find is static--imagine your TV on a channel without a signal and that's what you've got. After awhile it starts to sound like someone is in the shower. Using this machine actually makes me feel pretty high maintenance.

Utah is also home of the amazing deal. I'm a bargain-hunter, I can't help it. My new job will probably require me to dress up a bit; so I have a few(!) new pieces to add to my business-casual collection. And one vintage pattern to give sewing a go once get to Portland in less than two weeks. (Did you know I'm becoming slightly domesticated? We made jam on Monday for pete's sake.)

At dinner Tuesday night, Alicia dropped my new favorite saying. In reply to my saying "Every Jack has his Jill" (meaning wow! i can't believe he actually found someone to marry), she taught me "Every garbage can has a lid." Ha! I can't get over it. Genius.

Alaina takes pretty amazing people-photos. My other sisters have had their shoots, and she was insistent I have one. She also insisted I link to the post of my photos. Believe me, I'm lucky I got out with this many photos; I deleted at least 200 bad ones. I'd get kicked of Top Model for sure. Anyway, if you're in Utah and ever need family photos, she's reasonably priced and easy to work with. End plug.

Downloaded an "Umbrella" cover by Marie Digby. It's amazingly fantastic. Acoustic, folksy, and all around amazing.

You may have noticed I have a new header on my page. Time to switch it up. (I know it looks pretty crappy. It's 3:20AM and I stopped freaking over details an hour ago. Will fix soon. End semi-related tangent.) Funny story about the photo the image was cropped from -- just as we were headed over to shoot, a hundred-million pigeons landed on this tin-roofed shed. Hate hate hating birds, I had a mini-freak out (which always leads with riger mortis hands) and walked away. The photo was snapped in that instant. I feel it's a pretty good representation of who I am -- 1) hater of birds and 2) awkward hands. Update: Header image is updated. Still not an A+ project, but I can't be good at everything.

Big city weekend on the horizon! That's right folks, I'm headed to the bright lights and the big city--the Salt Lake City tomorrow. (Ever notice that people who haven't lived or visited Salt Lake often always call it "Salt Lake City"? It always feels weird to hear it called the full, formal name.) Dancing, the Real/Galaxy soccer game, G-parents back in town, the junk store, and who knows what other crazy stuff happens in the Capitol City.

No other randoms to report. Or rather none that I can remember. Or none that you care about. Are you still reading? Did you skip this post since there were no photos? Have you counted the number of grammatical errors? There are several I found in a reread, but now I've forgotten where they are and don't care to hunt them down. BUT, this isn't me asking you to point them out to me, believe me, I know they're there. And a their just to get all three in a five word proximity. You know? Their, there, and they're? One of grammars biggest faux pas? Oy. Now I'm going off on grammar errors. No one cares now, three hours ago, or five hours from now.

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Definitely, maybe, probaby related posts:

If NatA! posted a photo with this blog, here it is!