Ingrid Michaelson

'In The Venue'! The name of the place would make it sound as though it is THE one and only venue to be at. It may be THE worst venue ever. I will not rant and rave long but, if I ever tell you I am going to a concert there again someone please stop me.

The location was horrific but, Ingrid was amazing. She is truly talented and knows how to put on a good show. She has the babble, you know the talking in between songs that really keeps ya interested, down to perfection. Thanks ladies for a most wonderful night!

RoCkBaNd and my birthday!

I had a wonderful birthday minus the fact that 28 sounds much too old. Pretty sure I got Rockband for my birthday and it is pretty much the best thing ever. Can you imagine me and my mom rocking out in the living room?! I highly recommend it! I got way too many wonderful things and my friends and family were far too generous but, I love them--thank you! I had originally shot for the goal "2008 find a mate" but, so far I have pretty much failed miserably, so I am thinking that maybe "28 find a mate" could be a possibility, that gives me another 8 months I would not have had otherwise. Anywho, I had a wonderful birthday filled with many people that I love. Thanks for making it great!

..MoRe SkYdiViNg!

Just thought I would post a few more pics of skydiving. It was absolutely amazing. I highly recommend it. I was pretty nervous the week before and then decided to think about why I was nervous. What was it that made me nervous?! That I would fall?? That is my normal fear of heights but, that was the point, so what was it making me nervous. I came to conclude that the only thing to be afraid of was something going wrong and if that happened, I probably wouldn't get bruised up and break a leg falling from that high, let's be honest, I would probably die. The chances of that happening were so slim and I am not really afraid of dying...getting hurt yes, someone else dying yes, but me-- not so much. So from there on out, I was just super excited. Loved every second and want to do it again. It is a feeling like nothing else in the world! Thanks for a great adventure Linds--will never forget it!

remember the time...

... I jumped out of an airplane?! and it was AMAZING!



*more details to follow

American Idol

Some may mock but, I am not ashamed to admit that I went to the American Idol concert and loved most every second. (most referring to a few singers that I still wonder how they were in the top ten?!) We did not sit close at all, to be honest, about as high up as you can go but, in the E center the upper level only had 4 rows so it was nice to not feel bombarded by people. The good news about being up so high is there was no one behind us so I could stand up and do my thing as much as I wanted. It was worth every penny and would do it again if I could. Good times and good company! thanks cute ladies-- I love ya!

*collage compliments of linds

It has been a while...things keep happening..and I have not posted one darn thing

This post may be moderately...to extremely boring-- but it needs to be recorded. ***consider yourself warned

-I went to St. George with some friends a few weeks back and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was a perfectly relaxing weekend and had some really good laughs! Much needed and equally enjoyed.

-I had the great opportunity of running The Race for the Cure. I love that race. It touched my heart to see so many people running in celebration and remembrance of loved ones. Most races I run for the race, hoping to better my time... that race I run merely for the awesome feeling it is to do so. LOVE IT!

-Lake Powell...need I really say more. Other than the occasional wind storm and a few other minor scares--I get nervous kinda easy.. working on that...I love Lake Powell. It is super relaxing, at least for me and my singleness with no children, yet at the same time plenty of great entertainment right at your fingertips. And who beat out everyone in the horse shoe tournament?! Yours truly!

-Me and 'America', meaning the voting (or not voting maybe) population of American Idol, are on a break, not really on speaking terms right now. Need I say more?! All cheesy goo aside, I do not care who you are, you can not deny that kid can sing, I mean really sing!!

-On a brighter note 'So You Think You Can Dance' started and I have zero complaints about that!

the hotel cafe tour 2008

Surprise, surprise... I have once again been a blogging slacker and it has been a while. Lindsey and I did go to a concert this past weekend which was for sure worth blogging about. It was at the Avalon, some old movie theater on State Street and 3300 S.. The location did not sound too promising and I had never attended a concert there before so, I was a little bit nervous as to what we would find. Shockingly, I liked it there. There were benches to sit on and because it was an old movie theater, where you sat was on a slight incline-- so even if you were back a ways you could still see. The stage was up reasonably high as well, which always helps if you are not right up front. I was also a little bit nervous because the tour consisted of five artists and I was really only going for one of the five. The good news... they all proved entertaining. I think every artist had at least one song that I left wanting to download from i-tunes. Ingrid Michaelson, the artist I was initially going for, was phenomenal. She could not have been better. There are a few things that I believe make a concert good. I think you need to not only sing well, but be entertaining, they are two different things. This sounds a little bit silly, I am aware, but it is nice to leave a concert and feel like the artist considered the audience real people. So many times concerts feel so rehearsed and robotic...like the audience is just a prop for a job. Ingrid Michaelson said she had only been touring for a few months and I think there is a joy that you can sense from someone who truly loves what they are doing and have not let performing just become routine and mindless. I can only imagine it is a wonderful feeling to be able to stop and listen to an audience sing the chorus of a song you wrote. It was a great night!

"mini-cheeseburgers" vs. "steak sliders"

What is this? You got it, a so-called "mini cheeseburger". Last weekend I had the great privilege of going to dinner with two of my friends, in order to keep their privacy, (they would not even let me take their picture for the blog), we will call them Spanky and Clover. We made this outing for Clover's birthday extravaganza and since where she comes from they do not have an Applebees, that was the restaurant of her choosing. As we browsed the menu, Spanky decided a nice cheeseburger and fries sounded deluxe. Much to our surprise they not only offered a regular cheeseburger with fries, but you could get 3 mini-cheeseburgers with fries. Well, really who would want the regular cheeseburger when you could get 3 mini-cheeseburgers?! We even asked our waiter what the point was, why 3 minis should be more enticing than just one regular size... his answer was something like, "well, no one else has it". It convinced me. After a little bit of coaxing and bargaining Spanky was convinced that it was a far superior choice to order the minis. (or at least I told her I would photo the minis for the blog, rather than her, and so she went for it.) I mean they were a dollar less as well.. why wouldn't you?! When we got done eating Spanky still had one of the three left over.. our waiter, like any good waiter would, asked if she would like a box... she declined...

We had a great night the minis were everything we could hope for and the company was deluxe.
---this is where this post would normally end. But...with something as great as mini-cheeseburgers, you know the story continues. The next morning I receive this email from Spanky...

"Okay – no joke. I go to my parent’s house last night to see if I can set up their TV to record The Biggest Looser for them, and of course, I check out the fridge for anything I may take for dinner. Lo and behold what did I see - - TWO MINI CHEESEBURGERS. I couldn’t believe it. I even had to pick up the plastic bag they were in to inspect. Apparently, I am not the only one who fell for “no one else has them” line"...." Watch out world – here they come!"

ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. I was rolling it was so funny. The revolution of Mini-Cheeseburgers is on its way. What are the chances really?? The next day I receive another email....

"Who knew 3 mini-cheeseburgers could be the source of so much great blogging material? Yes, the saga continues… I’m talking to my mom yesterday and start to tell her about the mini cheeseburgers, and she starts on her own story of how she and my dad went to Red Robin on Monday. I stop her and say, don’t you mean Applebee’s (remember – they have the mini cheeseburgers, “no one else does”). She thinks back, and says no (a little unsure now) but confirms by saying it was the restaurant right across from the District movie theater. So – yes, she’s right it is Red Robin. But wait – is that where the mini cheeseburgers came from??? She reports my dad ordered “steak sliders”!!! Looks like a mini cheeseburger, smells like a mini cheeseburger, and later today I’ll be able to tell you if they taste like a mini-cheeseburger because they are now in my mini fridge at work courtesy of my mother. Bottom line, Applebee’s is NOT the only restaurant with the (dare we use the word again) mini-cheeseburgers BUT they also have a less creative marketing/naming team than Red Robin who came up with “Steak Sliders.” Had I been debating last Saturday over a regular cheeseburger or steak sliders, Julia would not have had to make the fateful bargain to see the mini-cheeseburgers instead of taking my picture in order to entice me to make my selection. "

***There you have it folks...if Applebees tries to sell you their mini-cheeseburgers because "no one else has them"... they are lying. Besides, steak sliders sounds was cooler than mini-cheeseburgers, don't ya think? If only Spanky had taken the waiters offer of taking hers home, I could tell you which one really is better-- a side-by-side blind taste test would have been the bomb. Lesson learned--- expand your horizons--- try something new, you will never know what you are missing unless you do.

SKI UTAH!!

So, last ski season I was lucky enough to get new skiis, as well as have a season pass. I only worked as a part time librarian and a part time hair dresser so my schedule was pretty flexible. This year I have not been quite so lucky. I have no season pass, skiing is expensive, and I work full time as well as do hair on the side part time. Linds and I went skiing today and I realized how much I miss it. It was a beautiful day--the sun was out and it was not freezing cold. We got there as soon as they opened so we had a few hours before the good ole' holiday crowd showed up. This was the first time I have been able to go this year...and I hope it is not the last. I couldn't count on two hands the amount of times I went last year. Kinda a bummer, but I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to go today with only goodness...no injury or problems. YAHOO!!!

---as a side note the last picture is of me driving home... the sun was so bright I could not see with the reflection off of the snow. I had no sun glasses so had to resort to wearing my goggles while driving....he he!!

...who could resist?! (who would want to?)

Really, who can resist some untouched snow?! It was a little cold, but well worth it! Hung with my fellow ward ladies last night. Not a night to miss. Nothing like some Asian Star, arm wrestling (need you ask who won?), snow angels, head stand competitions (Linds seems to win every time, Jen, Elise, and liss are gaining on me now too, I gotta practice), and laughing till your sides hurt. Thanks ladies--loved it!