Prescott Frontier Days- Happy 4th of July!

As much as I love the 4th of July in Idaho Falls, and trust me, I do love the 4th of July in Idaho Falls, this year I wasn't able to go with Bridget, Brad, Ariana, and Tyler (for their experience, see Bridget's post). Although I get a lot of Paid Time Off, I'm going to be cutting it close this semester by taking off 3 full weeks for school. BUT... I have an aunt in Prescott, AZ. John has an old mission companion who lives there. So...off to Prescott!! 

First, we went and picked up our Jeep Patriot. John is very responsible and decided that renting a car would be very good and safe for this drive (yes, it's only about 90 miles. Whatever. He gets a good deal at the resort where he works) :o) ) But a Jeep Patriot was the only car they had left. Turns out John hates Jeeps. Especially, perhaps, ugly bright blue ones that make weird noises even though they only have 26,000 miles on them. Turns out that when you put the two of us with 3 hours of sleep each in a car that one of us passionately hates we get a little frustrated with each other. I must say (forgive me for this one) but it felt very "married" to get so frustrated and have to get over it so fast for the sake of each other and a fun weekend. And we did. And we had a blast. But we will never rent a Jeep again!! :-) 

Anyways! We stayed at the Close family's house. They knew I was coming and decided the best way to welcome me was by a giant "Hello!!" and a group hug. You would have thought I just got home from MY mission! They were so cute and so excited. They even got John & I matching America shirts to match the rest of the family.
In reality, I didn't know other families got as excited as mine did, but this family could have put mine to shame a couple times (well, almost)!

The first night, we got in kinda late and just ate and talked. And played Balderdash, which I haven't played in forever but turns out I still love. (oh, and I won.) :-)

I slept in a little office that they got all ready for me downstairs. They were so so sweet to me. Grandpa even took me on a tour of the house. I know all the plants in this beautiful backyard!
The next morning we got up at 6-ish (did that sink in?) to be ready for the parade. The 2 1/2 hour parade. Ok, it was long, but random and fun. It included such awesomeness as:

a random family with a baby in a car seat, the worst bald eagle EVER, Miss Rodeo Gilbert, a cute post office float (Love the Mail!), Little Leaguers, and a very cute little girl!

AND THEN THERE WAS THE BOOT RACE.

How I didn't think it was necessary to pick up boots for this weekend kind of escapes me. I actually plan on bringing my entire family to Prescott just for this event at some point in my life. The Boot Race is a 100-yard dash performed entirely in cowboy boots. There is a 3 and under wave (so cute!), a huge 4 and 5 year old wave (the best), and progressively up until 55 and older. I would never want to race in the guys one; they are way too fast, but the girls one is so small and looks so fun. Everyone in every race duct tapes their boots so they don't fall off and takes off. Here's a glimpse at the 5-year olds. Loved it. 

The rest of the day was spent in  a marshmallow fight, a kickball game, visiting my aunt, and the fireworks. We were the very last people to get our hot dogs before the fireworks started (thanks to the flashlight app available on the iphone). And they were beautiful fireworks. I missed the Idaho Falls narrator from the radio station telling about the pioneers crossing the plains, and Nana crying, and "I'm Proud to Be an American." That is now ingrained in me; but it was a gorgeous Prescott night, and I loved every minute of it. Happy Birthday America!!

I Have a Headache

Let me correct that, I've had a headache since Saturday. When I flipped my head over to dry my hair and heard a pop. It's getting a little better, but it still certainly does not feel great. I have never had a headache anything close to this thing. I went to the chiropractor. It may have made it worse since I felt like death yesterday and had to call into work. But I learned that I have a very straight neck (that's bad) probably from my car accidents. It's supposed to be a little curved (like the one on the right) . This is a random internet picture; not my x-rays, but it looks the same. Anyways, I actually bought excedrin today. Here's hopin'!

Channeling Gwen Stefani

So the only thing I really have in common with Gwen Stefani is that I might be as pale as she is. I really love her lips, though. Rarely do I have a reason to wear red lipstick, and I know it bleeds, and is hard to eat with and maintain throughout the day, but the idea of it is delightful. So every time I go to the make-up counter, I ask them to find me the perfect red. And every time they fail. It's not quite right; it looks hot pink on me; it just seems "off," not classy. So I googled Gwen Stefani's lip color. Apparently she wears: Guerlain Kiss Kiss Lipstick in Exces de Rouge, along with many others. Well, I went to Sephora and tried that on and it does NOT work with me. However, Guerlain Red Strass is amazing!! The lady working there (Rachel) was so so helpful. And even found me the perfect liner to match. (Make-up For Ever 9C). Brad hates it; everyone else thinks it's great. And even though it was a completely frivolous purchase, I really love it. And every once in a while, I might even wear it. 

Whoops!

The other day I was craving clams. Weird; I don't think I've ever made them. But there was a recipe in Women's Health for the grill and it sounded great. I ran to Fry's to look for a charcoal brick thing (it's called Ready-to-Light, and they are amazing, but I haven't seen any in this state). Anyways, they didn't have them, but I was going to go to Whole Foods anyway and get clams (I don't trust any other seafood here). 

As I got in my car, I noticed the seat felt a little weird against my backside. I wonder why!

(I ended up making the salmon I had at home!)

Brad's Home!!

Brad is back from Texas. He had some awesome experiences there; He ate at the TrailDust Steakhouse (one of my dad's old favorites), went to the Dallas Temple (still probably my favorite), met some way cool little kids, and even found a Shipley's donuts. 

I thought Shipley's was specific to Bay City. The one there is TINY, and all the kids in Bay City have gone through at least one tour of the bakery at school. They put Krispy Kremes to shame. 

And Brad brought me some home. Whoo-hoo!! Welcome Home, Brad; it's good to have you back...

(I know I look a little strung out in this picture; I'm running on 2 1/2 hours of sleep. Saturday night work is terrible!)

Limited

I have too many great ideas (humble I know).
But really, there are just too many things I could do with my life, and I get upset every once in a while that I cannot figure out how to do them all. Here's a few on my list- what does yours look like?:

• Become a Nurse Practitioner in Women's Health. Obviously, this is the one I'm for sure going to do. Mostly because I'm in the program and school starts in August. This may involve one or two overseas adventures eventually, hopefully. 
  
• Be a nurse. I already do this one, which allows me four days off a week, which is a lot of time to think about what else I could be doing, like:
• Designing furniture. I'm really no artist, but I've had this idea for kids furniture based on cell organelles for several years. I know it sounds nerdy, but it would be so cool. I have no idea where to get started, although I've e-mailed a few designers, one French, who I don't think speaks english because the e-mail didn't have anything to do with what I wrote. (I can just envision pitching this idea to Target or the momastore.)
• Becoming an executive assistant. I applied for these jobs in 2002 following my first graduation when I realized a BS in Zoology gets you a $7.50/hr job. I think I would love this. My dad thinks I would hate it. It probably doesn't pay enough, but I love a) planning vacations and trips  b) applying for things (jobs, college, it really doesn't matter) and c) buying gifts. Getting paid to do these things and fill out forms really sounds strangely fulfilling. Getting talked down to does not. 
• Writing for a magazine. At some point I just have to do this. I sent in one article to SELF and it got rejected (also 2002-ish). I'm not so great at coming up with my own ideas for stories, though. However, I click the "writing/editing" section of craigslist almost every day. Just to check. I should probably write something other than this blog. (And thanks to the random person who commented and said I should write a book. It made my day.)
• Speaking of writing a book, occasionally I want to do this. It would be about being a Modern American Mormon. I wrote the titles for the chapters three years ago. 
• Presenting. I need to fly around the country and make presentations about something. I like to do this. A lot. Both of those things. Now what should I talk about?
• Study faces with the guys Malcolm Gladwell talks about in Blink. I could get bored pretty quickly, but what a skill to have as a doctor!
• Franchise Lilly Jane's Cupcakes
• Something with Odwalla, American Express, Vestas, or Kimpton Hotels. 
• And lastly, just today I read an article in Outside about programs to install solar panels. Apparently there is an 8 year waiting list in New Mexico for a 2 year program. I wrote the director and asked how to start one in AZ (ASU is huge on solar power but has no program). I have no idea what I will do with this information, but it sounds brilliant, doesn't it?

Ok, your turn!!  (I also have a side list made up for Brad, due to the fact that he can do some very cool things that I do not have a talent for. His list includes becoming a tailor, a eco-friendly landscape architect, and a dentist.)

• Oh, and own, run, and design a boutique hotel. This one is very important. 

Stones!!

So my friends are having a baby. His name is going to be Stone. I had an idea for onesies and was going to have a store downtown make them, and then Bridget told me to just buck up and do it myself; It wouldn't be that hard. So I did. Here are my first ever iron-on transfers and the most crafty thing I've done in quite awhile. Anybody need a shirt? :-)

Here's a link to her thoughts!

I Love to See The Temple...

So for any one who doesn't know, I am
1- an active Latter-day Saint
2- an unendowed Latter-day Saint, which means, of my own free will and choosing, I have not yet "received my endowments" and gone through an entire temple ceremony. Which means I've only seen a few rooms of the temples I've gone to. (This is generally a mid-20's thing for girls to do. It's going to be an early-30's thing for me to do.)
But before a temple is dedicated in a special other ceremony, anyone can walk through the whole thing. Well, Utah just got its 13th temple, and I got to walk through. You still can't take pictures, but it was totally beautiful and still had such a great feeling. I am very much looking forward to the time when I get married there (at a temple; not this one) (and whenever else I decide to go through).




In perfect Mormon fashion, cookies and water are given afterwards. Here's the picture perfect reception area:

And last but not least, we made a quick stop at Emily Inglet Smith's house to see her two darling boys and her soon-to-arrive baby girl. It is always so fun and a little crazy to see my pregnant high school friends. I love it!

Thanks Bridge for an awesome TRIP!! Love you!!

Sundays are Better in Utah

There's a little something wonderful about Sundays in Utah. It's like God is really happy with all these people going to church and there is just such a good feeling about everything. Relief Society was hilarious. We only had a ten minute lesson. Why? Because we had snacks!! Notice, also, the handwriting of the announcements on the chalkboard. That doesn't happen by accident. That girl erased at least 3 letters to get it to look that perfect. Her scrapbooks must look amazing. Here also are a few other pictures that just show how pretty everything around there really is.








After church it was off to temple square, where we ran into Missionary Barbie from Mexico. John and Bridget had met her in Park City but failed to get pictures. So we were so excited to see her.

Then we realized our keys were locked out of our car. And that's a story for Bridget's blog....

Park City Party Time!! Saturday

This weekend I went to Park City and had SO MUCH FUN. Here's a little insight into our fun times. Bridget has a ton of pictures as well. Her blog is www.perfectmiracles.blogspot.com. So you can get her version of the story, too!
First stop: The airport. No surprises here. Here's what the Grand Canyon looks like from the plane and what I look like when I realize I'm on vacation:


Then off to the Farmer's Market. Where I got Polly Pocket a wedding present and realized that people in SLC really love big dogs. It was probably the coolest Farmer's Market I've been to, and had I had a fridge or a garden I probably would have bought a lot more stuff. Here, by the way, is my delicious lunch from there:

Then back to Bridget's hotel/apartment. Let it be said that I think she lives in SUCH a cool place. The little fridge, the itty bitty stove, the studio look with her huge bookcases. It's all very urban in the middle of the mountains and I think it's P-I-M-P.
Here's a glance at the outside. She'll have to give you a picture of the inside sometimes.

Then it was time for a real lunch. We called Gus and trekked through downtown PC. We ate at Wasatch where the only buffalo burger available was 1/2 pound. And, well, I need my iron. Here's the three of us chowing down!



Then Gus went home and B-ridge and I went Shopping!!
The two main stops were MaryJanes & Sugarbuzz, places that she just KNEW I would love. And she was right. We spent quite a bit of time at MaryJane's. Everything in the store was 25% off because it was Park City's 125th birthday. So I got a candle, some bachelorette presents for Ariana, and, well, the BOOTS. We got rain boots. Hunter, made in Scotland, 75% off rain boots. Bridget's are yellow. Mine are Purple. We love them. They are awesome. (What you say? I live in a desert? Well, Monsoon season is in August, and I won't live here forever!!) Bridget, meanwhile, is getting a ton of use out of them because it rained every single day we were there. Here's a few pics of this super-cool store:



At Sugarbuzz, a candy store, we bought these cupcakes. They are beautiful and pretty gross. We actually threw some of them away. So sugarbuzz gave us a free dozen from another baker. And they were delicious. We also met Jen, who we told about our boots and she went and got Pink ones. So fun. Here's our pretty cupcakes:

NEXT?! A date in Provo. We went with Ryan and Cameron and it was pretty fun. First, a stop at Orem days where we ran into this Utah-rific parade:


Yes, that really is guys in white shirts and ties throwing ties to the crowd. Holy Mormons!!
Then it started to rain so we got delicious roasted corn and high-tailed it out of there.
Off to the Foundry Grill in Sundance. It was an unexpected treat where we met up with a few other of Bridget's friends. I had ginger sweet potato soup and mahi mahi. And was so delicious. Yum!

That night I slept in Bridget's toasty bed with an electric blanket and Bridget slept next to me on an air mattress. How's that for a hostess?? Thanks so much! !!

Low Maintenance

I swear I'm low maintenance. Really. I mean, it's 2:46 and I haven't even taken a shower. I did however, clean my bathroom and do something that I've thought about doing for a while now:
Take this picture:

This picture and the presence of all this stuff everyday makes me
a- question the simplicity of my life
b- have a generally messy bathroom
c- freak out when I think of not checking baggage at the airport. (ONE quart-size bag?!?)
d- want to stuff throwing stuff away
e- wonder exactly what the definition of "high maintenance" really is.....
f- be very grateful Brad considered counter space when choosing our apartment.
I used to have a pretty clean bathroom. I used to wear my hair curly every day. I used 2 eyeshadow colors and called it good. Now I straighten my hair half the time. I have 3 different body washes, which is nuts, and 10 eyeshadows, most of which I use, and too too many things for my hair. And as of last week, I have eye cream and a face polisher. Because I flipped out because I thought I was maybe starting to look 29. (I thought people would be surprised when I told them I bought eye cream. It seemed frivolous to me. Everybody just acted like it was a good idea. hmmm...maybe I do need all this stuff...)

Here.

In seventeen minutes, my plane to ireland is taking off without me. I was sad about it last night. Today I am wondering when I am going to go for real and pleased to have a little time to be more financially prepared.
But yet, I still feel a little bit as if the plane is abandoning me. I've never before ever planned a vacation I didn't go on.
So instead I'm eating the fresh & easy version of Pirate's Booty in the living room in my underwear reading Oprah. At least until I know the plane has left.