D'Jango Montana

Last week when Bridget was here, her friend Matt invited us to lunch with him & his friend D.J. At The Royal Thai Grill.
From first glance we were a little worried, but the sign on the front door was even more curious, "Bathroom for clients only." hmmm....is this a problem around here? I mean, granted it was a shady part of town, but do people off the street just come into use the bathroom?
As it turns out, yes, they do.
While still waiting for the guys to get there, Bridget and I were perusing the menu when this guy showed up:

Yep. The one in the Joe Montana jersey leaving the bathroom. As soon as he entered, a man I can only assume was the owner ordered him to leave.
"But I just need to use the bathroom!" he said.
"Can't you read the sign?" said the owner
"Dude, I'll give you a dollar! I just need to use your bathroom!"
"I don't need any money! I just need to stop cleaning my bathroom all the time!"
"Dude, I'm not going to piss all over the wall..."

They were literally yelling at each other across the restaurant. I almost wet MY pants I was laughing so much.

Eventually the owner conceded and the guy got to use the bathroom. Who knew there was even more excitement left to come?!

About the food: The sticky rice came in this cute little bamboo thing, the lemon chicken was excellent, and the egg roll was the best I've ever had. And the noodles in the soup were the exact same size as the spoons! How fun!

About the ambience: Well, you can check out the birthday table and the statue of King #5 (I don't know who he is, but that's what our server said.)

Moving on. So we're all sitting there talking about people and names when somebody asks D.J. what his name stands for.
"D'jango."
"What?!"
"My dad really liked this jazz musician Django Reinhardt so he named me after him. My mom was in charge of my middle name. So my middle name is Montana.Because it was pretty. I don't know if she meant the name or the state."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said. "Your name is D'jango Montana?!"
"Yep."
"What were your parents like?"
"Well, my mom was kind of a flower child. And my dad was...well, they call them cosmic cowboys."
Here's what the internet had to offer:

Apparently cosmic cowboys are hippies who wear cowboy hats. Beautiful.
So here's a picture of D'jango Montana. Because you will never meet another one.

I thought I would make such a good little hippie...

Because of school last week, I had every evening off and school every day. So I went to Food Inc and 500 Days of Summer. Food Inc inspired me to eat locally; 500 Days of Summer made me want to go buy adorable dresses. Not a bad idea, either way, I think.
So Saturday I woke up early (again; I was in the habit by now), and went downtown to the Phoenix Market via light rail. Again.
A little description of why I like riding the light rail:
1- It's new, which makes it cleaner and more exciting
2- I feel all kinds of earth-friendly
3- I can read my assignments or other books on the way there and feel very productive
4- There are all kinds of people to people watch. My favorite are the ones who get off for work at 3rd and Washington. They look so professional, which makes me feel, kind of,
like...
5- I'm in Manhattan. Or at least I kind of pretend that I am. I think of the subway every single time and feel so big city, even though lots of times I think Phoenix is kind of a boring big city. So in my mind this gives me the chance to act out my big city fantasies, and it feels great. And I fell in love with this one building and desperately want to live on the top floor and have two of those windows to myself.
MOVING ON!





To the Farmer's Market. This, I decided, could be my hippie day off my 101 things list. Public transportation, a dress, a farmer's market. That seems like it should count. Except that I forgot my SIGG water bottle and my canvas bags. Who uses plastic at a farmer's market? NOT hippies!
So I ended up looking a little like a Manhattanite trying to be a hippie. I bought pears, watermelon, Japanese eggplants, dates, a sweet potato and an onion. And some flowers. And then realized I wish I had my stinkin' car. I was carrying 20 pounds of stuff in downtown Phoenix in crappy little plastic bags. And it was so crazy hot! And I almost lost my camera.
But I didn't. Brad came and picked me up from the stop near home, and that night Brad and I improvised our first meal in a while and had eggplant, mushrooms, and onions sauteed together with basil and olive oil, chicken, and Couscous mix from Trader Joe's. So delicious I think it might have been worth all the hard work!

Why, Hello, Doctor....

I STARTED SCHOOL!! This is a picture of me on my first day of grad school (on the 24th). My mom wasn't around to take a picture of me and Brad was asleep, but it's kind of a tradition so I took one anyway. (Besides, I got my hair done on Saturday and bought a new flat iron AND a new hair dryer and if I'm going to spend that much unexpected money, I sure as heck am going to take a picture of it!!)
I took the light rail to school, which made me feel very grown up. It's only about a mile walk, so I got up early and embarked on pubic transportation for the first time- other than for just fun. Actually, Brad woke up that first morning luckily, told me 40 minutes was NOT early enough, and drove me to the stop. (I really had no idea how long it would take. And it's 40 minutes to Downtown Phoenix from the time I get picked up.)I was still five minutes late, but it wasn't too bad.
And then my laptop broke. On the first day of school. AHHHH!! Nothing could probably have stressed me out more than to start six online classes (I go to school for one week in Aug, one in Oct, and one in Dec; everything else is online) and have my computer crash. It should be back in a couple days and was under warranty and Brad's works, so I'm not completely dying. Not that I don't miss it terribly.
But...classes were all good. I got the hang of the light rail; There are 12 girls in my program and they all seem very nice.
Am I a little stressed by the thought of all this self-paced work? Yes. Mostly that I'm just going to forget to do something, but so far, so good.
My professors all seem really cool. Unfortunately, they are all doing things I find fascinating, so narrowing down my choices seems stressful. But I think I'm going to love this women's health thing.
So that's that. DNP, here I come!

Lena From Russia

I have a new friend. She's very popular, though, so I might not see her all that often. She is from Russia and very entertaining. Brad met her first, at church, but now we all hang out sometimes.
She and I worked out together the other day. Usually I would want to punch someone who looks that hot while working out. This is a girl whose "pet pee" is sweating. And yet, she's still sweet enough that she hands me a workout she found in Fitness magazine and says, "Let's do this," so I lead the way and we have a blast.
She says hilarious things, and she's very nice, and she even forces me to do fun things. Saturday went like this (phone call),"Christin, I have the day off so lets go work out." Me: "I'm not home. I won't be home for an hour." Lena: "Ok, I'll be at your house in an hour. We'll go work out." Me: "um, Ok"
Lena (my house, an hour later): "Ok, we'll go work out and then we'll watch 13 going on 30."
Me: "Ok."
Me (later): "There's a party tonight at Mike's house but I don't know if I want to go."
Lena: "Yes, you're going. I'm going so you're going."
Me (laughing): Ok!
Who said I needed to do homework on a Saturday anyways? PLEASE.
(This is a picture of Lena eating a honeydew, which she loves. It is not the prettiest picture of her (she really is striking), but for now, it's the only one I have.)

Treasures at Fort Cove

The eleven-hour ride home on Friday was littered with little adventures. You see, I realized on the way up that I never stop at those brown "Historical Marker" signs, and I hate it. I always want to stop there, but life is always too busy. So I decided on my way back I would stop at least a couple times. And this decision landed me at Fort Cove.

Somewhere between Park City and St. George lies an old fort built by Mormons (specifically Gordon B. Hinckley's grandpa) to protect them from Indians. However, they ended up being friends with the Indians so they just used it to feed and house weary travelers instead. And grow cute gardens. And now, it's a cute little tourist attraction that houses 9 (NINE) senior couple missionaries, all very happy to take you on a tour. Even if you only wanted a five minute stop. Here's a couple pictures of me and my senior missionary couple from Historic Fort Cove:

I also made pit stops for jerky and to see the Colorado River flowing through a beautiful canyon. I saw an old pioneer church and ate at a terrible cafe that announced "We Proudly Accept CASH ONLY." seriously?!?!



I drove all along Highway 89A, which was beautiful, and listened to my first book on tape, Sheri Dew's "No Doubt About It," which was excellent. Maybe more so because she read it herself, which I thought was cool.
I got home at midnight, but was so glad to have had such a great ride home.

Next...PARK CITY!!

So Thursday afternoon, I headed off to Park City to knock a few hours off of the longest solo drive of my life and to spend some QT with Bridget. I love driving. Really. I mean, this was a little much, but the fields along the way were so calming. Perfectly manicured fields of potatoes and alfalfa seem to bring my mindset back to the simple things and everything seems manageable again.
On the way to Park City, I stopped in Tremonton. This is where a lot of my Nana's family is from, and the first time I went there was with her when I was 12. I had my first Klondike Choco Taco (the shell is an ice cream cone; chocolate and ice cream are inside) with her that year. So I stopped and had one for her this time, too. It was only my second Tremonton Choco Taco. I tried to take it by a Tremonton sign but couldn't find one. So I settled for Tremont St.

I got there about 7 and yelled "CUPCAKE DELIVERY!" While I Boise, I had coordinated the pick-up of a dozen Lilly Jane's cupcakes, which none of my non-Boise friends had ever tried. She was so excited. Then we headed out to dinner at Chimayo's, a remarkably fun and expensive little Park City restaurant. We went with her new friend John, who was a blast and had so much fun. Here's us drinking water out of our Goblets (did I mention I love Park City water?) and our elk, scallops, and salmon!


We spent the rest of the night hanging out in the hot tub while Bridget danced to Janet Jackson for us. Really, a perfect little Park City night!

Next...BOISE!

Ok, there's no real reason I should claim Boise as home. I only lived there for three years. I have no relatives there, nor have I ever. But it feels like home, and every time I go there the feeling returns. I'll probably find myself migrating back soon enough. So I did what I normally do when I go back: I slept on Jessica's sweet couch, went to the co-op where we ate cookies and I devoured my Ginger Ice Cream, washed my car at Metro Car Wash (just because they have free vacuums with skinny attachments), and, of course, went to the cupcake shop, Lilly Jane's, where Jessica only let me take pictures of her feet. We also went on a little walk around the Greenbelt with Zoe, their cute little Yorkie. And that was just on Wednesday. Tuesday night, she, me and her husband all went to The Red Feather, the sexiest little restaurant ever and had delicious meals. I had Sturgeon and a Chocolate Lavendar Julep for dessert. Interesting..... :-)
Wednesday night I hung out with Craig (who lived with us when he dated one of my former roommates; he's fantastic). We ate a very cute new pizza place (can you tell how excited the waitress was for me to take her picture?) and went to a candy shop where we got bubble gum cigarettes and went outside and proceeded to pretend to smoke. So mature, I know. Then we went on a mini-hike of Camel's Back where I saw the most gorgeous sunset ever that my camera didn't even do justice of and then hung out at the Boise Depot. Just basically a lot of catching up from the past 2 years, but it was great.
Before I left on Thursday, I made a quick stop in Nampa to see my friend of 23 years, AuBrey Erickson and her 5 kids and husband. I wasn't thinking at all or I would have taken a picture. (Instead I was fixing the hole in my pants in her bathroom that she thankfully noticed so I didn't flash my blue panties at the world.) As it was, I stopped and got us lunch at a Chinese buffet that was a TON of food for cheap. It fed us all, and as I waited for it to get prepared, I snapped this awesome picture of the calendar in the restaurant. Nothing like Chinese people from West Valley, UT in front of the Taj Mahal.

Idaho Falls

I was able to spend about 5 days in Idaho Falls (thank you bereavement leave!) with my family. In that time, we planned the funeral, reminisced, went to church together, and basically caught up with a lot of people we hadn't seen in a while.
I got to know my cousin-in-law Whitney better, (I know people don't use this phrase ever, but, really, what else am I supposed to say?) which was very fun. We have a lot in common, and it was great to finally meet her little girl.
I got to run the greenbelt once, and it was just fantastic to be able to run in such a gorgeous place AT NOON!! It felt amazing, and it was a great escape from everything.

TO Idaho

So my Nana passed away on Thursday morning, August 13th, right after I got off work. Brad and I had already decided to go up that day, so we quickly finished packing and headed out. I really love the Northern AZ and Southern UT drive. The rocks of AZ and the little cute Utah towns do my soul good. It was fun to spend that much time with Brad, too, and be reminded of how similar we are. Down to how we put just a titch of peach frozen yogurt on top of our strawberry without knowing the other did the exact same thing. Just the weird little things that remind us we're related.
The highlight of the drive was probably when Bridget met us in Provo with Mexican food and a dozen cupcakes from the Sweet Tooth Fairy!!
different delicious flavors: Strawberry Lemonade, Chocolate PB, Cookies'n'Cream, Key Lime....so amazing. And so far the winner of the 5 different cupcake shops in 3 different states we have now tried!!

Deep Fried

Hey y'all. So life has been interesting and exciting and stressful lately. I got back from Idaho two days before school started, which has been crazy in itself. And my computer decided to break on the first day of school. Thus, my brain and my computer are fried.
When things settle down just a little, I'll give you an update on the happenings. Rest assured, all is well. :-)

What a "Memory Maker" !

On Thursday, my Nana died. She was 80 years old and one of the most amazing people I have ever had the opportunity to meet, to know, and to love.
My Nana was my mom's mom, and she lived in Idaho Falls almost all her life. She has lived in the same house all of my life. Let me tell you a little bit about what that house and that woman meant to me. (p.s. I love and adore my grandpa, too, but this post isn't about him.)
Because I lived in Florida until I was 10, and Texas until I was 16, I only went to Idaho about every two years. I went to visit my grandparents in a house filled with an unmatched calm and loving spirit and with a sweet and comforting smell that hasn't changed at all over the years. I am a little scared for the day it does.
The summers in Idaho Falls were filled with a backyard of perfect grass, a Nana who was more excited about the 4th of July than anyone on earth, and Banana Creamies stocked in the freezer in a garage lined with Red Shag Carpet left over from a 1970's remodel.
When I was as little as four Candice and I slept in Nana's bed (Grandpa was relegated to the room next door on these night) and had midnight snacks of cantalope. Behind us was a "princess" phone that we LOVED to talk on.

We spent the days going to museums, playing high-ho cherry-o, and watching The Parent Trap.
Nana made us perfect breakfasts and made us feel like we were just perfect.
Maybe my favorite memory of Nana is getting to fly all by myself to Idaho when I was 12 years old. Oh, I felt so grown up. I spent time with grandpa and the horses, slept in late every day, tried on Nana’s wedding dress, and then Nana & I went to SLC ALL BY OURSELVES. We stayed at Little America, went shopping, and wore matching navy blue polka dot dresses. Which we hadn’t even planned. There is nothing like having Nana all to yourself, and I loved every minute.
Just two months ago, I had my last phone conversation with Nana. In true style, she exclaimed, "Oh, darling Christin! It's so wonderful to hear your precious little voice.....We're so proud of you....oh, that's just wonderful...."
This was how every conversation with my Nana went.
I believe it is from her that I gained my love for every holiday. As any of my former roommates know, I love to decorate for Christmas. It is an event. I now realize that not everyone decorates the entire house, involves the entire family, and makes it at least a three day affair. My nana had us re-enact the Nativity and read us The Polar Express whenever we were lucky enough to spend Christmas together. My mom did the same. My roommates and friends have now been invited into the tradition.
I even throw easter egg hunts for my roommates and have egg decorating parties because my Nana and my family did that. Even in 2008. (Um, we're not young anymore.)
Vacation is exciting to me possibly because invitations to family reunions were sent out a full year in advance. And you'd better be there to have FUN!!
Nana got excited about good parking lot spaces "What luck! What Luck!" And anything that could possibly be something wonderful to remember, Nana would look at you and say, "Isn't this a Memory Maker!?!!" That meant trips to the farm, awesome shopping trips, great reunions, and especially late night talks.
Nana just loved being part of a family that Loved Her. And we did SO MUCH.
One thing we could always count on with Nana is leading a parade of flags consisting of every willing participant at any large family function and especially at the 4th of July. Also, whenever we came to visit, a flag was flying in the yard.
Her funeral was a lot like another family reunion. Enough so that I kept looking around waiting to see where she was. It was so weird to not be able to see her so ecstatic to see all her friends and relatives.
I gave her life sketch, including the favorite memories of all 13 grandkids. It was quite possibly the most heartbreaking thing I've ever done. And also somewhat wonderful to see all the grandkids more united than we've ever been in our love for this person.
After the service, we all lined the sidewalk holding little American flags, waving them gently as the grandsons carried her casket by. Everyone mostly held it together. Except, me and Candice, who sobbed.
But I think we inherited that cry from Nana, too, so we didn't feel too guilty.
It was a beautiful service for a beautiful woman.

The Big Event and The Side Events

The BIG EVENT happened yesterday, when my friends Tyler Miller and the former Ariana Smith were married for time and all eternity in the Mesa Temple. She looked gorgeous. He looked hot. They were both walking on air and literally were unable to stop smiling. Here's the happy couple:


What, you ask, do the couple's friends do all afternoon to entertain themselves in between the wedding and the reception? Well, here's a glimpse. First off, we show up to say congratulations and take a few pictures ourselves. Photo op!

Next, we attend to the other important events of the day. Namely, ready-ing the room and the getaway car.
A little explanation: Ariana and Tyler are currently headed to Cali for a Mexican cruise. But they spent their first night together in their new apartment. Unfortunately, they had inherited some bedding from The Parents that wasn't exactly appropriate for a night of sweet love:

I literally screamed when I saw it. We all got to work. John's present to them was 600-thread count charcoal gray sateen sheets. We quickly decided NOT to wrap them. Instead, we washed and ironed them (Brad did the ironing). Bridget and I developed pictures; I dug out the tealights out of my dressser. I stopped at The Body Shop for Body Butter (all other body butters are inferior poseurs) and made a stop a Whole Foods for chocolate-covered strawberries (Bridge's idea). Side shout out to Whole Foods. This is how it went down. Me: "Do you have chocolate-covered strawberries?" Them: Not right now, but we can make them for you. Give us five minutes." Perfection! Brad also made a stop at the local flower shop for a bag of Rose Petals. They thoughtfully told him they might stain if crushed. Brad made a joke that it wasn't his concern after he decorated the room for his friends what THEY did with the rose petals. Apparently florists don't think he's as funny as we all do. We appreciate you, Brad. Bridget and Brad also spent the afternoon compiling the sexiest songs Of All Time onto two CDs with Ariana and Tyler's pictures burned onto them. Yes, you read that right. I don't think it gets cooler than that. (John will be giving them his collection of Aaliyah's greatest soon enough...I, on the other hand, am not enough of a music connoisseur to be a part of this project.)
Our house soon looked like a disaster, but what's the point of having a house if it can't serve as an appropriate project area?

After hours of this, we headed to their cute little apartment for the TLC/HGTV-style transformation. We changed the bed, laid out rose petals, fixed the "window treatments" so that the major street their apartment looks out onto did not become a news media sensation, cued the CD player, left the strawberries in the fridge, and lined the bathtub with tealights. Needless to say, we were more than a little proud of ourselves. Here's the inside glimpse:









As a side note, we were also in charge of decorating the car. Of course we were. Seriously.
So I've actually started to pride myself in my ability to find their wedding colors in EVERYTHING. Including, of course, the soda cans. Strawberry Crush is the perfect magenta, Squirt is a nice yellow, and Sunkist was the perfect orange. And nobody needs blue cans anyways. With a nail, some hemostats, and some twine, we spent about two hours on THIS side project:


Did they notice? Of course they did. Bridget told them.

This morning we got a single-line text:
"You guys are the best!"
That's all we needed to hear.
Congratulations, you two. You are a beautiful, exciting, and wonderful couple!
p.s. For fifty more pics of the day, go here and for Brad's take on it, go here