Cowmen

I went to the Days of '47 Rodeo with my family on Monday.

Two thoughts:

1. I don't think they're cowboys...they're cowmen.

2. Why in the world are they so attractive?

Hey Blondie...

Work is all-consuming right now, but the hunger pains were too great to avoid lunch today. I ran outside, sped-walked across the street while passing a homeless man standing on the side of the street with his "poor and hungry" sign.

"Hey Blondie! What's the hurry?!"

The look on my face must have been hilarious because he looked at me and gave me a huge, toothless grin.

Needless to say, I slowed my gait a little on the way to food.

Which glue today?

I'm really curious to know how much time this person had on their hands when they thought of making this diagram...

And on a less sarcastic note, don't you wish we had diagrams like this for more things in life? It would make life so much easier.

Source: designsponge.com via Kokomajojo on Pinterest

Summer nights

I love summer nights because...

I get to hang out with my beautiful little sister

I get to make smooooooores in our backyard

I get to take pictures of my nephew demonstrating the "proper" way to eat a smore

I get to take pictures of my darling mama. Isn't she cute?

I get to play night games in my PJs

I get to dance with my nieces and nephews then fall on the grass to look at the stars

Awkward and Awesome

So, let's start with the awkward and get that out of the way, because it's pretty awkward. I feel awkward just thinking about it.

I'm at Walmart (first mistake) on Saturday printing off pictures to frame for my new room. (I'll show you as soon as I have them hung.) I've just waited almost an hour for my "instant" prints, because they failed to put "broken" signs on two of the machines. Then I get to the checkout stand and this nice, old lady gives me an awkward smile. I say hello and ask her how she's doing. She says okay. Oh. I tried to talk to her a bit, but I didn't get anything back. Then a girl about my age comes up and puts her stuff on the conveyer belt - the checkout lady shot a major glare at this girl, and the girl asked, "Oh, I'm sorry. Are you not open?" The older woman replied, "Well, I've been waiting about an hour to go to the bathroom. I'm old, and I have diharrea and gas. Sorry. Sometimes you just can't hold it, so I have to go now." Exact. Words.

*Insert cricket chirp here...*

The other girl and I looked at each other, I smiled at the checkout lady, took my bag and said, "Have a nice day!"

Awkward.

On a much happier note, guess where I went on Saturday night? I was supposed to be in Los Angeles with some friends this weekend, but some stuff came up at work and I really didn't want to miss two days of work. So, a friend called me and asked if I would join him at the Deer Valley Music Festival. I was sold. But it gets better. Then he told me who was performing: Chris Botti. Holla! If you know me well, you'll know that I have more jazz music in my iTunes playlists than any other music. I. Love. Jazz. And Chris Botti happens to be one of my favorite trumpet players, after Louis Armstrong, naturally. We drove up there and as soon as we were out of the car, I melted. The scenery is breathtaking; everything is nestled in the mountains by Park City. We had incredible seats that demanded we walk by the stage...where Chris Botti was standing. I may or may not have an itty-bitty crush on Chris Botti. He kind of looks like Sting, if you need a comparison. (Oddly enough, Chris Botti was the opening band for Sting's tour a few years ago when Chris was trying to launch his career.) Anyway, let's just say that one minute all I wanted to do was get up and dance, and the next minute I was paralyzed with how gorgeous the music was. There's something about seeing/ hearing jazz performed live - it's unlike anything. Next stop, Blue Note Jazz Club in NYC.
Incredibly awesome.

Mouth watering olive oil...

I love olive oil. When I was in Italy, one of the few souvenirs I brought back from Tuscany was a bottle of truffles (a type of mushroom...de-licious) and a bottle of some of the best olive oil I've ever tasted. I think that's when my love affair started. The smell. The taste. The color. Mmmmm.

So, a couple of weeks ago, I went to the Farmers Market downtown and fell in love. There was an amazing booth called Mountain Town Olive Oil Co. They have a store at the Gateway mall as well, so on a girls night out with my sisters and mom, guess where we went? The olive oil store. (That's what I call it now.) We walked in and I felt like I walked through a secret portal to Tuscany. Ahhhh! It was heaven. One of the employees swept me off my feet by introducing me to all of their different flavors of olive oils and balsamic vinegars. She kept giving me little sample cups to try - can one get drunk off olive oil and balsamic vinegar?

Here are some of the samples she had me try:

1. Tuscan Herb Olive Oil + Sicilian Lemon Balsamic (great over grilled shrimp and pasta)

2. Chipotle Olive Oil + Black Cherry Balsamic (great for ribs or steak)

3. Blood Orange Olive Oil + Chocolate Balsamic (divine over salads or desserts... sounds weird but I triple dog dare you to try it. You'll love it.)

But the winner for me was:

Persian Lime Olive Oil + Pomegranate Balsamic (brings the taste of a salad to a whole new level.)

So, the next time you're in SLC and want something unique to do, go check out the Olive Oil store. You won't regret it.

Talk about hindsight

As a publicist for a publishing company, my job entails a bit of everything. One role I play is liason between an author and an entity requesting something from the author, whether it's an interview, an article or a book. One of the authors I work with is Kris Belcher. LDS Living Magazine asked if Kris would write an article for them on the topic of finding humor in life, despite hard times. Kris was the perfect one for the job. The first time I read her article I about wet my pants I was laughing so hard.

Read the first part: (Note: Kris Belcher is blind.)

After an hour, we finally arrived at our family reunion in a canyon near Salt Lake City, and I had one thing on my mind. I had to find the restroom.

Before we joined my husband’s family members around the campfire, we detoured into the cabin. I opened the bathroom door, then closed and locked it. I leaned my cane in the corner and got all ready to sit on the toilet. You know how you do. However, as I was sitting down, I reached out my hand to find the toilet and felt instead . . . a head of hair! Needless to say, I yanked up my pants extremely quickly.

Noting the altitude of the head, I deduced that it was a young head, which was probably a bit disturbed by what had flashed before its eyes. Talk about hindsight.

Trying to reassure my new friend, I inquired, “Was that scary?”

“Uh-huh.”

It spoke! The head could speak! Why it hadn’t found its voice earlier, I’m not sure, but I was glad to hear it nonetheless. After apologizing, I left my bathroom buddy and walked out to the group—shaking my head in disbelief. When they saw me approach, the family asked me what was wrong.

"I’ll pay for therapy,” I said. “Some little girl in the bathroom is going to need it.”

Since I lost my vision in 2003, there have been scores of situations that could have driven me underneath my bed in complete humiliation; however, I have chosen to remain upright and to simply laugh. Of course, not all my experiences have been funny. In fact, when I was diagnosed with cancer and was told that my only functioning eye would have to be removed, I never thought I would laugh again.

Read the rest here.

Don't hesitate...

Want to hear my current favorite quote?

"Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits onself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never have otherwise occurred. A whole stream of events issue from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way." -W.H. Murray, quoted by Elder Maxwell

I tested this quote. It really does work. The last few months of my life haven't been the prettiest or easiest. I'll spare the details - but just know, despite the regular and seemingly uplifting blog posts, life is hard here, too. (Isn't it nice to know we're not alone in this?) I was weaving back and forth with thoughts of a job change, moving to a new house, moving to a new state (or country), changing my name and dying my hair... you know, all of the above. And then I read this quote. It was kind of a swift kick to the bum. How much was I doing on my part to move things forward in my life? I was stuck; dwelling on certain things from my past that were hard for me to leave behind. And then some things started to change when I looked at a house in a darling, old area of Salt Lake City called Sugar House. It's a red-brick bungalow, and I'm moving in the first week of August. Change. Progression. Until this point, I was hesitant to do anything. I drew back from everything. But then, I committed myself to go and look at this house and that's when Providence moved, too.

A whole stream of events have issued from this decision, raising in my favor "all manner of unforeseen incidents and material assistance, which [I] couldn't have dream would have come [my] way." New house. Huge new opportunities and challenges at work. New friends. New outlook.

So, try it out. I bet you're curious to see what happens.

Worst thing to shop for...

Ladies, what is the one thing you least like shopping for?

A. Jeans
B. Swimsuits
C. Feminine products
D. Bras
E. Shoes

Women in Business

Thanks to Freckles in April for posting about this conference - I'm incredibly excited about it and definitely plan on attending. Kayla actually knows the woman who is the brains behind this conference, Kristy Williams. She sounds amazing. You can read her story here.

A little bit about Kristy entails taking "a sabbatical from Wall Street to pursue a different dream in order to help others live theirs. In the midst of this, [she] learned that women in the U.S. may be placated, even pampered, but because [they] aren't dreaming, [they] are also desperate and depressed. Drawing on a variety of sources, ranging from academic studies to pop culture, dare to dream encourages us to dream. And then to act on our dreams."

Camera Bag

I am LOVING these camera bags by Jo Totes! A new favorite blog, Sew.Craft.Create. is doing a giveaway for one of these camera bags. Slightly jealous of the lucky lady who wins this...if I don't. (Yes, I now follow them on Twitter...I tweeted about them...I'm blogging about them...I liked them on Facebook and posted on their Facebook wall...obsessed much, AE Jones?)

Food Girl

One day at work, I brought leftover curry (probably my favorite spice/ type of food to eat) for lunch. I was microwaving it and the smell started to circulate through the break room. Two guys were in the breakroom as well and they commented on my curry smelling pretty good. (Pretty good? No. Dang good is more like it.) We introduced ourselves because we'd never seen each other before...then I said goodbye.

The next day, I saw one of the guys in the elevator and he looked at me and was trying to remember my name and how he knew me. I promptly responded: "Curry girl." He laughed and said, "Yes! That's right." I'm now known, in that very small social circle, as Curry girl.

Last week I went to California Pizza Kitchen with some friends and brought leftovers back to the office. Our office supplies guy was standing in the lobby and I offered him a piece of my leftover pizza. He took it, then I said, "You want the whole box?! Here...take the whole box."

I'm now known, in that small social circle, as Pizza girl.

What's next?

Diner en Blanc

If I were to tell you there's a really cool story behind this picture, would you be intrigued?

Well... there's a fabulous story behind this scene. My darling and oh-so-classy friend has the explanation here.

Free because of the brave...

We're the land of the free, because of the brave. Happy 4th of July everyone! Hope you:

1. Eat lots of shishkabobs, watermelon and otterpops
2. Come away smelling a tinge of firework smoke in your hair
3. Have a kiss of sun on your nose and cheeks
4. Go the whole day without shoes
5. Think about the freedoms you enjoy
6. Smile a lot and tell your friends and family you love them

Source: marthastewart.com via Michelle on Pinterest

For my pregnant friends...

This is for all of my beautiful pregnant friends...and those who hope to be pregnant soon. The ultimate "before" and "after" picture.

Source: 1.bp.blogspot.com via Kristy on Pinterest