The Dog Days of Summer

After such a cold and dismal start to summer, the hot weather is finally here.  There are so many things I love about summer - hiking, BBQing, going to the Farmers Market...

Here's an update of how my summer is going.

A few weeks ago I went down to Arizona to visit my cousin Kenna and her husband Ken.  It just so happens I went down during the hottest week of the year.  Can you say 119 degrees?  I love to visit my family down in Arizona, I always have such a good time!  My Uncle Kenny took me out for my favorite Mexican food at Jordans.  I also went to In-N-Out Burger with Ken and Kenna.  I wish we had one here!

OK, you are just going to have to tip your head, or your computer, sideways because I can't figure how to rotate!

Anyway,  it was Haley's 12th birthday while I was there.  Happy Birthday Haley!  She is such a cutie!  We went to the spa and she got a cute new haircut and a pedicure and I got a manicure.  Thanks Kenna!

Saturday morning Ken and I went to a spin class and then he made his Saturday morning breakfast burritos.  Yum!

Here are 2 of my new favorite movies:

My newest summer obsession is So You Think You Can Dance.  

Chelsie (who happens to be from Utah) and Mark are my favorite couple.  My other two favorites are Katie and Joshua, and Carrington and Twitch.    These dancers are amazing!  Watching them makes me wish I knew how to dance.

My other summer obsession will be starting this Saturday.

Stop by my house on any night during the month of July and you will likely find me sitting on my couch, sweating, and watching the Tour.  I'm not really sure who I'll be rooting for this year.  There have been so many shake ups since last summer I don't really know who's riding.  I know the Tour directors didn't invite Team Astana this year so I'll miss seeing Levi Leipheimer and Contador.  :(

Have a happy 4th of July!

What Did You Do Last Weekend?

I know that is the question everyone is dying to ask me.  It was actually a pretty good weekend, and it was nice that we finally had some beautiful weather to match it!

Friday afternoon Meridith, Mom and I went shopping for wedding dresses.  Meridith finally found the perfect one and it is REALLY going to knock Cody's socks off. 

Friday night was my first ever dinner club with the girls.  Me, Jen, Debbie, Treena, Tiffany and Amy decided to start a dinner club where we meet once a month and try a new and interesting restaurant.  This month it was Debbie's turn to pick and she chose Bistro 258 on 25th Street in Ogden.  It was a great girls night out with some pretty awesome food.  

Saturday morning, my Mom and I went to the first Farmers Market of the year at Pioneer Park.  Going to the Farmers Market is probably my favorite part about summer.  Great produce, great food, and great art.  I love to find that special deal.  Crumb Brothers is my favorite bakery, Dolcetti Gelato is always there, and Junior's Tacos are the best.  My mom and I bought the cutest resusable grocery bags from Ruthie Pearl.  We walked over to what I call the Anti-Farmers Market side of the park and found an awesome artist.  (For those of you who are unfamiliar, these are the vendors that set up on the edge of the park and aren't allowed to participate in the Market.)  My mom and I bought these really quirky, cool large ceramic buttons from Benjamin Gawle.  It's art and it is so cool.

Saturday afternoon Cinco and I went for a hike up Farmington Canyon.

Here's Cinco after our hike:

I also worked in the yard on Saturday and said goodbye to the peonies:

and...hello to the roses:

Sunday was, of course, Father's Day.  Me, my Dad, Cody and Meridith, and Jared and Miriam met up Provo Canyon and had a hot dog extravaganza.  

Oh...and just an FYI, Miriam is WAY more funny than Jared (that one's for you Miriam!)

Band of Brothers Review

Several years ago HBO ran a miniseries based on the book, Band of Brothers.  This is an incredible series and if you have the opportunity you should watch it.  Band of Brothers details the actions of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne during WWII from the landings at Normandy through the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest.  This book was AMAZING!  I know, I'm a history buff and WWII buff, but I was completely fascinated reading this book.  The men in Easy Company were ordinary men with ordinary lives who were placed in extraordinary situations and rose to the challenge and are truly heroes.  I appreciated the fact that the author wrote a well-balanced history, war is never pretty.  Band of Brothers provides a unique perspective on a group of men during the War, and follows them through many of the major conflicts.  If you want to study a personalized account of how the War affected soldiers, this book would be perfect for you.

We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Let me just say...the idea of eating ice cream straight out of the carton, and a Haagen Dazs or Ben and Jerry's carton at that, can be totally guilt inducing.  It just sounds way too indulgent buying a carton of Haagen Dazs.  That said, I saw an advertisement for Haagen Dazs Reserve Fleur de Sel Caramel and I couldn't resist, and neither should you!  Listen to this description:  Fleur de Sel caramels covered in a chocolately coating blended into caramel ice cream with caramel ribbons and French sea salt accents.  This ice cream is rich and heavenly and you have got to try it!  Other Reserve flavors look equally amazing:  Pomegranate Chip, Amazon Valley Chocolate, Hawaiian Lehua Honey and Sweet Cream,  Brazilian Acai Berry Sorbet, Toasted Coconut Sesame Brittle, and Pomegranate & Dark Chocolate Bar.  So, make the world a happier place and buy a pint of ice cream!

Oh Stephenie Meyer...

Stephenie, I really wanted to love your book, but frankly I thought it was just OK.  For those of you who haven't read or heard about the Twilight series (maybe you're the last person on earth, ha ha) The Host is Stephenie Meyer's first foray into adult fiction (but I still might argue that it's young adult fiction).  As an aside, I'm horrible at summarizing books so if you want an idea about the book check out The Host on Amazon.  I adore the Twilight series and so I anxiously awaited The Host to come out.  In no way am I trying to compare The Host with Twilight but the comparisons can be inevitable.  For example, does a self-sacrificing young woman who falls in love with an older male with a penchant for carrying her while running ring a bell? Many times throughout the book Wanderer really brought to mind Bella in Twilight. Another quibble I had with The Host was the length.  There was so much that could have easily been edited, it made me think that the editor gave Stephenie too much free rein.  

Now, I don't want you to think that I detested the book, it was a fun read.  Stephenie Meyer can be so creative and inventive with her story ideas.  The premise of the story was interesting and it was fun to read about how the humans survived and lived in the caves hiding from the aliens/parasites.  The internal dialogue that Wanda had with Melanie could be entertaining, as well, it was exciting to read about the raids that Wanda went on and how she was able to get the medicine from the Healer.    Overall, it was a good read.  I think from reading the Twilight Series I expected so much more from Stephenie Meyer, hopefully her next book will have tighter editing and better writing. 

Congratulations Meridith and Cody!

Last night Cody proposed to Meridith, we are so excited!  If you want to read how he proposed check out her blog.  Meridith has been through so much this past year and I am so happy that she has found such an amazing guy.  I haven't seen Meridith truly happy like this in a long, long time. Cody fits right in with our family.  Congratulations and I love ya!

I've Been Tagged!

Thanks to my awesome friend Jen W, I have been tagged.  How cool is that?  I think everyone knows the rules:  share three joys, three fears, three goals, three obsessions/collections and three random surprising facts.

Joys

1.  I know this is pretty obvious but I love to cook.  I love trying new recipes and spending all afternoon in the kitchen creating new dishes.  I have way too many cookbooks, cooking magazines, and internet recipes.  The best part about cooking is sharing with all my family and friends.  

2.  I love my car!  I've driven ratty old cars all my life and last summer I bought a 2005 Lexus ES330.  It is so comfortable and quiet and drives so smoothly.  Every day I get in my car and I just love it.

3.  I really love Paris, it is seriously my favorite place to be on earth.  I love walking the streets and following the Seine, discovering Medieval churches around the corner,  sitting at a cafe drinking hot chocolate and people watching, traveling the metro, wandering through my favorites museums.  I connect with that place on such a deep level.  Starting in a few weeks, Delta will be offering nonstop flights to Paris.  Something tells me I won't be able to resist that for long!

Fears

1.  Deep water freaks me out.  I get so uncomfortable in oceans and lakes.  It's not that I won't go, but the whole time my anxiety level is pretty heightened.

2.  I am afraid of running into snakes while hiking.  I'm constantly scanning the trail ahead to make sure I don't get a surprise ( like last summer, not so good!).

3.  I generally sleep with my back to the wall, that way I'll see the boogy man if he comes after me.  If my lights are turned off I have to jump into bed.

Goals

1.  Read the biographies of all of our U.S. presidents and founding fathers.  So far I've read Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Truman, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR and JFK.  I have a lot more to go, I'm sure I can learn something about Millard Fillmore!

2.  To truly call myself a photographer.  I have taken a photography class but I still have a lot to learn about F stops and aperture.  

3.  Whether its running or walking I want to finish a marathon.

Obsessions/Collections

1.  Big surprise, I am totally obsessed with traveling.  I think about it more often than I care to admit and there are just way too many places to explore.  If I won a million dollars I would first, of course, spread the love a little and then I would head out for a yearlong walkabout, I would go everywhere! (ok, maybe two years would be better).

2.  I am obsessed with lotion, I hate dry skin.  When I see scaly elbows, hands, knees or heels on people it totally grosses me out.  I'm pretty much ocd about making sure my skin is all lotioned up and soft.

3.  I have a huge pottery collection.  Everywhere I go, I love to buy the local pottery, my family still makes fun of me for buying a $300 bowl in Florence when I was 19.

Random Surprising Facts

1.  I love the rain, in fact, I could totally be comfortable with living in the Northwest.  When I'm talking with someone who is complaining about the weather, I'm like "yeah, this totally sucks", but inside I love it!  This is also not good for me to admit considering my profession,  rain is not appreciated in the construction industry.

2.  I am totally OCD about my grocery cart.  I arrange my groceries so that everything is separated by produce, canned goods, dairy, meats, frozen items, etc.  Then when I'm checking out I have to keep it all together.  It drives my mom crazy.

3.  I like to read the obituaries.  It's interesting to me to see how old people are, what they died of, what their life was like.  

4.  I'm a list maker.  Whenever I get stressed out, I make a list of everything that is on my mind, any task I have to do, things I want to accomplish.  

So that's it, I tag Moo and Jen Spencer!