I'm Goin' to Boise, Idaho!!! Woo hoo!

You remember that movie...yeah...the one where the excited, young Elder finds out where he's going on his mission and to our shock, he's ecstatic to go to...yep, Boise, Idaho. Well, that's just where me and Heidi went a couple weeks ago to deliver a sparkling new car to the mission home and bring back their...well...here goes.

Such a scenic morning on the way up. Gotta love the countryside. No, really. I do like it. This was just the break I needed. A nice, peaceful drive.

This is the beautiful, new Subaru we brought up...well, except for the lack of carwashes up there. This car will probably be trashed in the next few months. Sniffle sniffle. Really, most missionaries are decent drivers.

Proof we were actually there. A nice Elder shared one of the homemade cookies sent up from home in AZ. 

Then we hit the mall. The mall. Yes, the only legit mall in Boise, even though they claim to have more than one, This chair was inside Macy's and I think it's about the coolest one ever made.

Amazing.

Even though we now have a Sephora in Utah, Heidi had to stop by her first love in Boise. I'd never been there, and I think it should have stayed that way. That store is incredible. I have trouble when I have too many choices though. Overload. Speaking over overload...

...we had lunch at the Great and Spacious Restaurant (a.k.a. The Cheesecake Factory). We had a sandwich... 

...and this AMAZING piece of cheesecake. Pardon the crappy camera...

I have NEVER seen so much BLUE and ORANGE in my entire life. That place is Boise State Country. EVERYONE there wears it. Heidi and I were true to our roots. I thought it would be entertaining to try owling in their designated BLUE and ORANGE store. That's the name of the store...do you think they're inferring that country folk know colors but don't know how to read?? Anyway, the store was jam packed and this is the closest I got.

This is the over the back shot as I was leaving. We survived drowning in the sea of shouldn't-be complimentary colors. Seriously. What about blue and orange is complimentary. Gross.

I. Love. Their. Stuff. We don't have a Life is Good store in Utah and this one is the first I'd seen. Their stuff is outrageously unaffordable but it doesn't hurt to look, right?

Peace.

Again, my apologies for the relatively crappy camera. And the relatively crappy cutout that Heidi pays tribute to so well. While taking the pic, we tried to avoid some 12 year old fans of his...

This gas station is called the Garden of Eden. It's in the middle of NOWHERE. It comes complete with a garden in the middle and a snake in the tree. It has red eyes. You really must stop there.

This was my favorite part of the trip. There was 13 MILES of road construction. Together. Consecutive 55 mph with a semi climbing up my tailpipe.  

And we survived! We had a check engine light, a near death experience when some bonehead stopped in the middle of traffic to gawk at an accident along the side, but it was good times with a good friend.

One more thing. Our soundtrack included:

John Michael Montgomery

Boyz 2 Men

The Little Mermaid Soundtrack

U2

Brian Regan

Evan & Jaron

with special guest Paula Abdul

:)

A Commentary on GQ's Worst Dressed and Provo

Oh you must have seen the Musical. Good for you! I'm glad you received the first discussions in acts 1, 2 and so on. I must admit that your ranking Provo as #15 as one of the Worst Dressed in America was interesting. I'm not necessarily disputing it, just evaluating. Let's recap:

Faraway in the foothills of Mormonia, there lives a band of eager young men of even-temper, impossibly smiley countenances, and just about the worst gosh-darn uniforms on the planet. We are gonna give them a break for the obvious—the undies are divinely ordained—and skip ahead to the big picture. When you are selling one hell of a far fetched story, billowing short-sleeved shirts, monster-width ties, and painfully-visible undershirts don't make things easier to swallow.—Andrew Richdale

Source: http://www.gq.com/style/fashion/201107/worst-dressed-cities-america#ixzz1SHWuJlPy

We might as well recap Salt Lake at #8 as well:
Deep in the heart of socks-with-sandals country, Salt Lakers still look psyched to serve as "ambassadors" for the 2002 Winter Games. It's an understated look: promotional fleece vest, active-wear turtleneck, ill-fitting generic jeans, plaster-of-Paris-grin concealing a lifetime of repression. You know how there was something creepy about that outdoorsy deacon with the soul patch next door? Yeah, that's the look.—Robert Fischer

Read More http://www.gq.com/style/fashion/201107/worst-dressed-cities-america#ixzz1SHXIKxls

Ok...THANK YOU for finally taking care of the socks and sandals. Let's go back to Provo. It's nice to see you've seen the MTC and all the missionaries there, which makes up a percentage of the population of Provo. Thanks for passing on delivering a full backlash on the undies, allthough the jab was noted. As for the "painfully noticable undershirts," I think I need to address this and the suble G-jab. The thing is, most Mormons don't give a crap about GQ (whose slogan at the top of their site is "Look Sharp, Live Smart." Ironic, huh? Our lighthearted little group of perma-smile people have better things to do than check your website to make sure our collar is popped, unpopped, popped, unpopped...you get the picture. Being dressed neatly is something we should all value though.

Here's an interesting point. Next time you're in Rome for a fashion show, I doubt you'll be ripping on the Pope for his uniform, the Pope is someone I'd respect. Next time you're in New York and spot an Orthodox Jew with the side curls, I doubt that will end up in print. I don't think you'd even touch on your buddy's yamaka at the next holiday party. I wouldn't touch on those either. It's none of my business and I respect it. Religious clothing should be left alone, and that's it. If you're looking to "Live Smart", respect should probably be one of those aspects you should pay attention to.

The point is if you think (and I don't know, I'm just guessing) that ripping on those things would be inappropriate, then why the Mormons' religious attire?

To lighten things up, let's discuss a couple of the notable benefits of these undies for everyone in plain sight:

*The grizzly bear in your office. Yes. You know. The one who wears a sheer dress shirt and really should have worn an undershirt to keep you from puking in your latte? You're liking us better already, arent you (although we really don't care if you like us).

*I remember seeing several times at certain stores and other places, women with their cheeks hanging out and all sorts of cellulite, which all women have to some degree...Our undies: Problem solved. I am guessing you can swallow looking at our knee shorts much easier than the prior description.

To summarize, thanks for pointing things out that broadway may have beat you to (shouldn't the Musical get some revenue from your website traffic). Did you know that the mission office in Manhattan has been flooded with requests for the REAL Book of Mormon? Despite your jab at religious attire, we, with the "Plaster of Paris Grin" (stated above) will move along and simply grin at your amusingly ignorant comments.

Moab 2011

What a fun trip! It's interesting going in May when all the weather is crazy. This is what met us while we were in the canyon on our way down. Not a good sign!!


This is a fun pic of what we met on the road. Yes, it's a brand spanking new mechanical bull, wrapped in plastic in the back of a pickup truck. It was amazing.

And it rained...and rained...day one was so freezing cold and rainy that we couldn't do any of the long hikes we planned. It was an adventure though!

This is the Window Arch which was a nice, short hike we did because if we got dumped on, we could get back pretty easily. Pretty, huh?!

Love Arches!

I have no clue what blogger is doing with my pictures. It's been really annoying lately. Oh well. Here are a couple of magoos.

This is just before sunrise and with a point and shoot. Not the best picture when there isn't any light. Next time I'm bringing another camera.

Matching back packs! Oh my gosh! No way...

A nice thing about going in the Spring was seeing the flowers. They were so pretty!

Even the dead stuff is pretty in Moab.

Follow the rock towers, follow the rock towers. Follow the rock towers, don't go astray-ay...

We FINALLY got to eat our tinfoil dinners. Next time, it's a campground with fire pits. Hands down. It was quite entertaining. This was up at Slick Rock and it overlooked a nice, green area. There was a little tiny flickering fire light a ways off in some bushes. It lit up about once every 15 seconds. I'm kinda weirded out that I'm the only one who figured out what it was...

More pretty, dead stuff...

All in all a great time at Moab!

Out of the Loop

So...I got a little sensitive about a certain issue today.

Preface: The Student wards got split up and now...well...I'm "old."

Because of this, now it might just be me thinking up junk, but I don't get invited to a whole lot of stuff anymore. That's not a fun place to be. Then you get thinking about things and it brings you down, so I have two options:

a- sulk and let it get me down.

b- Throw a party or a sushi night and get over it like a big girl

I love how blogger helps me with decision making. Maybe it will help a reader or two too. Sushi night it is. :)

My Photography Blog!

I know it's been a while since I posted this on here, so here it is:

redbloomphotography.blogspot.com

I just added a bunch of pictures and hopefully will be adding more by the end of the week! So exciting getting my portfolio built up...now if I could just make some real money so I can pay down my equipment...that's the ultimate goal right now among learning new things to make my pics better.

Moab...I'm so ashamed I haven't had time to edit my own pictures, especially the Moab pics. Gotta get on that!

Other than that, work is work and Mtn Dew Voltage and Code Red are saving my life. One of these days I will try to find out why I'm so tired and quit my caffeine habit.

Busy!!!

Being busy is good, right? So this is getting crazy...I know I mentioned I started up a photography business...let me share my workload for May-July:

2 bridal sessions
2 weddings
3 senior pic sessions
5 newborn sessions
3 family picture sessions
1 corporate job
=16 jobs

I'm not bragging...just taking into account that for every hour 1 spend shooting, I spend about 1.5 that much time editing. I have got to become more efficient.

But I love it...and I never thought I would get the chance to do this...ever. I still can't believe it. Pinch me!

Life is good. :)

AWOL

I promise I haven't...life is pretty busy right now. I had three shoots in the past month and I'm shooting a wedding this week...not to mention planning a much needed vacation. :) The thing is I'm planning the vacation for 7 other people too, so is it really a vacation or more like a youth camp(we're all the same age but it feels like it)? I don't know...I say vacation for my own sake. ;)

A few things I've learned in the past little bit:

1-You have to learn to have fun in life or you won't get through it feeling alive.

Yes I made that up. And if you're saying, "Yeah well we won't get through it alive anyway." Well, the thing is in The Princess Bride, the Dread Pirate Roberts was only mostly dead, so clearly there is some inbetween. Point being, a lot of us go through life so seriously that we feel pretty much dead all the time. The times I really felt alive is when I was laughing and having a good time. I think we all need a little more of that to live life to the fullest. So we FEEL alive. :)

2- Almost empty gym at 6:30 am is great. Sometimes not so great. When you're the only female in there and there are about 5 creepy guys, I'd prefer a crowded gym.

3- Life sucks and is confusing sometimes. No likey.

4- Being young enough to get away with crap still is AWESOME. No specific occasion, just in general.

That is all for now.

The Gym

Things I am trying to understand: Why do you cruise around the parking lot to find the closest spot in the parking lot, only to come inside and walk a few miles? If you plan on disrobing completely, is it wise to anyone involved to pick the locker closest to the locker room entrance? It's a gym. Someone more impressive than you left just about 10 minutes ago. And it will always be that way. Keep your flexing to the mirror. Five people with some sort of artificial red tint came out of the group class area. It was worse than Jr. High when you copied everyone's social and physical traits just to be cool. We're beyond that. Although it was cute that you were all matching. :) If you are working on your upper body, wouldn't you want to work on your legs too to avoid the whole chicken leg thing? Hmmm...

Ole, Ole Ole Ole! Real Salt Lake!

I got lucky...seriously. So I bought the Salt Lake County "Pass of All Passes" a couple months ago. $40 bought you tickets to quite a few events (Blaze, Real, Grizzlies). The only trick is that you have to get the tickets the day of the event. The Rio Tinto Box Office opens at 10 and I thought maybe, 20 minutes early, no problem I'll just get in line. I got there to see about 300 people in line. Man, I hope there's enough tickets. So I'm talking to a girl there my age, right in front of me. She seems nice, and we had an interesting conversation. So she said she hopes people don't get frustrated about the lines. I asked her what she meant, I mean, of course it's a line, but they probably didn't expect this turnout. She then said she hoped people wouldn't get all angry if people jump line. I told her as long as nobody jumps, there isn't anything to worry about. So we're in line and she's calling her friend saying things like, "Oh I'm on the south end of the line. Yeah right here." This chick with a stroller butts in front of me to be with her friend. Um...hypocrite? The visitor pulls out ALL FOUR OF HER PASSES she needs to get tickets with. I looked down at her passes and looked up at the girl who was in line first with kind of a "huh?" Look. Alright it may have been a WTF look...but not too mean. I tried to be nice. SOOOO (this all ties in...even with a moral to the story) I get up to the window and the cashier tells me he thinks I just got the last two seats together in the stadium, which I was grateful for and I thanked him. On the way out I passed the girls and I wasn't snotty at all, more a voice of relief, but said, "Today's my lucky day! He says I got the last two seats together in the stadium! Sweet, huh! Nice to meet you!" I promise I tried not to be snotty and the first girl just said, "Oh...wow." With a look like 'I just about messed over this girl's chance at getting tickets.' That's really all I was looking for. I'm kinda mean, huh...but she's the one who said stuff about line jumpers...nice girl, probably got forced into it. Anyway... I didn't make a huge deal about it. And I think I was really, really, REALLY blessed for it. Check this out: We found the perfect parking spot next to all the tailgaters (a bunch of hispanics who play drums during the WHOLE GAME). How can they do that? Well...most of them were drunk...highly entertaining though... When I got home I checked out our tickets and saw "ADA1." I thought that was interesting...so I looked it up online. From what I could see, it looked like they were in front. I was right.

That's the concrete barrier between us and the field. Um...how the? What the? Couldn't believe it. I was madly posting to fb and taking pictures and then it just got better.

Two words: DAVID BECKHAM

He and his team were warming up right in front of us. There is no zoom in the next couple pictures. They really were that close. I had texts coming in to tell David Beckham that they love him. Oh, trust me, my camera did quite enough lovin' for all of them.

And there he is again. The best soccer player in history. WOW.

And again. I have to apologize to and thank the guy in front at the same time. I totally was focusing on Beckham. Oops.

Then I got Jimmered. I didn't catch it the first time, but that is Jimmer Fredette.

David Beckham. Again.

This time I was ready. I actually got to shout out a "thank you" to Jimmer.

The other David of the night. Eat your heart out, Beckham. :)

I'm just happy to be there. Sappy grin and all. Just pleased as punch...happy as a clam...tickled pink. You get the picture. Notice the matching hats?

Goooooooaaaaaaaaaalllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Corner kick! It's a little blurry...sorry.

There are the crazy, drunk and sometimes shirtless people who played the WHOLE GAME. It added to the ambiance, so I can't complain. :)

And yet another GOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!

Nothing makes me happer than furry biceps. Nice.

Another corner kick, this time by...you guessed it.

My dream job. Minus the rain.

Seriously, I can't even think of a game more jam packed than this one. I haven't been that excited about something for a while. Seriously amazing. Lucky us. :)

Red Bloom Website!!

I finally got a more user-friendly web designer. It's www.weebly.com. It's all about the drag and drop, which I love. Anyway, the website is simple, but it is up:

www.redbloomphotography.net

YYYYYAAAAAAAAYYYYY!!!!

Now I just need to add more pics... :)

Roller Coaster Life

These last couple weeks have been quite the fun Rollercoaster.

I've been THRILLED about starting up my business.

Busy as busy gets with pretty much everything going on at once.

Working at the SL Temple from 5-9am (yes AM) last Saturday.

Stress over relatives.

Boredom at work, as in "I'm super busy at work but I'm bored of it all."

What I've learned: no matter where you are, there you are.

Life is never going to be perfect.

Rest is relative.

Fun is usually work.

The greatest sacrifices bring the greatest blessings.

And the week goes on...

Why am I up right now?

It's 1:00. Why am I not in bed? So I am trudging through the details of putting together a website. It's through www.justhost.com and it seems to be alright, except for the fact that I am website publishing stupid. I am learning so many new things right now that it feels like I'm back in school and I think my brain is about to explode! I love this work and its great to have success, but can't it come sooner, please? Things I am doing:

Building my logo (done but not postable because it won't size properly)

Putting together my website (challenging)

Taking more classes (ok this I LOVE)

Getting used to new toys (absolutely love)

OK so I love most of it...just the business/advertizing side that is stumping me...

I really shouldn't blog this late because my brain cells are FRIED...so...peace out and onward tomorrow. :) With more brain cells, I hope.

And the Picture Blog is up!

My photography blog is started and a few pics are up so I thought I would post it if you'd like to see what I've been up to. I hope to post more in the next few weeks!

http://redbloomphotography.blogspot.com

Right Brain, Left Brain

You know. The test where it asks you to clasp your fingers and see which thumb is on top?

Left: You are logical and relate more to math and science.

Right: You are emotional and are more artsy.

My thumb is on top.

So in my lame brain, not that you care but when I was younger I was really into Art, thought about being an art major but when there isnt a whole lot of money in it...I passed.

So here I am doing left brain things. For 10 years.

And now I might have to switch...the photography thing will need me to be creative and I need to remember how to do all that! Its gonna be rough...I dont really like the artsy-fartsy crowd. Hmmmm....

Right Brain, Left Brain

You know. The test where it asks you to clasp your fingers and see which thumb is on top?

Left: You are logical and relate more to math and science.

Right: You are emotional and are more artsy.

My thumb is on top.

So in my lame brain, not that you care but when I was younger I was really into Art, thought about being an art major but when there isnt a whole lot of money in it...I passed.

So here I am doing left brain things. For 10 years.

And now I might have to switch...the photography thing will need me to be creative and I need to remember how to do all that! Its gonna be rough...I dont really like the artsy-fartsy crowd. Hmmmm....

And It's Official!

I am now the owner of Red Bloom Photography. I just received confirmation from the State and after a few more steps (business license etc) I will be ready to go. The plan isn't to do this full time, just on the side. It really is an excuse to do my hobby and maybe make a little money. That's it. Wouldn't it be great to earn a little extra doing something I like?!

So there's the good news. I am putting together a logo for my business cards and a blog with some of the things I've done lately.

I'm pretty excited for the photography part and the business part of things. It's something new and I've always wanted to own a side business...ever since I was little. Things I have done:

Age 6: "Kids Cooking Restaurant" (I named it...at 5 yrs) I had the plastic food, prices, a register, the whole deal.

Age 8: Friendship bracelets for sale, 50 cents

...and that's about where it ended, but I was quite the young entrepreneuer. Good thing I didn't know about taxes back then.

Well, here goes nothing! If anyone has some good tips for just starting out, that would be super.

I will post my business (whoa...business) blog address in the next couple weeks. Still under construction!

Oh Baby

I am just finding out how time consuming photography is...and also how rewarding. My editing skills need a lot of sharpening and there's always room to improve my shooting.

I had the chance to do a little photo shoot for my co-worker who just became a proud first-time daddy. He and his wife wanted me to take a few pics so I gathered up my portable studio, lots of headbands and flowers and a couple homemade tutus and went over to their place for some fun.

After lots of crying (baby, of course) and waiting and then, finally a little calm, we took about 150 shots.

Lesson #1: You probably shouldn't shoot until your heart is content, because...

Lesson #2: You have to edit what you shoot.

Lesson #3: Editing takes far longer than I anticipated...especially for a perfectionist. Time to get this thing down to a workflow.

Lesson #4: Happy parents make it all worth it.

Seriously, I had so much fun and I think this sweet little newborn's parents had a good time to. I couldn't have done this for nicer people and even though I have lessons to learn, I enjoyed every minute.

Let the fun begin.

I also submitted my business name to the State. They are making sure there isn't another _________ __________ Photography out there somewhere. I'm not giving it away until it's for sure! Then it's time to work on a logo...another BLOG (yes, another one with pics) and much, much more work and studying before I shoot bridals and a wedding in April/May.

Oh and sorry...can't post the baby pics yet. The parents need to see all of them before I post. :)

Here Comes The Sun

I opened my sunroof today...and I really liked it.

The End.

Snowshoeing by Snow Basin

Last Saturday Alan, Amber, Dave and I went snowshoeing up in the fresh, clean air. The sky is blue, I found. Oh how I've missed it! These are my amazing snowshoes I bought last year.

Alan and Amber found us some fresh snow to tromp around in.

One of the best purchases ever: A JetBoil. It's a small canister cooker that boils water within about 3 minutes and it's relatively small. Perfect for hot chocolate. Dave and I are enjoying our chocolate.

Really?

Maybe this "Smart Car" is smarter than I give it credit for. I was at the Auto Expo and it almost seems rediculous for a Smart Car to even need a stall to park in. You could park two in one stall.

What I'm guessing is that the car received a couple dings when unknowing drivers tried to pull into the stall occupied with this enclosed lawnmower motor, so the driver decided to make it know that the stall was indeed occupied.

Smart...stupid looking, but smart.