Moab!

Oh how I love this place. Moab. So amazing. I loved this trip because it's the first one I didn't have to plan. I got invited, brought a few things and showed up. It was so WEIRD! I felt a little lost for a but but that quickly turned to "wow, this is awesome!" 

We got there a little late on Wednesday night and spent some time scanning the BLMs for an empty camping spot. No such luck, but we did find a spot at Slickrock for the night.

So...there was this cat hanging around our camp. My little joke is that my late kitty Sneakers wanted to make sure I was watched over so she had a friend take over guard duty. If you don't understand this or if you think I'm a moron, you may not be a cat person. 

We went hiking in Devil's Garden and caught a few cool shots. The flowers were out and they were so pretty!

 

This is usually the view I see when I'm hiking. Not because I'm lazy but because I'm the one always stopping to take pictures. I'm so annoying like that. Then I run and catch up. :)

Working on my Chacos tan.

Goober shot.  

MORE Goober.

Ugh. Pay no attention to the girl, just the reflection in the glasses. It's amazing! 

Squirrel!

High aperture is my friend!

Storytime. This is us at Pasta Jay's, a very lovely pasta/pizza place. I had a migraine most of dinner so that's my empty Mtn Dew cup. I had about 3 and it didn't go away until I had a nap.

Is he showing off his farmers tan or his biceps?

Ok. Sooo the guys are looking at the menu and there's a pizza called "Jay's Roman Orgy." I kid you not. So of course, being guys, that's the pizza for them. I hope it was good for them. SO many jokes ensued. I will spare you. 

My dinner. Chicken, artichokes, basil, tomato cream sauce, fettucini...amazing.

Fire! That's the beauty of the BLM site we scooped up the next morning.

Yes, pink. I am a Prissy Granola. :)

This is the guys tent. The Great and Spacious Tent.

Ah, home. :)

Story time. These pictures don't tell any part of the story because I wanted to save my camera from any undue abuse. We went rafting. Oh yes. Red River Adventures does an amazing job. Their rafting guide...well...let me set the scene. They towed the raft down on a trailer to the river bank and we were waiting for a youth group to get into the river. While we waited in our sexy, chestesses squishing  life jackets (it was NOT pleasant) there was one of the kids that jogged past and looked at us. My thought is that since he was quite ripped he wanted to see which one of us was checking him out. I try as often as I can to look the other way and deny them the satisfaction. I was relaying my philosophy quietly to one of my friends when  our guide stands on top of the raft and conspicuously strips off his shirt. Ok he was hot but my brief glance was directed more toward the placement of two lightning bolt tattoos peaking out above his shorts. I mean, you could barely see the tops of the lightning bolts. Are you serious? Another curious tat was a chemical formula on his arm. He said it was his metachlorian count from Star Wars, but I like to think it was the formula for THC, the addictive chemical in weed.

Anyway...as we "made rafting" we found that our Johnny Depp look alike river guide had a fetish with Star Wars and Pirates. His name is Morgan...that would be Captain Morgan? Bahahahahaha! Anyway he was quite hilarious, and has a girlfriend in Costa Rica that doesn't speak English. Shocker. He was good at his job though.

We stopped at Lunch Beach and he pulls out a table and proceeds to chop avocado and onions and tomatoes and pulls out everything but the kitchen sink (hand sanitizer was present) to make amazing wraps. Ok that was kinda hot. It was really good! I actually bought the stuff to make the wraps at home. I am NOT putting the recipe on here because I know some nice person will pin it, along with the rest of my post. :)

Anyway, good ride, funny guide. End of story.

Negro Bill. That's an interesting name for a hike, but here it is. Absolutely beautiful.

Morning Glory Bridge 

And the traditional shot at Delicate Arch.

Other fun tidbits include the fact that we watched movies both ways, the Maverick in Moab is the hottest place in town and my favorite quote from Captain Morgan after he took off his shirt:

"Sun's out, guns out."

Awesome trip. My hair smelled like campfire for a week. :)

Minuet No 2 Can Eat It!

So I've been playing the violin for 6 months now. I love playing but about a month ago things were really frustrating. It all started with Minuet No 2 by Bach. I couldn't get past it. So...we did a rewind. I guess I got so excited about moving on that I missed some skills I should have had. Well...today we finally turned the page to the next song. Its not perfect, but it passes. YAY! Take that! I'm almost done with Suzuki Book One.

Also I have found that I improve faster if I play the soprano line in the Hymn book. I started this because I have a little 93 year old grandma who has dementia and doesn't have a whole lot to say...except for reciting poetry and singing along with hymns. Yep. I start playing the song and she sings one or two verses. Incredible. This little relationship with my grandma is awesome. :) 

I'm really liking this. It was frustrating for quite a while but its getting better and a lot more fun. 

Aebleskivers!

A-blah-ski-wahs. I've been butchering it and then I find the pronunciation. :)

So I've known I was part Danish for a while but never made it a point to figure out just how much. Apparently I'm 1/16th Danish. Is that enough to start a new Christmas tradition? I say YES! Besides, it has to do with FOOD so that is always a push to the affirmative.

I bought my aebleskiver pan at Bed Bath and Beyond, Nordic Ware (surprise there) and read up on how to make these little guys.

Basically, they're a round Danish pancake with a little surprise in it like an apple or fruit. You make the buttermilk batter and drop dollops into the pan with your filling and then you turn them in their own little cup when the sides bubble. It's an art I am learning. Then, voila! Yummy little biscuit like pancakes.

Sauteing the apples. This smells amazing! Notice the awesome turner.

Here they are all nestled in their cute little cup in the pan. So delicious. I highly recommend it!

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!