Blast from the Past ... book style

The other day I was working an event at a local university.... and I SWEAR I saw Viola Swamp.  Seriously.  In the flesh.  She even gave me a smirk.  All these years, a character from one of my favorite books has been living in Utah.   I almost asked this Viola-look-a-like for a photo.  I am not kidding.

For those of you that have NO IDEA what I am talking about, let's take a trip down a little road called "Meg's Memory Lane" ... We'll start with what brought about this whole post...

Miss Nelson Is Missing! was a staple in my childhood reading list.  I loved this book with all my little heart!  Including eerie old Viola Swamp...

 The 5 year old Meg shudders at the sight .... 

So this whole encounter got me thinking... what other books had such a big impact on me?  Beyond the traditional Bernstein Bears, Where's Waldo, Dr. Seuss and Disney extravaganza, I loved those little books about silly Amelia Bedelia.   I swear if they made a version for adults, I would laugh my butt off.  A few of the others that I adored were:

• If you give a Mouse a Cookie
• Polar Express
• The King, The Mice and the Cheese
• Where the Sidewalk End and Falling Up
• The Little Prince

Anyways, the next book that I remember being completely captivated by was ...

Animalia... I loved this book!  It was rare that I was able to have it considering it wasn't a hard read but I loved it all the same.  There was something whimsical about the book and I would spend hours trying to find all the hidden things in each illustration.  

A Dog Called Kitty is a heartfelt book that made me cry my eyes out!  This was a book on a whole new level for me.  The story is set in Oklahoma which is why I think I was originally drawn to it.  This book was the first book that made me realize the power of a story.  It struck me in a way that I can't explain.  But I loved it all the same.  :)

Next is when I guess I could say my dark side set in?  I absolutely adored RL Stine's Fear Street Saga Trilogy: The Betrayal, The Secret, and the Burning.   They start in the 1600's and focus on a girl who falls in love with the son of their family's rival.  I think this might be where I developed my love for historical fiction ;)  maybe...  

Next I read a controversial book that was recommended to me by a friend: Go Ask Alice.  This book was a lot for me to read at 13 but I loved it.  It is a supposed diary by a 15 year old girl addicted to drugs and describes the terrible consequences of her decisions.  It is very dark but honest.  And I think I admired the honesty of the writing.  

After such dark reads for a little Meg, I chose something a little different... AKA The Left Behind Series.  My parents read these book and the idea of reading the same books as my parents made me feel grown up.  I only made it through the first 3 of the 16 in the series but I liked it nonetheless :)

By this time I was in High School and started reading the classics like:

• The Great Gatsby
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Watership Down
• 1984
• The Outsiders
• Lord of the Flies 
• In Cold Blood
• Catcher in the Rye  etc etc etc. 

All of those books were good and I have reread a few but for some odd reason, I got SUPER into Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson in high school.  Maybe I was going through a weird phase?  Maybe it was because I was a nerd?  Or the fact that I was no longer a gymnast (my identity)... Either way, I became enthralled by their works.  My favorites were Edgar Allan Poe's "Annabel Lee" (which I had to memorize for a class)... 

And Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for death" .... (which I had to do a report on in class)...

Looking back now, I am surprised how dark they are because I didn't feel that way.  I think Annabel Lee will always be one of my favorite pieces of poetry regardless.

My senior year, I took a class called Teacher Cadet where we would interact with local elementary school children.  It was such a treat to go into the classrooms and see the same books I fell in love with 12 years earlier.  It made me so happy to see that the little stories that captured my heart as a 5 year old were still being treasured by a whole new generation :)

What were some of your favorites growing up??

Almost there...

I can't believe it!  In just over a week, it'll be 4 years since the day we got hitched!  Wow, time flies when you're having fun ;)

Who would have thought that a sorority girl from Oklahoma and a musician from Utah would be where we are today?  A couple of hours hanging out, 7 months of calls/emails/texts, an awesome reunion right before Christmas and a leap of faith move to be closer together .... all brought us here: 4 years and counting.

4 is a big number for me.  It is the number of times we saw each other in person before I moved.  It is the number of wedding dresses I tried on.  It is J's lucky number.  And it is obviously the number of our month and day of our wedding (4.4.08).

I went back and read a post that had been on my myspace back in 2006 that I transferred to this blog in 2007....  It was a post about a talk I had with my boss at the time about whether I had the courage to take that leap of faith to go visit J in that far away place called Utah...

Opportunities are gifts from God and it's your choice whether or not you act on them. And if it ends in failure, at least you know you gave it your best shot and you won't spend your entire life wondering "what if?" I'd rather have a lifetime of failures then a lifetime of things i wish i had done. Failures build character and make success that much sweeter. 

Looking back on the way we came together makes me laugh.  My friends thought I was crazy.  My family was terrified.  J and I were a mix of elated and nervous.  But it all worked out.  :)

Here is a quick video from the end of our reception.  Everything was winding down and there was one song to go for the night... J and I decided to hang on the dance floor and enjoy the last few minutes of our whole shebang.  Unfortunately, the videographer has just barely peaced out... so this was taken by J's brother on his camera.  The floor was slick so if you watch close, you'll notice that I don't really move my feet but just shuffle around... Everyday I'm Shufflin'

It's pretty goofy but I like that it's pretty representative of us as a couple .... and our randomness.  J HATES to dance so this is also a rare moment :) What happens from 1:00-1:30 is my favorite part *sigh*

I think this year, I want to go back and watch our whole wedding video.  We have the whole thing on DVD but it freezes for some reason so we have never watched the whole thing.   Maybe this year we will :)

Who knew?!

Since moving to Utah, my asthma and allergies have seemed to continually get worse.  After Asthmageddon, I began debating with my husband about whether I should get allergy tested again.  I was tested several years ago at a homeopathic office in Oklahoma City.  By the end of the test I had PAGES of foods, ingredients, and crap that I was allergic to.... it named things like apples, oranges, wheat, etc, etc, etc.  I thought it was bunk and dumb so I didn't pay much attention to it because.... well, I was like 20 years old and cared more about the upcoming frat party than I did my health.  Truth.

Fast forward 8 years and I was getting annoyed of having to always make sure I had my Claritin/Inhaler in case there was a smoker within 100 yards of me, cat dander on some stranger's coat, or any other worldly residue on the seat at the movie theater.  It's annoying... and exhausting. 

Enter J's friend Mike.  J has been recording Mike's band for years and years.  Mike swears by this doctor that helped him with insomnia, his dad with shellfish allergies, etc. etc.   Mike had been trying to convince J to send me to this doc for about 6 months.  But since the last time was dumb, I resisted. 

Well... that resistance hit it's wall last Saturday.  We had to take Cleo to the vet so of course my asthma started in immediately.   Followed by the roof of my mouth itching to high heaven.  And I started getting allergy bumps galore!  ... (Allergy bumps are these oh so pleasant bumps that randomly appear on my face when there is some sort of irritant within a 2 mile radius close by.  They are like mosquito bites and swell up all puffy and itch like hell.  Basically they are Awesome and every little girl's dream)

... We were supposed to go help clear the land for a farm that AFLA is starting here in Utah.  But I, of course, ended up not being able to go due to the dumb allergies.  That, piled on top of the fact that I have been having to carry around throat numbing spray to subdue my itchy mouth was about all I could take.  I decided right then that I was going to give this allergy doc a shot. 

Today was my first appointment.  The doctor follows various chinese medicine techniques and did a muscle test on me.  Low and behold, he was able to pin down my top allergens!  Here they are in order of severity:

• Shellfish
• Cats
• Eggs
• Calcium
• Wheat
• Brewers Yeast (dang it, I love Beer SO SO much!)
• Cheese
• Vitamin A
• Trees
• Dairy Mix
• Hormones

Wow!  This was an amazing process and it was crazy to see my body react to little vials of the substances.  He also said I have minor allergies to Pollen, Dogs and Dust.  But having Calcium and Wheat so high on the list really surprised me!

I knew the dairy and yeast sensitivities since they are something I have been irritated by my whole life. I was on antibiotics for a solid 2 years when I was a baby so I have had yeast problems since infancy.  TMI?  oh well.   

Today I was treated for the calcium allergy and had shown some great improvement by the end of the appointment.  Once he can get my allergy under control/fixed, then I can start incorporating more calcium into my diet.  SUPER EXCITED!  I am looking forward to my visit next week and am curious as to which one I will be treated for next!  

Who Knew Allergy Testing Could Be So Fun?! :)

Busy Bee ...

I have been surprisingly busy lately with complete randomness.   But I wanted to share a fun little video that I am currently obsessed with.... I seriously have watched this video like 40 times.... and considering I usually stay away from youtube, that is A LOT :)

.... Road Trip!

This past weekend, J and I had the opportunity to take a road trip with a few of our amazing friends.  To say that I love road trips is an understatement... I ADORE road trips with a passion!  I love piling in the car with my favorite people, going to a different place, and having a heck of a good time.

All of our friends happen to be HUGE fans (and season ticket holders) of our local MLS team: Real Salt Lake.  This past Saturday was the season opener against LA Galaxy.  J and I aren't huge soccer fans but we enjoy the good time that a game usually brings :)  So.. Friday afternoon, we loaded all 9 of us into the band van and started our drive to LA.

I had just purchased a new book and was super excited about using the trip to read it... yes, I am that nerdy.  We stopped halfway in Vegas at our favorite spot: the Double Down.  The Double Down has been a tradition for YEARS!

They have this shot called "Ass-Juice" that is divine and so it is a requirement that we all stop at this little dive bar anytime we are in town. Not to mention they sell toilet shot-glasses ... yes, we own one already.  Don't judge :)

By the time we rolled into our hotel, it was LATE or I guess technically early morning.  We stayed in Inglewood where we found a hotel/hostel to save money.  The moment we pulled up, all of the females in the car were ready to bolt!  It was a scary-movie, serial killer type of spot.  But alas, the boys thought we were ridiculous and said we were staying.  By the time morning came around, the hotel was MUCH less frightening and as J put it, "Everything looks scary at 4am!" .... truth.

Saturday morning, the boys dropped J off at our friend Matt's house.  Our main reason for even joining the trip was so he could do some co-writes with Matt.  Matt has been on tour in Europe for a while so it happened to be perfect timing for J's visit to see him in LA.  They wrote 4 songs in the few hours they were together... and they had a blast! :)

While J was getting his groove on, the rest of us went to our FAVORITE restaurant in Marina del Rey: C & O Trattoria!  It has been a long standing tradition that we can't go to California without eating here.  They have garlic knots that are famous!  Seriously. 

This place is extra special to me because it is also where we ate in 2007 right before J proposed on the pier.  I might have teared up at the table because I am a huge sap... and seeing me all teary could have possibly made Jessie teary too...  maybe. ;)

We walked around Venice Beach for a while and then grabbed J on the way to the stadium.  The game was AWESOME!  We beat LA Galaxy 3-1 !  We sat in the supporters section so it was awesome to be surrounded by some many fans that had made the drive to CA.  Not to mention, our goalie's entire fam was hanging out.  He had rows of family both in front of us and behind us.  It was a neat experience sitting right behind his wife and son, and getting to see their reactions to the game. 

Overall, it was a quick but AMAZING trip!  So blessed to have such wonderful friends and to have been able to make the road trip :)