Viva Las Vegas Wedding!

This past weekend we spent four days in Las Vegas to participate in the wedding festivities of two WONDERFUL friends: Ryan and Jessie!




It was fantastic! When we got there Thursday, we went to Bingo at Red Rock which is our Vegas tradition from when we lived in Summerlin (West Vegas). It was so much fun and one of our friends actually won one of the games.



Friday was the Bachelor/Bachelorette Party. All the ladies met in one of the hotel rooms at 5pm for a little champagne pre-party.



Jessie opened gifts and we played "Pin the Junk on the Hunk" .... it was hilarious to say the least!




My piece was a gun and I LOVED it. It was one of the less risque pieces of the game ;)



And she loved my gift :)




After the pre-party, we all went to eat at Hard Rock Cafe on the strip.




Ryan's favorite band in the world is RX Bandits and they happened to be playing at the Hard Rock Cafe THAT night! So everyone bought tickets and it was such a fun way to spend their joint bachelor/bachelorette party!






Saturday, Ryan's dad bought us all brunch and it was a good time to meet the rest of their family and all his siblings. We spent the next few hours back in the same hotel room getting ready.



Jessie's little daughter was not happy about her hair being curled but she just looked so dang cute that I took a ton of pics of her crying.






The girls and guys each had separate limos to the chapel.






The ceremony was absolutely beautiful! One of Ryan's best friends passed away on Christmas (see blog post) so they displayed a photo of him for the line. It was amazing! The photo was from one night in Wendover and shows Micah very casually but as a perfect representation of what he loved (311 Shirt and bracelet, loungin' after having fun, baseball hat, etc). It totally represented Micah to Ryan and Jessie so they enlarged it and framed it for their big day.




Jessie picked out all of our dresses and tights and then actually made the headpieces herself! This uncrafty girl (me) was very impressed ;)





My husband officiated and did a wonderful job! He got teary at the beginning because Ryan has been such a close and wonderful friend to J over the past few years. My husband was so honored to be asked to officiate the ceremony and was thrilled to be the one marrying two of his good friends! It was a beautiful ceremony and when he brought their cute little girl up after the vows I about lost it. I was a little emotional ;)








After the ceremony, we took the limo back to our hotel where we had our photos taken while the newlyweds met their photographer at the Venetian.





We met back up with everyone at a mexican place on the strip where we ate and danced our little hearts out. After we took the newlyweds to Double Down Saloon for Jessie to take part in Ryan's favorite Vegas tradition - a shot of "Ass Juice" ... I know, you think that's crazy. But in all honesty I think it's just koolaid with some everclear. ;)

The newlyweds retired to their suite at Hard Rock (our wedding present to the happy couple) and a few of the crew came back to our room to hang out for the night. It was so good to get away from our home and the sewage problem for a few days too. Not to mention be able to shower/fluch the toilet/etc. (And our first estimate for the work needed on our plumbing is WAY out of our price range). Sorry, got a little carried away there about the plumbing... BUT It was a great weekend overall and it was a BEAUTIFUL wedding! SO very happy to have been a part of it!

Congrats to Ryan and Jessie! Love yall!

Gunk from the Deep

So if you follow me on Facebook (which all five of my readers do ha!) then you know we have a basement problem. Started yesterday when the guys J was recording noticed our dog was playing around in a bunch of water. We had water EVERYWHERE. We cleaned it all up through various methods, bought a hard core main-line drain cleaner and thought we were golden. Fast forward about 15 hours and we come home to a house smelling of pee! The drain had exploded all sorts of awesome sewage which had flooded and then retreated, leaving a magnificent layer of fecal matter and other things that I will not mention. Our basement is the lowest basement on the whole street so we are 100% certain (due to things I will not mention for your sake) that the majority of this "gunk" is not even ours. Double disgusting. After about 12 phone calls, we finally have a plumber confirmed to come out somewhere between midnight and 7am. It is TERRIBLE! Especially since we were planning on leaving tomorrow morning for the wedding! (I'm a bridesmaid and J is officiating! SUPER excited!) Needless to say, we don't feel comfortable leaving the house with this problem so we are just waiting.... Mostly I feel bad for J since his studio is down there! Luckily Cleo and I get to hang out away from it and pretend like it's not there.

So since I am otherwise occupied, I'm doing a very simple post for today.

Instructions:
1 - Go to wikipedia and hit random. The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to quotationspage.com and hit random. The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 -Go to http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/ The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar (picnik.com is a free online photo editor), even Windows paint will work, to put it all together.


HERE'S WHAT I GOT:





It was quite interesting to me that I got the band name I did. Even my husband was impressed ;)

Here is the info from my search:

• Band Name: Radio Calisthenics

• Album Name: You talk to Your Enemies.
  

If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.
-Moshe Dayan (1915 - 1981)

• CD Cover: This photo is called Astoria Storefront and was taken by Dan Love. I think it is an absolutely beautiful photo and definitely recommend checking out his other stuff. I love that I came by his photo randomly because he has some beautiful photos.

UPDATE:
It is now 9:23am and still no plumber. We haven't used the water at all so far and it is still coming up the drain along with other wonderful sewage. When we call you at 6:45pm and you say you're going to be here by 7am at the latest AND still AREN'T by 9am... expect me to be pissed. Why have a 24 hour Emergency line if you don't come out for 14 hours after we call.... MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE AN EMERGENCY LINE THEN A*Holes. So very annoyed. End Rant.

Like a Light Bulb

It's not often that I do a post about something I want for our home... in fact, I don't know if I have EVER done one. Our house was built in 1923 so it is ALWAYS a work-in-progress. We have three rooms finished and four rooms to go (plus the hallways). Anyways, I saw these lights about a year ago at a restaurant and I have been obsessed with them ever since. I saw them at a store here in SLC but they were WAY to pricey. So, I have now decided that my amazing husband should get one of his amazing friends to make one! Haha! Such a good wife I am ;) But I do not have a light fixture in my office yet and think this would make an incredibly fun fixture for my office or our bedroom.

They lovingly refer to them as Edison Chandeliers:






I don't like the hang style of this Pottery Barn one but I have some awesome ideas for one in my office. And I have a growing obsession with all things industrial! I really want these lamps (once we have a house they'll fit in) :)





They're from Restoration Hardware and can be found here.

Side note:

Finally saw True Grit... and.... I was disappointed. Not near as amazing as I was expecting. Typical Coen brothers dialogue which of course was PERFECT. And Jeff Bridges was AWESOME to say the least. But I was expecting some creative additions that never came (probably because it's a remake and based on a novel). Maybe I just have high expectations after seeing Black Swan and Tron 3D. Both were incredible and so symbolic... I think it made True Grit's symbolic nature boring to be honest.

On another side note, a long time friend just got engaged this weekend! So go wish her congrats here :)



Does anyone know where to buy an Edison Chandelier UNDER $100 or have any suggestions on making our own?

Moody Blues and Workaholicism

This week I have been having the moody blues .... Yes, that sounds appropriate: moody blues. I think more than anything, I have been blah. Trying to nail down the daily routine that is being "unemployed."

I tend to be a workaholic.... I always work my butt off to be the very best, number one, most dependent employee ever. Which means I tend to put other things in the background due to lack of time from my workaholicism. Yes... that is what I suffer from: workaholicism.

Which means the whole not having a real job thing is DIFFICULT.

I struggle during the day to be motivated and to move forward.... but I am succeeding .... so far.

My husband told me a couple days ago: "It's good to have you back." I was bewildered... he said I had gone away for awhile under the stress of my job and he was happy to have me back to him again. He said I seem "balanced" .... that made me very happy and also reminded me to keep on track with things so that when I find a new full time position, I can maintain that balance.

Lately, I have been reverting back to a lot of different songs, and listening to them on repeat. I do that when I am blah, or down, or feeling any sort of strong emotion: Listen.

I thought I would share a few of the songs that I can't seem to get enough of recently.

Arkitekt - 14 Days (Acoustic)
I heard this song the other day on facebook. Weird I know. When I am bored, I tend to get on facebook and look at new pictures that have been posted. I don't know why but I find it incredibly fascinating. Seeing what other people do daily and what photos they choose to share with the world. I just love seeing people's lives and I guess I consider it online people watching. I never search someone, I just go to the photos button and click and click and click. Anyways, people can now tag people in videos and I came across a wonderful choreographers video to this song. The dance wasn't necessarily fantastic, but the way it portrayed the song was fascinating! It reminded me of Black Swan in a weird way too. I immediately downloaded the song off iTunes and I can't help but want to dance around the room to it! I haven't just danced around the room in a long time, and it was amazing :)

Strays Don't Sleep - Blue Skies
My dear friend Emily showed me this song about 6 months ago and I have been in love with it ever since. Her father passed away before we met and she said it reminds her of him. It is a very simple song. VERY simple. (My husband even has a hard time listening to it due to its simplicity) Anyways, this song has taken on so many different meanings for me over the course of those months. Now, I think it represents how I feel about my relationship with myself. Sounds weird but it is just truly beautiful and is about forgiving when you feel like you can't. I listen to it while stretching after each gym session and it's so relaxing.
My favorite line:

Could I have saved you?
Would that have betrayed you?

Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man and Awake my Soul
I absolutely adore this band and these are my two favorite songs off their new album. Little Lion Man is very empowering to me for some reason. I don't know what the true meaning is behind it but to me it represents all the times people tell you "no" or "you can't" or just don't believe in you in general. It is an empowering song to me because the lyrics keep putting the person down and stressing that their failure is due to their own accord but the music encourages you forward in a powerful way. I'm a weirdo I know, but I just cant help but think of all the times people tried to push down whatever I was dreaming or striving for, and how important persistence is in those moments.

Weep for yourself, my man,
You'll never be what is in your heart
Weep Little Lion Man,
You're not as brave as you were at the start
Rate yourself and rake yourself,
Take all the courage you have left
Wasted on fixing all the problems
That you made in your own head

The second song by them I love (Awake my Soul) is a beautiful reminder of what matters. And I love how it feels like a modern day hymn. The main lyric that gets me is:

In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your life

It's just a reminder that our lives are precious gifts and where we invest our time is important. What will we leave as a reminder for those who loved us. It really rings personal to me and my workaholicism ;) Focus on those things that matter: relationships, experiences, personal/spiritual journeys ... and embrace them until the day we're called home.

I recommend their whole CD to be honest! They are all beautiful songs that are so moving in their own way! I am so hooked :)

Any songs yall rely on or are hooked on? I would love to hear them!

Mirror Image

Last night, J and I finally saw Black Swan. If you haven't seen it yet, please don't read this post. I think it's important to see it from your own perspective and not have my opinions running through your head.

Here's the trailer:


Once again.... If you haven't seen it, see it! Then come back and share your opinion! I would love to discuss it with you.

I have been looking forward to this movie for quite some time. I read interviews with Natalie Portman and watched the trailer over and over and over. I also am a big Mila Kunis fan so I was excited to see them working together onscreen. To be honest, I had been so excited for it that I was expecting to probably be disappointed. I have hyped it up so much in my mind, that I thought it wouldn't match my expectations. Boy, was I wrong. I was floored. I spent the next two hours after the movie just being in complete "aw" and saying "that was so good" like a broken record.

The movie hit home for both my husband and I.... hard core. Anyone who has strived after some sort of creative endeavor and dedicated their life to making that endeavor perfect will identify with it. The movie was an emotional and psychological roller coaster which a little too closely resembles the inner struggle I think any artist battles. Watching Nina (Natalie Portman) face herself, her failure, the pressures she endures, and her fears was absolutely breathtaking. Actually, if I could sum up the film in one word, it would probably be "breathtaking."

The lesbian/self sex scenes were so symbolically powerful that I hope people don't get lost in the facade of it all. Watching her move from a self-disgust to a self-love and then seeing her conquer herself was beyond amazing. I think it is a beautiful portrayal of just how far a person will go to achieve their perfection or success.

Beyond anything, it was an incredibly moving film and evoked such emotion in me that I felt its affects for hours after leaving the theater.

Bravo to Natalie, Mila and the rest of the crew/writers/directors/dancers/ etc. The emotion Natalie was able to invoke with her face alone was beyond compare and I hope she wins any award she is nominated for this year. I haven't been so affected by a film since Meet Joe Black.

If you've seen it, please email me or call me or something! I want your opinions :)

Sillyness and a chocolate milk

Today, one of J's good friends found out him and his girlfriend are going to have a little girl. And I am excited for them! I don't know him very well and I've only hung out with her once but I know they'll be wonderful parents and that their little girl will have one of the most creative and exciting upbringings a little kid can have.

A couple months ago, this friend called J and told him they are expecting. He was so excited and said they already picked out a name and everything. No matter what gender it is, they're naming their child Lennon.

When J told me, I cried. And I cried. And then took a shower to cry a little more without him knowing... since basically ... well... the reason I was crying was retarded to say the least.

I cried because that was MY name. I had been saving it in a little mental bag named "Future Children" and swore to never even breathe the idea of it just in case someone wanted to steal it before our big day ... Dumb. Oh, believe me. I know how dumb it is. But in all seriousness, I was saving it! I thought about it every couple of weeks just waiting for the day when we decide to pop out one (hopefully a girl) and I can say "LENNON!" .... oh man, I was devastated.

Tisk Tisk! It was stupid....

A. This friend happens to be the biggest Beatles fan that I have ever met and I know their little girl (who no question will be absolutely gorgeous!) will uphold that name to the highest and most amazing level.
B. We aren't even planning on having kids yet so the fact that I already had a name picked out for our future first child is quite honestly ridiculous.

I think part of me was so devastated because the Beatles have been a special part of J and I's relationship. I know I've said this in a previous post, but ALL of our ceremony music was Beatles' tunes for our wedding. J's business has Beatles influence and the first major family thing we did with my parents was go to Beatles Love. It was their second time to EVER see J and it was special to say the least.

So anyways, I think I'm back to the drawing board. People keep saying "Oh, who cares, name your kid that too!" ... But that's just not me. Especially if we still lived in Utah. I'm thinking maybe I should just chill out until we're ready... and then start back up on the name game.

This is just me ranting.... but have any of yall ever had names set aside? I know it's a girl thing for the most part and I know the first name I wanted to name a kid was... drum roll please... Tatum Rose. You're laughing right?! I imagine you are, I do every time I think about it. But I have to say that was during the Titanic/Scream days so my little pre-teen self thought it was an AWESOME idea. I equate it to every young female today swearing to name their boys Edward and Jacob... you get the idea.

And I will try to get over my devastation.... a name is a name is a name or something like that.

I think I'm going to go get a chocolate milk.

Day 30 - A Picture

Well this is the end of my little 30 Post experiment. I feel a little more comfortable with the whole posting thing and hope to continue to post stuff on a regular basis.

One of the things I miss most about college is the studying. I know, I'm crazy. But I seriously miss it!

I was talking to my niece who is a freshman at BYU this year about how she likes school so far. She said it's good but not as much downtime as she was hoping. I found myself rattling off to her about how much I miss studying!


... blank stare....

I explained that I LOVED going to the student union at night, eating crap and drinking tons of Dr. Pepper, and studying with friends until they kicked us out of the building. Not to mention the whole evening was a prime "people watching" scenario.

... blank stare....

Call me crazy, but I miss it hard core!! She didn't really respond... whether that's because her crazy aunt who happens to only be like 8 years older than her was trying to relate, or whether it was because I admitted my obsession with Dr. Pepper or what.... but it officially made me realize, I am a nerd who needs an outlet!

SO... tonight I spent two hours at Barnes and Noble. Sippin' on my Starbucks and doing some much needed job researching. How do I feel about it?? ECSTATIC! I had so much fun! Just sat here with my laptop while listening to my new Mumford&Sons album on my iPod. Such a good time! I would even be willing to say it was a FREAKIN good time. Either way, I think this might become a new habit :) SO... if any of yall want to come sit and do some laptop-ing with me sometime, feel free to join. Here's a little secret.. I'm still here! That's right, I'm bloggin from the Noble. Booya. (I might also be eavesdropping to an intense conversation between two girls... don't judge.)

So anyways, here are Christmas photos for my final post...


Utah Christmas with friends and SANTA :)


Annual Oklahoma Girls Dinner


With my Parents



With My Sis





Much love 'til next time.

Day 29-3 Wishes

3 Wishes... Very fitting topic since it's the New Year and it's my FIRST official day of being Laid Off....


I have a lot of goals for 2011 but I do not want to call them resolutions. They are goals I have regardless of the fact it's the beginning of January. With that in mind...


3 Wishes (Goals):
1. Healthy
2. Prosperous
3. Enthusiastic



I know I know, you're thinking, "what the heck?" .... but those are my goals for the next 363-ish days... and hopefully by that time they will no longer be something to "think" about or "keep in mind" ... hopefully by then, they will be HABIT :)



1. Healthy
This encompasses a lot and is a really big goal for me. Basically, I spent the first half of my life being a work out freak. I ate healthy, worked out at least 4 hours a day, 5-6 days a week, every week of the year. I was consumed by all that was health: fitness, diet, supplements, vitamins, etc. Then came the big bad rebellion streak of 2000. The problem with this streak is that it has now lasted 10 years... that's right TEN. You're probably wondering why I say "rebellion" so I will go into it. This is personal but what the heck. Here it goes.


So being a gymnast was my life (see earlier post) which meant that all things healthy were a MUST. Such as grilled chicken for dinner EVERY night, taking Glucosamine Chondroitin and Creatine supplements by the age of 12, running at least 2 hours every "day off" from workouts, etc. I was a freak. Then after all that hard work, my coaches called me in the office the day before sophomore year started and told me I had to quit. That's right folks, I was kicked off my gymnastics team. WHY? I was 16 and burned out. I asked them about six months earlier if I could be a JV cheerleader for my sophomore year of HS. This would mean missing about ten practices for the year. THAT'S RIGHT. 10 of my nightly practices out of the WHOLE year. I needed a change of pace and I was their top gymnast at the time since I was the only one nationally ranked. They agreed and told me to keep it our secret so that the other gymnasts wouldn't try to do the same thing. Things went spectacular all summer, then the night before school started, I was told another team member found out and her parents complained. That was it, I was canned. AND I was pissed.


Disclaimer: About three years after this disaster, my male coach came to me and apologized. He cried and said they made the biggest mistake by handling it the way they did and forcing me to quit. He cried harder and asked for my forgiveness.... which I gave. They are good people and I love them dearly.


Onward with the story...


So enter Sophomore year: Depression, eating disorder, and one miserable relationship after another. This started a series of relationships that now I realize was giving me what I wanted... a poor body image. My first boyfriend was nice in every way but always had a nack for letting me know that my six-pack wasn't as perfect as some of the other girls which resulted in my hardly eating at all and hiding that fact to everyone.... Lame. Enter second major boyfriend.... he weighed me. That's right folks, he weighed me about once a week to make sure I wasn't LOSING weight. He had this brilliant concept that if I was losing weight, it was only because I wanted to dump him and get with Mr. Too-Hot-to-Trot. He made me sit and eat in front of him every night but all that stress was having the opposite affect which meant more Chili's food, chips and ranch, etc. Force-fed crap if you will. Double Lame. Enter third major boyfriend in college. He went from literal Fraternity Party Planner and President to Health Nut. Dr. Pepper was Satan, as was any food other than Subway or Pita Pit. He also insisted I work out every day and kept tabs on how much "running" I was doing. I went with it (as in hid every Dr. Pepper and ran 5 min a day so that I wouldn't be lying when he asked, etc.) until he dumped me because I couldn't cook a Thanksgiving Dinner. Not a joke. Triple Lame. Then I drank my weight in Dr. Pepper/beer every day and lived off Mexican food for weeks at a time.


Over Christmas, a VERY good friend and former teammate said she thought it was funny that I have such an aversion to all things "workout." And ... it hit me. I have been so anti-everything healthy because look where it got me. This has been a rebellion streak to prove a point to all those people that forced it on me when it got me NOWHERE. But the truth is.... this rebellion streak hasn't hurt anyone but myself. QUADRUPLE LAME!


I had a trainer that I saw about three times a month in 2010... problem with that was: I only went those three times per month. Ha! Hilarious. So my first goal in 2011 is HEALTHY. In every aspect. MIND/BODY/SPIRIT.


I want to have a healthy body and eat better because it's the only body I will ever have. Thirty is just a couple doors down, and I need to start taking care of it before it's too late. I also want to continue to renew my mind and grow as a human being both personally and for my relationship with my amazing husband. And I want to continue growing in my personal relationship with Christ. Who knows, maybe we will even find a Salt Lake church this year that we like. :)


Whew... that was a big one.



2. Prosperous
Well like I said earlier. Today was my first official day of being laid off...EVER.


I woke up, went to the gym, ate lunch, baked some goodies for my husband, played with the dog, did the dishes, cleaned the bathroom/kitchen/dining room/living room, mopped the floors, swept, checked emails, am half way through this blog post... AND it's only 1:07 pm. SERIOUSLY!


This whole layoff thing is definitely going to be interesting and test me. I filed for unemployment and will be making less than half of what I normally make. Which unfortunately is $270 UNDER what my half of our monthly bills are. Dang. BUT... we have some savings to hold us over and I have two really neat opportunities in the works. I am VERY excited about them... and although they are risky, if I can really conquer them and make them my own, then it would be a WONDERFUL career change for me. So, I'm just trying to stay hopeful and motivated that it will work out in the most perfect way possible. :) Here's to a career I can take pride in and be happy about in 2011 ......



3. Enthusiastic
My third "wish" for 2011 is to stay enthusiastic about life and all the changes/challenges/successes that come our way. I know it's a choice to choose joy and I pray that I keep my sanity and positive spirit through the next few months. And I also want to wrap up December, knowing that I lived this year EXACTLY how I wanted: with the joy and happiness that life deserves.



whew... that was a long post.... Cheers to 2011... here we go.....

Day 28- Tears and Tragedies

Christmas. My VERY favorite time of year. I have been slacking off with my blog due to the holiday festivities, traveling and trying to wrap things up with my job. (I got laid off the Monday before Christmas but was required to work through today).

I have three days left of my little blog post project:
Day 28-Something that stresses you out
Day 29-3 Wishes
Day 30-a picture


For today's blog, it's not really about the stress, it's about tragedy overall. That feeling you get. The sinking in your stomach, the heavy chest, the tears that won't stop streaming. The feeling of loss. Over Christmas, J and I lost a friend. Micah. He was funny, light hearted and... a good guy.

J and I hadn't been that close to Micah for long but he was part of our crew. Floated the river each Sunday with our "Utah fam", came to the Dexter watch parties, our Utah fam nights, etc. When he was there, he always made you feel like you had known him forever.

Over Christmas, him and his new fiance (they got "officially" engaged on Christmas Eve) decided to go off-roading after the Christmas celebrations with his fam. By that evening, no one had heard from them. Sunday came and went, still not a word. His family called a search Monday morning. That afternoon they found his jeep. It had fallen down a ravine. He was still in the car and she had been ejected, landing on top of the upside down vehicle.

When we got the call, J and I were in shock. His best friend had been the one to let us know. I cried. I cried more for his family and his close friends then for him. Sounds terrible. But he was happy. He was finally in a good place and looking forward to the future. They say they died on impact and didn't suffer. I'm glad that he was in the happiest place in his life, doing what he loved with his favorite person.



Too many lives are cut short and so I hope that every one who might read this remembers to live theirs to the fullest. I think we all need reminders of how precious life is and it shouldn't take a tragedy to remind us of what is important.


Forgive.
Love.
Have no regrets.
Remember what truly matters.



My thoughts and prayers are with Micah and Kimmi's friends and families. You are greatly missed. May you rest in peace in the love of God forever.

Day 27-Pets

CLEO!

Sorry. I figure with how much I talk about her on here, you're already sick of her. But she is a hoot.

She has the biggest personality ever. She is so expressive and LOVES attention. She literally will just follow you around with her toys in her mouth and once she sees you stopping in a room she will just lay there and play with her toy. BUT she has to be WITH you at all times... cutest little thing.



We just had a friend who loved her so much that he went and bought a little boy pup like her. I'll take that as a compliment :)




I always wanted a dog that looked like an Ewok and when I got her, that is exactly what she looked like :) Now we think she looks like a mix between, an Ewok, Falcor when she is shaved (Never Ending Story), and Master Splinter when she is wet (Ninja Turtles).

I'm sure you can see the resemblance.




AND she loves the snow! Runs around and loves to trounce around in it! We got over 14 inches though which was taller than her... she was pretty freaked out about it.




She used to be dark but now looks more like a Maltese than a Shih-tzu. She is still the little light in my life :)

Day 26 - Picture of your Family

The Pack Family 2010



This is the pic we used for our first ever Christmas card :)

We just propped up my Nikon and used the timer so it was quite the chore to get Cleo to actually LOOK toward the camera.

It's officially Cleo's first Christmas with us and she is traveling to OK for the holidays. We have to fly with her as a carry-on so it will be rather interesting. I already purchased her seat (only 5 pets allowed per flight) and bought her travel bag... we're hoping the vet will give her something to make her sleepy for the flight :)

And it'll be her first time to meet this little doll...


When Reese saw J and I's Christmas Card, she took it over to my Dad and said: "This is Aunt Meggi and Uncle Joel... And this is Cleo, I love her." So cute!! Smartest 2 yr old I've ever met :) I'm a proud aunt!

PS> I just can't get over how cute their Christmas pics are :)

Day 24-nope.... How about Day 25-Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs

Alright people... For some reason this posted without me publishing it... FREAKY... So here is the updated version.


Every time I thought about the Day 24 post (Day 24-Something you've learned) I just revert back to Day 12- What You Believe. So read that post instead. :)

So... on to Day 25 then, shall we?

Before I do this random song post nonsense, I would like to make a note... I am a SONG person, not a BAND person or a GENRE person. To me it is all about the way a song moves me. I am VERY much a music person and have found it to be a very important part of my life over the years.

As a youngin, music was my own little world. I would listen to tapes my parents had made for me and come up with all sorts of dances and routines. Then I would spend hours perfecting them. My favorite dance tunes were Yakkity Yak, Lollipop and of course the Beaches Soundtrack.

By middle school, my musical taste revolved around Spice Girls, Bush, the Pretty Woman Soundtrack, Garth Brooks and Backstreet Boys. Embarrassing? Yes, but still very dance worthy stuff. About this time, one of my best friends from gym had a rock song as her floor music. I remember being SO impressed and thus started my overall fascination and obsession with all things "songs" .....

So... iPod Shuffle:

1. DIXIE CHICKS - Not Ready to Make Nice
2. ELI YOUNG BAND - Guinevere
3. JOEL PACK - Talk Me Down
4. TOBY KEITH - God Love Her
5. DMB - Lover Lay Down
6. JASON BOLAND - When I'm Stoned
7. SHE & HIM - Take it Back
8. WEEN - Baby Bitch
9. THE AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT - Sometime Around Midnight
10. CITIZEN COPE - Bullet and a Target


And ... since it's the holidays and I am MEGA Bored in a hotel room (and I have this amazingly intense love for ALL things Christmas) ... Here are my top 10 Fave Holiday Songs.

Disclaimer: I have a passion for the staple Christmas songs. Don't judge.

1. Baby it's Cold Outside - Zooey Deschanel's version on Elf is my fave but I just love this song in general! I am trying to find an amazing female to record a duet with my husband... if you have any suggestions, send them my way :)
2. O Come, O Come Emmanuel (If you haven't heard Enya's version, you should)
3. Carol of the Bells (by Mannheim Steamroller... love them... I'm a nerd)
4. Silver Bells
5. Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire
6. oh Holy Night
7. O, Come All Ye Faithful
8. We Three Kings
9. What Child is This
10. The First Noel
11. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
12. Do you Hear What I hear
13. God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman (Comfort and Joy)


AND ... of course: Little Drummer Boy by Life Church in Oklahoma... I miss my church. This is a video they filmed from their Christmas worship service ... Come on, you can't beat a drum duet or bangin on some tin garbage cans during church! excited to go to it on the 26th :)

Day 23-Favorite vacation

I love vacations so pretty much every vacation is my favorite haha! I guess I will choose a theme...


SLC - December 2006 (2nd time I ever saw J when I came to visit him over Christmas)





SLC - March 2007 (My last visit to UT before moving there in April)



LA - October 2007 (J Proposed)


Riviera Maya - April 2008 (Honeymoon)

Day 22-Favorite city

Since I am sick, I don't really feel like putting much energy into a post. So... my current favorite city is (drum roll please) SALT LAKE!

haha! Lame, I know.

But seriously, I have really come into a positive relationship with it over the past year. My current love for this city is pretty shocking after how much I struggled with all of Utah for the first year I lived here. But I've finally become my own person here and I absolutely adore it. I remember when I decided to move here how lame I was expecting the city to be. I feel like the whole Mormon thing gives it a bad rap. But, if you ever get the chance to visit... you SHOULD! Once in summer and once in winter. Those seasons present completely different versions of the city.

SUMMER:
The best thing about SLC is the culture. SLC is a very music oriented town and there are always shows going on! Not to mention they also have an abundance of fairs and other outdoor activities. The Downtown Arts Festival is amazing! They block off a large area downtown next to the SLC Library. It has a ton of local artists as well as people who come out from neighboring states. They also have a lot of Live Performers and dance groups. SLC also has a large Belly-dancing culture and I've really enjoyed watching their performances. (Not to mention two of my really good friends are WONDERFUL belly-dancers!) Besides the Arts Festival, they also have the Live Green Festival, the Arts & Crafts Market, The Greek Festival, and several smaller type fairs and events (Sugarhouse, 9&9th, etc.).

The Downtown Alliance hosts this thing called The Pioneer Park Picture Show on Friday nights for a month in the middle of the summer. The most recent session was called Rock Docs. Basically they open one of the largest SLC parks and raise a giant screen. Bands play at 8 and the movie starts at dusk. The Rock Docs consists of films like The White Stripes most recent documentary.


Salt Lake is also famous for their Twilight Concert Series. It's an outdoor concert that is FREE. That's right folks, free! It is held in the same park in SLC every Thursday during the summer.

The 2010 performers were: Modest Mouse, Girl Talk, She & Him (Zooey Deschanel!), Beirut, Matisyahu, Big Boi, Chromeo, etc. Previous performers have been: Iron & Wine, The Black Keys, Broken Social Scene, Neko Case, Michael Franti, Peter Bjorn, etc.

It's pretty amazing and there are beer tents which make it even more fantastic! We live close to downtown so we spend like $4 bucks and take the Trax system to the shows. It's great because we don't have to worry about finding a DD or a parking spot :) Here's some of the 2010 photos.


WINTER:
Well, I'm not a skiier but if I was, this would be the place! It's only a half hour drive to Park City which is AMAZING. Not to mention that January brings in all the fun of The SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL.

Anyone who wants to visit SHOULD. I recommend Summer as it is my obvious favorite. :) 2010 marked the first year of the SLC Beer Fest. I didn't get to go this year due to a previous commitment but I can't wait for 2011's! We have some AMAZING local breweries and I can't even remember the last time I drank a non-local beer. We actually have a beer store down the street from us where you buy growlers and they fill them up with one of the beers they have on tap. The name is actually Beer Store... not joking. But it is amazing and cheap! My current favorite is the Raspberry Hef and the Pumpkin ale. I love knowing that I am supporting my community brewers with each purchase :) Not to mention they have an amazing brewed Root Beer.... that's right! AMAZING... especially if you mix it with Whip Cream Vodka. The perfect holiday drink.

AND If you haven't watched Beer Wars yet on Netflix.. you should!

Day 21-Picture of yourself

I'm choosing two pics instead of one. This has been heavy on my mind lately. It is the first year that I have officially been out of gymnastics longer than I was in it. (13 years in, 14 years out).



I have always had physical ailments due to it... but I am officially seeing CONSTANT physical effects from being so dedicated to a sport that wrecks your body. It is the ONLY reason I really regret being a gymnast. (That, and seeing the effect it had on so many friends over the years).

It's funny how time changes your perspective. I was told at 12 years old that I had the equivalent of 30 year old pro-athlete joints and I thought.... so? Now I know better. (I even had two elbow surgeries that are generally reserved for Major League Pitchers). I can't lift heavy objects with my hands because they either lock or give out and even typing has become a burden. I have constant hip pain that often wakes me up in the middle of the night. My wrist joints are so damaged that I can't even support holding a pot of noodles to try and drain it into the sink. I often worry about whether my wrists and hands will make it hard to hold our children when we have them. It makes me sad, honestly.



If anything, I hope this post doesn't sound like a whine fest but instead discourages anyone who reads it to put their children in this sport long term... or competitively for that matter. I learned so many wonderful life lessons and truly would not be who I am today without struggling through the injuries, overcoming physical fears, maintaining extreme dedication and reaping the rewards of all my hard work.

But, I should have left sooner.