Another Christmas

Another successful Christmas and we are more spoiled than ever. How fortunate we are to have our families and our comfortable life, the animals, and all our friends.

We’ve become addicted to the Nintendo Wii game system. I have a new iPod Nano. Fun times. The coffee table is littered with miscellaneous electronic components. Wires, adapters, USB cables and whatnot. Apparently I’ve turned into some sort of techno gearhead in my old age. Now that we are running the NMHPU myspace page, I’ve even dabbled in a little html coding. Now that’s amazing considering I’m the only person I know who failed college algebra more than once. Ouch.

Oh, and I ended up gathering a small cache of furniture, household items, toys and clothes for the refugee family in need from my prior post. That and about $275 in cash for purchasing other basic items while they get on their feet. My father told me how proud he was that I was spearheading such an endeavor. I told him that my motivation was the hope that, should I ever be in such a position, that others might in turn help me out if they could. Warmth, shelter, and basic items with which to nourish a family.

That is the true meaning of Christmas.

Countdown to Wii

Nintendo Wii game system. Accessory bundle! Six games, memory card, extra 'nunchuck'. It's all been shipped. It's supposed to arrive tomorrow. It could be here within 24 hours. Jon is asleep on the futon, and he will rest up, lest it should arrive early tomorrow. He will be ready to rid the universe of monsters and all evil, and play simulated sports. And I really hope he doesn't put a hole through the bigscreen with a flying controller. God help us.

Helping Others For The Holidays

I know everyone has their own things that they do to help people & animals in need at Christmas time

BUT

A friend of mine is a social worker in Salt Lake and she and the other case managers at her clinic are trying to get the word out about a refugee mom and her three young children who just settled here and need assistance. There is a 6-year-old boy, 2-year-old girl, and 8-week-old infant (dad is still in the country of origin). The clinic has arranged housing, but the mom and children have NO furniture, kids clothes, toys, etc. The little boy has a chronic illness and they are really struggling. They have very few basic items in their empty apartment. The baby is currently sleeping in a car seat.

In the last two days we have gotten a couch, crib, and playpen donated, and next Monday (12/18) I will be taking my truck to help move these items from the donor’s home to the family’s apartment. I am also gathering items to donate including clothes, toys, baby items, etc. Unfortunately, they have no prospects for Christmas in terms of being a family that gets a sub for Santa which is why the case managers are trying to coordinate this effort, independent from the assistance the clinic (where they work) can provide.

If you have any items at all that you can donate, second hand or otherwise please let me know. If you have large items (furniture, etc) that need to be moved, the caseworkers & I can arrange to have them picked up from your home. If you are like me you already have an ongoing “for charity” list or box you fill with random items around the house you no longer use or need.

Please consider if your belongings could help this family. Otherwise, they need diapers, clothes for the kids, toys, canned food, etc. and I will gladly be accepting donations. I am also collecting cash or grocery gift cards if you would like to contribute in that regard.

Thank you for your generosity and kindness.

I Had To Laugh

No, we're not getting divorced because he's a unfaithful. Hehehh. After I posted the last random rant about the tv show "Cheaters" I wasn't able to log into my blogger account for a while as it was being converted over to the beta format. It occurred to me that it could outwardly appear that the last post had some hidden meaning. But I assure you it doesn’t. To the contrary, all is well and we are looking forward to celebrating the holidays again this year. We are also working on a few charity projects which I will be posting about later.

All in all life is great and the wedding of the century is still in progress. Cheers!

Cheaters

Okay, have you seen this trashy reality show? Admit it, you have. It plays on WB sometimes, and I’ve seen it on the dish on “G4” whatever channel that is. It’s this ridiculous reality show where they feature a person who suspects his/her partner is being unfaithful. So they track the suspected cheater raw P.I. style, and film his/her antics, play the video back to the victim, and then there’s usually a great big dramatic confrontation. Great schmut. I sat down after running around doing housework for about an hour tonight and caught the end of this really intense episode. Usually the cheater gets busted going to a bar or on a date with another person, but this was like full on red handed people scrambling to put clothes back on type stuff. So you know what I did…nope, didn’t change the channel as any self respecting human being would…. instead I had to go check the website to see what I had missed earlier in the episode. I couldn't find any info about that particular show, but the website definitely had some interesting content.

So they have all these links and information about infidelity and private investigators, legal representation, etc. And then my personal favorite…. a dating service! No, folks, I am not making it up. See for yourselves. http://www.cheaters.com/

It Needs To Be Done

Ever get burned out on something? I think everyone has. With some things we have a higher endurance than others. Like that neon day-glo fad in the late 80's. Gross. That was here for like 5 minutes. But other things, like online commerce and gasoline engines? Well, those have both been around for a while now, I don't suppose they'll disappear anytime soon.

After I graduated from college in 2002 I found that I had a lot of free time on my hands. Instead of fixing up my ailing 85 year old home or getting a second job, or even sitting and home feeling sorry for myself, I started volunteering. For a year or two I volunteered both for No More Homeless Pets In Utah, an animal welfare group and for the National Ability Center, a recreation mecca for persons with disabilities of all varieties located in Park City, UT. On February 21, 2004 I participated in the world's first adaptive bobsled race. That season and the season prior (2003/2004) I volunteered in varius capacities most memorably as a 'test subjet' or 'guinea pig'. I would ride brake (that's backseat) of the 2 man sled for various athletes in training. The Olympic track goes up to 80+ mph during some runs. Talk about fierce rush. I was in the presence of greatness and I won't soon forget it. Especially the spills, and bumps and bruises--I do have some battle scars but I have no regrets whatsoever. In the summer time I also participated in the adaptive cycling program at the Ability Center. I basically got to hang out and meet more awesome people and ride my mountain bike. Beforehand I think I had to learn some basic first aid or how to fix an adult trike or hand cycle or some such nonsense, but of course I never had to use that knowledge.

In the Fall of 2004 I became more involved with NMHPU and was approached to oversee the Animal Ambassadors program, which includes community outreach and education, and merchandise sales. Animal Ambassadors are volunteers that go to various festivals and gatherings throughout the community and talk to people, spreading the word and message of No More Homeless Pets In Utah. Handing out literature and educating, and fundraising via the sale of merchandise. Spring of 2005 I became increasingly involved with NMHPU and was unable to commit to the Ability Center that summer. Which was probably ok, as the cycling program was pretty stacked with folks to assist the year prior. I likely wasn't missed that much. I worked tirelessly the summer of '05 for NMHPU traveling to various events, often far outside the city, often by myself. I'm no wimp but hauling around hundreds of pounds of boxes of tee shirts, tables, chairs, event canopies and media displays can take its toll on anyone. What was my motivation? It needed to be done.

And there is still a lot more to do. Animals have brought me a great deal of joy. And despite as cliche and cheesy as it sounds, it is my way of paying them back. Unfortunately, companion animals are still dying in shelters daily because there aren't enough homes for them. But instead of dwelling on this negative, I can only myself push forward and 'do what needs to be done'.
I have been less involved with the volunteer effort over the past 6 months, for a variety of personal and professional reasons. A lot of the volunteers think it's because I am getting married. That is part of the reason, but not entirely. I think we all need a break from some things from time to time. That being said, may have been burnout, maybe not, but for a while there I was in sheer survival mode in my personal life, so like the Ability Center the year prior, something had to go. I didn't volunteer much at all over this past summer. So while I hope that was only a temporary pause in the continuing endeavor of NMHPU, no matter what my involvement level, and no matter if it is sanctioned by an organization, I will always remain loyal to my feline and canine friends because that is all they have ever been to me. It just needs to be done.

I Blew It

So I finally made it back over to the Red Cross. I didn’t make an appointment, I just showed up. I don’t think I spent much more time there than I would if I had made the appointment. And I don’t know if I mentioned a prior post that you can’t really donate in someone’s name. You can donate for yourself if, for instance, you are undergoing surgery and may require a transfusion. But for the rest of us average Janes they just take your blood and some of it goes to hospitals and clinics for patient use and some of it goes to labs for experimentation, so who really knows where mine is going. Regardless, if it’s possible that I’m replenishing the overall blood supply on behalf of a loved one who has drawn from it in recent months in some rough estimation, that’s good enough for me. My primary reason for this tangent is that I really blew it this time. What’s the first thing they tell you to do when going in to donate blood? DRINK LOTS OF WATER. What did I fail to do today? DRINK LOTS OF WATER. In fact, in retrospect I drank very little over the course of the day, so besides a cup of chai this morning and some turkey noodle soup for lunch, I really didn’t consume much fluid at all. And boy did I pay for it. I’m slowly rehydrating but I felt pretty lousy when I left the donation center. And my arm actually hurts. That's never happened before. I suspect I'll have some fancy drug-shooter-looking tracks in the days to come. Thankfully, I’m off to loaf on the couch with a big stinky mutt dog any moment now. That usually fixes most things wrong with the world.

All joking aside, the moral of this story is DRINK LOTS OF WATER. Especially if you are charted to donate blood. Regularly drinking lots of water and donating blood are things you should be doing that anyway.

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we speak I have just taken the bird out for its first basting-- 16 pounder (and change). Our guests are due to arrive in 2 or 3 hours. A small gathering this time around-- last year was my first meeting of the Dunn/Konigsmark clan in Atlanta. It was only a short year ago but seems like soooo much longer. We will miss seeing the Dunns, although we will not be the only ones absent from that reunion. And of course we will miss the Aalens who are gathering in San Marcos, TX for fried turkey at Uncle Ace's house. Lots of people scattered this year. Rachael and Andy will be in Cleveland, Damon & Pam in Chico, CA.

Much love to all who, if not at our table, will be in our thoughts and in our hearts.

Cheers!

And This One Time, At Band Camp

I tried to make another appointment to donate blood today, but they were booked. I could’ve wandered down to the Red Cross after work and hung around until an appointment was open, but I had to pick up the girls at daycare by 6:00, and there was no guarantee I would be back in time. Let me clarify when I say ‘the girls were at daycare”. We don’t have human children. I’m referring to our two lab/heeler mutts going to doggie daycare. It’s just occurred to me that I’ve officially become a yuppie. Not that I’m any more or less a yuppie than I was, say, a year or two ago, it’s all just become more apparent now. But hey-- least I make my own café latte at home on the Via Veneto instead of buying Starbucks. Wait….

We got a maid service for the house, too. We haven’t even tied the knot yet and it has already saved our marriage. We really don’t have anything to argue about anymore---we have come full circle. We’re only in a year deep and nothing to bicker about. This could get interesting.

Thanksgiving is only two days away and it’s 63 degrees outside. Now that is phenomenal. Oh, and worth mentioning is that we almost had a random crisis today. Our travel agent emailed to tell us there was a glitch with our honeymoon itinerary. As I scanned the email in an almost full-on panic, I relaxed as I realized what the problem was. Apparently, New Zealand Air has changed their scheduled flights in and out of Rarotonga to certain days of the week. As a result, we will have to stay an extra day and night in paradise. Needless to say, we are both crushed.

Finally, as I write I must mention that a large brown dog is snoring in my ear. We are talking full on lumberjack chainsaw next to my head. She sure is cute, though. The dog is on the couch, while I sit on the floor. So yeah, I’m a yuppie. Sue me. And then go fetch some bottled water for me and the pooch.

Make Your Dog Happy And Go To Yappy

All of the hep cats and cool dogs will be at Yappy Hour Thursday, November 30th at Butterfly in the Gateway. A benefit for No More Homeless Pets in Utah.

Don't miss Yappy Hour in the Grand Ballroom at Butterfly in the Gateway on November 30th. It will be a fun-filled night of food, drink and Salt Lake City’s hippest live auction. Well-behaved canines are welcome to spread their wings at the VIC (Very Important Canine) Lounge. In the VIC, your pooch can get that perfect pawdicure or meet with our pet psychic to finally answer those burning questions like “Where did I bury that bone?” and “Who keeps putting the lid down on my water bowl?” Tickets are just $35 and include all your tasty food and drink. Limited tickets are available so hurry. Last year Yappy Hour sold out so don’t miss Salt Lake’s coolest party for you and your pooch.

The event is a blast and sold out last year—get your tickets while the gettin’s still good by calling (801) 364-0370 or vist: http://wwww.utahpets.org where you can purchase your tickets securely online.

The Stars At Night Are Big And Bright

Jon & I recently celebrated a landmark in our relationship. One whole year. And what a year! He surprised me with a dozen red roses & a pair of tickets to see Robert Earl Keen. The roses were beautiful, but the tickets are more meaningful to me than I can probably convey.

First off, it’s meaningful because it was a complete surprise—I didn’t even know REK was coming to Utah. But more importantly, Jon despises country music, and it was his idea to go…just for yours truly. Robert Earl isn’t traditional contemporary country music, though. Huge folk influence, some jammin’ guitar, fiddle and the like, and some good old fashioned lyrical story telling. I’m not an avid country music fan by any sense of the imagination. I’m certainly not averse to it, but I wouldn’t even consider myself an enthusiast. The fact of the matter is, a piece of my heart belongs in Texas for a variety of reasons. Among others, deep family roots, and fields of vibrant bluebonnets.

I call on early memories—good and bad—that have contributed significantly to the formation of my identity. The inner Texan in me exists. It is and will continue to be a part of me, so I choose to embrace it. Whenever I hear Robert Earl, I fondly transition to a simpler place, a place I have been many times, a place I likely will never again encounter with any element of joy. No glitter, no glitz. Just dust and cobwebs now. In reality, very little was ever there --except some people about whom I care a great deal. I can’t physically reach out to them as I would prefer. So instead, despite the wistful melancholy, I choose to embrace the tunes of a storyteller from somewhere in Texas.

Blogstipation?

Okay, okay, so I’m not such the prolific writer I thought I was. That being said, a lot has happened over the past several weeks.

For starters, last week we played out our own version of ‘Meet The Fockers’. Funny as that sounds, there were actually no surprises and everyone got along famously. Jon’s father, step mother, and sister all made the trek from Atlanta to SLC. We were honored and flattered that they traveled so far to attend our engagement party. Several of our friends here in town couldn’t get off their asses to travel the 20 extra miles to my friend’s beautiful mountain home in Wanship for the occasion. I’m not talking about the folks who couldn’t attend because they were out of town, etc. I’m talking about the people that overtly chose not to join us. But that’s all I’ll say about the losers of that deal because we really had a lovely time and I can’t thank my girlfriends Brooke & Barb enough for organizing the majority of the festivities, along with our other friends Syd and Missie. Everyone who came had a great time and we are really honored and grateful to have such wonderful friends and soon-to-be blended family. We both majorly lucked out in the ‘in-law’ department, and I’m still not sure what exactly we did to deserve that.

The weekend kicked off with Jon’s folks arriving around noon. We picked them up took them on a quick spin around town, then brought them out to the house to show them where we live and to meet all the furbabies. We took them to Trio for lunch. It was ok, as Trio usually is. Nothing spectacular, and of course it was loud & crowded, but it worked. We dropped them back at the Marriott to register and get settled in, and we went home to take a quick snooze. We had dinner reservations for 7:30 at Faustina, which is probably our favorite restaurant in town. Jon had gone to the liquor store the day before to purchase a bottle of champagne for us to toast with at dinner. He went a little crazy and bought a bottle of Moet, which was nice. We had also agreed that we would pick up the dinner bill far in advance so that there wouldn’t be any squabbling over whose father paid and whose father got their nuts chopped off, so to speak. We spared everyone the awkwardness and chopped off both sets at the same time. The dads were pretty pissed off at us, but that’s not anything we haven’t dealt with (some of us more than others). We told them that if it meant that much to them then to just add it on to the tab they’re each already pitching in for the wedding. Ha!

Dinner was great. A little slow going at first but after the first glass of champagne things rolled merrily right along, and after a while in true Aalen-Dunn fashion no one could get a word in edgewise because everyone else was chatting away. It was great. We also presented both sets of parents with a framed 8x10 photo we had just had taken during our engagement photo sitting. (Which is another tale entirely)?

Halfway through dinner during a smoke break, Jon got a text message from Rachael. We knew her flight was delayed but we had no idea exactly how delayed. She sent him a quick text saying they were taking off and that the ETA was now 1:15 a.m. Ouch! Ordinarily would not be a big deal but we had a huge day ahead of us on Saturday, so that was a bit of a drag.

Dinner wrapped up with dessert and the much anticipated bickering over the kid-paid bill, but after all was said and done, the evening was, in my estimation an enormous success. We said our goodbyes, my folks headed home, and we drove over to the hotel to drop off Jon’s folks for the night. We came home and checked the Delta website and watched in eager anticipation as Rachael’s plane flew s-l-o-w-l-y across several states until finally reaching Utah. It was 2:00 a.m. before they finally landed. We drove up to the curb and scooped Rach into the truck full of the drooling welcome wagon (we took the doggies with us to the airport). We came home and of course no one was in the mood to go right to bed so we visited and looked at old photos Rachael brought. Finally we turned in around about 5:00 a.m.

Saturday we picked up Jon’s folks and took them to Squatter’s for lunch. That is where we will be holding our rehearsal dinner so we wanted to give them a taste. Midway through lunch Jon got a call from the Governor’s assistant who informed us that our walk through at the Governor’s Mansion had been pushed back for a few hours. We met my folks at the Wells Fargo Building and our caterer, Mysha, with Panache escorted us to The 23rd Floor, where our reception is being held. My parents had both been to events at the venue before so they knew what it was like, but I think Jon’s parents and sister were pretty surprised how nice it was. Not surprised like they didn’t expect it to be nice, but surprised like it was more spectacular than we could have described. Afterward, we reconvened at the Gov’s and did a walk through the first and third floors with all the folks. (The second floor is the Gov and family’s private residence). My mom was especially enamored, as I expected. She has been in love with Victorian design and architecture for as long as I can remember. I took a bunch of photos, but in all honesty they likely did not do the interior of the building any justice. I didn’t take them for display, or publication, but more planning & design although we aren’t really going to do anything but carry our own flowers and have a string quartet in the ballroom.
After our majestic tour of all venues wedding related, everyone split up to get ready for the evening. We once again picked up the Dunns and headed up the mountain for our dinner party. When we arrived the place looked fantastic. Barb, Missie, Brooke & Syd were all running around hurriedly putting things in place. I must say I felt a bit out of place not being on the hostess side of the party. All the parties we’ve had there I have had a hand in preparing for. Not this one. They wouldn’t let me pay for anything either, which is annoying. Jon & I escaped to the back deck for a quick break and agreed how surreal it was to be the guests of honor. It was kind of a little bit shocking. I think it just was finally sinking in just how cared for we are by our friends and families, and how big of a deal this wedding business is. And we’re still 5 months out from the big event! Despite our shared state of awe we managed to choke down several glasses of champagne during a toast in our honor when my lovely parents shared some charming stories about yours truly. Even David Dunn did not pull out the proverbial ‘legend of the toadstools’ (thanks a lot, dad). Overall, though, the fam and friends were very gracious and wished us well on our shared journey. And yet, we’ve only just begun

I've Just Been Informed

That I'm losing my readership (ie, Jon has quit reading because it's been so long since I have posted). Have faith, and patience o' grasshopper.

Gimme a break.

Happy Halloween

 

Glen Canyon Dam

This is undoubtdedly one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

Lake Powell in the distance

Look at the teeny little cars next to the drain pipes (four gray structures on the side of the concrete). When the dam overflows the water thunders through those...they are easily bigger than the vehicles to the left of them..

On The Road Again

Beautiful Red Rock


Right outside of Page, AZ (and more bug guts)
Arizona side of Glen Canyon

Believe It Or Not

All of these photos were taken in separate places--not in immediate succession....you get the point...

Arizona

"Entering Arizona & Indian Country Beautiful Scenic Area Bring Your Cameras" (Plus some smooshed bugs on the windshield)
"Arizona The Grand Canyon State Welcomes You" (and more bug entrails...)
Chili's for lunch in Flagstaff, AZ. We bought and decorated a chili pepper for the benefit of the children's hospital.
Jon's says "We are getting married" and mine says "I heart Jon Dunn". If Flagstaff only knew the value of these pricelesss art works they would be on ebay in a snap.

Scenic New Mexico

Wind Power, baby!
Oil derrick--saw lots of these
In case you can't read it, this yellow sign says "New Mexico, Land of Enchantment"
There was a nasty storm and we drove right through it.

Oscar

My grandparent's cute (and well fed) little pet, Oscar.

Sailing

So the below pics are from Lake Sommerville in Sommerville, TX. We had a great day sailing with aunt & uncle Bob & Diane Wallis from Houston. Their boat, aptly named “Finally” was very cool and we really had a great time. We met them at the marina and had little (translate no) wind out to the center of the lake, but we drifted calmly and it was pretty hot which gave us all the more reason to jump overboard and cool off. We visited and ate snacks and drank Tecates and carried on just generally had a really fun time. At one point while in the center of the lake we bailed out to take a cool dip only to be surprised by the fact that we could touch the bottom with our feet! Now that was a slightly creepy sensastion, especially since we were all hanging on to this massive boat floating right next to us. We were scraping rudder for a bit but got turned around and were on our way again. Returning back to the marina, we had significant wind and the boat tipped sharply to one side. It’s a very unnatural sensation and I haven’t been on a boat like that for ages. Suffice to say I was a little freaked out and hid out in the bough of the boat until Aunt Diane convinced me that we would not tip over like on a smaller pontoon Hobie. I’ve jumped out of an airplane and own and ride a Harley Davidson and the boat freaked me out. Go figure. (And I’m a good swimmer, too!). Makes no sense. But we eventually made it back to the marina, shuffled into town and had some great Mexican food at the local joint (we drank a margarita the size of my head) said goodnight and gave goodbye hugs, jumped in the new truck and made our way back through the rural cotton fields in Robertson County.

Sunset at Sommerville

Love The Gov

Well, I have been a bad, bad blogger. No posts in over a week. However, we are full steam ahead into the wedding planning and a lot has been going on. First of all, I bought my dress last week. Sight unseen since they actually had my size & color in stock at Bridal Corner in North Ogden. I am going Saturday morning to be fitted. Now that is progress.

We have also been talking with wedding coordinators Lori and Jon Woodbury and as it stands they will be handling several aspects of the organizing. Yeah! Less stress for yours truly.

And finally, I have little time and will get back to the photo blogging of the TX trip because I’ve got guest lists to edit and passport renewal forms to tackle this evening. BUT, I felt compelled to share my experience this evening. I had the honor of finally meeting Governor Huntsman and The First Lady, Mary Kaye. (And of course an entourage of various staff including Mike Mower the Governors PR man. They were in the studio to chat with Doug Wright on the call in program “Let Me Speak To The Governor”. Afterward, they hung out and visited with the Nightside crew for a few minutes, and it was revealed to all even more how ultra cool The Gov is. The interview will likely be posted on the Nightside website in the next few days, and when it is I will link to that audio so all can enjoy. Aside from being a top legislative official, he is a very sincere person and exceedingly gracious. He is not only an avid rock fan he is a musician himself (piano/keyboard-- the coolest instrument for among other reasons it’s the one I can play). Oh, and on the air he challenged any other state’s governor to a rock music trivia contest. I suspect he won’t have any takers.

Just another in a long list of reasons to love The Gov.

Update, you can hear the audio of Huntsman on Nightside on this page. Unfortunately I can't link to the specific interview but scroll on down there and you'll find it...you should already be surfing this site anyway...

TX II

Wow, where to begin. What a great trip we had. It felt like we were gone for a month—in a good way-- when really it was merely a week. We arrived in Austin around 4:00 PM after our plane was delayed for 2 hours. Boo! We could’ve slept in. Oh, and might I add that I had been in the ER with my mom all night the night prior. She up & decided to have appendicitis that day. I got the call at work from the doctor at the Instacare who said they needed someone to come and take her to the hospital pronto. I didn’t want her to have to take the dreaded ambulance ride, so I tore out of work early & rescued her. Well, sort of. Eight hours later, much physical pain and administrative ordeal she was safely out of emergency surgery and in her hospital but her appendix had actually ruptured by the time they got her in the OR. Good grief. The recovery was not as simple as it could have been, but I am happy to report that she is doing much better now and we are already planning a camping trip to the Wasatch Mts. for next weekend. But alas, I digress.

So we got to Austin and headed to San Marcos to my Aunt & Uncle’s house. I regret that we didn’t really get any pics with Gary & Gini (sorry guys) so we’ll have to make up for that next visit. They took us down to the San Marcos River where it winds through town and we floated from one of the falls to a point downstream that was not too far, but just enough to give us a taste. The water was brisk, and we saw a few fish, a lot of college kids (Texas State U), 'Frisbee Dan', and a few of Uncle Ace’s fellow Lions of the San Marcos Lion’s Club.

Afterward, we cruised back to their house, and proceeded to visit with their neighbors, and then….dinner! They really know how to treat folks like royalty. It had everything to do with an early birthday celebration for me since Gini would be leaving in the morning to visit her family in Arizona. Uncle Ace busted out the filets and lobster! I have some great pics of him goofing around with the crustaceans prior to putting them in the pot but I have chosen not to post them here as I figure it would just piss off my animal welfare friends. I must say I have to agree with Alton Brown in terms of getting over the whole ‘hurting’ of the lobsters. They are just great big insects. Perhaps I’m fooling myself, but regardless, they sure were tasty.

The next day, (my birthday!) we headed into Austin for a brief tour before splitting to Rudy’s BBQ Sauce for Jon’s radio cohort Michael (well, ok he’s actually the host) and we toured the Texas A&M campus. Along the way (and earlier in the day on our way to Hearne) we were enlightened by many a college tale from Uncle Ace. When we went to College Station he was able to point out several of his old haunts, on & off campus. Gig ‘em Ags!

Back in Hearne we started the evening with a pitcher of margaritas. Yeehaw! My birthday dinner was great. Mary’s El Alamo Cafe, owned and operated by Mary, a long time resident of Hearne and kind friend of my grandparents. It’s home style Tex Mex, and the chili rellenos are really excellent. Can’t beat the prices either! I was presented with a cake and candles, the whole she-bang. I am such a lucky, lucky girl. I think they even sang to me but I don’t recall as I was heading into a food coma & was undoubtedly half in the bag. After dinner we retired to Wheelock Street, and the day ended. The next day we were slated to meet my other Aunt & Uncle, Diane & Bob (from Houston) at Somerville Lake where their beautiful sailboat is moored. Stay tuned for that excursion, along with pics.

Our Trip To TX Part I

Here is is folks, the Texas State Capitol Building.



Upper left hand --here is a crop duster that almost took us out.



Above: Abstract: "Crop Duster Over Cotton Field"

Below: Rural area outside of Hearne, TX. It's all cotton fields, baby!! (And yes, we pulled over and stole a handful right off the plant)...hemp schmemp...



href

What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been

For those who were anxiously awaiting news from the road, I'm sorry that I wasn't able to post while we were out there. Well, technically I was able to but we didn't really have much time and the last thing I wanted to do at the end of a full day in the car with JD, a gatorade, and some crappy AM radio stations was plop in front of the computer. So stay tuned as I will attempt to recount the highlights (and of course some of the lowlights) of our journey to Austin, Central, Northern, and West Texas, through New Mexico & Arizona, Kanab Utah, and finally Northward home to the S-L-C. Hail Zion!

Cat

This is so ridiculous I had to post it here. Somewhere, I'm still humming this song and laughing.

What, Me Tense?

While this is admittedly really gross, I can also say it is effective in keeping the pens in my office from getting ripped off. Anybody got a Valium?



 

Why Are You Green?

When we got home from the Homestead, we came inside the house and the cats were instantly swarming us. We keep dry food out for them all the time, but have been feeding them wet food in the evenings. They're both pretty thin and they really love it, so we figure no harm done. As I was shuffling through the door, both of the cats were stalking Jon. He went into the room where we keep their food, and two rooms away I hear him say "Why are you green??". I thought maybe the white one (Coconut) had rolled in some grass clippings, etc. but no, some wiseass dyed my cat green. WTF??!! 

Quack Quack

Check out the bouffant on this duck that was begging for scraps from the patio of the grill at the Homestead Resort. Looks like she took a wrong turn & missed the Aveda Spa.

Tick Tock

The clock is ticking. Three days till my birthday, and two days till we head to TX. We have quite the road trip in front of us. I'll be taking the notebook & the digi cam so hopefully we'll get some great pics from the road. Stay tuned....

Oh, and speaking of staying tuned, KSL Nightside now has their own proper website. Sort of. Click above for some bios and cool graphics if you please. Oh yeah, and don't forget the gang is now taking listener comment during the show, so tune in, call in, and quite possibly they'll let you throw in your two cents worth. Word.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Lots of stuff going on. First off, we WON the company golf scramble. Big Shock. Actually, I must say that out of the 16 people, four were women, including myself. They were all really great, and I must say that they were huge assets to their respective teams. I think the other women in the tournament had more 'qualifying' drives than I did, and one gal had never hit a ball in her life. I stand humbled.

Here's a pic of our trophy. I've been with the company for twelve years and I've never won anything until now. Thanks honey.

Tick Tock

The birthday clock is counting down. eEeEEEgaaads!

Weekend Scramble

Went last night with Barb to the driving range. We pounded a few buckets of balls. I did pretty well, and was very aware of the fact that whenever I didn't do something I was supposed to, the swing was a disaster. BUT if I kept my posuture and movements on track I really can whallop that thing a good 150-200 yds. And at the risk of sounding like a goof geek, I am looking forwrard to the scramble tournament we're playing in this weekend at my company's annual retreat weekend at the Homestead in Midway, UT. (Just down the road from the Blue Boar Inn). We are favored to win, thanks to Jon Dunn. Let's just hope I can bring something of value to the playing field.

Fore!

Today was my first official day as a golfer. Well, okay not exactly. We ordered a set of ladies' hybrid clubs on eBay for about $150. They arrived yesterday and we took them to the course today and I got to whallop a bucket of balls. Jon's group played at the Sleepy Ridge links course in Orem, UT. It was nice--cool & breezy in the morning but by 2:00 it was roasting. I tagged along for 18 holes with the usual gang, and then Jon & I headed over to the driving range. I suppose I did all right for a novice. Smacked a couple pretty well, missed several times, skimmed some heads, sliced a few, and so on. Next week is the company tournament (scramble) and I suppose I'll be in good enough shape for that. I am hoping to make it to the range again some night this week, so hopefully that helps.

I am currently stalking a pair of golf shoes in eBay. I guess not a lot of women golfers purchase things on eBay because it is certainly one category I have discovered where you can still get really good deals on things. I asked Jon why seemingly all golf shoes in general are so ugly. He was offended at first, and then sort of laughed & shrugged his shoulders. I guess you don't feel like an expert unless you're sporting hideously ugly shoes. Go figure.

After we left Orem we went by the Old Mill pro shop and got Jon a new golf bag. Week before last he competed in a Farmer's Insurance tournament on behalf of KSL and his team came in 2nd place. For it he won a large trophy (which I still have not seen--it's apparently his new office decor) and a $75 gift certificate for the pro shop. Since he didn't need anything at the time he stashed the certificate. Today he realized that I would need a golf bag, so I have now inherited his, and he has in turn acquired a beauty of a new Titleist bag from the proshop for $100 with the certificate discounted. It was an all around win for all.

Der Ring

So I’ve sort of strayed a bit from the original purpose for this journal. (The wedding....) ~Bridezilla Schmidezilla!

I realized the other day that I had failed to shower praises upon our favorite custom jeweler, Charley Hafen. I can’t believe how fortunate we were to finally find a jeweler that we clicked with. And let me tell you we did our homework! Charley was actually referred to us by a friend who knew him from the days when Charley’s shop was located at Trolley Square. His gallery now independently stands in Sugarhouse. After all our valley wide searching, there he was all that time, just a half block from our home! So here’s how it happened.

When we decided we wanted to get married (we had an adult discussion about it—none of this archaic getting on one knee nonsense) I didn’t have to have a ring, but Jon was all for it, and hey, who am I to argue? I say this in all honesty, and people often still don’t believe me, but I never had any childhood fantasies about how my wedding would be or what my ring should look like. I had a few ideas about what I liked based on some looking I did last year with my girl Brooke when she & her now husband were looking at rings. But beyond some basic knowledge, I knew nothing. Neither did Jon. So we started doing a little research on the web, made a few calls around town to see who our friends knew, and then ventured into some jewelry stores. It was awful! You know that icky feeling you get when you are looking at used cars and a hairy, porn star looking guy who smells like cheap cologne is leering at you? Yeah, it was that gross. Apparently the jewelry business is extremely competitive and we heard just about every come-on there is. We looked at some pieces and there are a lot of beautiful things out there but nothing stole our hearts. Until we looked at tension rings. Tension rings are uniquely beautiful and we looked at a couple of different designers. As for diamonds, well, I don’t have any family heirlooms, and neither does he, so we needed to invest in a stone as well. I was and remain a ‘quality not quantity’ type of gal. I would much prefer a smaller stone that is finer and less flawed than a large, dull diamond. We checked out the tension ring dealers in town and boy they are pretty. But then I got a little gun shy and decided I didn’t want my center stone so vulnerable that it could potentially get ripped out of its setting. I’m pretty hard on my stuff (playing with the dogs, digging in the dirt, fiddling with doodads on my motorcycle, etc.) so I’m not really well suited for a delicate piece of jewelry.

So one day Jon stopped by Charley’s shop on his way home from work. He went in and chatted with Charley and was impressed with his mellow, friendly demeanor. He explained to Jon how he would hand craft the ring, make a wax mold, allow us to ‘proof’ it, and then cast it in gold (white gold was our choice). We showed Charley pictures of some of the rings we like, and with the photos he was able to design a unique composite sample incorporating elements of all the different styles we liked. Since we didn’t have a stone yet—the centerpiece of the ring—he said he would have his gemologist bring us a few samples. A few days later we went back to Charley’s shop together and chose the stone—a beautiful .9 karat princess cut (the clarity and color stats slip my mind at the moment—I’ll come back & insert in this post if I can locate the paperwork). Suffice to say it was a beautiful stone and we were eager to see it in our finished project. A week or so later we went back to see the wax mold. It was fragile and gave us an idea of what to expect, but we really had no idea how beautiful it would be in the end. Needless to say I showcase the bling every day and we are definitely very pleased with the outcome.

Bling