Don't Get Sassy With Me!

A few days after I got back from Europe I had stopped in to Target for a little shopping. I was in the check out line ready to get rung up when I turned and saw an "old" friend. After exchanging some pleasantries, she said, "So, when was the last time you were in London?" Her tone was a little snotty and I was a little taken back as to just where that question was coming from. She must have noticed my sweatshirt that read "LONDON ENGLAND" across the front of it. And thought I had purchased it at Target or somewhere local. Instead of getting the response she was hoping for, I simply replied "Monday." :)

Nacho Libre

While on the cruise in Mexico, my nephew showed me that they were selling the Mexican wrestling mask like was seen in the movie Nacho Libre. I was pleased to see that they even had the specific style that Nacho wore in the movie. I knew immediately that I needed it for a costume party that I had been invited to. After getting getting back to the USA and internet access, I decided to google Nacho Libre to see what the rest of the costume looked like. I immediately realized that I was going to have to be a little creative. I finished up the costume with a red and white athletic shirt and of course "stretchy pants!" Unfortunately I only got one photo of me and I look sleepy! Nevertheless it was a good time!

Fun Friday with a Friend

Last week, my friend, John, was in town and the only day he was available to hang out was last Friday. So I took the day off work. Oh we had grand plans of the things we were going to squeeze into just one day. As it turned out we only accomplished 2 out of 5 activities. Who were we kidding?! It did turn out to be a fun day though.

Activity 1: I picked him up at the BYU Wilkinson Center where he was donating donating blood while on vacation. What dedication! And even though they told him no exercise, we then decided to hike Stewart Falls. :) It has been years since I did it last. I have had friends that have tried to get me to go several times over the last year and it always look as if it's about to rain so I back out. Well there was no rain this time!

Activity 2: After the hike, we went to eat at one of my favorite places to eat: Thai Drift! I had been telling John how great the massaman curry is there. Since he lives in Los Angeles, I was worried that my version of great Thai food might not match his. But I was pleased when he reported that 2 out of the 3 dishes we had, were very good. Yeah, Thai Drift!

Concert at Red Butte Gardens

I've been slipping in my blogging. :( So this event was actually a week ago from last Monday, July 13th.

My friend, Brad, texted me a few weeks ago and said that our friend Kimber had managed to buy a few tickets for Death Cab for Cutie at the Red Butte Gardens. The show had been sold out but apparently they found a few more available and they listed them online. Now I've seen Death Cab for Cutie twice prior to this. So I wasn't way excited about that even though I love the band. What intrigued me was attending a concert at Red Butte Gardens. So I said I was "in."

The night of the show, I met Brad at our usual park and ride spot. We then picked up Kimber in Draper. Of course we always have to get some food prior to a night of music. We stopped at the downtown Greek Souvlaki for a gyro. Yum!



We got the concert at the perfect time, just as Ra Ra Riot took the stage. I was unfamiliar with the band until a few days before the show. Normally I'm not too interested in the warm up groups but I was really digging what I had heard from them before the show and they did not disappoint in person. My only complaint was that their time on stage was too short.



Next up was Andrew Bird. I was familiar with some of his music. It's a little more eclectic. But he does some pretty amazing stuff live. He regularly would record a bit either of violin, guitar, or other sound and then loop it through out the song. He would add layer upon layer of different instruments or sounds to create the song. I'm sure my description doesn't do it justice. And man this guy can really whistle! I've never heard so much whistling from the artist on stage!



Last up was Death Cab for Cutie. Of course seeing them live once again only confirmed why I love their music. The temperature had started to cool and it was nice to be outside listening to great music in such a beautiful setting. If only my knees and feet could get past the pain of standing for four hours. I'm not as young as I used to be.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

Yesterday our singles family home evening group attended the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. It was interesting to see a second temple open house so close to viewing another one. Our FHE group also attended the Draper Temple open house a few months ago.

The Oquirrh Mountain Temple was similar in a lot of ways to the Draper Temple. They are smaller temples comparatively speaking. I also noticed how much they used darker neutral colors through out. And again the furniture was very modern just like the Draper Temple. The most noticeable difference was the use of lots of floor tile. It seems like it might make for too much noise. I know that it definitely contributed to the noise during the open house. But I am sure that it will make cleaning and maintenance so much easier.

After the open house several of us stopped by the Red Robin for smoothies and some appetizers. It was a great time.

Ben Kweller in Concert

Saturday night I went with my friend, Brad, his wife Elizabeth, and another friend Kimber to attend a Ben Kweller concert in Salt Lake City. I wasn't terribly excited about it. I've seen Ben Kweller three times now including this last time. But I wanted to go because it's one of the few times I get to hang out with Brad. Since the ticket was cheap, I figured, "Why not?"

Beforehand we went to the Reg Iguana to eat dinner. My last experience there was not a good memory but it was also a long time ago. Ten years ago when I last tried it, the service was horrible, it wasn't very clean, and when they brought me a glass of water there was lipstick on the glass and floaties in the water. Eeek! Well, I'm pleased to report that it has much improved. (ie. no lipstick!) Actually it was quite good. I ordered the Mole Negro. I love mole. Or better yet I should say that I love El Azteca's mole. Even though the Red Iguana's was pretty good, I'm still saying that El Azteca has the best version.

After dinner we headed to the Avalon to see Ben. Before Ben, the warm up band was Jones Street Station and as far as warm up bands go, they were great. Very talented. Ben came out and I once again realized just how talented and likable he is. I ended up thoroughly enjoying the show. The highlight of the show had to be the second encore which featured his 3 year old son playing drums. I was glad to see that someone had posted that song on YouTube. You can see it below. The kid is amazing!

My New BFF, L

Yesterday I got to work I went to remove my phone from my shorts pocket and set it on my desk. (That's the routine.) Ughhh! I had left it at home. I hate it when that happens. I'm afraid that I might miss a call or text. I updated my Facebook status to reflect my current panic. I got several comments on it and one of them was from a friend who asked if she should text me so that I would have a missed message. I replied jokingly and said "Would you? That would be so nice. :)" Sure enough when I rushed home to get my phone, there was her text. That made me happy. Especially since it was the only thing that I missed. But the funniest part came later that evening when I started getting text messages from her 10 year old daughter. I had to share our conversations.

L: Hey B it's L are you going to baby sit us I July and jo to that would be awsome if you did

Me: Hi L. This is actually B's uncle, Brian. :)

L: Oh sorry brian kind looks like her name. Sorry

Me: Yep. No problem.

L: Ok have I ever met you?you used to work at Novell so I have might have never met. You before my name is L. A. G. (actually had her full name here) I have no idea why I just said that but I'm in 4th grade going on to 5th I'm 10 I'm borde so I dicided to tell you about me I have brownish bloundish hair green eyes so yea

Me: Does your mom know you are texting strangers? :) I migh have met you at Lake Powell a few years ago.

L: yes she does know I'm talking. To you and yes I did met you at lake Powell this is L

Me: Ok good to know! :)

L: :)

Happy Birthday to Me

I'm getting old or maybe I already am. I guess it's all up to your perspective. So this year I turned 41 last weekend. Earlier in the week I got a call from my friend, Anna. She informed me that she was going to throw a birthday party for me but there was a catch -- it had to be at my house. :) I told her that would be great. I'm not sure that I have had someone other than a family member ever offer to throw me a birthday party. It was incredibly nice of her. She did a ton of work as you can see. She also got a few other friend to help bring party food. It was a huge success. Thanks Anna! and everyone who helped out or attended.

We had plenty of deserts and a veggie tray to counter balance all the sweets. We played Nertz and Rock Band. Then we watched a movie, Taken.

The Ting Tings

Thursday I went to see The Ting Tings perform in Salt Lake City with Brad and Dan. When Brad asked me if I wanted to go, I honestly wasn't really excited about it but tickets were cheap. So of course I said, "Yes." Well, they were so worth the $16! Probably one of the most upbeat concerts I've been to in a long time. It was also fun to see Jen & Cass and Kimber & Lori.



In case you are not familiar with The Ting Tings let me fill you in. The band consists of two members: Jules and Katie. In this concert, Jules was on guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and vocals. Katie was on guitar, bass drum, and vocals. They have the 80's pop sound which makes for a fun concert. They both were high energy and made sure the crowd was high energy too. Since they only have one released CD you can imagine that the concert was not as long as many that I've been to. But I kind of liked leaving wanting more. The next day at work I had a hard time listening to much other than them. And if you have seen any of the iPod commercials it likely that you have heard their song: Shut Up and Let Me Go.

As far as the warm-up bands goes, they were horrible and I don't even want to mention them. :)

An Evening with Adele & James Morrison

Several weeks ago a several friends and I decided that we wanted to go see Adele & James Morrison in concert. I created an event on Facebook right away and got everyone invited. And being the procrastinator that I am I never tried to go buy my ticket until the Saturday (Jan 17th) before the show. So I was shocked and saddened to find out that the show was sold out. Once again my procrastination had not paid off. When will I learn?! I sent out an e-mail to everyone I invited and told them that the show was sold out. And what I found was that most of the people were procrastinators also. Fortunately Lindsay, Lexi, Molly, and Mitch were smarter and picked up tickets early. I still had hope that I could find something on craigslist or ksl.com. When that didn't turn out, my new best friend, Mitch, said he'd let me have his ticket which was incredibly nice of him. But that is just how Mitch is. Plus he wasn't all the excited to go to being with. :) Still very nice of him.

So last night (Jan 23rd), I picked up Lindsay, Lexi, and Molly. We headed to Murray to see the show at the Murray Theater. On the way we stopped at Pei Wei to eat some dinner. It was great. We need one of the those in Utah County. After dinner we drove up the street to the show. The timing was just right for not missing the show. But unfortunately I was not familiar with the venue because we really should have been there much earlier. Just a few minutes after getting there James Morrison began the show but we were barely able to get in the doors of the auditorium. I could barely see him and I'm the tallest of our group. We did eventually find a better spot by going through the north doors. When we switched sides, Molly overheard that if you bought James' new CD you could meet him after the show and have him sign it. So I was all over that. We both bought CDs and when we thought he was about done, we headed over to where we could get backstage. While we were waiting Molly spotted none other than the David Archuleta coming down the stairs from the box seats. I tried to get a photo once it registered. Molly became a 12 year-old girl again, screaming "David, Hi." He turned and waved with his trademark grin. Made her night. Molly & I were the first of the group going backstage. I was already with my camera too. I wasn't sure they would allow photos but I wasn't going to ask either. After we met James and got our photos taken with him. The promoter was telling everyone that there wouldn't be group photos because there wasn't time. Good thing we were first.

We went back in the auditorium to watch Adele. This time we decided to try and work our way down to the 2nd level. After some work we got there and the view was much better. We just had to make sure people were not stepping on Molly's foot since she just recently broke her leg. Adele was amazing. Her voice is just as great in person and it was nice to see her personality. During one of her songs she forgot the lyrics and it was pretty obvious. Before the next song she apologized saying basically that she only has one album and that she should be able to remember the lyrics. It was cute. The show was great. Glad I got to go. Thanks again, Mitch!

There are some videos at the that bottom of the this entry that I took of a few performances. The video is not great but the sound is pretty good.

A Sweet Night of Guitar Hero

So back during my work Christmas party I got a gift certificate for a season family pass to Thankgiving Point. In case you haven't noticed, I don't have a family of my own. So I traded it to another guy who was going to buy a family pass anyway. In return I got a gift certificate to Sundance. That was much better for me. But then I realized that my brother buys a season pass to the cross-country track at Sundance. So he bought my gift certificate and in exchange I bought Guitar Hero. Perfect!

Anyway, my friend, Lindsay kept on asking when she was going to get to come play my new game. So I thought why not make a party of it. Then I remembered that she is on a sugar fast. No sugar for two weeks. Ughh! So being the super supportive friend that I am, :) I decided to make it a theme for the evening. So you could bring snacks as long as they were sugar free. I provided diet sodas, almonds, sugar-free pudding, sugar-free jello, sugar-free cool whip, and pretzels. Some other friends brought a great veggie tray and dip and dried mangoes. The mangoes had sugar but we pretended.

We had a great time rocking late into the evening. I just hoped my neighbors enjoyed it as much as me. :)







Those attending: Me, Lindsay, Anna, Molly, Colette, Mitch, Rob, and Eric. Thanks for coming!

Draper Temple Open House

Over a month ago I was on Facebook (shocking, I know) and I noticed that one friend's status said that she had just got reservations for the LDS Draper Temple open house. I didn't even know that they were available yet. But I quickly checked out lds.org and before I knew it I had reserved 10 tickets for the first day of the open house. I thought this would be a great activity for the singles FHE group that I belong to. I created an event on Facebook and invited a bunch of singles to attend. I was surprised at how fast the reservations were taken up. So I went back out to lds.org and reserved a few more tickets just in case. In the end I had 14 reservations and we ended up using the initial 10 that I reserved. I don't think it really mattered because no one checked for tickets or the number in our party. In any case I thought it was a great turn out!

The tour starts at one of many churches in the Draper area. There you watch a very short video about temples and why they are important to us as members of the LDS church. After the video we boarded buses and were shuttled to the temple.

The inside of the temple (as well as the outside) is beautiful as you would expect. Things that seemed to strike me were the use of naturally stained wood and lots of it. The whole temple seems to have more a nature feel to me. The furnishing seemed to be quite modern compared to what I expected but at the same time the were very classic. It seemed quite small compared to some of the other local temples but then again I'm not sure how much of it we really saw. All in all, it is a very beautiful temple. I'll be interested in going back once the open house is over but that is not for another two months I believe.

I took a camera and meant to take photos but you cannot take photos inside the temple and the whole time you are outside the temple you are in a heated series of tents. The only chance for a photo of the temple would have been from the bus. Oh well, these photos from the church's website will have to suffice.

After the tour most of us went to Applebees for a late dinner or desert.

Waiting Room

Decor Detail

Art Glass with Sego Lily Motif

Ordinance Room

Ordinance Room

Celestial Room

Celetial Room Ceiling Detail

Bride's Dressing Room

Sealing Room

Art Glass Window

Side note: The art glass through out the temple was done by my good friend's (Gayle Terry Holdman) husband's (Tom Holdman) shop.

Those attending: Me, Jaree, Molly, Kristine, Melissa, Lindsay, Mitch, Anna, Heather, & Marianne.