Jackson Hill Climbs

After several years of trying to convince me attending the Snowmobile Hill Climbs in Jackson Hole would be fun, Erik and I finally went up last weekend along with the Chattertons and McCombers. And I have to admit, I had a good time.

Of course that could be because most of the weekend centered around where we would be dining next. Since I'm an absolute food junkie, I was more than willing to let that topic take a good portion of our discussions. And the end result of each discussion definitely didn't disappoint. We ended up at Bubba's BBQ twice, once for dinner and once for lunch, and it was fantastic. I *heart* bbq, so I wasn't going to argue over going twice - although I did resist going for breakfast also. With so many great places to eat, you need to experience more of what's available, like the delicious Merry Piglets with chicken and spinach enchiladas. Yum!!!

And luckily I was able to get my first breakfast choice of the Bunnery on Saturday. Even though the guys were embarrassed to be seen in such a tree-hugger establishment (complete with OSM toast - oats, sunflower seeds, and millet - and granola), I thoroughly enjoyed my turkey and swiss croissant and eggs. I think you can pair pretty much anything with a croissant and have it turn out great. :)

The amazing part was that after such fabulous fare, I'd lost 5 pounds by Monday morning!?! Of course, it's all come back now, so I guess it doesn't really count...but it made me feel a little less guilty about not exercising the entire weekend but still eating all that wonderful food.

When we weren't eating, we spent some time in the lodge watching the hill climbs and staying warm all at once. And Tina and I wandered down to downtown Jackson for some shopping and some interesting exhibits at Ripley's. We did finally head up the mountain on Sunday...leave it to us to pick the day when it dumped two feet of new snow to trek up a mountain, but that's what we did. Thankfully, though, Tina was with us, and it was nice to have someone along who seems to hate the cold more than I do. ;)

But it gave me a whole new appreciation for what was going on seeing how steep this "hill" really was and almost taking the entire group down with me in once particular klutzy moment. And a new respect for Landon, Ashley's brother, who went over the top twice.

After a couple hours of watching a blizzard up close and personal, the best part of the weekend came: the butt luge! From the top of Snow King Mountain, we were able to slide most of the way down in the trench that had been created by those who went down before us. If you've ever been on an alpine slide, it was very similar only soooo much more fun! I was almost willing to pay for another lift ticket just to slide down again, but alas....we had to get home to pick up Lily and Laddie at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Read more...

Social TV

I don't know about anyone else (although I can probably guess), but I think it's great that television has become a social activity. I guess to a certain extent, it's always been that way. I mean, it's not uncommon to watch a show with someone else and some families do it quite a bit. But with shows that have developed a real following, television viewing has moved outside of people's individual homes and families: now, we have viewing parties.

This was the case last night as our group congregated for dinner and American Idol. After what seemed like a million emails to work out the details, it was finally decided we'd be having a sandwich bar and waiting for Tina to finish her run before beginning the festivities (making the rest of us look like lazy slobs because all we wanted to do was eat and watch TV :) ). American Idol is really the perfect show for such a party. You get to comment on everything that's happening and debate the results with friends. You can also laugh at the terrible performances and rag on Paula for her nonsensical, rambling critiques.

I'll be honest...I'm not a huge Idol fan. I watch it because two years ago, Erik suddenly decided he wanted to watch more than just the auditions. I'm not saying I don't enjoy it or the performers. I do have David Cook on my iPod after all. But if Erik ends up working on Idol night, I usually find something else to do. Watching it with a bunch of friends, however, makes it worth it to me...even though I will now never be able to watch Anoop without thinking of Apu:

While we didn't stay, some people also watched the latest episode of Lost. With all I've heard and the little I've seen, I decided the see what all the fuss is about. After borrowing the first season forever ago, I finlly popped in the the first episode when we got home last night. And I have to say, I'm intrigued. What is the big "animal" living in the jungle? What's with the solitary bald guy? He's important, I'm sure, but how long until I find out why. If "at least 48" people survived the crash, am I really going to have to keep track of that many story lines? Or are they going to quickly kill off several? I don't know that I can keep 48 people straight. Maybe by next season, I'll be up to speed and ready to join in the speculation...

I think what's happened is viewing parties have become the book clubs of the 21st century. Instead of taking a month to read a book and then meeting to discuss, you get a weekly chance to do it, and you get immediate reactions to what's happening, which is kind of fun. Plus, there's always the anticipation leading up to the next week...or like with American Idol, tonight when we see who's dream is over...

Read more...

Reflections on time

This week has absolutely flown by for me. Maybe it's because after a week off work, I had a TON to do and respond to as a result of the rest of the world continuing on as usual. Maybe it was because I felt we had a lot going on at home since Erik has been home every night this week. Without at least one night where he didn't get home until 10, it must have messed up my week chronometer. Maybe it was because the weather is absolutely gorgeous and life just seems to move by more quickly when the weather isn't gloomy and depressing.

Whatever the reason, the weekend is here and I'm ready for it, but unfortunately, the forecast says that even though I'll have the time to enjoy wonderful spring weather, mother nature has a cruel sense of humor and will probably dump rain on us the entire time.

Last week seemed to fly by, too. But I can't think of what kept me so busy. With a week off, I had hoped to come back to the blog with a great post of all the things I'd accomplished, enjoyed, and participated in. Somehow, things never work out how we hope.

I did leave the Valley for a couple days to spend some time with my mom down in Utah County. Lillian came with me of course, and we had a fun time just hanging out and keeping it very low key. We spent Monday afternoon wandering around Ikea, and all I can say is, I'm lucky there isn't one closer or I'd be there all the time. As we eyed everything, my yellow shopping bag was getting pretty full, and I was sure I was going to end up spending a ton more than I wanted to. Truth be told, I only spent $25 and walked away with lots of fun stuff to show for it. Of course, I took Erik back with me on Saturday so we could get a new entertainment center, so I guess if you add that in, I spent way more than I planned on. :-) Because of the snow storm Monday, we stayed another night and came home on Tuesday.

The rest of the week was pretty unproductive. By the time Sunday night rolled around, I realized I hadn't accomplished half of what I had originally planned on; where had the time gone? I felt like I spent the first few days like I was on vacation, and I didn't want to do anything. By the time I hit my ambitous groove on Thursday, it was really too late.

But it was fun to spend an entire week just being "mom," without having to worry about email and projects even when I'm at home. When Lily asked me to read or play, I could do it right then and not have to tell her "in a minute" or "let me finish this first." And I felt I was enternally more patient with her in the evenings than I am when I get home from work. I'm not sure how spending all day with her made me more patient with her at the end of the day, but that's how it seemed.

This week, Erik started working up in Logan as the new Wal-mart is now getting ready to hire. It's been so nice to have him home every night, and he doesn't have that 45-minute drive to get here. We also found out he'll have weekends off for the next 6 weeks, so we're thrilled. Next weekend, we'll be heading up to Jackson for the snowmobile hill climbs and a mini vacation.

We also found out he's been assigned to overnights. That I was not so thrilled about. With my addition of another day in the office starting in April, we had planned on Erik taking Lily as many as two days a week to help keep daycare costs down. Now, depending on how they do the schedule, he may only be with her one day, have to go without sleep to get back on a normal schedule but still be with her two days, or not be with her at all. I like that they've been able to spend some one-on-one time together for the last two years, so the chance of that disappearing and the idea of sleeping alone for the next year had me pretty bummed. But it will mean that he'll be home every evening, so that's something we haven't had for a while and it will be nice.

Read more...

I think he was stoned...

I called Marriott's reservation line this morning to get some rooms for a few people. Normally I like to make reservations online, but this particular set had a group code and I wasn't provided with the online version. So I had to call.

This is how the converstion started:

Him: ThankyouforcallingMarriottblahblahblahIhavenoideawhat
hesaidhowcanIhelpyou?

(I'm not kidding. He didn't breathe for the entire greeting and I seriously didn't catch what he said in the middle.)

Me: I need to make some reservations.

Him: Great! Do you have a confirmation number?

Me: No...I need to make a reservation.

Him: Of course! You need to make a reservation. Why would you have a confirmation number already?

The rest of the conversation was pretty much the same. I had to spell the person's name three times and he never did get it right, so since I was making reservations for three people, I chose an easier name and told him I'd need two more reservations that were exactly the same (to save myself from having to spell the first name again). After finishing the first one, he asked if there was anything else he could help me with. I had to remind him about the other two. After doing the second room, he said, "OK...and now the fourth room." Mixed in during the down time while he messed with his computer, I heard the occasional snort, like he'd fallen asleep or something. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry or just hang up...

I don't know what this guy ate for breakfast, but I think he better cut back! Now I remember why I prefer to make the reservations online, but at least I had a fairly amusing start to my day. :)

Read more...

Another chat with Lily

Lillian LOVES her bath time. She's never turned one down. A few weeks ago, Erik decided she might enjoy bubble baths, so he grabbed some the next time we went shopping. A couple nights later, we remembered it. He asked if she wanted bubbles in the bath and she said no. Thinking she didn't really know what she wanted, he dumped some in anyway. She refused to get in the tub until I drained the water and the bubbles. Of course, not all the bubbles were gone right away, so even after I refilled the tub, she refused to sit down because of a couple bubbles.

She's had several baths since then, all without bubbles, but when I asked her if she wanted to take a bath tonight, here's the conversation we had:

Me: Do you want to go take a bath?

Lily: YEAH! In the tub.

Me: Yep...you'll take a bath in the tub. Are baths fun?

Lily: Fun bath! No bubbles.

Me: No bubbles?

Lily: Bubbles no fun.

Me: You don't like bubbles in the bath?

Lily: No. Bubbles no fun.

Needless to say, we didn't put any bubbles in the tub.

It amazes me how much she remembers now and the things that stick in her head. And for a kid who seems to have no fear whatsoever, especially when it comes to jumping off EVERYTHING, I don't know where she got this fear of bubbles. The weird thing is, she loves to blow bubbles and have them blown at her, but I guess there's something about sitting in them that freaks her out.

These last couple months, I've enjoyed watching as she develops into her own little person. I guess she's always had her own personality, but now she can vocalize what she's thinking and it's different. She definitely has her own opinions about things and knows how she wants situations to play out. And she's not afraid to let you know what she's thinking. This could turn into a bad thing - and sometimes it's a little frustrating when her vision doesn't meet up with mine - but after almost two years of trying to guess what she wants, it's nice to have her tell me: sandwich, play, puppy book, color, juice, potty, and my favorite: Mommy, sit right here!

It's been an amazing trip.

Read more...

A cut and style

After being about 2 months overdue for a hair cut, I finally went in and got it done. There's something so re-energizing about getting my hair trimmed. But for some reason, it takes me forever to make the appointment. I keep thinking, I can last another week, then another, etc. Two months later, it had reached a point where it didn't quite sit right, no matter how I did it, so I got pretty lazy about doing it at all. If it's not going to look good, why bother, right? But once I get it trimmed, I'm suddenly gung-ho about straightening it every day and making an effort.

I also love to just go to the salon. I used to run to Great Clips or someplace similar, especially when it was all one length and not too intensive. It didn't matter if I had a different stylist each time. But about a year ago, I changed it up and decided it would be a good idea to have a consistent person do it, especially since she does a great job.

But this definitely isn't a high class salon...it's actually a little bit of a hole in the wall. And I've realized something about hole-in-the-wall establishments. They can be some of the best places to do business. I like this particular hole in the wall because they seem to really care about their customers. I don't go as regularly as I probably should, but Traci always seems to remember me and is glad I'm there. She remembers that I have a daughter and about how old she is. She remembers that we went on a cruise last May. She remembers where I work and what I do. Plus, she takes the time to really make sure my hair is done right. I have sooo much of it and it's naturally pretty wavy, but she spends probably the last 15 minutes after drying it straight to make sure there aren't any random pieces that didn't get cut right. And honestly, she's the first stylist I've had who actually understands what I'm trying to say when I explain what I want. It may be my fault that previous attempts at different establishments haven't gone quite right, but I give her major props for doing it perfect.

Traci and her amazing abilities aside, I love going in just to people-watch. There are always these cute old ladies who come in once a week to get their hair styled. It's a habit I think is going by the wayside, but it's so fun to see them come in just for a wash and a curl. They know their stylists so well and it's something they get to do once a week. They sit and chat about their grandkids and their husbands and what fun things they're doing. It's just so fun to be a part of it.

So after a monstrous week at work, it was so nice to get a haircut so I feel like myself again and have a little fun doing it.

Read more...

True Story

Like I mentioned before, I've been arranging a lot of travel this week, and people come up with some pretty odd questions that, using a little commonsense, they could figure out on their own. But with this one, I honestly wasn't sure how to react:

"We'd like to know all United flights leaving on March 25 from Bismarck."

I actually just sat there for a minute wondering if I'd read it wrong. I mean, I knew they didn't really want ALL flights, just the ones that got them to the end destination, but I wasn't sure why they were asking me for such a large set of information.

I think they're trying to make it easy for me by finding the flights themselves and then just telling me what they want, which normally is great if that's how it actually plays out. But instead, I'm having to hold their hand as they figure out what they want. If they had just given me general times they wanted to fly and said they wanted United when I first asked, I could have found an option for them and been done.

My response was to give them the United website, which is where I would have found the information anyway. I don't know why they felt I needed to act as middle man when the information is freely available to anyone with an internet connection. Maybe they'll start to realize there's this great thing called the Internet (it's on computers now) that has a entire wealth of information. I already sent them a link to the shuttle schedule because they needed that before deciding what times they would be looking at. Now, even with the shuttle schedule, they need every available flight for that day? My brain must work entirely differently.

Read more...

Take this job...

There are some days I hate my job. Well, not my job exactly, but some of the people I have to deal with as a result.

I'm back to playing travel agent for a little while (which seems to be an increasingly more common occurrence), and there's this one person I just cannot stand! The last time I did a trip for him, I had to answer the same questions several times, and this time is no different. I don't know how many different ways I can tell him the same information. I'm about ready to say, "Do it yourself and leave me ALONE if you're so concerned about it!" But that would hardly be professional, so I just keep saying the same thing over and over. Although my answers are becoming a little less nice each time, I think.

And the worst part is that even once this awful day is over, I'll have to do it all over again tomorrow and probably again in a few weeks. It almost makes me happy I have a furlough next week...I'm willing to take an unnecessary cut in pay for one blessed week without having to think about him and his annoying questions at all.

Read more...

Update to moon shots

Ok...so my shots didn't turn out quite as good. I guess I should have grabbed the remote shutter release once I realized I was still getting some jiggle, but I think mine have more character... :)

http://www.wingmakers.co.nz/Moon%20&%20Venus.jpg

Read more...

Our kitchen

When we moved in over two years ago, I was at a loss over what to do with the completely wasted space over my cabinets. I'm not talking a couple inches. We have about 2 feet from the top of the cabinets to the ceiling. I have a couple things that I put up there at first, but they weren't tall enough to really make an impact. A couple months after moving in, I bought a tall bottle with sliced lemons and oranges arranged in it. After a while, I decided to use it as a starting point for a theme, and the concept of our citrus kitchen was born. I even went so far as to buy yellow, orange, and green Fiestaware. (And they are awesome, let me tell you!) My first addition to the cabinets was tall vases with lemons, oranges, and limes. These, along with the original inspiration, worked for quite a while...until I decided to paint the back wall.

Once my Lemon 'n' Lime Chill paint was up on the wall, the kitchen suddenly became too yellow. I never thought I could think such a thing since I LOVE yellow. But there it was, screaming at me every time I looked at it. So I decided I needed some sort of greenery up there. I found the cutest miniature lemon trees online but kept hoping to find something locally and maybe a little cheaper. It never happened, but I did find a cheaper version online. But as I was considering the purchase, I wondered if a lemon tree would escalate the yellow problem. So I decided to go with the orange tree.

Which ended up being out of stock...of course. So I asked to be notified when it came back in stock, but after a month or so of no word, I returned to the site, and the orange tree was nowhere to be found. Apparently I didn't deserve notice that I could never purchase the tree I inquired about.

Back to square one, I wondered if I should just bite the bullet and order the more expensive trees, which also came in orange. Then, on a trip to Wal-mart, we went browsing through the newly stocked garden center. There, just calling my name, was a bright orange flower pot. An idea was born. I would make my own dang topiaries! Complete with matching pots. So this weekend, I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up two ball topiaries and orange picks. I didn't have time to grab the pots, but I put the picks in the topiares and tried them out that night. It was just what it needed. And I've decided the pots that came with the topiaries work great, so I'm perfectly happy without the orange ones.

So after 2+ years, here's what I've come up with:

I'm totally happy with it although I almost think it might need something else. But since every idea I had about it came when I wasn't even really trying, I think I'll just let it come when the inspiration strikes.

Read more...