Slacking

I'm traveling for work this week and will likely not be blogging. I thought I'd post a note to let the one person who reads my blog know that. Hi Mom!

Next week we'll be back with our regularly scheduled programming.

Have a fabulous week!

Monday Lovely: 70's Style Amber Glasses

There are several things I have in common with Napoleon Dynamite: Sweet dance moves, involvement in student government campaigns and an affinity for Deseret Industries. I have spent more time at this local thrift store than is probably healthy and in one of my many shopping trips I dropped about $2 for these awesome juice glasses that, to me, look like they're out of the 70's.

They're always the first glasses I reach for when we're just relaxing and having a casual weekend breakfast. You know, after I've fed Tina all her ham.

Like a Fine Wine, or a Really Stinky Cheese*

Today, Zach turns the big 3-0. He is my better half, our family chef, our master carpenter, my biggest cheerleader, a great comedian, a surprisingly good decorator, an excellent shopping companion, a terrible loser at board games, a fabulous road trip buddy, a beer connoisseur, the hardest worker I know and my best friend.



Happy birthday, Z!

*Thanks to Courtney for the headline inspiration. I have a feeling Zach will appreciate being compared to a smelly cheese much more than he would an expensive wine. That's just how he is. Sigh.

Right Now, Practicing my Best John McEnroe Tantrum

Last Saturday, I loaded up the Ford Explorer and hopped on I-15 to head down to St. George to see my good friend and former neighbor Abby. She moved far, far away last summer and was visiting Utah for a huge tennis tournament. I tagged along with her and her fun-loving tennis buddies all weekend, enjoyed the sun and picked up a thing or two about the game. Including:

1. A bagel is more than a breakfast food;
2. There is a difference between games, sets and matches (although I still don't know what that is); and
3. I am still ridiculously uncoordinated.

I also learned one more thing: if ever there was a sport for me, this is it! THEY GET TO WEAR SKIRTS. Now if they just add some high-heeled shoes to the mix, I may start playing tomorrow.

Abby and I both came back to the SLC on Sunday and headed straight for one of our mutually favorite places, Noodles, where we had delicious and reasonably priced pasta to our hearts' content.

Afterwards we met up with the world's greatest neighbors who live in SoTro, the world's greatest neighborhood. Scott & Ryan volunteered to host Neighborhood Game Night and the game of the evening was "The Great Dalmuti" where the first two players to get rid of all their cards are king and queen of the next round and the last two are serf and peasant. Because they are excellent at accessorizing they ensured we each had appropriate headwear.

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend, full of friends, fun and family--I was even able to spend some time with my cute sister in Cedar City.

Abby went home Monday and we miss her already. I also realized I only have about 364 days to figure out what a backhand is. Abby, go ahead and sign me up for next year's tournament... If you dare.

Overheard: Monopolizing

Player 1: That's a perfect purchase for you.

Player 2: Why?

Player 1: Because you smell like you have a lot in common with B & O Railroad, if you know what I'm sayin'.

Monday Lovely: Lavender & Mint Dish Soap

In case you haven't noticed, I don't have nearly enough interesting things happening in my life to warrant having a blog in the first place. No major changes. No unusual lifestyle. No cute kids doing cute kid things. About 80% of the time all I'm doing, and therefore, have for blog material, is sitting on the couch in my sweats watching a cooking show. Absolutely riveting, right? Right! Especially on laundry night--hunting mateless socks while watching Food Network Challenge: Princess Cakes?! Incredibly entertaining.

I've decided I need a new feature.

I'm calling it Monday Lovely and each post will feature one of the people, places or things that I absolutely adore and cannot live without.

First up? Lavender Floral & Mint Natural Dish Liquid from Seventh Generation. Everything about it is fantastic: its delicious scent, superb cleaning ability and the fact it's completely nontoxic. It's like they bottled up a sweet, ladylike grandmother who loves to scrub everything until it sparkles and also drives a car powered by French fry grease.


Did I mention its smell? You'll think you're sniffing grape popsicles. Like cleaning your dishes with grape popsicles. Only not sticky.

Blogging Friend Birthday: Jill!

It was the end of summer 1992 and an unfortunately skinny girl who, after a long stretch of possessing a sparse wardrobe of white button-up shirts and navy blue plaid, was walking in her knock-off Girbauds, all alone, to the first class of her first day of public school. A class where she knew no one.

All of her friends who had also transferred to Mont Harmon Junior High from the local Catholic school, in a cruel joke by the pubescent social gods, got to live through their first class of the day together. They would make the transition going from a class of 13-20 students they had been with all their lives to a school of hundreds of strangers together.

The skinny girl with a grown-out perm and a mouthful of braces had to go all by herself. And across the parking lot to an overflow classroom (read: trailer), no less.

Opening the door to the trailer and feeling the gaze of dozens of strangers' eyes--many of which were covered in layers of early 1990's eyeshadow--she glances around, nervously trying to figure out where to sit. Her palms begin to sweat. She looks down at the cheaply carpeted floor.

But just then, halleluja!, the angels started to sing and the heavens put forth light on an adorable blond girl. The blond girl smiled and said the greatest phrase ever known to self-conscious 13-years-olds: "You can sit by me."

The skinny, awkward girl felt a surge of gratitude and quickly sat on the uncomfortable plastic chair. The most wonderful chair in the world!

The junior high angel's name was Jill and the skinny, awkward girl with bad hair was me.

I met Jill that fateful first day of junior high. She was kind and welcoming and was to me, that day, like a huge piece of chocolate cake after months of being on a drab, low-calorie diet. Sweet and just what I needed to instantly feel better.

We became the best of friends and were inseparable throughout junior high and high school. She attended many of my crazy family parties, served as my wardrobe consultant for our frequent social outings, was a good sport always pretending to be shocked at her annual "surprise" birthday parties and I even brought her along on dates when my high school boyfriend was visiting from college. I admit, that one is weird. When Zach and I became engaged, my dad said something like, "And for all these years, I thought you were going to marry Jill."

Her birthday was this weekend and about 15 years later I am still delighted to call her my friend. She has a hilarious sense of humor, is a great mom, incredibly smart and a wonderful friend.

Happy birthday, Jilly Bean!

Enjoy this sampling of photos, most of which are taken during the infamous junior high days.

Flashback Friday: Swiss Miss, Miss and Mr.

Enjoy this little snapshot I had on my computer, of my fabulous client who lives in Norway but is from Sweden and speaks English, Norwegian, Swedish, French and Italian; me, who is from Price but lives in the far-away and exotic land of Salt Lake City and speaks English, British, Australian, Canadian (in some parts) and South African; and Greg, patron saint of California airports, who is from France but lives in NYC and speaks English and French and probably lots of other things, too because that's just how those Europeans are.

This is the three of us in May in Geneva, Switzerland when we were all there for meetings. We had a great time during the trip, going to lots of dinners and out for drinks. There was usually a group of about 10-20 of us and I was the only American every time. It was wonderful, even with feeling like the least refined person there among all of the incredibly smart, successful, educated and well-traveled people. I'm sure that they, too, were impressed with me and the sophisticated way I held my beer cozy.

Overheard: Serious Confession

Him: So, I've been thinking. I need to apologize.

Her: Why?

Him: Because that day we were at Arby's? I feel like I really pushed the French dip on you.

Her: I've been meaning to talk to you about that.

Maybe it's not half-full, but at least I didn't spill it

As days of the week go, Mondays are not my favorite. Consider that today Zach has a wicked fever, my beloved Ford Explorer is quickly taking a turn for the worse and it’s rainy and dreary, this Monday in particular is not the best way to start a new week.

However, I know I have it pretty easy compared to many people out there. So in the spirit of looking at my glass half-full, here’s a list of the things I’ll be happy to do this coming week:

- Spend time with Marcae and Katie

- Get to see Abby and have neighborhood game night, just like old times

- Paint our baseboards [Editor’s Note: I’m not excited or happy to do this, I’ll just be happy to get it over with. Glass half-full, remember?]

- Take my old clothes to DI—hello, extra closet space!

- Take my shoes to be re-heeled (How in the world am I so hard on them?)

- Be grateful that someone turned in my purse and ALL ITS CONTENTS—including my debit card, American Express, driver’s license, cash and prescription eyeglasses—to the security desk in WENDOVER when we were there this weekend to enjoy the fabulous comedic stylings of Bill Cosby. Thank you, honest citizen! I’m sending loads of good karma your way. And maybe a box of Jell-O.

- Hope that my flooded office is quickly repaired so that I can move back to my old digs and out of our glass-walled conference room. Sewer line breaks really get in the way of productivity. And privacy.

What remains of my water-damaged office. In need of sheet rock and new carpet.

Overheard: Respecting Boundaries

Her: *Opens door* Why is your door closed?

Me: Because I have to get something done and I need to focus.

Her: *Walks in* So you don't want anyone coming in and bugging you?

Me: Exactly.

Her: Well, closed doors don't mean anything to me.

Me: Obviously.