"We all get dressed for Bill."

I'm not the type that watches documentaries very often. I like to think that I am, but I am not. I usually don't have, er, make the time to watch films (because you can't call them movies, right?) that are so often insightful and educational.

Aside from Food Inc. (and I still believe that if you eat food you should watch it), the last documentary I watched was The September Issue, a look into the World of Anna Wintour and Vogue during the finalization of fashion's most important magazine.

And now,  I really can't wait for this one.

Bill Cunningham's New York Times photo essays are always a treat (I mentioned one a few years ago here). He is 82 years old and rides a bicycle around Manhattan -- a fact that probably provides enough content for a documentary by itself -- taking photos of interestingly or fabulously dressed people on the street and on the catwalk, too. I keep hoping that during one of my trips to New York he will ride by (and you know he'll keep riding -- no need to snap a photo of me in my TJ Maxx ensemble, I'm sure.).

He is eccentric and bold and Anna Wintour herself says that if he doesn't take a picture of her it's "death."

Bill says, "I'm not interested in celebrities with their FREE DRESSES. I'm interested in clothes."

Although I wouldn't AT ALL consider myself anything close to a fashionista, I think peoples' fashion choices when they're dressing to impress or express -- especially in big cities where it's easier to be anonymous -- say a lot about them.

Bill has a talent for listening.

View the trailer here.

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While the view from my home includes a trash-strewn parking lot

As you may or may not know, I am one of the world's most loyal Golden Girls fans. My favorite character, of course, is Rose Nylund. Besides our occasionally ditzy personalities, she and I also share a first love: Our hometowns.

Price is my St. Olaf.

So it should be no surprise that one of my favorite things to do is take Little A down there where we can breathe in the (fresh! clean!) air, look at the (clear! blue!) wide-open sky and enjoy long conversations with the relatives of my aunt's across-the-street-neighbor in the customer service line at K Mart. (Small towns are like real-life experiments of 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon.)

We also enjoy taking advantage of the beautiful scenery just steps out my parents' back door. So all the way back in November, just days after Thanksgiving (I have lost 5 pounds since these photos were taken, thankyouverymuch), we went for a little sunny-day walk.

The family set out on an expedition...

...to look for these: seashell fossils.

The view wasn't bad.

The people-watching was riveting.

And the expedition proved to be a success.

We had such a fun day that I think that even Rose would be a tiny bit jealous (though she probably wouldn't admit it. She is surprisingly competitive.).


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Carbon County Celebratin'

As I mentioned in a previous post, last weekend was a very big one for us. We went to Price for wedding festivities galore, spent time with much-missed family members and I turned the big 3-0. As I've said to friends, I'm sure somewhere, somehow there was a miscalculation. I don't feel 30 but I guess I'll take it.

Little A loved every minute of being the center of attention while we were hanging with the family. His older cousins (my cousins' kids) are all so sweet with him and since the next-youngest baby in our family is already 4 (?!), he gets passed around constantly by all the aunts and uncles. He loves meeting new people and seeing new things, which works out well since we're almost always on the go. He is a very happy and calm baby (although I realize now that by typing this I am tempting Baby Fate and will likely be witness to a serious in-public meltdown, that may or may not involve a large diaper blowout. I guess I'll take my chances...) and handled all of the changes to his schedule like a champ! He also had his first stint with a non-family member babysitter for a few hours during the end of my sister's wedding reception and handled that like a champ, too (although it was a pretty tough one for his mom).

A few photos from the weekend...

A Sleepover, Socks! and a Shower

Last weekend (Not the most-recent one, but the one before that. Yes, I'm behind on blogging.) was one of my busiest, but most fun, to-date.

It all started out with a Friday night college roomie sleepover/baby shower at a cute condo on Park City's Main Street.

Jamie, Katie, Marcae and I all went out for dinner.

Then, we walked up Main Street to check into our condo. In addition to the charming sites on Park City's quaint little street, this sexy ensemble was spotted.

Christmas shopping for Zach? Done and done. Just what every man needs--fur bikini underwear. [Editor's note: Not sure why this mannequin has a purse instead of a head/upper torso. Park City can be a weird place.]

I wore my lovely tiara and Mom-to-Be banner. From a distance, I looked like a really bloated beauty queen (or perhaps one who was just a little too friendly with the judges, if you know what I mean), if I do say so myself.

Saturday morning we headed back home where we were all tired after staying up until 5 in the morning. Marcae even pulled one of her famous all nighters, except she really did stay up all night instead of falling asleep at 9:45 (good job, Marc!). We made sure that Mirando met his sugar quotient for the next 20 years, thanks to our lovely snack assortment. It was a perfect evening, thanks, roomies!

Fortunately everyone was able to wake themselves up for Saturday night's world-famous Stoked on Socks Sock Hop at Z Pizzeria. Katie and Mitch organized a fantastic event and we had at least three times the turnout we had planned. It was a great night and by the end of the evening more than 900 pairs of socks had been donated to the homeless!

(L): Finn is already a hit with the ladies. (R): Sweet dance moves were enjoyed by all.

(L): Socks! (R): Jamie & family.

(L): Susan & baby Bodhi; (M): Finn is testing out the socks. (R): The Rosenvalls

Thanks, Katie & Mitch for organizing such a fun night (and for setting such a great example for all of us).
There will be lots of warm toes thanks to you!

The following Sunday was busy as well; Zach's family hosted an amazing baby shower celebration. Everyone was so generous and thoughtful and gave us incredible baby gifts which have officially taken over our dining room. And, it's official: Our baby is probably going to be one of the best-dressed kiddos around, as evidenced by his wardrobe-staple onesie given to us by Zach's sister Amie.

Like father, like son.

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Fortunately we didn't have any client meetings today

This year, my coworkers and I were instructed by our party planning diva Diania that we would be having a work Halloween party and that WE WILL DRESS UP AND WE WILL LIKE IT. Oh, and we'll also have fun playing Halloween games OR ELSE.

It was a very festive day and we had quite an assortment of costumes on display, including:

Jeff: Our boss scarred us all for life with his biker dude attire; Erika: A Swedish viking; Jamie: The world's greatest Elvis

Gail, a favorite body builder of ours; Courtney: An M&M! I resisted the urge to take a big bite out of her costume. You know how I love chocolate.

Diania: Hula Girl; Clint: An exceptionally fabulous workout aficionado (He's been blaring Olivia Newton John's "Physical" on his iTunes today. Although, that's not unusual for him.); Melanie: A pirate. Arrrrghhhhh!

Amanda: Our office poo (We have a piece of rubber poo that gets passed along whenever someone has to take on an exceptionally good project. Did I mention that everyone who works here has the sense of humor of a 13-year-old boy?); Patrick: Amanda's favorite guy was a monkey at first, but stripped down to his pumpkin outfit.

Me: Angelina Jolie, with six kids, lovely full lips and a belly that is 7 1/2 months pregnant with Brad's 7th child.

Happy Halloween, dah-lings!

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Cue the music to "We are the Champions"

During the summer months Zach plays on two sporting teams, one for baseball and one for softball.

This year, in the same week, both of his teams won the championships for their leagues.

(Left): The Diamondbacks baseball team. Zach is third from right in the back row.
(Right): The Puck's softball team, Zach is second from right in the back row.

Since I once sprained my pinkie finger opening the fridge and had to wear a brace on it--A BRACE ON MY PINKIE FINGER--let's hope little Mirando inherits Z's coordination and athletic genes and not mine (or my lack of them).

Congrats, Zach!


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The weather wasn't the only thing that was insanely hot

For Zach's 30th birthday earlier this year, I surprised him with a gift I'm sure every steak-eating, beer-drinking, sports-loving, Costco-clothes-wearing heterosexual male would love: George Michael concert tickets.


This weekend we trekked to Phoenix (it was only 101 degrees at midnight) for the blessed event to see one of Zach's all-time favorites perform live. George put on a fantastic show and looked better than ever at 45 (my childhood crush is apparently still alive and kickin'--especially when GM appeared in his cop outfit for his rousing rendition of "Let's Go Outside").

"I'm never gonna dance again..."

We danced to every song and sang along with our fellow concert-goers (99% of whom were either 40-something females or gay couples--we fit right in) and Z was able to walk away with a t-shirt featuring the aviator glasses-clad singer himself that I'm certain he'll be wearing to every major social event this summer.

Enjoy George's performance of Careless Whisper, we did and have been singing it since we got home.

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.

Weekend Update: Football, Floors & Fore!

Zach and I typically like to pack way more into a our days off than we could ever really accomplish, and this weekend was no different.

We started things out Friday with Z's appearance on KUTV's noon news, where he made a Superbowl specialty. His latest creation was a football-shaped pizza. I volunteered to be his lovely assistant/publicist. At one point, when I confirmed the spelling of his name to a producer, the crew thought I really was his publicist. They were impressed that their neighborhood pizza guy was so in-demand that he needed an entourage.

Saturday I was able to meet up with Natalie to hit a bucket of balls. We had a great time and even managed to stay warm at the covered, heated driving range.

Nat & Me showing all the guys how it's done (notice her golfing footwear)

When I got home, we tore out the rest of our floor in the dining room since we're putting in hardwood throughout the house. Thanks to our friend Courtney, who had a hardwood floor surplus, we're putting in some sweet maple floors. We spent a lot of the day loading and unloading our old flooring and making multiple DI-runs where we donated several Ford Explorers full of household accumulations. We then cleaned ourselves up enough to go to the Blue Man Group performance.

After we watched the Blue Men, we were starving and it was 10:30 p.m. Lucky for us, Ginza Sushi was still busy and seating people when we walked by, and we scarfed down three delicious rolls. Our 2.5 block walk to my office parking lot (where we left the car) from Energy Solutions Arena was entertaining, since we were able to watch all of the scantily clad club girls trying to pretend they weren't freezing, walking in the near-0 temperatures wearing dresses smaller than my dinner napkin.

Sunday was spent sleeping in and then loading and unloading more flooring. We were unloading flooring right up past the start of the game and barely made it to meet up with Zach's family to watch the Superbowl. We were looking forward to stopping by Teri & Mark's house, too, but because of our poor time management skills we had to miss out.

Despite the craziness, it was a good weekend. And although I didn't have a favorite team playing in the big game, I was happy with the outcome. I'm not a Tom Brady fan (I think it's against some kind of women's code to cheer for someone who starts dating a Victoria's Secret supermodel while his ex is very, very pregnant with his child) and I really liked the idea of two brothers winning back-to-back Superbowls, so go Giants!

Why I won't be nagging him about taking out the trash

There are many things that can make someone Husband of the Year. Maybe a year's supply of no-complaint foot rubs, frequent surprise flower deliveries or a shiny, new ribbon-wrapped car in the driveway. However, I think Zach is competing for this honor for helping his wife, that would be me, get to high-five the object of my crush, the newest Utah Jazz player, Kyle Korver.

I understand that having a silly crush on Kyle Korver puts me in the same category as every 12-year-old girl in Utah, but who cares. I think he's dreamy. Last Thursday night, Zach and I were watching the Jazz game from home when he got a call on his cell phone. It was an urgent request from a Z Pizzeria fan who happened to be in labor and calling from her hospital room. She and her starving hubby were wondering if Zach could arrange for a piping hot delivery of the cheese variety since they were busy awaiting a special delivery of their own. He quickly picked up some pies and ran them up to the room.

This call came from the wife of one of our favorite Jazz players. Since Zach took care of their dinner needs, they called this weekend and offered us their tickets to the game last night.

It's always fun to have such great seats, but this time was even more incredible since I was within feet of my crush himself. Zach proved to be an excellent husband when he quickly switched chairs with me at the end of the game so that I would be right next to the players when they walked by. He then made me stick my hand out to high-five Kyle.

I did, Kyle hit my hand with his, and I am still wearing my huge grin today. I promised Z that if we ever see his crush, I'll be sure to help him get a high-five from her. I owe him one.

There he is: The object of my junior-high-esque crush. Thanks, Z!