Finally! A Successful Trip to the Hot Pots

I have had two unsuccessful trips to the hot pots in the past 4 years and I finally succeeded in getting to them this year! This last weekend! The first time - the road was closed so we tried to go around the long way and spent hours driving and finally gave up. The second time - the bridge over the river was washed out and the water was too high to cross so we gave up. But this time! Oh this time! I guess third time the charm is accurate in this instance!

Jen and I gathered a great group of friends to go with us after the Priesthood Session of General Conference on Saturday night. The hike was great! And you wanna know what the best part was? I could keep up with everyone! I think all this gym-going business these past 8 months has paid off for me! Last year, I was a super slow hiker. But this year.... hopefully that will be different. So we hiked the 2 or so miles into the hot springs known to us locals as the Diamond Fork Hot Pots. The hot pots are notorious for nudies, but thankfully we didn't see any. Gross! And the people that were already there must have been new (supposedly) because they left the best and biggest pot for us - at the top near the waterfall.

We sat in the springs for 2 or more hours! We just chatted and had fun teasing everyone. That's the beauty of being such great friends! And we obviously took some pictures. We finally got out when part of our group left early for the cars - we didn't want to hold them up too bad. :o) The hike down was pretty adventurous because there was still snow on the trail and it had been packed down to a pretty slick ice path. Sadly, the only time I slipped was in the mud. I could have at least slipped on the actual ice if I really had to slip! We didn't get home until 2 am. The hot pots are definitely a must do again!

Did I Just Run a Red Light?

Do you ever wonder, "Did I just run a red light?" right after going through an intersection? I think I just did that - cuz after I went through the intersection I looked in my rear view mirror and all the traffic behind me, and I think even the traffic beside me, had stopped. The left-turn lane to my left was still turning left.... but did they have a protected left turn arrow? Meaning the opposite direction did too? I didn't hit anyone... so all's well that ends well, right?

Maybe I should watch my driving a little more this week, because I am pretty sure I ran a stop sign Monday night too. Ha!

Mondane Monday - Current Faves

I just couldn't decide which of these two lists I should do that I was tagged for so I'm doing both! I like these kind of things. Maybe someday I will look back on them and laugh. :o) Enjoy!

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night? Oh there were multiple! How to choose? Jen, Jed and Nate
2. What were you doing at 0800? Just got to work and giving my coworkers my weekend run-down.
3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Designing my presentation powerpoint for work.
4. What happened to you in 2006? What didn't happen in 2006? Went back to London, got an awesome promotion, started 2 blogs.... the list goes on.
5. What was the last thing you said out loud? Ummm.... "Thanks so much"?
6. How many beverages did you have today? One - water
7. What color is your hairbrush? Black
8. What was the last thing you paid for? Acutally paid for? - Take-out from Guru's. Reserved with my credit card - a Bed and Breakfast in Salzburg, Austria.
9. Where were you last night? Home enjoying birthday cake for my roommate Jana and a bunch of our friends.
10. What color is your front door? White
11. Where do you keep your change? In a little coin purse that looks like a persian rug - in my purse
12. What’s the weather like today? Winter has returned with the April Fool's Day blizzard!
13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? Roasted Almond Fudge - has been my favorite for years.
14. What excites you? New snow, trips to Europe, family history, blog books, little flirts and teases, chances to get together with my sisters, the list could go on!
15. Do you want to cut your hair? I'm starting to feel the urge to chop it, but I can't give up on pony tails just yet.
16. Are you over the age of 25? Yes
17. Do you talk a lot? Maybe... depends on the circumstances.
18. Do you watch the O.C.? Nope
19. Do you know anyone named Steven? Yes
20. Do you make up your own words? On occasion - bugga, dutch-ovening, etc. Usually they are derivatives of other words
21. Are you a jealous person? Not to the core, but maybe on the surface for a few select things (like a new tent, bike, etc.)
22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’. Ashlee
23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. Katie - who happens to be Ashlee's roommate
24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? Ashlee D.
25. What does the last text message you received say? "Just saw that you called. Anything interesting to report?"
26. Do you chew on your straw? No
27. Do you have curly hair? No
28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? Spanish Fork for a farewell party
29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? I tend to block those rude actions out so I honestly can't think of anyone in specific
30. What was the last thing you ate? 6 Triscuits - my mid-afternoon snack
31. Will you get married in the future? Oh I am sure I will
32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Sound of Music - I'm in the middle of watching it right now
33. Is there anyone you like right now? Of course!
34. When was the last time you did the dishes? Does rinsing my lunch Tupperware from today count?
35. Are you currently depressed? No way jose
36. Did you cry today? Nope
37. Why did you answer and post this? I actually love to read these when other people fill them out and so I thought others might like to read mine too. :o)
38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey. Christianna, Larkin, Laura, Bethany and Mike

A - Attached or Single: Single!

B - Best Friends: How can I choose? I have a whole slew of them
C - Cake or Pie: Cake - it gratifies not only the taste buds but also the need for immediate satisfaction since pies take longer to make

D - Day of choice: Friday. It is always the beginning of a weekend adventure for me.

E - Essential Item: Mascara, sun block, cell phone, breath mints, pretty shoes, and that's it for now. :o)

F - Favorite Color: Hmmm.... red has been my classic favorite color, but a fun spring-y orange is making its way up the charts.

G - Gummy Bears or Worms: Gummy bears

H - Hometown: Boise, Idaho

I - Indulgence(s): cookie dough, 3-hour Sunday naps, Rumbi Island Grill Jamaican Jerk rice bowl with Rumbi rice, Cafe Rio salad (all 3,000 calories of it! Yikes!)

J - January or July: January! Month of my birthday and the best skiing ever.

K - Kids: None of my own, but a whole bunch of nieces and nephews

L - Life is incomplete without: My family, skiing, some good books, and my Enzo Angolini boots
M - Marriage Date: ??? I wish I knew

N - Number of Siblings: 4 sisters

O - Oranges or Apples: Apples - have to cut them up in order to eat a majority of it, but if I eat it whole then I only eat like 1/2 inch into it - gotta leave plenty of buffer around those seeds.

P - Phobias or Fears: Currently, tearing my ACL, spiders, and that's it.

Q - Quotes: "baum chick a baum baum" - Jed

R - Reason to smile: April Fool's Day blizzard we just got, my trip to Europe in a month, summer on its way, dinner being made for me right now.... so many more things!

S - Season: In order of preference: Winter, Fall, Spring, Summer

T - Tag Three Friends/Family: Camille, Linda and Natalie

U - Unknown fact about me: I'm 13 years younger than my next sibling

V - Very favorite store: REI, IKEA, and Banana Republic

W - Worst habit: Staying up way too late to g-chat with Mike and Nate
X - X-ray or Ultrasound: Do dental x-rays count? Those are the only kinds I have had for the past 10 years.

Y - Your favorite food: Mexican

Z - Zodiac: Capricorn

The Lying Weatherman!

Check out my face. I totally fried it skiing yesterday. The weatherman said it was supposed to have snow showers all day yesterday. So I didn't put an ounce of sun block on. 30 minutes into the skiing the sun came out and stayed out for the whole day!! Yuck. I haven't done this in years.

Piano Lesson Trauma

I've been taking piano lessons for six weeks now. Only six weeks! I've already cruised through the first Alfred Adult Piano Course book. Pretty amazing, huh?

But .... my piano teacher has an obsession with video-recording me playing some songs! And she keeps dropping hints about the upcoming recital. Can I tell you how much I hate recitals? I hated them in elementary school when I first took piano lessons and I hated them again when I took lessons in high school. And now... I hate being recorded while playing the piano for my teacher! She has video-taped me playing three songs now. And I have no choice in the matter! I told her when I first started and she offered this service that I didn't want it. So she talked me into it and just says, "You'll thank me later." and "Your kids will love this some day!" Ugh. Well, it took three tries to finally get a good recording of Greensleeves a couple weeks back. And then today... well today she recorded me for two songs! It took three tries to finally get Amazing Grace.... and then the worst yet.... innumerable tries to get Tumbalalaika!! I knew that song so well the night before! I knew it without the camera rolling. But as soon as she would hit record on that evil contraption I would freak out and it seriously took me 10 or 12 tries to finally get a good recording of it with acceptable errors. Ugh.

And of course I couldn't let it beat me. I had to keep trying so I could conquer it even though I was getting nervous and frustrated and my self-esteem was plummeting with each muddled attempt. I got so nervous. I was sweating all over - even my feet were sweating!

So that is my piano lesson trauma. I guess, overall, it wasn't really all that bad. But! It just reaffirms my loathing for recitals or anything of the sort. I would like to take lessons for at least 6 months or a year before I have to play for recitals or the like - I just need a little practice time to get my confidence up!

The Stars Have Aligned for me to Return to Europe!!

It is true! I just bought my ticket last night!! My good friend, Jed, and I are going to Europe at the end of April!! We will fly into Zurich, Switzerland and then out of Rome, Italy. Oh . .. my ... gosh!! I have to pinch myself to make me realize that it is for real and it is going to happen!!

Jed has to go to Switzerland for some business and so put on his facebook status to see if anyone wanted to join him and I emailed him to find out when he was going and get the details and so here we go!!! It always makes me a little nervous to go on such big traveling trips, but how often does an opportunity like this come along??? And with people that are willing and ready to commit to actually going?? And can afford it, and our work schedules allow it, and the price isn't too hard to swallow, and you want to go to the same places, and I could name off a whole list of stars that have to align for it to actually happen. Thankfully I had already started saving for my mountain bike that I wanted to buy this spring, but the mountain bike will have to wait a little longer.... but not too much longer since we all have the tax rebate coming this year!! Woo hoo for the government's economic stimulus plan!

Anyway, our tentative plan is to do this:

• Fly into Zurich, Switzerland and romp around the town for a good portion of the day and then rent a car and drive to Bern, Switzerland
• Jed will do his business in Bern and then we'll do some stuff there.
• Catch a train the next day to Salzburg, Austria and check out the home of the Sound of Music - I have been dreaming of doing this for years!!
• Catch another train to Venice, Italy and spend some time there checking out the Grand Canal and everything else that Venice is famous for
• Catch another train to Rome, Italy and see the Vatican City and Colosseum...

Oh happy day! But that is only tentative. We've also been playing with the idea of Prague. But time is sooooo limited! I can only take off 6 working days so we'll be crunched for time. But Jed has never been to Europe and I haven't been to most of those places and so we are going to try to fit in as much as we possibly can. Any travel advice?? Oh and enjoy the pics of the things we will probably be seeing in a little more than a month!!

Zurich, Switzerland Bern, SwitzerlandSalzburg, AustriaVenice, Italy Rome, Italy

Ms. Me Goes to Washington

DC that is. I don't remember the name of the movie for the title of this entry. I even tried to think of some clever way to put my name in there. But I am just not very clever tonight I guess!

I am back from my trip to Washington DC! It was great. I had to attend a business conference there and knew I would for a couple months. And since I have some friends there, I tried to get in touch with them to come stay with them and see them. But it wasn't going to work out well in their schedule. So a month in advance of the trip and the day before I bought my plane ticket, I called mom and asked her how spontaneous she was feeling - and she said she was feeling very spontaneous! So she came with me on quite short notice! And we had a blast. We flew in on Friday and checked into our hotel. Immediately we went out to find a convenience store so she could have some milk. Apparently milk is very important to her because it was very distressing to her that most of the restaurants that we ate at didn't have milk and there weren't any other close convenience stores to buy milk at! Before we left the hotel that night, mom and I did receive an invitation to come join some young guy and his group of friends to play a "beer game." Whatever that is! We laughed it off and thanked him kindly for the invitation and then went on our merry way. The same "beer game" guy told us about a supposedly super yummy restaurant called the Capitol Q and we actually found the restaurant to eat there one night, but we took one look at it and figured that we would stand out like sore thumbs in that place! It was this tiny little restaurant with a glass front and a whole bunch of blinking, neon beer signs in the windows! I am sure the food is good, but would the customers be??? :o)

Saturday was rainy and cold and windy so we stayed indoors and checked out a couple of museums - namely the Holocaust Museum, the Natural History Museum (that is the home to the Hope Diamond and some diamond jewelry once owned by Marie Antoinette and the wife of Napoleon), and the National Gallery. Going through the National Gallery caused me reminisce over the time I spent in London! Oh those were the days!

Sunday was very windy and cold so we stayed indoors again. This time we went to the White House Visitor's Center, the National Archives (National Treasure, the movie, has it all wrong - it doesn't look anything like in the movie), the National Gallery again (but just for lunch), and then the Air and Space Museum. I didn't originally think we would go to the Air and Space Museum, but since the American History Museum is closed for renovation (until this summer!) we went there because they had some of the more popular items from the American History Museum there. I saw Abraham Lincoln's top hat, the ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz, a sun-stone from the original Nauvoo Temple, and Jackie O's inauguration gown and cape - it was beautiful - I would wear it today!

Then my conference started on Monday and went, formally, through Tuesday. It was good. I learned some valuable things. I just don't always care for conferences because you have to sit there and listen to speakers all day long and try to stay awake! Luckily I had my sour breath mints with me so they helped to keep me awake. And I had to work really hard at it because my boss was sitting right next to me! And he would occasionally lean over and say something when I had just dozed off! Ugh. I've got to figure out some way to not fall asleep during meetings. Maybe I will have to go back to doodling like I did when I was still in college. It worked then.

Monday night we had the joy to meet up with my friends, Elysa and Lake, that live in DC for dinner! We met them at a Spanish restaurant and ate tapas. It was very different, but very good. And of course the company was superb! It was so fun to catch up with my former, laugh-at-our-yoga-class, roommate!

Wednesday morning was the best part of my conference! I got to lobby my congressional representatives! Me and one other guy from Utah went to each of the 5 representatives' offices to meet with their staff if at all possible. Neither one of us had made appointments like they prefer. But since we were out from the west they were pretty accommodating - which makes sense! Since I imagine they don't get to see too many of their constituents. We went there to share our thoughts and concerns about some of the bills that are out on the floor right now. We basically asked them to vote for the New Employment Verification Act, against the Americans with Disabilities Act Restoration Act, and create a bill for the new Family & Medical Leave Act changes that the Department of Labor has proposed. All of which will substantially effect what I do in my line of work! It was a really neat experience and I have to admit, I am much more inclined to email them directly now whenever I feel the need to share my opinion about any sort of bill out the floor. Yay-hoo for our country! Mom was even able to tag-along with me for this portion of the conference.

Among our visits on Capitol Hill, we took pictures in front of the Supreme Court building and went into the Library of Congress to check out the main reading room. So amazing. But they wouldn't let us take pictures. That was kind of a bummer - but it makes sense since there were actual patrons there. And no we didn't go looking for the President's Book of Secrets - remember it is fictional from the movie National Treasure 2.

After Capitol Hill, mom and I took our box lunches my conference provided back to our hotel and watched a little movie (For Love of the Game) on TV and was nearly tempted to finish watching it. But when we saw that it didn't get over until 3:30 pm and we still had to see all of the monuments, we took off. So we started with the Washington Monument, then the World War II Memorial, Vietnam Wall (loved it), Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial (just a tad weird), Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial (this one would have been super cool if the waterfalls would have been running), and then the Thomas Jefferson Monument. (By the way, I have no idea which ones are monuments and which ones are memorials - please pardon my ignorance!) :o)

Then we flew home early the next morning! It was a whirlwind trip - I am finding that is the usual case with me and my vacations. I think some day I need to take a whole week trip and just have a relaxing time such that I come back and don't say, "It was a whirlwind trip." Maybe this summer sometime. Hawaii anyone?? :o)