Yes, please.

Some friends and I were going to dinner tonight and were looking for a new place to try. I had heard that Fratelli's Italian Restaurante in Sandy had recently hired an Italian chef solely for the purpose of hand crafting gelato. Winner!! So we ate our meals, which were perfectly pleasant, but then got down to busines with the gelato. I don't want to build it up too much, but it was A-mazing! You get 3 flavors in an order, and I'm sorry, but don't these look delicious?
From left to right, we have: olive oil (shh, just try it), blood orange, and hazelnut. I may or may not have taken a bath in the hazelnut. And, I planted a big ole bacio on the chef! Ole!

Proud Alumni

I was driving home from work today and saw this little gem in front of me:

If you can't read it, the license plate cover says "Alumni University of LaVerne." My first thought was that I don't think I'd be proud enough of the University of LaVerne to put that out there for anyone to see. My second thought was that maybe my Utah pronunciation was coming through - maybe it's not Laverne like LaVerne and Shirley. Maybe it's Lah-Ver-Nay. Which would make it much more sophisticated.

Things to ponder.

Bash and Smash

So my co-workers and I were driving back from lunch last week when we saw this baby parked on the side of the road. There was a line of people all around the car, so we of course had to stop and find out what was going on. It turns out that the Provo Boys and Girls Club was having a fundraiser in which you could take a sledgehammer and take a swing at this car for a small donation. Let's see...a chance to take out my ever growing workday rage on a car while wielding a sledgehammer in my career pants? Yes please! And the goggles were an added bonus. Turns out I couldn't lift the really big sledgehammer, so I had to use the junior version. And my swing doesn't look that impressive, but I did manage to take out a nice chunk of the windshield with the tiny sledgehammer. Best.day. ever. Namaste!

Do You Remember...

Now, try not to be jealous, but last weekend, we went to Deer Valley to see the amazing Earth, Wind and Fire in concert! If you are like everyone that I told I was going to see them, you won't know who they are. So I have included a stock photo for you to enjoy. Why don't I just include a photo from the actual concert you ask? Well, it turns out that we were pretty much at the tippy top of the mountain, that's why! Here is a shot of our sweet view. You will notice that nowhere in that shot can you see the silken locks of Verdine White. Boo to that, because they are a sight to behold! Luckily, the band sounded fantastic!


So, while we were swaying to the smooth jams, we were able to get in some great people watching! I think I've seen a lot of stuff in my day, and it's pretty hard to shock me anymore, but this lady had some moves I've never seen before. And I went to BYU, so that's saying something.

You'll notice that her dress is pretty short, and we all got quite a show. The other thing that we love is the way the people at these concerts picnic. There were foldable tables, wine glass holders, and this lady. Please notice the trash bag affixed to her cooler. Inside that cooler, she had a cutting board and shrimp cocktail! (Julie would like a chair that doubles as a back pack for anyone that would like to get her a gift) Even though it wasn't the 21st day of September, we were still able to groove tonight, and we had a grand time!

Nostalgia

This week, instead of going to bed, I have been watching reruns of "Who's the Boss?" For those of you who are too young, Tony Danza plays Tony Micelli, a beefsteak who ends up being a housekeeper for Angela, a career woman in Connecticut. Get it? He's a housekeeper. She's a career woman. It's the 80s! Add in two children, Angela's saucy mother Mona and some "Ay-Oh - Oh-Ays" and you've got a recipe for success.

I have thoroughly been enjoying these reruns. First, they're so innocent. Things are hinted at instead of shown you. Second, the 80s fashions are incredible:

Third, how can you not love the theme song:


Who else loves "Who's the Boss?"

Girls Camp . . . Come and Gone

Well . . . another year of thriving and surviving at Girls Camp. I worked at my new job for a couple of weeks, got my first paycheck and was out of there . . . for a week at Heber Valley Girls Camp. Our theme this year was "Get a Grip" from Sister Dibb's October 2009 Conference address about the need to hold on tight to the Iron Rod. Lucky us, we even got to have Sister Dibb come and join us for a night and we had a great talk plus a special Q and A session about her father, President Monson. If I "get" to go camping . . . then cabins, flushing toilets and hot showers are the only way to go. We took 18 girls this year and sang, laughed, cried, smiled and had a great time together. From the challenge course, canoeing, workshops, food and other activities, we were literally running from one thing to the next. But, the growth that comes from Girls Camp doesn't happen any other way and it's pretty amazing to see the transformation through the week. I am still exhausted and only today had the energy to start putting everything away. Aren't these girls the cutest hanging on to the Iron Rod . . . my Laurels plus a couple of our sweet Beehives . . . love them!

Are you sure we're related?

Hmmm . . . contrary to Kristen, I totally love back to school time. It would probably be different if I actually had to go to school, but instead, I just get to share in the deep discounts on school supplies. I have always loved anything that you would find in the school supply aisles or in an OfficeMax. When I was little we would even play "Office" . . . it was great. So, around this time of year, I get giddy that I can get glue sticks for 25cents and composition notebooks, that can be turned into great YW journals, also for 25cents. It's probably more for me than anything else, but every year I make the YW a back-to-school kit with supplies and scriptures to go along with them (here are some pics of last years kit). Melinda says that she still even has hers from when she was going off to college . . . oh how that ages me in doing this. A full cart and too much money later, that is my project for the week, to get those little babies ready for Sunday.

And, I also love when the holiday stuff comes out. In fact, I have already purchased some Halloween decorations from TaiPan. You have to be early to get the good stuff. I am totally over the moon when Costco starts selling their wrapping paper and ribbon. And, I may or may not have already bought some.

Back to School Blues

Yesterday I thought of a great post...then promptly forgot it. So this is what you get instead. Is this summer going by WAY too fast for anyone else? I've been out of school for a good long time now...but whenever I see the back to school ads (which started weeks ago), or go to Target and see the rows of school supplies, I get the same familiar pit in my stomach that I got when I was still in school. Summer=over.

Yesterday I was at Gardner Village, and they had all their Halloween decor out! This is a little soon for me. Also, why is Halloween such a big deal? Will someone please explain this to me?

This is How We Roll

It turns out that I may or may not have developed a small addiction to sushi. This comes as somewhat of a shock to me, as I have only recently become exposed to this delicious treat. I have the Mikado to thank for my first real date with sushi, thanks to their happy hour on Monday and Tuesday nights where several of their rolls are half off! Yes please.

One of the tiny perks of working in Provo is that my office is 12 feet away from The Happy Sumo. Let me tell you, the fish they use is, dare I say it, silken! I have also recently discovered Tsunami. Not only do they have great sushi, but their name sounds so dangerous! Should you find yourself there, get the Jenny roll with the lemon slices on top, and then send me a thank you note.

Since I am trying to cut back on how often I go to these fine establishments, because frankly, the servers requested it, Kristen told me of a local secret where I could go on the sly to satisfy my almost daily craving...wait for it...Costco! Now they do a nice chicken bake and cheap hot dog, but come on, sushi? Well, I picked some up last week, and it was nothing short of real tasty. I won't tell you how quickly I polished of my 20 piece box set, because I'm a lady. I will say that this discovery might make me break my "no cart" rule at the Costco.

Parade of Homes Fun

We love going to the Parade of Homes and try to see many of the homes on display on each year. But, with limited time and how spread out the houses are throughout the valley, we narrow our search down to anything over $500,000 or more. We can dream, right? This year, we saw a great $4 million house high above the Avenues that was one of our favorites.

Anytime the dog has a fancier shower than I do means that they have way too much money to spare.

There were signs all over the house telling us what we could get into and what we couldn't. Here is Melinda being a little disobedient in the prep kitchen. We like to live dangerously.

The circular shower had just gotten finished and oddly they didn't want us testing out the body sprays inside. When a woman saw us near the shower, she came rushing over to make sure her protective tape was still there. Good thing I didn't make Melinda and Kristen crawl under the tape like I wanted them to for my shot.

My favorite part is always the closets. This one had not just a washer and dryer, but it's own step down little room for them. This was one of five different sets throughout the house. The dog room even had its own washer and dryer area.

The view is the best part. Here is Melinda enjoying the pool and the the view . . . with her required booties on . . . our least favorite part of touring swanky houses.

After the tour, we stopped downtown to try the new Blue Lemon in the City Creek Center. Anyplace that has a variety of citrus for our drinks is a winner with us. Not to mention our taste test of desserts was a success. We highly recommend both the chocolate fudge and the carrot cake. Yumm!

Winner Revealed

Thanks to all for playing our little game. We put everyone's very creative words into a hat and an impartial third party (Dad) drew out our winner. Drumroll please . . . .

"Crotchety" is it by "I Like Whispering Too"

We are so excited to send you a little package with the latest and greatest of the Bird Sisters favorite things. Please email your shipping address to "juliebirdhome@gmail.com"and we'll get it off to you. We'll play again at 25,000 . . . get excited.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Well, well. It looks like we will soon have our little counter roll over the 20,000 mark! To celebrate, we are going to have a little giveaway. Here are the rules should you choose to play:

1. Make a comment with a word that you think is funny!


2. Make said comment by midnight on August 5th, 2010.

Easy enough, right? We will then have a totally random drawing, and the winner will win the following prizes:

A customized CD courtesy of Kristen (seriously, she should be a DJ!), and a jug of my favorite lotion from Sephora. You will smell delicious!

And...

A tube of shiny, yet silky Lipglass from MAC. Kristen will also give you a lesson on how to apply it (she sometimes struggles and can't color in the lines, but we love her anyway): Good luck, and please be advised that the randomness of the drawing can be swayed if I really like your word, or if your word is "canoodle".

Socially Awkward

The other day we went to dinner with Lisa and her girls. On the way out, I was carrying baby Jena, who had fallen asleep during dinner. A woman passing by noticed her sleeping peacefully and asked me, "Oh, what did you do to get her to fall asleep?" I drew a blank. This woman assumed I was Jena's mother. I could've responded a number of ways - "Oh, she was just really tired," or even "I don't know, she isn't mine." What did I say instead?

"We drugged her."

Really, Kristen? Just one of life's little reminders to me that I am socially awkward.

A second example:

A couple of weeks ago in church, I was trying to find a place to sit in sacrament meeting. I saw an acquaintance sitting by herself.

What I thought I said: "Can I sit here?"

What I actually said: "Can we sit here?"

Her: "We?"

What I heard her say: "Oui?"

Her: "Multiple personalities....?"

Me: [trying to keep up] "Oh, your French personality?"

Her: "You asked if 'we' could sit here, so I was looking around for someone else coming in after you."

Me: [feeling like an idiot] "Oh...I did? I guess I was just using the royal we." Mercifully the conversation ended after that.

Sadly, I have a myriad of other examples. Don't even get Julie and Melinda started on the time in Denver that I called our jerky waiter a dog (don't worry, we think he was out of hearing distance).

Hard to believe I was a communications major in college...sigh.