No Pride

So, tonight, I stopped by the house of one of my young women to drop something off. When I rang the doorbell, a red headed curly boy answered the door and asked, "Are you the one with a little child that loves me?" Totally confused, I said, no, I don't have a little child - and no clue how to answer the rest. By now, my young woman was at the door and she said that this visiting nephew of hers was very curious . . . and off he went out the door and over to investigate my car. He said, "Don't you have a van?" And, "why don't you have a child?" He didn't believe me that there was no child with me. I assured him that I didn't . . . so back towards the house he went. As he came back towards me he said, "I'm Elijah . . . I'm 5". I said, "My name is Julie". As he walked back into the house, he said, "that's a dumb name!". And that was that. Nice to meet you Elijah. So back home I went in my regular car with just myself . . . no kids. Kids are a hoot!

Crazy Fortune

Melinda and I were at Pei Wei this week and at the end of the meal, I opened my fortune cookie to this little gem, "A short stranger will soon enter your life with blessings to share". Now, I'm 5'9", so I've been keeping my eyes open for short strangers . . . still searching . . . but I'm all sorts of curious.

First Date Fun

I can't post this on our Young Women blog, but definitely want to document it. When a few of my Laurels asked me last week what I was doing over the weekend, I told them about the Taste of Utah Valley, and they thought it sounded like fun too. Natalie and Alaynah thought it would be the perfect time to ask a couple of boys out on a date. Alaynah wanted to ask out Jeremy, her spring prom date, and Natalie wanted to ask out Jacob - who she has been crushing on all year. Natalie is 17 and has yet to be asked on a date, so she decided to take things into her own hands. Look at this picture from our summer Youth Conference of her and her crush . . . so cute. (I swear she was excited)One problem was that none of them can drive yet. Apparently after you get your license now, you have to wait 6 months before you can drive on your own. . . that's new, but a good idea for those of us on the road. Anywhoo, they asked if they did get dates, could I drive them. How can I resist helping them out with a date?? Well, I can't . . . so we made a plan for Saturday.

The girls had gotten ready together and when I picked them up, they were absolutely giddy. They each wore something the boys liked of theirs . . . Natalie wore the boots Jacob likes and Alaynah wore some of Jeremy's favorite colors. In the car, they shared with me how Natalie had asked Jacob. She is naturally very shy and went to Alaynah's house for some support while she called. She called Jacob, asked if he wanted to come to a "food fest" with her. He asked who else was going. She said it would be with Alaynah and her friend. Jacob asked if Alaynah was there . . . and she was . . . so he wanted to talk to her. Jacob asked Alaynah the details of where they were going and when, then he asked to talk to Natalie again. Jacob went on to ask Natalie if she wanted to go to a "food fest" with him on Saturday. I pretty much fell in love with him too at that point. Love that he wanted to ask her out. On the day of the date, Natalie had gotten no sleep and was about to throw up . . . but was so excited for the day.

Pick-up of everyone took about an hour . . . oh how I love living in spread out towns . . . and then we were off. There is pretty much nothing better than listening to teenage kids talk to each other in the car. Hil.ar.i.ous! And, I was also proud of my girls who were such good conversationalists - they asked good questions and there was never a dull moment. The boys were great too. They always opened the door for the girls. If the girls even tried to get out on their own, they made them get back in so they could open the door. We split up at the food fest and after a few hours when we were all in a food coma and Alaynah had to head off to a family activity, we headed home. But, not before the boys stopped to get the girls candles at Bath and Body Works. With candles advertised at 2 for $10 - each couple got a set of candles. Cute, right? Natalie and Jacob also got these sweet matching sunglasses and frisbees, which apparently contributed to the "best day ever". The kids had a great time and again, the car ride was fantastic. I had to drop Alaynah off first to connect with her family. So, it was me and her date in the front together. Good times. I smiled watching things happen in the rear view mirror, which may have included a kiss on the cheek from Jacob to Natalie. Natalie was on cloud 9 for sure! And the fact that Jacob thanked her about five times for calling him was also a plus. When I saw her at church the next day, she was still giddy with excitement and telling the other girls all about it. Apparently they had all done a "Zoltar" type machine . . . remember the movie, Big? . . . where they got a fortune. Natalie brought hers with her and is pretty convinced that she is meant to be with Jacob forever. We'll see what happens. Love these girls and it was pretty fun to be a part of such a big day for them.

We Came, We Saw, We Ate!

What would a weekend be without us searching for some delicious food at a fair price? I'm so committed to this cause, that I agreed to go back to Provo on a Saturday for Pete's sake! Apparently for the last 30 years, Utah Valley has hosted a Taste of the Valley, in which you get to consume a real lot of food for the bargain basement price of $10! Who doesn't love that? So last Saturday, we made the trek to the land of sparkly jeans, bump-its, and Ed Hardy t-shirts to try this sucker out. Imagine our sheer delight to learn that there were, wait for it, 44 vendors there! And me without my Thanksgiving pants. Boo! We tried to just hit the highlights so that we didn't pass out. Here is what we enjoyed:

Tucano's with their grilled pineapple and amazing lemonade:

Also, see those boxes the girls are carrying? They are genius! These allowed us to eat standing up and to schlep our food all around. I kind of want one of these in my every day life.

Gloria's Italian Restaurant! Julie told everyone she could about this food. Not only did we get four items of food, but Gloria herself was hand-rolling the gnocchi. It was pretty delicious.

Cafe Paesan. I have no photos of this place since I physically could not lift my arms at this point to take a picture, due to the food coma that had set in. But I have two words for you: Kobe beef sandwich. Fine, that's three words--I still have some tremors from said coma.

Afterward, we walked around the Provo Beach Resort to not only make sure our legs still worked, but because we love games that give us tickets! Julie got a large pixie stick (not sure what she's going to do with that), and I got these sweet glasses.


Which I later learned had a label advising these were not to be used to block the sun. And we wrapped it up by squeezing into a photo booth. Because that's just fun.

#12: Learn Archery: DONE!

When I mentioned to a few people that learning archery was on my "list," this was the response I got: "Archery?" they would say, with a look on their face that meant, "why would you want to do that?" It's not like I'm out hunting deer with the thing. Plus, you know who else does archery? Geena Davis.

(I'm on the right, in case you can't tell us apart)

Anyway, Dad took Aiden and me to the Utah Archery Center (who knew there was such a thing?) for a quick lesson and some target practice. And by target practice, I mean Dad would hit the target and I would miss it.

Dad getting ready for another bullseye.

Turns out, though, it was easier to get the hang of than I thought it would be. And I felt oddly powerful as I let go of the arrows and they zoomed toward the target with a sweet little "thwack."

Aiden is pure concentration.

Here we are with our handiwork.

I had a ton of fun trying out this new sport. If anyone wants to put an apple on their head and let me shoot it off, I think I'm totally ready.

Doomed from the Start

Poor Jyll with a Y on Next Food Network Star. She makes a risotto for special judge Wolfgang Puck, who takes one look at it and leaps out of his seat to take her into the kitchen and cook her a REAL risotto. Mortifying, right?

Oh, Jyll with a Y, if you had just asked me, I could’ve told you that you NEVER make a risotto on a reality cooking competition! I’m not a risotto expert, but I AM an expert on reality cooking shows, and I can tell you that risottos never work! Risottos take a lot of time to cook and develop. I don’t care what show you’re on – NFNS, Top Chef, Chopped - you bust your butt to get it done in the crazy short time limit, only to have the judges, with their noses in the air, tell you “this is not a risotto.”

Who else loves NFNS??

The Distribution of the Sauces

I got back from a fun road trip a few days ago. More on that later, but in the meantime, feast your eyes on this.

I was going through a McDonald's drive-thru in San Jose and saw this sign posted in the window.

Don't even try to get more than two sauces with your 10-piece McNuggets. Because they WILL charge you 12 cents. I can't even imagine the sauce abuse that necessitated this sign.

Sleepover Fun

I had a sleepover for the cousins this week. We always have lots of fun together.

The Superman headsets are always fun to run around the house and talk to each other. And another highlight was using glowsticks on the deck at night.

We went to JDawg's in Provo for some delicious hot dogs. The kids knew how good this place was, so it was fun to experience the special sauce for myself . . . yummy! We were lucky enough to have Brent, Lilli, Maggie, Davis and Melinda join us for lunch too.




We had fun at Boondocks with Go-Karts, Bumper Boats, games, prizes, laser tag and Aiden and Maia's favorite, the XD Theater.




Love our kids and the way that they love to be together and get along so well with each other. Lots of fun . . . let's do it again soon!

Another Favorite Site

A few years ago on this blog, I wrote about my favorite websites. I am always updating my bookmarks on my computer with my favorites. And, as I was reviewing some from 2008, I see that I need to update my list as some of them don't exist anymore. Well, until then, one of my all time favorites that I am loving right now is The Red Headed Hostess, with her quote, "Being the hostess to your own life and family". When I see an update pop up in my Google Reader, it's a must read for me. She has great ideas on how to study scriptures better, holiday ideas for your family, things for the home and ideas for youth callings. A few months ago as I was thinking about what to do for an upcoming Priest and Laurel date night activity, and then she had a posting on make-your-own quesadillas. I mean, look at this pretty picture that I pilfered from her blog . . . it totally makes you want a quesadilla, doesn't it. Plus, the kids always like things they customize themselves. Done . . . I went to find me a quesadilla maker (thank you Target!) so that I could make this happen. I rounded up the suggested toppings and, yes indeed, the kids had a ball making their own. And turns out, it was even the week of Cinco de Mayo, so I think it was inspired. Oh, and the little trick where you butter the tortillas and sprinkle the griddle side with cheese . . . A-mazing! It made all the difference to have the tortillas with a little crunch. Next up, I really want to start doing the scripture journal quotes. I absolutely love quotes and collect some of my favorites, so this is the perfect thing to help enhance my scripture study. Thanks to the Red Headed Hostess for her inspiration and sharing her ideas. Love them!

Nut House

I get a lot of junk mail. A lot. Usually, I don't even open it, but instead send it to the shredder immediately. But, when I got a letter from James B. Nutter & Company, you had better believe I opened it. I was so intrigued--was it going to be a gift certificate for a free package of peanuts? Or perhaps a free Nutter Butter to the first idiot who opened it?

Well, let me tell you, it was much better. Please read the first line:

How did James B. Nutter & Company find out my closely guarded secret? I haven't told anyone about my military service. Mostly because I didn't want anyone to salute or curtsy in front of me in public. That gets so embarrassing. But, since they are offering to lower my interest rate, I feel that this is the appropriate time to let the world know that I am a military veteran! I feel so liberated! Thank you, James B. Nutter & Company for allowing me to share my secret with the world wide web! Now, where is my purple heart?

I Heart Chick-Fil-A Ketchup

I have documented that I love all things Chick-Fil-A. Chick 'n Mini's in the morning, the best lemonade around, and the nugget tray - oh my. Not to mention that it's always their pleasure to serve me and there are butter mints for the end of the meal. Another reason I love Chick-Fil-A even more is they have the new Heinz ketchup packets. Instead of the kind that you rip and you try and find a place to squeeze the ketchup out and hope that it doesn't end up on your clothes too - they carry this new packet where you can choose to dip or squeeze. It's absolutely genius! No mess, just an easy way to dip into the tomato goodness. Oh, how I wish other places would start stocking this ketchup as well. Until then, thank you Chick-Fil-A!

I Heart the "Hairstopper"

A recent episode of Modern Family where Phil and the girls are cleaning the bathroom drain of hair . . . yuck! reminded me of one of my favorite products. I lose a lot of hair in the shower and it also grosses me out to clean out the drain of all the hair. A few years ago I discovered the "Hairstopper" at my local Bed Bath and Beyond and it's one of my favorite things. It replaces the regular train in the tub and catches the hair before it goes down the drain. I clean it out with some kleenex or toilet paper after every shower and it makes the job much more manageable. Kind of a gross job, but it's a fact of life, right? I love this product.

Eat Your Greens

Since I tend to eat my body weight in ice cream during the Summer, I try to balance that out by upping my intake of vegetables. Smart, right? So Kristen introduced me to a delightful way to do that this year. Have you ever heard of a CSA? I hadn't either, but apparently, it's a more efficient way of saying Community Supported Agriculture. Or, in words I can understand, it means that for a nominal fee, a local farmer will bring produce to you from his farm every week! Genius! Kristen joined a CSA through her work and I joined in.

It has been like Christmas every week waiting to see what different bits of produce are going to make their way into my fridge. Since we have had such a rainy season, I have gotten to try a lot of different types of lettuce while the other veggies are waiting to be harvested. But this week, we had some fun surprises. I mean, how cute are these baby carrots?

But I hit the jackpot when I got 2 pounds of sugar snap peas. Do you know why? Because:

It's true. The rest of my family thinks I'm crazy, but I'm sorry, peas are delicious. When I was a wee lass, my cute Grandpa Howard grew the most amazing peas in his garden. We would visit my grandparents every Sunday, but when the peas were ripe for the picking, I would run into the kitchen, grab a bowl, and run to the garden, where I would spend the entire time shoving peas into my mouth. I know, I'm dainty. So when I got these babies, it was not only nostalgic, but delicious as well! Please cross your fingers that the East Family Farm will grace me with another magical delivery next week!

#20: Ride in a Bobsled - DONE!

3 blog entries from me today, faithful blog readers (all two of you). Checked another off my 30 Before 30 list - ride in a bobsled.

The Olympic Park in Park City lets you ride in a real bobsled on the real Olympic track, with a trained driver (thank goodness). Melinda was kind enough to join me.

First, you pick out a sweet helmet:

Then you hop in. They tell you to shrug your shoulders up and push your arms against the sides of the bobsled so that the G-forces hit you vertically instead of horizontally.

And off we go.

We had no idea what we were in for.

How to describe the actual ride itself? It was FAST. And at the same time it felt LONG. Imagine hurtling down a track in a horse-drawn carriage. I say horse-drawn carriage because you are bouncing all. over. the place (it may look smooth on TV, but I assure you it is not). Now imagine that horse-drawn carriage is going 70 miles an hour. And instead of a horse, all you see is the back of Melinda's helmet. Now imagine the 4 Gs are a bear sitting on your head and you're fighting against it trying to keep your head upright. And all the time you're wondering can I get this bear off my head if I shrug my shoulders more and am I pushing off enough and when is this ride going to stop???

This picture pretty much sums it up:

Here we are with our driver, after we're a little more recovered.

All told, the ride only lasted 1 minute and 1 second. We have a profound respect for the drivers - they go down this track 20 times a day!

But am I glad I did it?? For sure! How often can you say you rode a bobsled down an Olympic track? Thanks, Melinda and Julie (our photographer), for going with me!

#13 - Learn to Row (as in, a boat) - DONE!

Anyone here watch "The Skulls" as much as me and my friends did freshman year in college? No? Anyone? Well, in that movie, which takes place at a Harvard-like college, Joshua Jackson rows on a crew team. He is muscular. Cut to our vacation in Melbourne, Australia earlier this year when we saw loads of crews rowing on the river. And we thought, "well, that looks fun!" And with that, it made it on my 30 Before 30 list.

Turns out, they teach "learn to row" classes at the Great Salt Lake! So I recruited Melinda and our friend Katie and off we went.

And, it's a lot harder than it looks. There is a lot to remember, and one false move will rock the boat and make you panic (though our instructor informed us that the only person who's ever fallen out in her classes...was blind). But we improved week after week, and Melinda and I even learned how to free ourselves after getting pinned against some rocks :)

After week 4, we got to row in single boats for a good hour and a half on the lake. It was an awesome feeling to be out on this huge lake, and look over and see a bunch of seagulls sitting on the water next to you. And to feel like you can control this boat.

This class was a hoot! I loved every minute of it! Who wants to buy me a boat????

Here we cleaning one of the boats.

>I don't have any pictures of me actually in the boat - someone else in the class took pictures, promised to send them, and...you know how that goes :)

Savor the Summit

We may or may not have mentioned - but we Birds like to eat. So when we discovered something called Savor the Summit in Park City - where they set up dinner tables for 1,500 in the middle of Main Street - we were sold. We recruited our friend Brooke and set off for an adventure. The restaurant we choose was Shabu, and they had a fixed four-course menu for us to eat. We felt a little awkward because we got our food before anyone else at our table, but look how pretty it looked:

Julie was especially pleased to get her Coke delivered in tiny little bottles:

When we were finished with our food, we checked out the other restaurant's sections and identified who looked like they were having the best food. Savor the Summit, we will see you next year!