Happy Birthday Mom!

We get together on Sundays at the Birdhouse and this last Sunday was our Mom's actual birthday and we wanted to celebrate and keep her memory alive . . . especially for the little kids. We had a trivia game with different categories including cars she drove, places she worked, trips she went on, hobbies and interests and fun information about her wedding and engagement to Dad. Lilli said that Grace has been interested in Grandma Betty since her middle name is Betty and she has never met her. Before I moved from my house in Draper, I saved some voicemails from my home phone, and one was a Happy Birthday song sung by Mom. Oh, how glad I am that I have that and wished that I had saved so many more of her messages. We played the song, which always brings a tear to my eye. She has the happiest, loving voice. It made my heart smile when Grace was going through Dad's picture calendar for this month and showing her little sister, Maggie, who Grandma Betty was and telling Maggie about her. Of course, we had to have Mom's favorite, a Mrs. Backer's cake with the yummiest frosting flowers you've ever had and the traditional raspberry filling . . . so good! Dad even decorated with her own descriptive birthday balloon. Mom loved her family more than anything and it was fun to celebrate her on this day.

Julie = Famous

Since she probably won't tell you herself,* I will: Our Julie is speaking at BYU Women's Conference in April! Check out the description of her presentation on pages 6-7 of this program. Her topic is "What Comes Next of Willing Hands" - or in other words: service.

Julie will tell you herself that she doesn't know who people think she is to speak at women's conference, especially alongside someone like the director of the Humanitarian Center (who is her team-teacher). I think people just recognize in Julie what we have always known: that she takes charge, leads by example, is well-spoken, and is willing to serve in any capacity. Good luck, Julie - we'll be there cheering you on. And NOT making funny faces at you while you speak.

*Yes, I do have Julie's permission to post this - because as she puts it, then she'll have incentive to actually write her talk!

I Feel Very Strongly That Men Should Not Wear Spandex

Especially the man in my running group who was warming up in front of me the other day, and whose warmup included bending over, kicking, and general stretching. While in spandex.

Also, do not do a Google image search for "Spandex" unless you want some of your innocence robbed. There is a reason why there is no picture to accompany this post.

Yummy Yogurt

I am a sucker for new products and am an impulsive shopper for sure. I love trying new things that I find at Costco and on a recent trip I discovered Fage Greek yogurt that comes in different flavors. It's creamy like sour cream, fat free and comes with natural flavors to sweeten it up. What's not to love!

Beauty and the Beast

We were lucky enough to get to see the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast at Capitol theater. We had dinner before at Lamb's Grill, which is like stepping back in time at an old hotel. We had good food and a fabulous creme brulee for dessert. Then on to the theater for the show. Dad had gotten us these tickets for Christmas and the seats were a-mazing. I am always complaining about the lack of leg room for both the Capitol Theater and Kingsbury Hall - and even boycotted them for a while. I am fairly tall and it's hard to sit for several hours with your legs so tight in the chairs. Always thinking of us, Dad arranged for me to have a special seat - which didn't exist until I alerted them I had no chair and they brought me my own cushioned seat that extended into the aisle. It did make the play so much more enjoyable to be able to stretch out. Here I am in my own special seat . . . isn't it great.

We loved the show - the singing and acting were awesome - especially Gaston who was like a true cartoon character.

We Had a Ball at the Mall!

I love a mall. While Kristen likes to find museums and a 5K to run when we are out of town, I'm all about a yummy place to eat and a mall to go shopping at. So, you can imagine my excitement at the prospect of the new City Creek Center downtown. Many moons ago, I started working downtown and was there for about 10 years . . . walking all around and enjoying the various restaurants, shops, and sites to see. I loved ZCMI with the candy counter where I could buy $1 worth of different candies, the snack bar, the Tiffin Room, the close stores to shop at when I had an emergency clothing crisis . . . I loved it all. When I switched jobs and moved down south, all sorts of construction was happening to create the new City Creek. Now that I'm back downtown and even closer, the excitement has been building for months. I have been counting down the days until March 22nd and keeping my eye on what stores and restaurants were going to be opening. Imagine how thrilled I was when I heard about a preview event for the mall. In fact, it was billed as a "gala" where we were instructed to "dress smart". So, with a donation to a great charity, Melinda and I were all set for the big event. (Kristen missed out as the event quickly sold out). We saw a little bit of everything with the crowds interpretation of smart . . . career wear, sparkly gowns, suits and a tuxedo as well as some skin tight dresses and sky high heels. It made for some great people watching.

We arrived and were greeted by receiving our own lanyard and a program of locations for the food, drinks, and music throughout the mall as well as all the discounts that would be available at the stores. I was in heaven! Oh, how I love a program of events.

We enjoyed sushi, sliders, carving stations, delicious desserts and plenty of drinks as we went through the mall. It is absolutely beautiful with the various fountains and attention to every detail. I love how the church has taken an active part in ensuring that the area around Temple Square is taken care of.

I hesitated leaving my mega purse, dubbed "Pursey", at home so I wouldn't be weighed down as we walked around. I admit that I feel a little lost without it. So, after getting a few small shopping bags at various stores, we hit the mother lode at The Limited with my own new canvas bag which handily held all my packages, wallet and made me feel much more at home.

We went through the Tiffany store and they have a genius location with a large picture window that looks right to the temple . . . smart idea for a wedding ring retailer. We had a great time and are so excited for this to add to downtown Salt Lake. Between this mall and the new Harmon's . . . I am a happy girl!

Parking in the 21st Century

Downtown Salt Lake has finally entered into the 21st century with parking meters that don't require coins. This year they have slowly been transitioning from these . . .


. . . to these and I am so glad. I don't know about you, but I rarely have coins with me and not enough for extended parking. I can get most anywhere with my trusty debit card and now I can even pay for parking with it . . . wahoo!! I will miss driving in each morning and seeing the gun-toting men running from meter to meter quickly collecting the coins, but it's a small sacrifice for this modern-day convenience.

Really?

I got this little gem in my inbox the other day:

Modern Woodmen of America is Interested in You!

At first I was flattered that ALL Modern Woodmen of America were interested in me! And then I was a little weirded out--that's a bold statement for never having met me! Save it for the first date! Upon further inspection, I found that Modern Woodman of America is actually a financial planning company in Illinois. Does anyone have time to proofread my resume?

A is for Anderson, Adorable, and Awkward

Is anyone out there DVRing Anderson Cooper's daytime talk show "Anderson" every day? Just me??

Well, I don't watch it every day, but I'll usually decide to watch if the topic looks interesting. Here are my thoughts so far:

• Anderson's set is lovely, and he wears adorable little outfits like a brightly colored sweater over a checked shirt (see right).
• He does two topics/hour and they're usually as opposite as can be. Recent example: Polygamist Dating Sites...and Julianna Margulies! Another recent example was exorcism and Jesse Tyler Ferguson from Modern Family.
• Anderson's celebrity interviews are as awkward as can be. Don't even try to count the number of times he says "um." It's a little shocking for a seasoned journalist like he is, but I guess celebrities are a whole different ballgame. I think he's much more at home when talking to regular people.
• He'll also have the celebrities take part in some ridiculous game, which they clearly have not been briefed on in advance. Some can pull this off with aplomb. Most just make me uncomfortable.
• I've yet to make it through a full episode. Yet I keep taping it!

Anyone else out there watching Anderson? Anyone? No, still just me??

Top O' the Mornin'

We had these delicious shamrock doughnuts this morning to celebrate St. Patty's day this weekend. There is nothing better than a Banbury Cross doughnut!

Mormon Infographic

I love this, which you can find the original of here:

Framed

Oh, how I love blogs. I was perusing one today and found these little gems

Aren't those the cutest little frames to the side of the food? Great for so many entertaining uses. Well, they come from IKEA for 99 cents! and I decided that I had to have them. While I do love shopping, going to IKEA is not a destination spot for me. The place just exhausts me. It could be that I'm always stopping by after work so I'm not in a practical outfit or shoe for walking around a building the size of a football field. I've finally learned not to go upstairs, but to just veer straight to the accessory area on the main level. I was successful in finding the frames and am so excited about the possibilities. Turns out there are many websites dedicated to the use of these Tolsby Frames. Check out Pinterest and search "Tolsby frames" and you'll see so many uses for them that you'll want to run out and by them too. Don't forget to wear good shoes!

All I Need

As a devoted Dancing with the Stars fan, I was elated to hear that one of the dancers this season is going to be Jack Wagner.

Jack, who? you ask. I have had a crush on this actor/singer for years. It started in 1983 when he burst onto the scene of General Hospital as rock star, "Frisco Jones", who would be replacing John Stamos, nee' "Blackie Parrish". Not only was he a singer, but his character was funny, charming and an all-around romantic guy trying to woo his beloved Felicia and I was hooked. I carefully taped General Hospital every day and on Fridays when we got out of elementary school at 1:20 pm . . . I would walk home as fast as my little legs would carry me to try and be home by 1:30 to catch the last few minutes of the weekly cliffhanger episode. On the occasion when it was my turn to go grocery shopping with Mom, I would peruse the magazine section and beg for every Tiger Beat or Super Teen magazine that had any mention of my beloved Jack Wagner. I had the walls of my room papered with his picture and every article he was mentioned in. As his singing career took off with the classic, "All I Need", I continued to tape every episode of Solid Gold or any other show that he was on. I purchased every cassette tape as soon as it was released by heading over to the music store at the Cottonwood Mall.


Nevermind that these things are now available through the internet and YouTube. I still have the VHS tapes that I painstakingly recorded . . . some without commercials which means I had to pause the recording and then start again. I still have the pictures that were hanging on my walls. And, I should have written this book . . . check out this Amazon description:

"Eliza is looking to date a rock star -- though she uses the term loosely. None of her boyfriends have been famous. Most have unbearable habits and overbearing mothers. A few only played show tunes. Still, they're intense. Pierced. Tragically stubbled. With a predilection for dressing in black. Eliza finds them deep -- in theory, anyway. But in reality, none comes close to the object of her original rock-star crush: actor/crooner Jack Wagner. When her latest catch turns out be another mama's boy, Eliza begins to realize love is nothing like her favorite '80s song."

So true! Needless to say, I'm pretty excited for this season of Dancing With the Stars

Fancy Schmancy Meals

From time to time it's fun to have a fancy meal.

My friend Stacy had gotten a generous gift card from her boss for Christmas to LaCaille that she invited me to help her use . . . don't I have great friends! I had never been to LaCaille, but had heard lots about it. We got a reservation and after making a few circles trying to figure out how to get there, I went up the majestic driveway and knew I was in for quite a treat when I saw that it's valet parking only.


For dinner, you order each course separately and it was fun to try some things we wouldn't normally try if we were paying for the whole thing. It didn't take long to blow through the gift card - and then some. It's a good thing we aren't drinkers too.


Last month, Melinda, Kristen and I had a fun experience at a restaurant that had 16 courses with picture cards describing each course. So fun! At one point, we had some gentlemen come over and join us at our table. We swear it was the modest cardigan's that all three of us were wearing that just drew them to us.


And . . . have I talked about my love for Harmon's before? Hmmm . . . can't quite remember. Melinda and I tried one of their Chef's Table dinner's one night where the resident chef cooks a meal for you and as a guest . . . you get to eat and enjoy. No hands-on, no demonstration, just eating and savoring each course . . . the perfect night. We discovered a new love for Creminelli pancetta that we found a reason to top on everything . . . except dessert. And a salad with brussell sprout leaves instead of lettuce and a maple vinaigrette . . . brilliant. We are ready to go again!