Return of Dallas

Dallas is back!  And, oh how I love the majestic opening sequence.  I have been to symphonies where they play the Dallas theme song and I love it!  Turn your speakers up nice and loud to listen to this one.  I've always loved soap-opera-type shows . . . it's just part of me.   And this is a great one that brings me back to the days at Bonneville Jr. High when my friends and I would talk about the latest and greatest plot lines at lunch and and on the steps outside the lunch room that lead up to the main school.  We even had a season finale party one time at my friend, Elys' house. It was all the rage in the 80's and now it's new again with some of the same originals from before with all new delicious story lines that had me from the premier episode.

75 Things That Make Julie Happy

 I liked Kristen's recent post on things that make her happy, so I thought I'd start my own list.  Even though we are all quite different from each other, there are some things that make us all happy.   These are some of the regular things I write about . . . all together in one list.

1.  Driving with the sunroof open when it's not too hot.
2.  Cinnamon Bun Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream
3.  Leaving work early with an afternoon off to myself.
4.  A chance to sleep in
5.  Freshly colored hair.
6.  Staying in a nice hotel
7.  Eating from the the food trucks at lunch at the Gallivan Center while sitting by the wall of water.
8.  A house cleaned for friends or family coming over
9.  Fresh laundry . . . . thank you Lavender Vanilla Downy!
10.  Arriving at church or work on time
11.  Laying on the couch with a good show wrapped in a warm, fuzzy blanket
12.  A batch of pina coladas
13.  Eating on a patio outside in great weather
14.  Delicious chocolate cake
15.  Sushi at Takashi
16.  Sitting outside on the bench at Nielson's Frozen Custard on Highland drive enjoying a cone.  If the flavor of the day happens to be raspberry . . . that makes me doubly happy!
17.  Logging on to Google Reader and seeing my favorite blogs updated . . . and then reading them.
18.  Fridays when my weekly magazines come . . . and then having time to read them.
19.  Pringles and chocolate covered peanuts
20.  Learning something new
21.  A pedicure and leg massage
22.  Bacon!  I subscribe to the philosophy that everything is better with bacon!  If a recipe calls for a few slices, put in a pound.
23.  Receiving a note in the mail or picture from my nieces.
24.  Sitting in a hot tub on a cool, relaxing summer night.
25.  The light switch right by my bed.
26.  Good smelling cologne
27.  Vanilla lotion
28.  Strawberries in season
29.  Deliveries on my door step . . . and tracking the packages to see when they will be there.
30.  Fries and sauce at Hires.
31.  Vacationing in Hawaii with lots of time to relax by the beach and the pool.
32.  Spending time with good friends.
33.  Dad always being happy to see us or happy we called.
34.  Five Taste Shrimp at the Mandarin in Bountiful
35.  Surprises on my DVR . . . shows that I wanted to watch that I forgot about.
36.  An ice-cold Coke
37.  My scanner; double-sided and in color.  (Yes, I'm a dork)
38.  My office and view . . . especially the door . . . that closes. 
39.  Time for a Sunday nap
40.  The new City Creek Mall and Harmon's downtown
41.  Fridays off and an extra long weekend.
42.  Having a fun trip to look forward to.
43.  A good job to work at.
44.  Disneyland corn dogs
45.  Time with my family

46.  The feeling after I know I've helped someone
47.  A positive balance in my bank account
48.  Being able to see my young women getting married in the temple . . . a big yay! to Kalie!
 

49.  Roasting hot dogs in Millcreek Canyon.
50.  Going down the Alpine Slide . . .fast . . . with no one in front of me and no one coming behind me.
51.  A cold glass of milk at Dad's with Sunday dinner.
52.  Controlling my own thermostat.
53.  Arctic Circle Lime Rickey's
54.  At the end of a night after an event I helped plan, knowing that it went well (We won't talk about the sore feet or tons of dishes that don't make me as happy)
55.  Real ribbon to wrap a package with.
56.  New episodes of Parenthood
57.  Gilmore Girls reruns . .  I can watch them over and over again and they are like an old friend. 
58.  Playing a game or reading stories with my nieces and nephews.  A new favorite board game is Zero . . . so fun!

 

59.  Chicken Mini's in the morning from Chick-Fil-A
60.  A great sale at Nordstrom
61.  Perfect 72 degree weather
62.  A memory of my Mom:  A favorite recipe, hearing her voice on a tape, remembering something she said or seeing her handiwork around the house.  My friend, Stacy, was lucky enough to have a special heart blanket that Mom made.  As she gave them away, Mom wrote on the card that the blanket is a hug from her.  We couldn't have known the treasure they would become.
63.  Singing Ti Amo to Melinda and Kristen to drive them crazy.  RIP Laura Branigan.
64.  Sending a note in the mail on great stationary . . . nice thick paper . . . and writing with a flowy pen.
65.  Smart Cookies - the frosting is to die for!
66.  Cucumber Melon soap
67.  Toilet paper coming OVER the top of the roll.
68.  Freshly made bed with that those great smelling laundered sheets
69.  Mentos
70.  Costco cash
71.  When my hair "works"!
72.  Cookbooks . . . I love looking through them and discovering a new recipe to try.  It also makes me happy when those recipes work well.
73.  Swiss Days with Mom and Dad.  I love taking Friday off work, leaving early, finding a great parking spot and discovering treasures right when the market opens.  We would leave Mom under a tree and come back hours later with her surrounded by chairs and people.  We love to be done before lunchtime when it gets really crazy . . . but not before enjoying a traditional scone or a ham and cheese sandwich complete with a chocolate chip cookie.
74.  Brian Regan concerts
75.  Editing forms in Adobe (yes, again, I'm weird)
And a bonus . . . 76.  Mom and Dad singing in harmony as they did dishes together or holding hands while driving in the car.

How Many Grandpas...

...still get down on the floor and play with their grandkids?

Happy Father's Day to the best dad - and granddad - we could ask for!

I Heart Bacon!

Hey Melinda . . . .look what Burger King is rolling out this summer . . . a bacon sundae! 

So .  . when are we going?

Climb Every Mountain

You know how when you live near a lot of cool things you tend to take them for granted and don't visit them as much as you should? Because I do. For example, I had not spent much time at the Great Salt Lake until our amazing rowing class last year, it took a single's ward trip for me to see Delicate Arch up close, and I haven't frolicked on the Bonneville Salt flats nearly as much as I should.

For years, Kristen and I have been saying that we need to hike to Timpanogos cave. We had been years ago when we were wee lasses, but we never got around to going as we got older, and figured it was something we needed to see! Well, this weekend, we decided it was high time that we went. Julie sent us on our way and told us she wasn't jealous of our plan. Fine! It was a perfect day for a little jaunt up the mountain, and as we got there, we saw lots of tiny children and old people, so I figured that if they could do it, we would fly up the mountain. It is a mile and a half up, and they tell you to plan on an hour and a half for your trek up. I had remembered that it was a little bit of a hike, but sweet mercy, it was steep! I may or may not have told Kristen that I needed to army crawl up some portions of the climb. Stop judging me! As a result, I made Kristen stop a lot along the way so we could get shots like this:

Can you tell how out of breath I am? We made it to the top, and were pretty excited. So much so that my left eye went wonky! I'm not proud.

Once we got up there, we were given a tour by the cutest older guide, named Mac! We loved him. He was so excited about the cave, and showed us things neither of us remembered, like this:

Cave bacon! And this:

Cave popcorn! Who's hungry? I generally hate all things hiking, but give me a paved trail, an adorable Mac, and cave snacks, and I'm in! Good times, Timpanogos Cave, good times!

Good Reality

Is anyone out there watching "On the Fly" on TLC?  It's a reality show following Southwest airlines customer service agents and all the crap they have to deal with.  Just think of all the crazies you see in the airport, add in delays that people have no control over, and you have a good idea of what you might see.  Actually, you have no idea how crazy it gets.  People are trying to sneak their pets into their carry-on luggage, refusing to hang up their phones, and traveling on buddy passes that they "put in their checked luggage."  These employees have to deal with people yelling at them, tell people they're too drunk to fly, and tell passengers people have complained about their body odor.  You wonder how on earth they deal with it - AND I wonder how on earth Southwest got photo releases from all these argumentative people.  It is FASCINATING.

Also fascinating? Breaking Pointe on the CW.  Following Utah's own Ballet West ballet company, it has egos, drama, and one Ronnie Underwood (those are his abs on the right).  Holla!

What We've Been Up to Lately

 

 Melinda had a birthday in April and we devoured the Tollhouse Pie from the Dodo.  Love that place!

 

Aiden had an outdoor spring band concert playing both the clarinet and the trombone.   He did great!

We have lots of fun playing games at Dad's. . . and Davis, well, he's just adorable!

 Kristen ran a half marathon . . . Melinda volunteered at the marathon . . . and we ran into Lilli who was supposed to do the relay and then felt so good she continued on to the half marathon. (We love you Lilli, but we are definitely not related :) 

One of my young women, Jayden, graduated from high school

 

After 15 years, Brian and Lisa sold their house and we helped them move . . . to Dad's for now. 

Grace had a choir concert and shared songs from around the world.  We celebrated with frozen yogurt after. 

 

And, Heather, is the best friend ever.  She brought back the very addictive "Chicago Mix" popcorn from Chicago's Garrett's popcorn.  She really loves us because she doesn't even like popcorn.  Thanks, Heather!