"I'll Take You On"

A couple Saturdays ago Nat, Nici, and I went up the canyon for lunch and ate at a cute diner.

So... we got to the diner, and there was about a ten minute wait so we were just sitting there chit-chatting. (By the way, I think you should know that Nat and I are probably the biggest people watchers I know, and we spend so much time together that we know exactly what the other person is thinking.)

I look at Nat and say, "How old?" And she responds, "Mm.. Probably 19-21," and I agree with her.

Nici in the meantime keeps asking us what we're talking about, and we tell her to be quiet, and we'll fill her in when we get to the table. So, we get to the table and we tell Nici we were speculating about how old the host was. He was a pretty cute little hippie boy, and he had obviously been starring at Nici the whole time we were waiting for out table.

A few minutes later our waitress brings over this cute little note that says...

"Sorry to disturb you, but I could not pass up the opportunity to make a fool of myself and hope there is a chance I may take such a gorgeous young lady out to dinner some time. If you happen to be down my # is 971-6381 and seria mi placer a conocerte y espero que podriamos hacer algo, or if you ever want to see real, party, hike have an adventure... Grayson."

We thought the Spanish part was a little strange, and our waitress informed us the boy was 19. There was no way Nici would ever call him, but we all got a good laugh out of. That's a pretty confident boy to be going for an older woman!

"Hit Me With Your Best Shot"

For some reason I always seems to know what's going on in the world of sports. I think it's because I have a brother and a good friend who are sports freaks. Because of this I've been watching some World Cup games lately.

I actually really enjoying watching the games even though I don't know anything about soccer. I always find myself cheering for countries to which my brothers went on their missions, or for the teams with the sexiest players (ha ha).

I think I enjoy the games because soccer is kind of like baseball. You can watch the game and be somewhat attentive, but you can do other things or socialize without missing much.

The other day I watched most of the Italy V. Australia match. I wanted Italy to win so Peter would be happy. It was a pretty fun match to watch, and I was getting pretty into it. In fact, I was worried I was going to be late to work because I figured it was going to go into overtime, and then the unthinkable happened.

I'm sure you all know how the game ended, and I was happy Italy won, but I was sad it ended that way. I really actually felt bad for Australia. I guess that's why I was never good at competitive sports--I just have too soft of a heart.

"Show Me a Little Shame"

I've been reading pretty consistently lately. I like to switch it up a little by reading good/thinker books intermixed with trashy chick lit. I won't talk about the chick lit so that my opinion of these others books may still somewhat matter to you.

So here they are, four books that will, or at least should, change your life...



Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini



Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver



Into The Wild - Jon Krakauer



The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

"All I Want for Christmas"

I have a good friend, Mike, who is an amazing singer. He's basically the music man, and I am the complete opposite. I'm probably the most tone-def person that ever lived, and the worst singer in the history of the world.

Mike and I used to play this game where I would sing a note and he would try to harmonize with me. It's basically impossible for anyone to harmonize with the one note I sing for every note--it's a pretty funny/unsuccessful game.

So it's always this joke when we get together that I'm this awful singer, and he's amazing.

The other day I was trying to convince Mike that he should try out for American Idol, and we had the following conversation:

Me: Hey, you really should try out for American Idol. I know you would make the top 12. Seriously you should do it.

Mike: YOU should try out for American Idol. Oh wait... You really should. You would make it on TV because you suck so bad.

Me: Maybe we could try out together and harmonize.

Mike: We could sing Celine Dion, "The Power of Love." The only problem is you would laugh too hard doing it and then they would know you were just trying to get on TV.

Me: Mmm... I'm pretty sure I could be serious for the chance to be a star on TV.

So our secret plan is to try out together. Hopefully Simon would tell me how bad I suck, and he would tell Mike, "Welcome to Hollywood!"

If you doubt my ability to make it on American Idol (because I really suck that bad), here is a video clip of me and Michele singing Maria Carey's "All I Want for Christmas." It was a birithday present for Nat, and I'm sure she loved it.

"Just A G Thang"

I saw this on SNL a while back and thought it was really funny. It seems like these raps are the only funny things on SNL lately.


FYI, if you like this one, the Chronicles of Narnia one is pretty funny too.

"Dilemma"

My brother and I have been spending quite a bit of time together recently. Last Wednesday I got done with work early and met the family for lunch at Crown Burger, a family favorite.

After lunch, Peter and I didn't have anything to do. We went to the parent's house and wasted time texting messaging and playing stupid nerd games. After a few hours of doing nothing, Peter suggested that we go look at puppies.

We got to the pet store, and of course, they had two puggles. Puggles are the dogs that Tia has been wanting for a while. Peter was torn as to what he should do, but with me there to help him, he decided to get a puppy. (Supposedly I'm very persuasive when it comes to convincing people to buy things!)

After we bought the dog we called Tia and asked her if she like BIG surprises. She said that she doesn't like any kind of surprises because she likes to be in control of things. I think this made Peter a little nervous, but I think he knew that Tia would love the dog.

I've been wanting to blog about the puppy, Romey, for days, but I wasn't allowed to because Romey was a surprise for Tia. Coming from a family who is obsessed with little dogs it's been really hard to control myself and not post even a picture of her because Romey is all we've been talking about for days.

Luckily, the surprise is out! Tia has her dog, and I can now post Romey's first official internet photo. Here it is.

"Say My Name"

I've seen a lot of this picture lately, and I think it's pretty cool. There are 75 bands shown in it. Can you find them all?

"Gin 'n Juice"

The other day I spilled a drink, and I was pretty upset about it. The drink wasn't just any drink, it was a Vanilla Coke, and Vanilla Coke is a very valuable commodity in my life.

In January, Coke quit making Vanilla and so my brother and my mom, both, stocked up on fridge packs. The fridge packs are now coming to an end, and so are the days of Vanilla Coke, the best pop ever. Because I can no longer drink Vanilla, I am forced to resort to other ways of receiving my cold caffeine fix.

Here is the rank order of the drinks that I reach for...

1. Vanilla Coke (getting almost impossible to find)

2. Cherry Coke (with grenadine is best)

3. Dr. Pepper (from Mexico, in a glass bottle is best)

4. Mountain Dew

If none of the above drink are available, I'll settle for...

5. Wild Cherry Pepsi

6. Blackcherry Vanilla Coke (this is starting to grow on me, but it won't ever compare to Vanilla)

7. Root beer

8. Sprite (but only if I'm sick)

There you have it. The list. Notice that none of the drinks are diet. Some people say, "Eat your calories; don't drink them," but I like to say, "If it doesn't have calories, it's not worth drinking." Ha ha ha...

"Farmhouse"

My grandparents have a ranch in Star Valley, Wyoming, and last weekend I took some of my friends from DC up. It was a pretty good time. Some highlights include homemade cooking by Pinkie, hiking in the Tetons, ping-pong using hands as paddles, me winning Settler of Catan, and many games of Catchphrase.

We were laughing at memories of playing Catchphrase in DC last summer. We lived with a man from France. He was pretty hard to understand and really fun/funny to play Catchphrase with.

Here's an example of one of our memorable games of Catchphrase with our French friend.

French Friend (his turn, speaking in a French accent): "Cheddar ..."

French Friend's Team: "Cheese?"

FF: "Cheddar, Cheddar, from Friends..."

FFT: "Cheddar from Friends? What is he talking about?"

FF: "From Friends, from Friends, the TV show."

FFT: "Oh, Matthew Perry, Matthew Perry..."

FF: "No! No... CHEDDAR FROM FRIENDS!"

FFT: "Do you mean Joey? Matt LeBlanc..."

Timer is beeping really fast at this point...

FFT: "We don't know, skip it, skip it."

Timer stops...

FF: "Cheddar from Friends... LUKE PERRY!"

FFT: "You mean DILLON from 90210!"

Turns out "Chandler" with a French accent sounds like "Cheddar," and 90210 and Friends are easy to confuse if you're from another country. Oh, what would we do without Catchphrase to entertain us?

"Don't Speak"

The other day I went to the gym, and I made the AWFUL mistake of forgetting my iPod. I never forget my iPod when I go to the gym because wearing headphones drastically decreases the chances of being spoken to.

After about ten minutes of lifting this meat-head wanders over, and we have the following conversation:

MH: "Nice tan."

Me: "Uh, thanks."

MH: "That's not a real tan is it?"

Me: "Mmm... ya it is."

MH: "Wow, where did you get it? Do you spend a lot of time outside or what?"

Me: "Sigh... I just got back from Hawaii."

MH: "Hawaii, really, how was that?"

Me: "Fine."

MH: "I bet it was..."

Awkward silence... And then he sat down at the machine next to me.

Ok, first of all, I don't go to the gym to talk to ANYONE; I go there to workout. Second of all, asking someone if their tan is real is a strange question, especially when it was obvious that MH was the biggest greased-out-fake-baker I have ever seen.

After our endearing conversation about my tan I kept noticing MH looking at me in the mirrors, lifting on the machines next to me, and following me around the gym. I started thinking about what I would do if he tried to talk to me again, and the thought of having to speak to him kind of made me sick to my stomach. I ended up just forgetting my workout and leaving the gym.

Why should I have to leave the gym because some creep-o won't leave me alone? I guess I'll never forget my iPod again. In the past it's done a good job of saving me from these types of awful interactions.

"Everybody Dance Now"

Last weekend the roommates hit the hot SLC clubbing scene. WOW! was it exciting. We went to a club called The Hotel--let's just say I'm glad I don't take the clubbin' scene serious. It was fun just to dance with the roomies, but I think most of the people there could use the help of the video below.

"Starry Eyed Surprise"

My brother decided to become a myth buster and figure out if diet coke and mentos really don't get along. This is the video we made of the experiment. I guess the myth about diet coke and mentos is now a certified fact. That's good news because this is the only good use of diet coke I can think of!

"Somewhere Out There"

Last night I had a sleep over with my niece, Olivia, who is four. After a fun morning of feeding ducks at Sugar House Park, shopping, and lunch at the Mayan (gross food, but fun for kids) we were tired so we popped in American Tale.

American Tale is the movie about the Russian mouse, Fivel, who travels to America and gets lost from his family. I remember watching it when I was little, and it was fun to revisit a classic from my younger days. It got me thinking about animated movies I loved when I was little. Here is a short list of some of my favorites.

American Tale

The Last Unicorn

The Land Before Time

The Secret of Nimh

Lady Lovely Locks (This is a really bad one, but I loved it when I was little.)

Robin Hood (This has to be my favorite Disney movie!)

Aladdin, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast (How can these three get left off a list like this?)

Are there any I have left off?

"Old Friends"

So.. this is a picture of a bunch of friends from high school. It was taken a couple weeks ago at a wedding shower. All ten of us went on a trip when we graduated from high school, and now six years later it's funny to compare all of our lives...

4 have children, 1 has two children

7 are married

6 are graduated from college

2 are attending graduate school

and all 10 still live in utah..... BORING!

There you have... the lives of ten random girls from good old VHS.

"Don't Stop"

I enjoy my sleep just as much as anybody else, well actually I take that back. I'm pretty sure I enjoy my sleep more than the average person, and I think I'm known as being a big sleeper. I can fall asleep easily, sleep for a long time, and I'm hard to wake up. Today was quite the exception to all of these rules.

Here's a conversation that basically sums up my morning:

Me: So I had kind of a hard time falling asleep last night.

N: Ya, I noticed. Usually when we're done talking you fall right asleep, but I could here you moving around last night.

Me: Wanna hear the worst part? I woke up at freaking 5:15 today. I just woke right up, for no reason, was wide awake and couldn't go back to sleep till probably around 7:00.

N: Really? That's so unlike you. Was something on your mind?

Me: Well, I just had about five songs running through my head at the same time, over and over again. I felt like I was going crazy. I couldn't turn them off.

Then, finally I fell asleep and an hour later I had to get up for work. It was one of the hardest get-out-of-beds I've had in a while. I wanted to die.

N: I have to admit, it makes me happy you had a hard time sleeping last night.

Me: Oh, you're so kind. Have a good day sucker.

It's so nice to have such nice friends! What a good start to my day!

"Bad Fish"

I really like to play games. It's stupid, I know, but it's fun. I think I may have somewhat of an addictive personality when it comes to games, and my latest addiction is Typer Shark.

The funny thing about this game is that it's used to teach elementary kids how to type. My sister-in-law uses it with her kids at school, and our family had a small competition the other night to see who was the best typer. To nobody's surprise Annie beat everyone, but we're waiting for Tia to get here to crown the official champion.

"Celebrity"

I enjoy hearing, reading, watching, and knowing about celebrities. OK, there you have it. I admitted it. It's true. Sometimes I do spend my time learning about the useless lives of celebrities, but who doesn't have a guilty pleasure, right?

Having said that, I think it's time for the Celebrity Baby Showdown 2006! Three celebrity, powerhouse couples have had babies in the past few weeks, and I think it's time I came clean about which celebrity baby I wish I could be.

In the runnings are:

1. Moses son of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin

2. Suri daughter of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise

3. Shilo daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt

And the winner is......

Drums....



If I had to be a celebrity baby I would obviously be the daughter of Gwyneth and Chris (that's an easy choice). Of the three names above I think I'd have to go with Suri. Shilo reminds me of this book I had to read in 4th grade about an abused dog, and Moses, well Moses and Apple are both just bad. So, there you have it. Gwyneth and Chris are the winners, but Suri is definitely the best name. (BTW I hate to admit that TomKat is the winner of the best celebrity baby name, because they drive me crazy, but what can you do?)

"American Pie"

Yesterday was the end of an era. Katie Couric left the Today Show. After much pleading, I convinced Paul to skip out on Thomas The Tank Engine, and we watched the last 45 minutes of Katie's goodbye. I have to admit it was pretty good, and I got a little teary-eyed.



I grew up on Katie. My mom used to watch the Today Show every morning while we were getting ready for school, and I've continued to watch somewhat consistently throughout my somewhat adult life. I remember when she had both of her children, when her husband died, and various other moments on the Today Show.

Even though I enjoyed Katie on the Today Show, I think she's going to be a flop over on CBS. But really what else could she do.. Stay at the Today Show her entire career? I think she had to make the move even though I think it's going to be a bad one.

I also enjoy Meredith Vieira on The View, but I think she's going to flop on the Today Show. She just doesn't seem like a hard-news personality.

I hope Katie and Meredith both succeed, but I don't really see it happening. As far as Rosie O'Donnell on The View, not only do I think she'll flop, but I'm hoping that she does. I can't stand Rosie.