The Civil Wars

I had thought about purchasing tickets to The Civil Wars concert and then forgot until after they won a Grammy and the concert was sold out. My friends and I searched the KSL classifieds for tickets and I was not feeling super hopeful as people were selling the tickets for double the face value.

Fast forward to the day before the concert and I decided to check the classifieds and was shocked to see two sets of tickets being sold at face value so a text was quickly sent to inquire about tickets. Meags and I received a response from a girl who happened to live in the area and soon we were on our way to pick up the tickets. At the same time, Kiera and Miguel were trying to contact us because they contacted the same two sellers and were also able to procure tickets to the concert.

We arrived at the concert and decided we needed food and Jimmy John's simply made sense. Besides, they are known for their freaky fast delivery and I should add that people in line cheered for us when our food arrived. If only everyone could be as smart as us. 

 Milo Greene opened for The Civil Wars and I have decided I must be in their band. We met them after the show so I'm on my way to carving a place into the group. 

Kiera, Miguel, Meags, and me.

The Civil Ward collection o' guitars

This is my second time seeing The Civil Wars and I vow to see them each time they come to a city near me. 

I'm on a Bike

May is National Bike Month which makes it the perfect time to finally purchase my own bike. You see, I have been looking at bikes and talking about bikes for the past four or five years but when it came time to actually pay for one, I would freak out and leave the shop. I guess(I know) big purchases are difficult for me so I did what I usually do in these kind of situations: I set a goal. On Monday I vowed to buy a bike by the end of the week and I accomplished my goal yesterday.

I walked into a local bike shop and 5, yes 5, guys stopped and stared at me but didn't say a word. I smiled and said hi and again, nothing. I wish I was exaggerating because it was an awkward moment. I browsed at a couple of bikes and hoped that someone would ask if I needed assistance and when that didn't happen, I quickly left with my head hung low. I then went to Fishers Cyclery and was greeted by Gabriel and I knew immediately that I could trust his opinion and buy a bike. We made an Idaho connection, discussed bike options, and then I simply asked him to make a decision for me and he laughed. I left thinking I would eventually return to make the purchase and then ended up returning an hour later with a friend who provided moral support as I checked my pulse and made a final decision on a bike. Once I had decided on a bike, it was easier to spend money on a helmet, lights, fenders, etc. We laughed with the employees, discussed plans for bike riding adventures, and I even scored a free water bottle-win! When I got home, I had a little co-chair instructional moment in learning how to take off the front tire and it was a little stressful at the time, but sure came in handy when I went on a ride this morning and had to do it alone. I think I'm going to love owning a bike.

Life

A good reminder...

"You won't do it at the right time. You'll be late. You'll be early. You'll get re-routed. You'll get delayed. You'll change your mind. You'll change your heart. It's not going to turn out the way you thought it would. It will be better. ~Kate Moller

Summer is Coming

Ah, summer. The days of flip flops, pool parties, snow cones, and outdoor concerts. 

Bully

Bully, directed by Lee Hirsch, is a documentary which shows the impact bullying has on several students and their families. The movie is powerful and should be viewed by all students, educators, and parents or basically, everyone. I felt so many emotions while watching the film and it is consuming my thoughts and conversation.

 After the film, Doug Fabrizio hosted a Q&A with the director where we learned more about the students and their families. I appreciated the director talking about the film initially receiving an R rating for language while another movie about children who battle until there is only one left was given a PG-13 rating. One person in the audience asked why people bully and I loved Lee's response as he explained that he is a filmmaker and not a social worker and his purpose is to show that one person can make a difference and we need to be talking about this issue and figuring what we do to change things so that children are safe on the bus and in school. I think that often the school counselors and administrators can be overwhelmed with all of their duties, and yet I feel there is so much that should and must be done. Any excuse such as "boys will be boys and that's how kids are," is not okay and it's time we each took a more vested interest in what's going on. I think it's also important to note that it's not always fellow students who bully. I know a couple of kids who are being bullied by teachers and my heart breaks to hear the kids say they hate school and are counting down the days until they no longer have to see the person making school difficult.

Go see this film and then instead of only talking about what can be done to make things better, let's take action and be part of the change. One person can make a difference.

Book Giver

World Book Night started in 2011 in the UK and is now being celebrated in the United States. It is an event to encourage reading with the giving away of free paperback books. I applied to be a giver several months ago and had a great experience talking to people about Kite Runner. After reading several accounts of book giving, I was a little worried about being rejected but that did not happen. Maybe I simply chose wisely, but everyone I talked to was excited to receive a new book. One girl told me she has an unread copy of the book but is planning to start reading after our discussion. I also gave several copies of the book to local organizations that are in need of book donations.

My Kind of Therapy

 Bruce and Jamie invited me to California this past week and it was just what I needed. Sun. Friends. Laughter. And more sun. Nicole picked me up from the airport and we went straight to the grocery store for supplies for the week which ended with us leaving meat at the counter and purchasing one of every cookie flavor available. I loved eating breakfast with the doors open and listening to the waterfall and then spending time outside while everyone got ready for the day. At night we spent time in the hot tub, enjoyed the fire pit, and watched tv through the open doors to the house.

 We traveled to Sea World one day and the weather was perfect and the fellow Sea World goers provided a lot of joy. I felt slightly overdressed and wish I had been warned that I attended "wear your tightest workout clothing" day. Oh well, next time. I feel that I should admit that I also provided some entertainment for the attendees at Sea World as captured in the picture below. In my defense, sometimes music calls to me and I must dance.

We fed sea lions and it was hilarious and a little scary to see the animals fight for the fish. The birds in SD are crazy and I never knew if they were part of a show or just there to annoy us and attempt to land on my head. I guess birds like my hair. Some people bring extra money to a place like Sea World for souvenirs, but we brought extra money to try the various foods. I won't go into detail about all the foods we ate, but we did rate each item on a scale of 1-10 so I now feel qualified to help others in planning a trip to Sea World.  

And what is a trip to California without time spent at the beach? Aunt Cole and Brayden had a great time building a sand castle. As we were setting up chairs and putting towels on the beach, we heard a loud sound and realized a bird went to the bathroom on one of the towels which is just our luck. I should have known the day would be interesting after I dropped my ice cream cone on my shirt as it fell to the ground. 

Housekeeping

The above picture shows items sent in a package from my sister-in-law. I recently traveled with my brother and his family and apparently, I left a couple of items at the hotel. Tennie Jo is now charging for the laundry service, which is somewhat appropriate since I'm sure it cost several dollars to not only wash and dry the items but also to send them via the postal system. However, the fact that she sends treats in the package will make me more likely to leave items next time we travel together.

A Home for Books

It's no mystery that I love and purchase a lot of books and needed a new bookshelf. Enter IKEA. I enlisted Meags assistance in picking out a bookshelf and we had a great time riding around the store and doing dance dares along the way. A shout-out to my hashtag friends who came to the bookshelf construction party only to discover a large dent in one side which lead to the return trip to the retailer for an exchange. I choose to focus on the calories burned from carrying the boxes twice rather than the black marks on clothing and random bruising. 

Bookshelf Delivery, Round I:

Making our way to the condo:

Assembling the bookshelf, Round II:

Putting together a bookshelf can be exhausting and at times, a nap is needed:

Me and my bookshelf:

I sent this picture to Lucy(mom) for a couple of reasons. 1- to show what I had done and 2- to enlist her help in organizing the books as I knew the librarian in her would go a bit crazy seeing how the books are currently placed. 

FUN.

I have been waiting for this date ever since I purchased pre-sale tickets to the fun. concert. My friends and I purchased fun.'s new CD at a local record store and received wristbands for an acoustic show that did not disappoint. Nate, lead singer, has been a favorite of mine ever since his days with The Format, and Andrew and Jack are simply amazing musicians. We made some new friends at the concert and  I also reconnected with a girl I met through a mutual friend at a concert a couple of weeks ago. There was one guy who knew every word and was very animated during the concert and I worried that he would fall off the balcony.

Me and Ireland. My friends 'may' have caught me touching his hair.

Fun. acoustic show

Playing Andrew's keyboard. No big deal. 

Me and Fun.

Fellow Fun. concert goers.

The Happiest Place on Earth

I usually head to the Pacific Northwest to visit my nieces during their spring break, but we decided to shake things up a bit since the airline prices were outrageous. My brother had the great idea that we should go to Disneyland and who am I to say no to a trip to a warmer climate.

Where Clay's GPS said we would find a church. Interesting. 

  

Swapping sunglasses for the week. 

Wind and rain in Newport Beach.

Ah the joys of sharing a bed with a child.

The newest members of the Disney marching band-me and Louis

Submarine Ride-Brin, Tennie, Louis, Clay

Brinners and I enjoying A Bug's Life

My very own Minnie ears...on loan for 15 seconds.

Best Action Figures ever!

The end of a magical week. 

Finding and Losing Myself

I'm currently reading The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain, and I want to do little else since I started. As illustration, March Madness is playing on the tv but it is on mute which is not normal for me. Also, I'm going to see the Hunger Games movie tonight and I had a fleeting thought, "I could go to the movie or maybe I should stay home and finish the book" and then I started to wonder why I am blogging instead of reading. Well, part of that is due to the fact that I don't want the book to end. I find myself devouring the words and my heart aches and then rejoices as I read and I want to capture each moment in some sort of safe so I can revisit the emotions and feelings at a later time.

A couple(or million) of lines seemed to jump from the pages:

"It was like being born over each night, the same process repeated, finding myself, losing myself, finding myself again." 

"And just what was happiness anyway? Could you fake it...? Could you force it like a spring bulb in your kitchen, or rub up against it at a party in Chicago or catch it like a cold?"

I have delayed long enough and will now return to therapy aka reading. 

Focus

Meags, Candice, Jen, me

Jen invited myself and Meags and our mutual friend Candice to join her for a little focus group breakfast at the Lion House Pantry and I couldn't say no. The LHP will begin serving breakfast Monday-Friday and we were able to sample everything(and I mean everything) that will be available. Creme brulee french toast topped with berries and whipped cream, sour dough pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and steel-cut oats with caramel sauce and berries. I will not disclose what my total would have been if I was paying for all of the food I ordered but I felt it was my duty to try as much as possible in order to be the well informed focus group member. I will be returning for breakfast and should note that my favorite items were the french toast and the oatmeal. Who wants to go to breakfast?

Civic Duty

I decided to attend the caucus meeting for my precinct and it was highly entertaining. I must admit that I assumed there would 5 of us sitting the school gym and we would all end up being delegates at the state convention. Imagine my surprise when I had to park several blocks away and people kept coming and the room was packed with political junkies. We listened to several candidates and were encouraged to donate money to their campaign and then it was time to gather by precinct and vote for precinct chair, vice chair, secretary, treasurer, and three delegates. I sat across from two women who are my neighbors and one was nominated to be vice chair and she so kindly nominated me for Treasurer, and of course I ended up winning. The other neighbor was chosen as a delegate and I made it clear they would be attending any and all meetings I  am asked to attend. I'm not sure what, if anything, I will be doing as treasurer but I look forward to the adventure.

Shower for Sebastian

My friends and I threw a little baby shower for our friend Rachelle and her soon to arrive son Sebastian. It was nice to sit and talk and reminisce about stories from our friendship.  Life is busy and we don't see each other as often as we would like, but I love that we make the effort to support one another. 

A few of the friends:

Katie(pregnant w/ twins), Meags, Shan, Ang, Rachelle(and Sebastian), and me

Say He's Cute

Jen and Linds have a bird named Gordon and yes, he is named after the Jazz basketball player, Gordon Hayward. I've known this bird for quite some time and have yet to hold him. In fact, I would say that I kind of keep my distance when I stop by for a visit. I'm not scared of him(maybe a little?) and politely decline each time they ask if I want to hold him or give him a kiss. I visited Gordy last month and he landed on my head and it was at that moment I decided I would hold him...before the end of February. Since today is the last day of February, I contacted Jen and I soon found myself knocking at their door. Gordy danced, shook Jen's hand, and flew around the room and even landed on my head-twice. 

And then it was time.

Getting ready. Step up, Gordy.

"Maybe you should give him kisses." I don't think so.

I did it!

Doris Marie

Marie and I met at the age of eighteen and became instant friends. We could often be found running, having dance parties in the living room, or taking trips to Mud Lake for her dad's famous spaghetti. Until recently, Marie, her husband Jake, and their three girls have been living in Texas while Jake finished his PhD in History. Marie and I had a tradition of going to Provo Bakery for a little treat so it didn't surprise me to arrive at her home and find homemade muffins. We spent hours talking, laughing, crying, and catching up on life and I love that we are again living in the same state.

Oscar Gala

My friends and I had an Oscars party last night and it was pretty epic which shouldn't surprise me because each activity gets better than the one before. 

Great food.

The group.

I love this picture. So much personality.

Miguel won the award for his talent of picking the most Oscar losers. 

Best dressed award goes to...Libby!

And I picked the most Oscar winners. "I'd like to thank the academy, my co-chair, and my guessing skills."

There are so many stories I could tell from this night. I will say there was a perfect mix of dip in the hair, laughing, drink spilled on a dress, jokes, stories, and cupcake in the face.