Finally in Utah...

My Joani gave me some wonderful news last night. The Cheesecake Factory has opened a restaurant in Utah! It is actually located in Murray which is a prime location away from the two universities so hopefully it won't be too crowded when I stop by this weekend. Yeah, right! If there is a Cheesecake Factory then there is at least a half hour wait for the yummy goodness.

Santa Fe Salad & Strawberry Shortcake here I come!

Grief & Joy

My grandma passed away on Sunday. She was a kind, generous and sweet lady who I'm blessed to be named after. The phone call came to me while at the traditional "game night" with friends. It was a shock to hear the news. I'm sad. I will miss her.

The wonderful thing that I have in my life is the knowledge that I will see my grandma again someday. That is a precious gift that I wish I could give to everyone. I know that she is in a beautiful place with her husband. Happy and at peace.

I'm grateful to have been born into her family and will bear our name proudly for the rest of my life.

Chase This Light

I "heart" Jimmy Eat World. It isn't just because we share the same hometown roots but they are a great band with exceptional song writing. Their latest release is called Chase This Light and it debuted in the Top Ten of Billboard's Hot 200 Albums and was #1 on the Digital Albums Chart. Congrats Jimmy!

My favorite songs on Chase This Light are definitely: Always Be, Carry You, Here Is Gone and Feeling Lucky. I encourage all within the range of my blogging to pick up the new album and enjoy its fantastic music.

Lucky for me I will see the boys of Jimmy on November 9th at some venue in West Midtown. I'm sure it will be an amazing show and I will make sure to get there early to scope out the best sight and sound location. I am even willing to suffer through stupid opening acts to find that prime location. Oh, the sacrifices I make for my Jimmy.

Why New Yorkers, Why??

I've realized that I developed a "hard edge" since living in the big, bad city. I'm not all sugar and sweet. Things and people bother me more than in my previous West Coast life. Lately these pet peeves are being excaberated by my fellow New Yorkers.

Here are some of the top 'peeves' I'm dealing with on a daily basis:

Wearing wool coats and boots in 75 degree weather...hello...it's still hot people. You'll have plenty of time to enjoy your wool coats and pointy toe boots. Remember the months of January and February average a high temperature of 30 degrees!

Talking on your cell phone at the top of the subway steps; thereby BLOCKING the entrance...finish your stupid call along the side wall. There is no need to allow those who want to go into the depths of New York to overhear your frivilous conversation.

Placing your cart/basket full of groceries on the ground in a long line of food purchasers...then leaving your picks to continue your shopping without losing your place in the long line.

All SMOKERS, a little tip...just because you blow smoke away from yourself doesn't mean you're saving your lungs from cancer...instead you're endangering MY lungs.

Trying to pay for anything with a debit/credit card when the line clearly states it's a CASH ONLY register. Maybe they're all foreigners...but I tend to doubt it. Something about an impatient attitude that screams "New Yorker". (I should know.)

Apparently I'm on a roll with detailing my peeves towards my fellow New York City inhabitants. Overall, I think my biggest irritation is that people don't behave the way I think they should. Apparently, I'm the one who has to fix the situation by not being irritated. We'll see if I can make that work.

Anyone want to bet on my success in not being annoyed by others because they don't behave how I want?.....yeah, I thought not.

More Niagara & Palmyra Photos

Flex just took such great photos that I need to share more with the world. Enjoy!

Niagara & Palmyra

The Family Fall Foliage Tour was a great time. It started out with some great tunes while driving across New Jersey. My excellent car dancing while driving induced a passing passenger to snap my picture with his camera phone. To whomever has my picture on their camera phone...I was dancing to the stellar tunes of Chocolate by Snow Patrol.

Our tour started at Niagara Falls where we were able to soak up some mist and majestic water falling over big tall cliffs. The newly nicknamed Flex (a.k.a. my youngest brother) took some stellar shots of the falls during the day and night. I think the highlight of the trip was the Maid of the Mist. We strapped on the attractive blue poncho and boarded the boat to chug deep into the mists of the Falls.



After our half day of Niagara fun including the worst Outback Steakhouse dinner ever; we jumped into the Saturn voiture to head to the lovely town of Pittsford, NY. Luckily the bad Outback meal was completely erased with a wonderful sojourn to the Cheesecake Factory. The 45 minutes wait was SO worth it. The next morning we woke up early to travel the quick 30 minutes to Palmyra. We first stopped at the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center where we hiked to the top on the most beautiful fall day ever. Our next stop was the Smith Family Farm and the Sacred Grove. I think the Sacred Grove has to be the most glorious and tranquil place. Leaves were changing and the breeze was blowing. It was amazing. After the lunch stop at Subway we had the best and quickest tour of the Grandin Building where the Book of Mormon was first published. So appreciate the lovely senior sister from Glendale, Arizona. Quick tours always end up being the most informative and the best!

Last but not least was driving to Schnectady for some fun in the Residence Inn where apparently every person there enjoys a nice dinner at the local chain restaurant. Thankfully the last night of our tour ended with a wonderful trek to Target. Hooray for Target!

Other fantastic highlights were singing Carpenters hits with my Joani, deciding which grotesque fast food joint to patronize at the local rest stop, swapping music with the brother and sister, as well as the laughter, chatting and overall bonding between all of us kiddies with our mommy.

Hairapy

This past weekend I spent up in Connecticut with Claire. It was a much needed repreive of my NY life before the family descends upon me. Another motivation for visiting Claire was she was the one with the sharp hair cutting scissors. My luscious mane had become damaged and faded from my habitual cleaning and curling. So the weekend was two-fold: 1st, enjoy some quality time with Claire talking, eating and watching The Rock and 2nd, take back control of the tresses.

I'm happy to say that both missions were successfully completed. The hairapy was great especially when it included Outback Steakhouse, home back cookies, Target shopping and a trip to one of the largest supermarkets I have ever seen. It was also nice to drive around the gorgeous lands of Connecticut in a nice car with tunes blaring while viewing the beginnings of the fall foliage season. I hope to repeat the hairapy session with Claire in at least 6-8 weeks. :)

I'm a Planner

One charateristic that is very obvious in my repertoire is that I am a planner. I love all the details of putting together a trip, event, meal or just about anything else. So right now is total planner season because my Joani, Punkin & Moocher are all coming from the west this week. We are renting a vehicle to drive up to Niagara Falls (the Canadian side) and stop in Palmyra. It's these types of excursions that get me giddy with excitement to plan our route, hotels, activities, etc. Needless to say, my planner gene has kicked into overdrive.

I've made no secret about my Hawaiian vacation for the big birthday next year. Right now I only have 263 days or 37 1/2 weeks to put together the itinerary for this sojourn in the islands. Hopefully I'll be able to plan everything within that time frame. Please forward any ideas for activities while in Oahu for my consideration. :)

The Other Provo

Holy cow...there's another Provo! I think if people ask me about Provo I'm going to automatically assume they mean this one. How much do I love the fact that they have a disclaimer at the top saying "not Provo Utah". Love it!

Mets Curse Continues...

...The 3rd Annual Baseball FHE Night came and went. This year we had 3,500 members and friends of the Church attend a Mets v. Nationals game. It was a gorgeous evening and the missionary choir as well as Highbench performed very well during the pre-game activities. It was a very enjoyable time; however my presence led to the downfall of the Mets victory.

I have yet to witness a win by a New York team. That is five years of defeats whenever I am in attendance. The worst came on Sunday, September 30th. The Mets were in a do or die situation with the Phillies. I went to the game instead of Church (sorry Mom) and low and behold the team fell apart in the top of the first inning. The Pinky curse continues. I feel like I should write a nice note to the Mets organization swearing to never attend crucial games for the rest of my life. A nice game in the middle of May would be perfect. No pressure if the curse continues.

It was a good time on Sunday with Bowler, Beemer and Dancing Queen. We got some free food, free tickets and Dancing Queen even won something in the Mets memoribilia raffle.

The Man, the Myth, the Legend

My brother Big Lug celebrated a birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday brother! I promise to get the BYU victory over New Mexico recorded on a DVD and sent to you ASAP. I'm lucky to be your sister and I love you very much. Enjoy this next year of your life.

Here are a few of my favorite Big Lug shots from the past few years: