Living in sin

Feb 11 - makes you happy

2012-02-11T09:25:00.012-07:00

Day 11 - makes you happy

Jeffrey and I in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

This was a tough one. Lots of things make me happy. How do I choose just one? And what do I post?

Well I love traveling and I love Jeffrey. Easy.

But wait. This fluffy 4-legged animal also makes me happy.

Dexter the Dog.

Feb 10 - self portrait

2012-02-10T10:02:00.001-07:00

Day 10 - self portrait

I was setting up the camera to take a self portrait in my fancy dress a few nights ago. You know for future Facebook pics and what have you. And guess who stood all stoic right in the middle of my shot?

Feb 9 - front door

2012-02-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

Day 9 - front door

Yep, that's our front door. Pretty exciting, isn't it?

On a typical day anyone can walk by and notice a little set of brown eyes peeking out. This is Dexters official guard window.

Feb 8 - sun

2012-02-08T09:52:00.001-07:00

Day 8 - sun.

I'm going with sunset on this one instead of just sun.

Since I recently posted a picture of a Salt Lake sunset I didn't want to post another Utah sunset, so I'm using this picture from our trip to Costa Rica in 2010. This is Coco beach and it isn't even photoshopped. That's really how it looked!

Feb 7 - button

2012-02-07T13:35:00.002-07:00

Day 7 - button

I was going to skip Day 7 because I don't have any funny buttons. But I was at the grocery store and walked by this button in the card section.

So I decided to PUSH it for a laugh, like the sign says. And it plays the tequilla song which will always and forever remind me of THIS scene from Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

Feb 6 - dinner

2012-02-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

Day 6 - dinner

My dinner tonight.

Broccoli soup with a side of bread.

Salad topped with apples and craisins.

Sliced oranges and kiwi's.

Feb 5 - 10am

2012-02-05T13:40:00.000-07:00

Day 5 - 10am

Sunday morning coffee at 10am.

That's E. Tizzle on the right. He spent the night after the boys night at the Jazz game and closing the bar down until 2am.

The ladies had a much quieter night.

Feb 4 - stranger

2012-02-04T11:31:00.001-07:00

Day 4 - stranger.

He's not a total stranger, more like a house guest. This is Ozzy. We are dog sitting this week while his family is in Mexico.

Now we have two guard dogs to alert us of any danger in the neighborhood.

Dexter loves his new roommate. Finally, someone to play with all day!

Have fun in Mexico, Freer family. Dexter will take good care of his favorite cousin.

Feb 3 - hands

2012-02-03T22:08:00.000-07:00

Day 3 - hands

Jeffrey and I holding hands, of course.

All dressed up and somewhere to be! A fancy dinner party, that is.

Feb 2 - words

2012-02-02T20:49:00.003-07:00

Go HERE to see what challenge I accepted.

Day 2 - words.

This is the menu for the fancy work party Jeffrey and I are attending tomorrow.

Hello open bar!

Feb 1 - Photo a day

2012-02-01T20:42:00.006-07:00

My friend Jen and a bunch of other people are taking the photo a day challenge. It's a challenge to take a word or phrase and post a picture for every day in February. It sounds like fun and I need some blogging material. So I hereby accept the challenge!

Here is my daily list of inspiration:

Now that I accepted the challenge I'm already skipping out on Day 1. But that's because I started late. Forgive me.

From here on out though, I vow to try really hard to post everyday.

A Saturday Sunset.

2012-01-28T18:13:00.003-07:00

The 3 little chairs

2012-01-23T09:03:00.012-07:00

Once upon a time there was a cozy spot in the living room that was perfect for relaxing or cuddling up with a good book. But with a small budget and an old house, it needs just the right chair.

This one was too long.

This one was too wide.

This one was...

...Juuuust right.

The search for the perfect leather recliner has ended.

Question

2012-01-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

What do you do when it's really cold outside and you don't have the money to pay your bills?

You put your bank robber mask on, of course.

Then you go play outside. Duh.

NYE 2011/2012

2012-01-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

Our New Years Eve was great.

We spent it with good food, great friends and hopeful resolutions. We rang in the new year on the dance floor with a champagne toast at midnight.

The next morning I put my new year crown on Dexter and for some reason he wasn't happy about it. He kept pouting and sulking. I guess because he knew it was a girls hat. Maybe if it was a boys hat he would have been more likely to smile for the picture.

Happy 2012!

Happy 2012

2012-01-01T00:12:00.000-07:00

I hope you had a wonderful New Year. I hope you rung in the New Year with friends and family that made you feel happy and hopeful. I sure did.

Today I also hope you don't have a hangover that makes you want to hide under the bed.

Happy 2012!!

2011: a year in review

2011-12-31T00:31:00.001-07:00

What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?

Biked to the (pretty much) top of City Creek. I was pretty proud of myself.

Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don't really make New Years resolutions.

Did anyone close to you give birth?

Lots of friends had babies this year. So yes.

What countries did you visit?

Ethiopia, Africa! It was AWESOME!

We also went to New Orleans, McCall, Idaho and Asheville, NC

What would you like to have in 2012 that you didn’t have in 2011?

I'm pretty happy with 2011 so more of the same in 2012.

What dates from 2011 will be etched upon your memory, and why?

October and November 2011 because it's when Jeff and I went to Africa. It was by far the most memorable part of 2011.

What was your biggest achievement of this year?

I feel pretty strong this year. I started exercising more and I can endure more. I'm pretty proud of that.

I also took the most vacation days of anyone in my whole department at work. I'm pretty excited about that.

Did you suffer illness or injury?

nothing serious. But Jeffrey and I had a bad case of the 'rhea when we got back from Africa.

What was the best thing you bought?

My new macbook!

Where did most of your money go?

Just the usual bills and a mortgage.

What did you get really excited about?

Getting an external hard drive to back up the last 5 years of photos and a bunch of files. It's been on my list for years. I'm glad I finally did it.

What song will always remind you of 2011?

Anything by Teddy Afro. I've been listening to it ever since I got back from Africa. And Maroon 5, every time I turn the radio on, I hear a song by them.

Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

a) happiness is about the same.

b) thinner. (the African diet did a number on me.)

c) money status is about the same.

What do you wish you’d done more of?

Gone to more garage sales.

How did you spend Christmas?

sleeping in, a pancake breakfast, a short run with Dexter and the evening with Jeff's family singing the 12 days of Christmas. It was a great day.

What was your favorite TV program?

Probably Modern Family. It's the only show I really watch every week.

What was the best book you read?

I read a lot of books this year so it's hard to pick a favorite. But probably Hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet. It was really good.

What did you want and get?

Besides a few small mishaps, I got a pretty well behaved puppy this year. I'm happy with that.

What did you want and not get?

to become a self billionaire and never have to work again. But there's always next year.

What was your favorite film of 2011?

I have to copy other people on this answer. But the funniest movie this year was Bridesmaids. And the best movie was The Help. Plus I saw it in good company. :)

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
For the 2nd year in a row Jeff made plans on my birthday. This year he went to Africa for 3 weeks before me. So luckily I have a best friend who came and stayed with me for part of that time. She made me a delicious french toast breakfast with mimosa's. Then we went to a fancy lunch and she made me cupcakes. Then we went to Jeff's cousin's wedding reception and then a movie. All in all, it was a good day. Thanks Jen!

How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2011?

Solid colored t-shirts and comfy pants.

Who did you miss?

my family that lives far away. And my BFF that lives across the country.

What valuable life lesson did you learn in 2011?

For me, there's always time to make more money. Take advantage of this time in life and get out there and explore the world.

If you complete your own list, leave me a link so I can read them! Cheers to 2012!

Queen of Everything

2011-12-30T08:41:00.002-07:00

For Christmas I got the best gift ever. I became Queen of Everything!

Wait, no, that's not right. I just got a mug that said that.

A warm winter hike

2011-12-29T15:22:00.000-07:00

I've been working from home all week. I can't think of one disadvantage of WFH. It's pretty awesome. I get to sleep in, no traffic to fight, no outfits to choose, no lunches to pack. I can exercise, take Dexter on a a walk and tidy up the house all before 5pm.

Yesterday was a slow work day so we snuck off and went for a little hike in the afternoon.

We took Dexter and let him run off leash. He frolicked, pranced, hopped and bounced all over the trail.

2 silly lovebirds.

And a smog filled downtown Salt Lake.

Our Christmas Eve and Christmas

2011-12-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

Our Christmas holiday was fabulous. We had our 3rd annual Fancy Christmas Eve Dinner with friends. This year we stepped up the menu. We had t-bone steak, shrimp, salad, potatoes, green beans and homemade bread.

When the kids (and myself) weren't busy tracking Santa on Google, we decorated sugar cookies for Santa.

Here we are in our festive Christmas clothes in front of the Christmas tree.

On Christmas day, Dexter must have told Santa he was a good puppy this year. That's debatable. But he got a squeaky dog toy in his stocking anyway.

Hope you all had a great holiday!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:25:00.002-07:00

An African Poinsettia

Office Makeover

2011-12-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

We have lived in our house for 2 years. On the to-do list for two years has been, get a new desk and fix the office into a more comfortable room. Well, 2 years later it happened.

The motivation started by getting a new computer. Which you'd think would be a de-motivator because the new computer is a laptop so there's no need to be strapped into one location. But we still decided it was time for a makeover.

I actually didn't take any before pictures but found these old pictures from when we first moved in and, guess what? It looks exactly the same as it did 2 years ago.

So here is the before of the old desk. Too small and cramped for a regular computer.

Here is the before of the odd shaped corner of the office. (Wow, look at that sunset! amazing!)

And here is the after of the new desk. A much more appropriate adult sized desk.

Here is the lamp I found for $4. I spray painted it black then found a new shade. The shade was no easy task. I searched all around town and online but finally found the perfect fit in the clearance section at a lamp store.

We also moved this cozy chair into this odd shaped corner.

What else is new? We got rid of the filing cabinet. The new desk has nice, big filing drawers so we moved all our files to the drawers and got rid of the bulky filing cabinet.

Oh wait! Who organized the filing cabinet with rainbow filing folders? GUILTY! I even thought about ROY G. BIV as I did it.

So if that cozy chair is now in the office, what chair is in the living room? This new leather chair bought online for $50! What a bargain!

I wasn't crazy about it but Jeffrey sold me on it when he convinced me it was big enough for 2 people to cuddle in. Or one person and a furry dog.

5 holiday thoughts

2011-12-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

What have I been doing before Christmas?

Gift wrapping tons of gifts for people! I LOVE wrapping gifts. I love a variety of papers so all the gifts look colorful under the tree.

Thinking of silly names to put on the gift tags! Like this one:

That's To: Jeff's Dad. From: Jeff.

Watching: holiday movies.
Drinking: hot chocolate.
And wearing: festive scarves.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Lemonade out of lemons. And some holiday tree trimming.

2011-12-06T08:39:00.014-07:00

Last week a big wind storm blew in. And it blew. And then it sucked.

[heh heh heh]

Anyway, it knocked over HUGE trees in our neighborhood. Like this one.

Here's another view.

While crews cleaned up debris, we scouted the neighborhood for pine trees that were knocked over in the storm. And look at that, they kind of resemble Christmas trees! So tell me what thrifty person would let an opportunity like this go to waste? Nobody, I tell you. Nobody.

So look what made it's way into our living room. Sure, it's not the prettiest tree I've ever seen. But I like to think of it as recycling in a bad economy.

I tried several settings on the camera. This thing just doesn't photograph well.

A few strings of lights and some sparkly ornaments to patch up the holes and it's a whole new tree!

It looks MUCH better with the lights on and a dark room.

Then I continued to decorate the house.

Uh oh. Look what I found amongst the Christmas decorations! It's the mistletoe!

Ok, alright, twist my arm, I'll kiss you!

Happy tree trimming!

holiday movie time

2011-12-01T09:01:00.001-07:00

It's December first, the official countdown to holiday movie watching time. Well, at least in my book. So I compiled my list of holiday movies I must watch this season.

Here they are in no particular order:

Elf - because that's always a classic! And it's funny watching Will Ferrell squeeze into tiny elf furniture.

Christmas with the Kranks - I can't remember the last time I saw this or if I've even seen it at all.

Ernest Saves Christmas - seems corny but it was on a few google searches I did, so what the heck!
the Muppet Christmas Carol - this was also on a few top 25 lists. So why not?!

Love Actually - gotta have a good rom/com in there.

The Family Stone - see above reason.
Four Christmases - Because I pretty much love anything with Reese Witherspoon in it.
Scrooged - it's from the 80's and it has Bill Murray so I bet it's cute.
Bad Santa - I don't think I've seen this movie. So if it's dumb I could use some fuel to hate on Billy Bob Thornton.
Nightmare Before Christmas - because I need something weird in my list.
The Polar Express - I've never seen this either, and I could use a heart warming story.
Home Alone - what holiday movie list would be complete without THIS movie!?
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - because it's been ages since I've seen this movie. Decades even.

Let the holiday movie season begin!

Craft-tastic weekend

2011-11-29T09:26:00.001-07:00

Over the long weekend, I finally had time to do some crafting. My photo wall has been in the works for ages now. It took ages because I had to search for just the right frames. Then spray paint them. Then choose photos. It's a process, okay!

I was imagining something like THIS but somehow mine turned out totally different than I originally planned.

Turns out I don't really like a lot of clutter on the wall. I like organization and simplicity. So this is how my frame wall turned out.

Don't fret Jen, you made the frame wall.

Then I gave my couch a pillowcase makeover.

Oh wait, who is that next to the pillow? Oh Dexter, there you are.

Happy Monday.

2011-11-28T08:42:00.001-07:00

Because it's cold outside and it's been awhile since I dressed Dexter up.

thankful for stuff: part 2

2011-11-25T11:22:00.001-07:00

I am thankful for my sweet puppy, Dexter. And I'm thankful for the amazing guy in the background, Jeffrey. I have so much fun hanging out with him and he always makes me laugh. I am a pretty lucky lady.

Part 2 of why I'm thankful for Jeffrey is because he will chase the UPS guy down the street for 3 blocks because we didn't answer the door to sign for a package. He's THAT amazing. What was so important that he had to chase down the UPS guy for?

My new MacBook. I LOVE it!

Thankful Thanksgiving: Africa edition

2011-11-24T08:24:00.001-07:00

I'm thankful I don't have to carry loads of heavy stuff on my back up a steep dirt road.

I'm thankful I don't have to hover over nasty toilets and use a bucket from the sink to flush. I'm also thankful for this tiny little piece of plumbing called a P-trap that prevents nasty smells from floating back up from the sewer into my bathroom. I love you P-trap!

I'm thankful our cities don't have open urnials on the streets where the urine and feces don't ALWAYS make it in the toilet and sometimes drip down into the street.

I'm thankful for soda and beer and wine. But I'm also thankful that I don't always have to order a bottle of water wherever I go. That I can actually drink STRAIGHT FROM THE TAP!

I'm thankful that I got to go on an amazing trip where I got to see stuff like this. A real live African hut.

This year I'm thankful for a lot of little stuff. As I sleep in my comfortable, warm house where I don't wake up with fleas or bed bites, I realize that we have an amazing life here in the USA. I have a lot to be thankful for. Great family, fun friends, good health and a great life. So,

Happy Thanksgiving!

Harar and the end of our trip

2011-11-23T12:36:00.001-07:00

Ok, I'm going to wrap up the Africa posts. I could go on for weeks about every little thing. But I think it's time to wrap it up. We've been home for 2 weeks now. Plus I need to get back to talking about how cute Dexter is, and all the crafts I've done. And let's not forget Thanksgiving!

So let's get started so we can wrap it up. Here's a ton of pictures.

We took the Selam bus at 5am to Harar. That means I woke up at 4:30 again to be at the bus stop at 5am. But the Selam bus was pretty luxurious for Ethiopian standards. They gave us a bottle of water AND a snack. Plus we got to watch an authentic Ethiopian movie in Ahmaric with English subtitles.

Nico went with us. So here are the 3 of us when we stopped at a town for lunch. At this point in the trip, just seeing traditional Ethiopian food made us sick. This is just after Jeffrey saw a plate of tibs. He almost lost it.

This is Harar. It's the 4th holiest city in the WORLD for Muslims. And this was on the eve of their big holiday, Eid. Eid is a joyous holiday where they slaughter animals and give the meat to the poor people.

Harar is also famous for growing chat or khat. This is the chat market below our hotel. Chat is a bush that grows leaves that people pick off and chew to get a high or euphoric feeling. It tastes terrible so they combine it with peanuts to hide the taste. Read more about chat HERE.

Chat time is about noon or 1pm. Everyone goes to market to buy their leaves then sits in a shady spot to eat them. Here is an old guy who is clearly high on chat.

Anyway, back to Harar. It's a cool walled-in city. Here is the entrance to the old city.

Since Nico was with us, he speaks Amharic. What a relief. So we were able to relax and let him do all the talking. Here he is negotiating with a Bajaj driver. Bajaj's are all over the place and it's basically like a little taxi.

Harar is also home to the Hyena man. At night the hyenas come looking for food and this guy keeps a plastic box full of meat that he puts on a stick and lets you hold the stick and the hyenas come and bite the meat off. I was really nervous at first. But after I saw someone else feed the hyena, I saw these animals are so calm, they are almost domesticated. They basically listen to all the commands the guy tells them.

Here is Jeff feeding the hyenas.

And here I am feeding them. (it was really dusty.)

This guy has a lot of trust in his animals. Here he is with the stick in his mouth as the hyenas come and munch it off.

The next day we walked around Harar. I let some girls paint henna on my nails and hands. It was so fun at the time. 3 weeks later the henna is still on my nails and it won't come off.

Here we are hanging out on a dirt road. That's Harar in the background.

Just 3 travelers, hanging out.

We went shopping one day and Jeffrey bought a Teddy Afro shirt. That's right, my blog wouldn't be complete if there wasn't a shirtless picture of Jeffrey somewhere. Here you go, ladies.

Finally, I'll end with this picture of the 2 handsome guys I got to hang out with all week.

Asheton Mariam Monastery

2011-11-22T08:31:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite days was the day we hiked up to Asheton Mariam Monastery. I kept thinking it was a tough terrain. Turns out the kids from Lailibella hike it everyday to go to school! So I quit complaining.

One thing about Ethiopia is you're never alone. You always have a friend. Today we had a bunch of friends.

Eventually our friends had to go home and we were left with a kid who started with us at the bottom, Addisew.

He was a scrappy kid who we couldn't get rid of. But after spending most of the day with him, we started to like him.

Here I am with Addisew and another kid that slipped into our picture. Like I said, you're never alone.

We finally made it to the top. Here I am with Addisew at the entrance to the monastery.

Once inside we posed with the monk and all his crosses.

Then we peeked around at other cool stuff, like this blue door.

At the end of the hike, we had kind of gotten attached to this kid.

But it had to end some time. So we gave him a few birr and some snacks and sent him on his way.

Ciao Addisew.

Lailibella

2011-11-21T08:19:00.000-07:00

So we made it to beautiful Lailibella.

Home of all the rock hewn churches. Here is the entrance to one of the churches.

Rock hewn means there was once a big rock and people carved a church out of it. Isn't it incredible?

Here is another view.

And here we are on the outside. See? We were there.

The churches have tons of little nooks and crannies to explore.

We went up a ladder and found a monk who would show us all his books and treasures for a small tip.

Then we found some more nooks and crannies to explore.

Then we went to the St. Georges church. It's super cool. It's a church carved into the shape of a cross.

Here we are outside with our fellow traveler friend, Leon.

Then we walked down a long dirt road to a new restaurant called Ben Abeba. Isn't it funky?

Here we are at the restaurant. What a view, right?!

With a few Tej in our belly, we went to an Azmarti Bar with our fellow traveling friend. These are the places where they sing and make fun of people in the audience.

So 3 white people walk into an Azmarti Bar....There's gotta be a punchline in there somewhere, right?

So when they start singing about you, it's customary to be challenged to dance with the girl. First they chose Jeffrey.

The traditional Ethiopian dance is hands on your hips and a lot of shoulder shaking. It doesn't translate well in photos, but here is Jeff being challenged and continuing to challenge the girl by making hissing noises.

Then it was my turn.

Turns out a kind stranger translated the jokes. And most of them were just wondering who the pretty white girl might be married to (Jeff or our friend Leon.). Turns out there was no need for booing. Silly Americans.

On our way to Lailibella

2011-11-17T08:11:00.003-07:00

Remember when I said Ethiopian mini buses can be great or so, so, so awful? Well I can officially check mini bus ride off my list. And I can officially say I LOVE riding in airplanes. They're so fast and comfortable. They're pretty much everything a mini-bus isn't.

On our way to Lailibella we decided to take a mini bus. Per recommendations of our guide Kebrew, we woke up at 5am and went down to the mini bus station.

First we got swarmed. Then once we got our situation figured out, we got on a bus. Then we got on another bus. Then we drove a few kilometers and got on another bus. This is what we look like after a few cramped, stinky, mini bus changes.

Plus I'd been awake since 5am with nothing to eat except some emergency breakfast bars in my backpack. So at one of the stops we bought some kolo from a girl. Kolo is roasted barley and it's actually pretty good.

At a crossroads we decided to get some fresh air since we had sat next to our share of stink for the majority of the day. So we hitch hiked for a while.

We caught a ride with 2 older gentlemen and their tour guide. They were kind enough to give us a ride the rest of the way. Unfortunately their guide hadn't bathed in...well, ever.

And it was my turn to sit next to the stink.

Luckily the windows were open and the scenery was gorgeous.

Then we arrived to Lailibella.

We checked in our hotel and walked around. I was able to capture the phenomenon that intrigued me so much while in Ethiopia: Men holding hands.

Men of all ages cherish their male friendships so much that they always hold hands.

Anyway, after a long day of mini buses, we were ready for dinner. At dinner I ordered a juice. The lady brought me this and said, "Juicer is broken."

A bowl of chopped up guava.

After dinner we stumbled upon the local watering hole. The locals happen to drink Tej. A tej costs 4 birr each.

Tej is honey wine. And 4 birr is about .25 cents.

It was a good night.

More Gonder

2011-11-16T08:41:00.005-07:00

The next morning I woke up feeling revived, revitalized and ready to start the day. It's amazing what a good nights rest can do for you.

First we had juice and breakfast at the Quarrah hotel and met our tour guide for the day, Kebrew.

Kebrew rented out a mini bus for the day. A mini bus experience can either be enjoyable like the one here, or so, so, so awful. I'll get to the awful ones later.

Kebrew took us on a hike about 30km away from Gonder. This is just the beginning but it's amazing how beautiful Africa can be.

This isn't even photo shopped. It really looks like that!

Here are some cute kids we met on the way. We asked them why they weren't in school. They said in broken English they were working on the farm instead. So we told them they had to go to school the next day. And that school was important.

We also saw some goats and cows along the way. These goats weren't carrying ANYthing. Seems strange because after this I only saw goats carrying loads of heavy things.

Here we are at the top enjoying the views. We saw some monkeys on this trip but I won't even post the picture because they look like little dots in the far away distance.

Can you even believe this view? It's incredible!

Here's our mini bus with our guide Kebrew sitting inside.

On the way back we saw all the kids coming home from school.

And just so you don't think Gonder only has beautiful scenery, here is a horse and buggy. Well the African version of a horse and buggy. And it usually only carries wood or something heavy.

And some donkeys carrying...you guessed it, a load of something heavy.

That night we went to our first Azmarti bar. Azmarti bars are where someone sings songs, dances and makes fun of people in the audience. That night we didn't get made fun of. The next time we went to an Azmarti bar, we were mildly made fun of. It can be difficult getting made fun of in another language. I later found out the jokes are pretty mild but at first it's uncomfortable because everyone is laughing and you don't know the punchline. But I'll get into that in another post.

Next up: Lailibella.

The castles of Gonder

2011-11-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

Our first stop in Gonder was to see the castles. Our guide book recommended getting a tour guide but we decided to take a peek around by ourselves first. So we paid the 100 birr entrance fee and started exploring.

There were several castles that you could walk through.

Then a huge hole where they used to store water.

Then we decided we had had enough of guessing what every nook and cranny was used for. So we got a guide. Our guides name was Ababa. (meaning: Flower.) Boy, was he was a talker. I'll be honest, his English was not great either. He even told us he was better at speaking German and Dutch. That didn't help us much.

Since I was still suffering from jet lag there were a few instances where I could have fallen asleep standing up while he was talking. Perhaps I did? But at least the guide was good for something: taking pictures of us together.

Then we went to another church. It's respectful for women to cover their shoulders in the churches. Jeffrey got me this scarf in Addis Ababa just for that. Everywhere we went all the Ethiopians would comment on how beautiful it was. Then they'd promptly ask me how much it cost. My price got consistently lower over time so I was able to impress a lot of people.

Then it started to rain so we ducked into a coffee shop. This is a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. They burn incense and boil water with coffee grinds. Then they give the first cups of coffee to the oldest or most respected people in the village. Or in this case, the guests.

Once the rain stopped we continued our touring to the pools of Gonder. Once a year the water is drained in and people celebrate. Maybe they celebrate that they are able to bathe. I smelled a lot of body odor while in Ethiopia. Probably enough for the rest of my life.

Here we are with Ababa again in the pool. He stopped talking long enough to take this picture.

That night we went to Dashen brewery. Jeffrey shared a tower of beer with some fellow travelers we met along the way. Unfortunately coffee can only go so far. I crashed about 8pm and was in bed by 9pm.

The old African stomach will get you every time.

2011-11-14T08:55:00.001-07:00

Hello! I bet you missed me! I'm back. I took a few days off to relax and recover from jet lag. Jet lag is no laughing matter. Plus Jeffrey and I have had a small case of African stomach. Africa just messes with your stomach. And sometimes just the thought of a certain food can send you running to the bathroom. So we took it easy for a few days. We totally stayed in our jammies and yoga pants for 2 days straight. And there's nothing wrong with that.

But now I'm back. Back to blogging. So let's get started.

Our first day in Ethiopia we flew to Gonder at 5am. Here I am at the airport to prove we went to Gonder.

The whole waking up at 5am thing didn't really help with the jet lag. So I drank about 16 cups of coffee that first day. That's probably too much. But in Gonders defense, they had the best machiato's ever. Here we are at the hotel restaurant having a machiato.

Jeffrey had been in Africa for 3 weeks prior to me. So he had plenty of time to get familiar with the country. So to fit in, he got this goat skin wallet. Every time he pulled it out to pay for something I giggled.

Then we enjoyed the Gonder view.

Sneak Peek

2011-11-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

We are back from our trip to Ethiopia, Africa. It was an incredible trip. But I must say I'm glad to sleep in my own bed again. So before I begin my long journal of all our adventures, here is a sneak peek of the highlights of all the places we visited.

The castles of Gonder

The Rock Hewn churches in Lailibella, Ethiopia.

The hike to Asheton Miriam.

one of the smog filled streets in the capital city, Addis Ababa.

A place we stopped for lunch on our way to Harar. This is a pretty good representation of many towns in Ethiopia.

The walled in city of Harar.

A side street in Dire Dawa.

Let the adventure begin. You can expect a lot of African posts from here on out.

Starting November off right.

2011-11-01T08:51:00.000-06:00

As the weather gets colder and gloomier, here is something to brighten the day.

A cheery bouquet of flowers from our yard.

Happy November first.

Trick or treat!

2011-10-31T10:31:00.002-06:00

Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday

2011-10-30T15:16:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday to the furriest member of our family, Dexter. Not much has changed in the last year. Well some things have changed. He listens a little better. And he's chewed less things in the last year. So that's something.

Let's recap his last year.

He's still leery of large bodies of water. Or small bodies of water.

Despite his fear of water, he still managed to get on a boat. He'll do anything for Jeffrey.

He still pulls out every single toy and plays with them all. While you're on the phone.

He still buries his face in the snow. Then looks really guilty and sad when I won't let him inside.

Not much has changed with us. We still love this guy.

Happy Birthday Dexter!

A great birthday.

2011-10-24T11:44:00.001-06:00

I had a great birthday.

First, Jen snuck upstairs in the night and decorated the kitchen with birthday banners and confetti. Those are the flowers from my parents on the table. Aren't they pretty?

Then we went to a fancy afternoon lunch. We even brought our own festive napkins.

Then we went to Jessica and Jon's wedding reception (Jeffrey's cousin). Here we are enjoying the evening.

Since Shaun had a tickle in her throat in the last picture, we decided to take another.

So we all pretended to be cougars. And Clay was the young, handsome meat we were after.

Then Jen arranged the table decorations to spell Sarah ♥ Jeffrey. I miss this guy so much!

Part 2 of my birthday extravaganza was pedicures and seeing the movie the Help. If you haven't seen it, go see it. It's so good!

all about me.

2011-10-21T10:21:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday to me today!

These are the flowers from my family. How sweet.

For more sweet memories all about me, go HERE.

Utah State Capital

2011-10-20T09:10:00.001-06:00

The other night we took an evening walk to the state Capital. Then I tested out all the fancy settings on my new camera. And I'm pretty satisfied with this picture.

Then I tested my favorite furry subject.

Then we took a self portrait of ourselves at the Capital.

Fancy schmancy

2011-10-19T09:02:00.000-06:00

The other day Jen and I went to the grocery store and she practically put a gun to my head to buy all these fancy yogurts. Something I would normally never splurge on. But I did. And now my fridge is stocked with rows of them.

And now I can't go back to eating that terrible Dannon or Kroger brand stuff. It might as well be garbage to me.

Fancy yogurts for me from here on out!

Make your evening go from good to great.

2011-10-18T08:39:00.007-06:00

Any night is better when you eat homemade pizza.

Courtesy of Jen's mom; Karen.

Followed by an awesome 80's game called Go For it. Where having the most possessions, best job and the most money makes you a total winner.

I can't believe I ended the game with JUST 2 Cadillac's, a corvette, 2 Chevrolet's and 2 Pontiac's. Ugh, if only I had more cars!

leaf peeping

2011-10-17T13:34:00.000-06:00

The leaves are changing so Fall must be here. Jen is in town so we went to go do some leaf peepin'.

See? Gorgeous scenery all around!

Maple Lake.

The kids started a stick collection. Sorry kids, you'll never have the biggest stick collection with a dog around. He's the best stick collector around.

"Hey Dexter! That's MY stick!"

When he got tired of collecting sticks, which wasn't long after he started, he did some romping in the dirtiest water he could find.

Then he led the way. And just like a good tour guide, he always left muddy foot prints for us to follow in case he got too far ahead. Thanks Dexter.

Like any good tour guide, he hung his head out the window on the way home. Isn't that what your tour guides do?

For real now: Thanks Zach & Jenni for taking us on a wonderful hike. Thanks for letting my dog steal the best stick collection Lizzie ever had.

Friday from home

2011-10-14T09:56:00.000-06:00

Working from home is so much more fun with my friend Jen. And a loveable dog.

I think it's going to be a good day

2011-10-11T09:04:00.000-06:00

Because I saw this little treasure this morning.

Some botanical stuff

2011-10-06T09:12:00.000-06:00

On our last day, we decided to take it easy from all the drinkin' and canoein' we did on all the other days. So we decided to walk around the Asheville Botanical Gardens. Plus it's free.

So we took a casual picture.

Jon has a hard time producing a good smile. (I'm sorry Jon. But the people need to know.) So after about 5 takes we usually get something decent. So this is a picture of us imitating some of the smiles Jon produces. He's a handsome guy, but put a camera in his face and his smile contorts....

....into something like this.

I won't just let out Jon's secrets in this post. Jeff does weird stuff too. Like this.

He's often stretching at inappropriate times. In the middle of a conversation, you might look over and see this.

Anyway, backk to the botanical stuff. We walked around and looked at stuff. Like this cute lilly pond.

Oh hey, there's a camera!

Then we went to the Grove Park Inn. It's where the Obamas stay when they are in town. (see, more learnin'!)

No trip is complete without jumping in front of something cool. So we did that too.

Then we went home and relaxed. We made Jen and Jon's dogs Finn and Stella do tricks for us all night. That's way better than TV.

First we made them just sit there and be cute. Done!

Then we made Finn balance stuff on his nose. He's really good at that.

Then we just let them relax. This is how Finn relaxes. It reminds me of a raw piece of chicken on a cutting board.

Canoeing down the French Broad

2011-10-05T08:47:00.002-06:00

This is your captain speaking. That's right, I'm the captain of this ship. Who cares if you become captain by default of weight? A captain is a captain.
That's my co-captain in the background. Sans a shirt. Co-captains never ride with a shirt. It's a river rule.

We went with our canoe mates Jen and Jon. There they are canoeing right along next to us.

Here's a better shot of them.

Canoeing gets really hot. So my co-captain abandoned ship to cool off. He forgot his swimsuit so he did what any self respectable man in his position would do. He went IN HIS PANTIES!

Along the way we canoed right past the Biltmore Estate. It's pretty much the other thing Asheville is famous for, besides all the beer. See, there it is. Plain as day.

The Biltmore house!? Pull over! So my co-captain watched our boats while we got a closer look.

IN HIS PANTIES! River rules totally apply here. So that's not creepy at all.

So I got a closer look. Totally worth climbing that wall of mud. I feel like I can almost touch it.

Hiking Mt. Mitchell

2011-10-04T08:27:00.000-06:00

Who goes to Asheville without hiking Mount Mitchell? Nobody, I tell you. You don't leave the state without doing it. You just don't. So we had to go there.

The views were pretty amazing.

That feels so stuffy. Now let's pose back-to-back like we're in the 90's. Put the stem of your glasses in your mouth. Yep, that looks good.

We didn't come all this way to NOT pose in front of this sign with all the interesting facts on it. Everyone else was doing it.

Since we came all this way, we might as well go on a hike. So we did that too.

It was really nature-y.

I even found these trippy little Alice in Wonderland mushrooms. I don't think that's the technical name. But that's what they look like to me.

We're doing just fine

2011-10-03T08:42:00.004-06:00

We had a great weekend, how about you? First off, I finally got a camera I like and I've had it a week and haven't even thought about returning it. So that's a good sign. I'm a chronic returner. We've been playing with the all the fun, new settings. Apparently cameras have changed a lot over the last 6 years.

Here's me after I got all my immunizations.

My arms still kill. I can barely raise them above my head. But at least I'm protected against nasty diseases like yellow fever. I don't even know what that is but I don't want it.

Jeffrey prepped for the first Utah home game now that Utah is in the Pack 12. For anyone that knows something about football, I'm sure that means something. I am still a little clueless.

But don't worry, they brought plenty of beer.

Dexter didn't want to miss a thing.

But waiting can get exhausting.

Everything is better with a cooler of beer

2011-09-30T09:20:00.001-06:00

Friday night we took a tour of Asheville through LaZoom tours. You get to ride in a purple bus while learning about facts, history and all that stuff. But best of all, you can drink the entire time!

Everything is better with a cooler of beer.

So we got on that purple bus and enjoyed the comedy tour.

We had a great time.

There were silly little skits at every stop. This one included a guy dressed up like a roach and our tour guide chasing him around the bus with a fly swatter.

Not sure how that applied. But remember how we brought that cooler of beer?

Asheville 101

2011-09-29T08:31:00.003-06:00

Asheville is located in the western part of North Carolina. It is nick named "Beer City" because it is home to 9 beer breweries. It's located in the Blue Ridge Mountains. And it's surprisingly a very tourism based city. On the weekends, downtown is a thriving place to walk around and check out night clubs and street performers.

Don't you feel smarter just by reading my blog?

Now that we got that educational stuff out of the way, let's move on to the fun stuff we did. We walked around downtown and pretended to iron each other with this giant monument of an old fashioned iron. Do I know what it's there for? No. But it's really fun to pretend to be ironed and act like I was getting burned. It was hilarious, but you probably had to be there.

Then Jeffrey posed in front of this mural of Michael Jackson. Also hilarious.

Then we watched the street performers. Kind of reminds me of New Orleans.

2011-09-28T08:57:00.003-06:00

We just got back from visiting these great people:

My best friend Jen, husband Jon and dogs Finn & Stella.

In this great state:

North Carolina. Specifically Asheville.

More to come.

Lately

2011-09-21T10:28:00.000-06:00

What have I been up to lately? Not much. Mostly just watching shirtless hunks do mundane home improvements around the house.

Then watching this guy guard shirtless hunks from peril and danger in the crime ridden streets of Salt Lake. Apparently there isn't much crime. He has it so easy.

What do you get?

2011-09-08T08:52:00.001-06:00

What do you get when you have a day off + some not-so-hot weather? A chance for a great hike to Dog lake in Millcreek Canyon.

Now what do you get with some water + some off leash time?

Answer: One muddy but very happy dog. That's one big puppy smile!

I must be in better shape because this hike was much easier than the last few. Or maybe it wasn't a very hot day. Either way, Jeffrey and I enjoyed a great hike together. I love this guy.

Check out that muddy dog in that background! Eek!

Wedding love

2011-09-07T09:07:00.003-06:00

Congrats to Jeffrey's cousin Jayne & her new husband McKay who just tied the knot over the weekend.

I think I know some people who love a good party.

Goodbye summer

2011-09-06T09:39:00.000-06:00

And goodbye lazy dog days of summer.

Dexter will still lazily come lay on top of Jeffrey but it just won't be summer anymore. Sad.

Hi, my name is Sarah and I love to organize.

2011-09-01T11:40:00.000-06:00

I'm on the planning committee for "media days" at my work. It's a fancy term for when we invite other vendors to my work and have them do a presentation on their capabilities and stuff. I'm in charge of sending invites, RSVP's, coordinating the schedule and booking conference rooms for 2 days.

uh, that's probably the best assignment ever!

I get to make a spreadsheet to organize who has an invite and who has RSVP'd and what time slot they want. I can't wait for someone to actually RSVP so i can put a check mark next to their name.

It'd be overkill if I planned all my parties like this but I love to have the opportunity to organize a party that requires the use of a SPREADSHEET! This means I get to use multiple tabs. And probably color coding. (!!!)

I'm giddy with excitement.

Floating down the Colorado River

2011-08-31T08:47:00.004-06:00

A coworker gave Jeff a free rafting trip in Moab that had to be used before the end of August. We didn't think we'd be able to cram it in, but we did. With time to spare!

Our planning was a little rushed and of all things to forget, we didn't bring any cash or enough booze. So we went into town on Sunday night and got some cash to pay for our camping spot and had an icy cold drink at Eddy McStiff's. (a great local Moab spot, if you're in the area.)

Then we set up our camping spot. I put the camera on a rock about 100 miles away. Then I set the timer and ran for it. This is what you get.

Monday we cashed in our rafting trip.

Key word I thought was rafting.. I was expecting a bit more adventure. We got a lot more floating down the Colorado river than actual rafting.

At one point during the trip Jeff was swimming across the river while our raft floated by. Our river guide asked me if he was okay. Uh, yes. He's fine. A baby could swim across this river.

Happy to spend a day on the river.

Sunglasses or hats lost on the river? Zero.

I call that a successful trip.

Does everything you do HAVE to be that turquoise color?

2011-08-29T09:56:00.003-06:00

Why yes, Jeffery. Yes it does.

50 cent outdoor mood lighting.

You're welcome

2011-08-24T08:45:00.002-06:00

When I graduated college Jeffrey's present to me was a new digital camera. It was my first digital camera so I was thrilled to not have to develop film anymore. Can you even remember those days?

Well that was several years ago and a few careless drops later. Last Sunday my camera just quit taking pictures. I knew it was coming since the buttons have been sticking and it confuses the video setting for the picture setting. Plus my old camera weighs about 20 pounds more than the latest model.

So I sprung for a new camera.

It should be here in a week. So get ready for improved picture quality.

You're welcome.

Because where would this blog be without all the high quality photos of Dexter? And how would Jeffrey get annoyed with me for taking several hundred photos of a spectacular sunset? How else would I capture that annoyed look on his face after I force him to pose for the same picture twice in a row because my hair didn't look good in the first one?

The best part? It's waterproof. Prepare yourself.

Monastery honey

2011-08-23T08:45:00.004-06:00

On our leisure drive home we saw a sign for a monastery so we decided to stop and get some honey. Apparently everyone knew this but me, but monastery's are known for their delicious honey. I guess because the monks are so self sufficient.

The store is closed on Sunday, of course. But peeking through the window, the $4.95 jar of honey looked delicious. Another time I will taste this monastery honey. I'm so intrigued now.

So we left with this scenic picture instead.

We should do this more often

2011-08-22T10:43:00.005-06:00

Jeffrey had some old Ogden friends in town and wanted to host a get-together. Old as in he's known them for 20-25 years. Are we even old enough to say things like that? Yikes!

Anyway, we made a reservation at his parents cabin in Causey. Reservations fill up fast, but luckily the receptionist was able to squeeze us in.

So we packed up and headed out. Dexter got the feeling that we were packing up and I thought it's time we made him carry his own weight around the house. So I made him carry his own suitcase. It wasn't even that heavy but he couldn't even carry it to the car. Wimp.

"You can't be serious? You want me to carry this?"

Once there, we packed up our sun gear and water toys and headed down to the lake.

Jeff, Nico, me, Eric, Gino.

The guys did some adrenaline-inducing cliff jumping and I made sure nobody stole our cooler full of cold beverages. I'm a serious blogger but I'm not crazy. With my clumsiness, I couldn't risk dropping my camera or getting it wet. So no pictures to insert here. But there were some serious cliff jumps. I was certain it would end with a visit to the ER but Jeff has some very coordinated friends. Phew!

I was one lucky lady to sit around staring at a bunch of shirtless hunks all day.

An empty cooler later and luckily no injuries, we headed back.

Jeff, Eric, Blake, Nico, me, Gino.

Thanks everyone for stopping by and of course, thanks to Jeff's parents for letting us host at their beautiful cabin.

In a pickle

2011-08-16T09:16:00.002-06:00

When your neighbor leaves squash and zucchini recipes on your doorstep, you know you have a problem. A good problem, I suppose. But there comes a time when I just can't gag down one more squash and zucchini. That's when it's time to switch over to pickling cucumbers.

Jeffrey planted a pickling cucumber this year. I thought they could only be pickled but they taste just like a cucumber. So we've been eating cucumbers on salads every night. Fortunately or unfortunately that plant keeps producing cucumbers faster than we can eat them. So we decided to try our hand at pickling.

I just used some quick and easy pickling mixture you find in the store. It's the kind that you add vinegar and boil it on the stove for about 25 minutes. Let me tell you this, make sure you can do this on a day when you can open the windows. That vinegar smell will stay with you. And your house.

But anyway, the result was some pretty tasty pickles! And some peppers. We were pickling anything we could get our hands on that day.

I feel like I have my own Claussen factory in my kitchen.

McCall, Idaho 2011

2011-08-15T12:51:00.000-06:00

Last week we went to our annual family reunion in McCall, Idaho. It's the best five days in August every year. Check out year's past here: 2010, 2009, 2008.

It's an 8 hour drive from our house. This year Jeffrey promised Dexter he could stick his head out and smell every city from Salt Lake to McCall. It also gives us a break from his bad breath in the car.

airing out that stinky muzzle.

We did a little canoeing.

Some swimming.

Gracie Jane.

Then we squeezed in some relaxing on the beach.

Then we did some more relaxing.

Dexter didn't spend any time relaxing. He was pooped by Day 1.

And we had our annual Washoe Tournament.

Thanks to our favorite Aunt Shaun for hosting at her amazing cabin! Can't wait for next year!

View from the top

2011-08-10T08:10:00.006-06:00

While the men were getting their death sentence on a bike, I was out enjoying the wonderful mountain air. First I sweet-talked the lift operator into letting me ride the tram to the top for free. Even if I had to pay, it would have been totally worth it.

Here is the view I was seeing as I was riding the tram to the top. That little spec of a city at the bottom is Grand Targhee resort. The guys are somewhere on a trail on this mountain.

Here I am at the top, taking it all in.

This picture almost gives me a fear of falling. That chair doesn't look safe at these heights.

Elevation: 9,800!

The mountain flowers were in bloom up there. Purples, yellows and whites as far as I could see.

Another gorgeous view from the top.

Pierre's Hole 50 mile mountain bike ride

2011-08-09T08:26:00.003-06:00

For some reason Jeff and his friend Troy signed up to ride in a 50 mile mountain bike race. It was at Grand Targhee Resort in Wyoming.

Saturday morning they did some stretches in the parking lot while they sized up their competition.

Troy doing some stretches.

Jeff doing more stretches.

Then they were ready. Full of energy and enthusiasm. Well mostly enthusiasm.

Minutes till race time and they still plan on going through with it.

Here are all the 50 mile bikers getting ready to start. Can you believe there were actually some people that were crazy enough to do a hundred miles?

Sofiya and I spent most of the time sitting by the pool sipping on drinks. We forced ourselves from our pool chairs and glasses of blush to go cheer on the guys at the halfway point.

They needed all the help they can get. So we recruited more friends from the pool to stand by in bikini's and cheer as our guys went by.

Jeff stopped at the halfway point to fuel up on PBJ's and water.

Jeff completed the first lap in 3 hours and the second lap in 4 hours and 40 minutes. Well, according to my own calculations. I had a lot to drink and I wasn't wearing a watch. But I kept asking people what time it was.

crossing the finish line!

Here are the stats:

Distance: 50 miles in a mountain terrain.
Elevation: 8,000 feet
Most Elevation climb in one leg: 3,638 feet
Course description: 18.58 miles of climbing, 17.78 miles of downhill, 12.08 miles on flat
Temp: Lots of direct sun and some wind.
Grizzly bear sightings: One. (!!)
Awards won at the dinner: None.
Sore muscles: Lots.
Ability to lift bottomless mug to receive free beer: Barely.
Amount of free beer drank after the race: Very little.
Hallucinations: a few.
Ability to look at a mountain bike right now: Not really.

We're going to Jackson

2011-08-08T10:40:00.001-06:00

Whenever you read this post, you should have THIS song stuck in your head. It doesn't totally apply since it's not the right Jackson, but it still works.

We went to Jackson Hole, Wyoming last weekend. I have never been to there and it was great. It was everything I thought it would be. Horses, bears and moose all over the place.

Friday night we hung out in Jackson and had our obligatory picture in front of some antlers. I think it's a right of passage and you HAVE to do it before you can leave.

Tomorrow I'll post about the fifty mile mountain bike ride these 2 guys survived.

Spudman

2011-08-02T08:59:00.000-06:00

Jeffrey completed his first triathlon in Burley, Idaho last weekend. The triathlon was a 1 mile swim, 6 mile run and 26 mile bike ride. He did it in 2 hours and 26 minutes.

Way to go Jeffrey!

squash & zuch pizza

2011-08-01T10:13:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year again. The time of year where the garden produces more squash and zucchini than 2 people can eat in a day. So I have to get creative. I already made a batch of zucchini bread. But I forgot that only uses 2 cups of shredded zucchini. I was thinking it was more.

So I had bookmarked THIS recipe to use when I had an overload of zucchini. That time is now. So I went to the store and got the ingredients. Luckily I had almost everything at home. So I only needed goat cheese and a pizza dough.

INGREDIENTS

1 thin crust pizza dough

1 lemon

4 oz of goat cheese

a few leaves of basil

1 squash, 1 zuch

olive oil, for drizzling

salt and pepper to taste.

I asked a worker at the store where the goat cheese was. She pointed me in the right direction and then recommended this boursin cheese. It's not necessarily goat cheese but it's spreadable and apparently when her dying father was in the hospital they would always eat this with crackers and olives.

How could I say no to that? Plus it was garlic and herb flavor. Even better.

Crumble cheese on the pizza, slice up the squash and zuch and bake at 425* for 10-15 minutes. I was also quite pleased with the thin crust. It bakes very evenly and there were no soggy centers. I hate soggy crust.

I also love this dinner because it was a quick prep and hardly any clean up. And best of all, it was ready in 15 minutes. Perfect!

It smelled so good while it was baking, Dexter sat pathetically on the floor waiting for a scrap.

Even though I forgot to put the basil on, I think it was a hit. :-)

In case you can't remember what kind of car you drive

2011-07-27T07:27:00.005-06:00

Just look on the back of your truck.

Then you'll see your own truck memorialized in a faux oil painting. It will be just like that time you drove up to a lake in the mountains and parked on that rocky edge. And then you'll remember that leaping jaguar you also saw that day. That was an awesome day, right?

heat coma

2011-07-26T11:38:00.001-06:00

It's the middle of July and it's sweltering hot here in Utah. So how do we keep cool at our house? Well here are a few tips.

1. Try cutting up watermelon and freezing it. It's hydrating AND healthy.

2. Tank tops are a must. Shorts are optional. For the record, I WAS wearing shorts. You just can't see them.

3. DON'T have a hot dog come lay on top of you while you watch TV on a hot afternoon.

4. If you still can't cool down after laying on top of someone, try the bathroom floor.

Backyard oasis - Summer 2011

2011-07-25T13:56:00.001-06:00

I was just thinking how different our backyard is from last year. Even before the patio. Then for some reason, I think I deleted all the pictures of how our backyard used to look. That's where the trusty blog comes in handy. My blog has become the record of what we've done and when we did it. And of course, the important stuff like what I was wearing. So for the record, I'm inviting you inside our backyard.

table for 4, please.

A Dexter-free garden.

Where's Dexter?

The little raspberry patch

The squash and zuch in the corner.

5 really random thoughts

2011-07-19T08:14:00.003-06:00

1. Reuse. I found a way to reuse all those souvenir glasses. Candle holders!

2. Dexter. We finally trimmed Dexter's lion mane. Now his square terrier head can really shine through.

I want my lion mane back!

3. Slushees! Made out of frozen watermelon and a dash of sugar and water. They were so sweet Jeffrey thought I added half a cup of sugar!!

4. Before/After. This is what I do to my kitchen pantry while I'm working from home.

Before.

After.

5. Jeffrey's Birthday. The outcome was Double Dare slime colored cupcakes. That was not my intention. They were still really good.

4 great things about summer

2011-07-18T07:18:00.002-06:00

1. Fresh flowers. From your own yard is even better.

2. Yard sales. I got that vase at a yard sale for a QUARTER!

3. Fresh fruit. From the garden!

4. Combining all those things and enjoying a nice dinner on the patio.

July seventeenth

2011-07-17T07:17:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday Jeffrey!

All he asked for his birthday this year was beer. And beer is what he got.

Do you think they make a birthday candle just for beer bottles?

Park City wine & food festival

2011-07-11T08:10:00.001-06:00

A few months ago we signed up to volunteer at the Park City Food & Wine Festival. Friday we attended the festival and Saturday we volunteered.

After the stroll and a few drinks we were stumbling around Main Street and Jeff said to a passerby that he loved his purple shirt. Jeffrey was wearing a retro shirt that said, "Give a hoot, Don't pollute!" and the guy said he'd always wanted one of those shirts.

So they traded.

I'm pretty sure Jeff got the short end of the stick on this deal. Because it was a large shirt and upon further inspection, it had a few stains on it. But Jeff was happy to make this guys dream come true.

Here we are basking in the glory of that purple shirt trade.

Watermelon margarita

2011-07-07T08:36:00.005-06:00

After a hot summer day, there is nothing like a cool beverage at night to relax with. I found this recipe for a watermelon margarita a few months ago but have been waiting until watermelon season to make it. It was worth the wait and now that I'm uploading these pictures, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

I very loosely followed the recipe because I only wanted to make enough for 1 thirsty girl since Jeff had a bad experience with tequila in college and now just the thought of it gives him a hangover.

So take a bunch of watermelon and cut it up. I'd say about as much watermelon as you want, be generous. It's summer!

Throw it in a blender and squeeze the juice of a whole lime and add some ice for good measure. Blend it up then add the tequila and give it another quick whirl.

My recipe called for triple sec but I didn't have any so I substituted grenadine syrup and it was just as good. Probably better because it gave it a nice, rich color. Just add more tequila to make up for the triple sec.

Put some salt on the rim of a fancy glass and enjoy!

Death hike

2011-07-06T09:02:00.001-06:00

Ok, Death Hike isn't what they really call it. I think the trail head and all the maps actually call it Lake Blanch. But I nearly died on the way up. Ok, that's an exaggeration too. But it was really high up and really hot!! So that counts as a near death experience, right? RIGHT?!

Let me make my case. Salt Lake elevation is about 4100 feet. Give or take. The top of Lake Blanche is 8920 feet. Did I mention it was the hottest day of the year SO FAR? Ok, I'm not positive about that either, but if it wasn't, it felt like it.

We start off and the trail head says about 2.8 miles and an elevation gain of about 2720. No biggie. I can handle that. Here we are just starting off, full of hope and energy. Not depleted of water at all yet.

Let's factor in the hottest day of the year SO FAR! And THAT is how I almost died. I don't know how I made it to the top. I should have rented a camel or something to help me make it to the top.

So the views at the top were amazing and totally worth it. I barely remember because I was delirious from the hike up there so I didn't capture enough of the amazing views because every muscle in my body ached. I couldn't even muster up the energy to take a picture. Even my fingers ached.

Here's good old Lake Blanche. The elevation was so high there was still snow up there!!

Nobody can resist a cool dip in the freezing water after a long hike. So Jeffrey stripped down to his panties for a dip. Hee hee, panties.

In he goes!

Afterwards, he warmed up on a rock. Just like a lizard.

I mustered enough energy to have our friends take a picture us. After this I'm pretty sure I passed out. I'm not sure, it's all a little blurry at that elevation.

The puffy P blanket

2011-07-05T10:40:00.001-06:00

A sweet and wonderful friend of mine is having a baby boy. So I thought I'd make a heartfelt gift. I envisioned something so adorable and perfect that I'd have to actually TELL her I made it. I was picturing me telling her I made it and her being in shock because she actually thought it must have been purchased at a store.

I picked out fabric and thought I'd slap these two babies together and have the most perfect blanket ever. Oh, how she would treasure it. It would be the baby's favorite blanket because my craftsmanship would be so strong it would outlast years of washings. I was already patting myself on the back for the wonderful blanket I was going to produce.

Oh, the high hopes I had.

I thought if I could sew a straight line, I could make a blanket. Well, apparently I just can't sew a straight line. If you can sew a straight line, you should try this. Or you could just go to the store and buy some baby stuff instead. (I recommend the second option.)

So first off, buy some fabric and slap those two pieces together. Easy enough. I chose a frog pattern for the top and a matching green for the under side. I also foolishly decided to embellish my blanket with a "P" since the baby's last name starts with a P and they call it Baby Boy P.

Then get yourself a really cute dog to lay on the blanket while you work on it. It's not necessary, but it makes it more enjoyable while you toil away the hours.

I recommend you avoid this embellishing step. But if you have more confidence than you should, like I did, go ahead.

I used a t-shirt fabric which I thought was kind of dumb after I did it. It got all stretchy so I decided to stuff it with pillow stuffing to disguise the mistakes. I call it "The Puffy P".

It didn't turn out too horrible.

Then lay masking tape down and sew lines on the blanket. Mine were about 6 inches apart. You can do a grid or quit after you sew half the lines. That's what I did.

A grid would have just been overkill, if you ask me.

The edging is what nearly killed me. My vision was to finish the blanket and just fold over the edge and sew it up. But with the quilting stuff in there, it was too thick. So I got this edging and sewed it up. Then I ran out of thread. Then it was crooked. Then it puckered. The whole edging thing nearly killed me.

Here is the finished blanket. I took a picture of it and then re-did the edging in a white trim that was much wider than the first. Then I washed it and washed my hands of the blanket making process.

That was my first and last blanket. My career as a blanket seamstress was short lived and is now over. If anyone is planning on having a baby soon, expect some baby stuff purchased from Target as my gift. :)

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T07:04:00.002-06:00

Yes, I totally made him pose like this and then photoshopped a flag in. Don't worry, he got a treat for all his hard work.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy July!

2011-07-01T15:55:00.000-06:00

Get out there and enjoy this patriotic weekend.

And don't forget to wear your RWB!

Love, Dexter. (and family)

grilled ham, brie and arugula sandwiches

2011-06-29T14:29:00.001-06:00

The heat has made me lose all motivation to do anything except lay around and drink cold drinks every night. The heat also makes me lose my cheery disposition. I don't think I would have made a good pioneer. I would have complained too much.

Since I lose all motivation to do anything except sit around, I found THIS recipe. It's grilled ham, brie and arugula sandwiches. My meals must revolve around the grill because I refuse to stand over a hot stove or next to a hot oven.

However, I don't refuse to let Jeffrey stand over a hot grill. Without a shirt, of course.

I made fruit smoothies while we waited for the evening to cool off. Again, best enjoyed without a shirt.

Here is the sandwich. I made my first two as a sandwich but later decided it really does taste better as an open face sandwich.

Enjoy! (with or without a shirt!)

Neon cupcakes

2011-06-27T11:08:00.000-06:00

My mom and aunt are visiting this week. Last week was my mom's birthday so I made some cupcakes for her birthday. I've been waiting for an excuse to get some new food coloring and this was finally the reason.

I was shopping in the store and saw NEON food coloring and thought that would be perfect. I saw the back of the box and was sold when I saw all the color combos you can make including TURQUOISE!

So I made some frosting and tried out all the colors: Pink, Green, Blue and purple.

Then I did a few color experiments. Turquoise turned out great. As I looked at the back of the box I thought, hm, Raspberry sounds nice. The color on the box looks like a variation of pink. My mom's favorite color is pink. Great idea, I thought.

Well let me clue you in on a little secret. Raspberry is pretty much the same as the bottle of purple. No matter how much pink you keep adding. So I ended up with a lot of variations of purple cupcakes.

They were delicious, none the less.

(Personally, I think the turquoise ones tasted the best.)

Tuesday thoughts (even though it's Thursday now.)

2011-06-23T11:55:00.001-06:00

Tuesday June 21 was the longest day of the year. Here in Salt Lake our sunrise was at 5:23am and sunset was at 9:31pm. If you're keeping track that's 15 hours and 6 minutes of daylight!
I'm loving eating out on the patio again. Our backyard has become our little oasis in the summer. It's shady in the evening and super private so all we see are the tops of the trees and sunset. It's lovely.
Speaking of dinner, I want to make something on the grill and out of the ordinary that isn't just squash and zucchini. I found some great summer recipes HERE.
I am craving a margarita!
I just started subscribing to Martha Stewart's Craft of the Day. It's only been a week but everyday so far my inbox has inspired me.

New to me

2011-06-21T12:18:00.000-06:00

Somewhere between Clover Springs and Salt Lake City, I found the most amazing thrift store called "New to You". Jeffrey breezed through it in minutes while I spent time picking up every piece and deciding how badly I needed every item.

This store had some amazing stuff. I found some old cake stands which I almost got but then I decided I didn't have room to store them. I found some old retro vases which I also almost bought but decided I didn't have an immediate spot for them. I didn't pass on this old little bowl.

I don't know what to do with it yet, but it was so adorable I just had to have it.

If this store was in Salt Lake, all the treasures would be gone because it has everything people like me are always looking for. Metal treasures to spray paint. Retro glass dishes and bowls and vases. Little diamond-in-the-rough treasures that just need a little TLC.

If Jeffrey wasn't outside tapping his foot to hurry up, I would have come out lugging everything in that store!

Camping, for real this time

2011-06-20T08:12:00.002-06:00

Friday afternoon we decided to skip out on work early and go camping, for real this time.

Normally we'd just go to the Wasatch mountains which are practically in our backyard. But we decided to venture out and go camping somewhere we've never been. So we went on an adventure to the Onaqui mountains. They're not as big as the Wasatch but we'd never been there. As a resident of Utah, I feel that we need to know and visit all our mountain ranges.

So we packed up the truck and headed out. Dexter was afraid we might forget him so he staked out a spot in front of the truck where we couldn't miss him.

We found a campground called Clover Springs so we decided to call that home for a night. It was a mix of wooded area and desert area with a gushing stream that ran right past our campground.

Dexter claimed a spot in the shade.

Jeffrey got a beer and we just enjoyed the afternoon. We basked in the fact that if we were home, we'd still be at work.

There isn't much else to do besides sit around and eat. So we went exploring and found some trails to hike on. The views were amazing. Unfortunately I didn't feel like carrying my camera so just imagine in your head some gorgeous mountainous views. Then put our faces in front of those views. There you go.

Then we went back to camp and I had my long awaited s'mores that I had been thinking about since we fake camped in the backyard the weekend before.

The next morning we woke up with no plans or schedules so we decided to go explore our fellow small town neighbors and see what their towns have to offer. Pretty much all they have to offer are amazing views and gorgeous mountains.

Some fields were speckled with a few wild horses and cows every now and then. A wild horse almost jumped his fence to come play with Dexter. That made me a little nervous. Especially upon further inspection the fence appeared to made out of string.

While exploring, Dexter loved hanging his head out the whole time.

We drove through Vernon because, well, we saw a sign for it and thought, I've never been to Vernon. Have you? Nope. The residents of Vernon don't do much but farm. We saw a sign for farm fresh eggs for a $1.50 so we decided to stop. We woke up all the goats and sheep but couldn't find any people. No farm fresh eggs for us.

So we moved on. How about Stockton? Nope never been there either. Not much going on in that town either. I did find this old jail. Looks like it can hold about 1 or MAYBE 2 occupants. In a town where if one person moves out, they have to update the population sign, I doubt it was ever at full capacity.

We drove through a cute old mining town called Ophir. Not much going on there either except a few signs telling you to be quiet after 10pm. No exceptions. What about the 4th of July? Or New Years Eve? Really, No exceptions? All the rules had the phrase "No exceptions" after it. Too many rules and no exceptions for me.

All this small town touring made us hungry. So we finally stopped for a picnic under a shady tree somewhere in Tooele. Then it was on our way home.

Our first (real) camping trip of the season was a success! No exceptions!

Campfire and s'mores craving

2011-06-15T08:37:00.003-06:00

A few months ago Jeffrey got a new tent. A really nice 3-man tent with all the luxuries. Because setting it up in the living room on a cold night in January just wasn't cutting it, we decided to set it up in the yard to make sure we still liked it.

Since Dexter also chewed up our camping pads last summer, we got new pads this year. So we decided to test those out too. Looks like we're camping in the back yard.

Without being asked, Dexter assumed the position of guard dog.

It was a successful cam pout... minus the s'mores and the campfire. I am suddenly craving something cooked over a campfire. Let's do this for real next time!

Nightstand makeover

2011-06-14T08:28:00.002-06:00

This post isn't going to blow your mind. It's just how I keep busy. Last weekend, I decided my nightstand was too boring. It actually used to be my mom's so it's authentic retro. Here it is before. It was painted brown, I just sanded a few rough spots on top.

And here it is AFTER. I chose a minty green. It brings out one of the colors of the rug in our bedroom. It's not the most exciting color but when you shop for paint in your own garage, the choices are limited.

Here it is in place. It defintely feels like a new piece of furniture now instead of blending in.

Perhaps my lamp needs a makeover now. I chose a white lamp in hopes of doing something fun to it one day but just haven't decided what. Any suggestions?

Let's talk about Dexter first

2011-06-13T10:23:00.002-06:00

I have to interrupt my usual blogging with an important Dexter update.

Here's the back story: Over Memorial Day weekend, we woke up and Dexter was limping on his back leg. So we took him to the vet and they examined him and found movement in his knee and told us he would need cruciate surgery, the dog version of a torn ACL. It's a very invasive surgery with at least an 8 week recovery. Not to mention it was going to cost at least $2,000. They should have told us over a few drinks because we were blown away.

The vet put him on pain meds and an anti-inflammatory medication.

After a few days, we tapered him off the pain medication. Then had x-rays done. Then tapered off the anti-inflammatory meds. And he still wasn't limping. This morning the x-rays confirmed there was nothing wrong his knee!

Vet orders are still another week of rest with short leash walks and no medication. If he's still not limping in a week, then we can CANCEL THE SURGERY! Hooray!

Dexter, prepare yourself for a tackle of hugs tonight. I'm full of love and feeling extra grateful, so there's no stopping me!

Porch swing

2011-06-08T08:28:00.002-06:00

We bought our house on 09.09.09. So we've almost lived there two years. And the porch swing was always the frosting on the cake. We loved that porch swing from the moment we pulled up. But it was clear it needed a little TLC. Last weekend, it finally got the love and attention it needed.

Before:

After: a coat of stain, some new nails and new cushions for $2 at a yard sale.

Brick Mania

2011-06-07T09:17:00.002-06:00

Last year we bought a bunch of bricks online for $125. Then we built a patio. Turns out we had a ton of leftover bricks. But we ran out of summer. Plus we didn't have the energy to pick up another brick. So the pile of bricks sat around all year.

This year we finally got around to using up those bricks.

We learned a lot about making the bricks level since last year. Too bad we didn't practice with these areas first. Our patio would have been much smoother if we did. Anyway, first we made a brick area for our trash cans. I didn't get a before shot but just imagine it was just a big mound of dirt with a bunch of weeds.

Here is the obligatory picture of Dexter standing on the trash can area.

Actually, I kept trying to take a picture and he kept getting in the middle of the shot.

Finally, with all 3 trash cans in place.

Then we built a little brick area at the bottom of the stairs that lead to the back yard from the garage.

Here is the whole area so you get the idea.

Then I added some bricks at the entrance of the garden.

Now you can see with the garden gate open. How welcoming!

And just for the Dexter fans, here he is relaxing in the yard while we work on all the brick projects.

toilet advertising

2011-06-06T08:07:00.001-06:00

Recently we went to a bar with friends to watch a game. What game? I don't know. I probably couldn't even tell you which sport it was, that's how much I pay attention to the game. I could probably tell you what we talked about and if the food was good.

Anyway, we had some good food and drinks. And I went to the bathroom and saw this. IN THE TOILET.

I took it with my camera phone in a dimly lit bathroom so it's not the best quality. But here's a close up. It says, "if you can read this call a cab! 801-xxx-xxx"

It's kind of gross that someone had to attach those stickers to a public toilet. But overall, it's pretty clever. I'm impressed. What do you think?

doggie pool

2011-06-02T08:22:00.004-06:00

Last week Jeff found this little kiddie pool by the side of the road. So of course he picked it up and brought it home. We thought Dexter would love it, oh the hours he would spend playing in it. Before we put water in it, I kept catching him laying in it all curled up. Then we put water in it and he froze. He would just stand there in disbelief.

I thought he must need some toys. So I found this rubber ducky.

Then he would just stand on the outside of the pool and stare at the rubber ducky. As the breeze pushed it around the pool, he would follow it. But only from the outside, never setting foot inside.

After a few days of that duck taunting him, he decided to bravely get in the pool.

He set his front feet in the pool, just enough to reach the rubber ducky. Then promptly got out.

Maybe he thinks it's just a giant water bowl. In that case, he has very good manners because it's not polite to play in your food.

what a thrifting find!

2011-06-01T08:51:00.005-06:00

What did I do while Jeffrey was building a beautiful fence? Why, crafting of course! I found this awesome little gem at the thrift store for $1. I love finding old metal picture frames because when they are spray painted, it really brings out the shape. It's a shape that just can't be recreated with new stuff. Plus it's one less thing going in the landfill. If you think about it, I'm earth conscious and cost conscious.

So what color did I paint it?

You'll have to stay tuned to see what picture I put inside the frame.

The new and improved garden fence

2011-05-31T10:54:00.001-06:00

Last year we built a crappy fence around the garden at the last minute. Go HERE to see it. It just wasn't cutting it and doing its intended job which was to keep Dexter out. So this year we really put some thought into beefing up security around the garden. Go HERE to see the before progress.

Jeffrey spent a good portion of the weekend finishing the fence and adjusting the sprinklers. So first of all, this man deserves some praise. I knew he was craving some of the spotlight because he even posed for this picture.

Doesn't he look so rugged and tough?

Farmer Jeff

The cost of the fence was pretty minimal. Someone gave us the cedar planks for free. We used all the screws from the fence last year. And all the stain, brushes and cement were already in our garage from the previous owners.

We're thinking of adding decorative tops to the posts but haven't decided on anything specific yet. I also think that gate needs a crafty welcome sign. Any suggestions?

I also added stepping stones in the garden which give it a welcoming touch when you enter.

Let's hope this keeps Dexter from trampling our garden this year.

Best pizza ever!

2011-05-30T08:50:00.006-06:00

Last week we ordered a pizza. I know we have ordered from this place before. This time, I told them my name was Sarah but when the pizza came, it came to "Sara Gibbs". So what if it wasn't spelled correctly (Sarah). I'll take what I can get!

This is going on the fridge!

Entertainment in N.O.

2011-05-26T08:34:00.000-06:00

Drinking is pretty much the main entertainment in New Orleans. The bars never close. So when drinking flaming Dr. Peppers gets old, then it's time for some street performers.

There's always someone singing or playing instruments in the street. Always.

This guy was on Bourbon street just playing drums on upside down soy sauce buckets.

This guy was my favorite. He spray painted his head silver and stuck his head through this baby chair and had a doll for a body. All he did was pose with people and make silly surprised faces.

Of course there's dancing. But this isn't a street performer. One day we got stuck behind a parade. So we started following it and I noticed this guy on the sidewalk dancing to the music. It made me laugh. I think it captures the spirit of New Orleans. Enjoy.