I Grew It

I have absolutely no idea what kind of flower this is and you know what, I don't really even care. I bought this plant for the center of my one flower pot...I thought I was buying some sort of grass. AND then yesterday, when I got home from work, there it was. Just the one flower. A flower I grew. Well I'm glad I snapped a picture because the next day it was gone. What a tease. A pretty, pretty tease.

Kill Me Now

Ask Garrett, I have some really strange phobias. I am generally a very tough girl but I am terrified of certain things that most people find 100 percent un-terryifying. Take the Eye Doctor. I have nightmares about these horrible people. I would rather go to the gynecologist once a week than go to the eye doctor once a year. It's weird, I know. Its so bad in fact that I have managed to make a years worth of contacts stretch for over 2 years. Well today was my Dooms Day. I wouldn't go at all if I didn't desperately need contacts. I would rather take my chances with glaucoma. Hell, I would rather take my chances in a pen of hungry lions, but those lions can't write me a damn prescription for contacts.

After my horrible eye exam with Sugarhouse Vision Clinic 2 years ago, I opted to try somewhere new. I went to Wasatch Vision and lets just say I didn't leave in a state of panic and I didn't cry once the entire time I was there. So, it went great. The doctor was very nice and acted as if he understood my fears...I don't even care if he was lying and thought I was a total whack job, I just felt better. So, $75 later, I left with my prescription. Today was a success.

The Nerve

As if you couldn't tell, Munch totally rules our house...even down to HIS spot on the couch. Here is Garrett sitting in Munch's spot. Here is Munch showing Garrett who's boss. This is what I'd like to call his "if you want to sit in my spot, I'm just going to sit on top of you making you so uncomfortable you'll eventually get fed up and move tactic." Yeah, it worked. Moments later Garrett gave in and moved. Munchie = 865 Us = 0

Growing Up

My cute little boy is growing up. Rather than be a total jackass to all the other dogs at Hilary's house, Munch now puts himself in timeout when he starts to feel his grumpy side coming on. He puts himself as far away from all the doggie action as possible, even if it means squishing himself against the gate. Hey, whatever works for him. At least he is trying to not be such a jerk. I'm pretty sure this particular night, I never once had to threaten him of being sold on ebay. What a good boy he is.

Scooterrific

We had another beautiful weekend here in Salt Lake. This spell of nice weather is very much deserved and necessary for my sanity. I haven't thought one evil thought about the weather man in weeks, now isn't that something?

Friday Garrett and I took the Buddy Scooter to Porcupine Pub & Grille for dinner. This was our first time to eat there and I was pleasantly surprised. We really wanted to sit out on the patio, so we had to wait about 45 minutes for our table but that is always okay with us....we never have anywhere else to be. Plus, they have a huge selection of beers on tap so it gave us plenty of time to sample some of our favorites. The wait was totally worth it. The view from their patio is incredible and the weather was perfect for outdoor dining. Garrett had the pasta special and I ordered the nachos. For anyone who cares (Robin, I know you will share my enthusiasm), the nachos were AWESOME! It was heaping pile of cheesy, artery clogging goodness. These could very possibly be the best nachos in town, and coming from a nacho connoisseur such as myself, that is quite a statement.
Saturday morning we dragged ourselves out of bed and took the scooter over to the Farmer's Market. Even though we rarely buy anything, we really enjoy wandering around there on Saturday Mornings. We bring coffee with us cause Garrett is a cheapo and look at all the fun stuff people are selling. We did manage to buy one thing, a bag of Jack Mormon coffee. Garrett tried to buy some last week, but they were already sold out so I'm pretty sure its the only reason he even wanted to go but that's okay. We're not going to be able to go for a while due to Saturday commitments so I'm glad we went when we could. Their slogan "In search of the CELESTIAL BEAN" really cracks me up.

Saturday afternoon we went up to Park City to ride The Flying Dog loop again on our mountain bikes. Our efforts were thwarted when 2 moose were enjoying a delicious tree right on the trail. We tried to wait it out, but it was obvious they weren't going anywhere, and really, I don't blame them. Why should they have to? It's their home, we are the intruders. I didn't want to try and ride past them. Death by Moose would be pretty horrible and slightly embarassing. Anyway, a runner came by as we were watching them eat and showed us a way to bypass them. We finished our ride without any other mishaps. Perhaps my favorite part of the ride was near the end...we could hear the song "Luckenbach Texas" playing somewhere...oh the memories. Sweet, sweet drunken memories.

Sunday was a nice, relaxing day. We took the dogs to Tanner Park to burn off some energy running and playing in the water. After about a mile hike in, there is a fresh water pool that is always filled with dogs swimming and playing. Munch just jumps from rock to rock, walking in the water only when it's safe. Mogley, on the other hand, loves the water. Garrett was set on making him swim and he was successful. Garrett had to help him out a little at first, but after a few tries, he was fetching sticks no problem, like he's been swimming his whole life. After we got home, Garrett and I took the Buddy over to the Salt Lake Sports Complex for our swim. I'm starting to feel a lot stronger and am taking time off my 1500 meters everytime I swim. Hopefully I'll be ready for August.

Well that's pretty much our weekend. I hope everyone has a good work week. Do you feel this positive attitude beaming through me? See what a little nice weather does for a person?

At it Again

Butts in the air only means one thing...there is about to be some serious noise in my house. Mogley barks, Munch growls and the sound of nails skidding across my hard wood floors is worse than fingernails on a chalkboard. These brawls usually only occur for one reason. Mogley very much wants a toy and Munch very much does not want him to get it. I pick up the phone to order dinner and when the guy asks me what I want to order, I ask him to hold on for just a second. I need to go kill my dogs real quick, okay, thanks.

A Lovely City

Flagstaff, Arizona. That is where I got to go this week. I was thinking it was going to be hot and crowded and not enjoyable in the least. Well I guess I was confusing myself with Phoenix because I was very pleasantly surprised.

First of all, my mode of transportation to Flagstaff was pretty sweet. Private Jet of course.
I was a little nervous flying on such a small plane until I found out our pilot used to fly for Air Force One. That calmed my nerves a little. Anyway, the flight was great. I could get used to that kind of traveling...no lines, no security, no checking bags, no waiting on the runway, and best of all, I could bring my damn drink on with me, in fact, I had my very own cup holder. Not once did someone accuse me of trying to blow up the plane with my nalgene full of water. How nice.

Good Bye Salt Lake

Hello Flagstaff

Flagstaff was really pretty awesome. I was told the weather there is great too. It snows in the winter and, in the dead of summer, it rarely gets above 90 degrees. It sits at about 7000 feet and the whole town is filled with pine trees. There is mountain biking, rafting, climbing...everything any outdoor enthusiast dreams about, all out their back door. The downtown area is really cute. There are lots of shops, lots of restaurants with people just hanging out on the patio, bars you don't have to pay to go into and several local breweries...the kind they can just hand you a beer over the counter and you don't even have to order food. The kind where I could have a margarita with friends and nothing else. Those crazy, sinful bastards. Um yeah, I have been living in Utah way to long. So, if you couldn't tell, I was very impressed and now I have Garrett intrigued. Maybe we'll go there sometime and spend more than 4 hours...I'm sure there is much more to be seen.

Baby's Got a New Pair of Pink Goggles

Yesterday I was finally able to find some goggles that fit my abnormally small nose. BEHOLD. I look kinda ridiculous with goggles on so I thought it would be better to humiliate Munch, make him model the new diggs. Doesn't he look thrilled? He's all Don't you have a new victim, a perfectly good Doodle to harass and exploit on the internet? DAMN IT WOMAN. I feel like, if Munch could talk, that would be his most used phrase. Just a guess.

Anyway, the goggles. When Garrett and I got home from work, we put our swimsuits on and took the scooter to the Salt Lake Sports Complex. My quick review for anyone interested: Its a nice facility. I love the outdoor lap pool, perfect for summer. For those who know me, this was a big step. I have a small phobia of public pools and for good reason. I was almost over it last summer and then the outbreak of Crypto hit Salt Lake, in kinda epidemic proportions. What is Crypto you ask: Lets ask Wikipedia.

Crypto is a germ that causes diarrhea. Crypto, short for Cryptosporidium, is found in infected people's stool and cannot be seen by the naked eye. This germ is protected by an outer shell that allows it to survive for long periods of time and makes it resistant to chlorine disinfection found in pools.

Feel free to vomit now.

I had no interest in swallowing baby diarrhea so we opted out of the whole pool thing last summer. The Salt Lake pools have made some changes and restrictions so I'm giving them another shot. Plus, I'm going to do an Xterra Race in Ogden this summer so I really need the swim practice. So really, I'm still totally grossed out but I'm doing this in an effort to not drown in August. I'm pretty sure Garrett would miss me.

I am Alive

So today was the first day of commuting to work on the Buddy. Much to everyone's surprise, I am alive and well and made it to work just fine thank you. Garrett and I have been using the Buddy for everything we can....grocery store, bank, picking up dinner. The best part is Garrett volunteers to run like every errand, even the grocery store just b/c he wants to drive the scooter. At first I thought maybe he was just trying to be super helpful...WRONG, but hey, I'll take what I can get. If I would have known this, we would have purchased one of these bad boys a long time ago.
This was a good weekend. Here are a couple highlights in no particular order:

Taking the Scooter to the 1st Farmer's Market of the Season. As Robin put it, it was almost like we were in a real city. There was culture, and crowds, and I think I may have even seen a black person. Who would have thought?


Mountain biking in Park City. The weather here, (finally...Thank God) was absolutely beautiful and we took full advantage. We rode the Flying Dog loop both days and we can't wait to do it again. Its the perfect mix of climbing and downhill, which means never once did I want to puke, fake an injury, kill myself, or a combination of any of the above.

Piper Down. Cute, clean Irish bar in downtown SLC. It was really nice except for one thing: Smoke. It didn't bother me at first, but it eventually started to get to me. Well actually, my cranky, I don't like to leave the house husband noticed it and brought it to my attention and then it started to bother me. It has obviously been a while since I've been to a real bar b/c in Texas, it never would have phased me.

Dinner at Stell Grill. Yes we took the scooter of course. Dinner was great as usual, and I definitely recommend the crab cakes.

BBQ with friends at Hilary's house. I needed that. The dogs needed that. It was a fun night of food, vodka tonics, music and just hanging out. Note: I felt much better waking up Sunday morning after drinking vodka rather than beer...could I be turning over a new leaf? Only time will tell.

HOT

Don't worry. I am fully aware that we look like complete morons when we ride our Buddy Scooter around the neighborhood. Years ago, I would have cared. Years ago, it would have mattered that people laughed at us in our matching yet different colored helmets. BUT NOW, anyone that ridicules us can just SUCK IT because we can ride around for 100 miles and it only costs us like $3.50.

I Feel Your Pain

Ummmm. Yeah. Can you say spoiled? In this picture, he was just all WOMAN, WHERE IS MY GOD DAMN COFFEE? HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO HAVE THE ENERGY TO GET UP, ASSESS ALL SECURITY RISKS AND GUARD THIS HOUSE ALL DAY? TELL ME HOW!!

Going Green

So for the past month or so, Garrett and I have been looking at Scooters. Yes, you heard me, scooters. Our plan is this: Get rid of the truck and see if we can be a one vehicle household...well one vehicle, one scooter, a garage full of bicycles and public transportation. We're going to give it a shot...at least we can say we tried. Per usual, Garrett did his research for a good month trying to figure out which Scooter we should buy. It was between 2...the Yamaha Vino and the Genuine Buddy. They are very comparable 125 cc scooters but overall, the Buddy had better reviews. We went and looked at new Buddys but couldn't decide if we wanted to throw down the cash for a brand new one. Being the cheapos we are, we decided to look used. The next couple weeks went by seeing really only Vino's, every call had the same result, SOLD. Salt Lake has gone Scooter crazy b/c people are buying them up within hours of being posted for sale. Just as we were about to give up and buy new, I looked on KSL yesterday morning and there was a Buddy for sale. It was only 8 am, but Garrett gave them a call and we decided to go look at it during our lunch. Well, after a near miss (a couple was there looking at it when Garrett got there but they needed the typical "we just need to talk about this" chat that every couple has before investing in a semi-big purchase), we brought the Buddy home. It was a really great deal. Its a 2007 and it only had 25 miles on it...looks brand new. The poor old lady that owned it wasn't able to pass her motorcycle skills test so it had only been driven a couple times. Its really easy and fun to drive. So, needless to say, we're pretty excited about our purchase. I think its going to be fun and we'll help out the environment a little. And oh yeah, did I mention it gets 100 mpg...that just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

Garrett's pretty excited, if you couldn't tell by his face.

New Hairdo

Yesterday, Mogley got his first haircut. They trimmed around his eyes, cut the hair under his paws and gave him a bath that made his hair super fluffy. I couldn't really get him to pose for the camera...he was much to exhausted from a day full of daycare and trying to escape the groomer.

Little Red Riding Hood

Yep, that's me with the sleeveless jersey and arm warmers. This damn Utah weather is so unpredictable.

After digging through 211 pages of pictures, these are the only pics from the Little Red Riding Hood Century I could find that involved me and Robin. Page after page, I kept waiting to find a fabulous picture of the two of us, one that captured us in all our glory :) Needless to say, I am disappointed....and I hate being disappointed, its a wasted emotion. Usually, I just expect the worst possible outcome and I bypass disappointment entirely. This time, however, my high hopes were really wanting some good pictures. Next time I'll just remember to leave those hopes at home with Munch on his blanky, safe from all things even remotely disappointing.

Seriously

Pictures like this really make me feel sorry for all the shelter dogs. I mean, they are barely getting by, sleeping on the hard ground, no family to love them and happily eating whatever food is placed in front of them. MY DOGS on the other hand are living the good life. Take Munch for instance...lounging on the couch, legs spread eagle, sitting on a blanket his Mom made him, treats and premium dog food on demand and never having to work a day for any of it. When I die, I want to come back as a dog...MY DOG.

Sometimes You Just Gotta Wonder

One thing I absolutely H-A-T-E about living in Salt Lake is Sunday. It's like living in the Twilight Zone. Most restaurants are closed, hell, everything is closed. It drives me absolutely bonkers. Take yesterday for instance. I have to run to the grocery store to pick up a couple items for dinner. I start at Smiths (Kroger for all you Texans) and they don't have limes, fresh basil or graham cracker crumbs. The checkout lady asked "Did you find everything okay today?" and I replied with No, as a matter of fact I did not. I had a short list of items, you didn't have 3 of them so yeah, your store sucks. I actually hate it when the checkers even ask that question because a. they dont really care and b. if they did care, no one would do anything about it. Its a slap in the face really and gives my brain a seizure. These are simple items, I know, but Utah grocery stores obviously don't stock anything on the weekends which totally just blows my mind. Next stop, Harmons. They had limes and crumbs but no basil. I thought I would try one more grocery store because 1 out of 3 would surely have basil. WRONG. Dans grocery store sucks too. I was extremely pissed and I called Garrett to make me a vodka tonic so it would be ready when I stormed in the back door. He did and he made one for himself b/c he knew he would have to hear about the sequence of events for about a half hour. No other city in the world would give me such grief at a grocery store, I swear. I think its completely ridiculous this city is run by a damn church, not everyone is THAT religion. I like to do things on Sunday and that does not make me a bad person. Sure, I may not get my own planet, but you know what, I'm cool with that. And don't tell me I should shop ahead of time. I don't plan meals for the future, that's just not who I am.

SMILE

Mogley would probably be less than thrilled I am posting this pic of him. The angle makes his nose look enormous, like he was stung by a bee or something, but I think its cute. He is such a happy, good natured boy. I wish a little of that would rub off on a certain grumpy french bulldog I know.

Friday Cuteness

Here is Mogley, keeping his eyes fixed on the treat I'm holding above my head. I love to hang treats in the air above my head and watch him move his head back and forth...kinda like he's watching a tennis match. I know thats mean and horrible and I'm totally just teasing him but it makes me laugh and I realize why I love having dogs around so much. I like to give myself treats like that every now and then.

Long Day Ahead

I'm already feeling tired just thinking about tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, it's going to be a great day...its just that I don't function very well, if at all at 5:00 am in the morning. I know what you're thinking, why in the world would anyone want to wake up at 5:00 am on a Saturday. The answer is I DON'T want to. I write DON'T in all caps because all caps is how I'll be feeling about having to get out of bed in the morning. In fact, I think skinning myself and going for a swim in the Great Salt Lake sounds a little more fun. BUT, it will all be worth it when Robin and I start our 104 mile journey around Northern Utah and Southern Idaho on the Little Red Riding Hood Women's Only Century. (**Robin, its too bad we dont have baskets on our bikes...we should totally pick up some REAL beer while in Idaho. Now that seems worth getting up at 5:00 am...one of these days I'll grow up and get my brain out of the gutter but until then this is the kind of stuff I'll think about) Anyway, its going to be an early morning and I just want to complain about it a little. Garrett will get his fair share of hearing me complain when the alarm goes off. He probably won't push me down the stairs like I'll ask him to so I'll have an excuse why I should stay in bed and continue my snuggling with Munchie. He'll just shake his head like he usually does...I realize he thinks I'm completely "over the top" when it comes to some things and I'm okay with that. We balance eachother because he's kinda "under the top" if there even is such a thing....completely NON DRAMATIC might be a better way of phrasing it. No, all my drama aside, I think we'll have a lot of fun. So, wish Robin and I luck and God Speed. The luck is for us. The speed is for our asses, the faster we finish, the better our asses will feel, and that my friend, is very, very important for me and for Garrett...I know he doesn't want to hear me complain about how sore my ass is all night. See how much I love him?

Bon Iver

A couple weeks ago, Garrett downloaded the Bon Iver CD for me, "For Emma, Forever Ago." I added 3 of my favorite songs from the CD on the sidebar of my blog so you can get a taste of his music for yourself. I love, love the entire CD and usually I only like about one song per CD which drives Garrett bonkers so yeah, we both like it a lot.

Its Raining

One of the best things about living in Utah is the weather. 4 Seasons. This year has been ridiculously crappy. All I even remember is winter. We pretty much skipped Spring this year and now we're into summer and its still freakin snowing in the mountains. A couple weeks ago it was 80+ degrees, we were wearing flips flops and tank tops...AT NIGHT. Now, its cold and rainy AGAIN. On a positive note (I had to dig deep for this one), I don't have to water the new plants/flowers we planted last weekend. Yep, I really am that lazy. So I guess I've got a few questions for good ole' Mother Earth. Will we ever get summer? Will I have a heart attack because of all the crappy weather? Will I go down to the weather station armed with a rifle next time the weather man gets my hopes up for a beautiful, sunny weekend? These are all questions with unknown answers.

Bundles of Joy

I love my dogs. I adore them even. But do you know what I don't enjoy, cleaning up dog poo and dog barf. Munch has always had a sensitive stomach. If you give him anything other than a dog treat or his sensitive stomach Eukanuba, he's very likely to barf it up a short time later. He's even likely to barf his regular diet if he eats/drinks to fast. You just never know. His barfing is very unpredictable. He'll be sauntering around the house, he'll barf, and then continue on with his day. What a little joy.

Then there was Mogley. Since getting him, he's had his fair share of tummy troubles. When he was a puppy, his daily ritual was to make lots of poo and roll in it. I drove slower than usual on my way home from work hoping Garrett would beat me home...he who saw the poo first had to deal with it. I usually cleaned the area...Garrett got the poo covered, very excited wriggly little puppy. Ahhhh, I'm glad those days are over. Well 2 days ago, I came home for lunch and it was deja vu. There was Mogley, only about 76 times bigger, covered in his own poo. Crying was my first thought, but I pulled through and managed to clean things up. He's been fine since. I mean, I love Mogley a lot, but I love him a lot less when he's covered in his own poo.

The Better to Smell You With

So yesterday I UNWILLINGLY made Mogs a hair appointment at Camp Barkalot. Since he is there a couple times a week, the lady knew Mogs and felt the same displeasure I had about cutting off all his curls...I could tell this, even on the phone. But, she gave me the out...she said I could cancel if I wanted, just think about it she said...your appointment isn't until next Tuesday. So this morning, I took him in for a fun day at daycare and the owner was in the front room. He was all "I heard you were going to cut off all his beautiful curls, dont do that..they don't need that. Are you smoking crack?" And I was all "Well my crack smoking HUSBAND, not ME, thinks this is necessary. I'm totally against the idea!" So, after a phone call to Garrett we decided that he just needs a trim, no summer cut. Woohoo! The crazy, totally unmanageable hair stays.

Only Good Intentions

Cute little Mogley. His hair is such a mess these days, in his eyes and sticking up all over the place. Garrett is harassing me to make an appointment to have his hair trimmed but I'm resisting...I think I kinda like the homeless look. Plus, if his hair is shorter, I won't be able to style it with ponytails when I'm bored. I mean, his not being able to see is definitely worth my entertainment. I'm going to make a great Mom some day!

1 YEAR DOWN...

Today is June 2. This day, last year, was the happiest day of my life. It was the day I married my best friend. Happy 1 Year Anniversary Garrett. I Love You!

Sundance Spin

Saturday usually means one thing to me...getting up at the crack of dawn to participate in pure torture for a couple of hours. This past Saturday was no exception. Our race this week was at the Sundance Ski Resort. Garrett and I have never made the trek up there, but I must say, it's beautiful. The trails were in awesome shape and the views from the singletrack were breathtaking. Anyway, I was feeling pretty good Saturday morning. We got there plenty early and had time to ride around on the course for our warm up...usually we're hurrying just to make it to the start in time. The start of the course was a fairly long climb up the road. I hammered down, trying to get a gap on the other girls b/c I know they can probably catch me on the downhill. I succeeded and managed to keep my lead until the end. This was my first win as a Sport Rider...I was pretty happy with myself. My hubby took 3rd. I was very proud of him, he has a very tough group of guys to ride with. So, all in all, it was a successful day for us. We both made the podium, so what more could we ask for?