Ode to the Washing Machine

Apparently Tuesdays at 5:00 pm is the official laundry hour of our condo complex. I didn't get the memo. If I had, I would not have tried to do my laundry during this hour, because it was a madhouse! We only have one washer and dryer on each floor of the building. There are three floors. We live on third floor. I walked over to the facilities on our level, but they were being used, and looked like there were a few baskets in line to be done after the current load finished. So I went down to the second floor. Also in use! I had to go all the way down to the bottom floor to find a machine that wasn't being used. Luckily I didn't have to go to the other building! If that would have been the case, I think I would have just waited until tomorrow to do my wash.

So to make matters worse, after finding a vacant washing machine on the bottom floor, I went back up the stairs to the third floor to go back into our condo. I pulled out my keys to unlock the door, and that's when I realized; I didn't have a house key on my laundry keys!! I used to have them all together, but then got a new key chain and for some reason only moved the car and house keys to it, leaving the laundry key on the old key chain. So when I went to do laundry, I locked myself out! Rob's brother has a spare key (they live just a few blocks away) but my cell phone was inside the house, so I couldn't call. One of my neighbors was outside, so I asked if I could borrow his phone. I tried calling Rob to get his brother's phone number. The tricky thing is, with the advent of cell phones, nobody memorizes phone numbers anymore. At least I don't. You don't have to! Your phone does it for you! But Rob was in class and didn't answer his phone. My last resort was to get the super tall ladder out of the laundry room on the third floor and lug it all the way down to the bottom floor and around to the other side of the building to where our balcony is. I had no idea if the sliding doors to the balcony were unlocked or not. We had them opened earlier, but then closed them to turn on the air conditioning. Rob closed them, so I wasn't sure if he had locked them or not, but there was only one way to find out! I propped the ladder up against the deck below ours, then had to extend the ladder to it's longest length until it reached our balcony. I climbed the wobbly distance to the top and luckily found the bedroom door open! *WHEW* SO I was able to avoid being locked out until Rob comes home from class at 9:00. Thank goodness!

Moral of the story? If you have your own washer and dryer, thank your lucky stars. They're more meaningful than you know!

I Heart NY!

So here they are, the photos you've all been waiting for.... We returned from our trip to New York on Monday night, and we had so much fun!

This photo was taken during our flight out of Salt Lake City. We flew right over the mountains! I've never seen them from above like this before.

An appropriate title photo for this post! Rob liked this, so he took a photo. It was on the side of an electrical box on a street light.

Here we are in Central Park in the area called Sheep Meadow. What I think is cool about Central Park is what you see in this photo is only a tiny portion of it. The rest is so wooded that when you're walking around, you can't even see or hear the city. It's like you've gone off into the mountains or something and you're far far away from Manhattan, but really, you're right in the middle of it! There are just a few places like this one where the buildings of the city peak through the tops of the trees.

Bethesda Fountain in Central Park.

Central Park is AMAZING! Especially right now because it is green and springtime. It was raining a little, so there weren't tons of people there which was nice.

Time Square. This is the first place we went. Our hotel was out near the airport, so we took a subway train into the city. We got up to the street and gazed at all the huge buildings with massive advertisements with big flashing lights. We were mesmerized! And also very disoriented!! We had no idea which way anything was, and had no desire to stare at our maps all day long to try and figure out how to get anywhere else, so we decided to do the open-air tour bus. It was a beautiful sunny day (which was nice since the forecast called for rain!) so the buses were perfect. AND you can hop off and hop on these buses, so we were able to get off at the stops that interested us, and then get back on another bus to take us to the next stop. The buses came around about every 10-15 minutes, so it was very convenient, and a great way to see the city. After we finished the downtown loop, we felt much more equipped to navigate the city on our own. The tour gave us a better feel for where everything was, and we hit up all the touristy spots as well!

View of the Empire State Building from below.

and the view from the top!

That's the Financial District behind us.

I like this photo because the camera focused on the bars and the city is out of focus. Kind of an artistic shot.

This is how close we were to the street lights while on our tour bus! If we stood up, it would have hit us on the head.

Grand Central Station.

One of my friends and her husband (Kaytee & John) live in Connecticut right now, and they were able to meet us in the city! We met them here at Grand Central Station. This building has really cool architecture which is somewhat captured in these photos.

America's first pizza parlor! Mr. Lombardi came over from Italy and opened his pizza place in New York. We had lunch there on Saturday.

Yes, it WAS as delicious as it looks!

We decided to take the Staten Island Ferry (which is free) to try and get a better view of the Statue of Liberty. This photo was taken on the ride back toward the city (which is behind us).

This is the closest shot we could get with one of us in the photo.

This is the closest shot we could get WITHOUT someone in the photo!

A fun shot of us riding the subway. We were pretty successful navigating the subway, except for one time on Sunday when we accidentally got on an express train, which means it doesn’t make all the stops. It passed right over the stop we wanted to get off on! So we jumped off at the next stop to get on a train going back the other direction. There was one there when we got off, so we hurried on got on it, but it kept going North, the same direction the other train we had just gotten off was going!! Long story short, we ended up in Harlem!! But we never got off the train. A local woman was kind enough to tell us that the next stop was the last stop, and the train would head back the other direction. So we just stayed on it until we finally got to the stop we were looking for in the first place!!

One of these is the Cash Cab, I just know it!

Another photo from Central Park. This was on the day when my friend and her husband came to see us, and he refused to let Rob hold our camera. He held onto it and kept taking pictures for us! It was very nice of him. It almost felt like we were getting engagement pictures or something because he was taking so many photos!

We had a GREAT trip to NYC! Some other highlights of the trip:

• Seeing Phantom of the Opera
• Rushing through the MET during the last half-hour before closing and then getting forced out by security!
• Meeting up with one of Rob's old college roommates (and still a best friend of ours) during our layover in Dallas.
• Rob getting his souvenir: a bootleg copy of Iron Man from Chinatown! (don't tell on us!)
• Finding the most perfect little pastry shop on Sunday night to get hot chocolate and dessert. It was just what we were looking for!

One of the funniest things that happened was on Sunday night on the subway as we rode back to our hotel. A black man in his 50's or 60's got on the train and immediately began to sing. He started singing about eating chicken, and going to KFC, and about how much he loves chicken because he is a “chicken head.” Then, after verse one, he decided to sing the song again in Spanish, then in Italian, then in Indian, then in Chinese, then in Japanese! By the time he got to Japanese, he was just singing words like “Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Toyota, Sushi.” … the funniest part came at the very end. When he was finished with the Japanese verse, he stopped and said, “So many languages…” – Then he walked around with a paper cup asking for money.

It was such a great trip! Thanks again Rob for being such a great husband and surprising me with such an awesome Anniversary gift!

A Good Surprise

This is what I woke up to this morning.

papers taped to the mirror in the bathroom....

and then around the corner and on the mirror in the entryway and front door....

and leading into the kitchen and wall of the dining room.

Each of these papers had something typed on it when I lifted them up. To set the background for this, our 5th Anniversary is this Saturday, and several months ago Rob and I talked about what we should do to celebrate. We talked about maybe going on a trip, but then decided against it because of the costs. We just decided that we would stay in town and eat out at the same place we've eaten at the past two years, this great sushi place downtown....It's sort of become a tradition. But then when I woke up this morning and saw this string of papers on the walls, everything changed! They started out by saying "you say you like good surprises, so I hope this is one" and something about how wood (the traditional 5th year anniversary gift) is a "rather unispiring category", so no gifts this year. Then he tells me he printed all these papers on draft, so don't worry, no wasted ink (wow, I was so worried) and proceeds to tell me we won't be getting our free meal at Chipotle on Friday and we won't be going to Takashi on Saturday! What? GASP!! But it's tradition! I mean, it's only been a tradition for two years, but come on, traditions have to get going somehow! And THIS is no way to keep it going!! Well that's when this next paper came up...

Huh?? ... "Our flight leaves tomorrow at 11:50 am." ... WHAT??!? ... Then he tells me he's been working extra hard this month so we can afford it (how thoughtful!), and that our 5th anniversary dinner just might be at a street stand, or perhaps something a little fancier, in (are you ready for it?) New York! ... as in I 'heart' NY! Wow!! I've never been to New York City before, and neither has Rob, so this will be a first trip for the both of us! So enough of this blogging, I've got some serious packing to do!

The Cradle will Rock

Just because you've had a baby doesn't mean you have to compromise your musical taste. Checkout these awesome lullaby renditions of popular Rock artists. This is awesome! Some titles are also available here, and are a little cheaper. I bought the Bob Marley one for my brother and his little boy (and soon-to-be little girl as well). I hope they enjoy it! I want to buy some for myself too, and I don't even have any kids yet!

For the Birds

I don't know where they came from, but for the past few weeks we've had some resident geese waking us up every morning with their incessant honking! Last year we had pigeons, and I thought nothing could be worse than their repetitive coos every morning. But this year we have geese, and their honks are so loud! Plus, these geese are not as easily scared off like the pigeons were, so going out on our balcony and making noises doesn't get them to fly away. They just hold their ground and keep on honking! Even when I took this picture, I clapped my hands and shouted at them to get them to fly away (I was hoping to capture a mid-air shot!) but they just sat there, content on their little stoop. Maybe we should just catch them and take them back to the Tracy Aviary, or wherever it is they came from. Or maybe we could put a listing on Craigslist.....anybody looking for some pet geese? If you can catch them, you can have them!

Race for the Cure!

I ran a 5k on Saturday with a group of people from church. We all got together to run the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure! A girl in our ward who is only 28 was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, so this year's race was even more meaningful. She was hoping to be able to join us for the race, but she was in the hospital with a high fever. :( Those of us who could went to visit her afterwards. We had a group of 13 runners/walkers at the race, and here's the group of us that were able to visit Brittany. She's such a trooper! I've been so impressed with her faith during this whole thing. We love you Brittany! Hope you're out of the hospital soon!!


This race is always so amazing to participate in. This year there were reportedly 18,000 attendees! I believe it too. The crowd was so big, we didn't even cross the official start line until 5-10 minutes after the start gun went off, and by the time we crossed it, we could see about a mile of people ahead of us, and just as many behind us! I ran with two other girls from my ward, and we almost ran the whole 3.1 miles....I had to stop and walk for about a minute at mile 2 because I had a cramp. But then we ran the rest of the way to the finish line!! A few of us have been "training" for this race for about a month or so now. We would go running every Tuesday night and Saturday morning, and the occasional Thursday night as well. I need to keep it up because I am in such bad shape right now!! Running is not fun at first, but now that I've been doing it for a little bit, I'm starting to like it again. And now that the weather is maybe deciding to warm up a little, I can keep running outside instead of on a yucky treadmill. I always joke that I feel like I have to force myself to like running to fit in with my family. My Dad has run tons of Marathons, maybe 20? He runs the St. George almost every year, and has done Boston a few times. And my sister and older brother both ran the St. George one year too! Plus, tons of my aunts, uncles, and cousins have also ran marathons. Sounds like a bunch of crazies if you ask me! But actually it must feel like such a great accomplishment to finish. I think it would be cool to run one someday, just to say I did it. Then I'd probably never run one again! One of the girls I ran this 5k with is signed up for a half-marathon later this year, and she asked me if I want to sign up too! I'm still deciding. :) We're going to a running workshop given by Jeff Galloway, a "legendary marathon coach" at Salt Lake Running Company tomorrow, so maybe that will inspire me! I'll keep you posted.

Flight of the Conchords

Ok, so Rob and I and some of our friends have been listening to these guys, rather watching their live performances on YouTube, over and over for the the past month or so. They're a "Folk-Parody Duo" from New Zealand, and their songs are hilarious! They might be an acquired taste for some, but we loved them right from the start. Just to give you a taste of their genius, here's one of their songs, "Think About It, Think Think About It" - this one's got a long monologue before it, but it's just as funny as the song, so listen to both.



We love watching all of their live performances. We think they're funnier than their Music Videos which you can also find on YouTube. Seriously, all of their live performances are so hilarious. We like them better than their music videos because they're more raw; less polished. We really like the authenticity of a live performance.

Here's another one to wet your palate, "Beautiful Girl"



I won't embed any more videos here, but if you enjoyed these, you really should check out their other songs on YouTube. But just a fair warning, some have mild language and sexual innuendos. Here are links to some more of our favorites:

- Business Time - this one really is our favorite, but I might warn that it is for mature/married audiences only. They talk about "making love" but not in a dirty way. It's funny actually. Check it out if you dare!
- Jenny - an awkward conversation on a park bench.
- Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros - gansta/rap battle. (mild language)
- Albi - about a dragon, perhaps related to Puff.
- Bowie's in Space - great if you know Bowie's music, or even if you don't! (mild drug references)

Enjoy!
(No really, listen to them! I think you'll enjoy!)

ACE, the helpful place

Some of you who live in Utah may have heard about this on the news already, but for those who haven't....Rob went out to run some errands yesterday morning, and shortly thereafter he called me saying, "get the camera and meet me at the bottom of the stairs. You gotta see this!" -- I had no idea what he was talking about. This is what he took me to see.

From looking at this photo, it would appear that this ACE truck made too sharp of a turn and tipped over, but just wait....it gets better.

Seriously, how is this not falling over?

BOOM! No, it wasn't just a sharp turn, this truck was hit by a Trax public transportation train! You can't see it in this photo, but the windshield of the train is shattered. This happened just before 10:00 AM at the intersection of 400 South and 600 East in downtown Salt Lake City, just a few blocks away from our condo.

My favorite part? Check out the road sign in the top-right corner. The truck driver wasn't obeying traffic rules, now was he! He made an illegal left-turn, and the train was right there, coming down the tracks. The train couldn't stop in time, and shouldn't have had to stop because nobody should have been turning left in that intersection!

No Left Turn! The funny part is this happened right in front of an Ace store. The driver was trying to make a delivery, and was probably just too lazy to go around the block.

ACE

The helpful place.

For those who wonder why you sometimes can't turn left when you think you should be able to, this answers your question!

and (p.s.) - no one was seriously injured in this collision, just in case you were wondering.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

We celebrated in style with a delicious 7-layer dip, homemade bean burritos, and some Diablo Verdes to drink. For those of you who have never eaten at the Los Hermanos Mexican restaurants here in Utah, you're really missing out. They have two locations: one in Provo and another in Lindon. We LOVE their specialty drink, The Diablo Verde, an "ultra-smooth blend with five tropical flavors: kiwi, lime, banana, pineapple - and you guess the fifth!" We thought it appropriate to attempt to make one ourselves on this festive occasion, so we did a little google search and came across this recipe that sounded about right. We couldn't find the kiwi syrup, but it still tasted fine without it. This lady's recipe didn't give specifics, so we came up with this more detailed version:

Diablo Verde Shakes

(amounts are for one serving)

Blend together:

1/8 c. pina colada syrup (we used mixer and it worked fine)

1/4 c. kiwi syrup (if available)

2 scoops lime sherbet

1/2 banana

1/4 avocado

1/2 cup crushed ice

1/4 c. sprite

whipped cream for topping -- we like to blend a little into the shake for a creamier taste.

We thought this recipe tasted very similar to the Los Hermanos version, and one of our friends who we celebrated Cinco de Mayo with used to work there, and she gave us the taste-test approval. SO anybody whose got a hankering for this tasty treat, go ahead and blend one up!

Spoiled produce, we meet again.

Have any of you ever waited too long before cleaning out your fridge? We just went shopping tonight (what a great date-night activity, eh?) and cleaned out the fridge before putting in the newly purchased items. First of all, it had been way too long since we last cleaned the fridge out, and there was some nasty stuff in there. Secondly, we threw away some of the same things we purchased that hadn't been used and had gone bad; lettuce, celery, tomatoes, carrots, cottage cheese.....why do we continue to buy these things when we know they'll just spoil in our fridge 'cause we'll never use them?? Because of this horrible habit of ours, we got smart this time and wrote down what we put in the fridge so we know what we have, and we even planned meals with some of the items. Actually, we did even better than that; we went so far as to plan the meals at the store while we were shopping! Now, I know you're probably thinking...."Isn't it customary to plan meals before entering the grocery store?" but just let me tell you, planning meals at all is a huge step for us. We'll take it in any form we can get! We usually just buy whatever sounds good and get home and realize it's all snacks. I'm proud to say we got at least 6 usable meals from this shopping trip! Now the trick is to actually use the fresh produce fast enough. We're hoping this time around that maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to conquer this seemingly impossible feat.

Some things never get old

In case you were wondering, Scatergories is still fun. I used to play this game a lot with my childhood best-friend. It was either this or Yahtzee, which we also played to death. Rob and I played Scatergories again with some friends the other day and let me tell ya, it just never gets old! The thing that really keeps this game alive is that amazing 26 sided die. You can play the same 12 category cards over and over, but they're different every time because you're playing with a new letter. Brilliant!

While playing Scatergories, we had the thought that perhaps this 26-sided alphabet die would come in handy in other games as well. We had an idea to use it while playing Settlers of Catan, because each number piece in Settlers also has a letter on it to help beginning players setup the board. We thought we could add some kind of bonus roll with the Scatergories die, and if you are built on a hex with the corresponding letter from the alphabet, you get to choose the resource card of your choice or something. Anyway, we haven't tried this yet, but we HAVE tried playing Catan with a standard 12-sided number die, and that totally changed the whole dynamic of the game. It basically voids the probability of rolling the dice and makes each number equal. Pretty interesting.

So, anyone feel like nerding it up and trying out this new Scatergories/Settlers method?