A Speck of Dust

The City Beneath the Sea

2012-02-20T15:09:00.000-08:00

Flashback 1997: As a huge fan of Harry Connick, Jr., I had heard of a contest his fan club was holding - a trip for two to Mardi Gras, including riding on a float in the parade. Of course, I then had to join the fan club, just so I had a chance to win. Imagine my surprise when I received a phone call informing me that I had won and asking if I would be able to make it! Ummmmm...yeah! After the shock wore off (and after calling Catherine and Jon, to see if they had been playing a horrible trick on me), it sunk in... I was going to Mardi Gras, and I was going to meet Harry!! The following is a description of our time in New Orleans, written in 1997, and published in the Fan Club Newsletter. Edits are in italics:

I still can't believe what an incredible four days we had. On February 8, 1997, my sister, Catherine, and I left Salt Lake City, Utah filled with anticipation for the excitement ahead. As guests of the Harry Connick Jr., Fan Club, we were going to Mardi Gras, "the greatest party on Earth"! Unbeknownst to the fan club, Jon flew out and was able to join us for most of the events. He didn't ride on the float during the parade, but I think he walked almost the entire route, taking pictures of us!

Upon our arrival in New Orleans, a driver was waiting to take us to our hotel. We were impressed with our accommodations at the Hotel Inter-Continental, located on St. Charles Avenue, overlooking the parade route. The lobby was bustling with people, all wearing colorful Mardi Gras beads. Anxious to get out and explore (and get our own beads!), we headed off to a quick dinner then watched the Endymion Parade. To end the day, we spent a relaxing hour in the hotel lounge listening to a great jazz band.

Sunday we toured downtown New Orleans and the French Market, where we fell in love with Jambalaya and sampled Beignets, a French pastry, at Cafe du Monde. After spending an exciting afternoon on Bourbon Street, we returned to our hotel and learned we had been invited to a party at author Anne Rice's house to watch the Bacchus Parade! At the party, we had the opportunity to meet actress Delta Burke, film director Francis Ford Coppolla, and Kevin Griffin, the lead singer of Better Than Ezra. We missed meeting Harry at the party by just a few minutes!

Monday arrived, the day of the Orpheus parade! Catherine and I were both excited and nervous - we were going to meet Harry today! We met with Harry's assistant, Kathy, and drove to the Convention Center, where we were shown our dressing room and told we would be riding on the very same float as Harry Connick, Sr.! We then had the pleasure of meeting Harry's step-mom, aunt and cousins. After having lunch with Kathy, who introduced us to Tracey Freeman, Harry's producer, we returned to our dressing room to get into costume. On our way to the float, we were honored to meet Harry Connick, Sr., who could not have been more gracious or attentive.

Once aboard the float, our fellow float riders, good friends of the Connick, Srs., proceeded to "show us the ropes" - they helped us set up our "throws" (beads), made sure we understood parade protocol (e.g., no unmasking once the parade begins), then recounted a few anecdotes about Harry, Jr. They made us feel so welcome and kept us laughing during the two hour ride to the parade starting point.

The parade route began at the corner of Tchoupitoulas and Napolean, the site of the legendary music club Tipitina's. Harry, Sr. escorted Catherine and I into the bar, giving us a brief history of the many musicians who have played there, including Harry, Jr.

Finally, the moment I had only dreamed about arrived. It is difficult to describe the range of emotions I felt as we followed Harry, Sr. to Harry Jr.'s float. In a word... YEEEOOOOW! Dressed in an elaborate costume, Harry, Jr. greeted us with that charming smile and genuine kindness. We chatted for a minute, posed for a picture, then returned to our float (hearts racing) as the parade got underway.

The parade itself was an intense four hours of throwing beads to screaming parade-goers and taking every opportunity to peek behind us, hoping to catch a glimpse of Harry, Jr. whose float was behind ours. At midnight, we arrived back at the Convention Center, where the Orpheuscapade Ball was underway! As Catherine and I approached our table, we froze - we could not believe with whom we were seated. We checked and re-checked our VIP pass, and yep! It was true - we were sitting with Stevie Wonder! And if that were not a total honor in itself, Quincy Jones was seated at a table to our right, the group Better Than Ezra was seated in front of us, and the Connick, Srs. were to our left! In this elite company, we enjoyed Harry, Jr.'s performance, including a song he performed with Stevie Wonder. The Ball ended at 3am, and the magical day had drawn to a close.

A simple thank you does not seem enough to express the gratitude which Catherine and I feel toward the Fan Club and everyone we met during this incredible time. We were treated with such hospitality and warmth by all, and we will never forget it. It was a true honor to celebrate Mardi Gras in "the city beneath the sea" with Harry, his family, his friends and his associates.

A totally fun trip and a one of a kind experience!

Happy Mardi Gras, 2012, everyone! Laissez les bons temps rouler!

12 on 12

2012-02-12T20:38:00.000-08:00

Happy February 12th! I thought I would participate in a photography challenge, which is to take 12 photos on the 12th of the month. That would be today. I took all of these with my iPhone. I even downloaded Instagram today and was messing around with that. Here are my 12 photos:

1. Spin class! 2. Some new makeup from Estee Lauder (free gift with purchase!) 3. Protein shake #1 4. Protein shake #2 5. Me, drinking aforementioned protein shake 6. Worked on a sewing project today (t-shirt quilt) 7. Mark made bread 8. More sewing project stuff 9. Dinner - shrimp scampi, rice, bread 10. Reading and goofing around with the Kindle Fire 11. Pile of magazines on the coffee table 12. Mark made an espresso.

I had fun playing with all the different Instagram filters. All in all, it's a nice representation of the day. With a very heavy emphasis on breakfast.

Welcome 2012!

2012-01-02T18:27:00.000-08:00

I love the New Year! There's just something so, well, new about it. It's a good time to re-evaluate, plan, and refresh. Here are a few things that are motivating me and that I am focusing on in 2012:

One Little Word: Bicycle. Basically, you choose a word that you can focus on, mediate on, and reflect upon as you go about your daily life. And what I want to do this year is become a cyclist. So I chose a word that would seriously emphasize that point. I chose this word primarily because I have plantar fasciitis, and I cannot run, but I must do something. Plus, I want this cute necklace, and now I can justify buying it. It has purpose.

(Image from http://www.terrybicycles.com/Accessories/Jewelry/Le-Petite-Bike-Necklace)

Move More Eat Well: An online wellness class, with (of course) a scrapbooking component.

Twelve: An online class, entirely focused on scrapbooking. How fun is that?

Still working on my 39 Things. I will post an update soon.

And of course, various other yearly and monthly goals. The yearly ones are pretty easy, such as participate in the above online classes, and buying zero candy around all the holidays. I didn't buy any candy for Halloween or Christmas in 2011. It didn't seem to decrease my consumption of crap. But maybe for the whole year...you never know.

My monthly goal for January is to pack my lunch for work on clinic days (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday). No matter how you work it, there is no possible way that Cafe Rio is good for you on a weekly basis. Even if it is, technically, a "salad".

I share these things with the few readers of this blog (you know who you are!), so that I am accountable. I cannot, dear reader(s), let you down.

Happy New Year!

A Day Late

2011-11-11T18:32:00.000-08:00

on the blog, but it's sort of a month long celebration, anyway. Yesterday, Mark and I celebrated our 8th anniversary!

Eight years ago, we were sitting on a warm sunny beach.
Eight years ago, we were dipping our toes in the Caribbean.
Eight years ago, it was 85 degrees outside.
Eight years ago, we were in Negril, Jamaica!

It's been a fantastic eight years. I could not be happier with my choice of partner, and it's so awesome how our life together just keep getting better with each passing year. Okay, enough schmaltz. How about some photos? (And yes, I Googled the word 'schmaltz', to make sure I was both spelling and using it correctly. Scroll down to 'derived meanings'.)

We celebrated number 8 at Martine, one of our favorite restaurants (and the restaurant we went to on the Valentine's Day we got engaged). It has a romantic setting and fabulous, amazing food. We enjoyed tapas, such as the seared beef filet with carmelized onions and warmed brie, and the smoked duck bruschetta with mission figs and cambazola. And topped it off with the chocolate decadence and grilled gingerbread.

All in all, a good day, and a good life!

It's Been a While....

2011-10-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

Since I have all this free time, I thought I'd get out some pictures and do a little scrappin'. I needed some inspiration, and found this sketch challenge over on the PageMaps blog. They are giving away some fun supplies to one person who enters a layout based on this sketch, so I thought I'd give it a shot:

And here's my take:

Still trying to figure out a good way to photograph layouts to post, so the colors look right. This shows the colors pretty accurately, but there are some harsh shadows. Any suggestions?

The journaling reads:

Elliott’s third birthday was celebrated with a bit of bowling and, of course, presents. He was so cute when he opened his present from me and Mark. When he saw Cookie Monster, he grabbed him out of the gift bag and fell onto the floor with Cookie tightly wrapped in his arms. And he gave us that deceptively angelic look!

I used supplies I had on hand and the Silhouette, which is hands-down my all-time favorite tool. I am slowly learning how to do more things with it. I love using sketches...it makes it easier to move beyond the basic design of a layout and lets me get right to the fun stuff. I also love it when I see a typo only after I have glued everything down. Arrgh! Fixed it, though.

Have a good weekend!

Food Week: Days 6 & 7

2011-10-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

Oops. Yep. Didn't get any pictures of the camping food. But it was so good!

Here's the breakdown:

Day 6:
Breakfast: Grape Nuts, Banana
Lunch: Subway ham & turkey sandwich, 6" on Italian
Dinner: (camping food starts here): Filet mignon, baked potato with butter & sour cream, grilled zucchini and yellow squash, s'mores, daiquiri. Pretty luxurious camping food...thanks, Steve & Eileen!

Day 7:
Breakfast: Instant Oatmeal (2 packs), Hot chocolate
Lunch: Tuna salad (in a convenient foil pouch), Ritz crackers, cheddar cheese, salami
Snack: Dried fruit
Dinner: Ramen noodles, chicken salad, daiquiri
Snack: Hot chocolate

Sorry about the lack of food pictures....but I will leave you with this:

Kolob Arch, Zion National Park

Food Week: Day 5

2011-09-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well, today's eating could only be described as crap-tastic. :) Cafe Rio for lunch, McDonald's for dinner. Nice.

Breakfast: Oat bran muffin with butter and a protein shake (served in a very cool Joe Cool mug):

Lunch: Cafe Rio Pork Salad (I only at half of this gut bomb):

Dinner: Mark's choice: McDonald's. My choice at McDonald's: Crispy Chicken Sandwich, Medium fries, Diet Coke (Again, only had half of this meal). Man, the Diet Coke is gonna keep me up all night, too. Bad choices happen at McDonald's, that's for sure!

Still, overall, I kept the calories within my goal range.

I'm going "off the grid" for a few nights, so I won't be posting for the next two days until Sunday or Monday. I'm sure they'll be exciting, though, because it will be camping/backpacking meals! Can you say "s'mores"?

Food Week: Day 4

2011-09-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

Wednesday! Whew, over halfway done with this little project. I tell ya, taking pictures of food is not my thing, really. I'm too anxious to eat to keep trying for the perfect shot.

Well, here's today's lineup:

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, avocado, buttered wheat toast
Lunch: Dole Southwest Salad Kit (with less than half the dressing they provide...it's way too much!)
Dinner: Salmon cakes, sweet potato, wild rice and Caesar salad
Snack: Buttered wheat toast and a glass of milk

Dinner tonight was pretty boring looking. Fortunately, it tasted much better than it appears in the photo! I didn't mean to fix a meal that was monochromatic. Ah well. Better planning next time.

Geeking Out

2011-09-28T15:19:00.000-07:00

Oh, man. I'm so looking forward to this thing! I confess, I pre-ordered it today. November 17th is the arrival date. It looks so cool.

Yes, I just got a new Kindle (to replace one that failed). But this baby looks too sweet to pass up.

Yay! :)

Food Week: Day 3

2011-09-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

Today was a bit rough - I had a busy day in clinic with zero time for a real lunch, so had to make do with a protein bar. While it was better than nothing, it just wasn't enough calories! That set me up to be extremely hungry the rest of the day, and I chose a pretty unhealthy (but sooo good) after dinner snack. Ah well, that's the way it goes, I suppose.

Here are the foods for the day:

Breakfast: Another protein shake.

Lunch: Zone Perfect Caramel Chocolate Cluster Bar

Snack: Carrot sticks

Dinner: Stir Fry (zucchini, mushrooms, cabbage, red pepper, red onion, beef, rice); daiquiri

Snack: Two slices of white bread, toasted, with butter and Mark's raspberry jam

I'm sure tomorrow will be better!

Food Week: Day 2

2011-09-26T20:19:00.000-07:00

Mark made the best roast beef for dinner tonight, with some delicious new potatoes and an avocado-tomato salad to start. What a guy!

Breakfast: Banana and berry medley protein shake (served up in one of my favorite mugs), one boiled egg
Lunch: Leftovers! Spinach salad and tomato soup; Marcona almonds (oh, man! these are addicting!)
Dinner: Roast beef, rosemary red potatoes, avocado-tomato salad, and San Pellegrino with a twist of lime

Food Week: Day 1

2011-09-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

It was a great day with some great meals! I realized as I was photographing my food that I need to be a better photographer, otherwise all my pics will be an overhead of a plate. I will try to get more creative as the week progresses. And thank goodness for Picasa - it's totally easy to make a photo collage with that program.

Here's what I ate today, September 25, 2011:

Breakfast: An oat bran muffin (Mark's recipe) with butter, two boiled eggs
Lunch: Chicken enchilada (Eating for Life recipe) with tomatoes, olives & salsa
Snack: Apple & mozzarella cheese
Dinner: Crab cake (home-made), spinach salad (Dole Spinach, Cherry, Almond & Blue Cheese), creamy tomato bisque (store-bought)
Snack: 1/2 of a RubySnap chocolate chip cookie. Mark ate the other half.

I ate a small sample of Aidelles Cajun andouille sausage when I was at Smith's. It was the size of the tip of my little finger, but in the interest of full-disclosure, I included a pic. Yes, I actually bought the product just so I could take a picture of it! Well, I would have (probably) bought it anyway.

I only had water to drink today, so there are no beverage shots. If I drink something else...well, you'll see a picture of it.

That wraps up day one. See you tomorrow night!

A Week of Food

2011-09-24T17:59:00.000-07:00

Just for fun (at least, fun for me, maybe not for you so much. I guess we'll see.), I thought I'd do a week-long series of posts, with photographs, of all the food I eat in a week. Doesn't that sound awesome? I thought so. Really, this is because I have nothing else to do. Have I mentioned that I love being out of school?

So starting tomorrow, Sunday, September 25th, I will be doing a daily post showcasing everything I eat. No editing! If I decide to eat an entire carton of Ben & Jerry's, well, there will be photographic evidence.

Hopefully, you'll see a lot of this:

And not so much of this:

Guess I better go make a menu...

See you tomorrow!

Hello, Fall

2011-09-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd embrace the impending arrival of fall (rather than curl up in a ball, lamenting the passage of summer) with a new twist on breakfast. Nothing says "fall" quite like pumpkin, so I created a new protein smoothie this morning. I substituted some canned pumpkin for my usual frozen berries, and made a delicious breakfast shake:

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup pumpkin
1 medium banana
1 scoop of protein powder

Put all ingredients in a blender and....blend! A sprinkle of cinnamon on top was a nice touch. It has about 350 calories. Easy and delicious!

If you happen to try it, let me know what you think.

Ingredients

2011-09-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have been studying nutrition. Basically, I've been listening to some podcasts from Dishing Up Nutrition and Fat 2 Fit, both interesting and informative talk shows about nutrition and fitness. All of which has me looking for ways to avoid highly processed foods. While I'm not going to turn this into a religion, I think it would be nice to broaden the repertoire of foods to eat that don't come from a package or a can.

While deciding on the menu for this week (Mark and I plan a weekly menu, and then do our grocery shopping based on that), tonight I wanted to make Monterey Chicken Casserole. While most of the ingredients are "natural" and relatively unprocessed (chicken, rice, cheeses, chili, tomatoes, etc.), it does call for a can of cream of mushroom soup. Campbell's is my standby for that, so let's just take a look at the list of ingredients in one can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup:

Water
Mushrooms
Vegetable Oil (Corn, Cottonseed, Canola and/or Soybean)...don't they know?
Modified food starch
Wheat flour
Salt
Cream
Whey (dehydrated)
Monosodium Glutamate (our good friend, MSG)
Soy protein concentrate
Yeast extract
Flavoring
Garlic (dehydrated)

Mmmm, love me some of that MSG and "flavoring"! What does that even mean, "flavoring"?***

So, I decided to make my own cream of mushroom soup. After searching the internet for recipes, I devised something that I thought would work. Here's my list of ingredients:

Mushrooms
Butter
Chicken broth (also homemade, from a real chicken - one that actually got to roam around a farm yard)
Cream
Onion (the real stuff, not dehydrated)
Garlic (also not dehydrated)
Salt
Flour

And that's it. Now, some might say that "flour" is a highly processed food, and it is, certainly. But like I said, let's not get all crazy about stuff.

My recipe made 3 cups, 2 of which I will freeze for future use. It only took about 30 minutes total, including prep time. It looks good...not quite as gelatinous as the stuff in the can, it's really creamy, and it has a nice mushroom-y flavor...with no added "flavoring"!

Am I going to toss out all my canned soup now? No, of course not. I don't think I have time to always make every meal completely 'fresh'. But sometimes, I might choose the alternative (especially now that I have some in the freezer...hope it freezes well).

An now, of course, I don't feel quite so bad about all the Doritos that get crushed and sprinkled on the top!

*** Flavoring agents are substances added to food to improve the quality of taste. Because apparently the product doesn't taste good without it. And by "substance", read "chemicals" - some flavoring agents go by the names "methylphenylcarbinyl acetate" and "ethyl 3-phenylglycidate" (an epoxy compound). I think I prefer flavorings such as "mushroom" and "onion". Or , if you prefer something fancy, Agaricus bisporus and Allium cepa.

San Francisco!

2011-09-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

Mark and I spent a quick 2 days in San Francisco a couple of weekends ago. It had been about 24 years since I was last in San Francisco, and it was so much fun being there! Some of the highlights included:

Dim Sum (I crossed it off the list!)
Chinatown and the live frogs - which must be killed prior to leaving the store.
Alcatraz (we didn't take a tour, but we got to see it)
Hiking up Lombard Street
Lavender Mojitos
Ghirardelli Chocolates
Zuppa Restaurant
SFMOMA
Shopping (window shopping, anyway)

It was fun, exhausting, and totally worth it!

The Making of a Meal

2011-08-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

Took some of this...

And some of this....

Plus a bit of this....

Added a bit of butter, garlic, white wine....and had a great meal!

And no, we don't eat like this all the time. But some of the time.

Love This...

2011-07-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

I'll Drink To That!

2011-07-27T10:03:00.000-07:00

So, I wanted to share some of the fun things that have been happening around here since April. I presented my doctoral project on April 8th, and what a joy it was to be done with that! Graduation was the first week of May, and was basically a crazy week of ceremonies, dinners, parties...

In June, Mark and I took a much needed (and well-deserved) vacation to Germany. We had an amazing time! The city of Berlin is beautiful, and the people were so friendly. We saw all the main attractions, ate some great food, and Mark had a fun time speaking German to all the locals.

July has also been eventful. Most importantly, I passed my boards! Yay! I am now a board-certified acute care nurse practitioner. It's a relief having that task out of the way. Also, I have started my new job with Neurosurgical Associates. Also very cool! I am working in a slightly limited capacity since I'm still waiting for my license, hospital privileges and credentials...basically a whole bunch of paper work needs to be done, and mostly by other people, thankfully. This whole process could take months (but hopefully only weeks), so I'm happy to be able to at least start working in the clinic.

Not to worry, I am using my down-time wisely, working on projects around the house and reading some great novels (The Hunger Games, anyone?).

Hope everyone is enjoying summer!

Cheers!

Two Weeks' Notice

2011-06-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

One of my all time favorite movies. I can watch it over and over again. It's simply classic, with great lines:

Ruth: Your cholesterol is over 300 - you're basically a solid!
Lucy: George, you're the most selfish person on the planet. George: That's just ridiculous. Have you met everyone on the planet?
Helen: Can I get you anything? George: I'd love some Milk Duds. Helen: We don't have any, but I can send out for one. George: Oh, no. Don't be ridiculous. If you're going to send out for one, get a whole box.

It's a "feel good" sort of a movie.

Kind of like how I felt when I told my work I was giving them my two weeks' notice.

Yep, that kind of good! :)

39 Things...

2011-06-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

This was Emma's birthday cake (February, 2011) made by Catherine.

It's that time of year again when another birthday rolls around. Yay! I love celebrating my birthday and don't have too many qualms about the whole growing older thing. As my dad says, it's better than the alternative. So why not embrace a day that's all about me? In fact, why not make it a whole weekend of celebrating? I'm celebrating today with:

- toast and hot chocolate for breakfast
- seeing "Water For Elephants" with Catherine
- lunch at Iggy's with Catherine and Jon
- reading....a novel - no studying for boards today!
- making potato salad in preparation for our weekend in Torrey
- birthday wishes from family and friends
- a bottle of Perrier Jouet champange (thanks, Eileen and Steve!)
- sushi at Takashi....there's food, and then there's sushi

With that, I want to share a list of things...39 things, to be exact, that I plan to do before I turn 40 in exactly one year. Some are easy, some will take some work. Some are already planned, some will need to be worked into the schedule. I will keep you updated as I progress through the list.

39 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40...(in no particular order, except for the last one):

1. ~~Pass my NP boards~~ (7/10/11)
2. ~~Start a new job~~ (7/18/11)
3. ~~Visit Germany~~ (June 19-26)
4. Start Spanish lessons - Rosetta Stone?
5. Do some volunteer work
6. Take a photography class
7. Visit a high school friend
8. Take up a new exercise…barre classes sound really fun
9. Visit Yellowstone
10. ~~Go on a backpacking trip~~ (9/30-10/2/11)
11. ~~Organize the storage closet~~ (8/2011)
12. Make one new friend
13. Try a ballroom dance class
14. Frame my diplomas
15. Make a will
16. Visit the Oregon coast
17. Buy myself a bouquet of flowers - for no reason!
18. Have professional portraits taken of me and Mark
19. Take a sewing class
20. Update one section of my wardrobe
21. Throw a party
22. ~~Buy an “investment bag”~~ (Thanks, Mark! 9/10/11)
23. ~~Try dim sum~~ (8/20/11)
24. Get ripped shoulders and arms
25. Buy a dress for everyday wear (and wear it)!
26. Learn to change a bike tire
27. 39 scrapbook layouts
28. 39 cards
29. Watch a sunrise

30. Watch a sunset

31. Read the plays of Shakespeare

32. Visit a state I’ve never set foot in

33. Go on a horseback ride

34. Take a gun safety class

35. Write and send 39 letters/postcards (not including xmas cards or email, of course)

36. Buy a new desk chair

37. Do 10 pull-ups (right now, I can't do a single one)

38. Go to tea at the Grand America

39. Celebrate all of this with a bottle of Dom Perignon on my 40th birthday!

Now I'm off to pack for our trip to Torrey!

Hello New Day

2011-06-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

I think it's a good time to get a new look for the blog. A new title, a new format, a bit of a theme...and gee, maybe some regular posting!

Check back tomorrow for the kick-off post.

Adios!

A Look Back

2011-01-07T09:52:00.000-08:00

Happy 2011! Before getting too involved in the new year, it's fun to take a look at the past. In no particular order, a few images from 2010.

Mark's trip to Canada, which was reminiscent of our trip to Paris...

A whole lot of studying occurred...

Birthdays were celebrated....

Hanging out with friends...

Pursuing the perfect cocktail...

Starbuck's Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. Enough said...

Cruising around in the new car...

Here's hoping 2011 is filled with fun and new experiences!

Such as graduation, for instance.

For Sale

2010-12-01T14:42:00.000-08:00

2000 Nissan Sentra SE with only 56,000 miles. It has manual trasmission and gets great gas mileage - 30mpg highway.

This is a great little car - spread the word!

Edited 12/3/10 at 21:30..... Sold! The KSL classifieds came through for me!

Surfing the Net

2010-10-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

Instead of studying. Feel like I've been studying for, oh, about the past 2 1/2 years or so.

But I found these, and this one sums up my life right now:

Back to work!

L

Meet the 1

2010-10-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

We have one of these bad boys on its way....

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Vehicles/2011/1/1Explore.aspx

Looking forward to some new wheels.

Loving This Right Now:

2010-10-21T19:54:00.000-07:00

(One of the more random things discovered during my clinical rotations!)

Enjoy!

(Only six more months of school!)

LP

Hello Summer!

2010-06-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

It seems like summer is off to a slow start here. Tantalizing days of sun and warmth, followed by cloudy and cool weather. Bummer!

Mark and I had a blast in Capitol Reef last month, hiking and relaxing with our friends. We spent our evenings playing dominoes and Sequence, with Mark dominating both games.

The summer semester is in full swing, with the usual crazy assignments and a plethora of group projects - which I absolutely hate! But at least it will be over in a few short weeks...eight, to be exact. But who's counting? Oh yeah, I am!

We have a few fun outings planned for the summer, including a weekend up at Alta Lodge for Sam's wedding, and a weekend up at Solitude for the Taste of the Nation. This is a fabulous event, so if anyone's interested, please join us! I've linked you up!

Over and out.

It Can Stop Snowing Now

2010-04-03T14:57:00.000-07:00

Hello!? It's April! I'm ready for some sunshine and warm weather. The heavy coats have simply got to go. Only four more weeks left in this semester, then two weeks (gasp!) off before the summer semester gets underway. Whatever will I do with two whole weeks? Let's see...laundry, clean the fridge, make some freezer meals, work, get ready for the new semester...

It won't be all work and no play. We have one weekend slotted for a trip to Torrey - Capitol Reef National Park. I'm so looking forward to the mini-vacation. Our favorite place to stay is Austin's Chuckwagon Motel. They have these cute little 2 bedroom cabins with a sitting area and kitchen. It makes it easier to be a bit self-sufficient - a quick breakfast and pack lunches for our day hikes. Then we can either splurge and go out to eat at Cafe Diablo or just fire up the grill and throw on some steaks. Ahhh, can't wait.

So four more weeks to go, and with this carrot dangling out in front it shouldn't be too terrible to get through the rest of the semester. Five down...three to go.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

In honor of the greenest of holidays, I thought I'd share a few "green" pictures from the past year...

Happy St. Paddy's, everyone!

March Madness

2010-03-15T21:11:00.000-07:00

12 days of craziness! I spent the last two weeks here....

Twelve days of seeing trauma patients - car crashes, falls, gunshot wounds, bicycle crashes, lacerations - along with assorted complications - ARDS, heart failure, liver failure, brain hemorrhages and such. It was exhausting - 11 to 12 hour days - but it was such a good time. So it's back to real life now, with a bit less drama. And a lot more rest! :)

Proofreading

2010-02-24T19:39:00.000-08:00

I've been writing a paper for one of my classes (about what, you ask? A little bit about the shortage of primary care providers in the US and how expanding insurance coverage to everyone isn't going to do much good if there aren't any providers to see all the newly insured...but I digress). Anyway, so I've always been pretty good about proofreading, but sometimes you just miss an error, and only after you turn the paper in you see it in all its embarrassing glory. So, sometimes it's helpful to have someone else take a look at the paper. Get a fresh set of eyes on it. Sometimes, you don't even have to ask for help, it is just freely given.

Looks like she found an error...I better go fix it.

Blog Hopping Finds

2010-02-19T14:31:00.000-08:00

So I was blog hopping today, like I do, and came across this gem. Love it! What a beautiful voice!

They are an indie duo called Pomplamoose. This song just makes me happy. Hope you enjoy it!

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-15T12:05:00.000-08:00

I've always enjoyed Valentine's Day, but for the past seven years it has had a special meaning for me. On Valentine's Day seven years ago, Mark asked me to marry him! It's fun to celebrate the anniversary of our engagement. This evening, following a day at work, Mark and I celebrated with dinner at Faustina. The food was simply superb - crab legs, ribeye steak and molten chocolate cake. And a bit of champagne, of course. The company was what made the evening special, though. I hope everyone was able to spend the day with someone special!

Blog Revival

2010-02-09T20:39:00.000-08:00

So, I've been thinking about this whole blog thing lately...and I kind of miss it! I like the semi-creative outlet it provides and really, how much time would it take to make a post just once a week? I mean, it's not like school takes up that much of my time! Oh, wait. Yes. Yes it does. Maybe I'll just sacrifice a few minutes of sleep. Check back soon, because next time, there might just be a real post here!

2009...So far, so good!

2009-01-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

Mark and have had a great start to our 2009. We just returned from a week in beautiful Jamaica! It was the perfect way to start the new year...sun, water, sand and relaxation! A perfect combination. We spent our days sunning on the beach, reading, eating great food, drinking great beverages (Rum Runner, anyone?), playing pool, tennis, Scrabble and Quiddler, and listening to some fabulous reggae music. It was just what we needed to get ready for more work and more school.

Speaking of school, which has turned me into the world's worst blogger, I'm finding it much easier to give updates on my life over at facebook.com. So come on over, sign up, and add me as a friend! But beware, Facebook is a bit addicting and possibly a bit annoying at times (remember: you can always use the "ignore" feature - you'll see what I mean).

Happy 2009!

My Poor, Ignored Blog

2008-10-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

Well helloooooooooo.

It's fall break! I have a minute to say hi! Hi!

Yeah, so, where does the time go? Last I checked it was August and I was frantically trying to get organized and ready to go back to school. It's now mid-October, and I'm already half-way through my first semester of graduate school. It's great! Super busy, but great. I pretty much work part-time, go to school and study. Mark works, makes dinner, does the dishes, the laundry and the grocery shopping. Hmmmm. I should have gone back to school a long time ago!

In spite of being very busy, I am enjoying my classes and learning a lot. Mark has been a huge help - I couldn't have asked for a more supportive, wonderful husband! Mark has been spending his free time keeping a wary eye on the stock market and watching some baseball playoff games. I spend my free time going to the gym and going to an occasional lunch with family or friends.

In other news:

In August, our friends Larissa and Shawn adopted a darling little boy! Five-month-old Christopher has already got those two (and everyone else) wrapped around his little finger! Check out those beautiful eyes!

On September 20th, Katie, Mark and I went on a hike up Mt. Olympus. It was so fun, but that was one hard hike! Well worth it, though. It only took us 3 hours to get to the top!

Last week, I had a the opportunity to go to the Body Worlds exhibit. It was amazing. I highly recommend it.

Fall break has been wonderful - I've been reading novels (Breaking Dawn, for one) and have been able to catch up on some homework. Mark and I took a trip to Wendover, NV last night. While Mark played Texas Hold 'Em, I worked on a scrapbook project. It was fun and relaxing. I know that these next several weeks will go by so quickly, with school and the holidays fast approaching. I will certainly try to check in at least a couple of times between now and winter break, but I'm making no promises! If not, Happy Halloween and Happy Thanksgiving! Ha!

By the way, the journal from my last post - I found it at Barnes & Nobel. It is currently sitting on the shelf collecting dust.

Another exercise in creative freedom

2008-07-14T20:06:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about this book?

Wreck This Journal, by Keri Smith. According to the author, "It is about absurdity. A creation. Evidence that you exist. Using materials. Destruction. It is about FUN. Doing the opposite. Breaking the rules. It is about ideas. Getting dirty. Making mistakes. I'm going to ask you to make a mark and it's going to be messy. Don't worry about that. That's the point."

Basically, it's an art journal - a journal that's a combination of writing, scrapbooking, art, and photojournaling. This one, however, has a different twist. Instead of a staring at a blank page in your journal and wondering what to do/write/draw on the page, this book comes with instructions for each page. And most of the instructions have to do with "wrecking" the journal. For example, one page directs you to poke holes in it using a pencil (see below). Another instructs you to tear the page out, crumple it in a ball, and kick it around. It's all about being silly, playing, having fun, and not worrying whether or not you're going to do something wrong and "wreck" your beautiful art journal.

So here's my first page, filled with holes made with colored pencils. Really, it was quite fun poking all those holes. Mark even helped. I'll post more pages as I work through the book. Should be a fun ride!

Have a great week! L

A mini album, a layout, and a semi-funny story

2008-07-08T19:50:00.000-07:00

I'm taking an online scrapbooking class at Big Picture Scrapbooking, and I wanted to share two of the projects I'm working on. The first is a mini album dedicated to my Grandma Gonzales. It's just a simple book sharing a few of the things that stand out in my mind when I think of her. Here are a few pages:

This next layout was an assignment to complete a layout in 30 minutes or less. This was pretty tough, considering the time frame included selecting the photos and supplies. (One of the objectives of this class is to let go of perfection and have more FUN scrapbooking.)

The photos are of Mark, on our wedding day, where he is posing as if he were climbing/hanging from some palm trees. It's kind of a funny story. And here it is: a few days before our wedding, we had seen some cliff divers diving from cliffs (of course) but then also climbing the trees on the cliff and jumping from even crazier heights. So Mark thought he would simulate the cliff diver's feats, from a safer height, on our wedding day. He almost convinced the photographer that he had actually made the jump from the cliff.

Okay, so it's probably funnier if you were actually there. And drinking rum-based drinks.

Happy 4th of July and Congrats

2008-07-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to say hello and happy 4th! Enjoy the hot day, the fireworks and family gatherings. I will be at work, in the operating room, taking care of patients who hurt themselves on the aforementioned fireworks!

Also, congratulations to Ashley, who is expecting baby #3 very soon - her first boy! Brooke hosted a shower for Ashley yesterday and it was so nice to see the family.

Have a fun weekend!

Wasatch Back Relay

2008-06-29T14:58:00.000-07:00

This was a crazy, hot, freezing, exhausting, challenging, fun (yes, fun!) time! Our 12-person team, The Blisters in the Sun, ran 180 miles from Logan to Park City in just under 30 hours. Go team! Just to give you an idea of how we compared, the winning team won in about 17.5 hours. That's super fast. We were super slow. But we survived, and I think I'll try to do it again next year.

Van 1 Team Members: McCall, MaryEllyn, Pete, and a few others

Van 2 Team Members: Frank, Jason, Me, Tammy (our driver!), Sam, Brandon & Jody

Here's a hill I "ran" up. There's a small body of water just to the right of center...that's about where I started.

The big finish!

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-16T18:17:00.000-07:00

Check it out! Two posts in as many days. This most likely will not become a trend.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. I hope you enjoyed your special day. Mark and I had a chance to visit with our dads:

The DVD Mark is holding is titled "A Crude Awakening". It's about Peak Oil. I'll try to get Mark to make a post about the concept of peak oil for those who aren't familiar with it. It might offer some insight as to why oil is at about $140 per barrel these days! Have a great week everyone!

The past few weeks

2008-06-14T20:57:00.000-07:00

Hello again! It's crazy busy around here. I was out of town the past couple of weekends. Where did I go? Let me tell you.

Two weekends ago, Mark and I took a trip to Capitol Reef National Park to celebrate my birthday. We traveled with some friends (Larissa and Shannon) and enjoyed perfect weather and beautiful scenery. Hiking, spending time with friends...gotta love it. I love being able to get away from it all by just by driving a few hours away from Salt Lake City. There are so many fun places to go right in our "backyard". One of our hikes was in Muley Twist Canyon - the desert plants were blooming, and it was all very pretty.

Another hike was to Upper Calf Creek Falls. Simply beautiful!

Last weekend, I went with Katie, Larissa, Shannon, Eileen and Grace up to Logan for the Little Red Riding Hood bike ride, an all-women's cycling event. Usually, this is a great time. Last weekend, however, was just a tad cold! I was so freezing! It ended up being quite miserable for me. On the plus side, though, our group did win the costume contest!

Today I attended a bridal shower for my friend, Hailey. She's getting married this August, and I'm so happy for her!

And next weekend is the Wasatch Back Relay! I'm so looking forward to this event...being over. Yikes. My goal is to survive.

Since I'll be starting school at the end of August, I'm planning the rest of my summer - a few weekend trips and some projects around the house. I'll be sure to keep you updated on these very exciting events!

L

And the winner is...

2008-05-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

Three people were able to find the location of Petunia the Pig...she's located at 336 West Broadway in downtown Salt Lake City. So, Cathy, Debbie and Katie - I put your names in a hat and Mark drew the winner...

Hooray Katie! I'll get your stuff to you later this week at work! Thanks everyone for participating - I'm sure I'll do this again sometime soon.

Sketch This!

2008-05-15T19:46:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share a card I made based on sketch #50 over at Sketch This!, which is a fun blog that offers inspiration for scrapbook layouts and cards. I wanted to use some new dinosaur stamps I recently picked up:

Supplies: stamps & patterned paper: Basic Grey; ink, ribbon: Close To My Heart; textured cardstock: Bazzill; font: Astonished, downloaded from the internet

Happy Mother's Day and a Contest!

2008-05-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms! (And moms-to-be!) Here's my mom with her Mother's Day gift...a little scrapbook with factoids about our family:

The scrapbook was a fun project I put together with some friends last weekend - a nine hour scrapbooking marathon!

Okay, so time for a little contest! Do you know where this sculpture is located?

Whoever guesses the closest will win a set of handmade greeting cards with some fun extra goodies thrown in. If there is a tie, I'll do a random drawing to pick the winner. Just leave a comment with your guess (or email me if you want your guess to be private: loripassey@gmail.com) and on Monday, May 19 I'll post the winner! Good luck! (Contest open to US residents only!)

Frontrunner

2008-05-03T19:36:00.000-07:00

Mark asked me out on a date today - he sprung for tickets on the Frontrunner train, so we traveled up to Ogden for lunch and some window shopping.

He sprung for lunch, too - what a guy! This commuter rail just opened this past week and we both wanted to check it out. It's a pretty sweet ride. We ended up travelling with about 200 members of the "Red Hat Society" - they were almost as rambunctious as teenagers!

In Ogden, we walked from the hub to 25th street, a quaint section of town with various antique shops, cafes and clubs. We lunched at Peddler's, a fun little cafe with a bicycling theme. The tomato bisque was fabulous!

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. Come back to our blog soon - we're going to have a little contest!

L

Key Bank Building Demolition

2008-04-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

This is a bit old, but I'm experimenting adding video to our blog. This is from last August, when the Key Bank building was demolished as part of the downtown mall project. We had a great view from the roof of our building. Enjoy!

A Photo A Day in 2008

2008-04-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a project, a photographic journal of my year. Taking one picture everyday - showing everyday-life stuff. It's been fun, but sometimes it's hard to come up with a subject to photograph. There's a link at the left to all my pictures so far (on Flickr), and you might see there are a lot of food pictures. On the days when I leave for work at 6am and get home at 8pm...well, that doesn't leave a lot of time for that "one shot" that sums up the day - and I can't really take pictures in the OR. So, I snap a picture of dinner! Anyway, take a look if you want. I try to update the photos weekly. So far, I've only missed one day. Have a good day - it's almost Friday!

L

National Jelly Bean Day

2008-04-23T18:04:00.000-07:00

Did you know that yesterday was National Jelly Bean Day? Me neither. The whole Earth Day thing seems to have a larger advertising budget. And perhaps a bit more social awareness. Maybe next year, I'll campaign a little on behalf of the jelly bean. But for now, I do happen to have some of these...

School??

2008-04-14T20:11:00.000-07:00

I was notified today that I've been accepted to the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program at the University of Utah. Hooray! Now I just have to figure out if I'm actually going to do it! Ahhh, three years of school...how exciting does that sound? Exactly. But it's good news nonetheless. Here's the proof...nice picture, Mark.

L

RCPM

2008-04-13T19:11:00.000-07:00

Went to a fabulous concert last night at the Paladium Club here in SLC. Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, a band out of Arizona and one of my absolute favorites. Who? Yeah, they have a relatively small fan base. Maybe you know the theme song to"King of the Hill"? That's basically the same band, formerly known as The Refreshments. As usual, Roger and the boys put on a great show with the typical high-energy that makes them so fun to see. I enjoyed the time with my sister, brother and cousins - thanks to Cathy, for driving; thanks (I think) to Kathleen, for the drinks!

L

Jumping In

2008-04-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

Finally. Were we the last two people ever to start a blog? Okay, maybe not, but it sure seems like many of our family members and friends have blogs already. So here we are, ready to share our lives with...well, everyone it seems. Our goals are to entertain, inform and provide a truly meaningful blog experience for those who visit.

A format issue: Posts will be signed one of three ways: M&L = Mark & Lori - both of us reviewed, signed-off on, critiqued for grammar, spelling and punctuation, and agreed on content prior to posting. M=Mark's posts. L=Lori's posts. Actually, Mark hasn't seen a single word of this one, but I'm fully intending to use the combined "signature". I mean, I'm not taking all the blame for this.

And, for our first post, a photo. This is the view from our condo. Not today, thank goodness. It didn't snow that much the other day.

M&L