HAHA!

:]

RE

Turquoise Tuesday...

Turquoise Tuesday...

Mr. Dude...

I have hesitated doing this for a while, seeing as my blog is public and all. But, the time has come. I always share my worst, most horrible dates with coworkers, friends and family. Some are just too good not to share. See, I have this really great talent. If you want to find a secret psycho/narcissist/master manipulator/overall creep here are the steps you should follow.

1. Bring me with you into a room
2. Wait
3. The boy/man that is attracted to me is your guy.
4. Wait.
5. After our first, second or third date, it will come out. 
(They may be sneaky about hiding it, but it is there)

Well, my mom has always told me that if you think something is everyone else, it is probably you. Does that make sense? So, maybe I’m psycho/narcissistic/a master manipulator/a creep but these stories are just too awesomely painful not to share. I mean, if anything you can look at your significant other and just be so grateful they would never be attracted to me.

I also wish that I could show you pictures of these guys, like really. But, at risk of being sued for defamation of character or something ridiculous I will not. Maybe I could draw them? Oh wait, I can’t draw. So, for now they will be called my nicknames.

If you happen to be one of the guys that I discuss, please take this as some constructive criticism or just find a girl that likes your kind of crazy. We are all crazy in our own way, but unfortunately your crazy did not meet up with my crazy. Such is life. You tell your friends how ridiculous I am, really. I encourage it.

Finally, there are many great dates that I have been on. I have sincerely loved so many of the guys that have taken me out. I am so grateful for the good and the bad. Really, I am. The bad dates make the good ones so much better.

Anyways, on to the good stuff.

So, let us discuss Mr. Dude. A good friend invited me on a double date. I had met the guy that she was going on a date with, nice enough guy. Cute, fun and seemed like he had his life together. She told me that a friend of his thought that I was cute (not quite sure where he saw me, considering my FB page was on security lockdown…) but, I thought, “hey, why not!” Attempting to be open and willing to meet new people, I decided to go.

Turquoise Tuesday...

 

Can you imagine living in that cottage!? Waking up every morning to that view would be surreal. Who wants to be my roommate!?

RE

Give a little listen...

Turquoise Tuesday...

City Creek Center.

This mall is AMAZING. 

We first walked in and were greeted by the most gorgeous Nordstrom. It was all new and shiny and wonderful.

I found these little beauties and these. (Hello, my name is Rachel and I am a Sperry addict.)

The weather was perfect. It felt like summer.  We put our names down for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then walked around the mall. I am such a dork, but I was super excited all day to get up to Salt Lake and walk around the mall. I was like a little kid in a candy shop. 

We sat outside at the Cheesecake Factory and all five of us agreed that we felt like we were on vacation. We even ventured to say we felt like we were in Hawaii! It was so true. There is nothing like good weather, good company and good food.

Me and Jess waiting while the 40 minute wait turned into and HOUR AND FORTY MINUTES! I was about ready to gnaw on my arm by the time I got my food!

All in all, great day.

RE

Kelly Clarkson Concert

I

1. Kelly Clarkson, your lyrics are incredible. Your voice is unbelievable. I love your music and will always play it full blast, with the windows down. I may or may not still cry every time I hear a few of your songs. **Already Gone.
2. Matt Nathanson, you're gorgeous. Thank you for giving empirical evidence to my theory that when a man can play a guitar and sing he automatically becomes 1,000x more sexy.
3. I touched Kelly Clarkson. 
4. Not once did I want to sit down and I didn't care one bit that my screaming/singing would give me a hoarse voice the next day.
5. Going to concerts with people that are there to have just as much fun as you are = awesome.

RE

Parents Come to Town!

My parents made the 12 hour drive out to my brother and I this past weekend. They came so my dad could ordain my brother. It was so fun having them for the weekend, I've got a pretty great family. If I may say so myself.

My dad's birthday is March 14th, so we had a family dinner with all of the family in town. They got to my house and found that we were waiting for them, with dinner, and ready to celebrate my dad's birthday. My dad turned 48! Weird!

 I made him a black forest cake, it's a little messy looking. Don't judge too harshly, it was my first time!

We spent a lot of time playing games, catching up, laughing and running errands.  On Saturday they took my brother and I to Costco and stocked us up with good food. It was so nice of them! We saw a movie, played more games, went out to eat with Wendy and Casey and then went to Chris' ordination Sunday morning.

It was a special experience to be there as my dad ordained my brother. You could tell it meant so much to both of them.

The weekend went by way too fast. After my parents left I just crawled into bed and slept (my extremely healthy coping mechanism) until I woke up to go eat dinner (another great coping mechanism) at the Beres'.

RE

Snowshoeing.

 Wendy and Brian were kind enough to invite me and some friends to go snow shoeing.

I had never been before and was excited for the opportunity. 

It was a gorgeous day! We all ended up taking off our jackets as we stomped through the gorgeous, often untouched snow.

Note: If you are going snowshoeing and you want to rent your snowshoes from Utah County, reserve them the night before. Those darn Boys Scouts snatch them all up! 

Anyways, it was beautiful. We had snowball fights, built a HUGE snowman, laughed, talked and enjoyed the scenery.

 We had grand plans of going out that night, but after coming home we just wanted to stay home. I made some artichokes and we sat around Spencer as he showed us his bears. Then, of course, we played Ticket to Ride. Amber and I tied, I didn't even know that was possible!

A big thank you to Wendy and Brian for including us, it was a great day. I didn't know I could love an activity that much that involved snow :)

RE

Visiting Lindsay in Houston!

I  was able to go see my cousin/sister/bff Lindsay in Houston a few weekends back. I loved every second of the trip. You know those people in your life that just get you? Even if they don't agree or think that something is weird, they get it? She gets me.

We laughed the whole weekend. Not exaggerating. We would lay in bed at night and laugh until we cried (luckily it was just until we cried, not until someone passed out. I'm still too traumatized for that to happen again).

My trip started in the SLC airport. I was flying standby. Got to the airport at 4:45am. I made a friend while I was there, she's lovely and possibly the most well behaved baby I have ever met. 

The security line was ridiculous, I have never waited that long in SLC before. I watched the sunrise from my gate and the planes taking off were gorgeous against the sunrise.

I missed the first flight that left at 6:45 by TWO seats. Then, I missed the next flight by three seats. Then, I wasn't eligible to be on the next flight because of the merger process. The last flight came around, I had been in the airport for 12 hours at this point and had already talked to Lindsay about what we would do if I didn't make the flight.

Then, the angel of a Continental Airlines lady called my name. When she gave me my boarding pass I almost started crying (weird, I never cry!?) and I told her I could just kiss her. "Please don't ma'am". ....Awkward.

I had been sitting in the airport for 12 hours, made some great friends but didn't have an ounce of makeup left on my face and I'm sure I was smelly. Oh yeah, and I was starving and exhausted. Deadly combo.

I got on the flight and there was an elderly gentleman with his headphones on and singing at the top of his lungs. He was adorable. I sat down next to Rob (my new Houston friend) and fell asleep immediately. I slept for 3/4 of the flight and then Rob and I chatted about his job, his family and what I needed to do in Houston while I was there. He lives in Houston and had no problem letting me know what a great place it was.

Rob was the nicest man. He waited for me to get my carry-on and then walked me to the baggage claim, to make sure I didn't get lost. Then he showed me where to wait for Lindsay and headed home. I already loved Texas/Texans!

Then I saw a white Jetta (what Lindsay used to drive) and ran (in heels, two suitcases rolling behind me and looking suppppper cute) to the car. I started yelling and was so confused when a Hispanic man looked at me and then rolled up his window. Oh yeah...Lindsay got a new car. :)

Then I saw Lindsay! It was a glorious reunion. I told her I needed to eat, immediately. I hadn't eaten all day and was starting to get that nauseating feeling that comes without food.

We headed to Papa's to get some Texas BBQ and the biggest Diet Coke I have ever seen in a restaurant!  As we took pictures in the restaurant everyone that was eating had no problem staring and (I'm sure) wondering why were so animated and loud, even the lady with curlers in her hair took a little gander.

When we were being rung up, the employee asked if we would like a side of bread. Of course! He handed us two slices of Wonderbread in a sandwich bag. I found it hilarious. He didn't think it was so funny.

In addition to laughing all weekend, we ate all weekend. This is no exaggeration. Lindsay showed me how to find the secret word to get a free sprinkles cupcake! One night we got our free cupcakes, our Diet Coke and Coke in old glass bottles and headed out to see "The Artist". If you haven't seen it, go. Now. It is so good. And it was so fun being in an old theatre with our glass bottles and fancy cupcakes. Don't worry, I got some popcorn too.

Throughout the time I wast there we ate at the 59 Diner, The Hobit Cafe, Sprinkles (x7), The Breakfast Klub and more. I just can't remember their names.

We also visited the Guild Shop, where I found this little vase that I love. 

Oh, don't worry. Those are horses in a grocery store parking lot. I wanted to take one and check it on the plane. BEST SOUVENIR EVER.

Lindsay had an Oscar's Party, 5TH ANNUAL!!!! We had a little cable crisis Saturday night. No cable meant no party, and we were not just about going to let that happen.  After a few hours of untangling cords, reading manuals, plugging and unplugging, waiting on hold with Comcast, waiting for a box to magically turn on (thank you Comcast lady) and threatening the cable box, we gave up and went to bed.

My brain just needed some time to think about everything. When I woke up, I put the cable into the cable out on the wall and we were done. Thank you ABC for being a basic cable station.

While I was in Texas I got to spend time with my cousins Matt and KayLa. It was my first time meeting KayLa since her and Matt got married. It was so fun getting to know them better and spending time with them. They took me to lunch at an incredible Greek restaurant. Our waitress had a European accent, but we couldn't figure out where she was from. We asked her and she said we had to figure it out on our own. After guessing extensively, she gave us a hint. "Why did you come here?". We still couldn't get it.  Finally, I pulled out my phone and cheated. Hungary. DUH!

Oh, if I look particularly fat in the picture with my cousins, it is because I am. I wish I could say I got a really big bee sting, or was having some crazy allergic reaction to something. Nope, just fat.

Linds and I also went to the dog shelter. :) I was in heaven. As I was talking to one of the dogs (thinking no one else was in the room) a man turned around the corner and said "Wow, you really love dogs, don't you?"....so embarrassing.

The last night that I was there we headed into Korea town. There were no signs in English. When we pulled up to A+ Foot Massage I'm pretty sure the restaurant next door had a cat roasting on their spit. We were very hesitant. Then, we went inside. Perfectly clean with courteous staff. We were taken into a back room where we could get our massage together (aw presh) and it was INCREDIBLE!

$20 for the best hour long massage of your life. If you're in Houston, look them up. A+ Foot Massage, just don't mind the roasting cat meat next door.

I had so much fun in Houston. I loved the city, but I love Linds the most. No matter where we end up, we will always be able to visit each other and have the best times.

Meow.




RE

Happy International Women's Day

Celebrate today! Celebrate women. Educate yourself. Do something today that will set it apart from other days. 

It will be worth it, I promise.

At the least, express your love to those women that mean the most in your life. 

Do it!

And here is a poem that I love.

Phenomenal Woman

BY MAYA ANGELOU

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size  

But when I start to tell them,

They think I’m telling lies.

I say,

It’s in the reach of my arms,

The span of my hips,  

The stride of my step,  

The curl of my lips.  

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,  

That’s me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,  

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.  

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.  

I say,

It’s the fire in my eyes,  

And the flash of my teeth,  

The swing in my waist,  

And the joy in my feet.  

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered  

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can’t touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them,  

They say they still can’t see.  

I say,

It’s in the arch of my back,  

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

Now you understand

Just why my head’s not bowed.  

I don’t shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.  

When you see me passing,

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It’s in the click of my heels,  

The bend of my hair,  

the palm of my hand,  

The need for my care.  

’Cause I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

RE

Turquoise Tuesday...

Turquoise Tuesday...

Valentine's Day Cookies.

I doubled this recipe and forgot to double the flour :) So, after a batch of pancake cookies I finally figured it out and remedied the situation.

Crisis averted.

RE

Vegas.

Amber and I made a quick (yet marvelous) decision to head out to Vegas for the weekend. We celebrated Amber's birthday, enjoyed the sun, shopped and relaxed.
It as an excellent weekend packed full with good food, manicures, pedicures, massages and staying up all night talking and laughing.

It started snowing on the way home.  We stopped to get lunch in Beaver and looked super cool in sandals and t-shirts while snowflakes the size of my face were falling.

RE

Snowboarding

Amber invited me to spend the day at the Canyons two weeks ago. It was absolutely gorgeous.

I'm not a very good snowboarder! But, I try. :) My poor body is still recovering. But, I made it off the lift a whole THREE times without falling and rolling out of the way! Which is, sadly, improvement.

RE

Jess' 1/2 Birthday

Last year I surprised Jess with a 1/2 birthday dinner.  Her birthday is July 8th and we never get to celebrate it together.  She was in Uganda last summer and will be in Switzerland this summer, so I decided to do another dinner...it was just a month late.

I don't know how I was so dumb, Jessica and I were at dinner with Wendy when I brought up her 1/2 birthday.

Me "I can't wait to celebrate your 1/2 birthday!"
Jess "It's already passed..."
Me "No it hasn't, your birthday is in July. So, August, September, October, November, December, January and then February!" (Don't worry, I was counting on my hands and had seven fingers up at this point)
Jess "Right Rach...that's seven months"
Me "Right. ........................ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

Anyways, it was a little late, but it was fun. I made goat cheese and sun dried tomato stuffed pork. And everyone else brought sides. I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with everyone throughout the evening.

I made a 13 layer cake for dessert. It was my first time making it, and everyone was kind about the layer that was way too crunchy :)

Happy 1/2 Birthday Jess! I love you mucho. She's such a good friend, I'm lucky to have her in my life!

RE

The Month of Love...

“This Valentine’s Day you should go see that scary movie that’s coming out, buy some good ice cream and take a hot bath. You don’t have to deal with any of that love nonsense if you don’t want to!”

While this statement was made with the best of intentions, I wasn’t quite sure how to respond. You see, in August I broke off my engagement…two weeks before the wedding. It was heartbreaking. I know that I was the one to break it off, but I was hurt and felt betrayed. I was so excited to bring a whole new family into my life and love them for eternity. I tried my absolute hardest, but that love was never reciprocated. I worked so hard to change to finally gain the approval and love of those that I was seeking that from. Many tears were shed. Tears of frustration, tears of anxiety, tears of pain and tears of exasperation. Breaking off the engagement was the best decision and the hardest decision I have ever made. I was told by a church leader that if I really loved my fiancé, I would walk away because the engagement was not right and our relationship was no longer of God. A love of God is between a man and a woman, with no wedges. It is the responsibility of the man and the woman to get rid of those wedges immediately if they wish their marriage to be successful and covenant abiding.

I am so grateful for him and his wise words. He later expressed that they were hard for him to say that he was almost afraid to take such a strong stance. Luckily, he did. He said exactly what I needed to hear.

But see, the next part is the most interesting part of the story. As I walked away from the man that I loved more than anything in this world I expected to spiral into a loveless, dark and dreary time in my life. To my surprise, I was surrounded with more love than I had felt in the previous four months, combined.

My mom cried with me and let me cry into her lap on the drive home. She made me a bed on her bedroom floor, just in case I was having a sleepless night and needed that comfort that I needed so often when I was younger and had a scary dream. She offered to sleep in my bed with me, if I needed her.

My dad protected me and defended me. As I drove with them that night I laid down in the backseat and just closed my eyes.  The song “I’m a Believer” from the Shrek soundtrack came on the radio and he immediately changed the station. His had was ninja fast to the radio. My mom said, “Hey! I liked that song!” he responded and said “No songs about love right now. I don’t want her to feel worse than she already does.” He came into my room over the next few days when I was laying in bed all pathetic like and crying just to sit with me and listen.

My parents kept telling me how proud they were of me. 

My brother came home that night with my favorite ice cream in hand. He sat in bed with me and we played games until I was so tired I knew I would go right to sleep.

My nana stood out of her chair and shouted hallelujah when I told her. Came to me and held me and told me, “I am so happy for you. You never have to be told that you are not good enough again” and my Bobba told me how proud he was of me being strong enough to do this and let me know that I had everything to gain in the future.

My aunt talked with me outside of her house. We started talking when it was light and stopped talking when it was dark. She also told me how proud she was of me and related experiences from her own life to let me know that I was not alone in feeling the way I was feeling throughout the time I was engaged.

I had cousins, friends and complete strangers open their arms, their homes and their kayaks to me. I was literally and figuratively surrounded and embraced by love.

A woman gave me a hug in church, sat down behind me and said, “I want you to know how proud I am of you. And how grateful I am that you have been such an incredible example to my daughter.”

I didn’t feel like an example. I felt like an embarrassment. I felt ashamed and sad. I wanted to go bury myself in the 150+ pounds of tri-tip my parents had bought for the reception while wearing the gorgeous wedding dress that my mom had spent a LOT of money on.

People let me know that they understood, that I wasn’t alone, that I was always loved. There was an outpouring of love, relief and pride in my decision from all of those around me. People that I didn’t know and people that I didn’t know knew me reached out to me. When I called to cancel the sealing ceremony the woman said, "I just feel like I need to tell you that you will be calling again to make an appointment. Your Heavenly Father loves you. You are doing the right thing."

I will never be able to adequately express what those weeks felt like.

My mom quietly and inconspicuously tied together all of the loose ends that needed to be tied together. She did the cancelling, the writing, the refunding, the returning, the stamping and the sending without ever making me feel guilty or even mentioning the time and effort that she had to put into the details of cancelling the wedding I had called of. 

I didn’t wear hardly any makeup or eat hardly any food for a week. And those around me put up with my random outbursts of tears and loved me anyways.

Amazingly, it was in those weeks that I felt a revival of that belief and hope of love. I had been told for so long that the essence of who I was, was “wrong”. The idea that someone could love me, for me and not ask me to change intrinsic principles and traits to please others was foreign. The idea that those that I was desperately seeking approval from would reach out to me and love me, was absolutely absurd.

In the weeks and months after I broke off my engagement the idea of a healthy, reciprocated love was a hopeful thought rather than an impossible and unattainable idea. 

I love love. I will always love love. I am so grateful for those in my life that have loved me and that do love me. I learned so much throughout this experience and I am hopeful about love. My ideas and outlooks have changed and I have grown, but I will always love love.

I will never go see a scary movie on Valentines Day and curse men while eating a gallon of ice cream. ((I don’t even really like most ice cream))

Like my pal Alfred Lord Tennyson said in his Poem  "In Memoriam"

I hold it ture, whate'er befall;

I feel it, when sorrow most;

'Tis better to have loved and lost

Than never to have loved at all.

Cheers!

RE

Turquoise Tuesday...

Turquoise Tuesday...

Turquoise Tuesday...

Recently there has been a MAJOR lack of color in Utah. It has been a relatively snow-less winter which means that everything is just dead. Dead and brown. Dead and brown and UGLY. I guess I would complain if there were a lot of snow as well, maybe I'm just a big complainer. I am tired of brown ugly grass, barren trees and grey skies. It feels like the revenge of the crayons that were never used.

So, today the turquoise has been inspired by my daydreams - warm sunny beaches, white sand, water that is so clear and blue you can see your toes when you are standing in it. I want to hop into my bathing suit, throw on a floppy hat, build a sandcastle, have a mud war, rinse off and read a book on the beach while letting my disgustingly and disturbingly white/pale Utah skin sizzle in the sun.

Unfortunately, bills have to be paid. Work has to be done. I guess I'm just a slave to capitalism, a cog in the machine.

On a happier, more turquoise, note I hit a running milestone for myself yesterday! It may seem small and insignificant to all of you runners out there. But, for me, who was so fondly referred to as the "caboose" in all athletic runs through high school, I believe I have come a long way.  Last night, I ran 3 miles in 30 minutes. That's right. I RAN THREE MILES! IN THIRTY MINUTES! .....only five more to go! Bring it on Ragnar.

RE

It's the little things, like...

Remembering Christmas.

The music, the smells, the decorations, the love and the best part is being home with the people I love the most in this world.

Only 346 days until we get to do it again!

RE

War Horse

So, of course I went to see War Horse. Hollywood makes a movie about animals, I'm there. Especially horses or dogs. Anyways, I've seen War Horse twice now. I love it. The first time that I saw it I wasn't quite sure how I felt because of how attached I got to the horse (of course) and how hard it was to watch parts of the movie.

Anyways, I saw it again. I love it. I just love that film! If you haven't seen it, go see it! It gives a great historical perspective and a new perspective on war.

My favorite part of the film is when a grandfather and granddaughter are talking in their home.  Earlier in the day soldiers had come and ransacked their home. The grandfather did nothing to stop the soldiers, he simply and strongly protected his granddaughter. She accuses her grandfather of being a coward for not fighting back and asks him if he has ever done a brave thing in his life.

He responds to her question...

"Did you know the French have the best courier pigeons? And this could be the difference in the war, our messages getting through."

"I don't want to hear about the birds."


"They are released at the front and told to go home. This is all they know. But to get there, they must fly over a war. Can you imagine such a sight? Here you are flying over so much pain and terror. And you know you can never look down, you have to look forward or you'll never get home. I ask you, what could be braver than that?"

Here's to not looking down. To moving forward, flying hard, making progress and bravely getting home.

Cheers.

RE

Turquoise Tuesday...

 

RE 

A day to remember...

I submit to you that if a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live. 

Martin Luther King Jr.

RE