Taxes - Check

I know that everyone does them so it isn't a big deal, but it is a good feeling to have completed your Taxes and sent them in.  I'm even feeling good that I accomplished them so early.

The Problem With Technology

I'm a paper book girl.  I love turning the actual paper pages, not just touching a screen to continue reading.  Lately though I have been taking my Nook with me to church to cut down on caring around my big scriptures.  Well, I might just be going back to the normal scriptures.  Today as I sat in Relief Society we were asked to go to a scripture to read as a class.  Somehow I hit something on the screen that started the reading feature on my Nook.  In the middle of the teacher bearing her testimony my Nook started to read out John 4:1.  How embarrassing.  It also didn't help that the Bishop happened to be sitting right next to me.  I guess at least I can be thankful that it was a scriptural passage that started to play on my Nook instead of some other application like my "Minions" app.

Sadly this is not the first time that I have been the cause of unneeded commotion in a quiet "spiritual" setting.  The previous experience was even worse.  When I was young and Giga Pets were all the rage.  I had one.  Every couple of days they would have a birthday and the little game would ring out the tune of Happy Birthday.  On one of the occasions when my little giga pet had a birthday I happened to be sitting in the congregation at a funeral.  Yes, a funeral.  Of all the places to have a Happy Birthday tune ring out.

See technology!  Or maybe it is just me and technology.

Hiccups

Why do we hiccup?  What is it about our bodies that makes us need to make jerky strange movements while inevitably squeaking?  I don't understand it.  I know it has something to do with our diaphragm, but seriously why do we hiccup?

For some reason I tend to get them involuntarily around food.  Why?  After I eat, before I eat, when I think about food.  Why?  My family thinks its hilarious.  I'm glad I can offer them a chuckle.

Booty Dance

You aint never seen a booty shake until you've seen a 4 year old shake it to the song "Turbulence"

Pasta Heaven

So the roomie and I decided that we should start actually cooking dinners and that if we were going to cook we might as well cook together.  Thus now we have started the Wednesday and Thursday night dinners.

All I can say is that our third attempt at this was awesome.  Who knew that a recipe for pasta found on Pinterest could be so heavenly.  Seriously I have found the secret to awesome pasta.  Cook your pasta in chicken broth, add some turkey sausage, saute in a couple of spicy vegetables and then add cheese.  It doesn't get much better than that.

Oops Yet Again

I don't know why I feel that public humiliation is the best way to overcome embarrassment, but in some unknown way I must because I am about to share yet another humiliating point of my weekend.  This morning (Sunday) I was abruptly awoken by myself for reasons I am unaware of currently, but in waking up I always check the clock on my phone to know what time it is.  In picking up my phone the screen lit up and 5:58 am flashed into view.  5:58 am!  I'm going to be late to work (6:00 am)!

Jumping out of bed I ran to my closet, grabbed clothing, ran to my dresser and grabbed a hair tie.  Now all I needed was shoes.  No time for my usual tie on shoes.  I will need the slip-ons (I actually thought this).  Now all I needed to do was run out the door, start defrosting my windshield and get to work.

As I drove feverishly to work the thought did occur to me that the parking lots were pretty empty in the other company parking lots, but oh well, it was 6:00 am.  I pulled into my own companies parking lot and jumped out of the car running to the buildings door to unlock it using my electronic key.  Oh no, it wasn't working.  What was I going to do?  I had an install that I was already 5 minutes late to and now I couldn't get into the building.  I had better text my manager and find out what to do.  You know what I had better also text the owner of the company because he gave me my key card and if my manager didn't respond quickly he (the owner) should have a suggestion.  In doing all of this I walked back to my car in order to stay warm as I awaited a response.

Good thing the radio works in my car because as I sat there the radio DJ started talking about Monday's holiday and I came to the fast realization that it was Sunday and not Monday.  No wonder my key wasn't working.  In lightning speed I texted my manager and the owner back telling them to ignore me and that I realized I had completely skipped over Sunday.  Time to sheepishly drive home, change back into my pj's, get into bed and try to forget the sinking embarrassed feeling wrapping its way around my heart.  At least now I have an entire day that otherwise I would have skipped right over.

Oops

I would like to think that I am not the only woman/girl/female to have ever done this and I have to believe that with the long history of human existence it is statistically unlikely that I am, but if you are a woman have you ever experienced what I just did?  Have you ever walked into a bathroom and realized that there is a man standing there at a urinal and thought...either they have started to put urinals in the girls bathroom or I am in the wrong place!?!

Thank you to the kind gentleman (knowing that this could easily be an extremely embarrassing ordeal for both of us) who jokingly shrugged off my apology while exclaiming that maybe his was in the wrong bathroom.  All I can say is I am very talented at making an about face while exiting a room with tightly closed eyes.  I think that it is a talent that I have just discovered.

Gotta Love Sleep

You know you are no longer a kid when bedtime is welcome and not dreaded.

Sleep Can Be Dangerous

My bed resides right next to a wall and as such many mornings I find myself waking up with my face inches from said wall.  Most of the time this is not a big deal and I don't even think about where my head ended up during the night.  The only downside is every once in awhile if I roll over to quickly or something startles me awake causing me to lift my head quickly I have been know to smack my nose or forehead on the wall.  This does not make for an enjoyable experience.  You try going back to sleep with a nose that is starting to smart from a sudden impact.  Ow.

Death By Chocolate

Somehow and without warning I ended up going to 2 separate and distinct dessert cafes today.  I had no plans to do such and really no desire to ever do it again.  The first was on a whim.  I had spent the day shopping for groceries and other important life sustaining things and on my drive home I decided to stop in and check out a dessert cafe that I had driven past multiple times and wondered on what fair they offered.  It is called "The Chocolate" and they had an array of cakes, cupcakes, brownies, and other sweet filled confections.  Though I was tempted mostly by the tall frosted glass of milk I had ultimately stopped by for something sweet so I ordered a small piece of cake.  It was a moist yellow cake with milk chocolate ganache icing.  It was lovely, but a little too sweet (especially since I haven't been partaking in a lot of sweet things lately).

The second dessert cafe stop also was on a whim, but not my whim.  After a young adult activity at a local ice rink my roommate and I decided to stroll around downtown Provo.  On our wanderings in the chilled night air we walked past a pie establishment and my roommate beckoned that we should go in and sample their offerings.  This cafe created deconstructed pies in which you decide a size, choose a crust, and pick a filling.  I chose a "sample" size, thin mint crust, and what else but chocolate moose filling.  It also was lovely, but a little too sweet.

Both of these establishment receive a thumbs up, but I wouldn't suggest going to both of them on the same day.  It was a little bit of an overkill, but if I'm going to die from death by chocolate I really cant think of a better way to go.

Busy Day

There are some days were it doesn't matter how long or how hard you work you never seem to get ahead.  Every new task just piles on top of each other and you feel like you are about to drowned.  Your heart starts to tighten at the though of the immensity of all that needs to be accomplished and you start to fear that you will never not feel this way.  With each small victory more comes to weigh you down and you start to loose sight of the sun as if you were in a room slowing filling in around you with stacks of things required of you.

Don't worry though, you will make it through and see the sunlight again.

Let Sleeping Cats Lie

Sometimes there is nothing better than a cat sleeping on your lap as you read a good book.

Midnight Car Wash

Have you ever had an idea, known it was a bad idea, went ahead and did it, and then wondered why you did?  Well I have.  Case in point.  On Friday I was able to pick up my car from the auto repair shop and to my great joy their skillful hands had made my car look better than it did when I first bought it.  I tell you this in order for you to understand the reasons behind my bad idea.

On Saturday my brother needed to travel up to Salt Lake and to save on gas (his truck is a gas guzzling beauty) he asked if he could use my car.  Of course he could, the only sad thing was that in driving up to Salt Lake my car became covered in dirt and grime from the snow dampened roads.  The car that had been returned to me in pristine condition now looked as if it was on the losing side of a dirt fight.  It was in need of a thorough washing.

All Saturday as I went about my normal activities I kept thinking that I should just stop by a car wash and give my car a quick scrub down.  Did I do it?  No.  On Saturday night as I prepared to wind down and eventually head to sleep the image of my dirty car kept entering my head and I had to do something about it.

Grabbing a bowl of hot water and a dark rag (so as not to look too dirty afterwards) I went out into the freezing night air and started to wipe down my mud splattered car.  After 2 bowls of water and well frozen hands I completed my task and went inside to get warm.  Now you might be asking why it was such a bad idea.  Well, it was dark, it was freezing, I'm pretty certain that I just moved the dirt around on my car, and in all truthfulness my car didn't NEED to be cleaned at 9 pm at night.  I could have easily waited until Monday when it was actually daylight.  Why do I do these things?

Time To Try

A couple of dented in fingers later and I now know a song on the guitar.  I struggle with it and it isn't up to time, but I'm happy with my progress so far.  I've come to realize that it is never too late to try.  Just look at Julia Child.  She is a great example to me.  She didn't realize what she was truly passionate about until she was middle aged and she in her own small way changed the world.  Never think you have passed your chance.

Lèche-vitrines (Licking The Glass)

The French call it Lèche-vitrines or licking the glass.  We American's call it window shopping.  What a beautiful way to express the joys of taking in life, especially the elements of it that surround food.

I feel that we have truly diminished the art of food.  With our prepackaged, homogenized, no flavor fair that we eat everyday we have truly lost the greatness that is such a basic part of living.  Oh to be French and everyday go to your favorite crèmerie for cheese and butter, or your local boucherie for your meat.  What fun it would be to visit a great charcuterie for your sausages and then grab some fresh bread from the boulangerie.  Finally you could top it all off by stopping by to grab a pastry at the pâtisserie.

Food the way that we Americans see it is not beautiful.  It is not accessable.  Great food is only experienced once in awhile when someone decides to splurge and go out to a resturant or search high and low to find a shop that actually sells more than the normal boring sameness that overruns everything.

Sometimes I just wish that I could experience food the way that it is meant to be experienced.

Learning The Guitar Hurts Your Fingers

You heard me!