Convenience, To the Extreme

So, on my flight back to San Francisco, I saw this vending machine in the Salt Lake Airport. I don't know if you can see it very well but you can buy HOT sandwiches, pizzas, and chicken all "fresh" from a vending machine. I don't know whose definition of "fresh" this is, but it isn't mine. But, I guess if you are hungry for a hot meal and have $4 to spare, it can be yours at the push of a button.

I mean, to me, the Automat concept that they now have in NYC makes more sense to me because it is actually attached to a restaurant where they make the food so it is somewhat more "fresh". I still haven't actually seen the Automat in NYC- that will have to be for my next visit.

FUN FRIDAY!

Last Friday was such a FUN day- and for the WHOLE day too.

In the afternoon, I went with my cute pregnant friend Dyan Johnson, to the FREE San Francisco Symphony outdoor performance. We actually managed to find our way to downtown San Jose, and- and even more amazing feat- were able to find meter parking, which turned out to be FREE since the meter was out of order. (A note on the parking meters in downtown San Jose- we found several of them- streets worth- that had a maximum limit of 12 minutes. I can understand one or two but truly, who does something downtown for only 12 minutes. This is more ridiculous than Boston). We were able to get close seats to the symphony and enjoyed an incredible FREE 50 minute performance. Here's some photos of the symphony. (I apologize for these- the sun is really quite blinding and you can hardly see anything- just more evidence that I need to take a photography class).

They opened with Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man", a very appropriate way to begin this free concert to the commoners of the bay area.

Here's the rest of their program- and I really did enjoy every piece that they played
- John Adams "Short Ride in a Fast Machine"
- Prokofiev- Suite from Romeo and Juliet
- Gershwin- "Cuban Overture"- which was such a fun one to end on.

And I was so happy that Dyan was there to enjoy it with me- and we decided that we are going to take our husbands to another concert sometime.

Then, that night, I had the opportunity to attend Clara Barr's 3 year old birthday party at The Jungle. Clara made a special request that I come, so I couldn't disappoint her. It truly was FUN times. For those who don't know, The Jungle is a San Jose thing, a mix between Jungle Jim's Playland in Utah and Chuck E Cheese. They have the play area and then game/token area.

Clara LOVED the balls. She kept going back to them, and back to them, and her sweet dad Adam was kind enough to indulge this birthday wish. Here are several photos of Clara and her daddy in the sea of plastic balls and one with her cousin Lexy.

Adam and Lexy were able to convince her to go once through the rest of the play stuff- but only once. Here she is climbing up to the top

Clara was just so excited about her birthday and especially the ZEBRA bank that she won- just check out that adorable face
And Clara also got to enjoy her favorite food- PIZZA- with her cute mom Lianne- as you can see, Clara really LOVED that pizza!
The fun didn't end there. I taught Clara how to play my favorite game, Skee Ball, but she decided that she liked her own twist better of actually running up to the net and back for the balls.
Oh, but lest you think that this is only a place "just for kids", there are also things to be had for the "kids at heart"- aka me and William.

Here I am playing my favorite- SKEE BALL

Here William and I are having dual races on motorcycles- William definitely was the better rider.

Just in case these games weren't your style, DON'T WORRY. They have WIRELESS INTERNET- and we saw one dad who was very grateful to have it

What a FUN birthday party- and the most fun was being with the birthday girl Clara.

Phew! Sounds like a fun busy day, huh . . . . well, the fun didn't end there. Also in the shopping center near the Jungle, there was also a HALLOWEEN COSTUME Shop- so William and I definitely had to stop by. Here's my personal favorite of William the Warrior. YEA! My knight in shining armor ALREADY rescued me!!! Isn't he handsome :-) Here are some of the funny costumes we saw- it definitely would take a UNIQUE person to wear these . . . . . .

We were able to have ALL of this fun, and we didn't even have to sign a waiver like we would have if we had stopped at Pumpkin Patch to ride the giant WAVE OF FIRE ( a big inflatable slide). Boy, some activities have sure changed since I was a kid!

Sarah's Birthday Celebration!

This post is in honor of my dear, sweet sister SARAH! I had the pleasure of being able to celebrate her birthday with her this year, something that has not happened for a long time. And let me tell you, it was truly a day of CELEBRATION!

My mom and I drove down to Provo where we picked up Sarah and then went to the Minerva Teichert: Pagents in Paint exhibit now on view at the BYU Museum of Art. Overall, there were truly some INCREDIBLE images- she portrays a lot of processions. I really like her for her impresionistic/post impressionist style of free brush strokes and colors- and she does a great job of framing her pictures with additional borders. However, I did have one problem with their characterizing her paintings as "pagents"- it really just seemed like a stretch to me, but that's my own view. You can decide for yourself with some samples below.


Afterwards, we then went and saw the World of Dance performance by all of the performing dance companies at BYU. It was pretty good- I especially enjoyed the French romance themed ballet .

Then, we went up to the Conference Center where, despite the rain and cold, were able to attend the Relief Society General Broadcast. It was so neat to be there with my sweet mother and sister and to hear the beautiful music and great talks from the new RS presidency.

THEN, it was dinner time. Salt Lake for the first year did a restaurant week that they called 'Dine O'Round'. But, unlike Boston, they had fixed price 3 course meals for not just $30 but $15!!!!! (Only in Utah could you find such a great deal). But, SLC really hasn't quite figured out restaurant week yet- at least for 2 of the 3 places I tried. We went to Garden Cafe at Grand America and they only had 1 option for each and the selection at Bambara wasn't much better so we just ended up getting things off the regular menu. BUT, Christophers $15 truly had it right- several GOOD options for the main course and other courses (so way to go for them!). For Sarah's birthday, she wanted to go to Bambara and despite the poor restaurant week choices, IT WAS FABULOUS! EVERY single thing we got was incredible. We shared a calamari appetizer (so tender), and then each of the Stults women got the prawn and fettuccini and EVERYONE was just so happy they got their own and didn't have to share because it was that good. Here is the adorable birthday girl showing off the goods

We also each got a side of blue cheese and bacon au gratin potatoes (yum). I was SO satisfied by the end of that. And then, came the desserts. Sarah got a chocolate dessert but our waiter was super and brought us out an additional CREME BRULEE since it was her birthday. Now that was "to kill for" as my dad said. I was so full but that was so good that I couldn't stop eating it and so my dad and I devoured that while Sarah and mom had the chocolate one. Such FABULOUS food is worth every calorie and every penny (thanks Dad!)

Then, we went home and watched Sarah open up her gifts. Here she is with all of the booty
Here is Sarah again with her second favorite present (the first is the Hello Kitty designer cell phone case I gave her)- a audio CD by Hugh Nibley talking about the temple.
WOW! It truly was such a great birthday celebration that only did partial justice to show how WONDERFUL, INCREDIBLE, BEAUTIFUL and TALENTED my sister Sarah is! Love ya doll! Thanks for letting me spend this special day with you!

Danielle's Wedding

So, one of the reasons why I stayed in Utah for an extra week was to attend the wedding of my longtime friend, Danielle Jones. Danielle and I were in the same ward for junior high and high school and even carpooled to school together. We had some FUN times- she was one of the co-creators of the KNOCK list (see my time capsule post for more info). Anyways, I actually brought the KNOCK list to her reception and we had a good laugh about it- and her husband did too.

Here's me and Michelle Bonnet with the BEAUTIFUL bride. Dude, she is SUCH a babe!

Dude, she is SUCH a babe!
I also got to visit and catch up with some of my other friends from that same ward- Michelle, Brooke Zentner Marsh, Lindsasy Jaffa (and I don't remember her married name) and Mindie Recksiek Christensen (I still will forever use their maiden names since that's just how I remember them). Here's Brooke and her adorable little boy, Michelle, and me reminiscing about the good ole days and catching up on our current adventures.
And this photo was just TOO CUTE to pass up. It is of Danielle's nephews truly enjoying the wedding cake
As you can see, good times were had by all.

MMM Cereal

So, one of my current favorite eats (besides ice cream, which is ALWAYS the fave) is CEREAL. But, not the traditional way, in a bowl with milk. No, I'm more of a fan just eating the cereal directly from the box- dry. I like the crunchy taste (not soggy from milk) and full flavor undiluted by the milk. My current favorites to munch on are Reeses Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cap'n Crunch with Crunch Berries (MUCH, MUCH better dry). I am also a HUGE fan of cereal treats- these consist of traditional Rice Krispie treats with marshmellows, the SPECIAL peanut butter chocolate rice krispies introduced to my by my friend Melba (WARNING- THESE ARE SUPER ADDICTIVE), Indoor Smores (from Golden Grahams), and Muddy Buddies (from Chex).

MMM- the AMAZING, YUMMY Goodness of CEREAL.

Hey, its better than CARPET isn't it- yes, I am not making this up. Check out this sign that is off the California 101 Freeway in between Mountain View and San Jose. This is a REAL BUSINESS!
Personally, I don't know why anyone would say MMM, Carpet - unless you were a vacuum . . . .

The Saga Continues. . .

So, you thought that finding a human leg in the BBQ smoker that you bought is weird, well, the story gets even more bizarre. At first, I felt sorry about the poor guy who found it- but now, I think he is just as weird. The guy who bought the smoker now wants the leg BACK so that he can put it inside and sell looks to people- $3 for adults and $1 for children. He wants it soon since Halloween is coming. The true American spirit of capitalism triumphs one again . . . .

Dancing Sisters

So, both of my sisters Cynthia and Sarah are INCREDIBLE dancers- both in their own unique style. And I have had the opportunity over the past month to view in person the amazing dancing capabilities of both of them.

First, Cynthia had a West Coast Swing dance competition in San Jose, just a short 20 minute drive away from where we now live in Mountain View. William and I were able to watch her perform over a two day period and had the pleasure of watching her take 3rd place overall in the novice division. Here are some photos of her dancing-

My sister Sarah is a dance education major at BYU and so dance truly is her life. And even when she goes to appreciate others dancing, she never passes up and opportunity to share her amazing talent. My mom, Sarah and I all went to see Sarah . . . . , a modern dancer. She did her own show, having only a few numbers with other people in it. She has a fluidity of motion that is incredible- Sarah said it is true "organic movement" providing the much more eloquent description than mine. At the end of the show, one of the pieces involved individuals from the audience coming up and dancing- and Sarah went up! Here are some photos of her in a spontaneous dance event- and of course she looks great!

My sisters truly are the talented ones with dance. Back in the day, and for a good portion of my life, I was a clogger, but my sisters definitely help to elevate dance to true art form level. I'm so proud of both of you!!!