The past two Valentines days have come early for me. ED and I celebrate Valentines the weekend before because I go hiking the weekend of… without him.

I think my friend Sarah put it best when ED was pretending to pout about me being gone over Valentines Day. Sarah simply stated, “Summer’s  had hiking a lot longer than she’s had you. Sorry.”  (I freaking love that girl)

Not that he minds, quite the opposite really. We are able to get reservations and avoid the love bird crowds. What’s not to love?

This year we had a lovely dinner at Martine’s and went to a show called “Avenue Q”. For those of you not familiar with Avenue Q, it is pretty much Sesame Street for adults.

It’s filled with irreverent humor, underlying social issues and songs such as, “The Internet is for porn,” “Everyone’s a little bit racist,” and “If you were gay.”

To say it was hilarious is an understatement. Would I recommend it to any of my friends? ABSOLUTELY!

Would I recommend it to any of my Mormon relatives? Let’s just say during the scene where the puppets were having sex on stage while Gary Coleman sang “you can be as loud as the hell you want when you’re making love,” the audience lost a few members. So, no, I would not recommend it to anyone easily offended.

After the show was over, I was remarking to ED how I thought the crowd at the theater was easily 20 years older than the crowd at the concert I went to last weekend. Can you believe he had the audacity to point out to me – ON OUR VALENTINES DAY DATE – that I am actually closer in age to the average theater goer than I was to the “alcohol free” concert crowd!

THE NERVE!

That is, until I realized he was right.

Damn. I hate when he is right.

Here’s wishing that all of your Valentines dates — whatever you do and whoever you spend it with — are filled with many laughs and someone who makes you feel, ahem,  younger.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

ED is not Emotionally Disturbed, Out and About

In my ideal world, I would get to spend two to three days per week in the mountains doing various activities which would be dependent on the season i.e. hiking, snowshoeing, skiing.

My ideal world would kick ass.

My “real” world however, doesn’t afford me the free time to get up into the mountains as much as I would like.

I’ve often called the mountains my “sanity” or “peace of mind.” Being one with nature makes me happy, not to mention it rejuvenates and ground me.

I swear, I could write sonnets about the damn mountains.

On Sunday, despite my better scholastic judgment (homework is overrated, right?), I worshiping the snow gods and thoroughly enjoying the fresh powder they threw down along with the company of one of my best friends, Heidi.

Heidi and I on the ski lift.

 

We ran into some friends at the lodge who we met for a brew after shredding the mountain. Ha! Who am I kidding?  Heidi and I are solid BLUE skiers. We gracefully carve our way down the mountain. You can hardly call our style of skiing “shredding!”

While having a beer, our friends they told us an absolutely appauling story. They said they sat next to two guys from San Franciso on the lift who said they had been in Park City for three days to ski and today was their last day. They continued on to say how they had such beautiful weather for the past three days and now, on thier last day, they get this shitty weather.

WHAT? Um… excuse me?

Only people from San Francisco* would consider a perfect powder ski day – which wasn’t very cold either – “shitty weather.”

Sheesh. 

Here’s hoping their flight back was delayed by our shitty weather.

Also, that the sanity I got while in the mountains keeps me grounded through the rest of the week.

Oh and if it’s not too much trouble, that the snow gods put in a good word with the homework gods for me!

Blogfully yours,

Summer

*no offense if you are from San Francisco. But a little respect for the snow, man. This is Utah after all.

Out and About

For Christmas, my darling friend Karina the Russian bought concert tickets to see the band Brand New for my sister Staci, me and of course for herself. We had been counting down the days until the show and when the day finally rolled around WE WERE STOKED!

Staci and I have been listening to this little known alternative rock band for around six years. Karina is a bit more of a recent convert, but a fan nonetheless.

Before the show we met up for sushi and saki.

Karina and Staci

Staci and me (guess who has to be posing in every picture? LOL)

We really didn’t pay much attention to where the concert was being held until a few days before the show when we looked at our tickets and it said The Salt Palace Convention Center.  Which we thought was odd to have a smaller band held at a convention center, but whatever, WE WERE STILL STOKED!

After paying $7 for parking we wandered through the huge building following people wearing skinny jeans and flannel to the concert hall.

SIDENOTE: What is up with flannel coming back into style? Ugh!

When we finally got to the large concrete room where the concert was going to be. Naturally, we went straight up to the concession stand to purchase beer. Only… this was an all age show so there was no beer being served.

Not wanting to believe this to be true, we searched the room looking for people holding beer cups – there were none to be seen. What was to be seen, was thousands of  sober, angsty teenagers.

We walked around the perimeter, just to make sure we were not missing something and to further survey the crowd, but sadly, our biggest fear was realized, we were the “old people”  at a concert!

After the concert Karina apologized for it not being all we had hoped it would be. I told her “don’t you dare apologize!” Because even though we were sober and the oldest people there, we still had a great time and got to spend some much needed time together – something we don’t get to do nearly enough anymore.

Oh, and added bonus? We will all actually remember this concert AND none of us got beer spilled in our hair.

I’ll call that a win any day.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Concert whore, Out and About

Over the weekend, along with doing things like drinking wine with the girls, getting my butt kicked in a country-style training session, going to a free Utah JAZZ game (8th row, baby!), being tortured at a piano bar, going up on the perfect powder ski day only to be turned away because the “resort was full” AND doing homework; I dog sat.

It’s like babysitting, only without any poppy diapers. You simply play with them as much as possible, feed them the correct amount and get puppy snuggles all night long.

Dogs have a great way of making people happy.

These two girls put a smile on my face after returning home slightly scarred from more than “off-key” drunks singing Journey, Ice Cube and Garth Brooks at a piano bar.

Now THAT’S saying something!

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Out and About, Random

If you know a Mormon, you know that Jello is a big thing in their culture. Why? I was raised by them and I still have no idea.

Last weekend I was invited to a girls only dinner party. Everyone was assigned to bring something and my assignment was dessert. Normally I’d pick up a cheesecake or some donuts at the store and call it good, but the girls hosting the party are all foodies! They LOVE to cook which is totally awesome because I get to eat their yummy cooking but also lame because then I feel like my store bought goodness is not adequatly made with love.

Truth be told, the girls really wouldn’t have cared what I brought. It’s more the competitive cooking gene those damn Mormons implanted in my brain through all of those young womens activities.

So, here it is (my mother will be so proud). Proof I cooked… a jello dessert.

This in not just any jello dessert, mind you, this is a THREE LAYER jello dessert!

Layer one:

Pretzels, butter and sugar crust.

Layer two:

Blended cream cheese, whip cream and powdered sugar.

Layer Three:

Strawberries and Jello!

All to make THIS:

"Pretzel Salad" (In the Mormon culture, Jello = Salad! Oh, and is not always served as a dessert.)

Obviously I’m no Julia Child, but my foodie friend was impressed enough to post the recipe on her foodie blog, which totally made my day.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Out and About

I realize I am probably the last person to get around to posting about New Years, but here it is anyway.

For New Years, ED and I decided to host a little get together with a few of our closest friends. It was thrown together at the last minute, but somehow we were able to pull off one of the best New Years parties I have ever been to.

My sister Staci recommended we make it a formal mascarade party, which meant not only did we invite our guests less than a week before the party, we also requested they come up with some sort of a mask too!

Are we the best hosts or what?

I feel incredibly lucky that so many of our friends were able to make it. Some ran into babysitter issues and some had already made plans, but I think it is safe to say that those who came had a great time.

Here is my mask. I originally got it on a trip to Austin, TX to visit my dear friend Ellen. I added feathers to the side for some "pazzaz"! Also, because Heidi was making her mask and I like to use hotguns.

Me, Karina the Russian and Staci.

Group picture of all the ladies at the party!

I should clarify that there were actually men present at this party. But none quite as dashing as my darling ED.

Hilarious, no?

Although he looks  like a superhero here, he didn’t come to my rescuing until later on. Before everyone started arriving to the party, ED decided to shine up the hard wood floors. He sprayed the floor with Pledge and mopped over it with a flat dusting mop. The floors looked beautiful, but were slicker than an ice rink! Even after we tried to clean the Pledge off the floor we had to tell all of our guests to walk carefully — especially the women in their high heels!

However, it was not until right after the stroke of midnight when we went outside to watch the fireworks, that I slid on the actual ice and landed right on my ass! Not to worry though, my masked hero came running to sweep me up.

Best New Years kiss ever!

Happy New Years everyone! Here’s to an amazing 2010!

Blogfully yours,

Summer

ED is not Emotionally Disturbed, Holidays, Out and About

Last week I ignored much of what was going on in the real world after I found out Zach had died. I was caught up with my own personal mourning, viewings and funerals. When my friend Heidi asked me if I was still planning on going to the Paint the Town Red party–an AIDS benefit held at Hotel Monaco–I had all but forgotten.

I lied and told her I had been planning on it.

On Wednesday I went to the mall and shopped half-heartedly for an outfit to wear, still dressed in black from the funeral I had attended only five hours earlier. I found a red top, figured it would work, and called it a night.

The next night I wrote, “Tonight the red lipstick comes out” on my Facebook status. The responses I received were overwhelming; everyone cheering me on and encouraging me to live life.

Feeding off of that energy, I put a smile on my face, painted that smile with my brightest shade of red lipstick, and met up with Heidi and Tammy for a night of fun with a good cause behind it.

At Tammy's, getting primped to go.

Tammy looking smoking HOT!

Heidi looking adorably sassy!

Group picture taken at the event. I have no idea who the guy in the picture is, but his boyfriend was the one taking the picture, so whatev.

I freaking love this picture.

While I can’t say that big ‘ol smile remained the entire night–I ran into friends who asked about Zach and I may have cried just a tad at dinner–it felt good to have a night devoted to fun and to spending time with my girls. I am so thankful to them for taking me out and showing me that life still goes on.

I think Zach would be happy to see me smile. Although he is, he never would have wanted to be the source of pain or sadness for anyone. I’m sure, if he was here, he would have loved to hear the stories from that night. He probably would scold me when I told him I walked by myself three blocks, downtown, in the rain, to get the car (we were all in heels, but my feet were holding up the best and I refused to get a taxi for such a short distance). He would have told me I need to be safe, and that I better have had mace on me! He was always so protective…

*sigh*

Man I miss him.

The next morning I woke up and saw lipstick on my pillow case; I guess I didn’t wash it off before going to bed.

It made me smile though, as I remembered the night. It was the first morning I had woken up and smiled in over a week.

Oh the power of red lipstick.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Out and About

Chicago and the BlogHer convention were basically awesome, and by awesome I mean it kicked my ass. Both the city and the mass amount of estrogen was enough to leave me feeling exhausted, overwhelmed and unprepared most of the time. But hell, what’s an adventure without the anxiety?

Getting from the Chicago airport to the hotel was the first leg of the adventure. My lovely, independent and resourceful traveling companion, Sarah, and I decided mass transit was the way to go. One surprisingly non-scary train ride and a bus in the wrong direction followed by one in the right direction but dropping us off a mile from our hotel forcing us carry our over sized luggage through the crowded streets of Chicago (because we sure as hell were not going to ask for directions or call a cab) later, we arrived.

Matching travel outfits not required.

Oh, you mean buses go in both directions?

As we stumbled through the hotel lobby doors, hot, sweaty and ready to do anything but be social, part of me felt proud that we made it all on our own without asking for help from anyone but Mrs. iPhone (AKA Google maps). That part of me wanted to drop my bags and scream, “We made it! We finally fucking made it! Look out! Independent women coming through!”

Fortunately I refrained.

As for the actual conference, between the session, the mommy bloggers, the parties, the free swag and the whole experience that is Chicago, I think I’ll let the pictures give a small glimpse of the story.

Beauty in the city along the Magnificent Mile.

Napping is crucial to survival.

Meeting Jenny the Bloggess. I'm awkward, she's medicated.

Totally worth waiting over an hour for and almost being denied booze.

Sitting by what I now know is the Chicago River thanks to my twitter peps.

Cheeseburger party sponsored by McDonalds in a hotel suite. Oddly enough, one of the few parties shut down by hotel security.

BlogHer style brown bag found in the lobby.

Who wouldn't want to share a room with these beautiful ladies?

I want to publicly say I adore my roommates Sandi, Loralee and Sarah. They made my experience so much better than I possibly imagined.

Whew!

Going out of town is always an adventure and I am so glad I went on this one. I learned a lot and was forced out of my comfort zone. I made some new amazing friendships and have enough around the table drinking stories to keep my friends rolling for months to come.

However, for me, the best part of this adventure (or really any for that matter) is finally returning home from it. The smile I got on my face when I saw the Wasatch Mountains through the airplane window could only be topped by seeing ED roll up at the airport to pick me up.

Home sweet chaotic home!

Blogfully yours,

Summer

BlogHer09, Out and About, Story Time, Vacations, blogging

My older sister Sara is getting married to a man she is madly in love with!  What comes before a wedding? A Bachelorette party!

Now the rule of any Bachelor/Bachelorette party is there are not supposed to be cameras and everyone is supposed to take what happened at the party to their grave, right?

WRONG!

Bachelorette Party House

I knew I had arrived at the right place when I saw the penis’ hanging from the front door.

Could a More Diverse Group Exist?

The party was unlike anything I have ever seen. They had a live DJ spinning and for entertainment, what else but fire dancers/spinners?

2 Fire Spinners

You know, Just Eating Fire

Much to my great surprise, my younger sister decided to record part of our HOT entertainment! Which is awesome because there is really no way for you to fully understand what these crazy women were doing, without seeing it yourself.

What? You’ve never been to a Bachelorette party with Fire Spinners?

Bride To Be Is In The Middle

Aw! My lovely sisters. What an amazing, interesting, fun night.

Congrats “Sally” I love you!

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Loved One(s), Out and About

Over the weekend I disobeyed the doctors orders and it felt great! That is, until Monday morning.

Friday I went to the X96 Big Ass Show with Karina the Russian. I was a lot more behaved than I was last year when I was running around getting my picture taken with every rock star I laid eyes on. But, when you have VIP tickets which give you access to free beer…. it would have been a shame to let it go to waste.

A few of the bands I really enjoyed watching were The Airborne Toxic Event (seriously in love with these guys! If you don’t know who they are watch THIS), Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and of course Offspring. Offspring was the headlining band and they tore it up! It was so funny to watch Karina looking at everyone else sing along to the songs. “You don’t know this one?” I would scream over the crowd. Then she would look at me with her of course I don’t know this one I’m from Russia bitch look. I would of course laugh and she would tell me how she was going to take me to Russia and laugh at me when I didn’t know the bands who were playing.

The next morning Karina and I went to brunch. I had coffee and the most amazing crab Benedict served over cornbread with an avocado relish. I’m drooling thinking about it again. I kept marveling as we sat outside on the patio at how I really felt OK. All of the symptoms from last week seemed to have magically disappeared. How amazingly wonderful for me!

Saturday night I went to 2 barbecues where the food, margaritas and wine flowed freely. I felt great and had a wonderful time. Then Sunday came along. Damn you Sunday. Such a fun wrecker. I studied for over 12 hours trying to make up for all of my play time then I had a stress induced anxiety attack.

So now here I am, back where I started. Taking several over the counter meds and eating bland foods. Apparently when they talk about school being a sacrifice they are not kidding. My body is telling me I can no longer play like I used to plus handle the stress of work, school and finances. I think it sucks. I think I SHOULD be able to handle it all. But sadly, superwoman left the building a long time ago.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Back to School, Bag full of complaints, Concert whore, K to the R stories, Out and About