SLC Friends and Family

I went up to Utah over Easter weekend. I so needed to get away. I wanted time to just be with my family and friends and I got just that.

Wednesday I arrived in town in the morning and spent the day with my parents. It was a really nice quality time kinda day with them. We had lunch, talked, my dad played piano, seen in this little clip of my parents singing "Heiden Roslein" - a German poem/song, which I consider my song as I am Heidi Roslein.



I looked for the first time at my mom's geneology book and was fascinated by the pedigree charts - just from those simple charts I feel I learned so much about my family - things I never knew. I took notes, but really should get copies for myself at some point. So, it was a nice first day with the parents.

That evening I went out to dinner with my favorite person, Carter. He's a very important friend and I had a great great time. We went to an old favorite of mine, Bombay House (love me some Indian). Talking and hanging out with Carter is just the best, what more can I say? (I actually do have a pic, but promised him no one would see it!)

Thursday I went to Hogle Zoo with Alex (my sis) and Dylan. It was an overcast day, which is the best for zoo visits as the animals are usually more active and the crowds smaller. We had a great time. Loved being with Alex and Dylan. Here are some zoo pics:















After the zoo we went to The Soup Kitchen in Sugarhouse, another old time favorite from my college days. Dylan LOVED his grilled cheese "It's good. It's just good." Then we went out to their place in Sandy. Got to hang with Jerad. We had Lone Star Taqueria, which had been featured by Guy Fieri on the Food Network. Totes yummy. Jerad had to work that night, so Alex, Dylan and I watched "Tangled" - very cute.

Friday did some shopping with the Nighs, went bowling, then Alex made a great meal of Kung Pao Chicken, rice and edemame. Played Settlers of Katan (and barely won).

Saturday afternoon I headed back up to the SLC. I got to go back to the store I used to always buy my Converse from and got a couple pair - still great selection and prices! (NOTE: I realize how boring this post is, but I wanted to have this for my memories) Then I went to visit Elizabeth at work (KUTV). It was fun to hang out with Elizabeth. I got to talk to Brian Mullahy - news reporter that I first met when I was a little kid - he's the nicest dude! I took a bit of a drive around SLC then met up with my old ATP friends, Cassie and Eric for dinner. I love these two so much. I miss them and had a really nice dinner. They were good to me.






I then headed out to Liz, one of my bf's in Farmington. I proceeded to spend the next several hours with her catching up. I'm sorry I forgot to get a pic. It was really great to spend a quality night with her, just talking and being together. It was nice to be really open and commiserate over our trials but also have plenty of laughter. She's great.





Sunday was Easter. I went to church with my parents. The speakers moved me. Then all the family came out for a Rouladen lunch. We had a nice afternoon together. Of course, lots of laughter at the dinner table. Did some exploring of the basement with my sisters. Reminiscing. Nice day. Then Elizabeth, the Nighs and I headed to Sandy and kept the party goin. We ended up watching "Parenthood" (the movie) at the end of the night as it happened to come on and although I've seen it a couple times already, I loved it as much as ever - really a pretty perfect movie.

Monday was more quality Nigh time. Tried their favorite sandwich place, Firehouse Subs, played some Yahtzee, as evidenced in the pics below:


Alex so serious at her gaming.







Stayed one last night at my old house in the Avenues, then headed to the airport Tuesday morning.

There are always some friends I wish I had seen, but didn't get to, but I really do want to try to go up more often. It did me a lot of good to see so many people I love. They remind me of who I am. I love my family and friends, hope to be back soon.

Jiminy Glick interviews Anderson Cooper

Oh, man, always loved Jiminy Glick and I love Anderson and his adorable laugh:

The Unknown

"Part of our knowledge lies in accepting that there are some things we cannot know, and a great many more where uncertainty is more beneficial than a firm standpoint."
-Erasmus of Rotterdam

Resilient

"We learn that we are resilient. We learn that we can live in a world of imperfect, even inhumane, people and events. We learn that we do not have total control over our lives, and yet we do have control over our attitude toward our adversity. We can survive in a world that can break our hearts but not our spirits. We can use our innate strength to adapt, to see what is left, what new possibilities are offered, how we can build happiness on another foundation. We need not complain nor return in kind the evils we endure. We learn that goodness and decency, compassion and kindness will always, in the long run, be stronger than their opposites."
-S Michael Wilcox

Stephen Colbert High Tea

I couldn't love this more. I can watch it over and over and still die laughing.

The Colbert Report
Tags: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Perhaps

Reading an awesome S. Michael Wilcox book right now, "What the Scriptures Teach Us About Adversity" and loved this story from the writings called the Huainanzi, which he shared to illustrate a point:

"The story comes from Taoist philosophy which, generally hesitates to make many value judgments, seeing possibilities in all things and all experiences.

Near the northern border of China was a man who lived his life according to the Taoist pattern. One day his mare wandered off and was lost in the territory of the Hu, northern tribes who were enemies to the Chinese. All of his neighbors offered him their sympathy.

"How unfortunate!" they said.

But the man was hesitant to pass judgment. He said, "Who knows? Perhaps this will turn out to be a blessing. We will have to wait and see."

Within a few months, his mare returned and what is more, a fine horse from the northern territories accompanied her. Everyone now congratulated him. "How very fortunate you are! You have an additional horse, a fine stallion!"

The man replied, "Perhaps, but his may also be a cause of misfortune."

The man had a fine son who loved horses, and while he was riding the new horse, he fell of and broke his leg.

The villagers felt sorry for the man and his son. "What a disadvantage to have a broken leg. It will leave the boy crippled," was the common sentiment.

"Perhaps even this will one day turn out to be a blessing," said his father.

About a year later, the northern Hu invaded China. All able-bodied young men were required to take up arms and fight against the invaders. There was a terrible war, and as a result, around the border regions, nine out of ten young men died. This man's son was not required to join in the battles because he was crippled, and so both the boy and his father survived.

As this story suggests, it may be wiser to delay our judgments and face what we must face in the present, leaving the future to take care of itself."

Chopin Ballade No.1 in G minor, Opus 23 by Tzvi Erez HQ

One of my faves:

Friendship, Friendship, Just A Perfect Blendship

I tend to be a fairly independent person. I think it stems from being the youngest in my family. My sisters and I were close growing up as I think is evidenced in many past blogs of me strolling down memory lane. But as my middle sister is 4 years older than me and my oldest, 8 years, they got older and I was inevitably left to entertain myself. So, I did delve into my own imaginary world. And that was fine. I managed to keep myself busy. The saddest, when I look back at it, is when I would try to play board games by myself - just not quite the same. A few of them worked, "Park and Shop" worked well enough. So my imaginary world became my companion. And I still value my alone time. I love love going on walks/hikes. I am totally fine going to movies by myself. I am good doin my thang. Now, this can be a good thing. I like this about me, but as of late I've realized that this can be dangerous too.

My life has been rough lately - dealing with some pretty big challenges. And as per my mode of being, I was just sort of dealing with them on my own. But that weight and loneliness was starting to be a bit much, even for me. I was told by a very wise man that I need to turn to people, I need a support system. So I started to allow people in and I started to open up to people, to make myself, and it has been really surprising and nice.

Now in saying all this, it's not like I have no friends. I've always had friends, I'm not a total social outcast. I've had great friends in my life. But, I'm not great at staying close or initiating friendships.

Luckily some awesome people have found me. This is where the surprising part of it comes in. Friendships have emerged from unexpected places and it's been great to be surprised by this. I had a doctor who really gave a damn and gave me his time and fantastic advice. I've had friends from church help me and surprise me with their candor and understanding. I've had people at work make me feel loved and lifted. My family also made me feel like I can be honest and that they are there for me. And, most recently, a friendship formed from facebook, that made me feel really good. Lately I do feel like I've been talking way too much about myself and I don't want to be that person either, because it sometimes feels like once you open those floodgates it's easy to let it all flow, but what are you gonna do?

These were unexpected and appreciated. When I stop to think about it I am actually surrounded by good people. I think people in general are good, but with me, at least, it is a matter of letting them in.

In summation:



which, inevitably, makes me think of "Wonder Years" - such a great show:



I hope this post doesn't come across as some weird cry for help or something. I'm good. Things are weird, but gonna be fine. And my spirits are good. Just wanted to give a shout out to my peops and I want to try to get bloggin more as my blog has been a bit of a wasteland lately.

TP

Grocery store, toilet paper aisle

Rude Guy Berating His Wife: "What is the difference between the two? what's the difference? why do you want that one? huh? do you even know the difference?"

Me, tired of his talking down to his wife: "One's soft and thick and one's soft and strong!"

He seemed shocked, but then went on to tell me how most people at the store are so rude, but how nice I was to help out to talk to them. He didn't seem to get that I only said something because he was being so mean to his wife. Oh, well.

I went with soft and strong.

The Difference between the United Kingdom, Great Britain and England Exp...

Super informative. I thought I knew a lot of this, but lots I did not know:

Icehouse - My Obsession

Last one, but come on, so good:

Icehouse- Crazy

Maybe even better:

Icehouse - Electric Blue

One of my favorite songs from my childhood. His mullet is so mullety!:



No Icehouse on itunes! Boo!

What's Up Doc?

I just want to acknowledge for my own journaling purposes that my doc John G. is one of the greatest guys I've ever met. He just spent an hour with me just to talk and listen and help. And he did. Feel more uplifted than I have in a while. As Obama said last night, "Let's fix what needs fixing and move forward."

New Hair.

I have so horribly neglected my blog. I am going to try to get back to it. Unfortunately, the timer just went off on dinner, so I will just quickly upload some pics of my new hairdo. I NEVER dye my hair, but I wanted to mix it up, so I got a trim, along with some full bangs and dyed my hair an auburnish color. The color doesn't quite translate in the photos, but it gives you an idea.



Right when I got home, so the styling looks a bit severe:


This photo is weird, but it shows the color a little better. I was at Griffith Park and pointing to a peak I'd like to hike:


Okay. So the dinner still needs a few more minutes in the oven. So I'll post a few pics from yesterday. I went to Griffith Park and wandered around a bit. There are so many trails I want to explore, but I feel like I need a hiking partner to be safe, I suppose. It's so rad to have that huge park like five minutes from my house. I really need to take more advantage of it. I can't tell you how much I am loving the weather in SoCal right now. It's perfect. High 70's, low 80's, sunny, gorgeousness.

The LA Zoo used to be located in Griffith Park and the old animal cages remain, which are creepy and awesome.


There's also an old rad carousel. I was hiking along, turned a corner and heard the pipe organ music - sort of surreal. The horses are ancient old looking, but still functioning and the pipe organ is super cool.




All right, now it's for real dinner time.

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

Gingerbread House

The young women in my ward gave us this adorable gingerbread house. I appreciated the Hansel and Gretelness of it.

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

It just doesn't get any better than this. The whole concert is great (no, I didn't get to go in person, but man, I wish I had!), but this song is perfect. Just posting this as I've been listening to the CD lately:

Christmas Tree

This will be the first Christmas I spend in California. Since we'll be around, we got a real tree to enjoy. It's just a lil thing, it's cute. Unfortunately, I couldn't find my ornaments, which must be stored in Utah, boo, but Whit's mom let me use Whit's Grammie's ornaments. They are all white, silver and gold and look really nice with the white lights. I found a pretty topper - it's an old fashioned style cracked glass, pinkish topper. I also added a few birds, because...well, because I like them...and voila - a classy, cute little tree. Merry Christmas!

Hugh in Concert

Tonight I went to a benefit concert that Band From TV was doing and my dear, lovely, Hugh Laurie was performing. I was a few feet away and got to just watch him play all night. He was funny and cool as ever. It's fun to watch him play music because you can tell he loves it so much, that's he's on cloud 9 when he's at his keyboard. Jesse Spencer who is also on House was also in the band playing violin - he's really good and seems dope too. After the show I saw Hugh walking out, but he was in quite a hurry, I mean, I'm sure, he knows if he stops a crowd will form. So I just quickly told him thanks, that he was great, and he thanked me. Still crazy to be that close to my #1.

Here are a few pics and little video.