#2923 three things: Thanksgiving weekend edition

 I'll take a small break from writing about Italy to tell you what I've got going on this weekend.

1. Wicked. I got off work at noon yesterday (Wednesday), so I went to the 12:10 showing of Wicked at the movie place close to my house. I read the book about a jillion years ago, and I thought it was weird. I saw the play here in SLC several years ago and wept because it was so good. I was looking forward to seeing the movie, although I'm not a big Ariana Grande fan.

The theater was pretty full. I had empty seats on either side of me, so that was nice. I love that feeling of anticipation when there is a movie everyone is excited to see, and I could feel that excitement in the auditorium as the lights went down. 

I'll just get this out of the way: Ariana Grande was excellent. The woman can sing. She was funny, she looked pretty, and she more than held her own. Cynthia Erivo was phenomenal. That voice, the poise, the fearlessness. She made green look GOOD. 

My eyes leaked and my throat got tight several times. It's a long movie, over two and a half hours, and it is just the first act of the play. I am pumped for part two which will come out sometime in 2025. I actually can't wait to watch part one again when it is streaming. Of course I say that now, but will I actually do it when it becomes available?

2. Swap my clothes. I think I mentioned early in November that I was going to swap out my warm weather clothes of the cold weather clothes. I haven't, but I think tomorrow is the day! It takes a few hours because I Marie-Kondo that business. I take everything out of the drawers and off the hangers and get serious about winnowing. I hope I have it in my\e to winnow severely tomorrow. I may have mentioned that I have A LOT of clothes, and I want to have less. Thoughts and prayers, please.

3. Art time! On Saturday I am planning to be creative. I'll take the time to create the December zine as well as paint the wee calendar. I have a plan for the calendar, but not for the zine quite yet. Still kicking around some ideas. I'll also write in my journal. I think it will be a pretty great day for all of that.

BONUS THING: On Sunday T and I are going to the Jazz game! I got tickets from work. We haven't been for awhile, and I think it will be fun.

Here's hoping you all have a great weekend!

xo

#2727 family time

This afternoon, the three of us went to see Top Gun: Maverick. I was excited to see the movie because I really, really loved the original Top Gun. I bet I’ve seen it at least 20 times in the 36 years (!) since it came out, including last night in preparation for seeing the new film today. Truthfully, I liked Val Kilmer’s Iceman better than Tom Cruise’s Maverick character. I like older Tom Cruise better than younger Tom Cruise. 

The new film starts out pretty much exactly like the original film did, on an aircraft carrier with shots of fighter jets taking off from and landing on the ship. Even the flight crew scenes were nearly identical, and so was the music and theme song - yep, “Danger Zone” is back!

After that, though, the movies were a lot different. There are a new crop of young hot shot aviators, including a woman, and a nearly impossible mission they are all training for under the tutelage of Maverick. There is a new woman interest for Maverick, and Iceman is now an admiral. The fun part is that Val Kilmer actually made an appearance in the film. 

There was a lot of action in the movie, and I loved it. I smiled, I felt nervous and excited, and yes, I cried. I didn’t sob, but my eyes were definitely leaking. MT and T liked it, too.

After the movie, the three of us went to ‘Bout Time pub to have dinner and watch Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics. We watched the first half at the pub, then we came home and all three of us finished watching the game together here. It has been nice spending some time together. 

#2721 weekend wrap-up

A quick break from vacation photos to talk about real life here in SLC...

It was a nice weekend, weather-wise, here. On Saturday I didn't get out of the house very much. In the morning I made myself some breakfast and tried some new coffee beans. I bought the Italian dark roast. I don't usually drink dark roast coffee, but I thought I'd give it a try. 

Ok, I'll be honest, they had me at Italian. Yes, I'm slightly obsessed. The first sip was abrasive, but three cups later, I decided I like it! To carry on the Italian theme, I was reading the book One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle. Book my trip to Positano right away, please!

The big thing I did yesterday was to swap out my winter clothes for my summer clothes. I pared down quite a bit, too, which felt good. I still have lots and lots of clothes. For instance, I found that I have two pairs of every type of pants: two magic pants, two chinos, two water-resistant pants, two capris, three jeans, but I only wear two of them to work because the other has a wee hole that Mac put in them when she was a sharp-toothed puppy. I quickly separated the pants into two piles. I didn't throw any pants away, but I set one pile aside. I have found twos in so many of my clothes. Thinking back, I'd find a shirt I like, then buy it in two colors, I guess. 

Next Saturday, I will go back through the clothes I kept and make some more decisions. For example, can that top go with more than one bottom? Does the color really suit me? Most importantly, does wearing this article of clothing make me feel good about myself?

The book club met on Twitter. I enjoyed the book we just finished. It was called On a Night of a Thousand Stars and it was set in Argentina, switching time between the 1970s and the 1990s. A young American woman travels to Buenos Aires with her Argentine parents and the young woman becomes interested in learning more about the desaparecidos - the people who were disappeared beginning during the Peron administration in the '70s. The novel was engaging all the way through. It really had me hooked into the story. 

This morning I volunteered at Red Butte Garden. It has been so busy up there on Sunday mornings! There are two trams that run with complimentary tours from 10 am to 1 pm, and they were busy the whole time. When my shift was over at 1:00, I walked around for about 15 minutes, then went to my car. The parking lot was totally full. 

When I got home, I had to take a nap. Being out in the sun, even though I had water, really tired me out. Plus I wasn't feeling very well this morning. I ate some french fries late last night, and they didn't agree with me this morning. Bad choices.

Tonight the three of us had a family dinner at 'Bout Time pub. We went to watch game seven of the Western Conference semi-finals. It wasn't much of a game. Dallas obliterated Phoenix. The final score was 123-90 and it was never close. It was fun to hang out with MT and T, though.

Next week, I'm going to write about art I saw on vacation. I have an interesting post in mind for Tuesday, and I want to do a little more research on it. I'm excited about some of the art because weird things catch my eye and I can't wait to share them with you!

In the meantime, here are some lilacs that I saw at Red Butte Garden today. Pretend your screen is a scratch and sniff and breathe in the glorious, sweet lilac scent!

#2412 three things: expensive backache, hangry dog, and sports

1. I don't think that's what it was. On Monday morning I went to the ER because on Sunday and overnight I had the worst pain in my back. I couldn't get comfortable at all. I was miserable most of the day on Sunday and didn't get a good night's sleep. I thought for sure I had a UTI that had gone into my kidneys. The doctor said I had traces of blood in my urine, but no bacteria, so no UTI. He thought I had a kidney stone, so I had a CT scan so we could see what was going on. My kidneys were clear. No stones. The doctor, who seriously looked just a bit older than my son, said I had probably passed a stone and had leftover pain. Wouldn't I feel it if I passed a kidney stone? He prescribed some heavy-duty pain meds and a muscle relaxer and sent me on my way. 

It's been a few days and my back feels better, but still tender. I can mostly move freely, but there is still a twinge every now and then. I just don't think it was a kidney stone, though. I must have twisted my back at some point on Saturday (that's when I first felt the pain), but I sure don't remember anything in particular. I already know this is the most expensive backache I have ever had.

2. The dog gets HANGRY. Oh my dog. She's super energetic, borderline annoying, and quite entertaining.  I don't have a problem with the energy level. I think it's fun to watch her play and to play with her. What I don't like is the way she behaves when she gets hungry. She gets kinda mean. She barks and leaps and nips more than usual during the hungry times. I think she is going through a growth spurt because I can't seem to get enough food in her little body. It's a fine line, though, because the other night I must have given her too much because it looked like she had an explosion on the rug. She's been good with the house training, so I know she must have been miserable.  I'm learning to read her cues and figuring out how much to feed her to keep her healthy and satisfied. She's growing so fast!

3. I'm watching sports! Today is Opening Day of baseball season. I am watching the Washington Nationals play the New York Yankees. There aren't any people in the stands, but there is crowd noise LOL. At 6:00 I am going to change the channel to the Utah Jazz scrimmage against the Phoenix Suns. The NBA season will start next week. A bit later tonight, I will check out the other Opening Day game, the SF Giants against the LA Dodgers. I have been okay without sports, but I'm excited that they are back. 

#2337 fav photos from February

Today is supposed to be the end of the month, but since it is a leap year, we get a bonus day tomorrow.

I'm going to recap the month a little differently by sharing some of my favorite photos from the month.

At the beginning of the month, I met up with four other women who read with #EkpesBookClub. The woman closest to you is Rebecca, then there's me in the yellow shirt, Michelle, Melanie, and Jessica. It was fun to talk about books and get to know each other a bit. We are planning to meet again in March. Maybe a couple of other people will be able to join us.

Last Friday Lizzie and I went to Disneyland, and these next few pics are all from that day.This first photo is in the new Star Wars land, Galaxy Edge. That's the Millennium Falcon! So cool!

Here are Lizzie and I taking a selfie and making silly faces. I knew I was making a silly face, but I didn't know she was too.

The afternoon was postcard-perfect. Doesn't the sky look like a Hollywood backdrop?

As I mentioned in my previous post, we walked a lot at Disneyland. Here's a screenshot from my Apple watch to prove it. 20,675 steps, just over nine miles. No wonder I needed a recovery day.

On Sunday Lizzie and I went for a nice walk on the Castlewood Trail. I love the smell of eucalyptus, which does not grow around here in Utah. There was also a lot of wild rosemary growing along the trail. The combination of those two scents was wonderful. I think we walked about three miles. Here's Lizzie and her glorious hair on the trail in front of me.

For Christmas MT got us tickets to a Jazz game. We wanted to sit in the lower bowl so we could be a little closer to the action. We were in section B, row 13 on the Jazz sideline end of the court. It was pretty great to be that close to the floor. Even though the Jazz lost (badly), it was fun to be there.

I was bummed when I looked back through my photos and realized I hadn't taken any pics of my mamacita. Next time for sure!

I hope y'all had a great month and are planning something fun to do on your bonus day tomorrow!

~~~~~

I finished six books this month! Check out the 2020 Reading tab to see what I read and what I thought about each book. Have you read any of these novels? What have you been reading lately?

#2306 book club and basketball

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I was having a book club meeting and that we were going to the Jazz game. The Jazz fandom and book club worlds met at the game and it was kind of magical. Let me tell you about it.

So there I was on Twitter with the rest of #Ekpesbookclub discussing The Haunting of Hill House. Some people, people much more cerebral than I am, were telling those of us who didn't love the book (like me) about the brilliance of Shirley Jackson's writing. They were explaining Eleanor's descent into madness and how the house itself was a character. While I appreciate their comments and the discussion did give me more to think about, I still didn't care for the book. We all agreed that books affect and touch people in different ways and we all still appreciate each other's perspectives. It's a  friendly group. It's kind of amazing how you can develop a bit of a relationship with the people in the group even if you haven't met them in person. Some of the people I have been fortunate to meet through the Author Talk series that Ekpe hosted while he was here, but it has been awhile since we had one of those meet-ups.

As it was a Jazz game night, a few people mentioned that they were going to the game so they had to leave early to have dinner or whatever. I tweeted that I would be going to the game too and that it would be fun to meet up at half-time and maybe take a group photo that we could post on Twitter and tag Ekpe and the book club. To my surprise and delight, four people agreed (all season ticket holders, lucky dogs!) and we did meet and take a photo!

I have actually met all of these people before, so that was cool. From left to right: Bentley, Blair, me, Melanie and Stacy. We are all doing the peace sign because Ekpe almost always uses the peace sign emoji on his tweets. We took a few minutes to talk about our favorite books we read with the club this year and why. Bentley's favorite was a book we actually read last year, Just Mercy. He is an attorney, and I remember that he had a lot of opinions about the book and the justice system. Blair loved the book Belonging, which was the book about the German woman finding out that her grandfather was a Nazi. Melanie loved The House of Salt and Sorrows (she says she has read it like five times!) and Stacy liked Becoming. My favorite was The Nickel Boys. It's funny that each of our favorites were books we recommended to the club. LOL

I started reading with the book club last year in April, so 2019 was my first full year. We have read some great books and some meh books. The beauty is that books I might consider great others would consider meh and vice versa. That's the beauty of it though, isn't it. I can say with certainty that there were books we read that wouldn't have come up on my reading radar, so I'm grateful to the club to have expanded my reading horizons.

Here's a pic of most of the books we read this year:

There are five books that are not in this pile. I lent them to MT and I didn't bother to put them back in my finished pile. Those books are: Becoming, Where the Crawdads Sing, Educated, and The Guardians. We also read The Autobiography of Malcom X which I have on my Kindle.  Three of the books in the pile are signed by the authors from when I met them during Author Talks: Heavy, The Courage to Be You, and The Rent Collector. Gail Miller just wrote her name in the book, but the other two have messages to me. SQUEEE!

As for the Jazz game itself, that was fun too. The Portland Trailblazers were in town. One of their superstar players, Damian Lillard, played his college ball in Ogden at Weber State, so he always gets a lot of love when he plays in Utah. He's very good. 

The Jazz had a big lead for most of the game, but watched it get whittled away so that at points in the fourth quarter the Blazers were within one to three points. The Jazz dug deep and prevailed and there was much joy in the Viv.

Here's a photo I took of T and his friend Spudz, aided in lighting by Emmy award-winning videographer Darren Bailey:

Have a great weekend! More words tomorrow!

#2268 the remote got a workout

Tonight was basically a perfect Sportstober night for me.

First up, World Series game 4. I watched the first few innings without interruption until...

...it was time for Jazz basketball. I flipped channels between the basketball game and the baseball game until...

...it was time for Utah football. I have mostly been watching football since it came on because the baseball game and the basketball game were both blowouts.

Technically, as of this moment, the baseball game is still going on. The score is Houston 8 - 1 Washington. That means that the Series will be tied 2 -2. Game 5 is tomorrow night. I like both teams, so I'm hoping for a long series of good baseball. I'll be watching tomorrow!

The Jazz beat the Sacramento Kings 113 - 81. The Jazz played well and the Kings really didn't. With so many new guys on the Jazz team this season, it was fun to watch them gel on the court tonight. Another cool thing about tonight's game was the reappearance of the so called purple mountain jerseys that were worn back in the glory days of the late '90s with Stockton and Malone. Lots of people don't like the jerseys, but they remind me of a happy time in Jazz history.

Now I am watching Utah football. It's halftime and the Utes are up 28 - 0. All is well so far.

My remote is now getting a rest since I'm done flipping back and forth between three channels.

#2260 a full day of play with LA

Late Saturday morning, MT and I headed up to Park City to meet with our friends Rob and LA who were visiting from Pocatello. We have been friends for, well, let's see... I started working at the paper in Poky in 1988, and that's where I met LA. I think we started hanging out regularly in  early 1989, so that's 30 years. Rob and MT became climbing and skiing buddies, and the four of us were tight. There was a lull in the friendship when MT and I moved to Salt Lake and were getting settled in, but we have stayed in touch and visited each other as much as we can.

We planned this visit so we could hear about their recent trip to Iceland and to get in a bike ride. Of course, it is getting cold now, so we decided to meet at noon at the outlet mall at Kimball Junction. We had a good time shopping in Eddie Bauer. I got a pair of jeans, a vest, and a sweatshirt, if you are interested. I can't wait to wear that down vest!

For lunch we went into Park City itself. LA mentioned a place she and Rob had breakfast once that she remembered as being very good, but she couldn't remember the name of the restaurant. She did remember the approximate location, so we started walking up Main Street. She led us to The Eating Establishment, which happened to be the place Lizzie and I had dinner before our ghost tour back in June, so I knew it was good too. We wanted to eat outside because even though it was chilly, it was sunny and we were all eager to get a bit more sun before the grey, cold winter sets in.

It should have been a clue to us that at 1:30 in the afternoon the breakfast dishes had not been cleared from the patio, but we did not heed the clue. Inside, the restaurant was very busy, but the host had someone clear the tables outside and we were seated there after about a ten minute wait. We got menus and that's it. Soon other diners were seated, their water was poured and their orders were taken. We were still sitting there with just our menus. We sat there for about 20 minutes before we decided to find another place to eat. Very disappointing.

We wandered down the street to a place called The Spur Bar & Grill. They have a patio on the second floor. We were seated immediately, given water and menus. I have to say it was a lot warmer up on that patio than down on the street level, both in temperature and in welcome. The smiling server quickly took our order and made sure we didn't want anything else to drink. Rob and LA told us stories about their time in Iceland and showed us some photos. LA gave me a gift: a unique and beautiful bracelet handmade from native volcanic stone. LOVE!!

The food at The Spur was delicious. We all had the same thing - the Spur burger. I like it when you can taste the beef in a burger. So good! I would have been happy to sit up there drinking a beer or two, but we all wanted to ride our bikes and temperature was at the warmest it would get that day, so after lunch, we drove back down to Kimball Junction to start the ride. We all agreed it would be nicer to do the hard work of pedaling uphill at the start of the ride, then coast back down to our cars at the end.

My personal goal was to make it to the barn, which is four miles up from Kimball Junction. I don't know if I have ever ridden wearing so many layers of clothing. Going uphill I got plenty warm. The menfolk got out to a fast start and were pedaling ahead of us. LA has a bad back, so she has an electric bike. She still has to pedal, but she gets an assist from the motor. I was the slowest and the heaviest breather (and heaviest in general) by far. The air was brisk, but I got warm and sweaty.

We made it to the barn (YAY!) There is an underpass that you can take to get from the west side of the road over to the barn, so we did that. It was a gorgeous afternoon, so I took photos of course.

Fall is definitely in the air and you can see it in the changing colors of the leaves.

Over on the east side of the highway, we noticed there was a trail that would take us back to Kimball Junction. We would be farther away from the highway, so it would be more quiet plus there was the added bonus of the view of the quaking aspen trees.

I mean, that's a pretty trail!

So we rode our bikes down this trail and it was gorgeous and we were happy. The men picked up speed and zoomed down. LA and I took our time, chatting and taking photos.

selfie!

We met up with the men. Rob pointed out that we would either have to cross the highway - without a light - or ride uphill a little ways until we could find a light. There was no way I was going to cross the highway without a light, so we had to pedal. It was steep. I was in the lowest gear I have on my bike and I was struggling. We got to a place where the road was being repaired, so we had to get off our bikes and push them around some construction machinery. The road after the equipment was even more steep, so LA and I ended up pushing our bikes for maybe a quarter of a mile uphill. I am saying now that I *probably* could have rode up that small but steep hill, but I didn't. No shame!

After that, it was all literally downhill. We safely crossed the highway at a light, then coasted down the rest of the hill to parking lot. We were out a total of one hour and 24 minutes; total distance was 8.3 miles. My average speed was a blistering 5.8 MPH (lol). Don't judge me! hahahaha At least I was out there doing it even though my personal rule is that I don't ride if it's not at least 70 degrees. LA must be a damn good friend for me to lower my temperature rule by a good 15 degrees.

After the bike ride, our fun was not over! We were fortunate enough to get tickets to the Jazz game. It was the first preseason game of the 2019-2020 season. The Jazz were playing a team from Australia. The big three stars for the Jazz - Conley, Gobert, and Mitchell - did not play, but it was still fun to be in the suite and see the new guys on the team. Since the game was a blowout - the Jazz won by over 50 points - we talked more about Iceland and looked at more photos. I liked that!

Extra bonus: one of the guys on the other team missed two free throws in the fourth quarter which means we all get a free chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A. HOORAY!!

When the game was over, so was our day of fun. We bid our pals farewell until we meet again. They went back up to Park City where they spent the night at a hotel. They went back to Idaho this morning.  Both MT and I miss Rob and LA. It is fun to do stuff with friends!

I hope y'all had a wonderful weekend and have some fun plans for the week.

#2220 travel Tuesday: will he still run the book club from China?

You probably don't follow the NBA off-season like I have been this summer. Most of the teams will have different players in the fall because there has been a lot of trading and free agents signing with new teams over the past couple of weeks.

The Jazz will have two or three new starters which means that some of the players that have been on the team the past couple of seasons have had to move on. One of those players is my favorite book club leader, Ekpe Udoh. He signed a big contract with the Beijing Ducks in Chinese Basketball Association. I truly wish him well and hope he has a fantastic season over there. I have had the pleasure of meeting Ekpe a couple of times through his book club. He is so nice and friendly. He didn't get a lot of playing time with the Jazz and I'm sure that has something to do with his choice to move to China.

I wonder if he will continue to run the book club while he is overseas. When he was in Turkey a few years ago I think he still had the book club. I hope he does. He picks interesting books and I really like the conversations the group has. Several of the local book club members have suggested that we meet up here in town, even though Ekpe won't be there. It will be interesting to see if that happens.

We just started a book and our first meeting about it will be on Thursday. We already have the whole schedule. I don't know when Ekpe will head to China. I wonder if he'll say anything about it on Thursday. Probably not. He usually just focuses on the books. He's good about that.

Even if you don't care, I'll keep you updated!

PS If you click on the link for the book club above and go to the gallery, I am in several of the group photos :)

#2192 WW Wednesday

I didn't go to a WW workshop last week and in the past two weeks I seem to have forgotten I am in WW at all. No tracking, no planning, not much care about what goes in my face. I thought that maybe this week I would get myself back together after a week off, but that didn't happen. It's okay, though, because I'm in this weight loss thing for the long haul and a stumble along the way is going to happen.

In the Monday post I wrote that MT and I were going to the Jazz game and they won! It was lots of fun and an exciting game. I admit that my voice was a little scratchy on Tuesday morning. The place was so loud and the atmosphere was electric. The crowd was so into every single play. At one point in the fourth quarter with only a couple of minutes left, there was a time out and everyone stood up and started clapping. It took me a minute or two to figure out that there was music playing. I couldn't hear the music because the clapping was so loud. Crazy.

Tonight was Game 5, another elimination game for the Jazz. Sadly, the Jazz lost and now their season is over. The Jazz had a chance tonight, but the shots weren't falling. I feel sad that the Jazz season is over. I'll continue to watch the playoffs, but it won't be must see TV.

Now I'll take my sad chubby self off to bed.

#2191 miscellaneous Monday

I've always kind of liked the word miscellaneous. I like the way it sounds. I like that it has 13 letters - 13 letters! so many! - and I like that it encompasses such a variety of stuff. Plus it starts with an M as does Monday, thus Miscellaneous Monday.

Have you missed me? Probably not because I was actually hanging out with you (Mom and Lizzie). For the other five readers, I was hanging out in southern California with my mom and my sister. We split the time between San Diego and LA and I will tell you why it wasn't just a random visit another day. I'll just say right now that I had a good time; I enjoyed the nice weather and spending time with my two favorite women.

Tonight MT and I are going to watch our beloved Jazz play in what may be, but hopefully isn't, the final game of the season. It's the playoffs and the Jazz are competing against the Houston Rockets. The Jazz had a chance to win game 3, but it didn't happen, so tonight is an elimination game. I have no doubt that the atmosphere in the arena will be electric as nearly 20,000 Jazz fans will, by sheer force of volume and will and maybe some prayers, cheer their team to victory. I'm sure there are not many of us who think the team will come back from a 3-0 deficit, but the dream is there!  That's what being a fan is all about, isn't it, cheering for your team against all odds.

First a bite to eat, then to the arena for playoff basketball.

Go Jazz!

#2186 Saturday with Sandy

I started out the day with a decision to make. You see, I was signed up to go on a guide tour of Red Butte Garden at 9 AM, so I got up early to attend the 8 AM workshop at WW. However, when I checked the forecast this morning, it looked like it was going to rain up on the hill at the garden, so I skipped the tour and walked to the 10 AM WW workshop. While I was walking, I saw clouds hanging low over the foothills where the garden is, but I can't be sure if it was raining or not. I'm not saying I made a mistake, but I might have made the wrong decision.

It all worked out well, though. I got in a nice walk. I was early enough that I whipped over to Starbucks to get an iced chai latte, and I got to spend a nice half hour with some cool people at the 10 AM workshop.

The 10 AM group started a private Facebook group, so we all chat, share photos of food and offer each other encouragement throughout the week. It's great. I know there is at least one other workshop group that has a private Facebook page, but I'm sure that our group's page is the best. ;)

One of my former WW leaders was also at the workshop today. I really liked her. She still works for WW, but now she coaches the coaches, which I think is pretty cool. I've been going to WW for so long and had so many leader/coaches, I don't think I can remember all their names. There are three that really stand out for me: Alicia (the lady I saw today), Gina, and the current coach Lana. They have all been supportive and friendly and wonderful.

MT picked me up after the workshop and we went out to Lehi to the Eddie Bauer store at the outlet mall. In my last post I talked about small pants and today I bought the small pants. They are just one size smaller than what I wear now and they absolutely do NOT fit. I can get them over my hips but that's about it. There is no closure there at all. I am going to be a seriously happy girl when those jeans fit. They are really cute, too.

I can tell you that the lunch we had will not help me reach my goal of fitting into those jeans. We ate at a place called Spitz. I had the street cart fries and I'll tell you that I can still feel them sitting in my gut almost nine hours later. They were so good though.  Definitely a treat: not something to have on a weekly basis!

When we got home it was time to settle in to watch the Final Four of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. March Madness baby! Yes I know it's now April, but it's still March Madness. The first game with Auburn and Virginia was exciting right to the final buzzer with Virginia winning although with a questionable call. The second game was a defensive battle with Texas Tech beating Michigan State. I didn't have either of those teams in the final game in my bracket, which got busted all to hell last weekend. I still like to watch, though. National Championship game on Monday night. I'd like to see Texas Tech beat Virginia.

It's a good thing I went for that walk this morning. I've been sitting in this corner of my couch for hours. I've been reading, napping, and playing with my phone while listening to the ball games and looking up when the announcers got excited. I'm really just chilling and it feels great.

I hope you are having a relaxing fun weekend too!

#2136 that was excruciating

You know how much I love my Utah Jazz. I will watch their games when I am sitting home on my couch, as I did last night, and be perfectly content. I love to see them play live and am thrilled when I get tickets to the suite from my work, as I did tonight.

But oh my good hell. Tonight's game was terrible. Who were those people dressed as Jazz players out on the court? I recognized their names, but they sure didn't play like the guys I watched last night. It was bad. There was nothing good about it. It seemed like the longest game I have ever been to. The play made me feel sad and worried for my team. It was a 33 point blowout. I don't think I can remember seeing the Jazz play that badly.

Thankfully they have a day off tomorrow before they have to play again on Wednesday in Brooklyn, then another day off before they on Friday in Charlotte. 

It's still early in the season, the 21st game out of 82. They have got to get their shit together! I'm not giving up.  We will be okay.

#2117 game night

I had the chance to go to the Jazz game tonight with MT with tickets from work. I am always so thankful when I am given these tickets and I do not take it for granted that I will ever get tickets again. We enjoy each time we get to go to the game and I am grateful every time.

Tonight the Jazz were playing the Dallas Mavericks. The Jazz were up big at halftime, but in the second half, the Mavs picked up their game and the Jazz seemed to be having trouble getting buckets. I'm not sure if Dallas ever got closer than 10 points, but it felt like they could break through until about midway through the fourth quarter. The Jazz went on a little run and put the game away from there. 

It's crazy to say it, but tonight was the Jazz's first home win of the season. Their record in this young season is five wins and six losses. There are still 71 games to go this season. I think they'll be okay.

Friday night the Jazz host the Boston Celtics. It will be the return to SLC of Gordon Hayward. I'm pretty sure the fans will be on fire. There may still be some feelings about the way Hayward left. I hope the Jazz will be feeling strong and superior on Friday!

Fun fact: the Jazz teamed up with Chick-fil-A for a food drive. If you brought a 16 oz. jar of peanut butter tonight, you got a gift card for a free combo meal from Chick-fil-A. I brought two jars of peanut butter, one from each of us, so two gift cards! Hooray! Extra bonus - I got an awesome deal on said peanut butter so I really feel like I got the best of everything.

MT and I feel like we are living large because we went out two nights in a row. LOL

That's all I've got tonight. Peace!

#2101 Saturday with Sandy

I was a homebody today. The weather forecast called for rain, so I thought it would be a good idea to stay home and clean the house and basically just chill. It didn't rain today, but it was kinda cold and a little windy. It probably would have been a good idea to go up to the Garden to record blooms today, but I have no regrets about staying home. The downstairs is a whole lot better looking and better smelling than it was this morning. I read. I did laundry. I relaxed. I feel good about it.

Kinda boring for a daily recap, but there it is.

Now I'm watching the Utah football game. They are playing at Stanford tonight. So far so good. Utes are up 24 - 7 at halftime. Utah played beautiful football in that first half. Here's hoping they keep it up the rest of the game!

Ooh! MT and I went to a pre-season Jazz game last night. The business admin team had the suite last night. It was great to be back in the arena watching Jazz basketball!




Hope you're all having a great weekend!

#2037 three things on Thursday: win, waaah and wait a minute

Here we go...

1. Jazz win! Last night was Game 2 of the Western Conference Semi-finals between the Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets. The Rockets are the number one seed in the west and had the second best record in the NBA. They are good. They spanked the Jazz in Game 1 and lots of people were predicting a sweep. After the the way the Jazz played in Game 1, I myself said the Jazz would be lucky to get a game against Houston. Thinking back on the first game, though, the Jazz didn't stand much of a chance. They played late on Friday night and got a huge, emotional win in Game 6 against the feisty Oklahoma City Thunder to move on to the second round. Game 1 was at 1:30 on Sunday afternoon, so the Jazz basically had Friday night to celebrate, sleep, head to Houston, practice a little on Saturday and then hit the court. That's not much time to prepare. Fortunately they had two whole days off in between Game 1 and Game 2, and their preparation was excellent. The Jazz were able to hang on to beat Houston . A split on the road in the playoffs is pretty dang great! Game 3 tomorrow night in SLC. The Viv is going to be lit (as the kids say).

2. Waaah. Speaking of the game on Friday night, the company I work for has a suite at the arena. A friend of mine, R, was talking to me today about the game.
R: Ugh. It's an 8:30 start.
Me: So? 8:30 on a Friday. Better than 8:30 on a Wednesday. I hate being so tired at work, but I do it for the Jazz!
R: (in a somewhat whiny voice) But I'll be tired on my own time.
Me: (in my head) Then give me the effing ticket! I'll be tired and happy on my own time!
Me: (in real life) Poor you.

3. Wait a minute. When I wrote on Tuesday I said that I didn't know if my friend J had a great time in Italy. Some things he said on Monday made me wonder. I talked to him again today about the trip and saw a bunch of his photos and heard some of his stories, and I now know that he actually really enjoyed the vacation. This is a fella is not used to taking time off at all. He has a fast-paced and pretty stressful job. In talking to him today, I got the feeling that he has been thinking about the slower, relaxed lifestyle you fall into while on vacation. He was talking a lot today about how great it would be to have a gelato shop where he made the gelato every morning and his wife ran the cash box. (This is true!) Hearing him talk through the touist-y photos and tell stories about the personal photos, I know that he had a great time. Listening to him sure made me want to go to Italy!

#2029 3 things: JT, long flight and the Jazz

It's not my normal Three Things day, but it's okay to change it up, right? I've got a few things to follow-up with.

1. Justin Timberlake in SLC. T and I saw Justin Timberlake in concert on the 12th. JT's stage set-up was cool as hell. It wound through the entire arena floor. There was a big stage at one end where the band was set up, then a winding "river" that led to the middle of the floor where there was a small circular stage that was surrounded by an actual bar on the floor for the people who could afford those kinds of tickets, I guess. From there, the river continued to wind to the other end of the arena where there was a good sized stage. JT used every inch of the stages as he danced and sang his way through the solid two hour set. He's a tremendous performer. I liked the songs from his FutureSex/LoveSounds album the most, but all the songs were good and the show was a lot of fun. T and I both truly enjoyed the experience.

Here's a review and photos from the Salt Lake Tribune. The writer makes some good points. I thought the campfire part was hokey and I completely LOVED "Mirrors".

2. Weekend wrap-up and the epic flight home. I was in Southern California over the weekend. I wrote about Saturday's fun in my last post here. On Sunday, my mom slept in a little and I took a walk to the local Starbucks. I was listening to the Hamilton soundtrack (going to see the musical on Sunday!!). I was familiar with the first act, I guess, but I hadn't listened or paid too much attention to the second half. I was missing out. It's wonderful. I was weeping as I was walking home from Starbucks. Phillip! Alexander! Eliza! <> So good. I am super excited to see the show!

Lizzie came up from San Diego and arrived right about the time I got home from Starbucks, still wiping tears from my eyes. The three of us went to lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, El Cholo, where I had one of my most favorite meals in the world, filet mignon tacos. Such a treat! I ate way too many chips, but the guacamole was so good and they washed down so easily with my giant, ice cold Pacifico beer. It was a treat. When we got home Lizzie and Mom took a nap. I couldn't possibly sleep because the Jazz are in the playoffs and it was Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Sadly, the Jazz did not win that day, but I watched the whole thing. Lizzie left for home later in the evening.

On Monday Mom and I had an early lunch, then she dropped me off at the Long Beach airport. When I got there, I found that my flight was delayed, but only about 20 minutes. It was quite windy, but the sun was shining and it was warm. I sat outside and read a book. Then my flight got delayed again and again until there was about an hour delay from the original departure time. I finally boarded the flight and we were heading to SLC. I was reading and I thought that we should be getting close to SLC. About that time, the pilot came made the announcement that we were turning around and heading to Las Vegas because high winds in SLC were causing flights to be diverted. We spent an hour or more in Las Vegas, then finally came home where it was snowing. BOOOOO! Bottom line: I was supposed to be home by 6:30 and the plane landed sometime between 10:30 and 11:00. Thankfully MT came to pick me up and he had the heater blasting in the car because I can tell you I was underdressed for the weather.

3. Jazz in the playoffs! As I mentioned above, the Utah Jazz made it to the NBA playoffs this season. It's so great to see them there. I don't think there were many Jazz fans who held out hope in October, November or December that the team would get to the post-season. They were able to put together a beautiful second half of the season to get the fifth seed in the Western Conference. Tonight was Game 2 of the first round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Jazz were able to get the win. I'm so happy for them to split the games on the road. That's a big deal. Game 3 in Salt Lake City on Friday night. I'll be watching from the best seat in my house. Go Jazz!

#2014 watching basketball

The time got away from me tonight. I went to Zumba this evening, then I came home and started watching basketball. The Jazz were playing the Phoenix Suns tonight and I had that game on while I monitored what is going on at the NCAA tournament. The Jazz game turned into a blow-out, (Jazz crushed the Suns!) so I started reading and suddenly it was 9:30.

Sometimes my work is just the best. Today, the first day of March Madness, we ordered in a bunch of pizzas, turned on the TV and watched a little basketball during our lunch break. We do it every year and every year it is awesome. We'll watch basketball tomorrow too, but we'll be eating corned beef instead of pizza.

Of course I filled out a bracket. I've missed a few games, but hopefully I'm still okay. It wouldn't be fun to be completely out of it after the first day!

#1952 the good and the bad

Good news: I had a dental exam and got my teeth cleaned this evening!
Bad news: There is a little cavity on one of the left bottom molars. I'll have to get a filling a week from Thursday.

Good news: MT and I got to go to the Jazz game tonight in the suite!
Bad news: The Jazz didn't play very well and lost to the 76ers by seven points.

Good news: In the suite we were served dinner!
Bad news: I ate something, probably the dip, that upset my tummy and has me feeling a little queasy.

#1941 Sportstober in action

You know I love sports and I love October and I especially love sports in October. Yesterday was my perfect Sportstober day. Check it out:

In the afternoon, the Utes played against Arizona State here in SLC. It was a beautiful, perfect fall afternoon for football. I was not up at the stadium; instead, I was happily planted on my comfy couch watching the game on my big ass TV. Unfortunately, the Utes were TERRIBLE yesterday and lost the game 30-10. The Utes were never a factor in the game. At. All. If I remember right, they were shut out in the first half. I'm frankly they were able to score a touchdown. I think ASU's defense just let that happen out of boredom. I often listen to the coach's press conference on Monday at noon. I'm sure Whittingham won't have anything nice to say about any facet of his team's play yesterday. They were awful. It pains me to say it, but it's the truth.

In the evening, the New York Yankees were playing in Houston against the Astros in Game 7 of theAmerican League Championship Series (ALCS). There is nothing quite like a Game 7 in sports. It's win or go home. The winner of this game gets to move on to the World Series to play the Los Angeles Dodgers. I am a long-time Yankee hater. One of my many sports mottos is that I like any team that is playing the Yankees. I have that same motto for the Dodgers. You can imagine how upsetting a Dodgers- Yankees World Series would be for me. I'd watch, but I wouldn't want either of the teams to win. Of course, in this ALCS, I was rooting for the Houston Astros.

I wasn't able to watch the ALCS though, because MT and I had the opportunity to go watch the Jazz play against the Oklahoma City Thunder! Yay! I will almost always choose to go watch the Jazz play against anyone, and I was especially excited to go to this game. The Thunder have a couple of new superstar players this year in Paul George and Carmelo Anthony. I don't think I have ever seen those two play in person. I think it is fun to see other teams's superstars. I have seen LeBron, Kevin Durrant, Steph Curry, Kobe (he's retired now, but notable). I never got to see Michael Jordan in person. That pains me, but there's nothing for it now.

Anyway, we were guests in the suite and it was great, as always. Yes, the suite has been remodeled and it's different in ways that aren't great, but the seats are padded and comfy and there is food and the dessert cart is nice. It's a good environment. I had a good view of the court and the game was great. The Jazz played really well and beat the Thunder, so I can't complain.

There is a TV in the suite, and when the Jazz game was done, I got to see the last three outs of the
ALCS. Houston won! Now the World Series match-up is set: Houston Astros vs LA Dodgers. Even though I am a National League girl, I will be rooting for the Astros in the Series. For one thing, I don't like the Dodgers, and for another, the city of Houston could use a win this year. It would be a great celebration for the city that has suffered from Hurricane Harvey. I'd like to see that happen. Plus Jose Altuve seems like a good dude and he's fun to watch.




If only the Utes had won or at least played decent, it would have been a perfect sports day. Oh well. It was still pretty great.