Land of Lauralot

Wrapup

2013-03-06T08:53:00.000-07:00

So I didn't finish all of my goals. I got pretty close though. The DIY project I wanted to complete was reupholstering my grandma's little rocking chair that she gave me awhile back. The fabric was all faded and I wanted new, cute fabric. I'll admit this project was an EPIC fail. I worked on it with my very patient friend Eric who actually volunteered to help me with this so I don't feel too bad about it. I do feel bad that it is currently sitting in his bedroom somewhere in Sandy still looking like this. The fabric I chose was going to be too thin and stretchy and then I just haven't found fabric I've liked since. I still don't know what I'm going to do about this chair. I might pay a professional. Eric said he's cool with that.

Onto the personal shopper. I may not have done what I intended to by going to Nordstrom and getting someone to bring me clothes and tell me what would look good on me, but I did try stylebox.com thanks to my cousin Liz who told me about it. I loved it. I only bought one of the gazillion items in there, but it was worth it -- mostly because the whole process is entirely free. Shipping, styling, everything. You pay for what you keep. I'm totally doing this again.

On a related note, I acted myself as a personal shopper for my friend Pete. He came to me with a $400 budget and absolutely no ideas. So I got to dress him however I wanted. I think we came out with two sweaters, three dress shirts, a pair of jeans, two trousers, a belt, two pairs of shoes and maybe something else. It was way fun. And he did look good. He has a weird, puffy beard now though. Don't know why. If you see him know I had nothing to do with that decision.

I think the point of the goals was to stretch myself, try things I've never done before, and get myself to get some things done.

Although these weren't goals I wrote down, these were some things I've always wanted to do but never did:

I did a three day smoothie cleanse. It was hard, but I liked it.

I got a letter from the Governor for being good.


I went snowshoeing

So I would say it was a good year for getting things done and trying things new. With that, I think it's time to say farewell to the blog. I know, I know, you don't really care :)

I loved this blog for the longest time. Some day I need to complete my goal of having the whole thing printed because there is some good stuff in here. It's served as a journal in a sense and I would hate for these memories and pictures to be lost. But I think it's the end of a blog era for me (and for most people). So thanks for sticking around, thanks for commenting. You can find me on Facebook -- until that gets old too.

xoxo

Goal #21: Birthdays!

2012-12-24T12:57:00.002-07:00

Birthday gifts are fun, but birthday dates are more fun! I hope...because that's what all my nieces and my nephew got this year.I first started doing this because I have four nieces in the same family and I feel like they do things together a lot and don't get at lot of individual attention. So I decided to take them each out on an outing.

This took all year to do for all five of the kiddos. The fun thing about this idea is that it's also fun for me, because I get to go do fun stuff.

First was Chloe. We went to the Clark Planetarium at the Gateway to see a wacky 3D movie about bugs in space or something. I don't quite remember, it was a long time ago -- like February. After that we came back to my house and made dinner for her family who came to pick her up about an hour later.

I'm not sure what we're baking here...but they were licking up frosting or something. I had this big idea about having grilled cheese sandwiches but I remember Chloe telling me that's what she had for lunch...or dinner or something. Anyway, we had ice cream too which usually makes up for anything she's not that thrilled with.

Next was Sadie. We went to Desert Star Playhouse in Murray. I went here on a date about a month before this and thought my nieces would love this. So I took Sadie to see The Princess Bridesmaid. There was a pirate, there was a princess, and a lot of singing and dancing. Sadie, as usual challenged the dialogue and logic of the screenplay. She also had a root beer float which she was stoked about. I don't know what she's holding in this -- a water bottle? Anyway. After it was over she wasn't ready to go home so we went to Target which she was super thrilled about. She wanted to buy a bunch of stuff. We bought a broom for my house.

When we got back to her house she literally started to ball her eyes out and then she went on some sort of speech strike. Carter kept asking if she had fun and she nodded. He asked her about the play but tears were the only response that came. I think she was upset the evening was over. My mom said the next morning she asked her how it was and she refused to answer. Weird. I think she wants to come live with me.

Next is Tessa who turned 3 this year. I was honest at This is the Place and said she was 3 years-old which is the turning point when it comes to paid admission. If I was smart I would have realized her birthday was two days away.

She's holding crackers in this picture. I learned if Tessa has crackers in hand she's a happy camper.

We went to Baby Animal Days so she could pet the baby animals. It was adorable and she loved it. She also loved her little admission bracelet they made her wear. Tessa also didn't want to go home when this was over so we went back to my house. She said she was hungry so I gave her some popcorn and juice. Then she wanted to hear a story. So I read her a couple stories.

Tessa is really good to have around because she has an amazing sense of what I'm forgetting. I need that in my life.

Next is Piper. Her birthday date came about a month after her actual birthday. Because the Desert Start Theatre was a crying success for Sadie, I figured Piper would like it too. Plus, the production was Wickeder. More princesses. What little girl doesn't love that?

I told them in advance it was her birthday so they could announce it at their little intermission entertainment portion of the program. They got her name wrong and called her Tiper at first, but that was expected. They were also confused as to why she was with her aunt on her birthday and not her parents. I left it alone to avoid an explanation in front of an audience that really doesn't care.

Piper was also super excited about getting a rootbeer float. She sat on my lap for half of the production. Not because she couldn't see (we were on the front table), I think she just likes me a lot.

On the way home I asked her what she thought of Wickeder and she said, "it was like the Wizard of Oz, but different-er." She's funny.

Last but not least we have Jack. I probably see Jack a lot more than the girls but I rarely take him out by himself, so we had a good time. I had a hard time trying to decide what we should do, but Lisa suggested the Natural History Museum. I had been there a few times and I think it's an awesome museum. If you haven't gone yet, make sure to go. It's even fun without kids with you.

I looked up their programs online and every other Saturday is the bug brigade where kids straight out of your science nerd stereotype show them beetles and black widows and tell them all about their eating habits, daily rituals and quirks.

Jack is holding a madagascar beetle here. He also held a stink bug. They wouldn't let the kids hold the spiders. I don't blame them. If they handed me a spider and it started to move I would jump and squeal. We went into the bug room twice because Jack wanted to hold the beetle again.

The rest of the museum has some cool stuff. Here Jack is making a mountain so the water can't pass through.

I bought Jack a little wind up fly that he played with the whole way home. He had no problem with me taking him home, but he did want me to spend the night at his house. And be his mom.

Goal #9: Sickos

2012-12-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

Back when I lived on Capitol Hill I had this girl that I visit taught. Kind of. I'm a terrible visiting teacher when it comes to visiting them, giving a lesson, coming regularly, etc. But I heard she was sick and so I decided to make her a get well package. She was so appreciative of it I decided I needed to do it again.

My old roommate Mandi mentioned on FB or something that she had a terrible sinus infection. Maybe it was her blog. Anyway, I was sad she was sick but happy that I could make her a get well package.

In this bag is a box of Thai Kitchen garlic soup, a couple clementines, Grandma Durham's netti pot, some clam chowder (not awesome for sinus infections, but tasty because I made it -- in the sour cream container), the orange juice concentrate she left at my house and some zinc tablets. She also stopped by later and I gave her my humidifier so she could breathe at night. The next day, I can't say she was all better but she did call me a "healer" and a "magician".

About a month earlier my friend Jon was sick and I made him a similar get well package. I gave him the netti pot, some Vicks Kleenex, some garlic bread (always makes my colds feel better) and some zinc tablets. I don't think he got the hang of the netti pot. It takes practice. But it is nice once you get the hang of it.

Goal #28: Cousins

2012-12-07T17:17:00.001-07:00

I honestly wasn't sure if this one would happen. But I'm so glad it did! I was able to get all but one of my Durham cousins away for the night up in Midway. First of all it's amazing that we all live in the same general area. Even Leslie who's lived Back East for awhile. The only cuz we missed was Amy (Nielsen) Roberts who lives in Washington. And she was missed.

I wanted to do this because I remember coming to a Durham Christmas party two years ago feeling like I didn't want to be there, but so happy I did because my family and my cute cousins make me happy. I think I actually wrote about it. Yes, yes I did.

We decided to stay up at Zermatt in Midway. It was only one night, but it was a blast. All eight of us (Amy, Monica, Lindsay, Sara, Liz, (me), Lisa and Leslie met up at Zermatt. Earlier that day Monica, Sara, Liz, Lisa and I did some shopping at the outlets in Park City and got some soup and salad at Red Rock. That was fun.

Before we went to dinner we served as Amy's focus group and helped her decide which products we thought Deseret Book should put on their shelves. Then we all piled in one car and went to the Snake Creek Grill. I think we all got something different. I had the salmon and it was delicious. We decided to go there in honor of Grandma Durham who loved it. It is tasty.

Some of us went to the hot tub (which was crazy crowded) and then we all stayed up until about 1 AM. There was no lack of conversation, stories and laughter. It was a blast. I hope we do it again.

Goal #20: Blog

2012-11-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

Technically, my goal was to make a book of my blog from the beginning. I totally didn't do that. The thought exhausted me and I saw dollar signs everywhere which overwhelmed me. So I simplified the task. Remember, I'm being flexible with myself? That's how you stay sane, people.

Many of you few readers who are still with me know my Grandma Durham died in October. And most of you readers know I've chronicled my visits with her the past few years. I decided to make this goal more meaningful and make a book from my blog about my time with Grandma.

So I went to Blurb.com and I uploaded all my blog posts about Grandma. And in the back I put my talk that I gave at her funeral. My sister took some pictures which I ripped off to round out some of the blank pages. I think it turned out to be a 34 page book. I was able to include comments on my posts from all my family and friends so that was nice. I think it's more meaningful this way anyway. A book of my entire blog would be huge. Book arrives December 4th. I think it will be nice to have all those memories about Grandma in one place. I'm satisfied with this goal.

12 Goals to go! Do you think I can do it?

Goal #5: Squares

2012-11-14T15:48:00.003-07:00

Finally! I started this rag quilt project a couple months ago. I know what took me so long to start it (I’m indecisive) but I don’t know what took me so long to finish it. It’s a fairly simple process.

It's also a messy process: it made the inside of my house look like a snow globe that hadn’t been picked up for hours.

When I was picking out the fabric I realized I was on a wild animal kick with the bunnies and birds and foxes and horses. And then mushrooms.

A big thanks goes to Lisa for showing me how to do it and letting me use her rotary cutter and her apartment building’s washing machine so mine wouldn’t get clogged up with all the stuff that comes off when you wash it. And thanks to my Aunt Susan who posted somewhere about Pink Chalk Fabrics which is finally what motivated me to buy fabric to get the whole thing started.

I had several people ask me "Who are you making if for?" Uh...me! I felt kind of selfish every time I answered.

Did you know that making a quilt is more expensive than buying a quilt? Well, it is. And it takes about 100x as long to do it. BUT it is satisfying. And I like doing projects and working with my hands.

The last time I made a quilt it was an easy fleece quilt where you cut fringe and tie the ends together. That one now hangs out in my car trunk in case of a disaster. I knitted an afghan before that. THAT took a long time. And that was also expensive, but I still have it and use it a lot.

This is the most imperfect quilt I’ve ever made (if you look closely those squares are NOT all the same size and it doesn’t line up and it doesn’t fold perfectly because the final project is not a perfectly framed rectangle. But it’s cute and it’s warm. And I bet Lucy is sleeping on it right now because I forgot to shut my bedroom door when I left the house.

Goal #26: Escala

2012-10-26T14:56:00.000-06:00

A few of my goals have been tweaked if you haven't noticed. You gotta be flexible with reality. The reality with taking some friends to San Diego was that none of my friends could a) afford to go to b) get time off to go.

I fall in the first category. Now that I have house payments and utility payments, etc. I am poorer than I used to be. Luckily I had ten years worth of Delta skymiles to cash in when I felt like I could really use a vacation. And luckily, my parents let me infiltrate their stay in San Diego. I actually came just as my dad was leaving so I got a day with him and my mom and the rest of the day with just my mom. I'm friendly with my parents and so we're going to count them as friends. What? Shut up.

I stayed for four nights. I went on a couple bike rides with my dad, I went shopping in La Jolla with my mom, visited the San Diego Mission, we drove to the LDS temple, we ate french toast, we ate tamales, we ate dumplings. And made cookies. And watched two episodes of Call the Midwife, Bernie and the third presidential debate. And I went to the pool a couple times. I read (still working on goal #3). It was raining when I flew in, it was moderate weather for the next few days and then very warm my last day. All in all, it was delightful. Here are some pics. I tried to choose ones you haven't already seen on Facebook and Instagram:

Goal #27: Laps

2012-09-20T20:49:00.001-06:00

I may not be awesome at swimming, but I learned a whole lot tonight about how to swim a freestyle stroke. My friend Alex taught me and she is an amazing teacher. In just an hour and a half I learned what I had been doing wrong (oh and clearly, we both look dorky in this photo. Swimming isn't necessarily a pretty sport when you're not swimming).

Who knew flippers were so useful? I never really understood the point of flippers until tonight. They really do help you swim more smoothly so you can focus on arm strokes and breathing and not so much on what your feet are doing. I might have to get me some. I definitely need to get me some goggles. She gave me some good tips.

I met Alex several years ago when I was working at Sur la Table as a culinary assistant. Her friend Melanie was the manager of the store and Alex came over one night after class as we were cleaning up and I introduced her to some of my friends and we just kind of became friendly from then on out. I don't see her that often, but when I do it's always a delight. She's way into triathlons and so I thought I'd ask her to help me with this goal. She watched me swim and was able to point out some of the things that are a challenge for me:

1. keeping my head down when I turn to breathe. I always want to lift it up first.
2. I have a problem keeping my whole body at a high level in the water. My body seems to want me to drown.
3. I need to take deeper breaths when I do breathe.

Anyway, I was surprised at how much fun it was once I got the hang of it. I definitely need to go out again. What I need is a free indoor pool so I can make a habit of it and get some exercise when it's too cold to take my bike out. Or I could join a gym. Sigh.

Goal #14: Files

2012-08-17T10:18:00.004-06:00

If you remember, I needed aesthetic inspiration to start keeping files, so I found a file cabinet on Craigslist, made it cute, and now I have more space than I need for files (in fact, two of the drawers in this cabinet are for yarn and fabric. It's great.

I've been trying to organize my house ever since I moved in. I need to centralize all my information and papers so I know where to find things like photo CDs, warranties, sheet music, brochures and postcards my mom gives me, etc. The top of my file cabinet has been collecting more and more papers and more and more dust until last night, I finally decided to get to work and file it away. The cabinet still needs some work. And I probably have some stuff here at work that belongs at home in the files, but that will be a never ending process.

Hooray for organizing! Next up? My garage -- or maybe the utility closet. I need to turn half of that into a coat closet. Or maybe I buy an armoire for the dining room...that's weird. But with small houses weird's part of the territory. I strive for cute/classy weird though. It works.

Goal #25: Free Tickets

2012-08-10T16:44:00.002-06:00

I'll admit, I'm fudging this one a wee bit. My goal was to buy season tickets to something. Instead I found a way to get free season tickets to something.

My lovely friend Annie Harrell Walker was a volunteer for Ballet West. She hooked me up with an opportunity to play the piano for the ballet in exchange for free tickets last year. So every now and then I would volunteer and get into a performance for free.

Yesterday I got an email from the volunteer coordinator who sent out the dates of all the performances this season and asked for pianists. I booked the whole season. Bada bing bada boom -- season tickets. I'm set. If anyone is dying to see a production and wants to come, I take bribes. I can also take you to the secret, catered reception in the basement during intermission. Sometimes there are two.

I wonder what else I can get into for free because I know how to play the piano. I asked PTC once...or tried to. They are so difficult up there. I did have season tickets for their plays a couple years ago. That was fun. Yes, you do see some plays that you wouldn't have chosen to if you bought them a la carte, but that's the point right? To expose yourself to a variety of playwrights, actors, etc. See what's out there. And feel cool because you have the same seats at every production because you are a season ticket holder.

Someday when I'm rich I'll be able to get season tickets for something because I have loads of cash, not because I'm a volunteer. But for now, it works just fine.

Goals 18 & 19: Letters and Notes

2012-07-15T14:59:00.002-06:00

I'm calling this one good. I didn't exactly MAIL a letter to Grandma because I was going to go see her anyway. So I brought her a letter. And some kale chips.

It was about time I thank her officially (meaning in writing rather than verbally) for the blinds she bought me. Last time she saw me she asked "How is that house of yours that I helped build?" So I think I'm going to need to thank her for the blinds every time I see her from now on.

And since the "send a letter to Grandma" goal is so closely related to the "send thank you notes" goal, I'm calling that one good too. I was invited to my lovely friend Melinda's house several months ago. I made a special effort to send her a thank you note, but even if it wasn't a goal of mine I would have done it that particular time anyway because she and her little family are so dang cute, I'd feel like a delinquent if I didn't. Plus she stalks my blog ;)

I was invited to a BBQ and I sent a thank you note. The host actually called me to thank me for my thank you note saying no one is that classy any more. That made me feel good.

I'm excluding dates from this goal. I've been on several dates this year and my date usually bought my dinner. I don't think all of them need an actual thank you note -- that's weird. Plus some of them were taking me out to thank me for something I did for them. Who wants to get caught in a thank you loop?

So. Two more goals down. I'm a little worried about the following:

composting -- didn't do it
reading all the books -- I suck at reading
make a book of my blog -- I don't feel like it
take friends to San Diego -- fell through
organize cousin trip -- I may downgrade this one to an evening

Goal #23: Stayin Alive

2012-06-24T13:52:00.001-06:00

I don't really have any indoor plants right now. I've had bouquets of flowers and a poinsettia plant that stayed alive for awhile. But this here is my lemon balm plant. It has stayed alive for six weeks now. It hasn't really flourished, but it's stayed alive. I bought it at this fantastic place on 400 South and about 400 West called Mololo Gardens. It's where I got all my exotic tomato plants that I'm excited to harvest later this summer. The guy said to keep this one inside because it makes the house smell lemony. Whatever. My house still smells like paint from when I first moved in. But the point is, IT HAS NOT DIED. So yes, success.

You see I'm very good at keeping plants alive outside (for the most part). My vegetable garden is doing great (see right). That arugula on the far left I grew from seed. I started it in a pot outside before I transplanted it and it has done very well. For some reason my parsley and carrot and cilantro seed on the front porch is still hiding in the dirt. Doesn't want to come out. Maybe it never will.

Goal #10: Relics

2012-05-31T10:40:00.002-06:00

I lived one and a half blocks away from the Daughters of the Utah Pioneer Museum and I never once walked in the building. I looked at it a lot. I drove past it a lot. I said to myself. "I should go in there one of these days," but I never went in. The problem was their business hours were also my business hours. UNTIL! They decided to stay open late on Wednesday nights. It wasn’t until I moved away that I made it a goal.

My delightful friend Pete volunteered to join me when I set this goal back in December. He had never been either and he also lived on Capitol Hill for years. So. It was time. I've heard all sorts of things about this museum from my friends. I heard it was like stepping into your grandmother's attic. It was pretty close. A lot of quilts. A lot of bibles. A lot of lacey stuff. There were also a lot of portraits of people who look disappointed in you -- whether they were paintings or photographs, no one smiled back then so their eyes spoke volumes. I didn't take any pictures of the portraits. It was a little too disturbing for me. I was impressed with how many pianos people brought over in covered wagons. Pianos are big and heavy.

The first thing I did when I walked in was eat one of these taffys. The docent there said Taffy Town makes honey taffy specifically for them and you can’t get it anywhere else (with the exception of their warehouse). I took three.

The docent also told us how the façade of the museum is modeled after the original Salt Lake Theatre. And when you walk inside there are three stories and staircases just like a theatre would have balconies and staircases. I thought that was nice.

For someone who works in arts and museums I am not the most reverent visitor. This is Pete holding his ribs as he laughed (he broke a rib playing soccer, and my jokes weren’t helping). I'd say something and Pete would go silent and then fold over with his hand on his side. Pete and I laughed a lot, but really, it’s impossible not to laugh at some of this stuff. I'm not sure exactly what he's laughing at here. He can tell you in a comment. It appears they unloaded everything the pioneers brought over in their handcarts, wagons and trunks and spread it all out under plexiglass. And I think this museum has to display everything that is donated to them so there is a lot of rubbish and nonsense.

Here’s something odd:

The thing that grossed us out the most was the hair art. It was shocking at first and then we just saw it show up everywhere. It was explained to us that these people didn’t have cameras to take pictures of their loved ones and so hair was something they could take, braid or knot into a chain or rope and keep on their person as a memento. Still, I think it’s weird. Pete tried to compare it to feathers from birds and people making things out of feathers, but I still think it’s weird. People could make stuff out of dead toenails too but no one does that.

I looked up the Durhams in their binder. There they are.

A "real replica" of the golden spike. I don't even think the real golden spike is at the Golden Spike Museum. I think it's in California somewhere.

Pete said I would like nice in this dress:

I think they should make reproductions of these old study cards and sell them at Deseret Book or something. I’d buy them.

Goal #13: Bikes!

2012-05-15T21:36:00.001-06:00

The title of this post is a shout out to my friend who hooked me up with my new bike last month. Ever since I met him I would tease him about how every time I ran into him he was talking to someone about bikes. All of his conversations led to bikes. All of his FB posts were bike videos or something about his bike. One time, I think to be funny he just put "Bikes!" as his FB post. I rolled my eyes and moved on to other news and updates.

Anyway, the good news is, he now works at a bike shop in Kaysville and when I told him I wanted a bike he found one he thought I'd like and I do. It's great. I live further away from work than I used to so it's too far to walk (a little less than 5 miles). But not too far to ride!

One of my coworkers lives nearish to me so we met up this morning to ride to work together. When we got to work we saw that Jim rode his bike too (Jim also doesn't live far from me). Coincidentally it was Mayor Becker's "Bike to Work Day". So I was an unwitting joiner. It was a lovely ride down. Can't wait to ride again. Not tomorrow though I need my car.

Goal #15: Old Friends

2012-05-15T21:26:00.004-06:00

Years and years ago I went to college. I had some roommates. Some I've kept in better touch with than others. I decided to call my friend (and former roommate) Jennie. I saw her a year or two ago with our other roommate (and one of my all time BFFs Ilene) at my house on Capitol Hill. I called Jennie last Sunday. I think I called Jennie...I used the number in my phone. The voicemail was one of those where they just tell you the number you called and you leave a message. So I left a message. I haven't heard back from her.

BUT! Listen to this. Years and years ago when I went to college, I worked at the HBLL (Harold B. Lee Library) in the LRC (Learning Resource Center) at BYU (Brigham Young University). See:

That's a terrible picture. And it wasn't 1994. It was more like 1999 or maybe 2000. I was only 16 in '94. My camera must have been off. I worked with some great people there. One of them was Shawn (the girl) Bonifay (that's not her in the picture by the way, that is Michelle. At Angie's desk). The last I spoke to Shawn was eight years ago when she called me on the phone to tell me she was getting married. The last time I saw Shawn was 11 years ago the night we took this picture:

This was taken at my friend Marni's house in Salt Lake City probably around 2001. We must have had a party. We had a lot of parties there. It was so fun to see her. Look how young we are.

Anyway, Shawn added me on Facebook last year. Out of the blue on Friday she sent me a FB message saying she wanted to get together so that night I drove to her house in Cottonwood (seriously, she lives 20 minutes away) and we went to get dinner at the Porcupine Grill. She has a beautiful home and a beautiful 5 year old miracle baby boy named Lincoln. It was so fun to see her and I hope to see her again soon. I'm counting this as the supplement to my somewhat unsatisfactory result of Goal 15. Shawn it was great to see you and I'm so glad we were able to catch up!

Goal #29: Canyon Creek

2012-04-29T13:04:00.004-06:00

I decided not to let another Saturday go by without heading over to Canyon Creek to play the piano. According to my aunt Suzi, Grandma has been "ready" for me to come play for awhile. I've just been busy these past couple months.

Of course I tried to call a few times in the morning and of course she didn't answer so I just headed on over there. As usual I found her laying on the bed and so I laid down and talked to her until it was time for lunch. I asked her if she wanted me to play the piano during lunch.

You might have heard (or read) about how Grandma has this thing where she doesn't believe I play the piano. No matter how many times I played the piano at her house over the years. And when I tell her I play she doesn't seem to think I'm very good at it. You see, what she really wanted was for my dad to come play the piano at Canyon Creek. There have been many conversations, bribes and manipulations on the subject, but we don't need to get into those.

The piano wasn't that great, it's really quiet and the hinge on the lid was broken so I couldn't really open it. But whatever. The most annoying part was they had elevator music playing in the background and it wasn't really my place to say, "Hey, can you turn that off so we can have some real music around here?" So I was competing with that.

I played some Grieg, some Brahms, some Send in the Clowns, some Til There was You from the Music Man. Grandma's table seemed to like it. Grandma said, "Laura dear, tell us what you're going to play before you play it," but I didn't. Unnecessary.

Overheard conversation at Grandma's table:

Waiter: "What can I get for you?"
Lady 1: "A sweater. It's cold in here."
Waiter: "Would you like something to drink?"
Lady 1: "Well I'd like a beer, but I don't think you'll give me that."

Grandma (to waiter): "I want you to know that is my granddaughter playing the piano."
Waiter: "Oh, that's nice."

And then my favorite:

Grandma (to the ladies at her table): "Would you like her to stop playing? Do you want me to ask her to stop?"

She said that a few times. Unfortunately I didn't hear what prompted Grandma to ask that question, but the answer was always, "No, I like it. Whoever doesn't like this music is stupid. Keep playing dear!"

So does she believe I can play the piano now? Or maybe the question is, does she think I'm any good? Perhaps, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Whatever. Goal #29, check.

Goal #2: Tips

2012-03-30T21:25:00.000-06:00

I think I was in college when some friends and I went to eat at this little dive in Provo. It wasn't really a "sit down and be waited on" place, but one of the employees brought us our meal. I decided to leave a dollar on the table for a tip. After we walked out the door one of my friends said, "Look!" and we looked back through the window of the restaurant and saw the guy dancing on the table with his dollar bill like he just won the lottery. It totally made his day.

This month I finally got blinds for the large windows in my house. I finally have privacy. I had the salesman from this company come give me a quote before Christmas. I told him I wanted to shop around before I made a decision. And yes, it took me this long to realize he had the best price. He came by a few weeks ago and said it would only take 45 minutes to install but it took him about two hours. After he put up the third set of blinds I said, "Yay! We're done" but then he looked at me and said, "no I still have the two for the windows on either side of the door." I was confused because I didn't remember asking him to order blinds for those windows. He looked at me half frightened/half confused. "You sure you don't want them up?" I had him hold them up against the window and I didn't like them at all. That was just too many horizontal lines on one wall. I know he measured a lot of windows to give me prices for them just in case, but there's no way I would have asked him to order blinds for those windows. He said, "It won't change the price if you don't want them." I had him show me the bid sheet. It was a bunch of nonsense to me but he said they were $45 each. I thought to myself, "Wait, I could have saved $90 here?" I was a little bugged and he was a little embarrassed. He admitted he was really tired that day. Turns out he forgot to order a valence for one of the windows so he'd have to come back. He said it would arrive in about a week. It took two weeks.

He finally came to install the valence on Thursday. He thanked me for my patience and asked if I changed my mind and wanted him to install the skinny blinds for the door windows and I said no thanks, I didn't like the way they looked. I wasn't sure if you were supposed to tip these guys (but I got the impression after last time that he was waiting for one even though he'd have to return to finish the job). I kind of didn't want to tip him because I kind of felt he cost me $90 in blinds I wasn't going to use. But the proof of the matter was, he did a great job on the install and he didn't make any extra money off me. His bid was the best one (even with those extra blinds that weren't included on the quotes from the other two companies) and he honored the discount he offered before Christmas. So I gave him a generous tip. He tried to give it back to me implying that I didn't have to do that but at the same time his face was all lit up. Did I make his day? I don't know. At least I gave him something he didn't expect and it made me feel good.

#33B: Dinosaurs

2012-03-16T09:15:00.000-06:00

Goal #33 is to get someone to give me a tour of two of the newest museums in town: The Leonardo and the Natural History Museum of Utah.

I still can't believe I haven't made it to the Leonardo yet. But last Thursday I went to the Salt Lake Convention and Visitor's Bureau Annual Meeting at the Natural History Museum that moved last year from President's Circle to Red Butte Gardens (or up in that area). The building itself is amazing. I was there a month ago for a Museum Leaders Meeting but didn't get to stay very long.

So the annual meeting was a perfect opportunity to tour the museum. I didn't get a private tour, but I did get to tour it with my good friend Annie and her husband Shawn. Annie works for "The Bureau" and I love that I get to sit by her at these things. I also don't know how I get invited to these things. My name tag said "Salt Lake Gallery Association" which I gave up several years ago, but free dinner? free entrance to the museum? I'm not going to say no to that.

The museum is fun. It spirals all the way to the top floor. But you're having so much fun looking at the displays you don't realize you've been walking uphill for the past hour. There are of course a lot of dinosaur bones, but there are also a lot of interactive displays to play around with. Here are a few of them. You can make a rubbing of a fossil, draw a picture of a dinosaur on the chalkboards. You can be an archaeologist and search for bones and you can smell a forest (and other grosser smells). It's a great place for kids.

If anyone wants to bring their kids up, let me know. I'll come with you. I had a great time.

#17 Dress

2012-03-08T15:57:00.000-07:00

I actually really like to dress up. This picture is one of my favorites from the "dress up" parties we'd have at our fancy house on Apricot. We thought we'd do serious faces.

I know there are a lot of people out there who have to dress up for work every day. I have friends who work for the LDS church and they're required to wear a dress or skirt every day (there was recently a lift on the nylon rule which is great). So dressing up every day isn't a big deal for them. But I don't have to dress up for work. I wear jeans a lot. Sometimes I even wear tennis shoes. You might have even spotted me in flip flops one day.

This past week I wore a dress/skirt every day and you know what, it wasn't a big deal for me either. I actually like to dress up. I just don't have a lot of dress up clothes. So a week wasn't hard. If I had to do this every day I think I would get sick of my dresses real fast.

I did take this to another level though and required the application of makeup for myself. That is a little more difficult. Some days I just get up and go. Most days I put on moisturizer, but most days I bypass the mascara and lipstick/gloss. I think I look OK without makeup, but it is kind of a conscious thing, kind of like wearing heels. You FEEL dressed up. You FEEL made up, and therefore you feel more awake and ready. So that was the reason for the goal.

So what did I learn? I didn't necessarily have to wake up any earlier to accomplish this. And I didn't necessarily have to make any sacrifices comfort-wise. I'm comfortable in dresses. They make me sit more like a lady which is a good thing. No one really noticed, except my coworker Jim who asked me on Wednesday why I was all "dolled up".

Sorry I don't have any pictures to prove it. I'm not really the type of person to take photographs of myself posing in any sort of manner. But I can tell you I wore my vintage 60's black dress on Monday, my Banana Republic jumper on Tuesday, my Anthropologie skirt on Wednesday, my Kingdom & State blue shift dress on Thursday and my yellow Shabby Apple dress on Friday.

So am I going to keep doing it? Probably not. I might try to look nicer in general every day, but I guess it's kind of like the vegan thing. Why do it if I don't have to?

#1 Yeast

2012-02-25T12:30:00.002-07:00

I'd consider myself a baker. A really good baker too. I bake cookies, cakes, etc. But for some reason I've always shied away from any recipe that called for yeast. I must have had a traumatic experience where it didn't work for me or something. I probably just used bad yeast.

Last night I had the fortune of spending an evening with Sophistimom. I kind of came when she wasn't expecting me and she was in the throws of testing recipes for her new cookbook. One of her recipes was lemon pull-a-part bread. And the recipe required yeast. So I partook of her culinary wisdom. And I accomplished my first goal of baking bread from scratch. And having it work.

She taught me a few things about yeast:

1. She prefers to use instant yeast (which is smaller)
2. You don't need to proof instant yeast
3. But if you do, the water needs to be warmer than you think.
4. You can keep it in the freezer

I wish I had a picture of the final product, but my phone died and that was my only camera. Basically, after the dough rose, we rolled it out, cut it into squares, sprinkled sugar and lemon zest all over it, stacked the squares and placed them in a bread pan. We let the dough rise a bit again and then popped it in the oven. When it came out, we iced it and then ate the deliciousness that it was.

So now I'm not so afraid of yeast. I'm excited to make more bread (Monica! I'm ready!) and make this recipe again. But I'll need Jaime to give me the modified version. We changed it a bit.

While the dough was rising, Jaime taught me how to make miso soup. We happened to have an egg white that we didn't use for the bread so we threw it in there and made egg drop miso. It was delicious, although Jaime said she has made better. I can't wait to try it myself. Miso soup on a cold day is one of the most comforting things you can do for yourself.

Goal #16: Hungry

2012-02-19T17:22:00.000-07:00

So vegan week was interesting. The first day was easy but I was hungry for most of it. I made a lot of green smoothies, lentil soup and rice. As delicious as those spring rolls were (pictured above) they weren't filling. And I really wanted the ones with crab. Snacking was the hard part. Everything has milk and cheese, but these are the things that saved me:

Most protein bars are vegan friendly turns out. Well, as long as you’re not weird about honey. I’m not. I also was loose with food items that were processed in a facility that also processed milk. I don’t have an allergy for heavens sake.

So breakfast was easy: cereal, oatmeal or I’d pop a cliff bar. Lunch was harder. The second and third day, my lentil soup sounded absolutely disgusting. So the second day I Googled “fast food vegan” and found this great site that listed a bunch of chain restaurants and what on their menu was vegan. So I went to Noodles & Co. and got the Indonesian noodles. They were good but so spicy that I was crying by the time I was done.

On Tuesday I was hungry for most of it. This is when I started making lists in my head about what I was going to eat at the end of the week: eggs, cheese, donuts...mostly things with eggs and cheese. Meat wasn’t an issue. Oh, and Jon wins for most thoughtful for bringing me cashews on Valentines Day figuring I’d be hungry. And I was.

Wednesday is when things started to go downhill a bit. I went to a retirement party at 11 AM (right before lunch) and there were chocolate eclairs. I was STARVING and there were only eight of us there and everyone was eating one so I did. I couldn’t help it. Didn’t feel too bad though. I thought “OK, I’ll just tack a day on to my vegan week to make up for this”. For lunch I went home and made this delicious stir fry (again, thank you Jon for the cashews).

But then I had a meeting that night at Thanksgiving Point where there was delicious catering. There were breadsticks, artichoke dip and giant chocolate cookies. I figured since the day was shot I might as well indulge.

Thursday was fine, Friday was fine. But then Saturday I was at Harmons to get some rice (for my tofu fried rice that I had for lunch today) and there were cheese samples. I hadn’t eaten since my mini cliff bar at 1 PM. That’s when I decided there is no reason to be vegan if you don’t have to be. And I don’t have to be. So I had 3 samples of cheese. And they were delicious.

And then today I cracked an egg into my fried rice and I didn’t care. And then I popped a kit kat that was in the lovely bowl of chocolate my mom gave me for Valentines Day that was just sitting there waiting for me.

So I’d say goal 16 was a success.

#12: Framing

2012-01-30T22:04:00.003-07:00

Framing artwork is sometimes more expensive than the artwork itself. Which is why I've put it off for so long. I finally framed three pieces that have been needing frames. Well, one has been needing a frame for a few years, one has been sitting in an ugly frame for even longer, and the third just hung on the wall without a frame.

This is a print by Stefanie Dykes. I didn't want to pay to get it "framed" so I bought an IKEA frame. Kinda cheap I know, but my credit card is tired. Also, I'm not sure where I want to hang it so for now it's going to rest on this table next to my keys and the lovely vase my sister in law Kelly got me for Christmas. You know what else is going to look cute in this room? Goal #32. Coming soon...

I bought this Shawn Rossiter several years ago at the Zions Bank landscape show. The frame was hideous. He knew that. Last November I sent him a picture message telling him he was going to reframe it for me. He balked at the ugliness of the frame (he confessed it was a yard sale find) and agreed. I finally took it to Tanner Frames around the new year. Travis Tanner is a great framer. Go there. Sorry I don't have a before picture. Believe me. This looks TONS better.

This is a mixed media piece by Anthony Siciliano. I bought it at Art Access's 300 Plates Fundraiser. They've been doing it forever and this past year was my first time going. I think it was around April. Anyway, I went mostly because my darling Aunt Suzi and cousin Liz came with me. I think they each got something too. In my old house I just had it hanging without a frame, but I took it in with the Rossiter piece and got it framed for $50. It looks way better -- nice and finished. I recommend getting your plates framed.

All right. Two goals down. Not bad, not bad.

#30: Mahalo

2012-01-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

Usually when I think of a goal, I think of a lot of time, preparation and effort on my part. But lucky for me, my dad made visiting a new state this year easy for me.

For the past few years my dad has surprised my sister and me with an all-expense paid trip -- usually 4-5 days. The trip is one of his business trips. Last year it was Houston, the year before it was Chicago, but this year it was Waikiki! I've NEVER been to Hawaii before so I was really excited. We didn't have a lot of anticipation time this year, as the location is revealed on Christmas morning. So we had two weeks to get stoked for Hawaii.

Of course we had a fabulous time. Didn't get to do everything we wanted, but as Dad says...gotta leave something for next time.

Found a Reason to Blog

2011-12-30T12:48:00.002-07:00

Hello blog, I've neglected you. But I have a plan to keep you alive. Read on.

It is my birthday. Again. They seem to come more frequently these days. Sometimes years go by and I've wondered what have I done this past year to improve myself or progress? I decided to do something different to commemorate my 34th year so I have resolved to accomplish 34 goals in 2012. That's 2.8 goals a month, which means that will be 2.8 blog posts a month because I will blog about each goal I accomplish. I've been thinking of goals for a couple weeks now and this is what I've come up with. It's kind of convenient with my birthday and the new year so close together. I can't think of a 34th goal, but decided I could keep that open for the time being for either one of you few readers to suggest one for me or for me to fill in as I go along.

Here are my goals. If you can/want to help me with any of them, it would be greatly appreciated :)

1 ~~Bake a loaf of bread from scratch~~
2      Make someone’s day
3    Read all the books people have loaned me
4      Compost
5      Make a quilt
6      Publish an article
7      Memorize a piano piece
8    Take some photographs that I actually want to print and put on my wall
9      Make a get-well package for a sick friend
10    Visit the DUP Museum up by the Capitol
11    Sew shades for my windows
12    Get all my unframed artwork framed
13    Ride a bike to work
14    File Away EVERYTHING
15    Call a friend I haven’t talked to for over a year just to say hi.
16    Eat vegan for one week
17    Look presentable for work every day for a week (skirt and makeup)
18    Mail a letter to Grandma Durham
19    Send a thank you note/email for every gift/meal someone buys/gives me
20    Make a book of my blog from the beginning
21    Take all my nieces and nephew on a special outing for each of their birthdays
22    Prepare for Sunday School as if I were the one teaching the lesson (just once)
23    Keep an indoor plant for longer than a month
24    Implement a pilot program at work and see it through to success
25    Buy season tickets to something
26    Take some friends to San Diego
27    Learn to swim proper laps
28    Organize a Durham cousin getaway -- we’ve been talking about it for awhile.
29    Play the piano at Canyon Creek for Grandma
30    Visit a state I’ve never been to
31    Try a personal shopper
32    Complete an awesome DIY project.
33    Arrange for someone to give me a tour of the Leonardo and the Natural History Museum
34    ?

So stay tuned for January. I'll post about the first 2-3 goals I complete!

A Fresh Coat of Paint Can Make Even a Lazy Person Look Organized

2011-10-23T09:20:00.008-06:00

You know how there are some people that like to keep everything? Magazines, bills, programs, postcards, wedding invitations, etc...well, I like to throw things away. I do. I love it. In fact I love throwing things away just as much as I love keeping them. Let me explain:

I like to simplify. Unfortunately, on more than one occasion this has gotten me in trouble. I might have thrown away important documents or even documents of interest that I’ve looked for later and couldn’t find. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t just throw things away willy nilly. I’ll keep them for awhile, but after awhile longer, they hit the trash bin.

The great purge usually occurs after I’ve let things build up in piles, or I’ve thrown it in drawers, set them on shelves, or (and this is really bad) hid them from myself by slipping them between books on my bookshelves. I know. It’s a wonder I can find anything sometimes. Maybe this is why I like to rearrange my room so much. By taking everything off shelves and putting them back on, I’m bound to find something I was looking for last year. But then it’s usually too late to need so I throw it away. Or put it back on the shelf.

A few months ago I had a stroke of insight as to why I let things build up in piles, lose them or simply can’t see them amidst the chaos. It’s because I hate filing. I do, I hate it. I hate it at work, I hate it at home. I have a file box at home, but even my file box isn’t that organized -- I’m not sure if I went to one of my files I’d find what I was looking for, which is ironic because I am a very clean and organized person. I am a big proponent of mis en place -- I don’t like messes, I don’t like piles sitting on tables or counters -- which is why I like to throw things away. So now, what we have is a vicious cycle I submit myself to. Filing isn’t fun. BUT I found a way to make it fun: Get a filing cabinet and make it cute. That’s how simple I am. If I have something darling to organize stuff in, I’m MUCH more likely to put it in there.

Did you know that filing cabinets are way expensive? Especially for the nice ones that are weighted correctly and have doors that open well? Well, they are. I went to IKEA a few times, Crate and Barrell, Office Max...it wasn’t looking good. So I went to Craigslist. SCORE! I got a $200 file cabinet for $35.

So now I can file away warranties, bills, brochures, programs, postcards, birthday cards, wedding invitations, talks I've given and lessons I've taught, and all those other things I sometimes wish I had but throw away because they clutter up my space.

This was my Saturday project. The cabinet was actually in pretty good shape (I kind of wish it looked more trashy so I could have a more dramatic before and after picture) but I wanted to paint it anyway. My vision started out much more high concept than it turned out. The idea was to paint a gradient, with the strongest saturated color at the bottom and then as the drawers went up, the colors would get lighter so it resembled a series of paint chips or Pantone colors. But, alas, the stores available to me did not have that many options when it came to colors. So I just chose a color palette I liked and went with it. What do you think? Right now I just have white primer on the outside, should I paint it another color or keep it white?

Bonus Point for whomever can identify the Post Title's Reference :)