Our state fair is a great state fair

The Utah State Fair was full of joy and woe. Allow me to illustrate:

1. Utah has a pigeon club? JOY!

2. A room full of pigeons meant the chickens had already gone home? WOE. (You know how much I love odd looking chickens. I'm actually a little freaked out about how many times I've talked about chickens on this blog.)

3. Lots of pretty flowers. JOY.

4. Boyz II Men? WOE. And JOY! Tickets for concerts are released at noon on the day of the show so I ran up to Salt Lake and stood in line in the hot hot sun for a hour to get tickets. Only I didn't actually get tickets. Tickets sold out 6 people in front of me. Six! I almost cried. Almost skipped the whole state fair altogether.

We ended up going anyway. I took some girls from work (who I have hilarious pictures of that I'm not allowed to show you but I'll allow you to imagine two cute girls having a lot of fun with Melissa and I.) and we went and stood outside the gate and listened to the last few songs. They opened the gates before the encore and we managed to sneak in and catch an a cappella version of a song plus more awesome dance moves.

I vow that next time Boyz II Men comes to I will camp out to get tickets. I think I can get Melissa to do it with me, right Melis?

All messed up, don't know what to do

Dear You,

I was driving on the freeway a few days ago when a 311 song came on. I thought of you. You in a different car, in a different city, with a different girl and different goals. I thought of you and I was happy that you are finding happiness. It is likely you'll never see this, but if you do please know that I am happy for you.

Thank you for the things you taught me,
Me

Lady come down

Today I worked on some home improvements. Previous roommates had removed what I hear was an ugly wallpaper border but then discovered that the walls now look like this:

Perhaps you can see that we now have two colors of white on the wall. Perhaps you can't see that since I had to use the flash as there is no such thing as natural light in our living room. Ah, luxurious apartment living.

Chala and I decided that since that discoloration had to be concealed and our landlords never got back to us about painting (The least of current worries if you could see my bathroom ceiling. Or our AC. Or my carpet.) we thought a ribbon might work. While not our favorite color in the world it matches our carpet:

And yes, that is What Not to Wear in the background.

Meanwhile, outside we were having some home improvements done as well:

That's striping not stripping although, Aaron did have his shirt off so maybe it's a dual service?

Fishing in the dark

I haven't done any work quotes in a while.

This one was funny because it is true. Well, at least the last part.

Girl: Jodi, are you dating?
Me: What do you think? Am I dating?
Girl: Well, you're really cute but... you're here a lot.

I still don't get this one:

Me: What kind of fruit can I get for you?
Girl: UGH! You are picking on me and stressing me out!

In reference to seeing an upcoming Boyz II Men concert:

Girl: I'm excited to see those grandpas dance!

The green of your eyes says "Go, leave it all behind."

Last Friday:

I may not be a Nu Skin employee anymore but I snuck into their summer party anyway (thanks to roommate Chala). It was fun to see old friends and of course very fun to ride the rides.

We decided to hit the water rides first while the sun was still out. On our first ride four of us were mostly wet but Christine managed to escape and stay pretty dry. Rather than be sensible I decided we needed to ride again so Christine could enjoy the water too. We were soaked for the rest of the night and ended up needing hot chocolate to try and warm up.

It's possible I thought I was going to die on this ride. Odd since I love it so much. I guess I just forgot how high it is!

Johanna drove slowly into the city, The Hudson River all filled with snow

Do you know about The Big Picture?

The Big Picture is a photo blog from the Boston Globe. Actually, they describe it a whole lot better that I am able to:

The Big Picture is a photo blog for the Boston Globe/boston.com, entries are posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday by Alan Taylor. Inspired by publications like Life Magazine (of old), National Geographic, and online experiences like MSNBC.com's Picture Stories galleries and Brian Storm's MediaStorm, The Big Picture is intended to highlight high-quality, amazing imagery - with a focus on current events, lesser-known stories and, well, just about anything that comes across the wire that looks really interesting.

News in pictures. I'm a visual person and therefore I like it. Yesterday's story was about the recovery from Hurricane Ike. The unusual part of yesterday's post is that the pictures transformed from before to after with a click.


Check it out. Some days they satiate my desire for world travel by showing images from around the world. Other days they make me tear up with a retrospective of September 11th.

Me, I'm gonna live forever. I feel alive.

Last Tuesday: Really, this story starts a long time ago. I once loved a band named The Format. I was introduced to The Format during a time where I had a solid group of friends and their music became the soundtrack to our adventures. It was a very good year for me of pushing myself to trying new things. A year that culminated in my first out of the country experience to Costa Rica. The end of that summer our little group sort of disbanded, not because of a fight or any hard feelings but rather marriages, school transfers, people moving, and the sorts of horribly wonderful things the fall can sometimes bring. I still loved The Format but slowly listened less and less. They were tied to a place in time for me. Not too long after our group moved on The Format broke up. I remember that Feather cried. To me it seemed somewhat symbolic. Their website said something to the effect of the band members not fighting but just needing to move on.
Nate Reuss, the former lead singer of The Format has formed a new band: fun. They remind me of the things I loved most about The Format but they are noticably different. Almost older for lack of a better word. Perfect for where I am now compared to where I was when I fell in love with The Format.

I mentioned their new CD the other day and Tuesday Chala and I went to their meet and greet at Grey Whale and then their concert. It was their first headlining show of their tour and they sold out Kilby Court. (Which from what I hear from knowledgeable sources never happens.)

We were stuck in the back. The very back by the wall and also by the heating unit that I found with my head when I was jumping to try and see the band. It was a beautiful concert from any spot in the venue. Can I again say it was a beautiful show? They are very good live and I fully believe it was enriching to my soul. I'm in love with their music and haven't stopped listening to it since the show.


On the way back to the car I realized that I didn't have my keys. I was so exicted for the concert I got my camera, my phone, my card/id and put my purse (also containing my keys) in the trunk since we were parked in an unlit, slightly sketchy area. Chala posed on the car until a car pulled up next to us and sat there for a while and we retreated to a cab dispatch building with lights. Luckily they knew a guy who could get me into my car for less than half the price everyone else had quoted me.

Reunited with our signed posters.

At the end of the show we were standing by the sound booth. Since the guy in the booth kept looking at a paper I assumed he had a set list. Once the show was over I asked him if I could have it. He told me it wasn't a set list but rather the band's stage layout but I could have it if I wanted. I of course took it and was DELIGHTED to find that it also had some phone numbers and email addresses on it. Particularly the phone number of Nate Ruess, the lead singer.
I haven't used the phone number yet. But don't you think I have to at least once? That kind of information just doesn't come along everyday right?

I <3 fun.

I will grow my own trees while you follow the moon.

I usually like to post my own pictures/words on my blog rather than re-posting awesome finds already on the internet mostly because there are great blogs that already do that. However, today I can't resist. I saw these on the Today Show and wow... The art of poodle shearing was completely foreign to me until now.


See the rest HERE!

You can move me if you want to, you can move a mountain

I'm a fool for thinking I would have more time. Work continues to be just that, work. My bedroom has been flooding. Today my bathroom ceiling decided it wanted to also join the unwanted water party. Personal life issues are happening too. However, I am not complaining because I have good music to carry me through. I finally found where I stashed the iTunes gift card sweet Hilary gave me. You see, it got misplaced when I moved a few months ago but is now happily providing me beautiful melodies which I am now recommending to you.

First: aim & ignite by fun.

fun. is made up of half of the duo that created The Format who I continue to love even though they are no longer. (Remember when you cried Feath?) I'm loving fun. and am even more excited because I have tickets to see them in a week. fun. is not your average band, there are gospel choirs, violins, some harpsichord and a whole lot of flair. Current favorite songs are All the Pretty Girls, Light a Roman Candle with Me, and I Wanna Be the One.

Number Two: Everybody by Ingrid Michaelson

So good. I really don't know what to say, it hasn't left my car since I bought it a week ago and I've done a lot of driving this week. Ingrid has such a good voice and words that move me. Perhaps mid my first listen a tear came to my eye because I was so happy. Favorites are Soldier and The Chain. Ingrid is also coming soon and I'm excited to see her again.

I'm shocked people don't hire me to professionally write music reviews.

Now I need to know...
What music are you currently loving?