Today

cold quiet office
rainy rain falls drip, drop, plip
imagine: warm bed

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

I've left everyone in the dark about my recent excursion to San Francisco -- but not intentionally. Importing photos into Picasa on a Mac is no small task, and while I've attempted three times, none of them has been successful. Anyway, I'll still make the attempt at least one more time (maybe smaller batches would help?) but for now, this is what I've got... more to follow, for sure.

Just for the record, I loved San Francisco. To me it was the perfect mix of good things: great food, big city, mild climate, casual. It was a fantastic clash of Astoria meets New York, fog and all. Spencer and I spent a long weekend there indulging, exploring, and enjoying. We even made it to Muir Woods and down the coast towards Santa Cruz. Here are a few of my favorite shots.

Mudfootball

Since I'm dating a proud two-time graduate of the U, some of you may wonder where my loyalties lie. Let me just say for the record that I am true blue, through and through.And two season tickets to BYU football games are perhaps an attempt to put a little blue in Spencer's blood too.

-Jack Johnson-

The Outdoor Type

Last weekend at Trial Lake was wonderful. Here are the highlights in pictures:-Lemonheads-

Summer In the City: Revisited

Back in June I wrote this post enumerating my lofty plans for the summer... Well It's almost Labor Day and a good time to check in and see how I did.

did it!
still planning on it
didn't (and probably won't) happen

- Alpine Slide
- Bike Wasatch Crest Trail
- Camp in the Unitas
- Visit Bryce Canyon National Park
- Rock Climbing
- Dance Classes at RDT
- Friday Night Flicks
- Swimming & BBQing
- Outlets in Park City
- Deseret News 10K
- Bike up Emigration Canyon to Ruth's Diner for breakfast
- Hike Lake Blanche/Sundial Peak
- Brunch at Emigration Market
- Arts Festival
- Visit the Spiral Jetty
- Hobble Creek Half Marathon
- Raft the Colorado River
- Run Through the Lavendar 5K
- Ryan Adams Concert at Red Butte Garden

When They Really Get To Know You They Will Run

This month I've learned that I have low tolerance for:
poor spelling
yelling
nickelback
lies
gps-dependent individuals

And there will always be room in my life for:
backrubs
flowers
camping
inflatables+water
ray lamontagne

-Pedro the Lion-

Empty Chairs at Empty Tables

I finally finished my chairs! I only wish I had taken some before pictures...-Marius, Les Miserables-

Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End

It's August and as the Indigo Girls would say, "summer's beginning to give up her fight." The days are slowly fading into earlier sunsets and watercolor memories, but not without hope for the upcoming autumn. Fall is absolutely my favorite season, and with good reason! Even though it's the beginning of an end it's also the beginning of a beginning. Maybe school starts in the fall just to help us forget that the season cycle is hastening to its bitter, cold, gloomy end. (I won't get into my thoughts about schools that start in August... really, summer should last for as long as the pool is open, don't you think?)

Even though I'm working full-time now, I can't seem to escape the structure and excitement that come with a new school year. I don't have to buy notebooks and pencils, but I've decided that I will buy a Holga whether or not I end up taking a class on Toy Cameras. More than likely I'll also be scouring DI for some cool furniture for my upholstery class, and rummaging through local art stores for cheap blocks of clay for my wheel-thrown pottery class. Of course, I might have to miss a class now and then for a BYU football game or an out of town excursion -- San Francisco, New York, Vermont, Southern Utah and Portland are all looking like very likely options.

And everyone had me thinking that grown-up life wasn't going to be as fun...

-Semisonic-

What We Don't Know

People have recently stumbled into my blog by searching for the following terms:
I kinda don't know what to think.
-Aaron Schroeder-

Bad Day

How to make a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day better.-Daniel Powter-

Away and Anywhere

The good news: I spent the weekend in Moab kayaking down a lazy section of the Colorado River.

The bad news: My camera isn't waterproof, so this is the only evidence I have of my trip.-John Frusciante-

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

On Friday Spencer took me to a Bees game! I love the atmosphere of baseball games. It's pretty chill and laid back with moments of intensity so infrequent you can focus your energy on capturing the essence of the experience (or other people's baseball food).-Jack Norworth-

The Sweetest Thing

Freshly picked flowers from Millcreek Canyon. :)

-U2-

Unknown

Several months ago, Erika tagged me to do the 'eight unknown things' post. I thought about it and quickly realized that my life is practically an open book. There's very little that people don't know about me. I'm going to work on changing that. But I figured as long as I'm in a listy mood, I might as well try to conjure up something for this one as well:

*I make killer chocolate chip cookies.

*Sometimes (ok, quite often) I think about quitting my job and jumping on my bike to do the cross-country thing a la Forrest Gump... only on a bicycle.

*I worry about settling down.

*I also worry about not settling down.

*I feel like it's a lot easier to be 25 than it was to be 24.

*Somehow I'm convinced that I would love to live in downtown Seattle, even though my only memory of it is eating mediocre food atop the Space Needle when I was about nine years old. For some reason I'm pretty sure it would be a perfect fit.

*I work in a place where my co-workers constantly belch aloud, almost as though it were a burping contest. I sit quietly at my desk and work while this happens. What they don't know is that I could beat them all.

*I made my own web-page when I was 14. I know, so nerdy. Whomever can find it first will be rewarded. (Leave a comment)

-Animal Collective-

Am I Real

My sister Amanda had this on her blog and tagged me, so here goes

4 Jobs I've had

1. Paper Delivery Girl
2. Slide Librarian Assistant
3. Nike Marketing Intern
4. Israeli Mafia Intern (maybe I shouldn't be so forth-coming with such information?)

4 Movies I Can Watch Over and Over

1. Forrest Gump
2. Anne of Green Gables
3. The Sound of Music
4. Sense and Sensibility

4 Places I've Lived

1. Oregon
2. Virginia
3. New York
4. Belgium

4 TV Shows I Enjoy

1. The Office
2. 24
3. Seinfeld
4. The Wonder Years (I don't really watch TV anymore, can you tell?)

4 Places I've Been on Vacation

1. Greece
2. Vermont
3. Cinque Terre
4. Brazil

4 Favorite Restaurants

1. Cheesecake Factory
2. Jesse's (Washington Heights, NYC)
3. Baja Fresh
4. Bubby's (Brooklyn)

4 Websites I Visit Daily

1. google.com
2. amazon.com
3. the blogroll
4. indeed.com

4 Places I'd Rather Be Right Now

1. In my bed
2. On my porch swing
3. Italy
4. Beach

4 People I Think Will Do This

1. Erika
2. Jack
3. Meredith
4. Anna

-Animal Collective-

Rock Upon A Porch With You

On Friday my dear friend Jenny got married. The whole day was perfect.-The Boy Least Likely To-

Run

Yesterday Spencer ran the Deseret News 10K with me.I know, sick, huh? I hate these love is comics... at least they are wearing clothes in this one.

-Snow Patrol-

Home Cookin'

I've realized recently that I have become quite the collector of small kitchen appliances. Random ones. Of course I've got your average 5-speed blender (for smoothies, so delish)And a rice cooker/steamer
But how many people do you know that own a real Belgian Waffle maker
And a panini maker? (It also opens up to a griddle, which is great for pancakes)
Yesterday, I topped off the collection with my first batch of homemade ice cream. Thank you, Cuisinart for making raspberries, strawberries, eggs, cream, and sugar taste so delicious together.-The Animals-

California Dreamin'

I went to California this weekend. I didn't want to come back to Utah. Here are some photos.Laguna.
Zoo.
Ocean.
Petting Zoo.
Hats.
Shameless product placement.
Burgers.
Mexican chastity hats.
Sisters.
Happy.
Peace.

- Mamas and The Papas-