Mission 24 Challenge: Inspiration

After being in a bit of a photography slump, I felt INSPIRED. After a long day at work and an after work dinner party, I was laying on the lawn. When I looked over and saw how cute my cat, Ani, was with the setting sun backlighting her, I had to get my camera.
22mm, F4, 1/250 sec, 400 ISO (I forgot to reset it). Also, my computer crashed so I have no Photoshop. :(

Jayders!

I may have mentioned this once or twice before, but I have the cutest little sister ever. The third weekend in June she came to SLC to visit me. We kicked the weekend off with a Red Butte Gala with Smokey Robinson. Red Butte is one of my favorite things about SLC. It is such a fun, laid back concert venue, where the night is as much about chilling out with your friends as is it about enjoying the music. With our VIP Gala tickets, compliments of David Gee (one of my law partners that is on the Red Butte board), we got drinks, apps, dinner, and dessert before, during, and after the show and reserved seating.

The next day, we decided to get the best of the rainy weather, and spent the day getting massages, check out the farmers market, and go see the funniest movie I've seen in a very long time: The Hangover. I laughed so hard that my stomach hurt two days later.

On Sunday, before leaving, Jayders and I took a hike up Rattlesnake Gulch despite the rainy weather. Luckily the weather cleared just in time for the hike. It was beautiful. We had so much fun talking that we extended our hike through brunch at Fiddler's Elbow.

That afternoon, Rod and I celebrated Father's Day with our good friends, Dave, Inga, and the Gabester. Gabe is such a cute waterbaby.

Down and Dirty

Now you might find this hard to believe, but I have been terrible about bringing my camera with me and/or using it this month. Maybe I got burned out on photos during Puerto Rico. Probably not. I have just been so busy that I'm forgetful. Also, my computer crashed (again). So I am behind posting (again). Shocking! I know.

After my week lounging in Puerto Rico, I was in no shape to be on a bike. But Dirt Series (a mountain bike camp ran by Rocky Mountain Bikes) called. Saturday morning started with an intensive skills camp, where I worked on slow descending and ascending switchbacks, straight line riding, front wheel pops, and manuals. In the afternoon, despite the downpour, we were still planning on heading out for a ride . . . until lightening lit up the sky. Our ride got postponed for maintenance classes--gears and cassettes, brakes and shocks--and bike fit instead. We ended the day with a BBQ, beer, and prizes.

The next day we started with the ride. My group, which included my good friend Susan, went to Johns and Sweeneys on the Mid-Mountain trail. We did a shuttle, so it was almost all downhill. That is my kind of ride! We workshopped several switchbacks and some raised objects. Even though I didn't get everything, I definitely felt more confident and am riding much more aggressively. After the daily rain for the last week (seriously! I feel like I'm in Seattle), I was surprised that the trail wasn't muddier. The roots on the trail were slippery, though. I fell hard a couple of times. After beautiful morning weather, the last 30 seconds of the ride were a very painful hail storm. Then the rain started (again)! They ended moving the skills sessions to later into the afternoon, but I had to leave at four to make it to a wedding. I missed the climbing session. :( My legs were still purple two weeks later and I haven't been that muddy since I was a kid, but it was a lot of fun and I learned SO much.

Before, during, and after all the biking excitement, I got to catch with old friends. Friday night, I started the night in American Fork, visiting my friend (since 7th grade) LisaDawn, her family including new little Jackson, and Rachel Anne who was visiting from Ohio. The after party was at The Bayou, where Rod and I met up with Megan and Paul. They are some of our best friends from law school. Megan and Paul have been there since the beginning of our relationship--Paul was a reader at our wedding. They are in town for Brian and Katie's wedding. Paul showed off his new party hat.

Saturday night (after bike camp day 1) was a camp-themed goodbye party for Ari and Patty, who are heading to Philadelphia for dental school. I am so proud of Ari, but I miss them already. I fed my sadness with carmel s'mores (and maybe a few drinks).

Sunday night, after ducking out early on bike camp day 2, I went to the lovely wedding of Brian and Katie. The wedding was in one of our favorite locations, Millcreek Canyon. It was raining like crazy, which is supposed to be good luck. Their wedding was VERY lucky! Their favors were incredibly cute gumball machines. SO CUTE! Congratulations Brian and Katie!

Puerto Rico, In Short

After an all night flight, I landed in Puerto Rico midday Saturday. I hopped in my rental car and headed south to the colonial city of Ponce.

The next few days, I hung out around the southern coast diving, hiking, and visiting ruins.
The night before my family arrived, I managed to swing a private tour of the bioluminescent bay near Vieques island.

After meeting up with my family, we checked into the posh Wyndham Resort. The next day, after checking out the resort's beach and pool,

we headed to Old San Juan. Such a charming colonial town (probably the only part of the territory that left me wanting more . . . well except the scuba diving, which was exceptional). Our sightseeing was cut short, though, by a torrential downpour that knocked out the power in the city.

The next day, Jordan, Grandpa Reeder, and I headed West to check out the Rio Camuy Caverns, more ruins, and the world's largest radio telescope.

We got home LATE, but not too late for me and Jayde to check out Old San Juan's night life with my friend from high school, who was stationed in PR temporarily. Jason showed us all of the hot spots.

Friday we made a trip to El Yunque, the jungle just across the street from our hotel. It was really the only thing close to our hotel.

Afterwards, Bug and I headed out to the beach to take advantage of the perfect waves and the setting sun. I cannot believe how grown up he is getting!

After a late night arrival Friday, Aunt Kelly and Aunt Diane joined us for my last full day in PR. We decided to head back to Old San Juan to check out the half of the city we missed due to rain and to do some shopping.

We left early so that we could catch some more rays and relax before heading back to SLC.

The best part of the whole vacation was the time I got to spend with my family. I love them so much!

[For the full story, check my travel blog--www.whereisqt.blogspot.com--in about a month when I finally get around to posting. :)].

Is May Seriously Over Part III

The last few weeks of May are a bit of a blur. I was so busy trying to get out of the office (for a trip to Puerto Rico), that I did not do much else. Somewhere in there I:

1. Celebrated Mindy's 29th birthday. I brought blueberry cheesecake from Gourmandies: The Bakery. YUMMY!

2. Won an award at Inns of Court. Inns of Court is a professional organization that combines socializing with continuing legal education. I'm in the fun Inn (i.e. we drink). Each year it picks a book and all of our presentations revolve around that book. This year we read Missing Witness, a legal thriller. I got the award for the best Doug MacKenzie. I know I should be flattered to win an award for acting in front of so many attorneys, but . . . the part I was playing was the inexperienced/incompetent associate. :)

3. Got in a few more bike rides, mostly on Dry Creek.

4. Went to an unsuccessful (only 1 person--not me--read the book) book club.

5. Went to see Miss Saigon at the PTC. I was SO excited to see how this play compared to Madam Butterfly, on which it is (loosely) based. I was surprised at how much more emotional I was in this version because the soldier actually cared about the Asian girl. It made the devastating ending all that more tragic. The set was AMAZING! It even included a helicopter exit. I am always amazed to see what a fantastic job PTC, a regional theater, does with these large productions. The actors are SO talented, the sets and costumes are so intricate, and the seats are so inexpensive. Next year's line-up is out already; get your tickets now!

6. And spent a weekend at Jess and Sarah's cabin (to celebrate Carrie's birthday).

The day I flew out to Puerto Rico, I had a deposition that I thought would end before noon. It ended at 2. I still had a filing that afternoon. I finally got out of the office at 5. I hurried home to pack and attend a BBQ at Jeremy and Leslie's. Rod dropped me off at the airport at 11. It was a LONG day (and night).

Is May Seriously Over Part II

The third week in May was a bit more hectic than the last. But it was one of the most memorable. It started with a book club (my work book club) at my house. The book was "The Fool", a raunchy but hilarious re-telling of King Lear. We served bangers and mash with G&Ts and trifle for dessert.

Thursday, on her due date, CarleyAnne had her beautiful baby girl, Baby J. CarleyAnne is a rock star. She did it with no epidural, no birth plan, and no lamazze. 12 hours in labor au naturale. You go girl!

Friday night I got to spend some time shopping with my BFF, Mindy, at the cute shops on 300 South. Most of the shops stock cool retro thrift finds. My favorite shop, though, is Model Citizen, a clothing store that stocks clothing from only local artists.

Afterwards, Rod and I went to the Salt Lake County Bar spring dinner and silent auction. I am always surprised about how much fun we have at these events. We spent a lot more time than we had planned drinking, dancing, and socializing. The proceeds of the silent auction benefited the Children's Justice Center so we bid away. While we didn't get everything we wanted, we managed to walk away with a couple of goodies.

I worked most of Saturday during the day, but I did get to spend a few hours with Miss Carley, Baby J, Alicia, and Mindy when Carley came home from the hospital. Saturday night, we attended one of our favorite annual events: the ACLU of Utah Annual Bill of Rights Celebration. The keynote speaker, Rachel Maddow (of MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show"), was so poignant and funny. She reminded us how quirky Utah is (like we need to be reminded), but pointed out how important it is to take actions to protect our subcultures. I was also incredibly impressed by Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Burbank, who has made an open and adamant stance against cross-deputizing his officers to act in an immigration-related capacity. As someone who has worked with victims of domestic violence who are afraid to report their abuse for fear of immigration repurcussions, it is so important that all people can report crimes without fear. I'm proud to live in a community with a police chief like Chris Burbank.

Sunday, Mindy and I had an early morning yoga session followed by a good talk in the park and a lunch at Sages (my favorite vegetarian restaurant). I worked in the afternoon, but let off steam with a bike ride at Glen Wild. This is not my favorite trail--it is generally very hot and the front side only has a view of the freeway. It wasn't too bad this early in the season though AND I managed to ride up the steep rocky climb and make a couple of switchbacks that I have never been able to ride before.

What a great (exhausting) week!

Is May seriously over already?

Rod and I have been ridiculously busy at work this month (May), but our social schedule has finally relaxed somewhat. After our crazy birthday weekend and a non-stop April, we had a weekend with absolutely NO PLANS. Rod made me promise to keep it that way. :) We snuggled up for movies, made a Friday night run to Ikea, played at the school behind our house,

took our bikes out for the first ride of the season (Dry Creek), and walked Rumba up Rattlesnake Gulch for a great sunset view of the city.

On a side note, I have mentioned a couple of times that I have taken up a new hobby. Although I have always been a bit of a shutter bug (I can't leave home without my camera). After Rod and I got our new camera for Christmas, I have been trying to learn more about photography, photography techniques, and photoshop. As part of this endeavor, I have joined a photography challenge blog: www.missiontwentyfour.blogspot.com. It posts two challenges a week. I usually only have time to do one though. At the end of the challenge, the participants vote for the best pictures. The sunset picture above was my first win! You can check out the rest of my pictures here. Because I am not able to get to all of the challenges within the twenty-four hour period, I'm going to start posting some of my shots here.

Our first 5K

I forgot to mention that on the morning of Rod's birthday celebration we ran our first 5k: The Law Day Run. After being inspired by watching my rockstar friends Mitter and Val run the 12 and full marathon, respectively, I agreed to do the 5k with Alisha and Cristina (even though I only had 2 weeks to train). Rod, who did not train even once, decided to be supportive and run it with me. I would have been mad that he could run it without training (especially because he is so much faster than me) except that his running a couple hundred yards ahead of me gave me a great view for the whole race. :)

We were both questioning our decision to run when we were up by 7 a.m. on a cold RAINY Saturday morning. Rod doesn't generally get up that early even on a weekday and especially not on his Birthday. Going into our expectations were set low: run the whole thing without stopping. Goal accomplished. Even though our time (Rod waited for me to do the last mile) was somewhat slow (35 minutes), we were both just glad to be done (and to get out of the rain).

We celebrated with a yummy brunch at Judge McHugh's house. It was a good way to start what would be a really perfect day.

Welcome to Margaritaville

For Rod's 30th, I decided to go all out. Rod knew that there would be a party, but I kept some of the details a secret. The party started with this invitation (in LSU colors).

Outside (back, front). Isn't baby Rod adorable?

(Inside, middle pages)

If you can't tell yet, Jimmy Buffett played a central role at this event. We blasted his music the whole night. I think Rod had so much Buffett we never heard the same song twice.

Other surprises included a taco cart--Rod's favorite taco cart--in our drivewaya margarita machine (and no, I don't mean a blender :) ), and a salsa bar. Terry, Rod's aunt, also sent us this adorable edible arrangements.

I also made 100 cupcakes, 50 red velvet and 50 coconut cake--Rod's two favorite flavors.

Rod was so surprised and delighted! The night was more memorable for some than for others.

It must be the free flowing 16 oz margaritas. :)

Happy Birthday Sweetheart! I'm looking forward to the next 30 years.

Unwinding . . . Finally!

This week (the fourth week in April) was CRAZY BUSY! We had something going on almost every day. Tuesday night, Rod's boss was in town from D.C. so we took him to the Red Iguana, a Salt Lake institution, for the city's best Mexican food.

Wednesday night was book club (my third one) the "Serious Book Club". In this club, reading the book is mandatory, the books are picked through consensus, and we're required to talk about the book for at least 20 minutes before breaking into normal conversation. :) Needless to say, it is much different than my other book clubs. Last month we read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a painful read about drastic measures to defy conformity. This month we read Revolutionary Road, an equally painful read about conforming to the point of insanity. Both books have been incredibly depressing. At least the addictive cookies Allyson bought were good.

Thursday was the big 30 Women to Watch Reception. It was such an honor to be recognized with all these amazing women. I was an even bigger honor to be surrounded by my amazing colleagues. Nancy Lawson, Parr's awesome marketing director, and her girl wonder, Rachel, arranged to have my table filled with people who have been influential throughout my career. It was overwhelming to see how many people took 2 hours out of there very busy day to support me.

By the time Friday rolled around, we were beat! Luckily my friends from book club (the original one) had arranged a celebratory dinner for me at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant: Mi La Cai. I veered from my usual (Bun--pronounced boon) and opted for the pho (pronounced Fuh). It was so nice to just chill with them and then call it an early night.

Saturday we hosted Spring Dine O' Round--one of favorite firm activities. Every Spring the firm's Auxillary Committee (a.k.a the "Queen Committee") recruits volunteers to host a dinner party at their house for a randomly assigned groups of attorneys and their spouses. It is such a great way to get to know your co-workers and their families better. This was our first year hosting, and it was so fun.

As you may have figured out by now, Rod loves to cook and we love to host parties. David and Sherrie Gee, our resident wine sommeliers, brought amazing wine for each course. Our menu started with a cheese and fruit tray. Our local market, Liberty Heights, helped me pick out the perfect cheeses: montbriac, a brie-like blue cheese; prima donna, similar to gouda but not as heavy of a taste (one of my favorite cheeses, which I discovered searching for pregnancy-safe cheese for my prego friend Kim); and berkswell, a parmesan-like sheep cheese. The Gees paired this with an excellent Kava champagne. Next, we moved onto a simple salad with field greens, cherry tomatoes, and red onion. Our main course was Rod's never fail grilled chicken (grilled portabello for our vegetarian friends), which he made with a goat cheese and lemon pat, roasted fingerling potatoes, and green beans. For these courses, we had a choice between Chateau Ste. Michelle Eroica Reisling and Pinot Noir. We finished the meal off with strawberry shortcake and espressos. YUMMY!

We had planned on hosting the event outside, but due to rain, were forced to bring the party indoors. To decorate in a pinch, I used the awesome bouquet that my friend, Bean, bought me for making partner and 30 Women as our main centerpiece, and I also created a tulip centerpiece from an inexpensive grocery store bouquet.

The real icing on the cake, though, was the awesome group of guests. The conversation was non-stop fun, talking about everything from rafting, to Wicked, to Twilight, the new PTC lineup, the Red Butte Concert series and back again. Rumba also had a good time. She immediately took a liking to Sherrie and even tried to go home with her. Of course after she tried to swipe an entire wedge of cheese, we had to put her in time out. Naughty dog!

The next day, I went to breakfast with my best friends Carley Anne and Alicia. Alicia came from Idaho to help the very pregnant Carley Anne pack her hospital bag. I cannot believe she is going to be a mom in just a few short weeks! I am so excited for her.

A Wicked Weekend

Our next weekend (the third weekend in April) was just as packed as the last. We had an early start Thursday night, with a mentoring social at Cafe Molise. Then Friday, our good friends, Carrie and Joel, had us over for dinner at their cute new house. Saturday I went to watch my bad ass friends, Misty and Val, run the SLC Marathon.

Misty ran the half with her husband, Glen. Awww!

Val ran the whole thing in almost exactly four hours.

Rockstar!

Her cute niece, wearing her medal

Way to go Val and Mitter!

Although I have zero desire to ever run a full marathon (my knees would definitely not take it), I was inspired. In fact, at book club that night, I had a weak moment and agreed to run the Law Day 5K, just two weeks away.

I'm now in three book clubs. I know how insane that sounds, but I love to read and am always looking for a good book. Also, at least two of the book clubs are more about hanging out with friends and drinking wine than reading and one of the clubs meets only once every other month. Anyway, this book club, my original book club's book of the month was Sarah's Key. I don't recommend it. The best part about it is the half second of historical fiction sandwiched in between the rest of the book. That part is about France's participation in the holocaust. The French police actually rounded up french jews and sent them to termination camps. After that part was over, though, the rest of the book is incredibly predictable and unbelievably convenient.

After book club, I coerced Rod into going to another party with me. Cass and Tracy's birthday parties are infamous for being wild. This year was (much) tamer than last, but did not disappoint. Luckily I did not have to be up early the next morning. :)

Me with one of the Birthday girls, Tracey.

The other birthday girl (Cass).

Sunday, we had matinee tickets to Wicked. Yay! Most people had to wait in line for hours to get tickets to this show, but my awesome friend Todd got us tickets without any lines or waiting. I went in with high expectations; I had read the book (for book club) and loved it. I was not disappointed. Even Rod enjoyed it (and he doesn't usally like going to the theater). The set, acting, plot, were all great. The play diverged from the book quite a bit, but I didn't mind it as much as I usually do when the book and the play/movie are different. The book went into the whole racial prejudices aspect more, but the play had a holocaust tie-in (persecuting humans because they are different pretextually because they were responsible for the great drought) that was not in the book and which I thought actually worked well. It also tied in a lot more of the characters in the Wizard of Oz, who were not present in the book. I definitely recommend it if you haven't seen it yet.

It looks like the Broadway Across America series is going to be entertaining next year. The line up is The Wedding Singer, Avenue Q, Legally Blonde, and The Lion King. I haven't gotten season tickets for the last couple of years, but I'm considering it next year. Anyone interested?