Jonathan and Kelli

I never thought I would say this, but...

2010-06-28T11:44:00.001-07:00

I LOVE UTAH!

(at least in the summer time).

What other state do you know where you can go from the best skiing in the world, to stunning red rock, to desolate deserts, to breath taking canyon-lands, etc.? Jonathan and I had an amazing weekend as we decided to be adventurous and travel around Southern Utah.

DAY 1: Arriving at Goblin Valley

We arrived at Goblin Valley at about 7:30PM. Upon arrival we learned that the Goblin Valley campsite was full, but we were more than welcome to camp on any of the surrounding BLM property. At first, as I looked out into the desert, I was a bit terrified to be on our own and in the middle of no where. However, we ended up having a lot of fun camping in the desert. In fact, it wasn't until the next day when we were camping at an "official campground" that we learned how annoying it is to have both tons of people around, as well as psychotic chirping birds early in the morning. The desert was actually a desirable camp location - no one to bug you, no squirrels rustling around your tent, and most importantly, NO BIRDS chirping at 3:00AM.

DAY 2: Hiking Goblin Valley/Calf Creek

GOBLIN VALLEY -

I had no idea this place even existed before Jonathan mentioned that we should go to Goblin Valley. Having been raised in the suburbs of Chicago I was never exposed to such amazing landscape (a road-trip in Illinois entailed speeding through never ending cornfields :)

I think the strangest part about Goblin Valley for me, was the fact that all of those goblin (however, it is obvious that they look more like penis's) looking formations are made of dirt.

Taking a little break to enjoy the sun...

ROAD TRIP to Cattle Creek:

So after Goblin Valley, Jonathan and I both decided that as awesome as the desert was, we wanted to make a change of plans and do something else. So we pulled out our old school map of Utah (GPS doesn't work in the middle of the desert) and we went on our way to Escalante, UT.

On our little road trip through Capital Reef National Park, we came across this awesome waterfall. Jonathan immediately pulled over, threw on his swimsuit, and jumped in. I waded in the pool below and took pictures while he had his fun.

We also came across some Petroglyphs, which was cool.

As we got close to our destination, we came across this TERRIFYING road. If any of you know me well enough, you may know I had a recurring dream as a child that my family was driving along a road JUST LIKE THIS ONE, and we lost control of the Smith Family Van - not cool. I had a mini anxiety attack as I saw the drop off on both sides of the road. The picture doesn't quite do it justice...

Lower Calf Creek Falls:

So we arrived at our campsite, and started on our next hike to Calf Creek Falls. It was a long 6mile hike through blazing dry heat, but well worth the trek.

Honestly, you can not tell me this isn't one of the more beautiful waterfalls you have ever seen! I just wish we would have gotten there an hour earlier when the sun was still shining because the damp breeze from this waterfall was CHILLY!

But of course, Jonathan being the brave person he is, jumped in the ice cold water. I could barely put my feet in it was so cold!

DAY 3: Upper Calf Creek Falls/Slot Canyons

After we hiked the lower calf creek falls, we learned that there was another waterfall with warmer pools above it. So the next morning, we packed up our campsite and took off for another breath taking waterfall. (I know it is kind of hard to see but the water fall is directly behind us in the picture below).

Notice the top of the waterfall...

And notice us standing on top of the waterfall - This was probably the coolest infinity pool I have ever been to ;)

And behind that massive waterfall was another smaller waterfall.

This time I had absolutely no excuse not to get in the water.

Little holes for us to sit in - how nice of nature to create the perfect hot-summer day cold-tub!

After hiking to the waterfall, we decided to go to some nearby slot canyons. Again, we only had an old map of Utah and a few locals who told us how to get to the slot canyons, so these little rock towers were our only guide to let us know we were on the right trail and without them we would have been completely lost.

The first canyon we went through was very wide so we took a picture and moved onto the next canyon.

PEEK-A-BOO slot canyon:

This is how you had to climb into the slot canyon...

And once you were in the canyon, there was a ton of hiking, climbing, and shuffling between extremely narrow places.

I had a ton of fun climbing through these canyons. However, if you are really claustrophobic, I would NOT recommend this little adventure.

One of the nerve racking things about being in these slot canyons, is the fact that if there is a flash flood, you need to do your best to get out as fast as you can, or else you are going to be flushed away in the flood.

SPOOKY Slot Canyon:

As the name portrays, the "spooky" slot canyon was a little more 'intense' than Peek-A-Boo. In fact, after the above picture was taken, I had a pretty bad anxiety attack...

I would consider myself slightly claustrophobic, so as soon as we could no longer see the light above us, and we were in these incredibly narrow places, I asked Jonathan to quit taking pictures and move quickly. Luckily we survived just fine with no sign of a flash flood :)

And to complete our trip, we drove past Bryce Canyon on the way home. We spent more time in the slot canyons than we originally had planned so we didn't have time to stop at Bryce, but we definitely want to go there on our next adventure.

And if you made it all the way through this post, (GOOD JOB!) I am sure you are as exhausted as I am.

June 2nd 2007

2010-06-02T06:42:00.000-07:00

As you might have already guessed, today is our 3 year anniversary and I couldn't be happier to be married to the love of my life. This past year has been a bit of a struggle but I am so grateful for Jonathan's courage and strength to know that everything will eventually work itself out.

Our engagement photos were taken by Jonathan's sister Katie, and even though I think I used a different photo, this one is my favorite now.

The night before our wedding we barbecued in Midway with our entire family, which was nice since we didn't get to spend much quality one-on-one time with family and friends on the actual day of the wedding. Who knew we would be living in Midway three years later.

It is kind of fun to think about what I was doing on the day of my wedding right now. At 8:30am I was getting ready at a Holiday Inn with my friends and my mom. I remember putting on my eyeliner and thinking how grateful I was to be marrying the love of my life (and I as pretty grateful I didn't wake up with a huge zit :)

Jonathan surprised me with the horse drawn carriage. After a long amazing day, I was sad it was all coming to an end, but it was wonderful to sit on the carriage with Jonathan and ride throughout the city.

For our honeymoon we went to Puerto Vallarta. Being the forgetful person that I am, on the morning after our wedding I realized that I didn't have my passport. Luckily we were able to call up Katie's husband Spencer to bring the passport to the hotel before we left. I remember it being really strange at first to be alone on a vacation with Jonathan. I hope someday to renew our vows and redo it all over again

And here we are now, happy as can be! This picture was taken in Montana when Jonathan was sworn into the Bar.

Call me Master ;)

2010-05-28T14:25:00.000-07:00

Graduation was last weekend, and my parents flew out to support me. Friday night was a graduation celebration that the division of Public Health put together just for the Public Health students, which was really nice. Saturday was the official graduation ceremony with the entire School of Medicine. As you can probably imagine, the ceremony was completely tailored to the Doctors. Luckily the Public Health Students were hooded first, so as soon as I walked across the stage, I continued walking out of the auditorium and out the door. It seems like just a month ago we were living in Vermont and attending Jonathan's graduation.

It was raining outside on Friday night...maybe I'll take the time to photoshop Jonathan's suit before printing this one.

My lovely nieces came to support me. Aren't they adorable!

This summer I have to work on an internship with the Salt Lake Valley Health Department and then I'll "officially" be done and hopefully employed :)

I passed!

2010-05-10T14:06:00.000-07:00

After the longest weekend of my life, it is good to know that it all payed off because I passed the comprehensive MPH project! I am basically done with the program but I have to take one elective this summer and I also need to complete an internship/practicum this summer.

I know I have so many other things to work on right now but sometimes it just feels good to do nothing.

Word Purge

2010-05-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

Do you ever find that when you are writing papers, after papers, after boring tedious papers - your mind starts to wonder and think of the strangest things? Well that is how I am feeling today after my 4th paper.... and don't worry that I have 3 more to go and school is going to be over in a week! AH! Forget the stress and back to my random thoughts...

Tuna - Why do we eat food that has so many horrible connotations? Tuna smells rancid, yet somehow when it is smothered in enough mayo, mustard and pickles it tastes yummy. Odd

Cottage Cheese - Why did someone out there in the world have to relate this delicious food to cellulite - it just ruins my experience eating it.

The Blind Side - Excellent movie! I finally saw it and I think it is one of those very rare movies that I actually think is worth purchasing. I know I am way behind on this one but I am a huge Redbox fan so I waited for it to be a dollar.

Speaking of Redbox - Does anyone know if Redbox started in Oakbrook, IL? My bills for Redbox always show up as Redbox - Oakbrook IL: $1.07. Stupid Oakbrook and all of there wealthy smart business people. Didn't Ty beanie babies start in Oakbrook too? One last thing about Oakbrook - On the Fortune 500 List, under the state of Illinois, McDonald's in Oakbrook was listed. Does McDonald's have headquarters in Oakbrook?

(when I googled images of Oakbrook, of course it came up with pictures of FABULOUS homes. The picture below was my personal fav.)

*BEWARE THE NEXT PICTURE IF YOU DON'T LIKE BLOOD* Grizzly Bear head butted me in the forehead the other day and literally caused the skin to split and bruise - like you see in boxing when the dude's get punched in the face. My head still hurts today! I am really proud of myself for not getting mad at him though. I remained calm until I put my hand to my forehead only to find blood. To add to my headache, I did 10 pull-ups (GO ME!) on the pull-up bar thing that I bought Jonathan and I seriously injured my back. I haven't been able to turn my neck to look behind me in 2 days now. I've kept a heating pad on it all day today so hopefully that helps.

Birthday Celebrations

2010-04-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Jonathan's birthday last week. I can hardly believe that we are half way through our 20's! I don't have any exciting pictures of presents because the only non-money gift I bought him was a pull up bar thing that hangs in the doorway. We are saving our money to buy him a new computer --- either a mac mini, an imac, or a macbook. Hopefully he makes up his mind soon.

On a completely separate note...

My website is up and running - Check it out at:

www.mysilverthorne.com

If you are browsing with Safari, there might be some blurbs that I need to fix.

My latest creation: A fuscia poppy pin --- designed to wear with a black tube top dress. I was hesitant to make this pin, but I am stoked with the final product! I know my shirt in the picture doesn't do the pin justice, so just imagine it with a cute little black dress.

Lastly, I couldn't be more excited for my fabric tags that arrived in the mail the other day. It just makes everything feel more "official".

And that is about it for today.

March Madness a little delayed

2010-04-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

For the first time ever, I chose to fill out a bracket for the NCAA Basketball tournament. A bunch of people who are in my Public Health program started a group together so I decided to give it a try. Considering that I know absolutely nothing about any of the teams, I chose my bracket based on who would win if there was a fight between the two mascots. However, if I knew someone who went to the school, this trumped the Mascot fight. So when it came to the very end of the tournament, the only reason why I chose Duke to win was because of my brother Shawn who went to Duke for graduate school - so I owe Shawn a special thank you for going to Duke. Even though I didn't win, I took pride in my second place position ;)

As of late...

2010-03-18T14:57:00.000-07:00

So I realize that it has been a long time since I have posted an update, but I have been super busy lately, which is absolutely nothing to complain about. Aside from school and midterms, I have been continually making all sorts of crafts. As many of you know, I started out making fabric flower clips, and I now I have moved on to making headbands and bib necklaces. Realizing that I am not going to sell all of my products all at once and make a ton of money on Etsy (however THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all of you who have purchased off of my Etsy site), I decided to go to a local store, Urban Blues, and see if they were interested in my designs. So the woman who owns the store told me she would take a sampling of the headbands and see if they would sell. Well, it turns out that everything sold last weekend and now she wants Katie and I to make 30 more headbands! Woot! Woot! So below are two of the headbands which sold. If anyone is interested, I am going to set up my own internet site separate from Etsy, which will hopefully be up and running within the next couple of weeks.

So a couple of weeks ago I talked about a trunk show where Katie and I were selling bib necklaces. The show turned out awesome and we were able to sell two necklaces! I had so much fun being there and seeing all of the other designs. It felt like something that you would attend in a big city like Chicago or New York, not little Salt Lake City (which also made me yearn to move away but I don't foresee that happening any time soon). Below are a few pictures from the event.

We hurriedly made this bib on the day of the trunk show, and I think it turned out absolutely fabulous!

I thought this clutch was absolutely adorable but it also came with a huge price tag so I admired it from a distance, as I did with just about everything that was there.

I thought the clothes hangers were adorable :) I wouldn't mind having some of those in my closet. The clothes were cute too...

This was a view taken from outside. I thought it look kind of cool especially with the snow.

So below is a picture of one of the bib necklace that sold at the trunk show and I have to tell you the story because the woman who bought it was so friendly. When she bought the necklace she asked Vanessa if she could meet the designer because she loved it so much. When I talked to her, she told me that the necklace was a piece of art and she proceeded to ask me to sign it for her. She also suggested I bring them to the University of Utah's art museum! So I talked to her about the necklace for a while and she told me all about how her daughter who is going to wear it on her birthday in Paris on Bastille day (wouldn't that be the life...). Then she asked me for my business card because she said she would give my card to people while she traveled in Paris. Unfortunately we didn't have any business cards made up so instead I asked for hers. She mentioned that she may want to buy a matching headband or something so now all I need to do is make another amazing black and grey headband and see if she is interested.

Below are two more cute bib necklaces!

And this was the other bib necklace that sold. I absolutely LOVE this necklace! I knew it was going to sell because it was so unique with the clock and that amazing brooch!

So now it is Spring Break and I need to get back to work and make 30 more headbands and a few more bib necklaces!

Thanks for all of the support!

Opportunities

2010-02-23T12:45:00.001-08:00

A fashion consultant has asked my sister-in-law Katie and I to make 5 more similar looking bib necklaces pictured above and she needs me to give her a business name. She is a woman living in Park City who is starting up her own fashion business for people who want one of a kind high end fashionable pieces from around the world. Through family connections she saw this necklace on the Etsy website and fell in love with it. She originally thought I should sell it for $90 but after seeing it in person she wants to sell these necklaces for $150! In two weeks she is going to have a small show in order to get an idea of what people like. I am so excited and at the same time I am grateful for Katie and Spencer to have found this crazy opportunity. Soooo, the whole point of this post is to ask for help creating a business name that I could use not only for jewelry and these necklaces, but for any other creative designs that Katie and I may create. So choose an answer on my poll at the top of my blog and if you don't like any of the options, I am open to any and all ideas that people might have.

Legal Work

2010-02-18T13:01:00.000-08:00

For the past month or so Jonathan has been creating and preparing wills, trusts and other estate planning documents for both family and friends. This is a service that everyone needs to have done in order to secure their most prize possessions. Most lawyers charge anywhere from $1500-$2000 on these documents and Jonathan has been doing them starting at $250. If anyone is interested or needs to have this service done for them, please let me know.

ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS...

Have you appointed someone to be the guardian of your children if something were to happen to you? No Kids? What is going to happen to your furry lovable pets? Do you have a plan set up if you were to be on life support? Have you appointed someone you trust to manage your finances if you are unable to do so? Do you want the state to decide, or would you like to decide how your property is distributed?

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-13T18:00:00.000-08:00

Regardless of whether or not Valentines day is a holiday created by Hallmark, I still enjoy it! What could be more amazing than waking up to this beautiful boquet...

especially when outside it is snowing and bitter cold. It literally makes me so happy to see these flowers in my kitchen as well as smell their yummy goodness. One of these days when I have a place of my own and a steady job, I hope to always have fresh flowers in my house.

I also love Valentines day because it gives me an excuse to eat lots of cookies and feel absolutely guilt free! Thanks to JoAnna I didn't even have to make them this year. By the way...this plate had about double the amount of cookies but we already ate most of them ;)

Lastly, Valentines Day gives me an excuse to jazz up my toes with pink nail polish and polka-dots which is something I haven't done since highschool. I Love it!

Lastly and most importantly, I love Valentines Day because it is yet another day that Jonathan and I can truly celebrate our love for one another. I have unconditional love for the handsome man in the picture below!

P.S. I also made an Etsy Page and the link is in the top right hand corner of this blog. There is much more to come so I'll keep you posted as to when I finish the page!

To throw away, or to not throw away?

2010-02-04T09:47:00.000-08:00

So this is kind of embarrassing to admit but my wedding cake has been sitting in my fridge for quite a while now....

I pulled it out of the fridge a few days ago with every intention to chuck it but something is holding me back... I know I need to throw it out but, I mean, it isn't like it looks disgusting, and I sniffed it and it smells good (don't worry, I didn't attempt to taste it). I guess a part of me just feels like as long as it is still sitting in my fridge I can still consider myself a newlywed? I dunno. I am weird.

So I have to get this last little tidbit off of my chest. I DESPISE UTAH DRIVERS! I would not be at all surprised to learn that I have high blood pressure, and I am going to blame Utah drivers as one of the leading causes (then the lack of having a place to call my own). So for all of you Utah drivers out there, take NOTE:

I greatly dislike Utah drivers because:

1. They find it acceptable to drive 50mph on the highway

2. EVEN WORSE, they find it acceptable to drive 55mph in the fast lane and don't understand the concept of, MOVE!

3. The use of "on ramps" and "off ramps" seem like they are not thoroughly understood so let me clarify...Off ramps are built to be long enough to SLOW DOWN, therefore it is not necessary to slow down to 50mph on the highway if you are getting off at the next exit.

4. They cut people off ALL OF THE TIME! Cutting people off is one thing, but driving 10mph under the speed limit after cutting someone off is the ultimate offense.

5. If there is a fender bender on the side of the road, traffic most likely will be backed up for miles because EVERYONE has to look at the "accident". In most states people would continue driving without a second thought.

6. Living in a mountainous state requires that you can accelerate your car up large inclines so if your car can't speed up, GET OUT OF THE FAST LANE!

I hope I have not offended anyone but I feel much better... I know there are good Utah drivers out there as well. I just wish that my daily commutes weren't so frustrating. I miss living in Vermont and taking public transportation everywhere I went.

OKAY, and LAST but NOT LEAST, this is my latest and greatest creation and I absolutely LOVE IT!

Custom Jewelry and Crafts

2010-01-11T14:08:00.000-08:00

Over Christmas break, I had a TON of extra time on my hands so I decided to make jewelry and other various crafts. I thought I would share some of my stuff...

Fresh Water Pearls and Labradorite Earrings on sterling silver

Fresh Water Pearl and Labradorite Necklace

Buttons/Pins

Top Necklace: Mossy Green Amethyst on a silver chain

Second Necklace: Swarovski crystal on a silver chain

This bracelet turned out pretty awesome. I wasn't sure what to expect and it took forever to make but I think it was well worth it.

And I am off to class!

Last day in Chicago

2010-01-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

Today we went to the Chicago Art Institute and it was absolutely remarkable, both in the shear size of the building and in the amount of art it contained. There was absolutely no way for us to see everything there. In fact, I think it would probably take weeks to read through all of the "blurbs" and see all of the artwork. However, I was still really excited to see the numerous famous paintings that are displayed there...

Below is the "Sunday Afternoon on the Island on La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat which I also like to refer to as the "famous dot painting".

The next two photos are "Water Lily" paintings by Monet.

Jonathan and I attempted to mimic the "American Gothic" painting by Grant Wood. I was actually a little bit disappointed by this painting because I always imagined it to be a huge painting, but as you can see it is fairly small.

Unfortunately there honestly wasn't anything worth taking a picture of in the "Modern Wing" of the art institute. I don't understand how they can say that junk from someone's garage, or a white painting with one line through it is "modern art". SOO, instead Jonathan and I took a picture with the city in the background :)

Lastly we had to see the "Thorne Miniature Rooms" for pure sake of the name but it actually turned out to be a really cool exhibit with lots of tiny rooms from various times throughout history.

And last but Never least, we FINALLY visited the Bean! To be completely honest, it was probably my favorite part of the whole day! Who would ever think that a large steel kidney bean would be such an amazing structure, but it was! The first picture below is us taking a picture of our reflection in the bean, and the second picture is basically my favorite picture from the whole trip.

We have had a ton of fun in Chicago, but tomorrow we head back home to Utah. Apparently we are supposed to get a foot of snow tonight and tomorrow so who knows if our flight will actually take off since O'Hare is always running behind schedule.

Happy New Year from Chicago

2010-01-02T17:47:00.000-08:00

Today we went to the Chicago Botanic Garden with my parents where we had the opportunity to walk through all sorts of gardens including a dessert garden, a tropical garden, and a poinsettia garden. The poinsettia garden was impressive, especially the huge hanging poinsettia balls, however I enjoyed the tropical garden the best. In the picture below is a hanging orchid ball behind us. If I had known these orchid balls exist, I would have wanted one at my wedding (probably better I didn't know about them since I imagine they would cost a fortune).

After we spent some time enjoying all the gardens, we walked through a display of an "all natural" Chicago. Some of the buildings took many weeks to build. The whole display was very impressive!

My favorite was the bean, considering that it looks like a mold of a butt!

On New Years Day we went to the Planetarium with my parents as well as with Jared and Liz.

On New Years Eve Jonathan and I went to a 1920's "flapper" party. The party itself was a lot of fun. Everyone was really decked out in 1920's outfits and there was a live band playing 1920's music for about half of the night. Unfortunately as soon as we arrived at the party I found out that my camera had died. So all I have as of now is the picture below which was taken on my mom's camera before we left for the party.

Happy 2010 everyone! Jonathan and I have been enjoying spending time in Chicago with family and friends!

This one is for you :)

2009-12-09T15:32:00.000-08:00

We finally unloaded our shipping container and it felt like opening a HUGE Christmas box filled with exciting treasures! We packed it up when we left Vermont back in April and now six months later we finally opened it! My Dad was convinced that as soon as we unlatched the door, the pod would explode but ALAS, everything stayed perfectly smashed!

We had quite a bit of snow the last few days so Jonathan and I were excited to use our snow shoes again (now that we got them out of our shipping container). Unfortunately, half way through our little hike, Grizzly was shivering like crazy. I attempted to carry him but failed miserably when he jumped out of my arms and fell in the snow.

AND NOW back to studying. I took my first final yesterday and I have 2 take home finals (which I almost prefer less because they take that much more effort) as well as 3 more finals next week. Just when my projects/presentations were finished and I could finally relax, I now have to study nonstop for finals. Blah. It doesn't help that I feel like I have a cold coming on :( At least it will all be over in one week. AND, one awesome benefit to being in school is the month long Christmas break! Yay!

2009-10-27T12:48:00.001-07:00

So I have been super busy with school and after this week it only continues to get worse, so you'll have to forgive my lack of posting lately. Every other week, from now until December, I have presentations and tests, BOO. If anyone knows me, you also know how much I hate presentations so this is going to be a little bit of a challenge. Oh well. It will be good for me I guess (or at least this is what Jonathan keeps telling me...)

So as an update on our lives, after looking at a couple dozen of homes, we have decided to postpone buying a home until next Spring (or longer) until we find exactly what we want. And if we don't find exactly what we want, hopefully we will be able to find a home in our preferred neighborhood and then we can update/redo it. SO, in the meantime, this is to dreaming....

(above) I absolutely love just about everything in this kitchen! Except I might change the color of the countertops...

Again, I love this kitchen, but mainly because I like the idea of using French Country design...

I think these countertops are just amazing and awesome!

Same countertop during the day...

Not a fan of the red chairs, but I do like the black countertops with the white cabinets.

And finally, I really like the idea of decorating with grey. I also really like how this bathroom has the shower and the bath tub together in the same room.

SO, tell me what you think and if you have any other ideas...

Snow in September?

2009-09-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

This gorgeous picture was taken yesterday...

Yep, this picture was taken moments ago and it is snowing...

In case you are confused...you should be! Today is September 30th and there is a full blown blizzard outside! I was watching T.V. and vacuming all of Grizzly's fur off the carpet when Grizzly started barking continuously at the window. So I stood up, and to my surprise, the light snow flurries had turned into a full blown snow storm! On Monday it was 80 degrees and sunny. Now just two days later, it is 38 degrees and snowing!

Also, on a completely seperate note, JONATHAN PASSED THE BAR EXAM! I have been delaying this post because I wanted to attach the pictures that went along with the good news, but we took them with Jonathan's Dad's camera and I don't have access to them. So regardless, CONGRATULATIONS JONATHAN! All of his hard work was worth it!

Apparently Grizzly didn't quite understand why it was snowing either...

Hello Fall

2009-09-14T20:57:00.001-07:00

This afternoon, I drove up to the condo in Midway and when I looked at the mountain, I realized there is no mistaking the fact that fall is here. I am three weeks into fall semester and after next week, I will be 1/3 a way through with the semester. Instead of dreading the oncoming winter, I am going to look forward to everything that fall has to offer. I absolutely love the beauty of fall foliage. I have always enjoyed going to football games and this year I was able to get the student discount for the Muss. Fall is the season for my birthday which is always awesome. Decorating for fall is quite possibly one of my favorite things (even though I can't decorate until I have a home :( but the hunt is on!). Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I secretly love switching my wardrobe around and wearing warm sweaters and layering up! I take pleasure in the warmth of snuggling up to a Bonfire and making smores on a chilly fall night. Anything pumpkin makes me super happy including pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice wall scents, and pumpkin cookies, etc! Meanwhile, even though fall is here, I still plan to soak up all the sun rays possible before it hibernates from me during the winter :)

The Unofficial End of Summer

2009-09-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

Jonathan and I had a great time spending our Labor Day weekend in Dillon, Montana. I know it doesn't sound like an exciting place to spend our weekend, but we managed to keep ourselves entertained. Jonathan's family owns property there, so we took advantage of having a free place to stay. On Saturday we hiked around his property and as we were walking, we came across a canal. We were nervous to let Grizzly in the canal because of the rumor that most bulldogs simply sink in water. We were surprised to learn that Grizzly is not only an excellent swimmer, he also absolutely loves swimming!

So after our hike, we did a little shopping in the town of Dillon and bought ourselves some fun stuff for the rodeo. And of course, we had a fun time at the rodeo later that night.

On Saturday we got up early and went fishing in one of the most beautiful places in Montana. Jonathan caught a fish with in the first 10mins of fishing but unfortunately, it was really difficult catching fish with Grizzly and his new found love for swimming.

So after an hour or so of not catching anything, we drove to a different river and this time we left Grizzly in the car. After having little success and losing faith, Jonathan told me to cast one more time before we left and WALA! I caught a fish! It was quite exciting after the hours and hours of not catching anything.

I'm Back

2009-09-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

I debated on just getting rid of my blog after someone chose to graffiti my page but why would I get rid of all that hard work? So regardless of someone's rude intentions, I am back!

Last weekend Jonathan and I hiked to the top of Deer Valley. Unfortunately the views of Park City weren't as amazing as they normally are because of the smoke from the fires in Southern Utah. It is still strange for me to think about the huge forrest fires that occur in the West and how devastating they can be.

Today is the first day of September which also marks the end of summer for me. It is strange because I feel like I should be all packed up and ready to move to Vermont again. Jonathan and I are hoping that we will be able to unpack our shipping container from Vermont, which has been in storage all summer, and move into our first home before the tax credit expires. We have been on the hunt for the perfect home all summer and we both agreed on an amazing home last weekend. Hopefully it isn't gone before we can make an offer but if it is, then maybe it wasn't meant to be.

I started fall semester last week and I already know it is going to totally consume my life. Most of the classes seem like they will be hard, but I am taking a Positive Psychology class to keep my spirits high. I am actually really excited and I think it will be a great class for me! Well that is about it for now...

Good Luck! Good Luck! Good Luck!!!

2009-07-28T06:41:00.000-07:00

I can't say it enough! Good Luck to Jonathan as he is taking phase 1 of the BAR exam right now. Today he is taking the Utah State portion, which is all essays, ALL DAY LONG with an hour lunch break. Tomorrow he takes the multi-state portion, which is multiple choice ALL DAY LONG. And then, he is done! WooHoo! I am incredibly anxious for two reasons. ONE: Jonathan has studied so dang hard for this test and he deserves to pass! TWO: I decided it would be a good idea to do my final presentation on the same day he took the BAR so we would get our anxiety out at the same time. Good idea at the time, yes. But, bad idea last night when we both could not fall asleep.

This might give you a better idea of what Jonathan is REALLY going through at this moment in time, as he sits in the ExpoCenter and takes the BAR exam with hundreds of other students and thousands of people worldwide.

Good Luck Jonathan!

Happy Fourth of July & Grizzly's Birthday!

2009-07-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

Park City Canyon's Resort on the third of July

I absolutely love the fourth of July! I think it could very well be one of my favorite holidays. This year Jonathan and I went to the Canyons Ski Resort and watched fireworks and listened to music on the third of July. The fireworks weren't anything too spectacular (I think growing up in Illinois spoiled me with awesome firework shows) but it was fun to do something different than we have done in the past. On the fourth of July Jonathan and I went shopping at the Park City outlet mall, and then we grilled with his parents in Midway.

Kent and Joanna

Dressed in our festive colors :)

Last year on the fourth of July Jonathan and I bought Grizzly Bear! Unfortunately we don't know what his official birthday is so we decided to celebrate it on the fourth (also because we missed the ball in May when we thought he was born). When we went to the outlet mall we found a Coach dog collar on SUPER sale and since we would have spent the same amount on a regular dog collar, we went ahead and bought him one. Those who know me, also know that I can't pass on an excellent coach sale :) Too bad he hates wearing a collar but boy, oh boy, does he look handsome or what!?

Grizzly Bear the Dump Truck turns 1 (or in dog years, 7)!

Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay

2009-06-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

Jonathan and his Dad ran in the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay this past weekend. Their team, which consisted of 12 people, started running at about 5:00pm in Logan, Utah on Friday and they finished the race on Saturday at about 4:00pm in Park City, a total of 188miles! Jonathan had 3 different legs he had to run and it went something like this; one 4mile run at 6:00pm on Friday evening, the next 7mile run at 2:30am Saturday morning, and his last leg was another 6mile run at 2:00pm Saturday afternoon. In their division their team placed 28th which is impressive considering there is somewhere between 400-500 teams that sign up for this race.

The above 2 pictures are of Jonathan and his Dad, and below is a picture of Jonathan with some of his team members. I think it is important to note that before Jonathan put his mind to doing this race (back in February), he had never necessarily been a "runner" . During the race, he was averaging under 8 minute miles which is impressive! Maybe I'll muster up the courage and gather up a team to run in this race next year...anybody? anybody?

Our 2 Year Anniversary

2009-06-09T08:43:00.000-07:00

A week ago from today was our two year anniversary. We went out to dinner to Porcupine and we agreed that we wouldn't buy anything for each other until we had the chance to go shopping together. After we went home and exchanged cards, Jonathan went into the other room and grabbed a big box wrapped in shiny silver wrapping paper. I was upset because we had agreed not to get anything for one another and he assured me many times that he did NOT buy me anything. So I opened the shiny box but only to find a printer??? I couldn't believe it. Why would he get me a printer for our anniversary? Suddenly the following youtube video came to my mind...

Me and my new printer ;)

But then after sitting and chatting for a while about the necessity of a printer, I made the comment to Jonathan, "You realize that you probably could get a free printer when buying a laptop". Jonathan walked in the other room again and came back with another shiny silver package and I immediately knew what it was. I had been wanting to buy a MacBook laptop for quite some time but we didn't want to buy one because of how expensive they are. I was so happy that I even began to cry. It was a really sweet gesture of Jonathan but I was too terrified to open it and actually held off for a week. We finally decided to open the box on Sunday night. Monday morning I woke up, turned on my new awesome macbook, started up the internet, and the first news headline stated "iPhone now $99, Apple slashes their prices". So of course I click on the headline and read about how Apple came out with a new, nicer macbookpro and it is CHEAPER than the one I got. Needless to say Jonathan and I are extremely frustrated and we plan on having a chat with the salesman at the University of Utah bookstore who "guaranteed" Jonathan that there weren't any new computers coming out by apple any time soon. Regardless, I am still extremely happy with the computer. I couldn't be more lucky to have such an amazing husband like Jonathan.

Needless to say, Jonathan is FAR FROM the dog house :)

Last but not least, it isn't very often that I get to wear my wedding shoes. So for the sake of my feet being cut off of the picture with Jonathan, I asked him to take another picture. I make a point to wear these shoes every year on our anniversary. I can't believe I wore those shoes the whole wedding day. They are quite difficult to walk in and not necessarily comfortable but I still love them!

Remembering Vermont

2009-06-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

So despite the fact that I am incredibly happy to be living in the gorgeous state of Utah, I can't help but miss a few things from Vermont...

1.) My friend Courtney, the friends that Jonathan and I made through the law school, and all the other amazing people I worked with at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in the Hematology/Oncology Department.

2.) As soon as the snow would melt and mud season was in full blast, BBQing with all of our various neighbors was always a great time! We would fit as much food as feasibly possible on one of these little grills.

3.) Vermont Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese: You'll never find cheese that is dyed orange in Vermont and I believe that the orange dye seriously inhibits the great taste of cheese (I made sure to buy a 3lb block of cheese before we left)

4.) Walking to our local spots in town which included the " Bethel Central Market" where we would often chat with the managers and buy fresh meat daily. Our weekly take out from Cockadoodle Pizza Cafe. Our favorites included the Margarita pizza, the BBQ Chicken, and Jonathan's favorite was the Pesto pizza.

5.) The little hole in the wall sushi restaurant that Jonathan and I fell in love with called Yama.

6.) Billboards are illegal, and cellphone towers are required to be disguised as trees, thus making number 7 all that more amazing... (yes, that "large tree" is a cell phone tower)

7.) The rolling green hills in the summer time and the gorgeous foliage in the fall.

8.) Vermont and maple syrup go hand in hand, so naturally I will miss the yumminess of Vermont Maple Syrup, especially when we would go to Eaton's Sugar House for breakfast.

9.) As well as the maple syrup, there is also the famous Ben and Jerry's icecream which I luckily can continue to eat in Utah :)

10.) Overall I am going to miss the little town of Bethel, Vermont because it taught me a lot about myself and to be more accepting of other people. I learned to accept and eventually liked the idea that materialistic things simply do not exist. For example designer clothing, mansion homes (unless of course they are tucked away by trees and therefore are still unseen), extravagant cars, even paved roads can be a luxary (many driveways are unpaved and it is not uncommon to drive from "point A" to "point B" with out having to drive on a dirt road).

And of course, there are a few things that I will NOT miss about Vermont...

1.) Hand washing dishes was the absolute worst!

2.) Going to the Laundry Mat was equally as horrible, not to mention expensive!

3.) Winters seemed as if they would never end! (This picture was taken of Jonathan in January 2008 in our parking lot behind the Whitaker House Apartment. A truck had to come and shovel out the snow and haul it off to another location and this is the result AFTER they shoveled the snow out)

Haircuts!

2009-05-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

Despite years and years of long hair, I finally decided that I needed a change. I spent a long time debating between whether or not I should cut it, but I am SOOOO glad that I did. Hair grows so if I didn't like it, I could always grow it back long. Jonathan also chopped his mane since he will be starting his job this week. A new life in Utah and a new look for Jonathan and I. My hair dresser told me that everyone should change/freshen up their "look" at least every 3 years. So I guess I was about 10 years over due since the last time I had short hair was in middle school. Those of you who know me best would understand when I tell you that at the sound of the first "snip" I almost shed a tear :) Below is a picture of the before and after...

Jonathan's Graduation from Vermont Law School

2009-05-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Jonathan for not only graduating from Vermont Law School, but surviving three long years in the Green Mountain State of Vermont! Words can not explain how proud I am of him and all of his accomplishments! I am lucky to be married to such a wonderful man!

Both Jonathan's parents as well as my parents came to his graduation. Afterwards, we only had enough time to eat a few quick bites before we had to be on the road and on our way back to Utah! For me, the experience of leaving Vermont was bitter sweet. While the winters in Vermont were long and cold, I absolutley loved the fall and the spring. Jonathan claims that he will not miss Vermont, but deep down, I think he will.

Graduate School

2009-03-31T08:32:00.000-07:00

Hurray for being accepted into the University of Utah's Master's of Public Health Program!!!

Yesterday I got a phone call from the Department of Public Health when I was expecting to set up a time for a phone interview. To my surprise they chose to forgo the interview and offer me an acceptance into their program! I am absolutely thrilled to be going back to school, but at the same time it is very strange for me to envision myself taking classes again. As our lives in Vermont come to an end, so many new exciting opportunities are waiting for us in Utah! YAY!

Our New Hobby: Rock Climbing

2009-03-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

I am afraid that I am a horrible blogger because while I enjoy reading other people's blogs, I never know what to write on my own page. So for the sake of this post, it is self explanatory.

Snowshoeing in -12 degree weather

2009-01-18T15:31:00.000-08:00

Jonathan and I got snow shoes for Christmas and this weekend was our first opportunity to break them in. Despite the freezing cold temperatures, we hiked a beautiful trail near Killington ski resort! My face was a little frozen so even though I don't look ecstatic, I was really enjoying myself.

A little peice of paradise...

2009-01-11T11:43:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Caribbean! Jonathan and I spent the week of Christmas with some of my family in St. Maarten. We had an amazing time there but the trip itself was bitter sweet. My parents planned the trip for us and a few days before we were supposed to leave my mother had a heart attack. As hard as it was to be with out my parents on Christmas, they wanted us to keep the trip to St. Maarten while my mom recovered in Chicago. She is doing much better now and I was glad that we were able to spend a few days with her after the vacation.

A view from our hotel

The infinity pool was probably the best part about the hotel.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-29T13:31:00.000-08:00

Jonathan and I didn't have any family to spend Thanksgiving with this year, but that didn't stop us from making a huge feast! It was one of the best Thanksgivings I have had in a long time. In high school I got the flu 3yrs in a row on turkey day and during college I never spent it with my family. This Thanksgiving I was thankful for the little family that Jonathan and I have formed.

Jonathan made the turkey 100% on his own (with a few phone calls to his mom) but needless to say it was fabulous! I was impressed with his work! I cooked up the potatoes which I might add were pretty dang good.
Waiting anxiously for the feast...Unfortunately we underestimated the amount of time it would take to cook up all of the food and so instead of eating at 2:00pm like we would have preferred we hadn't eaten anything all day and before we knew it, it was 4:30pm.

Fall

2008-10-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

Jonathan and I spent fall break with his parents in Boston, MA. This picture was taken in Concord where the "shot heard around the world" occurred as the first gun shots were fired during the American Revolutionary War.

The long freedom trail came to an end here where we had time to relax. It was interesting to walk around Boston with all of it's historical sites. I loved that all of the old cemeteries were preserved in the midst of all the buildings and congestion of a city. Boston is such a beautiful city with all of the old churches next to the more modern sky scrapers. It is crazy how architecture has changed. My only regret is that I didn't take more pictures while we were there.

As a part of our last fall in Vermont, Jonathan and I have been trying to spend a lot more time hiking various trails and visiting the tourist spots in Vermont because after all, who knows when we will be on the east coast again.

My camera wasn't taking pictures that justified the color of the foliage so I thought I would take a picture of a leaf because it better exemplifies the colors of fall foliage in Vermont.

As beautiful as this farm is, it is also extremely rare to see a house and a farm in this good of shape in Vermont.

From this hike in South Royalton, you can actually see the Joseph Smith Memorial which marks the birthplace of Joseph Smith. I think my head might be covering it...oops

This barn is pretty well known in Woodstock. A lot of the art galleries there have different paintings of it but since I can't afford elaborate $1200 paintings, we took a picture instead.

Vermont is also known for it's numerous covered bridges so I couldn't resist taking a picture of it as well. This bridge is also located in Woodstock Vermont.

The Wedding of the Year!

2008-08-17T10:54:00.000-07:00

My best friend, Jane Hladik got married on August 9th to Mike Alley. The wedding was absolutely beautiful as the pictures can show you...

Jane's Dad walking her down the isle.

Me and my nice escort Scott

The Bridal Party in front of Medinah

I can't believe Jonathan and I have already been married for a year. What a good year...

Best Friends

Welcome to the family Grizzly!

2008-07-29T14:42:00.000-07:00

The following pictures were taken on the first day that we bought little Grizzly and we have had him for 3 weeks and he has already doubled in size. Grizzly was the runt of the litter weighing in at 3 1/2 pounds when we brought him home and now he is already 7 pounds of pure love!

The end of the BMW

2008-05-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

As Jonathan and I were driving home to Midway after spending Sunday dinner with my brother Kevin and his family in Alpine, we were passing Deer Creek and suddenly a deer ( a fitting name for the creek, I suppose) appeared out of no where on the highway. What I don't know how to describe as lucky or unlucky, was a cop who was driving behind us. Jonathan had been speeding but due to this cop being behind us Jonathan slowed down to 55mph. It wasn't until about a minute or two later that the deer jumped onto the highway. Had we been speeding along with all of the other cars, we might have not hit the deer but we can't dwell on the "what if's". It was nice to have the cop reassure us that there was nothing we could have done, and immediately call for back up. At this point we just have to be grateful that the deer didn't go through the windshield and that our health wasn't affected by the accident. We also have to be grateful that the airbags didn't deploy and obstruct our vision on the road since both sides of the road were drop offs. The tow truck driver told us all about a story of a lady who hit a deer in the same place and when the airbags deployed she drove her car straight into the lake. Scary. We are still waiting for an estimate on the car but we know that it is going to be over $4ooo. At this point we are still unsure where to draw the line since the car is only worth about $9000. The saddest part about the whole story is that the insurance on the car was liability only so the insurance company will pay for nothing.

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