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What irritates me:

Have you noticed how most everyone is proud of the places/cities/states where they grew up? They think it was the best place ever and that their hometown is better than your hometown. That may be true, no way of knowing. And I know there are some amazing places out there, but Utah is one of them too! Ever since I have moved out here, everyone at school has bashed on Provo, “The Bubble”, and Utah in general. I used to join along, but then I actually started getting out and doing things, and realized Utah is actually awesome. And Provo isn’t bad either.

Why?

Let’s start with Utah in general.

It’s absolutely gorgeous.

The mountains are beautiful. Driving through the canyon is always remarkable. The streams and waterfalls are endless. The wildlife is incredible. The blue skies against the rocky mountains never cease to amaze me.

There’s a variety of landscapes.

We’ve got the rocky mountains, the plains, the salt flats, the lakes, the red rocks, the forests. There’s a reason why so many films are made in Utah, you can’t find all of this so close everywhere!

So much to do!

Outside, you can ski, snowboard, hike, mountain bike, go to a rodeo, canoe/kayak, fish, boat, the list seriously is endless as are the places in Utah to do all those things. Inside, there are museums, concerts, restaurants, and shows.

Moving on to Provo.

Granted if you are not LDS, this would be a strange place to live. But it’s a college town, and the college happens to be the #1 cold stone sober college in the Country. But isn’t that why you wanted to go to BYU? I know I wanted to enjoy a few years in a place where I could be around people with similar beliefs and standards so I could survive some of the hardest years ahead of me. So, let’s just get the “boring” description of Provo out of the way, because the only reason people call Provo is boring is because we are just lacking the crazy parties with all the drinking. And if you call Provo “boring” because you think there’s nothing to do, then maybe you should get out of your apartment and start being proactive.

We have concerts, hiking/biking trails, clean entertainment, a dollar movie theater, lots of restaurants plus a variety of interesting spots on Center street, a campus full of free/cheap activities including an International Cinema that plays great movies every week, bowling allies, lots of places to grab some dessert, malls, parks, monuments, tandem bike rentals, a lake with a boardwalk, crazy mormon dance parties, a temple, festivals, and farmers’ markets.

There’s a lot to do here, and yes, Provo is unique, but stop saying there’s nothing to do in Utah! You don’t have to love it as much as the place you grew up in, but give it some credit! Anyone with me?

It feels good to finally get all that out!

Now, enjoy these photos of some of my favorite times in Utah!

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Summer School

If anyone knows of a place to find an extra thousand dollars just sitting around to pay for my summer tuition, due in a week, that would be grand. Until then, you can find me in my bed having a panic attack and dreaming of being a billionaire or even a hundredaire.

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Blog Lovin’

My affinity for blogging has grown to the point where I am now creating blogsites for businesses and friends, with my Dad’s business, RM1.net. It’s great because I’ll be able to continue doing this at home with the baby.

Here are two I am currently working on. They still aren’t completely finished, but they’re coming along and they look so much better than the originals. What do you think?

Farley Family Orthodontics

Before v. After

Abby Alger Photography

Before v. After

I seriously love doing this! If you’re interested in taking your blog or website to the next level or are just starting a business and need a brand new site, let me know and we will work something out!

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Coco: Summer Sessions

Summertime means listening to Colbie Caillat’s summer album. This album may be the closest I’ll be getting to the beach this summer, but it’s delightful to listen to. It’s pretty cheap on iTunes, so go ahead and buy it! You will not be disappointed.

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I Feel Pretty / Unpretty

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Homemaking Basics

Since I became pregnant, I have been neglecting some my wifely duties, namely cooking and cleaning. Remember when we first got married and I would post about all the delicious meals I was making? Pork chops, enchiladas, peanut sauce chicken. And now the extent of my cooking is grilling a grilled cheese sandwich, and if I’m lucky, heating up some soup. But it’s not my fault! I’m blaming it on the baby. How am I expected to cook food if just the site of some items make me sick? I don’t even have to see some foods, just the smell or the literal thought of eating it makes me nauseous. Oh, gosh, that makes me think of one such item. Now I have to try to clear my thoughts.

And cleaning. In the first trimester you’re not supposed to be around chemicals and such, so I haven’t really wanted to clean my shower and inhale those 409 toxins. (Is toxins the correct word? It sounds right…)

But as I am leaving the first trimester and I’m not feeling nauseous everyday now, I’m trying to get back into those routines and be a better homemaker. I decided that everyday I will conquer one cleaning project. So, then I don’t feel like I have to clean the whole house on Saturdays like I used to. And now, I really want to try to cook dinners a few times a week.

Here is where YOU come in. I need easy and, most importantly, healthy recipes or ideas that I can make for T.J. and I this summer. We have a George Foreman grill, so tell me what to grill and instruct me which sides I create. I do NOT want to blow up like a balloon in this pregnancy (well, not more than I already will), so I need all the help I can get. Please leave me a comment on this post or send me a message here.

 

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E.F.Y.

E.F.Y. has officially started here on campus. I think they were here last week, but not as many as this week. I used to get incredibly annoyed by the mass amounts of teenagers invading my campus, but I don’t mind it as much anymore. They’re pretty fun to watch, actually. And I can’t help but to think of my own experience at E.F.Y. five years ago. (I can’t believe it’s been that long!) It is one of the most influential and exciting times for a Mormon teenager, at least it was for me, and sometimes I wish I could go back.

Unfortunately, when my hard drive failed last summer or when I lost my external hard drive at the airport, I lost all of my E.F.Y. photos, except for the one at the top. Can you find me?

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The Golden Years

Last night my friend Carrie came over for the last time before she leaves for New York. We filled the night with Bit-O-Honey’s and Youtube. It started out by showing her my favorite sketch by the Harvard Swimming Team, a NYC comedy group. Then that led us to watching our favorite SNL skits. Many of those include Justin Timberlake, which led us to watching N*Sync videos and then a chain of about ten more top hits from our childhood. Wow, what a great time. And guess whatttttt, I wrote all the songs down so I could blog about them today and share my commentary. Lucky you!

You have to click through on this first one because embedding was disabled.

Okay, first off, I was a HUGE N*Sync fan, I owned all their CDs and made dances up to all of them. So big of a fan that my first AOL Instant Messenger Screen-name was NSynk27 (yes, I spelled N*Sync wrong in the actual screen-name). Don’t you love this video? They’re all so young (except for Chris, he was always old). I think it’s so funny how they are always bobbing their heads. And look at Justin’s highlights… I remember LOVING those back in the day.

Gotta share one more N*Sync video. I’m not sure if I would have gone in the exact direction that they did to interpret the video, because they  really look insane in this video. But I guess that was the point.

Next, we’ve got MMM Bop by the boys from Hanson. Can’t get over those locks. Carrie said when her sister told her they were boys when she was little she didn’t believe them. I’m not sure exactly what this song is about, even after Carrie explained it to me. But it will be forever engraved into all of our minds.

This one isn’t as popular as some of the others, but it was one of my favorites. I thought Aaron Carter was “the man!” He was like Nick Carter, his older brother, but better because he was our age. But now looking at this video, he is a little baby. I also don’t understand why people give JB so much crap, after watching all of these videos. All of these boys who sang in the 90s were just as [insert negative adjective here] as he is, so stop hating the Bieber! Oh and fun fact about this video, I know every single word.

We’re slowing it down at this party with a little S Club 7. If we were at a skating party right now, this is when you would hold hands with your friends, all in a big line, and skate around that floor thinking about your crush. What was better than S Club 7’s music? Their TV show! Remember that? That was great. I remember I called into a radio station one night to hear this song and they said they didn’t play THIS type of music. I was devastated.

If you turn this on around any girls who grew up in the 90s, they will start singing every word, and pick which Spice Girl they wanted to be. I wanted to be Posh (good choice in the end considering who she’s married to, am I right?). Who did you want to be?

I’ll try to make the commentary a little shorter or else this post will never end. I remember hearing this song for the first time. It was then the only song I played on my portable CD player for the next few months. I was pretty sure that this song was my life, or at least I wanted it to be.

Moving on, we’ve got the great A*Teens group, who sang mostly Abba. I think I had a thing for guys who highlighted their hair because I had a major crush on the blonde kid. (Sidebar: T.J. highlighted his hair in the 90s, so we were meant to be haha). This was another I kept on repeat.

Oh, Aqua. They were so weird, but so good! My sister gave me one of their CDs, and I fell in love with that highpitched voice. And everyone loves Barbie Girl, how could you not? Kind of a creepy video, but that makes it even better.

We are really going back on this one. I was five or six when it came out, but my older sisters had it on a tape that we listened to over and over again on a road trip (Sidebar: our car broke down on the trip, and then we had to stay at a creepy hotel and I will always connect this song with that experience). Also on the tape was that song “I can walk 500 miles” or however it went.

I made a music video to this one once upon a time, another past time favorite memory. But it was so terrible we didn’t even put it on the DVD. And if you’ve seen the DVD I’m talking about, you know how bad it must have been. The Dixie Chicks were the first CD I ever bought with my own money. That and Celine Dion.

Last one I have for you is the Macarena. The video is just as great as the song. Their band was quite the melting pot.

Well, hope you enjoyed that flashback. I know I missed a lot, including Britney, but my mom wouldn’t me watch her videos growing up (which was a smart move) and so I still am in that mindset. Anyway, I would love to hear what your favorite songs were back in the day.

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