saturday night christmas cheer

tonight was our work christmas party.
of course, sweaters were encouraged.... and, of course, whitney and i won best sweater awards. (please hold your applause) i'm really glad this xxl hug me bear sweater has come in so handy the last three years...

we probably ruined a perfectly good picture right here, but still, it was great.  i like my job... and those coworkers of mine, too.

on another note, i am obsessed with the lower lights christmas album.... well, maybe just the five songs i can stream online for free until i break down and buy the album. it is so good. if you've got five minutes, fast forward to the last song. it is wonderful.

weekend.

like i mentioned previously, i spent lots of time in my car.
and scoring deals at the mall on jeans. (okay they are jeggings) judge not.
and kissing my dreams of buying an SLR goodbye and deciding to be a responsible person and pay my college tuition.

thursday we went to slc for the twilight concert series and got our rave on. kind of.
ghostland observatory was pretty neat. they pumped smoke into the air that smelled like maple syrup, then shot lasers across the sky.
it was pretty great.

on friday britni and i went to the sound of music at sundance, after only a minor mishap where i thought i'd lost our tickets in the abyss that is my car. they were found. prayer works. i've got the attention span of a six year old and the lower back pains of a sixty year old, so we left at halftime. i mean intermission.
i stink at theatre. but i will just tell you... those hills were alive.

saturday i worked, which is super uncommon but necessary because of that college tuition deal.
then i ran on the provo river trail in the 94 degree heat, but thankfully i didn't die.
i ate at jason's deli and became obsessed. seriously, get there.
i slept on britni's floor and dreamed of spain.

sunday was my final hoorah in the 227 ward, and they said farewell to the best relief society room coordinator they'd ever seen.
every single week i mess up on leading the hymns on the computer. either i can't scroll, i turn it on at the wrong time, or only the piano part plays. i'm a spazz and get ever spazzier when i know about 30 sets of eyes are staring at me fumbling around with a mouse with no mousepad! none! it's been traumatic and sweat inducing, but great. and those ladies are gonna miss seeing those beads of sweat roll down my temples as they are yelling out orders on how to work that newfangled device, i know it.
it was family dinner week, too. we ate at a park and i probably downed an entire costco container of grapes. i just can't help myself!

and now it's almost monday and school is starting in seven days, and saying "seven days" just reminds me of the ring, and how in seven days you die,  which i kind of feel like might happen to me. the clock is just a ticking. don't get me wrong, i do love school as much as the next zoobie, but i like my summer life. it's when "i do what i want" is the motto reigning supreme, i do what feels good, and i have next to zero serious cares.
byu is getting ready to pull that rug out from under me.... eeeeeeek! on my horizons are: organic chemistry. spanish phonetics. world religions. art history. cooking.
hopefully i don't get chewed up and spit right back out.
but hey! as of tuesday i will again be able to put my clothes in a closet.
for this weekend of fun, the last week of summer, and that last fact, i am indeed thankful.

mid august already?

alright school starts in two weeks. weird? yes.

every single day at work people ask me the date, and when i tell them, about 50% say some variation of "oh my goodness where has this summer gone" and i smile and comply and say some variation of "yes, it's really crazy" or "man it's just a-flyin" an average of 12 times an hour. maybe tomorrow i'll keep track. you'd think that being aware of how "fast time is going" would have the reverse effect of slowing it down or something... but anyways, i digress! weekend happenings! 

first off, thursday isn't exactly weekend material, but when your friday/saturday/sunday goings on don't account to much, you've got to scrounge up something. and thursday totally counts because it is like weekend's eve.

thursday is a great day in the summer because it means there are free concerts in salt lake. like legit free concerts! like bright eyes. it was great, the music was fun, the marijuana smoke was a little overwhelming, and the people watching was as good as ever. 

here are a few key players in thursday's games

a. your run of the mill high school couple. i thought this kid was gonna rub a hole right through his gf's shift
b. your average beer drinking f-word-every-other-word frat bro
c. the token ginger. wearing a polo. (mostly for kelsey)
d. the 65 year old in denial. woodstock was about 40 years ago, buddy.
e. your average drunk groupie chick
f. and us. 

thanks for a good time, connor.

next thursday it's ghostland observatory. 

wondering who they are? i gathered this from their myspace bio. (yep, myspace) 

Ghostland Observatory is not a band, but an agreement between two friends to create something that not only heals their beat-driven hearts, but pleases their rock ‘n roll souls

something tells me they've got a following worthy of a couple paparrazi pics. stay tuned for that!
anyways, as for the rest of the weekend, well, it can be summed up pretty easily.

saturday: i failed at getting back to my pastoral roots. you see i had this great idea that i could go pick my own vegetables at u-pick farms, this farm in orem where you are quite literally picking your own vegetbales, right when i was done with my workout. however, note to self that farms mean mud, which means don't wear your brand new running shoes out there. you WILL step in and immediately regret the decision.
needless to say, i left with no vegetables and a whole lot of angst.

don't worry though, it was easily remedied by a trip to see "the help" and it was great. better than the book, in my opinion.  the movie just rocked that character development... and made me want to buy some crisco. it's just one of those "what would minny jackson do?" moments.

sunday: a day that starts out with pancakes and a bike ride to church (risque, i know) can't be anything but good. i spent the rest of today cooking myself food and getting creative with leftovers, seeing as i move out in three days. i'm going to miss this apartment. it's the best ever. i mean, where else am i going to live where i sleep on a mattress on a floor and my walls are blue and green? it's one of a kind, i will tell you that. it's great being a provo vagabond.

i am not one of those pretty runners

especially in the july heat.
one hour in the sun leaves me beat red with my shirt soaked through and through. (note to self: stick to light colored tanks)
sometimes i feel bad for the people that have to pass me. but hey at least i can give them a good laugh and something to tell their friends about when the conversation dies down (oh by the way you should have SEEN the sweat pouring off of this chick i saw running on university ave today...)
regardless, i don't really care.
especially since i downloaded this playlist from blogworld, as recommended by emily. get it and get running... dolly parton was never more entertaining.

in other news i got back in to yoga yesterday... if you can call it that. i don't know if it's just poser yoga they offer at golds, because i am pretty sure in a legit yoga class you wouldn't hear basketballs bouncing off walls and see sweaty muscly guys checking themselves out in the mirrors every time you came up for a sun salutation, but ya know, whatever. namaste and stuff.
really though, it was awesome. people say things like "oh yoga is so energizing!" and "yoga helps me really connect with myself", however, it did neither of those things for me. after our curly haired, barefooted instructor wearing a t-shirt proclaiming something about Saigon and beer finished his shpeal on breathing into your stretch and whatnot,  i just felt like a limp noodle and completely drained of all energy and connection.
i've got a ways to go. but maybe it will be an excuse to buy some new yoga pants? (i think i'd fit in better clad in some of those. they're all the rage with the males of the group... heh heh)

this morning i was all excited to make some rad granola because i finally finished off my last batch.
i burned the whole thing.
the pan resembled a mix of charcoal remnants and the crumb catcher underneath a toaster.
i suck at ovens.

can't wait for san diego in a couple days

via pinterest

but is it wrong to say that i am secretly most excited about this?

trader joe's, we shall meet soon.
and you better be all i have been dreaming you up to be.