I Want

I want.  I want.  I want.  Seriously though, I can't decide: Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet, or (bite the expensive bullet) iPad?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Best Part of Being an Adult: No. 1

Sometimes, I need a little reminder that being an adult (with all of the stresses that title entails), is actually  truly awesome.  Case in point:

I didn't have to ask to lick the beaters.  I scraped the bowl clean, and it was 10:15 p.m., on a school/work night.  Being an adult has its perks.

The contents of the bowl are going to be a delightful birthday present for my coach, Rob Handley.  You should try making it one day, seriously, like, tomorrow.  It will totally be worth it.

Great Things

Remember the Halloween party we put on?  The one with all of the little kids. The one that was so much fun, but affirmed my fears about children ("baby, we can finish what we started in the car after the kids are asleep" *horrified looks**life changing.split.second.silent decisions*), yeah, that one.  It was totally worth it, because we received this in the mail:

 dear Chelsea and ben: thank you for inviting me to the parrty and for the pizza.  thankyou for leting me sleap over, I had a lot of fun.  thank you for the awsom goodi bags


love, Jarom

Jarom is such a brilliant little man, who is so lucky to have parents that are instilling old-school manners in him.  Really, the "thank you" card is virtually lost in our society, but this six year old makes it look so good.

Speaking of awesome.  Jarom's  fabulous mom bought us a really great piece of calligraphy on Etsy (I wish I knew the name of the artist, but I don't), and I am finally getting around to hanging it on our wall.  (Sorry, Tse, you know how hectic life can get.)  The picture doesn't do it justice, it is so beautiful.

"The library connects us with the insight and knowledge gainfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contributions to the collective knowledge of the human species.  I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries." -Carl Sagan, Cosmos

Roku for the Win

Steve, thanks for moving in with your awesome boyfriend.  It is because he already owned a Roku that you gave us yours for free and we are eternally grateful.  The Roku streams our Netflix on our wonderful television.  It also streams Hulu Plus and loads of other free movie channels.  You can even purchase the UFC events.  I think we pay sixteen dollars per month for Netflix, which is sooooo much cheaper than cable; so, despite the fact that I really miss the Food Network, TLC, and HBO, we'll stick with this magic little box and Netflix (regardless of the new price increase).

Oh, and Steve, congratulations on the happy, healthy relationship.  We love Bryon too.

Happy (Late) Halloween

     We had a Halloween party for the nieces, nephews and Jarom on the 15th: it was an absolute blast!  We ate Jack O' Lantern pizza, drank witches brew and decorated cookies.  Like any good party, we played games including: the mummy wrap, doughnut eating, and pin the smile on the Jack O' Lantern.  The kids each received a goodie bag with gummy pumpkins, fangs, fingertips, spider rings, googly glassses, flashlights and temporary tattoos. We ended the night with Disney's "Halloweentown," and because that freaked the kids out, we followed it up with "Despicable Me."

     The next morning, Ben cooked the kids chocolate chip pancakes, bacon and eggs.  It was a great end to the festivities!  I sure do love those kids, but let me tell you, I am never having children.  One night was definitely enough.  Definitely.

The Night Circus

I recently finished reading Erin Morgenstern's, "The Night Circus," and I can't recommend it enough.  The story follows two young magicians (Celia and Marco) on a magical tour of the world in the fabled Le Cirque De Reves (Circus of Dreams), where the two are engaged in a perpetual exhibition/duel of their magical abilities.

Morgenstern paints such a vivid and fanciful picture of the black and white circus, that I found myself wishing that it was real.  I also found myself wishing that this book would be made into a movie.  Apparently, Summit has picked up film rights, I hope they do it some justice (the Twilight series was their doing, so I'm feeling some trepidation on that front).  I fell in love with the characters.  I cried when one of them died, smiled when two of them were born, and I rooted for the magicians in love. 

"The Night Circus" has such broad appeal with its dark elements; Prospero the magician teaches his young daughter to heal herself with magic by slitting the tops of her fingers open, and its romantic side, which allows us to peer into a crowded ballroom as Marco grasps Celia in her color-changing gown for a lustful kiss. 

This book won't disappoint.  If it takes you more than four days to read, I will be surprised (I found myself stealing time to read every chance I could).

Just Like Me

This is a must read.  Well-written, beautiful, and not the least bit presumptuous. And yes, it has to do with Glee.

Did I Mention?

My dad's tumor is benign!

That is all.

Tactile

A great majority of my life is defined through my perpetual love affair with food.

This bad boy is like a sex toy for foodies.

Ikea $10. BestPurchaseEver

Love

This picture warms my heart and has love written all over it.  Absolutely adorable.

Tastes of Inauthenticity

I should have known when we walked in the front door.  There was paneling on the walls, and the constant din of a fan or swamp cooler.  The place was sparsely decorated.  I thought they were closed because of the general disarray, but I was hungry, and sometimes the best food comes from dives (right, Guy Fieri?).  These were the thoughts when Ben and I walked into Taste of India in West Jordan, and in retrospect, we should have just walked out.

I had the chicken coconut korma, and Ben had the chicken tikka masala.  We ordered the naan fusion basket, because we can't get enough of good naan.  We didn't get any good naan with our order.  The naan was doughy; doughy to the point that I could pull pieces off and roll it up into little balls.  Not to mention, they forgot the bread basket, and we only received it after I asked the waitress about it.

The curries were soupy and bland.  I literally asked the server if the sauce was from a jar, to which she said she needed to go ask the kitchen.  Bad sign.  Sorry, sweet server, the terrible food isn't your fault but I had to know.  They said the food was fresh, but let me tell you: they lied.  I make Indian food at home, and I eat it every chance I can, that slop was from a jar. 

$45 later, we walked out disappointed and feeling slightly sick. 

I am not hard to please.  I don't have an insanely refined palate, but I was truly disappointed.  I don't know if anyone else has been to one of their two locations, but the dinner we had was so disgusting that I want to warn everyone to avoid the hell out of that place.

If you want Indian food go to these places:
Himalayan Kitchen
Star of India
India House
Bombay House
India Fusion

Halloween

According to the feeling in the air and the stores, it is time to decorate for Halloween. I didn't realize how much I loved Halloween decorations until I walked into the Hobby Lobby and almost orgasmed. I picked up some cute stuff for great prices.

Table runner: $10 @TJ Maxx, Candy Dish: $7 @Hobby Lobby

Wreath: $25 @Target

Indoor Wall Hangy Thing: $12 @ Hobby Lobby

Window sill decor: $6 @Hobby Lobby

I also bought some Halloween dishtowels for $5 at Target.

It was great fun going with my friend Mallory for a day of shopping. We lusted over things we couldn't afford and compared prices on the stuff we could, it was an uber-successful shopping day.

15 lbs

This past year I have gained fifteen pounds (and I haven't lost one of 'em).  I find myself bitching about it quite a bit, but when I eat a bag of these babies, the fifteen seems worth it. 

Just so you know, Vanilla Tootsies are the bees knees, and now they are sold by the bag.  Uh-oh.

Dodging Bullets

Over Labor Day weekend my dad was in a pretty nasty car crash.  A deer jumped in front of his truck while he was coming home from the elk hunt, and when he swerved to miss the loping mammal, he rolled the length of a football field.  Thankfully, someone saw this happen and stopped.  Life flight took my dad to the regional hospital in Provo.  They thought he had back and neck fractures, but after the swelling went down, he was cleared on that front.  He did have a concussion, broke five ribs, and bruised his lungs. 

Ben and I were camping when I found out, and the two hour drive from Mineral Basin in American Fork Canyon, to the hospital in Provo was the longest trip I have ever experienced in my life.  I was cursing camping and crying the whole ride there.  When we arrived, he looked surprisingly well, aside from the tubes and hospital gadgets.  He was in the hospital until September 11th, but he's home now, and he's doing alright.

Well, sorta...

Here I am, celebrating the luck that my dad has, and I just found out today that he has a tumor on his adrenal gland.  Initially, they thought it was a "bleeder" or general trauma from the accident, but today they called to let him know that it is an actual mass.

I shouldn't freak out too bad, because we don't know if it's malignant.  Right?

I suppose we'll find out this week, and just move from there.

Slacking

I have been slacking in the blog department, but such is life, right?

Here is the skinny on the past few weeks:

Ben and I took Jarom to the zoo for his sixth birthday celebration, and we had an absolute blast!  The Zoorasic Park exhibit that Utah's Hogle Zoo hosted was a sight to be seen.  The dinosaurs were very realistic, and the little man loved them.  The dinosaurs are gone now, but if you haven't been to the zoo this summer, I recommend going.  Sometimes the animals seem sad, but zoos are generally a wonderful place for knowledge, and the animals tend to be well taken care of (that's my take for those of you that are ambivalent about zoos).  On a lighter note, I braved the reptile house for longer than I felt was necessary, but I suppose that is a step toward personal growth?

Aesop Rock and the Hail Mary Mallon crew performed with Kimya Dawson at the Urban Lounge, and the show rocked my world!!!  Hail Mary Mallon played new music, and Aes and Kimya debuted some of their new material for an album they are working on.  Watch this video to get a taste (warning, you will want to cry): 

Natalie had a bachelorette party where we ate at The Garage in North Salt Lake, and afterward we all had a  "few" drinks at the Marriott downtown.  The burger at The Garage is delish, and their wings are pretty damn good too, for those that are interested.  Her party was every ounce as fabulous as she is.  Words can't express how fun it was to let loose with a group of funny, intelligent women. Alek and Nat tie the knot on Saturday, and I'm eagerly waiting to see how beautiful their celebration will be.  The update that follows their wedding will likely be a verbose one. (Speaking of, check out Nat's gorgeous bridal pictures.)

All-in-all: school is flowing along nicely, the gym is fantastic (I've been choking suckas on a regular basis), Ben and I are fantastic, my friends are behaving in their usual (aka marvelous) fashion, and I couldn't be happier.

I swear, I'll update with some pictures, it's just a matter of time.

I Would Have Preferred Breaking A Limb

Last week was awful.  I know I should blog about positive things, and tell the whole world that everything in my life is perfect (that seems to be the trend on blogs).  But, guess what?  This is my blog, and my outlet, and I get to do as I damn-well please.

I'm not going to lie: last week was hard.  Last week was a week of tears and yelling.  I don't yell, so that should tell you that something was up.

Last week I thought my world was coming apart.  Someone very important lied to me.  I cried when they lied. They apologized.  Then they lied again. And again.  I still don't know if I received the whole truth.  I couldn't accept their apology the first ten times they said "I'm sorry," which isn't like me.  Eventually, I accepted, but I'm still sore from last week.  I feel like I can't sleep enough.  Work is a drain, jiu-jitsu feels like some form of torture, and tasks like shaving my legs still feel exhausting.

I have learned over the past week that I am strong.  Stronger than I could have dreamed.  With the final lie I erupted, "This is a problem with you.  This is not my fault.  I am smart, funny, caring, determined, educated, and pretty.  I don't deserve this!"  I was right, and the person knew it. 

Things are getting back to normal, but this is one of those situations that will take time.  I think I'm being asked to have faith.  Faith is believing that something is true in spite of the evidence.  Faith is something that I detest.  I don't think faith is admirable, and I don't think it should be put on a pedestal; I don't admire people for their faith.  But, sometimes I understand that the thin line between faith and hope is blurred.

Hope is when you have evidence that things can change.  Hope is an investment and requires work.  With hope there is a trend that indicates something will change (at least that's what it means  to me).  I can't tell if I am learning to have faith or hope.  I'm leaning towards hope, because that makes me feel more secure.

Finals

This week I have to finish a twenty-five page paper.  I have procrastinated far too much, and have to write fourteen pages in the next two days!  I also have four final assignments, and two final tests.  This week is going to be hectic, but I'm ready for the break, and the light at the end of the tunnel is keeping me motivated!

Friday and Saturday are going to be great (not just because Saturday is my last final), but because Grand Master Flavio Behring is in town for a seminar at Absolute MMA.  I always learn so much when he is here, and I'm really looking forward to seeing some people be promoted to higher belts.

Also, we're spending Sunday at Hogle Zoo with one of my favorite boys on the planet, Jamrock!  Cam and Tse are letting us take the big guy out for his birthday date.  I am loving the new tradition of taking kids out for solo dates on their birthdays.

What does Jam want to see, you ask?  Snakes!  Sunday should be full of laughs, and it will be a good test for my phobia.  I can't show fear in front of the little one, so maybe I will actually walk into the reptile house and look around?

Finally!

I have mentioned Alex Pardee a few times, and I have raved about the print he did of Batman that I desperately want.  This is the picture:

The print is sold out, and will never be reprinted (in the larger size).  I have searched online to no avail. I have emailed the artist to see if he will ever do a reprint. The answer? Nope.  I found one of the originals in a small art gallery in downtown SLC, but it is $400.  Did I buy it?  Nope.

Well, last night I was checking out Alex Pardee's blog, and guess what he is releasing????? 8" x 10" prints of his "Tonight, To Knight" piece.  I definitely bought one!  Now I just have to convince Ben that it is worth hanging in the house.

Aesop Rock

I don't know if you know this, but I am totally and completely obsessed with Aesop Rock.  He is a genius.  I listen to his music almost exclusively.  Recently he collaborated with DJ Big Wiz and Rob Sonic to form the hip-hop super group, Hail Mary Mallon.  They released the album, "Are You Gonna Eat That?," and it is awesome.  Seriously, seriously, seriously awesome.

Aesop is also the creative genius behind the awesome site, 900  Bats.  I have blogged about it before, and if you haven't taken a look, well, don't be silly.  Go look.

We have driven all the way to Boulder, Co (1054 miles round trip), and to Reno, Nevada (1038 miles round trip), just to see Aesop perform.  I take his music so seriously that the man is one of my tests for a significant other, thankfully Ben passed; basically, if you can't boogie to Aesop, you aren't boogying with me.

Well, guess what?  He is coming HERE!  Here as in, Salt Lake City, Utah! This next trip to see Aesop Rock perform is only 47 miles, and that is round trip. He will be performing at the Urban Lounge, and if you like good music, you should go.

Me and Aesop in Boulder, CO