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.