Salt Lake Real V. LA Galaxy

Last night I went to the Salt Lake Real soccer game vs. the Los Angeles Galaxy! It was a lot of fun. We had A-mazing seats. It was great. The seats were friend's of my sister, so hence we were surrounded by Real Salt Lake fans... I had to fake it, but in my heart of hearts I was all for LA.
Landon Donovan
LA Galaxy goal
The rowdy section... how do you get seats up there? That is my question.
Salt Lake Real goal.

The game ended 2-2 after a quick extra 4 minutes of stoppage time. I would take the draw over a loss. In any case, it was a great time, I loved it!

LAX

Well I had a great week in LA this past week. I had a lot of fun with the kids, and with my friends, and the fam. Kristen and I went to Disneyland... the happiest place on earth! It was wonderful. I had to come back to real life sooner or later, back to school it is. I am not looking forward to it. After all the fun I had, this blog isn't actually about all the good times I had in Agoura (the good life), its about my trip back to Utah... it started in one of my favorite places, LAX. I was sitting waiting for my plane to unload before we boarded, and this little girl (flying in from NY) said to her mother "Mommy, this is not what California looks like, California has a black floor and colorful stuff". I loved it. I love California, with its black floor and colorful stuff. I wouldn't have it any other way.

It is too much to ask?

One of Jill's friends invited us to her family's super bowl party, so of course we wanted to know what we could bring. I don't know how it got started but Jill said we would bring sugar cookies. It of course was Saturday when we started thinking about making cookies... I knew that football inspired cookie cutters existed, I just didn't have one (I know you are shocked right now). So we drove all over town looking for a football or helmet cookie cutter. Finally Jill suggested we take cookie cutterswe already had make them and decorate them to look like footballs. So we did... hearts, stars and of course the great state of California. They turned out fabulously!

U of U

A couple of weeks ago, I was a little early for class, and it had just snowed a bit, so I thought I would take some pictures of my campus with the fresh coat of snow.

Eschscholzia californica

Here are some fun pictures I took while I was in California this Christmas. The California Poppy. I love it.

What?! Already?

Yep it is that time again. Blagh... ok I know I like school, but I like being on vacation way more. I went to California for my winter break. Christmas was fabulous. I think everyone had a great time. I certainly did. I had the opportunity to hang out with family and friends. I had a wonderful time hanging out with my neices and nephews. They are super cute. We were fortunate to all be home when my brother blessed his new little girl the Sunday after Christmas. My whole family was there and all but one of my sister in laws family was there. It was beautiful. So we took the opportunity to take a family picture that Monday. That was a lot of fun. The woman who took the pictures was great. She ended up taking my two sisters and I back to her studio to take more pictures. We got hair and make-up too. I also went with a couple of friends to my parent's cabin in the Lake Arrowhead mountains. We went sledding... good times.We had to shovel the driveway for both our cars to fit, and we ate Jensen's donuts for breakfast new years morning. I know some of you may be wondering why I would leave the snow in Utah to go to sunny Southern California (and it was sunny, in the 60's and 70's just about the whole time) just to go back to the snow... well, I think California snow must be different. =)

Tomorrow

Why are all my blogs about the snow? This weekend we had another snow storm. It was nice that we didn't have to go anywhere really. Driving in the snow still freaks me out. Here is a picture of Jill's dog... ok not really. It is a plant.Today we took pictures of my car. I know it doesn't look that bad... but it is still scary to me!
My school is almost over, I have one test left. Then my first semester of grad school is over. Phew, I think I made it. Back to Cali for a couple of weeks or so, out of the snow. Phew again.

The sun will come out

Well yesterday at this time I was in my bedroom doing homework as usual, and I noticed little white snowflakes that not too long after turned into big white snowflakes. I sat on my bed and watched while I continued to work on homework, and then the snow stopped. I thought I was safe. I had yet to drive to school in the snow, and was not looking forward to doing so. Jill called to make sure I had looked out the window... she told me it was just the beginning. The beginning of what I wondered, the day, yeah I knew that, of the snow storm, ok I could deal with that, no, she tells me, of winter. I thought we had already been in winter after all it is almost the middle of December... but no, apparently here it is just the beginning. By the time I was leaving for school the snow was coming down again. Thankfully, I made it safely. I walked around school safely, and I returned home safely. Phew... I think I can handle it. Last night when I got home Jill told me the internet was working again! So I start checking my usual spots, and there was a picture from my family living in the good life, A picture of my hydrangea bush... blooming. What a nice surprise after a long, stressful, snowy day! It doesn't know it is winter either I guess.

And today, blue skies and the sun is shinning again!

Thanksgiving in a restaraunt

This year for thanksgiving Jill and I went to go visit the east coast single sibs. We had a great time! We did all the touristy things including tours of the Pentagon, Capitol, and White House. This is a picture of the Pentagon memorial.We started off the weekend with thanksgiving in a restaurant. Actually we started at the zoo. They have pandas. Giant pandas. This is not a giant panda, it is a red panda. So back to the restaurant.That was new for me. I didn't know what to think. But it turned out great. We had a traditional thanksgiving meal, with leftovers and no dishes. We also had yummy, yummy desserts that were not pumpkin pie. We had a sundae with cake that tasted more like fudge, and Cinnamon ice cream with chocolate sauce.Although there is this fun frozen custard place called Dairy Godmother and we ate pumpkin frozen custard! It was a great weekend!

Bloggin'

So we have been having internet problems at the house... I miss it! At the moment, we have the internet, so I am going to blog away!

Oh Man...

Here is my first snow in Utah. This was in the morning, and it kept snowing all afternoon. I should have taken a picture of my car, but I was too worried about snow etiquette, and the proper way to remove snow from one's car without offending the neighbors.

I am such a baby! I took the trax to school because I was too afraid to drive. One of my classmates (from the midwest) told me that that wasn't even snow, that it wasn't even sticking to the roads. I have to get used to it eventually I guess. But since then it has been only rain and clear skies. So maybe later.

Springtime in October

So I know that I have been in Utah for a little bit now. I have felt the temps drop, but I know they are not done yet... but I hear that the weather in sunny Southern California has just been plain crazy... in the 90's and such. So I have a hydrangea plant in the front yard of the AG house and it has blooms on it. Weird. I wish I could be there to see them when they are fully open.

Really?!

So I went to the mall last night (a little retail therapy after one of my mid-terms and more importantly, clinique bonus time) and I walked in to the Macy's and there was a band playing right next to the clinique make-up counter. Now I like listening to bands as much as the next person and it sounded pretty good, but not while I was trying to remember what stuff I needed at clinique. Now I had two thoughts on the matter. Who does Macy's think they are? A younger more hip Nordies so they get to have a band instead of the piano player? Or who does Macy's think they are? Slumming it Wall-mart style, like in Jen's favorite little San Angelo? Yeah I haven't made my mind up on the matter yet.

There's an elk in the pick-up

Um yeah, So I came home from school and I checked for parking right near my house and there was a pick-up that had some kind of antlers sticking out of the bed. Now I know I am new here, but I'm just not sure that it is ok to have dead animals hanging out in the back of your car. Ok so I tried looking up the rules on roadkill (right because if he was going to eat it, it wouldn't be in the back of his truck) but I didn't find anything. Anyways, it stunk! I took a picture... I know, I felt kind of Shady, but what do you do? Weird right?

Cornish Pasties

So Jill and I were trying to figure out what we were going to eat for dinner on Sunday. We decided that we would try our hand at British food! Well more specifically the Pasty. So Saturday I went out and did a little shopping, and Sunday we gave it a go. Jill chopped up some very yummy veggies and we put potatoes and meat and the veggies. We folded them over and primped the edges. I think they looked pretty good. When they came out, they were pretty hot (I kind of burned the roof of my mouth) and pretty tasty. I think the ones in York were better (not because we were famished in York), but what do you expect for our first try. I think we will try it again! Today I had one for lunch and I think it got better with time.

Bless their hearts

So a couple of weeks ago I was driving down Moorpark Rd. in Thousands Oaks, and there was a small group of protesters. There were only a handful of them, maybe 6 or 7, and it seemed to me they were all over the age of 70. I couldn't imagine what they were protesting, but as I drove by I noticed they were outside a planned parenthood office. Bless their hearts. It was touching to see them out there. I should have stopped and joined them!

Sneaky, Sneaky

Sneaky little ice cream makers. Have you noticed how certain ice cream brands have kept the same circumference of their gallon ice cream containers while they have made them shorter. They have tried to trick, yes I did say trick, consumers into thinking they are buying the same old gallon of ice cream. Quoting Wikipedia we read "In May 2008, the 1.75 Quart container was further down sized to 1.5 Quarts (3 Pints). Other ice cream manufacturers followed the down sizing move. Thus, the consumer pays more for less." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyer%27s Ok, I know it isn't the most reliable source but it is one none the less.
Really?! Really?! Honestly.

Sweets and Spices part II

Wow, where did I leave off? I think we were still in York visiting our friend Christy. From York we went back to London, and from a little attic bedroom to a flat on the Themes. That was a fun surprise. The place was decorated very modern, and it had more than just the necessities. It had an amazing view from the living room window across the Themes to downtown London, including the Tower Bridge. Here is a night shot. We had one free night without a cruise ship to block the view. There was a huge TV, lots of game systems, and karaoke. Plus there was a full kitchen with a washer and dryer (that is combined in one). At one point I couldn't get my clothes out. I was going to have to buy new clothes! Here we are with the instruction book trying to figure out the whole thing. It was pretty funny. Here is the sweet bathroom too. It is kind of weird but the shower glass (well it was frosted)makes up part of the hallway. So we had to shower with the doors to the bedroom and the living room closed. The first day we were in London we went all over town. We went to Buckingham Palace and saw the changing of the guards. It was very fun. By the way, I am a professional at taking pictures of myself and others. It is a true talent.We also went to the Royal Mews. What's that you say? The Royal Mews is where all the horses live- well they used to all live there. Some of them live in pastures out in the countryside. It is also where they house the carriages that have been used by the royals throughout their lives. This is the latest and greatest.Pretty fancy huh?! We also walked through Hyde park, and we tried to find the guards with the red coats and the big black hats, like the ones in the marching band, but we couldn't find them. It turns out that they were out of the country for the moment. My sister read in the paper that one of the Princes (which one is the oldest one? Probably Prince William) was on some kind of a humanitarian mission. We think they were with him. After walking all over town we went back to the flat for like three minutes, and them we were going to go to the US v. England soccer (or futbol match- whichever you prefer). My brother surprised us with scarves- everyone wears their team scarves there. I guess they came with our tickets. But what a great surprise that was! We were a little worried about getting beat up at the match. We know how much the English love their futbol. But really despite us losing, we had a great time. It was a great night. The next day we got up and toured around some more. One highlight of the day was going to St. Pauls Cathedral - where the little old bird lady sings. We walked up the 400 something steps to the top of the cathedral. It was quite a trip. We ate lunch on the steps. I loved it. We also went to the Tower of London. That is where the crowned jewels are kept. You know how I like the bling. We saw two shows while we were there, Les Miserables and Wicked. Both very good shows. Really though I love Wicked. If you haven't seen it, I say do it! I think this post is long enough... so I am going to finish it. But really, I has a grand time! One last shot of my brother and sister and me on the tube.