A Night "On the Line"

As most of you know, I spend a lot of my time in the fall months living, eating and breathing football. And as those of you who know me well can atest, this isn't something I do because I enjoy it, I do it because Mike loves football and I love Mike. So, I endure it happily just for him.

And last night was his turn to return the favor.

With tickets to Pioneer Theater Company's production of A Chorus Line.

And, oh how I loved it!

Of course, Mike tried his hardest to enjoy himself too, but he actually came down with a pretty bad head cold yesterday morning (my personal belief is that it was his sneaky plot to try to get out of going, and I tried to let him off the hook, but he still said he would go with me; he must really love me too), so he was pretty much miserable the entire time. And that had nothing to do with the fact that there were people occasionally breaking out into song and dance in front of him. But I'm sure it didn't help either.

Highlights from the show:
The set. For most of the show, it's just the bare stage with "the line" lit up in the front, but for some of it, there was a row of mirrors behind the actors when they danced, which was really incredible, creating the illusion that there were two sets of actors.

The audience laughing when Diana sang about how she felt "Nothing" when she found out Mr. Carp had died. I had never thought of that as a funny moment before. Hmmm.

Paul's monologe. 'Nuff said.

"What I Did for Love" is so beautiful to hear when it isn't being butchered.

And my very favorite moment:
Val's "Dance 10, Looks 3" number. Hilarious. Yes, it is a dirty song, but it was so fun and the actress who played Val did this number so well, most of the audience members were rolling in the aisles. I've always thought that if I was going to be in this show, I'd get cast as Val, just because I'm so . . . well, endowed, in the right places to portray someone who has had plastic surgery. (Fantasy confession: I've always wanted to be Diana, just so I could sing "Nothing," but looking the farthest thing from someone from San Juan, I'm fairly sure this would never happen.)

Disappointments:
Yes, there were a few and one major one.
The actress who played Cassie, who, from her biography, sounded like she would be just fabulous (and she knows it), couldn't sing. Not knowing her current situation (maybe she's infected with Mike's headcold), I was completely appalled at how bad her singing voice was. Again, maybe she had a cold or something. But she was awful. I mean, some of her notes were flatter than a pancake during "The Music and the Mirror." Yes, yes, I am more critical than some people, but still. It was pretty bad.

Some of the choreography I found rather strange. For example, again, in "The Music and the Mirror," Cassie kept doing backbends. But I'm a theater snob, so my opinion shouldn't always be trusted.

But, putting aside those few small things, all in all, I LOVED IT!!!
Most of all, I loved having an actual date night with my husband, even if he was sick.

I truly loved being "on the line!"

Ew. That was cheesy.

Mourning Over!

Yes, yes, we're happy now. After that dreadful display against Oregon last week, the Utes rallied to beat Louisville 30-14 this past Saturday. I missed most of the 1st half, as I was stuck on the train for almost 2 hours, because it kept breaking down. Apparently, someone pulled the emergency exit which caused electrical problems for the entire train. Oh, joy. And can I just say how much fun riding the train with lots of screaming kids on their way to the circus isn't?! Even my ipod at top volume couldn't drown some of them out. And then there was the crazy lady who sat down next to me on the trax train and delivered a steady stream of psychological advice on how to avoid obsessive behavior and behavior modification, without taking a breath, nonstop, for 16 of the longest blocks of my life. Talk about irony. On the upside, she thought that I looked way too young to be a neurosurgeon and was impressed when I told her that I was like Doogie Howser and had graduated from medical school at a very young age (yes, I lied to the crazy woman. Believe me, you would have too).

My friend, Kim, from work claimed our extra tickets for the night and brought her friend, Raymond, with her, but I forgot to bring the camera, so no pictures :( I didn't really get a chance to talk to her much, but she did tell me that she thought that Mike was cute as a button!

In other news, my shoe obsession continues as I added 2 new pairs to my already ample and overflowing collection. Mike was thrilled.

Mourning

We're saddened to report a loss in our family. A loss that will be felt most deeply and profoundly and leave a void that cannot be replaced. One that will affect us forever as we struggle to continue to find the meaning and purpose of our existence once again:

The end of the 16-game winning streak of the University of Utah football team.

Yes, it's true. The U lost on Saturday to Oregon, 24-31. So close! It was a heart-wrenching game where the wrong plays were called and Mike yelled at the TV most of the afternoon.

But at least we didn't get creamed like BYU.
54-28.

Ouch.

Go UTES!

Vanity Fair Book Club

I have always gone through life claiming that I don't know how to cook.

Well, I confess.

That's a lie.

*Insert gasp here*

I know how to cook.

And being my mother's daughter, I also tend to go way out whenever people are coming over.

And Saturday was no exception:

So, Saturday was the meeting of my book club to discuss William Makepeace Thackery's Vanity Fair. And, as hostess, I made a wonderful assortment of yummy treats for the girls to enjoy. None of which related at all to Vanity Fair, but since I didn't finish the book (*Gasp, AGAIN*), I didn't worry about it too much and made brunch food.

NOTE* Yes, I admit that I didn't finish the book. Have you ever tried to read Vanity Fair? Don't judge until you've tried it. And, it's not like I went into book club completely empty-headed on the subject. I mean, I did watch the mini-series. That should really count for something, especially with this book. And it also turns out that Raelynn is the only real trooper in our book club, as she was the only one who did finish it (go Rae!).

For those of you who haven't read Vanity Fair, (I read it back in college, but after attempting to read it again this time, I remember now why I haven't read it since) let me give you a rundown: It's about really interesting characters in awful, boring situations. Meaning, the characters are good, well-rounded characters, but Thackery puts them in these awful situations where nothing but bad things happen to them so he can moralize on and on and on (for 700 pages) about their choices and their mistakes. Pretty much, if you want to be lectured to on the way to behave in 19th Century England, then this book is for you. Not being one of those people, I didn't make it past page 300.

So, pretty much, this meeting of the book club was more for us to get together and play catch up.

Kimmy and her new husband, Kevin, are currently in the market for a new house. She completely amazes me, because not only did she take on Kevin when they got married, she also acquired 4 stepchildren. 4! I know, I can't believe it either. But, I know of no one better equipped to handle that kind of thing than Kimmy.

Kara brought her adorable daughter, Miriam, and currently our only gagglette, with her and I can't believe how big she is getting! (Big, as in older, because the girl is still tiny!) Being 7 months old now, she has now experienced solid foods and is on the fast-track to crawling.

Raelynn, as I already mentioned was also there, but she kept ducking out of the picture every time I took one (naughty, naughty!).

So, although Vanity Fair was a dud (in my opinion at least), we did get to get together for an afternoon of brunch and conversation. We missed those that couldn't make it, but hope that next time everyone will be able to come (by the way, Leigh Ann, I hear you're hosting). Our next book will be Dan Brown's new book, Lost Symbols. I think Mr. Thackery turned us off of the 19th century for a while.

Saturday was also our friend, Shannon's, birthday. So we left her a lengthy rendition of Happy Birthday! on her voicemail. Happy Birthday Shannz! Hope you had a great one!

Oh, yeah. And the Utes beat San Jose 24-14.

Yellowstone

Confession: I am not a outdoorsy kind of girl. And I have never claimed to be. Having the type of skin to blister at the slightest hint of heat, I can get sunburned just thinking about the sun. So, Mike knew in advance before we got engaged that I'm not the type of girl to go camping or fishing or anything else that involves being outdoors. And yet somehow he was surprised when I told him that my family had never been to Yellowstone before. (Hello! Family of three girls where camping was a dirty word. Poor Dad. He was always vetoed whenever he mentioned going camping. My idea of roughing it is staying in a motel with no cable.) Yet, somehow, Mike still convinces me to do these things (it must really be love). Hence, my first (and hopefully last, for a LONG time at least) adventure into Yellowstone National Park.

We spent the Labor Day weekend at the Steeds cabin in Island Park. Which, yes, has cable. So, you might not say this was roughing it per say, but it is surrounded by trees and bugs and wolves and nature and icky stuff like that. And I tend to like to stay away from that kind of thing. I actually like concrete and high buildings and being able to wear flip-flops and not think I'm being impracticle or going to sacrifice a toe to the great outdoors. Call me crazy. I'm a city girl.

Putting all my fears for wildlife aside, Big Mike gave Mike and I a guided tour of the park.

Here are the highlights:

I had never seen an elk before. Neither of the Mikes could stand for that, so our first day at the cabin, Big Mike drove us to the elk reserve, and on the way we stopped to take pictures of a Mama Moose and her calf:

And then on to the elk reserve:

The next day, Big Mike drove us into the park.

While we were driving into the park, suddenly we came upon a traffic jam. And if you've ever been to Yellowstone, you know what that means: wildlife sighting! This time, it happened to be a buffalo that was walking in between the cars. It came pretty close to ours!

Since we had limited time in the Park, Mike drove us straight to Old Faithful.

While we were waiting for the geyser to go off, another buffalo came walking right through, even with all the people around! I still maintain that it was the same buffalo as before. And it's new nickname: "The Stalker."

It was really pretty close to us.

Then, after waiting and waiting for Old Faithful to finally erupt, the spurting started.

Yeah.

Needless to say, we left before it finished going off. Not too impressed with Old Faithful. Again, not a nature girl. What can I say? I know. I should hang my head for even thinking that something like that could be boring, and all you nature-lovers out there can critize me all you want. I hold true to my statement. IT WAS BORING.

So, that concludes our adventure in Yellowstone National Park and my weekend with nature. And, Baby, that really should fill my quota for anything outdoorsy for at least a year.

Utah State Game

So . . . football season has officially begun.

YAY!

As you can see, the field has been given a fabulous make over and we now have red end-zones. And don't they look just oh, so great?!

We're back to sitting in our old seats, with some changes to our little group. And our friends from the last two seasons still sit in front of us:

We love these guys, and always exchange high-5's on every high-5 worthy play. Lots of high-5's going on the other night.

As Mike was beginning his new job, he was worried that he wouldn't be able to see any of the game at all, but finally he was able to take a break to sit with us for a short time at least.














And, after some serious persuasion on my part, we finally got him to tear his eyes away from the field long enough to take a picture with me.

But most of the time, he looked like this:















Or he was on his radio, (so official and professional, I might add) looking like this:


One of the Directors at my firm was willing to follow all stipulations to get my extra tickets for the night and brought his daughter, Gaby, with him.

Gaby & Walt Romney

Sarah, Jill, Asher and me

And Officer Swenson, the adorable policeman who took our picture.

Yes, the Utes beat out the Aggies 35-17.

Congratulations, Baby!

For those of you who haven't heard yet, Mike got a new job! Although this means I'll be a football widow (like I wasn't before?!), we're very excited about this new position for him. Mike will now be running all of the stores at the stadiums on the University of Utah's campus. So, not only does he get a fancy new assistant (good luck, Shawn), he also gets a chance to watch the Ute football team workout on the field during the day.

I know.
Can you imagine?
It's like the Mother Ship has called him home.

He'll also be in charge of the stores at the Huntsman Center for all the basketball games and gymnastic meets.

Sadly, this also means that I'll be attending the football games alone. (Well, not completely ALONE, as luckily we have several friends who have bought tickets with us.) And since we already purchased Mike's season ticket for the season, they'll be an empty seat next to me, if anybody wants to come and be my "date" for an evening. There are some stipulations you must agree to before Mike will let you use his most prized possession for an evening (no, I'm not talking about me, and if he wasn't able to watch the games from the press box, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have taken this job. I'm talking about his season ticket. The thing he's had since he was 14 years old. I can't tell you how excited he gets when his season tickets finally come in the mail (yes, we play the fight song and must be wearing red when we open the envelope). Personally, I look forward to Cowboy Corndogs more than anything else, and I freely admit that the only reason I go to the games at all is to sink my teeth into greasy, delicious batter-fried processed meat on a stick. Hey. You really shouldn't judge until you've tried them, only then can you understand the obsession.):

Stipulation #1: Obviously, NO BYU FANS (sorry, Trent).
Stipulation #2: You must wear RED (if I have to, so do you).
Stipulation #3: Thirdly, and this one is negotiable, Mike and I have to eat during the games. And guess what we want . . . Cowboy Corndogs.

First game of the season is tomorrow night against Utah State!