fire and ice

The events of today, in order...

F, our 12 year old competed in the Junior Olympic Qualifier Cross Country Ski race at Soldier Hollow (he's in bib #525, in the middle). He has been skate skiing about 5 times, (remember we just moved to this town...) it's his first xc ski race ever- and he did an amazing job of it.

We finally ventured out onto the frozen lake, Deer Creek Reservoir, to see all of the ice fisherman up close and personal, check out the catch of the day and, well... just because we could, I suppose. Here are F and C looking into one of the abandon holes just before C tested the surface with his foot (to see how frozen the thin top layer of ice was) and fell in up to his hip (with one leg). A mother's worst nightmare, thank goodness the hole wasn't any bigger.

A couple of hours later, we watched our neighbors cute red barn burn nearly to the ground- in less than an hour. The fire restarted 2 more times (I heard there were snowmobiles, RV, horse trailer and lots of hay inside) until there was nothing flammable left. By the time it got dark, the fire department had been working for hours with a little help from a bulldozer. There isn't much left, just metal skeletons and heaps of blackened debris. Thankfully, no one was hurt, no animals harmed.

What a day.

the dirty dash

I've been hearing about this race, and since it is now in my hometown (midway ut) I think I'll give it a try, looks like a lot of messy fun. It's in September, so...I'd better start working on my outfit now.
More Dirty Dash, Piglet Plunge info here.

doin' taxes

I'm enjoying this mashup of a actual Kanye tweet and a New Yorker cartoon. Don't stop now, there is a whole flickr gallery full to keep you smiling. 

Another gem, straight up New Yorker. Their dog cartoons are the best, perhaps only slightly funnier if they were cats.

half puffy

I know it's a little bold, but I fell in love with this half puffy, and made a birthday purchase. Rated at 750 fill, I guess it could be considered a full puffy, but it's super lightweight feeling and looks about half the puffiness of all the coats on the down circuit.
Steve O was shocked and has been calling me 'sugar plum fairy', 'peppermint princess', 'candy cane' ever since, the kids think it's cool and yesterday someone asked me if they could touch it.  It's called "timeless down hoody" by Spyder so hopefully that means I'll love it and want to wear it for the rest of my life. 

between a rock and a hard place

 I belatedly remembered today that I've been meaning to get a hotel reservation in St. George for the upcoming President's Day weekend, (we've got the Ice Breaker soccer tournament going down)- yikes, this is a near impossibility this late in the game. Everything from Mesquite to Cedar City is already reserved by families with sporty youth (a softball tournament is in St. George the same weekend) and everyone else looking to escape winter. Not a one hotel you could book online has even a closet available, so I called the first motel without an online reservation system (this should have been the #1 warning sign) The lady who answered seemed awfully nice and helpful, she had a room- available and super cheap (incidentally, a good location too). She even said she doesn't care if we pile all 6 of us into the room (#2 warning sign...). So, without further ado... I passed along my numbers and booked the dang thing. Only then, did I look at what else (beyond the phone number and motel name) was published about the Knights Inn. Here are just a few gems, and just the tip of the iceberg:

“Filthy Insect Ridden Hovel”
“HORRIBLE MANAGER!! NASTY ROOMS! Call the dept. of health!! Shut it down!”
“Don't even consider staying here!”


So, this is me laughing out loud (and cry a little inside) after my visit to trip advisor. What the crap? I just got us a weekend at the fleabag motel ranked #43 out of 43 motels in St. George. Would we rather camp on the lawn of a church, sleep in the car in the Walmart parking lot? Oh, what to do? Perhaps some very low expectations, our own sleeping bags, pillows, a tarp and a package of Lysol wipes will get us through.
And yes, this picture... also from trip advisors reviews of the Knights Inn.

Sundance 2011

I honor of the Sundance Film Festival 2011 starting today, I'm going to enthusiastically recommend a film from last year's festival- no need to show up in Park City for the next 10 days- just add it to your Netflix queue. I just got around to seeing, sorry to be so not cutting edge. Exit Thru The Gift Shop, recommended by my sis and evidently seen by Steve O at the film festival last year. Not surprisingly, I wasn't paying attention and missed his rave review (with four young hooligans/cherubs running the show around here, I miss lots of things).
Film Synopsis: The story of how an eccentric French shop keeper and amateur film maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner with spectacular results. Billed as 'the world's first street art disaster movie' the film contains exclusive footage of Banksy, Shephard Fairey, Invader and many of the world's most infamous graffiti artists at work.

I did catch this and other Banksy moments on the walls of Park City last year though- and now it's time once again to stroll Main Street- ahhh- Film Festival week, eavesdrop on what could be great "Fake Conversation" iPhone app material and glean winter fashion inspiration from the Hollywood set, quite simply- wear black.

the great outdoors

Today, I ran away from the the dishes, laundry, accounting and all the other duties I need to attend to and went cross country skiing, with a ladies clinic at Soldier Hollow. With about 5 inches of new snow, blue sunny skies, I completely forgot what I could have/should have been doing and got a big hearty helping of winter fun + workout.

It made up for the boringly busy birthday I celebrated yesterday- a day without any fun built in, I admit it- yes- my own fault.  Today, I'm glad I stopped to smell the roses glance at wildlife, watch for woodpeckers and pick up a few ski pointers I'm desperately in need of... and almost right in my backyard.
Incidentally, my 5th grader M, will practice shooting with her classmates at the shooting range this week, in preparation for the upcoming biathlon, how about that?! Perhaps I need to be a parent volunteer for that one...

the big day

C picked this book to read with me last night. Appropriate, because as of today, I have been around for 40 years.

I love this book, and especially this page. I am going to try and internalize all of it as I try and get used to my new number.

Thanks bunches and bunches to Steve O for the (very) surprise party last night- you got me good- it was delightful to see everyone, get all choked up, feel the love of friends and family and mark this momentous occasion- yikes. Thanks everyone!

new curtains

I made these curtains for the new sewing room a few weeks ago, from an Urban Outfitters panel. I was pretty happy with the way they were looking until I came across this fabric...

(sorry, another bad-ishly exposed picture, but I refuse to move old curtains back for another picture, if you know what I mean).

I stumbled upon "Brooke" by Alexander Henry at Joann's, no less. Bonus- I can use my 40%-50% off 1 item coupon for Joann's- all wise crafters and sewers keep in their pocketbook (am I wrong ladies?). 

I can't stop loving the bright colors. I don't know if I'd make curtains out of this fabric for the living room (OK, I might...) but my basement 'honeycomb hideout' was a perfect place.

Lookin' so cute with my 'Noelle O Designs' puffy fabric letters logo my daughter Q made me for Christmas, great present huh?! She's a clever one- came up with the idea on her own, and made one for her Dad too (that says Solpin Films...).

The walls are painted Beehive, Martha Stewart color from Home Depot. Subtly yellow/brown, it works well in a basement- and with curtains this bright.

The other curtains made the move into the newly finished basement family room, looking much better here, if you ask me. The walls are Index Card Green, another Martha Stewart color. This little kitchen has been in storage for a few years, when it came back home the kids were very happy, even though Q and F have to kneel down to make it the right size for them now. It's most often a restaurant (The Banana Boat Cafe) but frequently a vet's office or even a school.

I found this note stuck on the white board easel. Having your big sister act as your teacher and boss can get a little old... and then she rubs it in with this public post-it declaration- like it's your fault.

crosshairs

Found this on facebook today, from Sarah Palin's website... frightening. Crosshairs? really???

Outlander series

I must admit, I just finished listening to the 4th book, Drums of Autumn, in the Outlander series. Our book group read the first book (Outlander) last summer- I was hooked. An epic adventure of amazing characters, history and scenery in enjoyably lengthy descriptions, it lends itself to being enjoyed as audiobook. Many of the conversations in the book are written in early Scottish dialects and are easier to understand when listened to. Most books (all but The Fiery Cross and Breath of Snow and Ashes which are read by Geraldine Brooks) are read by Davina Porter, who does a magnificent job of it. She can pull off just about every accent, really adding to the whole experience. As a multi-tasker, I love listening to books, who knows how many hours of Outlander listening I've done so far, each book is about 800 pages, the series has kept me company driving, painting, caulking, sewing, cleaning- through all the mindless day to day tasks, that deserve to be multitasked- I might add.

There is talk about a movie (of course), it could never be as good as the books as with most movies, but I totally agree with this fan when deciding which actors should be cast:
"Whatever happens with this movie, please, please, please do not cast American actors in the lead roles. No matter how good they are they just cannot do an authentic Scottish accent and, as a Scot, it makes me squirm. There are plenty of really good Scottish actors who could fill the roles."


Amen sister, let's get some fresh Scottish faces up there on the screen, and not Dr. McSteamy from Grey's Anatomy or Gerard Butler, to play Jamie Fraser, heaven forbid. (Not Clive Owen either, all though If I had to pick from the to pick from the three mentioned, Clive would be top tier...)
And so I download the 5th book, The Fiery Cross... (thank you audible app)

Yo Mama

Here's a little Yo Mama joke contest for you- from Xtranormal, the website where you can create your own movies using computer generated voice and animation. The perfect DIY format for many subjects where deadpan comedy is king.
To watch the hilarious deadpan iPhone vs HTC Evo commercial look here-- be aware there is strong language that may offend.

a grim concept, but none the less... reality.

As I was finally putting away all the Christmas goods, I noticed this amendment (made with a post it note) to the advent calendar.  We are realists here folks, no pussyfooting around the truth.

This little tattooed lady, made by Dallas Russell of Easily Amused has been straddling a branch on the Christmas tree this year- even though she's about 15 inches tall, freaking a few people out. For the rest of the year- I hang her on the wall and leave visitors guessing all year long.

Plus, I think she looks a little like me, minus the tattoos.

Here's to a New Year

I can't believe the kids are back in school already, where did the vacation go? It never seems quite long enough-
Here's a Happy New Year smile from our Christmas tree, (that is yet to be taken down)  but we've gotten organized in some other areas, and I got in an epic nap yesterday- so check that off on the vacation 'To Do' the list.
We got in a family 'everyone pile on the bed' movie night, the other night, a completely random turn-on-the-TV-and-see-what's-on moment... basically nothing... so we all watched Titanic, with commercials (so 1999) and all- it took about 4 hours. Four luxurious hours of doing nothing but snuggling with kids (and covering little eyes here and there) in front of the fire and the TV.

2011 is looking good, all the usual resolutions are in place- here are some words I'm going to try and live by:

We should, all of us, be filled with gratitude and humility for our present progress and prosperity. We should be filled with awe and joy at what lies over the horizon. And we should be filled with absolute determination to make the most of it.  -Bill Clinton said that, don't tell April.