Utah Has Water, Too

I know it's almost Friday, but I'm talking about last weekend, the long one with two holidays in it. The first holiday was Valentine's Day. I will just say that it was my best ever and I especially enjoyed eating a romantic dinner (that I made) in our pajamas because we couldn't think of anything more romantic than being lazy all day. The rest is none-of-your-damn-business. By Sunday afternoon, we were getting a little stir crazy, so we decided to take a drive. I took Chouaib out to the Grand Lac Salé. We took some pictures.
He loves me even without makeup.
Solo.
We love each otherz.
Pier. No people.
It was stanky, so we left. If it weren't for the stank, Utah's big body of water might actually be quite nice.

My NeighborHOOD

Technically, we live in South Salt Lake. Just a few blocks east of us, however, is the area called Sugarhouse. I first lived there in 1999 and since then it has blossomed into a cooler part of town, complete with everything from Old Navy to the coolest second-hand store there is, Pib's exchange. There's a Tea Grotto and a Got Beauty, furniture stores, a beautiful park, and some great restaurants. There are also some empty store fronts that increase in quantity and decrease in aesthetic quality as you progress southward along 2100 South. This is closer to where I live. So for obvious reasons, I tell people that I live in Sugarhouse. But today, while window shopping Craigslist for rugs that I can't afford right now, I found a clever person who had come up with the perfect name for where I live. Check out the location. Awww yeah.

A Couple of Randoms

I knew I had to post these before I go to work today or I will completely forget. First, I got this email from my mom, who can't smell. I don't know if you will find it as funny as I did, but...

Here is a fun and quick way to stay in touch.
Let's see how many I get back...

1) Four places that I go to over and over: 24 hour fitness, church, home, K=mart

2) Four people who e-mail me (regularly): Jeff, Jeremy, Kristy, Beverly

3) Four favorite smells: ???

4) Four places I would rather be right now: Zion National Park, the mountains, Hawaii, Guatemala

5) Four people I think will respond: Kristy, Jeremy, Beverly, Kaylene

6) Four TV shows I watch: The Office, American Idol, ER, Deal or No Deal
Here's what you are supposed to do...and please don't spoil the fun...
Hit 'forward,' delete my answers, type in your answers and send it to a
bunch of people, including me. It's SIX questions. Take the time.

Second, I had a dream last night that my friend Travis announced that he was to have a son. He didn't give any more details than that. When the baby was born, it was very very black. The darkest black I'd ever seen on a human being. We still didn't know who the mom was and I have no idea what this means. But congratulations, Trav.

Also, I hate changing font/color in the middle of a post because I always forget what my original color and font were.

Shake That Thing

I'm sure you've either heard about or even participated in the 25 Things About Me Note on Facebook. Well, on hers, my friend, Bethany mentioned that she was addicted to spinach smoothies. They sound healthy, but disgusting. However, I know that Bethany has great taste and wouldn't tell me that something was yummy if it weren't. So lately I've decided I need to stop talking about dieting and not eating cookies, Coke and pizza so much and actually take a step toward incorporating healthier stuff into my daily regime. One of those steps is to eat more raw vegetables. I'm not going hippie here, just healthier. So I got the Spinach Smoothie recipe from Bethany and tried it. Holy goodness! It's like a Jamba minus the sherbet (NOT sherBERT) and sugar, plus all the goodness that spinach contains. We know that spinach is healthy, but do you know just HOW healthy? Here's what I got from my research (on the internet, so it's true). Spinach has loads of folic acid, or folate. Folate, according to wikid-pedia, can reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease (maybe it will undo all my years of indulging in cheese and ice cream), stroke (it runs in the family), birth defects (in case Chouaib puts a baby in me - it's too late to undo MY birth defects), and - on that note - increases fertility. It's magic! Magic you can drink that tastes like strawberries and oranges! Here is the recipe:

In a blender add:

1 C. orange juice
2 C. fresh spinach (not the frozen kind)
1 C. fresh kale (cut out the thick center stem)

Blend until smooth, and runny, and nasty green.

Then add:

1/2 a banana
1/4 C. frozen raspberries
1/4 C. frozen blueberries

I didn't have kale, so I threw in more spinach instead. For the frozen fruit, I substituted frozen strawberries and threw in some fresh blackberries. I probably used more fruit than the recipe calls for. But, still, it's pretty awesome in all its versatility.

Thanks, Bethany, for saving my life.

*Photo by Lindi McLaughlin

Breaking Up Is...meh

It's kind of sad when you break up with a friend. But making it easier is the consolation that my first instincts were correct. Next time I will listen to my gut.

A New Addition to My Blog Family

Come visit!