I CAN'T BELIEVE I forgot this

As I was painting my kitchen this evening, all the sudden out of nowhere I remembered one of the very best, most wonderful things about my birthday celebration in Vegas, and I knew right away that I simply MUST share it with you.

My super wonderful boyfriend HAPPILY snuggled up with me and watched ALL FOUR HOURS of my favorite version of Jane Eyre.

I am a lucky woman.

Subtitle: birthday addendum

The Big 3-0

I always figured that I would be like my mother and age gracefully, not giving much concern to the meaninglessness of numbers as they slipped by. But as I found myself approaching thirty, I realized that I was a creature of a different flavor. I don't think it would be accurate to use the words "freaking out," but "slightly bother and concerned" seem appropriate. But as I reflected on it, most people do eventually turn 30; most people in the world already have, and really it is much more tragic to NOT hit that milestone.

Also, it helps if when that birthday appears you have a special fella in your life.

After bringing it up in a what-shall-I-do-for-my-birthday brainstorming session, I was surprised and pleased when Michael volunteered to take a day off of work and spend it with me in Las Vegas.

Since I always like to blog report about how I spend my birthdays (see 28 here and 29 here) I have prepared a "Top 11" list about my favorite things about my Vegas birthday vacation.

1. My birthday dress

Upon arriving in Vegas one of the first things we did was take a picture of us by the famous "Welcome to Fabulour Las Vegas" sign.
When we got back in the car and I looked at the picture, I was shocked by the sheer, blantant loudness of my dress. I had seen in a store several days earlier and knew that it had to be mine to be worn on my 30th birthday. I tried in on in the store to make sure it fit, but wasn't paying attention to the colors. And since I didn't have a full-length mirror in my house at that point, I had not actually seen myself in the full get-up. I still love the dress, but was surprised to see just how bold it was.
(Michael has since personally seen to it that I have a full-length mirror in my house.)

2. This response from every single person who heard we were going (including, I believe, Michael's mother): "Are you eloping?"

It made me laugh.

3. Staying with the Stays

I will confess that when I first planned the trip to Vegas, I thought of my wonderful ex-New York roommate Megan as an afterthought. I felt guilty using her for a free place to stay in her her brand new and totally gorgeous house in Henderson. But after a reassuring "get your butt down here and stay in my house" email, I felt okay about it. And seeing Megan and her husband Luke turned out to be a major highlight. She even baked me a birthday cake!
(Megan, if you're reading this, please know that I have written you a lovely thank you note, but I haven't been able to send it yet because all my stamps got lost in the move. I'll get that out soon. Please feel appreciated.)

4. After only 3 or 4 hours of driving from our snow-encrusted homes we arrived in St. George where it was so nice and sunnyshiney and warm we were able to eat our lunch outside. (Michael looks unhappy here, but he's not. It's just because the sun is in his eyes. There was seriously THAT MUCH sun.)


5. The Stratosphere.

Since we were a couple of wild and crazy people with disponsible incomes and no small children we decided to live dangerous and buy the all-access tickets to the thrill rides on top of the Stratosphere. For the sake of brevity, I will not go into detail here, except to say that when you're on the elevator ride on the top of the Stratosphere it is impossible to be anywhere higher on a building west of the Mississippi.

6. There was a yummy hole-in-the-wall Mexican place where we ate dinner both nights we were there. I love me some good Mexican food.

7. Falling asleep in the car to the sound of my man singing along to Garth Brooks.

In his online post where I first became of his existence, Michael caught my attention by saying that he was musically "a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll" but this was the first indication I had had of that fact. It was was a really pleasant, memorable moment.

8. At the end of a hectic, action-packed, and throughly exhausting second day, by sheer happenstance (AKA divine intervention) we walked in front of the Bellagio hotel's famous water show at exactly the moment they were starting The Hallelujiah Chorus. It was awesome and made me glad that everything that entire day (even my car window breaking) had perfectly lead us up to that point. It was especially nice having just seen Michael perform that piece several days earlier.
(
this video courtesy of youtube)

9. Hoover Dam

We decided to fork out the $30 each and go into the belly of the beast. It was worth it. Even before we went inside, it took my breath away. And I"m not even an engineer.

Turbines in the power plant. Very cool.


Us on the inside


The view from inside

This box cracked me the heck up. I'm not sure why.

And of course the highlight of any trip to any dam is the great excuse for all the dam jokes. You know the drill: "My dam boyfriend and I took a dam tour. We had a dam good time. The dam traffic was pretty bad though." After several hours of peppering "dam" in front of just about every noun I said, I asked Michael, "What? Don't you like making dam jokes?" To which he replied that he would like to, but I was too quick with all of them.

10. On the way home we stopped in southern Utah to visit Michael's cousin who was staying with her in-laws. A quick stop-by turned into a three hour political discuss with her Obama-supporting mother-in-law. I was surprised by how calmly and reasonably Michael discussed this topic that he is very passionate about. But I must confess after about two and a half hours, my patience for tranquility wore thin, the gloves came off a tiny bit and Michael had to politely pull me off the woman and drag me to the door. (Don't worry, I made nice with her before we left.) I wouldn't have guessed I would be the one to start being a bit aggressive in that situation.

11. All the crazy, random things that are Vegas

My man looks a lot like Harrison Ford, don't you think?


My favorite sage made a visit in honor of my special day

Whoopie was there too

Totally shutting down Rocky Balboa


All told, it was a super great birthday. And I'm excited to be 30, flirty, and fabulous.

A Little of This, A Little of That

Since today is the one month anniverary of my birthday, I was determined to blog report about my trip to Las Vegas, but I just don't feel like it. So instead I"m going to share some other random going-ons from my life.


*I would never have guessed that something like this would happen to me, but it seems that Rexburg, Idaho has become a premiere vacation destination for me. Since arriving in Utah I have been there three times. While the very idea of this seems odd to my Manhattan sensibilities, I do have to say that it is a lovely spot. I was there this weekend and was liberated from my life-long misunderstanding that I don't like fish. Turns out I LOVE fish. Now I just have to convince Michael to go fishing more often (shouldn't be hard) and figure out how to cook them up so yummy myself (could be a bit more difficult)


* after five weeks in my new place (but only being home one of those weekends), I am happy to announce that I have finally hung up all my clothes and organized my underwear. This should make getting ready in the morning a fair shake easier. My bedroom is still a disater though. Good thing I sleep in the living room. (Just FYI, the kitchen has been done for weeks. I love love love love love love love having my own kitchen.)


* Upon arriving home from my Christmas trip to Michigan I realized that in five months since I left New York, I have driven across the country FIVE times. I've put more than 12,000 miles on my car the six months I've owned it and keep it mind that it was stolen for one of those months. I've decided that I"m ready to just be at home for a little while. At least that was the plan, but I was in Idaho last weekend and I'll be in Provo next weekend. Maybe in February I'll be able to have a little bit of time without traveling. But who am I kidding-- if a good offer comes up, I'll take it.



*I love my iPhone. I don't know what I'd do without it. I can't figure out how so many of you go about your day-to-day lives without one.

* Michael recently told me that he likes me more than his guns. If you know Michael (which I guess none of you do) you would understand that this was quite a compliment. (now that I think about it, he might have said gun singular, not guns plural. either way, i think this is a major development for him.)


*I used to be confused and slighly annoyed by people who hated snow. Now I understand. I"m sorry for being so hard-hearted before. Because now I know that its not just the snow, its the salt. Also, snow that stays on the ground for more than 3 days is just plain lame.

* In case you were wondering, my job is going great! I love it and I love my co-workers and I super love all the great stuff I"m learning. I feel so blessed in this aspect of my life. My new church congregation also seems really great.

An Admirable Girl

(Explanation of title: My mother and little sister have become highly involved [the word "obsessed" was deleted by Sara during the editing stage of this post] with an Asian soap opera [I would expect this kind of behavior from my sister {who frequently watches international things online}, but was surprised that Mother {who doesn't even know how to comment on blogs] had also fallen prey} and apparently in this soap opera world the praise "an admirable girl" is doled out for young women who keep themselves busy, ie-- "she works and takes two classes. she's an admirable girl.") (too many parenthesis! was anyone else confused by that paragraph? I was. that's why I'm not editing it)

Since I'm home in Michigan again, I feel called upon to give another "trip down memory lane" report.

But before I tell you that story, let me tell you how Michael and I met. We met online after I'd succumbed to Facebook's advertising "Do you want to meet Mormon men?". When I finally decided "yes" and clicked on the advertisement, I searched for my ideal candidate and saw Michael and though he looked cute and liked that he was "a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll" and that he liked to hunt. So I sent him a brief email saying that I was also a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll and that, although I had never been hunting I supported the idea and even won an essay scholarship from the NRA in high school. I had no way of knowing at the time that no sentence could have more quickly and deeply endeared me to his heart. He sent me back an email saying (among other things) that I was on the fast track to getting on his good side. And the rest is history.

So while I was home, I thought it would be fun if I could find the essay I wrote, so I decided to go through my trunk in which is stored all the memories of the first 18 years of my life.

My goodness, I had no memory of being so busy!! My business is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that my mother says her main memory for me during this time was how frequently I would fall asleep behind the dining room table while working on homework and other projects. She was always a great support for me, as evidenced by the fact that during high school my after-school chore list typically included "take a nap." Bless her. (Also, she made me tell my boss at Pizza Hut that I could only work four days a week.)

I have very few memories of my life pre-college, but (as illustrated by the items in my trunk) it turns out I was up to all sorts of exciting, important, and/or time-consuming activities.

For example, did you know that I was a paper girl for four years? I had completely forgotten. And yet, every day of my life (except Saturday) fifth grade through eighth, I made sure the papers were out by 5:30. And, if the delivery bag I used is to be believed, I even earned the title "Honor Carrier." Good thing I held on to it.

Apparently, I was very involved in Speech competitions. I remember that my friend Jamie and I formed a Speech and Debate team at our high school just so that we could be co-captains (also, I believe we were the only members). But I had forgotten that I also competed in middle school (where there was already a team established). In my trunk I found several of the judges' reviews and I got a kick that over the approximately seven years I was competing, most of the reviews were exactly the same: "Good expression and diction. SLOW DOWN!!!"

And speaking of Jamie, I found a folder full of poetry we (or mostly she) had written on a field trip once. We went through quite a poetry-writing stage in middle school and if the sample I currently have in my possession is accurate, the re-occurring theme in our work was to somehow including the word "Moo" in every piece. While our infamous five part series "The Brady Brunch Massacre" is still missing, I am happy to have found these originals. Although, I must say they are not a sample of her/our best work. The good ones were all committed to memory decades ago. I have decided to share one of the ones I store in my head

Ode to Glue
(Sung to the tune of "Home on the Range")
By Dr. Jamie S., chief resident of Pediatrics at the 3rd best children's hospital in the US (in her pre-MD life)

Oh give me some glue
With a wrapper that's blue
And a nozzle that's awfully big
If you give me glue,
Then I will thank you
'Cause glue's made of horses, not pigs.

Glue, glue, glue, glue, glue
The cow on the wrapper says "Moo"
If you don't give me glue
I don't know what I'll do.
So please, please, please, please give me glue.

(Jamie, do you want me to send you these originals? They include "Druggies on the Street", "Ode to Buddy," and "Bus Seats, subtitle The Seats on the Bus".)

Just because people like pictures, I've decided to include one of me and Jamie earlier this year while I was visiting her in St. Louis. No review of the first 18 years of my life would be complete without her.

Also, in high school I was a scripture mastery diva. (I use the word "diva" on purpose, wanting to include all the snobbery and attention-seeking that is usually involved with the word.) At the conclusion of every school/seminary year, Sister Goldman would van us down to Louisville to compete in the Multi-regional Scripture Chase Smackdown (not official title) where we would be tested on our academic scripture prowess again seminary students from four states. Since this is my blog, I"m going to go ahead and tell you people that I kicked butt every year. Need proof? These are journals I won every year. One year one of the Hardie boys (I can't remember which one) tied with me for first place. I still haven't quite forgiven him, which ever one he was.

In high school, I was SO proud to have earned a letterman jacket. I bought one, but for some reason never got around to sewing on the letters I had earned, so I never wore it. But I think one time I decided to wear it to a football game, so I pined one of the letters one and that's how I found it in my trunk. The other letters were nearby, but still not attached. I think I"m probably at the stage of my life where I can start wearing my high school letter jack in an ironic way, but I don't want to have to deal with another coat (I already own about 6 and I never wear any of them).

In middle school and high school I started my obsession with the theatre. Unfortunely, in my little town in southern Indiana it was a three hour drive to any theatre that got the good traveling shows. Fortunately, I had an awesome big brother (with a driver's license) who was also interested in shows and so we would go together. That was always a highlight in my small-town girl life. Apparently, so much a highlight that I kept the newspaper advertisements in addition to just the playbills. This trip through the trunk, I decided to throw the newspaper clippings away.

In my trunk, I also found an old friend. In our family, my cabbage patch kid Nelly is famous for being in more family photos than Sara as a baby.

Now that I've been through the trunk, I am dealing with all sorts of important life questions. Will I ever need my high school diploma, or should I throw it away? Will I ever have to prove to anyone that I did, indeed, earn my Mia Maid medallion? What should I do with these medallions-- perhaps a charm bracelet? Is it petty for me to keep the dress I wore to high school graduation and my favorite jeans from my senior year just so I can periodically put them on and see if they still fit? Why did I keep this fifth place ribbon? Is it gross that I still have the cast from when I broke my fingers playing basketball when I was 14? These are the questions that currently plague my existence.

In conclusion, I did NOT find my NRA essay, but I did "find myself." Also, the plaque the NRA gave me at their Christmas Banquet that year where I was their honored guest. (I had forgotten about that.) (please note that the "Third Place" was for the entire state of Indiana. and I don't think I need to remind you that guns are important there.)

Why My Life Is Awesome

Can you believe it's been one month since my last post? Crazy! Well, a lot has happened in that time to turn my life from being "totally awesome" into "practically perfect in every way." I will tell you about them in the order in which they came into my life.

1. The Perfect Boyfriend

A lot of you have heard about my new fella. Yes, Michael and I decided to become exclusive this month. This is the only picture I have of the two of us together. We are ice skating at his office Christmas party:

Now to satiate your curiosity, I will answer the most commonly asked questions about him and our relationship. But be warned-- I am only writing the answers, you will have to figure out the questions yourself.

Online. Manufacturing engineer. 6"2'. Sacramento. Yes, in Ecuador. 31. No, he's never been married. Yes, that is old for a Mormon-- at least in Utah. Not anytime too soon--neither of us want to feel rushed. Yes Dad, he makes me happy and takes very good care of me.

2. The Perfect Job

I have accepted a position at a wonderful for-profit private school based on the philosophies of Ayn Rand-- a match made in heaven for me. They teach children to be clear-minded, self-sufficient, independent-thinking conceptual thinkers. I am totally impressed by their program and love being a part of it. I was hired as a jack-of-all trades so I can learn all about the different aspects of the school and become sufficiently indoctrinated without being pigeon-holed into one career path. From there, they will see which direction they want to promote me.

I had my second interview with them on Monday. I taught preschoolers about deer and 3rd graders about the Wright Brothers. They offered me the job immediately thereafter and asked me to start the next day. I told the headmaster (yes, we have one) I'd have to think about it for a few hours, but since it was exactly the job I had my heart set on, it was an easy decision.

Since accepting the position, I have had to cancel three other interviews and refuse to schedule two others that were offered.

Also with this job, I get two weeks off from Christmas and don't have to work during the summer unless I want to.


3. The Perfect House

My first commute the 25 minutes to work came the morning after a huge snow storm. The highways had not been plowed. I came within 6 inches of having a head-on collision on I-15 (not my fault). Even though I was lucky because there is considerably less traffic commuting out of Salt Lake than in, I was still 30 minutes late to work on my first day and my nerves were fried. I decided that I would NOT be doing that all winter and I would just have to move to Sandy (which, conveniently enough, is also where Michael lives, although this was NOT the reason for the move. seriously--weren't you paying attention?!! I was almost killed commuting!).

After two days of searching I was blessed to procure for myself the MOST PRECIOUS tiny little cottage in Draper 4 miles from my work. Please notice the ivy climbing up the walls:

It is very small (600 square feet) but is completely sufficient for my needs. Since it's tiny it will be cheap to heat. It is on a beautiful road with grand old houses with Christmas lights. It feels and sounds like the country even though it is not far from Draper Parkway. The yard area is huge and there's even a place for a garden that is irrigated! There's a washer and dryer. I only pay for power and gas. I can paint and the landlord will even pay for it! The bedroom closet is twice as big as my current one. It's only two miles from the Draper temple. Starting in February, I will have my own garage to park in and store stuff! And it is ALL MINE!!

As much as I like having roommates, I am so so so excited to have my own place!! ALL the food in the refrigerator will be mine! I can keep as much stuff as I want in the freezer! I can have fresh garlic AND the jarred stuff! I will not feel guilty for leaving my dishes! I can walk around in my underwear! I can play music whenever I want! I will always have the best parking space! I won't have to coordinate with anyone regarding when I can be in the shower!

I am going to have so much fun decorating and turning it into my perfect little home.

Yes indeed, life is good.

Productivity

After three months, I think I have come to the end of the "fun" in my "funemployment." Now I am trying to focus more on being productive and finding a job.

After a day of fasting and praying to be more productive and make better use of my time, I had an epiphany. Like so many of the epiphanies that I bother recording on my blog, this one also had to do with the arrangement of my room. It occurred to me that two pieces of furniture needed to be switched. And I did it and it has made ALL the difference in the world, once again forcing me to ask the question, "What do people without divine intervention do with themselves?"

So now my desk is in a much much much better place where I can easily access it and it doesn't collect junk. It is sort of the focal point of the room, which adds to my desire and ability to sit there and do productive things. (You may have already noticed the dramatic increase in the number of blog posts I've written.)

My roomie Ashley came in to chat with me the other day and was so amused by what she saw she suggested that she take a photo for my blog.
Yes, that is a heating pad attached to my neck with the tie from my Halloween costume. After much thought, I decided that this was the best option. And yes, my neck is feeling better now, thank you for asking.

Reflections on Business Attire

I had my first interview today. It was technically a pre-interview skills screening, but all the same I donned my interview suit and put on my nylons (which I ONLY wear to job interviews). I put my hair back in a conservative low bun and looked at myself in the mirror. I always think the same thing: "BORING!!! How to men do this every day? What's the point of trying to look exactly like everyone else?" I do shake things up a bit because my suit is navy instead of black, even though my headhunter in NYC said I had to have a black one to get a job on Wall Street. She insisted my super cute brown herringbone suit was too "academic" and would not get the job done. I agreed to get a more professional one, but drew the line at black.

As I walked down the lobby towards the elevator in the downtown highrise building, I remembered how much I love the click-click-click sound high heels make on the nice marble floors of corporate buildings. And i did notice how silky and sexy the nylons felt. I laughed and laughed that I didn't have to sign in with security to get in the building, and that the receptionist didn't have to buzz me into the office through beautiful, but bullet-proof glass. And the breathtaking view from the office was the mountains instead of Trinity church, world-famous skyscrapers and sailboats on the Hudson (oh, I really do miss the sailboats). But the mountains were beautiful. And unlike my beloved Wall Street law firm, no one here was wearing jeans or polos. Although the other lady taking the skills test with me was wearing knit pants. I was glad I busted out the boring suit.

By the time I caught a reflection of myself in the full-wall mirrors in the gold-plated elevator on the way back to my car after the skills test, my attitude must have changed. I saw myself and I thought: "Dang! I look GOOD."

Apparently I can totally rock the business professional look. Not that I would want to every day.

In conclusion, I will just add that despite my 18 months as a favorite employee at a multi-million dollar Wall Street law firm, I was totally not qualified for that job.

C'est la vie.

PS Also, our elevators were faster.

New Post

I feel like my last post was a bit on the "Negative Nelly" side, so I want to clear some things up.

First, it's not that I'm opposed to being in Utah, it's just that I was so very very fond of being in New York and it was sad to see my last tie severed. People who live in Manhattan tend to have that as a big part of their identify, so now I'm just learning to define myself on different terms. And let's just come out and say it-- living in Utah is a bit cliche, if you're not from here.

Second, I realized I very much like the motto on the license plate. The other one was old. This is the new one
"Life Elevated." I can get behind that. It is meaningful and inspiring on several different levels. I'm happy to bare that slogan on my car.

And so far I've only lost my car in the parking lot twice. And, obviously, I did eventually find it both times. It occurred to me that knowing what my plate number was would have been helpful. I should really look into that.

So, I"m sorry if I was seeming like a Debbie Downer. Please forgive me.

And There Was Weeping and Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth

The state of New York cancelled my car's registration because I'm no longer insured in New York. The University of Utah looks at when you got your Utah driver's license in deciding whether or not you get in-state tuition. So I spent four hours today at two different branches of the DMV (because you can't get your license and registration at the same place).
I do not know HOW I am going to be able to find my car in a parking lot now.

Although I did keep the weeping and wailing to my inside, I do think that I might have gnashed my teeth a bit when they took my New York title from me and said they'd send me a new Utah one. I just don't think that was necessary.

It occurs to me that in the four months I have owned this car, it has had three different license plates. Four if you count the one from the previous owner that I drove it home in. And in the 13 years I've been a licensed driver, I have lived in 8 states and gotten licenses in 4 of them. This is the first time I've gotten a new license before the old one expired. And while I was/am super sad to sever these ties with New York, I remind myself that I will be saving several thousand dollars if I do decide to go to the U of U or if the police ever discovered my registration was null and void. C'est le vie.

Funny Things I've Come Across Lately

Because it's my blog and I can post random meaningless stuff if I want to.