my happy little life

my bed

hardly fits grant and me, but little skinny bums can line right up comfortably. we have been enjoying my sister heather's fam all week, i'm so sad to see them go. cate loves her cousins. and i love my bed. (did i tell you about that duvet cover that i purchased from savers for $2.99 during the bed and bath section sale? it's an old pottery barn king size in perfect condition. and the bedskirt? $3 at the salvation army still in its package. the art? from coco's grandmother in law's walls. the result? eclectic coziness on the cheap).

color me happy!

in the wee hours of the morning (9:30), as i opened my inbox and longed for a diet coke, i was delighted to see a message from my life long friend rachel. i opened it knowing that it was about meeting up for education week at byu, where we were once both attendees and hot single neighbors looking for a good man (now we have kids! the joy!) but i digress. rachel and i have shared a love of dancing throughout our respective lives, and for a couple of white girls, we can "walk it out" if you know what i mean. so it was quite natural that the email also included her picks (sarah and danny) for so you think you can dance.

and then she did it. she made me burst with joy by saying these words, (and i quote): "also there is something about mia michaels that reminds me of you. i can't put my finger on it, but i think it may be some of her vocabulary choices." now, you may be thinking to yourself, "what's the big deal about that?" i will tell you the big dealio: if i could trade places with anyone for a day or a year or 50 years, it would be mia michaels. i love her. love her. love her. let me qualify that, i know nothing about her personal life- i only know her dance and fashion and "vocabulary" sensibilities (i swear that's it rachel, because i think she talks like me too- remember when the audience boo'd her comments and her face got all snotty looking and she said "ewww, shut up". that was sooo me), and those sensibilities send me to a very happy place. also, she spends her day dancing with the most free, expressive, non conformist movements i have ever seen. that, my friends, is a day in heaven for miss kelly.

i have entertained many a roommate in my single life with my nightly interpretive dancing performances...give me a hymn, punk rock, or show tunes and i will interpret it with all my heart. it is quite breathtaking, (or so i've imagined it, i look just like mia michaels to my mind's eye.) julie d- i know you read my blog and never comment...how 'bout a shout out for all the times my dancing brought you to tears of joy as you laid in your bed waiting for me to let you sleep????

this cheering up came at a particularly good time. i've been depressed for days because grant refused to film me doing the wade robsen peace dance in my own spray painted shirt to post here. i just really wanted a go, you know? 

some scrapbooking

i've been tagged, like, 20 times

and i guess i'll finally do it. i think i'm supposed to fess up some crazy little known facts about me. that's hard to do. i don't really, um, keep things to myself. let's see if i can think of the required 7.

1. i don't eat meat off the bone. except hot wings. but i don't eat the meat, i just dip them in blue cheese and suck the sauce off. my family loves to prove my craziness by saying "i don't eat meat off the bone." i think it's quite understandable to be freaked out by bones and tendons, yuuuuuck.
2. in general i am creeped out by animals.
3. i can eat more than any person you have ever met in your life. my favorite food in the world is saltine crackers with sharp cheddar cheese slices.
4. sweet child o' mine has been my favorite song since 4th grade.
5. i voted for neil 10 times tonight because he reminds me of anakin skywalker when he dances.
6. i have been to a dozen or so grateful dead concerts and cried on the way to school when i heard on the radio that jerry garcia died. oh, youth.
7. i have a serious crush on detective stabler of svu fame. he and grant share similar temperments. their anger is so hot. (i kid). but i'm not kidding when i say that i have to go vote for neil a few more times... i might have a little crush on him too.

the internal battle is over

i am going to reconcile myself to loving where i live- the state of utah, that is. i have been waiting to feel like we were supposed to move somewhere else ever since we got married. i have not always been, let's say, excited, about residing in utah. i like beaches. i like "california cuisine". i like shirts to be worn without tank tops over them. the culture here is sometimes a bit, well, weird new to me. but all that has changed. utah, i love you. because,

1. while attending a little community carnival i felt joy. thought i, what a quaint little town!
2. today while thrifting we stopped at down east, a discount store carrying seconds by brands from pottery barn to chip & pepper. they also make their own line of the cutest modest clothing. only in utah.
3. the mountains really are beautiful. really really pretty.
4. i feel very safe.
5. since i have lived here, we have welcomed an anthropologie, ikea, and forever 21, and coming soon an urban outfitters. good job, utah.
6. i live within 20 miles of 4 temples, including the one i was married in.
7. i never thought i would have those sweet alma mater feelings for my college, but now on the rare occaisions when i'm near the byu campus the beach boys start singin in my head and i get a little emotional. be true to your school. byu is awesome.
8. speaking of, i can attend byu education week next month with minimal expense or trouble. it's just down the way. drop cate off with a cousin set for a bit and go be inspired.
9. we get all four seasons, and how. i have been accustomed to the california 2 season life. actually having four of them is really cool. and utah celebrates each so well. fall, my favorite, is given a particular shout out with lots of harvest events, and beautiful falling leaves. love it.
10. need i mention it's family friendly? yes, it is.
11. c jane lives here. and gary coleman.
12. it's the only home cate has ever known.

did i miss anything?

lunch break

i savor the lunch hour. i love to sit down with something delicious and enjoy a little tv or magazine reading break while i eat (always, always with hopefully my first diet coke of the day). and i go in kicks. i'll eat the exact same thing for a week or two before switching it up. a few lunches have been honored to last for months. here is the current winner- spinach leaves (i love the organic prewashed box that costco carries), red seedless grapes, really strong blue cheese, a handful of nuts, and a splash of olive oil and basalmic vinegar. heaven.