September 23, 2011

fashion, wwjd? & things that make me sad...

FASHION WEEK!! 
So it was fashion week last week or the week before orrrr something. All I know is Lindsay Lohan was snubbed by the Olsens AND Dakota Fanning, I think that to be snubbed by Dakota Fanning you probably have to be a real L-O-S-E-R! (Because Dakota Fanning seems like a real sweet-tart.)  
This post is not all about fashion, just the following pictures. On Tuesday, my one day off a week to dress normal; not in dirty, stinky faded black Malawi attire, I have to admit I thought I was looking pretty fresh to dea'f ... soooo, I made Dragon (Jordan is making me call him Dragon now whenever I refer to him on my blog. sheesh!) ...so, of course I had Dragon take some fashion pictures of me to share with the blogger world. I appreciate my blog in that it allows me to document cute outfits and I have like zero followers; aside from my husband, his mom and my co-worker Greg's wife, (yeah, I called you out! I know you're sneaking a peek!) so thankfully my vanity goes overlooked by most. JK (Rowling)! 
On with the show! 

After I forced Dragon to call me a tiger and make growling sexy noises at me, I took pictures of him too. He did not want to pose, note: he wasn't even wearing shoes, but I told him HE MUST!!-- it is fashion week! Or close to it. So here is him. He has some really unique poses and I think shortly after I post today's episode that Abercrombie will be tying up his phone.


Good, right? I told you! 


And here's me...  only double the trouble.

       


In picture Number One I am a one legged pirate, you're into it aren't you? Picture Number Two really displays my love for brick walls. I am slowly caressing it. Imagine me as Michael Scott as that guy who is not Brian Fontana or Champ or Ron Burgundy from "Anchor Man." What is it Dragon? Oh yes, Brick, how appropriate! So imagine me as him, caressing the brick wall, shouting, "I LOVE LAMP!" Only I love brick(s), not Brick. So those are my poses, Brick and the pirate who will never be able to do the Captian Morgan stance, unless I jump, pose my one existing leg and the cameraman happens to get me at just the right angle. Then we can superimpose a barrel of rum under me. Only not whiskey, butter-beer, because I'm Mormon now. Which is also why I particularly liked Tuesdays outfit-- because it is so fashionably "modest." I want to be one of those hot SLC Mormies who are uber-fashion forward despite certain modesty restrictions we may have (which by the way I do not see as restrictions and am more than happy to accommodate- when it's not 120 degrees out.) 

If you have read this far, thank you. If you have read this far but are banging your head against a wall. Thank you and I'm sorry. Now onto the meat. 

We have two items on today's agenda... 
Number One: Stake Conference. 
Two Sundays ago Dragon and I went to church early. Very early, like and hour and a half early because it was Stake Conference. Seats go fast, cushioned seats that is. Last year we went an hour early and still had to sit in the reject seats in the back. So this year we were determined to have our normal front right corner seats! Turns out an hour and a half is too early. Way too early. People didn't really start to show until about a quarter til. 
So this was this one lady who was sitting two rows in front of us, saving seats; which I am strongly against, unless of course the seat is being saved for me. Or the person for whom which said seat is being saved happens to have a baby, in which case they will be running late-- still not the best excuse to me because I am not a mother yet and do not understand how it could be very hard to throw an outfit on a baby who could care less what it looks like (mothers have at me! I know there is so much more to it!) While this lady is saving seats, young married couples keep coming up to her and asking if the seats are saved, to which she responds, "yes." Finally, a younger woman comes down from the choir to take her seat with older lady number one... all the while  more couples are coming to ask to sit next to these two women. Well at one point Dragon and I finally hear one determined couple ask if they are saving seats, to which the two ladies reply again, "yes," but then the couple asks, "Oh how many?" ...to which the TWO ladies, saving an entire cushioned church pew, reply, "ONE." No joke. These pews seat five adults easy. You may have to be a little snug. Four is likely ideal if you don't know your neighbors.... but three to a pew!? (When I say pew, I'm talking BENCH here.) Jordan and I were sitting with another couple, the man was a little heftier, but I would gladly have scooted down to squeeze in two more had the other couple in our bench been willing. So two women in a five person bench do not scoot over to allow room for a very skinny couple, might I add. I was a little baffled. I mean, sure nobody likes to be breathed on by strangers, but really? In church no less, you can't make room for two? When you're only waiting on one! 
I wondered how different it might be if there were no seats behind the pews? Not even the hard fold out chairs that half the people sit on most Sundays anyway because they don't like to be too close in church, something about nerds being labeled in high school for sitting in the front row of desks has remained embedded deep in their brains. But when it's Stake Conference, oh no hold barred! 'Front row is mine suckas!' As a weekly front rower, not just a 'when it's important front row thief,' I am aghast! How unwilling would people be to sit together if behind the pews there was only standing room, dirt, imagine this were the real times of Jesus and aside from limited group seating there was only the dirt to sit or stand, would we still choose our own comfort bubble over offering others a seat? I should hope not. I don't know why it should be any different. 
I am not trying to act holier than thou, like I said, Dragon and I only had four in our row (at least four is more  than three, Nanner! Nanner! Nanner!), but seriously. I just couldn't get past, not the act it self, but the example that was set. Turning away others who are gathering with you to hear the gospel taught and brought to life. I dwelled on it, clearly. When two weeks later I am still bringing it up. Thoughts? 

Item of Business Numero Dos: "The Help" 
This movie, oh man!, just as suspected... made me laugh, made me cry, made my soul cheer and scream for justice! There are many parts that really pull on your heart strings, but the part where one maid is getting hauled off by the cops kicking and screaming and Abeline is yelling, "Don't fight!" Man, those two words killed me! "Don't fight!" Can you imagine? I mean, she stole, okay, I get that part, but your entire life you've been deprived of your basic Civil Rights. Your innate human rights. Not God granted, not Law granted, but something that we as humans should innately and gladly share with everyone of our species. ?? I can't even imagine. It makes me sad. Sad to think that such hate and racism existed in our world. Even after all the advancements man has made in this world we've been given, or somehow stumbled upon, whichever you believe, that we can't co-exist with other humans peacefully and happily. Call me a flaming whatever. But can't we all just get along. Okay, really bad quote. Really though, can you imagine anyone ever telling you not to fight it. 'It' being whatever is wrong in your life and your friend just tells you to lie down and take it, don't rise up, don't fight against it because it has been and always will be. Don't even try to change it. Admit defeat before you've even ATTEMPTED. Before you've even TRIED. Can you imagine telling your children that? It hurt to hear, it was so hard to hear and to think that that is how so many people lived their lives because of FEAR. Fear of opposition. I say bring it on, because there is nothing worth living for that ain't worth dying for! 

September 6, 2011

Me and Tina Turner, we'd get right along!

Right now I'm laying in bed with Jordy listing to the neighbors fight. Well, not listening, but we definitely can't help but hear them.Yikes. He said to me, 'Man, wonder if the bottom level is bad luck for marriages,' because we already know one couple who lived there and got divorced, the other two units are divorced people and now we're overhearing the only married unit left fighting... hmmm. Think we'll stay up here even if they do have a dishwasher down there! Our next door neighbors have been married for two years and seem pretty happy, so upper level seems to have avoided "The Curse of Level One Macada Apartments!!"
Muahahaha, dun, dun, dunnnn!
A  newly wed guy from church asked Jordan, the other day, how the first year of marriage was for us. Seems like we've been hearing from a lot of people lately that the first year is, "always the rough one," well, hmmm... if year one is the worst and it only gets better from here then let me tell you, I am looking forward to the rest of our lives together!! Sure we had simple fights, the obvious stuff a couple deals with when combining two lifestyles into one both can agree upon, but nothing major. Definitely nothing either one of us ever thought was anything worth even thinking of leaving the other over.
We just passed the One Year Mark and were able to celebrate with a rafting trip down the Green River (Great segway, huh? I'm clever, if you didn't already know. Jordan would be laughing and rolling his eyes at how funny I think I am if he were reading over my shoulder.) Jordan planned a 4 day, 3 night trip that started at the base of the river in Colorado and rafted us back into Vernal, Utah. It was AWESOME! So great, really. There were 23 people, 6 rafts each with a guide. They made us breakfast, lunch and dinner, very little cleaning duty on our parts. I think the most work we had to do was assembling and disassembling our tents every morning and evening at each new location (but you know I made Jordan do that!) The whole trip was so cool though, I definitely suggest you do a multi-day river trip if you ever get the chance! I have two favorite things... I liked being away from everything-- you can really lose yourself out there because you are literally cut off from all civilization (aside from satellite phones for emergencies each guide carries),  no fake-tree cell phone towers, it's all real nature at it's finest! I've always thought I could live like "The Village," a throwback to pioneer times. The other thing I really liked the most was the COMRADERY! You are on this 4 day trip with 20 something strangers; over the course of 4 days you have to learn to depend on them. So Day One was the getting to know each other part and it may have been a little awkward, like any first meet. We were just thrown into boats with strangers, about 5 to each boat, and you're just chillin' down the river for a few hours before lunch. By lunch you know a little bit about the others in your boat and a lot about nature, because to avoid awkward silences as your new friends are just staring at you, you ask the guide all sorts of silly questions from rock and cloud formation to water temperature. Dinner time the first night was great, though. Everyone is all exited, a little tired, but really hungry. This is where we all start to talk and get to know each other. Starts with the typical, "So, Andy, what do you do?" but soon we are finding similarities and common ground on which to hold genuine conversation! It was great, we ate huge fajita burritos, everyone was sharing beer they had bought earlier, they were even offering up their mixers so Jordan and I could have a cola without feeling left out of the cool group because we hadn't even gotten out of the car at the bar stop. The first nights sleep I'll admit I was a little nervous one of my 23 seemingly normal new friends would turn out to be a Dexter sorta freak and machete us all to death before we even got to see our first big rapid, but that's just my normal overactive imagination.
By the second and third day families and couples are splitting up, kayaking in single 'duckies' or splitting boats so everyone could get a chance at the paddle boat. Five of the Six boats were oared by a single guide, but the last was a paddle boat that all riders had to participate to run. This was my favorite and unfortunately we didn't get a chance to ride until the last day. Katie was our guide on this boat and Jordan and I agree she was our favorite! Katie was so great at interacting with everyone on the trip. Her boat was definitely the party boat! She kept things lively with random games and lots of singing! I mean, you can really only pretend to be interested in rock formation and erosion for so long, ya' know! She did a great job of mixing the educational with the FUN! So, by the second and third day people are splitting up and entrusting their loved ones in the care of not only the guides, but their fellow boaters. Day four, on the paddle boat, I thought for sure this 10 year old kid, Daniel, who was about 39 pounds soaking wet was about to fly out of the front of the boat at the last rapid we hit. His mom was originally in the boat with us and had to keep telling him to hold on, "both hands Daniel, I'm serious!" but she went out for a dip and got picked up by the boat behind us... so here's her kid being all "I'm the king of the world!" and I'm up front paddling my little blistered hands away with the other 4 on our boat... and we hit a deep pocket and I swear he's going to pop right out. I yell. "both hands Daniel!" and he survives, (yeah, I'm a hero, no big deal, ha ha.) I love that sort of thing,-- that someone doesn't have to be paranoid that her kid is going to get hurt because she knows The Group is looking after him. We all bonded very quickly, once you've 'grooved' together there's no turning back! It was like LOST, you're thrown into this situation with all these different personalities that are just as likely to clash as they are to mix and you just see what happens. I think we had a really great group... at the end Jordan was saying to me, "It;'s like 'The Breakfast Club,' you bond for the time that's provided, but I don't think anyone has to expect to be lifelong friends." It is what it is. We were a tight little family for 4 days, we could trust each other and have fun with each other, but when it was over-- hugs were given, good-byes said, emails exchanged, and we'll send photos of our adventures together and whatnot, but I think keeping it what it was is precious. It was an adventure. A moment in life, where time, for four days stopped. And we all got to experience the beauty of that together!

Before we knew what we were getting ourselves into... 

Lucky #546 Pork Chops

A little creative liberty!!

"I'm on a boat mutha...!" 

Remember how we talked about the water temperature? 
Apparently I wasn't listening! 

...but Jordo thinks it's just peachy! 

I may have been irrationally afraid of stocked 
freshwater sharks, but I smiled through it! 

Our lives for 4 days... jealous? 

Lunch, Day One-- The Outcast.

Bee-U, tee-Ful! 

Groovin' with a view! 

You really don't know what love is until you've done 
the double groove switch over together! 

Lounging.

Jordan on a single 'duckie' during our silent float
through L'adore Canyon.

Isn't he adorable? 

Scouting the rapids.

Trying to stay far away from the poison ivy.

Lazy Bum! 

"CAAAAAANONNNNNBAAAALLLLL!!!"

Hikng the haunted hillside... Spoooooky! 

'Butt Damn Falls' is about to rip one! 

Long horned "deer" sheep.

Jordan was mad I bit his nip,what? 
 I was hungry for a s'more! 

"Left a good job in the cit-ay, workin' for the man ev'ry 
night n' day, but I never lost a minute uh-sleeping, 
worried 'bout the way things might have been... 
big wheels keep on turnin', 
Proud Mary keep on burnin'... 
Rollin,' rollin,' rollin' on the river!"

What a MAN! 
Seriously, though, it is so much harder than it looks. 

THIS IS LIFE! 

You know wifey loves costume night.

Someone show my dad this picture. He'll die.