It is written

I saw Slumdog Millionaire tonight and it was amazing. It's a smart and moving story that left me feeling all sorts of depressed, optimistic, angry and inspired all at the same time.  The cinematography is beautiful and the soundtrack is awesome.  

It also left me with a crush on Dev Patel who plays Jamal.  

I hope it wins the Oscar.

Enough already

I am so over winter.

The weather gods played with my emotions last week and blessed the Valley with 55 degree temps.  I mean, I wasn't about to throw on my swim suit and lay out in  the backyard or anything (oh what I would give to be able to throw on my swim suit and lay out in the backyard!), but it felt AMAZING to actually go outside and feel the sun on me.  Sure, there have been sunny days this winter, but the subzeroness of it all sort of cancels out any possibility of positive effects of sunshine. Sun or no sun, 25 degrees is miserable regardless.

But winter is a mean, crafty little vixen and now it's back to grey skies and freezing temperatures.  I can't seem to get warm, ever.  It's like the deepest core of my body is cold and there's nothing I can do about it.  It's getting to the point where I'm researching winter weather patterns of years gone by and trying to gauge when exactly spring should be arriving.  

It's not good news, my friends.

I have a solid 6-8 weeks left of this frigid weather until spring starts to make it's slow debut. Granted, this is Utah and I have seen it be a glorious 70 degrees one day, only to blizzard the next.  It's all rather frustrating for someone whose favorite hobby is working on my tan.

My anticipation increased exponentially when my mom was giving me a preliminary status on our annual Rehoboth trip, the one I missed last year.  I really hope I can go this year.  Like, for real.  I love Rehoboth. I love that my family has a place like that to escape to for a few days.  I love the thunderstorms in the evenings walking home from the beach, the lightening bugs, and the backyard that's home to little wild bunny rabbits. I love the boardwalk at night, playing the race horse game and browsing through the record store for new music that we'll play on repeat in the house. I love being a little sun burnt the entire time and always wishing I put on sunscreen , at least on day one. I love the tandem bicycle and the fact that Jen will ride around the block on it with me.  I love crab night and how my sisters and I always end up laughing at my aunt, uncle and cousin's Delaware accents.  I love playing Monopoly and cards on the deck and the fact that everyone takes it as seriously as I do. And the sun room/parrot room where my dad usually hides to watch baseball games on t.v.  I even sort of love the ridiculous trip it is to get there; winding through the small town roads of DelMarVa and being all, "WTF do these people do?" It's so awesome.

Maybe it's due to the fact that I'm currently under three (3) down comforters and still shivering, but I'm missing all that bad right now. I hope my economic situation improves so I can make the trip this year.

Also, throwing an Inauguration Party tomorrow.  Making this recipe that Kathryn in NYC suggested was the perfect meal for friends. Pictures definitely to follow.

Split Ends

I've desperately needed to have my hair cut for about the last 2 months.  Since I'm a professional transient, I once again find myself in a new city without the comfort of a well-trained, well shampooed hair stylist.  

In Logan, I had the best stylist ever. Her name was Johanna and she was so nice and pretty and thankfully, never took me seriously when I told her I wanted bangs like Hillary Duff. Then one tragic day, she informed me she was moving out of state.  And just like that, she was gone, out of my life forever.

I soon found myself in Las Vegas, once again needing my hair cut.  Vegas was a tricky place to just walk into a salon and hope you get what you want. I mean, it's Las Vegas. There are more crazy people per square block in that place than anywhere in the world so it's not something I'm going to mess around with, you know? However,  I guess I'd been paying tithing or something because one Sunday my new visiting teachers stopped by and like a miracle from heaven, one of them was a hair stylist.  I immediately set up an appointment with Cami, thrilled with the new possibility that this gaping void in my life would somehow be filled again.  As Cami finished my cut and color, I could actually feel the weight being lifted off my shoulders.  My hair was cute and exactly how I wanted it, but better because she knew what she was doing and I did not.  

Like most perfect relationships, this one did not last either.  I moved from Vegas to Sacramento, where I had my hair trimmed once by a stylist I found through a recommendation web site. I didn't want to get too attached as I knew I probably wouldn't stay in Sacramento for too long, so I wasn't that upset when I picked up and left again.

Cut to me, today, needing my hair cut again and walking into a salon asking for a walk-in appointment.  There was nothing special about this salon. In fact, the only reason I chose to walk into this one is because they had a sign out front advertising 10% off walk-in appointments. Being a victim of this horrific recession,  I was in no position to look elsewhere.

My appointment was with Lois. Lois reminded me of a cross between Diablo Cody and Stella from Project Runway Season 5.  But with less leather and  maybe more faux fur.  She told me she was a writer, working on a couple screenplays and currently looking for funding.  She was also an astrologer, painter, spiritual healer, and a 3-time divorcee currently engaged to number 4. She knew a lot about indie music and movies, which I thought was pretty cool.  I asked for a trim and a little reshaping, which I thought she did well, although with a varied technique I'd never seen before. Usually when someone cuts my hair, they finish it off but running some texturizing shears through the ends, but she didn't.  Not that there was anything wrong with that, it just caught me off guard. However, Lois lost me when she blow dried my hair and then neglected to get the flat iron on it.  Now, I'm no expert. Clearly. But my hair is not straight. It's not curly. It's not even wavy.  In it's natural state, it lies somewhere in this awful in-between area; an area that requires a flat iron. However, Lois did not see the need and therefore I walked out of that place with not straight/not curly/unironed hair.  

I'm not going to blame Lois. She did what I asked and I guess as a customer I could have requested she flat iron my hair.  But, my point is this: Finding a good hair stylist is a lot like finding a good boyfriend.  It's painfully difficult and when you do find one, it never lasts. So for all you who are blissfully happy with the person who cuts your hair, I say to you this; hold on to him/her.  Don't take them for granted, appreciate them and make sure they know how you feel.

And if anyone in the greater Salt Lake City area has a great stylist they'd like to share, I would love to be set up.  

I'm now too old to be on the Real World

 I turned 25 on Thursday. People who know I've had a birthday keep asking me how I feel about it.  I'm not sure I've ever really felt any particular way on any other birthday, and I don't really feel that different about 25.  But it does sound weird.  I swear, I still feel like a nerdy 15 year-old who only cares about what boys are talking to me and what I'm wearing to school tomorrow. Although, I guess I still worry about boys and clothes. Clearly. Getting older is bizarre.

Celebrated early on Wednesday with a pre-birthday dinner date at Cheesecake Factory and a late showing of Twilight. Yes, that's #5 and it was the sweetest present ever.  

Thursday night, my friends met me for dinner at my favorite restaurant, Trio.  Had the rosemary and goat cheese flat bread, pomodoro, and the creme brulee for dessert.  Michelle even made the trip down from Logan to hang out, which was very nice of her.  

Uh, nothing else to really report.  Being 25 is also just as boring as 24, I guess.

But, when is The Offfice coming back on!?!?!

Really? I'm going to blog about reality TV again?

Sure. 

Some people watch their stocks, I watch The Bachelor, ok?

Ok first of all, Jason is adorable. 

 I LOVED him on The Bachelorette and was so sad when Deanna didn't pick him. Although, he was definitely better off, I still hate watching that clip of him proposing and her just standing there with this twisted smile on her face. 

Anyway, he's by far my favorite Bachelor.  The first episode is always fun to watch.  The producers always do a good job of giving the nut jobs a lot of screen time and keeping the legit girls on the back burner.  

So after episode 1, I really liked Nikki and Lauren. They both seemed normal, which is a crucial quality in episode 1.

 

I loved Melissa. 

Very girl-next-door, cute as a button. And I swear, during the toast at the end of the show he was looking at her the whole time. I think she'll go far.  They didn't show a lot of her, but that's usually a good sign in Bachelor protocol.

Ok, Megan bugged. She acted so entitled or something just because she is also a single parent.

Shannon did not do well either.

She was crazy.  I guess she's cute, but let's be honest: If you have to tell a guy you're not a stalker, well then chances are....

Dominque, are you serious?
You were obviously picked solely for comedic purposes. Stop talking like a three year-old.

And I'm sorry, Stephanie. Your story is quite sad and you seem like a nice person, but you look like a cross-dressing Geena Davis impersonator.

Or as some like to call it, a Hot Tranny Mess.

Can't wait for next week!

Resolve

Happy New Year, everyone.

For the first year in a long time, my New Years resolutions won't involve losing any amount of weight or cutting caffeine out of my diet.  After a rough couple of years, I've decided to resolve to try and change the stress-inducing things that occur in my life by preventing them in the first place. 

Here's a condensed version of my resolutions.  (Note: details have been condensed for blogging purposes and to avoid looking pathetic.)

1. Speak up - don't be afraid to say what I want/need.

2. Tackle problems as soon as they occur.

3. Respect my money

4. Identify Wants vs. Needs

5. Be happy-even if I'm not.

In completely unrelated, yet equally important news, tonight is the premiere of The Bachelor and I really can't remember a time I've been THIS excited about something.  

Actually, now that I think about it....