Favorite Things

If you have not discovered Emerald's Cocoa Roast Almonds, you are missing out! My sister (who likes to remain nameless on the Internet) introduced me to them. She was introduced to them at Sam's. I have now found them at Walmart and I have heard that you can buy them at Albertsons as well. They do not have any more calories than the regular roasted almonds but they are much tastier as long as you like chocolate. Try them and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

I Must Be Getting Old

As of late I have a pain everywhere you can think of. At least that is the way I feel. Suddenly my empathy for my parents has greatly increased. They often like to see who can "out pain" the other. I have begun to think if this is what it feels like at 41, then I'm not sure I can make it to 60 or more.

First it was my back, which seems to now be on the mend. Then my ankles and knees were extremely stiff and sore especially in the mornings. When walking I have felt like an "old man" but once I got going the stiffness/pain seems to go away. So I thought if I am going to start feeling the pains of old age that maybe I need to start taking the supplements that my parents take. I broke down on my last Costco trip and purchased some glucosamine. I've been taking it for a week and it seems that my joints are responding much better. I hope I'm not jinxing myself here but I think I'm onto something!

Concert at Red Butte Gardens

I've been slipping in my blogging. :( So this event was actually a week ago from last Monday, July 13th.

My friend, Brad, texted me a few weeks ago and said that our friend Kimber had managed to buy a few tickets for Death Cab for Cutie at the Red Butte Gardens. The show had been sold out but apparently they found a few more available and they listed them online. Now I've seen Death Cab for Cutie twice prior to this. So I wasn't way excited about that even though I love the band. What intrigued me was attending a concert at Red Butte Gardens. So I said I was "in."

The night of the show, I met Brad at our usual park and ride spot. We then picked up Kimber in Draper. Of course we always have to get some food prior to a night of music. We stopped at the downtown Greek Souvlaki for a gyro. Yum!



We got the concert at the perfect time, just as Ra Ra Riot took the stage. I was unfamiliar with the band until a few days before the show. Normally I'm not too interested in the warm up groups but I was really digging what I had heard from them before the show and they did not disappoint in person. My only complaint was that their time on stage was too short.



Next up was Andrew Bird. I was familiar with some of his music. It's a little more eclectic. But he does some pretty amazing stuff live. He regularly would record a bit either of violin, guitar, or other sound and then loop it through out the song. He would add layer upon layer of different instruments or sounds to create the song. I'm sure my description doesn't do it justice. And man this guy can really whistle! I've never heard so much whistling from the artist on stage!



Last up was Death Cab for Cutie. Of course seeing them live once again only confirmed why I love their music. The temperature had started to cool and it was nice to be outside listening to great music in such a beautiful setting. If only my knees and feet could get past the pain of standing for four hours. I'm not as young as I used to be.

Don't Loose Your Lunch

If you have someone in your work who likes to take your food, here is one possible solution to rid yourself of the sandwich pilferers at your office.

The Anti-Theft Lunch Bag

Mexican Riviera Cruise

This fall I'm going on a cruise with my brother, niece, and 2 nephews. I'm pretty excited even though it's a ways off yet. We'll be going to the Mexican Riviera via the Carnival's cruise ship, Splendor. The reason why I'm posting this now is that I hope that people who have gone on this cruise will know of all the best excursions to take in each port city. The ports are Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, and Mazatlan. So if you have any suggestions, please feel free to share. :)

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

Yesterday our singles family home evening group attended the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. It was interesting to see a second temple open house so close to viewing another one. Our FHE group also attended the Draper Temple open house a few months ago.

The Oquirrh Mountain Temple was similar in a lot of ways to the Draper Temple. They are smaller temples comparatively speaking. I also noticed how much they used darker neutral colors through out. And again the furniture was very modern just like the Draper Temple. The most noticeable difference was the use of lots of floor tile. It seems like it might make for too much noise. I know that it definitely contributed to the noise during the open house. But I am sure that it will make cleaning and maintenance so much easier.

After the open house several of us stopped by the Red Robin for smoothies and some appetizers. It was a great time.