"It's not a dog, Callie!!!"

As most weeks, this had its ups and downs. If you follow me on Twitter (@LindseyHarvell) or you follow me on Facebook, you know that I have had problems with my cable, internet, and phone since moving in here. Ironically, I did some checking and called Quest and what happened? My phone went out losing the call. That was the last straw. It pretty much cemented my decision. While I got on the phone with Optimum/Bresnan, mom got on the phone with Quest. I managed a $96 credit from Bresnan and mom ended up conferencing me in to set up my new service with Quest. They are handling my phone and internet and they do a special service through DirectTV which will cover my cable. I wonder what it will be like to have stuff that actually works. In one day, my internet and phone went out 6 times. Unacceptable.

I received the water/sewer/trash bill and thought it was a little high. When I compared it to others, the prices varied. So, I called the city to see what was up. Apparently, at minimum the bill will be $49, and then your water is added on top of that. Needless to say, I was shocked! It shouldn't be that much, but what can you say, the west coast is weird ... and apparently expensive.

I am appealing my taxes on my house. They have the market value $20,000 higher than what it appraised for. Good when you are selling a house, bad when you just bought it. So, I'm going to to to Parowan to a court date and sort this out. Everything in Utah seems to be backwards, so I can't wait to see what the court system is like. :-)

On a lighter note, I went to a super fun Pampered Chef party at a friend from church's house. Looking forward to getting all of my cool stuff, especially my pizza stone!

Check out these pictures that hang in the office at school ... they are all at varying heights and all crooked. It's really bothering me. I may need to go and fix them.

Callie has decided to write something as well this week:

I got to go on a lot of walks, although not as many as I had hoped. I don't understand why mom doesn't get that pulling weeds in the backyard does not replace walks. Also, walking to the mailbox does not constitute a walk. Those birds in the backyard are taunting me again. One of these days, they are going to taunt me on the wrong day and then POOF, they'll be gone.

I had a really fun time playing with my neighborhood lab friend, lady bug (she's the black dog in the picture). Mom let me off the leash and we played in the park. Then this furry thing that kind of looked like a dog came out to investigate. I tried to play with it, but it got on its back and was hissing ... then mom came running over yelling, "it's not a dog, Callie!!!" She said it was a cat and that I wasn't supposed to like it. It seemed nice to me!

My Shower Gel Smells Like Play-Doh!

Ayr Gel. Truly a gift from God when the Monsoon Flow leaves.

As most weeks, this week has proved to be interesting. The week ended much better than it started. So, let's go there ... 

Monday was meant to be a relaxing day of work at home. I took a morning walk hoping it would be peaceful. I will spare you the details but will tell details on the funniest part. I received a phone call from my realtor's office saying the bill was in for my handyman repairs and house cleaning. Now, think. What would you expect it to be ... $100? $150? That's what all of us were thinking. It was originally $360, but when it got to me it was $300. Needless to say I was peeved and wanted answers. I went to pick up the bill and called Juan. Little did I know this would be the most hilarious and oddest conversation I've ever had. I called him, and apparently he was tired of hearing about my bill ... others had called. I'm not really sure what happened between the time I left ReMax Velocity and the time I crossed the cattle guard onto Lund Highway towards my house. All I remember is a bunch of nonsense and then ... clarity. He told me just to not pay it. I almost stopped the car, I was so shocked. I thought, surely he didn't mean it. Then a friend told me, "If a Mexican says it, he means it." I asked him if I could call him back, he kept saying he was working for someone else and no. Of course, I'm going to pay him ... I'm just going to pay him a more reasonable amount. 

On that very same evening when I was taking my relaxing sauna shower before I go to bed to add some humidity to my bedroom, I realized something. My shower gel, which I purchased at the dollar store, smelled familiar. But, I just couldn't put my finger on it ... then it occurred to me. My shower gel smells like play-doh! I don't really like to waste it, so I am still using it. No wonder kids seem to like me this week. 

Some photos from the week:

This finch couldn't wait until I replaced the bird food.

Callie was doing everything to avoid getting a bath.

I think she feels better ...

Annoyance of the week: the monsoon flow leaving

Obsession of the week: Sister Wives

"It's the one with the dress, mom!"

This week has reminded me of one of my famous sayings that I said to my mom as she was on a path to walk into the wrong restroom at Disney World... "wait, mom, it's the one with the dress!" Luckily, she had me there to remind her and saved her from an embarrassing moment in the world's most happiest place. I was 9. Unfortunately, 20 years later (Yikes!), I seemed to have forgotten my advice ...

I need to first mention that the bathrooms in the SUU Centrum (where my office is) has multiple doors. Last week, I had accidentally walked into the wrong bathroom ... you know, the one without the dress ... the one ... with the pants. Yikes. Well, it wasn't a huge deal, nobody was in it. Earlier this week, I repeated my error, except this time, somebody was in there!! Luckily, he wasn't a coworker. I ran out as quickly as possible. Of course, I was paying attention to my email on my phone so it took me awhile to realize ... actually that is probably the reason I made the mistake in the first place. I am proud to report that I walked into the correct bathroom the rest of the week. Unfortunately, this was not the end of my "interesting" adventures for the week ...

The same day that I successfully walked into the correct bathroom, I locked myself out of my office and squirted Yoplait Yogurt all over myself. What can I say, I was on a roll this week.

Callie and I are still extremely happy to be here. In fact, we had a chat the other day, and we can't imagine ever living any place else! This place is somewhat backwards, but the trade off of the location and the amazing people I work with and friends I have made thus far, it is completely worth it. I'm just so unbelievably happy ... I never thought I would get here when I embarked on this journey 10 years ago. I feel so blessed to have fabulous family, friends, and amazing coworkers at an amazing place to work and live. I'm not sure life could get any better. And ...

I can GROW things here!!! The curse of me killing plants is over!! Check it out:

I grew this carrot from a seed. I also have onions and that is strawberries!

This is my sod after its first mow! 

Annoyance of the day: mean people

Obsession of the day: "Say Yes To The Dress" ... that show is hilarious! 

Snakes Rattle, Prairie Dogs Attack

Well, today was a very interesting day to say the least! I finally found Callie a vet ... conveniently right down the road of of 56 highway. While I was there, I learned that we have quite the rattle snake problem here. Not that I should be surprised ... we are considered "high desert." Although, this is the coldest desert i've ever seen. Of course, I don't think i've ever been to a desert. But, I just kind of always thought they were hot. I could be wrong. Maybe only the low deserts are. Something to investigate ...  Also while at the vet, I learned of a rattle snake vaccine. I haven't decided for sure whether I will be getting it for Callie. All I could think was to heck with her, what about a vaccine for me?? Ha! I'm trying to find out. Apparently the snakes are more concerned with getting away from you and only bite as a last resort. Don't worry, Mr. Snake, I will definitely get out of the way. But what happens when there are multiple snakes and no escape route? I suppose this is where a gun would be helpful ... and John Wayne. So, while we are on the subject of snakes, during Callie and I's walk, we found out that those holes in the middle of the dirt road? Those are not prairie dog holes, oh no. They are snake holes!! When Callie and I peeked in one of them, we saw a snake  ... a big one ... coiled up. Not sure if it was a rattler ... i've only ever seen them on Nat Geo. I didn't wait to find out. It was asleep, and I wanted to keep it that way. I tried to take a picture with the zoom ... not sure if you can see it in there ... but, I really didn't want to get any closer. :-) So, just when you think the stream of knowledge has stopped, I learned more ...

Prairie dogs, while incredibly cute and cuddly, are not in fact cuddly. Actually, if you get too close, they attack (think squirrel and raccoon attack combined). Callie and I like to hide in the what I now know as snake infested bushes and watch them communicate with the other prairie dogs. They actually chirp like birds. It kind of takes the peacefulness out of a nice country walk. So, I think I will rethink a) letting Callie run after them and b) the idea they are cuddly. They really are everywhere. What I haven't seen? A squirrel. Haven't seen one since in St. George at Zion. Despite the snakes and dogs that live on prairies, Callie has grown a liking to horses ... and the horse have grown a liking to her! Every time we are by there, she refuses to continue until we have said hello. Interestingly, they always come over right to the fence and say hello. Once I get some apples on my apple tree, I'm going to bring them some. As far as I know, horses don't attack, so we should be good there.

I also learned there are hardly any female medical doctors here. Not really sure why, but it's bizarre. I set up all of my doctors and got my cardiologist all set up here. He's kind of a temporary cardiologist. Because, of course, if I am dying or something, I want my Kansas cardiologist. They just need to keep me alive until he gets there. Not that I'm expecting anything like that. But with all this hiking, you never know. Check out the view from my doctor's office... breathtaking!! To quote one of my closest friends, I live in a postcard. It's pretty amazing.

On the school front, Theory class is prepped, Research Methods is pretty much prepped, and the intro comm class will be prepped by the end of the week! Then on to working on research!! :D

Annoyance of the day: Why am I listening to ads on Pandora?!

Great obsession of the day: Adele

Wind, Altitude, and Monsoon Flows

Looks like the monsoon flow that had been over southern Utah for the past week has finally past us. The news had said it was leaving, but what a vast difference. We have had unusually high humidity (40-50%) and it is definitely all gone. The current humidity is 18%, making my walk very unenjoyable. I also tried to run for the first time at a high altitude ... definitely not at the point where I can do that. Maybe i'm not as used to the altitude and climate as I thought I was ... even Callie was having issues! Hopefully we both get over our issues by Saturday ... Callie and I are going hiking at Cedar Breaks ... which is at about 10,000 feet. We'll see.

The wind here is much like it is in Oklahoma, except less like a hair dryer. The wind here is actually cold. So, the only thing that was enjoyable about my walk was this amazing view ... check it out:

Sodtastic!

I haven't written in awhile due to the fact that I have been working extremely hard on the house, school office, and the major beast, my backyard and front yard. Two weeks later and a stress fracture in my heel and numerous bruises and sore muscles, I can report that everything is finally complete! YAY!!! So, let's start at the beginning ... 

Backyard

As many of you know, this house had been vacant for about 7 months. It's amazing what can happen to the little grass that I had in that time frame. It was really ugly. Now, keep in mind, that when I first moved in, I only had grass in the front yard. It seems as though my builder, who is from Vegas, loves rocks. And the previous owners had a love for rocks that I had never seen before. So much so that they put the entire backyard in rocks. Take a look at the before pictures of my front and backyard: 

Front Yard

My mom and I pulled every weed in the front yard and sprayed weed killer in the holes. As for the backyard, that was more of a process. First, we had to get all of the rocks out of the swath where we wanted the grass. For those wondering why I didn't just pay someone to do it, the estimates ranged from 600 to 1000 dollars. All of this cost only around 100 dollars. So I saved a large amount of money. Once the rocks were removed, it was time to till the soil. Which was hard as a rock, so first we watered, then tilled ... by hand, with a rake. And we thought that was the hard work ... not so fast ... 

Spreading the Manure

The next step was to fertilize the soil ... which meant we got to spread manure all over the yard. Wonderful, right? While that was a stinky job, it wasn't all that hard. The next steps were, however. The next step was to lay the sod ... 

Jack was trying out the grass as we were laying it ... 

Once we were complete, the whole project took us about a week, but I think it looks much better, don't you?? 

Here is the backyard:

And here is the front yard ... 

Even though it is hard work, I recommend doing it yourself. Not only it is rewarding, but you save a boat load!! :-)

Zion National Park

We spent the day today at Zion National Park! It was beautiful!!! I would say more, but I think the pictures speak for themselves. Take a look ....

Cedar City Complications

Today marks the one week anniversary of my residency here in Cedar City, Utah. The rose colored glasses have come off and the true nature of this small town has emerged, unfortunately. I have been at the mercy of several workers because I had hoped to have them do some work around my house. What I have found, however, are people that do not return your phone calls, people that overcharge you for things when they see you have a BMW, and people who believe that because you are a single woman, you can't do anything yourself. Here's some things I have had to deal with and my responses to them:

1. The County Trash People: All of my things would not fit into my newly recovered polycart (I mean, I just moved in, obviously I will have a lot of trash). They left everything that was not in the polycart. I'm calling them tomorrow and making them come back. We'll see how that goes.

2. The Electrician: The electrician came over and stated he could hook a tv up in my bathroom. He said he would be over Tuesday afternoon. He never did. Not only that, he never returned my phone call! Listen, Mr. Electrician, you must change your voice mail message ... you do NOT return every phone call. I've decided i'm taking my tv to school since I have cable in my office. I suspect he decided not to come over when I stated I wanted to know the price prior to him completing the work.

3. The Post Office: I did receive my key. However, it was completed the next day, but nobody called me back to tell me the key was there, after I was told they would call me when it was ready.

4. Bresnan Cable Burier: I am pretty sure it is not a good idea to put a cable next to the electricity cable ... but then again, it's not my job to know. Pretty sure it is your job. And yes, I know it's hot, and i'm sorry they don't pay you enough (both things were mentioned to my mom to message back to me by the digger man), but really, it isn't my problem.

And, last but NOT least ....

5. The Landscaper: It's funny how people tell you how quickly they can get started on a job and then once they have your money, they suddenly keep putting you off and not showing up to do the work. My grass was supposed to be in on Friday. They haven't shown up to work after every day showing up to my house promising me they would be there the following day. But, today, was the last straw. 8am came and went. No landscaper. More importantly, no phone call. So, naturally, I called them. No answer. He called back, but didn't leave a message. When I arrived home and found that no work was done and no explanation, I called him ... told him I was stopping payment on my check and that his services were no longer needed. Of course, he called me back several times, each time with a new excuse. He stated he would start on Tuesday. That would be one week after he stated it would be completed. No thank you, I will do it myself and save myself $680.

I don't feel that I am being unreasonable, but I have been put to the side and taken advantage of too many times. All I want is a little communication. All I want is for people to do what they say they are going to do. I suppose I am not making any friends in this small town, but I am tired of people not doing what they say they are doing. Therefore, I made an example out of the landscaper. Cedar City, you will not be taking advantage of me anymore.

In other news, I have amazing neighbors. One of my neighbors is a retired flight attendant with American Airlines. This is her summer house. She brought me the most amazing flowers. She also informed me that the devil birds are about to have babies and when they leave the nest, she is removing it so they don't come back next year. So long, devil birds!

Battle Wounds and Feathered Enemies

The morning started abruptly when Allied arrived 30 minutes early ... but hey, early is better than late, right? I didn't write a blog because I wasn't feeling the best last night. As most of you know, I do not handle change very well. It seemed to all come to a head yesterday. So what this means is I had a bad stomach ache. It's been on and off all day today, but I didn't let that stop me. Norman, Mom, and I kicked butt and got all of the living room boxes and kitchen boxes put away. The foyer is officially complete! We even had time for cookies and steak dinner! We couldn't grill out, unfortunately, because we were on a High Wind Watch ... if you think Oklahoma was windy, I've never felt anything as strong as this wind was today. Of course, what would moving be without some battle wounds. And for those that know me, you know that I probably received a lot. I managed to not run into any walls, however I have a purple pinkie finger (pinched it when putting up a TV in mom's room) and I have a black and blue knee from running into the bed. We will see what I can manage to hurt tomorrow. :-)

I had the most amazing driver that drove my stuff to Utah. In fact, I found out that some friends of mine that are moving to Idaho ... their stuff was on my truck too! So that was really cool. In fact, I have decided if I ever move again, I am requesting him as a driver. He's amazing!! We even got the rock all planted!

The rugs that I got the amazing price on were actually cut wrong. Luckily, they fixed the problem and they look great!!! One of them is in the foyer, which is the only room that is complete at this time. Tomorrow, i'm taking a significant amount of boxes to the school office and i'm going to show Norman around SUU. I'm going to complete the paperwork for my keys and hopefully get those soon. Speaking of keys ... I should be getting my mail key tomorrow (yay!!).

I am not sure if I have mentioned this before, but my backyard is landscaped Vegas style, which is rocks. We were going to take the rocks out ourselves, but I ended up just biting the bullet and pay to have them removed and sod put in. Not all of them will be removed, but 11 feet of sod on each side of the pavers will be sod. Callie just isn't feeling the rocks. But you know what she is feeling? My bed!! She's so happy to be off of the air mattress! I don't recall my bed being this comfortable, but I know I will be sleeping well tonight!!

As I have mentioned in past posts, I have some nasty birds that have taken up residence in a tree in my neighbors yard. Anytime I get close to that tree, he hovers, and last night, dive bombed my head. The evil beast came inches within my head. Let's just say i've seen Alfred Hitchcock's, "Birds," and i'm well aware of the craziness that can occur. Turns out there is a nest. My landscaper told me they have even attacked his dog. They better not try to attack my Callie or I will have to show it who's boss! Game on, my feathered friend, Game on. P.S. I will win.

I feel so lucky to have my mom and one of my best friends here to help me to move in. But, as everything was emptied into the house, I couldn't help but feel a little sad. And, I'm not really sure why. Don't get me wrong, I am so excited to be here. But, I think it's one of those situations where you plan and plan for something and when it is all over, it is just a little sad. And, it could be lack of sleep. I didn't feel well last night and so I didn't feel well. I have an amazing amount of faith and I look forward to the upcoming year.

The Stars Are Big And Bright ... in Utah!

I am writing on my upgraded air mattress. Mom finally gave up her queen sized air mattress after reading yesterday's blog about the crowded situation that was unfolding in my bedroom with the dogs. So I still have two dogs, but much more room to roam around.

We got two rooms painted, the back guest bedroom and my office. We worked really hard! It looks amazing. I am very excited to get rid of some of this brown! I have brown carpet, brown walls, AND a brown ceiling. I am all for brown, but it was a bit much.

We went to St. George to pick up Norman at 6pm, and the temperature was 104. It was 86 in Cedar. We stopped by In and Out burger so mom could pay up on the bet she lost. I love those burgers and I am so lucky to have one so close. I'm really glad it's not in Cedar though. Too many In and Out burgers could equal a larger back side ... and that probably wouldn't be good. :-)

We took a fantastic cool evening walk around the hood. I absolutely love my rural setting. I never thought I would be so happy to get out of the city. We have horses, cows, and the highway that my neighborhood is off of is a designated livestock trail. That would explain the cow and horse poop on the side of the road.


It was a long day full of work and I am exhausted. However, when I let the dogs out to go to the bathroom and I stepped outside, not only was it cool, but I looked up ... and, for the first time in years, I saw stars. LOTS of stars. And, they looked so close!!! It was so beautiful!!!! I'm going to make a point to go outside every night and look at them. Okay, maybe not during the months of November through the first of June (because I would probably freeze to death), but all the other months, for sure.

Greetings From My Air Mattress!

First, before I go into the happenings of today, I would like to extend a very heartfelt congratulations to Mr. and MRS. Jeremy Harrison!!! I very much wish I could have been in Chico today. I'm so happy for them and wish them the best in their new life together!!

Today was another great day. I am growing quite accustomed to my air mattress ... Callie, on the other hand, is not. You see, she feels the need to sleep on the air mattress with me. Which would be fine if it were a big mattress, but it is only a twin. She's not big, but big enough to be an inconvenience. And, Jack Attack wants to be next to her, so that means two dogs and a person on a twin air mattress. Picture it. Yeah, I am excited to get my bed! :-)

Today began with a complimentary movie, Cars 2. Now, I was not overly impressed with the movie, but definitely impressed with the turnout! It was my first real community event! It was a lot of fun!! After that, we headed down to the center of town where Groove Fest and the Arts Festival was going on. I got some really cool new stuff for my house including a sunflower made out of metal! I now have a little bit of Kansas in my backyard. Then we thought we would head over to the local furniture store, Rocky Mountain Furniture. I picked up a twin mattress for $75 for the daybed when it gets here for my fourth bedroom. They were super nice and I felt it was a good deal! Then ... we headed to St. George.

When we left Cedar, it was 84 degrees. When we arrived in St. George (43 miles to the South) it was 103. Vastly different climates. They even have palm trees! It was nice to feel the heat, but even nicer to get back to Cedar. We were on a mission to find the airport since I will be picking Norman up from there tomorrow (YAY!!!!). We first went to the old airport since that is where the GPS said it was. It was a beautiful location on the top of a bluff. The picture here is from the airfield. However, we quickly found out that it was no longer working since a plane was on its side. So we found out where the real airport was. WAY out behind St. George. It was way out of the way, but amazingly beautiful. Watch out Oklahoma, Norman may never leave to come back!

After we found the airport, we stopped by Ashley Furniture on the way back home. If you have not tried Ashley before, you definitely should. A lot of my furniture has come from there, and it is amazing quality at an amazing price. I needed a new bed frame for awhile and I had wanted a sleigh bed, but not wanting to pay $1,000 for it. I ended up paying $500 for the bed and end table. And, since they had to order it (it won't be here for two to two and a half weeks), they didn't make me pay $50 for shipping! Did I want to spend that much money? No. But, I loved it.

Once back in the land of reasonable temperatures, we stopped by wal-mart to get some plants that were 50% off. I have planted strawberries, onions, and carrots. I am going back tomorrow to get some tomatoes. I also planted Stargazer Lillies ... something that i've never seen able to be grown in Oklahoma or Kansas. I got a bunch of others and managed to fill up three gigantic planter boxes and three gigantic pots. I'll post some pictures tomorrow. By the time I got all of them planted, I ran out of daylight to take a photo.

While planting outside, I have noticed the oddest birds I have ever seen. They are yellow and they hover over you and chirp at you. It was disturbing at first (mainly because I feared them pooping on my head), but now I kind of like them. Callie, on the other hand, has decided she would like to eat one. We'll see how that goes for her.

All in all, it was another beautiful perfect day. I still just stand and stare out of my window. I will never get tired of seeing mountains. I still can't believe I live in such a wonderful place. Every day is like a vacation. I better head to bed ... with my windows open!!

We have arrived!!!

Well, 19 hours of driving later, and a very long day of loading the moving truck, we are finally here! So, let's start at the beginning ... the load in day:

I had an awesome going away party the night before load in. It was great to see all of my friends before I left ... Gina even traveled all the way from Ithaca! I still can't believe its been four years. So, because the party went late into the night, I started load in day with about 5 hours of sleep. For those that know me, they know that I cannot have anything less than 8 hours if you want me to make any kind of sense the following day.

Load in didn't get off to a great start. Allied was late. Once they arrived, they seem unprepared and were generally sketchy individuals. Man was I wrong! They were awesome!! They wrapped my things better than North American did when they moved me to Norman. In addition, they sang! I've never had movers so happy to move in 100 degree heat. And with that, my stuff was gone.

The 19 hour drive (split into two days) was just as miserable as it sounds. The last 30 minutes of the drive was the most challenging. We went through the mountain on 14 that dumped us right into Cedar. Very twisty and very steep grades. In fact, i'm not sure trucks are allowed on that highway. I was so excited to finally be home!! The house is more beautiful than I had originally imagined. Of course, there have been some "inconveniences."

1. In order to get my mail key to retrieve my mail that is sitting in a locked box, it will take up to 4 business days. I completed the paperwork and am now waiting.

2. The relocation company didn't winterize the sprinkler system, therefore it was not working. So, I called some very real bull riding cowboys that landscape on the side to come and check it out. The pipe had burst. They fixed it for free!

3. The front yard grass is pretty much dead. I'm not sure I can recover it. I am giving it until Wednesday until I have the cowboys rip it up and put new sod in.

4. Allied is now trying to make me pay top dollar for the move even though I did not take a refrigerator or couch. I'm dealing with them on Monday.

5. My beloved Great Dane has been adopted. It's on the to do list to find a new dog next week.

However, with all the inconveniences, I am still extremely happy to be here. All of the stress and anxiety I felt while in the state of Oklahoma has lifted and passed. I'm telling you, there is something about that state that is negative. It's such a relaxed town here. I'm loving every minute of it, and can't wait to head to Cars 2 tomorrow with my complimentary movie passes ... ReMax Velocity is having a customer appreciation day at the movies! Should be fun!!

Oklahoma is OK!

I finally broke down and went to the doctor today ... looks like I have a raging sinus and ear infection. Apparently, the last infection never left. So, good thing I went, i'm thinking an infection paired with altitude probably wouldn't be a good combination. 

The last of the packing got done today, the oven and microwave and dishwasher is cleaned, and the sheets came off of all of the beds. The last boxes were packed. Movers arrive on Tuesday morning at 8am to load up. We still don't have an answer for when the stuff is scheduled to arrive in Utah, sometime between the 25th and the 1st. Let's hope it's closer to the 25th. I keep thinking about the beautiful home that I own, and if it wasn't for the pictures, I probably wouldn't remember the house! I've maybe spent 20 minutes total in the house. So, i'm so excited to get my keys and get to see my house that I own! 

We took what will most likely be one of the last, if not the last, walk around the lake. Even though it was 102 when we walked around the lake, I couldn't help but look at the baby ducks and turtles and think I will miss this. I thought, you know what? Oklahoma is OK ... 

Good Food, Good People

The only thing I love more than good food, is good people. And today, I was lucky enough to have both. Mom and Jack Attack made it into town last night with my new Ford, which I have named "the beast." It's so big! Lilly looks like a matchbox car next to it. It's rough, tough, and ready to four wheel drive! Looking forward to doing that when it snows. More Utah related things got accomplished today, but not as much as I had hoped. I am still feeling sick so I have been taking lots of naps. I contacted PAWS to make an appointment to go see Bellini, the great dane I am thinking about adopting. She is adorable!! I can't wait to meet her. At full size, she should be around 130 pounds. 

I finally made it to Fung's Kitchen with the Singapore crew, minus November (he was in Arkansas). I love this dish called Beef Hor Fun ... however, it is nearly impossible to find it here in America (it was something I fell in love with while in Singapore). They had it!! It was a great night. I'm going to pack up some more boxes tonight if I can muster up the energy. Not sure why I still don't feel well, but it might be time to see the doctor.