fun times

wow, it was an eventful week! although I didn't get to go to Park City and stalk celebrities, I did go to two Sundance films here in Salt Lake. we saw Absurdistan and A Raisin in the Sun (you can watch this Feb. 25 on ABC). they were both really great. I love Sundance! we went to dinner both nights too, of course. one of my new favorite restaurants is The Paris Bistro on 15th and 15th. the food was amazing! I had the butternut squash ravioli. it was topped with toasted hazelnuts and a tasty cream sauce. we also had the wild mushroom tartine and a cheese and pear appetizer. I wish I had written down the name of the cheese because it was amazing. for dessert we had the molten chocolate cake and banana nutella crepes. yummy! I definitely recomend The Paris Bistro.

we moved this weekend. Brett and Rachel came up to help. it is always fun having them around. I never laugh more than I do when I'm with them. it was a full two day's work, and we had adventures almost losing furniture on the freeway. but, here we are, the newest residents of Magna. I am going to love living in this house. I hope we don't have to move again any time soon.

saturday night, after an exhausting day of playing mover, we went to There Will Be Blood. it was a great movie! well, it was slow and long, and there were a few music selections and cinemetography moves that weren't appealing, but overall it was GREAT! Daniel Day Lewis did an amazing job. the story was intense and intriguing. I would definitely watch it again.

and then tonight I went to my first Jazz game! it was a great game. they beat the Spurs. this is quickly becoming quite a rivalry. the Spurs beat the Jazz out of the playoffs last year, so it was a great victory. it was an exciting game.

now I am exhausted and have a full busy week ahead of me. wish me luck!

resloutions

I am proud to report that I achieved ALL of my resolutions for 2007!! for those of you that don't recall, I resolved to get two stamps on my passport, get a full-time event job, work on getting my catering business going, and improve my monetary situation. yep, that's right! I did all of those things! so, I decided to set a few resolutions this year, but keep them a little more simple. after all, I deserve a year off. ;)

drumroll please... and my resolutions are:

1 - send a hand-stmaped birthday card to everyone in my extended family on time. I actually started this tonight, and sent off the first card to my cousin Jared.

2 - go to Disney Land (or Disney World). I am tired of being the only person in the world that hasn't gone. so, that's it, I'm going!

3 - take a trip to DC and Williamsburg with my youngest brother and sister. we have been talking about this for over two years, it's about time we did it.

easy enough, right? wish me luck and I will keep you all updated throughout the year.

things i love

It struck me today how blessed I am. sometimes I wonder what I did before arriving on earth to deserve everything, and especially everyONE, I have. so, I started listing the little things that make me happy and I thought I would share it with all of you.

1 – ice cream. of course this is on my list. after all, I was getting myself a root beer float when I had this epiphany. I can’t remember a hard time that ice cream didn’t help me through.

2 – cell phones. I feel naked without it. it is my connection to the world. but, especially to those I love that live farther away than I prefer. it is also my security blanket when I travel or do anything alone. yep, it has helped me become the independent woman that I am.

3 – sweatshirts. the first thing I do when I know I am home for the rest of the night is put on a sweatshirt. it gives me a sense of security, and comfort that no other article of clothing can. when I put my sweatshirt on, I know I can finally relax and let down my guard.

4 – a new hair cut. over the past month I have changed my hairstyle. it started by growing out my bangs so that I didn't have them anymore, and ended with me chopping about 9 inches off the rest of it. since then, I haven’t been able to stop playing with my hair! it feels so nice. so fresh and new. I love it! and it has sort of given me new confidence as well. who knew a haircut could do so much?

5 – iTunes. I remember the days when I would spend several dollars on a CD of a single song. I would scour the messed up racks looking for my favorite artists. It was a frustrating process. especially since I lived in the middle of nowhere and could only do this every few months when I was lucky enough to make the 2-5 hour trip out of town! well, no more my friends. iTunes has made my musical life so much easier, and definitely happier. whenever I want a song, I just log on and click buy. In a matter of seconds and for only 99 cents, I have the song I want and I can burn a CD, put it on my iPod, or just listen to it over and over from my computer. could it get any better than that?

6 – my bed. my Grandma Ekker died when I was only 11 years old. she lived just up the street from us until then, and we were very close. to this day, her death is the hardest one I have ever dealt with. my Grandpa Ekker died about 6 years ago and I was able to go down to their home and clean it out before it was sold a couple years ago. I inherited my Grandma’s nightstand, sewing machine, books, and her bed – the most comfortable bed I have ever laid on. all of these items hold a very special place in my heart but the bed holds me and my down comforter and silk cotton pillows every night in the most comfortable sleep I could wish for. …I plan to keep it forever.

7 – movies. they are my escape. but, not only do they take me far far away from reality when I watch them, they can also sometimes help me figure out the mysteries of life. I don't know, maybe it is a bad thing that a lot of what I learn comes from movies, but I enjoy it so back off! :)

8 – email. I got an email today from one of my aunts that I haven't seen or talked to for a long time. I was very close to her growing up, and really miss her. getting an email out of the blue from a long lost friend or someone I miss a ton can really brighten my day.

9 – my friends. when I step back and look at my friends I sit in awe. my friends are some of the most amazing people on this earth. I can't help but wonder how I got so lucky and what makes them want to stick around. they are definitely my top source of support and inspiration.

10 – my family. what can I say? I love them with all my heart. and my car's wear and tear is a direct result of all the time I try to spend with them. it's never enough time.

so, with all this, wouldn't you say I'm a pretty lucky girl?

I like to move it move it

ok, so you all know how much I hate moving. ever since I moved to salt lake I have been talking about how badly I want to find somewhere in the valley to settle down. but, still, every time I move I find somewhere to keep all my moving boxes because I just have a hunch that I am going to need them again soon. ...we have only been in our apartment for 4 months. last week my grandparents called. they have been having a hard time selling their house in magna and have had to take it off the market. they have some concerns about that, of course. like, will it be vandalized, will the pipes freeze, etc? so, they asked us if we would be interested in moving in for a while until the market gets better and they can try to sell it again. we are happy to help out, but not so happy about moving... and to magna. it will be nice to be in a big house and have some space. the commute won't be fun, and there isn't much around, but we are going to make the best of it. so, in two weeks, we will be the newest residents of magna, utah. for all of you that think magna is too far away, you best be getting over it. :)

holiday update

wow... what a crazy month it has been! I better do a quick update. thanksgiving was good. time in st. george and time in cedar. it's always great spending time with my family. but, december! december was crazy!

ashley, amber and I threw a christa lee catering christmas party on the 15th. it was a LOT of work. we made our own invitations and our menu was pretty big. we got about 35 RSVPs, but about 80 people showed up! it was amazing. and it went until about midnight. so much fun! the craziest part though, was that I up and emailed james one day. I have no idea why I did that. for some reason I kept thinking it would make me a better person if I could find a way to be friends with my ex's. and james was a great friend, so I gave it a whirl. and he came to my party... it wasn't awkward, even though he brought his girlfriend with him. the best part though was that mark christensen came! I hadn't seen him in about 4 years. it was so good to see him. almost everyone I hoped would come, did. marti and andrew, jacque and scott, dana and ben, jaime, and obviously a lot more. I have to admit I was very proud of us!

christmas was great too. we all drove to vegas to pick up stacy, wayne and nynaeve from the airport. nynaeve is SO adorable! we had a great time. we spent a couple days in st. george and a couple days in cedar. it was hard to leave. it was a GREAT christmas.

on the 29th I attended the Riehl Events christmas lunch. I have had a great year working for Jacque. She is an amazing event planner and has become a close friend. at the event I learned that I was being promoted to event manager! I will be getting business cards and will now be involved in the planning process from beginning to end. not to mention a pay raise. :) I'm definitely excited!

james invited me to his new year's party at his apartment, so I invited mark to go along with me. it was a little awkward at first, but we ended up having a great time. guitar hero broke the tension and mark and james hit it off after realizing they played football together in high school. this world is way too small sometimes! anyway, it ended up being a great way to bring in the new year.

last night was our winter company party, which has been my project for the past 6 months. it was great! we had a black and white ball at the Grand America, filet mignon for dinner and an awesome dueling pianos show. I think it was a great success. it wasn't perfect, of course, but I am happy with it. I have ben sick since new year's, and even lost my voice for two days, but I have no time to recouperate right now, I am going to Palm Springs for work for the next week. wish me luck!