Well hey there! Long time, no discernible signs of life on this blog! I’ve been strongly encouraged to write a new post, so here we are.

(HA! I’m watching TBS in the background and they’re just starting Con Air. How horrible was that movie?)

I would do a “7 Quick Takes” post, a la A’Dell et al., but I am far too verbose for that. So! Please to be enjoying some random paragraphs strung together!

On Thursday, the company I work for sponsored a “Day of Celebration” to recognize three record months of performance in a row. We all went to the office for a couple hours, then headed up to
Park City for lunch at one of Robert Redford’s restaurants. (Park City is one of Utah’s jewels, located about 20 minutes’ drive from the center(ish) of SLC. Formerly a silver mining town, it’s now home to the Sundance Film Festival. That’s only one week per year, though; the rest of the time, Park City is known for shopping, dining, golfing, concerts, mountain biking, skiing, and the Utah Olympic Park.) The drive up the canyon was gorgeous; the trees were dotted with golds and reds, the sky was blue and cloudless, and it was about 10 degrees cooler than it’s been in the valley (read: PERFECT). After lunch, we split off into group activities: golfing, mountain biking, horseback riding, or a spa visit. (Guess which one I chose.) I know it’s Not Smart to talk about work on one’s blog, but man do I feel blessed to work where I do.

Engagement and wedding planning is currently on hold, as we’ve shifted focus to buying a house (!!!). Our housing market has been nowhere NEAR as anemic as in other parts of the country, but it has still been a buyer’s market. Prices are beginning to rise, however, so we don’t want to wait too much longer. We’re holding off making any major purchases (rings) until we have financing figured out.

My birthday is about a week out, and it’s a significant number; at least, it feels that way to me. Thinking about buying a house, though, makes me feel about 15 years old. Surely I will not be allowed to do something as grown up as this. I’m really excited, though! I’m so done with apartment living, especially since we got New Asshole Neighbors who let their dogs bark, and who sound like a herd of elephants running up and down the outside stairs. Anyway, I’m hoping we can be settling into a house by January. Fingers crossed!

(Ooh, I found Casino playing. So good. So disturbing.)

I’ve read some books lately! I went through an All TV, All the Time phase, and while fun, it was too lengthy a break from reading. I’m not setting any numeric reading goals at this point, but I’ve been on a bit of a streak, considering we’re still watching quite a bit of TV. (I really need to get a library card.) Here are the books I’ve read in August and so far in September, in the order in which I liked them:

• Bared to You (I finished it and IMMEDIATELY started over, ha)
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower
• The Descendants
• Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption*
• The Likeness
• Paper Towns
• In the Woods

I think it’s telling that my favorite out of several good candidates is the smut book. I’m currently reading Minding Frankie, by (pour one out for) Maeve Binchy, one of my all-time favorite authors. I’m so sad that she passed away!

Fall has many things to recommend it: season premieres of my favorite TV shows, beautiful colors on the trees, temperatures that make me feel like a human instead of a bug under a magnifying glass, my birthday!, football (although I think my fantasy team is already in trouble), and Halloween, to name a few. Strange, then, that it also brings with it a pervasive feeling of sadness and anxiety. There’s also a twinge of something that feels like nostalgia. Is it just that I’m missing the sunglight and warmth in advance? I don’t know, but I hate that I feel this way during an otherwise lovely season.

Hmm, now I feel like I need to end on a positive note. Oh, got it! I’m participating in Doing My Best’s Crappy Day Present Exchange again (today was the last day to register, but registration opens again on 10/1), and Our Little Geekling’s Book Swap. Three cheers for internet friends with fun ideas!

Lastly, an observation while briefly watching Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves: even acting like he’s been kicked in the nards is outside of Kevin Costner’s range.

Cheers to the (rest of the) freakin’ weekend.

* Warning: this book may make you feel like a spoiled waste of space in comparison. Louis Zamperini’s life was UNREAL.

It’s time for the next Crappy Day Present exchange! This is my first time participating, and I’m so excited! Many thanks to Doing My Best for organizing this. She has so much on her plate, I think it’s amazing that she finds the time. Love her!

Here are my answers to the registration questions. I am clearly incapable of talking about myself with any kind of brevity.

• What is your favorite color?   PINK! I believe I’ve mentioned this a time or two (thousand). I am a sucker for all things pink and/or sparkly. I don’t wear a ton of pink (though I do think it and red are two of my best colors), and I don’t decorate with it in the main areas. However, our bedroom and my bathroom (which is all stuff I had before we moved in together) do have some splashes of pink. I love it in all shades, from baby to bright to dark. When it comes to buying random things like water bottles, makeup bags, yoga mats, whatever, I just can’t help myself; the pink one is always cutest to me.
• What is your favorite season? Summah, summah, summah-TIME (summah-time!)!!! Time to sit back and unwind… No, it is not possible for me to say “summertime” without instantly hearing that song. Anyway, I’m a beach girl at heart. I was born in Hawaii (though my stint there was short-lived), and then lived in Southern California until I was nearly 12. I love the sun, I love the water, I even love the heat. Utah generally has a bright, hot summer, but since it’s the desert (say it with me), it’s a dry heat. Late July – early August is the hottest time, and while it can get up over a hundred in SLC, it’s generally only that hot for a few days.  When I’m on my game, I like to hike and go boating and camping, and there are some seriously gorgeous areas here for all of those things. Plus, it’s concert season, and seeing live music is one of my very favorite things to do. (Red Butte Garden ticket package D, I am coming for you!)
• What is your favorite treat? Cupcakes! I know people are “over” them, but I’m still under them, and I don’t care if it isn’t cool. I also love candy. A lot. I tend to gravitate towards gummy or sour things, aside from approximately one week per month, when chocolate rules the land. I love milk and white chocolate; hate dark. I prefer caramel to peanut butter, and I do not appreciate nuts IN things. I like most nuts on their own, though.
• What is your favorite scent? Coconut! I like most tropical-smelling things, actually. I’m drawn to a lot of Escada perfume because of it. No, I am not asking for someone to send me Escada perfume in a CDP. Unless someone has a free sample or a bottle they hate. Ha!
• What is your favorite ice cream coping mechanism? Sleep! I always feel at least a little better after a good night’s/nap’s sleep. I also like to read/watch something funny, and I nearly always find bubble baths restorative. Retail therapy is AWESOME. Food cheers me up more than it ought to.
• What do you like to do in your free time moments? Hang out with M and the dog, read (mostly blogs, lately), watch TV, listen to music, attend live performances (concerts, but also plays, dance performances, etc.). I like active and outdoorsy stuff, too, but lately Laziness has prevailed.
• What do you not enjoy doing, and why, but have to do anyway? Getting up earlier than I want to. I am just not a morning person, at all. I’ve NEVER been the kind of person whose feet hit the ground running in the morning, and I feel at my best in the afternoon and early evening. I’m in the process of being tested for sleep apnea, too, so my hatred of morning has been compounded hugely. I also cannot stand doing the dishes, but M usually does them (one of the many reasons I love him so!).
• If someone gave you money with the instruction that you had to spend it on something frivolous for yourself, what would you buy? Five or more times out of ten, it would be makeup/hair or nail stuff. Sephora and Folica are well-acquainted with my credit card number. The rest of the time, it would probably be books, music, or Starbucks.
• Do you have any decorating themes in your home/office? Nope! We are getting several of these (not an affiliate link) at Workplace, though, and I love them so hard.   There are a couple that I might get for my office, and maybe for our place.
• Is there something that you REALLY, REALLY like?(Burt’s Bees, horses, cats, fairies, unicorns, birds, patriotic stuff, babies, chocolate, Diet Coke, etc….) Animals, especially baby ones! Things I like to receive almost without fail: soft socks, scented candles, lip stuff. I am also pro-gift card. Some people are, some aren’t.
• What is the VERY! BEST! present you have ever received and why was it the best?  (The purpose of this question is to give people another idea of the sorts of things that make you happy.) This one broke my brain. I have a hard time with superlative questions, aside from the basics, like color. Ask me my most embarrassing memory, for instance, and I immediately blank out. I can’t pull a single one from hundreds of humiliating experiences. When I’m not trying to pick the MOST embarrassing, they flood right back. Same thing with this question. I will say, though, that I know that M gives excellent presents, even if I can’t pull them from RAM at the moment.

* I was just reminiscing the other day about my very first concert. I was 15, and I went with a boy I liked to Naughty By Nature (haaaaa). It was outdoors, all general admission, and the boy and I got separated early on. I was just the *tiniest* bit out of my element (whoo boy!), and more than a little nervous (spoiler: it ended up fine).