So, apparently this very persuasive campaign from the Polish Tourism Board worked 'cause we're going to Poland!

Jon and I have been thinking about doing this for a while. Amidst all of our joking about our mission courtship (it's just jokes, relax), we never got to serve in the same places. I am so unbelievably excited to go. I love traveling more than anything. Unfortunately, I also get somewhat freaked out by money (and the lack thereof) and those things fairly regularly clash, especially with airfare being as expensive as it is now and me accepting the idea that I have to be a responsible adult. But at some point we realized that, while still being sensible, you have to just go for it and do stuff every now and then because the experiences and memories are the whole point of life.

So here's the itinerary for our little Eastern European adventure: we're going to fly into Budapest on Aug.5, spend a few days there, then go to Prague. We'll be in Prague for three days and then we'll head up to Krakow and then to Warsaw, stopping along the way in some of the smaller cities that we served in. Then we'll end the trip in Gdansk/Sopot/Gdynia, the beautiful tricities area of Poland that is right on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Then we'll fly out of the Gdansk airport on Aug. 19.

July is going to feel like a really long month to wait.



P.S. -- I could find out the actual translation of the French on the poster, but I'd rather have all of you give me suggestions of what you think it should say. You know, like, "Come Lay Some Pipe in Poland," or "Come Expand Your Horizons with these Fancy Tools I'm Holding." I know you can come up with some good ones.

One of my favorite things to do with Jon is go on random little shopping trips. On this particular outing, we hit up DI. Trips to DI have become increasingly rare lately, mainly because I'm not as dirt poor as I was in college and the charm of buying shoes that someone else has already been putting their feet in kind of wears off when you have more than $3.50 to spend. DI does have its benefits, though, in that you can occasionally find gems like this.





I think we can all agree that there's nothing hotter than ravishing someone with an infant looking on. Thanks, "Heart of the Raven," for teaching my innocent young husband the true ways of the world. And all for only 50 cents.




(For any concerned family members reading this: No, we didn't really buy it. What kind of pervs do you think we are?)



The store next door to DI was also another highlight and we didn't even have to go in.




The 99 cent +- store? As in "everything here is 99 cents, give or take some"? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that every store?


I love it.

Yesterday was a special day. It was Vegas day on So You Think You Can Dance, an event that like-minded SYTYCD fans will know is no small deal. I even convinced my husband to let me pick him up early from work so that I could be properly seated and ready for the festivities when the clock struck seven.

Little did I know that my plans were about to be foiled.

As Jon and I walked from the car to the house, we saw a lady from our ward walking up the street. I tried to hastily wave and keep moving (it was 6:55, man) but it quickly became clear that she was in the mood to talk. Now, let me give you a little context: this lady is kind of crazy. She did make Jon teach her Sunday School lesson once by calling him late Saturday afternoon and telling him that she felt a prompting from the spirit that she shouldn't teach the lesson. So, it should have come as no surprise that she spent the next ten minutes telling us about a little problem she has called a "mold response" that apparently turns her into the Incredible Hulk and has caused her not only to dump her boyfriend in an irrational rage but also to change wards (the other ward meets in a different building with--you guessed it-- less mold). After a while, Jon could tell that I was dying a little bit inside with every minute that passed and graciously figured out a way to wrap up the conversation. I did almost cry, though, when I flew up the stairs and turned on the TV only to see that I had missed seeing crazy popper alien dude dance his last dance.

I think I probably need to get a life. Or at least Tivo. And probably repent.

Tired beyond all belief. Arms and legs heavier than you remember them. Lingering impaired judgment.

This weekend was fun.

Jon and I, Kristin and Craig and Emily, Tim and Claire made St. George our tranny nanny this weekend. We were all over it. From pedicures to golf to insane hikes, we were doing it all.

Let's start at Asia Nails.



Now, the name of the place says something before you even walk in the door. Once you're inside, Asia Nails does not disappoint. Great florescent light displays, a flashing lights/music/sound-animated bonsai Ewok village behind the register, a masterful Japanese water scene on the wall behind about 50 pedicure stations... this is where the real magic happens.




Imagine our disappointment when our nail technician turned out not to be Edison (the Asian dude with the over-exaggerated accent who thought it was the funniest joke ever to ask Emily about nine times whether her baby was for sale) but rather this girl.





But she was great. Not only did she do a totally passable job on our pedicures but she also told us about her domestic bliss with her boyfriend of seven years who, and I quote, "always knows exactly what flavor of energy drink she wants." She also tried to make us really jealous by telling us that he brought her a Diet Pepsi at work the other day held by a stuffed koala bear. She was really loading it on. Another funny moment of the pedicure? Realizing that I had chosen a nail color called Fuzzy Navel. Really? Someone needs to fire that nail polish namer. He is really off the rails.






Next, let's move to the pool. If I could sit by the pool and read a book all day, I would be happy. But if you could also toss in a totally adorable baby who went swimming for the first time, I'm totally sold.



Also, we all discovered that we are, in fact, now lame grown-ups who, rather than all jumping in the pool later that night, would rather sit around the edge and put our toes in. Maybe we really do need some alcohol. It was pretty fun, though.





Last stop, Zion's. I love this place. Claire was so cute in her little back-pack. Jon put on three layers of sunscreen (he kind of missed his whole nose-cheeks- ears area the day before). And we all went up the Emerald Pools trail.




Later, Kristin, Craig and I decided to do Angel's Landing which is, in Kristin's words, "a little messed up." But it was all worth it when we hauled ourselves up to the very top and then spent a half an hour up there enjoying the insane views and talking to this young German couple who were there vacationing. We did teach them the word "skanky." It was kind of a proud moment for me.







Anyway, it was a really fun little trip. And now I'm back at work and I'm totally trashed. It's the circle of life.

My little sister Alison graduated from high school this weekend and I'm so proud of her. I also can't believe how grown up I thought I was when I graduated. If I had continued to live my life by all the things I thought I had figured out at that point, I would now be a French Horn-playing, Lois Lane wannabe driving a Mini Cooper. Whew. Really dodged the bullet on that one.

Love you, Al.

So, a couple of days ago, I accidentally scratched my eye and am now unable to wear my contacts for a few days. Which means that I have to wear my glasses. Which were only barely cool when I got them in 1998. Which has led to my husband giving me a new nickname.

Harry Potter.

Thanks for being sensitive to my deeply repressed insecurities that go back to my second-grade pink-plastic-coke-bottle-grandma glasses (I know that you swear that I chose them, Mom, but really?) We'll see who's laughing when I get really messed up and start carrying a wand anytime we go out in public.

Spending your weekend in Afton, Wyoming can get you thinking. You start asking yourself questions like, is that really a five year-old driving that ATV? And since when have men worn button-up sleeveless shirts? Tucked in?

Here are some of the better questions that came out of this weekend.


1) So this is what it's like to have grandparents? Grandparents were the point of this whole little trip, namely Jon's grandparents. I've never had the fortune of having grandparents who cared or knew much about my life (To be fair, it's not really their fault. Being dead and/or emotionally stunted by your childhood as an orphan are not entirely things under one's control). But I have to say, I now get what all the fuss is about. My inherited grandparents are kind of awesome. We came to stay with them for the weekend and they did such grandparent-ly things as insist on filling up our gas tank, teach me how to play Chinese Checkers, give me an amazing old red Schwinn bike and keep us fed with a constant stream of homemade cake and cookies. Sound like a ten year-old boy's dream? That's probably about right.

2) Do I want to be a farmer? The scenery was beautiful and there was nothing to do except enjoy it all weekend. Hence, for about ten minutes, I thought, "Maybe I just want to live on a farm, in the country." I got a pretty good fantasy going in my mind until I tried to imagine Jon milking a cow and me doing anything involving poo or bugs. Then I realized that what I really want is to read books all day and not have to go to work. Turns out, my dream life is not defined as "farmer" but more as "lazy."

3) Can you really pickle zucchini? The answer is, yes.