Winter Blues.

Got the winter blues?

Wish you could go to Jamaica?

Well, me too.

Perhaps you should watch this clip from SNL. Perhaps you will think it is funny. Perhaps you will attempt this technique at song writing. Perhaps you will find yourself singing a song about Jamaica.

Did you watch it? That's fine if you didn't. I rarely watch movies on other peoples blogs- So I understand. Lindsay showed me this video the other day and we died laughing watching it! We tried to replicate it, but much to our dismay, we could not stop laughing. So we were kinda horrible at it. But let me tell you, it sure got rid of our winter blues for the time we spent trying!

Warning: For some reason husbands do not think this is funny.

Books.

I have always wanted to be one of those people who "toot their own horns" when it comes to their taste in literature. I see these bloggers who make their MUST READ book lists as if they are the creators of the book, as if they alone made the book a good read. I mean, THEY put it on their must read book list- therefore, it is their discovery. Oh please. I can't brag about MY impeccable taste in literature, because let's face it, I don't have impeccable taste in literature. Most people don't. I, like some of you, pretty much read books based on if someone else liked it. I mainly read books suggested by my sister Alli, and I am sure some of you have your go to person who suggests you amazing reads every time.

Anyway, what's the point? Well. Tyler got me a Kindle for Christmas. The Kindle magically SUGGESTS books for you. I wanted to be the person for once who found the book and recommended it to someone else. So I ventured off and started reading books that no one had recommended to me (besides the Kindle). Oh boy, that's when I realized my kindle has a horrible taste in literature! Therefore, I have a horrible taste in literature! Oh my dosh! Eureka!

So I am going to post a few BAD books that I have read and a suggestion for a different book to read. So I can feel like I am cool and have a book list- even if it IS a bad book list :) Disclaimer: There may be some spoilers in these descriptions.

#1 Bad Book
Title: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Why it is Baaaad: This was repulsive. I enjoy books where I can get lost in the world and enjoy the characters. Most of the time I want to BE the main character. I do not however, want to be Lisbeth Salander in anyway shape or form. I only read about 1/3 of the way through it and was already feeling like I was in a deep pit of despair. It is not an uplifting book people. This is the type of book that you'll want to take a shower after spending 5 minutes with these despicable characters. I did not finish it, but I did look up the movie synopsis on IMDB and read how it ended (without the graphic/gory details). That is when I discovered that the movie is rated R. I know many people who saw the movie. None of them told me it was rated R. If I don't watch rated R movies, why would I want to read a book about one? So yeah do not read this book if you feel the same way about rated R flicks as I do.

What to read instead: The Maze Runner Series

Why it is gooood: The Maze Runner is nothing like The Girl with the Tattoo, of this I am fully aware. However, it has all the action, betrayal, suspense that "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" has but it is not as disgusting, and will not leave you feeling hopeless and gross. James Dashner does an incredible job keeping you guessing up to the very end. If you love the Hunger Games series, then you will love this one. Plus I have a super fat crush on Minho. And you will too!

#2 Bad book
Title: Incarceron

Why it is Baaaad: Oh man! What a disappointment! I thought for sure I found my niche with this one. I mean I found this all on my own. And THEN I found out it was being made into a major motion picture with Taylor (Hottner) Lautner and Blake Lively. And I was the first one to find it! No one else told me about it. Well there's a reason for that. This book is awful. I honestly don't know how it is going to be made into a major motion picture. It is dubbed the next Harry Potter crying out loud! Incarceron is a prison. A vast enormous prison where this is no getting in and no getting out. The majority of the plot takes place in Incarceron but I have no idea how to explain it to you. I can't even picture what it looks like! The details of the book are there, they are just written in such a poor way that it is impossible to picture what is going on. And the dialogue is horrible. Most of the time I had no idea who was speaking! The plot is so original and has so much potential- It was just a waste. I couldn't wait to finish it- just so I could be done with it!

What to read instead: I am Number Four

Why it is gooood: Like Incarceron, I am Number Four is a being made into a major motion picture... It has all the sci-fi geekiness that Incarceron has, but it is written WAY better. It has an original plot line that leaves you wanting more! And guess what? You get more because there are like 6 more books to the series. Unlike Incarceron, you are excited to read the next book in the I am Number Four series. You actually anticipate it.

#3 Bad Book
Title: The entire Twilight series

Why it is Baaaad: I know I am going to get flamed for this... but it's true. I admit it. I don't like this series. I pretend because I LOVE going to the movies with my sisters and I love the concept of being an uber fan for anything. But let's face it... Bella? Come on. You know when you want to slap the main character in the face that something is wrong here. Anyone else want to wake her up? What I particularly don't like about it is that it teaches young girls that its OK to give up school and your family as long as you are madly in love with a a dangerous 100 year old man trapped in a teenage boy body. Could it be that this book is on my bad list because I am eternally Team Jacob and (SPOILER ALERT!!!) she doesn't pick Jacob in the end? Could it be that the author totally warps and bends the rules on vampires and makes it so Edward and Bella magically have a baby? Yes and yes. I feel like Stephenie Meyer had intended for Bella to pick Jacob all along and then realized that the die hard Edward fans would just die if she didn't end up a vampire like Edward... So she shamelessly bent the rules and made it so they could have a baby and Bella could stay in touch with her family. But the rules were bent too far for me!

What to read instead: The twilight series :)

Why it is gooood: Ok so I hate the ending... but if it can make me this upset then it has to be a little bit good. Right?

But really... what you should REALLY read is: MATCHED

Why it is gooood: This has been super popular as of late on all the blogs, but Alli told me about this book months ago. So she needs some of the credit. I loved this book. I wouldn't recommend reading this directly after the Hunger Games simply because you will have the mindset of rebellions and bloodshed against society. And this book simply just doesn't give you that satisfaction. In fact, this is more of a love story set in a controlling dystopian society where everything is chosen for you... your caloric intake, your activities, your career, your match. Since society has carefully chosen everything for you, you are seemingly living at your full potential of life. However, there's a seed of wonder growing in the main character Cassia and such the story goes for the novel Matched. It is a good easy read. The second book Crossed doesn't come out until November though- So I would hold off on reading this one if you don't like to be left hanging.

#4 Bad Book
Title: The Time Travelers Wife

Why it is baaad: Ugh. I bought this book at the airport while Tyler and I were on our honeymoon. I was all, hey man, this book has the word wife in it and now I'm a wife so I am totally going to read this and it is going to be so romantic. This book is not romantic in the slightest. There was a lot of swearing and gross scenes that made me want to take a shower. And P.s. It's not even about the wife, it's about the time traveller.

What to read instead: I do, Now What?

Why it is goood: Ok I love Giuliana and Bill. LOVE THEM. If you are newly married and want to read a nice book with romance, then read this. It is realistic, and it paints a true picture of what a real life married couple is like. Even if you've been married for a while, Giuliana will make you pee your pants with her stories and you'll just fall in love with their relationship and therefore, your own relationship. If you want to borrow it from me you can, just ask me!

What's next?

TRYLLE TRILOGY

Right now I am reading TORN which is the second book in the Trylle trilogy. The books have all been written so you don't have to wait for the last book to come out! It has a great love story with out (FINALLY) the stupid love triangle. I am really diggin the supernatural element to these books. So really, you should check them out!

Okay and that is all for now. Sorry for boring you with my "taste" in literature, if you can even call it that!

Snowboarding. Tron. And Giants.

Ugh. It was my idea. Don't you hate it when you have a seemingly terrific idea and it doesn't pan out the way it was meant to? Well, I do. That is precisely how I felt as we made our way up to Beaver Mountain the other day. I persuasively convinced Tyler to take me up to a wonderful day of fluffy Utah snow at Beaver Mountain. However, we were greatly disappointed when we arrived. It was as though we were ice skating down a mountain. Not pleasant to say to least.

The only glimmer of hope on such a sad day came towards the end in a form of my loving husband trying to cheer me up. Apparently, I wasn't hiding my drudgery very well, which inspired Tyler to make me a Tron disc out of the ice so I could throw it at him. Guys- Do I have the best husband or what?! I wish I had gotten a picture of it, but I have come to realize that the camera is the last thing I think about when I am having the most fun. We spent the rest of the day passing the disc to each other down the mountain, and being total dorks... but it is OK. We decided that we were lucky to have boarded a few hours without getting injured in such conditions, so we left.

So, what do you do when you leave the world's worst day of skiing.. with the world's worst snow conditions? Well DUH, you visit the world's largest snowman of course!

Running. And Tron.

Ok. I love Tron. There. I said it. In fact, I love it so much that I downloaded the soundtrack to it and it is all I listen to. I have the tendency to do this though. For instance, Alli and I once stayed up all night playing Lord of the Rings video games. It got to the point that we were both throwing up because we were so motion sick. Regardless, I love Lord of the Rings and that is just one example of how when I love something, I REALLY love something. Another example is how I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl 8 times in the theater. 8 times people. For those of you that know me, you know I really dislike going to the movie theater so going 8 times for one movie is a big deal. The last example is INCEPTION. I just barely watched it for the first time and it is enough to drive me MAD. I mean am I dreaming right now, am I making all this up? GAH! Maddening.

I apologize for getting off track, the real reason I am here writing this post is to talk about Tron. More specifically Tron:Legacy. As I mentioned earlier, I have been listening to the soundtrack non stop and it is actually to the point where I am geeking out and pretending that I am Tron.


On new year's day I found myself in an all black "stretchy" outfit, listening to Tron, running around the Chambers bay golf course. I couldn't believe what a geek I had become but I couldn't help it. I threw pretend "electro discs" at Tyler and yelled "I fight for the users!!!" as I ran past him. The only consolation I had was that Alli was dressed up just like me and I know she wanted to do the same thing.

Anyway, we had a great run around the golf course and took lots of pictures. Ran into some people we knew (totally embarrassing) and got a really good work out.




That's why I like the soundtrack so much- it makes me run faster. And run for longer periods of time. Therefore, Daft Punk must win an Oscar for their score. It is awesome. I just won't have it any other way.

Why am I telling you this? Well Tron helps me because as one of my new years resolutions, I am training for a half marathon this year. And lets be honest, I need all the help I can get. I am telling you about this resolution so I will have some accountability to actually go through with it. So if a movie can make me run faster by inspiring to run like I am in the movie and if a soundtrack can motivate me to keep going... well then so be it. I will be a dork.

December 2010.

Guys! I am almost there, the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. This is my last post before I can return to regular scheduled programming. What a good feeling.

The majority of December was spent in Washington with my fam. It was so fun. I had only one sinus infection that threatened to derail my holiday plans and it was quickly conquered by antibiotics. But before I get ahead of myself, let me document about our sister trip to see the lights at temple square. This was a fun night but was unnecessarily stressful at times which can only be accounted for the fact that anytime Lindsay and I get together it is straight up chaos. The smart part of our brains just turn off when we get together. Anyway- we started out the night at The Old Spaghetti Factory, followed by a wild ride throughout downtown Salt Lake (hehe), then finally making it to Temple Square! The lights were spectacular this year. Par was being rather rambunctious at OSF but the moment we saw the lights he was in awe and didn't say a word. He loved seeing all the nativities and pointing out baby Jesus and the sheep.





I am not sure what they are doing in this picture but doesn't their skin look flawless?!

I was having what I call a Khloe Kardashian complex that night. What is a Khloe Kardashian complex you ask? Well... it's when you have 2 super cute, petite, stylish sisters and you are the ogre that towers over them in every single picture. I couldn't find a cute picture of us and this is the only one of us 3 together that I will allow to post because I am crouched down and they are making silly faces to try and make me look cuter. I was not amused. I love my sisters but every now and then I get the Khloe complex and can't be in pictures with them!

The holiday season was quite the success. Very well rounded if you ask me... we even received a little snow in Washington, which is a rare occasion. Most of our vacation time was spent either at the mall, at zoo lights, watching movies in the love sac by the fire, snowboarding, visiting the Seattle Temple, eating at Cheesecake Factory/Panera Bread, playing games, going to church, playing on the beach, and of course spending much needed time with family.

One of the first documented activities was Zoo lights at the Point Defiance Zoo. This is a great zoo people, so great that they give rides on the back of camels! Much to your (and our) disappointment, we did not participate on the camel ride. Next time though!


Christmas rolled around and well, I think I will just let the pictures speak for themselves.





Tyler got me a Kindle. Oh. My. Heck. I love it! I can read all the books I want now! Muahaha! I am reading The Scorch Trials which is the sequel to Maze Runner. It's a really good series. Check it out!


After Christmas we went to to the Seattle LDS Temple and it was so fun to go to a different temple!



We also went snowboarding up at Crystal Mountain and had a blast.



Next on the agenda was a trip to Oregon! We went to Cannon Beach and Seaside and ended up in Portland.


Check out my cartwheel skills! I look like a freaking ninja. Awesome. :)

New Years Eve rolled around and we had a hoot of a time playing uno and farkle and banging pots and pans as well as eating the mandatory chinese food.

We had such a blast this year! Thanks so much family for making it a grand old time!

November 2010.

Here is my favorite month of the year again! Unlike November 2009, I really did not manage to take a whole lot of pictures. My camera seemed to be missing in action during most of the festivities including Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and The ROCKETTES with the Denning sistas!

(Thanks Aunt Sue for the Birthday cake you brought me at work!)

Fortunately for the sake of this post, I did have my camera on my birthday. Tyler totally surprised me this year by coming to my office and getting me off work early! That was enough of a present in and of itself right there. However, the surprises did not end there... We drove to Salt Lake and went on a shopping spree at the Gateway. Am I the luckiest girl or what?

Next on the agenda was a romantic 4 course meal at The Melting Pot. You guys, could you die? I mean, a 4 course meal at THE Melting Pot, come on. I was in heaven. If you have never had the pleasure of dining at this glorious place, I would highly recommend considering it today.

I would advise scheduling this dining experience around a special occasion, or holiday simply because the price of such a meal. It really is an experience and I love the fact that Tyler usually takes me on my birthday, or Valentines day, or maybe our anniversary this year? Fingers are crossed.

Please take note of my NEW leather jacket! I love my leather jacket- makes me feel like I'm in an episode of Vampire Diaries.

I love to fondue. Especially the dessert course. You simply cannot go wrong with this dessert.


After our very romantic 2 1/2 hour meal, Tyler still had more tricks up his sleeve and took me to the Jazz game. The Jazz won- for my birthday. I'm sure Tyler put in that request.

Just when I thought there could be no more surprises, Tyler surprised me and got me an IPhone. Yeah, I know, I am spoiled rotten. Thanks for the super fun day Tyler! I owe ya one. Now the pressure is on me to come up with great surprises for that birthday coming up.

As I mentioned earlier, I don't have any pictures of Thanksgiving or the Rockettes... but let me tell you, both festivities were a hoot!

To end this November post, lets not forget to mention that blizzard of 2010!