Memories, and a fab weekend!

Wow, I have alot to blog about today!

First of all, you know how some people have "Flashback Friday?" Well, today I decided to have a "Memory Monday." But, before I share my memory, I have to tell you what inspired it. Jake and I had the best date this weekend. We don't go out very often, so when we do, we do it big!

Jake arranged to have his Mom take the kids (and dog) so we could stay downtown overnight. (Thanks Grandma Charlene and Grandpa Joe!) We checked in at the Marriott, then rode trax up to see the last University Of Utah home game of the season. It was a fabulous game - they easily beat TCU (by 19 points!) Go Utes! We'll definitley be cheering for them in the conference tournament this weekend.

After the game we, went to see our most favorite band ever, The Young Dubliners. We first saw them open for Jethro Tull like 10 years ago, and we've been total groupies ever since. They come to town about twice a year, and we never miss them. (Well Jake never misses them - sometimes I'm traveling and can't be there.) We even drove to Vegas last year to see them. They play really fun, rockin' Irish Music and are so fun to see live - it's impossible to watch them without jumping up and down and dancing your guts out. They were awesome as usual, but the real point of this story is the Scottish band that opened for them. If you know me at all, you know I Love anything Scottish.

This is the band. They are local, they are called Swagger, they all wear Kilts, and they had a Piper to bring them on stage!!! They were amazing!!!! I can't wait to see them again.

So now for the memory.....I used to play the bagpipes. I started because my boyfriend at the time wanted to join the bagpipe band, and I pretty much just followed him onto the band. (But, I must say, I turned out to be a much better piper than he ever was and I stuck with it long after he quit.) Anyway, I played through all four years of college. I marched in lots of parades, played at funerals, graduations and lots of other ceremonies, I even competed at several Scottish Festivals. I gave it up when I graduated and had to give back my pipes. Sometimes I really miss it. This is me (right in the front) in action:

And now back to the date. (I have to bring it full circle, so I don't leave everyone thinking about old boyfriends - yuk!) Jake and I slept in, and then he took me to Market Street Grill for brunch. It's my favorite place for Sunday Brunch - I'm drooling a little bit just thinking about the orange rolls.

The only picture I got of the two of us was this one on trax in our Utah red:

Thanks Jake for the awesome date!

My New Obsession

These books are one of the reasons that I haven’t posted much lately. I can’t stop reading them!

I’m totally embarrassed to admit that I watched the HBO series "True Blood." I know … try not to judge me too harshly…I promise I covered my eyes during the naughty parts!

The story really was awesome - mystery, vampires, romance, all the good stuff! After the first season ended, I started reading the books (which are must less graphic than the HBO series). I just finished the seventh, and ordered the eighth book in the series. I can’t wait for it to get here! They’re like a "grown-up" version of Twilight. I highly recommend them, and want all of my friends to read them so I can talk about the story and characters with someone. Has anyone else read them? The author is Charlaine Harris. She really has created an amazing world that seems so realistic, and characters that you can’t help but care about, and want to learn more about.
Let me know if there are any other fans out there.

Spread The Sunshine

I've seen this contest on a few blogs, and since I'll do pretty much anything to win a prize, I decided to play too!

The way it works is that the first five people who respond to this post, will recieve a handmade surprize from me! The catch is that you have to pay it forward, post this on your blog, and send out five handmade surprizes of your own. What a fun way to spread some Springtime cheer!

Here are the official instructions:

"The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! Made with tons of love just for you! It might be a fun sewing project, a sweet letter to you from me, or some yummy goodies, you might be surprised what you get! Give it a try! The catch? You must re -post this on your blog and the first 5 people to leave a comment, will win a lovely little treat from you! Have Fun!"

Alright, this lack of blogging has got to stop!

Seriously, I loved my trip to Australia, but I'm getting pretty tired of looking at this post! I guess I got busy with the holidays and then all the sudden it had been so long since I posted, that I felt like I needed something huge and momentous to end the streak, and I just don't live the kind of life when huge and momentous things happen very often.

So, even though I don't have anything exciting to tell you, I just want to say "I'm back and excited about blogging again!!"