I wanna rock!

Nothing better than beating a week of blues by partying with a Diez De Mayo party, hosted by some of my most amazing friends.

Not only are they and their ideas awesome, but their FOOD. OH. MY. GOD.

G&T are the best cooks I know. Anything they do, and I mean ANYTHING, is gourmet. They spoil me.

They made taco's.

Not just taco's. But steak, with onions and tasty hot peppers. And Chicken. And a choice of warmed corn or flour tortilla's. And homemade salsa, medium or hot. And homemade guacamole. And homemade corn/mango/onion/jicama/cilantro salad. Not to mention the homemade tres-de-leches cupcakes with sliced straweberries on top. Or the plentitude of high-end-tequila's.

Wow!! My friends ROCK!!!

Not just figuratively, but literally!

Here are some of us, getting ready for our jam session:



And jus' me, doing somethingIdunno:



Hopefully we'll have several more sessions of real life jamming. I'm amazed by their talent. Even more amazed that they asked me to sing!

*Sigh*

It's been forever since I have posted. I'm so sorry for those of you waiting for an update. I have so much to say, but so little time to say it. For the next little while, I don't have internet access at work. That sucks.

Today I feel that I have to post about something incredible, something miraculous, something amazing.

Are you ready for it?

Today. I met none other than. The one. The only. The famous. WRY CATCHER!!!!

I went to an ex-mo picnic in Lindon today. Most of my friends were there, all of our kids ran around and had tons of fun. yadda yadda yadda.

I MET WRY CATCHER!!!!!!!!

*sigh*

Simply Exquisite!

I got to meet Sideon for lunch today! This man is every bit as charming, funny, fabulous, and real as his posts. It was all too short of a time, then I drove him back to the airport. He kept thanking me for the ride, but truly, I was the lucky one. Who else gets to spend one on one time with him? Besides... well... a number of other bloggers. But still, it was Pure.Heaven.

Until we meet again! ;-)

One last thing-- HAPPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY to every bloggers favorite sweetheart, Sister Mary Lisa! After I meet her, I can die happy.

Cheers!

Yup, it rules to be me.

A lot of people think I'm silly for living in Utah, especially considering that I'm ex-mormon. I think living in Utah had huge benefits when we left the church. Where there is a higher concentration of mormons, there will be a higher concentration of ex-mormons. Never in my life have I known more genuine, intelligent, not to mention good-looking people. Oh yeah, that's something else I've thought about- I think that only the really good looking and smart people leave the church. At least, it seems like all of the ex-mo's that I know are such.

Wait, what is it about being me that rules? Oh, that's right! So not only do I know all of the really cool local ex-mo's, but I've had the great privilege of meeting several from out of state. Coincidentally, many of them have family here that they visit during the holidays and they need some sanity or reality breaks, a service that I am happy to provide!

Last friday I got to go to dinner with the very lovely Meg Slate (from the DAMU) and her husband Jack. You may remember my gushing over Meg Slate from my recent business trip to New York. We ate fabulous indian food and drank lots of wine, and had incredible conversation. Meg and Jack, thanks for making the time for us! And thanks for the Max Brenner chocolates! I'm doing my best to eat them slowly and savor each bite.

Tonight it was my honor to dine with From The Ashes. This was my second time meeting her, I met her and her husband and son when they visited family in Utah a year ago. I've always felt a special kinship with her because she left the church at the same time I did, and she's been able to express some of my innermost thoughts as they are so inline with hers. Thanks for the dinner invite FTA! We also met with Abner and Mrs. Doon (from the DAMU), they are adorable and fascinating to talk to.

I think it's safe to say that I get to meet the coolest people. They all just come to me. Who's next??

My Chocolate Orgasm (Day 3)

My last day in New York City. We had a flight out of Newark in the late afternoon, so we had a few hours to kill in the morning. My gracious and gorgeous friend, Meg Slate, offered to take that day off of work and spend some time with us showing us around the city, taking us where we wanted to go. Vendor Jeff was exhausted and had a long drive back to Boston that day, so he stepped out of the picture and gave us instructions on how to get into the city ourselves... scary thought! So we took the Path from Jersey City back into the financial district.



Ground Zero in the day:



The company I work for is headquarted right across the street from this, but they wouldn't allow me to take pictures of the front of the building, here is one on the side:

From behind this building, they have spectacular views. Here is the Statue of Liberty at a distance:

And a cool new building... but I don't know what it's called:


From here we walked down Broadway and over to Chinatown:


Even though Meg warned us of the aggressive sales approach, my co-worker was really freaked out and wanted to get out of there ASAP, so we caught the next subway over to Union Square. Meg knew of a fantastic restaurant called Max Brenner, where everything on the menu is made of chocolate. They did have a short menu of regular lunch type items, but if you're at a chocolate restaurant, who can think of a turkey sandwich?

Inside of the restaurant with the chocolate looking pipes:



Meg and I together:


Pausing for just a moment to gush over Meg. I have seen several pictures of her before, but this was our first real life meeting. While she is very photogenic and takes a great picture, they simply do not do her justice. This woman is GORGEOUS. She is tall, thin, graceful, so very hip New Yorker. Here's a cool fact: She can take the subway steps two at a time, while my co-worker and I were grasping for breath to keep up! Meg, thanks again for taking the time to show us around! This afternoon was a major highlight of our trip!

Here is the chocolate orgasm that Meg and I shared...


And we're so naughty together, we had to get dessert, too!:


After this, it was time to head back to Jersey City to catch our flight. Meg gave us instructions on how to take the Subway back to the WTC (once again on our own, yikes!!), and off we went.

Some final shots:

Surrounding the front of Ground Zero are pictures that memorialize that day:


The last thing you see going down the stairs into the PATH:


After this we caught a flight to Virgina where we spent the next two days. The trip to Virginia was a little more relaxing since we didn't do much more than work related stuff... so I won't blog about it. Thanks everyone for indulging me in wanting to talk about my trip! Back to our regularly scheduled programming....

Taking a short break from bragging to brag yet again

So I'm driving around doing errands today, and who calls me? Only the swankiest, sexiest, most intelligent and witty man of the DAMU. Oh, and have you seen his wife? Definitely the luckiest man, as well. As pure luck would have it, he is in town from San Francisco, and just happened to be right in the same area as me at the same time. Of course I'm talking about Corey, aka Mayan Elephant:



We got to hang out at Starbucks for a bit and talk while our girls ate pastries.
YAY!!! Now what do I need to do to get Corey to visit my blog.....???? Do I need to start flirting with his wife more aggressively, because if so, that's not a problem. She sent me text messages while I was on my trip that made me blush. Good times, good times! :)

My last post about the Halloween Party

I've talked about this party way too much, so I'll just post this picture (I found one that I didn't totally hate) and be done with it. Stay tuned for me to post a picture of a bat that my daughter drew at pre-school. It is hi-LAR-ious.

Here I am in costume:


The guy I'm with is just some dude that I'm married to. Ha, kidding. He was amazing as Brandon Flowers.

Lessons learned from this years Halloween Party

• Apparently wearing a bunny tail pinned on your ass is equivalent to an open invitation for ALL to grab it. (not that I'm complaining. I think I'm going to start wearing a bunny tail every day, from now on)
• No matter how much tequila is brought to a party, it will all be gone by the time the night is over.
• Men will not eat cake that is shaped like a penis, no matter how good it tastes.
• Having a co-worker show up unexpectedly is a major buzz kill. Especially when you work on projects together in the same small department, and you're dressed like a playboy bunny.
• If you ever get a chance to sleep with Eric, I highly recommend it.
• Thunderchops and his wife are both extremely adorable and sweet. I wanted to take them home with me.
• My husband can pull off the Brandon Flowers look very well.
• Some people love their DDR, no matter what else may be going on in the same room.
• Even if you send out the rules beforehand, you still can't get people to play or understand "Murder in the Dark" when they're drunk.

Miraculously, I don't have a hangover today, even after just 2 hours of sleep. Now I need to start thinking about what I'm going to be next year.....

Murder in the Dark

Tomorrow night is the big night! I have been looking forward to tomorrow night for the past year. This is the second annual ex-mo Halloween party, and I hope this tradition continues forever.

Last year, the host of the party tried to explain how to play a simple game of Murder in the Dark. I'm pretty sure this is a game we all played in high school. But, get 30 drunk people in one room, try to give them extremely simple rules... and it just aint happening. This year, the host didn't want to run into the same problem, so he decided to email the rules with some of his own creative additions, before the party. I won't put all the rules here, but here's just a sampling of the brilliance that is Brandon:

METHODS OF MURDER

Kiss of Judas/Black Widow – Instant and silent death from poisonous lip-gloss. Signified by a light kiss upon the victim’s cheek. Tips: Murderer – Ensnare them with your charm. Victim - Is he/she moving in for a kiss or for the kill? Maybe dying is worth it.

The Strangler – Quick and silent death from strangulation. Gently place hands around victim’s throat. Tips: Murderer – If proficient in your craft, a quick and silent weapon. Victim - If those hands reach your throat it’s over, however, do you know Kung Fu?

Moonlight on Regatta/Hairy Crack Monster (MEN ONLY/DOUBLE POINTS) – Mass death from shock and horror. Moon your intended victims with the power of a full moon as a half assed job will only belie your identity while bringing your killing spree to an end. Tips: Murderer – Do you have what it takes to be a mass murderer? Fast and efficient where large groups congregate, but the screams will surely bring the Judge & Jury running with little time to cover your tracks. Fortunately every witness who saw your ass is dead. Victims – You know you saw it so no cheating, take it like a man and die while screaming like the frightened child you are. (NOTE: May substitute bending over and grabbing your ankles with your fully clothed ass high in the air for standard points.)

Bountiful Bosom/Starlight Starbright I’ve Been Translated Tonight (WOMEN ONLY/DOUBLE POINTS) – Delivers the ultimate one-two punch to mass victims, a holy anointing to be sure. Flash your chest to your intended victims and be sure to hold it long enough to take effect, you don’t want to hear anyone complaining they didn’t see and therefore they’re not dead. Tips: Murderer - Do you have what it takes to be a mass murderer? Fast and efficient where large groups congregate, but the screams will surely bring the Judge & Jury running with little time to cover your tracks. Be careful of those that go towards the light. Victims – Shout praises, talk in tongues, etcetera as you give up the ghost. (NOTE: May substitute a fully clothed Motorboat… okay, okay, I’ll think of something.)

Patriarchal Grip/Or Sure Sign You’re in a Cult – Seduce someone into a cult follower. Slip them the hand and they’re yours to unleash on the flock. Each receive ½ points for every victim of their own. Tips: Will they blow your cover? You lose half your points if they’re fingered as the murderer or accomplice.

Yeah. I can't wait.

Bunco

Tonight was my Bunco night. Ordinarily, living in SLC, you would think Bunco would be quite lame. But not with this group of women. Somehow, we managed to find 12 women in SLC who are either ex-mo's or nevermo's. I have no idea how that is possible, and it certainly wasn't planned that way. I guess it goes to show that SLC isn't as "mormony" as some would think. It was 12 women, drinking adult beverages and talking about breasts and vaginas. It's good times, I tell you!

Anway, tonight was fun because I was standing at the bar (oh yes, my friend in SLC has a bar in her basement-- when will the madness end??) talking on my phone, when in walks another woman. We stood there and looked at each other for about 30 seconds and simultaneously said "Don't I know you?" Turns out we went to high school together, and were in the same seminary class for 2 years. Both of us were such good girls back then, I distinctly remember some of the testimonies she bore. But, we didn't talk about church or mention the "mormon" word once. We were just normal, relaxed, and enjoyed our rum and cokes while catching up on the gossip of common friends.

I won the booby prize, which meant I was the biggest loser of the night. I seem to win that prize often. Leave it to me to always lose at a game that requires absolutely no skill or thought. That, in and of itself, takes skillz.