Stars, cars, mountains and hair

Now that I'm back in the city, this is what I miss most about being back in Utah:

STARS
I was standing in my brother's backyard one night and just stood there staring at the stars in the sky for like ten minutes. You see, I don't actually see stars in the city, there's too many city lights competing. Even when I'm on someone's roof for a party stars are pretty rare to see. So when any of you are out at night be sure to wish on a star for me!

CARS
This one seems pretty obvious; you have no idea how much of a luxury it was to be able to get into a car and be in control of where I was going. Also, I could control the temperature, the smell, the music, the people I rode with. The fact that it was raining my last two days there didn't worry me because it was a short walk from the back door to the car--no walking in the rain with an umbrella that gets blown up by the wind. And, it's a great place to store purchases bought throughout the day instead of carrying everything around like a bag lady!

MOUNTAINS
This one seems kinda obvious too. But I always get this feeling of awe and amazement when I drive along Bangerter and see the Wasatch mountains in the East and the Oquirrh in the west. Being in the city is great, but it's very much closed off; there aren't open spaces where you can see everything. So I'm always just looking at the next few blocks ahead of me and at the tall building around me. Mountains and space are awesome!

HAIR
I definitely miss the way my hair looks in Utah; it's not made for this moist, humid air in New York. It's not as if my hair holds curl very well anyways, but now it's practically nonexistent--it's always flat and frizzy!

Man did I eat well when I was in Utah (eating out is also a luxury that I don't partake of here in the city). A few times I booked get-togethers with friends a little too closely and ate way too much food in way too short a time. Where I ate: 5 Buck Pizza, The Red Iguana, Red Robin, Village Inn, Sconecutter, Chili's, Cafe Rio, bbq at Wal-mart, hot dog/chips/nachos at Delta Center (I refuse to call it Energy Solutions Arena).

But more importantly, I did some awesome things: was greeted at the airport by a "Welcome Home Aunt Julie" sign being held by Ivy, Elliett and Moses, saw cousin Rachel and her new baby Kitt, attended a book signing, went to the last Jazz game of the post-season (which caused me to miss the actual signing of my book!), went to Pammy's baby shower, hung out with Lindsay-loo, celebrated my brother's 29th birthday with cheesecake and ice cream, lost my sunglasses, watched CMT, had face time with my luvah, played Yahtzee with two cheating boys!, hung out with my dad, bought pink shoes, saw Tina and David's adorable daughter Teue, got a new driver's license, felt really cared for and missed by my friends at Wal-mart, and all around had a great time! I know I'm forgetting tons of things, but my memory really is that bad.

So now you all have to come out and visit me!!! I have a new couch that is much more comfortable, and non-smelling, than my other one so you'll even have a place to sleep that's not the floor!

I'm back!

Yes, I realize that it's been two weeks since I last posted. I had meant to come back on my birthday and finish the post, but then my life was overtaken by the Tribeca Film Festival, which I just finished on Sunday. I'll get to that later.

I'm one of those people who make a big deal out of birthdays. Everyone should have a day that's just for them and is totally awesome. I'm big into the dinner and cake and ice cream and going to a movie and making that person feel special. But when you're the usual planner of things, your own birthday usually gets overlooked because it seems wrong to plan your own birthday and nobody else makes as big a deal out of it as you would. But I must say that my family--mom and Emily--have really been great with my birthday the past couple years. I know it's the distance this year, and the making up for the terrible birthday two years ago, but I really do appreciate what they do for me. They sent me a package with gifts and totally awesome cards (with sound, one playing the Buffy theme song and one that was perfect from Emily) and chocolate. My dad sent me a check....and cereal. I'm not sure which one I was more in dire need of--money or food. Thanks dad!

My roommates were also totally awesome. Rosemary and Maria both made signs wishing me a Happy Birthday, one placed on my door and the other on the back of a chair with presents surrounding it. And a huge shout out to Marky Mark for planning my birthday dinner. I don't know how the job got placed on him, except that he's been in the city for four years and knows a million more places than I do in the Lower East Side, which is where I wanted to eat since I would be coming from Tribeca (yes, I will get to that in another post). He found a great Italian place, Three of Cups, in the village where I had some awesome ravioli with pink sauce. No, I don't know what pink sauce is, but it was pink and so I got it. Mark then took us to Whole Foods where he bought me a birthday cake--which was made of dark chocolate and pretty much to die for.

And the capper to my evening was a phone call from Ivy, who didn't want to go to bed without first telling me something, "Happy Birthday!"

I wish I was a better storyteller, but I have a hard time remembering what happened last night let alone what happened two weeks ago! Maybe I should make notes for myself as things are happening....


A big thanks for all the phone calls, texts, wall posting, presents, posters made (Paula and friends back at Wal-mart) and singing voicemail messages. I appreciate Rosemary, Maria and Mark for making it a special day for me when I'm so far away from family and friends. It was definitely a great birthday! Only regret--I didn't get any pictures of me on my birthday!