The Cowboy in Me

Last night, my sister and I attended Tim McGraw's concert at Usana Amphitheater. I must admit that any interest I had in country music died when I moved to New York--they have not a single country station in the area. Plus, New York isn't the place where you sit in your car and listen to the radio. That, added with my changing musical tastes, means I really have no idea what is going on in country music anymore.

What I do know, though, thanks to my sister, is that Tim McGraw is still pretty cool. And, at 43, still puts on a pretty awesome live show. And is not too bad to look at, so Emily tells me.

The opening act was Lady Antebellum, who are apparently the new "hot thing" in country music right now. They sound great live, which is comforting to know that their music isn't all fabricated in a studio. I don't own either of their cds, but their music and sound is good and easy to listen to. Also, the two guys in the group have beards, so I of course like them.







Then, after an incident in our row where a Tim McGraw-look-a-like caused quite the scene, and Emily to just about have a heart attack when I looked over and swore that Tim was right there, the real Tim came on stage. He sang for two hours, covering most of his hits (which is hard considering he's been doing it for over 20 years), including, "Something Like That," "Things Change," "Down on the Farm," and Em's favorite, "The Cowboy in Me."

Pretty awesome night, even if the stench of too much human body odor and beer was lingering in the air. Outdoor concerts in the summer are the coolest.

My First 10k

As I rounded the corner of South Temple onto 2nd East, running along the parade route in front of those who had camped over night to get good seats, I passed a girl who had made a sign for the runners. It said: Pain is Temporary, Pride is Forever. I had to smile as I passed it, thinking how true it was.

For me, race day is always about personal accomplishment. It's about making a goal and doing something that I had previously thought I couldn't do. And I do feel like my pride for finishing will be something I can have with me forever.

The race itself was actually pretty good. It's mainly a downhill course, which made me feel like I was doing pretty good until I got to the flat parts and realized I was kind of going slow. At about mile 1 1/2, I realized I had to go to the bathroom, but since it was my first 10k I wanted my time to be a real time. So I just powered through. Twice I stopped to walk for about 2-4 minutes, in between mile 2 and 3 and then right after I got to mile 4. I wanted to make sure I had enough energy to finish hard. And I was feeling pretty good and had really hit my stride, controlling my breathing and avoiding side-aches.

But then, right about at mile 5, it hit me.

I had a small side-ache, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. And my body sort of gave out. That last mile was brutal, and was spent with me running, then stopping to walk, then running, then walking. As I got closer to the end and could see the finish line, I felt like I couldn't go anymore. I stopped running and this guy looked at me said, "C'mon, you're SO close! You can do it!" And I knew I was SO close, so I willed my body to just go for it.

I ran across the finish line as my mom and sister cheered me on. I threw up my arms in satisfaction, as if I was the first to cross. I was sweaty and tired, but I felt awesome.

My Full Moon Wishes

Tonight the full moon in the summer sky is shining into my kitchen, illuminating the table and counters through the blinds. It somehow seems magical, and that I'll wake up in the morning either a princess or with all my dreams having come true. At this point, I'll settle for the nagging unresolved issues currently going on in my life to be resolved. And to magically be ready to run a 10k in the morning.

Lost Earring

Over two months ago I lost an earring at work. Today I found that earring. That was pretty much the highlight of my day.

Inception

Whoa. That look I'm making is one of, "What just happened in there? Do I understand what just happened in there?!" Inception has been that summer movie that everyone talked about but no one knew what it was about. It was shrouded in mystery, banking on the name of its director, Christopher Nolan, and star, Leonardo DiCaprio, and, really, its own mystery-inducing hype, to get people into the theater.

Let me first say that I had no idea Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Cillian Murphy were in it. Two super nice surprises. Also super nice when both of them spent the movie wearing three piece suits and suspenders. Oh, be still my heart.

So the movie. It was quite good. There was a lot to follow and try to understand, but I think the visuals of the movie were really awesome. Also really awesome--the editing and sound. The film takes place between a dream within a dream within a dream, and the all exist in their time-frames. Editing between them all was quite cool, especially with the van falling off the bridge. The sound was also great; it added to the atmosphere and feeling of the movie and was quite thrilling.

This movie is very similar to Shutter Island, but I think executed better. Although this, too, suffered from maybe being too long. But there was a lot of stuff to cover, so maybe it's warranted. Seriously, if you're sick of mindless sequel, prequel, origin, superhero movies, take some time to see this excellently intelligent, thought-provoking, exciting film.

Ballet Under the Stars

My completely amazing friend Cat is a ballerina. Last night she performed under the stars at the Murray Park Amphitheater. First up was Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty. It was beautiful and so was Cat in her pink tutu.


After intermission, we were treated to a balletic performance of Alice in Wonderland. I've never been the biggest fan of it, but seeing it interpreted through ballet was actually quite cool. And I love seeing Cat all decked out in her costumes being a ballerina!

(Cat is the one in the green turtle costume!)










I am SO amazed at what Cat and all the other ballerinas can do! I think performers in general are quite amazing. To me, I can think of nothing I'd hate more than being on stage in front of people, having them all stare at me, while I do something, be it act, sing, or dance (none of which I can do). So congratulations Cat on being amazing and putting on a great show!

Expectation in the Shade

Last night, my quirky best friend and I made the inconceivably hot ride down to Orem to check out the Hale Center Theater's production of 110 in the Shade. I know a person in the play and they were able to get me tickets. It's the story of a small town in Depression-era south that is experiencing drought seen through the eyes of the Curry family. When a "rain-man" comes to town promising to bring rain in 24-hours in exchange for $100, he ends up bringing a lot more than rain to some people.

Oh, and it's also about a woman, Lizzie, who's apparently getting up there in age, sees herself as plain, and is told that she's going to end up being a schoolmarm. Her interest in the "widowed" town Sheriff, File, is quite lovely, and her attraction to the rainmaker Starbuck awfully believable and swoon-inducing. I related to Lizzie, File, Starbuck, and her loving but interfering father and brothers.

It was also a night of expectations. There's this scene in 500 Days of Summer where the main guy goes to this party with all these expectations of what's going to happen when he gets there. The movie employs a split screen to show how his expectations are very different from what actually happens. While mine was in no way as drastic as Tom's in the movie, it certainly wasn't all that I expected. Not bad, actually good, but maybe sorta awkward. But I'm just an awkward person.

My Running Conundrum

As I prepare for the 10k in a week and a half, I am attempting to sort of "train" for it. Mind you, I use that word rather loosely, as I don't really have a set plan, just to run 2-3 times a week for as long as my body will allow me. It's the most "training" I do.

My conundrum is this. It's good for me to run in the morning, because I get awfully sweaty after running and need to take a shower post-haste. And since I'm a morning-shower person, you think this would be perfect. But the warmth of my bed usually means that my snooze button gets more of a workout than me.

So I've started running at night. I actually like this, as it's cool and I can catch the sun setting. I also like not having a set time of when I have to get back. The one drawback to this: I then come home, take a shower (just to get all the sweat off me before bedtime) and I'm all sorts of awake from the shower and runner's high. I then lie in bed forever wishing my body to fall asleep.

And lately, I've been too busy studying for my stats test or such to even run at night, plus the trying to not eat anything two hours prior to my running. I go to bed with the intention of running in the morning, and then the conundrum starts. My bed is too warm. I'm too tired. My stomach is too empty. No running gets done. Whatever will I do.

Funny Things My Nieces Say

One night, as I was walking with my mom and niece Elliett downtown to a Jazz game, I commented while passing the Union Pacific Depot that I wanted my wedding reception to be there. Elliett looked up at me as I held her hand and asked the all-important question, "Do you have a boyfriend?" I told her no, no boyfriend. Her reply, "Well shouldn't you have one before you get married?"

Last week, as I was combing Ivy's hair as she sat and colored at my mom's house, I asked her if she thought I'd have kids of my own whose hair I could comb one day. She said yes. I asked her if Emily would have kids of her own one day, too. She promptly replied No. Sorry Em.

Kids. They just know so much.

Toy Story 3

Best. Movie. Of. The. Summer. A-mazing!! Seriously, what are you doing reading this when you could be out watching Toy Story 3?!

Much like last summer when I professed my love for Up!, I will again tell you that this is why I go to the movies. I don't care if the characters are animated and are talking toys; they are fully developed characters, which is more than what lots of other movies offer.

The film has heart, adventure, sadness, longing, happiness, excitement, terror (that big Baby!), nostalgia, and every other emotion you could think of. It has story, character, plot, good dialogue, good lesson/moral, awesome directing. And as me and my similarly-aged friends watched, I couldn't help but think that it's not really a kid movie, as the mostly adult audience we saw it with were laughing (and crying) just as we were and the few kids that were there didn't make a sound.

So thank you, Pixar, for once again making my summer movie season great. I was beginning to think that this summer would be a complete waste, as the number of films I've seen was drastically lower than last summer. I just wasn't excited about anything coming out. Until now. Seriously, get yourself to a movie theater and be prepared to be entertained.

Eclipse, Not As Bad As I Expected

Today, after my other plans all fell through, I decided to just bite the bullet and see the latest Twilight movie, Eclipse. After the dreadfulness that was the first one, I never bothered to see the second and my initial love of the series declined drastically. It seems weird to say that in the time since I first read Twilight I've changed a lot, because it was only three years ago, but I guess I have changed enough that my 27-year-old self views it much differently than my 24-year-old self did.

First, let me get my complaints with the movie out of the way. It is overly melodramatic. It is obvious that Bella is wearing a wig. The make-up is frighteningly bad. Lots of the acting is wooden and not good. None of these are huge deals, just minor cosmetic deficiencies that made it hard for me to concentrate.

Other complaints, that deal mostly with the characters themselves: if you've committed to marry someone, you should NOT be kissing someone else! Loving someone and wanting to protect them does not mean you should disable their truck to stop them from making their own choices.

But, lest you all think I'm a complete film snob, there were things I liked about the movie. For one, there was some actual suspense in the movie. Obviously, the better budget and different director has worked well for the film. The actors playing Edward and Bella have great chemistry and it radiates off the screen. And, honestly, it wasn't as bad as I was expected. It might be because my expectations were quite low after the first film, but I didn't leave feeling it was a complete waste of my time.

And, since there's been so much debate about whether you are Team Edward or Team Jacob, I declare myself Team Charlie. The few scenes he had in the film were all my favorite; I was laughing and thinking how much cuter he'd be if he'd let that mustache of his grow into a full beard. I'm pretty sure I'm the only girl out there who could care less about Jacob taking his shirt off or Edward and his sparkly skin. Seriously, Charlie is the one I'm swooning over.

Celebrating America

How Independence Day was celebrated:

Family



Parade in Murray:


Food:

Fireworks:

Sparklers:

It was a super fun day filled with lots of fun things. The kids got tons of candy at the parade, I ate way too much food at our BBQ, my potato salad travesty of last year was rectified, the fireworks at the parade were awesome, and the slight rainfall as we lit sparklers refreshing and lovely. Happy Birthday America!