GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll admit it. I'm a fair-weather watch-when-the-world-cup-is-on kind of soccer fan. BUT that still makes me a fan. I watched as the U.S. held on for a (very lucky) well-played tie against the mighty Brits. I have been following scores. I haven't really tried to figure out what happens when there's a tie and how that factors into the tournament, but that's beside the point. I even have started to tune out the amazing horns that South Africa has introduced to all of us through this World Cup.

I have also determined that soccer players are some of the best athletes in the world. Have you all seen how big that field is?! Gigantic! They run THE WHOLE TIME. I get worn out just watching. However, as msn.com so accurately pointed out, watching the players is part of the fun. All I'm saying is that it's a bonus, ok?

GO USA!!!

Oh Canada!

Yes, my friends, I will soon be visiting our great neighbor to the north, Canada. I have never been to this foreign nation before, and I actually had to renew my passport in order to go. (Am I really old enough to have an expired passport? I know I got it in college, but has it been 10 years?! Yes, actually it's been 11. Since I got the passport...Only 10 since graduation. Class of 2000! Holla! Did you know that Shakespeare used "holla" in his writing? Yep. Check out "As you Like It." I know that title should be underlined, but I can't figure out how to do that right now, and I'm into instant gratification with regard to my blog technology. If I can't figure it out I move on. Am I digressing within these parentheses?)

Anyway... I'm headed to Vancouver, BC with the family. Who wants to tell me all of the amazing things I should do while I'm there? My brother wants us to be spontaneous, but I like to have a few options in mind. :)

Adventure: Angel Island

Last Saturday I went on my very first "Adventure with Ariane." She should probably start marketing and charging for these tours. We went with Dustin, Kenny, and Nate to Angel Island. We took our bikes (thank you Kenny for having a truck for all of the bikes!) and rode the ferry from Tiburon to the island. Then we rode around the entire island! Ok- it's not THAT big of an island, but we rode around an entire island. :) It was one of those gorgeous Bay Area kind of days, and even though there were some big hills and we learned more about the not-so-wonderful happenings of the Immigration Station (the very discriminatory Ellis Island of the West), it was really a very fun day. Thanks Ari!

I made everyone take pictures by the actual Angel Island sign. This is me, Kenny, and Dustin (pre-bike ride). Ariane always tells me that "if you don't take pictures of it, it didn't happen." So...we have official documentation.

Look at this view! This is (obviously) a self-portrait, but that view! We rode our bikes down to one of the fort areas where there are picnic tables, and this was our view for lunch. Not bad. I will say that the hill was really steep to get down there and I had to keep telling myself, "Just use your brakes. You're not scared. You're not scared." I was, actually, a little bit scared, but I made it down. The power of positive thinking!

I tried to take one of those pictures where you look like you're squishing the bridge. Clearly it didn't work.

This was Nate, Dustin, and Ariane getting ready to ride to the ferry.

Nate, Kenny, Dustin, and Ari on the ferry on the way to the island. Nate and Kenny do NOT look like they are having fun, but I think they did have at least a little fun. :)

I'm sorry Dustin - I had to take this picture. I took it while I was riding because I couldn't pass it up. A grown man with a tiny backpack (I KNOW it was for water, but still) and both pant legs rolled up showing off the high white socks. Classic.

I also took this one while I was riding. I am a very good bike riding photographer. Point and click, baby.

Oooh! This one I took pointing the camera behind me while I was riding. Serious mad skills!

Thanks everyone for a fun day!

"Michael J. Fox was Alex P. Keaton"

Every time I roll in my chair at work I feel like Alex P. Keaton from the TV show "Family Ties." Remember the opening song where they always showed him pushing himself in his rolling chair from his desk to someplace to check the answer in a book and then rolling back again? Anyone? No one remembers that? It's just another one of the weird pieces of television folklore stuck in my head? Ok - I can live with that. But I still see that scene in my head almost every time I roll in my chair.

The Last of the Short-Lived Food Posts

I really thought that I had so much to post about in the area of "food." Turns out...I don't. So here's my last hurrah for now:

This was our Laurels "Un birthday" (non)Tea Party. My contributions: cupcakes with pink frosting and cucumber sandwiches. And pink lemonade of course. We're so fancy. Aren't these girls just adorable?!

Our New Beginnings (a Young Women Program) cake. We had an Olympics theme, so I make a big cake and covered it with fondant and then made fondant olympic rings in the YW value colors.

This is one of the yummiest apple cakes I've ever eaten. Click here for the recipe. I even used my dehydrated apples from my food storage to make it. SO good!

In my other attempt to use my food storage, I tried making a black bean soup. Basically all you're going to get is the picture of the label. Let's just say that even though the apple cake was a success, my cooking with food storage has not yet been perfected. :) I ate the soup, but it wasn't really very good. I'll give it another go another time.

I'm realizing that this is kind of a boring post. However, I'm now at the end of it. So instead of deleting it I'm just going to go ahead and post it. And then go eat Sunday dinner.

The Food Just Makes You Happy!

Last night, as we were exiting the Buckhorn Grill after a FABULOUS meal, we were laughing about who knows what, and someone said, "The food just makes you happy!" What a true statement. So...here are a few posts in an Ode to Food. (Or something like that.)

This was last night at the Buckhorn Grill after we finished our practically free and very delicious meal. They really do have good tri-tip!

Ariane and Alyssa showing off their empty plates.

I was going for a full-belly type smile, but it just kind of came off weak. Oh well.

"How did you get a free meal?" you might ask. Such a good question!

It was totally thanks to a fun adventure that I didn't blog about back in February. Cameron, Ariane and I took a field trip over to San Francisco for the Giants' annual Fan Fest. It was kind of cold and rainy at first, but the clouds finally broke and we were able to enjoy a hot dog in the sunshine in the seats that none of us can normally afford. A little slice of heaven. :)

AND...to get back to my original point, they were giving out free samples of tri-tip along with coupons for free sandwiches. And yes, I walked by twice. Two samples. Two coupons. But let me tell you - it was great for their business, because last night when I redeemed my coupon I upgraded to the combo (excellent mashed potatoes!) AND I'm telling people about how good it was. So, they're glad they gave me two coupons.

Anyway, that's the story. Here are the pictures. Enjoy!

I was a little surprised when I picked up the phone to the bullpen and someone actually answered on the other end! Ok - it was a kid, but we did decide that Zito was done for the day and it was time to bring in Wilson to close out the game.

View from inside the dugout. Though I'm guessing the players can see the field a little more easily when it's actually game day.

Cameron and Ariane as we were waiting for our tour of the clubhouse.

This is the clubhouse. I believe Ari liked to call it the locker room, but whatever. It was smaller than I thought it would be, but I was actually glad to see that it wasn't ostentatious. But very nice. I sat in one of the little locker places, but I don't have that picture. Sorry.

I liked that they give a "Good Guy" award. Way to go!

Important safety tip. Thanks Egon. (Anyone know what movie?)

Motivational I guess. They'd do more of this (winning) if they could ever score some runs.

Do you know who these guys are?! Barry Zito and my all-time favorite Giant as a kid - WILL CLARK!!! I know it's not a great shot, but it was fun to see him in person and listen to a bit of their Q & A session.

Do you know who these guys are?! Me neither. I didn't want to stand in any of the ridiculously long lines for pictures and autographs, so I took their picture from the field. Turns out that #37 is Todd Wellemeyer (the Giants' 5th starting pitcher...for now), and the other two aren't even on the active roster. Oh well!

Ariane in the press box. They really are great seats. :)

It's so fun to go to this. If anyone wants to go next year, let me know!

Literary Adventures at Work

I had to stop and laugh at myself the other day at work. I was in the middle of some mindless filing. You know - pretty much just making sure that things were correctly alphabetized (which I actually think it kind of fun). This left my mind to wander wherever it so pleased. A few minutes into my filing, my boss (a very smart lawyer and businessman) walked into the room to make a copy or something, and I was roused from my daydreaming. It was then that I realized that I am pretty glad that the running commentary that goes on in my head isn't broadcast for everyone to hear (at least until I blog about it). Why? Because THIS was what was in my head (thank you youtube). Go about 1:20 into the clip, and you'll hear what was in my head.

It's a fascinating world inside my little brain.

Any input on any off-the-wall musings you've found yourself in while at work? Feel free to leave them in the comment section. Just for fun, you know.

Bad Hair Day?

Is it a bad sign when you think you've done yourself up alright and your boss walks in and the first question is, "Are you OK?" Maybe my good-morning smile needed to be a little more chipper today. :)

Can Anybody Find Me Somebody To...Date?

For those of you who didn't get this on facebook...

First off, I hope that you heard Queen (or at least Glee's remake of the song) as you read the title of this e-mail. Otherwise it's not funny and doesn't make any sense. Onward...

There are two things in life (ok – definitely more than two, but just go with me on this one) at which I’m not very good: 1. asking for help; 2. dating. I really want to be better at both of these short-comings, so I’m putting them together in this letter. Yes, I am asking for help with dating.

This may seem more than a little unorthodox, but let me explain. In an effort to be a better dater, I set a goal at the beginning of the year. I wanted to go on 24 dates this year. In fact, my unofficial slogan was going to be, “Jenn meets men in 2010.” Catchy, huh? I figured that I could easily find a way to go on two dates per month. As it turns out - that’s easier said than done. So far, we’re mid-way through the 2nd quarter of the year and my grand total is…3. I know – pathetic.

So I’ve decided to swallow my pride (it’s a rather big swallow, let me tell you) and ask for help. Even though I like to think that I can do everything on my own, maybe I can’t. So here comes the question: Will you - family and friends - rack your collective brains to try and think of any nice eligible men that you know who may want to go on a date with me…and then set us up?

:) What do you think?

Let me give a few simple guidelines to help as you ponder this. I’m not trying to be a micro-manager, so just think of these as helpful hints. I’ll keep them short and sweet: 1. active member of the LDS church; 2. somewhere within a five year radius of my age (I’m 31); and 3. not creepy. Yes, I know that these are pretty broad guidelines, but use good judgment. I do reserve the right to be picky when it comes to chocolate, shoes, and marriage. But I’m pretty open when it comes to first dates.

Please know that I’m not asking any of you to find me Mr. Perfect. Maybe just Mr. I-think-he-and-Jenn-might-enjoy-spending-a-couple-of-hours-together-on-a-date. Heck – even one hour. Lunch counts as a date, right? Also, I am willing to travel (within reason) and/or come up with ideas for and plan the dates. (Just FYI - I’ll be in Vancouver BC for a week in June and Boise sometime this summer.)

Really, I just want to give dating my best effort, and I need help to do that. It’s hard to meet people. And kind of scary - if I may be perfectly frank. So I (and I’m sure my parents) thank you in advance for helping my plight. I’ll end now. You all are the best for humoring and helping me. Much love and many thanks, Jenn

If You Need a Good Laugh...

This happened a couple of years ago, but if you ever need something to bring some happiness to your day, go to you tube and search for "Jenn's Big Spill," or just click here. It never gets old. You should definitely listen to my sister's running commentary. It's funnier than my big spill. :) In my defense, it's really hard to ride one of those trike things, that was the first time I'd ever been on one, and though my family knew you weren't supposed to ride it on a hill, they had me try it on a hill.

Enjoy! I hope this brightens your week. :)

Jenn