and not just because it's thanksgiving

i am so grateful to live in this beautiful city

deep thought {but not by jack handy}

a co-worker said something to me the other day that i thought was just hysterical.

"you live a PBS life in an MTV world".

i'll take that as a compliment.

the letter

it all started on thanksgiving day, in 2005.

well, it didn't all start then, but thanksgiving 2005 brought some pretty powerful & juicy details that marked the beginning of tannon & i making our commitment to eachother.

* * * * * * * *

tannon and i met and started dating in january of 2003. we had some great times dating, but we also had our rough patches. fast forward 2.5 years - our relationship was going backwards. we i decided to end things.

we dated other people and went our separate ways.

in november 2005, tannon gave me a very unexpected letter. i can't recall exactly what day he gave it to me, but he made me promise not to open it until thanksgiving day. it's virtually impossible for me to break a promise, so those x amount of days generated much anticipation.

my family always spent thanksgiving in st. george. i was very much enjoying family time and the warm temperatures southern utah offers. without a doubt, this unopened letter was gnawing at me in the back of my mind. i had to prepare, mentally, to read it. i was still in love with tannon, but "knew" it couldn't work out between us.

thanksgiving morning finally came and i locked myself in my room. i breathlessly tore open the evelope that enclosed the most beautifully, poetic letter i have ever read. i read it over and over and over. all of the words i so badly wanted to hear from him were right in front of me.

i had changed. he had changed. and they were changes that needed to happen.

i am so grateful for that letter.

the capitol

it was one of those weekends.

you know, the ones where you have so much fun that going back to work seems excruciating.

we took a mini road trip.

ans stayed with some fun people.

we didn't do much "downtown" tourist-y stuff because jon stewart's rally to restore sanity was taking place. and dc was packed.

we did, however, visit great falls & georgetown.

it was in georgetown that we made a decision that would forever change my life.

we visited georgetown cupcake. this place is insane. we went there two days in a row, just so i could stand in their out-the-door-and-up-the-street-line and enjoy their freshly baked cupcakes. their salted caramel is the one i want to eat every day for the rest of my life. the red velvet, milk chocolate birthday, and pumpkin spice are also to die for. i love cupcakes way, way too much.

him

he:
is quiet, but not shy.
is laid back, but very OCD particular about a lot of things.
keeps nixon in business.
is a very caring, loving, & supportive spouse.
loves ice cream & chocolate more than anyone i've ever met.
is so selfless. he is always thinking of others.
loves his green laser.
has a dream to move to alaska and live off the land.
can't grow a beard, try as he may.
leaves me love notes nearly every morning.
has a really cute singing voice, especially when he sings the deep part in this song.
makes me laugh ALL the time. i don't know why, but most of the things he says i think are hysterical.
loves to fly under the radar. you can imagine how ticked he's going to be when he finds out about this. don't be surprised if tomorrow you find my blog deleted.

shed a little light

any weekend that involves this is okay by me.

utah nerds visit pittsburgh

i'm trying to decide whether having family come visit is worth it. the anticipation of them coming is so exciting. and while they are here i have SO much fun. but then they leave. and i get depressed. and it's all i can do to try and keep my eyes dry the day they drop me off at work and head to the airport. it's awful. and then i get a text from my sister saying that my niece just said, "miss woggy". ugh.

{truth be told, i mostly only get like this when it's my niece who visits}

but let me reminisce a bit and re-live the fun we had while they were here.

day 1: dad, missy {sister} & morgan {2 y.o. niece} arrive at my work in their rental car to pick me up. missy calls me on my phone and says, "we are here... parked outside the door in a red minivan". i had to laugh at the thought of them renting a red minivan. i walk out of my building and walk straight toward the red minvan. i was jumping out of my skin to see my darling niece. as i walk up to the red minivan, i notice one of two things: either my dad has gained a LOT of weight since i last saw him, or this is the wrong red minivan. as i look around, i notice a blue car behind the minivan with two sets of shoulder's in the fronts seats shaking up and down from laughter.

those two think they are so funny.

anyway. i won't bore you with all the details of the visit, just the highlights .

my darling sister gave me a wallet that i'm obsessed with. i love owls and i have a minor obsession with the beatles, so this gift was perfect. she is so thoughtful.

morgan went bowling for her first time. we had a blast. i learned that morgan has some wicked break-dance moves. i have no idea where she gets her weird-ness from.


have i ever told you that i love fall? well, i do. while they were here we were able to squeeze in some fun fall festivities. we went to soergel orchards where morgan had a blast. she rode the train, went through a corn maze, painted a pumpkin, painted a frisbee, won a fake ice cream cone & much more.

morgan came to church with tannon & i while missy & dad ...... who knows what.

our friends were so generous to take us out on their boat and give us a tour of the city. i love pittsburgh.

i was able to take tuesday off of work at the last minute. i am SO glad i did because this was my favorite day of their entire stay. we started our day off with a ridiculous breakfast at deluca's. afterward, we drove about an hour and a half to go see frank lloyd wright's "falling water". this house was amazing and to think of it being built in the '30s just blows my mind.

then, we were able to visit ohiopyle state park. i fell in love with this place. we walked around, took some pictures, enjoyed the amazing weather, sat by the river and indulged in some ice cream. i can't wait to go back. the pictures don't even do this place justice.

i think the entire goal of my dad's pittsburgh stay was to order a calzone at big jim's. the thing is monstrous. here he is in all his glory. tannon & i will be eating the leftovers of this bad boy for weeks.

okay so their visits are totally worth it.