Carmina Burana

Last night I had the opportunity to attend the Utah Symphony. I have a friend who sings in the symphonic chorale and was able to get a free ticket for me. It was only one free ticket so I went by myself, but I thoroughly enjoyed the concert! I sat by two sweet older ladies who were there to see their husbands who were also singing in the chorale. I had to laugh when they asked what my husband's name was and what part he sang, and I had to correct them that my friend was not my husband. I thought it was so entertaining. I was surprised how easy it was for me to still have fun even though I went by myself. Maybe if I had been sitting by two grumpy people who didn't want to be friendly it would have change my experience, but only during intermission. The remainder of the concert could not have been affected. I would have loved it just the same!

So, I wasn't entirely sure if I would recognize the music of Orff's Carmina Burana since I am horrible at remembering the the names of classical pieces, but I quickly found I knew it! The lyrics are in a different language so the translations were projected on a narrow screen above the chorale. I must say, had I not read the story being depicted, I would have been quickly surprised. It's about earthly pleasures... I'm sure you understand.

Overall, despite my lack of companionship and the very interesting lyrics, I could not have enjoyed my evening more. I am very lucky to have friends involved in various activities so I can reap the benefits of their participation! Maybe one day in the next year I will become that friend who can provide free tickets. I'm thinking I might actually try out for the symphonic chorale this fall. We'll see.

Recent Pics

Okay, so I don't often put up pictures of myself on here so I thought I'd share for a bit.


This is Chad. He is one of my very best friends. We're at at JJ's wedding, and it's the 5th wedding we've been to together. Maybe one day we'll go to each others. Until then, we just go together to everyone else's!


Oh, the old OSF crew supporting JJ and his new wife. So many great friends from that place.


The women.


My sweet niece Sami. I miss her.


My other sweet niece Ali. I miss her too.


My parents with my 3 nieces from VA the night before they went home. (The twins showed us their mad walking skills that night!) It was so sad for us to say goodbye, but I do feel lucky to have spent a good three weeks with them here in SLC.

My Favorite Thing

Tonight for our Enrichment activity in my ward, we celebrated our favorite things (inspired by Oprah's Favorite Things episodes). We were asked to bring our favorite thing, and then we shared and traded our items. It was really fun! I came out with a beautiful periwinkle hydrangea in a fabulous green container! I couldn't be happier with my gift.

Well, it took me a while think about what my favorite thing is. I went to get it before I went to Enrichment, but I got off work so late tonight, that the store was closed when I got there. So, I went across the street to WalMart to get the next best thing. I took a container of Stephens' Gourmet Hot Chocolate, mint chocolate truffle flavor! Mmmmm....

Originally, I wanted to share my love of my hot chocolate mini-mixer, but had to go for the hot chocolate mix instead. There is nothing better on a cold day, like today with its morning snow, then to sit back and relax with a great cup of hot chocolate. I just love it! But ever since I got my $5 mini mixer, my hot chocolate just tastes so much better! It mixes it perfect, and I've learned the trick to not having the chocolate mix residue left on the bottom of the cup either. I just love my mixer! I highly recommend purchasing one to anyone who enjoys hot chocolate. I think it even works great on smoothies, etc. Its called the Norpro Deluxe Cordless Mini Mixer and can be purchased at Spoons 'N Spice.
I know that this sounds like a sales pitch, but it kind of is even though I won't reap the benefits of your purchase unless you invite me over for hot chocolate next winter. Anyway, I just have to share it because it is just that great!

It comes with the four different heads. I've only used the two metals ones, but together I get a creamy, frothy hot chocolate to die for! You'll definitely have to try mine if you're too scared to spend the $5 to get your own. But warning, you may become addicted... :)

Learning HTML?

I've decided that learning HTML would be a valiant endeavor. But, do I actually have the time and brains to teach myself? Probably not. In the meantime, thank goodness for websites that give me the option of copy/paste! Hope you enjoy my new background, courtesy of the Cutest Blog On The Block! Have a wonderful weekend!

Short & Sweet - April update

So yesterday I received a friendly chastisement for never posting anything about my dating life. Let me make this short and sweet...

I'm single and looking! :)

Setups are fine, but please never set me up just because he and I are both single. If you honestly believe we'd have fun together, bring it on!

Since I'm on the short and sweet, I am also looking for a new job. I am no longer satisfied with my current employment so if you come across something (it doesn't have to be in Salt Lake) that you think may interest me, send me an email or something of the like. I will definitely check it out.

I also started attending the singles' ward in my area at the beginning of the year, and I'm loving it! It truly is a great ward and has wonderful leadership! I started the year by immediately joining the ward choir in preparation for stake conference and then I followed up with participation in the stake Broadway night as a bride in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - sorry, forgot my camera that night. All this involvement during the first two months helped me get a calling after only a couple months as an FHE committee member.

In a nutshell, things are good in my life, but I am looking for some new experiences. Until I find something more desirable, you know where to find me!

My nieces

I love my nieces! Check out their cute faces... mischievousness, delight, laughter, triumph... they've had it all over the last week, but I've only captured a few of them.

LDS General Conference

178th Annual General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... enlightening! Twice a year we get the opportunity to listen to prophets of God deliver words from our Lord God that comfort us, uplift us, encourage us, and touch our hearts in ways that nothing else can.

This year was particularly significant. After President Hinckley passed away, President Thomas S. Monson was ordained the new prophet of the church. Since this is the first General Conference at which President Monson has presided as president of the church. Because of this reason we sustained him and the other officers of the church different than we usually do. We sustained them all through a solemn assembly instead of a general assembly. It was very moving for me to witness all the different quorums and auxiliaries of the church sustaining all the officers as a group of members. Being part of the Relief Society and standing together with other women of the church helped me feel like my sustaining of the officers really matters. The spirit was so very strong during this moment that I could hardly hold back the tears.

It is such a blessing to have the availability of a modern-day prophet to guide us and give us the strength to survive the hard times of this life. President Monson definitely has a new mantle from God. He is truly the leader of this church and will guide the church as we accomplish great things! He and his counselors are inspiring and I'm grateful for a second day of conference to listen to our leaders.

Happy April Fool's Day!

So, today at work, I received a noteworthy email. I thought I would share it with you today.

From: Julio Manuel Jose Rodriguez
Subj: BYRUS ALERT

Body:
BUENOS DIAS!!!

JOU HAVE YUST RECEIBED A MEHICAN BYRUS.SIN WE NO HAB SO GOOD TECHNIOLOGICALLY ADBANCE IN MEHICO, DEES IS A MANUAL BYRUS.PLEESE DELETE ALL JOUR FILES ON JOUR HARD-DRIVE JOURSELF AND SEND THEES E-MAIL TO EVERJUN JOU NO.

TANK JOU POR HALPING ME-

JULIO MANUEL JOSE RODRIGUEZ
MEHICAN HACKER

PLEASE CONSIDERS THE PLANETA WHEN MAKING PRINT


This is so not politically correct, but gave me a good laugh anyway. In truth, it came from our IT director at work who created a new user just to send this email. What a great way to start my day! Happy April Fool's Day!