a few words

why can't people just be who they are?

why do they have to fear the repercussions of another person's judgment?

How can you live in a life half played?


"The man who can keep a secret may be wise, but he is not half as wise as the man with no secrets to keep” - Edgar Watson Howe

when is it too much, too long, to keep the secret so hidden that you cannot live happily and freely in all aspects of your life?

BE FREE

BE YOURSELF

I'm still going to love you relentlessly, that's what friends are for!

MY LACK OF BLOGGING

So Brittany was nice enough to inform me of the fact that I'm a complete slacker when it comes to this damn blog.

So I checked it today to see just how long ago I had blogged. SHE WAS RIGHT. My last post was about our journey to San Diego and wow that was forever ago!

So an update: There is a new blog to follow my little growing family. (not growing currently) here's the link to that one. It will be private after 30 days to once that time comes I will be asking for emails or just stealing them from facebook pages to ensure I stay popular.

There is also a link to the blog for AIZA-Deisgns to keep tabs on new designs, specials, and fun contests and amazing art.

Ok so since San Diego a LOT has happened. Too much to make individual blogs about. So for those who missed out on what happened since then, too bad. The rest already know and those are the important people anyway. Don't get offended, if you do, re-read the disclaimer at the beginning of this blog. The End.

You Stay Classy San Diego! Pt 3

Day 3

We do our normal afternoon wake up and head to TGI Friday's where we enjoy a great lunch. Then we headed over to the streets to get our souvenirs. We bought a couple t-shirts for the men in our lives and then wandered some more. We finally heard from Britte's friend Shaun, who will later become the brunt of every joke. We head over to his apartment that was only a few short leaps from our apartment. They were having a BBQ. By 'they' I mean his friend, and neighbor, Clay. We hang out with them for a while and then they get a fabulous idea to go do some dancing! So after a couple Coronas, and a bottle or two of Stolis we head out with the men. We make it to The Bitter End Bar and get to the smokiest dance floor I've been to in a long time. This wasn't cigarette smoke but that fake smoke they use for shows. ICKY. We spent the night dancing and then the most memorable part of our trip began.

Day 3 NIGHT TIME (don't judge)

At some point Britte left the bar and found her way back to the hotel with a 1.43 min cab ride. I ventured out into the city with Clay who apparently had received a text message from his neighbor Shaun to meet back at the apartment. We made it all the way to the mall and back before we found the apartment that was a mere 2 blocks from the bar where we were originally. We finally made it back to the apartment and Clay realized he forgot his keys. He then started to explain to me that he had to go back to the bar to find his neighbor. He continued to tell me about this neighbor not realizing he was talking about Shaun whom I had met a mere 3 hours prior. He kept asking if I had "met his neighbor" and that "his name is Shaun, he's a pretty cool guy". I was so confused but it made for a great night.

Side Note: I learned who Shaun, the neighbor was, what an Alien Head Grab consisted of, and also what an apartment can look like after a pilot has only been back for a few weeks. All VERY interesting items.

I found my way back to the hotel after the debacle with the missing keys and the neighbor named Shaun. Britte and I clonked out like logs for the rest of the night.

You Stay Classy San Diego! Pt 2

DAY 2

Saturday began around 11am. Hey! Don't make fun we were DRAINED!!!! We skim about the internet to find our next lunch destination. It so happens to be BUCA DI BEPPO.

Here we find a great Italian menu. We order some fabulous pasta dishes I go for the classic Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Britte has a great dish of Chicken Parmesan.

We decide to order some delicious garlic cheese bread and when it gets to our table we realize it has HUGE chunks of garlic in them. So we proceed to peel back the cheese and take out some of the garlic. Well I couldn't handle just the bread and needed a side of marinara or something to compliment it. So I asked our server for a side of their marinara and she said "sure I'll bring it right out". Britte and I waited, and waited, and waited for the marinara to come out. Then it arrived in all it's glory. I took one look and said, " how much is THIS gonna cost me!?" this was no ordinary "side" this was a Bucca Di Beppo "side". The picture says it all. as Britte would say yes this was "...the small side we used to ‘up’ the tomato in all of our other food, take leftovers home and feed a third world country”.

Then we get to the dessert part of our meal and we find the most amazing description of chocolate cake: "Double Dark Chocolate Cake: Moist dark chocolate cake with layers of rich chocolate frosting on top of our sinful chocolate Sambuca sauce." yeah we ordered it without skipping a beat! Then our server (Lauren) asked, "you want the single portion right?" We responded with what I'm sure were two ridiculous expressions on our face. When the cake came out we realized that 'small' is not an option at this place. Needless to say the cake was absolutely delish!

As we were getting ready to leave Lauren asked what the occasion was and we told her we were just visiting. She gave us a couple otions and then offered us discount tickets to a club where her boyfreind was the opening DJ for DJ Bunny. Britte grabbe the tickets and we both looked at each other like a couple 14 year olds who just got back stage passes for a backstreet boys concert. We paid our tab and headed out the door.

We proceeded to do some shopping. We stopped at several stores with not much enthusiasm for what we saw. San Diego is not like going to Mexico or Hawaii where there are completely different stores and items to buy that there are at home. We walk all the way down past the mall where we found a 'park' if you will. Pantoja Park. But this wasn't your ordinary let's-play-on-the-swings kinda park. This was the let's-get-your-daily-hit-of-coke-from-the-black-guy-in-the-hoodie kinda park. Scary stuff! We walked wuickly back to where ever it was that we were going. We finally made it back to 5th street and were thinking about dinner.

We ended up back at the Irish Pub for dinner. Here we met someone that changed the rest of our trip. Tayloe Dieli. She will be one of the most memorable servers I have ever had!

I wasn't sure what to have because I wasn't the hungriest tiger in the cage. So I asked for a salad and Britte ordered a tomato basil mozzarella salad. I wanted to get some liquids in my system after all the walking so I ordered a water, Tayloe was a quick one and came back with "let me guess you want lemon for your water?" We all laughed then I got serious and said "yes. Why not just put a whole lemon in the cup cause I will need a few." We jsut laughed it off and waited for our food. I will NEVER forget what Tayloe brought out. Yes you guessed it, or amybe you didn't, it's ok I still love you. When I heard the tap on the table from the glass which I assumed was mine I turned to find a large lemon sitting inside a cup with water. The laughter was insane! Tayloe had just earned the oscar for best supporting actress in a comedy. I couldn't help but get a picture of this amazing work of art. Talk about taking me seriously! Hahahahahaha!

It was the beginning to a VERY eventful night. We met many interesting people most of which were not american. We went dancing with some british blokes and lost one to the perils of the men's restroom. One reminded me of Nick Lachey and the other of Hugh Grant. Interesting combo. Wiskey Girl look so different in the day time. LOL. We eventaully ventured out to the streets seeing as last call was 1am. I thought we were out of Utah?! Oh well! We ran into a man from sweden and his two buddies which were very rude to us. One who powdered certain areas of his body to replace other items of clothing. AWKWARD. We let them leave and went about talking to a man who claimed to be from Sandy, UT and talked to me for a good 30 min about his life struggles. Again AWKWARD. Finally we went back to the hotel after our failed attempts to find a killer after party.

You Stay Classy San Diego!

I haven't even a clue where to begin....

So Britt and I decided to take a fantastical trip out to San Diego. We were counting down the days and gearing up for a sun and fun filled weekend. We made reservations for our hotel in downtown and had the whole weekend to party it up.

Well let's start at the airport in Salt Lake. We check in, go to the gate and sit to wait for the plane to board. Britte notices that the door to the gate is open so we decide to ask if they had begin to board. We realize the entire plane was boarded and probably waiting for us. WHEW! Almost missed the plane.... That was only the beginning.

DAY 1

When we land we get our bags and walk outside. CLOUDY!! We take a taxi to our hotel. The taxi was DISGUSTING! The man smelled like ammonia, "the cheese they put on nachos, cigarettes, and beef." Not only that but we get a slight case of whiplash from the man's superb driving skills. Oh and did I mention when I paid him he took a $5 tip and then I tipped him another $5. What a stealer! Once we are dropped off at what seems to be our hotel we realize we could very easily get shot in this neighborhood. NOTE TO SELF: never stay anywhere near hotel circle. We go up to the front desk and they look up our info. It took them 40 solid minutes to check us in. Meanwhile we are noticing the foul stench that is the hotel. We have ultimately named this smell "dead wet rodent". It was disgusting!! Finally after the long wait we head up to the room where the carpets in the hall have bumps in them, the "dead wet rodent" smell is getting considerably worse, and the elevator light is flickering as the elevator shakes all the way up to our floor. We enter our room and it could have easily been the room where this "dead wet rodent" lived. It was repulsive!!!! We knew at that moment we needed to get out or we'd never make it home alive. So we investigate and find a nicer hotel in the heart of San Diego. We take another $20 taxi ride and hope for the best.

We get to the Comfort Inn and are highly impressed by what we see. Not only does it smell like soap it takes 2 minutes to check in and we are on the top floor of a great hotel. Mind you this hotel is literally a block away from the busiest street in Downtown. Britte and I were both very happy to be there. We get all cleaned up and ready for some good food.

Our first and what will soon be our most memorable restaurant is Dublin Square Irish Pub. We enjoyed some really good steaks (MOLLY O'MALLY'S MEAT ROAST STRIPS & LEITRIM'S PUB STEAK) and met a fantastic server Alexandria. She gave us a great idea to go venture out on 5th Street. Those stories soon to come.

After dinner we decided to take it easy since the events that day hadn't been the best start to this weekend-o-fun. We head back to our hotel and watch a fantastical movie HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU. Britte and I had our laughs and then we hit the sack. We dreamt of having a much better day the following morning.

Day 2 coming soon!

The News...

I'm slightly in shock at the moment. The good kinda shock when you feel like you're not the only person in the world to be in your particular situation. But you also wonder what the hell!?

The type of shock you get in when you hear things about old friends and your immediate reaction is let me give you some advice. When in reality you should keep your mouth shut because you haven't talked to them in ages and you didn't exactly leave things on a good note either. Oops. This is the point where a million questions run through your head and you know that there may never be an answer. whatev.