Brother Diamond

 

 I thought about it and I think there are 3 things that I am committed to writing about faithfully:

• Neil Diamond
• Running
• and Shoes

Everything else is hit or miss.

And so while you may not be getting the finer and more important details of my life, be grateful that you can take part in the things that I'm passionate about.

Today's lovely topic is Neil!!!! Yay!!!! See? You guys are probably sick of hearing about him...but I could talk about him til the cows come home (like my Idahoan phrase there? I'm really catching on to the locals;)

So a month ago my family went to Neil's concert in Sandy at the Rio Tinto Stadium (where Real plays). These were changes as he usually plays in the winter at an indoor arena. But having it outdoors was way fun.


 This was us before the concert. Leslie and I were rocking our favorite Neil shirts. We were waaaaay excited.

 The good thing about Neil is that he is a family obsession. Everyone in the fam has got a lovin' feeling for him.

 I got some good pics of the concert in action. Just in case you were wondering, the ladies in red are my heroes. When I was growing up I always wanted to be a back up singer for Brother Neil. And I'm not going to lie. Those dreams are still going strong. But don't worry-Neil says that dreams can come true...so someday...

I was soooo proud of Ben. He was really worried that he wouldn't love it as much as my fam but he had a way good time-singing along with the songs he knew and dancing with me every time I stood up. He even surprised me at the end of the concert by saying that he wanted to get his own Neil Diamond tee. How could I say no to that? So he went and picked out this little ditty in true Neil fashion. Next concert: Ben will rock the same hairdo as the shirt :)

Anyhow...Neil put on an AWESOME show. As always. And while I was watching and dancing along, I thought about how awesome it was that he is still going strong after all these years. I mean, the man is 72 years old. And he's still rocking it. Do you think in 50 years we'll all be like "Oh yeah, just got me some Justin Bieber tickets. Any takers?" or "Let's go to the One Direction tribute band show!" Let's be real. Probably not. Music just isn't the same as it used to be.

But I'm glad that I was able to take part in the awesomeness that was a concert from a legendary and iconic singer songwriter.

The Olympics

I love watching the Olympics. Who doesn't? Eees the best. And I don't have anything really profound to say about them...but I just think it's worth mentioning because it's kind of a big deal. And not just a big deal in the I'm-so-awesome-and-that's-why-people-are-reading-this-crappily-written-piece-of-web-media kind deal. It's world wide legitimacy. Eh? Eh?

And that probably just made you think of Canada. See? You are already in the Olympic spirit. Good job!

So here are my random musings on the Olympics:

• Watching the Olympics makes me cry. I am such a wimp but when I see people reaching their hard earned goals, I tear up. Yep. Lame. Last night I watched a girl win the 100 m hurdles by a hundreth of a second. When she heard she won she fell to the track and started sobbing. And I was right there with her.
• It's a fact that more people watch the winter Olympics because there is more possibility of accident and injury.
• I work with developmentally and mentally disabled people. One of the ladies I work with asked me what I was watching. I said, "I'm watching the Olympics." She nodded then replied, "I was in the Olympics. I did track and swimming. That's why I hate those so much now." Duly noted, my dear, duly noted.
• Finally, if you watch today at 3:40pm you'll see Cam Levins racing. He went to SUU and graduated the same time as me. He's crazy fast. You actually kind of have to be to qualify for Olympian status. Unfortunately, he's racing for Canada, but I know him, which is the point of this bullet. AND I wear the same running shoe as him. How legit is that?

Anyhow. The Olympics are super awesome. I love the summer ones because that's when they do the running events. And I know everyone else on the planet thinks those are the worst ones. But they're my absolute fave. Mmmm. Love me some running. What about you? Which event do you love to watch?

Happy Olympic Days!

I'm a Slacker

I've put off posting for months now. The reason? I cannot for the life of me come up with a cute/ clever/ funny blog name now that I'm married.

Let's be real. The husband will most likely NEVER actually post on the blog, let alone read it...so technically I don't NEED a title that incorporates both of us. HOWEVER, my old name was "She Rocks." And I don't care who you are, you've got to admit that a name like that screams, "I'm single and ready to mingle!"

The old name "She Rocks" is from Eric Hutchinson's song Rock and Roll. And I always assumed that when I got married I'd change the name to match the final chorus: "They Rock." BUT the more I thought about it, the more I realized that anyone familiar with the song would assume that Ben and I fell in love after a supposed one night stand. Which actually isn't the case. So my fall back plan completely flew out the window.

So I've been thinking and brainstorming for quite awhile now and as you can see by the absolutely horrendously BORING blog name...I came up with nothing. I will admit that I was entirely tempted to use "The BK Lounge." Mine and Ben's initials remind me instantly of Burger King which is pretty fantastic in the worst way possible. Who wouldn't want to be instantaneously associated with one of America's favorite fast food chains? "The BK Lounge" sounds like some white trash goodness which was all too tempting to throw up on screen...but in the end I opted out.

So I'm still searching for a decent blog title. I hope y'all aren't turned off by the current lame one. But if you are, I honestly don't blame you. Anyhow, everything is going well and I promise to post more later. Hopefully sooner than last time...

For your information...

I'M GETTING MARRIED IN 2 WEEKS!!!!

Just in case you forgot or...didn't know or...needed a reminder.

This is Where it's Going Down

I was going to apologize for writing another wedding related post but then I decided that this whole deal is only going to happen once so write I will.

Since Ben and I started talking about getting married, the big question has been

Where?

And y'all know that what with me being a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it wasn't so much a matter of Where? but of

Which temple?

I am a freak of a girl. I'm pretty sure that as girl protocol goes, you must have your temple chosen out no less than 10 years before you plan on sealing the deal. I fail. I have never ever been entirely drawn to one temple in particular. I have never had my temple.

Let's be honest:

They are all beautiful. 

And the same thing happens in all of them.

Anyhow. I finally decided on the Provo temple for several different reasons. But usually when I tell people this is the temple of choice, they scoff and look completely incredulous.

So I figured I would share exactly why we decided on Provo.

#1. It's close and stress free

It takes me 10-15 minutes to get there. I don't even have to get on the freeway. Bargain. And, as proven by Tairsa Brown, after turning onto Main Street in Springville it is completely possible to get to the temple without coming to a complete stop. Ever.

#2. The wedding party and I will not be treated like cattle

No one is going to say that the Salt Lake temple is ugly. Because it just simply isn't. It's gorgeous. But people will say that brides and grooms who get married there are treated like cattle. Complete with numbers instead of names. Now, I obviously haven't been married there, but these are the rumors I've heard. Not to mention the fact the photographers get into fights for picture locations. Added stress on the wedding day? No thank you.

Compare that to the Provo temple. Hardly anyone chooses to get married in the Provo temple. Results? Temple workers love you if you get married there and they treat you like royalty. Smooth day with zero fights over locations. Good deal.

#3. The Provo temple looks like a fountain

Ben was really surprised when I told him that nobody gets married in the Provo temple. I told him most people think it's outdated/ugly. "Really?" he asked. "But it looks just like a fountain."

And so it does. Observe:

 Temple

Fountain
(images found here and here)

#4. The Background

I think the Provo temple's grounds are some of the prettiest. I think they are trying to make up for the structure by keeping the grounds extra beautiful. In the spring and summer they've got all sorts of flowers blooming. Not to mention the gorgeous mountains in the background. Love those.

See? So pretty. (image found here)

Anyway. For those reasons plus some others I won't expound on, that's why I'm getting married in the Provo temple. You can still judge me. But at least now you are informed.

A not so formal introduction

Well people, it's been just about 4 weeks since I got engaged and it is still blowing my mind a little bit. Can I just say that I am so excited?

Cause I am.
I am so excited.

I don't think anyone is really reading my blog these days...but I figure the people who do read it are the people who love me. And if you love me, I'm sure you're interested in the love of my life, yes?

Most people don't know him super well (on account of them living hundreds of miles away). But I figured I would do what I can to fix it. So this here post is all about him.

Meet Ben:

(yep. I've got Asian eyes and terrible hair...
but he has trouble taking pictures
and he actually looks real good in this one
if I do say so myself)

Anyway. Here is some random information about Ben that will help you get to know him just a little bit better. And for the record, I think you all should meet him because he is pretty fantastic and after reading this post you will have some awesome conversation topics.

Full name: Benjamin Daniel Brown
Birth date: August 20th, 1989
From: Jerome, Idaho
Served his mission in: Rosario, Argentina
Random piece of info: He broke his back while snowboarding when he was 18
Something he wouldn't tell you: He was the best Spanish speaker in his whole mission (from several reliable mission sources)
Major: Until verrry recently he wanted to major in accounting (I mean offense to no one when I say, "Ew. Boring.") However, a combination of individuals (i.e. me, his parents, God, etc.) convinced him otherwise. He is now excited to officially start a double major in Spanish and either German or Russian. He wants to become a professor.
Favorite food: Pancakes
Favorite dessert: Cream cheese cake (yep. You read that right)
Hobbies: Hiking, rock climbing, reading
Another random tidbit: He has had several unfortunate circumstances with hot dogs. So he hates them and won't eat them
Family info: He's the youngest and has 4 older sisters

Okay. That's all my information for now. I feel like my last couple of posts have been pretty gushy and sentimental so I apologize. It's very unlike me but planning a wedding suddenly brings out a whole slew of unnecessary emotions. It's a blessing and a curse.

I trust I'll get it back together eventually. Thank you for your patience.

They come in spurts...

Yeah. I can't believe it either--2 posts in like 3 days? Wha??? But here I am again, you lucky readers, you ;)

So I've become a slacker in the FHE department. I will go when I'm in charge (I'm FHE ma) but other than that I usually let myself think I have something better to do. This last Monday was no different. Ben tried to convince me that we needed to go, that we were starting bad routines by missing FHE. Luckily I'm very persuasive and talked him and my other roomies into having our own.

We watched a few Mormon Messages (who doesn't love those) and then Ben whipped out a Team Hoyt video. I hadn't ever seen the awesomeness of this before. But let's be real, people. I honestly get teary-eyed watching people finish 5k's. I'm not kidding you. Half marathons are a whole other story. So this little clip had me sobbing my eyes out. It's so beautiful. You have to watch it. Definitely a feel good little clip.