You Know It's Thanksgiving When...

You see your husband passed out on your grandmother's couch, not caring about the girly blanket draped over his face so he can get a peaceful nap. Ah yes, this is Thanksgiving.

Check it out my food blog Fresh Cracked Pepper with one of my bff's Steph. We are bringing out the big guns.

Between the LInes

Mom: (yelling through the house) Who wants to help??

Me: (yelling back) Grant! (Grant is sitting in the room I'm in and looks at me with a smile)

Grant: (yelling) I'm being Volun-told ya'll! (and walks out of the room to see what my mom needs)

voluntold: Being told to do something (probably by your wife) for someone else that needs assistance.

BWOOP Future Heartbreaker Alert BWOOP

Grant, being the good brother-in-law that he is, taught Levi how to throw a spiral and gave him some tips for passing (he was QB in highschool). Next thing we knew, Levi made it as the first string QB on his 7th grade team! Nice. Here is Levi being down with his bad self giving one of his friends a high five after they won their first game. As I said before, FUTURE HEARTBREAKER ALERT!! Ladies between the ages of 9 and 14, watch out.

Grand Continuation

So here is our first impression of the Grand Canyon as we approached the South Rim. Pretty typical I guess of a National Park. We're excited. What's behind the A frames?? Show us!!

Once we paid to get in ($25 for 7 days, but we weren't there that long. It was the only choice), they HOOKED US UP with tons of Grand Canyon, uh, stuff. Really helpful were the brochures. There were also park rangers (yes, I just said rangers) willing to help with any questions or suggestions we needed assistance with. We made good use of those rangers.

Here is a picture of Grant from 1950.

They had a complimentary shuttle that would take people to different stops along the ridge. It was really helpful and allows you to see as much or as little of the canyon as you want. We got out and explored a little. We also held on for dear life on the shuttle. There were a lot of peops in there, we had to stand for part of the time.

Here's a picture of the couple in front of the breathtaking views after we watched the sunset. The glow of the set sun cast a beautiful purplish glow onto everything, including us. Amazing.

After the sun set though, it became very freezing and we booked it back to our car. Whew, it changed in a hurry.

One of my experiments...

Here's the rock where we (along with an intimate group) watched the sun set. It jet out into the middle of the ridge. We had a perfect view of the sun going down down down. Probably the best part of our visit.

Half way gone.

What, the sun's going down? Time to kiss the day goodbye.

This photo isn't retouched. Gorgeous.

Rockin the Grand Canyon

Hi babe.

I see you.

We had such a fun relaxed time for our first visit to the Grand Canyon. Who knows, maybe in a fews years we'll be seeing it again with a couple kids through the windows of an RV! After we left the park, we went to the IMAX Grand Canyon movie that was really entertaining and a good end to our day. After that, we were on to Sedona for another day trip. More on that later...

Thanks to my Sirius XM radio, the radio never gets dull or repetitive. It also satisfies one of my greatest joys in life, hearing new music that I like. One of my recent discoveries has been TV on the Radio. Check out the dark, sensual song Dlz. Oooh. It will groove you.

Full Throttle... well okay, maybe Half

Sundays usually result in a Hole in the Wall. It's a good thing I made two because Grant needed his strength for this...

VROOM VROOM

I love my rebel.

The Grand Canyon is for Lovers

To be continued...

Tiggity Tagged

I have been tagged! Wow, this is a first. (Sorry this has taken me so long Ash). So, I was challenged to write 6 random facts about me and then tag 6 people. Hmm. Let's see if I can do it...

#1. I lived in the Carribean (Dominican Republic and St. Lucia) when I was 2 years old with my family while my dad went to medical school (he's a psychiatrist) so if anyone needs to know how to do the merengue , you now know who to call. I also lived in Syracuse, New York for my first grade year and had a teacher named Ms. Cali. After that, my sister Anne and I would go back to Syracuse to visit my dad for the summer. I loved it back there and am still very partial to the East Coast.

#2. I have never broken a bone or had braces. I am not surprised about not breaking any bones because I am soo cautious about EVERYTHING! It's annoying to me sometimes, but it's kept me safe...

#3. I moved from Utah back to California to date my now husband, Grant. I had fallen for him during a visit to California and I was still living in Utah. I had a few weeks left of the semester and when it was over, I drove myself back to California hoping that things between us would work out. He kissed me the first nite I moved back. :) I got what I wanted... which actually was a good precursor to him still giving me what I want. He was worth the 1 and a half tanks of gas I used up to move back. My roomate at the time, Steph, can tell you I flew out of Utah like a crazy woman in love!

#4. I have saved my sister Anne's life about 5 times. (Back to the cautious thing... Anne isn't so cautious. I've had to keep my eye on her). There was an incident when she was eating mushrooms in the yard and I was told they were poisionous (Anne was told that too, but obviously didn't take it to heart like I did). One day, she decided to let me in on her little secret. She said, "Callie, I have something I want to show you." We went outside to the tree in the front yard, she put her finger over her mouth and whispered, "Shh, don't tell", then she bent down, picked a mushroom out of the grass and popped it into her mouth. I became hysterical and ran inside and told my mom what Anne had been doing. It was a huge ordeal as Poison Control was called and Ipecac was forced down Anne's throat. Anne was very upset having to drink the Ipecac and when she refused to drink it, I remember my mom saying with a panicked voice, "Would you rather die?!" and Anne defiantly replied, "YES!". I was traumatized because I believed Anne might die for not drinking it. Come to find out later, Anne had been eating the mushrooms for months and knew they weren't going to kill her. It's funny because Anne still feels the need to confess to me, knowing it could get her in trouble. She's a good girl now though. She hasn't had to confess anything to me for a while. :)

#5. When I lived in Utah, I would run 8 miles up the canyon and 8 miles back (16 miles total for those who don't do math). I really loved running out there. I ran the 10k Rex Lee Run in the name of my late grandma Joanne who died of cancer a couple months after I ran the race. I wish I felt inspired to get outdoors here but I haven't felt the pull. In Utah, I thrived on it.

#6. I only do my hair like once a week. Grant actually likes it wavy and it makes it so much easier for me. Just scrunch and go!

Don John Juanito (that's his full name, but not many people know that) was in town for a couple weeks from The Army. With this as the sitchiation, we had to do something unprecedented. John treated his eldest sister to a nite on the town in a sushi cooking class. We had such fun and impressed ourselves quite a bit with our sushi instincts. We made handrolls, nigiri, cut rolls, and yeah. We made the rice, we cut our own pieces of fish and mixed our own spicy tuna and with our crazy knife skills, we chop chop chopped our way to sushi heaven. Hey, we had a great time... so sushi me!

This is how I roll.

Here goes nothin. (Our first bites of our own sushi. This can be a scary thing.)

My Dear Nigiri. (Focus on the top one and just kind of skim past the other two weird looking ones.)

John's mastering the ancient ritualistic sushi art. Such precision. Except for when he cut his finger... just kidding.

Wasabi John

John's wasabi.

I had so much fun John!! Thanks a wasabillion.

A little late, but Nevertheless

Very cool.

Could it be?

I'm sure the same phrase goes through all of our minds when we read this. That phrase is "Uh Oh". Yeah, if we get in the way, we'll be in double trouble. We get the hint.

This guy is like, "Oh, I'm sorry, am I in the way? Didn't you see my name? It means I am on a mission to get in your way for the sake of my own agenda. Namely, I am going to hog the sun, the warmth, the view, the whole effing road if I feel like it! And if you get in the way of my fun, or should I say sun, you'll be sorry." We all know "Sunseekers" in our lives, don't we? Let's hope that we can think about the other guy next time we are on a mission to seek the preverbial sun. Let's ask ourselves, "At what cost? At hogging the sun from the next guy?"

What this RV's name is really saying, "Get the eff out of my way". I mean because who wants to get caught in a hurricane? Let's not be hurricanes to those around us.

(A special thanks for my great friend Sjauna, who, on a road trip with her family took these excellent pictures for us to enjoy! Thanks for thinking of us Sj!)

Stylin

Houndstooth goes with any outfit, am I right ladies? That's why this is the Cutest Water Bottle Ever! I love my new BPA-free accessory. I have converted from plastic bottled water to filling up the Cutest Water Bottle Ever with filtered water. Get yours here. For you men, there are manly designs too, so you might want to check them out.

Hotter than Billy Mitchell's Wing Sauce

Would a documentary about the guy pictured above (Billy Mitchell) disappoint? Rent King of Kong. Don't question it, just do it. You'll be glad you did. It's perfect for a date, it's perfect for a party, for a sleepover, or even by yourself. It's hilarious, uplifting, and will get you on the edge of your seat. Even if you're not a gamer, you'll appreciate it.

Get up Stand up

As some of you may have seen, I posted a couple weeks ago about standing on the street with Prop 8 signs. The truth is, so many people are doing so much, and here is a link to someone who has "put her money where her mouth is", literally. I'm glad we can all come together in this and encourage one another to stand up for what we believe, even when it is unpopular. Yes, there is opposition, and just as we aim to tolerate and love everyone, tolerance is a two-way street and we expect the same amount of tolerance that is demanded of us. It is so ironic to think that a country that was founded on religious freedom is having it potentially torn from underneath it under the guise of equality and freedom. In my opinion, Voting No on Prop 8 will take away many more rights than it will bestow. Just read what has already happened in Mass. where gay marriage has already been legalized. It has left many people powerless in many ways. It's fine if you don't agree, I just hope that everyone educates themselves on the pros and cons before Nov. 4th so everyone can make an educated vote and understand the consequences of that vote.

My LIfe's Soundtrack

"...D to the I to the A to the M, O to the N to the D to the Pearls of Love..."

What does this even mean? I don't know, I don't know if Prince even knows. All I know is that I used to love the song in 5th grade and it gets stuck in my head all these years later in 20th grade. Sometimes I wake up with it in my head. Weird!

PS. I wish they had a music note button so I could press it and you would all know the part in quotes is supposed to be sung. It would be so fun if we could just put to song what we are expressing by applying musical notes to what we want when we're typing. It would make the "My Life's Soundtrack" posts a lot easier.

"M' Lady"

Is Chivalry dead? To those that feel moved to answer yes, I relate the following story:

There we are at Ephraim and Cami's reception. Grant is the Best Man (hence the tux), and we are seated. The shoes I am wearing are causing me much discomfort and temptation to complain. Thankfully though, when packing for our trip, I included a backup pair. However, this "backup pair" was down three flights of stairs ( or two elevators) in the dungeon of a basement of the Provo Library, hidden in the trunk of a car, buried further still within the chaos that was my suitcase. I express to Grant my grievance (without a hint of grumbling) and communicate my intent to retrieve "my other shoes". As I begin to move, he stops me promptly stifling my attempt, and turns to the door. I watch him walk swiftly out of the party. One minute goes by, two minutes, and three minutes turn into eight. Finally, he briskly enters the large room and makes his way to the other side where I am seated. As he approaches, I see my relief in his hand and, as I look up, he presents me with something more. What's that strewn across his face? Is it a scowl of labor? A look of apathetic obligation? No, No! His countenance is aglow with chivalry and dons the victory of a hero!
Now, I not only challenge the belief that chivalry no longer graces the earth, but go further to ask, does chivalry equally edify the man that participates, as the woman it does oblige? I propose the answer is a resounding yes.

Or, I guess he could just be smiling for the camera?

Needless to say, I prefer the former notion.