Surprise Weekend Getaway

This weekend I planned a surprise vacation for Scott and I, which was so much fun.  No special occasion, just for the heck of it.  Scott's Fiji project at work has been crazy for the last month, so it was awesome because Scott could just work all day and night and avoid the decision-making involved in planning a vacation, and I could plan whatever I wanted, all in the name of "surprise" (which meant we toured a cheese factory haha).  

We stayed at The Homestead in Midway, which is beautiful.  The valley itself is gorgeous (the leaves are already turning!) and then the grounds are filled with hanging baskets and cottages everywhere and Scott had to stop me from taking ten thousand photos because I was in heaven.

Within about 4 miles from home, we'd already gotten about 4 work phone calls, so I was a tad nervous that this whole vacation thing would be ruined by the audacity of people who think they need wages or supplies or instructions or a boss.  I was also nervous that Scott's cell phone might find its way into the crater.  Luckily things calmed down and we had the best time.  

 I already mentioned the cheese factory, but you guys, cheese is one of my four main food groups these days (another post for another time), so obviously I need to discuss it more.  We toured and tasted all of Heber Valley Artisan Cheese with a couple super old couples.  The tour group was really funny because one guy was practically trying to do a business deal with the cheese factory owner for some kind of cheese ventilation system the entire time, and another lady had the greatest thirst for cheese knowledge I've ever heard.  So of course that made the experience pretty entertaining.  I think making cheese is in my future.

Please note the antibacterial cheese boots.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing, visiting Park City & Olympic Park, eating delicious fancy meals (and my "surprise" supply of plantain chips), meeting up with some old friends, and then being equally excited to come home because life at our house is pretty darn great (and I'm a weirdo who misses cooking and I wanted to try out my new cheese slicer).  It's hard to complain about much on weeks like these.

30 Minutes of Car Racing

This week someone at Scott's work gave him two tickets to some car races at the Miller Motorsports Park.  I don't know if I give off a vibe of enjoying something like that, but I'll set the record straight and say this is not something I'd ever pay money to do.  But, for free, sure why not?

This place is in the  middle of nowhere near Tooele, UT.  Actually it's even further from the middle of nowhere than Tooele is.  It was surprisingly packed with people as well, which I found fascinating.  Basically you go there, you sit in some stands and watch cars drive by.  And...that is it.  Wait, maybe I'm forgetting something. ... Nope, I'm not.  Do people just really miss their commutes on the weekends or what?

Anyway, considering Scott and I are happy to mop the floor together at home, we had a good time despite the general lack of entertainment at the actual event.  I think racing could be improved by some blimps dropping free T-shirts and maybe some kiss cams and maybe a simultaneous basketball game; but I couldn't find a suggestion box, so I guess all my great ideas will go to waste.

Hilarious message as you leave the facility.

Barely Made It Part 2

Many years ago I made a blog post that consisted entirely of starts from other blog post that never got posted because I had nothing more to say.  I was deleting old drafts today, and there are some entertaining snippets here, so I'm bringing this back again.  Here are today's barely-made-it posts:

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"Today someone asked me if we went to the ward camp-out.  I laughed and said, "No."  They then proceeded to tell me I should go out and do these "fun" things while I don't have kids, and I thought..."Well, camping means I will probably not sleep through the night and I'll be in a noisy, uncomfortable place instead of my bed.  That...sounds a lot like having kids."  I think I made the most of my childlessness at home, actually."

"I recently realized the most valuable thing in my purse is my Arctic Circle coupons.  You steal my cell phone and the joke's on you."

"I like raisins more than a normal person.  Well, I guess normal people don't like raisins.  So I like raisins more than a person who likes raisins.  Once someone asked Scott what my favorite food was and he said, "Banana chips and raisins."  I thought, "What?  No way!"  ...and then I thought, "Well, yeah I guess so."  Haha."

"Lessons Learned From Refinishing Furniture:
1. In case you get polyurethane all over your hands, after freaking out, you can get it off with vegetable oil followed by soap and water.  Which is practically a manicure!  Minus the polyurethane.
2. You cannot clean a brush full of polyurethane with plain old soap and water.  This often causes you to get the polyurethane all over your hands and then you have to follow the steps in Lesson 1 above.
3. Staining items not made of wood makes things complicated. Especially if you didn't realize they weren't made of wood when you started staining them.
4. If you suffer from lack of patience, never, I repeat NEVER, try to refinish your own furniture.
5. Think about how many trips you think you'll make to Lowes/Home Depot, and multiply that number by 6."

"Thank you Facebook feuds for giving me something entertaining to observe while I wait for the next episode of The Bachelorette to come on.  I'm no respecter of drama."

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