Bad Hair Day

Sometimes when you go camping your hair just won't go right. The second day in the wilderness, my hair became unruly. Now, if you've met me, you know that unruly hair is sort of my signature, but seriously, you've not seen anything like my hideous camping hair.

I couldn't find an attractive way to wear my bandana. This is nice enough, but it doesn't really do it for me.



Uh, no. Sideshow Bob anyone?


Aw, come on. Now I look like Carrot Top before he got on the juice.


What's a girl to do? There's got to SOME way to wear this bandana thing in a cute way.

Behold. I finally found it.

Fourth of July Celebration

This Fourth of July, our family, along with some close friends decided to celebrate our country's independence by exercising our First Amendment and Second Amendment Rights; the right to peaceably assemble (backyard party) and the right to bear arms (fireworks) in that order.

We were so busy this weekend and I am so very tired (the combination of fireworks and cough medicine kill me ever time) that I am offering you only the Cliff's Notes version of our fast and furious Fourth of July Spectacular Featuring The Second Annual Sidewalk of Fire.

Our Friday, Fourth of July can be broken down like this:

Morning to Early Afternoon: Insta-care, hand-cart enthusiast doctor, Amoxicillian, Penicillin, lazy pharmacist, Home Depot, Roman shades, Roman candles, swimming, lounging, frolicking, chip-dippin', hip-slippin', more swimming, thinking about it, nap taking, Walmart crowd fighting, swinging, house cleaning.

To see the entire collection of Reese's first swimming day click here.

Mid to Late Afternoon: Barbecuing mounds of meat, barbecuing mounds of faux meat, Freedom hot dogs, Henry's love interest, cuddling, swooning, tag playing, freedom tag playing, four wheeling in the backyard, bird watching, bug catching.

Early Evening: Ice cream refreshment, ice cream resentment, hot dog dropping (twice), sorbet eating, flirting, more ice cream refreshment, big hat wearing.

Still Early Evening: Reflecting on feelings of freedom,reflecting on feelings of fatigue, stern father figure, smoke bombs in the backyard, snaps spit-wadding (invention of a weapon, folks!), injuries, feats of strength.

Late Evening or as we like to call it The Sidewalk of Fire (second annual): Sparklers, Zombies on fire, Paul almost on fire, Golden Showers (the firework), more smoke bombs, prairie dog impersonations, sneaking up on Henry, startling Henry, camera frustration, camera elation, PSP playing, late-night Maverick Icee runs, midnight tag playing, cuddling, rave gear, buckets of bombs.


To see the rest of our fun on the 4th click here to be linked to our flickr page.

Revenge is Sweet and Sticky...Like Soda

Sometimes your husband's family gets hungry. Sometimes they say to themselves, "Hey, why don't we cook some ridiculous ribs and make a whole lotta of potato salad?" After preparing said foods, they realize they need some help eating all the finger-lickin' goodness they have created so they call in some reinforcements in the form of family members.

When you get that rib/potato salad call, you are ready and you immediately jump into action. But you think to yourself, 'won't we be thirsty after eating all the delicious meat and potatoes?'. Sometimes, not every time, but sometimes, that answer is YES.

So you swing by the convenience store and pick up two bags full of so much soda pop. After all, your husband's family did call in reinforcements. A lot of people will need beverage refreshment.

But sometimes, not everyone answers their telephone. In fact, only you, your husband and your two children show up to eat food.

What to do with all the soda pop? Certainly four adults, one three year old and an eight month old can NOT down six 2-Liter bottles all in one sitting. You try to offer the left over soda as a kind gesture to your in-laws. They are having none of it. Your husband starts giving you Navy Seal signals from the corner instructing you to quickly gather up the kids without causing too much attention to yourself. You do as instructed.

On his signal, which in this case was, "Well, we better go. Love you guys!" you sweep Reesie up in your arms and throw Henry over your shoulder and get the he** out of their house before they notice you leaving without the soda.

You think you've all safely made it outside and to the safety of your getaway vehicle, when suddenly you see this coming down the driveway after you...


Oh, no! That Mother-in-Law must have seen through all the secret hand signs and trickery. She knows you are leaving the soda behind.

"Go, go, go! Start the car!" your husband shouts. You have no choice but to squeal those tires as you peel out of their driveway. You decide to temp fate and get a closer look at your clearly over matched Mother-in-Law as she desperately tries to unload the soda on you.

Sorry, Grandma Lauri. Not today.

You and your husband are so proud of yourselves on the way home. You high-five yourselves for a couple of miles down the road until your hands get sore.

But sometimes, In-laws have long memories and they have soda related revenge in store for you. They are cunning. They let a few days go by. When you come home from a long day at work, you find this on your doorstep...

At first you think some kindly stranger has left you a cold beverage as a treat. But you look closer and see the soda prankster's calling card.

Oh. I. Don't. Think. So.

Quickly, you and your husband put your heads together to formulate a plan so clever and so diabolical that you spend the rest of the night telling each other how awesome the other one is. Again, you high-five yourself until your hands are raw.

You let a few more days go by. Then one early morning your husband sneaks into his parents house and does this...

That's right folks, four liters of stale soda pop poured into 45 2-ounce plastic cups.

What's that? You say you want another look at that? How's about a bird's eye view? This is what sweet revenge looks like from up top.

This is what we look like. Poppin' and lockin' cause we're so awesome. Bring it.

Game on? I think it's game OVER!

Cough Syrup Makes Me Care About Coreys

I've been battling a cold recently. No biggie. But this weekend I over did it a little and wound up spending most of Sunday in a reclining position heavily sedated by cough syrup. Around 1:00 in the afternoon, I was surfing through the TV channels when I saw a listing on A&E titled The Coreys.

I'll admit, my heart jumped a little bit. I knew instantly that this program was about none other than the Haim and the Feldman. Goodie. Normally, I wouldn't have thought twice about this program, but I was intrigued on several levels. Let me to break them down for you:

1. The Coreys was a biography program profiling the two 80's teen heart throbs. I'm a sucker for biographies. Especially the smut filled kind that would normally only take up 20 minutes of your time, but the programmers stretch that time by adding filler. You know, interviews with second grade teachers, second hand sightings by store clerks and other irrelevant figures that may or may not have been in the central character's life.
2. It was on A&E. It had to be sort of highbrow didn't it? *Spoiler Alert* It so wasn't.
3. Remember The Randoms? Do you recall my brief encounter with me and Jeremy's soul mate couple? They were highly interested in Corey Feldman. If I could glean enough information from this program I could use that to woo The Randoms into a double date. That is if our paths ever crossed again.
4. I have met Corey Haim. Yes, it's true. I had a brush with celebrity greatness just as his greatness was tainting a bit. In order to keep you hanging on a little longer, I'm not going to spill this story just quite yet. But know that my story involves traveling great distances, awkward silences, smelly socks and Doritos. That ought to keep you on the edges of your seats.

So I'm guessing right about now, all you readers out there under 26 there are wondering 'Who is Corey Haim and Corey Feldman?' My readership above that age are asking 'Which one is the Haim and which one is Feldman?' The only exception is Julee. She is probably sitting in stunned silence, no wait, she would be shrieking OUT LOUD, at the thought that someone doesn't know the difference between these two, let alone, who the hell they are.

To keep this post under 2000 words, I'll show you pictures of the Coreys.

Corey Haim circa 1980s

Corey Haim circa now

Corey Feldman circa 1980s

Corey Feldman circa now

Can you guess which one can't get his life together and off the drugs? If you guess the Haim, then you would be correct-amundo.

Now that we're straight on that, my cough syrup induced (over the counter formula) and weakened state allowed me to watch not only the hour plus long biography program that mostly just showed clips from Lost Boys and the Haim hanging out with Alissa Milano, it also enabled me to watch three full hours of their reality show The Two Coreys.

Those are four hours that I will never see again folks, and I'm not even sad about it one bit. Looking back on it the next day, I was a little embarrassed that I wasted so much time on the Coreys, but when I phoned Julee and confessed, I detected a high level of jealousy in her voice so I knew I had made the right four hour decision.

During those hours, as I said, I was in a hallucinogenic state. I thought the television I was watching was absolutely mind blowing. I couldn't believe I was seeing the Coreys as they were today and how their lives had taken such different trajectories. I could see clearly (with the aid of cough syrup) why they misunderstood each other so much. The Haim was guarded and insecure. He just wants his life back. The Feldman has moved on a bit. He's married, organized and has things going for him. They have jealousy issues with each other and just want the magic of the 80s back in their lives. These two are in couples counseling for heck sakes! (BTW: neither of the Coreys ever said 'heck sakes' as far as I know.)

Now, remember when I said that I met Corey Haim? I've always kind of laughed off this story and made a little fun of him while at it. I now sort of feel guilty doing so. Here's why. He's incredibly insecure and I don't think he's had control of his own life ever.

When I was a junior in high school (1989), my Uncle Kit (casting director) was in town working on a film starring the Haim. At this time, Corey was a little past his prime, but only by about two years. My Uncle asked if I wanted to meet him. I said sure. My Uncle was so excited to fulfill, what he thought, was a dream of mine. It really wasn't, but I so appreciated the gesture. I took along a friend for moral support.

Corey was staying in a rented condo in Park City and Kit took us to his unit during one of Corey's breaks in shooting. Corey was chatty with Kit since they knew each other. He never really engaged me or my friend much besides asking us if we 'wanted in on some of his Cool Ranch Doritos action'. (that was verbatim) I remember Corey being really fidgety and just kind of amped up. He kept putting his feet up on the coffee table and them taking them down and tapping on his knee like a drum. His socks were filthy, dirty, filthy (it needed to be said twice) and the entire condo either smelled like Cool Ranch Doritos or Corey's feet. Maybe both.

We stayed a total of about 30 minutes. He kept calling me Jan. I thought he was such a dick. But kind of dreamy in a way.

After watching The Two Coreys, I realize Haim had suffered some pretty bad personal stuff and was battling depression and drug dependency back then. We didn't fawn all over him and his snack food of choice so we probably ticked him off. He was used to seeing beautiful women and I just had the frizziest hair ever. He knew his career was ending too. All of this makes me sad, but not necessarily in that order. (I would say my frizzy hair ranks number 1 or 2 on the list. It was seriously bad, yo.)

Also, after watching The Two Coreys, I realize that I have watched too much reality television in my past. The home that the Haim is staying in is a home that was flipped a few years ago on Flip This House. I instantly recognized it. Jeremy thinks it's amazing that I know that. I think it's sad.

Anyway, as I write this, I feel a little weepy and like I need to write the Haim a letter to let him know that I hope all goes well for him and his Hollywood comeback. Everyone deserves a second chance right? He has no one but himself to blame, but I saw pain on his face. Albeit, edited through post production and coupled with carefully selected soundtrack pain, but it was still pain and longing to be loved again. There's that and the fact that I'm still heavily medicated on my cough syrup.

Stay tuned. Tomorrow night, I'm planning to take a lot of Tums and watch a Beverly Hills 90210 Reunion Show. Who knows? Maybe I'll change my perceptions about that bitch Kelly Taylor. Not likely.

**UPDATE** I just read on Gawker that most of this "reality" show is filmed in Toronto, not Hollywood. What? They specifically give you the impression that they are in California. I was duped! Only now I need to figure out if I was duped by my cough suppressant or by clever editing. Blerg.

No One Cares What You Ate For Lunch

That's right, No One Care What You Ate For Lunch. That’s the title of a book on blogging that I plan to read this summer. I must say, however, I AM oddly drawn to blogs that feature what people eat both at home and when dining out. It’s like some sort of voyeurism. It’s strange, but I actually like looking at pictures of their meals.

Having said that, you may not care what I ate for lunch a week ago, but I have ten friends that DID care what I ate for lunch. In fact, they cared so much, that they joined me for lunch to do a little post birthday celebrating.

Here’s the table of us dining at Tandoor Indian Grill in Salt Lake.


Tandoor is a relatively new find for me, and I am completely obsessed with it. I found it through a friend at work, Pratima, who knows the owners quite well. She originally took a few of the girls in the office, including Sara, in the hopes that the spicy food would induce Sara into labor thus ending the last grueling week of her pregnancy. Unfortunately, Tandoor did not do the trick, but Pratima did introduce us to the most delicious food I have tasted.

Here is Sara, post pregnancy and and after months and months of follow up trips to Tandoor.


That picture doesn't do her justice. She looks like a hard a**. She's really not. She's the kindest person I have ever met.

Let's try that again, shall we?


*Fun Fact* I have asked Sara to become Jeremy's wife if anything should happen to me. Of course, she'd have to leave her husband and overcome all the office gossip that would surely happen since the three of us work together. Just a few hurdles.

Jessica and Lisa (both girl crushes) were there.


Julee and Jackie represented. You can't see her feet, but Jules had on the best shoes ever.


Here’s Pratima and Cole and some random guy in the background.


Did I tell you that her in-laws are coming to stay with her this month? Did I also tell you that they aren’t leaving until January?! Now, don’t get me wrong or anything. I love my in-laws, but if they came to stay with me for six months, it might be a little much. I even mentioned this to my dear Mother-in-law and she agreed and then some. A little too quickly I might add.

Here’s Rozzie, my sweet Rozzie.


She’s a baby haver too and she brought her little Cole along to crash the girl lunch date. Kylee tried to steal Cole at one point, but was unsuccessful. It might have worked better if she hadn’t announced her intentions from the start.

Witness Kylee trying to steal Cole.


Thanks to everyone who came to my birthday lunch. I loved all the fun gifts. But most of all, I loved all the fun company!