We Heart Park City

We've been having our Staycation summer, which has been fun, but we haven't been ANYWHERE since our anniversary trip to NYC in October 2008. And I mean ANYWHERE. We haven't spent a night away from our home since then (unless you count the 2 months we camped at John's mom's empty house while we remodelled. Um, THAT does NOT count as vacation.) For travel lovahs like us, it's been torture. There are many reasons why we haven't gone anywhere (i.e. remodeling, family responsibilities and so on), but the biggie has been that we decided to save up for a big So. Cal. trip this fall (which may or may not happen -- we're crossing our fingers things work out). Fortunately, we try to spend a weekend in Park City every summer at John's aunt's condo (thanks Celeste!). This little trip was very last minute, but it was MUCH a needed break and frankly, as far as I'm concerned, well-deserved!

Of course, we went shopping. Usually, we go up in July for Back to School things and fall stuff for me and John. It's never very crowded in July, but Saturday, the outlets were PACKED. Great deals going on.

We went to the Park City Mountain Resort to take in some of their Summer Rec activities. Last year, we had an absolute blast on the Alpine Coaster, so we HAD to do it again. (Click here to see last year's trip). We heard it was 58 degrees, it was windy and sprinkling -- and freezing -- but we loved it. My cell phone dropped out of my pocket while I was heading up and this poor kid working there went to look for it. John called it 13 times so he could hear the ring and the kid was totally annoyed when he found it and discovered I left it on vibrate!

Katie did the Legacy Launcher. She thought it was fun, but the harness gave her thigh "rug burn" and she was exhausted afterwards. Good work out if you're trying to tire your kids.

Katie and I went for a nature walk and took pictures of each other. Thankfully for you, I'm not including the 6 shots she took of my butt. Then, we went hottubbing which was great after a freezing cold day.

We went to Park Silly Sunday Market. Katie got her face painted and John rescued a goat who escaped from the kids area. I couldn't commit to any purchases, but it was fun to look.

These pics are really small, but we went on a Moose Scavenger Hunt. Click for a larger view. Back in 2004, there was an art project where the city was dotted with many moose statues painted by local artists. You've all seen them. There aren't many left, but Katie thought it was great fun to locate the "meese", take pictures with them and name them. These are the 5 we found, but if you know any others we missed, let me know and we'll look 'em up next time we're up there!

It was a great weekend -- too short, but a lot of fun.

Jude's Thursday Dish #40

Happy 40th Dish! Sadly, I have no time today, so this post is probably missing some good Dish and will definitely not have any pictures of clips. Enjoy anyway!

1. I'll miss you, Paula Abdul. Sure, in early seasons, your critiques were useless, but fortunately, you infused the panel with some heart. However, this last season, you were the only judge that made any sense. Hard to believe, but true. Randy dawgged on as usual, Kara tried to translate for Randy and couldn't have an original thought, and Simon was obviously phoning it in. "Idol" won't be the same without you.

2. I am SO sick of Summer TV. Scratch that. I'm SO sick of Reality TV, which let's face it is the only thing on in the summer. Tuesday night I wasn't feeling hot, so I vegged in front of the TV and watch "More to Love." I had to turn it off. Those "Bachelor" type shows are hard enough on the cast-off's egos, but to see really heavy girls get rejected? It's just painful. In theory, it's a good idea. Not everyone is a size 2 and these reality dating shows should reflect that. But the insecurity level is high and it just makes it uncomfortable to watch. The girls definitely had more personality than most you'd find on "The Bachelor" and many were very lovely. But one confessed she had never been on a date. The girls kept saying they wanted someone to love them for who they were and not care about their size. Dumping a hot skinny girl with a bloated ego is one thing, but dumping a vulnerable, self-esteem challenged fat one, I can't take.

Then, I moved over to the lame VH1 and watched the first episode of "Megan Wants Millionaire." I was introduced to this Megan chick when I watched the first season of "Beauty and the Geek." I guess since then she's become a reality TV-whore and been on 3 or 4 other shows. She's famous for nothing except her two big Girls. She stars in this dating show where a bunch of fame-hungry Millionaires are trying to court her. The guys are terrible. One, a REALLY rich plumber, was so annoyed by this Buster from "Arrested Development" look-a-like Trust Fund Baby that he ran up to him and smashed a silver piggy bank Megan gave him. For no good reason other than he didn't like the sound of his voice. Megan is obviously not smart enough to come up with her own quips. It's obviously scripted for her. She's not only to blame. The guys are shallow and only want a former Playboy model on their side. It's a train wreck.

3. Sooo, this leads me into a new challenge: STOP THE SURFING! If you can't find anything good on TV (and let's stop encouraging these stupid shows), go online and watch episodes of some really great TV that you may not have discovered yet. I tuned into Amy Poehler's "Parks and Recreation" a couple of times when it aired on TV, but went to NBC.com and watched all 6 episodes in a row in one sitting. It was HILARIOUS. You should check it out. It reminds me of the first season of "The Office" when it was still really awkward and hadn't caught on yet. Or watch "Mad Men" or even rent or check out the library old shows that have been cancelled. If you haven't watched "Arrested Development" or "Veronica Mars" yet, you are missing out.

4. Two helpful movie-related websites to recommend. First, www.runpee.com will tell you the good times to leave a movie if you have to go to the bathroom. Great for really long films like "Harry Potter." I was turned on to this by my friend, Cydamarie. Unfortunately for me, it was after the said viewing of "Harry Potter" and I had drank a ton of Diet Coke.

Second (and I think I've blogged about this before), but www.kids-in-mind.com. It goes into all the details about why a movie is rated a certain way. I try not to read those details, because then you get images in your mind and that's not good either. But when I was tempted to go see "Funny People" and read that there were 151 F-words (in a 2 hour 20 minute movie!), I was more than happy to pass.

5. We took Katie to see "G-Force" at the drive-in. She loved it, we thought it was "eh", but going to the drive-in with your kid is a blast!

That's it for this week!

Welcome Baby Jack!

Jennie Penny and Christmas Steve welcomed my nephew, Jack William, this morning. We're so relieved he's here safe and sound!

Jude's Thursday Dish #39

I'm waiting on my publisher to upload some final pages for me to proof for our August issue. Perfect time to blog. Let's Dish!

1. I have been like a giddy little Fan Girl with all the good "Lost" news coming out of Comic Con. If you're a fan, go here (ew.com) for all the great coverage. But here's a sum-up of the good stuff. SPOILER ALERT if you're a spoiler-phobe, but more like TEASES really.

Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof (the "Lost" Gurus -- and no, J.J. Abrams should not get the credit. These two are the MEN who do it all) did a panel and revealed these AWESOME teases:

- Suggested the timeline was changed by Juliet banging on the H-Bomb. They illustrated the possibility by showing spoof commercials of Hurley endorsing Mr. Cluck's and America's Most Wanted hunt for a still-at-large Kate. I've been thinking the plane never crashed, but the peeps that were touched by Jacob (Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke, Hurley, Jin, Sun and Sayid) will be have the memories of what happened WHEN the plan crashed and be called back to the Island to help Jacob.

- Juliet and Faraday will appear in Season 6!!!! Elizabeth Mitchell was interviewed and said she feels like the fans brought Juliet back, because they were so crushed by the season finale (that would be me, bawling like a BABY!). I think we'll see Juliet living her old life, never even coming to the Island to begin with, (in the new time line), but perhaps the people who were touched by Jacob will remember the alternate history. Meaning, Sawyer will have these memories of being with Juliet, but she will never remember knowing him at all. That will open it up so that she only "appears" and can be free to go do her "V" show. Leaving Sawyer open to shack up with Kate (BOO!). Whatever the reasoning, I just hope that means Juliet is alive!

- We'll get Guyliner Richard's backstory. I think he came to the Island on the Black Rock.

- We won't be getting more Dharma Initiative focus. That was really focused on in Season 5. Each of the seasons mirror another. 2 & 5 were very Dharma focused. 3 & 4 were very Ben/Whidmore and the time travel focused. 1 & 6 will mirror each other being more about jungle adventure, redemption, emotional ressonance and asscence of discovery. This was deliberate and makes me VERY happy. I loved season 1 and can't wait to get back to that in season 6.

- Jacob has never assumed the identity of someone else dead (i.e. Christian, Claire). And I'm thinking that the Dark Dude (Jacob's enemy) didn't either. The only person he did that too was Locke since he was the Loophole.

- Directly from EW: "In an attempt to prove that they (Carlton & Damon) haven't been writing the series on the fly, the producers locked the final page of the series finale script in a box, and said that the box would be opend on Jimmy Kimmel Live! the night that the series finale airs. When Josh Holloway (Sawyer) came on the stage, he tasers Lindelof and forced Cuse to open the box. Michael Emerson (Benry) did a dramatic reading of the page, which turned out to be... a scene from Heroes."

- Not in the panel, but promoting another show, Ian Somerhalder (Boone) said he is appearing in season 6. I really am thinking my new timeline theory is right!

- There's also some good pictures and videos to check out. My favorite is when Michael Ausiello from EW interviews Richard, Ben and Hurley. He asks them who Kate should end up with and Michael Emerson (Benry) deadpans that she should just find a new guy, because she ruins everyone she's with. Nestor Carbonell (Richard) suggests she ruin him. Freckles + Guyliner living in a tree...

Not related to Comic Con, but Matthew Fox (Jack) was interviewed at a TV convention in Monte Carlo and he revealed some teases/spoilers. He said the Locke and Jack would have a final showdown, so I'm hoping somehow Locke isn't really dead.

Late Night Addition (11:54 p.m. on Thursday): Charlie will be back for 3 episodes!!!!

Sigh... I can't believe I have to wait until January!

2. Anyone out there "Saved By the Bell" fans? I watched it mostly because my younger sibs, Jimmy and Jennie, were OBSESSED with it. But I fully admit. I loved it. They are having their 20 year anniversary and are on the cover of the new People magazine (minus Screech who is probably off making more sex tapes. Ew!). They all look amazing. They haven't aged at all. And Mario Lopez really is a hottie.

It all started when Jimmy Fallon (a huge fan) pushed a reunion for the 20th anniversary. He started getting cast members to agree starting with Mr. Belding, who of course agreed, because what else is he doing? There was an amusing appearance of Mark Paul Gosselaar AS Zack Morris promoting MPG's legal drama. My favorite part was when the band Zack Attack performed. MPG looks EXACTLY the same. Check it out here:

Another funny bit has come out from Tiffany Thiessen (minus the Amber) who is the only person that hasn't committed to Jimmy Fallon's reunion. I think this is all tongue and cheek and she'll definitely show up. Can't wait!!!

Tiffani Thiessen is Busy from Tiffani Thiessen

Oooh, pages are up. I'm sure there's a lot more to Dish on, but that's it for this week!

Norm Abram Has Nothing On John

I've been waiting to post pictures of our new bathroom until it was 100% done, but who am I kidding? Nothing at my house ever is complete. We're at about 90% with just a few loose ends. First, I have to say John ROCKS. With the help of our brother-in-law, Christmas Steve, he sledge hammered the ORIGINAL tub (85 freakin' years-old -- it's been resurfaced, but you can imagine how awful it was.) He replaced it with a new cast iron tub. He tore out the original flooring and replaced it with something similar. It was a beast, because it was the small hexagonal tiles and even though they were in sheets, they kept popping up. The only thing I really did was design, shop, help paint and boss him around. I'm married to a saint.

The rest of the house, unfortunately, is in complete shambles. I must be insane, because we started painting the living room. It's just the bathroom was so shiny and happy and pretty and lovely that I couldn't stand my drab living room being next to it. John was not happy, but again... he's a saint.

So, right now the bathroom is our sanctuary. It's the only clean room in the house. I just go in there and sit on the side of the tub just to have some peace. I heard this brilliant idea that works well for insomniacs like me. You put dimmers on your bathroom lights and keep them down low, so if you have to go into the bathroom at night, you're not disturbed by the harsh lights. We love it. Now we just keep the dimmers whenever the light is on, so it's just really relaxing.

We're taking August off of home improvements and actually paying attention to the yard for a change, but I'm hoping starting in the fall, we'll have a shiny, happy house to match the bathroom.

Here is the before and after. The pics don't do it justice. The lighting isn't good and it's hard to get a good shot, but you'll get the point. We made some changes to the bathroom when we moved in the house in 2000 (it was bright turquoise and the shower tile actually sunk into the wall when you pushed it since there was so much water damage). Those were necessities. This remodel really makes a world of difference.

BEFORE: Dingy floor circa 1925, GHETTO tub, tiny wall sink, dumb mirror and cabinet, ho-hum light fixture. Nice color, but definitely wanted something more serene and grown-up.

AFTER: New floor still in the same style of the 20's bungalow, nice pedestal sink, great new mirror and cabinet, awesome light fixture. Atmosphere blue paint color because I wanted to bring the sky in. New bath mat, towels and shower curtain (it's hard to tell but it's got different color blue stripes). The only thing we kept was the shower tile that John put in when we moved into the house in 2000. With a good grout cleaning, it will look brand new. Tip: never use Restoration Hardware paint. The stuff we got must've been sitting on the shelves for years and it just ran like water down the walls. We took it to John's 2nd home, Home Depot, and they matched it perfectly with a terrific Behr paint.

Now, I just need to get a cool picture to hang over the towel rack!

Those Annoying Facebook Quizzes

Everytime I login to Facebook, I'm bombarded with quiz requests and results like "How bitchy are you?" or "What modern bombshell are you most like?" I'm curious about the results, but I don't really want to bug everyone with the answers. So I found www.blogthings.com where I can do it in my own privacy for fun. I found out I'm most like Carrie on "Sex and the City" and should name my boobs "Trinidad" and "Tobago". Great time waster -- check it out!

Leftovers: New Trailers

To make up for my lame dish yesterday, here are 2 trailers that I'm excited about. "Couples Retreat" boasts an EXCELLENT cast: Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Kristen Bell (my dear Veronica herself), Jason Bateman (my dear Michael Bluth), Kristin Davis (my dear Charlotte) and more. And "Alice in Wonderland" looks awesome.

Jude's Thursday Dish #38

Today for the Dish -- you're getting the Lunch Rush. Partly because I'm really busy, but also -- it's been a slow pop culture week. So let's get to it...

-- Ugh, Sarah Palin. That woman has become a train wreck. I just need to watch Tina Fey on SNL reruns and think of happier days.

-- Johnny Depp's dream role is to play Carol Channing. I love when Johnny plays freaky, but that just might be the role that puts me over the edge.

-- If you've read my blog for a while, you know I've been off the R's since June 2007 when John and I were at "Knocked Up" and a friend from our ward, Bonnie (who ironically we now home/visit teach) came in on a date and sat next to us. Enough to scare me straight. I did fall off the wagon once and see "Sex and the City" which was TOTALLY worth it. Anyway, I was very tempted by "The Ugly Truth" because I HEART Gerard Butler. Thankfully for my resolution, the movie is getting terrible reviews. If anyone goes and sees it, let me know how it is.

-- I took John to the Gallivan Center to see "Vertigo" on Monday. Definitely got me in the mood to see more. If you like Hitchcock and in the mood to discover a hidden gem, check out "Strangers on a Train."

Well, that was lame. ;) That's it for this week!

Happy Birthday, Baby Jack

Mortimer Family Reunion 2009