austin, tx...feb 26-28, 2012

so i just got back from austin, and as usual it was awesome. my work meetings were great; i honestly have a great job and it's meetings like these that i need to remind myself of when i forget. but on to more pressing matters: austin has proven once again that the best thing they offer is food. some say it's the constant live music and amazing vibe. but i say it's the food. during this trip, i ate at three amazing restaurants: the roaring fork, perry's steakhouse and restaurant 1886. i am talking a kettle of verde pork and warm buttered tortillas...pecan pie...fried asparagus topped with jumbo lump crab meat...and most crazily, Perry's Famous Pork Shop which is cured, roasted, slow-smoked and caramelized, then served with homemade applesauce. it was truly rediculous and glutenous. i was almost a little angry at the craziness of such a large entree. then i got over it and just appreciated the amazing flavors.

4 of us ordered this crazy monstrosity, not having any idea what it would be like. the 4 of us could have literally split it and been just fine. the only good thing that came of it was that we put all of our uneaten food together and took it to the homeless shelter a couple blocks away.

as always, the best part of any trip is when i step off the plane in orange county and into nic's arms. ah, he's just the best.

now having said all that, i think it's pretty clear what i'll be doing over the next week...increasing my work-outs for SURE.

2012 so far

Every year at the beginning of January, I actually physically feel a 'fresh start'...a sense of starting from scratch. Like everything is new and there are endless possibilities and that anything can happen. Then February comes around and for some reason, everything changes. Everything feels the same as it did the prior year and I'm once again stuck in daily life. I haven't quite figured out how to change that and continue my optimism...

Here are the highlights of 2012 so far:

• We spent New Years in Northern California with our families. As usual, our favorite time of year is the end of the year when we get (what feels like at the time) endless time to just hang out with the fam. We had dinner at a delicious fish house on the bay and rang in the new year at Bri and Sum's house.
• After 7 months, Rachel moved out and went back to BYU. I cried for like, 2 days. Crazy, I know. But it was great having her live with us and getting to spend that time with her. It's not very often that one gets the opportunity to live with a sibling again after they are out of the parents house.
• My parents spent 4 days in Palm Springs for work, so I took a random Friday off in January to go spend a couple of days with them. Hanging by the pool with my mom in the desert and eating delicious food might be the best way to spend any day. They came back with us and hung out at our house on Saturday night and then left on Sunday. We absolutely love when family comes down to visit.
• 3 days after Palm Springs I jumped on a plane (or walked on with my now masterfully packed carry-on luggage) and flew up to Portland for a couple of days for work. This marked my first work trip of the year...a year of what I hoped would be less travel. It's not quite looking that way just yet. But at least I can now pack and live on a carry-on bag's worth of stuff for up to 3 days. It took a while for me to get to that point.
• The next week, which happened to be the first week of February, I flew home by myself to get my last wisdom tooth removed. I flew in on Wednesday night and went into Surgery on Thursday morning. When I say surgery, I know it sounds a little dramatic considering the fact that it's just a wisdom tooth removal. But that's what it was. And the anesthesia made me so sick. I couldn't even watch any of the 5 movies I had rented to watch with Tanner because I was so nauseas. The week before, Tanner had surgery to correct a torn ACL and Meniscus. Rachel flew in the night after my surgery because she had scheduled a dentist appointment to get a bunch of dental work done. My parents felt like their house turned into a hospital wing, but truly, no one compared to Tanner. Still feel bad for the little guy. Although he's clearly not little anymore.
• In addition to my 2 callings at church, I was asked to assist with the road show our stake is putting on, which ends this weekend. Over the last couple of weeks I have been actively participating in prepping for the show and working with the youth and leaders in our massive ward. It's been better than I anticipated :).
• On Sunday I leave for work trip #2 for the year. I actually truly don't mind traveling. It's just the actual flying in a plane part that gets a little old. I get to go to Austin, one of my favorite places to travel to. They have the best food EVER. Clearly, food is always my main focus...I think I may need to switch careers...

Good news:

• Daniel is doing so well on his mission and after 5 months is pretty much fluent in Portuguese.
• Tanner got accepted to BYU in Provo for this Fall.

I am clearly a proud older sister. How's that for my first actual update in like, forever?

Valentine's Day 2012

Nic and I aren't big into celebrating Valentine's day. We never really have been. It's not that we purposefully disregard the holiday and act like it's not happening, but it's definitely not a reason to celebrate our love more than any other day. Make sense? This year however, Nic decided that we needed to celebrate this day of love in the most cliche way possible. What did that mean for us? This year, it meant dinner and movie with a dozen red roses (specifically requested to be delivered in a box) a card and a box of my favorite chocolates from See's. I actually loved it and really appreciated Nic's efforts in making it a special day, right in the middle of the week. His thoughtfulness never ceases to amaze me and I am more smitten with him today than I was when we celebrated our first Valentine's day together 11 years ago.