Carhop By Day, Advertiser By Blog

Today, Coldplay’s agent contacted me regarding a contract that involves me advertising them in exchange for money.

Large sums of money, almost as much money as Coldplay makes in a good years timing.

I’m joking, but seriously, Coldplay should seriously consider hiring me for advertising purposes.

I tweet about them, blog about them, Facebook status update about them, tell all my friends about them, and I played their new song for all of my co-workers today.

Bless the iPhone.

See, there was a short advertisement for Apple.

While I’m at it, let me mention Utah and their glorious mountains. Visit today!

Ok, Utah really did pay me to say that.

Apple, however, did not. (Hey Apple, you can contact me via email. Or even in a comment? I’m flexible.)

Who do you think would pay more, Utah or Apple?

I don’t like to have very many contracts out at one time, lest I break some sort of small-print agreement without knowing it.

But really, I started with Coldplay so I will end with Coldplay.

Listen to their new song, Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall.

Buy it.

Play it for your friends.

Don’t get crazy, though.

They can’t go handing out contracts to just anyone.

(There are two links and a video for your listening convenience. You have no excuses.)

 

 

 

I am Al and Utah didn’t really pay me to say that.
Or did they?

This Post Is Light on The Words And Heavy On The Utah + Pictures.

  My best friend Kaylee never blogs.

She also never reads my blog. Something about it having too many words and not enough pictures.

I’m a writer, that’s what I do.

And also, what great friends I have.

She recently came home from BYU-Idaho to thaw out for the summer and took some amazing photographs of Utah on the drive.

I love Utah.

If you’re a new reader, hear me loud and clear: I love Utah.

If you’re a seasoned reader, are you sick and tired of hearing about my freakish obsession with Utah?

I could try to cut back and only mention it once a week if need-be. But that’s getting serious and does that involve some sort of contract?

I don’t like signing things because I have terrible handwriting…

So when she posted these pictures last night on her Facebook, I knew I had to share them because:

1) She won’t because she never blogs! (!!!)

and

2) I love Utah and I haven’t signed anything yet.

 

 

 

 

 

I am Al and you can find Kaylee’s blog here, posts she’s written about me here (I skip right to those), and posts I’ve written about her here.

Utah Should Pay Me to Promote Their State.

As if you need to be told again, I went to Utah last summer and the Rocky Mountains changed my life.

Seriously, what a great state: mountains, lush greenery, sun beams between the mountains, the Mormons.

Anyway,

today I was sitting in chapel (paying attention, NOT #chapeltweeting) when I heard this announcement:

“The Harding Nursing Student Association will be selling Premier Jewelry in the Student Center tomorrow and on Wednesday, March 2^nd.  They are fundraising to be able to travel to the National Nurses’ Convention in Utah.”

I’m sorry, what? Since when was the Nursing Student Association going to Utah and WHY DIDN’T I KNOW?

I audibly gasped. And when I say audibly, I mean it was so loud that I practically sucked all of the air out of the Benson auditorium.

The guy sitting in front of me turned around with a look of confusion. His face was a mixture of “she’s cute” and “what’s wrong with her?”

I shook my head and dazily said,

“I just love Utah.”

True story.

It’s Beginning to Look A lot Like Utah

 

I woke up to rain.

Freezing cold rain.

It started snowing when I hopped in the shower and by the time I had finished my first (and only) class for the day, it looked like this:

 

A winter wonderland!

Then I checked my mail and found the necklace I ordered on Etsy.

I know, you want it.

But it was custom made, so HA!

.

.

.

My love for Utah is getting out of hand.

Letter to a best friend

Dear best friend,

You're spending your Thanksgiving break in Utah without me. How could you? Your live stream of mountainess photos and Bajio salads are making my jealousy flare up.

BUT since I can't be there in person, thank you for skyping me last night!

I loved talking to Sam and Jessica. (And you, of course.)

They are so funny.

Plus, they gave me a house tour and made me feel like I was really there!

And then I made ya'll listen to Whip My Hair and we danced "together."



I miss you. Home isn't home, work isn't work, girl's nights aren't girl's nights, without you here.

Have a blast in the coolest state with the coolest family.

See you in LESS THAN A MONTH!

p.s. keep sending me pictures.

Complaining on Monday Night

a. I am in a

rut. A deep, depressing funk. Half of it is probably sleep deprivation, but the other half is legitimate. I am tired of school and studying and all of the stress that comes with it. Today I thought about what my life consists of- the 3 Step Survival Guide For College, if you will.

Study, Shower, Sleep.

I have been in a running rut too.

I am so worn out.

b. If you're new around here,

you probably don't know my love for Utah & Mormons. My friend Jill sent me a link to this Etsy shop. This is the shirt:

This is the desciption of the shirt:
"Love Utah? I do and you can show your love for the beehives, honey and mormons of Utah when you wear this..."

I'm thinking it was made for me.

c. The weather here has been

amazing! It has been in the 70's during the day and 60's at night. I am loving every minute of it. Autumn is my favorite season. Nice work on naming me, Mom. Very fitting.

d. I have been taking

prenatal vitamins because I am really anemic. They are doing amazing things for my hair and nails! I have had several good hair days and my fingernails are growing pretty fast. That's very exciting for a girl who has always had short, stubby nails.

e. Thank goodness

Monday is over. It was unpleasant.

Glass Half Full. Glass Half Empty.

I feel like complaining.

It could be the multiple medications I am currently on talking, or it could be the late hour. Or both. Bear with me, folks.

1. On top of previously blogged health issues, I am now experiencing the side effects of my new monthly hormone. "Tired and feeling unwell." It really says that, and that's really how I feel.

2. I ran out of Grey's Anatomy DVD's and it's too late to go to Hasting's. Probably shouldn't do that while medicated anyways.

3. I still need to pack for school but I feel too sick to move. I move back in Tuesday, so this is not looking good.

4. I can't run because I am too sick to move (see above). I want to run, though. I am picturing myself on my new morning route right now and I can hear my running shoes calling my name.

I can be happy too, though.

1. I have Dr. Pepper. It's a little flat but this is my "glass half-full" part of the post so we won't focus on my DP's lack of carbonation.

2. I am listening to this dreamy song and it's dreamy.

3. My dad is taking me to look at cars and cameras. Me plus car plus camera equals trifecta.

4. I figure I will be in school for 4 more years, which means 4 years until I can move to Utah. I actually might need to move this up to the "glass half-empty" part of the post...

In conclusion, I feel complainy and have complained. I also feel cool because I made up a word: complainy. Beat that, Webster.

I Have a Love For All Things 'Autumn' and Utah.

This hot, sticky, humid 106 degree-Arkansas weather makes me long for dry, 88-degree Utah weather.

I am not only longing for Utah weather, but for my favorite season- fall. Or autumn. How appropriate.

Which got me curious. What does my favorite state (Utah) look like during my favorite season? Glorious, I'm sure. Since I can't see for myself, Google image will have to suffice.

It steals my breath. The mountains are amazing enough, and then to add red, gold and orange leaves?

I know, you are all wanting to move there with me now.

It's okay, let the power of Utah overtake you.

And now,

to pack our bags.

Lets meet in front of the Provo Temple.

And then lets eat at The Training Table, with

vaNIElla cupcakes for dessert.

See you soon.

A Series of Unfortunate Events.

I woke up to the sun peeking over moutains on a chilly June morning in Utah.

It's now dark, hot, humid, and flat here in Arkansas.

Home sweet home?

Our trip home did not go off without a hitch.

We got to the Salt Lake City airport early and had time to buy Utah shirts and Temple booklets.

Our flight left on time and we relaxed comfortably as we flew into the central time zone.

Then Memphis happened. I seem to never have good experiences in the Memphis airport. Kaylee and I grabbed some lunch and then headed to our gate. The screen said, "Boarding to Little Rock, AR"

I smiled and handed my boarding pass to the woman behind the desk.

"Oh, that flight has already left."

Kaylee and I exchanged glances.

"But it's not supposed to leave for another 10 minutes."

"Well you should have been here 15 minutes early."

"When does the next flight leave for Little Rock?"

"7:30, but it's full. There's one tomorrow morning at 9:30."

"So are we supposed to just sleep in the airport?"
"It's not our fault you missed the flight."

I was not about to argue with this woman. We plopped down on the floor.

And then proceeded to call everyone we know.

Kaylee's dad (our hero!) made the 3 hour drive to Memphis to pick us up.

Meanwhile, Kaylee sweet talked Delta into a partial refund.

And painted her toenails.

I edited pictures, of course.

Our problems were not over.

We drove to the Little Rock to get our luggage that had gone on without us.

We went to Delta Baggage Services and of course, no one was in the office.

I could see my sage green suitcase with its cute Target purchased luggage tag.

And I wanted it, and I wanted to go home. (Or back to Utah.)

After having a woman page Delta over the airport intercom twice, Kaylee's dad went to find someone to get our luggage. Someone did and I got my sage green suitcase.

I miss Utah.

C jane's post made me sad.

I was just there.

Leaving on a jet plane.

Today was bittersweet.

Of course I wanted to (and did) enjoy my last day in Utah.

But I very much don't want to leave.

Kaylee and I chilled with the family today. It was very relaxing. We listened to music on the backporch while the kids lounged on the grass and Kevin grilled salmon and ribs.

Carli mashed potatos and boiled corn.

It was all so delish. I have probably gained 5 pounds.

After dinner we walked around the neighborhood and soaked in all of Utah that we could. I am so sad to leave. I absolutely love it here. Everything- the essence of this place.

Kaylee and I are seriously discussing living out here next summer- not just a little 10 day vacation. Housing is very cheap here because of BYU and it would be easy to get a job. Plus, I will have Photography classes under my belt and could take wedding pictures for people in front of the Provo (or any) temple.

I'm off to finish packing and then to bed. We fly out early.

Goodbye Utah.

Happy Father's Day dad. I love you SO much. Please let me move to Utah next summer.

Hiking, and a personal revelation.

Saturday brought allergies, sweat, aching muscles and holes in clothes. Further explanation? Happy to.

Bright and early found us in Provo, hiking Y mountain. Holy guacamole, hiking to the Y is no piece of cake. (Did you like the two food references?) None the less, I persevered, downing my water by the 4th switchback and thinking how much altitude vs. sea level sucks.

Mid-hike view of Provo

My wheezing stopped (well, lets be fair, it slowed down) when we reached the large concrete Y. The view was absolutely breathtaking. I felt like I was standing on top of the world. (Did you know the Y is 380 feet high, making it larger than the Hollywood Sign in California?)

Trivia brought to you free.

Sitting in the middle of the Y

After trekking back down the mountain we drove to the Provo Temple for picture taking purposes. See all the pink roses? I can't even begin to describe how sweet the air smelled.

And ok, I know the Salt Lake Temple is every one's crème brûlée, but I happen to think the Provo Temple is the prettiest one I have seen. Salt Lake? Surrounded by buildings. Manti? Middle of nowhere. Provo? Mountains, my friends.

Our next adventure (are you tired yet?) led us to Bridal Veil Falls nestled in the Provo Canyon. There was a nice paved trail to the very bottom of the falls. To get to the falls themselves was a different story.

My acrylic nails helped me scratch myself up all of those rocks to the very top. My pants were wet, Nike's drenched. I didn't care though. I just plopped down on a rock, let the waterfall mist me with fresh water, and snapped a ton of pictures.

Pants after all the hiking. Tore hole in butt. Not picture worthy.

Manti Temple at night

For added fatigue, we drove a near two hours for the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti. If you're Mormon, this is like, a right of passage. It's a big deal.

I'm talking about thousands of people gathered to watch the finding of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith's death, Brigham Young leading the Mormons to Utah, and so on.

Back to the story. We arrived really early to gurantee one of the 14,000 seats available and then walked the streets of downtown Manti. We ate dinner at a local diner and then splurged on chocolate covered strawberries.

There were Christian picketers there with a cross, passing out information of our/my Jesus vs. Mormon Jesus. I had never been around controversy like it. They weren't rude, demanding, ignorant or mean in any way. But you could certainly feel the tension.

And then I thought, would I be with the picketers? Is that the right approach? Do I belong at a Mormon pageant, being not of that particular faith?

Alas, I sat in my chair and watched the play. It was interesting. It was good. The picketers left and I had a personal revelation. I am not Mormon. I am not Church of Christ. I won't label my faith.

I am a follower of Jesus Christ. A lover of God. Someone who feels the Holy Spirit deep in my soul.

And that, my friends, was Saturday.

Summer Days & Summer Nights.

The weather (here in Utah) was warm and sweet so Kaylee and I lathered ourselves in tanning oil and headed to Provo for

From twelve to half past four we floated the lazy river, swallowed gallons of water in the wave pool, screamed as we plunged down slides, and laid out.

My tan is pretty rockin'.

And okay Utah, way to keep the hot guys to yourself. They seem to all live in this western state. No complaints here- they served as delicious eye candy today.

Too much?

That's what I thought. Don't tell me. Kaylee was the one "discreetly" snapping pictures of them.

To cool off we feasted on Dip n Dots.

Then tonight, much to our surprise, Carli and Kevin let us take the Denali to Provo for a late movie. We rolled the windows down, opened the sunroof and cranked up the bass.

And then we sang Show Stopper. Really loud.

I am loving these days!