project city date update

well, san antonio was kind of a bust. unless of course you count the girl who drove three hours to see me. but, since it was a pretty short turn around, i will not let it deter me. the update is that there is a new city...boston!

i'll be in boston from October 7-9, although the 8th is the only viable night to meet that special boston someone. as such, i'm not including it on the official list, but if you know a great single guy in boston (or have friends that might) send them my way!

san antonio

san antonio is another of my favorite us cities. the first three days were cold and rainy, if you can believe it, but the sun finally came out in time for anne's arrival. recently having moved to houston, she made the three hour drive to come spend some time with me.

my hotel was on the river walk, with the balcony overlooking the river below. it made for an easy two block walk to the alamo, the first stop for our day together.


we didn't spend too much time there as we wanted to get on a river tour before it got too hot and too crowded.

this is my second time doing the tour, and although i was annoyed that the price went up from $2 to $8.25 in two years, it's still in an enjoyable trip. best of all, it lets you see a large portion of the river walk without having to walk at all. for someone who clocks an average of 5 to 12 walking miles per day at these conferences (which i know thanks to the little pedometer gift i got from the show staff) extra walking is not on the top of my to do list. a nice scenic boat ride is more my speed!


we learned about the history of the river, saw some interesting buildings, and took a lot of photos.


after the river ride, it was time for another passport stamp. although anne admitte that she had been dreading this one, she agreed to take me to the san antonio missions national historic park. i myself did not know what to expect, but as i've often found, the national park organization is full of unexpected wonders. this was one such case.


we went to the main mission (there are 4 or 5 included), the san jose mission, and it was absolutely spectacular! anne was also pleasantly surprised, commeting 'who needs the alamo?!'


it was a super hot day, at least for me, since my de-adjustment to humidity, but despite the sweat dripping into my eyes (literally), there were to many great photos that seemed to be taking themselves.


after wandering around the grounds for a good amount of time, we made the next stop a nostalgic one. right around the corner from the mission was a sonic. since anne and i used to drive for an hour+ just to get sonic in virginia, this almost seemed to easy.


but on the principle of having to work for it...on the second attempt at taking the above photo without the weird arms crossed thing we both did for some reason, our awkward position prevailed and my rt. 44 strawberry limeade became a rt. 22 strawberry limeade, right before part of my shake ended up in out of the cup and in the footwell. it was pure comedy of errors.

it was back to the ranch at that point for a little more work, then a yummy dinner at a yummy steakhouse before calling it a night!

since i had to work the next day, anne and i said goodbye that morning and she headed home to houston while i wrapped up the conference, and headed home myself the next day.

i actually get to be home for almost an entire month now and i couldn't be more excited.

iphone: a memoir

some time ago i posted the contents of my trunk with the supposition that it served as a fairly accurate self-portrait. since then, the iphone has come along, and with the hours of travel time yesterday getting to san antonio, i not only finished the lost symbol, but started wondering if my apps would 'define' me. :D

i'll admit that i'm a little obsessed with the iphone. whenever i am talking with someone who has one, i like to look at their apps. it gives you a completely unique perspective on people. so, partly because i believe in sharing (and i know at least one person with a brand new iphone), here's the iphone self-portrait.

the most used apps

calendar, contacts, safari, app store - all stock apple
facebook - where all my mobile pics and updates come from
tweetdeck - okay, so maybe this isn't the 'most used' but i'm trying to self-motivate
fring - multi-platform chat program
skype - i plan on making a lot of cheap international calls in germany ;)
idisk - mobile access to my mobile me account
ipod - stock
camena - play a song in the ipod, open camena and see the lyrics
shazam- hear a song you like on a commercial, in a movie, in a grocery store? shazam will listen and identify
errands - a great to do list
assistant - track various accounts in travel, banking, utilities... i love this app
evernote - a far superior alternative to the apple 'notes' app.
voice memos - stock apple. i've used this mostly to record sections of audio books in my car so i can capture a good quote or passage

photos, travel, and random commons

camera, photos - stock apple
smugshot - easy access to my smugmug account to post or view
color splash - a fun photo tool
flight track - an indispensible app for tracking my flights (i've learned about delays before they are announced at the gate), and getting gate info
itranslate - how do you say 'where is the bathroom?' in german? ;)
metro - metro systems for a wide list of cities
american airlines - this is not an app, but rather a website added to my home screen
tip for my new iphone owner friend - if you want to save a website to your home screen that does not come 'built in' with an icon, simply zoom the site as far as you like to create your own icon. whatever is on the screen when you add the page will become your icon.
upacking list - a recent download that should get a lot of use
currency - how many dollars is a euro worth?
frankfurt - a temporary app that will hopefully guide me to the train station from the airport!
postman - create your own virtual postcards and email them or share them via blog, facebook, etc.
google maps - stock apple, and boy do i love it
twc - also indispensable. it's how i knew it would be raining in san antonio
bofa - gotta know how broke i am at all times :)
calculator - stock apple. oddly i use this all the time!

reading, music, movies/tv, health/fitness

scriptures - a great interface
goodreads mobile - the mobile version of one of my favorite sites
wikipedia - for every search happy brain
bloglines - my chosen feed reader (also a website, not an app)
itunes - stock
pandora - if you don't know pandora, try it, you'll like it
music 2 - as long as i have the desktop program open on my computer, i can access my entire 70gb music library from my 8gb iphone
remote- turns my iphone into a remote for my laptop
now playing - movie listings with auto location search. also includes dvd releases
i.tv - localized tv listings
phone flicks - easy access to my netflix account
you tube - stock apple
24 hour fitness - a website for my local club's class schedule
lose it - weight loss tracker
yoga stretch & relax - portable yoga for all my traveling

food and random

urbanspoon & yelp - indispensable tools for finding restaurants in unfamiliar cities
epicurious - a great recipe library
open table - for getting reservations at those restuarants
npr, discovery channel, e! online, and pop candy - entertaining time wasters
boxed up - keeps track of all my earthly desires (a website, not app)
keeper - password storage
clock - my travel alarm clock
air mouse - turns my iphone into a wireless mouse for my computer
deliveries - package tracking so i know when the new toys are arriving
iball - my own personal magic 8 ball
astrology & iscope - mindless entertainment

random and games

natural cures - a new app i'm still test driving. name speaks for itself
eye-fi - upload photos easily to my smugmug
amazon.com - shopping!
my wireless - easy access to my mobile bill
photo - similar concept as the music app. can access photos remotely
ruler - turns the iphone into a ruler :)
games and games

so there you have it, a visual diagram of tara. as you might have noticed, i tend to like to 'group' my apps when it makes sense, which also says a lot about me. :D

so what about you? have an iphone? what apps can't you live without?

project: city date

most of you know that my current job requires an intense amount of traveling. the unfortunate side effect of being on the road all of the time is that i don't have much of a life anymore. while i'm grateful to HAVE a job and for the chance to be a constant tourist, i have sorely missed the usual opportunities to socialize and meet new people. i'm fortunate in that i enjoy my co-workers immensely, however, none of them are lds, and as a result the 'social activities' at work functions usually involve watching people get drunk in bars. though this can be quite entertaining at times, it is obviously not my ideal situation.

hence the birth of project: city date!

in an effort to try and make the best of this situation, i've begun a little project. the goal of the project is to find a date in each city i'll be traveling over the course of the next year. it's my hope that project: city date will provide an opportunity to meet some new an interesting guys, sans the normal dating pressures and expectations, while also providing me a superior alternative to either solitude in my hotel room or the lobby bar!

still with me? 'cause this is where you come in. who do you know in these cities? who do you know that might know someone? does your husband/wife know someone? do you have single or married friends who might know an interesting single guy in their city?

i only have three criteria for potential dates:

1. i will rarely have access to a vehicle, so they should be as close to the city as they are willing to drive
2. ideally, as i've now hit the 33 mark, they should be between 29 - 45 years old
3. they should be able to hold a conversation (in english) and interested in meeting someone new just for the heck of it!

none of these are hard and fast rules (except for the english thing), but hopeful 'suggestions.' beyond those three requests, everything else wide open. i would prefer an lds guy, but won't mandate it. they can be short, tall, blond, brunette, bald, of any ethnicity or profession - it simply does not matter, i am completely open, no preconceived notions or expectations, no limits.

while it is natural for people to ask 'what does she look like?' or 'what is SHE like?' i hope that you will set expectations accordingly as you begin to have conversations with your friends and friends of friends. all of you have access to literally thousands of pictures of me and if you want to share my blog address with people you trust, that is fine. however, just keep in mind that this is meant to be a fun and casual experience, something new, something different.

my friend jami has the honor of having launched this project, contacting her married friends in austin, tx to see if they might know someone i could meet while in san antonio this week. they immediately responded that they had someone in mind and would see if they could work it out. follow jami's example people. follow jami's example because you are now officially a part of project: city date.

the following are a list of known travel dates and cities for the next year. i'll be sending out reminder emails 1 - 2 weeks prior to each trip which you can either delete or start (or follow up) making phone calls and shooting off emails. obviously, i'd prefer the latter ;)

* san antonio, tx
o 9/22/09 - 9/28/09
* new york city, ny
o 10/22/09 - 10/26/09
* frankfurt, bamberg, munich, germany & venice, italy
o 11/18/09 - 11/25/09
* orlando, fl
o 01/14/10 - 01/22/10
* las vegas, nv
o 02/12/10 - 02/20/10
* madison, wi
o 03/10/10 - 03/12/10
* long beach, ca
o 03/16/10 - 03/22/10
* baltimore, md
o 04/07/10 - 04/13/10
* phoenix, az
o 04/15/10 - 04/19/10
* los angeles, ca
o 06/11/10 - 06/14/10
* san francisco, ca
o 06/24/10 - 06/28/10
* san diego, ca
o 06/16/10 - 06/19/10
* atlanta, ga
o 07/29/10 - 08/04/10
* kansas city, mo
o 08/24/10 - 08/31/10
* san antonio, tx
o 09/08/10 - 09/16/10

for those of you who need a little guidance in asking your friends for assistance, here is a sample message that you can tweak appropriately:

Hi (Insert Name Here)

I have a co-worker/friend/relative/etc. who travels frequently around the country for work, and rarely gets to be home. In an effort to make this a more positive situation, she's begun a little project to try maximizing her network of friends and family to find a date in each city she visits for the next year. Her only requests are that the gentleman be within the 29-45 age range (she's 33), can hold a conversation, and would enjoy meeting someone new for a meal or fun activity! For ease of both parties, he should also be as close to the city in question as he is willing to drive, as she does not typically have a car available. Can you help?

any questions? thank you in advance for your assistance - the success of this project is dependent on you! ;)

weekend at home = good for the soul

after taking advantage of a saturday morning at home to run some errands (which were oddly fulfilling) i headed to long beach to meet mihaela for crepes at la creperie, a delightful little place that my former roommate used to rave about, but one at which i'd not yet had the opportunity to try out. i indulged in both a savory and a sweet crepe, which were both delicious, but mostly i reveled in the being able to spend time with a friend. i hadn't seen mihaela in, literally, four months - thanks to my travel schedule, and it was so nice to feel like i was engaging in my own life again!

after crepes, i had just enough time to enjoy a catap before alison came over to see the new place and meet the dog. on the agenda for the evening was an la galaxy game.


i'm the first to admit that i'm not an avid soccer fan. that being said, since david beckham arrived here, i've been wanting to at least see one game. chalk it up to my affinity for the movie 'bend it like beckham' or just the fact that not everyone has an opportunity to see him play, either way, i was super excited.

the only annoying part of the evening was when security would not let me in with the big camera because they said it was 'too professional.' please people! i'm posting pic on facebook, not espn.com! we had to walk all the way back to the car to deposit the camera, and as we had parked in the very farthest lot to ensure a timely escape, it truly was a long walk!.


the game did not disappoint! beckham scored the first goal for the evening, and alison and i enjoyed getting caught up while watching the fancy footwork on the field. sadly, without my big cam and it's high speed shutter release, that fancy footwork was a little too fast, and most of my pics came out blurry. nonetheless, we certainly enjoyed the game and our time together.


today was stake conference, and it was wonderful! our stake has two singles wards and a midsingles ward, so the family wards met for the first session and the singles for the second. the beauty of this was that i have some friends in the other wards who i (again) haven't seen in months. and they were all in one place!

the speakers were all on point (which is rare in a two hour session), but every message was powerful and poignant (is that redundant?). and after i had been edified by the spirit, i had the opportunity to reunite with some of my favorite californians.

all in all, i really needed this weekend. it was the first time in a long time that i have felt really connected to the spirit and to my life. it has been extremely difficult traveling so much, and this weekend reminded me that i need to make more effort to stay connected and to be engaged.

a note on the new template

those of you feed readers won't know that there IS a new template, but for those who do, i feel the need to explain a little bit.

i started seeing this template around sometime late last year/early this year and loved it, but since i had just updated mine, i decided to wait. but, because great minds think alike ;), my virtual friend tamara used the template on her 31datesin31days.com website which details her fun and successful dating experiment, and which has been previously mentioned on this blog.

not wanting to be a copycat, i decided to put it on the back-burner. but it's been seven months now, so i'm hoping she won't mind!

happy saturday everyone!

it's so nice to have a weekend at home! already this morning i've made a quick trip to old navy, stopped by aaa to pick up my international driving permit (me driving in germany should be interesting!), and dropped off my audio book at the library. it's silly how fulfilling these mundane tasks can be when you actually HAVE a saturday morning to run errands! hope you're feeling equally productive and grateful :D

chicago

chicago has and will likely always be one of my favorite us cities, despite this last trip having been a bit of a rough one. much of it can be attributed to my still being sick, and the rest to the unfortunate timing of everyone having hit their limit.

the co-workers i was traveling with are some of my favorites, but we are all tired, have been traveling too much, and really just want to be home. as a result, we ended up taking our frustrations out on each other during the show, which, in some cases, was not pretty.

the good news is that we genuinely like and respect one another, so in the final hours of the trip, disagreements were resolved, fences mended, and all will proceed as normal.

despite the turmoil, we still managed to enjoy chicago. when i arrived, it was in the middle of the filming for oprah's season premiere, an outdoor concert kick-off that shut down michigan avenue. my hotel was very close to the action, which, despite my best efforts otherwise, turned out to be as close as i could get!



after setup on the following day, and after most of my co-workers had arrived, we all headed out to have our own kick-off of sorts-pizza!

giordano's is a chicago pizza staple, and one i've never had the pleasure of enjoying before. we, of course ordered the stuffed crust pizza and enjoyed every single bite of it. i'm drooling just thinking about it. mmmmmm.



the following evening, i dragged along the group for another adventure i'd never experienced before - the willis tower (which was, prior to july 28, known as the sears tower). the building is the tallest in the united states, and as the elevator rose the 103 stories, a video indicated when we were passing the heights of other well known buildings....the empire state building, the eiffel tower....it was actually quite interesting!





the highlight of the sears tower is 'the ledge'. the ledges (there are actually three of them) extend about 4 feet from the skydeck at 1,353 feet up. the glass, as it turns out, is only 1 1/2 inches thick, although can somehow hold 5 tons of weight. as you might imagine the experience made for some great photos. :)



we arrived in time to get some daylight photos, enjoy the setting of the sun, and watch the city lights come alive. it was absolutely beautiful.



on friday morning, i offered to take my co-worker julianne, who has never been to chicago before, to see a few landmarks.



we took the subway down to the museum campus, which includes the field museum, the aquarium, the planetarium, and soldier field - all of which are incredible facilities. i love the way the campus is laid out, and had there been more time, i would have enjoyed wandering through them again.



since time was limited however, we opted to start walking back along the lakeshore, stopping first at buckingham fountain, which was even more impressive than i remembered it.



we also, of course, stopped at the giant bean in millennium park and took fun reflective photos.

the following, and final day of the show, was fairly quiet. that is, until vicki missed her flight. most of the team was heading out on saturday evening, and had checked out in the afternoon. as such, my room turned in to the camp out spot, as they staggered their airport departures. julianne and vicki were the last to leave, and i had been encouraging that they do so for 20 minutes before they actually took my gentle nudging.

for vicki, that 20 minutes turned out to be the difference between being able to check her bag. and since she couldn't check her bag, she was stuck. so, very frustrated, and clearly overwhelmed, she headed back to the hotel for a slumber party with moi! i had a room with double beds and vick and i are close enough that it made more sense than her picking up another room night.

we enjoyed dinner, came back and ordered dessert from room service before calling it night. we headed to the airport together on sunday morning and she was able to make the first standby flight out, while i was enjoying a row to myself on my direct flight. probably the smoothest travel leg i've had yet!

a little giggle, a big guffaw

i don't usually comment on the state of being single and over 30 in the mormon world (at least not TOO often), but i got a good laugh today and felt compelled to share.  for those of you outside my faith, the single adult program consists of single mormons, age 31 to dead.  which is why those of us on the lower end of that range, who also happen to live in an area where there is a 'mid-singles' program (roughly 31 - 45), are very grateful.

 

there is an upcoming single adult conference about an hour from where i live, and the following workshops are being offered:

 

1. Scam Awareness
2. Dealing With Adversity
3. Understanding Assisted living
4. Storing Food For One
5. Spiritual Video Presentation
6. Finance and Credit

 

now, does one of these jump out at you, because #3 almost made me choke on my lunch!  sadly, i don't think the intention of this workshop is 'understanding assisted living for your elderly parents.'

thursday thanks

it's thursday here in chicago and i've got a couple of things to be really grateful about.

the first is that my entire immediate family will be coming to california for christmas! i'm excited to take kendyl (who just started kindergarten) to disneyland, excited for our side trip to yosemite, and excited that they will all get to see what my life has been like for the last two (in october) years. it's going to be a non-traditional christmas, but i am sooo excited, and so thankful that they are willing to make the financial sacrifices to make it happen.

the second is that i scored, and i still don't know how, amazing tickets for an insanely low amount of frequent flyer miles to visit germany in november. seriously - those of you who are familiar with frequent flyer miles will know that 40k miles, roundtrip, is both a thing of beauty and a thing of legend, never before proven. for perspective's sake (and i actually feel really bad about this), it took 60k miles each ticket for my family members to come out to ca in december.

i'll be spending a few days with my friend arika in her new home in germany, visiting places like this:

neuschwanstein castle - the inspiration for disneyland's sleeping beauty castle

as an added bonus, i'll be doing a three day side trip to venice, seeing places like this:

the grand canal

and, if all goes according to plan, deb will be meeting me in venice for the weekend! she and i have been attempting an italy trip now for about five years, so this will be a perfect way to break the curse and enjoy italy together for the first, but not the last, time.

i'm so thankful to have so much to look forward to!

gratuitous photo posting

last week, or the week before (they all blend together), i picked up nic and her new cruiser to initiate maggie (the name of her new bike) by giving her her first beach ride.

since my ward was also conveniently hosting a beach party, we stopped by for some roasted corn and other goodies before giving the girls a ride.

mostly i'm posting this pic because nic and i agreed that we both look pretty darn good (despite my windblown hair), and wow do my legs look skinny!

kansas city: the church history tour

it's fair to say that i wasn't quite 'on' this trip. now that i've been back for two days and have spent both of them with a miserable cough, runny nose, and headache, i have a better understanding as to why--my body was getting ready to break down. i should be grateful it held off so long, but as i'm back on a plane on monday, all i can think about is how poor the timing is. oh well.

the exhibit setup was rougher than usual. the exhibit hall doesn't usually get air until the show starts, which is sometimes not an issue, and other times downright awful. i do thank my lucky stars that kc was experiencing unusually cool weather while there, but even in the high 70's with the high humidity that rain and thunderstorms brought, it was pretty uncomfortable. both myself and the install team were dripping with sweat. and that was how i spent my birthday:)

the install was supposed to finish up on thursday, but by day's end, there was still a few hours of work to be done. and 'a few hours' is not insignificant when it comes to an install. when you are contracted to pay for 6-8 hours of labor, that's pretty much what it should take. in this case, there was no one reason for the extra time, and i can't even entirely pinpoint it. maybe we were all moving slow in the humidity. there were certainly enough people - it just seemed to take forever.

that was compounded by learning on friday morning that my shipment of materials from our distribution center had been screwed up, and would not arrive until monday - the last day of the show. there was a lot of scrambling to try and figure out how to remedy the situation, and by early friday afternoon, with the booth finally set up, i was in desperate need of a brain break.

in a normal situation, that would have meant sleeping for hours in my hotel room, but on thursday evening, dad had pointed out that i was close to a lot of church history sites, so i decided to take advantage of having a rental car.

the first stop on the list was adam-ondi-ahman.


for those 5 of you readers who are not lds, you can google this or any of the places i'm going to mention, but i'm going to keep it pretty high level.

adam-ondi-ahman is, largely, a giant parcel of land. there isn't much to see other than grass and trees, but there was definitely a special feeling about the place. i must have hit this (and all the other sites) in an off time, because i was the sole visitor. the solitude, the quiet, and the spirit of the place provided an ideal setting for some reflection and introspection.

from adam-ondi-ahman, it was on to haun's mill, the site of the 1838 massacre. there is a good explanation of the events at huan's mill found here. and again, there isn't much to see. the haun's mill site is off the beaten path - literally. in doing my research, i couldn't find an actual address to plug in to the gps - just coordinates. those coordinates took me about 5 miles on a one way dirt and gravel road.

the former rlds church, now the community of christ, has placed a marker there, but truth be told, i never found it. instead, i found a field. the original memorial millstone now sits in breckenridge, mo, so there is no evidence of what took place here. only the knowing of it, which creates a profound reverence for the lives lost.

from haun's mill, it was on to far west:

In August 1836, W. W. Phelps and John, presidents of the Latter Day Saint Church, selected 1 square mile of land overlooking the rolling native prairie, as the site for a new town to be called Far West. Settlement of this and neighboring lands along Shoal Creek began immediately. Far West became the county seat of Caldwell County, a region set apart by the State especially for the Mormons. In Far West the Saints built some two hundred homes, several dry goods stores and groceries, half a dozen black smith shop, two hotels and a printing office. The city quickly expanded to four miles square, eventually becoming the home of as many as 5,000 inhabitants. Residents excavated and laid foundation stones for a temple for worship on the Public Square. They also erected a large school building on the Square for use as a courthouse, town hall and temporary church. By the fall of 1838, Far West was the hub of community activity extending throughout Caldwell- encompassing nearly 2,000 farms comprised of approximately 250,000 acres purchased from the Federal Government.

In October 1838 a Missouri army surrounded Far West. At the end of three days, the Prophet Joseph Smith and other Church leaders agreed to meet with militia leaders outside the city. However, instead of conducting talks, the militia leaders arrested and sentenced Joseph and the others to death by a firing squad. Brigadier General Alexander Doniphan refused the order, stating that it was illegal. Although their lives were saved at this time, Joseph and the other leaders were unjustly incarcerated for five months, suffering horrible conditions.

While the Church leaders were in jail, mobs continued to harass the Saints, eventually driving them out of the state despite an early winter. Church leaders Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and John Taylor led 5,000 suffering Saints across Missouri into Illinois.

There were good times at Far West as well. While there, Joseph Smith received divine communications, recorded in Doctrine and Covenants section 115, that revealed that the Church's name should be The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Also revealed was the system for tithing Church members and the instruction that a temple should be built at Far West.

from far west it was on to liberty jail. a visitors center has been built around the jail, and the theme for the day - solitude- continued...at least initially. the missionaries gave an an overview of the history, at which point, we were joined by a road-tripping couple on their way home.

after the introduction, we were taken in to the main room, where the foundations of the jail and the recreated upper and lower rooms are. joseph smith was held in this jail for five months before being allowed to escape:

Incarcerated in Liberty Jail with Joseph Smith were other Church leaders: Hyrum Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Lyman Wight, Alexander McRae, and Caleb Baldwin. During the winter months in which they were held in the basement jail, they suffered from intense cold and exposure to the elements because of the small slits in the walls that served as windows. The men slept on dirty straw and suffered poisoning attempts and insults. However, Joseph's biggest grievance was not his own condition of imprisonment but the knowledge that the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were suffering untold anguish that he could not prevent.

liberty jail is often referred to as the 'prison-temple', as joseph smith had much time for meditation, reflection, and prayer. this ultimately resulted in sections 121 & 122 of the d&c. you can most definitely still feel a spirit in this place. and it was enhanced by the sister missionary's closing on her presentation, in which, she sang the hymn 'abide with me' in a clear and beautiful voice. it was a perfect example of how music can magnify the spirit. and a perfect finish to the day.

a couple days later, i hit the last stop on the church history tour, independence, mo. currently, there is no temple in independence, though the site was dedicated in 1831 by joseph smith. there is, however, a visitor center where you can learn more about the history of the churh in the area and that of the temple site itself. the visitors center currently has an exhibit on display called 'reflections of christ'. there are some powerful an interesting pieces on display. this was one of my favorites:

we so often see christ portrayed seriously and i love the expression on his face here. i didn't know the title of the piece at the time, but was struck by the joy and love evident on his face. the photograph, fittingly enough, is titled 'joy.'

there were a few other highlights as well, one of the 10 virgins, one of jesus walking on water. all in all, a truly beautiful, truly inspirational exhibit.

i grew up visiting places like palmyra and nauvoo - heck, that's what we did for youth conferences! maybe as a result of having such easy access to those places, i hadn't previously given much thought to visiting others. with my close proximity though, i couldn't miss these missouri sites, and there is something about just being there and seeing it firsthand. all those sunday school lessons and scriptures and stories take on a whole new light when you are standing in those holy places.

more pics here

birthday celebrations

it's official, i'm 33. as lara put it once 'i'm the same age jesus was when he died.' though i haven't accomplished a fraction of what he did, i'm excited to be an odd age again. there are a few who know about my weird quirk with numbers, but for those of you who don't, i HATE even numbers. there is no rhyme or reason, i just don't like them, so i'm pretty psyched to have made it through 32, and planning on enjoying 33!

since i was going to be in kansas city for work on my birthday, this year's celebrations were a bit different than previous years. when my thoughtful roommate asked me how i wanted to celebrate, i told her i didn't want to think about it until after my trip. she was not content to let it go though, and on the night before my departure, surprised me with a wonderful homemade ice cream cake!


it was both a delicious and much appreciated gesture. especially since i had unintentionally thwarted two previous attempts at the surprise. oops!

the celebrations continued in kansas city when i joined my colleague chris and colleague/friend melissa for a yummy meal. melissa was a late addition and a much appreciated one! i wasn't sure that i'd actually get to spend time with her on this trip, as she had other responsibilities to attend to. she recaps the evening here, but between the delicious stuffed chicken, the chocolate cake (of course), and the quality conversation, it was a great way to usher in 33!

the following night, two of my co-workers (the only two who had arrived in kc) took me to a kansas city institution - the savoy grill. the savoy is on the national register of historic places, and has been left largely in it's original condition. unfortunately, i wasn't super-impressed with the food, but linda and julie made for great dinner companions, and i was very appreciative of their efforts and desire to help me celebrate.