MY FAVORITE "THINGS" (& stuff) #4

COURAGE, CONFIDENCE, CHARACTER

It is that time of year again... Girl Scout Cookie Time! They are for sale on every corner, in grocery store lobbies and door-to-door!

Did you know that the first Girl Scout Cookies were sold in 1917 in Muskogee, Oklahoma. In 1922 the Girl Scout Magazine suggested cookie sales as a fun-raiser and provided recipes for those cookies. In 1933, the Girl Scouts in Philadelphia organized the first official bake sale,selling homemade cookies. In 1936 the national organization began licensing commercial bakers to produce the cookies. Because of shortages of flour, sugar and butter during World War II customers were limited to two boxes per person. That would be terrible... we have to buy more than two boxes just to get everyone's favorite flavors. And face it- you can't just by one box of each flavor anyway; you have to buy enough to hide them in a variety of places so they last more than a day or two! Besides it is for good cause, right?

Girl Scouts is a leadership development organization for girls where young women discover their potential and take action in their communities. The Girl Scout Cookie program promotes financial skills such as goal setting, decision-making, customer service and money management. Proceeds from sales go to support our local Girl Scouts.

For more info visit www.girlscouts.org.

RUN SAMI, RUN! (and jump!)

So, we were having Sunday dinner a few weeks ago and Samantha announced that she was going out for the track team. "Really", we all said. Cool. "What event are you going to do?" we asked. She said, "I am going to do the hurdles!". Wow. OK. Go for it Sami. Samantha has never been afraid to go after new "things and stuff"and she usually succeeds at everything she tries.

Getting ready for her very first event, the 100 meter hurdles.

Ready, set, GO!

Running the 100 meter dash.

Not that I am bragging (but I am... after all it is my blog, I can do what I want).
Anyway, she did great!

1st in her heat and 3rd overall in the 300 meter hurdles.

5th overall in the 100 meter hurdles.

3rd overall in the 4x1 relay.

11th in the 100 meter dash (and she had never run that one).

GO BENGALS!

BREAKFAST FOR DINNER!!

So, I have always said that you shouldn't eat any-'thing' bigger than your head, but sometimes you have to try!

Tonight we had dinner at a new restaurant in Sandy called "The BLACK BEAR DINER". It is on the corner of 9400 South and Highland Drive in the old Village Inn building. It has been there a couple of months but it is jumping all the time. We decided to give it a shot and it is really good! Good old fashion 'comfort' food. They serve breakfast all day plus they have a large variety of other options. Mashed potatoes, country gravy and biscuits, vegetables swimming in butter. Are you getting the idea? Not healthy but awfully good! I would even say it could give Ruth's a run and it is much more convenient. Huge portions and reasonably priced and way more food than anyone can eat....

Check it out if you are hungry... It is worth it!

TANGO

I was looking for 'things and stuff' on YOUTUBE and I came across this video. It turns out the dancers are both instructors at Ballroom Utah. Chelsea Erickson and Corey Lundell.
They are both, obviously, great dancers and great teachers.

The Tango is quickly becoming my favorite dance. The moves are big and it can be quite dramatic, even sensual... and really fun! Remember the closing scene in "True Lies" when Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis do the Tango while Tom Arnold is trying to get their attention and get them back on the spy job at hand? They are not very good but they are so serious, it makes me laugh. I love that movie. Anyway, the Tango is great.

Seriously, come check it out!

Video by ISIL HESSICK
Music by Zade

REVISITING AN OLD FAVORITE!

Do you ever have a craving for 'things and stuff' from your past? Something that is so decadently delicious, and bad for you, that you have to have it? Something that you can't let anyone see you eat because you are humiliated by your weakness? Something you sneak in the house in a brown paper bag and hide in the back of the freezer until just the right time? Maybe like the middle of the night, in the dark, wrapped up in a blanket watching 'Bram Stokers Dracula'? Eating with a big spoon? Are you starting to get the idea?

Ben and Jerry's 'PHISH FOOD'! Chocolate ice cream with ribbons of caramel and marshmallow swimming with fish shaped fudge chunks. I would say divine if I used that word... kind of like awesome. The problem is the fact that there are four servings in a pint but a pint LOOKS like one serving. Once you start there is no stopping and before you know it you have consumed four servings and six hundred calories. However, I don't see that as a problem, do you? I thought not.

WHAT DANCE DO YOU DO AT MARDI GRAS?

Ok, so our house is suddenly close to empty... Deni and Nick moved out, Erin is hardly home, Scott is on a mission and Sami is so busy we hardly see her. We have become almost empty nester's really fast! So, Suzie and I decided if we were going to be on our own we should start doing some "things and stuff" that we have talked about doing for years... like learn to dance! Seriously! The question was where to start.

Our friends the Cannon's, who are getting ready for a wedding, invited us to their dance class at Willow Creek Country Club and we had a riot. Turns out their instructor is Martin Skupinski who is the owner of Ballroom Utah Dance Studio. He is a great teacher and makes the whole process a lot of fun.

So, after a couple of weeks at the Country Club Martin said we should come to his studio for his Friday Night Dance Party. Why not? It turns out that every Friday night he opens his studio for open dancing from eight until ten o'clock. It is only five dollars a person and I was amazed the first time we went. Ballroom Utah is a beautiful studio with a great wood dance floor and it doubles as a gallery for Salt Lake artist Pamela Nielsen. She does amazing, large scale contemporary art and the studio is a perfect place to appreciate its beauty.

Any way, back to the dancing. They teach a wide variety of dance styles as well as offering several class and lesson options. On Friday nights Martin and his staff are there during the party to help with technique, teach some new steps and to just keep the party going. It really is great fun and it is our new Friday night date.

Last Friday night we celebrated Mardi Gras and Martin taught the Samba in honor of Carnival. After he taught the basics, with everyone in masks, he lead the parade around the studio as if we were really at Mardi Gras, beads and all (kidding, no beads). It was a kick!

Suzie and I in the masks we picked up in New Orleans at the Mardi Gras party.
We are in front of one of Pam Nielsen's pieces.

Suzie with studio owner Martin Skupinski.

If you want to try something new and fun, check out Ballroom Utah. The studio is located at 3030 South Main Street in Salt Lake and you can call 801-916-4716 for information or go to their website at ballroomutah.com.

We are thinking about going to the group Salsa lessons on Wednesday nights at nine also. It is only ten bucks a person and Salsa dancing is 'hot' (clever, huh?). Come and go with us-- more people make the party even more fun!

Let's go BALLROOM!

CARL BLOCH: THE MASTER'S HAND

There is an amazing exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art that I highly recommend. The exhibit is called "Carl Bloch: The Master's Hand" and it features the work of Carl Bloch, the 19th-century Danish artist. His paintings on the life of Christ are highly recognized by members of the Church.



The exhibition features five large altarpieces. Four have come from Lutheran churches in Denmark and Sweden, the first time they have left their original locations. The fifth painting shown above, "Christ Healing the Sick at Bethesda", was acquired by the BYU Museum in2001 and is part of their permanent collection. Along with the five altarpieces there are another thirty works shown as part of the exhibition.

Many of us are familiar with Bloch's work but we are only familiar with reproductions shown at a fraction of their original size. Many of the painting contain life size images that really should be seen in person to be appreciated. The Museum of Art has done an excellent job in presenting the painting in setting similar to their original locations.

One of the great 'things' (and stuff) at the exhibit is the three dollar ipad rental that is available for the tour. They have included a tremendous amount of additional information and commentary about each painting. My favorite part though was the 3-D panorama view of each church showing the home location of each painting, both interior and exterior. It is as close as you can come to actually being there.

Seriously, if you have a chance you should make the trip. It is well worth your time. The exhibit is free, including parking, but reservations are required. Get more information at carlbloch.byu.edu.


And... what trip to Provo would be complete without a visit to Heaps BRICK OVEN? Pasta, pizza and a trip to the best salad bar ever! Oh, and a chocolate chip cookie for desert.

As we were leaving the Brick Oven, I looked across the street and had a flash from my past!

Yes, I owned this exact car in 1980! It was a 1972 Porsche 914. Such a fun car! Take off the targa top, stick it in the trunk and enjoy the sun. Winter was not as fun... I had to drive with an ice scraper in my hand because it had typical VW heating and the defrost did not work. Oh well... it was so worth it!