29] go to an Owlz game.

Take me out to the ball game was the request... and out to the ball game we went! After some delicious BBQ at Smokehouse on the avenue we continued our very north American evening and went to the baseball game! The Owlz took on the Missoula somethings and they won! 4-1! The game was full of foul balls and fly fans. I almost even caught one!! [A ball... not a fan.] [And when I say "I almost did" I really mean Todd almost did for me.] Well overall the whole game was very educational... I'd tell you more about it but I'm still learning and I don't quite have the baseball lingo down. All I know is that Zito is pretty cool and sounds like he probably eats lotsa pasta... and that Posey is like the "best hitting prospect to come out of the Giants system since Will the Thrill Clark."

17] make homemade ice cream... and share it with my roommates.

Last Wednesday night was my night to create the fun... and since makin' homemade ice cream is indeed fun [and tasty] I dubbed it a very appropriate activity. So after some delicious calzones, a hefty round of lotr, and a lovely yet ironic bike ride we threw together these puppies. If you're interested in making tasty fun for yourself this is what you're gonna need--

Start off with a sandwich size bag and a gallon size bag. Fill the big guy half full of ice and 6ish tbls rock salt. In the little baggy dump 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 cup half'n'half, and 1 tbls table sugar. Then all you do is put the little bag in the big bag and shake it up until your ice cream is at a desired consistency. It's way tasty! However, I would double it for one person 'cause it doesn't make very much... and if you do double it you could definitely fit it into one sandwich bag, heck it would still fit if you tripled it. Either way it'll be enjoyable. (:

an eventful weekend. the end of the week which was full of events, even.

27] make banana pancakes.

We begin last Saturday morning at 7:00am. Why do I do things like wake up at seven on a Saturday? Oh yeah probably because I was about to have a lovely few hours with the boyfriend... something I wish I could do more of. After a few errands [Macey's being one to pick up more bananas] it was time to eat something delicious. We pulled up virus-shark and hippy friday-ed to Jack Johnson while we concocted some super tasty banana waffles. I didn't burn a single one! Next time, however, I think I'll add another mush of banana to the batter... and maybe some cinnamon or nutmeg-ness.

33] hit up the farmer's market at Pioneer Park.

After waaah-ffles we went on a Saturday adventure--as usual--to Pioneer Park. Every Saturday they have a cute little farmer's market where all sorts of people can bring there talents to sell or just show off. My favorite was probably the hippies, they were everywhere! I LOVED it!! They were the ones with the yoga/massage/oil/incense booths. If a booth wasn't being run by a hippy there was most likely either a farmer still in his overalls selling fresh produce, a friendly Mexican man with barrels of delicious horchata, or a YW's group selling their crafts from this weeks mutual activity to raise money for girls camp. Overall, there was a large array of cool stuff... not to mention the VW car show that Todd got beyond excited about. If anything though... go for the free Reinier cherry sample. They're delicious. [p.s. this little yoda man was from the specialized pinata booth!]

11] practice the piano.

I don't know if I can necessarily check this one off the list. But Sunday night Dallin--roommate of Todd--wanted to find a piano and sing some hymns. Somehow I got roped into playing and slaughtered all but about a measure from the whole night. It was good practice... I guess... except it was more of a 2x4 in between the eyes telling me that I need to practice more.

24] make somethings delicious out of a plantain.

Check and FAIL. About two weeks ago I got two plantains that were supposed to fulfill my plantain frying craving. Instead when I put them in the hot oil they died... and turned into black slimy slug 'nana chunks. I ate one, Todd ate one, and Michelle almost ate half of one followed by sickee noises that you would hear from a 5 year-old eating squash. I will not be defeated just yet... I will master the plantain before the summer is over.

25] get a bike... for free or terribly cheap.

Thank you Craig's List! A kind french lady in Salt Lake decided that she wanted a nicer bike and put this lovely up for sale. She only rode it two-three handfuls of times and tuned it every year since she bought it. To be honest she could have gotten a lot more than ninety... but who's complaining? I rode it for the first time, not counting the test run, yesterday morning and I'll tell you what... I am lovin' this bike.

12] fix family search index and get back in the habit.

Saturday would have been an extremely stagnant day had I not gotten this taken care of... I had a wonderful morning messing around with T-Dawg at the DI and such but after he left I sort of went inside and didn't know what to do with myself. After taking a nap and being excessively lazy I decided to make yet another to-do list of things that I could entertain myself with for the remainder of the afternoon. I pulled this sucker from my ultimate to-do list in hopes of actually checking it off. Why hasn't my family search indexing been working? I haven't the slightest idea... but it has been bumming out on me for about a year now. I have tried quite a few things and finally decided it was going to take some help from a much more computer savvy individual than I. After I realized this of course I neglected to get help and it sat on my to-do list for even longer. Every week or so I tried to start it again and again but all in vain. Today, however, luck was in the air. I reset my password, logged on, and poof... there were batches upon batches just waiting for my assistance!! Now I just need to get back in the habit and I'll be good(ish) to go!

Something that I learned about myself... I'm addicted to being busy and I don't like being a bum.

p.s. I should probably put in a plug for indexing while I'm here. Basically ordinances done in the temple are very important, but they can't happen if we don't do the indexing beforehand. So I highly encourage you to set up your account and help the work move along. A lot of people will be blessed, and that's what we need in this yucky world... a lot more happy smiling faces. (:

7] find those blasted falls up Hobble Creek.

So here's a little background to this adventure... last spring I moved into Campus Plaza from the dorms. Being fresh out of my first year in college I didn't have a truck load of older friends and I was up for anyone as long as they didn't smell like top roman 27/4 and have a collection of Red Bull cans (because I run into that a lot?). On one of my first Sunday's at the fishbowl there was a big ol' treat party on the first floor- the kind of party where you get pressured into trying everyone's treats and feel the size of a dino when you leave. I was at man205 and of course a girl came up to invite us (us being the guys). I went anyways... and with luck on my side I made some new friends. The place was crowded and as I stood in the doorway enjoying my red otter-pop (strawberry shortcook) one of my new buddies moseyed over and invited me on a hike to some falls the next morning- I couldn't resist, it was Memorial Day and it's not like I had anything better going on. So the next morning I got as cute as I could, without over doing it for a hike, and met up with my new friends by the old grill. We loaded up the water, snacks, and hikers and drove out to Springville. I had heard of and been to Springville on numerous occasions but never had I even heard of Hobble Creek. Now... it's one of my favorite places to run away to. The driver had grown up in Springville so I made no attempt to pay attention to where we were going... that was my first mistake... I was too busy looking at all the pretty forest-ness and listening to random bluegrass (since then I have been trying to find the artist but I am almost convinced he no longer exists).

And that's how this year's Hobble Creek adventure was born. I didn't know where the falls were but they were pretty enough to find again. So after two previous attempts spoiled by the winter season and road construction we finally found these little falls. It was much easier than I was planning on and we got more out of it than I was anticipating. The quest all began last Saturday morning, the day was looking great and I was feeling lucky as we hit the road. If you haven't driven up Hobble Creek you really should... it's all sorts of green and has the freshest of fresh air. I convinced Todd to drive and we took our time climbing and twisting our way up the mountain, this time listening to Garth Brooks, Queen, and Led Zeppelin. After a few encounters- one cow and one rest stop -we literally ran straight into the trail-head. From the road we followed the stream through meadows and trees and eventually found the falls. They weren't as big this time around, probably because last year I went during the spring, but they were just as cold and lovely nonetheless. Also, that one tall guy spotted another waterfall above the first two that we checked out. It was infested with butterflies from the '30s and purple/yellow rocks (one of which I introduced to my dune-bear friends... but that's another story). Overall it was extremely splendid... I will do it again next summer, if not soon.