9.12.2011

34] take a visit to the aquarium in Sandy.

Labor day has always been a nice holiday for me... especially in the college scene. It always seems to fall right after the first week of school which is very nice considering that the first week tends to be consistently intimidating.

This year for Labor Day, Todd and I went on a fun date to the Sandy aquarium. We also had a groupon for Tokyo [Japanese Steak House and Bar]. So as lunch approached we decided to go get some sushi and head up to Sandy. [Please notice the order of these events... looking at the fish first and then having to eat them would have been difficult.] 

We pulled up to Tokyo and Todd was worried because it was kind of in a strip mall... but once we got inside and seated things started to look up. Turns out the sushi was delicious. For some reason I get sick to my stomach and all nervous-like before I eat sushi... but then every time I'm never disappointed. After three rolls... one of which may have had fry sauce on it... we headed up to Sandy and had a great time checking out all of the cool fish, petting the sting rays, and learning about superhero animals. I kept thinking to myself, "We need to bring Lucy here." So Courtney... you should take Lucy. (: Speaking of Courtney... she saw this item on my list last winter and gave me and Todd tickets for Christmas. So thanks Courtney, we had a great time!


yum.


That is a penguin... swimming.


That is me and a penguin... or two.


This is how pythons find their prey... aren't we cute.


Basically we had a great time and I would definitely recommend both Tokyo and Living Planet Aquarium.

9.11.2011

to do [for fun] this semester... fall 2011.

Fall semester is here again... for the last time. The last time I watch all the trees on campus change to pretty colors, the last time I wake up to the first snow and have to walk to school in it, the last time I spend entire Saturdays totally focused on BYU football instead of homework, the last time I take a flippin' final on my birthday. Some of these things I'll miss and some I'll obviously be fine without. You see both Todd and I graduate in April so we won't be back next year.

So here's the list... on top of homework, tests, assignments, church, internship, life, etc. I'll try to have some extra fun. (:

1] keep running.
2] run 'Barry's Drive-In Supa Mega Half-Marathon' on July 17th. 9th.
3] plant a garden on my front porch.
4] go to Dairy Keen w/ my favorite boy.
5] defeat the Fudrucker's Challenge, then some (yeah right).
6] be awfully original and hike timp in the middle of the night just in time for the sunrise.
7] find those blasted falls up Hobble Creek.
8] get my picture on sammy's wall.
9] throw a sweet party.
10] go on a bike ride up to Bridal Veil... tandum??*
11] practice the piano.
12] fix family search index and get back in the habit.
13] visit the wildlife at Hogle Zoo*
14] successfully have a fire party at Utah Lake.
15] tie-dye t-shirts... or socks.
16] finish reading Princess Bride.
17] make homemade ice cream... and share it with my roommates.
18] get an A++ in my TMA 150 class.
19] learn how to break it down.
20] try not to be a wimp when I get pressured into climbing up a waterfall.
21] get a library card.
22] go to the library and use said card.
23] thirty minutes of scriptureness everyday.
24] make somethings delicious out of a plantain.*
25] get a bike... for free or terribly cheap.
26] swing off a rope into Mona Lake.
27] make banana pancakes.
28] wake up early on a Saturday and get all-you-can-eat waffles.
29] go to an Owlz game.
30] go to The Chocolate and sit in a little booth.
31] take a trip to the sliding rock... and slide on it.
32] make a natty-bowl at color-me-mine.
33] hit up the farmer's market at Pioneer Park.
34] take a visit to the aquarium in Sandy.*
35] go see INCEPTION and understand the whole thing.
36] experience the fine dining of Joe Bandido's Fiestaraunt.
37] run to the Y trail head w/o stopping... a.k.a. get in shape to do so.
38] run to the Y.
39] make my bed every day.
40] go to the temple every week.
41] do every dish that I dirty.
42] build dinosaur suckers.
43] make gnocci soup.*
44] get hot chocolate and ride the ski lift at Sundance.
45] Go see the "UP" house in Herriman.
46] hike up to Stewart Falls.*
47] eat a delicious bass.
48] Write thank you notes to 5 people that have inspired me.*
49] Go golfing or to the driving range.
50] Take a picture a day for a month.
51]
52] Sew something.
53] Collect my 100 favorite quotes. (this one may take years.)
54] Donate blood every 8 weeks.
55] Get a real Christmas tree.
56] Floss every day for two weeks.
57] Be on time for everything for a week.
58] Go Christmas caroling.
59] Eat a tostada to calm my nerves.*
60] Eat vegetarian for a week.
61] Go camping in the snow.
62] Make a 72-hour kit.*
63] Go to the state fair in Blackfoot and eat something deep fried.
64] eat an awful waffle.
65]
66] Keep a daily gratitude journal for a month.
67] Make gingerbread waffles for Christmas.
68] Go to the beach.
69] Read A Christmas Carol.
70] Read Jesus the Christ... or at least start it.
71] Leave a 100% tip for excellent service at a restaurant.
72] Not eat sugar for one week.
73] Listen to every song on my iPod.
74] Can something (fruit, jam, salsa, jalapenos, etc.)*
75] Buy only necessities for one month.
76] Give away a Book of Mormon.*
77] Play all of the board games in the apartment.*
78] pretend like I'm back home and look at the leaves during conference.
79] make 'you are what you eat' cookies.
80] whole-heartedly celebrate every legit holiday.
81] Watch a BYU hockey rugby game. maybe. definitely.
82] play with sparklers... preferably 6 months after the 4th of July.
84] successfully plan a wonderful wedding.
85] purchase and consume an entire King Kong Cone.*
86] conjure a whole wheat twinkie. *
87] witness the Midway Ice Castles
88] Clean out my inbox of 5701 emails.
89] dine at the Cannon Center.
90] Plant something pretty in a take-out box.*
91] Check out EarthFruits and eat something healthy.*
92] Build a variety of kabobs without any meat.*
93] Complete the new value- Virtue -in the Young Women in Excellence program.
94] Pursue Excellence.
95] make a National Geographic poster with Marie.
96] Put all of our new camping gear to use and run around some mountains.
97] help Marie fulfill numba two-hundo and make drumsticks.*
98] support local farmers and buy some rainier cherries.
99] make and complete a summer reading list.
100] adventure around Arches.
101] make Gina's healthy horchata.*
102] bike to Utah Lake and have a picnic.*
103] share a tasty snow cone with my husband.*
104] do the valley a favor and find the best hot dog stand.*
105] bake something banofee.*
106] spend every Saturday in the sunshine.
107] give The Roll Up some business.
108] be cool like my bosses and have a Chobani for lunch.
109] there's a way cool tree next to the marriage license building... find a cute boy named Todd and have a picnic under it with him.
110] build a fruit pizza and share it with someone.
111] make homemade granola bars.
112] crochet a good lookin' hat.
113] help the husband with his root beer cravings and make a root beer cake.
114] clean the sink at Angie's.
115] make cookie bowls and put something yummy in them.
116]

*are to-dooz that would make a great f.h.e. activity or date night. (:

9.03.2011

104] do the valley a favor and find the best hot dog stand: Contestant #5

Alright friends, I'm thinking this is the last contestant of the summer. I have had a lot of hot dogs in the last four months... in and out of the competition and I don't need another until 2015. So... Kranky Franks is our last contestant and hails from Springville, Utah. This little dog shop is run by John and Taffy Dangerfield, two BYU grads. Again we brought Marysa with us and we even had my cousin Tanner on the panel this time... both of them were a little homeless for the time being so we thought we'd take them "sight seeing." 




At Kranky Franks we all got "the danger dog" -a polish dog- with a wide variety of toppings including Chicago relish, Beaver mustard, and their "special sauce." Throughout the duration of our visit we chatted with John and we quickly discovered that Kranky Franks has quite the rivalry with Jdawgs, especially since Jay, Jdawgs owner, is from Springville. Fortunately John was a great sport... and didn't forget to mention that Kranky Franks won "best dog" of the year award in Utah County. So about the actual dog... like lets get down to it...


Pros: the atmosphere was a lot of fun and the fake noodle dogs everywhere were interesting and unique. I also appreciated the Beatles poster on the wall and the encouragement that the bathroom provided. 





As for the food... I always love me some sweet potato fries. Seriously why don't I buy those when I go grocery shopping? Ohhh it's cause Todd doesn't like them, that's okay though cause then they're more of a treat for me. (: The fry sauce that they served with the fries was also pretty good, a lot more spice than Lomito's special fry sauce, I haven't decided if I liked it more though. Lastly I enjoyed the different toppings offered... sweet relish is always a win and Beaver sauce--that Todd LOVED--was also really tasty.



Cons: the bun was less than satisfying, it took too much saliva to break it down. The dog wasn't necessarily a con... but it wasn't amazing. Really that's it though, overall it was a very enjoyable dog.


And that's all folks... we've had our share of dogs and soon we'll reveal the dog of all dogs. So don't go too far.