In the West: Utah, Day 1 and a Half

Mountains!



We met up with Ryan Banister, who has been a family friend since serving his mission in Georgia. We ate at a barbecue place called Ruby River in Salt Lake City.

Me, Sadie, and Mommy:



Ryan being a goofball:


Ryan not being a goofball:


We made a mess with the peanuts.


Ryan drove us to the University of Utah, so I could see what it's like.



We stopped at some random park because Sadie was tired of being in her carseat. Check out that lush grass. Woo!



My new little friend:


Blake and Lindsey's place. Lindsey painted those pictures on the wall to match the pillows on the couch. What a creative homemaker!


This is the view they wake up to everyday. Maybe it's not a big deal for people who live here so long, but I love it. Love it.



Sadie and I danced and then ate Banana Nut Crunch together this morning.



All in all, it's been fun so far. I'm just having fun not working! And I love being surrounded by dry mountain air. I feel like I'm home.

Until next time . . .


Thing I'm thankful for: chain stores like Target, where you can quickly and easily buy what you forgot to pack . . .

New Camera!

I'm about to fly to Utah for vacation. In fact, I have to be ready to leave my apartment at 7:00 am. That's in 3 hours!

I may not be done packing, but I am ready for some serious picture-taking. I bought myself a digital camera this week. I've been needing one for a while, and the upcoming trip was the thing that pushed me over the edge. How could I go on yet another vacation without an easily transportable digital camera? I couldn't. So this is what I bought, a Sony Cybershot DSC W55:


The very first picture I took with it was boring, so I'll just post 7 of the first 14 pictures:


My officemate and surrogate mother, mentor, friend, confidante, and partner-in-Web development crime, Stacey. I don't know if I could be sane at work without her.


Yours truly.


Banana crepes from The Original Pancake House. Delectable!


I ate there on Wednesday with Liz.


I ate there again on Thursday with Jacob. Jacob asked me if I would be tired of The Original Pancake House if I ate there two days in a row. To that I said, "No way!" He had obviously never eaten at The Original Pancake House before. It's my 2nd favorite restaurant in Atlanta! Check out that food! (Above: The Dutch Baby, Below: The Fresh Fruit Crepe.)


Amy was supposed to come too, but she just had her wisdom teeth taken out. So it was just Jacob. We had a good time.


And there's me, modeling the out-of-this-world fruit crepe.



All in all, a good 7 pictures. Now, with my new camera, I can post even more!!! Yesssss! (Maybe this was the motivation I needed to start blogging again? We shall see . . . )


Thing I'm thankful for: new cameras, incredible co-workers, lunch appointments, and crepes!

Bomb Threats: Dangerous or Life-Saving?

Let me just explain once again that I work in the "unexciting" Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. It's not the one you read about in the news, usually. Front page news covers the Center for Infectious Diseases like SARS and Ebola and TB.

Imagine my surprise today when the fire alarm sounded in my building at 10:00 am. No one was prepared for a drill . . . Turns out, the CDC building I work in had a bomb threat. We had to evacuate to the parking lot, where we waited in the hot sun while firemen checked the building. Half an hour later, security sent in the search dogs, and they said it would be a while before we could even enter the building again. So most people went to an early lunch. Me? I am home, waiting for Amy to come over so that we can eat lunch.

Maybe a bomb threat is dangerous, but I have to say that I really needed a break today. I've really needed a break for the last week, really. And maybe it's insensitive for me to have this kind of attitude, but if I have to go back to work in such a volatile atmosphere, I may as well make the situation as light as I can . . .


Thing I'm thankful for: the wonderful friends I've made in the last year. I hope they know how very much they mean to me.