Animal Planet, Eat Your Heart Out

I was out walking around on Sunday morning at the Cougar Ranch and I found a really weird baby snake. I had my camera with me, so I filmed it a little bit. The video isn't very great because I was a little freaked out about seeing a snake. I was deathly afraid of the snake because of its bright blue tail and everyone knows bright blue = poisonous or pretending to be poisonous, so I didn’t want to get to close. Also, the thought of getting bit by a baby snake at the Cougar Ranch brought back haunting memories of my Uncle Dale and his close encounter with the legless kind. My adrenaline was definitely pumping as I was trying to remember if I knew how to tie a tourniquet in case I was bitten by this deadly reptile. So here is the video, I added some Steve Irwin (crocodile hunter) audio to make it more exciting (so turn up your speakers):

Everyone back at the cabin was wondering what the snake could be. We went back to the scene of the crime and we couldn't find it anywhere. We decided to google it when we got home. I just happen to work across the hall from a bug/nature/reptile/snake enthusiast named Neil. He is a beekeeper and loves spiders and snakes and pretty much anything gross. I told him about the snake and he got pretty excited and told me to bring the video in and he would look at it. He said there were only 31 species of snakes in Utah, so we could figure it out. He asked me if it had legs and I said – uh, no, it was definitely a baby snake. He went back to his office and within 5 seconds sent me an email with the following picture:

It is a western skink, basically a lizard. It must have had the tiniest legs because I didn't see them at all!! I felt kind of dumb for freaking out about the snake. Ever since talking to Neil, I was dreaming about discovering a new species of snake and naming it after Kurt Cobain or something really cool like that. A girl can dream, can’t she? It was just a lizard, but a pretty cool lizard as far as lizards go.

17 Hours in Grand Junction

So a couple of weeks ago a hair-brained scheme came to me. I love the band wilco. Randy and I discovered them sometime last year and just can't get enough. They have been on a world tour promoting their latest album Sky Blue Sky. - and when I say world tour, I mean everywhere in the world BUT Utah. I check their website semi-frequently to check for tour dates and I saw a show in Grand Junction on May 8th. EUREKA!! I also saw a show for August 18th at Red Butte Gardens in Salt Lake City. EUREKA!! Well, a normal person would be thrilled that the band was coming to their state and just leave it at that, but that would be a normal person. I immediately called Randy, and called Randy, and called Randy, but he finally answered and said, I gotta go, I'll call you back. DANG IT!! I needed to buy tickets fast and look for a hotel and coordinate with work, etc. So, I text messaged little Debbie to see if she was in and she was. So I figured out all of the details and verified with Randy that I was not insane and bought 3 tickets, booked a room at a bed and breakfast and told work that I would be gone all day Thursday, but would be back in time for a 4:00pm meeting that I had to attend.



We left Orem on Wednesday at about 1:30 and arrived in Colorado at about 5:30. We checked into the Willow Pond Bed and Breakfast and rested for a few minutes before grabbing dinner and going to the show. The theater where the show was being held only sat about 1400 people, so it was the perfect size for a really good concert. Wilco played some of our favorites from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot as well as a lot from Sky Blue Sky. They also played a lot of songs that we had never heard. I like going to a show where they actually improvise and play obscure songs that they want to play rather than just what the record label tells them to play. The crowd was great - a lot of them were drunk and just having a really good time. I think non-Utah crowds are better than Utah crowds any day and its not just the drinking - I think people just know how to listen to a band and how to appreciate the music more in other states. It is hard to pinpoint exactly, but I've seen this phenomenon several times. After the show, we went back the B&B and slept.



In the morning, we had an amazing breakfast of vegetarian chorizo breakfast burritos and good conversation with some other guests from British Columbia who were there to mountain bike. we checked out and went to a few music stores in downtown Grand Junction and then we hit the road so I could make it back in time for my meeting. It was a whirlwind trip, but one I will never forget!! And the best part it, I am buying my tickets to see them at Red Butte on Monday morning - WOO HOO!

Yes, I Do Take Requests...

For Lincoln:

So Freakin' Far, So Freakin' Good

So, here's the update... I have been in the gym every weekday morning (except 1 because I was in Colorado) since May 1^st!! I have been so sore that I could hardly walk, hardly shampoo my own hair, or tie my shoes. I sneezed one day and my abs burned so bad that I had to lie on the floor in my office and stretch for a few minutes. All of this and I couldn’t be more happy. I just think it is the right time for me to be working out. I just needed to pick a date and stick with it. I have also been eating better. I had a free night on Saturday night and ate a burger and fries at Fuddruckers and that seemed to curb the salt and fat cravings pretty good. I am keeping a “Fitness Spreadsheet” as suggested by my trainer. He wanted me to log my food intake and my exercise intake (outtake??). Anyways, I am trying to eat 6 small meals a day – kind of body for life style. I try to eat a good protein portion and a good carb portion and some veggies when I can. I am also drinking more water, but still not enough. I am trying to be disciplined, but if I go too overboard with discipline, I will get too frustrated and quit because nobody tells me what to do, not even me!! So far, when I am doing cardio or weights, I have a few weird motivations that keep me going (and even smiling most of the time). Do other people do this?

I am a hot rock n’ roll guitar chick playing for a big crowd. Randy is playing keyboards for some weird reason. (he doesn’t play piano

Hiking up to the top of Timpanogos and carving something funny on a tree up there (I will not reveal what THAT is)

I am not quite as fat as the fat people on the Biggest Loser show – I can do it!



I think about my mom’s bald shiny head running down that hotel hallway in Seattle – she definitely would have beat me and that is NOT OKAY!

Body By Blendtec

I took my camera to the gym on Wednesday afternoon so I could add them to the blog. I was taking a few pictures and then someone came in.

Trainer: Hi, can I help you?

Me: Uh... (fumbling to put camera in pocket) I was just taking some pictures for my blog (pushes up glasses and hikes up pants). I mean, I work here, and I am going to start working out tomorrow and I just wanted to make sure that I could find the gym...

Trainer: Oh good, we have a great gym, are you new here?

Me: No, I've worked here for about 4 years.

Trainer: Wow. Well, have you ever used Body By Blendtec?

Me: What?

Trainer: (points to large 3' tall letters on the wall) Body By Blendtec, you know, the gym.

Me: Oooohhhh... (nervous laughter), I've been in here once, to turn in my paperwork and to get some free food. I forgot the gym had a name... (side note: I think the name "Body By Blendtec" is cheesy and completely lame).

Trainer: (looking up from file cabinet) Ok... Looks like you're signed up - we can get you on a good plan.

Me: I think I need to start slow, like just trying not to die. (nervous laughter, slowly backing away)

Trainer: We won't hurt ya! See you tomorrow!


Here is the gym:


Here are the lockers:


Here is one of the showers (there are 2):