So I wanted to start some sort of book club but since my summer has a 'stress free theme' and having to read a book in a certain amount of time could start to feel like a class-- which could cause stress-- I decided to bag the book club.
However, summer is always the time when I seem to read the most (who can resist a good book, a blanket, and some iced peppermint tea at the park?) so I am going to periodically post what book(s) I'm reading and I want everyone to let me know if they are reading any thing worthwhile. How does that sound? (and I really wish that Ashley's mom had a blog because she always has good book recommendations!)



Things I Learned about My Dad (in therapy)
essays edited by Heather Armstrong

I pre-ordered this book a few weeks ago (to get a discount because I have the hardest time paying full price for a book!) and it just came in the mail today. I thoroughly enjoy the author's blog so I will let you know how the book goes. I will be patiently waiting for comments about what you are reading.

Now that finals are over I can sit at the computer and watch this all day.

And this one...

Well, I survived my statistics final this morning....barely. Today I should have been studying for my government test but my brain was so fried that all I could do was blast music all day and clean the house. Thank goodness because we were knee deep in dirty clothes and the fridge was desperately needing to be stocked. Pretty exciting day off!

P.S. More cat pictures---they have been so funny the past few days!

Friday night we snuck out of the house to run some errands and we got dinner at Cafe Rio. I got the usual: Cafe Rio Salad, vegetarian, black beans, house dressing.......and then I got to the register and there was a delicious cup on freshly made Horchata on ice that practically climbed onto my tray. I had never tasted Cafe Rio's Horchata but I must say it was very good! Nate, who said he didn't like it--and then wanted to try it, practically gulped down the whole thing and I was left with a few sips and have been craving more ever since. Has anyone tried to make it?

Happy Earth Day! (a few days late) Saturday we got a tree to replace the one that fell several months ago in a crazy wind storm (it was very sad!). This is a little Dogwood that we hope will enjoy it's new home.

Sunday when we got home from church the boys were in the middle of serious nap time and I had to snap a few pictures (well, really I took about 30--just a tinch obsessed) because when they are sleepy they are just so cute!

Quiz Time

1. 2. 3.

1. What was the war on poverty? Who was credited for it's inception? What five things did it set out to accomplish?

2. Describe the details of the settlement house movement and name the 6 fundamental characteristics associated with it.

3. Describe in depth the Social Security Act of 1935 and the 8 programs it created.

Here is a little nibble from my Social Welfare final tonight. Now add about 25 multiple choice questions, 5 short answers, and 2 one page essays and you have yourself a headache. Needless to say this was my favorite class this semester, with American Government taking second, Statistics taking the bronze, and Social Work as a Profession getting whatever comes after bronze.

The professor for this class is what I hope to be as a social worker somday: part clinical, mostly activist, and very dedicated to social welfare. She actually engages her students to think critically and will wait silently (it's painful sometimes) until you babble out a answer. She is a politics junky and it has started to wear off on me. I am hooked on NPR in the morning (gotta love Diane Rehm) and Nate and I have had several intense debates on immigration, poverty, capitalism, and institutional racism. (who wants to come to dinner at the tew house? yikes!)

Anyway, she is teaching an 'Effects of Child Abuse and Neglect' class in the fall that I am really excited about. This is how all teachers should make you feel right? If you are a teacher and your students don't feel like they can change the world when your class is over either your teaching college algebra or you're doing something wrong.

Peeps in the pictures--thought I would throw this in since I had no idea who these people were until this class. Darned South Summit Education.
1. Lyndon B. Johnson
2. Jane Addams
3. Franklin D. Roosevelt

One Final Exam Done....Three to Go

Gram and Gramps

Grandma and Grandpa Naylor were in Salt Lake today visiting my cousins and grandma called to see if she could drop off a loaf of pumpkin bread she had baked yesterday. Of course I said yes thinking of how tasty a slice of warm pumpkin bread will be in the morning! It was nice to chat and hear about Grandma's first job making 35 cents an hour in a ceramic factory. She and grandpa bought their first house for $6,000!! We had a tasty dinner complete with strawberry shortcake for dessert--yum.

One World Washed Down with Some Serious Spooning

As we were driving home from dinner our car was sucked into a strange vacuum leading us straight to Spoon Me. Even our Passat wanted a little spoon time--who doesn't? So, Spoon Me isn't your run of the mill yogurt place. Spoon Me features trendy all natural yogurt in two flavors: natural and green tea. Don't be fooled into thinking that "natural" is vanilla. Nope. It's plain yogurt--frozen. Despite the fact that this may sound disgusting to anyone besides my mother, when you add some fruity toppings (like fresh raspberries or mango--they also have granola, dark chocolate, coconut and more) it is a delight for taste buds that usually get some sort of mudpiemoosetrackscaramelgooextracookiedough sugar overload.
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Just wait---it gets better. Everything at Spoon Me (what a clever name) is eco-friendly. Who knew eating from a compressed corn starch spoon could be so fun?

An Organic Break From My Textbook

After going from working this morning, straight to studying for a final I was game for Nate's idea of getting out of the house for dinner. Nate chose a favorite spot, One World Cafe. The all organic menu is different everyday depending on what is in season and the creativity of the cooks--Nate was happy they had his favorite "the everything" cookie.

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I am a big fan of what One World is trying to accomplish. Check out there mission statement here. Not only do they want to eliminate world hunger but also eliminate hunger in our little SLC community. They have a volunteer program where people who don't have $ for food can work off a meal by washing dishing, cleaning, or working in the garden. All the dishes, cups, etc. have been donated so it makes for quite an eclectic hodgepodge of dinnerware. This time around I had a Christmas holly plate along with a plastic water mug from some fitness place.

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And here is the CRAZY part: You pay what you feel your meal was worth. When Nate and I first started going they just had a little box you put cash in--now you can pay with a credit card as well. No one watches you pay--all on the honor system. You drop a token or button in a jar so they can calculate how many people have eaten (since there are no receipts or anything) and then you pay what you want. Pretty cool huh?

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P.S. Mom--they just opened a new location in Denver. It is called The Same Cafe.

Purse Tag

Yep, what blog can be complete without a purse tag? Some people wait a lifetime.... for a moment like this.

The purse: This darling little gem was handmade by a friend. Check this bag lady out at elsabags.blogspot.com. Thanks Nicole!

The goods: What you don't see in these pictures is my backpack sitting a few feet away which has all my junk junk in it. Thank goodness this wasn't a backpack tag. Whew
Can't leave home without my notebook, a burt's bees product, my wallet, cell phone (it's a love hate relationship), and lately my glasses. The only thing that didn't make it back in the purse was the soiled napkin.

My love for old things...

Here are a few shots I snapped at work--some antique printer blocks, a darling vintage cake topper, and some old skeleton keys. I am excited for warm weather because that means yard sales!

Last year Nate and I went to an estate sale and there was a huge dumpster out front full of all the stuff they didn't sell. (For an interesting book about discarded "junk" read Mongo --buy it used for 10 cents plus shipping! Amazon is great.) Anyway, I climbed into the trash and found a kitschy 1950s canister, some old magazines, and a hilarious oil painting of Robert Goulet that is now hanging in our laundry room!

That was my first literal dumpster dive and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I need to make a junking survival kit that includes gloves, a magnet, -I'm always wondering if things are magnetic--hand cleaning wipes, (I will only use the sanitizer gel as a last resort--does anyone else hate it?) some granola bars, chapstick, a pen and paper, tissues, and a few grocery sacks.

I never want to see a wheelbarrow again!

Friday night, and Saturday (sun up to sun down) we worked outside replacing soil, digging a stop and waste for our sprinklers, trimming bushes, and getting our garden ready. We are patiently awaiting our gates that will be installed Tuesday. (so far we just have the posts) I can't wait until it is all finished! We are going to be planting next week and hopefully we still aren't sore by then. : ) Once everything is lovely and in bloom we are definitely having a party!

Sunday we slept until about two minutes before conference started and we watched the morning session in our pj's cuddled on the couch. We watched the afternoon session with my grandparents up in Kamas and we taught them how to make calzones. Grandma was a pro after all those years of making bread! Grandma made brownies and rootbeer floats and I had gained 10 pounds and couldn't walk by the time we left. Good times!

Saturday night I met my dear old friends Kensey and Laura at El Chubasco in Park City. Laura brought along her son Max who I had never met! He is adorable and so curious about everything. I laughed really hard when Laura was telling us how Max loves to rip up napkins and when she drove to California she just kept passing napkins to the backseat to keep him occupied. She said the car was a disaster after but he was happy as can be! It was great to catch up and reminisce about our Kamas days. Kensey was always such a good sport to drive us around in her cool jeep--even with me hanging out trying to attract boys.

Saturday morning we met the Miller's at Ruth's Diner up Emigration Canyon for some good company and tasty breakfast! Nate had never met sweet Julia and she was as cute as can be. I scarfed down my biscuit and hashbrowns (mom, don't look that up on Calorie King) and therefore could only get through half of my Parmesan artichoke omelet. Yummers. As we were leaving we ran into Nicole and Adam with their baby Elsa--everyone sure has cute offspring!

Ruth and her chihuahua think Ashley and Julia could be next in line to inherit the restaurant! :)

http://www.ruthsdiner.com/diner_history.htm

A Nice Relaxing Weekend!

This weekend we were free from any big commitments so we decided to make the most of it! Friday night I made a fabulous dinner (I'm patting myself on the back). We started out with an organic spring salad (with organic ranch dressing that was pretty gross! My taste buds were screaming for Hidden Valley with all it's preservatives), then some farm raised salmon with a mango/ dill/ red onion/lemon sauce that I created, next to a side of wild rice and washed down with some apple bubbly. Don't forget dessert--Wild Oats (Now Whole Foods) has their own "Western Family" equivalent called 365 and they make some awesome coconut frozen fruit bars. However, make sure you really like coconut because they are filled with lots of shredded bits.

After dinner we rented The Pursuit of Happyness but when I turned on the T.V. to get the movie set up Pride and Prejudice had just started and Nate had never seen it! Will Smith got thrown to the back burner as I introduced Nate to The Bennett's and Mr. Darcy. He enjoyed the movie and approved of me adding it to our "Movies we Want to Buy When we Find Money on the Ground" list.

Book Club?

This is a book I just finished

reading for my Social Welfare

class and it was so inspiring.

(in a heartbreaking, eye-opening way)

I really want to join a book club

so I can keep up on my reading this summer.

Anyone belong to one they really like?

I love Kennison

Last night Nate and I went to his parent's house to see some family that are visiting from Alaska--Brady and Becky were there too so I got to play with my nephew Kenny! He is such a fun cute kid! Here is a shot we snapped before we went back to red light, green light, yellow light tickle. :)