What a week! And it's only Tuesday!

Last Wednesday, I was informed that I received the job that I applied for a week prior. This is a second job that I'm adding onto my plate so I can take care of some increasing bills. The job is at Knead A Massage in Park City doing front desk duties, and so far, so good. I'm in training which, in and of itself, is overwhelming. There are so many new things to learn and remember; a whole new system. Last night at training, I finally started to feel comfortable. I officially begin on my own next Monday. I will be adding 14 hours every week on top of my normal 40 hour work week at the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association. Then, when winter hits, the office hours are longer at Knead A Massage, so I will add four more, making my total 58 hours of work each week.



I've already figured out that I can pay off one of my credit cards in three months, which is HUGE! Then the waterfall effect takes place. I start paying off another credit card and am done in three more months, and so forth. I'm a little nervous about the additional hours, but it seems to be a pretty laid back environment, and once I'm comfortable working on my own, I think it will go by smoothly. And my motivation is more than enough!

Oh, and did I mention I get free 30 minute massages anytime I want? Yeah! True!

Actors

I've been watching a lot of really great TV lately. I just finished The Sopranos for the 8th time through. I could literally start it from the beginning and watch it all over again...and do that every time it ends. I started Six Feet Under last night. This will be my 2nd time through. I'm excited about this because my mom has never seen it, so I'm making her watch it. We both love Dexter, so I thought I'd show her what a great actor Michael C. Hall is. Most of my favorite shows are on HBO or Showtime.

After watching all of these incredible shows, I decided to create a list of my favorite actors and actresses. Here are my lists as they stand right now (in no particular order):

While I'm at it, I might as well tell you my top 10 favorite movies of all time (after #1, no particular order):

1. The Goonies / Stand By Me
2. Almost Famous
3. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
4. Dumb and Dumber
5. Psycho (1960)
6. American History X
7. Commando
8. Drop Dead Gorgeous
9. The Planet of the Apes (1968)
10. Gladiator

Resolution Finale

It's coming up on the end of the year (already!) and I realized I only have 16 books left to read to complete my New Year's Resolution of reading one book per week for a full year. I have spent tons of money on books this year (normally the money would have gone to DVD purchases) and I can happily tell you that the money was well spent!

So far, in the year 2010, I have read 36 books, which means there are only 16 weeks left in the year and I only have 16 books left to read. I have more than 16 books that I want to read, so I have to make a list of the most important ones. Here's the list:

1. The Girl Who Played with Fire (Millennium #2), by Stieg Larsson
2. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Millennium #3), by Stieg Larsson
3. Catching Fire (Hunger Games #2), by Suzanne Collins
4. Mockingjay (Hunger Games #3), by Suzanne Collings
5. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
6. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho
7. Atonement, by Ian McEwan
8. Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides
9. Desperation, by Stephen King
10. Everything's Eventual, by Stephen King
11. The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
12. Confessions of a Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella
13. The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson
14. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, by David Sedaris
15. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer

#16, I can't decide. I have a decent selection of books at home, but I just don't know what to end the year with. I've thought about ending with The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett, but I'm not entirely sure. I started that book about two years ago and only got about 50 pages in before giving up. Other options are:

• The Last American Man, by Elizabeth Gilbert (loved her writing in Eat, Pray, Love)
• Deception Point, by Dan Brown
• Digital Fortress, by Dan Brown
• Icy Sparks, by Gwyn Rubio
• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas
• The Horse Whisperer, by Nicholas Evans
• Eragon, by Christopher Paulini

...just to name a few.

I'm also willing to purchase a book, since I have a ton on my list anyway, all of which can be viewed on my Goodreads account. Any suggestions?

Happy 9/02/10 Day!

Yes, it's true, the date is September 2, 2010...9/02/10. What a clever way to remember one of my favorite shows growing up, Beverly Hills 90210!

Apparently we should be celebrating by wearing our favorite character's clothes, but not sure how I'd go about getting those. And my favorite character was Dillon, so that would be awkward.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Is anyone else ridiculously excited for Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte??

I honestly think that this might be my favorite thing about fall. I also enjoy the Gingerbread Latte. I just love anything with coffee in it.

I have been trying to drink more tea though...just because coffee stains your teeth. Plus, green tea is supposed to boost your metabolism!...so says Fitness Magazine.

BB King, Al Green, and Buddy Guy

On Tuesday evening, I went to see BB King, Al Green, and Buddy Guy play at Deer Valley. This was my first blues concert and it was amazing! I bought the tickets for my mom for her birthday (which was yesterday).

The evening started out with Buddy Guy, who is hilarious and an amazing guitar player.

We had a pretty awesome seats, too!

To start out, the crowd was mostly sitting down. If you're from PC, you know that the crowd just needs to get a little boozed up before they can really go all out. Buddy got everyone excited by walking through the crowd.

This is probably one of the best pictures of the night. Buddy Guy in the sea of white. Only in Utah.

By the time Buddy got back to stage everyone was on their feet!

Next up: The Reverand Al Green!

Al's performance was amazing. He had backup singers and dancers. He played most of his famous songs, and what a great performer! He had everyone on their feet dancing!

Finally, at the end of the night, BB King!

BB is 84 years old and still touring around the world. He was wheeled up on the stage to a standing ovation and loud cheering. He sat down in his chair and strapped Lucille around his shoulders.

BB did a lot of talking and not a whole lot of singing, but when he played Lucille it sent chills down my spine. At 84 years old, BB King still has it!

Back to Work

It's my first week back to the office and things are starting to pick up in preparation for the 2010-11 season. I'm working on my clinic schedule, to be released on September 1, so I'm glad to be busy.

Over my break I went up to Boise to visit my good friends, Amy and Emily. We had such a great time! We went out to the Basque Festival. Every four years, the Basques hold a special festival called Jaialdi. The streets are filled with people having a great time with food, drinks, and dancing.

We also went tubing down the Boise River. Amy and I were in a 4-man raft with two other girls. We almost made it all the way down the river without flipping it over, but nope! We flipped it. Amy was nervouse because several people die each year on that river. All I could think was "Save the shoes!" We made it safely back into the raft and down the river.

After that, we went to a diner that was featured on Man vs. Food called Rockie's Diner. Amy and Emily's husbands, Bob and Michael, were going to do the challenge, but decided that they wanted to work up to it. They basically did half the challenge, which is basically a couple of pounds of hamburger meat, chili, hotdogs, and everything that goes on a burger. The challenge is double that meal, plus chili cheese fries, plus a milk shake.

Watch the Man vs. Wild episode here to see what this Rockies Diner challenge looks like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siA1hVOVn0w&feature=related

We sat at the same table that Adam Richman sat at. I don't know how. Maybe it was because we had a baby that needed a high chair?

On Sunday, Amy, Bob, and I went to see Eclipse...no big deal. These films are getting so much better. Twilight was horrible. New Moon was slighly boring. Eclipse is finally exciting, and not awkward acting, which is a huge step up from Twilight. That evening I was able to be a part of Sunday Night Dinner at the Alvord household. I felt so special! I always know I'm going to eat well when I'm with the Alvords!

Monday was a day of relaxing while everyone was at work. I flew home that evening.

And then I had two weeks off of work. Guess what I did? NOTHING! I had a movie marathon and watched 20+ movies. I slept in every day and took mid-afternoon naps. It was exactly what I needed.

So, back at work and still haven't uploaded my pictures from Boise. That will be on my to do list for this weekend. Check back for pics!