The One with 31

Tricky title!!  I don't have any more "things" to write about.  Just a quick update on our February.  Justin had a birthday and things have been crazy so I didn't plan anything big.  And despite all my efforts, Justin is still not a huge birthday person and never wants a big party anyway.  We've been talking about learning how to play racquetball so I bought Justin a couple racquets.  And one of them came with some cool eyewear :)  The best part was probably the wrapping.  How awesome is this bag!!

You may have noticed the name on the card.  It's a joke from one of my favorite Justin stories.  Back in college (aren't we still there?) Justin used to have movie marathons with a group of friends.  This usually involved a day (or entire weekend) of watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy, extended edition, or all 6 Star Wars.  What a nerd!  Hahaha!  I totally would have gone :)  After one of their LOTR parties, Justin thought it would be cool to have a name like the characters in the movie and came up with "Justin, son of Bustin."  This makes me laugh every time!  (If you recall, Justin really likes the LOTR trilogy)  Also, I bought the bag at Smith's during a grocery shopping trip and for some reason there were 3 guys at the checkout stand.  All 3 commented on the bag and when I explained it was actually for my husband and not a 6 year old nephew they thought I was the coolest wife ever :)  This evolved into a conversation on how "edgy" the new Batman movies have been to which I replied that the comics actually were pretty dark, not campy like all the previous movies and the TV show.  Why do I know this?!  I've honestly never read a comic.  That either made me look even cooler or way nerdy.

 
Justin's birthday landed on President's Day this year which is one of those holidays that means the University is closed but we sometimes choose to still go in to work.  We opted for skiing this year :)  It was a little cold so I really bundled up.  Justin laughs at me when I'm "all bundly."

Awesome views on the backside of the mountain.  And Justin's head isn't really that big, he's wearing a helmet under his hood.

I "treated" Justin to dinner at Fleming's Steakhouse that night.  Thank goodness we had a gift card because after tip it was still over $100!!  I think that's the most we've ever spent on a meal but it was so worth it!!!  I would highly recommend eating there at least once in your life (most likely for a special occasion).  And you absolutely have to get the chocolate lava cake.  They really should name it something else because that's a pretty common dessert but no other cake holds a candle to that one.  The waiter said the chefs use some kind of black magic that he can't do to make it and I believe him.  I'm drooling just remembering it.

The One with Flips and Dips

I love rhyming titles!  So fun!!  Last weekend Justin and I went to a few events at the World Cup Freeskiing competition in Park City.  We saw aerials on Friday (hence the flips) and dual moguls on Saturday (the dips).  There is an undergrad researcher who works in my lab that does some of these freeskiing competitions (on the amateur level) and she said dual moguls are the most exciting to watch even though it's not an Olympic event.  She was right!  It was so cool!!

Misha actually texted me Thursday night and said she was flying in to SLC Friday night so she watched the aerials with us.  I love when she surprises us with visits!  We got to Deer Valley late so we only got to see the last two rounds but that meant we saw the medal round which was pretty cool.  Check out how high they get!

I took a few videos too.  This first one is a girl who looked really good but then crashed on the landing.  Ouch!!

Here's one of the men's finalists:

And the gold medal winner.  Listen carefully at 11 seconds.  The Tarzan yell would be my husband :)

Justin's dad joined us on Saturday for the dual moguls competition.  This is different than the regular moguls event (which was on Thursday) because it's a race.  There are still judges though so you not only have to beat the other racer but you have to ski cleaner and do better tricks.  There were a couple of races where the racer who won by 0.1 seconds actually lost because the other guy had a better score.  Here's the course:

And some cool races.  First, the women:

They look like they're performing a pairs mogul routine.  I really liked when the skiiers did the same trick simultaneously.  It just looks cool.  

Hannah Carney from the great USA won.

The men are just so much faster though.

Which can lead to crazy wipeouts.  This wasn't even the worst one!

Living in Utah has some perks:)

The One with the Bernina

Check out my new sewing machine!  I bought this computer table from DI when I moved up to SLC for $20 and had plans to use it as a craft table.  Mostly I store crafts on top of and underneath it.  The big black bag underneath is full of scrapbooking tools, paper, etc.  I have now found the perfect crafty use for it- my sewing table!

I have a lot of craft crap!  Those pink totes on the right are full of miscellaneous supplies including flower decorations from our wedding.  The white drawers are full of paper and my box of stamps is on top.  It's a craft stack!

Love my new machine!!

And I've already made my first project at home!  For some reason Justin's ski goggles have a storage bag and mine did not.  To keep them nice and unscratched I kept the box.  That was a pain and the box was starting to fall apart after three years.  So I came up with an idea to use up one of the fabric remnants that I randomly pick up at Joann's.  This fabric is sooo cute but was a really small piece.  So small my original plan for it was just for a baby headband.  It was long though so I cut it in half and sewed the two pieces together to make one tall piece of fabric.  I sewed a tube at the top for a drawsting.  Then I just folded it in half and hemmed two of the open edges like a pillowcase.  And voila!!  Adorable and fuzzy goggle bag!

 

They fit!!

 And guess what?  This bag works for other things too.  Like my yoga mat :)

I used another remnant piece I had (I knew those would come in handy some day!).  This time I made the drawstring out of a long piece of the fabric folded in half and sewn together.  It makes a sturdier handle than ribbon.  I also sewed one end of it into the tube at the top.  So one end of the drawstring tube is closed and the handle is attached to it.  Isn't this fabric fun and yoga-y :)

The other end of the handle is attached at the bottom of the bag so there is enough room to put my mat inside but when it's pulled tight it's the perfect length handle!  I love it!!

Now I just need to learn how to follow a pattern.

The One with all the Skiing

Justin's uncles all came out to Utah for a long ski vacation.  Justin and I went out with them a few times and got some pretty good skiing in ourselves.  It's official- I'm nowhere near professional but I have a need for speed.  If I were to compete in a Winter Olympic event it would be the downhill because that is fun!!

Jeremy saw these "floating trees" so we stopped to take a few pictures.  Crazy to think we had just skied down through that cloud!

 Left to right: Justin, Wes, Kelly, Jeremy & Mitch

Right to left: Justin, Wes, Kelly, Jeremy & Mitch

I took a few videos of everyone else jumping in the terrain park at Snowbird.  I myself have never ventured into the area and probably won't for another long while.  It does look fun though :)

They're in chronological order.  Justin went first but apparently didn't have enough speed.  I think his outbursts are hilarious!!

Then somehow I caught this guy falling.  I love when people fall!!  It's too funny.  Although it is definitely not funny when I fall myself.

Then Wes had a umm, let's say "impressive" run.

I'd have to say Jeremy had the cleanest run though.

Watching these videos I realize it sounds like an 8 year old little girl narrating.  Rest assured, it's me.  And I'm definitely not 8 :(