A Sunny Salt Lake Saturday

Sometimes I forget how beautiful this city really is. Then I wander around with my camera and am introduced to her all over again.

My front yard...in her new summer outfit

A stark contrast to the this photo of my front yard. Summer has arrived.

Dog Days of Summer

In keeping with today's general theme of trying-to-remember-relaxing-happy-times-so-I-don't-loose-my-ever-lovin-mind, I bring you...Saturday with Riley. My parents own the sweetest dog on Planet Earth. I know I sound like a doting grandparent with annoying bumper stickers, but I kid you not, she is an absolute dream. You may remember meeting her here. I don't get to see her too often, but a few weekends ago my dad took her on a mini-SLC road trip and we, in turn, took her to Liberty Park. It was the perfect outdoor day, perfect temperature, sunny skies, good memories. In photo form, those memories include:

Spoon Me

Reason #1 for this post: If you live in The SLC and have yet to enjoy the tasty treats at Spoon Me, consider yourself assigned to this experience. Organic, fresh, low-cal, environmentally-sound business...400 South 500 East. Go. Now. Call me. We'll both go.

Reason #2 for this post: Today has been way too long and way too difficult and way too stressful. Thinking about the lovely Saturday I just had takes the edge off.

Reason #3 for this post: I miss my best friend Diane. We're going on 17 years now and that's pretty incredible to me. She lives in Pasadena and I see her only every so often. She was in town this past week and we met up when I got home from Wyoming on Saturday. Living in Pasadena means she has no shortage of yuppie eco-eateries, but Spoon Me held its own.

Travel | A Year in Review

Whew...I'm officially home from my business travel until fall semester begins! I may be behind on my blog, and plan to continue posting photos and stories until all trips are accounted for, but I still wanted to feel some closure to the travel chaos. It's been a whirlwind year and I've covered a lot of ground (and air) since September 2007. The wordle above (click thumbnail for full-size version) is a visual representation of my adventures, though there are...oh...a few hundred words that should be added to fully record the experience.

The video below is dedicated to KBella. My friend Karin gave me a gorgeous clutch for my birthday last year, with the thought that I could use a sleek, easy-to-pack version of my otherwise massive Mary Poppins purse. It has been a lifesaver. From the time she gave it to me until this day it has accompanied me on every single trip. Unfortunately, my campy goal of photographically cataloging its every meandering wasn't fully realized. I wasn't consistent about taking its photo and there are entire trips that missed out. But for the most part...you'll get the idea. I plan to continue the tradition throughout this next year of travel and will hopefully have a more comprehensive video (and a more intentional wordle) at this time next year.

Locales visited (and blogged) since August 2007:

Denver, Colorado
Washington, DC
Arlington, Virginia
Tampa, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
Iowa City, Iowa
Amana Colonies, Iowa
Tacoma, Washington
Point Defiance, Washington
Biloxi, Mississippi
New Orleans, Louisiana
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Portland, Oregon
Woodburn, Oregon
Silver Falls Park, Oregon
Scottsdale, Arizona
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming

...not to mention innumerable airports, local adventures, and miscellaneous road trips along the way!