My Utah Bucket List

You know that frustrating situation in dating where, in theory, you and That One Person would be a great match, and you have fun together when you go out, but for whatever reason the chemistry just isn't igniting?

Well, that pretty much sums up my relationship with Utah for the last two years.

Somehow, no matter how many great things have stemmed from living in the 801—traveling up a storm, living within 30 minutes of many of my closest friends, dating amazing guys, getting out of debt, going to grad school, having a wonderful career with amazing colleagues, etc.—my feelings toward Utah continue to be tepid. We had a lovely summer, but things just haven't been clicking lately, cooling with the weather.

It's time to fall in love—and of the deep, intense, can't-imagine-life-without-you variety, since life is likely to keep me in Utah for keeps the longer I live here. And really, that would not be a bad thing. The more I get out and experience what makes Utah awesome, the less I pine for greener, more glamorous grass.

So, here are my Utah to-dos for 2012 (and beyond, since I know I won't finish these in a year!):

• Dine at the Serving Time/Hard Times Cafe - No joke, the state penitentiary right by my place has a cafe, and it actually has a 90% approval rating on Urbanspoon! Definitely gotta give this place a shot.
• Spend more time in downtown Salt Lake and Sugar House - Seriously, when I'm up there, I somehow feel way better about living in Utah. It's just a matter of making it happen. After all, I'm only 20 minutes away! That's closer than Disneyland was to my place in Orange County, and we went at least once a month on average.
• Learn to ski - Which I've started and... well... lesson #1 was a disaster. Here's hoping the next three are better.
• Tour de Temple - Wouldn't it be amazing to visit each of the 12 operating temples in Utah? I've always wanted to do this, but I'm finally going to make it happen (and preferably in time for my 30th birthday). Yesterday I started with Provo - one down, 11 to go!
• Play Twister at the Four Corners - Seriously. Tell me this would not be the coolest thing ever?! It's not just a Utah bucket lister. This is on my overall bucket list. Just gotta find a BYUite to rent the gigantic Twister board from the on-campus rental place in time for the trip...
• Hike the Narrows and/or the Subway - I am totally intrigued with this whole hiking-in-water concept. Both of these hikes sound just plain incredible, and after last summer's awesome hike, I'm itching to do more of the type that stretch me into new adventures.
• Visit Antelope Island at sunset and see the bison - Kind of a random one, but hey, why not? Same with seeing the spiral jetty and the Bonneville salt flats.
• Make the national parks loop: Bryce, Zion, Arches, Monument Valley, Moab - I've been to some of these, but it's been at least 20 years (well, except Zion, which was about 8 years ago). And it makes me a little sick to be able to say I did things like this 20 years ago. Anyways. It's about time to get out there again! 
• See a play the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City and at Tuacahn - How I've never done either, I don't even know!
• See Timp Caves / Hike Mt. Timpanogos / Hike the Y (finally) - Again, super close and convenient, and yet I've never done these. Ridiculousness. Both hikes overlap with 30 by 30, so there's all the more incentive to get to it!
• Research in the Family History Library - After all, while my dad's family history work has pretty much been taken care of, my mom's side is all left to me, and all four of her grandparents were immigrants. I've done all the "low-hanging fruit" of family history work, so to speak, but I haven't a clue of how to dig into the next generations.
• Visit the new Natural History Museum - Love me some museum goodness. 
• Go curling at the Olympic Oval - Curling. Seriously. Most amusing Olympic sport out there, in my humble opinion. It's like bowling mixed with sweeping. Neither of which I particularly enjoy, honestly, but somehow combining them with ice just sounds too good to pass up.
• Stay at a houseboat on Lake Powell - Again, I've never done this, and isn't it just a typical must-do part of being a 20-something in Utah?
• Eat my way through all the restaurants on my list - I keep a sticky-note in my dayplanner of restaurant suggestions from friends, so whenever the opportunity comes up, I love trying these delicious places. Just in the last few months I've been to Finn's Cafe for a delightful brunch with my stepmom Betsy and her friend Lori, the amazing Thai place Sawadee, Lamb's Grill (which is the oldest still-operating restaurant in Utah!) with my friend Stacy, and the delightful bakery Gourmandise. Top picks to try sooner than later: Tarahumara in Midway and a bunch downtown (Bruges Belgium, Settebello, Bohemian Brewery, Copper Onion, and Atlantic Cafe, just to name a few).

And, lest you think I haven't done some living up in Utah so far, here are some things that would make the list, except I've already checked them off:

• Saw films at Sundance Film Festival
• Camped at Capitol Reef (although, admittedly, there's TONS more to see down there!)
• Sang on Temple Square
• Discovered Utah's local music scene
  

2011: A Year in Review

Ringing in 2011 with the Davis clan in Provo - can't believe that was a year ago!

Hey, friends! Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to all of you! 2011 has been quite an incredible year. In many ways it's been "the best of times and the worst of times," filled with amazing adventures and the realization of long-held dreams as well as some heartbreaking disappointments. I've also been a sidelines observer to some amazing triumphs and hard times friends have experienced, and the resilience of the human spirit never ceases to amaze. I'm no doubt a better, stronger, and more authentic woman than I was when the year kicked off in January, and I can't wait to see what further growth 2012 will bring.

Anyways. On to the fun stuff. Here are some highlights from the past year:

• 16,250 miles traveled on 10 trips to/through 9 states and 1 Canadian province - and that doesn't include many trips along the Wasatch Front to Layton, Logan, and the like (which, on days like today, tack on 200 miles!). This year I journeyed to San Francisco, Capitol Reef, Glacier/Waterton/Banff/Calgary, Yellowstone/Island Park, Denver, Savannah/Atlanta, and Southern California times four (but at least to varying parts - L.A., Orange County, and San Diego). For the record, I miss Savannah and/or Banff on a near-daily basis. And I LOVE that I can say that I miss places like Savannah and Banff. Jet-setting has been a blast!



• 18 plays, 20 concerts, and 4 Sundance Film Festival flicks thoroughly enjoyed. There's such a vibrant scene of local performing arts talent around here, it's awesome!!! Those concerts range from local bands in block parties, clubs, and even their parents' homes to choirs like OCMCO or the Mormon Tabernacle in concert halls to the Pacific Symphony playing the 1812 Overture in the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater while visiting Orange County; the plays range from Broadway tours and professional companies to very, very amateur local productions. Professional or amateur, I've loved them all!



Rosie and I got to meet Kevin Clash, the man behind Elmo!


Photo snagged from Justin Hackworth


Photo snagged from Hue & Hum - see my shoulder in the tan jacket on the left?
• Oh, and let's not forget taking the stage for 1 amazing, technicolor production and 2 performances at Temple Square during the Christmas season with the Lehi Chorale. Wish I had bandwidth to do more! Can't wait to start voice lessons next week and dive into next summer's show in the spring.


• 21 dates with 12 amazing men, ranging in age from 25 to 43, with 1 more date (with possibly 1 more guy) slated for the weekend... but still 0 relationships to show for it (despite getting the label of "wifeypoo" from this summer's stage hubster). All this dating's exhausting! But I'd rather be dating than not, so... it's worth it. I've really enjoyed getting to know these guys, but I'm still definitely not used to interacting with guys I know strictly in the dating sense (as opposed to my former normal of going on dates with guys who were friends first). It's a learning process, that's for sure. Better late than never!
• 3 roommates and 2 wards, despite not moving an inch (which was LOVELY, considering I moved three times from Nov. 2009 to Sept. 2010!)
• 1 royal wedding viewed with 2 lovely friends at 3:30 a.m. via streaming internet - and yes, many happy tears were shed. Love Wills and Kate!


• 3 speeding tickets - I know, I know, slooooooow doooooooown...
• 5 temples visited, including many a trip to the temples in Newport Beach and Draper, lest this list seem all vapid and ridiculous. I wish I could've actually gone in and spent time at the Cardston Temple, but it didn't work with the travel schedule. Ah, well - maybe next time. I can't wait to add the Brigham City temple to the list next year, and the Fort Collins, Colorado, temple soon as well!

• 30 lbs. lost... but let's not talk about how many came back from 7 boxes of Candy Cane Joe-Joe's, mmmmmkay? ;) Hitting the gym again tomorrow... *sigh*

• 1 promotion at work and a 2-year work-iversary celebrated - hooray for finally finding a job into which I can settle and stay put! 
  
• 3 sections of the GRE passed with flying colors, and 1 Utah State University class toward my masters completed with an A! Just 10 more classes to go...

WHEW!!! What a year! 

Just flipping through my planner to recap makes me exhausted. It's been an intense year, but wow, it's been such a blast. Being too busy has been great in some ways because it's made me evaluate how I'm spending my energy, and there are certain things that just plain aren't worth it. If it means dropping some relationships, sadly, so be it - much like Elphaba sings in"Defying Gravity,"

I'm through accepting limits 'cause someone says they're so

Some things I cannot change, but 'til I try, I'll never know.

Too long I've been afraid of losing love I guess I've lost - 

Well, if that's love, it comes at much too high a cost! 

I'd sooner buy defying gravity.

Amen and amen! My theme and goal for 2012 is to truly defy gravity - to stop imposing silly limits on myself, being hemmed in and held back by insecurities lacking in any real basis other than falsehoods that got drilled into me over the years by people who should've complimented instead of criticized, myself included. Why I let such negativity seep in over the years, I'll never know - but now that I see it, I can make the future better, and that's what really matters, right?

Anyways... that's my adventure from this year. I can't wait to see the exciting things 2012 will bring!!! 

How about you, friends? Any fun journeys taken or lessons learned in 2011?