that one SPECIAL DAY in JUNE

My husband and I tend to take a "less is more" approach when it comes to holidays.

Father's Day was pretty easy, breezy this year.  We made plans to spend the day with Dustin's side of the family who live two hours away from us.  On Sunday morning we woke up early, got ready and then hit the road.  Before we left, though, I gave Dustin his present.  It actually ended up being a two-for-one because I ended up getting somewhat of a gift too.

I bought Dustin 'Fierce' from Abercrombie & Fitch;.  It is an awesome cologne that, I swear, The Gateway (an outdoor mall near our house) pumps through the vents so it can be smelled all throughout the greater Salt Lake area because it haunts me every time I am shopping.  I tried my best to resist the temptation to buy it.  I really did.  But, eventually, it's awesomeness won, even at the risk of losing my hearing (it's so loud in A&F, seriously!) which means it's that good of a cologne.

Dustin loved it, and now he and our house smell so wonderful.  It's like heaven in here!

But, wait, it gets better.  When I left the store carrying my first ever A&F purchase, I walked out of the store with this bag.  It was WAY too big for my little cologne box, but it had cloth handles which made it both cool and ridiculous.  Cool in that how often do you get bags with cloth handles, and ridiculous because, hello, cloth handles?  What a waste of money!

No, the best part is not the handles.  It's the bag itself.  I mean, seriously, how often does a bag with this type of picture on it come along?  Forget that this is a bag from a clothing store and the picture is of a half-naked man modeling a swimsuit that isn't really even on his body, begging the question, "Does A&F really even like their clothes?  They don't advertise people wearing their them."

Just forget all that nonsense.  Sometimes we all just think and analyze too much.  Just look at the bag.  The bag, in all it's glory.

Ya, the bag was my present.

P.S. Dustin, I love you so much.  And one of the reasons why I love you so much is because you can appreciate the humor in this post.  :)

CHOCOLATE, anyone?

The day before Mother's Day, my in-laws came into town to take me out to dinner.  I live in a suburb just north of Salt Lake City, and Salt Lake is the home of the Hatch Family Chocolates store. Some of you may know this store from the show "Little Chocolatiers" on TLC.

My in-laws wanted to buy some chocolate at this store before heading to dinner.  I wasn't aware of the detour until we were basically at the store, so I didn't really have time to think about what I would do or say if I saw the famous chocolate makers.  I think part of me thought they wouldn't even be there.  Another part of me realized I wouldn't even know who they were unless someone told me as I had never watched their show or had been to their store at all.  The last part of me was tired because I had just gotten off work.

We walked into the store and much to my mother-in-laws delight, the store owners, Steve and Katie Hatch, were there.  He was doing computer/paperwork and she was walking all around the store doing "her thing."

As my in-laws browsed the store, my husband and I stayed in the back trying to keep up with our toddler who had discovered the water fountain.  We took turns trying to get her attention elsewhere, but it didn't work too well.  My lack of energy and her extreme excitement for new things clashed brilliantly.  Needless to say, I cleaned up a few puddles of water while I was waiting.

In between water spills, I couldn't help but notice how awesome the store computer was.  It was Mac.  I LOVE Macs, and this one was awesome.  

As I watched Steve, from a short distance, work away I wanted to ask him about his computer.  I guess I'm a nerd that way.  But I caught myself before saying anything too dumb.  I mean, here I was in a fun, popular store known for it's chocolate and I wanted to talk to the owner about his computer.  Lame!

I was proud of myself for not putting my foot into my mouth, but unfortunately my victory was short lived.  Yes, alas, Steve started talking to me.  He said I looked "thrilled" to be in the store.  I chuckled and told him I had just gotten off work and was pretty tired.  He asked me how long I had been at work. I told him and then felt even more stupid.  It had only been 6 hours (mind you, all on my feet and in a fast paced environment), which is probably seconds compared to how many hours as day he works.  Ya, I felt like a douche.  Big time.

We eventually left the store.  My in-laws with their celebrity sighting and chocolate, me with another embarrassing story to share.  

Ya, my name is Emily and I tried to get a "little person" to feel sorry for me...in a chocolate store no less!

Thoughts?

the OTHER DOG

Today's thought is about my dog Tod.

Back in 2006,  Dustin and I figuratively found Tod at our front door.  We had just come home from work and Tod was running aimlessly around our neighborhood, staying unusually close to our house.  He seemed to be okay, so we didn't think much of it.  Later that night, however, he  was still close by, and he didn't seem to want to go home.  Because of his dark fur, Dustin worried if he stayed out all night he would eventually get hit by a car.  So, we brought him into our house for the night and planned to find his owners the next day.

Amazingly, Tod (we called him just "the dog" at the time) hit it off with our own dog Sammie.  The two acted like they were separated at birth and got along very, very well.

That night, we put Tod and Sammie in our kitchen and closed the doorway off with a baby gate.  No sooner had Dustin and I gotten into bed, we heard a noise coming from the kitchen.  It was Tod.  He had jumped the gate and came into our bedroom.  And jumped on our bed.  Apparently, he wanted to sleep with us.  It was so hilarious and we were pretty stunned he had the ability to jump the gate like that.

So, Sammie and Tod slept in our bed that night.  Just the ONE time.


(And every other night since then).

The next day, after work, Dustin drove Tod to the humane society to see if they could tell him if he had a microchip or give us any sort of help with how to find the owners.  Apparently, you're not suppose to do that, at least that was the impression the lady with the humane society gave Dustin when she slammed the door in his face when he tried to enter the building.

Okay, on to plan B.

Next, we put together fliers and hung them all around our neighborhood and at the local businesses.  We also took Tod to the vet to see if they could find a chip in him.  But, unfortunately, he didn't have a chip and no one ever called us to claim their dog.  It was really frustrating, especially since we were planning to move out of state in just weeks.

Eventually, we decided to keep him.  We worried about his other owners and wondered if Tod really even wanted to be with us.  But, we wanted to do what was best for him, and in our mind this was it.

We figured we needed to give him a name.  After all, calling him "the other dog" wasn't the best name.  We thought and thought about names, but nothing felt right.  Then, one day, Dustin said, "How about we name him Tod? You know, as in The Other Dog.  T.O.D."

It was the perfect name!

One day, not long after the decision was made to keep him, he got out of our house.  I was home alone and as soon as he got loose I started to chase after him.  He was so fast that I lost sight of him almost immediately.  I was panicking and did everything I could to find him, but he just seemed to vanish.

Shortly thereafter, Dustin came home and I told him what had happened.  He started to roam the neighborhood too, but I was losing hope that we would find him.

Then, to my surprise, Dustin found him.  He was on the soccer field at a school near our house.  Dustin saw him from a distance and simply called his name and Tod literally ran right to him and jumped up into his arms.

After that, I didn't worry about Tod being with us against his will.  He was meant to be our dog.

Thoughts?

Being a MOM

The other day I heard someone say, "I love being a mom."

It got me thinking about whether or not I have uttered those 5 words in the two years I have been a mother.   And, in all honesty, I don't think I ever have.

I talked to Dustin about it.  I asked him if he had ever said, "I love being a dad."  He didn't think he had either.

I went a little further and asked him if he thought loving your child means you love being a parent.  We both concluded that the two are not one in the same.

I love my daughter with all my heart.  I am so glad she is a part of my life, and I cannot imagine it without her.  I know Dustin feels the same way.  We love her so much.  She is hilarious, smart and so adorable.  It is stunning to watch her grow physically and cognitively and emotionally.

We are three peas in a pod.  We are a family.  We fit together.

However, my love for my daughter does not equate to loving all that comes with being a mom.  I think that's sort of a given.  But I'm not just talking about the tantrums, the sleepless nights, and constantly changing diapers.

I don't like it when people walk into my house and act amazed that it's clean.  Am I suppose to have a dirty house because I am a mom?  

I don't like being categorized as a "homemaker" on applications for credit cards, mortgages or even tax return forms.  

I don't like being asked if I "get" to stay at home or if I "have to work."  I also don't like the looks I get when I say, "I have a part-time job because I like to work."  Are my interests and other goals in life suppose to disappear once I am a mom?

I don't like it when people, especially people who are not parents (like Oprah), say being a mom is the hardest job in the world.  It's almost like they want to make you feel better about being a mom and not some hot shot executive.  I also think it is sexist.  It's difficult sometimes to be a dad.

I know there are a lot of women out there that want nothing more than to be a mother.  I know there are many women who have a difficult time getting pregnant.  I imagine some of my statements make me sound like I am a horrible, ungrateful person.  I know I take the fact that I had no trouble at all getting pregnant for granted.

But, from the minute my daughter was born I went from being identified one way to being identified in a completely new way.  It's been a struggle for me from the beginning.  It continues to be a struggle.  And every once in awhile, things I hear other people say, like "I love being a mom," brings all those struggles to the surface and I just have to get them out.

Thoughts?

TWO-for-ONE

"His name is Toofer because with him you get a two-for-one; a black guy and a Harvard guy."

-Jack Donaghy, 30 Rock

I grew up in Salt Lake City.  I traveled enough to know that Salt Lake was probably not considered a big city, at least not when compared to New York, Chicago or LA.

In late 2006, I moved to Idaho Falls.  I grew up visiting Idaho Falls a lot since my grandparents lived there.  As a child, I loved Idaho Falls.  I spent most of my Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays there.  It always had a special feeling to it.  

I just assumed I would enjoy living there.  And I did for the most part. 

But, as the years went on, I started to feel like I was suffocating.  It dawned on me that I lived in a small town and I didn't like it.  I especially didn't like feeling as though I was downtown New York whenever I would visit Utah and walk the streets of Salt Lake.  I knew for sure I was in a small town if Salt Lake seemed HUGE to me.

After 3.5 years in Idaho, we decided to move back to Utah.  Besides wanting to be close to family, we wanted to have access to more things - concerts, plays, sporting events, an international airport, etc.

We've been back in Utah for 6 months now, and I've tried to take advantage of all the many more things I can do in Salt Lake than I could in Idaho Falls.  One of which was last night.

It all started when I logged onto Twitter on Tuesday.  I'm not a huge Twitter fan, but I created an account just to see what all the buzz was about.  Anyway, whenever I log in, I see tweets from Joshua Radin, one of my favorite musicians.  He said he was going to be in Salt Lake on March 2nd.  

I immediately went into overdrive.  How did I not hear about this concert sooner?  Was it sold out?  I had to get tickets!  To make a long story short, I bought 2 tickets (one of me, one of my husband) an hour later.  I was so excited.  This would be my first concert since 2005.

But then I started to feel guilty.  Would our daughter, "I" be good with a sitter?  Could we really afford to do this?  Maybe we shouldn't go.

I shoved all those thoughts aside, realized this was someone I always wanted to see in concert and to just enjoy the opportunity.

When we got to the concert (and remembered I forgot my good camera), I walked through the doors and I immediately flash backed to my days as a high schooler/young college student.  I used to go to concerts all the time with my friends and being back in that environment, the loud music, the shirts and posters for sale, etc., brought back all the fun memories.  I wasn't expecting to feel that way, but I loved it.

The concert was amazing.  There weren't any seats, everyone just stood around.  It was a rather small venue and the stage was really close to the floor.  It was a lot more intimate than what I  imagine a Lady Gaga concert would be like.

When Joshua Radin came onto the stage the crowd cheered and screamed.  I managed to find the perfect spot to stand where I could see his face and upper body perfectly.  He played so well, he played some of his new stuff, but also a lot of his old stuff.  It was awesome!  He even played a song that I put to a video I made about my daughter....which almost made me cry.

As we left the concert, I told my husband how happy I was that we went.  We reminded each other that this was why we moved back to Utah - for more opportunities.  And, to top it all off, I was reminded of my good ol' days with my friends.  It was definitely a two-for-one night.  Here's a video of one of his encore songs, Winter.

For any of you that haven't heard any of Joshua Radin's music,  here's a video.  This was one of the first songs I heard by him.  Enjoy!  And when you're done, go out and do something new.

a CLASSIC book

"Mocking birds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

-Miss Maudie Atkinson to Scout, To Kill a Mockingbird

I recently finished reading the book To Kill a Mockingbird.  I had always heard good things about this book, and, looking back, am surprised I didn't have to read it in high school.  Regardless, I knew it was something I needed to read.

I now understand why it is considered a "classic."  It was absolutely amazing and the best book I have ever read.  I dare say it is my favorite book.  I completely loved it.  I am not one to read books more than once, but as soon as I read the last page I was tempted to start reading it all over again.

As I'm sure most people know, this novel is about a young girl living in the South during the 1930s.  I loved that the book was told from her point of view because her attempt to make sense of her world, the social injustices around her, was very enlightening and profound.

The book is written beautifully, the characters are strong and unforgettable.  I will be surprised if another book tops this one.

Read it if you haven't already!

i'm an AMERICAN

When I was 19 years old, I had the amazing opportunity to go to China with the Weber State Symphony Orchestra.  I played the violin (still do actually) and was attending college on a music scholarship. The trip was scheduled for March 2000, my second semester at college; however, I found out about the trip months before I even began going to school.

When I heard about the trip, my initial reaction was not to go.  I didn't know anyone in the orchestra (yet) and worried I wouldn't have a good time because of it.  Thankfully, my mom, in all her wisdom, told me I should go.  So, I went.

When the trip finally arrived I had made some good friends, and while I was nervous to travel so far from home I knew it would be a good experience for me.  The 15 hour plane right wasn't that bad, but traveling with one of my most prized possessions, my violin, made things somewhat complicated.

The plan was to stay in Shanghai for 8 days.  We had three different concerts scheduled in that area, one of which was combined with a Chinese orchestra.  Due to limited stage room, only half of my orchestra was able to play with the Chinese performers, and fortunately for me I was able to play.

After our stay in Shanghai, our plan was to fly to Beijing and tour the area.  No performing.  We planned to see The Great Wall and Tiananmen Square just to name a few.

Shortly after arriving in Shanghai, it was evident that us Americans stood out, especially those of us with blonde hair.  Young people, probably college students, who spoke English would run up to us on the streets just to talk.  People were so excited to see us, were so curious about us for no other reason than that we were from the United States of America.

My best memory of China was along these same lines.

I was walking around the streets of Shanghai.  I was not alone, but I don't remember who was with me.  A Chinese man and woman approached me.  There was an obvious language barrier, but the man pointed his camera to me, so I assumed he wanted me to take a picture of him with his wife.  As I reached for the camera, the two shook their heads and I soon realized that they wanted a picture of me.  I stood next to the man, his wife took one picture of us together and another of us shaking hands.  And that was that.

They wanted a picture of me because I was an American.  As long as I live, I will never forget that moment.

My trip to China was amazing.  Not only did I see and experience amazing landmarks, I gained a greater appreciation for being an American.  I was grateful for my freedom and was happy I didn't have to live in a city flooded with soldiers carrying machine guns.

It is really easy to get caught up in our differences.  There are so many sides to each story.  Tolerance for different opinions and lifestyles is steadily decreasing.

But, hopefully, no matter what, we, as Americans, can always appreciate what we have.