Cats Gone Wild III

Tonight we were wrapping presents together and then Matt went upstairs to do his "secretive wrapping", so I was entertaining myself for a few minutes downstairs. Sammy is always good for a fun time, but I certainly wasn't expecting this... don't worry, no one was hurt in the making of this film. ;) ****Make sure you have sound when viewing!****

We love Billy

"I am the entertainer And I know just where I stand Another
Serenader And another long-haired man Today I am your champion
I may have won your hearts But I know the game, you'll forget my
name And I won't be here in another year If I don't stay on the
charts..."

Trust me, you're not going to be forgotten and you're not going anywhere. Despite the fact that we were in the nosebleed section, Billy wowed us with his multiple talents and left us in awe Thursday night! Not only was the concert fabulous, but the dancing seen in the row in front of us was spectacular! Although it was mostly too dark to video the action, you can see part of the spectacle in the video below (note the guy in the white tshirt on the left).

Bottom line: sweet concert - we'd go again.

... looks of excitement

Turkey Day 2007

We couldn't have asked for a better Thanksgiving weekend -- good food, good company, good times always makes for the best holiday! Mom & Dad (Thomas) came into town Wednesday night and stayed with us through Monday and we had SO MUCH FUN! Mom was a life-saver with Thanksgiving preparations (we owe all the good food to her) and Dad pratically fixed our entire house for us. Among other things, we played Uno & Greed until late into night (Mom skunked us all in Greed), went and saw the lights on Temple Square, and went to the Holy War - aka. BYU vs U football game! We wish the weekend would have lasted longer somehow, but we had a great time and can't wait for them to come back again!

it finally happened

After nearly a year of looking and researching and consequently knowing more than any salesman, we finally got a MAZDA6! Zoom-Zoom! Dear Stefan (the Stratus) will soon be retired (after a few minor fixer-er-uppers) but not after a tribute to all his years of hard work... a touchless car wash & a good vaccuming (maybe I'll even buy the supreme car wash!). So far the new car doesn't have a name - although I have been referring to it as the "mazda" - not very exciting. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to let us know. Drive Happy :)

Celebrating Valentines

Hallo! Heißen Sie willkommen zu unserer Welt!

So, I finally cashed in my Valentines Day present two weekends ago (never too late!) and we went and stayed a night at the Zermatt Resort in Midway, Utah. Matt got a package deal from a referral by his boss and we ended up with a slew of coupons for this place – 2 night stays, a round of golf, 20% off spa services & the cafe, a free dessert, etc. Although we didn't end up doing much (ate & went swimming), it was nice to just be somewhere different - and it is rather different. Everything is decorated as though you're in the Alps including the dear resort workers who are decked out in authentic dress - lederhosen and the such.

Denver or Bust

This past weekend Matt had to fend for himself (poor fella) while I took a quick trip to Denver to visit my friend Shauna.... & see Kelly Clarkson!! I found tickets for $33 each way, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit her and attempt to see this concert... for the THIRD time! That's right, third times the charm. The 1st time I tried, I had a death in my family... the second time I tried, Kelly cancelled due to illness. Needless to say, I actually managed to see her this time - and she was so good!!


On top of it all, Shauna and her family gave me the grand tour - downtown Denver, Coors Field, the Mint, the local scene, etc. Here are some illustrations...





(Coor's Field -- looking serious in the dugout, Shauna's about to make a call)

Cheesecake Factor Dinner - before the concert

Shauna's Massage Office - and us before the concert!

"I Found Faith through Mary Kay"

Let it be said, you can find wacky people of all different religions all over the world. However, it just so happens that there are a lot of LDS people in Utah, so it naturally makes for a greater concentration of LDS "wackys" in the state. Although the individual who prompted this post happens to be LDS, she didn't need the religious component to inspire a post (i.e. she was talking about MK makeup products and how they compared to European cosmetics: "I don't know if you know anything about Europe, but, everything is like $100 there"). The other night, Hillary and I were able to spend an evening with one such special person... please enjoy the following as I relate an encounter with a Mary Kay consultant:

...in the middle of her story of how she came to be a MK Consult....

"...are all of you LDS? *she glances around the room to see everyone
agreeing* OK, then you get the whole Faith thing then. I thought I
understood Faith before, but I truly learned what Faith was after joining Mary
Kay...."

I could go on and on about how this is so wrong on multiple levels, but I'll spare you my commentary! Let me just say that my jaw was dropped and I could feel Hillary trying to get my attention as she also stared in shock and shared disbelief of what we were hearing.

It's O.K. Mary Kay Ash (rest your soul), I will not blame you for this monstrosity.

I may have not gained a new testimony of faith through the MK business tonight,

but I did get a cool tube of lip gloss & this great picture. Rock on.

P.S. this only scratches the surface of the entire experience -

for additional details, please see Hillary's blog!

Drive/Walk At Your Own Risk

Saturday, October 20, 2007

3:31 PM

We decide for sure that we are not going to the BYU Game due to the lame excuse for a match and the crummy weather. We head out to run some errands and do some shopping.

6:17 PM

After several stops, we end up at FYE (like Media Play) and find several movies on sale that we've been looking for. We get in line to check out only to discover it is snowing like crazy outside!

6:19 PM

Matt is driving , idling through the parking lot on our way to the exit. It is a white out - lots of traffic moving slowly, terrible visibility... suddenly I see her, a blue hooded silhouette running across the road. GASP "Matthew!". It's too late. We hit a pedestrian.

6:20 PM

We both jump out of the car into the weather and run to assist the victim. She is lying in a heap on the asphalt, complaining that her leg hurts and she cannot stand. Matt picks her up off the ground and carries her in to Joann's like a baby. A Joann's employee calls 911.

6:24 PM

While waiting for the authorities, the family accompanying the victim begin to make jokes to lighten the mood... at first this is somewhat endearing, but soon turns annoying as the joke is on us. Ex: to the customer leaving Joann's: "hey! don't get hit by a car! hahaha". Right. Paramedics and police arrive.

6:31 PM

Paramedics assure the victim she is just fine and make light of the injury, "don't slip on the wet floor!". It becomes quite clear that we've been injured worse than this while rough housing. The policeman tells Matt he isn't going to cite him considering the conditions - and probably also the fact that the victim admits she was 'probably just as much at fault' as we are.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Matt calls the woman to check on her... she is sore, but no bruising. Whew! Relieving, but still so traumatic!

Present day:

I believe the best part of all of this has been telling people the story... and discovering that this is more common than we ever knew! We've now learned that one of my brothers has hit a woman and a man, Matt's coworker hit a 6 year old, my co worker's brother has hit three people, and my friend's sister was hit once. So, consider yourself cautioned: YOU could be NEXT!

Below: A picture of me in the grocery store about 20 minutes after it happened...

I look pretty pathetic if I do say so myself! Who knew that hitting a ped would take so much out of you?

Southern Style

Matt's Mom & Aunt Lovie came to visit us the other week & we had SO much fun! We shopped till we dropped (and couldn't possibly fit any more in the suitcases), probably gained 5 lbs each with what we ate, & toured the state -- Salt Lake, Utah Valley, Midway, Park City, and even St. George. Everywhere we went people would ask, "now, where are you two from?" We suppose the accent gave them away :) Kay & Lovie even spoiled us one night with an authentic southern meal - chicken & dumplings, cornbread, pinto beans (w/bacon grease, of course), fried (battered and fried) squash, and last but not least, strawberry pie! Mmmm mmmm mmmm. Here are some pictures from the week taken at various places - Park City, Salt Lake/Temple Square, St. George, and Zions National Park!

You're only as old as you feel...

Matt mentioned a few weeks ago that he had never been to a circus before (don't ask me how this topic came up), so when I heard the advertisement for the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey, I knew instantly that we had to go. It was a struggle, but I managed to keep it a secret and I am quite convinced that he didn't have a clue where we were going that night.

Of course, I was obsessed with the animals... I don't know how they train them to do what they do... and I'm pretty sure I don't want to know.

Backing up a bit

Here is a quick tribute to the BYU Football season beginning: rain, sleet, snow, winning, or losing - we'll be there.

Singing Moon, Wine Moon, Elk Call Moon...

Most likely unbeknownst to the general public, these are many names of the Harvest Moon... which is the Full Moon closest to September 23rd (or around that - the autumnal equinox). Thanks to Ellie, we learned of and ended up going to the Harvest Moon Lift Ride at Sundance! The funniest part for us was watching/listening to the lifts that were passing us in the opposite direction - people trying desperately to cuddle on an awkward lift & others having some random conversations (someone was using the word 'arbitrary' in a very matter-of-fact way while talking to their date - very romantic, etc). So, Matt made a game of coming up with some elaborate, fairly nerdy sentences to throw out as people passed us... haha, needless to say, even if the other lift didn't think it was funny, we got a kick out of it. Unfortunately, it was near impossible to get a picture, so this following sentence will have to suffice as a description. It was really cool. I highly suggest that anyone in the area check it out... next year, because Thursday night was the last ride for 2007. http://sundanceresort.com/

One Last Fair For The Year...

With our track record thus far, we couldn't help but go to the State Fair! Luckily, the state fair proved to be 100x's better than the county fair - no exaggeration.

<~~~When we saw this, we were sure we must be back in the South...

Matt is quite excited about his candy apple...

When Matt got off he said, "Whoa! I really got thrown..." Enjoy! ;)

Our Trip To Hispaniola

Well, we've now been home a little over a week. The laundry is done, we've gone back to work, school has started up, and Sammy has finally stopped whining for attention (as if he is ever deprived). I guess it is time to blog the trip!

We have SO many stories, so in an effort to not completely overtake the blog with this one post, we'll be trying a "rap sheet" method. Here it goes!

A Few Reasons We Love The Dominican Republic And Our Trip:

1. Dominican traffic rules are nonexistent (seriously). It is a two lane road? Ah, we can easily fit three, so we do! Red light? Ah, no one is coming, just honk your horn and hit the gas! In the right lane and needing to make a left hand turn? Shoot, just honk your horn and proceed to turn left! (see a tiny example below)

2. It is BEAUTIFUL! The mountains, the beach, the water, all of it.

3. "Do you know Bill Clinton?" asks the bank teller. Oh yeah, had him over for dinner the other week...

4. Mangos the size of your head - and the BEST mangos you have ever tasted. Also huge avacados that are soooo good.

5. Tang that is made twice as strong as it should be (burned your throat).

6. Being asked to direct music at church a cappella... without knowing the words or the tune of the song (the entire time).

7. Bucket showers & no flushing TP

8. Freezing cold water showers! WoOo!

9. Getting to make a game out of using as much electric/getting as much done as you can before it turns off.

10. Discovering the English translation of words (ding! light bulb): i.e. lechosa = papaya

11. Any American music you happen to find on the radio is from the 50s or 70s

12. Starting into a nice conversation in English with a Dominican on a beach to only discover he is trying to sell you drugs (marijuana? oh! no, 'soy Mormon')

13. Jordyn trying to communicate with people using Spanglish and Sign Language ("estoy full").

14. Green tomatos - for whatever reason, they never have red tomatos

15. The guy sauntering around the gas station with a sawed off shotgun. Having a serious looking weapon in public is commonplace.

16. Dominican directions & signs - if you don't know where you are going, you better pray you get there sometime. We saw one sign that had one arrow pointing left and one arrow pointing right for the same location!

17. Bags of water. You cannot drink anything but purified water in the DR and sometimes you get it in a sealed plastic baggie - just bite/rip the corner off with your teeth and squeeze it into your mouth!

18. Minefield roads... while driving break neck speed. The roads are terrible - huge huge huge holes (the kind your car might disappear in) and everyone drives as fast as possible - and passes each other whenever they wish (on a blind corner, on the shoulder, etc).

19. Scuba Diving -- talk about gorgeous!! After smuggling ourselves into a resort in order to get to a beach, hiking down the beach to find a dive shop, and managing to not lose our cookies on the boat, we experienced pure beauty.

20. Bargaining will occur anywhere - the market, the rental car place. Our car insurance rate went from $80 a day to $20 a day in a matter of seconds.

21. Hearing a Dominican say/sing the phrase "I'm from the country and I like it that way" (in reference to Matt's southern accent he had when he first got to the DR).

22. McDonalds = fancy. McDonalds is a really nice place to eat in the DR, so everyone goes there dressed up (not like prom dresses - but like you would for a nice date). We felt a little shabby in our shorts and sandals.

23. Fresh, really good, fruit juice. Pear, Passionfruit, Mango - you name it, they've got it and it is sooo delicious!

24. Hotel showers that make you feel like you're in the pool because the water smells so strong of chemicals! At least it is clean :)

25. Last but definitely not least - THE PEOPLE! even without being able to communicate, they radiate warmth and affection that translates perfectly.

To See Pictures, Click HERE!! http://picasaweb.google.com/JordynSpann/RepublicaDominicana

Wedding Bells Are Ringing

We went to TN a few weeks ago (whoa, a little behind on blogging) for a wedding of two great friends that we both knew from home – we Tennesseans keep it local it seems :) It was great to be home and see a lot of friends and family and the wedding turned out beautifully!

My parent's place... extremely dry

(note the horses! hooray!)

When you google "Meals on Wheels"

I guess I should back up a second and explain where Meals on Wheels came into play. At the end of May I finally left BYU (when I quit my boss asked why I was leaving - "do you have another job you're going to?" me: "nope, I'm just unhappy" - much to the shock of several administrators) and shortly thereafter (one week) started into my current position - promoting the Meals on Wheels Program for Salt Lake County. The opportunity came by way of a connection at BYU and the job has been perfect for me! Although marketing isn't my field, the human services area is and so I see this as a great opportunity to wiggle into the sector.

Back to my point. While looking for inspiration for a design for our trucks, I googled "Meals On Wheels" and this graphic appeared... I got a good laugh, so I thought I'd share :)

Virtual Tag

Good old Hill ‘tagged’ me a while back and I am finally following up! The deal is, you write 7 interesting (hopefully) facts about yourself and at the bottom you can tag other people to do the same… without further adieu, here we goooooooooooo…

1. I LOVE to organize. Although I don’t always have the time to do it (and therefore am not always organized), organizing is a passion of mine. I love to find new ways to straighten and neatly pile my life. It seems that it has always been this way for me – as a kid, my brothers would trap me in their room knowing that if I got bored enough I would eventually just start cleaning and straightening things.

2. Me=Consumer Report Guru. I will not make any major purchase (vacuum, car, gadget, and on and on, etc) without consulting every review that can possibly be found. I will google it, yahoo it, and windows live search it to death before I will feel comfortable buying it.

3. Spontaneity: My Extreme Sport. I absolutely love being spontaneous and doing fun, sometimes wacky, things. Depending on my mood, I may or may not do these frequently, but it is always something my mind is tinkering with.

4. My attachment to mascara. I’m sure a lot of women can agree with me when I say that I think I look completely different with mascara. For this reason, I am somewhat quirky about it. 9 times out of 10, I do not put the mascara on before I leave the house (hello, I promise I’m a safe driver), but it is still absolutely essential – to the extent that if I forget to have a tube in my purse, I will most likely drive (sometimes out of my way) to a store to buy some before reaching my destination.

5. One of my favorite things to do… is drive. But when I say drive, I mean the kind where it’s windows-down-sun-shining-music-bumping-carefree-wind-in-my-hair driving. Ahhhhhhh, sweet release.

6. What is wrong with having a zoo? Matt can tell you that I absolutely love animals (and I think it’s rubbing off on him – hehe). I’m sure he realized this before we were married, but I think it has taken on a deeper meaning as he has seen my reaction to a wide variety of creatures over time. Although as I’ve gotten older I’ve realized the commitment having a lot of animals would entail, I still enjoy toying with the possibility of having one of each :)

7. Ninja Turtles: COWABUNGA! When I was in kindergarten we played Ninja Turtles every day… and every day I remember being SHREDDER. Seriously, I was never April (that was Heather) or even April’s dorky friend – I was always Shredder. I’m sure this only compounded my early feeling that I was meant to be a boy (I had three brothers & no sisters, my parents named me Jordyn… what else is a kid supposed to think?).

So there ya have it – more than you wanted to know! Now my tags (I won’t discriminate): Ellie, Mandy, Britni, Faith, and Kristen (and anyone else who would like to participate...).

Tooele: A. Too-ellie B. Tool or C. Too-illa?

If you guessed C, you are correct!

As it just so happens, I (Jordyn - in case you haven't already guessed) had the chance to visit Tooele, Utah (located in the middle of nowhere) just the other night. By a stroke of luck, a good friend ended up in this place of grandeur for the local County Fair! Although Matt had to bail on me the day before the event, the trip was a smashing success with Mandy as we took our own "Thelma and Louise" trip!

The whole excursion came to be because of Jason, a fellow Dickson-ite who I grew up with (or rather, who picked on me and Erin [his sister] ) who now works as the Merchandise Manager for Craig Morgan. If you don't know who he is, you should check him out!

Thanks to Jason, not only did we get in free, but we got to 'meet & greet' with Craig! We felt pretty awkward at first, considering neither one of us had a poster of Craig hanging in our bedrooms, but all went well (kind of - read below).

Needless to say, with the aroma of beer, funnel cakes, and sweat abounding, good company, and a great location, I couldn't have asked for a better night!

Right: A rather adorable puppy who was in line with us! Definitely worthy of being blogged :)

Left:Mandy anxiously awaiting meeting Craig... notice the girl with the crown on...

Our Claim To Fame!
*Good story: Craig is from my hometown, so when I walked up to take the picture, I thought it'd be nice to tell him we had something in common. Well, I guess I approached it the wrong way because as I began by saying "you're from Dickson, right?" I instantly felt him tense up as he slowly said "yeah" in a clipped sort of way - meaning, "ok stalker, you better not go any further with this". Well, I quickly said "so am I!" to which he said "no you're not" and so I came again "uh, yeah, I am - Dickson County" and as he looks to his man who is taking the picture and sees him shaking his head in confirmation (he knew we were there as friend's of Jason) Craig suddenly relaxes and gets excited about the news. Whew! - for a second I thought some body guard was going to haul me off...

Below: Every town should have a McDonald's accessible for all...

Below: My brotha from another motha who made this trip come to pass :)

Take me out to the.... county fair...

...well, not really. We were pretty stoked about the fair (well, most of us), but it wasn't quite what we expected. Although it was pretty puny compared to the likes of Dickson (woot-woot!), we did manage to get ourselves sick (some from riding rides, others from eating too much) and have some fun :)

(Below: when cows are groomed better than humans)

Before....

...After

Right: The one picture I got of Laura (sorry Laura!). Note the cute woman in a red shirt and capris...

Below: The boys on the best part of the fair (the slide)... it was a close race.... (Matt cheated)....

When Pigs Spoon!