Brooke & Rodney's Wedding

We closed out the year in the most fantastic way with Brooke & Rodney's wedding. Brooke has been one of my best friends since we nine years old. When I found out she was getting married I was so excited that I laughed, screamed, and cried for about twenty minutes. I was more than happy to be bridesmaid and help her with wedding plans.The weekend festivities kicked off Friday night at Laurie and Michael's house with dinner. Above are all the bridesmaids (minus Lauree). We were sitting on the couch singing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'". Girls, you can ask Sarah for the video.

Saturday we had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner at Aunt Childa's. I spent most of the day trying to get some last minute alterations to my dress. I foolishly didn't try it on after my original alterations. It all worked out in the end. Brooke, Sarah, Amanda, and I had one final slumber party at the hotel the night before the wedding. After opening a bottle of wine, Sarah was able to write her speech. I mostly obsessed about the pedicure and manicure from Hell that Brooke, Sarah and I sat through on Friday. I don't think Brooke's hives have gone away yet. It was a funny story for us anyway.

The next day, Sunday, was pretty crazy. The chaos started around 9:00 am with the hairstylist and rest of the bridal party showing up to our room. At least we had bagels, mimosas, and black coffee. The haze in the picture below is due to all the hairspray in the air. The wedding was so beautiful. And thankfully it was quick because it was cold outside! After the ceremony we headed inside to eat and dance. We all even made it through the hora without falling down! Good times.The look on Rodney's face cracks me up. Britton snapped this photo when they were being lifted up on the chairs for the hora. There are tons of pictures I would love to post but I won't. Below are some other pictures from our table and the rest of the night. Brooke you looked beautiful! Thank you for letting be a part of your special day. I love you!

Ugly Sweaters

Mathew invited me to a sleazy holiday sweater party with him Saturday night. Well, really it was too cold for "sleazy" sweaters so ugly holiday sweaters had to do. I am now convinced that turtlenecks might be the ugliest sweaters ever....not a flattering picture but my sweater is great! Mathew picked it out for me. You can't see Mathew's turtleneck but it has little pale blue and silver snowflakes on it- hilarious. I especially loved the women's jacket he had on.

Brooke's Bridal Luncheon

Today we had Brooke's bridesmaids luncheon at House of Tricks in Tempe. I can't believe the wedding is a week away!

Holiday Reading

I am currently reading Holidays On Ice by David Sedaris. It's been around for a decade or so but if you haven't read it you should. It's easy to read and highly entertaining. I also recommend just about anything else by Sedaris as well.

Cold Weather Weekend

Thursday night I arrived in Salt Lake for a weekend of skiing and visiting old friends. Snow was falling as the plane hit the tarmac, which made me slightly nervous declining that liability insurance on the rental car. But paying an extra $25.99 a day was slightly ridiculous. I regretted my decision only for a few moments on my drive to the Skousen's home. It had been a while since I'd driven in snowy/icy weather at night no less. Luckily I arrived safely to Autumn & Tim's house. I was greeted by Miles, who is one of the most adorable two-year-olds I know. I enjoyed playing with him the entire weekend.

Friday, I hit the mountain with seven inches of fresh powder. I wish I was there this weekend, the snow pack has doubled! If there is one thing that could compel me to move back to Utah it would be the skiing. Here are some pics from Alta:
The temperature dips to about 15 degrees at the base of the mountain. It was even colder at the top with wind chill. I have not been that cold in a very long time. So, this was the sign posted at the top of the mountain:This was really comforting to me since my feet were already cold! But I was determined to stay on the mountain for as long as possible since I rented some demo skis to test out. I loved them. I won't go on and on about them because last year I talked about my boots a little too much. But if anyone is in the market for some very fun carving skis I must recommend the K2 Burning Love. So much fun! Too bad Santa is bring me new bedding.

There was a ton of snow on the ground at Autumn & Tim's as well. Miles received a sled for his birthday, so naturally we had to take him sledding. Only he wasn't so thrilled with the idea of dressing up like the child from Christmas Story and flying a snow covered hill. Autumn and I weren't too bright and both stood in the path of the sled only to be plowed over. We thought we were hilarious. I'm sure the video is great.....Tim? Autumn has a ton of pictures from the sledding adventure (hint, hint). I think Tim, Autumn, and I had more fun on the sled than Miles did.

Really the weekend went to too quickly. It was so good to see the Skousen's, but I just miss them even more now. Autumn, I may be back in January and if not I will see you in Romania whenever that maybe! :) Thanks!

Winter + Snow = Happiness

Oh, happy day! Alta just received 14 inches of snow! After the two week delay in opening, I was getting worried. There is more snow in the forecast so next week I'm packing my skis and boots and heading to Utah! I can't wait for the "greatest snow on earth."

Jury Duty

I was lucky enough to receive a jury summons last month. So, Monday morning I reported for jury duty at 8:00 am. I walked into the already crowded room and filled out my information. I expected my experience to be like tha last time I summoned. I expected to show up, watch a few movies, do a little work, and at the end of the day go home. I was very surprised when my name was called shortly after 9:00 am for the very first jury pool. I was lucky number 18 and I sat right up front during voir dire (where the judge and attorneys ask questions). I was shocked by the number of people with DUI or other serious criminal violations. So from a panel of 21 persons, I was chosen to sit on the jury of 9. I couldn't believe it. I work for attorneys; I thought for sure I would have been stricken. I've been told, those who say the least often get picked. Alas, I have spent the last three days listening to testimony in a criminal trial.

We try cases all the time in my office, granted we do civil litigation. But the responsibility of being a juror on a criminal trial was quite heavy. The duty to determine someone's guilt or innocence was difficult for me. There are no smoking guns and there are no absolute certainties. My type-A personality does not like this! There is always a "what if". But I suppose this is why we have juries, to determine, based on the evidience, the guilt or innocence of the persons charged.

I convicted someone of a very serious crime today. Justice doesn't always feel good.