The Times They Are A Changin

After three long and for the most part fun years I have decided to make a career change.  I'll be moving on from the wonderful world of CB Richard Ellis.  I started at CBRE when I was just a little career baby, right out of college. It's been a great job and I've learned a lot.  I'll be starting at Goldman Sachs on January 3rd.  I'm excited for a new challenge.  Here's to a new year of change and hopefully prosperity. I hope to have a better fortune this year, referring to  this post  I wrote last year.  Oh and I almost forgot the best part... I have two weeks off in between jobs.  It's a real Christmas Break again. It'll be like I'm reliving my school days.

The Accident Blog

I'm beginning to think I should call my blog the accidental accident blog.  Why? I'll tell you why... BECAUSE I'M SO ACCIDENT PRONE.  Let me back up here.  I adapted this thing from my friend Mel called tri-fecta Saturdays.  This is where you participate in three different types of activities on any given Saturday.  For those of us who work full time we have to get as much in as we can on our Saturdays. Anyway yesterday to start of the tri-fecta I met up at Snowbird with these cats:

Then after I got back from skiing etc. I went climbing at The Front. To top of the tri-fecta Saturday I went to a birthday party (which happened to be a dance party).  I decided to wear these shoes, which happen to be my favorite lately, because they look like a flat boot, but they have a secret hidden wedge heel.

Well after being at the party for about a hour and a half I decide it was time to go dance.  I start dancing and within a minute I rolled my ankle which dropped me straight to the ground.  I would be lying if I said it wasn't super embarrassing, but it was hilarious.  I walked out of the dance room doing the pain laugh, you know the one you do when you're in a lot of pain, but you're trying to pretend you're not.  This is what I woke up to this morning.

SWOLLEN ANKLE... My point of this all is I don't get hurt skiing, I don't get hurt climbing, but I get hurt wearing hidden heels on the dance floor. Hey, at least life is pretty entertaining for me.  Here's to tri-fecta Saturdays!

A Few Things

That I'm grateful for...

Best Friends (and Friendgiving):

My Baby Nephew

 The Best Dog in The World:

 My Other Baby Nephew:

 Tess's Rainbow Jello

Full Moons:

 Skiing With Friends:

Fresh Fruit Cups:

 A Funny Dad:

 Sisters:

Baby Angel

Disclaimer: This is going to be a serious blog post. If you’re not in the mood for anything cheesy or mushy, please come back for the next blog post, but these are my thoughts lately. .

Life has been interesting the past couple of weeks. About a week and half ago I was involved in a serious car accident. First things first I don’t mean to sound dramatic, but here’s the truth. I’m very lucky to be alive after such a serious accident. Second, I am even more lucky that I wasn’t seriously injured, or really injured at all for that matter. Besides some whiplash and a few bruises I came out of the accident alive and well, which I am very grateful for. I used the word luck above, but I need to give credit where credit is deserved. I know that I was being watched over from up above and it wasn’t just luck that saved me. I couldn’t help but think of who was watching over and protecting me in that moment; maybe sweet Ali, or Grandpa McElhiney. I may never know who it was, but I am certain it was the will of God that preserved my life that night. The craziest part of the whole thing is that the accident lasted longer than most, so I actually had the time to think “this is it... my life is over, this is how I’m going to die.” I’ve never actually had a moment like this before, and it’s pretty crazy if you do actually live through it. It’s sad that sometimes this is what it takes for us to open our eyes to our life. I feel like I’ve been given a second chance (this could be my third or fourth... it’s been a crazy year), but I know there’s things I need, and get to accomplish in this life and I’m excited to see what’s in store for me. Sometimes it’s experiences like this that get us thinking about the real meaning of life and what is important and what should be important, versus the things that we sometimes think are important that really are not important. There are always things that we can improve on and I’m glad to have the opportunity to become a better person. In the article “How Will You Measure Your Life?” Clayton M Christensen wrote “Don’t worry about the level of Individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people. This is my final recommendation: Think about the metric by which your life will be judged, and make a resolution to live every day so that in the end, your life will be judged a success.” This article was written by Clayton M. Christensen and can be found in the Harvard Business Review. You may also click this link to see the whole article. http://arikjohnson.posterous.com/how-will-you-measure-your-life-by-clayton-m-c it is very inspiring, so if you have the time you should read it. I want to thank all of my friends and family members who have touched my life. I’m grateful to have such amazing people in my life. I’m also grateful that I’m here to share this season of life with you.

Here’s a picture of the car this is the back perspective underneath the semi truck. I didn’t get any other pictures I was too in shock at the time to think about it, but this will give you an idea of how serious the accident was.

Side note: You may be wondering why the title of this blog post is Baby Angel.  It is, because Annie started calling me Baby Angel since the accident... I sort of like it.

Watch Out BHS Cheer

I've still got it...

Big pillow at Cornbelly's.  This is what dreams and miracles are made of.

Falling Into Winter

I love that natural colors that the fall months have to offer.  I took these pictures up Millcreek Canyon a couple of weeks ago.  I used my 35mm lens with a fish eye attachment.

A Mix That Kix

The iPod has revolutionized the way we listen to music. With the uprising of the iPod came the downfall of something that is now what I call a lost art.  What is this art form you might ask?  What I’m talking about is the CD Mix tape.  (yes I know it’s not really a tape, but I just like that phrase). I feel like the youth of today are deeply deprived of something amazing. They don’t even realize what they’re missing out on. I don’t get it... what do they do now days? “Hey plug your iPod into my Macbook Pro I have a mix I want to share with you?” hmmm seems strange,  to be honest I feel bad for the youth of today for this reason alone. I found my old CD case you know one of those big ones stuffed to the brim with 4 CD’s per pocket.  I started looking through the case and remembered the hours on end my high school friends and I would spend making a “new mix”.  Once the new mix was made you’d put it in your CD player and listen to it over and over and over.  Maybe this is why I have so many songs from the early 2000’s memorized.  Well blogging world, get ready for what’s about to hit you, because with the “new mix”, also came a fancy name you had to write and decorate on the CD.  I was hysterically laughing as I was looking through my CD’s and wanted to share some of the names with you.  Disclaimer:  Please do not judge me I was in high school a lot has changed since then.  Second disclaimer:  the list below portrays actual spellings from the mix tapes I know I spelled them wrong.  I just thought it was cool to use x’s in place ck’s and stuff like that. 

It's Nacho Business

Slow Trax

Time to Get Down

Tizzzzight Mix

Our Chill Mix

Popular Shiz

Giddy Up (some sort of lame country mix)

Smooth Grooves

Once In a Lifetime ( love mix duh)

Pool Side Mix

Sexual Chocolate (infamous amongst the high school friends)

Cutie Mix

It's All in The Lyrics

Hot T's and Gummy B's

Slow Your Roll

Bust a Move

Country Masterpiece

Sassin It Up

Car Jams

Spring Break It Up

Ghetto Girls

Love Jams

See Ya In 2 Mix (A mix for someone leaving on their mission?)

The You Fell For Me Mix

A Mix That Kix

Romantic Smooth Grooves

Just in case you were wondering, none of these mix names are copyrighted you may use any you see fit for your iPod playlists. I will also hold hope that the CD mix tape will make a comeback, let's just hope it's not as big of a disaster as Brit Spears comeback in 2007 things really haven't been the same since.

Do The Dirty

Hey... WHOA get your mind out of the gutter.  I'm talking about the Dirty Dash, the 10K team mud run/obstacle course I participated in a couple of weekends ago.  If you did not do it this year, you should do it next year.  If you're expecting a hard core race this is not for you.  This is for those of you who want to have a good time running while getting REALLY dirty at the same time.  I think the pictures say it all.

Our Team Before:

Our Team After:

Faces of The Dirty:

Babes of The Dirty:

Overall I give the Dirty Dash two enthusiastic thumbs up! Hope to see you on the course next year... I'll race you down the slip and slide. 

Top-Rope-Tough-Guys

This week I went to the Reel Rock film festival at the Tower Theatre, in Salt Lake City.  If you don't know what that is check out the trailer for the various films.  This trailer has one of my recent favorite songs on it: Radical Face "Welcome Home"


OK, now that you've been inspired, the real reason why I'm writing this post is to share another video with you.  This clip is called Top-Rope-Tough-Guys it's a short film they showed at the beginning of the festival.  If you don't climb, it may not be that funny to you, but you should still watch.  If you do climb, this will be one of the funnier videos you've seen in a while.  This clip is not on You Tube, so you have to follow the link to watch it.
http://www.reelrocktour.com/watch/2010-finalists/top-rope-tough-guys/

The Greatest Show on Earth

Yes, I'm sure you already guessed what this post is about as you've probably already read the title.  The thing I'm talking about is the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus AKA "The Greatest Show on Earth." Since the beginning of time wait stop... we're not talking about the creation here let me start over, since I can remember my family has gone to the circus every year. I'm not certain how, or when this tradition was started, but I'm not here to question it. I love the circus! (as a side note I do feel bad for the animals, but that's another post for another day) Rumor has it Grandma Hair started the tradition and it has been ongoing ever since.  As you know with traditions come other traditions. Well let me tell you about a pretty ridiculous tradition that started at the circus. Every year my dad would buy us a snow cone during half time.  Turns out the the snow cones come in a "mug" cup that usually have some sort of lid that goes over the snow cone. It looks like this...

OK well you get the picture of what the snow cone is.  Well let me enlighten you on something this supposed snow cone costs $20 a cup... times that buy four kids and it's flipping $100 for half time snow cones.  You may say well Alyse you got an awesome snow cone cup, and you better believe every year I could not wait to see what the snow cone cup would be. I did a little research and found the online store and found out that you can buy these mugs for $9 on the B&B website... This means the actual "snow cone" part (mind you it's one little scoop) cost's $11.  Can you spell R I P O F F? As a child the best part of the snow cone was taking the cup home and drinking out of it for the weeks that followed the circus. Mysteriously, about two months after the circus these mugs would disappear. The Utah landfill now has a 15 year collection of snow cone mugs and to boot my Dad's pocket book is now missing $1,500.  As I looked down watching my little cousin sip on her snow cone during the circus I couldn't help, but think of it as my younger self and I got a little nostalgic for the younger years.  Now I'd like to publicly thank my mom and dad for supporting this silly tradition.

Oh and just in case you're wondering what the best part of the circus was this year, it was when the guy did a double back flip on stilts.  I'm not talking about short stilts either he was standing at least 10 ft tall in these things.  Well until next year, this circus is over...

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

This blog post may be out of timeline, but who said anything about blogging in a timeline? I bought my season pass to Snowbird this week, which got me thinking about snow, which then turned to Christmas, which then reminded me of the gift that keeps on giving... these pictures of the Christmas gift my Uncle's gave us last year for Christmas.  What gift could this be you may ask yourself.  Well the gift I'm talking about was matching mismatching thermals, and a big family picture to follow. Can you say brilliant?  If you double click on the photos they will enlarge for your viewing pleasure... enjoy.

I'm lobbying hard that one of these pictures makes the Christmas card this year, but then I remembered we don't ever send out a Christmas card. Good thing my family is fairly fit, or this could have been a hot mess. As a side note please notice that it's dark outside. That's what happens when you're the only single one left in the family Christmas happens at 9pm instead of 9am due to "other obligations."  I was mad until I skiied all day then I stopped caring and reminded myself that I'm not eight anymore.

Buyer Beware

If you eat fast food, you might want to think twice after reading the article below.  If you don't eat fast food, you should read the article below and be reminded why you don't eat fast food.  It's pretty disgusting...

http://www.good.is/post/mcdonald-s-hamburgers-don-t-age/

Mac Attack Preview

Here's a little preview of the photography session I had with my sister Nicole and her new baby McKay (Mac). I just can't get enough of this little guy.  Stay tuned for more pictures in the near future...

The Family That Flees Together, Trees Together

I'm a huge HUGE fan of the NPR Radio Show This American Life.  The other day at work I was streaming an episode called American Limbo this episode actually aired back in 2001, but was reaired last week.  I was particularly struck by the first act about the Jarvis family, a family of eight who's on the run from the law for seven years. During this seven year span the family lives on a boat, in a swamp, in a tree house. The crazy part is all the kids turn out to be pretty normal and fairly unfazed about the whole thing.  I found it amazing to hear a story of this family that just makes due with what they have and also learning different trades and handy work to get by month by month.  I mean if I had to share a 8x8 bedroom with my three sisters for three years I don't think I could make it.  Don't get me wrong I love my sisters, but I have to be honest I'd go nuts. I love the way they presented the family in this episode, they paint a beautiful picture of simplicity and unity. It's a good reminder that sometimes living simply, brings out what matters most and in this case it's a great family bond. While I don't necessarily support them running from the law, but somehow by the end of the episode I found myself routing for this family not to get caught. I'm almost tempted to sale everything and go live on a boat for the next five years. If you have some spare time you should listen to this episode.  http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/177/american-limbo, or just listen to the first act it really is amazing. To end this blog post I'd like to give a shout out to This American Life for bringing a new perspective to the table week after week, for making me think outside of the box from time to time, and for the entertainment you have brought me episode after episode (check out the radio show archives). 

Summer Time and The Livin's Easy

FRUIT PIZZA:

It's the perfect reminder that it's still summer.  Nothing better than fresh summer fruit on a fresh summer night.  Making this lovely dessert brought me back to highschool cooking class days.  I loved that class so much I took it twice.  To bad none of those skills stuck with me. 

Long live the Fruit Pizza... (you better eat it fast it gets soggy after a day)

Uinta This?

Last weekend a group of us took a weekend trip to the Uintas. We camped at Butterfly Lake and made a dutch oven feast fit for a king.

Brownies:

 

Corn on The Fire:

Dutch Oven Potatoes and Popcorn:

Niki, Amanda, and I set up our own little tent:

The next morning we went on a hike and did some climbing.

These next two pictures we're going to play a game of can you spot the cool guy, you know the kind of games they used to put on cereal boxes?

Overall, it was a great weekend.  It was nice to beat the Salt Lake City heat. If you've never been to the Uintas you should get up there ASAP, the summer season is short (July -  August) I'm hoping to get up there again before the summer ends.