Apparently the Snow Gods are not pleased with me

Today Mike and I were planning to ditch work and head to Snowbird to use the ski passes we got for Christmas. Everything was arranged, and we were pretty much peeing our pants at the prospect of our first full ski day of the season. Then we called snow report and heard this lovely news:

"Winds at hidden peak are currently 31 miles per hour, gusting to 48 miles per hour."

Yeah. Mother Nature decided to go completely spastic on us. Needless to say, I spent the day in my cubicle. Suffocating from the lack of fresh mountain air and cursing all the college students that can still go up the canyon at their leisure instead of needing to take a whole day of PTO. Lucky little hippies.

Glory Hallelujah

Well, today is officially the start of a new era in this great nation of ours. And I couldn't be happier.

But even if you aren't happy about this transfer of power, even if you think Obama is a Pinko Muslim Tree-Hugger Commie hell-bent on destroying our way of life and letting the terrorists take over, you can at least join in celebrating the fact that our new Commander-In-Chief can pronounce the word "nuclear" correctly. And not embarass Americans everywhere pretty much every time he opens his mouth. (Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Dubya).

The Kindness of Strangers

This is what I love about Utah ski culture: One minute someone is just a strange old man riding next to you on the lift, then you realize that he speaks Russian, and happens to know your parents and grandparents. Turns out he also dabbles in photography, and volunteers to take some pictures of your family and email them to you. It's a crying shame there are so many freaks out there, otherwise we could be this friendly and trusting all the time.

Mike and I:
We sent this pic of Dema to GQ this morning. We expect a request for a full photo spread sometime this afternoon.
Mark and Alex
The Leppard Fam
I wonder what we are looking at. Probably the mile-long lift line.
After Dema's epic spill.
I am lifting my inside ski. NO ONE SHOW THIS TO DAD OR HE WILL DISOWN ME

She always did have a rebellious streak...

Today I came across this post on my little sister's blog. And immediately called her to say the following:

ICE CREAM FOR A SORE THROAT???!!!! HAVE YOU COMPLETELY LOST YOUR MIND? Next thing you know you will be traipsing around barefoot when you have a cold, walking outside with WET HAIR, and sitting on cold surfaces with no fear of possibly becoming infertile. And then you will contract all kinds of diseases and die a horrible death. And Mom and Grandma will say "I told you so." And every Russian in the world will use your story to frighten small children.

Honestly, it's like the child has completely forgotten her heritage.

In Which I Reveal The True Extent of My Nerdiness

Last weekend Mike and I made a much-needed visit to Costco. I was casually strolling past the DVD section when I noticed this:

And immediately started having horrible Vietnam Vet-style flashbacks. I did not have this blog when I saw The X-Files: I Want to Believe, so let me just take this opportunity to chronicle what was pretty much The Biggest Cinematic Disappointment of All Time.


I've never been a die-hard X-Philer or anything. In fact, I don't think I even watched the show when it was on TV. My friend Andrea was hooked, though, and even dressed up as Scully for Halloween once when we were in junior high. I think the closest we ever came to having a fight was when I saw her watching it once and mentioned that I found Scully to be a little homely in appearance. "Tread carefully," she said, and glared at me through narrowed eyes.

Both Andrea and I went to work in Alaska a few summers ago, where we discovered that, among its other wonderful qualities, the Kettleson Memorial Library had all nine seasons of the X-Files on DVD. Because of the rainy weather in Sitka that summer and our age preventing us from going bar-hopping with our roommates, many nights were spent in our room watching X-Files and eating tootsie pops.

At first I was kind of bored and confused by the show, but, after discovering that Mulder and Scully are pretty much the greatest non-couple in television history, I was hooked. I came for the sexual tension, stayed for the unveiling of Cigarette Smoking Man's evil schemes, and a new guilty pleasure was born.

So naturally, when I heard that a new X-Files movie was coming out, I was excited. Not counting-down-the-days and making-t-shirts-with-Mulder's-face-on-them excited (yes, I am looking at you, crazed Twilight fans), but definitely looking forward to seeing what came next in the X-Files saga. I thought perhaps the movie would be a tidy wrap-up of all the loose ends that the show left dangling (like what in the devil was up with Scully's Jesus Baby), or maybe just a longer version of the standard episodes where Mulder and Scully track down some supernatural creature while making witty remarks to each other.

My friends, it was neither. It was pretty much 2.5 hours worth of the most boring, random X-Files episode ever. All I remember about it is that girls were disappearing and there were creepy Russian doctors involved and Scully was all bent out of shape over some patient of hers that ended up having nothing to do with anything. Oh, and a clairvoyant pedophile priest was thrown into the mix for no apparent reason. None of it made any sense or followed any logical pattern and the sheer stupidity of it all made my brain hurt. The film's one redeeming quality was the fact that Chris Carter finally stopped messing with our minds and made it clear that Mulder and Scully do Live Happily Ever After, albeit in some creepy unabomber cabin in the middle of nowhere.

I would like to say that I have learned my lesson, that when they announce a third X-Files movie I will remember this freakshow and the crapfest that was the last three seasons of the TV series. More likely, though, I will just get my hopes up all over again because, when it comes to the X-Files, I Want to Believe.

A festivus for the rest of us

Here is the belated "How I spent my Christmas/New Years" post. I would apologize for getting it up here so late, but I think all two of you that read this blog weren't exactly on pins and needles waiting to hear about how the Cassity Christmas went this year and I was in no hurry to upload photos.

That said, our Christmas this year was fabulous. One of the greatest in my recent memory. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with the Preos, then went over to the Cassitys for most of the day, and back to the Preos again that night. Here are the highlights:

Helen announcing that she is once again With Child:

An impromptu dance recital by the Little King (accompanied by Snoopy):



Dad snuggling with Ralph:
Smash and I giving each other the exact same, totally awesome gift:
Smeegs getting Tom Brady cologne. He's just growing up sp fast these days...
Christmas Brunch with the Cassity Family
Opening presents on our own at the apartment

My favorite gift:
Butch's favorite gift (He already had this shirt but it shrunk in the dryer and he was sad so I bought him a new one):
New Years at the cabin with friends

And, last but not least, watching Utah silence all the critics by beating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. GO UTES!!! (Don't have a picture for this one- was too into the game to take pictures).

Best and Worst of 2008

Favorites:

Book: Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri. Not as good as her earlier work, but still gorgeous. If Jhumpa Lahiri wrote a 1,000 page manual for operating tractors, I would probably read it. Runners-up: The Road by Cormac Mcarthy and The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, but neither of them were published in 2008 so I don't think they count.

Movie: The Dark Knight. OK, so I went to about three movies this year and most of them sucked. Dark Knight gets my vote for accomplishing the near-impossible task of living up to all the hype surrounding it.

Vacation: The trip Mike and I took to Washington state in May. During which it did not rain once.

Restaurant: Settebello - authentic Italian pizza in downtown Salt Lake. Delicious...

Hole-in-the-wall Restaurant: Chanon Thai Cafe. Their pad thai is mediocre at best, but the curries are to die for. Go with tofu instead of chicken or beef, though. You won't regret it.

Recipe: Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese. I love the creamy texture of this mac and cheese- so much better than the baked variety. I would suggest using medium cheddar cheese instead of the sharp, though. And immediately running ten miles after eating it, unless you would like to start off 2009 with clogged arteries and jiggly thighs.

Album: "In the Ever"- Mason Jennings. I have always loved Mason and his hippie ways. This latest offering, although a bit more quirky than his older stuff, did not disappoint.

TV: Those SNL skits with Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. Hilarious.

New Hobby: Snowshoeing. If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with...

Never-thought-it-would-happen-in-my-lifetime event: President Obama!


Not-So-Favorites:

-Getting my first "grown-up" job that ties me to a desk and computer 40 hours a week. Bleh.

-Ridiculous gas prices this summer. There were multiple occasions where I had to wonder if the numbers at the pump were real or if the heat was making me delirious.

-Every female in the country acting as though the release of the new Twilight book/movie was the Second Coming. Honestly people. Edward is not real and he will not marry you. Get a grip.

-Seeing Sarah Palin's face everywhere for weeks on end and wondering if it was all a horrible practical joke...

-Facing my first ski season in ten years without a season pass. I hate this growing up business.


Well, there you have it kids. My 2008 experience in a nutshell. I have high hopes for 2009.

Happy New Year!

Creepy, Disturbing, and Just Plain Wrong

So this morning on my way to work I was listening to npr and heard some, ahem, interesting news. Apparently a bunch of women are currently protesting at facebook headquarters in Palo Alto because the site removed some pictures of them breast feeding their freaking children.

Wow. I knew the internet was crawling with loons but seriously? Ladies, if you would like the world to see your jugs and the infants attached to them, maybe you should start your own website instead of protesting one that tries to shield the rest of us from weirdos like you. You could call it www.havingchildrenhastotallyeliminatedmysenseofdecency.com.

You can read all about this latest display of American idiocy here, but I wouldn't recommend it. It does mention that the woman responsible for orchestrating this whole freakshow is from Provo, but that should surprise absolutely no one. Everyone knows that Provo and freaks go together like peanut butter and chocolate.

And This Is Why We Do Not Make Fun of Others

With the exception of my mother, my family is really not into the whole crying-because-we-are-so-overwhelmed-by-lovely-emotions thing. I didn't shed a tear on my wedding day and walked out of Life is Beautiful dry-eyed. If I am crying, it generally means that I am having a complete emotional breakdown or feeling frustrated beyond words. So last night when my older sister, (who sometimes convinces me that she just might be made of stone), told me that she cried all through church because she was so moved by the opening hymn, I was pretty much like "nya nya you have feelings!" and walked away feeling like the superior being.
Then when Mike and I got home we decided to watch the old black-and-white version of Miracle on 34th Street. I have seen this movie a thousand times and, although it does make me feel all tender-hearted and whatnot, it generally does not activate my tear ducts. I think you can all see where this is going, so let me just say that the part where the little Dutch orphan girl comes to see Santa totally made me lose it. Tears streaming down my face and the whole bit. I tried to hold my act together, but seeing that girl's face light up all sweetly when Santa started speaking Dutch to her completely unleashed my inner softie. Freaking kharma.

5 Things You Must Do Before Christmas

OK, so these aren't really things you MUST do before Christmas. I'm sure things like buying your mom a present or volunteering at the soup kitchen probably take precedence over this list. As do the traditional activities like visiting Temple Square or watching It's a Wonderful Life and all that jazz. But should you have some spare time on your hands and want to fill it with activities of a festive nature:

1. Read Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory. Oh my land I cannot even begin to describe how beautiful this story is. Truman Capote's prose is just so heartachingly subtle, so evocative, that every time I read this I find myself cursing God for not spreading some of that talent around to the rest of us. Be advised that this story is not the typical bludgeon-you-over-the head with sentimental Christmas thoughts kind of a thing, so if you find yourself crying when you hear "Christmas Shoes" (barf), this just isn't going to do it for you. But if you appreciate a more subtle approach to matters of the heart, you have found your mothership. Other literary favorites: A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas, The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, and Eloise at Christmastime by Kay Thompson.

2. Go to Zoo Lights. Normally I cannot even handle the zoo. All the sad animals and the smells and swarms of small children are just not my thing. But the zoo at Christmas is a totally different story. The animals are all hibernating (except for the freaky turkeys that come out of nowhere and scare the crap out of you) and there are tons of awesome light displays. I highly recommend it but with a disclaimer: DRESS AS WARM AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN WITHOUT LOOKING LIKE THE KID ON CHRISTMAS STORY. It is frigid up there.

3. Plan a visit to Normandie Cafe and Bakery. This is one activity that I have not done yet this year so if it turns out that this Holladay treasure has turned into a rat-infested crack house, don't blame me for leading you astray. I can tell you that in previous years, this place has pretty much rocked at Christmastime. They set up a bunch of decorations, including a huge, elaborate victorian-style gingerbread house. It's the closest you can come to pretending that you are spending Christmastime in a small French village while remaining in Salt Lake. And if the atmosphere doesn't do it for you, you can get so sugared up on their delicious pastries that you will be willing to believe you're on the moon, let alone France. Don't leave without getting one of their huge chocolate-dipped macaroons. I am not accepting "but I don't like coconut" as an excuse for failing to accomplish this task. You will eat it and you will love it and your life will change forever.

4. Watch this clip from Opus and Bill's A Wish for Wings that Work on YouTube. It is hilarious. If you happen to find things like Robin Williams playing a kiwi bird with a severe inferiority complex hilarious. Which I do.

5. Make a pilgrimage to my parent's house to behold this beautiful sight:

Sorry the picture is a little fuzzy. Husband took it with his Crackberry. I am pretty disappointed that he didn't take a video, since The Almighty Crackberry is surely capable of such a task. Had he taken a video, you all could have seen Snoopy dance with his Christmas lights to the tune of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." My parents bought this thing a few years ago and they heart it. I think that if you gave them a choice between this and the tree, they would pick Snoopy any day of the week. And who could blame them? He is rather jolly, and could make anyone feel instant Christmas cheer. So if you are feeling Grinch-like, just knock on my parents door and they will take you to kneel at the shrine of their beloved Christmas symbol. And if you are lucky Nephew Alex will be there and he will break dance for you.