January was good too! And February! And I'm THIRTY now, officially. That doesn't feel weird that I'm in my third decade--but it IS weird to say still. Before I took off for my birthday, I went to lunch with three of my favorite co-workers:
For my birthday I had planned on going out to NYC with mums and Matt (who also just had a birthday), but mums is back in Berkeley with Nanny so that didn't work out. Instead... I spent the night before with Joelle and her crew and then for my actual birthday I went up to Park City with some super cute girls and fun guys and we went snowboarding at The Canyons--gorgeous snow, view, day... It was so nice to be with friends. I even stayed the night up there--after a delicious dinner which Lauren and Jackie came up for, the warmth of the sauna and hot-tub, and good company. (Note: my face is totally wind burned but I got the s-turns DOWN thanks to Jessica, the kindest girl I know.)
The next day we hit the outlets and I only bought socks. So proud of myself for being frugal. The only REASON I was frugal is...
I leave TODAY to go to Berkeley for the weekend! YAY! I get to see Nanny and Auntie O and Mom. And Mom is taking me to Wicked! (which she shouldn't since mom and dad got me a cool flip recorder for my birthday--we NEVER get big gifts so I was pretty shocked). OH! And dad got me flowers. Maybe I'll be 30 again next year... ;)
I leave TOMORROW for North Carolina. And it is supposed to storm big time--so pray for me not to get stuck/stranded... Weird things always happen to me when that happens. Plus my flight is late and me+no sleep=insane migraines. So we really don't want that... Especially since I get to see Mom! Dad! Scott! Matt! Yay! (Sad that it isn't more of us, but I have seen Jo & her crew several times lately--including after spending a few hours snowboarding by her *new* place--and when she and Eric came down to support me singing for a Stake Fireside--kind of a big thing because my stake is enormous! And they brought a bookcase that I've been waiting for which has made my room once again an orderly place.) I *also* got to go to lunch with Leslie yesterday. Made my week SOOOO much better. I sure love that chica. I was thinking of these pictures and thinking how Christmas is going to be quite a bit smaller this year. Still lovely. But quieter. And also glad that I have recovered completely from that nasty surgery last year. Today I went to a pain specialist, so the goal is to GET BETTER. Good goal, eh?We had a gift exchange as roomies last night and it was so fun. Just to spend time with all of us around. Which got me thinking about the roomies I've loved--the kind that became like sisters. I love you ladies!
I'll be back in Utah on the first. Love to all (wish you were with me)! Happy Holidays!
So, I didn't get the card to get the official pictures so I'll have to get those from Joelle (who was the PERFECT "plus 1" for this event). That sister of mine has class. :) And this other lady is my BFF at work, Lauren. Dang I love her. Two women on an advisory board with me: Shannon and Joy. So awesome. Governor and Jeanette Herbert. He's the one pointing and she's next to Joelle. The other two are the Lieutenant Gov and his wife. I don't know them. But Jeanette is the chair of the advisory board I'm on with the other ladies above. She's the hardest working, sweetest woman. I'd vote for her any day. ;)
Our ward went to temple square for FHE to see the lights. And good timing too since this week it has been snowing. BLIZZARDING. I'm not the biggest fan of snow outside of the mountains where it belongs. Though it is pretty to look at.
A benefit concert was held for the Donner Galbraith Scholarship--bad economy means that endowments are suffering so there's less money to award in scholarships. So last night, November 17th, I went to a rock concert that was so touching. It was in honor of two students who died that were interested in social causes--and happened to be in a hardcore band. One of them was the main screamer. So a teacher of a history of rock class put together a concert to raise funds to help award the scholarship. Anyhow. Screaming isn't my favorite (though Adjacent to Nothing was amazing at it), but the whole concept of the concert to honor them and raise money for a scholarship to benefit a student that otherwise wouldn't qualify was rad. Fully support that.This picture is of Adjacent to Nothing. So good. And the lead is the new president of Carnegie's new company. Very cool. Rockers who give back? I can get into that.
My camera was dying so I couldn't get as much as I'd have liked. They ended up signing a few people to a new record label that focuses on giving back, Carnegie Records (headed up by one of the nicest people I've met, Stephen Carnegie). It was a pretty exciting night all around. Though the juxtaposition of going there right after the temple (where I was released from living ordinances--weird) was really interesting. The headliner at the concert was Mark Slaughter, who has an amazing range and pretty much... well, wow. He was good. (drat my camera for dying...) ATN was really good. This new chica, Hailey Hendricksen, is going to be so amazing. She's a junior at Timp and the man that produces Celine and others was there to agree to produce her. Anyhow. Got to go to an after party, picked up a nice man who turns out has done amazing things and was one of the original people with Sesame Street at the airport, dropped off another famous wheelchair bodybuilder/dancer (yeah, crazy to see, but really cool). The end.
The three men pictured below tell an interesting story. The one on the left is Academy Award winning screenwriter, Barry Morrow. One of the nicest people. He said that he wants to write movies that make a difference. He also GAVE Kim Peek (center, click on his name to read his story--he's the inspiration behind Rain Man) and his brother Fran Peek (right) his Oscar (which they lovingly call "Oscar"). Since then, it has traveled millions of miles and been held by thousands. So Lauren and I held it too.I think the donuts are a nice touch... :) The brothers live in Murray but travel extensively. This first video is Steve Bush. He's an amazing artist. Later he was jamming with Slaughter and it looked like so much fun. I was jealous.
And then there was Mark who came out and played with a student who wrote this song (Steve Bush played too). This student, Brady Fullmer, is going to have this song produced and Slaughter is going to add lyrics and such. Pretty sweet. (Though for some reason it won't LOAD.)
This lady just sang for Steve Carnegie the day before the show and MAN she's got chops. So he decided to sign her too. She cried. It was beautiful.
Here's some Adjacent to Nothing for you: I didn't get the good bits. I really need to remember to charge my camera more often.
And, uh, yeah. Just the tuning?
I'm sure there's something better online, but here's from my camera of Mark Slaughter (and I'll add the rest of the song from youtube. You're welcome.). His voice was a little rough on the last song--though the earlier ones were amazing. But it was his playing skills that impressed me the most. And his humility. All of them stayed in the Hampton and wanted nothing special--they wanted all the money to go to the scholarship. VERY cool.
This is what the School of the Arts had to say about it:
Blake Donner and Jenn Galbraith were two socially conscious friends who shared a passion for life. After the two students died in a tragic cave accident in 2005, the Donner-Galbraith Memorial Scholarship fund was established in their memory.
November 17th at 6:30pm, in the UVU Ragan Theater, the waning scholarship will receive life as celebrities and entertainers perform and commemorate the lives of these two beloved students.
Sponsored by Dr. Stephen Fullmer's English 276R class and produced by Stephen Carnegie, the show will feature a wide variety of entertainment and be truly inspirational. Enjoy the evening with Oscar winning writer of the RainMan and Emmy winning writer of Bill, Barry Morrow. Performing that night will be multi-platinum selling artist Mark Slaughter. In addition, local artists Broke City, Hailey Hendricksen, Brady Fullmer, and Adjacent to Nothing will share their musical talents. An unbelievable dance will be performed at the event by Aubree Marchione and Nick Scott, furthermore, Grammy award winning producer Keith Thomas, Curb Warner Record label President Loren Balman, and award winning producer of Children's Broadcasting Brad Smith, will also be attending the event.
Mom was in town to watch Jo and Stevan's kids so we took them to the zoo. It was so fun! I spent the weekend up there too, so a fabulous time was had by all...
