The best things in life....

Are definitely accessories! Those of you who know me probably know that I HATE the cold almost passionately, but I LOVE the snow! I want snow on every major holiday, Birthday included! I realize that is crazy coming from someone who hates cold. I have reasons though. Winter time and Snow (NOT COLD! ICK!) bring out the best accessories! Here they are, my favorite cold weather accessories

SOCKS

Most of the year I don't wear them, but when it is winter time I pull out ALL the stops. Granted some of these have gotten me into a bit of trouble from time to time.

These bad boys aided in the great shoulder injury of 2008. Granted the cause is still undetermined though dancing into the kitchen may have plays a role. Good thing there were a thousand witnesses to this prize Sue moment.


Some socks embarrass me (not really a hard thing to do)

No one told me that wearing red and black monkey socks to a professional work place wasn't super professional. Nor did any one mention I probably should have given up the ankle revealing black pants before pulling out the red/black striped monkey socks. Oh the memories I could have prevented by consulting a fashion specialist. It will take years of therapy to heal these wounds.



Some socks make me laugh, Really quite hard at times.

I know you can't hear them, but the frogs squeak. HAHAHA they ROCK! Wear these suckers around for 10 minutes and you will be smiling!





Then there are socks I wear for the benefit of my toes. Toes really are very useful things they help with balance and I am sure they once made a great chew toy for you when you were an infant and yet they get very little excitement out of life these days. They are shoved inside stinky (not always but sometimes- admit it!), dark, and enclosed places called shoes. Let them breathe and have their own space!







That's right! Wiggle those puppies around! That feels great!





Seasonal socks make me smile as well. I only have Halloween (tragically not pictured), Christmas, and Valentines day seasonal socks though. Do they make them for other holidays? Presidents day? Martin Luther King day?








Now this may seem odd (honestly what about this blog with pictures of my feet isn't off), but there are definitely socks that are comfort socks for me. Some people have comfort foods, blankets, stuff animals, TV shows, etc., I have socks. Generally they are fuzzy/hairy, soft, and are super warm!! Oh and the more colorful they are the more comforting they become!

There are other socks that are also great comfort socks...I call them slipper socks. Much more conservative then my hairy monsters above.

Classic and conservative socks are the ones that most people see me wear; these days especially (remember the striped monkey socks). They deserve a lot of credit for helping me to appear normal when I am out in public.








Thanks for the facade boys! (Side note-the far right pair is my favorite pair of socks!)

Finally the wayside collection that I never wear, or only wear when I have no other clean socks.

The ones you should really feel bad for are the ones not pictured above. I didn't even dare let them out of the drawer!



For an extra benefit for reading the coolest blog ever- The Official Monkey Sock Collection

Huh this is the first time I have ever noticed that I have tons of Frog and Monkey socks. Why in the world can't I grow out of them?? Oh well just don't mock my coolness and we can still be friends.

HATS

Holy cow who in the world is honestly that long winded about socks when there are Hats to show off? Crazy Banjosuey! Oh wait, except the crazy part! So in order to get you all out of blog land before dark I will skip the details and pictures of the hats for now (They will probably get their own blog someday!). Just know I have an intense passion for Hats! So keep your hands on them if you want to keep me from trying them on!

CHRISTMAS SWEATERS

Just kidding I am not really a fan, but Merry Christmas regardless!!

Pretty Amazing Neil...

So I have no idea how but Neil Diamond turned me on last night! The funny thing is I don't find him attractive, but when singing "Play Me" and taking off his jackets my heart started thumping and my voice jumped out of me with a major "OW OW, Neil baby I will live my life forever in blue jeans for you, OW OW" Then I turn my head and the #1Neil fan next to me is laughing at me. HOW did I get to this point?? I don't know. Let me retrace my steps...



It was a snowy day Friday so #1Neilfan and I decided to take trax. Trax however decided not to take us! Okay that is an exaggeration, but honestly Utah Transit Authority if you want me to actually pay for my Trax ticket then you need to clean out the money case on occasion so it will take my money. So trax was running double the trains (every 7 minutes instead of every15) and our train was coming and the machine wasn't working! So I saw some of the UTA security dudes and so I go up and explain my problem "Excuse me Madam, I have to go see the "Jazz Singer" and your machine won't let me do it honestly, would you like my $4, I sear on my Neil Diamond ticket I am not trying to get out of paying" and the tough security lady said in her Aussie accent, "Which train are you taking, this one? Just make sure you buy one at the other end", so the whole time I was on the train I was stressed they were going to ask for my ticket!! I had my $4 ready to hand to anyone walking by looking for tickets.




Finally we made it to our destination and started walking the "Brooklyn roads" (or the streets of salt lake, I feel a song coming on) and all of the eating establishments had long waits so we thought about our op ions and since neither of us are into "red red wine" we went and got the Island grill on! Yummy Rumbi! It was full inside, so we looked around to decide who would be the most entertaining couple to become acquainted with. Our options- 1. The awkward couple who insisted on sitting on the same side of the table instead of facing each other. 2. The couple you couldn't keep their hands off of each other and held hands the whole time they were eating 3. Join the family party in the south 40 of the complex or 4. Sit next to the nice looking older couple. We picked option 4, it seemed the most sane option. It turns out the couple was with a group of 8 that traveled from Idaho to come see Neil. Apparently Neil doesn't make it up to the potato state anymore, doesn't he know there are "Kentucky women" up there? Oh wait or Idahoans.

We walked to the Delta Center and EVERY single portal says no cameras and no cell phones! We started thinking that they were serious about that. We get in our seats and the anticipation starts. I am getting antsy in my seat muttering things to myself "then Sue came along, loved me strong..." Apparently I wasn't alone in my anticipation because in the middle of my rendition of "Solitary Man", the guy behind me yells, "Come on Neil I just want to hear some Cracklin' Rosie!" We all have our song you know! Don't worry then our anticipations were then settled as a mystery voice came over the intercom and said "the show will start shortly and be warned the lights will turn off abruptly" OH GOOD! When you say abruptly what do you mean? Oh well, Shortly, that is soon right? WRONG! We had to wait for Santa to show up, which he did. Funny though He was so little and his elf was SO BIG! It was strange too because the Elf's assistants were all posh! It was an interesting Christmas crew, but they got the attention they were looking to get. There were 4 members of Santa's crew in total. So once we were all in our seats and Santa had his moment to shine (I believe he was sufficiently well watered before arriving) the magical intercom voice comes on again, by this point I am just irritated so I ask "COME ON! Where was the abrupt lights out? What happened to Shortly? Neil, I am going to stop "Thankin' the Lord for the Night Time" if you don't start now!" Once my rampage ended, the lights started (SLOWLY) going out. Honestly hire me as the announcer at least I tell the truth.

Finally he came out and the #1Neilfan said "Hello Again Neil" and I said "Oh Neil, you look so much like yourself!" It was a "Beautiful Noise" and he came out with a POWERHOUSE play list! He sang "Love on the Rocks" and he went right into "Play Me" and we are back to the moment...I never dreamed this could happen. I am too young for the Neil appeal, but he said "turn on your heart light" baby and I said OK! Well that is a little extreme. Actually after #1Neilfan started laughing at me I joined him back in reality and danced with him through "Sweet Caroline"(Neil could sung this one all night and I would have been happy) and "America". We (well I, #1NEilfan is tougher then me) cried through "You Don't Bring me Flowers" Neil sang to my soul when he whipped out "I am I said". By the way Neil quick question who honestly needs a 15 piece band? There is a lot of personality on that stage up there with you! I am just afraid the Diana Ross/Tina Turner want to be back up singer of yours may steal the show! Hello Mr. Percussion, you make that look so easy! Oh wait...Neil, baby sorry I got distracted!


He encored with "Hallelujah" I walked away grateful that I had a chance to see Neil for myself and from the 6th row. Back on Trax we herded in and stood next the the DoRagman and his wife who didn't stop talking the whole time, then we got stepped on by the I have never stood on a train before girl, oh and I am pretty sure I saw my 5th grade teacher. Regardless, Banjosuey has officially seen Neil Diamond and LOVED it! Thanks #1Neilfan for being in charge of tickets! You rock!


Finally, for documentations sake, a picture of the evening: me and #1Neilfan. Proof that we LIVED on Friday!

A few small observations...

So I was walking downtown Friday evening after the AWESOME Christmas Concert at the Conference Center! (Richard Gilmore I love you!!) and I noticed a few things. Here they are in order of observation with a little added commentary.

1. When a Man Loves a woman

I think Michael Bolton may have missed a line when singing this song. Last night I was walking behind a couple. I am really not sure what my eyes are thinking sometimes but all I could see was a big black handbag. Here is the funny thing, it was in the hands of a man. Granted that sparked my interest so I checked. Sure enough in his other hand he had a woman. Wow if that's not love what is? Word to the men, beware no matter how nice you are being, the person walking behind you is laughing their head off. Even though I was laughing it was a very loving gesture. Good work sir on making your wife happy last night!

2. Marque

I love the Melta Center...or what every eco friendly thing that arena is called these days. So they have a flashing marque that tells people of the upcoming events. At the end of its announcements it flashes two screens. The first says "We hope you had a great evening" Sue says back, "Why thank you for caring, what a thoughtful building you are!" Then the second thing the screen says is "Drive home Safely!!" Sue responds with "but I am not driving!" Then Sue thinks..."Wait a second he isn't even talking to me!! He is trying to distract one of those other people so that they will hit me or some other (possibly deserving, possible not) pedestrian." So I start doing the maniac dance and screaming, "don't pay attention to the marque! It is trying to distract you from being a good driver". Then I realize that it is a good thing this whole conversation is happening in my head because people would surely think me crazy and possibly a little distracting! Lesson learned don't read flashing marquees while driving even if the message is directed at you.

3. Beeping Crosswalks

I was once told that cross walks that beep were for blind people so that they could know when to cross the street. I am no fool though. I realize they are for those oblivious idiots who are so stuck in their own worlds: on their cell phone, reading while walking (not a super safe activity when it is crowded down town), or starry eyed gazing. What ever the cause there are some oblivious people who get beeped at (compliments of the intersection) that they best start walking. So maybe I am wrong but honestly if they were made for blind people how do you know really when it is you turn to cross? Are the beeps different for the North to Souths and East to Wests? Maybe I am the ignorant fool. Hmmm...I am going to go stand on a corner until I figure it out.

4. Bigger Trees Smaller lights

When I was a kid the lights at temple square were MAGIC! There was nothing I loved more, but it is funny as I have gotten older I have realized I hate the cold more then I love the lights. But I did observe this year the the Mega Granddaddy trees in the middle of temple square didn't have any lights. It made me wonder if when a tree reaches a certain age it has a light retirement. Are all the other trees staring in jealous awe at the amazingly past and history of the granddaddy tree's lighted years hoping they can some day reach the point of light retirement. While the tree itself is crying inside for having no purpose this time of year anymore. My opinion is just because the tree got a little bigger that is no reason to discriminate against him. Give him some lights and a purpose! Even it is just a single strange that can only make it a fourth of the way up the trunk. Bring back some magic and light into that poor trees life. (Why have I digressed to feeling pity for trees? Maybe I should discuss this with my therapist.)

So there they are my minor observations. Oh did I mention the Christmas concert was PHENOMENAL??? Richard Gilmore I really do love you! You tale was EPIC! Don't worry all of you who missed it they are making a PBS special out of it!

Party planner 2008

I really like giving myself titles. This year my title shall officially be the party planner of 2008. Now I can't take all the credit there have been a lot of helpers and we have done a GREAT job at throwing uniquely themed parties. I am going to do my best to recount them. Oh and for an added bonus I will be attaching pictures!! Oh and if you read this and know of one I have missed let me know!! Oh and...just kidding no more Oh ands!!

White Winter Party- What better place to have a white party then in Logan where there is always snow! We ate all white food consisting of White chili, marshmallows, White Oreo truffles, etc. We watched white Christmas and played games well past the Sue 10pm melt down. In fact we went to bed about then, wait not until 2ish when I was well into my melt down. In the morning we had a fantastic FULL COOLER breakfast thanks to #1UTE! She made sure we were well fed!

Twilight Party X2- Now you may be wondering is it possible that these people really had 2 twilight parties? Answer is YES! The first one was for the 4th book release! Breaking dawn night was quite a success. The Barnes and Noble was packed and afterwards we went back to my house for some speculation and treats! Poor brother of mine was the only boy who stuck out B and N with the girls! My sis made a special Breaking Dawn Cake in honor of the event. The picture below shows the people who made it the whole night.

As for party number 2 it was the Twilight Queens birthday and how better to celebrate then with a Twilight party!! All of the food was black, red, and white! It was impressive to see what people brought. My personal favorite was the tomato mozzarella and balsamic vinegar dish. What Twilight party would be complete without a black, white and red cake. We provided fangs for everyone (even though they are not typical in the books). We had people make Vampire capes and do Bag Skits. It was very entertaining. No blog would be complete with out a picture of the hostess.

Mystery Night- Now, up front confession I didn't plan this party, but I was included. We played a few varieties of clue including a debut of clue DVD!! I highly recommend that game. For food we had sloppy joes (not sure what the mystery is other then it is a mystery to me what is in sloppy joes!), surprise cookies (I made these! Yum!), and mystery airheads! I must admit too I am not sure what the movie we watched was called.

Graduation Party- The best fun of this was making the participants wear crowns. We celebrated 3 graduations and 1 welcome home! Please note in the picture, geocasher is wearing his do rag like a bonnet.

Hat Party- This one just kind of happened because of my passion for hats. Don't worry I have a single picture of myself in each of these hats!! In Fact it is sad to admit but I am pretty sure the hat party was just a Sue party. At least I shared long enough to take a picture. Yes there is a pot on one persons head.

08-08-08- What a great day to be born!! We had 8 food dips and activities based in triples, 8's, or multiples of 8. It was great. Since it was Devo's birthday evening we let him pick the movie, so we watched Fletch in the homemade out door theater!!

Gilmore Night- This could also be known as the triple birthday. We made newspaper hats (the best was when one caught on fire in a citronella candle!). We also built snowmen with treats! Marshmallows being the main bodies. We watched some Gilmore on our outdoor screen while we ate some quality Emily Gilmore pastries. I am very proud of myself and my sis for making them!! Petit Fours are now our specialty! The picture shows our newspaper hats, and my party planning crown.

Same Day, Same Year, and Same Profession Party- This was also a dual birthday party. The geocasher and bomb have the EXACT same birth and the same profession. The real joy of this party was that we kept it a secret and planted lots of false trails up to the actual event. We had pictionary with only number pictures and watch 13 going on 30. We ate pie for obvious reasons!

The picture below show the winners of the guess how many games (yes we really counted all of those containers. The nerds were the worst.)

Is it sad that all of our parties revolve around food???

I only I had paid better attention...

You know it is funny this blog should come right after my white board blog. You will see why momentarily. A few quick notes going into this...1. It is okay to laugh at me, I laugh at me all the time and laughing is always more fun when it includes others. 2. If you set some mood music in the back ground while reading this it will be almost like you were there. Think car radio- I would suggest something classic rock or boy band examples- Hot Blooded by Foreigner or Jack and Diane by John Mellencamp, I Want it That Way by the Backside I mean Backstreet boys (a little Gilmore humor for you there) or Bye Bye Bye by Nsync. In fact that last one might be the most fitting for the story. Regardless turn on your radio and hold on tight.

So I walk out the door, clean the leaves off my car, find a good tune, buckle up, and pull out of the drive way. Pretty normal routine going here. I knew I had needed to stop at the gas station for a fill up because well I had run my car down to nothing the night before and the RWAE(refill without any effort) flying grease monkeys forget to stop by my house (I will talk to them later about that!) So I pull out of my neighborhood a different way then normal knowing I had to add to my morning drive to work routine. So I turn out and I pullup to the left turn arrow, second car in line, SCORE! I glance to my left into the first gas station (the one not good enough for me) and I notice there a TONS of cars there. Then these two cars pull in at the exact same time and head to the same place, and they proceed to dance! It was hilarious they would reverse at the same time then pull forward at the same time. I was enjoying the show. Finally Johny Oldsmobile decided to find a new path to his destination and the show was over. Luckily I looked up in just enough time to see my turn arrow turn red again. Well now I just feel foolish and all the people around me are laughing and pointing and I start screaming at them to invest in a white board and then they think I am really crazy so they laugh harder. So I pull up (First car in line now Super SCORE no way to miss the light in the first car spot! I just learned it is possible to miss as the second car in line) and vow I will pay close attention. I will not miss the next light.

So I wait and I wait and sing and wait until finally I watch as the pedestrian timer starts counting. I realize that all the bozos blocking the intersection are going to spoil my second green arrow for the day! (At least it wasn't my fault this time.) So my light turns green and I am blocked in. I thought frantically of things I could do to get around them but was coming up with nothing finally I tried something, "GO GO GADGET LEGS" I yell and nothing happens. I swear it works for everyone in the movies, maybe I am not nerdy enough. Finally the last car clears and I go to gun it only to remember that the straggler left turners from the previous light had also been held back by the rude driver barricade. So I wait patiently and then gun it and start making squealing noises (with my mouth not my car) just so I don't feel so stupid and half way through my light turns yellow. WHEW! I made it, no one else did but I did! What a morning, now what was I doing? Oh yes pumping gas. Darn those imaginary RWAE flying grease monkeys for not being real! Moral of the story- When you pay attention to things you miss out on FUNNIER things. Enjoy the funny things in life people.

If I only had a white board...

I need to get into a better blog writing rhythm, but special from this weekend and for your blog reading pleasures I present If I only had a white board.

The white board theory was actually developed a while ago. It has improved over the years though. You see I would very much so like to use a white board in the car while driving. Let me present some scenarios

1. Have you ever been getting on the freeway and glanced at the exit across the way and it is backed up to the the next week. I look at all of the cars sitting there just waiting and I think it is time to pull out my white board and as I cruise pass, not in traffic my white board message reads- RECONSIDER YOUR DECISION!

2. Do you ever see people dancing or singing overly expressively in the car? These people are my bosom buddies. I try and restrict my dancing and belting for the night time hours when no one can see my, but there are times when something comes on and I just loose control. I come to about the second verse but usually not until after my "favorite part" that I realize that I probably shouldn't be spazzing out at a stop light. My message to these people myself included is- DO THAT IN FRONT OF A MIRROR BEFORE YOU DO IT IN YOUR CAR!

3. My personal favorite is two lane highways. First you must know I am an avid cruise control user. My speed is fairly consistent I like to set my speed and just cruise. So either cruise control is very unreliable or else there are some people who really like going fast AND slow while on long drives. So there is generally one car per long drive that becomes my nemesis. I (using my cruise control) will pass some car, any car, today a silver Hundi and will continue on my way. The problem occurs when that person then passes me 5 minutes later. So I accept it and let them on their way, but I haven't changed my speed and then after a few minutes I have caught back up to them therefore creating the need to pass them again. We go about this process generally throughout the whole trip. White board message to the fast and slowers- CRUISE CONTROL FOLKS!

Too bad driver distractions are greatly frowned upon in the state of Utah! I would probably buy a white board tomorrow if I could get away with it! Oh wait and I probably shouldn't be writing on a white board while driving.

I have one more message for all you people who have read this blog. White board message to you- GO DO SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE! oh and THANKS FOR READING MY SOAP BOX!

Third to the last row makes everything funnier

Tonight's experiences were the pivitol ones that led to this blog. Therefore I figured this would be the perfect place to begin my blogging journey.

It all started with 2 concert tickets which took Allyson (the name has not been changed because there is no innocense to protect) and myself to downtown Salt Lake City. Our eventful evening started at the CPK (if you don't know that acronym you don't eat good food as often as you should!) After a fabulous meal we realized we had 10 minutes until show time. There had been some discussion about hopping onto the public trax system to get us to Abravanal Hall, but decided we could walk faster. I tell you what we booked it and do you know what we learned? The train was faster. Oh well. We made it in time and got to our seats. We were located in the third tier. The air is really thinner up there, oh and heat really does rise!) After our speed walking adventure we were both sweating like pigs and breathing like wild boars.

The concert was for a charity (oops didn't really know that officially going into it) so there were some introductions of the rich people who were sponsoring the event (I think that's who they were, I may have tuned this part out because I was working on inhaling and exhaling at a normal rate still.) At last the time came and they announce the performer of the evening. The music starts and the random nut case in the front row starts dancing (Yes the ONE, remember we are in a concert hall not a sports arena with a fold out stage) (Question- how is it that crazy people always have front row seats??). So I laugh at that pathetic woman (with minimal jealousy at her show of overwhelming confindence in her dancing skills) until the singer walks out (the name is this time left out to protect the fashion flaw, I am sure it wasn't her fault!) and I don't know what happened to me but I was distracted from that point on. She was wearing a mini dress with long sleeves and lots of leg. The real distraction though was the at the bottom of the leg in the form of an ankle boot. Why were these shoes ever made? After debating why a person would wear those shoes with that dress we realized that either A. Our far away seats aren't painting a very clear picture or B. The ankle boots are the only support system she had to work with because, by gollie, those tooth pick legs are not helping with anything!

Next point of humor occured when we realized that the poor guy running the spot light was not use to performers that move freely about the stage. Don't worry though we cheered him on (seeing how he was basically right above our heads) heck had his hands not been busy we would have high fived him for his efforts. I did get to thinking though what an odd sensation it would be if you felt like someone was following you come to find out it was just a spot light that is running a second behind. Nice try spot light guy! Better luck next time.

Problem 3. Abravenal Hall is one of the best acoustical buildings in the state of Utah, so how is it that I couldn't understand one work of what was said??? I am pretty sure all the running and sliding though I must admit it was pretty impressive, just does not help ANYONE with diction and enunciation. At least she was in tune. The worst communication error came in the form of the term Disfunctional Family. Now there are not many things that phrase could be turned into, but there is at least one that is far to crazy to list here. I am sure Allyson would love to enlighten anyone that asks (after she blushes). (By the way Al the lyric is dirtier then I realized when I first posted it here!)

Now I know what you are thinking...this entry has got to be coming to an end, but in fact not quite yet.

As I mentioned above this was a charity event so as we left the venue there were volunteers holding baskets giving you puppy dog eyes and a pleading smile in anticipation of the contents of your wallet dumping itself into the basket. Well I had no money, because who carries money around anymore? All I have in my wallet is Mil Calones (Costa Rican money worth maybe 2 dollars) and I realize the well rehersed money pleas are going to be wasted on me. I decided though that if I were confronted I would put on my own puppy dog eyes and use my sweet inocent voice and say "I didn't know" "I wish I would have know" "I could have saved the children" "Do you accept Costa Rican money?"

So we stroll (a bit more causally this time) back to the car parked at the Gateway and after a nice drive through the parking stucture we finally find the exit. There is a parking attendant directing trafic by our exit and I tell you what HE WAS INTENSE. I am pretty sure he had a 3 centimeter and 3 second rule. Basically if you didn't get as close as he thought you should be (to the car in front of you) or if you didn't gun it and slam on your brakes in the stop and go traffic he would start waving his glorified glow stick and be screaming move along, move up, keep moving. I was about to ask him if different rules applied for the gas conscience people who didn't like the gun it/slam it option but I was afaid the glow stick would double as a weapon so we did as we were told and stopped just short of ramming the car in front of us 3 times.

Well after that kind of an exciting night we grabbed some diet cokes (we figured we earned them for all of our mockery of the night) and we headed home. I am pretty sure my life will never be the same.

If I Only Had a Blog...

There comes a time in life when you realize you have said something so many times it might as well be. Let me explain-I LOVE reading blogs, but I swore I would never be a blogger. What changed my mind, you may ask, and I will tell. You see there are moments in life when I take a step back and look at my world (the world of Sue) and think...Oh Man! If I only had a blog the world could laugh with me, cry with me, drive with me, vacation with me, etc. (you get the point) So I started keeping track of all of the times I have thought, If I only had a blog. Then it hit me tonight, I have said the phrase so many times now (including tonight) that it is time to let everyone else enjoy this. So world here it is! Sue officially has a blog and you best believe there will be amazing things shared here so buckle up and enjoy the ride!