The Line-up

As some of you know, ove the past 3 weeks, about 10 different people have approached me to ask if they could set me up. Now I already know that I am going to get some hate mail from some of you I've denied because I said I wasn't doing anymore blind dates. Well, I gave in and then the flood gates broke. Where are all of these guys coming from??? Or I mean, where are all of these match-makers coming from. Four of them set me up with the same 2 guys!

Marty—Karen (co-worker) set me up with Marty and invited us to a BBQ at her home last Saturday. He's late 30s to early 40s. No one really knows his age. He's a doctor. Seems like a good guy. He called today about another date, but I haven't called him back yet. I need to get to know him better before I say anything.

Bryce—Jeremy and Scott, two of my good buddies, set me up with this 28-year-old architectural engineer. We went out last night, and I rode a motorcycle for the first time!!! Don't worry. I held on tight. :) I see another date with him in the future.

Tyler—Emily Slater, Dave Herd, and Carrie Romney all had their hand in this, and none of them knew each other. It's a longer story, so I won't tell it now. We're going out in an hour. Blue Iguana for dinner and then paddle boats! Can't wait to meet him.

Simonson—Teresa Bowman set me up with this guy in his late 30s to early 40s. Why is that age group so mysterious? I can't remember his first name. He's been in CA going to film school. I gave in to this set up because this guy's dad actually tried to set us up when I was interviewing with the Rotary Club to go to Argentina! Hah! Go figure. Teresa works for the dad. Date TK.

Christian—Tori is setting me up with a guy she met while she was studying in Nauvoo. He's in Korea right now, but when he gets back she's working her magic.

Ice Boy—Dr. Treft is my eye doctor, and he asked if he could set me up 2 Mondays ago when I was in for my check up. Strangely enough, he tried to set me up with the guy I went out with last year who rubbed ice on his lips!!! Maybe I should give him a second try. :) I said no thanks, that we'd already gone out and things didn't work out.

Temple Boy—Grandma Lindsay overheard some ladies talking about how one of their sons was 27 years old. Grandma's ears perked up. "I having a darling granddaughter who's 27 and single. I'll bring you a picture of her next Tuesday for you to show your son!" And she did. I don't think this one is going to happen, though.

Blair's friend—Grandma Newbold met one of Blair's friends at Blair's wedding two Thursdays ago. He asked how he could be part of our family. She said that there are only a couple of ways and that is through her remaining single granddaughters! When he heard I was 27, he backed off though. Fine by me. I have enough to deal with right now. I think he was 22 or 23.

If I've left anyone else out, I appologize. And I know Cynthia and Michelle and Sarah have been chomping at the bit, so if you would like to set me up now with the guys you'd been thinking of, you may. Updates on these guys will definitely be coming.

Seeing through Wax Paper

The same day my authors came, I had LASIK eye surgery. I left work right before 1 p.m., hurried home to shower to get all traces of make-up, mousse, lotion, etc., off of my body, and dressed quickly. Mandy picked me up and we headed to the clinic, which is about 45 minutes from my house. I wasn't too nervous at that point—mainly excited to know it was really happening. I'd been planning on it for about a year, once I heard my company offers flexible spending—tax-free money for any medical expenses that you pay directly out of your paycheck over the course of a year.
They soon had me all comfy in my booties and shower cap. I took the valium they offered me, but I'm not too sure it did what it was supposed to. Once they had me lie down, I started to get more tense because they instantly dove right into the surgery. It was a little crazy to think about what was happening, but my eyes were numbed with numbing drops, so I didn't feel anything. My right eye was first, and it went really smoothly. I do admit, it was way hard to stay staring at the flashing light—my focal point. I couldn't tell where my eye was looking until the doctor would tell me to keep looking at the light! It was like being under water and not knowing which way was up and which way was down.

The left eye had minor complications. The blade wouldn't lock into place. (I found this out when I saw the video Mandy took of the surgery. She had my camera and was in a room with a TV showing my big eyeball on the screen.) The blade is made up of two pieces, sort of like a zipper is, and so they had to push a lot on my eye to get the top piece to fit into the bottom piece. I felt that, but I first heard the nurses saying stuff like, "Am I caught or are you?" That was not pleasant. It felt like forever! My lower eye lid also got in the way of the blade, so it got a little knicked but it didn't hurt. They told me I have smaller eye lids than most. They are daintly eye lids. It's always interesting to find out new things about yourself. And then it was over! And then it was like looking through wax paper.
Here I am walking down the hall to leave. The goggles were hard to see through. But who am I kidding. I really wouldn't have been able to see very well if I'd had them off! I had to keep them on the rest of the day and then sleep with them on every night until this past Monday night. Waking up the next morning was amazing! I could see perfectly. Blurriness would come and go, but other than that I could see. It took a while to get used to not looking for my glasses after I'd wash my face at night or when I'd wake up in the morning. I can't get over it that normal people see this way without thinking twice. I LOVE being able to see!!!

Dinner at MY Door

A week and a half ago (June 9th), three of my authors came to visit the Barn and me, and to have a sales meeting to talk about how we're going to promote their book, Dinner at Your Door: Tips and Recipes for Starting a Neighborhood Cooking Co-op. These ladies live in Boise, where they say dinner co-ops are springing up like dandelions. They know of about 50 co-ops in their area, so this is for real.

I was the project editor for this book, which means I was the drill sergeant for the authors, designer, and photographer, making sure everything got done as beautifully as possible and on time. From the contracting stage to getting the manuscript to hiring the photographer and the designer, to debating what the title should be to editing the manuscript to inputting the authors' corrections to seeing the book off to the printer . . . but wait. It's not over. Then editing the printer proofs in two different stages to make sure we catch any over-looked mistakes before the book is bound. It's quite the process, but then you have a beautiful book to show for it!! I imagine it's kind of like agonizing through pregnancy and labor, only to forget all of the woes when you see you're adorable baby. I highly recommend this book, and that means a lot. I am an honest person, especially when it comes to my own work! It is well written, hip, funny, full of yummy recipes and gorgeous photography, and oh-so helpful in learning the ins and outs of a dinner co-op!

May30th . . . I'm a little behind

Little Nate-o graduated from high school . . . which means I am VERY old!!! Okay, I know I'm not that old, but having my little brother who is nine years younger than me now be my age is weird. I'm actually still 17 years old inside, so Nate's older than me! Ahhh! Scary. Now Nate can be his own person. He could go rent an apartment in Salt Lake . . . or he could even leave Utah! He could sell his mini fridge and leather desk chair and Palm Pilot and everything else he's purchased since he got a job and move to, oh I don't know. I can't even picture Nate somewhere alone in the world. Weird. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

So these pictures are of Nate's graduation.