my favorite place on earth

in exactly three weeks I will be in Jackson Hole with my family and my cousins families.

hands down Jackson Hole, specifically Jackson Lake is my favorite place to vacation.

not only because its absolutely gorgeous, but the love for it is deeply rooted in my family.

we have been going there since 1968, when my mom, her sister Jan and their little brother John were just wee children. my grandparents have always instilled the importance of family vacations, traditions and home evenings.

the YHM are the initials of the three families names

and we give it some TLC each year. the tree is found on our

beloved "Gilligans". a tiny island out in the middle of the lake

we venture to each summer.

all three fams (with some absent) at Gilligans

the Four Winns on the left has been replaced by a lovey new red and white Master Craft.

the Malibu in center, with the original boaton the right, The Teton Tradition. we keep 'er aroundfor nostalgic purposes. 

plus its my favorite to ski behind cause it produces hardly any wake

my dad commodores the Teton Tradition these days

 like I said, it deep rooted. this is a picture of my mom with my oldest sister Mandy up

at Jackson.

we stay at beach front condos at Signal Mountain Lodge.

the only place to stay on the water at Jackson Lake.

we are regulars, and book each summer a year in advance,

the week after we leave each time.

the view from the condo is unreal

I love the afternoon thunderstorms that roll in every afternoon

once the water starts getting choppy

I love early morning and late night ski runs on perfect glass

I love the hour long boat ride to Leeks Restaurant for the best

pizza and ice cream known to man

I love moments like this

and this

and especially this.

I love the sunsets on the glassy water at night

and I love being there with my family

needless to say, being away from them all summer in 

inhumane heat and unnecessary ugliness has made me more

excited then ever to go. 

three more weeks. three more weeks.

cherry on top:

I get to see miss shoko

the gorgeous one on the far left...

people are funny. and sometimes inappropriate

its sad that these really brightened my day.

sunday readings...

I am reading a great book.

I love it

I like to underline phrases and paragraphs I particularly enjoy

and add my own thoughts to the side. sometimes I end up underlying a whole page.

today while reading I came across a chapter I really liked 

about the dangers of love.

 yup, the dangers.

 cause lets be honest, it is dangerous.

the chapter is called, 

 A Victim of Love

 let me share some gems of knowledge I found:

"I scheduled a meeting with the father and told him the biggest challenge of his life was just ahead. You've got to love Vic in a way that allows him to be himself, I said"

Ok, background. The author is a renowned Psychiatrist who works primarily with people

who have lost all happiness in their lives.

People like celebrities, company CEO's and victims of severe tragedies.

Vic, as said above is the "fathers" son who became paralyzed after his dad encouraged him to take

up his own love for riding motorcycles. Dan Baker, the psychiatrist and author has been meeting

with him, helping him cope with the guilt he felt afterward. ok, back to the book...

"As I look back, I can see that it was appreciation for Vic that I was asking from him. Love-and I mean true love, real love-can cripple us. It can make us miserable, and even dangerous to those we love. It can make us jealous, clingy, overprotective, guilt-ridden, and even vengeful. But appreciation is pure. Its the kind of love that can let us step away, and even watch a loved one suffer, when suffering is what they need."

"I told him, as gently as I could, that he was as paralyzed emotionally as his son was physically, and that surrendering his own life and giving up on his own choices wasn't helping anybody. It was just making Vic into an invalid. And him, too. I reminded him that self-sacrifice is usually just selfishness disguised as generosity. There's almost always a hidden agenda in it somewhere (his was getting rid of his guilt)"

interesting stuff. although the thought of real love as solely hazardous is false, I do agree

with what he is saying here. love/lust/infatuation I think causes all those things he mentioned.

but I think appreciation should be the core source of real love. you appreciate

everything about that person, the good and the bad. appreciation should be the foundation.

happy sabbath.

 

thoughts

so here we are, July 10th. I have approximately been here two months and the summer is a little more then half over.

here are some things I appreciate about being here:
new place to live
new people to meet
learning a lot about sales
learning a lot about human interaction
discovering new places to eat
exploring new cities
being the religious minority
being kind of on my own
living with my best friend/cousin Kyle
I have a lot of time for: reading, exercising and FB stalking, thinking about my future
I realize more and more how much I love my family
I have grown spiritually
I have grown physically
I enjoy talking to random strangers
I live with some fun chaps
Scottsdale
friends in Mesa
Fashion Square
Yogurtland
I get to help people
things have been put in perspective for me...

here are some things I dont appreciate:
being cursed at daily
being told I am a liar
having people lie to me and act like children
having things thrown/spit at me
having guns pulled on me
having the police called on me
working 8 hours a day for free sometimes
walking around outside for 6 hours when its 114 degrees
wearing the same thing every. single. day.
being away from my family
not being able to go boating
not being able to make my own schedule
not being able to go out on friday nights cause we have to work at 8am on saturdays
missing family vacations
being away from friends I love
no spontaneity or variety
AZ not having Cafe Rio
missing the 4th of July in Centerville AGAIN!
missing Utah summers, cause they are gorgeous
having everything down here look the same: tan, brown, rocks, cookie cutter houses.
again, being away from my family...

"All these things shall give thee experience, and be for thy good..."

D&C 122

 

this is the only reason to ever have a mini van

new tunes in my life

Miike Snow

Swedish trio makin sweet, sweet music.

my bad

I thought everyone was talking about seeing a real eclipse last night. I got excited. my bad...

more food

my blog is basically turning into

a column on

cuisine, cars, design

and 

stuff I want to buy.

todays review: Kona Grill

 Kona was 

referred to us by some friends

who live in Mesa.

Not knowing at all what to expect

Kyle and I gave it a try while

meeting up with some friends doing

their internships down here in 

Scottsdale.

my meal: Macadamia Nut Chicken

 its was served with white cheddar mashed potatoes and

wok-tossed vegetables, served with a shoyu-cream sauce

and a pineapple-papaya marmalade.

the sauce: amazing

the marmalade: amazing

(I asked for more of both)

we now have dined at Kona three times.

the menu is pretty small but 

they also have a full sushi bar that

adds a lot of variety.

heres some other favorites I have had:

Avocado Egg rolls

The Tuna Tower 

from the sushi bar

Oriental Chicken Salad

chicken: amazing

cabbage: amazing

the atmosphere is great there as well.

they have an outdoor bar and dining area

with sushi happy hour deals

the inside: a modern East meets West

also I love their advertising. 

clever and catchy.

theres definately a youthful vibe at Kona

hip music, gorgeous hostess', and trendy servers
upscale, but not ridiculous price
($26 for dinner and dessert)

the chefs, great as well.

meet Zach and Takeshi 

it really is East meets West with these too.

individually they bring 

expertise from two backgrounds

and together have weaved a menu that blends both

deliciously. 

not only are they in the kitchen tossin up woks

but they are always out in the restaurant mingling 

with the patrons. I love that. alot. 

 

I'm a fan for sure.

 

fact or fiction?

I have 

yet to meet someone 

who owns a

PT Cruiser that is a 

pleasant person.

fact or fiction?

fact.

there is a direct correlation with

this car and people's 

unhappiness.

 "Woody" here was found on someones blog.

the caption you ask?

"never drive faster then your angel can fly"

wise words for us all to live by.

will have

http://www.skullcandy.com/shop/ti-glen-plaid.html