Author: Faith

Serendipitous Saturday (1 of 2)

On Saturday N and I took the kids and drove up into Provo Canyon to see the fall foliage.  The trees up in the mountains change color several weeks before those on the valley floor and usually by the time I think about going up into the canyon the leaves there have already fallen.

But not this year! We drove up to the Squaw Peak overlook and the views were amazing.

At night Squaw Peak is popular with college kids looking for a spot to park and make-out.  N and I never made it up there when we were dating–the laundromat parking lot next to my apartment complex was much more convenient 😉 –but I bet the views of the valley at night are awesome too. 

State Fair

N and I took the kids to the Utah State Fair on Saturday.  We’ve gone for the last three years and are well on our way to to establishing a family tradition.  It’s easy to support a family tradition that is all about cotton candy and rides and cute baby animals and the best Mexican food in the state.

It’s become tradition that before we go to the fair we have lunch at Red Iguana 2 which is just a few blocks from the fair grounds.  It’s the same food as at the original Red Iguana just in a more spacious (and kid-friendly) atmosphere.  Seriously, if you want good Mexican food, try their moles.  Widely-known to be awesome.

Thus fortified by deliciousness we looked at the folk art, photography, and fine art exhibits and then walked through the livestock barns and pet the animals.  And then E went on a few rides, which he loved.

We took Mimi on her first carnival ride–the Wiggle Worm–and at first she loved it but the operator let us ride for an especially long time and after a few minutes she started to get nervous.  I think she’ll be more into rides next year.  After the rides we got a few treats (cotton candy for the kids, a funnel cake for N and I) and then headed home.

Visiting the fair is one of my favorite family traditions.  How about you?  Have you gone to a fair lately?  The Utah State Fair runs through September 16th so if you’re local, there’s still time to go.

Bowling Together

Bowling was sort of my family’s “thing” when we were growing up. Ever since we were young my brother Steven has participated in a Special Olympics bowling league which my dad helped coach.  Bowling is probably Steven’s favorite thing to do and the rest of the family enjoys it too.

My parents and brother Steven were in town this week visiting my sister Jan and her family so when we were trying to think of something fun to do together bowling was the easy answer. 

N and I have taken the kids bowling a few times lately so E was pumped to go.  E uses the ramp and bumpers and has gotten pretty good at aiming the ball.  At one point E was beating me but I buckled down and managed to squeak by with a one-point lead..

I still got smoked by Steven, but that’s nothing new.  🙂

Movies We’ve Watched Lately

In the evening after the kids go to bed N and I often watch a movie together (unless it’s Wednesday and then I make N sit through 2 hours of So You Think You Can Dance with me, heh).

We have a Netflix subscription and two separate queues so we take turns watching our movie picks which can kind of be all over the place.  This is what we’ve watched recently.

Working Girl (Mine) – I had never seen this 80s work place comedy starring Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, and Sigourney Weaver.  I enjoyed the period costumes and sets (those huge computers!) and the story was funny.  It was also fun to see the much-younger versions of a lot of well-known actors (Alec Baldwin, Joan Cusack, Oliver Platt, Kevin Spacey, David Duchovny, etc…) 

A Separation (N’s) – A beautiful, stunning film about the separation of an upper-class Iranian couple.  Brilliant script, great performances.  Can’t recommend it enough.  

The Man From Nowhere (Mine) – I’ve seen Won Bin, the star of this gritty Korean revenge thriller, in a few other movies (Tae Guk Gi, Mother) but this performance is my favorite–so good (and hot).  Very violent and not for the sensitive. 

Point Blank (N’s) – Classic crime thriller with Lee Marvin being a total badass.

Barking Dogs Never Bite (Mine) A movie by Bong Joon-ho who is probably my favorite Korean director.  He made Memories of Murder, Mother, and The Host.  Barking Dogs Never Bite is a social satire and absurdly funny at times.  (Mindy/Ken–it features a running kick like his other movies, too!)

Melancholia (N’s) – Lyrical and occasionally baffling/frustrating.  Reminded me somewhat of The Tree of Life which is one of my favorite movies of the last few years. 

The Help (Mine) – Great performances but I find the white-person-solves-black-people’s-problems story line somewhat problematic.  I love Emma Stone in everything, though.

So that’s what we’ve been watching lately.  How about you?  Seen anything you’ve liked?

Dinner at Mahider

Ethiopean food

On Saturday night N and I went out for Ethiopian food. We’ve it a few times before but have been wanting to try Mahider which we’ve heard good things about.

Mahider is located in a strip mall adjoining an African market.  It has that cozy, family-run atmosphere that I like in ethnic restaurants.  The staff was friendly and helpful.

We ordered the meat and veggie combo for two.  It was so much food!  The different dishes are served on a big pancake called injera.  Injera is pretty unique from other style of pancakes/crepes that I’ve had; it’s made from a grain called teff and is spongy and tastes very tangy like a strong soughdough.

With Ethiopian food you use your hands to eat, tearing off small pieces of injera and using them to scoop up the different dishes.  It’s fun to try each dish on its own or different combos.  The side dishes ran the gamut from greens and seasoned vegetables to stewed lentils and some deliciously seasoned chicken.  I liked some things better than others but everything was good.

It was a fun dinner.  N and I both like trying new foods and it was definitely different from the restaurants we tend to go to around here.

Mahider is located at 1465 S State St in Salt Lake City.

Epic Girls’ Night Out

For me traveling with two kids is more than twice as difficult than traveling with one.  When we went up to WA it seemed like someone was either hungry or tired every other hour (usually Mimi) or playing too rough and running around like crazy (E). 

So while there were days on our trip that I crawled thankfully into bed at 9:30 pm, I did go out for a fun night while my mom watched the kids (thanks again, Mom!)  It was one of the highlights of my trip.

It was an incredible night.  I started the evening by going to a Korean spa.  I love Korean spas and every time I’m in WA I try and make it a priority to go.

I’ve written about the Korean spa experience here, but basically it’s a women-only spa where you relax by soaking in pools of different temperatures.  As soon as you enter you take a shower to make sure you’re all clean and then you soak in these deep hot tubs.  Everyone’s naked except for little shower caps.

After you’ve soaked for a hour or so, you can pay extra and get a body scrub where you lie on a massage table and a middle-aged Korean lady scrubs you all over with abrasive mitts.  The dead skin just pills off and is sloshed down the drain.  It’s very relaxing and afterward my skin is incredibly soft.  I love getting a scrub!

When I told my friends in Utah how eager I was to go to the spa and I explained about the body scrubs, I got some blank looks.  Some of my friends said they couldn’t imagine being naked in front of others like that. I’ll admit that I still get a little nervous every time I first walk into the spa–there’s that “Aagh! I’m naked!” moment–but I get over it in a millisecond.  It’s a very relaxed and supportive atmosphere–I feel less body-conscious there than I would at a beach. 

Away, enough about semi-public nudity.  After I left the spa with my silky-smooth skin I met my friend Carol for dinner at an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ place.  I first met Carol on the study abroad trip that I went on in college (which was where N and I got to be good friends too) and I love catching up in person with her.  (Here’s a picture of all of us on our study abroad trip.) 

After a delicious dinner, Carol generously treated me to a Chinese foot massage which was incredible!  They massaged our feet, but also our shoulders, backs, legs, and arms.  When it was over I felt like a limp noodle: a limp noodle with a full tummy and super smooth skin. I wish we had foot massage places like that here in Utah! 

Going to the spa, catching up with a good friend over Korean BBQ, and getting a foot massage–a month later that evening still shimmers in my mind like a dream. 

SPOILER: The Odd Life of Timothy Green

***If you’re planning on seeing the movie The Odd Life of Timothy Green and don’t want the ending to be spoiled, don’t watch this video!***

I thought this video was hilarious but watching it reminded me of how I cried when I watched Old Yeller or read Where the Red Fern Grows. I sobbed and sobbed and felt my heart break in a way I can still remember.

What was the first movie/book/show that broke your heart as a child?  

On Saturday night we went and saw the musical “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” at the outdoor theatre at Sundance.  It was a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing; a work friend of N’s had some extra tickets a vendor had given him so the play and the pre-play barbecue were both free which of course made the evening that much better 🙂

We had never seen a play at Sundance so it was a real treat.  Before the show started the announcer told a funny story about how thirty years ago they had wanted perform “Seven Brides” and had tried to buy the play rights, but the company who owned them refused to sell them.  Robert Redford thought it might help if he called them up himself and when he got shot down too he got mad and suggested that the theatre put the play on anyway and just call it “Five Brides for Five Brothers”–and they did! 

Speaking of Robert Redford, it was his birthday so the announcer had the audience sing “Happy Birthday” to him and put the video online so Redford could see it.  Bonus points if you can stop N and me! (We’re in the 4th row in the center.  N’s wearing a red shirt with a black jacket over it.)
  
I’ve seen the movie version of “Seven Brides” but this was the first time I had seen it live.  I was really impressed with the cast.  Both the girls and the guys did a great job of acting, singing, and dancing.  But on top of all that the guys did  some fancy tumbling runs across the stage which were pretty impressive.

The only problem with the production was that the microphone of the female lead (Millie) kept cutting out and then finally broke.  Poor Millie popped off stage for a second and came back with a  handheld microphone which she used through the new few songs (including a dance number) until they could hold intermission and fix her headset mic.  The actress who played Millie showed great poise was totally unfazed and did a fantastic job.  It was awesome to watch.

After the show an announcer came on and told the audience that if we didn’t want to wait in line for the shuttle to take us back to the parking lot that we could hike up and then back down the mountain behind us to our cars, but she warned that it was a “steep and strenuous” hike.  We didn’t want to wait so we followed the crowd up the mountain.  The announcer had not exaggerated!  It felt surreal to be plodding up a mountain in the dark in such a large crowd. If you see a play there, remember to wear comfy shoes!