Boots...

Once upon a time there was a girl. This girl had big feet. This girl really wanted some cute, comfy, affordable but well made boots. But being that she had big feet, very few places had boots that met these standards.

Cute boots. Not made for snowy conditions, super warm boots. She has those.

CUTE boots.

Stupid stupid stupid.

The End.

(Yes, I know I could order some online, but the chances that they will suit my feet are sorta kinda slim.)

((This is a true story))

And there is my rant for the night. Good night.

The Trip

I've been asked to document my trip to NM for the Balloon Fiesta. The following is a faithful retelling of this major event in my life.

 The above picture is WHY we (Alyssan and I) made a NINE hour drive down to Albuquerque.

But I shall start from the beginning.

We left at 6AM Friday. Almost on the dot. I think it's pretty fantastic we left nearly on time.

It was early. The sun wasn't even up.

We drove. The sun came up and was all kinds of in our face as we were driving. But it was pretty.

Some snow was on the ground. IN EARLY OCTOBER.

We came close to Four Quarters when Alyssan reminded me she had never been. The 40 minute detour turned into 1 1/2 hours. As you might be able to see, it was muddy. Because it was rainy and COLD. 

In EARLY October.

But it was neat to go to the monument. Been a while since I last went. Lots of cool vendors. Bought a Christmas present for my sister there.

I think I am trying to pose. I need to work on that. But I am standing on 4 states at the same time! How neat is that? That's pretty neat!

(The turned up jeans aren't a fashion statement...it was truly VERY MUDDY...the parking lot was a mess of mud...)

Ran into an old friend at Four Corners. That was cool.

Stopped in Bloomfield to see Kaylee (my old roommate!!). That was AWESOME.

Made it to Albuquerque at about 4:30, 5:00ish. It was rainy and cold, so no balloon glow that night. :(

We ate at Gardunos. Ate so much Mexican food I got sick. It was divine.

 The next morning, even with the threat of high winds, the elements came together, planets aligned...okay, Heavenly Father answered my pleading prayers and as soon as the sun came over the mountain, the balloons were off! (That's me and my friend Alyssan)

One of my favorite balloons at the park that day. Spiderpig!! :)

You aren't supposed to touch the balloons...but it doesn't count when you are wearing gloves, right? O:)

We met up with my sister, bro-in-law, and the cutest nephew ever known to exist. 

He takes after his Dad. Notice how both of them have their eyes closed?

My sister and I are obviously related. We came prepared with sunglasses!

Context:

That balloon is a cow. 

That thing in my hands is an udder. 

Everyone was taking all kinds of pictures with it. 

This was the best of them all. 

SO AWESOME.

(If you look closely, the people behind Alyssan are wearing BYU gear. 

Yes, we left UT and UT followed us)

So, with hundreds of hot air balloons taking off at once, and with thousands of bystanders, they HAVE to have some ground crew to assist with take offs and take downs. They have earned the name 'Zebras'. This is because they first started wearing stripes as their uniforms. Some have taken this dress code pretty far. She was my favorite.

Me and my favorite person in the entire world!

Posing again. Painful, I know. But the Balloon is pretty!

Pretty shot with some cool sunburst action!

So, the good times had to eventually come to an end. But Alyssan and I agreed, it was the best $12 we had spent in a long time to get in the park. Alyssan was in balloon heaven. She has a thing for balloons. :)

We went to the house, shed a layer or two, and head to Old Town. 

Sorry, no pictures. 

Walked around, got some tamales. Oh yes, they were delicious! 

I bought a prettiful ring. She bought 3 packs of playing cards. (She has a thing for them)

Then we had Dion's. It was SO good. (I have a thing for Dion's)

(If you don't know what that is, next time you drive through NM, GO THERE, eat, be happy)

Then we met up with my sister and hung out and went to the BX on base (Alyssan also has a thing for the Air Force). We bought hats.

Hung out at their pad, watched a movie, napped.

Met up with friends. Had ice cream. Did a drive by of the temple.

K. Sunday morning, there was an air show happening on the base which Ison (bil) had to be at. We decided to check it out. The Thunderbirds were there, although due to needing to drive back to UT we didn't see them. There were some big planes and helicopters and a lot of hot men.

I had really bad hair, obviously.

Went to Church with my parents. Sadly I spent very little time with them. That's what happens I guess when my only sibling has a baby...sigh...

Got to see some good friends from the ward.

Then we headed back. I was SUPER exhausted, so Alyssan took the wheel for a couple of turns.

Fantastic weekend!

My favorite part? See below. :)

Ursula...

K, so here is the performance for my last recital. Unfortunately (hehe) you can't see the costume very well. Ah well.

Enjoy!

Hmm...

Yeah, I officially suck at blogging right now. Sorry about that everyone. Wonder if I really have followers anymore. :/

Well, still here in Utah. Did not plan on being here for another winter, but hey. Whatev's.

Why AM I staying here?

Well, one, I have a contract to fulfill at one of my part-time jobs, and I'd rather not burn a bridge. I could break it if I found a better opportunity somewhere else, but since I have it ok for now I will be sticking around.

For two, I decided that moving every year sucks big time. Moving 3 times in one year is even worse. So I am sticking around longer because I need to take a break from that.

For three, I started these voice classes that are much more than I could've hoped for. I have learned SO much so quickly, learning things I have wanted to for SO long. And I find that my celloing and musicing is so much better as a side effect. So, I am seeing these classes through at least to the last 'section' (there are 5) and maybe do the belt/mix class and a performance class afterwards...each section is 2 months, I am in the middle of section 3!

For four, I feel like I should stick around a little longer. Some for personal reasons, some because of promptings. (no, not a boy...nothing like that in my life right now unfortunately).

So, there are the main reasons. Hoping this winter is a bit lighter than last years was...although we had our first snow already...hoping hoping hoping hoping.

Conference

Watched Conference at home yesterday on the laptop using the wifi...always love Saturday Conference, for whatever reason I always like it better than I do Sunday. More of the talks seem to be for me.

Sunday was good just because I got to hang out with some of my Madsen cousins! Totally last minute hangout, lots of fun. Pancakes, fruit, family and conference. Two of them came to my place afterwards for dinner, afternoon session and...

the Nightmare Before Christmas??

Yes, we watched it. Bryan picked up the songbook I recently acquired and started ~singing some of the songs...so I offered to put it on. I mean, it IS October. :D Which is the best month of the ENTIRE year.

Spiritually uplifted from conference, and now I have Danny Elfman's amazing score running through my head. It's a good day! :)

Happy Sabbath to you all!