Welcome Back

I had the pleasure of going home this past week to see my family for Thanksgiving. I haven't seen them since September, so it was great to get some face-to-face time. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the Nielson family (neighbors). After the big meal half of us saw Harry Potter 7 and the other half saw Megamind. When we got home we played Thanksgiving Bingo and ate SIX pies! They were so good ... coconut cream, banana cream, raspberry cheesecake, razzleberry, pumpkin tarts, and some apple crumble thingy. It was such a great day. And with the rest of our time we SHOPPED. I'm quite sure we visited every TJ Maxx, Ross, and Nordstrom Rack in Salt Lake and Utah County. Now I'm back in Virginia and I'm poor. Booooo.

I love this picture. The following pictures are from a delicious restaurant in American Fork called La Carreta. It's a Peruvian restaurant that is sooooo authentic and good. After dinner we listened to a latina sing karaoke, which was a blast because it reminded me of the ward parties they have in Chile. As we left I asked how often they did karaoke ... and they said the only reason why they were doing it was because the restaurant was closing. It was their last night open. So sad.

RIP La Carreta.

My beautiful mother and I. Notice the llama in the back of the picture.

So cute.

The salsa was so good that Morgan was slurping it out of the dish. True story.

Morgan ... having the ceviche experience :) Peruvian style. Mmmmm.

Riles ... having his first latin karaoke experience.

This was a warmup ... and I loved each of our faces, so I put it in.

The men.

The family pic ... including Bert from Mary Poppins in the back row.

My Favorite Things Part II

That's right, I'm also a "Hall-raiser" like Phil Dunphy from Modern Family :) For those who don't know, Hall and Oates is a very underappreciated group from the 70's and 80's that made some amazing songs. Just look them up. "Your Kiss is on My List" and "Private Eyes" are two of my personal favorites. When the Davis' wanted to take me out for my birthday a little while ago, I decided that my new favorite restaurant was Ruby Tuesday. I have never had a bad experience there. The salad bar will change your life. The steaks are fantastic. And everything just tastes fresh. When I went down to Santiago in September, I noticed something odd in the airport ... they had a RUBY TUESDAY!?! Completely random, but also not ... because why wouldn't they have my favorite restaurant in one of my favorite countries? Because it is exactly what they say it is ... Simple Fresh American Dining.

Snowboarding is how I get in touch with nature. Snowboarding is my own version of camping. The picture to the left is not of me, but you get the idea. I am definitely a Utah girl, because I count down to the opening day at Brighton. The closest resort out here in VA is like an hour away and everyone says that the snow is terrible. I will have to give it a try anyways. There is nothing like carving down a powdered mountain on a snowboard. I like to put in my ear-buds and ride down the mountain to my snowboarding mix, which features artists such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack Johnson, MJ, and Jamiroquai. I have been boarding for the past 10 years, and the more I do it, the more therapeutic it is for me. Now, please understand that I'm not one to do flips and 360s ... I keep it simple and safe. Plus, I'd much rather fly down the hill than wait to go off a rail. Just personal preference.

There is nothing quite like NYC at Christmastime. The shot to your right is from 30 Rockefeller Center in NYC. My good friend Amanda and I scored some decently priced tickets last year, and we went the week before Christmas. We stayed with a friend of hers who lives and works in Manhattan. This city is enchanting. You could live here for a year, and still not do everything. But on this specific trip, we went to the temple, shopped along 5th Ave and 34th Street, saw Wicked, went to the Met, and ate at some of the coolest places ever. Amanda's friend Brooke was able to give us an insiders view to NYC ... otherwise we would have never discovered a quaint little Thai place in Soho called called "Peep". I believe I was a New Yorker in another life.

I was introduced to this soda by my cousin Alyssa (whether or not she wants to take credit for it, I'm not sure) ... and it's delicious. I can't stop. Haha. My mother thinks I am addicted. Well, everyone knows that I enjoy soda in general, but this one is my favorite. Also, Coke Zero is just better than Diet Coke. That's right, you heard me Auntie. It just tastes better. And it doesn't matter what you put with it ... lemon, lime, vanilla or cherry ... it's delish. Luckily, here at the park we can only sell Coke products ... it's part our new contract, which I had nothing to do with (trust me, if I did have something to do with it, I would take credit for it ;).

Ken Griffey Jr. is my favorite athlete of all time. He recently retired from baseball after playing for 21 years. He debuted for the Seattle Mariners in 1989 ... which means he played in his first major league game when he was 19 years-old! This prompted fans and reporters to nickname Griffey "The Kid". As a 19-year-old, his first time up to the plate in Seattle he hit a double. His second time at bat he hit a home run. AT HIS SECOND AT BAT!!! He has been a part of my childhood. I can remember going to the Kingdome in Seattle to watch him in awe. Morgan and I collected baseball cards, posters and figurines of Junior since we were little. And he had a SuperNintendo game called Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball that we still play to this day. Griffey retired this year and remains 5th on the all-time home run list with 630 during his career. Plus, he just seems like a really great guy. He might be one of the last big home-run hitters in baseball that HASN'T been in trouble for steroids. He's been married to his wife for 18 years and they have three children together. I just wish there were more athletes like Griffey that kids could look up to.

Abby's Favorite Things

Why is Oprah the only one who gets to do this? I decided I wanted to talk about a few of my current favorite things. And you can read about my favorite things to one of my favorite songs: "Little L" by Jamiroquai. I know it's random, but I love it. And it's fun to snowboard to. Anyway, I thought I would start with one of my favorite TV dramas ... Law and Order SVU. It's a gem. It's been going for 12 seasons. You can't stop this force. The chemistry between the two main characters (Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler) is magnetic. Sometimes it's a bit hard to watch because the story lines are sad, but the actors are so good! The best Law and Order on TV.

I have never liked Andre Agassi. I was more of a Pete Sampras fan, but not really. That wasn't really my time. Almost everyone knows I would take a bullet for Roger Federer .... but I decided to read this anyway (after my cousin Mason gave me the idea). I was looking for a book, so hey, why not? I literally read half of the book on my way down to Chile. The media has always portrayed Agassi as rebellious, unrefined tennis player. This book gave me a clear look into the kind of person he really is. He starts off the book by stating that he hates tennis, and has since he was little. And then the whole book basically revolves around the fact that he was somewhat forced into this career. Even though he hated it, it helped mold him into the person he is. I was impressed and pleasantly surprised by this autobiography.

The greatest thing A&E ever did was a mini-series/movie of Pride and Prejudice. The brilliance behind this 5 1/2 hour depiction of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice are the performances by the two main actors, Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. Another reason why it's so successful is because there is enough time allowed to really develop the characters, just like the book does. I'm not a huge fan of Kiera Knightley ... and I'm even less of a fan of Matthew Macfadyen (the current Elizabeth/Darcy couple) ... So the most recent P&P just doesn't measure up. My teacher in junior high was OBSESSED with this movie. We watched it over the span of a couple weeks. I was hooked. No one can measure up to the charisma of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. And you'd be surprised to know that Morgan is also a P&P fan. Just a side note.

My current favorite color is sea green, or Mariner green for you Seattle fans ;) Many of you know that my all-time favorite color is green in general, but I go through phases where I become obsessed with different shades. Somehow, I have recently found shirts in this color ...? Weird. But it's fun. I also found a sea green scarf the other day. Me and this color were meant to be ... this way I can support my team and wear the color I want :)