Whitewater Rafting the Snake River

This last weekend I was invited to go on a Whitewater Rafting trip last minute by my friend Ian. His friend Logan was planning it. He invited me, Becky and Allison and we all jumped at the opportunity for a fun and cheap weekend getaway to Wyoming... which was BEAUTIFUL!

We had a connection to stay in a house near the river, so that was really nice. Logan had bought food for breakfast and lunch and even got up early to cook breakfast for us. Thanks Logan! It was such a great time. The trip didn't start out exactly as planned...  We wanted to leave at 5:30 but with Allison driving down from Salt Lake and getting stuck in traffic and picking up Ian at work in Lehi and waiting for Becky to get off work and me having to pick up Andy (who I didn't know) and Andy having locked his keys in his car.... we didn't end up leaving until 7. Which got us to Wyoming at the house at 11. It was a beautiful drive up the canyon and we all had fun in the car and all became quick friends with Andy. When we got to the house everyone else had been there for hours and it was a little awkward for us since we didn't know anyone there.

We quickly got to know everyone and became friends with everyone over breakfast and on the river.

Most people don't think this about me, but I'm kind of a wimp. I am probably overly cautious and get nervous over the unknown... although I had been rafting before 10 years ago, I wasn't sure how big these rapids were. I really didn't want to fall out. That was the one thing... I DON'T want to fall out of the raft. Well.... we hit the first class 2 rapid and Allison's foot got caught under the raft and she fell out. When we tried pulling off to the side so that Allison could get back in, I was on the side next to the shore and I was trying to pull my paddle on a rock to help pull the raft to the side. MISTAKE!!! That pulled me right out of the raft. That water was a shock to the system. Took my breath away. The current was fast and I struggle getting back in the raft while holding on to my paddle. However, the guys came to my rescue and got me back in the raft. Shortly after that... I stopped paddling (since we had too many people and not enough paddles anyway) and I got in the middle and just held on and enjoyed the ride. I liked that a lot better.

After our first run down the river, (which took about 2 hours) I had to go in Ian's car to go get my car to help shuttle people back up to the top of the river. We didn't have a trailer for the raft. The plan was to deflate the raft and then blow it up again at the top of the river. When they saw that I have a bigger car, they got the idea to put the raft on top of my car and hold on to it while I drive 8 miles up to the other spot. I went with it... thank goodness those guys are strong, because I had a hard time holding on to that raft while driving. Once we got on the main road and the wind caught under the raft, it really hurt to hold on to it. However... we did it.

Then we had our lunch while we waited for everyone to get back into one place. The raft on my car ended up creating some nice shade for us to eat under and ended up keeping my car nice a cool also. So we all hung out at my car for the next hour or so.

Then it was time for our second run down the river. I liked my seat in the middle so much that I decided to take it again. This run, when we hit the biggest class 3 rapid, we lost Allison again and this time Ian went with her. Everyone was ok... Ian lost Logan's sweater that was tied around his head though.

After that rapid we pulled over and people spent time getting in the water because it was a lot hotter... and a few people did some cliff jumping. I passed on that. No thank you.

After that our second run came to a close and it was time to go back to the house and gather our things and head home. The drive home was beautiful. Got a picture of the sunset. Becky and I had a great time talking and enjoying the beautiful drive while the rest slept in the back. (most of the drive)

Such a great trip.... even though it was so short. We had a blast and had a great time making new friends... after our time on the river, we were sad that we didn't have time to hang after... now that we actually all new each other. Oh well. Maybe we will all get together again someday. Either way, I had fun and was so happy that I was invited.

Family

It's been fun to have extra family in town. Love these cute little kiddos.

Did You Think To Pray

My singing BFF moved to Salt Lake a couple of years ago. We used to sing together all of the time. We even made a CD together. Well, since he moved we no longer sing together. We rarely even see each other in fact. That is what happens when you move to a different city.

Well, Wes decided that he wanted to sing in his ward and that he missed singing with me, so he asked me if I would sing with him in his ward. I of course said yes.

We were supposed to sing the Sunday after I got back from my trip... but I ended up losing my voice and had to cancel. We rescheduled for today! His ward starts at 9 so I had to get up pretty early to get ready and drive up to Salt Lake before his church started so that we could practice.

We decided to sing a song that we had sung together before when we were in the same ward. "Did you Think to Pray".

It went great. Except for the fact that Wes had his phone in his pocket and even though it was on silent... when he got a Facebook notification while we were singing, it had major feedback in the microphone. I recorded it on my phone... you will know exactly what I am talking about when you listen to it. He quickly took the phone out of his pocket and threw it on the floor while we were singing. I'm glad it didn't through me off. ha ha. He apologized to me for it happening, but I didn't care... it was his ward that he had to explain it to over and over again. ha ha.

Anyway, Love Wes. He is a great friend and I am glad we had the chance to sing together again like old times. It's a pretty arrangement.


https://soundcloud.com/tracyjean82/did-you-think-to-pray

Road Trip to Wyoming

Picked up this guy Andy I didn't know and went with a few of my friends on a road trip to Wyoming. I wanted to take a break from the car and get a quick pictures in front of the Wyoming sign. Not sure it was worth it....

Fun Fact/ Not so Fun Fact. I guess I should have known by the looks of my car, but when we got out to take this picture, we were viciously attacked by mosquito . In less 3 minutes that we hopped out of the car and took this picture and got back in the car, I have close to 100 mosquito bites, most of which are on my legs. I was not the only one. It was gross. I am still feeling that decision to stop and take that picture.

Confessions of a Brunette on the Internet 277

I'm so thankful that it is summer. I just love the long warm and beautiful days and being outside and getting to play after work and the weekends. I love it.

I already blogged about my eventful weekend of going paddle boarding up the mountain and going to the rodeo.

My sister Jamie and her family have been in town so I have been going over to my parents house a little more. Jamie said she would be my exercise buddy, we have went running and have done some video's together. It's nice. I love having family in town and family close by. It's been fun just hanging out. Tonight we went to the food truck round up! I hadn't been since the fall. So many new trucks! It was fun. I always enjoy it.

Speaking of the food truck round up. I ate SUPER low calories today so I wouldn't feel guilty about whatever I ate there. It worked. I still didn't go over my calories for the day. I have been really good with My Fitness Pal. Keeping to my calories almost everyday. I think there was only one day I went over. Mostly because I didn't exercise that day. I am feeling good. I can tell my body is more happy with me. Now... I just need to wait for the pounds to start coming off and for me to start feeling it in my clothes.

Over the weekend I also saw the new Pixar movie "Inside Out". I hadn't seen a lot of previews for it and it was opening weekend so I hadn't heard many reviews on it either. However... it's Pixar. They rarely let me down. Except for "Brave" that one was a bit of a let down. Anyway... I LOVED it! So cute and clever and relatable too. I really liked the message at the end too. Not something I think about all the time, but very true. I totally recommend it.

My costume came for the next music video I am going to be in. It's a pretty cool costume I think. I am going to be the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Huntsman in RJ's next music video. A parody of Taylor Swifts Bad Blood. Should be cool... there will be a lot more props and different scene locations and it seems like we are going to have less characters (I could be wrong) and so maybe I will get a little more screen time, especially since I have a real character this time. And a lot of this video is about the villains. Guess we shall see. I'm excited either way.

I also got to hang out with my friend Liz this week. Always love my Liz time. It had been a while. Funny we planned to lay out by the pool. We were supposed to lay out on Wednesday but last minute she changed to Tuesday. Wednesday was a very sunny day. Tuesday the sun was hiding behind the clouds the entire time.. so we ended up just sitting in the shade next to the pool since the sun wasn't out anyway and just chatted. It was nice regardless. Hopefully it will not be so long before we get together next time.

I need to start bringing stuff home from my work office. I saw the size of my new cube. It's very small. They are being nice to us and sitting us in a cube next to the window... but it's still all pretty depressing. I hate it. I really really hate it. The move is getting closer and closer and I am not ready and I don't want it. I really need to get more serious about looking for a new job. Tyler and I were both talking about that. I'm so sad I won't be sitting close to Tyler anymore since he is my closest friend at work. Ugh.

I started watching Heroes on Netflix. Nice change from my last show. The more shoes I watch the more I recognize actors from other shows. I am recognizing A LOT from Heroes. I am in season 3... only one more season after this one and I only started this week. I like it but I can already tell you that the first season is the best one. I already feel like it isn't as good anymore. I am still enjoying it though.

I found a new roommate to move in. Allison is moving out today. I still need to find one more roommate. I hate trying to find new roommates. It's always awkward when you don't know people and trying to figure out if they will be a good fit for the house. Another girl came to look tonight. I liked her. She seems cool. I hope she takes the contract, but who knows. I have had plenty of girls come look and not end up taking it.

We FINALLY got Google Fiber. It only took a little over a year from when we signed up for them to come and set us up. Talk about patience! Now we need to switch the box because Allison is the one that signed us up and she is moving, so we need to switch it to my name. What a pain. I hope it is worth all the hype. At least it's free internet.

Well. I think that is all for me. This month has flown by. I know all of summer will be like that. It has been action packed so far and I hope to keep it that way. :) I'm excited for all of my upcoming adventures. Utah really is a fun place to live when it comes to the outdoors and being surrounded by lots of people who love the outdoors. Thankful for that!

Photo of the Week 275

LOVE aspen trees.

Paddle Boarding Silver Lake

My goal is to do something fun outdoors every weekend while the weather is nice. So far... I have been pretty successful at that this month. It helps that my friend Becca has the same goal as I do.

Last year when Allison and I hiked up to upper silver lake, I saw lower silver lake that we parked at and thought... it's so beautiful. I would love to just hang out at that lake. So when Becca mentioned she had a paddle board and wanted to go, I suggested Silver Lake, which she had never gone paddle boarding before. So we went and it was so peaceful and beautiful and we both LOVED it and it is now her favorite spot.

There was only one paddle board (for now) so we just took turns and I enjoyed laying out in the sun just as much as paddle boarding around the lake.

It was a perfect Saturday afternoon and I hope it is not the last like that.

Matchy Matchy

Sometimes I show up to church and I match with my friends. When this happens, you take pictures.

Strawberry Day's Rodeo - Take 2

I really think this is like take 4 or 5... but we will just say take 2 and go off of the great time I had at the Strawberry Day's Rodeo last year.

This evening didn't really go as planned. My family was supposed to come and so were a group of friends from my ward... but nobody bought their tickets ahead of time and the rodeo sold out, so none of them got in. I went early to save seats for everyone. I would have ended up a lone had Allison not bought her ticket a couple of hours before the show. So did Becca who decided to come last minute because we had been hanging out earlier that day... which I will blog about. So, thank goodness for that. We had a good time and kept the tradition of looking for cute cowboys. We could see them better last year I feel like. Oh well. Also had to have some strawberries and cream. One of the best things about going to strawberry days. I also love going on Saturday because they have the fireworks after the rodeo. My second firework show of the summer.

It was a typical rodeo. My favorite events are the bull riding, the wild cow milking and I was SO happy they brought back the dirt bike stunt men! I love them. Rodeo's are a fun summer activity. Glad I went even if the night didn't turn out as planned.

Mr. Controlling

Online dating is such a gamble. My last boyfriend came from online and it was maybe the best relationship I have had. On the other hand... I have had a lot of weird/bad/awkward/annoying experiences with online dating as well.

Take Mr. Controlling for example. This is a recent guy that found me online. It started off so positive with him. This was his first message to me.

I would do battle with a pack of wild mountain lions, inside of a handicapped stall at a local McDonald's with my hands zip tied behind my back, and a shake weight super glued to my forehead as my only weapon... just to be able to have the change to take you out to a spaghetti dinner


I was obviously flattered. What girls doesn't want to see a guy go to great lengths to go out with her? Also, I like a guy with a good sense of humor. So I gave him my number.


He text me that night. It was late... almost midnight. He asked me if I was still up, and I said I was, but was just about to go on a walk with a friend. He asked me if it was a guy friend. I said yes and asked why. He replies because it's late. Take it easy. I responded that I could be going on a walk with a guy or girl friend this late and it wouldn't matter. He just didn't acknowledge what I said and told me goodnight.

From this first conversation, I should have seen the red flag. I mean... I did kind of, but I like to give people a second chance in case I am wrong. I know that I am wrong about people sometimes. So the next day we continued to text each other.

Mr. Controlling - So how was the walk at 12am with your "friend" lmao (laughing my a** off)

Me - It was fine. We talked, I went home

Mr. Controlling - I wouldn't call you a friend. Or any girl for that matter. lol

Me - What would you call me?

Mr. Controlling - A girl I am looking into, why would anyone go on a dating site for friends? That's the weirdest thing.

Me - The guy I said hi to last night was a friend in town who happens to be a guy.

Mr. Controlling - I know what I want and friends is not it. Plus men and women can't be "just friends" unless one is gay. Or unless it's for a friend's significant other.

Me - You really believe that? I have lots of guys that are just friends that I have no interest in.

Mr. Controlling - I run like hell. You know right now you can do whatever you want, but if you wanted me exclusively, I wouldn't give you the time of day. I have a lot to bring to the table and guy friends isn't a quality I'm looking for in a woman. It's inappropriate, women are OK with their man having girl friends provided she looks like a whale. If she's hot the games no longer fun. Say it out loud it it sounds wrong it probably wrong. "Where's your guy at? Oh he's off with another woman" I don't care about the word trust, it's used and abused and expected far to early. I care about respect that's neglected due to the word trust. Relationships and marriages both end because of friends of the opposite sex. So if you would rather have a guy friend over a relationship you should probably go ask that friend on a date... but like I said as of now, you are a free woman.

Me - Yes I am a free woman.

Mr. Controlling - If you can show me your worth while, I'll spoil you like a you wouldn't believe.

Me - I think we would have to meet and then decide if we both think the other person is worth while.

Mr. Controlling - I'm taking you out Saturday.

Me - I have plans on Saturday

Mr Controlling - Do you have another date?

Me - No.

Mr Controlling - What are you doing?

Me - Hiking and camping with friends.

Mr Controlling - Are there are any guys going?

Me - I don't know.

Mr. Controlling - What if you meet a guy on this trip before we meet?

Me - I doubt that will happen.

Mr. Controlling - Well, I don't know how many guys you are talking to right now, but if you want a shot with me, you have to promise that you won't go out with anyone else before you go out with me. I'm not wasting time and you have a week to figure it out.... and by figure it out, I mean see me.

Me - OK

Mr Controlling - OK is all I'm getting? I want to know if you are going to see me or not. Are the other guys you are talking to getting dates?

He continued to lecture me. Tell me that I needed to know if I wanted to be in a relationship with him before we even met because since he lives in Idaho we would be spending a lot of time talking on the phone (which I don't love) He then told me I was going to fall in love with him pretty quick. Told me the things he wanted sexually in a relationship and when I told him I was LDS told me that he wanted a temple marriage... which is why I should want him even more.Then went back to threatening me that if I went out with another guy before him that he didn't do second chances and I would regret that. Then went back to texting me inappropriate stuff and I said I was checking out. He told me to text him later and I didn't reply.

Mr. Controlling - Good conversation last night.

Me - Sarcasm?

Mr. Controlling - In it's finest form.

Me - Sorry (not sorry)

Mr. Controlling - Next time don't tell me you'll do something. If we were not going to talk, I wouldn't have waited up. Were you texting the other guys last night?

Me - OMG... no. Also I never said I would text you last night, you just asked me to.

I continued to get a lecture from him. I wasn't even writing him back and he would just keep going. I then ignored his text all weekend because I was done with this dude. The red flags were not only seen, they were slapping me in the face.

Mr. Controlling - Are you still interested in me?

Me - Honestly... I feel like we have spent more time disagreeing with each other than having fun getting to know each other, so I have lost interest. I don't feel like it's worth us meeting...  especially with you living so far away.

Then he said best of luck to me and I wished him luck back and I thought it was finally all over. Then he had to be a child and throw in that it was my loss... because the man obviously is insecure (if you haven't picked up on that from his conversation) and can't take rejection. Then he tried to convince me that I should give him another shot and he would promise to make it more fun.... because despite the fact that the entire time we have been talking he has been lecturing me on what I can and can't do and we have been disagreeing on everything.... we are apparently a great fit for each other according to him. After this I blew him off and he went away... for a week. Then he text again.

Mr. Controlling - Find your guy yet?

Me - Nope. Haven't even been on a date.

Mr. Controlling - Why not?

Me - Just been busy. How about you?

Mr. Controlling - I've gone out, but nothing special.

Me - Sorry. (I don't know what else to say)

Mr. Controlling - I honestly don't care. My life is amazing.

Me - That's great. Life should be amazing.

Mr. Controlling - How are those guy friends anyway? That's probably the one thing keeping me from wanting you.

Me - All of my friends are great. I value friendships a lot.

Mr. Controlling - Well I wish you the best. I want nothing to do with that mess.

Me - Thanks :)  (I wasn't about to get into another disagreement with him or make him think that I care what he thinks because I don't)

Mr. Controlling - You missed out on this (sent me a picture of his junk... which I deleted right away)

I didn't respond. Hopefully I will never hear from him again. If I do, I'll block his number. I know I shouldn't have stopped responding to him a long time ago.... that part is my fault... but holy crap, I had never had a guy talk to me like this before. I can see why his first marriage didn't work out. I felt like I was in a manipulative and controlling and abusive relationship when I wasn't even in it... we hadn't even met! Scary that people can be like this. Yikes!

Cork Board

The first time I saw a cork board made of wine corks, I thought it was such an awesome idea, plus it looked awesome. Since then I had seen others and I just had to make one for myself.

I ordered 200 corks from around the world from off of Amazon. I didn't realize how many sizes corks came in... so it was a little bit of a puzzle to put together. I LOVE it. I'm not sure yet where I am going to put it. If it belongs in the kitchen or my travel room. Either way I think it will look good. So glad I finally got around to making this.