Tabby Fest

I know that Tabby Fest sounds like a cat festival, at least that is what I thought of when I first heard of it, but it is actually a ranch out in Tabby Swell, Hanna Utah near Duchesne. Yeah, I had never heard of it either. Yet another new Utah discovery for me. As it turns out, it was beautiful there and there were a TON of fun things to do at the ranch. Let me give you a summary of the day.

A group of people went up on Friday and spent the night. A group of 6 of us went up Saturday morning. We split into 2 cars. I was with Stuart and Cynthia. 

When we got there, we explored the ranch. First stop was a visit to the pond that is filled with trout. Lots and lots of trout. When you feed them, they all go nuts. We tried to catch one with our bare hands and were not successful. We then moved on to the paddle boat. It went from a couple people taking a nice little ride to seeing how many people we could fit in the boat without it sinking to having races. I now know how much weight those things are capable of holding. A LOT! We fit SEVEN people in that thing. I have a scared look on my face because I was terrified of sinking... and I'm pretty sure we came really close to doing so. I'm also VERY sure that I grabbed the leg of the guy next to me out of fear and I had never talked to him before. After grabbing him we introduced ourselves to each other. We for sure couldn't get too far with that many people in the boat. It was funny to try though.

After we had been at the pond for a while, Darrell, Tara, Cynthia and I walked off and found ourselves on some 4 wheelers. And we all know how much I love 4 wheeling. 4 wheeling with Darrell isn't so much of a thrill... in fact I told him several times that he could drive faster even though I was sitting on bars on the back with nothing to lean back on. No, 4 wheeling with Darrell is a ride of discovery... and discover we did. We were gone for about an hour. We just 4 wheeled ourselves up the mountain. Tara and Cynthia were with us at first but soon turned around and went back and Darrell and I would just keep going and going up this mountain, stopping every once in a while to take some pictures. Here are a few pictures from our ride of discovery. The highlight for me was when we had to go through a heard of cattle. Twice. Only a 4 wheeling adventure on a ranch. 

*It is hard to see, but Tara and Cynthia got this picture of me and Darrell riding the 4 wheeler from the back. They did this because they thought it was funny that I brought my purse. I have to say that was a first for me, but that being said I didn't know I was going and so I just hoped on without thinking about it. It did get a little annoying after a while to be riding on the 4 wheeler holding a purse. *

When Darrell and I finally came back from our long adventure, it was time for some shooting. Jason is the one that brought all of the guns on the Idaho trip. He brought his guns to Tabby Fest as well. This time I got to shoot a couple of hand guns. 22 was my favorite. 

After shooting a couple of rounds, it was time for some lunch and then onto the horses! I hadn't ridden a horse for a while, so I was pretty excited about this. They had two horses out to ride and we were all taking turns. I watched Stuart ride freckles and he was a natural. I wanted to go next. 

I chose to ride the black horse. I wasn't nervous at all. I felt like I had ridden a horse enough times that I would know what I was doing and I would be fine. In fact, I have even fallen off a horse before when it was running. Not the funnest thing in the world, but I got back up and got back on the horse (the next day). Anyway, we were just walking around the yard, having a great time and then I patted the horse and said good boy. Before I got on the horse, they forgot to mention to me that to the horse that means go faster. Opps. The horse starts going faster. I try to pull back the reins but I'm not pulling hard enough and it starts to go even faster now. It went from a trot to a gallop and this is when I started to get nervous. Horses are big strong animals, and if you don't have it under control.... well.... you lose, and you could get hurt. Thankfully I was able to finally get it to stop and everything was good. After getting off the horse and sitting back down with my friends, they said they watched the whole thing down and got nervous and asked me if that scared me. I said I got a little nervous but it was okay. That horse gave me a little adventure. ha ha. 

After the horse adventure.... it was time to pack up and drive back to P-Town. What a full packed fun day! I love getting invited to these things. Oh and I love summer. 

Salmon Supper

I love that I have lived in Utah for as long as I have and am still discovering new things that go on here all the time.

A group in my ward got together to go to Payson for the Salmon Supper. It is a fundraiser put on by the Fire Department every year. They charge $15 for a plate and they fly in all the Salmon from Alaska that day. I love Salmon... so I was in.

Since I had never been to this event before, I didn't really know what to expect. I had something else going on that night and I didn't think this would take that long. Just eat and leave right? Well, when we showed up, the first thing I saw was a long line of smokers with lots and lots of salmon on it. This is where my mouth started to water. We then heard the Barber Shop Quartet. I felt like I was at a legit small town event with that going on. Loved it. Great way to walk into an event.

Then I saw the line. It was the longest line for food that I had ever seen in my life. We stood in line for an hour. It was hot and we were hungry. It was worth it though. When you finally got your food, you were served not only the salmon (which was huge.... and amazing) but you also got a roll (that I gave away), a potato (which I also gave away), corn on the cob that was to die for, coleslaw that was also super good and a cookie (that I didn't take). We feasted while we listened to some chick sing every ballad that you would hear when listening to the Delilah radio show. In fact, I started predicting the songs she would sing and I was right. Again, the food was worth it though.

We had a great time and I would for sure go again. I hope for as long as I live in Utah, I continue to find new gems such as this one. :)

Living in the Bubble

I know that to many people, my life looks glamorous. In a lot of ways, I guess it is. I have a lot of friends and am living in a place where I am constantly meeting new people and getting invited to do fun things because we are all single and wanting to have fun. It is really great. I can see why from the outside... people might be jealous. I am happy and living life to the fullest until my Mr. Right comes along. As I should be. My life seems all happy and fun and for the most part I try to keep my blog positive because I like to focus on the positive.

Although this single phase of life is so free and fun... it comes with so much heart ache. The guys and girls both experience it, but I think it is worse for the girls. We all want to find someone special that we can get married to and start a family, but here we all are struggling to do so. I think the most frustrating part about it to me is that we are in a place where it should be the easiest because there are so many singles here, but I think once you are in the 25 and up age range... it is one of the hardest places to find love. 

You are probably wondering why? Doesn't make much sense does it? Dating has become so complicated. It really shouldn't be. There shouldn't be so much pressure there, but there is. There is so much pressure from others and on ourselves to commit to someone and get married, so people are over analyzing and thinking too much about everything that they think is supposed to go a certain way and they freak out when it doesn't. They give up before they ever gave it a try. That and singles (especially the guys) are like kids in a candy store, there are so many singles to choose from, they can't settle on one, because what if there is someone even better out there that they have missed? 

Something that finally clicked for me as one of the major problems here is that we live in this bubble. Not just in the sense that we are all LDS and that there are more LDS singles here than you will find anywhere else, but people's way of thinking is so off. Many of the guys think because they served a mission and lived the way they are supposed to that they deserve a trophy wife and when it comes to dating are really shallow. People think that finding "The One"means finding your soul mate (which doesn't excised). People are so focused on their check list in what they want in their future spouse that they are over looking a lot of great possibilities. Most of the guys go after the same 5 girls in the ward because they are the prettiest and then they think that all girls are so difficult to figure out and reject them all the time because they are going for the 5 girls that do get all of the guys so those girls feel like they can be picky and shallow. Meanwhile the rest of the average girls don't get asked out as much because guys think that we will get too excited over them asking us out and they don't want to hurt our feelings or just because we are not the prettiest girls and they deserve to have the prettiest girls because attraction is number #1 priority. By the way, this is not me assuming what guys think, I have had some very honest and blunt conversations with guys lately.

Because a lot of the guys are shallow, the majority of the girls get depressed. They compare themselves to the 5 girls that get asked out by every guy.... wondering what those girls have that they don't. They come to the conclusion that it is their fault. They are not pretty enough, they are not skinny enough, they are not talented enough or have as good of a personality... so on and so forth. I am guilty of it too although I try to not let myself fall into that trap.... I do. It is hard not to. These are good guys. These are the guys we are supposed to be searching through to find a husband, so we believe these lies. We all start believing that a guy will never want us unless we are a size 2 etc. I'm not saying that some girls shouldn't try harder, because I do think that. You should make yourself look nice. Dress up for church, put on some heels, do your hair and make up, be happy, fun and look your best. However, many girls do this and they are not givin the time of day by most of the guys (dating wise). It breaks my heart that so many beautiful, talented, smart, fun and amazing girls get left un-noticed as a dating possibility. I have seen so many girls cry because they think they are not good enough as compared to the prettiest girl in the ward, but it is such a lie. Am I saying that attraction is not important? Of course not! I know it is important and with some people, you just know it is not there for you and that is fine. What I am suggesting (that I think girls are way better at than guys) is that you get to know the cute girls (not the prettiest) and see how wonderful they are and develop a relationship where they become the most beautiful girl in the world to YOU. For some reason, this is a hard concept for guys to grasp. So guys continue to be shallow and frustrated that it isn't working out for them and the girls continue to be depressed and frustrated that it isn't working out for them. It is so messed up. Seriously. 

I am constantly being told by people (guys and girls) that are either married or living outside of Provo or Utah, how beautiful I am, what an awesome person I am, how talented I am and how any guy would be lucky to have me, and I believe that is true. I know that I am going to make a great wife to one lucky guy. To the world's standards I am so amazing but to the bubble's standards, I am below average. Even though I know how great I am and what I have to offer, it is so hard not to get sucked into the messed up way of thinking in the bubble. That way of thinking is not real life though. Not every guy wants a girl that is a size 2. Everyone has different taste when it comes to attraction and what they want. I really believe there is someone for everyone... you just have to give people a shot. I have gotten into some heated discussions with some guys where I am practically yelling at them trying to get into their head what they are doing. What I wish more than anything though is to help the girls. I don't want to see them or myself depressed over it anymore. I want them to know that any guy that thinks that way is not worth their time and that they are amazing even if these guys don't see it and that they will find a guy that loves and appreciates them for exactly who they are. There are so many AMAZING girls here that the guys are really missing out on. The guys would be marrying up with a lot of these girls. 

I don't know how I could ever start to fix this problem.... but I had to blog out my frustrations all the same. If you have any suggestions, feel free to share them with me so I can fit it into our next Relief Society activity or something. Until then... realize this is the big downside of being single. ALWAYS thinking and worrying about this. It's the pits.

Drama Button

This makes me laugh every time I watch it. I wish there was a Drama Button in Provo. I would totally go and push it.... not that we don't have enough drama just in dating a lone here.

Flashback Friday 76

We are flashing back to when I was 5 years old. I was a pretty cute kid wasn't I? My Primary teacher got married and I guess she just loved me in her class and wanted me to be her flower girl. Every little girls dream come true. I believe this was the only time I was a flower girl. I remember being SO excited to wear the dress and little flower crown. I got to pass out the bird seed to people to throw at the bride and groom. That is pretty much my only memory of this day.

Confessions of a Brunette on the Internet 129

This might be a short confessions because my confession is that I have been glued to the tv everyday watching the Olympics. That is right, I am super addicted to the Olympics. Can't get enough. I can't miss it and missing even an hour of it is a huge sacrifice. Swimming and Gymnastics have been SO fun to watch. AHH!!! LOVE!

Tuesday was my second time at the driving range. I keep improving on my form and technique and have a lot of great teachers.... so i'm pretty sure that it won't be long until I'm an all star golfer. Ha ha. But seriously, it wasn't bad for my 3rd time golfing ever.

I was talking to my friend Shelly and telling her how much I like her blog because it is so funny and that I wish she would update more because I enjoy reading. I wish I was more funny. I have my moments where I feel like I am pretty funny, but overall, I don't think I am that funny and always wish I were more witty like many others that I know. Seriously. When other people laugh at my comments (especially when I'm not even trying to be funny) I feel SO cool and it surprises me. I almost give myself a pat on the back for a job well done because it doesn't happen everyday. Seriously people. Anywho... when I was having this chat with Shelly, she told me it was all in the stick figure drawings. So.... I am going to work on that. I am sure I could come up with a good one for Disney Movie night. That can get out of control.

Finished all the seasons of Psych... that are on Netflix anyway. I still have one more season to go before I am caught up. Love it. My roommate has been telling me for a while that I should watch Vampire Diaries. Today I finally decided to give it a try. I'm only a few episodes in, but I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm just so turned off by vampires right now. Like... a lot. I have heard that it gets better though, so I think I will give it a few more episodes before I call it quits. I have heard a lot of great things about White Collar, may try that show next. I wanted to start Downton Abbey, but Only one season is on Netflix and I have a feeling I am going to want more right away. ha ha. So many options.

Still have been waking up with a soar throat everyday. A little bit of an annoying cough too. SO annoying! I am ready for it to go away... like a week ago. Ugh, hopefully soon.

Funny story, my friend Ali contacted me a couple of weeks ago telling me that she wanted to start a blog and knew that I blogged and asked if I would help her out. I of course am pro-blogging, so I am always willing to help with blogs if I can. A few days after that she told me that she had some other friends that wanted to learn some stuff too so asked if we could just make a party out of it. I say sure, the more the merrier. This last Saturday we get together at this guy's house that I don't know. I show up and there are refreshments there on the table. My neighbor who is a pro at techie stuff was there sitting next to a girl that I had never met. Then there was the guy who's house we were at that I didn't know and then my friend. When I got there the meeting began. Everyone started out by saying their name and where they were from and what they do and what they were hoping to get out of the group session. Whaa...??? I just came to help my friend with her blog. What was this?  I was so confused. ha ha. As it turns out, we didn't talk too much about blogs. We talked about how the Internet works, where our online info is stored and he had us each download MAMP, Cyberduck and wordpress. We then learned how to set up our own website, coding and all. They asked me if I had any questions that I wanted answered and I want to fix the tabs on my blog since they have not worked since I changed formats. His solution? Stop using blogger and start my own website that I can design myself and not have to deal with those types of problems. Ha ha.... part of that idea appeals to me and another part does not. We continued on with Computer Programing 101 and I ended up being there for over 2 hours. As we were packing up to leave, the guy leading our group session said we would be getting together every Tuesday. WHAT? I said I would help with my friends blog, I didn't realize that I signed up for a semester high tech class. ha ha. Putting the fact aside that I had no idea what I was walking in to, I think it would actually be really good to learn, especially for my job since I am in charge of our department website. It would just be good for me to learn since I am into that stuff, and maybe I will create my own blog. I will look into it. Anyway, I always feel like the most random stuff happens to me. Like when I accidentally signed up to audition for a reality mormon dating show. Yeah.... story of my life. Keeps things interesting, that's for sure.

Photo of the Week 127

Taken at the lake in McCall, Idaho. I took this picture while being eaten alive by mosquitoes.