New address!

I move into the new place tomorrow so here is my address:

1980 Three Kings Dr.
Park City, UT 84060

I just have to find out if there will be a unit or apartment number since it is at a family's house- I'll ask about that tomorrow when I see Suzettte or Laura Lee to make sure.

Okay that's all. Sorry this is such a short blog, I have to do some more packing before I go to work. I do have a favor to ask everyone, however....

As many of you know I love to make mix CD's (Tricia, yours is DONE! I'll mail it tomorrow) and since I'm up here in the mountains the radio stations don't come in very well so I've been making mixes for myself. I had an idea for a mix with the favorite songs of all of YOU!! So can everyone tell me their favorite song- or if you can't pick an absolute favorite, just tell me one that you REALLY LOVE. If you don't know how to leave a comment you can send it to me via email hjparisi@yahoo.com please. Once everyone has given me their choices, I'll make a list for you all to see everyone's favorite! So think about it and get it to me by the weekend. I also figure this will be a nice little reminder of everyone far away from me, because every time I hear the songs, I'll think of you!

THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING!!

Spoiler alert!! DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE OFFICE SEASON PREMIERE!!!

More on that later.....

Well folks, today I received my key to the new apartment! True to form, by the time I drove the 5 minutes it takes me to get back to my current apartment, I forgot that I had this new key and accidentally tried to unlock the door with it since it looks just like the key I use for this place, freaking out when it didn't work. Nice one, Heath. I brought over a few things that Belami likes to sleep on so that Laura Lee's kitties can smell him before we move in on Tuesday. I let Laura Lee have the bigger room because I seriously don't care, they are both nice with big closets (YES!!) and their own bathrooms. So other than the futon that is in my room I'll have to buy all new furniture. Any tips on furniture purchasing? There's an IKEA nearby, which I'll have to hit up, and I have a gift card to Pottery Barn, so I should be able to get a few things without spending TOO much money. As soon as I move in I'll take and post photos and figure out exactly how the mail works so you can all send me cards, goodies or whatever you like.... hint, hint :)

Back to the title of my blog: How excited are we that Jim proposed!?! At the same time I feel like things have been going a bit too smoothly for our lovebirds and wonder if something will happen to mess things up. That worries me! I thought the premiere of The Office was great and funny, love that show, glad to have it back!

Last night I went out for sushi on Main Street with Stacie and Kim at a place called The Flying Sumo. It was delicious and when Stacie was dropping me off we saw the funniest thing! It was about 9pm and my neighbors came out of their garage on a tandem bike! And there was a person holding onto the rider on the back! Nothing like a late night, 3-person-to-a-bike ride. Seriously, who does that???

Today was my first official day off where I had nothing to do with J. Crew. Or so I thought.... I guess Stacie called one of our employees and instead of calling the store or calling Stacie, he called me, claiming mine was the only number he had. Okaaaay? Why didn't he just call the number that showed on his phone? Anyway, we'll try again tomorrow, maybe I'll have a truly J.Crew-free day!

Don't forget to watch Wayne Pacelle on Ellen tomorrow where he'll talk about Prop 2. Click on his blog to the right to read all about it!

J. Crew & Park City: A Match Made in Cashmere Heaven.

Well opening day has come and gone and what success we had! I can't display exact numbers, but we were up 800% to our planned volume by the end of the day!! I was TUCKERED OUT by the time I went home, but it was a great opening! People in the area were psyched about J. Crew's official arrival to Park City. They are used to shopping retail so the promotions were quite appealing. The best seller today was our women's cashmere cardigans which are a great deal at the moment! Mom and Dad sent flowers to me and my wonderful staff for good luck on our first day, and clearly, it worked! Thanks from Team Park City :) Tomorrow will probably be just as busy, actually, I'm pretty sure that we are going to be slammin' for the first week at least- maybe more. I'll keep you all up to date on the happenings! Oh! And I asked Jackie about my earrings (as I noticed her 2 earrings per ear) and she said that she is not concerned with it as long as I look nice and put together. Which, by the way, I thought I did today! My opening outfit was a new tweed pencil skirt and a haberdashery shirt (button-up) with flats and a pretty beaded necklace- I was comfortable, which is super important, and I felt like I looked good too! I was glad that I decided not to wear a warmer outfit because we had a problem with the thermostats today. It was so hot in the store that we had to go buy ice and bottles of water to hand out to the customers!! We should have that fixed soon- thank goodness!!

Okay, so is anyone else a DWTS fanatic like me? Ever since I first started watching this show I have wondered why I like it so much and I think it is a combination of things:

1. It's LIVE! I love the fact that anything can happen, and it does! From injuries and swearing to wardrobe malfunctions and technical difficulties you just never know what to expect! Live television is exciting television!

2. Tom Bergeron is phenomenal! He does live TV so well because he's quick and not afraid to look silly. He always has a funny comment for everything and he gets right back into the swing of things if anything goes wrong.

3. Dancing is FUN TO WATCH!! Especially when one half of the dancing team doesn't really know what he or she is doing- it just makes things more interesting and entertaining. Those professionals are amazing. They not only dance, they choreograph the routines themselves! I can't imagine the amount of work that goes into the show each week.

4. The costumes! From the dancers to Samantha Harris, the wardrobe is beautiful and outrageous and I love it!

5. The suspense. Each week on elimination night I get all nervous about who is going home! I always hope it's not my favorite couple, but up until tonight I have never voted. I decided to be proactive this season and fight to keep the best dancers out on the floor!

6. For the most part it is actually a dance competition as opposed to a popularity contest, especially in the later weeks. Usually the best dancer wins, and if the rest of America is like me, the more we watch the show, the better dance critics we become. I can actually tell the different dances from one another just by watching them and pick out the talented couples.

I've learned one thing about this show: funny guys don't last. The first couple voted off was Jeffrey Ross and Edyta Sliwinksa, much like last season's early exit by Adam Carolla. Apparently comedians and dancing don't go together. It doesn't matter how good your partner is and how witty you are, if you can talk the talk, but not walk the walk, you're going home.

So here are my early favorites...

Brooke Burke seems to have the most natural talent so far. She seems very grateful for praise she receives from the judges and it looks like she's having fun and really trying. Derek is kind of annoying (especially after his pairing with Shannon Elizabeth last season) but he knows his stuff.

Toni Braxton also looks good out there in terms of natural ability. She also seems to be working hard and is very appreciative of the judges' comments. She has a good partner too- a former DWTS champ!

Misty May-Treanor and Maksim Chmerkovskiy aren't bad and I'm biased towards Maks since I've always had a little crush on him and think he was robbed of the trophy when he danced with Mel B.

Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer are like a little punk rock couple and I'm loving it! She's a new pro this season and she's got spunk and flexibility, plus Lance isn't bad either. This competition has been good to N'Sync in the past.

Oh my goodness, are you all bored to death? Maybe not, but I'm tired and tomorrow is sure to be another long day, but luckily it's the end to my 8 straight FULL days of work. It will be nice to have a couple of days off in a row to relax and get some stuff done.

Good night and have a happy hump day :)

Ready to go!

Those pictures from yesterday are bug pins! Aren't they ridiculous? They look like a Preschool art project! I thought they were funny that's why I posted them, so I'm glad you guys got a kick out of them!

Today was our last day before the GRAND OPENING!!! It was a fun day because when we finished our training, we got down to business, the business of shopping! Everyone had a great time trying all of the different items and doing fashion shows for each other. I spent $200 which I'm still in shock over... the last time I did that was when I first started working at J. Crew. We decided that this is a similar situation since it's a new place, new store. I think Kathleen and Stacie just said that to make me feel better about spending the money! I got some great pieces that I can build many outfits around so I guess it was money well-spent considering my line of work. There I go again trying to make myself feel okay about spending the money!

Enough about that! When Stacie and I were going over dress code we got to the point where it says that employees should have no more than one earring in each ear and she said that I might have to take my second and third earrings out! This really surprised me because when I was first hired at J. Crew I asked if my earrings were alright and was told that they were, so this has never been an issue until today. We asked Kim for advice and she said that if it were her store she would make me take them out because it is a written rule and we shouldn't make exceptions. I agree with her that exceptions can get you into trouble, but as much as I love J. Crew and enjoy working for the company, I think this is a STUPID policy! Even so, that isn't my problem, my issue isn't taking out my earrings- I really don't care because I can always re-peirce them if I want to. The thing that bothers me is that I have always, always, always promised myself that I would never have a job that made me change something about myself. At this point I have enough invested in this position that if I am required to take out my earrings, I will. The funny thing about all of this is that recently I was thinking that I might take those earrings out anyway, just for a change, but decided no to. I just would rather do it on my terms than J. Crew's. I'll let everyone know the outcome of this as soon as we get an answer on "The Earring Crisis." And who knows- if the decision is left up to me, maybe I'll decide to take them out anyway. If there's a good time for change (no matter how small that change is) I'd say that it's right after you move across the country!

Tomorrow is the big day and I can't wait! Our regional manager, Jackie, will be there and I have only ever spoken to her on the phone so I'm excited to finally meet her! The store looks great, everyone has a new "opening day outfit" picked out, and all spirits seem high among the associates! I think that's the perfect formula for a successful grand opening! I'm so proud of the hard work we all put into this project! Wish you were all here to see the new store and what I've been doing with all of my time lately.

xoxo

Just one day left before the GRAND OPENING!

It is so amazing how wonderful the store looks at this point! It is basically DONE with only a few minor details to tackle tomorrow. The majority of the day will be spent training our part-timers on how to do everything else besides fold and hang!

Today was kind of a weird day because Kathleen only worked a half day due to some scheduling issues last week and Stacie was off. I felt like I was being pulled in a lot of different directions throughout the day and one of the NSO team members snapped at me. When I asked if he could help me for a second he said, simply, "NO!" He wasn't kidding or anything either- it caught me a little off guard but I know he's just stressed out so I let it go without getting upset. Oh yeah and when a cleaning crew was mopping the floor I VERY nearly fell on my ass in the backroom. Luckily I caught myself before actually touching down and avoided getting soaked on the wet floor. The whole cleaning crew situation was pretty annoying. We were done for the day so we sent everyone home but the NSO team and I couldn't leave until the cleaning was done, plus, we couldn't walk anywhere since the floors had to dry. We basically all stood in the middle of the store where they all talked about stuff I know nothing about and I twiddled my thumbs. I was so glad when Stacie called to see how the day went and I actually had something to do!

I watched the Emmys tonight and what was up with all the hosts? They should have just hired Tom Bergeron to do the whole thing himself- he rocks! And is Jeff Probst (or however you spell his name) just too cool to wear a tie? Even Heidi Klum wore one! The Emmys are so dumb because the same, like, 3 shows win EVERY award for 8 years in a row! Tomorrow night is the season premiere of Dancing With The Stars!! I can't wait and I guess it's a good thing I don't have any friends here because I have a date with the TV for the next 4 nights between DWTS and The Office. That's sad....

Stay classy, bloggers!

Almost done now!

When we called it a day this afternoon the NSO team said that this is the furthest ahead they've ever been in all of the store openings they've done! I guess that's a good sign, eh? We must be doing something right! No thanks to me..... I worked on the floor for the first time today and they had me put together a wall of women's socks. There are some little feet that you display the socks on that I have seen before but never actually used. So a few hours after I was done with the wall someone noticed that I had used 2 man feet and 1 woman foot- oops! The funny part is that while I was setting the display I was thinking that it just didn't look right, but I didn't know what I was doing!! Everyone thought it was pretty funny and it provided us all with a good chuckle.

Tomorrow we start training the part-time employees on register and we'll do some fit sessions so everyone can help the customers shop for the best fits. I think that the associates are all very excited about that part of the day!

MADE of Honor, which I misspelled last night, was SO DUMB! I still haven't figured out who has similar taste to mine in movies, but I'll be careful who I take advice from around here going forward! When I rented that movie last night the guy at Blockbuster told me that I had a late fee for The Diving Bell and The Butterfly. Now even though I would eventually like to watch that movie, I haven't ever rented it! I questioned this so the nice cashier took off the late fee and I asked Jared and my mom if either of them had rented the movie since we are all on the same account. When they both said they hadn't I was a little concerned so I went back today and they said that the movie was rented from the Blockbuster here in PC! We decided to make it so that anyone who goes to this Blockbuster here has to show an ID to rent a movie. I really wonder what is going on though! Isn't that weird?! Once I move into the new place I will go back to Netflix so I won't really have to worry about it, but I'm glad we figured it out now so that if someone really was somehow renting movies on our account, they won't be able to anymore.

That's all for today- nothing exciting. I was supposed to have the day off tomorrow but I switched with Stacie because her family is in town so now I don't have a day off until Thursday. But I also have Friday off so I'll be able to start getting ready to move on the 30th. I can't wait for Belami to have friends- he must sleep all day while I'm working because when I get home he is WOUND UP! Today he ripped the curtain rod right off the wall and I had to crawl around looking for the screw that held it in place! That was fun. He is such a brat sometimes, but really I can't blame him because this is not the ideal situation for a kitten. Right now he's sleeping like a little angel, which is what I should be doing. Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Night!

The halfway point.

3 days down, 3 more to go.... we are halfway done! In terms of workload we are actually MORE than halfway done. Instead of just sending some people home early today we actually had to call some temporary people who were scheduled the next couple of days and cancel their shifts completely! The NSO team decided that since things are moving along so quickly, having to to train and direct new people who haven't worked at all would actually make things go a lot slower. Our core group (the people who are either staying on as part-time after the opening and the temps who had the most availability) are really doing fantastic!

Each time I come out of the stockroom I spot another piece of clothing that I love! I think I am extra excited since it's been so long since I've been in an outlet. Stacie and I decided that we're going to buy new outfits, or at least one new thing to wear, for our grand opening. I don't own any current J. Crew clothes since we are the ONLY factory store in Utah, so it will be fun to have something new for the big day!

I spent most of my day in the office again. Kim audited the files of all of our part-timers and we had filled out some sheets incorrectly so we had to do them all over again. There were a couple of other things we had to do or fix in the employee files and lots of other operational details to go over. I'm so glad that Kim is here to help so that we get everything perfect in the beginning. I'm so thankful for the NSO team in general! They are making sure that we start off on the right foot. Hopefully all of the associates remember their hard work and we can keep the store in this beautiful shape forever!

I would like to welcome Amy to the blogger club! Look what you started, Katie! Bella is flippin' ADORABLE! That photo of her at the beach, looking right at the camera, is too cute for words! It should be a greeting card! And now that everyone has seen Park City, let's see what Pensacola looks like!

It has been a long day and I'm pooped! I rented Maid of Honor tonight- some people at work said it was cute.... we'll see. Night!

Recap: Day 2.

Today was much like yesterday at work. I spent a lot of time with Kim working in the office on scheduling things. In the morning we went to the bank, the locksmith and ran some other errands. We're getting there! Everything is still progressing ahead of schedule due to our large staff. We once again sent everyone home early, and all of us managers left right on time. Having enough people to get everything done really lowers the stress level of the opening. In fact the whole process has been stress-free! The fact that we have that new store opening team who has so much experience and information has really helped.

And, Carol, just to clarify- I wanted to put some pictures with these work blogs since they are a little boring so I have been getting them off of the jcrew.com. We definitely DO NOT sell $140 flats in the outlets!

Recap: Day 1.

I really should be getting to bed in a few but I wanted to let you all know that our first day in the store went really well! The new store opening team was great and full of knowledge! We had so many people scheduled that we actually finished up early. Looks like we're off to a successful start. There was minor drama today- some of it was dealt with and put behind us but some of it will affect decisions we were going to make in terms of promotions. You just never can tell what some people will be like in a work environment, can you?

I spent the better part of 8 hours entering our staff into the computer! Between the part-timers and temps we must have over 40 people whose names, addresses, emergency contact, job assignments etc. had to be put into the system. When I was done with that I had to adjust everyone's punch in/out times since the time clock isn't set up yet. It was a lot of work, but great experience. The person from the NSO team who is in charge of HR/operations, Kim, is really funny and nice and she is the person I will be working with the most this week. She knows SO MUCH! She's been with J. Crew for 14 years! I like the way she does everything because it is very neat and organized. I think we'll work really well together!

I'm so glad everything went as well as it did today and I'm excited to do it all again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day.... I can't believe I'm back in a store again, it's great!

Just call me Sarah!

Last night I was watching John and Kate Plus 8: The Gosselins Go Skiing. Did I spell their name right? I don't know... anyway. So where did they go skiing? Where else but the home of the greatest snow on earth, Park City, Utah! It was cool to see places I drive by every day on TV. Speaking of skiing in PC, I think I will be the city's ONLY resident without a ski pass. I can't justify spending the money on something I'm not sure I'll use all that much. I'm just going to pay for the day and rent the equipment when I go. What I will spend money on and use, however, are tickets to Sundance! They have great deals for Utah residents. It's a slightly complicated process to even purchase the tickets, strongly resembling what it's like to register for classes in college. I'm not sure if I'll even be able to get the tickets, but I'm sure going to try!

So anyone who knows me would probably say that I frequently wear my hair pulled back in a barrette with a side part, it's messy.... you guys all know what I'm talking about, right? Well today a guy told me that I look like Sarah Palin with my hair like that! I can understand when people say I resemble America Ferrera, or Katie Holmes (pre-Tom Cruise), or even that Mexican girl at Best Buy that Jared thought was me... but Sarah Palin??? Oh yeah, me, Palin and Tina Fey- we're practically triplets! Please note I was NOT wearing glasses. Did everyone see Tina Fey do her Palin impression? She was dead-on. Amy Poehler was very funny in the role of Hillary Clinton. The whole skit is a riot and worth checking out on the web if you missed it. By far the best part of the SNL premiere. I guess you don't really have to be able to read cue cards to be an Olympian. Fine with me. When you break over 30 world records and have a smokin' bod such as Michael Phelps does (right, ladies?) is it really fair to be good at anything else?

I finally finished Chelsea Handler's book Are you there, Vodka? It's me, Chelsea. Overall I was entertained but I don't like her attitude towards little people. She is incredibly offensive regarding them, but the worst part is that she refuses to admit it. She seems to think the things she says are entirely appropriate and that's what bothers me. I've moved onto Marley and Me to hold me over until the next book for my new book group is returned to the library. I just wanted an easy read and so far this fits the bill, but I was crying by the second page... great.

Have I completely screwed myself by being inconsistent with this blog? No one even commented on my last entry. I'm trying, I really am! Maybe some funny/interesting stuff will happen at work that I can write about. Tomorrow is our first day in the building! We had a conference call yesterday with the new store opening team and I found out that I'll be doing a lot of office stuff since I'm in charge of HR at the store. I think I'll be able to learn a great deal. I'm going to be working 10 hour days until next Monday and I feel so bad for little Belami! He will be all alone for so long!!! I'll just have to leave a lot of toys out for him to play with and hope he doesn't lose them all under the stove, which is where most of them end up. Along with my lip gloss, cell phone, pens and anything else he knocks on the floor to play with, the little troublemaker.

Per audience requests I've included a few photos of what it looks like outside my current apartment and around the neighborhood. I took these when I went on a walk one afternoon- beautiful as you can see. The bird is a magpie- you see them all over Park City! Dad, that picture is especially for you! I really need to be better at putting pics on my blog- sorry about that! By the way, I still haven't found the right glue for the tea kettle, but I did throw that broken glass away. I'll just write Paola a note about it when I leave. I move into my new apartment on September 30- yay! I'm excited but I know I'll miss my fancy sinks :(

Time for bed- I have a long day tomorrow. Good night and happy dreaming!

I guess I don't LOOK like a vegetarian....

From now on everyone who reads my blog should just assume that I won't write EVERY day, but a couple times a week. I have been pretty busy with work lately and although some entertaining things happen in that category, it would be unprofessional for me to blog about most of them. And honestly, as I keep saying, I don't have a whole lot going on besides work.... sad, I know, oh how I know....

I'm trying to get more involved with things in the area, so Friday and Saturday I volunteered at Furburbia, an animal adoption facility located at the outlet mall here in Park City. All of the people who work/volunteer there seem really nice and I think it is something that I will enjoy doing. It's a very laid back atmosphere but they do take the adoptions very seriously. So far I have cleaned the cat condos and walked the dogs. I really love walking the dogs because I miss Kody, Emma and Nellie! There are a few puppies up for adoption who are SO ADORABLE!! The adult dogs are really loving and cute too! I was trying to decide who I would take home if I was in the position to adopt a dog and I just couldn't choose! All of the animals who leave Furburbia are spayed/neutered, but 2 of them have an appointment coming up and when I walked Casey, who hasn't been neutered, he was a tad inappropriate along the walk! But he is a really friendly beagle mix and I like him a lot. All of the dogs are very sweet and well-behaved and I can't believe they haven't been adopted- especially the puppies. I will go again this week and then I'll have to stop for a week or so when we first open the store because our schedule looks rather grueling in the beginning! I think it's going to be tiring and a lot of hard work but also really fun and rewarding!

Today we held orientation for all of our new employees to have them fill out paperwork and to go over the basics of working at J. Crew. It went really well and it was great to have all of our permanent associates together so that we can start to feel like a team. It's nice to know that these are the people I'll be working with now because everyone seems awesome and they all got along with (and seem to like) each other. We all introduced ourselves and Stacie decided that as an icebreaker we would all say 3 things- 2 true, 1 false and everyone else had to guess which one was fake. Stacie went first and messed up by accidentally saying 3 things that were true. It was so funny because in the few seconds before she realized her mistake I'm thinking to myself-is one of those even false? I was so confused! So I guess her mistake was the real icebreaker since it made everyone laugh! It was my turn next and I said these 3 things:

I'm from New Hampshire.

I have 6 brothers.

I'm a vegetarian.

A few people were like "Oh you're definitely not a vegetarian!" Interesting, huh? A majority got my lie correct by guessing that I indeed DO NOT have 6 brothers. And thank goodness for that! Adam and Jared are all the brothers I can handle.... just kidding!! Love you guys! After my turn the next few people all used a number of siblings as one of their facts. Hello!?! A little creativity here people??? Anyway, it was a fun game and good for a small group of people!


We have a few last minute things to take care of over the next couple of days and then on Wednesday we get our shipment and start setting up the store! We got a tour the other day from one of the construction guys working there and it looks FANTASTIC!!! I'm anxious to see how everything goes since this is a totally new experience for me. I can't believe I've been here for over a month already! I am SICK of hiring and recruiting so intensely- this will be such a welcome change!


Thank you to Katie for my birthday presents! Along with the beautiful wall hanging, she also sent the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barabara Kingsolver (who I love!) and her family. It's on my list of books to read- what a perfect choice for me!

Be-UTAH-ful.

I just got back from my hike with Stacie so I wanted to post some pictures! This will give everyone a better idea of what Park City looks like. There were a bunch of different trails and the one we took for most of the time was called "La-Dee-Dah" and pretty simple. We must have wandered onto "Rockman's Ridge" (I think that was the name) because there was some pretty rocky terrain as you can see in the photos. There were a few other people on the trails, most of them with dogs, but we were actually the first ones there. By the time we got back to the car many more people had arrived. It was a perfect time to go because the sun was rising and the weather was crisp. It was beautiful, a great view of the city, the farmland, and all of the mountain homes. You can see the weird bug we stumbled upon, it looked like a mixed breed- ant, beetle, spider, grasshopper, we decided it was a hybrid. We definitely want to do this again since there was such a cluster of trails- it could be different every time we went! Enjoy the photos of the hike! I've also included a photo of the tea kettle's broken pieces to assist in the glue selection.

I think everyone should try to find a good place to take a walk or hike. It can be in the woods, at the beach, up a mountainside, anywhere, you can go alone or with a friend. Take your camera and realize that we live on a lovely planet.

Beauty before me

Behind me

Below me

Above me

All around me

In beauty, I have spoken.

-Annie Kahn, Navajo

Enjoy nature. You don't need a membership to the great outdoors- all are welcome and it's free! Peace :)

The tea kettle incident...

One of the things I don't like about living in this temporary apartment is that I have to use someone else's stuff. I'm sure you all know that I am a little clumsy and have a tendency to break things. One of the first days that I was here I took out a glass to use and realized it was cracked, which presented me with a dilemma. Do I put the glass back in the cabinet and pretend like I never even noticed the crack? Then Paola might assume I was the one that broke it and left it on the shelf hoping no one would notice. Would she deduct the say, $3 that glass probably cost her from my deposit? Also, just in case someone were to use it without noticing the crack, I could be responsible for a pretty nasty gash to the lip- and I can't have that on my conscience. Do I tell her that I realized it was broken and hope that she appreciates my honesty and doesn't deduct the $3? While all of these thoughts are running through my head I keep reminding myself that it's just a glass, no big deal. Then tonight I broke the tea kettle. Yup, ripped the knob right off the top when I was trying to open it. Upon inspection of the tea kettle I realized this was not its first brush with death and there was glue from where a prior tenant (or possibly Paola herself?!) had made the same mistake as me. Now as far as kitchen accessories are concerned the tea kettle is a step up from a glass. Mainly due to the difference in price and the fact that a kitchen is usually home to many glasses, but only one lucky tea kettle. I can't just throw the tea kettle back on the stove and pretend like nothing happened. The missing knob would clearly be noticed and a new tea kettle would take about $20 out of my deposit! So I think the solution here is to administer the same first aid the tea kettle experienced the last time this happened.

Anyone have suggestions for the best kind of glue for the job???

Well it's bedtime for me. I found a hiking trail the other day while I was exploring so Stacie and I are going to give it a shot early tomorrow morning. I'm charging my camera at this very moment so that I can take some pictures of the scenery and post them tomorrow night.

Sweet Dreams!

Main Street Market

I learned something today: never go to the movie theater hungry- if you are me. I don't really like popcorn, especially movie theater popcorn, but tonight when I went to the movies and I was hungry after a late lunch but no dinner, I decided to get popcorn. Somehow that seemed a little more like a meal than the chocolate covered gummy bears I had smuggled in. It's been almost 5 hours since I ate the popcorn and my stomach still hurts! Lesson learned!

Stacie and I saw "The House Bunny" this evening. It was cute, some parts were REALLY dumb, others were REALLY strange, but most of it was funny- exactly as I expected. We were supposed to go to the movies earlier in the day but somehow I read the time wrong online and thought the movie started 30 minutes later than it actually did. Oops!

Stacie, Kathleen and I planned to recruit off of Main Street today, but Kathleen wasn't feeling well so she decided to stay home and rest. When Stacie and I got to Main St. we found that there was a street market going on with TONS of jewelry and other goodies. Along with the shopping there were bands, puppet shows, dancers and different kinds of food, such as Maine lobsters which were marketed as "Wicked good" and rightfully so! The guy working there was nice and originally from Portland so we chatted about Maine for a while. It was a beautiful day so we strolled around and took in the scene of this weekly Park City tradition. We saw our friends Andrea and Jackson- who you'll remember from my last post. She sold us some really cool scarves and gave us a couple of charms from Israel. She's really nice and fun to talk to! We were looking at all of the jewelry and nothing was really catching my eye until we came to one tent with tons of sterling silver pieces with gorgeous stones and unique designs. I couldn't decide between 2 different rings so the guy said that if I bought both he'd give me 10% off! I couldn't pass up the deal and figured it was meant to be- these rings are one of a kind and beautiful as you can see in the picture I've included! I also found out that my landlord's husband, Hernan, is an artist and sells his pieces at the market! They are interesting and really cool, I'll try to describe them: they are paintings in pretty frames but then there are objects stuck on some of them so they are 3-D. I know my description makes the artwork sound really lame, but it's not! Hernan is always working in his garage but until today I never knew what he was working on. When I saw him tonight as I was going out he told me that he sold 3 pieces today and made a little extra money for the vacation they are taking starting tomorrow. I wish I could remember where they are going, but at the moment it escapes me... Anyway, I won't really see them again, but hopefully Bula will be around! I'll miss him when I move! Paola and Hernan have both been so nice and friendly to me as well!

Last night I finally got to meet Laura Lee! She is very nice and I think she'll make a great roommate. She is older than me, but I don't mind. She is still a little nervous about her kitties, Pixel and Sweet Pea, getting along with another cat, but Belami has already met and lived with a lot of other cats in the first 10 months of his life so I'm not worried about him adjusting to new roommates! I can't wait for him to have some company! I think they'll be fine- keep your fingers crossed!!

Sorry (once again) for not writing the past few days. I have long work days lately and the happenings are just not terribly intriguing. We are basically done with hiring so this week we have A LOT of planning and organizing to take care of in order to ensure a smooth opening. I can't wait for the store to open- I'm tired of recruiting.

I'll try to find things to blog about, and I promise I'll TRY to be more consistent with this!

New colors!

How's this coloring? Does everyone like it? Can you all read it? Let me know!

I found out something really interesting today when I visited the vet that I will be taking Belami to. I was just there to introduce myself and get a fax number to have all of his records sent to and I asked the woman about Frontline or something else to keep away fleas and ticks. Guess what she told me?! There are no fleas here! Seriously, they can't survive in dry climates or at high altitudes- and that just about sums up Park City! Speaking of it being dry.... my skin is so dry here! I thought it was just me but Stacie said she felt like her skin is really bad too.

Kathleen, Stacie and I met at the usual coffee shop today to plan our week and we decided to listen in on the weekly conference call for all of the factory stores. So there we are all huddled around Stacie's phone trying to listen and this woman just sits down with us and she's knitting and asking us about ourselves and all about the new store and telling us about how she used to live in Israel! People here are SO FRIENDLY!! I love it! And here's how great our coffee shop is- they let dogs inside! This woman, whose name is Andrea, had her golden, Jackson, inside. After leaving the coffee shop I went around to all the schools to talk up the discount. We are really coming along with the hiring at this point, now we are just looking for temporary help for the week before we open.

When I got back to my apartment today after meeting with Stacie and Kathleen, my neighbor was sitting at a picnic table out on her lawn so I smiled at her. She must have thought I speak Spanish because she greeted me with an "Hola," maybe since Paola is from Paraguay, anyway it didn't matter, it was just funny! The rest of our conversation was in English and mostly about the weather. It's beautiful today, but cold- only about 60 degrees and it seems that Fall will soon be upon us! Kathleen informed me that it actually did snow very early yesterday morning but then turned to rain by the time I woke up. This is blowing my mind! I'm not ready for that kind of weather!

Sorry this is the most boring blog EVER! I have a full week planned so hopefully more exciting stuff will happen!

Little o' this, little o' that.

There is no central theme to today's blog, I just don't want to leave everyone for a few days like I did last time. So I'll just share whatever comes to mind while I wait for my potatoes to cook! Thanks for the recipe, Mama!!

For those of you reading this from the Exeter area you should rent the movie "Drillbit Taylor" to see a familiar face. I'm not sure if everyone already knows this but Matt Cardarople has a bit part in this cute, funny film! Matt makes an appearance a couple of times as the cashier at a convenience store with a few lines and everything! From the looks of his IMDB page he's done a lot of work behind the scenes too. Pretty rad, huh?

I changed the color of my page because some people were having a hard time reading it with the dark background. I don't want to deny anyone the joy of reading this little gem so I was happy to accommodate but now my mom says it's boring so I'll play around with it some more and try to find a happy medium. Does everyone think white is too boring?

Doodlebug is Colin's "code name," right? Speaking of code names and after reading Katie's blog about them, I think Nikki would be great at making up code names. Don't you agree, Carolina Da Vinci Code? I think any job involving code names must be cool, and investment banker doesn't necessarily sound like a cool job, but I guess you never know.

I forgot to tell everyone that I received my new Utah license in the mail the other day! It's pretty cool to have a license from a different state after having one from NH for the past 25 years. My picture's not bad, I would put a photo of the license up here but I don't know if that's a good idea. Or legal. You will all just have to see it when you COME VISIT ME.... hint hint. And bring your coat! Today the thermometers of Park City never went above 50 degrees. There was no snow as was originally predicted but it was windy, rainy and chilly! I actually got a hot drink at Starbucks today- I NEVER go hot with my coffee! I miss Dunkin' Donuts- I can't believe I have to shell out over $4 every time I want some caffeine. I thought America runs on Dunkin'- does that not include Utah?

Today while I was driving and listening to Kelly Clarkson, the lyrics of one of her songs caught my attention. I have never really listened to this particular little ditty before because it is really mellow and I'm a pretty faithful slow-song-skipper. But you know when you just forget to switch the song because you're paying attention to something else like, say, the road? The song is titled "Sober" so I'm not sure what it's actually about and chances are it's not about moving to Utah :) but certain parts really resonate with my feelings about doing something so new.

And I don't know, this could break my heart or save me
nothing's real until you let go completely
so here I go with all my thoughts I've been saving
so here I go with all my fears weighing on me
and I don't know, I could crash and burn, but maybe
at the end of this road I might catch a glimpse of me.
I won't worry about my timing, I wanna get it right.
no comparing, second guessing, no not this time...

I love words and get a thrill out of someone else saying or writing something beautiful or true that makes me say to myself: that's exactly it, exactly how I feel, I just couldn't put it into words. What she says here is universal to any risk you take. Will this be good or bad? Will this "break my heart or save me?" as she puts it. At this point I've realized something about moving far away and starting something new:

I can do it.

Anyone can do it. You're going to be upset at times, you're going to cry, you're going to miss A LOT of people and things, but you're going to grow up and you're going to surprise yourself with the fact that you're a lot stronger and more independent than you thought you were.

On that note, my potatoes are done and smell divine- can't wait to dig in. So you chew on my food for thought and I'll eat my dinner. Bon Appetit!