End of Season

Tonight was the last RSL game of the season. I didn't know going into the game that it was the last one. It was a playoff game, we were playing against Dallas. We had already played Dallas in the first leg of things last weekend, at Dallas, and they beat us, 2-1. I was not happy, but not discouraged, because I knew that we could turn things around at home. We are so far unbeaten at Rio Tinto for the last 25 games or so. All we had to do was beat them by 2 or more points, and we would continue onto the next round, but that was easier said than done.
It just wasn't our night. We played pretty well for the first 15 minutes or so, but then Dallas unexpectedly scored, and then we kinda fell apart for the rest of the half. We came back from the half and played really great - and had so many missed goals, and opportunities to score that we just couldn't finish on. Fortunately, we scored in the 80th minute, tying up the game, but we needed one more goal to stay alive, which we didn't get. Although the game ended in a tie, we lost out of the series, so season over.
I'm sad that the season is over, soccer is my favorite season. It'll start again in 3 months, so at least I have that to look forward to during these cold months. And the good thing is now my weekends aren't going to be determined by an RSL game going on, there's more of a freedom here. But still, I'm sad. Good work, RSL. You finished a strong season.

Like a Virgin…of the Flu…

I have never gotten a flu shot. There- I’ve said it. I’m a virgin of the flu shot. This is because I never get sick, so why do I need a shot to prevent something that, odds are, won’t happen anyway? I have also never had the flu (knock on wood!), which I think just makes me awesome. So I usually will accompany others onto their trips to get the flu shots, but I will leave shot-free. Today, I changed this and got my very first one.

This year, Chelle was heading over to get her flu shot, I was heading over with her, in case she needed someone to hold her hand. (She didn’t, but come on, what if she did?) As we were getting up to go, they told me that I should get one this year. I laughed, like I usually do when I hear about the flu, but they reminded me that something is different about this year – I’ve been a little close with someone, (Who I’ve already caught a cold from) so maybe it’s a good idea if I try to head off anything before it comes to me. I grabbed my wits and a little courage, and off we went.

The gal who gave me a shot asked me if it was my first time (I had marked it that way on the form, did she think I was lying to her already?) and when I confirmed that it was, she asked me if I had people that worked in my office with me. I gestured to Chelle, saying she was, and then she told me that since it was my first time, I needed to make sure that I was still alive fifteen minutes after getting it, since I could have a reaction. My throat could feel like it was closing, I could feel nauseous, all sorts of things. So of course, that makes me panic more than anything else does. She gave me the shot and sent me on my merry way.

On the walk back to my desk, I noticed a mediciney taste in my mouth. I asked if that was normal, and Chelle said she had one too, so I was fine with it. I was super paranoid for the next 15 minutes, making sure everything about me felt normal. I think had the gal not said anything to me about it, I would have been better off, because every little thing that happened, I was like, “Is this ok? Am I dying? Is this something else?” but luckily, I survived it. A couple of hours later, my arm started to hurt. Typing, writing, using my mouse, lifting my arm, everything just aches! It’s still that way right now, 5 hours later, but I am surviving. I will be stronger from this. And hopefully, I will be successful in once again dodging the flu.

There's an app for that!

I love iPhone. There is so much it can do. I can be anywhere and get any kind of information. I can check Facebook, play games, book a flight, pretty much anything. I am always checking for new apps, things that are not really worth anything, but can waste my time nonetheless. I've recently stumbled upon a new app that just makes life worth living.
It's called Talking Roby, and he just brightens my day. The purpose of the app is really unknown, I think it's mostly just to be a time-waster. But whenever I need a pick me up, I just open the app and he makes me smile. When you open the app, the first thing Roby does is wave at you and say hi in his little robot voice. It's so cute, I'm immediately happier. Then, there's a few things he does that I play with. If you rub his belly, he giggles a little, then swoons and puts his hands over his heart like he's in love. If you poke him anywhere, he spins around, and sometimes falls over. When you make the phone move, he'll sway with it, making a noise like he's about to fall over. And one of the best things of all, is he talks. You type in what you want him to say, and he'll say it. If you talk to him, he'll repeat what you say. It's cute.
Now, I'm not sure why a simple talking robot brings me such joy, but he does. When I need a smile, I just turn to Roby, and he takes care of me. I appreciate all he does for me.

And, as an FYI, I typed this whole entry from my iPhone. It took forever.

I wish this was something I was better at...

I recently took a caramel-apple making class, at Gygi up in SLC. I was looking forward to it, because, hey, who doesn't want to learn how to make this stuff? It seemed to me like it could be pretty easy, like, not rocket science or anything. So, I get there, and they have everything all set up for me, apples, sticks, dipping supplies, etc. After a quick intro to everything, they set us free on the caramel, in hopes that we could do stuff ourselves.
Turns out, I'm actually not very good at caramel-apple dipping. I don't know if I just don't have the patience for it, or if I didn't follow directions very well, but like all of my apples looked so ugly! So I just keep going with it, because what else am I going to do? So then I just keep trucking away, and I'm trying to salvage my apples, and I'm looking around at everyone else, and they all seem to be doing such a great job! I'm trying to keep a positive attitude about everything, but when I'm not that good at something, I just keep getting angrier at myself. I tried to keep calm, but I was just so upset at my badness!
So at the end of the day, I had made six apples - an Apple Pie one (which was dipped in caramel, then white chocolate, then rolled in a cinnamon/sugar mix), an Oreo one, an M&M one (which was not nearly as good as I thought it was going to be), a chocolate coconut one, a Butterfingers one (which was crazy delicious), and a Reese's peanut butter cup one (also pretty good).
I was glad I took the class, I'm glad I learned things, but I feel like there's so much room for improvement that I feel so behind with it. I don't know if I had an issue, but a few of my apples had the caramel just slide off of it, so that there was like, a ring of caramel on the bottom, but the apple was basically naked. So I need to figure out what's going on with that because I need them to be perfect before I start giving them away to people. So I'll work on that, and then everyone I know will get one!

Best.. night....ever....

As everyone knows, I have RSL season tickets. I've had them almost as long as the team has been a team. We've moved from stadium to stadium, and we've tried different parts of the stadiums too, to see which parts are best suited to us. We found one that was really great section, we made loads of friends over there - some of who we keep to this day. But then we had to move stadiums, and our friends bought more expensive tickets, so we couldn't sit by them anymore, sadly.
Our tickets now are in a really good section - mostly because the people we sit by are really cool. We sit by some of the RSL staff - kinda. I sit by one of the coach's wives, and the rest of the people are just people that help them out with stuff, fundraisers and the like, so pretty much they all know the players. One night after a game, Jen turns to us and asks if we want to go to the club with her. I thought she meant like a dance club, so I was hesitant to say yes, until she clarified that it was to the clubhouse where the team goes after games. Uh...hells yeah I wanted to go! So we waited a while, for the place to clear out, and into the clubhouse we went. We grabbed a table, some food and drinks, and awaited the arrival of the players.
They finally came, and they were swarmed with fans, so we waited for most of the fans to clear out, and then Jen introduced us to most of the team. It was so amazing to meet them in person - I was shaking so much from like, excitement and nervousness. We got loads of pictures taken with them, some of which I will share with you here. It was only about an hour, but it was definitely one of the best hours of my life.
Me, PJ, and Nick Rimando

Us and Chris Wingert
Us and Jamison Olave - this guy is as big as a house. His calves alone are like, as big as my head, I swear

And Kyle Beckerman, the captain of the team.

The guys were all really nice, and while I didn't get to meet all of the players (there was not enough time, nor did they all come to the clubhouse) I got to meet some of my favorites, so it was just amazing. I hope we get to go again next year!

It's that time again!

Ya’ll, it is that time of the year again. No, not just autumn, or holiday, or anything legit, it’s National Blogging Month again! I have been so sporadic lately with my blogging, I know. I have a new someone in my life that sucks up a lot of my time, so there’s that, but this month, I am committed to writing an entry every day – regardless of excitement of said entry. So today, let’s kick things off by a quick recap.
Recently, I traveled to Denver with PJ for our annual “Stalk the Real Salt Lake soccer players” trip. Usually, this trip brings us great rewards – we usually see a bunch of players, and a coach or two in our hotel, but this year they weren’t staying in our hotel! The trip was still awesome, don’t get me wrong, but it’s so hard to stalk – er, I mean, make friends with – the players if I don’t know where they’re staying! So maybe I need to do some more research there. Of course, I found a cupcake shop while I was there, I can find those anywhere.

The cupcake I tried was called Twinkielicious – and boy was it. It tasted just like a Twinkie – only better – and it was gigantic. The owners of this place were smart when they named their place Big Fat Cupcake; it took so much out of me to finish this cupcake. I had a stomachache afterwards, I had to lie down on the bed, waiting for it to pass before we went to the RSL game.
The game was awesome. We tied, which usually would suck, but we came back from a 2-0 loss, so it was amazing. We scored our goals in the last 5 minutes of the game, and we celebrated so much afterwards, and stayed for so long that we were asked to leave by security. This didn’t sit well with me, so I calmly explained to the policeman that I would leave when I was good and ready. As he started making his way over to me, I decided that I was good and ready right then, so I quickly turned and left the stadium of my own accord. It was such a great game night.
That’s pretty much the highlights of the trip. It was really quick – we flew in late Friday night and flew back out Sunday morning, so it was the perfect amount of time. I'm always so excited for this trip, regardless of if I get to see the RSL players or not. Here's to looking forward to next years trip!

Yum!

For my birthday a few weeks ago, I was given a Cupcake cookbook. Those who know me know that I am in love with cupcakes. I have them often, I
love them, I watch TV shows about them (Cupcake Wars - I recommend that show to everyone). So when I got this cookbook, I was psyched. An entire book dedicated to one of the things I love the most - and with kinds I hadn't even heard of?! Wooo!
So today I finally had a little bit of time today to crack it open and choose one to make. There were so many kinds, I had such a hard time deciding which one to choose, but finally, I picked Root Beer Float. I know - I thought they sounded a little weird, but I went with it. And when I was finished, I was glad with my choice. They're a very sweet cupcake, I recommend drinking some milk (or water, if you don't like milk) with them. I took a picture, so you could see what they look like. I'm excited to make my way through the book-I plan on making every single cupcake in there. Also, if you're around me, I'd like to apologize in advance for all the cupcakes that you're most likely going to have to start eating through the next few months.