On My Way!

This is the first of many posts to come regarding my trip to Italy!  First off, my flight was long but it included a long layover in the Philadelphia airport where I found this gem.

I found the Liberty Bell made of Lego's in the airport.  I thought it was kind of cool and it peaked my interest as well because my older brother, Jeff really liked Lego's growing up and had a huge collection and one of my friends from college, Kyle, loved the creativity of Lego's and it is his dream job to work for them some day.

Another Wedding

Another one of my old roommates (who I have lived with off-and-on for the last 4-5 years) got married earlier today.  I am so excited for Brenda!  She definitely deserves it and Jeremy is perfect for her.  Not that it matters much but I totally approve of him!

Brenda and Jeremy got married in the Manti Temple.  It was only my second time in Manti and both times have been with Quinn.  The first time I was driving through with Quinn, and his dad, Norm on our way back from St. George.  The second time, Quinn came with me so we could spend some time together during the drive as we really have not seen each other lately.  I felt kind of bad for him as he just hung out in his car during the wedding and pictures and then only knew me at the reception/luncheon.  I felt bad for him but the time we got to spend together was worth it!  A bonus to an already good day. :)

Jeremy and Brenda Griffith

 

Brenda and I.                                             Lauren (another long-term roommate) and I.

Me, Aliesa (one of Brenda's long-time friends from WA), Brenda, Rachel (another prior long-term roommate, and Lauren.

Hollywood

Hollywood came to my job today!  They are making a movie called "Waffle Street" (more info can be found here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3881680/?ref_=nv_sr_1).  They were using a local film crew to help as they were filming a lot of it in Utah.  The locations that I know of are The One-Man Band in Lehi, Timpanogos Regional Hospital, and Orchard Park Post-Acute Rehab.  They brought in one of the best hair/make-up artists in Hollywood, the trailers, Danny Glover (not at my job though), the actors, the food trailer, the equipment, etc…  They were using the room right next door to my desk and as I had a rather large conference and sitting area behind my desk, I got to hang out with the crew all day.  It was pretty fun getting to know them and seeing some of the production side of movies.

You may say, "Waffle Street?"  It has a reason for the name.  The synopsis of the book that they are making into the movie is an adaptation of James Adams' 2010 memoir.  It is named Waffle Street as chronicles his foray into food after being laid off from the hedge fund that he worked at during the financial crisis.  James chose to work at a popular 24-hour diner where he claims "most of his financial knowledge has been gleaned" under the tutelage and friendship of Edward, the best short-order cook in town (who is also an ex-con).


I am really excited to read his book and to see how it compares to what I learned in school.  James took some time to do a speaking event and book signing at work that same night and I got to chat with him for about 20 minutes or so.  It was really interesting talking to him and about his experiences.

In addition to James, I got to meet the stars of the movie, minus Danny Glover.  Depending on what genre of tv and movies you watch, you may or may not know the actors.

                                        

Julie Gonzalo                                                                    James Lafferty

Julie has been in A Cinderella Story, Freaky Friday (the new one), Must Love Dogs, and a bunch of tv shows.  James was one of the main characters in One Tree Hill and has been in a lot of other tv shows as well.  James was a whole lot nicer than Julie and I had a good time chatting with James.  

Post-production meeting

Some of the trailers and other support vehicles from filming.

It was a pretty cool day at work today.  It almost rivaled this day:

Ummm, on second thought.  It was cool but it did not compare to meeting and talking with the current prophet of God and leader of the LDS Church, President Thomas S. Monson.

Salmon Supper

I just discovered hours before the event that every fall, Payson, UT does a salmon supper.  The firefighters of Payson cook thousands of pounds of fresh Alaskan salmon every August for their Annual Payson Salmon Supper.  They fire-grill the flown in salmon, serve you an ENORMOUS piece and pair it with a baked potato, sweet local corn on the cob, a fresh roll, and a dessert of some kind.  The food was all delicious, especially the fish.  I think the fish was the flakiest that I have ever had and was well worth the time I took savoring it.  The pieces they serve you at at least one-third to one-half of a huge salmon.  The pieces were bigger than my hand!

I learned about the event at work and promptly decided that I needed to go and that it would be well worth the $15.  If nothing else, the size of the salmon I was served was well worth over $15, especially considering it was fresh Alaskan salmon that was flown in.  I asked one of my old roommates, Sarah, to go along with me and partake in the bounty.  The wait in line was worth it and we had a good night.

Photo credits got to: www.paysonutah.org/news_events.salmonsupper.html

In Where I Am A Bridesmaid

One of my best friends, Katie Fullmer got married this last week.   Her two sweet little daughters, Adey and Paisley, and I made up the bridal party.  It was fun helping Katie prepare for her wedding and going to a dress fitting but I am sure she is glad to have it all done so she can get back to regular life.  I was able to leave work a little early to head to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple to help Katie get ready and to act as her escort.

Katie and Nate Mihu

Katie and Nate got married on a Wednesday evening and then Thursday morning, there was a whole wedding party hike up to Timpanogos Cave.  It was my first time hiking up to the caves ever and I have been in Utah for 6 years now.  The views going up were gorgeous and it was pretty cool inside the caves.  Nate's family is mainly comprised of men with deep voices and this led to the men in the group I was in to start singing one of the dwarf songs from "The Lord of the Rings."  It sounded pretty cool deep in the caves with the acoustics.

 





Views on the way up.


 Katie and I just outside one of the tunnels.

Me, obviously.

                

 

Inside the caves.

The weather cooperated for a very nice outdoor reception on Saturday evening.  Lots of pictures were taken and even more food was eaten.  I loved the chance that I got to see Katie's parents again as well.  It has been a while since I have seen them and even better, I got to see one of my best friends get married in the temple not just for time but also for eternity.  :)