You Should Watch This

On Sunday afternoon, August 31, at 5:30 on KUED you should watch Utah Conversations with Ted Capener. He is profiling Natalie Gouchner, a local (and totally rad) woman. Natalie is neighbor and resident of the Mur. Natalie worked in Governor Leavitt's office starting out as a spokesperson (yes, even though she's a republican she's still amazing). She stuck with Leavitt all the way to Washington after he became HHS Secretary. Natalie is back in Utah working for the Chamber of Commence with the Downtown Rising project. She also took my place on the Murray City Power Department's Advisory Board when I resigned in February. :)

The first day of the last year....

Yesterday Ryan's summer came to an end as he began his senior year of high school (yikes!) We remain cautiously optimistic that his senior year will continue on the trajectory of last year where he had wonderful and caring teachers that were motivated to help him succeed. His Asperger's diagnosis has confirmed what we've long suspected and has helped us advocate for him within the educational system. We are ever hopeful that we can help him find a path in life which affords him a happy and healthy future.

Mystery in the Mountains

We planned a cook out in the mountains with some friends last night. We loaded up a grill and cooler and looked for a great spot to dine al fresco. Up Big Cottonwood canyon we exited at the Donut Falls turn off and headed up the road and found a perfect place by a creek. Our menu included garden fresh bruschetta, grilled italian sausages w/ peppers & onions, and pasta salad. In addition to the picturesque setting, the evening cooled off beautifully, in fact, we needed to put on hoodies shortly after dinner.

We are a goofy bunch and every get together eventually devolves into feats of strength or daring so I always carry my camera to capture the ridiculousness. But in the group shot below don't ask me what the white circle is on the left side of the photo because I have no idea. I'm sure it has to be something with the flash but I took a photo 30 seconds before this one from the same spot with no mysterious object in the photo.

BBQ & the Blues

We were invited out to hear a friend's cousin play at local BBQ joint earlier this week. We've heard great things about the food at this place and who doesn't love the blues? It was a little bit tricky to find Pat's BBQ but once we were on the right street the mouth-watering smell of BBQ hit us from down the block.

Once inside, John Nemeth had already taken the stage and was belting out the tunes. He is an amazing talent cultivated from the hot of the blues, Idaho. He has a tremendous voice and mad harmonica skills. You should check out his website and definitely buy his CD. He's traveled the world and played with many of the biggest names in the blues world. I was very glad that we got to see him play live.

In terms of the food, I ordered the BBQ pork sandwich with a side of slaw. The food was delicious. The seasoning on the succulent pork was very flavorful and BBQ sauce is available on the table so that you can add just the right amount for your taste.

The best part of all was that for an hour or two on a Tuesday night I completely forgot that I was in Salt Lake City.

The Bout, Cleavers 97 - Dealers 88

Saturday night, the Leave it to Cleavers took on the Death Dealers which at least in the minds of the Cleavers has been the roller derby bout that could be the bout of the season. The Cleavers came out strong, playing smart defense and our jammers did an amazing job getting through the pack quickly to earn lead jammer status.

The score was as close as 3 points in the first half and as wide as 30 in the second half with the Cleavers leading the entire game. The Cleavers got into some penalty trouble at the end of the second half and allowed the Dealers to go on a 34 to 6 point scoring run in the last 6 jams. But the Cleavers ultimately held tight and managed to hang on and win with a 9 point lead. A special thanks to all my family and friends who came out to the Oval to cheer us on!

Next up, the league championship game against the Bomber Babes!

Sushi & Swing

On Friday night my girlfriend Liz and her daughter came over to my place for a sushi extravaganza to celebrate Liz's milestone birthday. My kids were there too and it was fun for us all to be together again. We enjoyed an amazing sushi dinner (thank you B!) and laughed until our sides ached. I've not heard of oxygenated olive oil, particularly used as a medicinal treatment. Have you?

My daughter and her friend decided to spend a little time practicing their swing dancing before going dancing at club later that night. Here is a video clip of them dancing to a song by James Hunnicutt & the Revolvers from their new album Bad Girl.

I love Fridays....