Wolfgang took me on a "surprise date" probably about two weeks ago that I keep forgetting to blog about, but he keeps reminding me that I need to blog about it {I think he's pretty proud of the fact that he was able to surprise me with something}. SO, here I am!It's actually really hard to surprise me, mainly because right now I'm always home when Wolfgang is, so it makes it hard for him to do anything without me knowing.But lo and behold he was able to pull something off, because it happened at work. He was able to score some free ballet tickets from the concierge at work, so off we went!The ballet was entitled, "Mosaik" and it was good {Wolfgang may have nodded off a couple of times though} and the theater it was held in was awesome! According to a cute "seasoned" usher, she said that it was the only historic theater that was preserved in the area.
There was also beautiful staircase but I didn't get a chance to take a picture of it b/c some hoochie mamas were having an usher do a photo shoot for them on it, so no such luck.
I hope to discover more fun places here in the valley in the coming months.
Yesterday we traveled north about 1 1/2 hours to go to a friend's wedding reception. It was so good to see her. She was one of the very first people I met in Hawaii, and from there we shared major classes and class projects. She's a great person and I highly value her friendship. I was so mad at myself, I brought my camera and forgot to take pictures! Rats. Anyway, along that journey heading north on I-17, is always a treat for me. Yesterday evening it was, yet again, and it made me think, "The Phoenix pioneers must have had a lot of fun naming things around here." And this is why.There is a:"Happy Valley" (town)"Bloody Basin""Horsethief Basin"and this is a new one that I discovered, "Big Bug Creek."Isn't that great? I seriously wish I was around for all that fun and games. 2nd thought/ experience for the weekend {and on a completely different note}Today in church, a native from Pakistan spoke in one of our meetings. He informed us that The Book of Mormon is currently being translated into a Pakistani language! {by him! and I'm sure others too.} I was so touched and moved by his incredible abbreviated story of how he fled from Pakistan to come to the United States. He didn't give specifics, but he left everything, including all of his family. I'm sure becoming a Christian for him was incredibly difficult, especially since in extreme cases in Muslim nations, you are killed if you convert to Christianity.This just reminded me of how blessed I am to live in a country where I am free to chose what I want to believe, and can also worship freely; I definitely take that for granted. His bravery and love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ inspired me.
I have a confession to make:We are TOTALLY digging "American Idol" this season.This is the first season that Wolfgang and I have ever gotten into this show, and it's quite addictive! It's so amazing how much talent there is out there {after you weed out the 2349872347 of crappy ones} And what amazes me even more, is that the majority of contestants are SO young! But in the words of Randy Jackson, "If you have it, you have it, it doesn't matter what age."Anyway, so guess what? We are going to these guys:
In concert in July!Yep, you better believe it. I logged on as soon as tickets went on sale.Ok, yes, go ahead, laugh and judge all you want! But we are going to have a blast. :)Contestants that we're most excited to see :
1) Casey Abrams, the "creative guy"
2) Scotty McCreery, my little girl crush
3) Paul McDonald, Wolfgang's crush {and mine too}
Wolfgang and I really like to watch movies, and have been on a movie kick lately. Because of his mad skillz at work, Wolfgang has been getting an ample amount of free movie tickets through a selling incentive (a raise would be more favorable, but I guess this will do for now). So needless to say, we've been pretty up-to-date with recent movies.One of my favorites so far, has been "Soul Surfer"
I'm not sure if we loved this so much because they filmed some of it at the beaches we use to go to regularly, or the fact that our friends are in it, or the fact it made us tear up a bit and had us home sick for Hawaii. With that all aside, I think it is a really well done "feel good" movie that everyone can enjoy. So for anyone else that may have seen it, is it as good as I say it is? I'm curious if I'm just biased :)Go see it!
Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there, but most importantly, to MY mom!!I'm grateful for her love, support, and sense of humor. She is the 'krazy glue' {no pun intended?...} that keeps our family together and {somewhat} sane.I love you mom and am grateful for all that you have done, and continue to do, for our family. Love, The Favorite
She's back.
This weekend we took at quick trip to Vegas to meet up with the fam and go to a family reunion for my mom's side. Usually reunions are thought of as painful and boring, but ours was enjoyable. Unfortunately pictures of the weekend were not taken with our camera, so no pictures of relatives and headstones for you.A few thoughts and observations from the weekend:-This was (I believe) the first time I had done this route to Vegas. For the first hour or so, I felt like we were heading to Mexico instead of Vegas.
-Peoria is the saddest town. Ugly, and it has more vacant buildings than my hometown. It also has a lot of random elderly people driving golf carts on public roads. Is that legal? weird.-I forget how artistic graffiti can be
-INSIDE a hotel wall is no place for a cricket to live and to make his nightly music
-My mom's family doesn't mess around when it comes to potlucks (it was delicious)-My talented aunt who was unable to attend made and sent several types of earrings to be used at the silent auction and for us to enjoy. They are little pomegranates; aren't they so cute? Pomegranates have historic and sentimental value in our family.
-These baby booties were in the silent auction, made by a relative. I thought they were adorable and so did my mom, so she bought them for me. (who's the favorite now, Jess?) I think she might be hinting at something. Aren't they just the cutest thing?? 
We were glad that we were able to spend time with our family, it never gets old!
I felt like I was at the Moulin Rouge!
