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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Thirty years after

Mariko, my daughter's hoity toity English teacher from Hawaii, doesn't think I'm selling Utah very well and told me to work on it.


I may not be one to accentuate the positive, but I am one to do what I'm told, so . . .


Actually I'm not one to do what I'm told, but I'll give it a whirl.


While Hawaii may have many things that Utah doesn't have, like cockroaches, kane spiders and head lice, Utah has many things that Hawaii doesn't have, like tanning salons, Sono Bello billboards and 25 mph speed limits.


One thing both states definitely have in common is hoity toity English teachers. And equally awesome next door neighbors!


Anyways, I've decided to write a Good Things Utah list, in no particular order, to highlight my favorite things about Utah that I never enjoyed in Hawaii:
  1. Lulu
  2. My mom's new dog, Bella
  3. My mom's new mobile home, Edward
  4. My sister
  5. My five brothers, (almost all of) their wives, and (all of) their kids
  6. Lawnmower ownership
  7. Helpful school administrators
  8. All-you-can-eat restaurants
  9. All-you-can-play basketball tournaments
  10. All-you-can-love in-laws
  11. Lulu
  12. Lunch with my writing friends
  13. Dinner with my writing friends
  14. Slumber parties with my writing friends
  15. My daughter's bank account
  16. Prince charming on the doorstep
  17. Good hair
  18. Back-to-back state basketball championships
  19. St. George
  20. Hobby Lobby
  21. Sam Hawk's
  22. My field of dreams
  23. The first snow
  24. The last snow
  25. My fireplace
  26. Lulu

Wait, did I mention Lulu?


All of these things are perks, fo' sho, but one of the most rewarding things about living in Utah is being present to face this day, March 27th, 2012--30 years after--with a soft heart and a forgiving spirit.


LY Dad! It's all good in the hood.

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9 comments:

Mariko said...

Woohoo I'm FIRST!
I knew you'd take me up on the challenge.

I guess you got me beat with that Lulu stuff...
I guess I also have no writer friends for slumber parties...
Steph Robertson, the new you up at BYUH, and I wanted to do that, but I haven't been too good about actually doing anything about that.
What the heck is Hobby Lobby?

I did really like Sam Hawk's, but I can tell you we have some good Korean places here.

BTW, now that you're mentioning twilight, I would like to commiserate with you how bad the 3rd Twilight was. Seriously. How many long anguished looks can one movie have?

Melanie Jacobson said...

Love you, Crash.

Unknown said...

You amaze me.

The Crash Test Dummy said...

Love you too, MJ. And backatcha DeNae.

Mariko! I can't beleive you tuned in before I even got a chance to tell you to. Why didn't we ever do writing friend slumber parties in Hawaii? Oh, yea, because we were all so busy trying to make rent and being content with our lives.

Maybe that's a bit of a stretch.

Hobby Lobby . . . you can buy anything at Hobby Lobby. Except a lawnmower.

Sam Hawks--I'm impressed you've been there. Here's my reasoning. I know Hawaii has some grand Korean food, but it tastes better in Provo because 1. There isn't a chance in helk that your neighbor or your student will be bringing over kimchi over later. 2. In Hawaii it's just food. In Provo it's food and nostalgia combined. You get me?

And Twilight the 3rd? Which longing movie was that? Was that the last one where Jacob has a fling with Bella's baby? That was shock and awe for me. I shoulda read the books.

Me and Tatum, I mean Tatum and I, were looking at Facebook photos the other day--got a super big kick out of Ron Weasly's wig in the Potter musical, btw--and I thought I saw a photo of you with . . . ahem . . . makeup? Could this be true? I almost had a heart attack, though I must say you're lovely when you're glamorous. Just don't stop being hoity toity, okay.

Becca said...

The soft heart and forgiving spirit are such amazing gifts (and we know they're gifts, because they're sure not natural, even thirty years later.)

Love you.

Martha said...

I'm going to make a list about what's good about Laie. But this will take some time.

The main one I'm thinking of right now is how you come out of knee surgery at Queens (which is big)and the lady who had surgery 30 mins before you did is also from BYUH and Laie. She is happy and chipper and kind and you plan to carpool to your follow up visit with the doc (since she can drive and I can't).

Pat said...

Cheering for soft hearts and forgiveness. Way to go girl! LY

Donna Tagliaferri said...

Love your list....if you need me to explain why you occasionally have a pout in Utah I will.
It's a good reason..

Brittany Anne said...

Hi. I just remembered your blog and came to check on Lulu. I'm happy she's on your Utah list so much... I had to go back months to get some good pictures.
You should do a picture blog post of Lulu pictures!!

My husband and I loved the pictures of her running in the fields and with the whole family. We're so glad that she went to a home that gives her so much attention.

I'm expecting Baby #2 this month, and I know I wouldn't be a good momma to Lulu with two babies to look after.