Mantra

So last year when I was totally down in the dumps and jobless, I was running in Sugarhouse park and saw the flower bed below. At that moment in time, I really needed to hear the word, "smile." It was a rough transition time and it was definitely a sign. Now here is the interesting part. I was running in the same park a year later, and they changed the flower bed to read, "think."

Again, another sign. I spent the rest of my run thinking about all that has happened in the past year. And by the end of the run I was just so grateful for what I have. It almost gives me goosebumps to write about it. I feel so settled and content right now. Grant's year is going so much better, I have a very rewarding job that I love, we have a perfect condo, and we are healthy.

So this park's flower bed is now officially my source for annual mantras. I wonder what five letter word will be waiting for me next summer? Just glad it isn't going to be a four letter word.

2008's summer mantra.



2009's summer mantra.



Some cute ducks at the pond.

Tis the season for outdoor concerts

Warning: This post is really going to hurt for you southern folk. Now that we have that disclaimer out of the way, the weather has been just spectacular out here (80's high, 50's low) and we have been trying to get outside to enjoy it. We have been to a few outdoor concerts in the past few weeks. And we have Bonnie Raitt coming up next week! My Mom will be in town and we always said we would see Bonnie together someday. It will be amazing.

Here is a sliver of my face and Shireen at a free outdoor concert downtown. The Toots and the Maytals were playing. They are credited with coining the word "Reggae." It was a great show. The funny story of the night was that there was a man near us who was SUPER drunk and kept on falling on the ground. His friends decided in their drunken state, not to take him home like they should, but to just put a bike helmet on him so when he fell, his head would be protected. Good friends, right?



Last week we saw Los Lonely Boys and Los Lobos at the Red Butte Garden concert series. Grant was running on around 3 hours of sleep, but the music kept him going. It was a killer show.


Here is Grant being too lazy to stand up and take a picture of me.

Our attempt at Shuttling

A few weekends ago, we met up with one of Grant's coworkers, Scott, for a nice morning mountain bike ride in Little Cottonwood Canyon. I was feeling pretty good since I had just finished my half marathon a few weeks before. I thought I was in such good shape...and boy was I wrong. Bike riding in shape is way different than running in shape.

The trail we decided on described the first part of the ride as, "slight incline climb for 1.5 miles." Oh man was that an understatement. It felt like the longest climb I have ever done. I was breathing so heavy that I thought I was going to have to turn around. As we reached the top of the climb, there was a parking lot!!! We could have just driven to the top, but the trail description said there wasn't parking available. What a blow!

After the climb, the rest was a beautiful downhill trail with views of the Wasatch Mountains.

Here is the funny part. Since we had two cars with us, we decided to try the shuttle method where you leave one car at the top of the trail and one at the bottom. This way, you can drive back up to the top of the trail at the end of the ride instead of riding uphill for miles. So Grant parked his car at the bottom of the trail, and Scott parked his way up the mountain at the top of the trail.

Right before we started the ride, Grant said, "Hey, I am going to leave my car key in Scott's car so I don't lose it." We all heard him, and didn't think anything about it. Then, when we got to the end of the trail, we were ready to get into Grant's car to head back up the mountain when...yes...we realized that we didn't have the car key!!!

We tried to blame Grant, but we all heard him say he was going to leave the key in the other car. So we hitchhiked back up the canyon to the other vehicle. Needless to say, that is NOT how shuttling works. Better luck next time.

Another Tripoley Night

Our monthly Tripoley group got together at Matt and Shireen's house for our August game night. We ate and played out in the Taintor's backyard. They have spent countless hours on their amazing veggie/flower/herb garden. If the end of the world arrives anytime soon, we are headed over to the Taintors. Not only do they grow their own veggies, but they raise chickens and brew their own beer. Definitely the place to be.

Matt and Shireen cooked an authentic Alaskan meal. What a treat. Sorry if the pictures below make those in Texas and Arkansas jealous. It has been quite mild weather out here.

Taintor's, Morshedi's, Chen's, and Halls!



Annie and Anna



The Tripoley man table.



The chickens! They just started laying eggs this past week.



Shireen's crazy sunflower! Amazing! It looks like a showerhead.

Randomness of life

Life at the Morshedi household has been quiet of late. Grant has been doing lots of reading for his residency. He just finished an entire book on cataracts. Who knew there was such a book out there? He also just purchased those funny looking glasses with the tiny microscope lenses. He is loving this year so far. So happy he likes his field.

We both just purchased iPhones. Life will never be the same. They really are life changing. I am a believer.

I have been working and keeping the house afloat. Below are a few of the fun things we have been able to fit in during the last few weeks.

We just had a cold front move through so we broke out the outdoor fireplace and had drinks with Sarah and Scott. Then we went to a drive in movie. It was more like an expensive nap for me!



I was asked to be in a photo shoot for my work this past week. It is for some advertisements that we will be running this fall. I had to prepare Grant, because I had two different husbands in this shoot. But Grant will always be my top hubby. I will post some pictures when they are ready.



July 24 was Pioneer Day here in Utah. This is the day the pioneers discovered the Salt Lake Valley and decided to settle here. Since we are not LDS, we celebrated by attending a "Pie n Beer" party instead.



Random photo of our dear Bill. He is really growing.



I tried to do a abstract painting. This is way out of my comfort zone, but I thought it would be a good exercise.



Grant and I are working on a cork project. We are making a backspash of corks on our liquor cabinet. Friends from around the country have been mailing us corks to add to our piece. Then they will always be a part of our furniture...what an honor right? We still need a few more corks if you want to contribute.