olympic style

i am so excited for the Olympics to start. so excited! i want the opening ceremonies to be great, but i do not have high expectations (from what i've heard it features meadows, sheep, & clouds). let's talk about the style failures that have already happened:


1) the official logo. terrible.

2) the mascots. i mean, what the hell are those things supposed to be anyway?

3) Team USA's uniforms. i don't care that they were made in China. i do care that they look like french flight attendants. and what is going on with the woman's skirt & sock combo?

4) also, let's remember the Bob Costas style debacle of 2010

movies with kids

today i went to see Pixar's new film Brave with my sister's family. here is what it is like watching a movie with two 3 year olds: first, count on arriving late bc it takes forever to get those kids in a car. this delay will result in having to sit in the very top row and not having enough seats so the babies have to sit on your laps. before the movie even starts, both girls will need to be taken to the restroom. but not at the same time - the second will only realize she wants to go after you get back with the first one. 

when they are actually watching the movie, they will provide helpful commentary, such as "THAT WAS SCARY!" or "WHERE'S MY SEAT?!" and, since you are on the top row, the entire theater gets to hear it. about half way through the movie, one will yell, "I HAVE TO GO POTTY! I'M PEEING MYSELF!" this time both of them will go out to the potty at the same time, but not before the second runs down the steps yelling, "WAIT FOR ME, DADDY!" 

by far the highlight occurs when the one sitting on your lap pours 1/4th of a Slushee out on herself, your shirt, and your new pants. if you are lucky (and i was), this will not be a red Slushee. while the couple next to you watches you shoving Kleenex down your shirt, said child will be alerting the theater that she wants a new shirt ("I WANT A NEW SHIRT!") and trying to get naked in public. by the end of the movie, at least one of the kids will be crying loudly for some unknown reason. (in our case the crying coincided with the princess on the screen crying so hopefully it just came off as sympathetic tears.) after the movie is over, both children will try to rush out of the theater and into the street before you can even get out of your seat. 

who wouldn't want to pay $40 for that experience? 

on the road

i stole this from a girl i like to blog-stalk

i like to travel. a lot. this year i have been busier and poorer than years past so sadly i will not be leaving the States. but during 2012 so far I've made it to DC, NYC, Utah, TN (x2), Portland, & Seattle. tomorrow i am going back up to DC for a week. and then to FunFest. my summer will finish out with the entire family spending a week at an island off the coast of Charleston. fall travel plans include camping on Cumberland Island (it has wild horses on it!), Vegas/Zion National Park, and hopefully a little NJ/NYC weekend. next year my goal is to visit some places i've never been to before. maybe northern new england. or south america? i'm open to suggestions.

Picturing New York

last week i went to see this exhibit at The High. my favorite pieces were by a photographer named Garry Winogrand. he was a New York street photographer in the 1960s who published several books, including one called Women Are Beautiful (comprised of candid shots of anonymous women on the street). 

there are so many things i love about both of these photographs.

 "New York"

this first one might be my favorite, but the second one reminded me of a quote from The Marriage Plot (by the brilliant Jeffery Eugenides):


“He thought of all the people going to sleep or reading or listening to music, all the lives contained by a great city like this, and, floating up in his mind, rising just above the rooftops, he tried to feel, to vibrate among, all those million tremulous souls."

"World's Fair"

eating out

dr. hixson is an extremely picky eater. usually this is annoying as it severely limits our dinner options (acceptable fare: chinese, thai, italian, mexican). my suggestions of indian, french, and vietnamese have been immediately dismissed.  however, it also means we're not eating cheap, bad food either.


saturday night we ate at Thai Basil, by the Portland temple. i am not exaggerating when i say it was the best thai food i've ever eaten in my life. squash & tofu curry with pineapple fried rice? yes, please! that meal was followed by a lemon-mascarpone linguine in downtown Portland and then by a pesto ravioli with gorgonzola (at La Vita E Bella in Belltown, Seattle). 


i'm not even going to talk about how many doughnuts were purchased at Voodoo Doughnut  (six). 

visiting friends

next week i am going to Portland and Seattle for a little vacation. i have a few friends i am going to visit and have been making various plans with them. you know you are good friends with a guy when, in planning  your visit, he sends you this email:

"And yes, I'll block off Friday, you can stay at my house, clothes are optional"

my latest project

when i was out in Utah for Boy's wedding, i ended up wandering around the BYU bookstore with PopularBloggingFriend and taking pictures of things i thought were silly. this is what ended up happening

i'm going to run out of pictures pretty fast so i recruited my younger siblings to scout out the bookstore for me. feel free to join their efforts.