Meet My Favorite Niece

Hannah Rose Grigg
7lbs, 10oz
19 inches

So Excited

Remember last July when I posted this? And this? Tomorrow morning I will have a little niece named Hannah for my very own.
This guy is on his way to my sister's house right now. Eeeek!

I've been there when my 3 nephews were born, so I'm really sad that I don't get to see my niece for another 10 days. I really hope that my mom can figure out how to use the digital camera tomorrow or else I'm going to have a cow.

Not It!

So Heidi tagged me the other day and I've been pretending that it didn't happen, but here's the deal. I'm supposed to write 6 things about me that you don't already know (but some of you may know these things already, so you'll have to get over it)and then tag some other people to do the same thing. Here goes nothing:

1. In highschool I was part of the Colorguard & Winterguard. We were the first Winterguard team at my school and when I found this website, I realized that pictures of my old team are probably on the wall in my high school band room and I am their idol.

2. I mentioned this to someone the other day, but I've come to realize that people don't know this about me anymore. I started playing the violin when I was 5. Other kids may have been athletic and cool when we were growing up, but I could play the violin. I took lessons for 12 years! I wasn't always the best, but I was good. I wish I played more now. Since getting called to be a ward missionary, I have a feeling that I should practice in case Dan asks me to play at a baptism.

3. I've told you readers about my jaw surgery before, but I failed to mention that because of my jaw surgery, I have nine titanium pins in my upper jaw and a metal plate holding me all together. True story. I have a metal plate in my head. No, I don't beep at the airport.

4. I've been to 47 of the 50 states. The only ones I haven't been to are: North Dakota, South Dakota, and Michigan.

5. Uzi and I are 5th cousins. Really. Our common ancestor is William Clayton who wrote the hymn "Come, come, ye Saints." If there are any more of you out there, lets form a club.

6. When I was 8 I put my cat in the refrigerator to cool her down. Come on, it was hot outside. Luckily someone in the house heard the meowing before I killed her. It sounded like a good idea at the time, ok?

This took me the better part of the day to think up things that some of you readers may not know. I mean...gosh, I bear my soul just about every day on here. Ok so now that I get to tag others,....I'm going to tag Kim, Katie, Kristephanie, Jill, and Heather. Get on it ladies.

All Hail Broke Loose

So last night after my awesome taco experience, I was walking to my car when hail started falling from the sky. And when I say "fall" I mean the sky fell out and I was freaking out because the massive amounts of hail that were plummeting from above. Seriously, this article doesn't even start to explain it. I was in Pacific Heights on my way to Silvia's house soon after it stopped and my car barely made it up Divisadero with all the ice on the ground. Scary! Supposedly Matt made a video of it, so if he posts it on his blog, I'll put up a link later today.

Nick's Crispy Tacos

Last night I went to Nick's Crisy Taco with a friend and I wanted to kick myself for never going there before. The food was amazing! Burrioteater only gives it an overall 6.89 mustaches, but I thought it was great. Seriously; the best salsa & guac that I've had in a long time and the prices aren't bad at all. Check it out.

Because I Can't Think About Anything Else

I hate to bring up something that has already been discussed, but I haven't gone to lunch today and so I pulled out my stash of "Go Lean" from my file cabinet. I can't freaking chew the cereal because of this damn thing on my teeth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Well, I technically can but it is extremely difficult)

Thank you to everyone who has been so nice to me about my grill over the past few days. Seriously...I don't know how you have been able to look at me without laughing (with or without the word "Sizzle" written on it) because if any one of you would have had this awesome grill, I would have been laughing at with you.

Next time (Heaven forbid there is a next time)I get a grill, I hope it looks more like this:

My Grill

I still can't believe that I let Kristy do this to me on Saturday...

Baby Announcement Time

I found out the other day that one of my favorite cousins and his cute wife had a baby a few weeks ago. First I was sad that no one told me about it, but then I was so excited and happy for them! It made me even happier when I got to talk to Brian today and he emailed me pictures!
Greta May Clayton was born on February 7th. Congratulations to Brian and Audrey!!

Breakfast at Kate's Kitchen. This was definitely the healthiest thing on the menu. So I decided to order some fattening biscuits to go with it.

Gum Surgery

Last month I posted about how I was going to have surgery on my gums sometime in the near future. Well, now its sometime in the near past. Yesterday afternoon I went in and had it done. Basically, I just wanted my teeth to look symmetrical. I had what you'd call a peg lateral for a tooth (#10), so after a bunch of shots in my gums, the dentist took a scalpal and started scraping away. I'm not really into the whole blood/guts thing, so when he made me look at his handiwork before stitching me back together, I wasn't too much of a happy camper. I could feel him stitching me up and he tried to chat it up with me through the whole thing. Super nice guy, but come on! You're sewing my mouth together...the least you could do is let me lie there in peace. I'm on a lot of pain medication right now, but even when I woke up this morning I didn't have any pain like I thought I would. I sure hope that lasts. If you want to get a sense of what is going on inside my mouth right now, think back to when you were a kid and you stretched a piece of gum out inside your mouth and stuck it over your teeth to make it feel like braces or a retainer. Yep...for the next week, I get to experience it non-stop.

So I sent Matt a picture message of me with my lovely mouthguard and this is what I got back. Lovely.

I look like a boxer with a mouthguard.

Look what just came in the mail!

From a friend...

This "P.S." was at the bottom of a personal email today from a very close friend who lives in Utah:

P.S. When I read what you do on a weekend... I wonder if your life is real

Yes, my life is real. Hard to fathom sometimes, but it is.

Love,
me

London is the Best City in America

Today I finished the book "London is the Best City in America" by Laura Dave. I loved the last book that I read, but this one may be my favorite of the year so far. (And as an FYI, after I finish my next book, I'll be able to mark something off of my new years resolutions list.)
Even halfway into the book, I wasn't quite sure where the author was going with the characters. She held my attention right until the end and the overall message still has me thinking. Here is my favorite part of the book; the part that really drives it home.

"When you were little, you were always saying that Josh got to make all the choices because he was older. 'Why does he get to make all the decisions around here, Mom?' you'd say. 'How is that fair?' So for your seventh birthday, your father said you could pick where we went on the summer trip. You could pick any city in America as far away as Seattle, as close as Manhattan. You know which city you picked?"
I knew it without her even saying that much. I'd always known it, and I was starting to understand something else too--where she was going with this. What I wouldn't allow myself to see before now.
"London," I said.
"London," she repeated. "And the thing was, it didn't matter how many times I told you that we weren't paying for four plane tickets to London. That a driving trip was the only option. It was like you couldn't see anything else. And when even Dad took out that map and tried to explain to you that London wasn't even in America, you just kept arguing with him. "But I want to go to London. It's the best city in America. I'll only go there.' For weeks around here. You were like a broken record."
"Where did we end up going instead that year?" I said, trying to remember. I couldn't recall it.
"Hershey, Pennsylvania...which you loved. You turned to your father the very first day there and said , 'Dad, I think Hershey, Pennsylvania, is even better than London would have been.'"
Hershey. All I could visualize with any certainty was the car ride up there, sitting behind my father in the backseat, staring sullenly at the back of his head. "Really? I said that?"
"No." She shook her head. "You complained the entire time. 'This restaurant isn't London. This candy store isn't London. Over here, this isn't London either.'"
"How can I not remember?"
She shrugged, picking up her fork again, fixing a bite for me this time. "You were too busy complaining."
...
But she didn't reach for my hand, or lean farther forward so she could touch my face. She just shrugged, "What happened the day I met your father," she said, "is that you have to choose. For better or for worse. You have to choose what your life is going to look like."
I tried to swallow, tried to think of what I wanted to say, what I was really thinking. "I just don't feel like I have good choices yet," I said. "It makes it hard to give up the old ones."
She waved me off. "Well. You're behind all that anyway," she said. "You're still stuck on the same part you were stuck on at seven."
"What part is that?"
"The part where you need to choose among the choices that are there, and not the ones that aren't anymore. At least not how you need them to be. You're still suck on some imaginary idea you have of how it could have been. You need to think about how it is now. And how you want it to be."

Wow. Talk about some good advice. LOVED this book. Get a copy or borrow mine today.

UPDATE: Just found out that this book is going to be a movie starring the ever lovely Reese Witherspoon. I'm getting giddy just thinking about how amazing that could be. :)

Lakisha Jones

Ok so I realize that this isn't a clip from American Idol, but Lakisha Jones sang this same song tonight on AI and it was incredible. Check out some random Houston performance to get an idea of how it went.

I'll be out all day at a meeting for meeting planners. Have a great day!

Happy birthday andrea!

Fit for a Princess

So a week from tomorrow my first little niece is going to make her grand entrance into the world. I cannot wait! I've tried not to think about it too much since I knew that thinking about having a niece = spending money. I heard about Etsy a few months ago, but today I decided to get down to business and buy a few things for my new little princess. With three older brothers, this little girl is going to need all the help she can get to be as girly as possible. I bought her three things. Eat your heart out. I hope they come soon so that I can take them when I go to Utah in 17 days to see her.

My sister has always loved fruits & veggies, so I thought that this hat would be totally appropriate for one of her children.

Yeah...I just couldn't resist on this one.

How beautiful is this quilt? Etsy just may become my new addiction. Not a good thing.

Forgive Me

Dear Tommy,
I'm sorry that I didn't tell you how far we were going to go running last night before we left. I hope you are able to walk today. I am so proud of you!

Hearts & Nades,

Steph

P.S. When I typed your name into Google to find a picture of you, this came up.

UPDATE: we ran 7.13 miles and then walked the remaining .5 miles back to the car.

Day in Sunny San Francisco

So today was beautiful. Again. For the third day in a row. Unbelievable. Autumn and I decided to do things today that we'd never done before in San Francisco. For me, this was a little difficult, but luckily, we did find some interesting things to do. After eating breakfast at The Grove, we headed over to Mission Dolores to see what there is to see. Did you know that the city of Saint Francis was created on June 29, 1776? Only a few short days before our Declaration of Independence was signed. Pretty awesome. I was super impressed by the basillica and since Mission Dolores is the oldest building in San Francisco, I'm glad I finally got to check it out. After that, we went over to the MOMA and saw some very interesting art. Only half of the exhibitions were open so it was half price day! We had a recommendation to walk across the bridge at the top of the building but we unfortunately couldn't get all the way to the 5th floor since some of the exhibits were being installed today. I guess I'll just have to go back.
I was so sad to see Autumn go home. We have such a good time and great conversation whenever we're together. She's so fun and one of the most amazing people I know; I wish she lived closer! Good thing my family lives in Utah so that I can see her whenever I'm there. Love you girl!

Mission Dolores

Weekend O'Fun

So it's Sunday night and I am dead tired. This weekend has been jam packed with fun-ness. I'll be able to give you a more comprehensive update tomorrow night once things settle down a bit, but here are some highlights:

So on Saturday Matt took me on a date, and on our way to lunch, I saw this on the side of the road. I couldn't help myself. What the...??

On Sunday after stake conference, a few of us went to Stinson Beach. Donald had to lay down on the blanket to keep it from blowing away. It was sunny, but a tad bit too windy. We didn't stay too long and I'll probably have sand in my ears for the next year.

Tonight Matt, Autumn, and I were sitting around when we decided to go on a scavenger hunt of sorts. We made up all sorts of categories and we basically just ended up taking pictures of random things around San Francisco. One of those random things was a little dog.

Matt and Me at the Civic Center

Autumn and I posed by the infamous robot, but unfortunately, you can't see the robot behind us. Hmmm.

Some other highlights included the concert which I blogged about on Saturday night as you can see below. It was completely amazing. Seriously, I've never been to a concert that I enjoyed more. I was laughing, crying, and when Matt Wertz looked into my eyes, I melted. yikes! Check out Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers. Really. Amazing. Matt took me to the zoo on Saturday which was way fun. I hadn't been to the zoo in years and I loved making fun of how ugly the animals are. Oh..and Friday night, some of us girls danced at the Starlight room with people who could have been our grandparents. Kinda scary, but we had a good time.

All for now; night~

I'm in love

My new hero.

Stephen kellogg and the Sixers

awesome.

The concert so far.

My view until stu took care of me.

Ladies night footage

Schedule of Events

So this weekend is going to be great. I can't wait for another hour to go by so that I can get out of here!! Here's what I've got planned so far:

1. A nice 3.83 mile run to burn the chocolate that I ate at lunch:
2. This is where I'm going dancing with JJ & Uzi tonight.
3. Tomorrow morning Trainer Tommy is going to whip me into shape:
4. After that, I'm going out on date with a really nice guy...
5. Then...after stake conference, Tommy, Stu, Uzi, More, and I are going to see this guy. Sigh....

Its ok to be shy Matt...I get all giddy when I think about you too.

6.Then Autumn is coming to town which is going to be awesome. We haven't played in San Francisco in two years; crazy!!! I am so excited for her to play with me! Amazing girl.

Can this weekend be any better? I mean...it got a pretty awesome start today. Definitely can't complain about that.

Yes!

I met my goal.

The day is finally here.

I will never have to see this car outside my front door ever again. God really does answer prayers.

It's That Time of Year Again

Remember last year when I found the baby in the king cake? Guess what just happened again? Its even luckier considering that I didn't even eat any; I was just cutting a piece for Michael. They upgraded their babies from last year; the baby on the right is the one I found last year and the one on the left is the one from this year.

Poor baby doubled in size from eating so much king cake. Maybe I should have a Fat Tuesday party next week and make my cake. Click here to read a longer history of king cake. With the meeting that I help with going to New Orleans this November, I'm sure this will be the first of many king cakes to come in the next few days. Oomf. I'm glad I'm not partaking this year.

Music Box

Last night while Kristy and I were enjoying karaoke at The Mint, a girl sang "Just To Hold You Once Again" by Mariah Carey. This song was on her "Music Box" album and oh how the memories came flooding back to me.
I was in the 6th grade and my parents bought me a stereo for Christmas. This wasn't just any stereo; this puppy had a CD player. The first one in our home actually. With it I received two CDs. The first one was Music Box and the other involved these people. I knew the entire CD by heart within the week I'm sure and I continued to love it through high school. Even when I got to college all of my roommates had it and we had group sing alongs often as I recall. There are definitely songs on that CD that will always remind me of people who shall not be mentioned here on this blog.
A few years ago my car was broken into while I was parked very close to here:
My Music Box CD was taken and I've been sad about it ever since. Well, last night after hearing a beautiful rendition of "Just to Hold You Once Again", I couldn't help myself. I bought the album off iTunes this morning before work and I sang at the top of my lungs all the way down Lombard Street. I never knew that something so simple could make me so very happy.

What uzi and i did tonight.

Happy Valentines Day

Will you be my Valentine?

If you have a few minutes and need a good laugh.

LDS Stock.com

A really good friend of mine just started up this cool website called LDS Stock.com where you can buy all sorts of Mormon paraphernalia. While I'm not a huge fan of the Christus Crystal Cube, I think that a lot of these things would make great birthday presents for that very special Mormon in your life. Personally, I'm a fan of the heart-slide neckalce. I have a friend getting married in the Nauvoo temple this July; a porcelain miniature of the Nauvoo temple would make a great cake topper or a little gift for them to remember their wedding day. This site is cheaper than other ones out there and it definitely saves me a trip to the BYU bookstore next time I'm in Provo.

How Do I Say This?

I'm a regular reader of USA Today's Pop Candy and today I saw a post on the blog that talked about this website. Here's the general idea. Every month or so, someone submits a problem to this website; a "How Do I Say This?" type of problem. All month long, submissions are given on how people think this problem can be solved. For example, the current problem is: "How do I take the 'secret' out of a secret crush?" Genius. You can watch on a you-tube-esque interface how people should tell someone that they like them, etc. It is amazing. What a great idea. Like a blog, but the posts are a question and each comment is a video. Seriously check it out.

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait...And Run!

On Saturday afternoon, Laura, Uzi, and I were lounging in the living room and I was flipping through the J.Crew mag that had just come flying through our mail slot. That's when I saw it. The skirts that Uzi and I have been lusting after for about a year now. Within a minute of seeing the object of our affection on the page, we were in the car and on our way to the mall. We got 2 each. Instead of $50 as listed in the catalog, they were only $19.99. Run, don't walk to your nearest J.Crew store.

The Run Tonight

If I die, it was nice knowing you all.
Last week wasn't so bad...after the room stopped spinning. This is .85 miles longer than last week. Only 83 more days until this half marathon. That's only 7 weeks and some change. Holy crap!

Before Friday

I need a man to kiss me before Friday. This is serious. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

Things I Want

Many of you who know me well also know that I love journals. This last year I received a journal from Scott that I absolutely LOVE. I haven't been quite as dedicated lately when it comes to writing in them, but I need to buckle down and keep a better record! I was blog browsing today and I found this great website called Kate's Papery and I when I saw these journals, I actually started salivating. For $75, I can wait. But I love these.

I'm Not Sure If I Should Be Surprised...

In today's most shocking news, Anna Nicole Smith died in Florida.

Hilarious

My coworker just sent me these pictures of what Hollywood will look like in 30 years. Enjoy.