I'm Keli I explore. I create. I believe. sometimes Spike comes with me.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
FAME
I love to make a list and do everything on that list. When I was at Kathy's one night over a year ago I remarked that I thought I had been to every restaraunt in Cache Valley so I looked in the phone book and realized that I had not been to over FOURTY of them.
I asked several people if they wanted to go with me to visit food places and NOBODY wanted to go with me. They either did not have time or money or the desire to do it. They did not know they were giving up an opportunity to be in the paper!!!!
I asked my co-worked Cindy if she wanted to go and she said yes. We started out going to the places that MAKE food
we went to Gossners where I got one each of their flavored milk and we had so much fun tasting their cheese:)
we went to Lowers where I took home some meat
we went to Pepperidge where we bought a ton of stuff and had some goldfish samples
we went to Aggie Ice Cream and had their ice cream and some of the BEST SANDWICHES EVER!!! I highly reccommend the chicken salad there
we went to Caspers and had ice cream.
we went to The Bluebird and got an O'Aggie bar, a special bar native to this valley. I liked mine. I thought the food at the Bluebird was good and I really like the atmosphere in their. The service there is really slow though at least everytime that I have been in there and one time I found a hair in my salad there.
we went to Bluebird chocolates around easter and they had a huge easter bunny on sale that was 85$ and he was HOLLOW the chocolate there was good though:)
when we were done with all that Cindy said where should we go next and I thought well lets start going to all these places that I have not gone yet. So I had gone to a lot with Kathy or Kate or on various dates but then Cindy and I really got down to buisness we started going to a different restaraunt every week.
Over time our friendship grew at first we were just co-workers we became really good friends and we laughed and cryed. After I lost my job at Qwest in July 2009 I was happy that Cindy and I kept our tradition and frienship strong. Since we only saw each other once a week we sometimes would sit in restaraunts from about 4:40 until seven PM sometimes later we talk about EVERYTHING. It has been one of the highlights of my week and something I will REALLY miss when I move to VA I know that no matter how bad my week is I will have dinner with Cindy and we will laugh and have some good food.
Here is some of the restaraunts we have been to and what we thought of them-
I have been to the A & W fast food place in Smithfield when I was on a break from the thrift store and I LOVE THEIR LIMEAIDE!
Kate and I went to the Artic Circle in Preston and had fun getting their sweet pototo fries they were really good :)
we went to Blackstone in Logan when that was still open which is a VERY NICE place... I did not like my meal at all... the waiter even warned me not to get it but I did anyway... Blackstone has since closed down
we went to the Beehive Grill in Logan. we really enjoyed their homebrewed orange drink and rootbeer drink. There food was just OK.
I have been to Beto's for lunch it is OK
I have been to Big J's tons of times since that is the nearest fast food place to me. I like a lot of the stuff that they have.
I don't really like Burger King
WE BOTH LOVE BURGERZ EXPREZZ in Smithfield, that place has great service and good fries and really really really good food :)
I LOVE CAFE RIO- been to ones all over UT :)
I really like Cafe Sabor. I have been there on dates, with Qwest and with Kathy and with Kate everytime I have loved what I have gotten:)
Caffe Ibis had great sandwichs all though they made us pay extra for our drinks but would include coffee in with their meal deal which I thought was lame.
Carls Jr is OK
Center St. Grill is OK
Chilis is OK
I really like the Copper Mill I went there on a date once back in 2005 this guy was like yeah arn't you lucky that you are on a date with me so I could find this cool restaraunt. He said I would not be able to find a cool restaraunt like that on my own... little did HE KNOW
El Sol was OK
El Toro Viejo was neat I had never been in a small authentic restaraunt like that
The Factory Pizzaria was SO GOOD! Kate and I went there and I loved it and I thank her for showing it to me :) Cindy and I had so much fun there, it was very much my kind of place and we got a TON of food!
Cantonese House in Smithfield... YUMMY!!!! I go there so much on my breaks from the thrift store that they say is this Keli?:)
I DID like the Firehouse, UNTIl Kathy and I went there one night and were treated VERY RUDE. I am never going back there... not even for a skookie there are to many good restaraunts to waste my time there..
Callaways in Smithfield was expensive but REALLY GOOD some of the best mac and cheese I have ever had ever :)
Frederico's was good I loved their salad :)
I have been to Golden Corrall lots of times in lots of states. it is what it is.
Hamiltons is WAY NICE. I have even been to a wedding reception once there with Kathy. I am just OK with the food though
IHOP- is well IHOP
Indian Oven was DELICIOUS great service great food we loved our meal there I want to copy all the stuff that we got there:)
I have eaten at Iron Gate Grill many times because they used to cater for Qwest and give us gift certificates. They have good food and it is a cool place
I love the Italian Place in Logan! they have great sandwiches!
Jamba Juice-is good
Juniper Take-out had some really yummy food and great fries
Kamin Thai food - was just OK I was a bit disappointed every other time I have had thai food it was way good this was just OK
Korean BBQ was great! great service great food!
LD's in Richmond was MY FAVORITE! I love that hometown yummy food! it just says Cache Valley
pupuseria el salvador was good my second little tiny authentic place
I really liked Logan's Hero's.
I have been to Mis Amores in Preston so many times for some reason people love to take me out to eat there. I really like it
the Olive Garden is just OK. Kathy and I went there last December (2008) and they sat us so close to the door that everytime someone came in a big gust of wind did also
panda express is good
papa johns and dominos are OK but I am a pizza hut girl :)
Papa Kelsey and Henrys was way good!
Pier 49 had great garlic bread.
I really liked the Pita Pit when I lived in Provo do they even have that here anymore?
quiznos and subway are good for lunch breaks
Taco Bell was rude to me so I try to not go there except on Halloween when they were giving out free Tacos and Matt and Shelli got some for me
Texas Roadhouse was DELICIOUS!!!! YUMM great bread great food!
wendys is good
I loved Wingers tortilla soup and their popcorn and their salad. I went there on my lunch break from Qwest a lot
I got Wok on Wheels a lot at Qwest too.
Yah Poh in Logan was great their empanada's were so good!
I also liked tummy yummies yogurt and concept
I love La Tienda in Franklin,ID that place has the best chicken strips EVER we loved our meal and the service there. It is my SECOND favorite place to eat
I really like The Cracker Barrell in Paradise too. They have delicious food
my friend Rachael and I went out to a place in Weston, ID called Papa Js or something like that and WE LOVED OUR food there too..
I am so sad to leave here but I can at least say that I have made my mark and I look forward to start going to places in Centreville,VA :)
I think that I will follow Cindy's tradition of always asking the waiter or waitress what they like I have gotten some really good food that way and I think that would help people like my mom that are almost PETRIFIED to try something new.She was so paranoid the first time that I took her to Taco Bell when I was a teen she wouldnt even ORDER she just went to McDonalds after and got something there... she needs to get out of that rut...
Sunday, December 20, 2009
holiday
I invited people, I meant to make cute invites and invite EVERYONE... but well I was not feeling good and um I did not so here is who came: I will not put their whole names because not everyone wants my blog to come up if they are googled
The ( P) family- Amy, Kent and Nathaniel
The ( N) family- Jeff, Megan, Silas, Livia and Lucy
The ( R) family -Carla and Jorge
The ( C) family- only Rachael and Taylor
The ( W) family Carol and Steve
Harley
and Carla and Jorge brought their friend Steve
everyone brought an appetizer or a dessert, Harley and I made a chex mix and put in cheez-its and pretzels :) When Harley and I went to Lee's I said that she could pick out what she wanted to bring she picked cinnamon rolls, so we had those too.
Amy brought oreo truffles YUMMY!
Carol and Steve brought 7 layer dip and chips
Rachael brought chips and dip
Megan brought homemade gingersnaps
Carla and Jorge brought a big tin of cookies
and that guy extra guy Steve did not bring anything
we ate some food, then I gave everyone a number and they were allowed to pick a gift even the kids played :)
I don't know if I can remember right what everyone got but I will try!
Keli- I got a box of hot chocolate
Harley- a book about cowgirls
Amy- she stole some stuffing from Jorge I am not sure what she had to begin with
Nathaniel got a little magnetic Cars thing
Kent-got some kimchi I would have ate some there because I like kimchi but Carol and Steve had all ready left and I was not sure how old it was...
Jeff - got some paper ornaments that Steve( the extra guy) had made
Taylor traded Steve ( the extra guy) for a kids book and some tootsie pops
Rachael -Im not sure???
I just remember that Amy also got a book about canning...
Livia - got a leopard print blanket that Harley had picked out at family dollar
Silas-??? some sort of food
Megan- a CD case
Lucy-???
Carla- some mens cologne
Jorge???
Steve- the extra guy got some dominos that Taylor gave him because she wanted the tootsie pops
Carol and Steve left early because they were going to FL.
afterwards people stayed and chatted. Carla, Jorge, the extra guy Steve and I watched a movie and Harley spent the night
it was a good party and I all ready have a gift for next year :)
Friday, December 18, 2009
holiday
what you do is you bake a dozen cookies then bring them to the party and you can take a dozen home of any kinds of cookies that are there :)
my friends, Kathy, Marian, Rachael, and Brinna came and brought cookies too.
I made these cookies that I got out of the Paula Deen cookbook that was dough wrapped around a hersheys kiss. They tasted OK
Kathy made cake mix cookies
Marian's step-daughter Josie made no-bake cookies for her to bring and Marian made molassas cookies for her sister Rachael to bring.
Brinna made chocolate chip.
Amy made several kinds and all were good :)
Friday, December 11, 2009
VA day TWELVE
see what I mean about me leaving to go places insanly early..
I slept off and on the whole flight... because I was a bit tired...
when I got to UT there was no one to pick me up and it was a fiasco but my friend Marian's husband Vern got me a ride with a shuttle so I got home and was WIPED OUT!!!!!
and that is my trip :)
VA day ELEVEN
I met Danille at the rental car place we gave back the rental car then she drove me over to Rob and Erin's
This Sunday I was WAY thankful for ONE O CLOCK CHURCH!!!!!! oh my was I thankful... I somehow managed to get ready and look nice for church... probably the only think that kept me awake was adreniline thinking of the great conversation Luke an I had had and how much fun it was seeing all my friends...
church was good. I know I fell asleep during sacrement meeting at least one time... maybe more because I am not sure what they talked about I think some missionaries leaving for Brazil or Chile and how there is more than one in the stake going the same place and IDK if they were leaving or coming back or WHAT really???
during SS I had Emily so I had to stay awake we talked about putting on the whole armor of God and the teacher started out by asking us who had seen Gladiator and he was like no one wants to admit it??? I said I had but I was bored by it..he was like well there was fiery darts in it... he had this whole laminated armor that he had made that was really cool...
In VA it is hard to find modest clothes according to the women in this class. I said that they could go online and purchase some from UT companies that make modest clothes and this one lady acted like that was PREPOSTEROUS and said she would sew on her sleeves... like well go ahead.. I dont have a sewing machine...
we also talked about living the law of chastity since it was mostly married people in there they were like well just be intimate with your wife... I wish it were THAT easy since I am single I got a list a mile long that I have to follow and I am glad to do so:) I also want to say that even after staying up until six Am I could take the sacrament with a clear conscience WOOOHOO! that felt GOOD! :)
Rob and Erin teach SS kids that are like 9 or 10. They are great teachers!
It was the 5th Sunday and this guy that just got realeased from the Stake Presidency and his wife taught about marriage and how we bend apart but need to bend back together in marriage and how they had polled the stake and what people want in the stake.. this one lady was like well people in the world want a woman that wears lingerie... I was like what the??? first of all that is TOTALLY INNAPROPIATE to say.. and what??? then they were like people of the world want someone that makes a lot of money... I said no good people of the world want a good man or a good woman and if they don't they need counseling...like people of the world are not all TRASHY my heck... the guy teaching said good point... they later said that we want people that are good providers.. and how is that different from someone with money???? like if you are a good provider you have $ I mean that is how I see it any way...
after church Rob and Erin took me to Heathers in Centreville and I was able to meet her kids Lony who is 12 and April who is 8. we chatted then Heather had to go to the Giant in Clifton to pick up her friends son Dalton who worked there and we saw this man and he had on tight jeans and cowboy boots and a cowboy hat and shirt and a belt buckle and Heather was like WHOA CHECK HIM OUT and I was like who? and she was like that guy right there! and I said what and she was like where did he come from??? it is like he just dropped in from TX. I said that there were guys like that ALL OVER where I lived ... in fact I bet I could just go stand outside my door and see men like that driving by she was like whoa I did not know anyone looked like that that did not live in TX... I told her I have several pairs of cowboy boots and she was like and you WEAR them and I said I sure do:)
Heather took me back to Rob and Erin's and
Erin and I stayed up WAAAY to late then I was up until like 3 AM so yeah 6 AM one night and 3 AM the next ....
and you did not see a nap anywhere above...
VA day TEN
Alex and I woke up in Reston,Va at Rob and Erin's house. we got ready and went to Leesburg,VA. I love Leesburg,VA I don't know that I would ever LIVE in Leesburg, VA but I would DEFINATLY ( however that is spelled) live on the outskirts like Lucketts, or Lovettsville or something,..but I love Leesburg, you know what I love Lewiston too... It must be something about those towns that start with L... I love Leesburg because it has a cool old town with fun shops to go in. I also love it because it has SEVERAL thrift stores all within WALKING distance to each other. The thought of this is always amazing to me like how do you have the population of people getting rid of things to sustain this MANY thrift stores??? I mean there ares some Saturdays at Somebodys Attic where we get in nothing.. or nothing but junk... so Alex and I were up there going through shops etc.
Zack that graduated from CLC when I was a freshman that no one there really knew came. He seemed like a nice man.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
VA day NINE
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
VA day EIGHT
Danielle and I went to the grocery store and got some stuff. I made artichoke dip and put it on bread. I wanted to make these cute candy turkeys but could not find all the candy necessary to make them... I guess this is what I get for waiting until THANKSGIVING DAY to go shopping..
Danielle and I drove to Reston,VA on all these curvy roads I thought for sure I WAS GOING TO PUKE... we went over to Rob and Erin and Emily's and I got dressed and did my hair and phew I felt like myself again... I had not had much stuff with me in Chesapeake,VA and it was nice to be back at Rob and Erin's where all my stuff was.:)
Danielle said that Rob and Erin are the kind of people that you just SEE them and you can tell they are nice like you just know that they can never be mean! :) and I agree :)
Danielle took me to my Aunt Diane and Uncle Kerry's in Fairfax,VA it took a lot of curvy roads to get there too. On a side note, my Aunt Gail that I had been staying with is my mothers younger sister by two years. My Aunt Diane is there baby sister she is ten years younger than my mom and eight years younger than my mom. She lives in a VERY LARGE house in Fairfax,VA Danielle had to drop me off at noon even though I was not suppossed to be there until three pm because she had to be at her families house in Manassas,VA and I did not hear anyone in my family offering me a ride from Reston,to Fairfax.... so I took what I could get...
I made my artichoke bread. My cousin Kirk was making a cauliflower/broccoli cassarole. My aunt Diane was finishing up preperations.
I asked everyone what they were thankful for I added a few extras for people too:)
here they are mine are all real:
Keli is thankful for
being here on Thanksgiving with my family
the gospel of Jesus Christ
my Little Boy Spike
my friends!!!!
my warm house and cute clothes:)
Beverly ( my mom) is thankful for
her health and her families health
all her favorite tv shows
her car
her house
that she has money to pay her bills
Kristen ( my 20 year old cousin)
is thankful for
friends
family
her health
that she goes to a great university and has cute clothes
Uncle Kerry is thankful for
his health
his job
his wife of thirty years of Diana Lynn who he loves with all his heart
The Redskins and the great season they are having
The Washington Post and the Black Friday ads .. he is getting up at 3AM
Bradley ( my 31 year old brother)
is thankful for
his DVD's
his job
his vacations and abilities and to vacation
his family
volleyball and softball
Aunt Diane is thankful for
her family
her job
her horses
football( she loves football)
God!
friends ( if she had any)
Kirk ( my 19 year old cousin)
is thankful for
FOOD ( he guesses)
SPORTS
FAMILY ( he guesses)
FRIENDS
I got this way cute paper and rolled all these up and put cute little ribbons on them and put them in the cute bucket you see above. I passed them around the table and whoever you picked you had to read theres out loud
I will leave it up to your discretion to guess which ones I made up and which ones are real. Some are all real I just added them
For some reason I can't find my dads at this very moment but he is grateful for his family and friends, his car, his church and things like that:)
we had turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed pototos, punch that Granny used to make, a veggie platter, rolls etc for dinner. For dessert we had three kinds of pie.
Danielle came and picked me up at five pm we went to Dulles Airport to get our rental car. They said they were all sold out so I went off and said isnt there anything that you can do? They sent us to this place called Alamoot Rental Cars. It was this little rental car place that is run by some persian men and they just have piece of paper up that says Alamoot Rental Cars. They rented Danielle this car that had over 120 thousand miles and was missing some knobs... I think it may have been part of the cash for clunkers program. Danielle was like this is like it is someones personal car.. I said that it probably was...
Danielle went to go visit friends and I went over to my cousin Scott's in Centreville,VA I got to see his new baby Maddi awwww... I talked with Scott for a bit then went back to Reston,VA to Rob and Erin's
I just want to express my gratitude for being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints! It has blessed my life in more ways that I can imagine and I know very soon I will have my own little family to be thankful for :)
VA day SEVEN
We went to the Goodwill and I got a REALLY COOL DRESS for like four bucks! ( that I wore on Sunday.) everyone in there was so friendly and loud and I realized that all this time I have been trying to be QUIET and thinking there is something wrong with me well no that is just me I AM LOUD AND PROUD!:)
I went in another thrift store which was not really a thrift store... but a bunch of junk that people had bought and were charging inflated prices for...
then my aunt Gail and Bettie all went to Doumars in Norfolk,VA where they invented the ice cream cone. I saw it on The Food Network and really wanted to go
then we dropped of Bettie and Gail and I went and visited her friend Pam in Portsmouth,VA
Gail and I drove around Portsmouth,VA they had some REALLY cool old houses and a ferry that goes between Portsmouth and Norfolk... COOL .
I got a magnet for me and Shelli
Gail and Bettie then dropped me off at Danielle's and we, Danielle, myself, Vanessa, Deondre and Deondre's friend Mikey all headed up to Northern VA
we spent the night in Bealeton,VA at Danielle's sister Linda's house
VA day SIX
Va day FIVE
We got to the West Falls Church Metro and Erin accidently left her purse on the bus, she did a great job chasing it down and I am proud of her. I stayed with Emily:) we got on the orange line to Metro Center I think then we took the red line to Union Station. We got off the metro and walked over to the Greyhound station where we checked my tickets in because later that day I was going down to the VA Beach area.
We then walked over to the US Capitol. It was a short walk and it was really cool to all of a sudden see it like we are going to tour THAT! As we got closer I noticed how much security is around it, you can look across the street and right there is the Lincoln Memorial. I did not have my camera working that day I only had my phone with me so the picture from that day are not the best...
We went inside and checked in and while Erin nursed Emily I went into the gift store. I bought a magnet that said US Capitol Visitors Center and one that said US Capitol. ( and because I forgot to mention it the other day I also have one that says Calvert Marine Museum and Solomons Island,MD) I also got replicas of the declaration of independence and the bill of rights and the constitution that are on my desk right now in a cool container.
when Erin was ready we went to go check in with our tour and they said that we could start one right then. We went and watched a short movie about the US Capitol in a nice little theater then met our tour guide Vernon. He told Erin and I to meet him because we had to take the elevator. when we met him upstairs he had to find us because for a second we joined the wrong tour...
Vernon was a really funny tour guide... he told us about the painting the apothesis of Washington and said that "there is George Washington ascending into Heaven to become a God and he is taking 15 women with him.... hahahah 13 are for the original states and 2 are for Liberty and Justice. He also told us about people laying in state and how in 2007 before they took her body back to the Bahamas Anna Nicole Smith layed in state and I thought WHAT ??? WHY??? then we realized he was joking...
He showed us a the crypt where George Washington was suppossed to be buried there but in his will he stated that he really wanted to be buried in Mount Vernon. So it took them a long time to find someone to be buried there but now Jimmy Hoffa is buried down there.... hahahahha
I told Vernon I had just read The Lost Symbol and I heard that EVERYWHERE in the Capitol had cell service he said that was not true that if he took me down to that crypt and left me there... I would not be able to call anyone for help hahahah
there was also an older lady that tryed to get in a fight with Vernon about whether George Washington DID or DID NOT have slaves....
As part of being a tour guide Vernon has to memorize 100 statues because every state has two and he pointed them out for us on the tour for any state that people wanted to know about. VA has George Washington and Robert E. Lee- but who else would you EXPECT for VA...UT has Philo Farnsworth-inventor of the TV, yes a Mormon invented TV:) and Brigham Young- who else would you EXPECT for UT! He asked me to point out Brigham Young and I pointed out a man with a short beard, but there Brigham Young had a long beard... I could not get a picture with anyone but Philo because we were on a tour and the statues were surrrounded by people.
Emily was the best little baby in the whole wide world during the tour and barely made a peep. Several people including Vernon complimented Emily and Erin on how good of a baby Emily is :)
After our tour we left The Capitol and it was raining. we realized that we had went out the wrong entrance and were now RUNNING TO THE GREYHOUND STATION... IN THE RAIN... I had on little brown fabric flats that got SOAKED and the rain was coming up into my jeans which in turn also got SOAKED. I am used to spoiling myself in the rain and snow and wearing boots so my pants dont get wet... I forgot how much it RAINED in VA and DC. I took a cab over to the Greyhound and left some of my stuff in Emily's strollar...
So there I am standing in the Greyhound Station wet from the knees down phone dying because the charger is in Emily's strollar and I find out the bus is running an HOUR late and they dont need to tell us why
two men in front of me were having a conversation here is how it went
man one: yeah I could have taken a plane to TX my sister offered to pay... but I was like naw I hate flying I will take the bus... ( I thought YEAH RIGHT you HATE flying SO MUCH that you would rather take THIS BUS for a few DAYS then FLY... whatever)
man two: well I am just coming back from Atlantic City, NJ ( they have a lot of gambeling there) and I just won 3400 but I wanted to take the bus too... ( like mmmhmm right... you are both broke or have some sort of issue with your license like I do so you cant rent a car..)
man one: well all I know is I told my sister to meet me in TX with a whore and some Grey Goose Vodka....
man two : alll right that is what im talkin about...
wow all I can say is wow.....they said lets sit in the back of the bus and I thought note to self... do not sit in the back I don't want to hear that conversation all the way to VA beach.
I got on the bus and realized that since I did not have Alex with me like I have all the other times there was an open seat beside me. This guy sat beside me that looked like a combination of Old Man Winter and Father Time. I thought NO DONT SIT BY ME!!!! you probably smell but he did sit by me and turned out to be SO NICE! ... I felt like I needed to listen to A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief a few more times. He even gave me some food and water! His name was Larry and he also did not need to tell me his whole life story or ask me mine which I also liked...
so there we are sitting on this bus with the rain POURING down in tons of traffic this man diagonal in front of us was snoring so loud I could barely sleep or read... the girl in front of us was drinking a beer because even though that is not allowed there are NO SECURITY CHECKPOINTS to get on a Greyhound...That girl called her mom to complain about the snoring man like MOM there is a man on here SNORING so loud like grandpa but LOUDER... I guess her mom said what do you want me to do about it.. .? and the girl was like um IDK???
we finally got to Richmond,VA and because the bus being late and the rain and the traffic my bus to Norfolk,VA was GONE... the next one was coming at THREE AM. It was now SEVEN PM... So I called my aunt and she was nice enough to send her friends Bonnie and Judy that live in Colonial Heights,VA to come and get me. They were so nice and gave me some DELICIOUS SOUP!
My aunt Gail and her roommate Bettie came and got me and we all went back to Chesepeake VA
I read some then went to bed...
when I went to bed I was so glad I was not sitting in the Richmond,VA Greyhound Station. I get my license ALL THE WAY back in May 2010 and I hope to never ever ride that thing AGAIN!
for the most part an OK day...