My Seattle Trip aka The Parade of Butter and Sugar

A few weeks ago I went to Seattle for a little trip to visit my amazing friends up there. As always, I had a fabulous time that could only have been improved if Seattle were in a tropical climate. But Seattle makes up for the rain with good food.....so I took a picture of a lot of what I ate...and it was all good!

Upon arrival we had guac and chips

with a lovely chicken salad ....I figured I wasn't off to too bad of a start....there are a lot of vegetables there under all that dressing.... and avocados have the good kind of fat.... However, I'm pretty sure this cinnamon pastry we had for dessert has the bad kind of fat.

Breakfast/lunch was this apple pull apart muffin brilliance. It was so good and so fattening, it had to be two meals at once....which was okay because I spent the morning/afternoon lying in bed reading a really stupid vampire book....so I wasn't even burning calories with my brain.

Dinner with Courtney, Tamra, and Michaelynn was fantastic at

P.F. Cheng's. We, of course, started out with lettuce wraps and then shared some black bean chicken, mongolian beef and some shrimp dish. I tried the shrimp....because I really do want to like seafood. The orange fried coating was good but the shrimp in the middle still made me want to gag. I can now ignore all fish for another year or two until I'll try to like it again.

At the movie after dinner ("When In Rome"....ah, how I miss my Veronica), I had some popcorn and raisonettes. I'd like to say I shared most of it, but that would be lying. I shared some of it...that's honest.

This picture can also act as a "before" picture of my thighs....I'm pretty sure I won't post an "after" picture.

Well, by this time in my trip....I kept either forgetting my camera at meals, or forgetting to take pictures of my meals. I do wish I had had a shot of the exploding Root Beer incident outside the grocery store....good times and one I will enjoy in my post-life review.

But a record of the food from my Seattle trip would not be complete without it's crowning course.....cupcakes.....cupcakes....and more cupcakes!!

Well, there you have it. A record of the "Carla Vacation" experience. Anyone interested in traveling with me in the future....this is what it is all about!

Goodbye Old Friend....I've Watched You Through So Much

This week I bid farewell to an old companion that has stuck with me through many years. Yes, I'm talking about my old Magnavox TV. I think if televisions had odometers, that little box would have flipped it's a couple times by now....I've put a lot of miles on that thing. So, I wanted to celebrate it's long life with a little stroll down memory lane.

Maggie (yes, she has a name) came into my life when I lived in Seattle. I had a VCR, but no television set and....well, that was rather useless. So, I bought her and set her up down

stairs where she could be viewed by anyone sitting on that nasty old grey pullout (or by any of the spiders that regularly traversed the room).

After Seattle it was next set up in my little apartment off 100 East in Provo where I had roommates that liked to watch tella novellas. The language barrier stopped me from enjoying that genre of television....proving that I guess I won't actually watch anything....I do have standards.....and if not standards....limits?

Next I moved to Orem and Maggie came with me. I remember the day I realized how brilliant I could be by setting the TV across the room but the VCR right next to my bed! I could switch out movies without leaving my bed! Crazy awesome!!

For the last 6 years she has lived in my bedroom on a little rolling cart that allowed me to swivel her wherever I need her to be. At the base of my bed, turned to be visible while doing my hair and makeup, or even into the bathroom so I could watch a movie while taking a hot bath.....she's been a reliable friend whenever I need her.

But our good years are now at an end. Most of the time only the bottom half of the screen shows up and, though it may seem ungrateful, I'm afraid it's time for her to move out.

So I say goodbye....thanks for all the memories.

Thanks for introducing me to Alias, Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, and Burn Notice. Thanks for not judging my obsession with The O.C., Supernatural, and Prison Break (remember the time Mary Ann and I yelled at you for Michael to "Kill that stupid T-Bag!!! Just put the knife through his heart!!")

So many memories, so many stories, so many empty (lonely?) hours filled! I'll miss you! (Please don't judge that you have already been replaced by a really pretty LCD flatscreen....)

My New Favorite Book!!

The Forgotten Garden
By Kate Morton

The Forgotten Garden begins with a small child, seemingly abandoned, on a boat headed for Australia. She claims to not know her name or why she carries with her a small suitcase containing an illustrated book of fairy tales and one single change of clothes. From this central point the mystery of who she is and where she came from is slowly revealed over a 100 year span of time. This book is all at once a family saga, a romance, and a mysterious tale of tragedy and redemption.

This is a spectacular piece of storytelling and a work of fiction I can easily recommend to almost anyone. The Forgotten Garden reminds me of The Thirteenth Tale but with a much better conclusion. Morton’s method of slowly unravel a complicated story is engrossing and I had a hard time setting the book down each night. By far my favorite book of the year and one I can see myself recommending for years to come.

P.S. I am totally buying this book, so if you want to borrow it....it will be available soon! :)

I Got Tired of the Old Look

I decided my blog needed a new look. I know this isn't fancy or anything, but I like it. Speaking of looks, sometimes I look around at people and I wonder exactly what "look" they are going for.

Peopleofwalmart.com is a great example. I could probably create a PeopleAtYourPublicLibrary.com website that would be just as entertaining.

What kills me is that those people CHOOSE to leave their homes looking like that, so they must want to present themselves that way.....so maybe others look at me and think the same thing....that I'm a little crazy.

Hopefully I have friends that love me enough to tell me when I look ridiculous....enough to tell me if I have huge flakes of dandruff in my eyebrow.....right?

P.S. The eyebrow dandruff was actually icing from dishing up dessert...just in case you were wondering.

Richard Peck is Coming!

Richard Peck , Newberry Award winning author of "A Long Way From Chicago" and "A Year Down Yonder", is coming to the Provo City Library!! I understand he is a very good speaker and he will be in our Ballroom, Tuesday, March 2nd at 6:00 PM.

Free tickets are now available at the Children's Desk, though I understand they are going quickly. If you are interested or have questions let me know. He will also be signing books afterwords.

When Your Stalker Moves On…

A couple days ago I had a strange and unexpected empty feeling when I realized that my little schizophrenic stalker of 11 years has moved on. I know it sounds insane, but I miss his strange looks and sidelong shuffles to wherever I happen to be standing in order to say “You look pretty today.” Or him telling my co-workers that if I didn’t have a boyfriend (a lie my co-workers kindly told for me years ago), he would marry me for sure.

There was a time when he adored me. He even sent me a love note once praising my feet of all things….and did I mention there was poetry involved? Well, there was. I know I kept a copy, but I can’t find it. Anyway, at the time, I acted all above it and shut my office door more than absolutely necessary, specifically to avoid him stopping by to say hi.

But, a while ago, he got married. (Yes…the crazy schizophrenic kid got married before me…that’s a whole different issue that I try not to dwell upon.) Since his marriage he has stopped talking to me outside official questions and comments. He explained right before his wedding that he wouldn’t be able to talk to me anymore because he could only talk to his wife now….which is kinda sweet…I guess. But, like I said, now I unexpectedly miss him and his awkward attentions.

I don’t even want to begin to understand what that says about me. Pretty sure it is something about being needy and starved for attention, or maybe I just miss a friendship I never knew I valued?

Looking for Something to do for Valentine's Day?

Well, I'm not....because I already have plans. Are they the plans I would really like to be making for this silly holiday? No. But, I thought I'd send out a little notice, just in case anyone would like to join me. The Library does an annual Valentine's Day Dance....it has gone through various changes through the years and this year it is going to be a little less formal than in the past, plus they lowered the price to $20 per person!!

I know that sounds like a lot, but you get dinner and dancing (and a flower for all the girls....so, that is super nice!!). They will be serving a delicious BBQ dinner followed by a live band with line dancing and some country swing stuff.

Some years I have brought dates, but I just don't have the energy for that this time. I just thought that since I have to be there, I'd try to convince some of my friends to go too.

I tried to upload the flier, but it wouldn't work. Here's the link.

Let me know if you have questions :)