WSPR

I love the beach. I think it's part of my DNA. So when I found out that I was speaking at the Western Society for Pediatric Research conference in Carmel, California, I got pretty excited. I hadn't spent much time on the California coast north of Newport Beach, but Carmel definitely didn't disappoint. It is a lovely, half-mile long beach set up right next to the fabulous Pebble Beach Golf Course. The most free-time we had was the first day there and we couldn't have asked for nicer weather. Of course, I walked to the beach as quickly as my feet would carry me.

I dipped my toes in the FREEZING cold Pacific Ocean.

Much too cold for swimming this time of year.

I was happy to be there.

The actual town of Carmel shouldn't go unmentioned. It is picturesque, quaint, and charming with every nook and cranny looking like it's out of a Thomas Kinkade picture.

The flowers were blooming and the air smelled of blossoms already!

The streets were lined with fantastic shops complete with leaded glass and Dutch doors. There were patisseries and boulangeries every block that filled the air with the smell of baking bread and cinnamon.

This was the most amazing fromagerie I have ever seen. The Carmel Cheese Shop. They let us try as many cheeses as we wanted. Double cream smoked gouda, alsace muenster, beecher's flagship cheddar, aged gruyere, Humboldt fog, Leerdermeer, etc. I had intended simply to taste, but definitely didn't leave empty handed...

Best grilled cheese ever.

Carmel was such a nice and welcomed break from the cold, Utah winter. I will definitely be returning there, but next time with my golf clubs!

Side note: The conference itself was also great. Speaking in that kind of setting was definitely a new, frightening experience, but a good one. I'm glad it's over though.

Grace and Grace

For years, I have been enjoying recipes from the famous Ivory "Favorites" cookbook. I'm talking serious Warner family classic dinners that have hailed from the pages of this thing. Delightful, delicious recipes. I honestly believe that everyone should own one.

So recently, when I found out that there was a follow-up cookbook, "Keeping Up," I was eager to get my hands on a copy. Thanks to the Boyer girls for the tip! They regularly post recipes from this book, and luckily, my mom gave me a copy for Christmas. We were pretty excited to get cooking and it wasn't long before we were 3 or 4 recipes in and loving every bite of it. So, my mom and I have decided to take our own Julie and Julia-like adventure and cook our way through "Keeping Up." Grace and Grace: Grace Warner and Grace Ivory Rock. (Sans the blog.)

So far, it's a total success! We make a new recipe almost 4 out of 7 nights a week, and have yet to be anything but delighted. I'll report when we finish, but in the mean time, I totally recommend purchasing one of these babies. Trust me. You'll be very glad you did!

Keeping Up

A little of What's Been Going On...

Today was my last First Day of School.

Ever.

This feels pretty momentous due to the fact that in a few short months I will complete 19 straight years of school without any breaks. In addition, factoring in individual semesters means 29 First Days of school. Yikes.

I wonder if I'm going to have an identity crisis once I'm no longer a student.

I can't even fathom what that is going to feel like.

Well, the break was wonderful. 3+ weeks of sleeping in, eating plenty of treats and other delicious food, reading non-school books, MANY movies, etc, and definitely did not include hauling my backpack anywhere, cracking the cover of a single textbook, minimal work, and as few trips to campus as possible. I tried my hardest to not do anything unpleasant the entire break. I was mostly successful. Here are a few of the highlights.

St. George, for the Las Vegas Bowl. Although the game was mostly frustrating and ended badly, it was still fun to be there. And, we didn't get a drop of rain which proved to be an added and unexpected bonus.

We even made it to Trader Joe's in Henderson to pick up some Candy Cane Jo Jo's!

(I may have bought 2 boxes to bring home, and probably ate almost all of them myself. I have a problem.)

This beauty is from a small skiing mishap the day before we left to St. George. I fell...on a rock....that not only slit a hole in my snow pants (and almost my leg, apparently), but left me with this gorgeous bruise. I should have taken more pictures as time went on because it turned the most sensational colors.

We went for a very rainy run up Snow Canyon and it was lovely. Due to the mass amounts of rain that the area was receiving at the time (the Virgin and Santa Clara Rivers were raging!), Snow Canyon Road actually closed because of too much water flowing literally over the road. We took the paved path instead, but still ran into this situation.

We came up with a solution.

After St. George was Christmas and all of the associated festivities. Not pictured events include: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, sledding at Soldier Hollow with much of the extended Warner Family, lots of cousin time at Grammy's which included dress-ups, games, Legos, and watching Star Wars, Baby Eva's blessing, New Year's Eve, a fun visit with my cousin Caroline to see our cousin Kate and her 3 triplet boys, etc.

Having the fam home was a dream. It had been months since we were all together and boy did we have fun. One night we were able to leave the kids and just go out with the adults to Nuch's Pizzaria and Restaurant. (2300 E and 1800 S) Delicious, and so fun to spend some time together. We're missing everyone already.

The break was perfect and jam packed full of activities.

Just what I needed before heading into this last semester.

Passed!

I defended my thesis proposal this morning - something I've been working on (and dreading) for almost 8 months now...

And I PASSED!! HOORAY!!

The Good Times...

Anyone who has been to college has experienced all of the good and bad that is has to offer.

There truly is something special about spending time on any University campus. The students, athletics, excitement, energy, etc. It is definitely a dynamic place to be. I feel like, in the same way we form relationships with other people, we form relationships with school. In fact, it is the hope that we formed such a great relationship that we eventually want to give back financially to our respective institution. I digress. After spending 7 straight years here, I am currently finishing my last fall semester at the University of Utah. I basically should be an MD by now.

When I started college, campus was filled with familiar faces. The library was often more of a social experience than an academic one. Today, on the off chance that I do leave my only building, I don't recognize any of the far-too-young-to-be-in-college faces I see around. Everyone has long since graduated. But I'm left with millions of great memories of campus. I love to run into people who were part of my undergrad experience and reminisce about all of the good times. They are abundant. But almost without fail, the conversation ends up at a point where the person says to me, "You are so lucky to be in school still." And then, "I miss it..." with that dreamy look in their eyes. This is always such an interesting phenomenon to me. I think something happens to people after they're out of school for an undetermined amount of time. Much like following the break-up of a long-term relationship, we seem to forget all of the pain and suffering and remember only on the good times. I call it selective memory. For whatever reason, finals week doesn't seem to be a part of anyone's memory of college. Term papers, what are those? Stress? Don't know it. Late, late nights of Red Bull and Doritos... never happened. Forget about tuition. No no, everyone who has graduated can only remember the good stuff. You know, learning. Expanding their minds. Blah, blah, blah...

As I head into finals and my thesis proposal defense this week, let me be the one to remind you why you broke up with school, ie: graduated. School is hard. Tests, papers, tuition, projects, presentations, grades... They ran your life. Its uncomfortable, stressful, and in my case, interminable. Particularly right now, I don't think I can hear another person tell me how much they miss being in school.

Trust me...you don't.

Ski-cation

No school, no work, fresh snow, lovely weather, opening day at Jackson Hole,

and a birthday to celebrate...

Why not go ski Targhee and Jackson for a couple of days??

Great skiing, Jazz win over the Lakers, Utes win over the cougs...

Aside from a busted ski, it was an epic weekend.

A City So Nice...

On a whim, I bought a plane ticket to New York City during a "one day deal" through Jet Blue. Very spontaneous. Very unlike me.

The trip was amazing.

I was lucky enough to stay with my good friend Rachel Price, and we had a great time catching up and hanging out! I spent quite a bit of time on my own (behind the camera), exploring the city and seeing a few cool places.

Central Park. The colors were all almost gone, but the city was still beautiful.

"It would be a shame to miss New York in the fall..."

MoMA with Rachel.

More Van Gough at the Metropolitan.

Museum of Natural History.

They had the most fantastic gem exhibit including a 31 carat diamond!

Walked the Brooklyn Bridge.

Temple session at the Manhattan Temple.

(The whole session was conducted in Mandarin. Awesome)

Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine -

what an incredible cathedral.

Something I would never have seen if Rachel didn't live just around the corner.

The real drive behind purchasing the tickets to the city was to make a day trip to Philly to see my cousin Stewart play football. I loved the city, but the game was probably the highlight of the entire trip. The best part was being in the stadium and seeing how many fans had the #55 jersey on with Bradley across the back. It was seriously cool, and Stewart had a great game!

Snuck in the Liberty Bell before the game.

I was able to talk some friends into going with me. So fun!

Yep. Also just a couple of blocks from where I stayed.

Not pictured: Magnolia Bakery, Pinkberry, Harry Potter 7 midnight showing, Lunch with my good friend Lizzie (Hinckley) Davis, Trader Joe's (Yes, it deserves being mentioned!), church in Harlem, Christmas Spectacular with the real Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall, and a few other odds and ends.

I love New York, and would love to find a reason to move out there some day.

I'm working on it.