Scenes from Salt Lake City

So as you probably know by now, I was out all last week in Salt Lake City on business. I won't bore you with the details of my work, but let's just say it was a very long and tiring week. I had a few board meetings and met a lot of people I email with on a daily basis. Overall, everything went really well!

Between work hours, I did have time to sneak off and enjoy some of the sights and sounds of the city. We also had the opportunity to visit Temple Square and hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the LDS Cathedral. It was amazing! Here are some scenes from my trip:

^^^ The view from the top! Flying into Utah.

^^^ Because I needed to have a board meeting on Saturday, I got to stay in the Presidential Suite so I could have the meeting in my room. I've never felt so fancy before!

^^^ I loved seeing the morning sunrise as we walked from the hotel to the convention center. It was just a few blocks, and we found the best breakfast place to stop at along the way for delicious breakfast burritos.

^^^ On Saturday our normal breakfast place was closed, but we found this fun bakery and it made me so happy! Seriously, how cute is this place?

^^^ It was really hard for me to pick just one and not say, "I'll have one of everything, please."

^^^ This is where I was most of the day during the week. Not the most glamorous, but at least my coworkers made it fun, and we all got to know each other a little better.

^^^ There was an ice rink right outside my hotel room! If I hadn't been so tired at the end of the day, I would have loved to try it out. I feel like it makes even February seem festive.

On Saturday night, I was able to see the most amazing concert: the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. It was truly spectacular and a great end to the trip. Special guest Santino Fontana sang also. You may not recognize his name, but those of you Frozen fans would recognize his voice. He played Prince Hans!

Our flight back home was from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles then back to OKC. At first I was annoyed, but it ended up being a blessing because flights to Dallas were cancelled due to ice and snow. Here's the view of the ocean leaving LAX!

As much as I love seeing the mountains every day, after a long week, there's nothing quite like being home.

Have you ever been to Salt Lake City or seen the Mormon Choir perform?

Project 12 // February

*Project 12: A photo on the first day of every month*

Traveled

As you probably know, I've been out of town on a business trip to Utah since Tuesday. This is the view from the sky as we flew out on Sunday. Amazing, right? I'm looking forward to sharing some pictures and stories from my trip with you! For now, let's just say it was a very busy and tiring week, and I'm happy to be home.

Dates

Jordan and I had a Valentine's date to Target to buy cards for each other. You can read more about it and other funny Jordmanda things here. 

We also went to a Thunder basketball game. We have gone to one every year since they came to town and always have a lot of fun!

Notable Events

This wasn't that big of a deal, but I did play a soloish type of thing at church one Sunday. It was during the choir solo, and I got really nervous about it and practiced all week. But it went really well, and as far as I can tell I didn't royally mess up.

p.s. If you're interested, you can read this post, where I talk more about playing the violin.

I know a few other awesome blogger friends are doing Project 12 this year (yay!) and so I'll be adding a linkup to my Project 12 posts. This is the lowest of low key linkups. There's not a button or any rules. Just link up if you wrote a Project 12 post!

Housekeeping + Links to Love

Hello! This week I will be in Salt Lake City for work. I'll be gone until Sunday afternoon, so, like alllll week. I thought about setting up a meal train for Jordan so he wouldn't just eat rice and ramen every day, but then I decided it would be much more fun to leave him to his own devices. So yeah. Wish him luck.

That picture above was the view from my hotel room when I went to SLC back in June, also for work. I have meetings and sessions scheduled, so my access to blog emails will be sporadic, if possible at all. I did schedule another vlog to post on Wednesday answering some more questions I got from you guys, so check back for that!

Hopefully I won't have the same issue as what happened last time I went on a business trip to Salt Lake City. It definitely helps that I've already been on one trip, so I sort of know what to expect. Still, I would appreciate any prayers for safety and that I won't stress out! I'm leading two different meetings, and I hope everything goes well.

Coming up in March, I have a few posts in the works you can be looking for:

1) Another Blog Talk post! I have the topic already, but I'll keep you all in suspense for now.

2) Linking up with Jenna and Anne for a "Currently" post on March 4.

3) A review and giveaway of a healthy and delicious snack as part of the Sweat Pink Ambassador program.

4) Answers to more of the "Ask Anything" questions. I told you I got a lot of good ones! You can see answers to the first set of questions here. The comment box is still open if you want to ask a question. Totally anonymous.

Today I thought I would share some current life updates and favorite links from around the web that I've come across recently. Enjoy!

-Over the last year or so, I have been trying to move away from chemicals and look for more natural products to use on my face, hair, and body. Caroline wrote a great post on the dangers of Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS), which is a chemical in most lotions, shampoos, and soaps. Since then, I've moved away from Bath & Body Works soaps and started buying all-natural, organic bars of soap. I also use a baking soda/water shampoo combo on my hair once a week, which works fantastic.  (Jordan thinks I'm becoming a hippie, but WHATEVER I'M KEEPING US HEALTHY.) 

Recently, Tracy posted about a brand called Yes to, and after checking it out online I decided to order a facial cleanser and night cream from the Yes to Carrots collection to try out. It's 96% natural with no SLS (yay!) and no fragrance (which is another harmful chemical found in a lot of lotions and such). Oh my word. You guys, I love this stuff! Even Jordan loves it. He's washing his face regularly for the first time since high school! He says his face feels so clean and not dry at all. I've loving the night cream as well. Definitely recommend if you're looking for a more natural product line.

-I look forward to these monthly desktop calendars and have been using them on my work computer for about a year. Aren't they gorgeous?

-This article about singleness is fantastic. I'm not single, obviously, but I still appreciated the article and shared it with some single friends of mine, who liked it too.

-My dad started a podcast recently! If you want to, you can check it out right here or here.

-This Pinterest board has a lot of thought-provoking posts if you feel like browsing around.

-Sarah's post on contentment totally resonated with me.

-I am encouraged, inspired, and let's be honest a little convicted by Rachel's passion for sharing about Jesus.

-A few weeks ago I made this recipe I found on Pinterest, and it was Jordan and Amanda approved. Super easy and delish. Officially added to my "Entrees I've Tried and Liked" board.

-I finished my Project Life pages for January and couldn't be happier. This is so much fun!  I plan on sharing my pages soon. I know some of you said you were interested in seeing some updates throughout the year. Find out more about Project Life here, and there's also a digital version (and an app!) for those of you techy people.

-Stationary, hand-lettering, and cute cards are my kryptonite. Especially when they're from Etsy. Because Etsy. Currently loving this, this, and this.

See you on Wednesday for another Q&A vlog! And please excuse me if it takes a few days for me to answer comments. I blame the mountains.

6/12

*Project 12: A photo on the first day of every month in 2014*

January | February | March | April | May

Read

Amanda = 2 books

Animal Farm (not bad) | Divergent (pretty bad)

Traveled

June 5-6  Salt Lake City, Utah // Business trip (recap here)

June 20-22 Texas // My little brother got married! (see pics here)

Dates

We snuck one in at the last minute this month! 
On Saturday, June 28, we went to the Oklahoma History Museum and then to BWW for lunch.

(Remember how we're related to someone famous?)

Things that Happened in June Last Year

1. My mom's side of the family had a reunion at the lake house in Texas

-I took pictures of my grandpa in the grocery store

-I took a lot of other pictures too

2. I spent the weekend in Chicago

Notable Events

Did I mention my little brother got married? I'm still recovering.

* * *

Coming in July...

IT'S BIRTHDAY MONTH.

I already have a number of plans for the epicness that will be Amanda turning 28. For one thing, I called one of my friends a few nights ago and asked her to host a party for me. That's how I roll. For kicks, you can check out what I did on my birthday last year. I took pictures all day. Because obviously.

Also, Jordan turns 29 the week after my birthday. July is just full of birthday fun.

Runners Tell All is happening again on the 21st, so you will want to join in on that awesomeness.

Finally, I'll be taking a two-weekish blog and social media hiatus later this month, which I will announce so you aren't confused about why I've disappeared from the world.

Summer is in full swing, and I hope you're enjoying it so far! I know I am.

Until next month!

A Box of Souvenir Tampons

I feel like such a goober that I got so stressed out about my business trip last weekend. I kept telling Jordan that I knew it was all going to be fine, but I still couldn't get myself to calm down. At least I'm aware of my neurotic tendencies.

Thursday morning I woke up at 4:00 a.m. feeling sick to my stomach. It was like race-day morning only there wasn't going to be a medal at the end.

The thing I was most nervous about was a problem that has plagued women of all ages since Adam and Eve tied fig leaves together to cover themselves in the Garden: what was I going to wear? Normally I don't spend too much time thinking about my outfits, but this was different because I'd never done anything like this before.

I didn't want to over dress and look stupid. 
I didn't want to under dress and look stupid. 
I wanted to look cute but not too young. 
Professional but not too boring.

First world problems, I guess, but it sure felt like a big deal at the time. Which is why I stuffed my carry-on with tops and way too many shoes, because a girl scout is always prepared.

I met up with three coworkers at the airport, who all had a tiny duffle bag with them. And I was all, "It's cool. Don't mind me and my 25-pound suitcase that's top heavy and won't stand upright." I might as well have been wearing a sign that said FIRST BUSINESS TRIP.
I'm such a dork.

We flew from OKC to Houston, where we changed planes for Salt Lake City. I brought Divergent to pass the time, which I finally got from the library after being on the wait list for over a month. 

I finished it by the time I got back on Saturday, and let's just say it was definitely not worth the wait. Click here for my Goodreads review if you're interested, and then feel free to email me and tell me I'm crazy or yell at me or something. But just so you know, I stand by my review.

Upon arriving in SLC, I found out that business trips are extra legit if you get to stay in a room like this:

I felt like I was on cribs. King bed all to myself, and you better believe I slept diagonally across it just because I could. 

My 180 view was this:

Winning.

So then I unpacked and tried on the twenty outfits I'd brought before deciding on both of these for Thursday (photo on the right) and Friday (photo on the left): 

I only realized later that both involved purple and are also basically the same outfit just switched around. WHATEVER I LOOKED AWESOME.

I won't bore you with a lengthy play-by-play of my meetings. All I really need to say is that there was a lot of sweating. As in, I didn't stop sweating once the entire two days I was there. When I told Jordan, he was all, "Welcome to my life." For real, though. The dude is a furnace. I'm pretty sure his internal body temperature is 108 degrees.

Thursday night after dinner, my coworkers and I walked around downtown SLC. We went to Temple Square and saw the Mormon Tabernacle, and we sat in on part of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearsal, which none of you probably think is cool, but I was with a bunch of choral geeks who loved the heck out of it. Apparently the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is kind of a big deal in the choral world.

Friday morning I woke up early and hit up the hotel fitness room for a run. The ONLY reason I did this was because I told you guys I would and because I didn't want to have packed running clothes for nothing. However, getting up was a struggle, because I was super tired and feeling nauseous yet again. 

The nausea continued to increase as I ate breakfast, and I was confused about why I was feeling so sick, when what did I find out but that my monthly friend had arrived!
Hurrah! <--sarcasm

By friend, I obviously mean most hated of all enemies. 
And I was all

Of course I was not prepared because HELLO this was unexpected. **Insert rant about irregular girl problems.** So I had to do the run/walk of shame to the hotel gift shop to spend $10 on a tiny box of feminine products. Tampons, okay? I said it. 

That box and a 2 oz. jar of local honey is all I brought back with me from Utah, you guys.
That is not what I call a memorable souvenir.

So I called my mom, because you can never be too old to call your mother about important life events such as getting your period on the day of an important business meeting.

She pumped me up and was all, "You can DO THIS." And I was all, "I CAN do this." 
Cue the Rocky soundtrack. 

In the end, my board meeting actually went great, and I still have my job, so that must mean nothing went horribly wrong. Also I am 100% satisfied with my outfit choices, so success on that front as well. 

Also x2, my uterus didn't decide to eat my insides after all, which is always a good thing. Live to cramp another month. That's my motto.

Friday night was party time! Also known as when we all took a bus into the mountain to Park City.

We passed Olympic Village on the way (it looked really cool) and saw some of Olympic event areas like the ski jumping and the bobsled. Park City was cute, but I honestly wasn't extremely impressed. It seemed very touristy. However, I imagine it's really neat in the winter with the snow, etc.

In one of the gift shops I got asked, "Are you traveling for business or pleasure?" I said, "Business," and then felt hard core.

We all got up early Saturday morning (for a 6 a.m. flight!), and I looked rough. Our plane out of SLC was delayed about 45 minutes for a mechanical problem (always what you want to hear), meaning we had barely ten minutes to make our connecting flight in Denver. When I eventually made it home, I crashed hard.

Thus concludes the saga of Amanda's first business trip.

For those of you who actually made it to the end, I thought you might enjoy a comparison view from the sky. The mountains are a gorgeous part of God's creation, there's no doubt. But there's nothing quite like coming home.

Anyone else ever travel for business? Where have you gone?

The View from My Hotel Room

I'm back from my business trip! 

To say I was nervous is a grand understatement. I'm pretty sure I didn't stop sweating the entire two days I was in Salt Lake City. I got back on Saturday afternoon and crashed. I fully intended to sit down and write a recap post last night, but then my mother-in-law gave me a coupon for a free Shutterfly book that expired today, so I decided it would be a brilliant idea to get sucked into that rabbit hole. Five hours later. I swear, those books will be the death of me. At least now I have a 2013 recap book coming my way in a few weeks.

I just want to thank all of you who wished me well on my trip. I realize I was making entirely too big a deal out of this whole thing, but it's the first time I've ever traveled for business. I wanted to present myself well, especially considering I was leading a board meeting where I was the youngest one in the room by at least twenty years.

I'm so thankful for a job I don't hate and coworkers I actually enjoyed spending two full days with. Plus, see that picture up there? That was the view from my hotel room! Not too shabby.

I have more pictures to share plus a few stories, but for now, I will leave you with a view of Salt Lake City at night. This was taken coming down from higher on the mountain up in Park City on Saturday night. 

No editing, just the sunset over the mountains and the city lights. 
Happy Monday, friends.