Hustle Hit and Never Quit

1. If you wear a wrap on your injured hand to a national airline, you may be marked for extra security checks. Wear nice underwear!

2. After I was felt up by a rather jolly woman who told good jokes, I watched my summer cotton dress get molested. It is official: my sundress is harmless.

3. It is never a good idea to wear a skirt while riding a bicycle. (Duh.) But if you do, wear nice underwear!

Ferris Bueller

1. Actually, I meant the ferris wheel on Navy Pier. Along with jazz music, churros, fried chicken and sunshine.

2. Walking, walking, walking. And running, running, running to catch our flight.

3. More walking. Photo shoots. Cloud Gate. Garrett's popcorn!

The city

3. North Side: Dinner and free tickets to Wrigley Field for the All-american game. Mmm, pizza!

2. Giordano's: I love these restaurant names. I had been hearing about Giordano's pizza on the way there. Well, lo and behold! Giordano's deep dish.

1. Oasis: We didn't feel like heading to bed, so we headed to the city. Marko was a much better navigator, scoring us a tollway for $1.09. Despite his highly effective skills, we decided to return to the suburbs overnight, pausing at a restaurant to dine on the world's hottest, freshest deep dish pizza. We *will* return to Chicago!

H O C K E Y

1. Sporting your jersey
2. Overtime Winners
3. When your favorite player scores

C H I C A G O

1. Wendella took us on a full-windy city boat tour. We looked at it all, bottom to top. It was fabulous.

2. There is a hockey player - and there is Markus! And then some. And they are fast! Chicago is one of the world's most beautiful lakefront cities.

3. We rested at a Lincoln Park lookout point. Ice cream, ice hockey, sunsets, instagraming and iphones.

Pain Goes Away - Pride Lasts Forever

I am taking off to the United States Hockey League combine for a few days and will not be posting again until mid-week next week. Adventures from the Midwest coming soon.

Unexpected

1. Unexpected: guided tour of local lakes and trails.
2. Unexpected: working in the delivery room of delivery #400.
3. Unexpected: receiving gift bags containing free soap.

All Is Well

1. From the world of Horses: my sister writes that she is going to ‘need me around’ next weekend. I've been hoping I could go to Sun Valley, before school starts again. Sick. Exciting.

2. From the world of Rodeo: Free tickets from my mom to a Pioneer Day one.

3. From the world of stands: Sweet sister offering me a ride down to Spanish Fork. 

There was a Cheeks theme floating around today, and an honourable mention goes to Kev (Gavin) in Colorado for a hilarious FaceTime about flatulence, but I don't want to get R-rated or mean. I'll save the style deliberations for an upcoming post.

We Can't Really Know Anything

1. To start the day, my view from the women's center (I had basically gone to the window in desperation to stay awake).

2. To spend the day, I took a heavenly nap, attended my incredible pile of laundry and met Morgen's fantastic new girlfriend, Brooke.

3. To finish the day, I took some pictures for my blog, including an enticing view from Timpanogos Cave to play a little climbing game.

While I was enjoying six secrets of making a cave, I learned a new word: helictites . The ‘white gold’ of Timp Cave. The most delicate of cave formations, speleothem, calcite and aragonite - are any of these English words? Anyway, I googled it and got the picture.

You Make Me Smile

1. Motivation. Bike ride with Alisa dragged my derrière out of bed.

2. Farmer's Market Fun. Monet. Who you callin' sister?

I went for a fresh limeade, but returned with:

1. a free flower bouquet,
2. a free Cinnamon roll, and 
3. Girls Trip, a free movie even though it wasn't the movie we were expecting.

My also-single sister shared her good fortune. We were so giddy, we did the happy dance and went halves on all the popcorn (two new dresses, a market bag and sandals...for my birthday which isn't until September) we had amassed. It was a Love Feast!

3. Pierre's. Beautiful eye candy from France.

¡Gracias, Aria!

Used Car For Sale

1. On my way down the canyon from Lake Mary, fumbling for my phone since I had to get a picture of the sunset, a battery light emerged and randomly started blinking on and off.

2. On my way to Airborne, the car dashboard started blinking and off, ‘You're too old to quit on me now.’ After I turned it off, it wouldn't start, ‘You're not listening.’ I later realized it was for my own good. (Next time, I will have a set of jumper cables.)

3. On my way back to my younger days, I was infected by the one and only Markus (who called in Ben for help) beautiful inside and out.

Close Encounter

1. Coach McClelland (Macker) fowarded me an important email stating that the BCHL camp in Coeur d'Alene this month has been cancelled.

2. Thanks to Mr. Moose Tuesday night, I created my closest wildlife encounter.

3. Tim was emailing me about the Murray hockey pictures. Which reminded him of the options for Max he's been looking into. I texted. He responded. I told him about the team from Eugene that wants Max to come play. He said he's friends with a coach in Iowa where he played. It reminded me of when we discovered that we both attended the same hockey game at the winter Olympics in 2002. 

Steezy Visuals

1. Markus shot video, which I watched like an action movie. Then we switched and he let me take photos (‘Oh my gosh, that's a freaking beaut!’). Together, we sent our moose sized adventures down an imaginary bowling lane, knocking over all 10 pins.

2. Markus filled his new camera with all things savoury: lakes, trees, a squirrel, moose, two friends, a jump (‘What kind?’ ‘A cliff’) and yucky mosquitoes. Mmm, good thing I brought the bug spray this time!

3. These big fellas offered me handfuls of laughter, followed by a cheez-it straight from his mouth. Nothing imaginary about it. (Except, perhaps, in all the vlogging. What are these boys thinking?!)

'Love' and love

1. I love my car repair shuttle man. He gave me a ride home again, after taking Max's car in to have the AC repaired today, to be paid for by LHM where he bought the car.

2. I love my son. He and Preslee returned from the charm shop with some new charms to make in to necklaces for Mahalo day (i.e., a charmed life).

3. I love my oatmeal. Some call it boring. I call it sexy and exciting! Or ‘the dinner alternative’ (when your other alternative is the hospital cracker drawer).

And I love Morgen! Welcome back from your summer break, and guten morgen. (Speaking of the Big Breakfast Bang, while Adam was visiting Angel's cafe, this phenomenal woman actually taught me how to enliven my Quaker Oats. With cottage cheese!)

Mahalo

‘It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.’
Henry David Thoreau

‘I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.’
Michelangelo

‘Live out of your imagination, not your history.’
Stephen Covey

‘Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!’ - Theodor Geisel

Acai

1. Fresh: Over looking the valley, a Beautiful Bicyclist taught me to always bring snacks for the ride, you never know when you're going to need fresh legs.
2. Fresher: A friend gave me advice for my teenage boys to pay for all their own stuff, concerts, movies, food.
3. Freshest: My new, comfy food, laced with acai! I have just learned that acai is also called 'ah-sah-ee'.

F'real

Last night, I slept in a home that ought to be preserved as a national monument to the sleepless in Salt Lake. It was soooo lame! I was like, Where's the REM?

Three things I love about being awake before my alarm:

1. taking a long hot shower
2. soft clean towels
3. puffy dark circled eyes

There is no doubt about it. Being called off from work after tossing and turning all night, very nice. Except now that I'm ready for the day, maybe I'll go for a bike ride. 

Nice People...

...Steiner. Janitor stops the mop to access first-aid kit for me. Imagine, if you will, opening something that resembles an electric panel, next to the zamboni room. After a thick layer of dust cascades onto the floor, an interior metal box squeaks open to reveal little white (well, yellowed...) boxes. The wax paper wrappers crumble open instantly: band-aids older than me!

...Hospital. Anesthesiologist does me a favor by telling me to remove the catheter he has running out of my patients back as soon as she has delivered. I am instructed to administer a new drug (the name has thrown me off this time). He also gives me advice on what side effects to look for after he has (unintentionally) pierced the interthecal layer of the dura (they're just spinal headaches, dizziness, cardiac arrest). The medicine works after only three minutes!

...Classifieds. Minivan driver, Photographer Extraordinaire, parks next to me after a work day full of new baby faces. Well, doesn't chance have it that he will be buying a camera lens from me that Marko purchased in May. Since I'm new to listing, but he's experienced, he was trusting me, to be sure.