provo did this to me

coming to college, i was expecting to pick up some new hobbies. considering i go to byu, people generally are forced to get a little more creative with their time. never did i imagine that the hobby i have picked up would be........planning my wedding. it could be a combination of the fact that 51% of any byu class graduates married. the fact that i am in love could have also played a role in this sick new obsession. i will also admit that my mom's idea to send 4 different wedding magazines in a "care package" may have sparked this. nevertheless, it's fun. it really is.

i had an interesting new experience this week that assisted the planning quite well. my roommate andi and i were sitting at our new apartment south of campus when i thought, it's friday, and we should really go out and do something fun. and by something fun, we mean eat. preferably dessert. so, naturally, andi's first thought: let's go to park city and eat something fancy. indulge a little. why not, i am now a working girl. so we hopped in my '99 toyota camry (which, of late, has been in rough shape) and headed to the canyon and on to park city.

before i continue, i should add that my family members only enable this new hobby of mine. recently, my cousin stephanie suggested a hotel in park city for a possible reception location. the stein erikson lodge.

continuing, we exited the freeway, and andi had the brilliant idea of checking out this spot and perhaps some others, just for fun. soon we were driving up the side of a mountain, and then we arrived. the parking lot was no where to be found; instead, a man working valet parking greeted us. thinking we were going to turn around (i was not driving), andi refused to stop. she lied to the man, saying, "we are coming to eat in the restaurant!" mind you, this is a five star hotel. i am sporting my once-white converse shoes while andi wore a hoodless sweatshirt and a longhorns hat. under dressed perhaps. i was too embarrassed to override andi's decision, so i stepped out of my car taking one last look to see capri sun wrappers, a few empty cups, teddy grahams, lotion, and other miscellaneous items littering my car. horrifying? very. we entered the hotel and spent twenty minutes wandering around in places we most likely did not belong. we took advantage of the bathrooms adorned with personal cloth hand towels to be tossed into a hamper and hand painted stall doors. after seeing a few potential spots, we tipped the valet $2, and continued on to eat ice cream and visit a nice little book store. not only was it a wonderful friday night, but i really did progress with my plans.

(ps-no, i'm not actually engaged.)