Top 5 List of the past Month

I'll adhere to gennie's top 5 policy. I haven't posted in the past month b/c i guess we've been really busy. so, here's the top 5 things that have happened in the past month:

1. We bought a scooter! I now ride to work on a 150cc Twist'n'Go Milano Scooter. the other week i got her up to 58 mph, and i could have gone faster. We also get between 70-75 miles per gallon. Eric's piece of a Honda has finally sold...to our next door neighbor!!! I guess that means we should be moving soon.....ha!

2. Eric has a new job! He is now working split time finishing his master's thesis and being a design engineer for a medical device design company. Specifically this company makes ceramic knee and spine implants. He got the job because of a connection i established on my el salvador operation walk trip with the president of the company. Hooray!!

3. My parents came for a visit! We spent 4 days hiking in the mountains and canyons around Salt Lake. it was a great trip, and really fun to show them around my stomping grounds.

4. We have now been married for 2 years! With eric's crazy job schedules we weren't able to get away anywhere this year, but this weekend we are going to beautiful Stanley, Idaho in the Sawtooth Mountains to spend saturday together climbing and hiking and Sunday with my sister and brother in law in from Ohio.

5. Coming up: Ryan Adams concert!!! He's coming to a great outdoor garden venue next week, and eric and i have bought tickets. Also coming up: August 17-19, Denver, CO to visit Erin Johnson!!!!

Good books I've been reading over the past month:
-His Dark Materials book #3 "The Amber Spyglass". This series is excellent! Almost kid's books but too deep for the little ones. The first is called "The Golden Compass" and they are making a movie out of it this december. It looks great!!
-The Millionaire Next Door. wow. this is a good book. It reveals one group's research into the lifestyles of America's millionaires. it is suprising for sure, and has been very enlightening with suggestions for retirement, house, savings, and taxes.
-The Celebration of Discipline- Foster. A classic. take some time to chew through it; excellent standards for all of us who believe in Christ.
-Sex God. a new favorite. Rob Bell. looks into the connection between our sexuality and spirituality. we all lust. why, when i like a shirt, do i think i need one in every color? why am i continually struggling to understand contentment and peace?

next book on the list (waiting on interlibrary loan): Serve God, Save the Planet.

Pictures to be posted soon(ish). i did a girl's climbing trip in june to Maple Canyon (sport climbing about an hour and a half south in shady coolness). We've done some other good climbing around salt lake. i've started teaching a couple girl friends traditional climbing placing their own protection. fun fun!

holy hotness! salt lake has been an inferno the past month. our lame single window unit Ac can't quite keep up, and we've all been hot. pilsner just lays on his side on the tiled kitchen floor panting. i am so so so ready for cooler weather. on my days off it's all i can do to do anything at all. (that was a crazy sentence) eric and i have taken to drinking lime gin and tonics every afternoon just to cool off. other great drinks: Agua de Sandia (watermelon water) these drinks are popular in latin countries (i've had them both in mexico and el salvador) and are composed of the fruit (mostly either pineapple, cantaloupe, or watermelon) blended up with ice cubes and sugar. what a refreshing drink!!

farmer's market started in july too (that should be #6 on the top 5 list). every saturday morning local produce only sets up shop in a park nearby. we scooter over (our sweet lil scooter has a milk crate bungied to the back). funny thing is about that farmer's market- it's more expensive than the grocery stores. it's like all those farmers know that they'll get us suckers who want to support local, sustainable produce so instead of having any competition they all just raise their prices. so they are all expensive. it is kinda disappointing actually. it makes it harder to afford, just like organic produce. but the taste is worth it for a few things bought there.