Cafe Rio Updates

Sometimes I feel like I live in the Middle East. In the Middle East Women are considered a temptation. If a Man attacks a Woman, he is not held responsible, the Woman is because she provided a temptation. Forget Free Will and Self Restraint.

Sometimes here in Utah I feel the same restrictions, not on my person but on society. When a Tattoo Parlor opened its doors on Main Street there was a small public outcry. It didn't last for long, the store not the public outcry. The public outcry won this fight for today. And then there is Dirty Jo's, the local Lingerie Shop. Several years ago I spied an article in the local paper describing a new city ordinance prohibiting Sex Shops in town. Dirty Jo's was grandfathered in and allowed to stay. I bet they were ecstatic about the law, they've got a Legal Monopoly here in town! And the best part is, all the Mormon Moms that frequent the shop.

There's nothing wrong with a Sex Shop or a Tattoo Parlor but we've got the Locals who have never stepped foot outside of Utah that want these things out of sight. They figure if they're out of sight, we're safe! There's nothing farther from the truth. You should have been around for the hullabaloo Hooter's caused when it opened, and it's 40 miles away!

How does this apply to Cafe Rio you ask? When I left the other day, on my second trip to the restaurant (finally!), I noticed that it's Open on Sunday! I'm wondering if it will be run out of town for providing an Inescapable Temptation for the locals.

Pros & Cons of the West

Pros of Living in the Mountain West
(and stuff that doesn't happen in the Midwest)

1. Sun 95% of the time
   
2. Nearby Mountains for days long adventure
3. Cool summer nights and starry skies
4. Sun 95% of the time
   
5. Low Humidity allowing a hairstyle to last more than 1 hour
6. Few pesky bugs
7. Sun 95% of the time
8. Roads snow and ice free within a few days of snowstorms
9. The ability to dry off completely from a shower
   
10. Sun 95% of the time in the Winter when the shortened days bring about SADD.

Pros of living in the Midwest

1. Spectacular Fall Colors which you can't find unless you drive a while to the Canyons to get a glimmer of the profuse Colors available to Fall Trees in the Midwest
   
2. Large, thick, lush trees, dwarfing houses and buildings; the opposite of the small, short trees that struggle to live in the desert, providing much less shade than I'm still accustomed to
3. Rolling hills covered in trees and fields of some crop or other
   
4. Humidity keeping the skin hydrated eliminating the need for daily lotion rubs
   
5. Regular stunning, magnificent, and impressive Thunder and Lightning storms
6. Lawns and gardens that don't need watering when a thunderstorm has happened by in the last week or two even if you don't plant native, xerix plants

7. Thick, productive corn fields surrounded by trees and thick grass, not scraggly juniper trees and sagebrush
   

Despite all the wonderful things I miss about the Midwest I love the Sun that shines almost all the time here in the West. It pretty much makes up for everything else that I miss. I miss the rows and rows of corn to be seen outside any city. I miss the huge trees of wide variety everywhere that show profuse shades of all Fall Colors every year. I miss the incredible thunder and lightning and horrendous showers that make cars stop on the road from their ferocity. I've forgotten what it's like to not need lotion every single day slathered over my whole body. But despite this and everything else I miss, (the cute old towns, old churches, down-to-earth people everywhere) I LOVE the sun that shines the vast majority of the time, bringing me a ray of hope during the short winter days, which is soon to be upon us.

Eat Your Heart Out Hollywood

My new place of employment has a Coke machine. Not a vending machine with cans of coke for $.50 or even bottles of coke for $1, but a fountain machine with several options including Diet Coke! And depositing change in the "Soda Money" box is optional. So if I forget to bring myself a Diet Coke to work, it's already there.

This working 8am to 1pm is wonderful! I love getting home before the kids so I can workout. I am going to lose ten pounds. Or at least pretend to all of you that I'm a hot, workout machine. I am going to become the hottest, newest, latest Rockstar Wife. And then I will be all snotty to them and not invite them to my parties and snub my nose at them at school functions. And they will clamor around me begging for my latest "home party" invitation so they can buy jewelry or makeup or candles.

The next best thing I can do with my free time is clean house like a banshee. I will have the perfectest house in Utah County. I will look like I live in a museum with the perfect accessories from Pottery Barn and the most beautiful flowers in several vases strategically placed throughout the house. My children will have the prettiest playroom and Pottery Barn will ask to use my playroom in their next catalog. And I'll never ever let my kids play with anything because that would just mess things up and I can't have a messy house anymore.

And the next best thing is to involve my children in a few more activities. I must try to bring out all their talents. If we don't excel in everything I am going to be held accountable on Judgment Day for wasting my children's talents. I must involve them in piano, violin, all sports (especially baseball, I do live in Spanish Fork), acting, art, dance, singing, and definitely organ, you never know when my child will be the last organist in their congregation and he will be able to bring joy every Sunday to the church.

Lastly I will need to do more baking and cooking. I need to hone those baking talents of mine. I will practice making the perfect pie filling, cookies, brownies, cake, and frosting. I will become the food guru in my neighborhood. Everyone will call me for the latest hip ingredients and cooking styles. I will also be able to relay to everyone how to use their wheat and beans in new and delicious dishes so everyone will be able to live off their food storage for two years. Everyone will be on my doorstep on that fateful day when we have no choice but to eat our food storage and I will be ready with recipes and cooking classes for the masses.

Beauty Queens Abound

I thought I was doing so good with the whole makeup thing that us girls do to ourselves all in the name of vanity. Really, I did.

Until I went to BUNCO and found out I had the least amount of makeup of everyone. I think all these people in Utah know how to put it together so much better than me. It's something to do with the water their moms drink while their pregnant, cuz I sure didn't get it. At the time I was feeling good because I was at an all-time-high of 5 different eyeshadow combinations! Five, that's probablly more than I've ever had. But I found out that's nothing.

"What do you do with all those eye shadow colors?" I asked, amazed that anyone could have that many.

Several people explained to me how you need to match your outfit, your mood, the day, etc, etc, etc. Seriously? How many shades of pink/brown/grey/purple/bronze is there out there? Can't I just slap on some pink/brown/grey/purple/bronze eyeshadow and call it good? I try to make it match somewhat but do people really notice when your eyeshadow matches your shirt?

I also don't know how to accessorize. If I get more than earrings put on, then I am all dressed up and ready to go! These girls here have so many necklaces and earrings, one for each outfit. There have been jewelry parties I've been invited to. After the first one and a couple of purchases, I didn't know what else to buy.

I keep trying to get it right, and I just keep failing miserably. My only consolation now is that I work and don't have time for that stuff. And I feel pretty good most of the time, til I'm reminded how behind I am. There has been no learning curve on the whole makeup/accessorizing thing for me. I'm still at the bottom of the curve (I typed curse at first and I think that's what it is) and there's no sign that I'll be coming up that curve, unless it starts to curve downwards.

My sisters joke about Utah Women. How they dress up to stay home and be with their kids. It's true. And I can't keep up. at. all.

Where are You From?

I grew up in the Midwest, Iowa to be specific. But I've lived here in Utah for 16 years now! It's hard to believe it's been that long. The other day I was talking to someone at work and told them "I'm not from Here," meaning Utah. I thought about that later and wondered. "At what point do I say that I'm from Here?" I deliberated on this thought for a while and decided that when I had lived half my life here I could say that even though I'm not from Here, it's what I am. So when I turn the magical age of 45 I guess I will no longer tell people I'm from Iowa, but that I live Here now.

Grant Wood

One of my favorite artists is Grant Wood. Can't be coincidence that he came from Iowa and I consider that I grew up there. I just love his paintings. I know he loves Iowa because he left to study painting and came back because there was so much to paint in this little state. One of my favorites is Stone City. This is just how Iowa looks to me. Rolling hills, Large trees, Stream & Rivers, White churches, Red barns, and farmland as far as the eye can see. I miss it so much at times it hurts. When I tell people I'm from Iowa most instantly respond with "Isn't it Flat there?" No, I respond. We have rolling hills and forests and squirrels and grass growing everywhere and rows of corn I never tired of watching as we drove down the highway. Utah is beautiful in a different sort of way and it took me forever to even think it wasn't ugly. But I have come to love Utah and our dry summers. I love how it cools off at night no matter how hot it got that day. I love that winter is warm and sunny 75% of the time. In Iowa if it gets above freezing in January and February it's a warm day! I love Utah's mountains and how cool it stays in the summer up there and how close they are to me. As much as I miss the trees and hills I love our bugless summers!

Here's another one for eye candy called Young Corn. I miss the rows and rows and rows of corn.