Back to Where the Trees are Green and the Air is Clean

I don't get to see my family very often these days. Especially since one sister lives in NYC, a brother is in Germany, another brother in AZ, and the rest of my siblings and my parents are in various cities in Oregon. So it was great to be able to spend time with my family in May.

Allie, my mom, and I had breakfast at Busick Court. Haven't heard of Busicks? Well, if you are ever in Salem, Oregon, you HAVE to go. Hey, Rachel Ray did.

The fam bam, minus Chris, Kyle, and Adam.

My CUTE parents. They are  my best friends. Man, I love them!

Restaurant Review: Mayan Adventure

Joe and I headed to the Mayan for dinner a few weeks ago. I had heard about it from several different people while I've lived in Utah and thought it was about time I checked it out for myself.

The interior adventure decor was fantastic. I loved the antique feel of the lobby. But, we were surprised at how EMPTY it was. We were there on a Friday night and we were the ONLY people in the lobby. On the positive side, that meant that we only had to wait 3 minutes to get a table.

We found out why people were scarce. The food was TERRIBLE! I couldn't even finish my enchiladas. Joe and I are big Mexican food fans and were really disappointed that this didn't measure up. The meat was dry and had no flavor. Everything else was just greasy. We didn't even take home our leftovers. :(

Although the food was a disappointment, the entertainment was great. We really enjoyed watching all the divers jump from the HIGH cliffs into the pool below. They were really talented! 

I can't imagine jumping and doing FLIPS from that high a height. However, the show didn't make up for the disappointment of the food. We probably won't go back. :(

Pizza Pie Cafe : A Review

It had been a long day. I didn't get home from school until after 8:30pm and I was STARVING. Joe hadn't eaten either so we thought we would try out a new pizza place that has opened in town. Pizza Pie Cafe was all I hoped for and more. All you can eat pizza, pasta, and salad at a reasonable price (around $6 per person). They offer 10 to 12 different kinds of pizza, including some very yummy new varieties. I like the Hobo pizza the best. They also offer a few varieties of pasta and several sauces such as alfredo, a meat sauce, and traditional tomato basil. With my giant sweet tooth, my very favorite part was the dessert pizzas. How can you go wrong with cookie dough pizza, oreo pizza, peach cobbler pizza? There were so many options, Joe and I felt like we had to try it all. Needless to say, we left full, happy, and a few pounds heavier.

One down . . .

. . . three finals to go!

This pic came from here.

I woke up this morning at 5am, unable to get back to sleep. I was so nervous! Since attempting to fall back asleep proved useless, I got up, showered, made myself some yummy blueberry pancakes, and studied until it was time to go. When I got to school, the tension was so think. I swear, you could touch it. At least I wasn't the only one nervous! The clock struck 8:30AM and then I sat there for three hours, basically typing everything I knew about contract law. It was a hard test, and I don't know how I did. But it's over. *Sigh*. Hooray!

To celebrate the completion of our first final in law school, the girls and I went out to lunch. I got a turkey sandwich and a salad and it was SO yummy. They restaurant (ZUPAS, one of my favs) always gives you a chocolate covered strawberry. Isn't that nice? I guess they are feeling the Christmas spirit there cuz they've started putting candy cane pieces in the chocolate they dip the strawberries in. WARNING: Candy cane chocolate dipped strawberries DO NOT taste as good as they look! Oh well, it was still a good time with fantastic friends! Then I got to talk to my sweet finance on the phone. Goodness I love him. He always knows how to make me smile and feel better about life. And then Kandis and I decided we needed a Diet Coke with Lime to help us face the rest of the day. I got to drive around in her Mini Cooper. Can I just say, it's the cutest car ever!

Overall, it wasn't as horrible as it could have been and I am feeling better about the whole law school thing. :)

Now on to study property. . .

My Misty Grey Day

This last Saturday, Joe surprised me and took me to the beach for dinner. Isn't he sweet?! It was a typical Oregonian day at the beach--grey and misty. We loved it! He took me to Lincoln City to the yummiest restaurant.

Funny story. This restaurant is the happening place in Lincoln city, so of course their parking lot is too small. As we were going around waiting for someone to vacate a spot, we were stopped on a hill. As we were sitting there, I reached to the back seat to get my purse, accidentally hitting the stick and putting the car into neutral. We didn't notice however until a car came behind us and we had to move. Feeling flustered, I realized what I had done and pushed the stick to what I though was first gear. Joe has a manual transmission. I actually threw it into park right as he was pressing the gas. Needless so say, the engine revved and we skidded right out of the parking lot like a pack of hoodlums. Luckily we found a place to park not too far away. The walk gave us a few moments to recover from laughter.

Kyllo's is right on the beach and has big widows so you can see the ocean when you eat. This was the view from our table. It was beautiful, even with the parking lot!

We both got the salmon, which was SO GOOD. I was enjoying it too much to take a picture. But here is Joe enjoying his clam chowder.

I got a yummy hazelnut salad. Mmmm.

We then headed out to the beach and tested out the waters. It was COLD!!

Someone made this cute sea turtle. So creative!

Isn't it beautiful?! I love the mist.

Joe said he wanted to take a picture of us. Since it's usually just the two of us and I'm the one with the camera in hand, I usually take the shots. Here's his attempt. As you can see, his arms are WAY longer than mine. I could never take a picture from that high!

It was a lovely day at the beach. Thanks for the wonderful day!