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Dear Stephanie,
The other night I was reading my scriptures and came across this scripture and thought of you. 1 Nephi 14:11 –
” And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth,
and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth,
among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.”
Retaliate in any way you see fit.
Love,
Joanie 
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5-Second Rule…Rules:
Wet textured food – Goes in the trash
ANY public surface – Goes in the trash
Bathroom surface – Goes in the trash
Other than that….We’re good! 
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Here are some 5-second rule pictures from our
house. Apparently cornstarch, chocolate, and
rotisserie chickens fall under the 5-second rule….
Okay that last pic is pretty white trash. I will have
to add that to my “Top 10 things that make me white
trash” post
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Earlier this week Melissa invited me to work with @Clorox and Samantha Bee from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Samantha spoke about her parenting style and how she was guilty of using the 5-second rule in her home. While listening to her speak about this I could tell that we had very similar parenting styles, though she probably would not openly agree with that after seeing the pictures above……
Anyway, @Clorox and San Diego State University conducted a study that demonstrated that using the 5-second rule may not be the best parenting practice. The study found that germs attached to food/baby bottles when dropped on several household surfaces within 5 seconds.
Did I ACTUALLY think that the 5-second rule was real? Okay. No. I have always thought someone made it up as a joke. Will I continue to live by it regardless of that? Absolutely. The 5-second rule stays in our house. Fortunately for people like me, @Clorox has their Clorox Wipes that are so easy to use and no laundry comes from using them. My mom used to make us use 3 wash cloths per bathroom in our house when cleaning them. I’m sorry but that is 9 too many wash cloths for me. Thanks.
There are some really great products and tips that you can read about on SimpleandSurprising.com
Now, onto the giveaway!
-Win a Clorox Surprise Pack valued at $20-
How To Enter:
Giveaway ends February 10th 2010 at midnight. Winner will be informed by email. US only.
I was compensated monetarily by Clorox for this post. All opinions are my own.
General Larry Platt – “Pants on the Ground” song (Remix by Destorm)
Aside from the great pacadermish bed, there was this wicked awesome jetted tub! At the front desk they have rubber duckies and bath bombs you can purchase to make your bathing experience more fun.
There were robes to wear, and I made some new friends…After that Rob and I went to the movies to see Sherlock Holmes (wearing our own clothes, not the robes).
With a bed as high as the one in “The Sultan’s Palace” room you’re able to see all the “lovely” sentiments people secretly have written on top of the molding. Check it out!
In every room there are two pieces of complimentary cheesecake and a bottle of sparkling cider! It really was so nice to have an evening alone and be woken up by a complimentary breakfast instead of two crazy ass children Next time we go to the Anniversary Inn I want to try the “Swiss Family Robinson” room.
460 South 1000 East • Salt Lake City, UT 84102
Phone: 801.363.4900 • 1.800.324.4152 (toll free)
Stay provided by Anniversary Inn
In this photo @inevergrewup @DomesticBecky @sweetlifeinthe @thepioneerwoman @joanieatwater @carolrice @emihill @newspapergrl
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Earlier this month Ree Drummond, creator of the blog, The Pioneer Woman, stopped by Salt Lake City as part of her cookbook signing tour. I actually wasn’t aware of the event until my friend Janet Thaeler had called me and April up asking us if we were going. I have only read The Pioneer Woman like twice and heard about her from my sister in law, April (SweetLifeInTheValley.com). I did record her on the Bonnie Hunt show though! Does that count? I watched it yesterday, finally, so probably not huh?
Anyway, Janet knew there was going to be a HUGE turn out, which there was, and knew the book store was not aware of just how big the crowd would be. So she came up with a plan for us to possibly be able to get in to see Ree. April put together this nice welcome basket of local Utah products that we could present to Ree as a group of local Utah Bloggers.
When we got there all the surrounding blocks were packed with cars, but we magically got a spot in a parking lot right across the street
Turns out you needed tickets to get your book signed and they had passed out all 360 of them before we got there. So I asked one of the bookstore employees if a group of Utah Bloggers could get in to see Ree and present her with this welcome basket full of Utah-based goodies. She said she would check and see. After talking to 3 bookstore emplyees I finally got a “meet me on this back patio and we’ll see if we can get you in”.
So we head back to the patio behind the bookstore and there are several other bloggers that have found their way back there as well, including Heather Armstrong (aka DOOCE). The woman I had spoken with was not letting DOOCE in. Apparently she didn’t know who she was.
Funniest part of the whole evening: The bookstore employee in charge says, “I have no obligation to anyone except for to this woman right here and whoever’s with her”, as she points to me! Of the group of bloggers I was with, I am the one with the lowest traffic, by far and at this point she STILL was not letting Dooce in! DOOCE! Okay this woman has been blogging forever, she’s Skype’d in on Oprah, she had her own book signging not too long ago and makes like freaking, $40K on her blog in one month, and she can’t get in but I can??? Come on. At one point she asked if Dooce was with me, and I was like, “Uh, no, um yes, she’s a Utah Blogger…”. I wasn’t sure if me saying “yes” would be good or bad for Dooce at that point lol. Anyway, they eventually let Heather (Dooce) in by herself before they let us in, which was good since she needed to get home and feed her new baby before her titties exploded.
Eventually, the bookstore employee (who everyone else seemed to think was a Nazi, except me, for reasons stated above ) came back and said she could get 5 of us in. There was more than 5 of us. So naturally we picked Janet (had the basket idea), April (put together the basket with Utah goodies), and me…the one with the nerve to ask if we could get into see Ree and make it sound important. The other 2 spots were just kind of left open and then magically filled by 3 people in half a second lol. Didn’t seem right to let Vanessa and Emily get stuck outside when they had books to get signed and were bigger fans than I was, so I went to that same employee and said, “Um, there are a couple of other big utah bloggers out there, could we have 7 come in???” She said okay, and then as she was letting us in counted 8 of us hahaha. Carol’s friend is a huge fan, so we said she was our picture taker (which she was). So the bookstore employee said, “If a 9th person walks in this door, I’m going to kick them!”. Then I said, “I know, thank you so much, I’ve asked a lot of you tonight…..can I borrow your pen?” WHAT? I hadn’t signed the card Janet brought for Ree yet! (The card Ree lost in her laundry anyway hahaha)
When we got up to see Ree she was so kind and genuine. Plus she had awesome hair. I want it. Anyway, she signed the books of the ladies that were with us as well as some books we had brought in for some friends. Afterwards we all went out to “The Pie” for some delectable pizza and more socializing
Anyway, moral of this story….”It never hurts to ask”
In this photo: @newspapergrl @sweetlifeinthe @Dooce (who was taking her twilight obsession one step too far) @joanieatwater-(me) & @carolrice
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While we were waiting outisde on the patio to be let into the bookstore we got to chat a little with Heather (Dooce). She was nice to take a picture with complete strangers, and turns out her and Janet both went on the worst dates of their lives with the same person. You can read about that here: “Me, The Pioneer Woman, Dooce & Jason Gough“
For other accounts of that evening, check these out :
Sweet Tooth Fairy
Georgie Tees
Get Up and Play
Newspaper Girl
Utah Loves Cupcakes
Jet Set Carina
Moosh in Indy
Miranda Walker
Petit Elefant
Jules Keeps the Rules
Two Peas and Their Pod
Food Finery
Sweet Life In The Valley
Photos from AprilAtwater.com & Sorel.com
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- HardlyNormal Conversation -
+ That was how I first met Mark Horvath of Invisiblepeople.tv. Through a random conversation over twitter. After learning a little more about what Mark does to help put a face on homelessness, I figured I would try and help however/whenever I could, in my own way. I started making airplanes out of 5 dollar bills when I had the extra cash (sometimes when I didn’t) and I give them to homeless people when I see them. I’ve added a section to my site called $5 Airplane Stories where I share a little bit about a particular homeless person’s story, or my experience from spending time with them as well as a picture (if they’re “OK” with me posting it) of them holding the $5 airplane I made them.
+ Earlier this month Mark was finishing up his road trip where he drove all over the country telling homeless people’s stories (showing us what the faces of homelessness really look like) and he stopped in Salt Lake City, UT on October 2nd. I was able to drive up and meet him in person finally. I followed him around while he passed out new pairs of socks to the local homeless people and got a couple stories. It was pretty eye opening seeing how these people spend their day and how they have to live. Honestly, before meeting Mark I was really in my own little box. I never thought about things going on outside my life. Turns out it feels nice to care about other people. If you haven’t tried it lately….you should. Thanks, Mark
Dear Hotels~
It’s me, Jones. I was thinking maybe you should like…open up a few rooms where homeless people can come and clean up, shave, dress their best so they can go out and apply for jobs presentably. Then when they get an interview have them back to clean up for their interview as well. I don’t know if that’s even doable, but it was a thought….
Love,
Jones
On October 17th, while in Vegas for The Blogworld Expo, I had the pleasure of getting to see the Cirque Du Soleil show - “LOVE”. Before last weekend I had never been to Las Vegas, nor to any Cirque shows. To just say that my first trip to Vegas “did not disappoint” would be an inadequate description. “LOVE” really was the highlight of my trip, and that is saying something because I had a blast at Blogworld, networking and attending parties. This show was visually stunning. I was able to go with my buddies Stephanie (@sahans) & Nate (@BigBags) – Thank you to Jess Berlin for the free tickets! Seemed like during every act I would hear Nate say, “This is amazing”. And he was right. This show was like eye candy for me. The only thing missing from my first Cirque experience was my 5 year old, Maddelyn. I would “LOVE” to have watched her face as she watched this show!
All the acts were truly beautiful and exciting, but one of my favorite acts was “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”. Set to one of my favorite Beatles songs, were twinkle lights hanging from the ceiling in a pitch black room. It made you feel like you were up in the sky with the stars. Then there was a beautifully choreographed dance/acrobatic number.
From the man with no harness, swinging upside down on a platform hanging from the ceiling, to the roller bladers launching themselves into the air from two half pipe ramps, to the dancers bouncing themselves from trampolines off the walls and nets, to the amazing and creative choreography, to the great music, there is sure to be something for everyone to enjoy…even if you’re not a Beatles fan.
There was so much talent and creativity in that room, by the end of the show I wanted to run off and join the Cirque family of dancers! I would “LOVE” to see another Cirque Du Soleil show soon. Next choice – “O” at the Bellagio.
Picture from The New York Times
“LOVE” – Cirque Du Soleil
At the Mirage, Las Vegas NV
Ticket Office # 1-800-963-9634
Today I won tickets to the Snow Patrol & Plain White T’s concert at the McKay Events Center. Rob and I went and it was lots of fun Turns out Snow Patrol has way more songs than I knew about lol. Plain White T’s only played three songs because the lead singer was faking sick but they sounded good to me Rob and I got there too early and took a ton of ridiculous pictures of ourselves to pass the time…(sometimes Rob looks high)
SNOW PATROL – RUN
RANDOM CONVERSATION
(overheard while waiting in line for the concert)
Girl in Vest: “I saw your bunny on facebook. It’s cute!”
Girl in Red Hat: “Yah. I kinda don’t like it.”
Girl in Vest: “What? Why?”
Girl in Red Hat: “It has seizures.”
Other Girl Standing There: “Are you even allowed to have pets in your apartment?”
Girl in Red Hat: “Shhhhhhhh”
(Like anyone there in line is going to bust her for having a rabbit in her apartment. And yes, I copied down their conversation in my notes on my iPhone, cuz I felt like it.)
So like…I’m going to the Blogworld Conference/New Media Expo 2009. I entered to win Guy Kawasaki’s Alltop.com contest and well….I won. So I won a “full-access” pass ($1195 value) and 2 night hotel stay ($176 value). Thank you to all of you who retweeted my Alltop page. I really appreciate it! Especially since I get to go with my girl Stephanie Hansen of The Daily Blarg, and the famous Blog Dog. If you don’t know who Blog Dog is….shame on you. Here just watch this, and you will know who Blog Dog is
