REALLY the Rileys

I swear sometimes I'm pretty decent at my job.

At other times, not so much.

I just pulled up some coverage that our client received and noticed the reporter quoted me as part of the article.

(Ah, crap... I was trying to add a scanned image of the article. You'll just have to trust me that this really was in print.)

"This project was really one that was so worthwhile and really felt like it was one the foundation could really support... It's a really great all-encompassing project that really meets the ideals and goals of this foundation," said Allison Riley, representative.

Were you counting?! Really, Allison?! I think I just brought new meaning to the name of our blog...

Forgive me for cutting off the quote before it mentioned the organization's name. I hated to mar their good name even further.

They Say It's Your Birthday

You say it was last month? Well, okay then.

No-ahhh (my favorite EFY nickname of his. If you get someone 13-year old girls are pining after, what good is it if you don't broadcast it from time to time?) hit the quarter-century mark a few weeks ago and it was a weekend of partying. Well, it was a weekend of fun-we-might-have-done-besides but it made me feel better to talk about it in terms of fun-we're-having-'cuz-you're-getting-older.

First stop - Clark Planetarium's U2 laser show. We have the raddest kid in our ward who works there and got us a few tickets to go check out the U2 show. So check it out we did. And I have always wondered what it might be like to get high to my U2 playlist. I keed, I keed. It really was so awesome, who's going to argue with great tunes and a screen that convinces you you might just need to build a dome on top of your house for all your viewing needs? However, I think the Vertigo track actually gave me vertigo. And I left the theater with renewed conviction that I would make a crappy astronaut.

Next stop - Jambas and a drive up to Ensign Peak to make out. Not :). A drive up to Ensign Peak to watch the city lights ("...the lights from the buildings and cars looked like reflections of the stars that ni-ight.") and make Noah's Top 25 of the Last 25 list. It was good times. And insightful. I recommend it. Rest assured - our wedding date did make the list. It was just behind being kissed by Jennifer S. in 4th grade.

Also notable for the evening - learned how to play Bubble Breaker on the new blackberry. Our lives will never be the same.

Saturday (the actual birthday) - We spent the first half of the day doing big kid stuff ... aka: shopping for lighting fixtures and fans and matching plumbing fixtures to tile samples, etc. Yeah. A barrel of laughs, we are. But then we indulged our little kid selves at the batting cages. I clearly have horrendous batting posture. But I didn't miss once.

That evening we went to the Best of State awards. Perhaps not the ideal way to spend a birthday, but I had a few clients receiving awards and Noah was really supportive. It was a great meal, though (let's be honest, better than I coulda done at home) and there was some pretty excellent entertainment. Namely - the Crescent Super Band. Have you heard these kids? I'm thinking of submitting them to VH1's "you oughtta know." I think it's about time a jazz ensemble from American Fork, UT was featured.

Noah was probably under the impression that by the strike of midnight on Saturday evening the birthday fun was over. And he probably was thinking I'm a pretty lame wife. Muah-ha-ha. What he didn't know was that I had undertaken the pure insanity of arranging little surprise party. A sur-pies party to be exact. I got the idea from my cousin Melissa's blog (shout out) and because Noah is pretty much game for anything in a pastry crust, it was right up his alley. I made homemade pizza (pies) and Noah's "favorite" strawberry pie (or, rather, my loose interpretation of the dish. IT WAS MY FIRST PIE EVER. I didn't say it would be pretty. Or taste good. Whatever.) for dinner and invited a number of friends over. Each of the guests brought a pie along as well and it was a good thing - because frankly, their pies rocked.

Planning a surprise party is stressful times (can I get a "what what" from those of you who have tried?). I even thought I was keeping it simple. But how do you make FOUR pizzas behind someone's back? And what happens if that someone doesn't leave the house when you thought he would? Well, that's when you write a note to his guests on a file folder (only paper I could find without making a scene), shove it up your shirt, make up an excuse about going out to the car and leave the note asking the guests to bake in the heat of the stairwell while you sort things out inside (seriously, sorry everyone). There were so many un-smooth moments on my end, but I'll share just one.

Me: Texting as many guests as I could to tell them to text me when they got here so I'd know when the troops had assembled in the stairwell (sorry, again).

Me: Getting a text back from one of them.

Noah: Who was that text from?

Me: Who... was... that... text, uh, from? (Stalling, brilliant.) Hannah. From work. Needed her to do something tomorrow. (In my mind... and I'm just the type of person who wanted to ruin her Sunday over it.)

But in spite of myself, Noah didn't catch on. He was genuinely confused when poeple rang the doorbell and stood out there with pies. And that made the whole thing worth it.

Pictures are forthcoming. They weren't on my camera. Workin' on it.

Landed Gentry

Michael: Today, I, Michael Scott, am becoming a homeowner. Investing in real estate.

Dwight: Diversifying. Smart.

Michael: Yes it is. Yes it is. It is very important to own property. Back in olden days, they would not even let you vote unless you owned property and they'd throw you in the stocks and humiliate you.

Dwight: And it worked. They should bring the stocks back. People'd obey the law, there'd be less troublemakers.

Michael: Maybe.

Yesterday, in a fury of forms and signatures, Noah and I officially earned our right to vote... in the world according to Michael Scott.

Photos and posts to come I'm sure.

What The?

What do cheesy mormon movies and Miller Light have in common?

THIS guy.

Did anyone else have this bout of serious dissonance during the Lakers/Celtics showdown last night?

San Diego

Noah and I managed to dodge the "unmarried grandkid" requirement and joined the Riley fam on the annual Memorial Day San Diego trip. It was lovely.

We planned to take off Friday evening and drive down to Oceanside, but on a whim (or on an "I'd rather not drive for 11 hours if Allison's just going to sleep because driving lulls her to sleep more quickly than a boring speaker in a warm chapel" verdict) Noah decided to check flights and actually found some at a decent price. We just couldn't bring any of our personal effects along. Okay, not really. But seriously airlines? This is getting out of control. I hear they are considering charging people per pound. Not of luggage. Of their ACTUAL person. That's inspiration for a diet. But I digress...

We used our newfound freedom on Friday night to hit up the Bees game with some of Noah's coworkers and the Bruso's (so glad you could come!). It was a nice night, sans the getting stuck in the elevator with 14 people. Nay, BECAUSE of getting stuck in the elevator with 14 people. What can I say? Tense situations usually make me laugh. Also a nice night because Traci and Spencer's little Paige didn't totally reject me and their little Curtis is quite possibly the snuggliest little guy on the planet right now.

Saturday, I succumbed to the siren song of responsibility and ran out to a client event before we left. Glad I did. Good coverage. From there, we hopped on our flight and found ourselves in the San Diego airport after a few hours of pretty uneventful flying (not complaining). San Diego International must have been battling QUITE the loitering epidemic in their pick-up area, because they hired the most zero-tolerance traffic patrol lady I have ever encountered. The flashlight was her weapon of choice and she was NOT afraid to use it.

We stayed in Oceanside, so I was stoked that we were able to spend an afternoon with my cousin Allyn and her family. Her boys weren't feeling well, so we stayed with them while the rest of the family went to church. Her sweet little guy, Banks, was not having it and stood in one spot facing the front door just sobbing after his mom left. It basically broke my heart. Fortunately we had a wooden train set problem that needed solving and Banks was just the man for the job. He warmed up shortly thereafter and it was all uphill from there. The rest of the afternoon was so delightful - at the risk of sounding 80 years old. :) Allyn and Aron's kids are honestly some of the most pleasant, adorable ones around and it was so much fun to spend time with them.

The rest of the week was a lot of beach, pool, sun, food and games. And I love that there isn't much more to report than that. It was so relaxing and that's just what we needed.

Our last night in California, we headed to Pantages Theater in L.A. to see Wicked with Noah's parents and sister (thank you for the tickets!). Phenomenal. The casting was absoluetly spot on and the plot was really fun. We didn't take a camera (because that's just how we roll these days) but we did manage to snap this shot with Chris' blackberry in the theater before the guy yelled at someone else for doing the same thing.

I Wear My Sunglasses At Night

...or at least indoors in the case of the Gov'na. Noah spotted Mr. Hunstman himself as we dined at Mazza's at 9th and 9th last night. He was wearing his sunglasses in a very going-incognito way. But it's hard not to stand out when your wife looks like Barbie. And you run the state.

Ready to Run

Finally, that Riley woman rings in.

LOTS of updates. I know this. Let’s get started…

A few weekends ago, Noah and I (sorta) accomplished one of our New Year’s resolutions by participating in the Ogden Marathon. I must, must stress the sorta because I feel as much a poser with this post as I felt a poser in the actual race. My poserhood lingers still because my Dad stopped by the office yesterday with my poser medal that’s now hanging in my office. I know – how do I sleep at night?

We didn’t resort to poser status because we weren’t ready. No way, dude. We’ve been running fools for the past five months. This was the direct result of my procrastination. I can’t even say I wasn’t warned. Because Claire, dear, you did inform me of the ½ marathon’s popularity. Long story short – I didn’t register us in time! In my desperation, I joined the waiting list only to discover I was #268 or so on said list.

We contemplated just showing up, getting lost in the pack and running the 13.1 to the finish line regardless… which we may have done, but Dad’s firm gave us another, more honest solution. The Ogden Marathon relay team. One member of the team wasn’t available to run her leg of the relay – a gorgeous stretch between the Oaks and the Timbermine in Ogden Canyon, so we eagerly agreed. Our stretch was five miles and from there it was just another three to the finish line, so we passed off the chip and finished out the eight mile stretch. Add that to the one mile run it took to get in place that morning (hey! I’m giving us credit for every foot…) and it was a lovely 9-mile morning.

The day’s highlights:

Thinking we might be a little late for the relay chip, so hauling buns to our starting point just to hang out for the next two hours.

Not knowing what our relay team members look like, so creating a sign with her name on it and realizing after about 20 minutes I was holding it upside down.

Passing this old man.

Completing our eight miles (the ones without a pregnant pause in between) in 62 minutes.

Noah’s “Michael Cera in Juno” look.
Selecting an unsuspecting (and unknowing, still) woman and making her my “I will beat you” goal. Thanks, lady. Nothing personal. It's just that I needed to beat you. You were skinny.

Dressing like each other.Retiring my favorite pair of running capris. Apparently if you can't sit to tie your shoe without exposing your bright blue underoos you should probably bid the capris adieu. Or so Noah says. (Side note: I did purchase a new pair. They look hauntingly similar to this pair, but don't be fooled. They are much, much warmer. If you wear them on a run along the beach in San Diego, you'll probably be cooking by run's end. PLUS - there is no handy iPod pocket on the hip. I really loved that pocket.)This picture of Noah (and we're all pretending that isn't me in the background. So, I'm not a pretty runner. I've come to terms with it. We were racing, people. Racing.)