Fall Getaway

Last year, Noah and I were able to spend a week in the lovely northeast joining the "leaf-peeping" ranks. I was feeling slighted that Utah's fall left a bit to be desired this year. (Why is that? Rainfall or something? The fabulous orchard Rileys are probably all rolling their eyes at my tree ignorance.)

Fortunately for my fall fetish, Candace and I headed to Roanoke, VA last week to wrap up the Fresh Fit contest (of creepy obese teacher assembly fame) and hit the town at a beautiful time of year. I love this picture Candace caught of the press event where we recognized the contest winner. After our event and a delightful lunch with Becky, we attempted to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway and we thought we were on it - what, with all the "Blue Ridge Antiques" and "Blue Ridge Burgers" and "Blue Ridge Bowling" buildings and shops along the route. After driving 45 minutes in one direction and turning around, we found the turn-off to the actual Blue Ridge Parkway upon our return. My bad, Candace. Thanks for capturing these fabulous shots of our romantic fall foliage drive anyway :).

Isn't it gorgeous? I love my job.

Call it fate. A few days before I left, I learned - via Cash Cab, the source of all my new knowledge as of late - that Virginia happens to have the highest concentration of vanity plates per capita in the nation. Riveting, yes. But you know what? For REAL. They are everywhere! Candace captured ALL these in one parking lot. One half-full, twenty car parking lot.

And just for good measure, for anyone who called Wednesday evening and got the ol' "in a restaurant that doesn't allow cell phones excuse," here's your proof...

36.42

Our MPG.

That's right.

We went 515 miles on our last tank of gas.

Bless your heart, little white car, bless your heart.

Hopeless Romantic

To understand this post a little better (or for a frightening glance into Allison's psyche) - let's delve, shall we?

I'm a cheap person. Ah, that's harsh. I'm frugal.

It's not that I refuse to spend bucks, but I'm pretty selective about how I spend them. I prefer to save up for something better (completely subjective, I know - notice I didn't specify 'more expensive' - just 'better' in my mind) than to spend the same amount over time. It can drive Noah totally nuts that I refuse to pay full price for yogurt ($.64?! No thanks, Yoplait. I'll stock up on the 20/$10. Yes. A fourteen cent discrepancy. That really matters to me.) or debate over paper towel brands and in the same breath notice a $600 mirror I must own. Not all at the same store. But you get the idea.

I'm all about maximum utility from my purchases. And for me, I derive that utility from a) saving a little longer for something I really dig, or b) getting a ridiculously good deal. Uh, hello. Have you met my fabulous green armoire I scored for 75% off?

Enough exposition already. So, for faithful readers of the blog or anyone who started reading yesterday, you know yesterday was our anniversary. Part of our love for the fall anniversary centers around our love for fall travel. We had our first three anniversary trips practically planned before we tied the knot. This year is Guatemala, and we're headed out next week. So in my previously described mind, that factors in nicely. Big trip, lots of fun, eat Top Ramen until we leave. Kidding, it's not that extreme. But something low-key for the day-of.

I figured we'd spend a nice evening in or maybe find a fun restaurant in the area we've never tried before. Noah, the hopeless romantic, had a different idea.

He decided to surprise me with a night at a fun little B&B in the area, or maybe even find a little place in Park City for the evening. But understanding my ... er, frugality ... he opted for priceline.com to find a great last-minute deal. However, not understanding priceline.com, we ended up with a seriously-not-a-cent-cheaper-than-the-standard-rate room at the Red Lion.

Before I sound like a total snob, there is nothing wrong with the Red Lion. In fact, they were very kind and even upgraded us to a suite when Noah told them we were celebrating our anniversary. But let's refer back to our utility conversation. A three-star hotel six blocks from my home at its everyday rate doesn't exactly summit the utility scale. Even its possible selling points - downtown! Great view of the city and mountains! We live downtown with a great view of the city and mountains.

Noah told me about the conundrum when he came to pick me up from work. After my initial, "but babe... I have this thing called a utility scale..." reaction and "is it too late to cancel our bank account and drop off the face of the map?" query, we went home, packed a bag, vacuummed the rugs (this detail is not important, except that we finally got a vacuum and I was STOKED to vacuum the rugs) and made our way to the hotel. For an additional $17, we added Cafe Rio and a RedBox to the mix. Because when you're gonna go all out, you may as well go all out :).

In the line at Cafe Rio, the guy behind the counter took one look at us and asked Noah, "wow - did she get mad at you?" An immediate look of concern crossed my face. Was I really so transparent with my emotions? Was I honestly such a brat that the Cafe Rio guy could see it in my face? Yes, maybe. But I forgot Noah was still sporting a shiner from basketball a few weeks ago. With all the "did she hit you?!" jokes we've encountered this week, I'm shocked I didn't catch on more quickly.

All in all, we did have a really nice evening together. We laughed over and over while we packed our bags, as we pulled up to the hotel, in the elevator - I think I might need to add one more criteria to the scale - c) will result in hilarious memory for years.

Anniversary

It's been two whole years, and I'm still madly in love with this guy...
October 20, 2006 was a pretty excellent day. And windy.Like most couples' big day, the day was busy - but I loved that it didn't feel frantic. We enjoyed a nice wedding brunch with close friends and family. Our wedding ceremony was performed in the Salt Lake City Temple by a dear friend and fellow USU alum, Val R. Christensen. We partied at our beautiful autumn reception, tossed the bouquet, cut the cake and ditched the scene.

(I was looking for the picture where we're giving off a very 'peace out' vibe. Can't find it. Ashley - was it from your camera? Ah, well - the 'just cut this cake so we can leave' shot will suffice.)

By the day's end, I felt a little like Barbie in the scene from Toy Story (ah, yes. only the finest cinematic works need be referenced on this blog...) - my face was killing me. And my feet were also a little worse for the wear. So I popped a few Tylenol before heading to the inn where we stayed that evening. Ahem - I popped a few Tylenol PM before heading the inn where we stayed that evening. I was out cold before we even hit the freeway.

Just the beginning of oh-so-many such antics Noah would have to put up with over the next two years and counting.

But I have a hunch he's still pretty head over heels as well.

She Almost Makes Me Want One

My sister Ashley and her hubby Justin must have some sort of superior genes, because how cute is this mug?

Abbey, Dad, Allison - 9.7.2008

After traveling all weekend, I flew in about one hour before my sister and her sweet girls got to town. It was land, cruise home for a shower, jet back to the airport and ride up and down escalators with Abbey.

The gals came to Salt Lake to stay with Noah and me and visit the finer points of the city this weekend. Some crazy-adorable photo opps ensued. Stay tuned.

Roanoke, Charlotte and Columbia - Oh My.

September meant a lot of travel for work around the Riley home. I spend a weekend in Roanoke, Virginia launching a program in elementary schools with Jared the Subway Guy and his giant pants; another week in North and South Carolina hanging out with Mike Rucker of Carolina Panthers fame; and Noah spent a few afternoons in Sandy at the What a Woman Wants Show.

I'll admit, it's not all bad to get paid to see a new place and shake up the work week a bit. But as we inch closer to flipping the calendar and bidding September adieu, we're looking forward to spending a few more weekends in the same zip code.

A few Virginia highlights:

• At one elementary in Roanoke, we took Jared backstage to prepare for the assembly. When we opened the door to the backstage area, there was – what we could only assume was an obese adult a few screws short of full mental capacity – sitting on a chair with a bag of potato chips and what I thought were little pieces of masking tape on his lips. He didn’t say anything when we opened the door, just turned and stared. For a moment, I panicked thinking we should tell the principal about his creepy individual sitting backstage. Then my fears quickly shifted. Maybe the school was hiding him back here?! (Think: Sloth from the Goonies). I nervously edged around the individual every time I had to go backstage and limited the amount of time I had spend back there with the school crazy. Turns out, he was a teacher who was taking part in the assembly. The obesity? A few couch pillows. And what I thought were pieces of tape were actually soda cracker crumbs. (The quality of this photo is no bueno. But hopefully this gives you the idea.)

• Visiting Virginia Tech’s beautiful campus.

• THIS guy who fashioned his own Subway ensemble of Subway cups, bags, straws and napkins.
(He is not wearing the hat in this one. But believe you me. There was a hat.)

• Enjoying the VT/Furman game from a sweet suite after a killer game of parking lot football with a bunch of 6-year olds. I was, undisputedly, our team’s weak link. I had nothin’ on those first graders.
• Getting off our plane in Atlanta (after sitting on the tarmac for an hour, bleh) with only five minutes until our next flight’s takeoff. Even though we figured it was in vain, Nate, Justin and I hauled booty from terminal A to terminal D – um, hello, tram not working? We missed the flight anyway, but I earned mad props from the guys for setting a land speed record in my heels.

And a few from the Carolinas:
• “Ma’am, we’ve upgraded you to a suite during your stay at no extra charge. Will that work for you?” Um, yes. That’s a bullet I’ll go ahead and take.

The living room.The work area.

The flat screen TV built into the mirror (and the stirring Rock Band news coverage I was watching.)

• Meeting one of the most down-to-earth professional football players on the planet. Utah doesn’t have a professional football team, so I figure I don’t have allegiances elsewhere. I may just be a Carolina Panthers fan.

• Going to church on Sunday with my cousin, Alicia, and her sweet family, and panicking when I thought her little Sophie ate the penny she was playing with. It was actually just clenched in her fist. One of the most impressive “where’s the coin?” tricks ever executed by a 20-month old.

• Dean & Deluca’s. We don’t have ‘em in Utah. Any faithful readers have some in their area? Five of my seven nights in SC/NC were spent in Charlotte, NC with a D&D right down the street. It’s possible I went there for four meals. Was the same girl working the bakery when I got a dessert with every single meal? Yes. Was I ashamed? Not hardly.

• Our last night, we stayed in Asheville and the Holiday Inn left a little to be desired after the suite in Charlotte and the Hilton in Columbia. Not the very least of which was the gosh-awful shampoo and conditioner. Our flight home was at 6:30 a.m., so leave at 5:30 a.m., wake up at 4:30 a.m. As I dried my hair, it was so greasy and matted down – I just couldn’t deal. I finally resorted to kneeling down by the tub and sticking my head under the faucet in a last-ditch attempt to rinse the stuff out. By the time I conceded the point and pulled my hair into a nappy ponytail, I hurried out to the car a few minutes late. I apologized to my CEO and account services director, with whom I was traveling, and whined to them about the sorry excuse for hair care products bestowed upon us by the HI. After our first flight, we waited for our connection in Cincinnati where I re-pulled up the matted mess on my head and complained once again about the conditioner. It was at that point Sam observed he didn’t have conditioner in his room.

"Yeah, Sam. The two bottles. One said 'CLEANSE' the other said 'SMOOTH.' Right?"
"Yes. That would be the lotion."

Lovely.

People Ought Not Pass Gas on Airplanes… and other undeniable truths.

In the grand tradition of the Noah and Allison Riley family birthdays (ahem, Noah in Minneapolis for work last September 20; me dragging Noah to an awards banquet for my clients on May 31) I am penning this entry from a hotel room in Charlotte, NC.

Being an adult is so totally overrated sometimes. All I know, when you were a kid and your birthday landed on a Friday or Saturday, it was like hitting pay dirt. Weekend birthdays were, in a word, cool beans. (One word. Coolbeans.)

Well, about 23 minutes ago, eastern standard time, I turned 24. And according to ancient lore another year older makes me another year wiser, too.

I don’t know about that.

But what I did learn on my flight to the Tar Heel State (ah, state report information will prove beneficial one day, all you 2nd graders who frequent this blog…) is that nothing drives home the fact you’re breathing recycled air more devastatingly than lacing it with a foul odor. That goes for you guys sitting in front of me with the malodorous curry pork rinds, too.

I don’t have a camera cord to upload photos, so I’ll spare you any facts about what I’m doing here until I have some visual documentation to verify my words. Until then… “what was she doing?! What was she doing?!” I know. You totally can’t even sleep now.