Everyone Loves the Fair!

I have made it a tradition to visit the state fair every year. I think I have gone about four times now. I love the fair! I don't do rides or any of those types of attractions, but the cows, sheep, goats, chickens, and, of course, the pigs are my favorite. 

I missed the fair last year because I was in Canada, but this year we had to go! I had been looking forward to it all summer. This year my mom was in town during the exact dates that the fair was running. I don't think she was as excited as the rest of us to go walk around in the rain through puddles of who-knows-what to go look at row after row of farm animals, but since the fair only comes once a year, she rallied and came with us. Little Sister, Roomie, Mom, and I spent a delightful evening engaging in my favorite late summer tradition.

First stop, the picture stands:

Little Sister and I having bushels of fun!

Mom, Little Sister, and I in the "family tree."

Little Sister and Roomie look more related in this "family tree" than I do.

I'm pretty sure I have this exact picture from 3 or 4 years ago.
Only I was the sheep this time around.

Second, there is general merriment on the way to the animal buildings:

Pals

Roomie wins!

Then, the main event!

Don't forget the veggies!

Fair food. End of story.

Roomie enjoying her fried cheesecake. 

I think in the long run, Mom had a great time at the fair.

Do you love the fair as much as I do? What is your favorite part?

Pepino

This is Pepino. He is Little Sister's puppy. Sadly, he broke both bones in one of his front legs jumping off of the bed. It was a really sad night! But we took him to the 24 hour vet and got him all patched up. He's just as fast at fetch as he was before the break!

Roomie and Little Pep

Where Have You Been?

One of my goals is to visit every state in the U.S.A. I have made pretty good progress so far! There are just a couple of pockets that are awkwardly dispersed left. Oh yeah, and Hawaii. And since this handy map didn't come with an equally handy key (come on!), red=visited, gray=non-visited.

I have visited 38 states - which is approximately 76% of the county. So 38 down, 12 more to go! And for kicks, I added Canada as well: 

The five provinces that I have visited in Canada make up approximately 38% of the county. Where have you been?

E=MC^2

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."

-- Albert Einstein

Photoshop and Other Things

In a random change of life events, interests, and self-discovery, I have embarked upon a new career pursuit: Web Design and Development. After moving back to Salt Lake City from Toronto, graduate school, and the direction I thought my life was supposed to take, I landed a job at my alma mater. I work for the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah, where I do many things. It is extremely similar to my previous job at the Utah Society for Environmental Education, only for a bigger organization and without the program facilitation aspects.

Currently, my main function at work is to design a new website for the department. It has become a huge undertaking, since I have to deal with the bureaucracy of the university to make things happen, rather than just striking out on my own. This has forced me to learn more about web development than I ever would have thought possible, and I am completely loving it! I 'm exploring this interest further.

Since I am an employee of the university, I get discounted tuition rates, which I am completely taking advantage of. This semester, I am taking an HTML/Javascript programming class through the Computer Science Department, in addition to the Web Design Tools Certificate through Continuing Education. There are three certificate programs for web development and design. I started the first one earlier this week with my first class: Photoshop 1. Most of what we went over I have already learned from working with the program, but I also learned a ton from the class and going through photoshop the "right" way, rather than just blundering along and figuring it out as I go.

I am extremely excited for the series of classes the certificate offers. Next week is Photoshop 2, and then we move onto Illustrator, CSS, XHTML, Dreamweaver, and finally finish the 10-class certificate off with something called "Web Design: An Integrated Approach." Sweet!

While my professor was discussing the intricacies of layers last night, I made this little gem from the "layer sandwich" demonstration and a bit of fun time.