Idina Menzel and a Blondie

Texas is breaking records this year... but not the kind of records you want to be broken. From October 2010 to July 2011 it has been the driest 10 month period for Texas since 1895, when they started recording rainfall.

In fact, Austin is probably going to beat the all time record of days over 100 degrees for a year set in 1925, this year. It's HOT and very DRY. The grass is crispy and crunches when you walk on it. I planted flowers this year and they literally burned up.

So, can you imagine my delight when I had the opportunity to go to Deer Valley for a concert while I was in Utah. Utah, is experiencing the opposite in weather conditions than Texas. Utah has had excessive rains. Everything is green, alive and full of hydration!

Idina Menzel was performing for this nights concert in the park. I first heard her sing on the soundtrack for Wicked, and instantly loved her voice. In my next life, I've decided that I want her job.

I went with Maurie, Kelly S. and Kelly S.'s sisters. We got a bite at the venue and then spread our blankets on the grass and waited for the concert to start. This was my view.

It was gorgeous! The weather was cool and the air smelled like pine trees! I could have sat on my blanket enjoying the mountains for a very long time. I even got chilly during the show and I had to put on my sweat shirt. A sweat shirt! Ha! It's been so long!

After the concert, Maurie and I were still ready to party. We called up Emily (who had been to a rehearsal for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) and had her meet us at Applebees for a treat.

I have a mild obsession with an Applebees' dessert called, the Blondie. If you know me well, my dessert palate consists of chocolate and chocolate. I NEVER stray from chocolate desserts when it is an option. If a dessert does not have some form of chocolate in it, you may as well have offered me some broccoli to gnaw on.

My sister-in-law, Ashley, and I went to an Applebees' one night and ordered desserts. I, of course, ordered the chocolate brownie with ice cream, and she ordered this new dessert she had fallen in love with, a blonde browine served with ice cream and maple syrup. When our desserts came she professed as to how divine her dessert was. I scoffed, it could not be any better than the chocolate wonderfulness I was consuming. She told me that if I tried it, that I would be sold on the blondie. "Ha"! I thought, "Never"! But try it I did, and a BELIEVER I became! I love the Blondie! It really is divine (but it has to be served on that piping hot plate so when you pour the maple syrup over it, the syrup sizzles.... the sizzle is part of the divine-ness.... no sizzle, no bueno)!

Here Emily and are just about to take a bite, when we realize that Maurie has not ordered a Blondie, but has instead ordered a Brownie.....

What, Maurie? Are you kidding us right now? You didn't order a Blondie?

I'm in shock! How could she not be a Blondie believer like Emily and I?

Look at Maurie's face as Emily and I go on and on about her lack of Blondie appreciation.

What!? Whoa! Is she about to let the bird fly? Yes, I think she is! Put that away Maurie, this is a family restaurant!

Well, whatever! We'll save her eventually! But for now, let's eat!