Tuesday

Us and Julio down at the pool bar.

Wow. This started out innocent and $300 bar tab later we went home.
Good times had by all. So much so the bartender, Julio, bought u a round at the end... As if we needed it.

Party with pizza back and our room and lights out by 10pm. So they tell me.

Wow. Just wow.

Monday

Today was JEEP tour day with ABC tours. Our your guide was Jelle (pronounced yella).

We had three jeeps in the whole tour and thankfully we had Jelle driving as the alternative was we drove. The off tossing we did would have been ugly with one of us at the wheel.

We went to the natural bridge, the old gold factory and to the natural pool. Due to the winds we could not swim at the natural pool, but WOW was it beautiful. Pics to come once I'm home.

We also stopped at the Donkey Sanctuary. They caretake for about 117 total donkeys at a time that can not be out in the wild anymore due to injury or abuse. It's all run by volunteers and of course they get visitors to buy food and feed the donkeys as a way to make money. It was a cool place and let's face it, I'm a person that loves when people make a difference, so I made a donation and got a cute T and feel good that I could give back to a place I am visiting.

We got back and got our driver to stop at the grocery store so we could get booze and food. We loaded up as Tanya and I host happy hour in our room before we all head to dinner.

Swaser is on top of making reservations every night for dinner. 8 at 8 we call it. Eight people at 8:00.

We went to Driftwood last night for dinner. It was fantastic. Vicki read Online about an anniversary special so we got a screaming good deal and a ton of food.

I had wahoo, one of the many fresh catches of the day. The owners name is Herby and he fishes every day for the dinner that night. Then the chef prepares it, however you can pick how you want it prepared. I chose to have my wahoo blackened. It was delicious!! It came with a sauce and I didn't even use it.

We walked home and crashed as after a jeep tour, pool time and a big dinner everyone was wiped out.

Boat launch on private island

Although the plane noise is very loud, the island is awesome.

Hello from our private island in Aruba.

You can't wake this shit up. Private Island R&R. Two for one happy hour back at hotel and lots of laughter and beautiful friends. Seriously, this is awesome.

Ahhhh. Girls Weekend at the Lake :)

I am grateful for my friends. The laughter and the fun we have is always so amazing. Seriously, the stuff that comes out of our mouths would amaze you and make you laugh....but that is why we have girls weekend, what is said there, stays there :)

Will Ferrell

Flying out from Sundance was as exciting as being there! Was behind Will in security line and chatted with him while "redressing"...he was funny, shocker! Nice to see he isn't too full of himself not to be escorted through. Love him!

Final day at Sundance

Monday was our last day of movies. We had 2.
First one was "The Surrogate" starring John Hawkes (MN Boy), Helen Hunt and William H Macy.
It was a true story of a man (Michael O'Brien) who lived in an iron lung due to polio who was a poet and writer. After writing an article about sex surrogates, he hires a sex surrogate to have sex with himself, something that isn't uncommon for people with severe disability (per what we researched after).

I thought this movie was going to be very depressing, it wasn't...in fact it was quite funny at times.
The over all story was beautifully told and the character development was fabulous. I laughed, but also cried...wow did I cry. It was so very well done I hope that it gets picked up and is distributed nationally so everyone can see this story. So well done! The director/writer (below) is Ben Lewin, him and his wife sat behind us as we managed VERY good seats for this showing and he was a beautifully spoken man :)

After the movie we went and hung out on Main Street...where I finally saw a celebrity without Darien or Amy pointing them out to me. Tim Daly walked by me as I was standing in a doorway waiting on Amy to buy some boots. I said "hey...Tim Daly"...and he turned and waved as he was on his phone. And for the record - he is beautiful in person!

We then headed to dinner at the Bling Dog, the girls got sushi and I had a salad and mac and cheese (one last indulgence). We toasted a great trip and I bought Sophie a cure leash from there (doggie has to get a present when I travel!)

We walked back over to the Eccles Theatre for "Bachlorette"  starring Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, James Marsden and Rebel Wilson ... and produced by Will Farrell, who was in the audience too. While the cast was fabulous, the movie was not. I found the characters annoying at times and although there were some very funny lines in the movie, it lacked characters you cared about at all. I think it tried too hard to show the dark side of women, but took it way over the top. If anything you could take away from it, it would be that long time friends ALWAYS have each others back, no matter what and that I completely agree with.

Sundance Day 4 - For a Good Time Call...

After a good workout at the gym on an incredibly sunny and beautiful day, it was double movie day!

Afternoon: Short Series 5
We watched 7 short films. The picture below is Darien and I with the writers and one of the leads in the short "92 Skybox Alonzo Mourning Rookie Card". We also saw:

• The Arm - I liked
• The Black Balloon - I didn't like
• Girl (Sweden) - I didn't like
• Henley - I liked
• 92 Skybox Alonzo Mourning Rookie Card - I liked
• OK Breathe Auralee - I liked
• The Return (Kosovo) - I loved

Evening Movie: For A Good Time Call...
We walked to the Eccles Theatre (which is in the high school near by).
As we stood in line Carrie Preston walked in and got in line near us (director of That's What She Said and who also is on Good Wife and True Blood). Seriously? She is in line with the rest of the regular people? We got a chance to chat with her and talk about her movie and her role in Good Wife. She was simply adorable and so nice!

We got inside and grabbed our seats and as Amy and I were headed to the bathroom she spotted Marcia DuBonis (Bebe in "That's What She Said"). As I had been calling Amy "Bebe" all day, we tracked her down and got some pics - she too was fabulous!

We thought it was a movie with Seth Rogen and in reality it turns out it was a movie where he did a cameo...his wife Lauren Miller co-wrote and starred in the film. Her co-star was Ari Graynor, and they were fabulous together! It is a story of two women who hate each other and end up having to live together due to life's circumstances. They end up starting a phone sex business. I hope this movie is picked up by a distributor and everyone can see it. It was hilarious, sweet and well done! Justin Long, Mimi Rogers, Don McManus were all also in it and at the viewing. Below is a video of Lauren Miller speaking about the movie (if it uploads). Seth was in the audience as a proud hubby taking photos, but did not get on stage.

Sundance Day 3

Today was spa day.
It was also snow day, tons of snow all day long...it was fabulous :)

We arrived at the spa and were greeted by the sweetest black lab...yay doggie love! (I MISS SOPHIE)
After a fabulous 90-minute massage we headed to Deer Valley for lunch and watch the snow fall.

We had our second movie last night "For Ellen". Staring Paul Dano and John Heder.
It was 93 minutes- and probably could have been 45. It was about a journey of a young father on a road-trip to gain custody of his child. Even Paul Dana (lead role) said after he thought it read as a short story. It was a good story, with a lot of unnecessary long scenes of nothing.

After we walked up to Main Street (about 3 blocks). It was still snowing heavy and the walkways were not shoveled so it made for an adventure and a lot of fun. While wandering we stopped at a bar and had a hot cider & whisky (blah) drink at the ice bar outside. While I was in the bathroom Scott Wolf and his wife, Kelly Limp, walked by (so bummed I missed him, he was on Party of Five Cathy's all time favorite show). Then as we wandered Main Street we saw James Marsden, Scott Speedman, Kate Bosworth and Marley Shelton. OK- to be honest I would have missed all of them if it wasn't for Darien and Amy who know every celebrity on this earth. Me = clueless. (pic of Kate Bosworth below)

Amy spent the night in her Bogg boots helping people through the HUGE slushy puddles. My suede UGGs were a disaster after walking into a few accidentally and by the time we were home my toes were soaked inside my boots! I did find a really cute pair of waterproof boots while here and I think last night gave me justification as to why I should buy them :)

We finally made it back through the snow and headed to bed. Tomorrow we have TWO movies. One is a "Shorts Series" so about 5 short movies and the other is FOR A GOOD TIME CALL.Starring Seth Rogen, Justin Long, Nia Vardalos, Mimi Rogers, Ari Graynor. A story about 2 women who start a phone-sex business. Goal of the night: Meet Seth Rogen! Not sure this theatre will allow for this though.

Sundance Day 2 - First Film

Today we woke up and headed to the gym. It felt great to get a good workout in! There is a really nice gym right by Darien's condo so we could just walk over. After that we headed to Main Street and had lunch and shopped. I found a great Christmas Ornament for my travel collection and a few other small things.

The first celebrity sighting took place there too; Chris Kattan. I missed him completely as I was looking at a Moose in Jeans (a statue), but when we went in to a store and came out he was there again.

We headed to the Prospect Theatre right by the gym and Darien's Condo for our first film "That's What She Said". Directed by Carrie Preston  and starring Anne Heche and Marcia DuBonis as two friends in NYC. I enjoyed it, albeit not the greatest flick, it had some hilarious moments and the soundtrack was great. The guys who wrote the music had some CDs to hand out and I managed to nab one...YAY!

The whole cast and production team came on stage after the movie and they talked about the film. They also sat 3 rows behind us, so it was pretty cool. Anne Heche and Carrie Preston seem like they would be a riot to hang with.

I got to vote on this movie too. Its a simple ballet system and you turn it in as you leave.

Tomorrow is spa day and another movie!

Sundance is pretty darn fantastic!