Chicken Nugget Utopia

Want to hear about my fun writing workshop trip/vacation with my handsome nanny?  Well, too bad. I'm going to tell you anyway!

My brilliant and awesome mom agreed to watch our children (except for Wee Molly who got to come along on the trip) for two nights so Ryan could come along. She showed up around noon on Thursday and after I finished stuffing, I mean, packing my things, filling her in on the kid's schedules and shoving the last few things in the closet I told my mom she probably didn't want to open (oy. how come I didn't get the Great At Cleaning gene from my mom?) we escaped and got on the road. We took turns napping on the way up. I started reading The Books of Elsewhere which had just come in the mail that day (such a fun book!). We chatted and laughed (no little ones to interupt! Except for wee Molly :) 

We stopped in Orem where my handsome nanny took me to one of my very favorite restuarants....

Yep. I love those chicken nuggets with a burning passion.


Not to mention their waffle fries. It's a good thing there isn't one of these Chicken Nugget Utopias in Cedar. Or else there would be quite a bit more of me to enjoy. :)

While enjoying our dinner in the mall, I realized I forgot to pack my black boots. And what's a girl to do when she's forgotten her shoes and she's in the mall surrounded by fun stores?  That's right! Make do with the shoes she's wearing.  What? NO! Of course not.  I whipped into a few stores while Ryan enjoyed the BYU game playing in the food court. 

And I found these cute things....

Fun, right? *sigh* I buy a lot of black. Really. A lot. But I just like it so much. I am ready to become a beatnik or go goth at any moment.

Well, finally we got on the road again (after BYU lost. so sad.) But earlier as we were driving, I read some of the chapter I brought for the critique groups at the workshop out loud to Ryan. And I realized it really stunk. I mean, truly, it was bad. blech. This is what happens when your writing time is at one in the morning.

I had my laptop with me but didn't bring a flash drive. So, we HAD to stop at Target (ok. Cedar City could you please get a Target? Pretty pretty please?) and grab a flash drive as well as a few other necessary items(wipes for the baby, a new shirt, a pretty journal....)

BACK on the road. And finally we found our hotel, checked in and lugged all our stuff in. Soon enough I was able to get the baby popped in her crib and I had a chance to get some revising done on my cruddy chapter. I was up late. REALLY late. And luckily the nice girl at the front desk let me use her computer to print my pages out. She also shared an amusing story about a man in his underwear getting locked out of his room and having to come to the desk for a new key.

Finally I crashed into bed...which is what I need to do right now as well. So, this may be mega-uber-really disappointing, but I'm going to have to continue this exciting travel log tomorrow...or maybe the next day. I'm sure you'll be waiting with baited breath. Baited breath? Bated breath? That's a weird saying, right? Alright, my curiosity got the better of me. I googled it....

Posted by Bruce Kahl on May 23, 2000
The phrase means anxiously or with great anticipation.

I don't remember and can't find my source on this but I think that "Bated" is a shortened version of "abated", which means "to slow down". In the case of "bated breath" this would mean to slow down your breathing or hold your breath.
Curiously, people hold their breath when in anticipation. Perhaps so as not to be distracted by breathing.

"Bated" is no longer commonly used, causing people to believe the expression to be "with baited breath". This common misspelling leads to confusion and strange imagery.

(kifed from this site)

Well, now I can rest easy.