Utah Gossip

In order to become a citizen of our beautiful country, applicants have to take a test–almost like a history test. Actually, exactly like a history test. In October, 2008, a new version of the test will begin its way to all new applicants. If you want to see how well you would do if you were applying for American citizenship, take a short test here. Chances are, you didn’t do as well as you would need to pass. You have to pass with at least an 80% to be eligible for citizenship. But who knows, maybe you will do your country proud and score 100%.

That’s right ladies and gents, here is your big chance to score some sweet seats (4 to be exact) to the July 4th Miley Cyrus concert. What better way to celebrate our country’s independence than enjoy the teen queen bee herself perform for thousands of screaming tweens? Truth be told, I hear the real Hannah Montana puts on quite the show and she will be in fine company, with Glen Beck hosting and an appearance by the Blue Man Group. So how do you win?

Visit Miley Cyrus tickets and submit a creative and convincing essay on why you should win the tickets. Essays must be at least 300 words and you can submit as many as you want to increase your chances of winning. Happy Writing!

Does It Matter?

These days, everyone’s going green and you may be surprised by the number of businesses across a wide range of industries that are implementing policies and procedures to ensure they lessen their carbon footprint, even right here in Utah. Big or small, local or national, companies from auto makers to beauty products to green catering businesses and even retail giants like Wal-Mart (who, by the way, is tooting their eco-friendly horn all over primetime television), are all doing their part. And though they be more inclined to “go green” because it may increase their bottom line (the general public has proved loyal to vendors loyal to their planet) or foster a positive company image, do their motives really matter? As long as they are being environmentally responsible, who cares why they are motivated to do so.

Now that the weather is FINALLY getting warmer, it is common to see people just running down the street. I assume it is for exercise, but who knows (I recently saw a guy running down the street barefoot–for no apparent reason). And with so many health-savvy people around, it is no wonder why Utah has so many marathons going on across the state this summer. For most people’s summer activities will consist of Utah parks and recreation; but why not add a little more? A little more running? Here are a few of the many races and marathons taking place:

Midnight Moon Run:
On July 15, 2008 in Sandy, Utah (Alta Canyon Sports Center) the race will begin at–go figure–midnight.

Mountain Challenge:
With a choice of a 5k or a 10k, Park City will be the place to be on July 12,2008.

Speedy Spaniard Road Race:
The name alone makes me want to run. Honestly, who wouldn’t want to be considered a speedy Spaniard? On July 24th, this race will be held in Spanish Fork.

Blacksmith Fork Freedom Run:
A downhill (yes! Downhill!) 15k race set for July 4th.

It seems as though David Archuletta and Julianne Hough (of Dancing With the Stars fame) aren’t the only Utahns trying to make a name for themselves.

Kelsey Nixon, an Ogden-native and BYU graduate, is currently vying for top spot on the Food Network’s Next Food Star Challenge:

Marcus, a West Jordan resident, is Vegas-bound as a finalist on Last Comic Standing and the guy is freakin’ amazing:

In the time it took you to read this, 50,000 Utahns got married. Ok, not quite, but in a place where weddings are as abundant as clouds in the sky, I think it’s high time we addressed the most absurd, horrid, and downright tacky wedding trends that seem to be so prevalent in this state. Welcome to Utah Gossip’s Wedding Etiquette 101!

Invitations
* Only the names of those you are inviting to the wedding should be on the addressed envelope, the invitation, and the RSVP cards (if you have them). If you do not want children attending, leave their names off.
* Do not include registry cards in the invitations - in the world of wedding etiquette, doing so is considered extremely tacky and rude. You can include where you are registered on the bridal shower invitations and traditionally, guests are supposed to ask the mother of the bride for registry information. This most definitely applies to those obnoxious matrimoney cards.

Catering
* What you serve at your wedding should really depend on what time of day it is. 7 p.m. and later is appropriate for desserts, hor dourves, and drinks, while anything earlier should include an actual meal.
* How much food should you serve? The typical rule of thumb is for every guest, you should serve 1/2 pound uncooked meat, 1/4 pound side dishes, and 1-2 desserts. Check with your preferred SLC caterer to see what they would suggest.

Receiving Lines
* It is considered proper wedding etiquette to have a receiving line if you have more than 50 guests. Since those guests are there to celebrate your big day, it gives you chance to acknowledge them.
* The line typically includes the bride’s parents, groom’s parents, and the couple; however, some include the entire bridal party and grandparents (if they can).
* Divorced parents should not be situated next to one another in the receiving line; otherwise, they will be assumed a couple.

Guest Attire
* If you are attending a wedding, DO NOT wear jeans. A wedding is a formal event and you should dress accordingly. It’s fine for women to wear pants as long as they are formal dress pants. Men should wear at least a tie, if not a suit.
* Avoid wearing white. Need we say more?

If you are anything like me, you will be looking for things to do this summer–something out of the ordinary. One of the great things about Utah is that there is always tons of things to do throughout the entire state. If you are looking for an Utah outdoor adventure, there is always canyoneering, hiking, camping, river rafting, fly fishing, and biking.

June 5th -22nd, Cedar City will be hosting the annual Utah Summer Games. Whether you want to participate or just watch, there is a myriad of events to choose from–even ones I would bet you’ve never heard of. Take…pickleball for instance. The only reason I know about the sport of pickleball is because my grandma is an avid player. She’s actually won some tournament medals. She tears that court up! Even though it is usually played by the elderly, that game can get vicious.

But some of the other events for the Utah Summer Games are: archery, arm wrestling, tennis, ultimate frisbee, rock climbing, raquetball, and many others. It is sure to be entertaining. And they are always looking for volunteers.

Utah is definitely a breeding ground for MLM and home-based companies - NuSkin, Xango, UFirst, Xocai, Goyin, Neways, Zija…and the list goes on and on. There are even companies that provide non-incentivized MLM leads for these companies.
So, since Utah is such a hotspot for MLMs, we’re going to throw this out there again: any distributors willing to provide us with a free sample, we’ll review the products free on Utah Gossip. People seem to really believe all these products work, so we’re willing to try them. However, keep in mind that we are not obligated to write a glowing review. But if your product is really that great…no need to worry, right?

We still Love you!

{image via PopSugar}

When I was planning my wedding, one of the first tasks on my to-do list was to find the hands-down best Utah photographer in the state! I wasn’t going to settle for some random joe who bought a camera and became a self-proclaimed “wedding photographer.” So I googled “Utah photographer” and was met with a myriad of results…literally the first 20 pages filled with nothing but photographers. So I browsed websites, emailed, made phone calls and came to the conclusion that Utah photographers (namely wedding photographers) were as abundant as clouds in the sky. But I soon discovered, so were Utah florists, and wedding cake bakers, and jewelers.
Is every state like this? With such a saturated industry and so many options, brides-to-be are bound to have at least a few run-ins with mediocre, if not downright awful, wedding vendors. Moral of the story ladies, shop it out! Don’t sign the dotted line for the very first caterer or florist that you meet with - find the best in the state! I luckily did…my photographer, florist, the jeweler…all were fabulous. Except the reception center - they were a royal pain and quite bothersome to work with. Since here at Utah Gossip we like to maintain some professional decorum, I will not name the place….although it rhymes with Qavis Konference Benter (located in Layton).