When my birthday happens I like to make it a week long celebration, and this years has by far been the best. Here are the highlights:
Monday: Recieved 3 birthday cards in the mail, one from my roommate.
Tuesday: Had "Happy Birthday" sung to me in staff meeting, whispered to me by a Jehovah's Witness (love ya Kel!), and texted to me 25 different times, was told I was one day hotter, recieved homemade butternut squash soup, had an amazing hair day, went to dinner with 2 of my best friends, got Zach Efron as a gift, partied with most of my favorite people at Iceberg, got a free black raspberry-coconut-cheesecake shake, and ended the evening with a fabulous conversation with a close friend I don't see often.
Wednesday: Went to dinner with the office, talked my boss into 7 rolls of sushi, watched "17 Again", stayed up all night talking and cuddling with my roommate.
Thursday: Tried on dresses and realized my normal size was fitting looser, did yoga with a close friend and mom, had a date with my married best friend while her husband was at class
Friday: Had a great day at work, went to a Brazilian concert with my roomie, enjoyed delicious fresh fruit flan.
Saturday: Slept in!!!!!!!!!, learned to use a sewing machine, sewed one single quilt block (it looked freaking amazing!), went shopping with a new friend, found an adorable dress for $7, threw a smashing mocktail party with my favorite people.
All in all....a successful week :)
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Look....
I don't know who the guy is that decided that putting the food network on at the gym was a good idea.... but it's not. So to combat said conspiracy, I put this on my planner:
Who's laughing now funny man?
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The Junk in the Trunk!
So I had the first weekend off that I've had in a long time this past weekend, and my roommate, Trista, and I went to a Belly dancing festival.
At first I was a little disappointed, cause I'd sacrificed $7 in the name of roommate bonding, and a potentially awesome cultural experience, and it was kind of like witnessing group therapy for women in the midst of a mid-life crisis. Frightening. But then it got better and there were groups that had travelled and had been doing it for years and they were actually quite amazing!
Belly dancing is interesting for a couple reasons:
At first I was a little disappointed, cause I'd sacrificed $7 in the name of roommate bonding, and a potentially awesome cultural experience, and it was kind of like witnessing group therapy for women in the midst of a mid-life crisis. Frightening. But then it got better and there were groups that had travelled and had been doing it for years and they were actually quite amazing!
Belly dancing is interesting for a couple reasons:
- It's completely mesmerising! You can't take your eyes off the dancer. All the flashy jingly stuff moving around real fast. Impossible to try and hold a conversation if you're like me and distracted by shiny objects.
- Somehow it seems to encompass everything feminine. I'm not gonna lie, the whole time I just kept thinking "Man I want to do that!!!" It just looks like what I'm supposed to do. I was given curves, and by golly I'm supposed to shake them!
- I don't even know what's attractive anymore...
The more that I watched these women parading around with exposed stomachs I started to realize that what we think is attractive is completely relative. There were pregnant women, older woman who had "lost their figure," ridiculously skinny girls, and everything in between. And let me tell you (Note: reading may not be suitable for the naturally skinny), the oh-so-coveted long torso-ed rail thin bodies looked absolutely ridiculous belly dancing. In fact, it was almost gross.
There was a group of high school aged girls who danced and though they were all amazing, most of the girls were really skinny and it was awkward to watch them. But on the end, there was a girl wasby no means fat, but she had a little extra on her and she looked fabulous doing it. Like she was meant for it.
And this theme continued on through the whole thing. The dancers that looked the most natural and the most beautiful were healthy, but not toned. When they moved you could see muscle tone, but there was also a small layer of padding. It just looked....like we're supposed to look.
It was quite the eye opening experience. I've redesigned my ideal body in my head, and vowed to take belly dancing classes from now into eternity :)
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Married People!
Here I will pause from my Italy updates to interject a brief thought.
I love married people. I know I say that I don't, and I complain that my friends get married and then they fall off the face of the earth...but in reality I like them. A lot.
Yesterday I had lunch with my old roommate Julianna. We only lived together for about month, and then she got married, but being the only 2 normal people, we bonded pretty quickly. In our conversation, I invited her and her husband Jeff to an improv show that was happening last night. Apparently she was attempting to dodge some other plans, so they gladly accepted.
After the show, we stood outside talking for a really long time. We were all freezing and Jeff kept insisting that we should just go back to the apartment, and he'd make me a smoothie, but I insisted that I really needed to go home and go to sleep. And then we continued talking. After 3 similar conversations, we finally decided it was time to leave, and went to our cars.
While I was driving home I thought about how much I really liked Julianna and Jeff. Then I started thinking about how much I really like other of my married friends. I've spent a pretty good amount of time with them, and they're all amazing. Really what it comes down to, is that I have amazing friends. And they all married amazing people, because none of them are actually stupid enough to marry a lame person. So in reality while it feels like you're losing a friend everytime one of them gets married, you're actually gaining another great friend!! And to top it off you're just immediately grandfathered into this friendship because all your friend talks about is how completely amazing you are. No effort required. I love it.
So there you have it. I love when my friends get married. In fact I'm excited to get married so that my friends can all have a new best friend.
I love married people.
I love married people. I know I say that I don't, and I complain that my friends get married and then they fall off the face of the earth...but in reality I like them. A lot.
Yesterday I had lunch with my old roommate Julianna. We only lived together for about month, and then she got married, but being the only 2 normal people, we bonded pretty quickly. In our conversation, I invited her and her husband Jeff to an improv show that was happening last night. Apparently she was attempting to dodge some other plans, so they gladly accepted.
After the show, we stood outside talking for a really long time. We were all freezing and Jeff kept insisting that we should just go back to the apartment, and he'd make me a smoothie, but I insisted that I really needed to go home and go to sleep. And then we continued talking. After 3 similar conversations, we finally decided it was time to leave, and went to our cars.
While I was driving home I thought about how much I really liked Julianna and Jeff. Then I started thinking about how much I really like other of my married friends. I've spent a pretty good amount of time with them, and they're all amazing. Really what it comes down to, is that I have amazing friends. And they all married amazing people, because none of them are actually stupid enough to marry a lame person. So in reality while it feels like you're losing a friend everytime one of them gets married, you're actually gaining another great friend!! And to top it off you're just immediately grandfathered into this friendship because all your friend talks about is how completely amazing you are. No effort required. I love it.
So there you have it. I love when my friends get married. In fact I'm excited to get married so that my friends can all have a new best friend.
I love married people.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Episode 3: Christmas in Pisa
I love Christmas. There's that special feeling that you get as it gets closer that you don't get any other time of the year. The time that you get to spend with family, and the chance to refelct on the Saviour is amazing. And as much as you try to "make everyday like Christmas," it's impossible. Because no matter what, when you wake up on Christmas morning, it feels different.
This year when my roommates put up the Christmas trees and started all the decorations, I got sad that I would be in Italy away from everyone. I did it on my mission, but there was a different kind of Spirit there. I had important work to do, and I was spending everyday in the Christmas Spirit anyway. So I was a little worried that this year I would be missing that special feeling that comes with Christmas. However, it will go down as one of the fondest Christmases yet!
On Christmas Eve, we hopped a train to Pisa. There was an older couple (The Snows) that I knew that were serving their mission there, and when I emailed them they were excited to have "kids" for Christmas, so they invited us over. We got there at about 8:30pm, and got a taxi to their house. There was a warm welcome from the Snow's, and the 2 young Elders that were participating in the Christmas Eve celebration. We were fed, had a small Christmas message from the Elders before they headed home, and given warm beds (I got a couch and Randy an air mattress, but comfortable nonetheless).
On Christmas Morning we woke up, had breakfast, read Luke 2 and talked about the Atonement. Then the Snows had a full day planned of meeting with different families in the Branch, so we gladly tagged along with them.
Pisa is one of the places in Italy where they have a pretty large army base. We visited a small family there with 3 little boys and brought them some Christmas presents. Randy and I have both agreed that this was what made Christmas like home for us. The kids were showing us everything they got, and letting us play with them. I introduced Randy to Bakugons and he instantly became an excited 7 yr old. We built some Lego monsters, and then ended it all with a Nerf gun fight. Randy won... but only because mine broke. Jerk.
We visited a few more people and then came home for dinner. The Snows were calling their kids while Randy and I ate dinner. In the middle of our food Randy got up and came back to the table with a box and a note with my name on it. Stinker. So I smiled and went to my bag and came back with a wrapped present.
In one of the many wanderings around the random alleys of Naples we found this soap shop. The man who worked there had spent a great deal of time apprenticing under an older woman in London, and when he came home to Italy he taught his sister, who opened up this shop. It was just a small shop tucked away in the depths of Naples, but there was a magic to the whole shop. I immediately fell in love, and Randy had gotten me some of the soap.
We also found a "Temporary Store" where they set up for a short period and sell random things at pretty reasonable prices, including beautiful Italian silk ties. There was one that Randy loved, but wouldn't buy, so I bought it for him and wrapped it up.
It was a quiet, really uneventful Christmas, but there was a special spirit about it. The gifts were small and relatively cheap, but meaningful. There was thought put into them, and they were bought with pretty much the only money we had to spare, money we needed to survive. Kinda like A Christmas Carol :)
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Episode 2: Napoli!!!
Alright, Episode 2!
Sunday night in Rome Randy and I realized we were leaving the next day and had no idea where we were going. So on a whim we decided on Naples, known to the locals as Napoli! Which is how I prefer to say it. It fits the atmosphere....but it just doesn't have the same effect in text. I'll tell you in person next time and you'll see =)
So Monday morning we went down to the train station got our reservations, and were on our way. Napoli is the birth place of Pizza, and they're very proud of it. And they should be, it was probably the most amazing thing I've ever eaten. The people there were amazingly kind, but I've never been more scared in my life to walk down a sidewalk.
Traffic was an adventure everyday. You know that stressed feeling you get driving on the freeway in rush hour traffic? We got that walking down the street. People swerving and honking all over the place! Plus, when motorcycles can't get around cars, they just drive down the sidewalk. And they'll beep at you like they own that sidewalk. Which, when we first got there, we thought they did. But after a while, you get calloused like the locals. By day 2, when someone beeped at us we were throwing our arms in the air and shouting like we were Neopolitan. And we thought we were. We owned that city, and everyone was in our way, not vice versa. It's pretty much the only way to survive.
Randy found the equivalent of an Italian Taco Stand. They're everywhere and they sell these mini pizzas for €1. They're ok...just like pizza with no cheese....so like dough and sauce. For me, it was enough to sustain life. For Randy, it was love at first sight. But they were only in Napoli, so he's been crying about it ever since we left. It's quite pathetic really...
The shops were full of people, and the haggling was impressive. There was even a whole alley devoted to figurines. They sell them year-round and they get especially busy around Christmas. People buy nativities and then come to the figurine shops every year to add to them. It's a great tradition, and I almost bought one just so that I'd be forced to come back every year, but I resisted =)
We stayed at 2 different hostels, the first one was crazy, expensive, and sucky. The second one was amazing! It was a monastery converted into a hostel. The people were very chill, and I was really sad that we only stayed one night. But alas, after 3 days there, we discovered that 90% of the city smoked (including children under 12), and the large quantities of cars and traffic produced an equal amount of exhaust. Which meant that my body was recieving much less oxygen than it was used to. So the stress, mixed with the lack of sleep, topped off with polluted lungs, was leaving us quite tired and slightly sick. So we were ready to move onto small town Pisa, located in the open fields of Tuscany.
Aside from the large amounts of traffic and pollution, Napoli has been my favorite. Tune in next time for Christmas in Pisa!
Sunday night in Rome Randy and I realized we were leaving the next day and had no idea where we were going. So on a whim we decided on Naples, known to the locals as Napoli! Which is how I prefer to say it. It fits the atmosphere....but it just doesn't have the same effect in text. I'll tell you in person next time and you'll see =)
So Monday morning we went down to the train station got our reservations, and were on our way. Napoli is the birth place of Pizza, and they're very proud of it. And they should be, it was probably the most amazing thing I've ever eaten. The people there were amazingly kind, but I've never been more scared in my life to walk down a sidewalk.
Traffic was an adventure everyday. You know that stressed feeling you get driving on the freeway in rush hour traffic? We got that walking down the street. People swerving and honking all over the place! Plus, when motorcycles can't get around cars, they just drive down the sidewalk. And they'll beep at you like they own that sidewalk. Which, when we first got there, we thought they did. But after a while, you get calloused like the locals. By day 2, when someone beeped at us we were throwing our arms in the air and shouting like we were Neopolitan. And we thought we were. We owned that city, and everyone was in our way, not vice versa. It's pretty much the only way to survive.
Randy found the equivalent of an Italian Taco Stand. They're everywhere and they sell these mini pizzas for €1. They're ok...just like pizza with no cheese....so like dough and sauce. For me, it was enough to sustain life. For Randy, it was love at first sight. But they were only in Napoli, so he's been crying about it ever since we left. It's quite pathetic really...
The shops were full of people, and the haggling was impressive. There was even a whole alley devoted to figurines. They sell them year-round and they get especially busy around Christmas. People buy nativities and then come to the figurine shops every year to add to them. It's a great tradition, and I almost bought one just so that I'd be forced to come back every year, but I resisted =)
We stayed at 2 different hostels, the first one was crazy, expensive, and sucky. The second one was amazing! It was a monastery converted into a hostel. The people were very chill, and I was really sad that we only stayed one night. But alas, after 3 days there, we discovered that 90% of the city smoked (including children under 12), and the large quantities of cars and traffic produced an equal amount of exhaust. Which meant that my body was recieving much less oxygen than it was used to. So the stress, mixed with the lack of sleep, topped off with polluted lungs, was leaving us quite tired and slightly sick. So we were ready to move onto small town Pisa, located in the open fields of Tuscany.
Aside from the large amounts of traffic and pollution, Napoli has been my favorite. Tune in next time for Christmas in Pisa!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Italy Episode 1: Rome
Alright kids. The series you've been waiting for: Italy. It begins!
It all started off quite well. I had everything packed (I thought), and had a ride all arranged to the airport (thanks to Larena and her amazing last minute good-heartedness). I had a layover in Detroit and stopped for lunch with a good friend. I had 3 hours so I thought all would be sufficient and I'd have time to get back and on the plane, especially since I only had a carry-on.
However, as I returned back to the airport, they told me it was far too late to check in and I couldn't actually go to Italy. Of course I freaked, and then the lady said that as long as I wasn't checking any luggage I could still get on the plane. So she handed me my boarding pass and I ran to security, which thankfully had no line. As I was about to walk past the security guy I was tackled by some small asian lady demanding that my bag was too big to take on the plane. How is that possible when I clearly got it from Salt Lake to Detroit without ever having to check it!? Apparently someone in Salt Lake had lost their mind.
So Asian Lady rushes me back to the check-in line where she tells the other lady (we'll call her unhappy lady) that I need to check my bag. Unhappy lady doesn't even look up my flight, just looks at me and tells me it's impossible. I can't go to Italy. What do these people have against me going to Italy? The she looks at the lady next to her as if to get confirmation that I'm an idiot for even thinking it was possible to take my bag on the plane. Lady #3 is petrified by the fact that Unhappy Lady will eat her if she doesn't concur, so she, of course, agrees and looks at me like I'm dumb. Great.
However, just at the moment I thought I was doomed to be stuck in Detroit with some extremely unhappy individuals who think I'm an idiot, a large black woman comes shoving through from the back. She starts yelling about calling people, and rushing my bag to the plane and makes it known that Unhappy Lady is incompetent at her job. I like Big Black Lady :) In the midst of her screaming she stops, looks at me and says "Sweetie, go get on you're plane, I'll take care of your bag." Yes ma'am! So I book it to the plane and just make it as they're threatening to take my luggage off the plane (Ha! It wasn't even on there!).
It was eventful. A simlar event happened in Amsterdam, almost making me miss my flight to Rome. I still had no idea if my bag was on the plane or not. I love adventures :)
But, I made it to Rome, my bag made it to Rome, I found a train and made it to the hostel where I was reunited with Randy. He showered, I took a nap, and we went for a walk. A 6 hour walk. The best thing about Rome is getting lost. The city is so crammed together, and so full of amazing famous things that you're bound to stumble upon something old and cool. We had no idea where we were for 6 hours, and it didn't matter! We just kept walking and magically we were next to the Trevi Fountain, then we were at the Colosseum, then the Spanish Steps, and then we trekked up this amazingly long, steep hill until we saw the most beautiful view of the city! It was gorgeous. All lit up, and you could see St. Peter's Basillica....it was amazing. It made the crazy hill completely worth it.
We of course went and saw all the sights, the Colosseum, Roman Forum, amazing cathedrals. We walked along the river, found some great markets, beautifully lit alleyways with the neatest little shops ever. The people in the hostels were amazing. We made lots of new friends, played Presidents and Scum, and experimented with fun italian desserts.
Rome was amazing, and kind of feels a bit like home to us. We rode through it on the train on our way up to Pisa the other day, and it felt so nostalgic. I will forever love Rome.
Next installment: Napoli!
It all started off quite well. I had everything packed (I thought), and had a ride all arranged to the airport (thanks to Larena and her amazing last minute good-heartedness). I had a layover in Detroit and stopped for lunch with a good friend. I had 3 hours so I thought all would be sufficient and I'd have time to get back and on the plane, especially since I only had a carry-on.
However, as I returned back to the airport, they told me it was far too late to check in and I couldn't actually go to Italy. Of course I freaked, and then the lady said that as long as I wasn't checking any luggage I could still get on the plane. So she handed me my boarding pass and I ran to security, which thankfully had no line. As I was about to walk past the security guy I was tackled by some small asian lady demanding that my bag was too big to take on the plane. How is that possible when I clearly got it from Salt Lake to Detroit without ever having to check it!? Apparently someone in Salt Lake had lost their mind.
So Asian Lady rushes me back to the check-in line where she tells the other lady (we'll call her unhappy lady) that I need to check my bag. Unhappy lady doesn't even look up my flight, just looks at me and tells me it's impossible. I can't go to Italy. What do these people have against me going to Italy? The she looks at the lady next to her as if to get confirmation that I'm an idiot for even thinking it was possible to take my bag on the plane. Lady #3 is petrified by the fact that Unhappy Lady will eat her if she doesn't concur, so she, of course, agrees and looks at me like I'm dumb. Great.
However, just at the moment I thought I was doomed to be stuck in Detroit with some extremely unhappy individuals who think I'm an idiot, a large black woman comes shoving through from the back. She starts yelling about calling people, and rushing my bag to the plane and makes it known that Unhappy Lady is incompetent at her job. I like Big Black Lady :) In the midst of her screaming she stops, looks at me and says "Sweetie, go get on you're plane, I'll take care of your bag." Yes ma'am! So I book it to the plane and just make it as they're threatening to take my luggage off the plane (Ha! It wasn't even on there!).
It was eventful. A simlar event happened in Amsterdam, almost making me miss my flight to Rome. I still had no idea if my bag was on the plane or not. I love adventures :)
But, I made it to Rome, my bag made it to Rome, I found a train and made it to the hostel where I was reunited with Randy. He showered, I took a nap, and we went for a walk. A 6 hour walk. The best thing about Rome is getting lost. The city is so crammed together, and so full of amazing famous things that you're bound to stumble upon something old and cool. We had no idea where we were for 6 hours, and it didn't matter! We just kept walking and magically we were next to the Trevi Fountain, then we were at the Colosseum, then the Spanish Steps, and then we trekked up this amazingly long, steep hill until we saw the most beautiful view of the city! It was gorgeous. All lit up, and you could see St. Peter's Basillica....it was amazing. It made the crazy hill completely worth it.
We of course went and saw all the sights, the Colosseum, Roman Forum, amazing cathedrals. We walked along the river, found some great markets, beautifully lit alleyways with the neatest little shops ever. The people in the hostels were amazing. We made lots of new friends, played Presidents and Scum, and experimented with fun italian desserts.
Rome was amazing, and kind of feels a bit like home to us. We rode through it on the train on our way up to Pisa the other day, and it felt so nostalgic. I will forever love Rome.
Next installment: Napoli!
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