Sara Joy

December from my phone

2011-12-20T10:17:00.000-08:00

Funny Story- My Mom sent me a Halloween box with treats and decorations (Because my Mom is the BEST) In the box was a black and an orange light bulb so we put the orange light out on our porch and our landlords, Tim and Rebecca, kept telling us it looked like the Orange-light district...

Then for Christmas we asked them if we could hang Christmas lights on our house (I've NEVER had Christmas lights on my house before because my Dad=Scrooge) and they said YES!! Tim even said that if we provided the lights that he would hang them. (Tim and Rebecca have 4 sons so sometimes they spoil us like pretend daughters) Then as he was hanging the lights he was teasing us that we better not put a red light on our porch because then it would be the red-light district... Ha ha.

When we got home that night he had installed a GREEN light bulb on our porch!

Isn't he the sweetest, funniest landlord ever? Cute. Now it looks like Alien Christmas.

Bryan took me to the Clark Planetarium to watch the U2 laser light show. And then we walked on Mars.

Lights at Temple Square. Perfect.

This is Charlie the Christmas tree. It is the cutest, most precious little tree I've ever see. It even has little baby ornaments and a mini string of lights. I can't even describe how happy this tree makes me. Santa knew I really needed a tree this year.

I love it. And I love Santa.

Thanksgiving in Dixie

2011-12-20T09:41:00.001-08:00

We went to the park...

We Snuggled.

We had a fire in the fire pit.

We took family pictures!

It was too much fun being together. And despite what I like to call "The Entertainment Center Crises of 2011" (ask mom about that one...) we loved:

watching movies on the new big screen

playing at the park

eating around one GIANT table

roasting marshmallows

swimming at the rec center

wrangling 4 scream-y grand kids (or going to my room and reading with the door locked... Hey, they're not my kids)

and going to the movies.

I love Thanksgiving. It is by FAR my favorite holiday. Family, food and turkey coma, what else do you need?

Don't Tell Brigham...

2011-12-20T09:09:00.001-08:00

I went to a U of U football game... in the snow.

2 things I profess to hate. Oops. I even wore red pants and wrapped up in a Utes blanket...

I'm not sure what else to say. It was fun.

My blood still bleeds Blue.

Heart Aloha

2011-11-11T10:06:00.001-08:00

<-- My house!

Aloha. It had been FIVE(5)!!! Years since I'd been back to Hawaii, a place I used to ache for every minute of every day. I'm sad to say that I had lost a little bit of that ache but it has returned thanks to this trip. Every memory I had came flooding back as we drove down Kam Highway, through Haliewa, walked around Foodland, the Temple, PCC, Hukilau beach, the PCC, ate fresh pineapple, mango, coconut syrup, and Ted's Bakery.

We did spend time with my parents (specifically the breakfast buffet at Turtle Bay EVERY morning) but those pictures are on my mom's camera...

Sarah served her mission in New Zealand so she had a blast going through the Aotearoa village at the PCC, describing the culture and history and talking to the workers who were all from New Zealand. They even knew some of the same people! One of the elders from her mission, Siti, is from Fiji and is attending BYUH, showed us around a little and then we got to watch him in the night show. He was a star in the part about Fiji. The night show has been redone since I was there and it was SO GOOD.

Since it was Sarah's first time to Hawaii, she had to visit Pearl Harbor. It's always a humbling, solemn experience.

I can't describe my love for this place. There aren't words. Please just go there and bring a friend with you.

Road Trippin Sara(h)s

2011-11-11T09:32:00.000-08:00

Every year my parents go to Hawaii. Yes it's true. We all hate them a little. But this year I got INVITED!! Yay. So I invited my new BFF-name-twin to come also. Yay again.

It turned out that our mutual friend Tyler (Sarah and I met at his Cinco de Mayo party) was having his wedding reception/picnic in Riverside the weekend before our Hawaii trip...

and... flights to Hawaii out of SLC were $$$

so... we drove to CA for the weekend and THEN flew to Hawaii from LAX. WIN WIN WIN.

This is Tyler and his wife Kimberly. She's from Scotland which is where they got married. It was fun to surprise him.

Then Sarah and I bummed around at the beach for a few days, thanks Ben and Janae for letting us crash on your couches! We ate fish tacos, had hot chocolate at Ruby's on the pier, went shopping etc.

Newport Temple, my fav.

Oh yeah... then we went to Disneyland. Totally NOT in the plan but as we were talking about what we should do for the next few days before our flight, I blurted "We could go to Disneyland!!" Done.

SO SO SO SO SO SO FUN. Except for the part I got soaked on Splash Mountain...

We felt like we could go home that night and it would have been an awesome vacation but we hadn't even started yet. Tomorrow: Hawaii.

Can't Get Enough Pumpkin

2011-11-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Pie Cinnamon Rolls with Maple cream cheese frosting, graham cracker crumbs and toasted pecans. Need I say more?

I love Fall.

Roommate Getaway!

2011-11-01T11:20:00.001-07:00

My roommates and I, and Emma, a friend of Sarah's from New Zealand, took a trip to St. George and Vegas for the weekend. We had Brick Oven Pizza night, watched chick flicks, shopped etc.

Some of us wanted a picture with a snake...

Michelle wanted some snake poo on her Toms...

We ate at the Planet Hollywood buffet. The food was good but the desserts were best.

Please don't ever let me near a dessert buffet again. We tried EVERY. SINGLE. THING.

We had to walk around the Bellagio gardens, obviously.

This pumpkin weighed 800 lbs. Imagine all the pumpkin pancakes you could make with that...

This is a chocolate fountain. I will have this in my house someday. Or never.

Highlights of the trip for me:
-Bellagio water show to my favorite song Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
-Pumpkin Pancakes for Breakfast
-Warm Southern Utah Sunshine
-People-watching on the streets of Vegas, I love that crazy town.

Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us use Casa de Randall!!

Pat and Gina

2011-11-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

You may not know this but I am in love with this couple on the Food Network, Pat and Gina. They are the best. They are proof that 2 people can really be happy together...maybe the secret is cooking good food together?
Anywho. If I had a TV, this is all I would want to watch. Sometimes my Mom DVR's their show so I can watch it when I go home (thanks Mom). Most of their recipes look DELICIOUS however they tend to be a little too unhealthy for my kitchen BUT they made some OVEN FRIED CHICKEN that I just had to try. And yes, it was DELICIOUS.

My roommates and I cook dinner on Tuesday nights in our tiny kitchen. I love it. And they loved the fried chicken. Here's the recipe, j.i.c. you want to try it: RECIPE!

I haven't posted since August...

2011-10-15T19:20:00.001-07:00

This is what I have been doing:

Partying...

Partying...

Partying.

Rolling in the Deep.

2011-08-31T21:16:00.000-07:00

This woman amazes me. Her voice kills me. KILLS ME. She plays the piano, guitar, and writes her own music. Dang girl. She was so funny and charming and grateful.

I introduced Whitney to Adele and she definitely repaid the favor by giving me her extra ticket.

I love love love live music and this was the BEST.

Torrey! Torrey! Torrey!

2011-08-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again! Time for the annual "glamping" trip to Torrey and Cafe Diablo.
Remember last year? Check it out.

This is a picture of Whitney's eye. Oh and two of my roommates.

This is a picture of the bathroom wall in Cafe Diablo.

This is the food.

This is how to change a flat tire:
1. Get the spare tire out and all of the tools.
2. Stand by your car like you TOTALLY know how to change a tire.
3. Let the 1st guy that asks if you need any help do it all while you watch. (His name was Alex. Thanks Alex) p.s. We really were going to do it ourselves but Alex just really wanted to help.

I think a spare tire hopes that you will drive over a screw just so it can get out of the trunk for a while.

Whitney is brushing her teeth.

Now everyone is brushing their teeth.

Whitney is STILL brushing her teeth.

This is "Biggie." He pulled out the screw and repaired my tire. He also charged me $50 bucks because it was Saturday.

I really love this new tradition of going to Torrey every year! We also got to pick FRESH apples and peaches right off the trees. It was the COOLEST. Utah is an amazing place.

If you ever need to just get away from it all, this is a fun trip. Try it out. And stop in Goblin Valley on the way home if you've never been. It'll blow your mind.

I'm bad at blogging.

2011-08-17T19:10:00.000-07:00

So much has happened!!

Did you know I moved? Into a house? with a backyard! And a trampoline! And roommates!

Know what the best part is? I love them. Where have they been all my life? And remember when I was so excited to live by myself less than a year ago? Proof HERE

One week ago we had a big moving party with SO many joyful helpers, I like to call them my moving angels. I can't express how grateful I am for all of their help and no one even complained about:

a) how I live on the third floor
b) how much clothing I own...

So they were rewarded with pizza.

Those are some of my moving angels and also roommates. Michelle is on the blue chair and Emily is on the couch. I don't remember the boys names... sorry boys. Thanks again for trying unsuccessfully to get my box spring down the stairs. It's cool. I like sleeping on the floor.

The bed situation was remedied with a new bed from Ikea and some wood slats that easily fit down the stairs. Oh, and I had to remove my closet doors so I could walk around my bed.

It's a small room but where there's a will, there's a way.

That's my other roommate, unnecessary "h" Sarah.
Not only do we share the same name but...
We have the same BIRTHDAY.
We love the same shampoo.
We are both obsessed with Trader Joes and go to extremes to get it (or our loved ones just send it to us in a package, THANKS MOM)
We both drove Chevy Cavaliers but traded them in for hatchbacks.
And we had opposite finger/toe nails.

(Yes I took this during church but Sunday School hadn't started yet...)

Hold. The. Phone.

2011-07-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

That's better than breakfast.

Twitch is my all time favorite guy and Sasha is my new favorite girl and she's from BAKERSFIELD!! Represent.

I'm pretty sure they're in real-life love.

I went to Spain, see?

2011-07-13T07:46:00.000-07:00

Kristina the Bride

2011-06-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

It was a pretty great night. I am more happy for them than I can say.

Sneak Peek

2011-06-26T21:26:00.000-07:00

Why are "sneak" and "peek" spelled differently?

Anywho, things have been busy lately with happy and sad things but all good.

Been working around the house.

2011-05-28T20:36:00.001-07:00

For those of you who HAVE seen my apartment, a few things have changed

What is it about moving furniture around that makes me feel like I accomplished something?

And my sticker collection has a place besides inside a box.

Oh Yeah!

2011-05-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

Remember these green chairs?

And this brown table?

Well...after some of this

And some of this (thanks Whit for the staple gun!)

I have the CUTEST table and chairs!

Check out the guy at 2:16

2011-05-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

It was emotional for me too dude. Sike.

p.s. Sorry for the blog laziness. I have been outside enjoying the warm weather...Sike again.

The Rain in Spain...

2011-04-12T02:54:00.000-07:00

Does NOT stay mainly on the plain. Nope. We spent all day Saturday in the sun and then woke up Sunday morning to cold, grey, rain. So we decided to take a bus to San Sebastian. Our hostel was on the fourth floor of one of the really old cool buildings in Old Town San Sebastian. The whole city kind of blew my mind. Everything was so old and lots of cobblestone streets and really old churches. We´d be walking and then run into some old castle and just go in. I would have prefered some sunshine but the city seemed more mysterious all grey and misty. We ate ice cream (of course) down by the water and had tapas and pastries for dinner. Sara doesn´t eat meat so sometimes it´s hard to find her stuff to eat, hence all of the ice cream. Spainish people really love their meat. It´s on EVERYTHING. Everything is beautiful but now we´re back in Santander waiting for our flight to Barcelona this afternoon (it´s Tuesday about noon here.) The weather is supposed to be warm and sunny so I am happy! I didn´t bring clothes for this cold wet weather! Anyways, the plan is Barcelona for two days, meet up with Kareene and head down to Valencia, then we catch a plane Thursday night to Palma de Mallorca, which is the ISLAND!!!! Yay! Sara has to get back to London to get some work done so she leaves Saturday night and I´ll probably stay in Mallorca until Monday and head to Madrid where a few of Sara´s friends are going to Temple! She said they would love for me to tag along! So after that, catch a flight back to London and spend a few more days there with Sara before I fly home on Saturday. ok?

¡España!

2011-04-09T16:05:00.000-07:00

Did you know the keyboards here allow you to type cool things like upside down excalamation points and ñññññ.

This place is cool.

Guess what I had for breakfast today?

ice cream.

Guess what I had for lunch today?

yep.

There is a lot of ice cream here. And I´m going to try it all.

Yesterday I had hazelnut and it was REALLY good. Today I had strawberry and lemon for breakfast and dulce de leche and dark chocolate for lunch... I´m sure they have other food to eat here besides ice cream but why?

So here´s the update:

Landed in London, walked around a bit, found a park and watched the people walking their dogs, birds were chirping, sun was shinning, sky was blue, I saw swans mate in the pond... Spring is in the air. Anyways, I met Sara and we took a bus to the Stanstead airport and flew to Santander, Spain and this might in serious honesty be the most goregous place I have ever been. I can´t even believe it and that´s what I keep telling Sara.

So we´re staying in a great little hotel and going to the beach and riding bicycles and eating ice cream... and tapas and bread. And that´s probably what we´re going to go tomorrow. And then we hop on a bus to go to SAN SEBASTIAN!!!! After that, who knows.

LOVE YOU ALL!

Cory, you need to come back here. I hear it calling to you and your wife. bueno.

Ha hahahaha.

2011-04-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

lol.

2011-04-05T20:39:00.001-07:00

So there are lots of things you notice when you are by yourself a lot, or at least I do, and one of them is that when something funny happens there is no one there to laugh at it with you. I guess I am usually a social laugher because every time I bust out laughing when I'm completely by myself I feel awkward and then I start laughing harder because I'm laughing at myself... It's a funny cycle. ha ha.

Another problem with this situation is that there is no one around to help remind you what was so funny! And then the next day I'm trying to tell someone my funny story and I can't remember it!

So I just had a really funny experience in my car and I want to share you with you.

I was driving through my apartment complex and I saw a very large person out walking in the parking lot and I immediately thought "that is a large bottom"

and THEN I immediately thought "Sara be nice, think of something positive-"

So THEN I thought "hey, at least he's out walking, getting some exercise, fresh air, etc. Good for him!"

THEN as I drove past giving him kudos in my head, I look at his face and...

It was a woman.

So much for being nice. That's when I lol'd. A lot. Sorry ma'am.

SO GOUDA!!!!

2011-03-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

Ok I am officially addicted to this snack/meal (large snack, small meal)

I must share it. I have been eating it every day for about a week now. I love it. Please do yourself a favor and make it. Like now.

You will need:
2 eggs (don't ever make just one egg...that's just inefficient)

One piece of delicious whole wheat bread or English muffin

1/4 of an avocado, sliced. Don't be afraid of avocado...It's the GOOD fat. It makes your hair shiny.

AND THE SECRET INGREDIENT IS....
A slice of smoked Gouda cheese (you might have to actually go to the deli counter to have it sliced, get over it, it's worth it)

Fry up the eggs in a cute little 2-egg-sized-fry-pan from your mom...(I'll include my Grandpa Welcome's recipe for a fried egg, my fav way)

Slice up the avocado (with your b-day present from Dad, an amazing knife)

Next, toast your bread (in your free toaster from The Standifirds...make sure you put the bread on the side that actually toasts...In this case it's the left side. Your toaster might be different, or it might have TWO sides that toast...lucky)

Add a slice of smoked GOUDA... oh boy...

Spread your sliced avocado on top of that...

Top it all off with one of your fried eggs

Oh man.

I can't even describe how good this is. Is it just me? The crispy, hearty toast, creamy avocado, smokey Gouda, and warm perfect egg. The combo just kills me.

Save the other egg and 1/4 avocado for tomorrow's snack, when you will be craving it again...

*Grandpa Welcome's Fried Egg*
(I might have this wrong but I think Mom told me this was his recipe...or was it Grandma Freida's?)

Spray your pan
Turn the heat to medium
Crack your egg(s) into the pan (I poke the yokes here cause I don't like runny yellow stuff)
turn the heat down to low
put a lid on it
wait for the clear part to turn MOSTLY white, sprinkle with a little S&P
Flip your egg(s) and (this is the complicated part so be ready)
Immediately turn off the heat and splash a few drops of water on top of the egg, maybe a tablespoon?
Put the pan back on the warm stove and put the lid on. The other side will cook with the residual heat and be the perfect consistency (IMO) and the water keeps it moist.

Now go and do. You will thank me.

I am only young once.

2011-03-12T16:17:00.000-08:00

Flight Information

DELTA CONFIRMATION #:  GCHQ9O
TICKET #:  00623451751381
                            Bkng                          Meals/ Seat/
Day Date       Flight     Status Class       City        Time  Other  Cabin
--- ----- --------------- ------ ----- ---------------- ------ ------ -------
Thu 07APR DELTA 1770        OK     T   LV SALT LAKE     1045A    F     **
                                     CITY                        COACH
                                  AR NYC-KENNEDY   529P   

Thu 07APR DELTA 3           OK     T   LV NYC-KENNEDY   625P     D     **
                                  AR LONDON-       705A#         COACH
                                     HEATHROW 

Sat 23APR DELTA 2           OK     T   LV LONDON-       505P     D     **
                                     HEATHROW                    COACH
                                  AR NYC-KENNEDY   820P   

Sun 24APR DELTA 2205        OK     T   LV NYC-KENNEDY   650A     F     **
                                  AR SALT LAKE     1009A         COACH



I'm going to see stuff like this:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/mallorca/images/palma-plaza-de-toros-arena-mallorca$26540-90

And this:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/turkey/images/kumblance-bay-and-townscape-turkey$198-15#content


Jealous?

From Me to You

2011-02-18T15:31:00.000-08:00

From Marilyn to ~~Mr. President~~ Jackie

And a freaky muppet:

Remember this?

happy day. party hard.

Sara x2

2011-02-17T14:54:00.000-08:00

Did you know I have a WAY good friend also named Sara??

It's true. And she's a gem.

And sometimes she says nice things about me on her blog...

Meet Trix

2011-02-14T18:01:00.000-08:00

Although there is a little hole in my heart where Cavy used to be, I know it was time to move on and if there is a heaven for cars, I know Cavy will be there some day. Hopefully she will be loved by her next owner as much as I loved her.

Trix and I getting along swimmingly. I'm not sure she's too happy about snow, salty roads, early morning drives to work, and freezing temperatures but then, neither am I.

I love:
Plugging my iPod right into the radio.
Loading 6 cd's at once, perfect for road trips and books on cd.
SUN ROOF.
The radio suddenly becomes my cell phone when I get a call
Laying all the seats down so I can buy large items off craigslist, Ikea, etc.
Handles like a dream.

I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Man Strength.

2011-01-25T22:24:00.000-08:00

Boys have tools. Just hanging out in their trucks. Lots of tools. Anything you would need to hang a cabinet or a hook rack or a curtain rod.

I like boys.

blerg.

2011-01-25T21:21:00.000-08:00

I discovered a few things last night:
-rain boots come in handy when you have plumbing issues.
-I need more than four towels
-a toilet will only overflow when you have to be up at 4am the next morning. Ha ha.
-I can still laugh when life literally spills toilet water all over my apartment.

Dinner with D

2011-01-25T21:01:00.000-08:00

My good friend Derek came to Utah.
Utah showed Derek what a snow storm is.
Derek showed me how to eat a Chipotle burrito.
I showed Derek how to hit a pole with my car.
Derek and I discovered two people can eat a delicious meal from a tiny microwave cart.

2011-01-25T20:38:00.000-08:00

so much.

2011-01-10T21:24:00.001-08:00

Aggh! I'm going crazy with ideas to decorate my little apartment!!!

I love everything! How do you decide what you want to live with?

Look at this stuff!
http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/search/label/decorating

Some of these ideas are blowing my mind. Look at the book shelves made out of books! Come on.

p.s. I LOVE LIVING BY MYSELF!!! Come visit me!

2010-12-28T09:41:00.000-08:00

Grandma Joy
June 4, 1927 - December 28, 2010

I would be happy just to hold the hands I love

2010-12-25T20:42:00.000-08:00

Christmas dinner (Ritz crackers, turkey peperoni, pepper cheese)

Under my Christmas tree.

Christmas 2010
This will be one to remember.
I'm sleeping alone in my apartment.
My mom is sleeping alone in St. George.
My dad is sleeping alone in Bakersfield.
My Grandpa is sleeping alone at his house, because his sweetheart,
My Grandma is sleeping in the hospital.

I went and held her hand today. Grandpa said it's the first time she hasn't been in pain in two years. Maybe that's what she wanted for Christmas.

Laugh.

2010-11-29T22:47:00.000-08:00

http://www.tbs.com/video/conan.jsp?oid=235863&eref=sharethisUrl

Go team Coco.

2010-11-28T18:13:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting on my bedroom floor with tears in my eyes. They're mostly happy tears. And just a little sad. I've been shown a little glimpse of what life would be like without the family and friends that I have. The combination of waking up in an empty apartment without my family on Thanksgiving day and spending time with some friends from work who are having a hard time and don't have any close family nearby have made me realize how lucky I am.

I can not tell you how lonely it must be to be alone. I went to a different ward today with a friend because I found one that meets after I get off work on Sunday. There seemed to be a lot of lonely people in that ward and although the church is the perfect place to gain a family, what about the people who don't feel like they fit in? What about the people who don't feel comfortable making new friends? What about people who, like my friend who is deaf, have a hard time understanding others? What about the people who aren't members of the church? Or aren't active? Where is their family? Where are their friends?

I don't know what the solution is other than always always always look out for those who need a good friend.

A few people at work asked me where I would spend my Thanksgiving. I told them that I was able to go home to California and have Thanksgiving early with my family there and then spend the actual Thanksgiving day with some of my awesome and hilarious family here in Utah. How lucky am I?? I got to have two Thanksgiving dinners with two different groups of my family that I love! I didn't have to miss my Dad's out-of-this-world stuffing and gravy, or my Mom's awesome turkey and homemade cranberry sauce (ha ha, jk mom...I love the canned stuff) Rolls, she makes amazing rolls. And sweet potatoes. And fruit salad.

So instead of being lonely in a new ward, or lonely on Thanksgiving or anytime, I have family. And that is what I am most grateful for.

And this video is why I have tears in my eyes.
http://sarferjoy.blogspot.com/2008/12/merry-christmas-mom.html

Happy November.

Know anyone??

2010-11-15T20:59:00.000-08:00

Who's looking for a great apartment in the Salt Lake area??

I have one for sale!!

My lease goes through February but I'd like to move out, like now.

It's a great place:

I have loved living here but it is time to take that next step :

Living ALONE.

How dreamy would that be?? I can pick all my own furniture! Dishes!
I can go to bed when I want and be noisy at 4am when I go to work without worrying about waking up my roommate. Doesn't it sound great.

So if you know anyone who's looking...let me know.

Oh hey there's a house there.

2010-10-21T16:52:00.000-07:00

Remember when I blogged about that dream lot my parents were looking at??

No? (Here it is)

Well guess what?
There's a house there now!!
(well sort of, it's just kitty-corner from that lot...still dreamy though)

I know, fast huh?

Sex and the City memorable quote:
Carrie: So really? We're getting married?
Mr. Big: We're getting married. Should we get you a diamond?
Carrie: No, no. Just get me a really big closet.

View from the front door (probably minus the latrine)

fun with the kids.

2010-10-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

When I'm a mom:

I'm not gonna spend any money on toys.

I'm gonna give my kids things like paper bags and flashlights.
that's what they play with anyways.

And it's much more fun. And funny.

Check out these babes.

2010-10-21T16:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday girls.

I want summer back.

2010-10-21T16:26:00.000-07:00

I already miss it.

and I miss you too Sara M.
Good luck in London, see you soon.

panclogs

2010-10-21T16:18:00.001-07:00

One of my most favorite foods of all time is pancakes. That is usually my lazy morning breakfast of choice. I need it.

My favorite thing to do on my day off is to sleep in as long as I can...usually that ends up being 7am.
Then I go make myself a small batch of delicious pancakes.
Sometimes I add banana.
Sometimes chocolate chips
Then I top them with even more delicious things like peanut butter or jam from The Apple Farm (thanks mom).
And then I EAT.

And then I go back to bed...good morning to me.

He did it.

2010-09-22T12:47:00.001-07:00

84 candles.

I have a good family. I love being with cousins and aunts and uncles. It doesn't happen enough.

love story.

2010-09-17T18:04:00.001-07:00

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

For my birthday...(one month from today)

2010-08-21T19:14:00.000-07:00

I bought myself a present:

Don't let me buy anything else.

have i mentioned i love being rich and single?

Hey, you've got some road trip in your hair.

2010-08-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

Freak dude. Freak. Dude.

I've tried to describe this short little trip to people and I just keep stammering, "It was so..amazing...holy...you wouldn't believe..I can't even...ugh, you just should have been there."

You should have been there. But it wouldn't have been the same. And the bug was already full.

These are my cousins Whitney and McKay, we were childhood friends every summer when our family would make the trek to Utah. Alison and I loved having sleepovers with these crazy girls and they'd teach us the funniest games and we'd shoot BB guns and play in the ditch behind their house.

And then we grew up. AND I MOVED TO UTAH!! Now I get to be their REAL friend ALL the time, not just summer-cousin-friends. And I love it.

McKay described our trip as "soul settling." I couldn't agree more.
There is something about being with girls, driving, singing along with Bieber and GaGa at the top of our lungs, the wind tangling our hair into an unbrushable mess-

Cafe Diablo, 5 star restaurant in Torrey, UT. Get the rattlesnake, it's devine.
Mayan Tamales, and a cactus thing.
Oh yeah, and for dessert, get The Bomb.

Then we laughed and laughed, they must have put something in our food.

Then Whitney almost barfed up a hundred dollar meal.

Then Whitney made me laugh so hard I almost barfed up a hundred dollar meal.

Then we stole a group camp site and lay right between the fire pit and the picnic table so we could see every star in the sky. And what a sky it was. We caught the tail end of an August Meteor shower in one of the least light-polluted skies in the country.

Then we laughed some more.

Then we slept.

Day 2

We saw some real estate. And some of this:

Then we ate fresh fruit pies and scones at a little country homestead.

Now comes the cool part.

GOBLINS!!!

Goblin Valley State Park

We went crazy:

(sorry McKay, I stole this from your blog...obviously)

So there you have it. Cafe Diablo, done. Capital Reef National Park, done. House hunting in Torrey, done. Goblin Valley, done. Don't lose my sunglasses out the window, done.

I haven't had that much fun in a LONG time, thanks so much you guys.

oh my baby

2010-08-05T16:39:00.000-07:00

Second time this has happened...

Luckily it was just the battery. And luckily it happened on my day off and not on my way to work at 4:30am...

Thanks to Kyle for rescuing me and attempting to jump it.
Thanks to the tow man and Goodyear for giving me back my car and my freedom, which is worth way more than $197.93

Fire Works.

2010-07-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

Empire State of Mind.

2010-07-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

Wed- train/subway to Sara's apartment, a 5th floor walk up...
Tom's Restaurant for dinner (Seinfeld)
Walked EVERYWHERE: Riverside park, 72nd street pier, Times Square, Temple, etc.
Caught up with my dear friend Sara, we haven't seen each other for a few years.
I just really like her
p.s. fireflies are the coolest thing ever.

Thurs- Sara had to work so I went to the TEMPLE! Such a sweet experience. Loved it.
Sat outside in the perfect weather until I met Sara for lunch
Ate lunch at the coolest Alice in Wonderland themed restaurant
Shopped in SoHo
Went to a yoga class, sometimes I forget how much I love yoga. I love yoga.
Bought falafel and ate it at High Line Park, an old elevated railroad that overlooks the
city

Fri- Went to ECLIPSE!!! AAAGGHHH!!! squeeeeeeeeeel!!! jk. It was ok. The best part was
Sara's roommate's sarcastic comments, she was so funny
Ate lunch at Columbus Circle
Went to Washington Square to do beat poetry...didn't really work out but still fun
More walking, people, friends

Sat-LONG BEACH!!! ALL DAY!! SUNBURNED!! So perfect
No really, they have beaches in NY and they are great. I didn't believe it either but it's true
NY pizza for dinner + Tom's chocolate shakes for dessert=stomach hurts

Sun- took a cab to church, duh. The driver said we were so beautiful we could pay him whatever
we wanted. I gave him a tip.
Church on the 3rd floor of the Temple building, cool.
Lunch with Sara's roommies
Mega Naps
FIREWORKS=
Honestly once in a lifetime thing- Most people go and sit on the highway to watch fireworks in the heat and humidity, but not us. Sara has a friend who lives on the 42 floor of an apartment building overlooking the Hudson, we basically had front-row, air-conditioned seats.

Mon- FIRE ISLAND. I am in love.
No cars, streets, honking, etc.
Just beach. (and a few jellyfish stings and angry crab pinches...)
I just really loved it. So much.
Can I quit my job and live there in a cute little wrap-around porch house?

LAST NIGHT IN NY- MORE PIZZA

Tues-up at 3:30am for the shuttle to JFK. I really did not want to get on that plane.
But then a really attractive
retired pro skier-turned-accountant
from Park City sat next to me on the plane...

it was an ok flight :)

Just the beat of my own heart.

2010-07-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

NY, NY July 2010

One of the best trips of my life. Details to come.

p.s. I looked in to getting my MLS license in the state of NY today...they have their own licensing test and it's the only state more strict than CA about laboratory requirements... Grrrr.

love you everyday.

2010-06-23T14:52:00.001-07:00

1. You love being a Mom.
2. You love being a grandma
3. You would do ANYTHING for ANYONE
4. You're classy and beautiful (so quit apologizing when people say I look just like you...I love it)
5. You were my first best friend.

Story: One day, in high school, I was feeling especially sad. High School was not fun for me and my mom knew that. She didn't really know why I was sad and honestly I didn't know either. It didn't matter to her, she just wanted me to feel better. She knew I loved to shop so one day she let me stay home from school and we went shopping. I remember exactly what we bought: a blue striped shirt, a green polo, a pair of khaki shorts, and a pair of denim shorts. Did the clothes make me feel better? Nope. But knowing how much my mom loved me did. She would have done anything to help me feel better and those clothes symbolized that to me.

Another story: My sophomore year of college I was taking some hard classes and working. I was very busy and didn't have a lot of free time. My room got REALLY messy because when I DID have free time I did NOT want to spend it in my room cleaning. Then one day I came home and she had cleaned it. It was spotless. (I hope I thanked you for that, I'm pretty sure I did but thanks again.)

Last story: One day, a boy broke my heart. She came to see me at work and I told her what happened. That day when I got home from work she had made my bed and bought me my favorite bottle of shampoo and some Hawaiian bottled water (because Hawaii always makes me happy...) She arranged them on my bed and when I walked in my room I knew that boys can be dumb sometimes but my mom would always love me.

There are so many stories like this about my mom and I'm sure my siblings and many other people could tell even more.

You are the best.
Love you MOM!
Happy Birthday.

sorry you missed it.

2010-06-06T22:04:00.000-07:00

Best storm ever.
p.s. this is the view from my balcony. Not bad eh?

cheesey babes

2010-06-06T21:57:00.000-07:00

These kids LOVE Mac N Cheese.
And I love being home.

Ocean Breathing Waves

2010-06-06T21:41:00.000-07:00

This is all I needed.

There's chocolate on my camera...

2010-06-06T21:25:00.000-07:00

I made a cake for Memorial Day.
I ate one piece and then I took it to work.
I could have eaten the whole thing.

My Song

2010-05-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

I completed my FIRST SONG EVER. I've started a few songs but never finished one from beginning to end...until now.

I am not saying it's good but it is done.

*also, I debated a long time on whether or not to post this on my blog... I am not performer, I do not profess to be one, I don't like being on camera and I do not expect to spark a Bieber Fever, I just want my family to see it.

Today

2010-05-12T18:04:00.001-07:00

saw this on my way home from work today.

MOM

2010-05-12T17:52:00.000-07:00

Is it bad to take pictures in Sacrament meeting?...probably. Oops.
I had to, it was our family's first experience with a primary children's performance...so funny. Caleb did sing a few words but then I think he got bored... we're so proud.
Happy Mom's day.

2010-05-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

Disneyland. That is what my family does in spring. AND due to my new work schedule...I GOT TO GO!

What a great place. Where else can you fly over the whole state of California, see Indiana Jones, Captain Jack Sparrow, take a jungle tour with a sarcastically witty tour guide, walk through Minnie Mouse's house, listen to a billion fake birds and flowers sing, and so much more!
The best parts:
Soarin over California with mom
Indiana Jones with mom
Pirates with mom
Good thing mom was there.

Ha ha, no it was all fun, mostly seeing the kids happy. And being with my family.
Can't wait for next year.

Project!!

2010-04-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

Step one:
Work at a really cool deli and collect all of their used glassware.

Step one-and-a-half:
Make your parents haul it 600 miles to Utah for no specific purpose...

Step two:
Move to an apartment with a balcony that needs swanky cool decorations.

Step three:
Google swanky cool diy ideas.

Step four:
Buy rock salt at Walmart for $3 dollars.

Step five:
Make these-

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Next: RUG, GREENERY, CURTAIN, PATIO FURNITURE??

Not to get your/my hopes up...

2010-04-17T19:58:00.001-07:00

This is the lot I'm praying my parents will buy in St. George to build a new house. Check out the view. please please please...

Guess who came to see me in Utah...?

2010-04-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

We went to the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. Cool huh.

This is Hannah.

2010-04-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

It's SPRING!! no wait...

2010-04-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when it does this outside...

I do this inside.

My favorite winter meal: soup and cornbread muffins. and honey.

2010-03-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

My cousin Whitney shared this with me and I just HAVE to post it. This killed me.

It's from www.this is why you're fat.com

The bacon Mug

A mug made out of bacon filled with cheddar cheese.

Moving Day

2010-03-14T14:39:00.000-07:00

This was my view for 11 hours as I followed my mom and dad in his truck packed with all of my belongings on January 29, 2010 from Bakersfield, CA to Utah.

Thanks Mom and Dad for all of the help, especially Dad for the stellar packing job, I still don't know how you got it all to fit.

This is my life now.

2010-03-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

Here is my lab. The Hospital (or The Death Star, as it is affectionately called due to its immense size) is located to the left of the lab about 50 feet. They like to keep us lowly lab nerds far away from patients and doctors.

Sometimes it's sunny and looks like this:

And sometimes it looks like this.

One room down.

2010-03-14T14:04:00.000-07:00

And I love it. I bought the above-the-toilet cabinet for more storage and put it together and hung it all by myself! (luckily you can't see the crooked door unless you're looking at it straight on...) Thanks to Kristi B and Mom for the gift cards to Target and Bed Bath and Beyond, I had so much fun picking out a shower curtain and towel colors.

It's so nice to now have one room that is organized and clean and has a place for everything. I'm still working on my room. The good news is I'm off the air mattress! Friday was payday (love) so I tried about 50 mattresses and wrestled with the balance between $$ and comfort. I ended up getting a great deal on a pretty good mattress and they delivered it and set it up right in my room, it was so nice and totally worth the extra $20. (Especially since I live on the 3rd floor...)

Anywho, here is my completed bathroom.

I'm in and I'm online

2010-03-06T12:37:00.000-08:00

So I've moved into my new apartment in Midvale, UT and got my internet hooked up today. I'll take some picks soon so you can all see my granite countertops and view of the Mountains!

Work update: I've been offered the day shift at work already! Most people have to start out working a graveyard shift in this field and then you move up but I'm already moving up, aren't I lucky? I didn't even work one graveyard! I start my 7 on 7 off on St Patrick's Day! 5am to 3pm.

I still love it here and am 100% sure this is where I'm supposed to be.

Now all I need is a mattress...

I'm loving life right now.

2010-02-21T20:47:00.000-08:00

It's true.

Sorry it's been so long. I have now lived in American Fork for 3 weeks. It all hasn't happened the way I planned but when does it?? Right?
My housing in Draper fell through but I have found another place in Midvale that is closer to my work and SO NICE. I move this coming Saturday and I am so excited to unpack boxes and get organized. I am also so sad to leave Patty and Ron, they are great and I have LOVED living here with them and watching The Bachelor together... Maybe they'll let me come over sometimes and hang out.

My job is good too. I'm still training and everything is slowly coming back to me. They think I'll be ready to work my first graveyard shift in 2 weeks! I don't love the commute right now (about 30 min) but that will be over next week when I move about 6 min away from work.

I have had so much fun doing things like cabins, snowshoeing, yoga, going to the Temple, and going to a SINGLES WARD! I love it, it's such a great a ward and I don't want to go to a new ward where my cousins aren't the Relief Society President and Elders Quorum President. There are so many good people but I'm sure my new ward will be great too.

That's the update, more to come and maybe even some pics.

I'm just happy.

Goodbye California

2010-01-17T15:34:00.000-08:00

Well, after a year and one month, I will be moving out of my parents house and indeed my home state of California. I got a job in Murray, UT at Intermountain Health care Central Lab working in the chemistry department. While my dream was to get a job at the beach and live happily ever after, some of our dreams must be postponed.
If you would have told me a year ago that I'd be moving back up to Utah, I may have punched you in the face but today, I am excited.
I just have to say even though the government of this great state of California has played a big part of why I have finally decided to leave, I know that there is someone else that plays a bigger hand, and that is ultimately why I'm so happy.

San Fran

2010-01-17T15:00:00.000-08:00

I went to San Francisco with my parents. It was mostly this:

And some of this...

This is New Years

2010-01-17T14:58:00.001-08:00

Mas Christmas

2010-01-17T14:23:00.000-08:00

Big giant heavy complicated tree.

Big tree in big mall. (can you see Cartier in the background? that's where we were shopping, duh.)

This is how I roll at the ward party, a girl on each arm.

Doesn't everyone play Bop'it under the Christmas tree?

Christmas morning

This is Christmas.

Leaning Tower of Cheap-sa

2010-01-01T12:57:00.000-08:00

This is what you get for $12 at Shopko. It lasted three years and two moves, not bad.

Oh hey two thousand ten.

2010-01-01T12:23:00.000-08:00

Welcome. This is my New Year's resolution post. I'm writing it down. So it will happen.

Or-go-nize is the theme this year. Most of my resolutions have something to do with organization. I've been telling people that my New Year's resolution is to become a clean freak. And you can't be clean without being organized, right?

a) My Room- I've been in my parents house a year but hopefully not for much longer and when I move out I want it to be relatively easy.

b) Money- I want to keep track of every dollar I spend. From car washes to giving a dollar to the bum on the street corner. I'm going to write it all down in a "little green book." You know, because money is green.

c) Photos- starting with the most recent, my trip to Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia, and then on to my time at BYU, then in hawaii, etc... I would like to create and publish photo books and then compress and archive all photos so I can get them off my hard drive.

Within each resolution is also the commitment to KEEP it organized: no piles, no folders of random pictures, no late bills.

My motto is "A place for everything, and everything there".

So let it be blogged, so let it be done.

Just call me Martha. Or Jimmy Choo...

2009-12-20T21:30:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, I had a pair of shoes. (Not this actual pair, mine were only about an inch tall and they didn't have an ankle strap.)

And then I saw these!
I really liked them but there were a few things wrong with them.
a) they were cheap which = HURT
b) as cheap as they were, I don't have a lot of extra cash.
c) wouldn't these be REALLY easy to make???

And then... ( I forgot to take a picture before I glitter-dumped them). This is about 14 coats of glitter paint with a final layer of glitter dumping.

Ta Dah!! Party shoes!! I'm waiting by the phone for Victoria Beckham to call and order a pair...

My dream house

2009-12-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

...if I were a little gingerbread lady.

and the neighbors. For some reason the snow didn't get them.

This was our Monday night activity with the kids. (they just ate the candy) Good times.

Hannah Bear

2009-12-20T21:16:00.000-08:00

come on.

Speaking of dancing...

2009-11-22T22:39:00.001-08:00

I am a mild to moderate fan of So You Think You Can Dance and this is one of my all time favs.

Doesn't it just kill you??

Girl can Dance!

2009-11-16T21:34:00.000-08:00

Check it:

and she's obedient, should we send this into AFV??

Happie Day

2009-11-16T20:43:00.000-08:00

Alison is 28. Weird. Happy Birthday.

My fav holiday

2009-11-01T22:04:00.001-08:00

So I've been thinking about this years Halloween costume since about Nov of '08... I try to think of something creative that I can make myself relatively easily. As I was researching, I decided I wanted to recreate or bring to life a classic photo or person that we've all seen and I came up with...The MORTON SALT GIRL!! It was super fun and thanks to my sister for help with the dress (I probably would have sewn it inside and backwards without her...) After that all it took was a little yellow spray paint for my shoes, some construction paper and an oatmeal canister, and a $12 umbrella from Target. So fun.

Most older women got it right away but I did have to explain it to a lot of kids, I guess they don't spend enough time in the kitchen...

Grocery Store Musical

2009-10-24T00:13:00.000-07:00

Remember when you would watch a musical and you would say "No one would ever just burst into song and dance like that, come on, this is real life."

I say Why Not?

My favorite part is at minute 2:50, look at the old woman in the bottom corner...classic.

I want to marry this man...

2009-09-25T11:31:00.001-07:00

This was filmed (not by me) the night we went to the Dodger game. He was so funny the ENTIRE stadium was laughing. They play this song every 8th inning but tonight was extra special. The camera scans away at the end which was the funniest part, the guy slowly turns his Dodgers hat around and does the #1 with his finger, you can hear everyone laughing at it. Classic.

p.s. If anyone knows where I can find this guy, let me know...

iPod Poet

2009-09-20T22:11:00.000-07:00

Do you have an ipod? Me too. I love my ipod. It's like my own personal radio station with only my favorite songs. I used to love to put it on shuffle and just let the Shuffle Gods take it away. But something happened. Shuffle is not what it used to be. The Shuffle Gods have lost their power. Not sure why.

This is probably not a new concept but it has changed my "pod" experience in the last few months to a more randomized, joyful experience. Instead of choosing "shuffle songs" choose "songs" --the alphabetical list of all the songs on your ipod. Just pick a letter and let it play. The names of songs are way more random than a mere shuffle but I must warn you, there still are themes that correspond with the letters.

For example, the letter "C" can be a little sad do to words like "corner," "cold," and "crash."

"H" is one of my favs because of words like "heart" "heal" "happy" "heaven" "high" "home" "honey" and "hope". Ugh so good.

It's almost like poetry too.
Let Go
Let it Be
Let it Die
Let me in
Let the Drummer kick it
Lets get Lifted
...
The littlest Birds
Live it up
Live long
Lived in Bars
...
Now at last
Nude
Numb
Number one
...
So high
So in love
So long
So says I
So sorry
...
Summer skin
Summer wind
Sun comes up
...
Take a bow
Take me away
Take your mama out

if they don't win it's a shame

2009-09-20T21:52:00.000-07:00

It was quite a shame. still number one though.

So fun:
1) watching kids scramble and scream for the stupid beach balls to come their way
2) eating peanuts with dad and throwing the shells right on the ground
3) two words: Dodger Dog
4) 7th inning stretch "root root root for the DODGERS!!!"
5) Manny hit a HR
6) Drunk people. Lots of drunk people.
7) Family

Here and There

2009-08-17T00:24:00.000-07:00

It has been a crazy journey. It's hard to believe I have been home a month. Everything is the same but feels as though it should be very different. I feel different.

Flew home (scary)
Jet lag...
got to eat cereal and cold milk
hold my babies
drive to Utah
shop with Aunt Patty
pool time with Noelle
JACKIE'S WEDDING!!!

Babe

2009-08-16T23:58:00.001-07:00

Been a while...

2009-08-05T23:39:00.001-07:00

Hey remember me? I am safely back in the U. S. of A. and what a place this is.
So much has happened since I got back but this is not the time to tell. I just wanted to let you all know that I have added EVERY single picture from my trip to my new photo website and I've added a link to that HERE and on the left called "My Photo Website" Just in case you're curious. But I'm warning you, there are a LOT of pictures. The larger folder is the photos I took and the smaller one is Kristina's. Enjoy!

OHHHH BUDDY!!!

2009-07-14T05:49:00.000-07:00

Signing off. This is it. The end. Tomorrow is Wednesday and we get on a place at 8:15am, travel for about 22 ish hours and then land in LA at 11:15am -STILL Wednesday. Cool huh. We're just going to pretend that we're flying on a concord jet and it will only take us 3 hours to get home...

So we went to Angkor Wat on Friday. A-mazing. It was honest-to-goodness ancient ruins. I kept expecting Indiana Jones to come swinging from a tree or something, you know like at Disneyland, only this was for real. So cool. But... Also one of the saddest things I've ever seen happened this day. As usual, people everywhere are trying to sell you things- scarfs, t-shirts, postcards etc. Well, this time, it was children. Cambodia is still a struggling country and there are LOTS of REALLY poor people, especially children. So they all wait for tourists at the exits of the tourist attractions and just completely swarm you with souvenirs- "postcards?" "you buy?" "please, I need to go to school" We read that it is not recommended to give them money because it doesn't help them, they have to give it to their parents or guardians and it's better to give them food. Anyways, I think Kristina and I must have looked especially vulnerable because they seriously swarmed us and walked with us until our tuk tuk driver rescued us. I can not adequately tell you how horrible it feels to keep saying "no thank you" to so many gorgeous, poor, starving children. I know we all hear about poverty and Save the Children and all that but when there are 20 of them in your face personally begging you to help them, it honestly breaks your heart. By the time we got in our tuk tuk, we both had tears in our eyes and she had bought some postcards, and I bought some bracelets. What could we do?

In The Lonely Planet (our guidebook for this trip) it has lists of restaurants and shops that donate to good causes in the area so we looked up a cafe in Siem Reap called The Singing Tree Cafe. It's an organic, vegetarian cafe that also has yoga classes and a childrens center. The kids can go there (a lot of them are orphans) and learn and play and paint and then they sell the paintings in the cafe. Also- all of the profits from the cafe go back to help the kids. SO, that's where we went for dinner that night. And we spent some time in the gift shop and did not feel bad about spending a little money in there because we knew it would directly help some of those kids. We felt so much better knowing that we had done SOMETHING to help. Even if it was a small something.

So the next day was travel day and the road from Siem Reap to Bangkok is notoriously bad and it can take as long as 14 hours! But luckily the road has been improved and it was actually a lot better than some of the other roads we've been on. So we were not as terrified about this trip. We got on this nice, cool, air-conditioned bus, ready for a 7-8 hour drive and about 20 minutes into the trip the driver turns off the A/C.

I'll pause to let you think about that.

Needless to say everyone starts looking around going "uh, I thought this was an air conditioned bus" but the driver didn't speak any English and what are we gonna do? "hey buddy, drop my off here in the middle of this rice paddy, I'll just ride a cow to Bangkok" So we all opened our windows and sweat it out, literally. Imagine 40 sweaty, (mostly European...) tourists crammed on an old rusty bus with (not real) leather seats that stick to every part of your body. Yeah eww. PLUS there was no under-the-bus storage so they just used the front seat to put ALL the luggage. It was like the Leaning Tower of Luggage right next to our seat... They even put some of the bags on the floor of the bus in the isles...Fire Department, eat your heart out. (i'm pretty sure that's what the driver was thinking as he smoked his cigarette ON THE BUS-not a joke)

The drive to the border is about 4-5 hours and after an 1.5 hours in immigration (and more starving/begging children, only this time they had nothing to sell, they were just holding out their hands... can you believe it? luckily I remembered I had a box of granola bars in my bag so when they came over to us we just handed them out...they probably thought it was so gross, they're used to eating fried crickets...) we got on another bus- It was like we had all died and gone to heaven. I will never take air conditioning for granted again. I promise.

So we have been in Bangkok living it up since Saturday! We love this city. We spent all day yesterday in a mall that has a floor with Lamborghini's on it! Porches, you name it. There was also a food court that would do the entire city of LA shame.

Yes, I'll have a Porsche and a pair of Jimmy Choos please. Done.

Only in Bangkok.

Then to treat ourselves and our poor travel ridden bodies, went to the spa and got mani's, pedi's and facials. FOR UNDER 20 DOLLARS PEOPLE!!! not a joke.

That brings us to tonight. We just have to pack all our treasures and hop on a plane! So SAD to say goodbye to Thailand but SO HAPPY to say hello to America, our family and friends, and our own beds!
It has been an AMAZING trip and I will miss my travel companion dearly- I loved spending every minute with you Kris, even the hard ones.

Thanks for traveling with me everyone, I love you all!

I'm coming Jack!

Did I scare ya?

2009-07-09T06:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a few days. We've been moving around a lot the last few days and Internet is not as plentiful in Cambodia. The day after we went to the War Remnants museum we went on a tour of the Mekong Delta- It was really cool. There are actually FOUR islands in the Mekong and we visited two of them and ate fresh honey and fruit and coconut candy which are all actually ploys to get you to buy stuff because you eat it and go "mmmmm... I want that." They fed us lunch and then they let you lay in hammocks or borrow a bicycle to ride through the little village. Kristina and I did both, we took a nap in a hammock and then we rode on a bike- through a village- on an Island- in the Mekong Delta. Yeah, I know. The next day we went on a tour to the Cu Chi tunnels which are tunnels that the Vietnamese used to live in when they were bombed during the War.
Ok, now I know I don't know a lot about the Vietnam War- I admit it, I'm very ignorant. However- This was an experience that any American would feel uncomfortable in, I think. They start by showing this video that was made in 1967 about the war and the brave men, woman, and child soldiers who fought off the Enemy (us). It said NOTHING about the other Vietnamese they were fighting against. This is a direct quote from the video- "bunch of American devils". Then they showed us the types of traps they used to hurt or kill American soldiers. On the wall behind the exhibit was a mural of all the different traps with American soldiers being impaled and blood spurting- not a joke- I will post pictures. There is also a tank with a plaque on it that said "American tank destroyed by landmine". Kristina and I were the only Americans on this tour and needless to say we felt a little weird... or a lot weird.
We left Vietnam on Wednesday- 6 hours on a bus on really really bad rodes...again. The worst part actually isn't the roads, it's the honking. They don't really follow the same traffic laws we do and the basic traffic rule is yield to the biggest vehicle. So any time we come up behind a motorbike or other slower moving vehicle, which is about every 10 seconds, he honks. And I'm pretty sure these are not your standard horns, they must be like left-over fog horns or something. Kristina and I were sitting in the back of the bus and it still startled us every time he honked. It was like noise torture. I just kept thinking about how quiet my parents street is and how much I wanted to sit out there at night and just listen to the quiet.
Anywho, we went to the killing fields yesterday and spent the night in Phnom Penh and then hopped on a bus this morning and drove ANOTHER 6 hours to Siem Reap. It's only about 250 kilometers but it takes really long because the road is one step up from a dirt road, the whole way. So we made it to Siem Reap and tomorrow we take a tuk tuk to the Temples of Angkor!!! This is probably the only reason we came to Cambodia, I am so excited. The pictures of this place are mind blowing, I can't wait to see it for real. The "thing to do" is go at sunrise because it's supposed to be amazing so we have to leave our hotel at 5am...
If you're curious about the Killing Fields, you should probably look it up because I am not the one to ask and if you want to know what it was like I am also not the one to ask because there are no words to describe it. In very brief terms it is a place that the Khmer Rouge, a group of communist rebels, used to torture and execute hundreds of thousands of Cambodians in the space of four years. It looks like a grassy field except that there are 129 mass graves and a stupa (religious monument) that rises above the field holding over 9000 human skulls found during the excavations. There are still pieces of clothing half buried in the dirt.
I hope that my writing about this doesn't make light of what happened in any way. It was a harrowing experience but one that I think is important to have.

More confused than before.

2009-07-05T04:57:00.000-07:00

Yeah, the War Remnants Museum did NOT help our understanding of the Vietnam War. It basically was about how Americans are barbarians...and Vietnam just wanted it's Independance. There weren't really any actual facts. Just horribly brutal pictures and descriptions. We left feeling confused, empty, and nauseous insead of respectfully enlightened. Oh well. It was an experience.
Today we had traditional Vietnam breakfast, well Kristina did, I couldn't do it. It was beefsteak meatballs, pate, and eggs fried in oil...mmmmm. Just kidding. Kristina said it was pretty good. The only non beef option was fried chicken and rice.. HIT THE SPOT!!! Nothing like a nice light fried chicken for breakfast. Just kidding again. It was good, just not my typical breakfast food.

Funny story: (hopefully one that won't freak mom out... not sure) So we were supposed to meet a friend of Kristina's that moved out here with his wife who is Vietnamese for breakfast. So he came to our guesthouse and we got a taxi and he told our driver where to take us and then he rode his motorbike...
So our driver stops and points to this place and we pay him (too much, he jipped us...still getting used to the money here) and he drives away and we wait for Kristina's friend but he doesn't show for like 5...10...15 minutes and we know he should have been there by now so we start looking for a phone (Kristina's cell doesn't work, not sure why) and all the phones require a phone card which we didn't have and didn't know where to get one... sooooo Kristina asks someone and they send her down the street but someone needed to wait by the restaurant in case he showed up so I stayed and she went looking for a phone card... So I'm standing there wathcing crazy crazy traffic and they're all staring at me (of course, we're like aliens out here) And I don't know how much time has passed but I start to worry, How long has it been? Should I have gone with Kristina? Oh my gosh, am I by myself, are we seperated? Has she been kidnapped? Aaahhh!! (we literally have not been seperated this whole trip, we do have an emergency plan though, we're not that stupid)
It was probably only like 2 minutes but I freaked enough to start looking for her and walked in the direction she had gone until I came to this really nice hotel and thought "that's where I would go if I needed help" and sure enough Kristina came out the door right then and told me the receptionist had called another taxi and that he'd just taken us to the wrong one, apparently there are two locations. So we found her friend and had delicious beefsteak for breakfast!! Mmmm.
We spent the rest of the day just walking around. We found a really cool park and there were tons of kids playing and a group of teens doing some organized dance and there was a sculpture garden and picknickers and make-outers.
It was just a lovely Sunday in the Park.
Vietnam Style.

"They sending me...to Viet-nam...Its this whole otha country"

2009-07-03T22:06:00.000-07:00

If you don't know what that's from then you don't know me well enough... Just kidding. I am safely in Ho Chi Min, Vietnam. Yesterday was a travel day, so not very fun but we flew from Phuket to Bangkok and then Bangkok to Ho Chi Min. Both flights were only about an hour long but there was a lot of stuff to do like Visas and immigration. We were both glad we flew though because it would have been sooooooo much longer on a bus and so much more miserable. At least yesterday we got to spend a few hours in the Bangkok Airlines Lounge and take a nap and they fed us popcorn and Tang (which they think is orange juice).
Anywho... our Visa worked out and we made it to the My My Art House (our hostel) last night and we got some delicious noodles for dinner (mom and dad, you know that soup that you buy from Saigon and you put been sprouts and mint in it? yeah that but better) and they fed us free breakfast this morning of fresh French bread and omelet that smelled suspiciously of fish...
Happy Fourth!! Today we are going to the War remnants museum- we know it will not be a happy experience but we also know it's important to see. So as you all eat your BBQ chicken and hot dogs, and watch fireworks, Kristina and I will be in Ho Chi Min City, trying to gain a little more understanding of a war we know almost nothing about.

More pics

2009-07-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

These pictures begin in Koh Lanta, about a week ago.
Scooter ride. A little scary because I kept forgetting to drive on the opposite side of the road... This is Kristi's view as passenger.
Our mission to find banana fried rice failed, the restaurant that sold it was closed for slow season. Sad. Instead we stopped at this place and a very nice man fried us up some rice and green curry. It was one of the best meals of my life. And again, no one in the restaurant- slow season.
Little bum.
Safely back at our bungalow.
Our bungalow on Ko Lanta Island. There wasn't much of a beach because the waves crashed right on the sand and sometimes even up onto the restaurant but there was an amazing pool.
Coke LIGHT. SO DELISH.
Yesssssssssss.

So glad to be on the ground. Seriously.
Monkey girl.
Thai cooking course in Phi Phi
Me and my dish: Pad Thai with egg and chicken.
Kristi frying up some veggies like she was born with a wok.
Our teachers at our Thai cooking course. They were the sweetest.
Our bungalow in Phi Phi. The stairs were steep!!
Just before leaving Ko Phi Phi. You can see my lunch in my hands: mango, pineapple, watermelon smoothie and ritz crackers. The crackers turned out to be a good call because we both got a little ill on the ferryboat to Phuket...

Phuket Beach lunch yesterday. Hawaiian pizza. Duh.BBQ corn on the cob. Sold by a boy on the beach for less than a dollar.
Chocolate ice cream, chocolate bar, chocolate soymilk
A-mazing resort we walked to today. Probably costs a little more than ours...
Bookstore. Used books that cost as much as new ones, go figure.
Dinner... sort of.
Cool fountain. Elephants. This is the most recent picture we took, so just pretend you saw me today, ok mom?

Poo-get

2009-06-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

That's how it's pronounced, in case you were wondering. We are in Phuket at the Southern Fried Rice Guesthouse. Yep. It is probably the nicest place we've stayed so far but also one of the cheapest! It is very relaxing here and so far we've just been to the beach to recover from our travel day... -long story short, we wanted to save money by finding our own taxi but ended up walking through a very non-tourist area very lost where no one speaks any English. We ended up finding two motorbike taxis (which is actually how all the locals get around) who took us to Kata beach where our guesthouse was, another miracle. My driver kept asking me which way to go and I literally had NO idea and was just guessing, go straight here, turn left here and then all of a sudden we saw the Southern Fried Rice guesthouse and I told him to stop. Luck? I think not. It's a really nice place run by a Norwegian man and some Thai ladies and there's a discount on food for guests and FREE INTERNET!!! So I'll probably be able to put up a few more pictures, yay! Maybe tonight.
Anyways, we are safely relaxing in Kata beach on Phuket Island until we fly to Vietnam which we think we have visas, we just need to find a place where we can get passport pictures... So that's the update. Happy July 1st! I just realized that I would be missing 4th of July with the family and I got really sad. I asked Kristina how we would celebrate the 4th and she said, Let's go to the Vietnam War Museum. How ironic, right? We'll see. Off to the orchid farms! Miss you all, love you all.

Everthing's more expensive in phi phi

2009-06-28T23:18:00.001-07:00

That's why I haven't blogged. Internet is double the price of everywhere else we've been. We're still doing well. Yesterday we went rock climbing again, snorkeling, cliff jumping, fed monkeys, and saw the beach where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. We haven't seen the movie but they play it in all the bars at night so we could watch it if we wanted but we decided we'd rather go to the beach where it was filmed than spend time watching the movie. Right? Today we head to Phuket where we will stay until we fly out on Friday to Vietnam. We just discovered that you need a Visa for Vietnam so we're trying to rush our application so we can make our flight...
Hope you're all doing well. Love.

Oh man oh man.

2009-06-25T04:19:00.000-07:00

It just keeps getting better!!! Ilove you all so much. Stephanie!! I am alive and loving it!!!! I wish you could be here too! someday you will HAVE to come out here. It's like hawaii but cheap!! And the food soooooooo delicious. I can't get enough.
Guess what everyone??!! I went rock climbing today!!! It was one of the coolest things I've ever done!! As if rock climbing isn't cool enough, I got to do it on the cliffs of Thailand (pics later...). I thought it would be better to tell you guys (mom) after we finished and were alive and non injured. We have raw fingers and crazy-sore arms but no injuries!! I wish you all could be here doing this with me! Seriously, Kristina and I keep looking at each other going "I love vacation" You just don't know how amazing it is. Everyday I look at where I am and I just can't believe it. Every scene is from a post card or a discovery channel special. DId you see the July National Geographic? Its about Cambodia!! how cool is that? You should all read it.
We have more definite plans for the rest of our trip. We bought tickets to fly from Phuket Thailand to Ho chi Min, Vietnam on the 3rd of July so we will be going to Ko Phi Phi tomorrow and then phuket after that for a few nights and then we fly to Vietnam. (So no worries about violence in South Thailand, we're not even going!) Kristina has a friend there who will hopefully show us around and then we will go through Cambodia and head back to Bangkok on the 12th of July and will stay there until we fly out on the 15th.
We are really excited about ko phi phi and phuket because supposedly its the most beautiful place in the world... I just can't believe it can get any better than this.
Ok, everyone, please go to Thailand some day. Thank you all for letting me come :)
Sorry about errors, this keyboard sucks and there is no spell check...
I feel like I'm forgetting so much but I will show you all the pictures and maybe you will understand. This is honestly on the top of my life-list of favorite things. I think I will look back at this trip the rest of my life and smile.

Happy Birthday Mom!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!

2009-06-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear mother...(in harmony) Happy Birthday to You!!!
This is your present- PICTURES!! If you think your present was free, think again, it costs two baht a minute to use this computer and it took a long time to post these, so enjoy!! I hope you have a wonderful day (even though it's not your birthday yet in California, it is in Thailand)

For Jackie- a Thai bridal magazine. Don't they look lovely.

Our first real day in Bangkok we went to the weekend market. (think of Aloha stadium flea market but on steroids, and in Thailand) There was so much there we wanted to buy so we think we might stop there before we fly home to fill our bags with souvenirs.

At the Grand Palace in Bangkok. This was once the residence of the King. Also where the movie Anna and the King took place. Couldn't believe they built these buildings without electric tools.

On the grounds of Wat Pho (where the reclining Buddah is) I think I liked this temple better than the Grand Palace even though it was not kept up as well. It was not as touristy.

REALLY BIG BUDDAH!! It was something like 146 feet. The biggest reclined Buddah in the world. I don't know very much about Buddah but the different positions are in relation to enlightenment... Wish I knew more, I'll have to research a little when I get home.

After our 11 hour night bus ride to Surrat Thani, and before a one hour ferry ride to Ko Samui. Needless to say I didn't sleep a wink and Kristi slept like a baby... (I even took Nyquil)

At Ninja Crepes in Ko Samui. Very cheap and very good. We decided that the food at these local cheap places was as good as the really expensive beach restaurant.

Also on Chewang beach. I bought this hat to protect my poor sunburned scalp, the only place I ever get sunburned...

This was our night of luxury. We made reservations at a beach front restaurant and had dinner right by the ocean. We had creamy asparagus soup and pastry, stir-fried vegetables, chicken and tofu, a delicious fruity drink of some kind that had an umbrella in it, and an amazing dessert with gorgeous sliced mango and ice cream. You can't really see it but the water is right behind us and there was a lightening storm way off in the ocean that was flickering all night. It was so romantic.

On Ko Samui, Chewang beach. Our favorite place so far. Must have been those massages... Kristina bought a cold, sliced mango and an extremely friendly Thai boy offered to take our picture...

Our elephant ride. The men who guide the elephants are called the Kahren (sp?) people and they are originally from Tibet but migrated to Thailand over the last hundred years, they speak their own language and they are raised training elephants.

Part of our jungle tour was a ride to the water falls. There were local kids playing in the water and as always, they stared at us like we were aliens.

On Au Nang beach, the cliffs were amazing and the water was sooooo blue.

After Au Nang, we rode a mini-bus to Ko Lanta Island. If you're wondering what a mini-bus is. Think of an old old toyota van with pea green curtains on the windows and about 14 people squished in the space for about 7 riding on roads that haven't been fixed since the tsunami and A/C with asthma... for two hours. But we made it and now we're staying in a cute little family run bungalow place with a pool right by the ocean. We'll stay here at least one more night and then head back to Krabi, then to Ko phi phi, and finally to Phuket. And...guess what? We're not going to Malaysia! We decided that this trip is just too short to include so many places and we like spending more time in one place...so we're going to take our time in Thailand for another week or so and then hop on a flight to Vietnam and then spend the rest of the trip heading back to Bangkok through Cambodia. That's the plan and we feel pretty good about it. We were't particularly excited about anything in Malaysia anyways. Ok, that's the update. We are loving it here and just realized yesterday how fast it was going and wished we had a few more weeks. But don't worry, we'll still come home on the 15th. We miss you and love you!