Fall

It's coming.  I can feel it.  And it feels so right. 

Today's National Geographic photo of the day - Aspen Forest, Colorado

Italy

Remember that time I went to Italy?  Well I do, and today I feel like reminiscing about it here.  Get ready:

First off, we passed Kanye in the SLC airport.  No joke. Then it was all down hill from there as we had many a struggle getting there.  Lets just say that we spent a few days sleeping in airports.  One of us cried quite a bit while one of us laughed quite a bit, but we finally made it.  

 AND we got to experience first class!  I don't think I can ever go back, which means that I will never be able to afford to fly internationally again...

We saw 100,000 really cool things.

 I love a good ceiling. (That's me in the Pantheon!)

 We participated in a bit of ridiculousness. Obviously.

 

We threw coins in the Trevi Fountain so clearly we will be back someday.

 

We ate pizza everyday.  Mostly delicious, but you can't win em all.

Occasionally we ate things other than pizza.  But only occasionally.

And I had a birthday!  My golden birthday to be precise. 26 on March 26th.

My birthday gift from Jill and Cindy.

 We also had some major struggles coming home.  We were stuck in Venice for 3 days (which sounds like a cooler problem than it is) but when we finally made it, we got first class again!  I'm telling you, this was a legitimate highlight.

I long to go back.  I love traveling and seeing the different cultures and buildings and art and just all around beauty that the world has to offer.  I went with some pretty great people and fulfilled some lifelong dreams.  I couldn't of asked for more for my birthday.

26

So last week was my birthday.  I am now 26, which just really sounds super old, but that's beside the point.  Anyway, with the help of Cindy and Jill I came up with 26 goals for my 26th year.  See what we did there?

1. Go see Wicked with my new boyfriend in August.  Or maybe Jill.
2. Find a boyfriend by August.
3. Find a new hairstyle.
4. Finish a book in time for book club.
5. Go to Italy (this one might be kinda cheap since I was there while making these goals, but hey it was a life goal)
6. Finish more of the projects that I start.
7. Perfect a new skill.
8. Be healthier.
9. Find more time to run.
10. Get a tan.
11. Communicate more.
12. Cry more.
13. Find the perfect nail polish.
14. Cook more.
15. Go to more concerts.
16. Watch the Olympics.
17. Learn every word to Gangsta's Paradise (weird that I don't already know them).
18. Go to the ballet.
19. Go fishing.
20. No unapproved fade outs.
21. Go camping.
22. Drink more water.
23. Leave Italy (and after 4 days of trying we finally did!)
24. Be nicer.
25. Be more decisive.
26. Commit.

And there they are.  I'm feeling pretty good about this year, even if I am now officially in my late 20s.  I really am excited, so bring it on 26, I'm ready.

Art and gelato

You guys, I'm in Italy. We had some adventures (to be expounded upon later) getting here, but now I am here and loving it. I had this moment yesterday, while I was eating some gelato, strolling towards the Pantheon, that I realized just how cool this is, and how much I love getting out and seeing new places. The world has so many things to show me and I want to see it all. So, we're here and we're making it happen. I'm in a beautiful place with some pretty great people and right now, in this moment, life is pretty dang good.

I'm Back

When I get in the habit of doing this regularly, I start thinking of everything in life in terms of blog posts.  I don’t post all of them clearly, but I do think about them and how I would write it or lay it out and what picture I would post or the fact that I should take a picture to post!  But then when I get a new job, and move, and just stop having as much time to do things like this, I get out a my groove.  However, with 2012 being the year of commitment and all (2012 commit-elve, duh) I refuse to give up.  Also, today I have something funny I would like to mention.  Remember that time that I made Jill commit to being the biggest fan of whoever purchased our services (at a church sponsored service auction people) for one week with me?  I do, and this is that week.  And if I dare say so myself, I think the recipient is feeling the love.*  One of my favorite parts of the week is the blog that has been created in his honor.  Jill has taken that one over and the posts are pretty good.  Check it out here. Also, on an unrelated, not funny, but pat myself on the back note, I have finally moved all the way in to my house! You wouldn’t believe how clean my room is.  AND I made my bed today.  I’m such a big kid.

*To be fair, I stole most of the ideas from my friend Lizzy Jones.  She's just so clever.

Review

Well guys, it's that time again, when everyone reflects on the previous year and comments on how great it was (see last year's here).  I wasn't going to post this, on account of I have a problem following the crowd sometimes and also because I've just been kind of busy (let's be serious, that's the real reason), but here it is nonetheless:

2011 in review:

Winter Highlights (split up for you into semesters, I think that I may split up my years into semester segments for the rest of my life. thanks for something college education) - Lava Hot Springs, falling in love with all things Korean, turning 25, the zoo, Just Dance, Earth Day, Tulip Festival, scavenger hunting, Bear Lake

Summer Highlights - Mustaches on Cinco de Mayo, D.C., FloRida, Racing to cure Alopecia, a wedding at the James Madison house, San Francisco, Yellowstone, more weddings, Jackson Hole

 Fall Highlights - Fall was full of a lot of fun and a lot of goodbyes.  Park City, the Serving Time Cafe (so fun/good!), my first attempt at cutting hair, Swiss Days, Demolition Derby, food, eating good food and a tea party.

So that's all for 2011.  Doesn't seem half bad, and it really wasn't. 

 

Happy New Year everybody!

I've always wanted a kid I could name Atticus

And this my friends is why.

Love. This. Book.

On Repeat

Guys, lately I've really been going through a phase with this song

You should hear me screaming it out in the car, the shower, my office, wherever the mood strikes.  I hope you can appreciate it too.  Thanks to Val Pal for sharing it with me.

May the odds be ever in your favor...

Today the trailer for this movie came out

 and I must admit that I was filled with all kinds of excitement.  I feel kind of embarrassed because I'm not the kind of girl that follows a lot of hype, unless it's for the sake of being/appreciating the ridiculous, (High School Musical 3 midnight showing anyone?) but I can't help the way I feel.  I liked these books, they kept me sucked in and entertained the whole time and I think the movie looks like it has the potential to not be half bad?  Here's hoping.   

11-11-11

Happy Veteran's Day

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.  Elmer Davis

Emotionally Stunted

Today K Dunc shared this article with me and it made me all kinds of happy and thoughtful.  You see, I mentioned that I tend to get attached to TV shows, the same thing happens with books and movies, and it is really true.  I love throwing myself into the world of the characters and I feel for them and miss them when they're gone.  I'm crazy.  And possibly emotionally stunted.  The last thing is probably more true than anyone realizes, but at least I'm not so far gone that I have to climb out of a window to avoid something potentially emotional. *cough..cough..Logan..cough*  I have a hard time dealing with things in real life situations, and you will never see me cry about them, but put me in front of the right Grey's Anatomy episode and I'm a goner.  They are my emotional outlets and I'm alright with that.  So when Dunc reminded me of possibly my favorite TV show of all time I couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic.  It's like looking back on High School (or College now it seems, as I am getting old) and remembering good times and old friends.  I love Friday Night Lights.  Love it, I love the relationships, the Taylor's marriage, Matty Saracen, the way Coach Taylor inspires the kids, everything.  I just want to be the Taylor's when I grow up, is that too much to ask?

I figured it out

Guys.  I figured something out.  Remember that time I had that hole in my heart sealed up?  I'm talking literally here not figuratively.  Well, although the surgery did not fix my headaches like I wanted it to, it did fix another problem that I didn't even know I had.  All of a sudden the other day I realized something.  I was on a run, enjoying it, and thinking about when I became this person.  This person that enjoys running and hiking and has the energy to do all these things that I want to do, and I realized it has really been just the last year that I have been this way.  And it all clicked.  So thank you heart for bringing the rest of me around to the bright side of things, I would appreciate it if the aches in my head would chill out a little, but you know? I'll take what I can get. 

Tradition

As I previously mentioned, I LOVE Fall.  I also love traditions, and Fiddler on the Roof (Tradition...Tradition!) eh, anyways, so I especially look forward to a yearly tradition I have with a couple of my dear friends Jill and Micah where we drive around the Alpine Loop and check out the beauty of the mountains covered in the fall leaves.  I just love it.  We drive and soak it all in and talk about our lives, we get out at the exact same spot each year and take pictures and know that as long as we are all still around these parts we'll do the same thing next year.  It's fantastic.

And here's some proof in picture form:

2007

2008 (we had some visitors!)

2009

2010

And last but not least this year! (please note how good those sick closed mouth smiles are. I've been working on mine, but Jill's a natural)

Cool Runnings

Ok really this post has nothing to do with bobsledding, but can we all just take a minute to appreciate that movie?  It has been far too long since I have seen it and it is good. And inspirational. 

Best slow clap EVER folks.

Anyways, let's get on with it.  Remember that time that I ran the Utah Valley Half Marathon this summer?  Well, I just signed up to run it again next summer.  AND I'm running a Ragnar race in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks.  Who would have ever thought?  I used to HATE running, but secretly, now, I kind of love it.  I never thought that would happen to me.  I never thought that I would consider so many miles not such a big thing and start to understand the desire to run an actual marathon.  Uh...we'll see.  So what I'm saying is this, you should all come run the half marathon with me!!  You can sign up here, and if you do it by October 31st you get it for the least expensive price.  Do it! Doesn't it look fun?

 

Change in the Weather

As of today, it is officially Fall.  I can't even tell you how much I love this season.  The colors, the boots, the coats, the alpine loop, the crispness in the air, the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  All things good.  I'm so excited.

Old People Can Be So Cute

I found this recently and it just makes me smile.

Ridiculous

Ok so a long time ago on the other blog I mentioned that sometimes I like to go back and look at pictures of myself, facebook stalk myself really.  It's fun.  It brings back really funny memories and reminds me of people and times that I love/loved.  So today while I was waiting for some reports to process I was passing time doing just that, looking at all of my pictures.  So I'm happily looking through, reminiscing, when I come across a nice video I have been tagged in.  I didn't know that videos were categorized with pictures these days, so this was a pleasant surprise, and a fantastic reminder of how ridiculous I am, because the pictures of me in my homemade "I love BSB" t-shirt at the Backstreet boys concert weren't good enough.

Please. Watch and enjoy.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=22146933035&set=t.17805014&type=2&theater
 

TGIF

Randoms of the day:

1. When people send ALL of their emails with high importance (!) it makes me want to ignore them for a couple of days, just because. 
2. Today I am grateful for how my hair has been treating me lately.  It doesn't seem to get dirty (I'm not going to go into how long I can go without a hair wash these days cause I don't really want a semi-published record of that, but lets just say it is kind of nice) and it's been requiring little morning maintenance, not to say it couldn't use more, but it requires little.  This makes me a little bit happier when I wake up to those rough mornings because I HATE doing my hair.  Hate it.
3. A few of my favorites are leaving for good soon and that makes me really sad, that is, when I allow myself to actually think about it.
4. Today everyone in my office decided to bring treats.  We have had cake balls, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cake and chocolate milk, all before 10:00 AM.  It is a chocolate kind of day.  My favorite kind.  
5. I had to use numbers in this post, because last time I made a list with bullets.  Maybe I should just stop making lists.
6. Remember TGIF guys?  Remember when we all used to stay home (was that just me?) on Friday nights to watch great shows like Full House, Step by Step and Boy Meets World?  And then you would wake up on Saturday and watch Saved by the Bell?  Ahh those were the days.

 

And just for fun...

Don't pretend like you don't know the words.

Almost There

Well kids another Education Week has come and is almost gone and honestly I can not wait.  Just two and a half more hours...I can hold out that long.  Anyways, while working here this week I have come upon a few thoughts that apparently I feel like sharing because I've got some down time here and if I sit still for longer than a minute or two I fall asleep.  Blogging seemed like a good alternative, but I'm not so sure, either way I am committed now.  So, please feel free to skip this, but here are my current thoughts:

• I love a walkie-talkie.  Love it.  Every time. You know what I'm talking about.  I want to buy all my friends walkie-talkies and force them to stay within about a mile range of me always so that we can use them all the time.  Does that not sound fun to anyone else?  (I realize that if I had a cooler phone I could just HeyTell people, but it just seems to loose a little bit of the magic that way) 
• I love vanilla in my Dr Pepper.  That delicious bit of heaven has pulled me through some long hours.
• BYU Catering stinks.
• The bathroom here has a small mother's room within a larger mother's room.  I think that's weird.  And unnecessary.  I wonder if it's to give the mothers some privacy from the students that are always in there taking naps on the couches (also weird to me).
• I like BYU and spending this much time on the main part of campus reminds me of the good times I had here.  And how old I am because I recognize no one around these parts anymore.
• Also making me realize how old I am is the fact that my body can no longer handle the little amounts of sleep that I provide for it like it used to.  It's so needy.  Annoying. 

That's all I got.  Have a fabulous weekend everybody! 

Move, Learn, Eat

Love these.


MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage=a trip of a lifetime.

I want to do it.