Below is a copy of the email that I sent out to friends and family to thank them for the prayers and support they provided me with for my trip to El Salvador last month. Due to the lack of internet and computers in the third world country, there were no blogs from that trip. I sincerely apologize, but hope the attached link to my movie will make up for it. Muchos Gracias Amigos.
Hi everyone!
I am sorry for the delay of this email, but I wanted to finish my video of the trip first. Thank you so much for your prayers and support that got me to El Salvador (and back!!) a few weeks ago. I find it extremely difficult to even begin to describe the trip without pictures, so hopefully the movie I put together will give you a little insight into what we did.
We had a team of 19 members, most of them being from my church and then two great guys who joined us as complete strangers from Florida. We all bonded and worked together so well it was definitely God's doing!
I had the opportunity to go with The Orphan Helpers organization for one day on this trip. I witnessed things that my heart was definitely not ready for. We visited a boys' prison, with young boys, 11-18 years old, who were murderers, or gang members, or simply criminals. Crazy! We went to a half way home for young mothers. And when I say young, boy do I mean young. The one that really stopped me in my tracks was the 11 year old girl and her 4 month old baby. (There is a picture of my roommate and I standing with 2 girls on a balcony, the girl in the front is the 11 year old I am referring to.) To make matters even worse, the father of that baby was the 11 year old's brother. So sad. When we left there we went to a government run orphanage. The sights, smells, sounds, and everything, were just completely overwhelming. When you see me filming a few young boys (one of which kept flipping off the camera, sorry about that) that was at the orphanage. These boys were brought here from another orphanage, because the older boys were beginning to sexually molest most of them. Again, so sad.
The rest of the trip was spent with a construction team and a medical team. Because my knowledge of medicine doesn't go beyond Greys Anatomy, I was on the construction team! In one day I carried 1500 concrete blocks!! Needless to say, I should've hit the gym up a few more times before the trip! :-) When we started working, we began with the footing and the foundation of the parsonage. By the end of the trip we had almost built the house up to the start of the second floor! We worked hand in hand with a few local people who we have known from the past... It is always so wonderful to see the faces of the friends you make there! Aroche, one of the leaders on the job, was so excited to see me show up on the second day! It was a great feeling! Between the sifting, and the mixing, and the heavy lifting, the rebar building, and the dirt that I seemed to constantly accumulate on my face... it was a lot of hard work, but such an amazing time.
The medical group did an awesome job! Out of all the vitamins we took with us, we ran out several times and had to go buy more there! The medical team saw close to 700 patients in the 5 days we were working, with only 2 doctors!!! How awesome is that?! Sadly, I didn't get to film much of the medical team at work, but you see a couple minutes of it on the video.
A few of you heard that while we were there, we experienced a minor earthquake. It was something I had never felt before, and it was quite obvious that I wasn't the only Gringo on the trip who hadn't! All of the americans stopped what they were doing and leaped out into the biggest open space we could find, while the locals all seemed to laugh at us. Surprisingly there was no damage, but to be completely honest, I was shocked the bus didn't tip over. This was a fear that was in the back of all of our minds the rest of the trip, especially with it being only a few days after the Haiti disaster. I urge you to keep Haiti and all of the people who were affected by that earthquake in your thoughts and prayers. They have a long way to go before recovery. It could have just as easily have been El Salvador with that kind of disaster... same kind of setting and buildings and lovely people.
Anyway, as you will see in the video, in the midst of all of our hard work we did get the weekend for a bit of vacation! We got to see some ruins, the pacific ocean, geothermal vents, and some small towns. It was great. Not to mention the 95 degree weather (and no rain!) every day.
I truly love this country and all of it's lovely people. And I am so blessed to have had your support and prayers to get me there and back safely. You were just as much a part of this trip as I was! Without you this would not have been possible. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.
Grab some popcorn and about 23 free minutes and enjoy the video! http://vimeo.com/9300380
God bless!
Suz
2.09.2010
1.03.2010
Flying Home...
“And for those of you in the back of the plane… frozen fish heads. Mmmm that’s exactly what I was hoping for, wishing upon a star!” Brian Regan
I find myself sitting in 30A on DL67 heading to ATL, arrival time, supposedly 2:35. Ha.
Thanks to the increase of assholes and decrease in safety in this world, all incoming American flights have more than tripled increased security. Last week some idiot decided to hide explosives in his underpants and attempted to take down his plane. Luckily he not only failed at life, but he failed at his mission. I mean, what kind of moron puts explosives in their underpants? “Excuse me Sir, is that dynamite in your pants? Or are you just excited to see me?” Yeah… not cool. But thanks to him, it was all over the news to expect increased security on all flights heading to American. We were told to be at the airport at least two hours in advance, so at 6AM (swiss time) or midnight EST, I woke up to a quiet Kirsten knock on my door. It’s time. Oh god, really? I’m not ready yet. I just got here.
When I arrived at the airport for my 9:40 flight I saw the longest airport check-in line I have ever seen. Thank goodness there was no snow on the ground! I was questioned for about 3 minutes by a delightful Swiss lady who didn’t seem to understand my humor, or why every answer ended in “Ma’am.” (I am from the south after all.) I finished my check-in, left my 23kg suitcase with them, and continued on to my family. Despite a few extra questions, I did not notice anything extreme thus far in security, other than the last line the security lady said to me: “After you finish checking in you must go directly to the gate.” With an hour and forty five minutes to spare before my flight, really? Wow.
Kirsten, Auntie, and Stefan walked me to passport control, where we said our goodbyes, exchanged a few hugs and kisses and “I love you’s.” For the record, it wasn’t until I turned my back from them that I started to tear up. Once through passport control I released a huge sigh, a few tears, and then began to realize I needed to pull myself together if I was going to get through the day.
I headed to Concourse E, Gate 27. I was stopped at another passport control where the gentleman looked at me, could tell I recently had tears wallowing in my eyes, stamped my passport, and wished me safe travels. Then came security. Take off your shoes, your coat, your scarf. Take your camera out of your bag, your laptop out of your bag, your toiletries out of your bag. Walk through the metal detector. Beep! Beep!
What in the world is on me that could be beeping?! I’m wearing jeans, a tank top, a sweater, and underwear of course, and yeah, socks. With nothing in my pockets and only wearing cheap jewelry, I began to figure them out. They must have increased the sensitivity of the machines. They whisked me away to a little cubicle made out of white sheets, leaving my laptop, purse, and everything just lying out there. It wasn’t the search that made me mad. Go ahead, search me. If it will make everyone safer, by all means, do what you gotta do. But to make me leave my stuff sitting out for anyone to pick up my shiny macbook? You have to be kidding me.
The lady, thank goodness, had to feel me down. My arms, my back, my chest, between my boobs, my stomach, my upper inner thighs (about as upper as you can get before you need to exchange phone numbers), all the way down to my ankles. Then came the hand held detector. It beeped at every button on my jeans, every piece of jewelry I was wearing, and even for my bra. To make me think about this a bit more, I wore the same jeans here and was not beeped at once. When she was finished, I didn’t know what to say, so I just looked at her and said “Thanks” and ran out to grab my computer before someone else did.
I kept walking, thinking that would be the end of it. When I got to my gate I saw yet another line. We had to get in line to go through another security check. They were checking every single bag that was going on the plane, and every single person, whether you were frisked at the prior security stop or not. I was standing there when this gentleman from the line pointed to me and said “You, come up here!” I looked behind me, and then looked back. He was still pointing at me. I replied with a meek “Me?” Yep, he was talking to me. I was pushed to the front of the line and couldn’t figure out why. Then I realized, they brought out two females to search the ladies and two gentlemen to search the dudes. How thoughtful of them. I handed over my bags and spread my arms and legs. She felt me up, in all of the same places, in front of everyone. Lovely.
After being cleared I moved on to a roped off area that I wasn’t allowed to leave, not even to go to the bathroom. They really thought this through when they only had about 40 seats for a flight that was completely full. People were cramming into this tiny quarantined area wondering “What now?” At 8:40 some of us began boarding the plane for our 9:40 flight while the rest of us waited in line to be frisked, again.
At 9:40 everyone made it on board, with more carry-on luggage than I have ever seen in my life. I give it less than six months before we are all only allowed one purse or satchel or man purse to carry with us.
The plane began it’s journey down the runway, slowly putzing along. And then we heard the pilot. Cue the Brian Regan pilot voice. “Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a mechanical failure. It won’t affect the flight, but it is something that we need to go back and have fixed. Plus we need to fill out some paperwork. Thanks for your patience. I don’t think this will take too long.”
At 11:03 we finally took off, a little behind schedule. But hey, I am supposed to have a five-hour layover in Atlanta, so I sit here or I sit there. Either way I guess.
It was definitely an interesting morning, which made me think back to all of the changes we have experienced in air travel. Do you remember when people could smoke on flights? Or when you could walk your friends and family all the way to their gate when they were departing? Or just the same, when you arrived, and immediately walked off the flight and your family was standing there waiting for you at the gate! Or when my aunt would pack up a lunch and a thermos of her delicious tea for me to take on my 9 hour flight home? Or when we didn’t think it was weird to take our shoes off for security checks? Or when luggage was included in your ticket? Or when we didn’t look for “suspicious passengers” in the check-in line? I wonder if a day will come when we all look back and say “Remember when we could travel in our clothes, and not these orange jumpsuits they make us change into?”
I find myself sitting in 30A on DL67 heading to ATL, arrival time, supposedly 2:35. Ha.
Thanks to the increase of assholes and decrease in safety in this world, all incoming American flights have more than tripled increased security. Last week some idiot decided to hide explosives in his underpants and attempted to take down his plane. Luckily he not only failed at life, but he failed at his mission. I mean, what kind of moron puts explosives in their underpants? “Excuse me Sir, is that dynamite in your pants? Or are you just excited to see me?” Yeah… not cool. But thanks to him, it was all over the news to expect increased security on all flights heading to American. We were told to be at the airport at least two hours in advance, so at 6AM (swiss time) or midnight EST, I woke up to a quiet Kirsten knock on my door. It’s time. Oh god, really? I’m not ready yet. I just got here.
When I arrived at the airport for my 9:40 flight I saw the longest airport check-in line I have ever seen. Thank goodness there was no snow on the ground! I was questioned for about 3 minutes by a delightful Swiss lady who didn’t seem to understand my humor, or why every answer ended in “Ma’am.” (I am from the south after all.) I finished my check-in, left my 23kg suitcase with them, and continued on to my family. Despite a few extra questions, I did not notice anything extreme thus far in security, other than the last line the security lady said to me: “After you finish checking in you must go directly to the gate.” With an hour and forty five minutes to spare before my flight, really? Wow.
Kirsten, Auntie, and Stefan walked me to passport control, where we said our goodbyes, exchanged a few hugs and kisses and “I love you’s.” For the record, it wasn’t until I turned my back from them that I started to tear up. Once through passport control I released a huge sigh, a few tears, and then began to realize I needed to pull myself together if I was going to get through the day.
I headed to Concourse E, Gate 27. I was stopped at another passport control where the gentleman looked at me, could tell I recently had tears wallowing in my eyes, stamped my passport, and wished me safe travels. Then came security. Take off your shoes, your coat, your scarf. Take your camera out of your bag, your laptop out of your bag, your toiletries out of your bag. Walk through the metal detector. Beep! Beep!
What in the world is on me that could be beeping?! I’m wearing jeans, a tank top, a sweater, and underwear of course, and yeah, socks. With nothing in my pockets and only wearing cheap jewelry, I began to figure them out. They must have increased the sensitivity of the machines. They whisked me away to a little cubicle made out of white sheets, leaving my laptop, purse, and everything just lying out there. It wasn’t the search that made me mad. Go ahead, search me. If it will make everyone safer, by all means, do what you gotta do. But to make me leave my stuff sitting out for anyone to pick up my shiny macbook? You have to be kidding me.
The lady, thank goodness, had to feel me down. My arms, my back, my chest, between my boobs, my stomach, my upper inner thighs (about as upper as you can get before you need to exchange phone numbers), all the way down to my ankles. Then came the hand held detector. It beeped at every button on my jeans, every piece of jewelry I was wearing, and even for my bra. To make me think about this a bit more, I wore the same jeans here and was not beeped at once. When she was finished, I didn’t know what to say, so I just looked at her and said “Thanks” and ran out to grab my computer before someone else did.
I kept walking, thinking that would be the end of it. When I got to my gate I saw yet another line. We had to get in line to go through another security check. They were checking every single bag that was going on the plane, and every single person, whether you were frisked at the prior security stop or not. I was standing there when this gentleman from the line pointed to me and said “You, come up here!” I looked behind me, and then looked back. He was still pointing at me. I replied with a meek “Me?” Yep, he was talking to me. I was pushed to the front of the line and couldn’t figure out why. Then I realized, they brought out two females to search the ladies and two gentlemen to search the dudes. How thoughtful of them. I handed over my bags and spread my arms and legs. She felt me up, in all of the same places, in front of everyone. Lovely.
After being cleared I moved on to a roped off area that I wasn’t allowed to leave, not even to go to the bathroom. They really thought this through when they only had about 40 seats for a flight that was completely full. People were cramming into this tiny quarantined area wondering “What now?” At 8:40 some of us began boarding the plane for our 9:40 flight while the rest of us waited in line to be frisked, again.
At 9:40 everyone made it on board, with more carry-on luggage than I have ever seen in my life. I give it less than six months before we are all only allowed one purse or satchel or man purse to carry with us.
The plane began it’s journey down the runway, slowly putzing along. And then we heard the pilot. Cue the Brian Regan pilot voice. “Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a mechanical failure. It won’t affect the flight, but it is something that we need to go back and have fixed. Plus we need to fill out some paperwork. Thanks for your patience. I don’t think this will take too long.”
At 11:03 we finally took off, a little behind schedule. But hey, I am supposed to have a five-hour layover in Atlanta, so I sit here or I sit there. Either way I guess.
It was definitely an interesting morning, which made me think back to all of the changes we have experienced in air travel. Do you remember when people could smoke on flights? Or when you could walk your friends and family all the way to their gate when they were departing? Or just the same, when you arrived, and immediately walked off the flight and your family was standing there waiting for you at the gate! Or when my aunt would pack up a lunch and a thermos of her delicious tea for me to take on my 9 hour flight home? Or when we didn’t think it was weird to take our shoes off for security checks? Or when luggage was included in your ticket? Or when we didn’t look for “suspicious passengers” in the check-in line? I wonder if a day will come when we all look back and say “Remember when we could travel in our clothes, and not these orange jumpsuits they make us change into?”
1.02.2010
2010.
Welp, it's my last night on my giant air mattress in a tiny room in Switzerland. The last day of this trip always has a sad undertone to it. You know, like everyone knows what's going to happen tomorrow, but if we ignore it and wait to repack until the last possible minute, things will be okay. And maybe, just maybe we can forget all about it, and live in a world where my best friend and favorite family members live in the same town that my family, my pets, my friends, and my guy live in. If only.
So let's continue down that same path with this post. A path where we just ignore the facts and think about something else. Like what? Hm... Like New Year Resolutions. I know it is the second day of January and this should have been something I discussed on the first, but I was too busy telling you all about the previous eve's adventures.
So here goes, a list of things I want to accomplish in the year 2010.
I want to be more positive. I'm a happy person, but let's be real, I complain, a lot. And who wants to be around a girl who complains all the time? Plus, I'm going to El Salvador in a week and a half, it's a humbling trip that always reminds me that I have NOTHING to complain about.
I want to stand up for myself. If I make a decision and you go behind my back and change it, don't be surprised if I get pissed. Bottom line, I'm going to work on the word "No" and standing up for myself, because, if I don't, who will?
I want to beat Brenda's sales numbers. I have 12 months (count them, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and last but not least December...) all 12 months to try to kick her sales number's ass. Three words for you: Bring. It. Brenda.
I want to express what I'm actually thinking. Yeah, so this one kind of ties in with number two, but let's get more in depth with this. If I feel like I need to tell you something, I am going to do it. I mean, I'm not going to tell you that you should never wear that hideous brown sweater, to your face, in a public setting, when you are giving a lecture, to 125 people. But if I need to tell you that yeah, you really do suck as a friend and you need to step it up or I'm out... look out, you might be getting a memo. And then watch out! If you reference resolution number two, you should note that I will be standing up for myself.
I will take Chloe for more walks, and maybe, just maybe, look into agility again. I loved training her on the agility field, and she loved it even more. There is something about letting a border collie show off in front of 15 other dogs, knowing that she is by far the best bitch out there. (Take "bitch" for all of it's meanings.) Personally, I can barely keep up with her and find myself wheezing by the time we get past the tire and the weave and then the final jump, but she loves it. It's like having a kid. I'm assuming that as a parent you don't really want to go to McD's all the time to eat crappy food and sit in that smelly playland. But you do it, because they love it, and even if they are super hairy, obsessed with tennis balls, and talk like Chewbacca, you love them back.
I will go to the gym. Sadly, having a gym membership is not the same as using your gym membership. I'd love to set this great number and say something like "By 2011 I want to be 20.11 pounds lighter" but who wants that pressure? Who actually wants to go out to Target and buy a scale? Who actually wants to weigh themselves after the holidays, plus after eating bread and cheese in Switzerland? Don't hold your breath.
I will stop breaking my teeth. For those of you who did not receive the personal emails yesterday afternoon, let me catch you up. It was 10am, January 1. I was eating my first breakfast of the new year! Something that should be inspiring and motivational. They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so imagine the importance of the first breakfast of the year! It's huge! If you really want to think about it, it should set the mood for the year. Let's just hope mine has no correlation what so ever to 2010. I was on my second piece of bread, because I'm in Switzerland and that is what they eat, all the time. I went to chomp down on my first bite and heard the most god awful crunch I have heard in a long, long, longgg time. I immediately felt my new upper tooth that recently replaced my chicklet for a measly $600. No worries, it was intact. Thank you Jesus. I felt the tooth next to it that has been bonded and rebonded many times. It was fine. So then I started thinking, eh, maybe it was nothing. I didn't even think to check my bottom teeth, they never have any problems. Yeah... not the case anymore. I chipped the front half of one of my front bottom teeth off. ON BREAD!!! If anyone is going to chip a tooth on something like bread, it was going to be me. At least it wasn't fondue.
I will continue writing. Believe it or not, I really enjoy writing these things. But it seems like the second I write something like "I'm going to be a good blogger" I go a minimum of three months with out a single blog. I also want to work on finishing my "dating book." What I have is pretty darn hilarious, according to my dearest Tiffany, but it's no where near done. I'm beginning to forget dates; their names, their issues, their cheesy lines, their humorous careers... oh wait, who can forget the Rocket Scientist?
Well, it's 1:03AM Swiss time. My goal was to stay up super late tonight, so that I will be tired tomorrow on my dreaded trip home. Did you know that my flight back home is 11 hours long! ELEVEN HOURS!!!! It was only eight hours here! Seriously?! The wind adds two hours? We aren't sailing across the Perquimans on a calm day, we are flying across the Atlantic. Eleven hours just seems a bit excessive if you ask me. Anyway, I'm not tired yet, but I need to quit writing. At 9:40 tomorrow I leave for home, with tears in my eyes. So while you are all dreaming your sweet dreams, think of me.
xoxo Suz.
So let's continue down that same path with this post. A path where we just ignore the facts and think about something else. Like what? Hm... Like New Year Resolutions. I know it is the second day of January and this should have been something I discussed on the first, but I was too busy telling you all about the previous eve's adventures.
So here goes, a list of things I want to accomplish in the year 2010.
I want to be more positive. I'm a happy person, but let's be real, I complain, a lot. And who wants to be around a girl who complains all the time? Plus, I'm going to El Salvador in a week and a half, it's a humbling trip that always reminds me that I have NOTHING to complain about.
I want to stand up for myself. If I make a decision and you go behind my back and change it, don't be surprised if I get pissed. Bottom line, I'm going to work on the word "No" and standing up for myself, because, if I don't, who will?
I want to beat Brenda's sales numbers. I have 12 months (count them, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and last but not least December...) all 12 months to try to kick her sales number's ass. Three words for you: Bring. It. Brenda.
I want to express what I'm actually thinking. Yeah, so this one kind of ties in with number two, but let's get more in depth with this. If I feel like I need to tell you something, I am going to do it. I mean, I'm not going to tell you that you should never wear that hideous brown sweater, to your face, in a public setting, when you are giving a lecture, to 125 people. But if I need to tell you that yeah, you really do suck as a friend and you need to step it up or I'm out... look out, you might be getting a memo. And then watch out! If you reference resolution number two, you should note that I will be standing up for myself.
I will take Chloe for more walks, and maybe, just maybe, look into agility again. I loved training her on the agility field, and she loved it even more. There is something about letting a border collie show off in front of 15 other dogs, knowing that she is by far the best bitch out there. (Take "bitch" for all of it's meanings.) Personally, I can barely keep up with her and find myself wheezing by the time we get past the tire and the weave and then the final jump, but she loves it. It's like having a kid. I'm assuming that as a parent you don't really want to go to McD's all the time to eat crappy food and sit in that smelly playland. But you do it, because they love it, and even if they are super hairy, obsessed with tennis balls, and talk like Chewbacca, you love them back.
I will go to the gym. Sadly, having a gym membership is not the same as using your gym membership. I'd love to set this great number and say something like "By 2011 I want to be 20.11 pounds lighter" but who wants that pressure? Who actually wants to go out to Target and buy a scale? Who actually wants to weigh themselves after the holidays, plus after eating bread and cheese in Switzerland? Don't hold your breath.
I will stop breaking my teeth. For those of you who did not receive the personal emails yesterday afternoon, let me catch you up. It was 10am, January 1. I was eating my first breakfast of the new year! Something that should be inspiring and motivational. They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so imagine the importance of the first breakfast of the year! It's huge! If you really want to think about it, it should set the mood for the year. Let's just hope mine has no correlation what so ever to 2010. I was on my second piece of bread, because I'm in Switzerland and that is what they eat, all the time. I went to chomp down on my first bite and heard the most god awful crunch I have heard in a long, long, longgg time. I immediately felt my new upper tooth that recently replaced my chicklet for a measly $600. No worries, it was intact. Thank you Jesus. I felt the tooth next to it that has been bonded and rebonded many times. It was fine. So then I started thinking, eh, maybe it was nothing. I didn't even think to check my bottom teeth, they never have any problems. Yeah... not the case anymore. I chipped the front half of one of my front bottom teeth off. ON BREAD!!! If anyone is going to chip a tooth on something like bread, it was going to be me. At least it wasn't fondue.
I will continue writing. Believe it or not, I really enjoy writing these things. But it seems like the second I write something like "I'm going to be a good blogger" I go a minimum of three months with out a single blog. I also want to work on finishing my "dating book." What I have is pretty darn hilarious, according to my dearest Tiffany, but it's no where near done. I'm beginning to forget dates; their names, their issues, their cheesy lines, their humorous careers... oh wait, who can forget the Rocket Scientist?
Well, it's 1:03AM Swiss time. My goal was to stay up super late tonight, so that I will be tired tomorrow on my dreaded trip home. Did you know that my flight back home is 11 hours long! ELEVEN HOURS!!!! It was only eight hours here! Seriously?! The wind adds two hours? We aren't sailing across the Perquimans on a calm day, we are flying across the Atlantic. Eleven hours just seems a bit excessive if you ask me. Anyway, I'm not tired yet, but I need to quit writing. At 9:40 tomorrow I leave for home, with tears in my eyes. So while you are all dreaming your sweet dreams, think of me.
xoxo Suz.
1.01.2010
Hello 2010.
First off, let me start by getting the essential out of the way: Happy New Year! As I write this, it is actually 12:15 (Swiss time). I wanted to write this on January One, so depending on what side of the pond you are on, I might still be accomplishing that. So yes, happy 2010 to all of you.
Quick tangent, when you type 2010, if you type it fast and your fingers get a little sloppy you might end up with 2-10... My mom used to have a boss that made us praise the real estate gods whenever the number 210 would randomly show up, whether it was the time of the day, or the returned change at the grocery store... So let's take a moment to praise the real estate gods for this new year in hopes of high numbers, many sales, and fewer reports.
Enough work talk... let's talk holiday! Last night was a blast. Let me walk you through it.
We began at Stefan's friends' apartment for an appetizer and some drinks, or what they call an Apero. I was warned in advance that this guy really, really loves cheese. I appreciate cheese, and some days I would say yes, I do love cheese, but this guy?! I was shocked that someone could love cheese this much! We had a lovely spread of cheese, mostly from France, that were all quite delicious. But before we could begin eating he gave us a geography lesson on the origins of everything we were going to be nibbling on. This lesson wasn't just talking, it included a thick book, with many maps and flagged off pages!
There was one cheese that really stood out to me... the cheese that had "animals" in it. As he explained, the "animals" live in the crust of this cheese and rarely go into the part we eat. The crust was... well, very crusty, and if you looked closely, you could see things moving. I say "animals" because I think somehow "micro organisms" was lost in the translation. I believe "micro organisms" was what they were shooting for, but I'm not 100% positive. When I was warned prior to our arrival that he might have cheese with animals in it, for some reason I was imagining tigers and cheetahs. Maybe it was one too many Cheetos commercials back home with that cheetah that sold the cheese puffs... not real sure on that one.
After the apero we hopped back on the bus and headed back to Kirsten's apartment for dinner, a delicious homemade lasagna that Kirsten and I prepared before we left. I had to laugh, when we were fixing the dinner they asked me if that was how I made my lasagna at home. Nope. I'm American. My lasagna comes from an orange and red box that Mama Stouffer has been slaving on in my freezer.
Dinner was great. And with a little time to kill we decided to play Cranium, auf deutsch. I hate Cranium in English, nevermind in German. For me, it is one of the most nerve wracking games, ever. Good thing the wine had been flowing all night, and continued to flow way, way, way into the evening.
As it got closer to 11:30 we realized we still had to eat the dessert that Chris and Mari brought: an apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. I write this in here as a mental note to myself. Mari added the juice of one orange to her apple crisp. It was amazing.
With only 15 (ish) minutes until midnight, I didn't know what I was more excited for: the new year and the fresh hope that comes with it, the table bomb that Stefan had been talking about shooting off for days now, or calling home and wishing them a happy new year 6 hours early.
Ten minutes before midnight we shot off the table bomb. I wish TSA wasn't so darn strict for honest, non-terrorist folks like myself or I would be packing one of these bombs up and bringing it home with me! You set it on your table, light it, and then horns and confetti and masks and happiness shoot out! It was glorious! (Especially after so many glasses of wine you can't count!)
With the sound of fireworks surrounding outside, we all hurried to put on our coats and run downstairs and out to the street. In addition to the table bomb, we had a few fireworks of our own. In Switzerland it is completely legal to stand wherever you want, whenever you want and shoot off fireworks. In Virginia, sparklers are illegal, and more than likely party poppers are highly frowned upon... But here, it doesn't matter! Our fireworks were not ginormous, but they were higher than I expected! One of the biggest thrills of the night was the fact that I got to shoot off a completely legal, not to mention totally dangerous firework, while under the influence, and I survived!
To wrap up the evening, we continued drinking wine (of course). I came in and decided that I needed to make my one New Years phone call... you know, like in jail. You get one call, you better make it good, and quick. Since I was flying solo for a holiday you should never fly solo on, I was so excited to call Guy and wish him a happy 2010, even if it was 5.5 hours early for him. It was probably one of the quickest calls ever because when I walked back out to the living room they were all like "that's it?!" When I looked at the phone and saw it only cost about 25 cents I began to wonder what in the world I said to him in such a short amount of time, with so much wine in me. Let's be real, 24 hours later I am still kind of wondering what we talked about, and how quickly it was all said, and whether or not it will affect my new years curse. Let's hope not.
After my speedy call and another glass of wine, we decided to wrap up the evening by going back out and finding a bar for one last drink. There was nothing too exciting at the bar other than a young guy with a marching band drum. I thought the pounding noise was simply my head at first. Thankfully, from what I inferred, he was a Carny, Drum Major who felt it crucial to bring is instrument with him to the bar. I don't really understand, but maybe he was trying to make up for something...
All in all, it was a great way to bring in 2010! Awesome family, more cheese, and even more wine. Here's to 2010 and all the joys it will bring!
Quick tangent, when you type 2010, if you type it fast and your fingers get a little sloppy you might end up with 2-10... My mom used to have a boss that made us praise the real estate gods whenever the number 210 would randomly show up, whether it was the time of the day, or the returned change at the grocery store... So let's take a moment to praise the real estate gods for this new year in hopes of high numbers, many sales, and fewer reports.
Enough work talk... let's talk holiday! Last night was a blast. Let me walk you through it.
We began at Stefan's friends' apartment for an appetizer and some drinks, or what they call an Apero. I was warned in advance that this guy really, really loves cheese. I appreciate cheese, and some days I would say yes, I do love cheese, but this guy?! I was shocked that someone could love cheese this much! We had a lovely spread of cheese, mostly from France, that were all quite delicious. But before we could begin eating he gave us a geography lesson on the origins of everything we were going to be nibbling on. This lesson wasn't just talking, it included a thick book, with many maps and flagged off pages!
There was one cheese that really stood out to me... the cheese that had "animals" in it. As he explained, the "animals" live in the crust of this cheese and rarely go into the part we eat. The crust was... well, very crusty, and if you looked closely, you could see things moving. I say "animals" because I think somehow "micro organisms" was lost in the translation. I believe "micro organisms" was what they were shooting for, but I'm not 100% positive. When I was warned prior to our arrival that he might have cheese with animals in it, for some reason I was imagining tigers and cheetahs. Maybe it was one too many Cheetos commercials back home with that cheetah that sold the cheese puffs... not real sure on that one.
After the apero we hopped back on the bus and headed back to Kirsten's apartment for dinner, a delicious homemade lasagna that Kirsten and I prepared before we left. I had to laugh, when we were fixing the dinner they asked me if that was how I made my lasagna at home. Nope. I'm American. My lasagna comes from an orange and red box that Mama Stouffer has been slaving on in my freezer.
Dinner was great. And with a little time to kill we decided to play Cranium, auf deutsch. I hate Cranium in English, nevermind in German. For me, it is one of the most nerve wracking games, ever. Good thing the wine had been flowing all night, and continued to flow way, way, way into the evening.
As it got closer to 11:30 we realized we still had to eat the dessert that Chris and Mari brought: an apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. I write this in here as a mental note to myself. Mari added the juice of one orange to her apple crisp. It was amazing.
With only 15 (ish) minutes until midnight, I didn't know what I was more excited for: the new year and the fresh hope that comes with it, the table bomb that Stefan had been talking about shooting off for days now, or calling home and wishing them a happy new year 6 hours early.
Ten minutes before midnight we shot off the table bomb. I wish TSA wasn't so darn strict for honest, non-terrorist folks like myself or I would be packing one of these bombs up and bringing it home with me! You set it on your table, light it, and then horns and confetti and masks and happiness shoot out! It was glorious! (Especially after so many glasses of wine you can't count!)
With the sound of fireworks surrounding outside, we all hurried to put on our coats and run downstairs and out to the street. In addition to the table bomb, we had a few fireworks of our own. In Switzerland it is completely legal to stand wherever you want, whenever you want and shoot off fireworks. In Virginia, sparklers are illegal, and more than likely party poppers are highly frowned upon... But here, it doesn't matter! Our fireworks were not ginormous, but they were higher than I expected! One of the biggest thrills of the night was the fact that I got to shoot off a completely legal, not to mention totally dangerous firework, while under the influence, and I survived!
To wrap up the evening, we continued drinking wine (of course). I came in and decided that I needed to make my one New Years phone call... you know, like in jail. You get one call, you better make it good, and quick. Since I was flying solo for a holiday you should never fly solo on, I was so excited to call Guy and wish him a happy 2010, even if it was 5.5 hours early for him. It was probably one of the quickest calls ever because when I walked back out to the living room they were all like "that's it?!" When I looked at the phone and saw it only cost about 25 cents I began to wonder what in the world I said to him in such a short amount of time, with so much wine in me. Let's be real, 24 hours later I am still kind of wondering what we talked about, and how quickly it was all said, and whether or not it will affect my new years curse. Let's hope not.
After my speedy call and another glass of wine, we decided to wrap up the evening by going back out and finding a bar for one last drink. There was nothing too exciting at the bar other than a young guy with a marching band drum. I thought the pounding noise was simply my head at first. Thankfully, from what I inferred, he was a Carny, Drum Major who felt it crucial to bring is instrument with him to the bar. I don't really understand, but maybe he was trying to make up for something...
All in all, it was a great way to bring in 2010! Awesome family, more cheese, and even more wine. Here's to 2010 and all the joys it will bring!
12.30.2009
He rescued me from Switzerland... again.
Well, I really don't have much to say today. However, my reservations toward the water park were a little much. I did have fun. And you know, when you are at a water park, and everyone is in their swimsuits, a lot (not all) of the self consciousness seems to drift away. You just have to keep telling yourself, they ate just as many Christmas cookies as you, and tomorrow is the last day of the year! All hail the New Years Resolution!
One funny thing that happened today, that might be worth mentioning was my trip around the whirlpool lazy river. Every 15 minutes this "River" turns on. They misnamed it when they called it a river, even more so when they deemed it lazy. This was the quickest moving pool I have ever been in! Plus it was way, way, wayyyy over capacity. You know the saying "packed like sardines?" Multiply that by, eh, I don't know... twenty five or so! We were almost shoulder to shoulder in this narrow pool. And then it happened!
Steven warned me, don't run into this jet forward, put your back against it. This was probably some of the best advice I have received in a long time, seeing that the swimsuit I brought on vacation with me is my five year old green one that fit before my boobs decided to grow again last year. (Yeah, probably TMI, right?) Anyway, not the suit I should have worn to a water park nevermind out side of the privacy of my own home! Guess I lived up to my "Jersey Shore" name: The Rack.
Okay, back to the pool. I turned my back to the jet and let it push me around the pool! We were all squished together; Steven, Me, Kirsten, Stefan, Chris, and Mari. We went around and around about four times when we all came to the consensus that it was way too crowded and we were ready to go home. Now came the tricky part... getting out of the current and to the narrow calm passage to exit the pool.
Pressure was building... could we do it? More so, could I do it? These are all champs I'm with! A gym teacher, a professional athlete, the swiss for crying out loud! Okay, here we go! On the count of three! One... Two... oh no... wait for it... oh no... Three!!! Everyone makes it, but Kirsten and I. Thank you Jesus for leaving my best friend with me. I can just imagine their thoughts if I was the only one stuck in this pool, floating counter clockwise at such an incredible rate that I felt very little hope of ever getting out. (Keep in mind, this is a swimming pool, not the Rhine River.)
After Kirsten and I realized we couldn't get out, and we prepared for another trip around the pool, and when people began to squeeze up against us because it was just oh so crowded, we began to hysterically laugh. Let me define hysterical, it was the kind of laugh that leaves you crying and wheezing at the same time, but because you are in the water with lots of people and jets and bubbles you are at quite a high risk of drowning.
We rounded the corner, and while holding hands, we began to prepare for another attempt at our escape. Our feet are on the ground, sliding as if we are surfing, so there is no hope in trying to stop with our feet. There is one hand rail by the exit, problem is there are about forty-two little kids holding on to it, completely blocking us from the rest of the group, and our way out. Here it comes! Here it comes!
Cue the laughter and the wheezing as we fly past it yet again. And yet again, people are crammed against us. This time we have to be serious, no kidding around. We will push those kids off the hand rail if need be! They will float away so fast it won't matter anyway! We must get out of this pool!
We come around the corner and I see Stefan waiting there with his hand out for Kirsten. Now, I'm thinking this is great, I'm holding her hand, we will be rescued! Then I begin to think, well, what if he can't pull both of us to safety?! I' m going to have to let go. You know, in all those rock climbing movies, there is the one person who cuts the rope to save the other two? Well I guess I'm going to have to be that person!
As we were getting closer, I was preparing for my next trip around the pool alone, when out of no where I see Steven's hand come reaching out for me! He rescued me from Switzerland AGAIN! First from an Alp when I was in third grade and now from a vicious pool that was trying to claim me forever! My hero! I really do think I owe my life to him! Well, I guess the current would have shut off if I had waited four more minutes, but hey, doesn't it sound much cooler to say I was rescued?! In all reality may not owe my life to him, but I definitely owe my lack of pruny, e.t. skin to him!
With that said, I need to get some shut eye. Tomorrow, well, it is actually 12:35 Swiss time right now, so I guess I can say Today is the last day of the year. I have a lot to accomplish, like sleeping, and probably eating more bread. Good night world. Hello 2010.
One funny thing that happened today, that might be worth mentioning was my trip around the whirlpool lazy river. Every 15 minutes this "River" turns on. They misnamed it when they called it a river, even more so when they deemed it lazy. This was the quickest moving pool I have ever been in! Plus it was way, way, wayyyy over capacity. You know the saying "packed like sardines?" Multiply that by, eh, I don't know... twenty five or so! We were almost shoulder to shoulder in this narrow pool. And then it happened!
Steven warned me, don't run into this jet forward, put your back against it. This was probably some of the best advice I have received in a long time, seeing that the swimsuit I brought on vacation with me is my five year old green one that fit before my boobs decided to grow again last year. (Yeah, probably TMI, right?) Anyway, not the suit I should have worn to a water park nevermind out side of the privacy of my own home! Guess I lived up to my "Jersey Shore" name: The Rack.
Okay, back to the pool. I turned my back to the jet and let it push me around the pool! We were all squished together; Steven, Me, Kirsten, Stefan, Chris, and Mari. We went around and around about four times when we all came to the consensus that it was way too crowded and we were ready to go home. Now came the tricky part... getting out of the current and to the narrow calm passage to exit the pool.
Pressure was building... could we do it? More so, could I do it? These are all champs I'm with! A gym teacher, a professional athlete, the swiss for crying out loud! Okay, here we go! On the count of three! One... Two... oh no... wait for it... oh no... Three!!! Everyone makes it, but Kirsten and I. Thank you Jesus for leaving my best friend with me. I can just imagine their thoughts if I was the only one stuck in this pool, floating counter clockwise at such an incredible rate that I felt very little hope of ever getting out. (Keep in mind, this is a swimming pool, not the Rhine River.)
After Kirsten and I realized we couldn't get out, and we prepared for another trip around the pool, and when people began to squeeze up against us because it was just oh so crowded, we began to hysterically laugh. Let me define hysterical, it was the kind of laugh that leaves you crying and wheezing at the same time, but because you are in the water with lots of people and jets and bubbles you are at quite a high risk of drowning.
We rounded the corner, and while holding hands, we began to prepare for another attempt at our escape. Our feet are on the ground, sliding as if we are surfing, so there is no hope in trying to stop with our feet. There is one hand rail by the exit, problem is there are about forty-two little kids holding on to it, completely blocking us from the rest of the group, and our way out. Here it comes! Here it comes!
Cue the laughter and the wheezing as we fly past it yet again. And yet again, people are crammed against us. This time we have to be serious, no kidding around. We will push those kids off the hand rail if need be! They will float away so fast it won't matter anyway! We must get out of this pool!
We come around the corner and I see Stefan waiting there with his hand out for Kirsten. Now, I'm thinking this is great, I'm holding her hand, we will be rescued! Then I begin to think, well, what if he can't pull both of us to safety?! I' m going to have to let go. You know, in all those rock climbing movies, there is the one person who cuts the rope to save the other two? Well I guess I'm going to have to be that person!
As we were getting closer, I was preparing for my next trip around the pool alone, when out of no where I see Steven's hand come reaching out for me! He rescued me from Switzerland AGAIN! First from an Alp when I was in third grade and now from a vicious pool that was trying to claim me forever! My hero! I really do think I owe my life to him! Well, I guess the current would have shut off if I had waited four more minutes, but hey, doesn't it sound much cooler to say I was rescued?! In all reality may not owe my life to him, but I definitely owe my lack of pruny, e.t. skin to him!
With that said, I need to get some shut eye. Tomorrow, well, it is actually 12:35 Swiss time right now, so I guess I can say Today is the last day of the year. I have a lot to accomplish, like sleeping, and probably eating more bread. Good night world. Hello 2010.
12.29.2009
I need to stop eating bread and cheese.
December 29
Day Three –
Nothing too exciting to report here today… it was a dreary, cool day that consisted of sleeping in, eating bread for breakfast, pasta for lunch, and rice and veggies for dinner. (With a little shopping in the rain and watching a few movies mixed in there too.) Now, back to the eating… to think I couldn’t figure out why I was having stomach pains! And to wonder how these Europeans stay so thin! What in the world am I doing wrong back home?!
Today they all wanted to go to an indoor water park. (Based on how they pronounce it, I’m thinking it is spelled something like “Albemarle,” you know, like the plantation? But I’m not positive at all.) Anyway, a water park?! Are you freaking kidding me?! I’m slightly self-conscience as it is! I mean, my wii fit informed me the night before I left that I had not exercised with it in 64 days. Or maybe it’s just the American in me, or maybe it’s all those Kiss Cookies I inhaled on December 25th… but to put a swimsuit on right now does not sound appealing to me in the slightest. I got out of it today… but I’m not thinking I will be so lucky tomorrow. Again… I guess I will just embrace it… when in Rome… *sigh*
Oh! We had people over for dinner tonight! I’m getting pretty good at that three-kiss-cheek-thing! Here you kiss each others cheeks three times, you know, back and forth, not the same cheek, when people arrive and when they leave. Tonight was great practice when we had four guests arrive at Kirsten’s apartment. Best part of the evening, they went out of their way to speak English for me. I loved it, because I was involved and knew what was going on around me, but it does make me feel a little bad though… I mean, I’m American… which means I basically know one language and enough of another to get through high school and on to college. I really wish I had mastered another language… either German or Spanish; both would have been highly useful this January.
I lay in bed, looking at the clock on my laptop: 7:36PM (at home) and 1:36AM here. I really should attempt closing my eyes and getting some sleep... gotta get some beauty sleep for that swimsuit tomorrow! Ha!
G'nite friends. I miss you.
Day Three –
Nothing too exciting to report here today… it was a dreary, cool day that consisted of sleeping in, eating bread for breakfast, pasta for lunch, and rice and veggies for dinner. (With a little shopping in the rain and watching a few movies mixed in there too.) Now, back to the eating… to think I couldn’t figure out why I was having stomach pains! And to wonder how these Europeans stay so thin! What in the world am I doing wrong back home?!
Today they all wanted to go to an indoor water park. (Based on how they pronounce it, I’m thinking it is spelled something like “Albemarle,” you know, like the plantation? But I’m not positive at all.) Anyway, a water park?! Are you freaking kidding me?! I’m slightly self-conscience as it is! I mean, my wii fit informed me the night before I left that I had not exercised with it in 64 days. Or maybe it’s just the American in me, or maybe it’s all those Kiss Cookies I inhaled on December 25th… but to put a swimsuit on right now does not sound appealing to me in the slightest. I got out of it today… but I’m not thinking I will be so lucky tomorrow. Again… I guess I will just embrace it… when in Rome… *sigh*
Oh! We had people over for dinner tonight! I’m getting pretty good at that three-kiss-cheek-thing! Here you kiss each others cheeks three times, you know, back and forth, not the same cheek, when people arrive and when they leave. Tonight was great practice when we had four guests arrive at Kirsten’s apartment. Best part of the evening, they went out of their way to speak English for me. I loved it, because I was involved and knew what was going on around me, but it does make me feel a little bad though… I mean, I’m American… which means I basically know one language and enough of another to get through high school and on to college. I really wish I had mastered another language… either German or Spanish; both would have been highly useful this January.
I lay in bed, looking at the clock on my laptop: 7:36PM (at home) and 1:36AM here. I really should attempt closing my eyes and getting some sleep... gotta get some beauty sleep for that swimsuit tomorrow! Ha!
G'nite friends. I miss you.
When in Switerland...
December 28
Day Two-
Let me introduce you to my cousin Chris’ girlfriend. She is from Brazil and professionally plays volleyball for a Swiss team. She is tall. Just as tall as Chris. Which is crazy that Chris would be able to find a girl as tall as he is! It's some kind of miracle! Anyway, Mari (spelling?) and Chris were going to Basil to see the Brazilian volleyball team play a team from Holland, and we decided to tag along.
Kirsten and I arrive at the train station with only about fifteen minutes to get in the ticket line to purchase a group pass to cut across Germany and back into Switzerland. The line was long. And slow. And there is nothing worse than a long and slow line when you are in a hurry. Some how Kirsten sweet talked her way to the front of the line, purchased the ticket and we took off running, only to make it on the train and find seats with just about a minute and a half to spare.
The volleyball game was pretty lopsided in terms of skill level. The Brazilian girls were quite good, although the Dutch team had one girl that when she served the ball, you basically just tried to get out of the way… it was like a bomb was going off in the gym. Anyway, these girls were GIANTS! I mean, HUGE! I have never seen so many tall girls in one place at one time! And to make things even more humorous (to me at least) was that when they were all together, they looked “normal.” I’m no expert on volleyball, so their height kept me much more entertained than their game.
When we got back home we had fondue for dinner. Now, only in Switzerland can you sit around a pot of melted cheese, a bowl of bread, and a few bottles of wine and call it dinner. I have never been a huge fondue fan in the past, but tonight, oh man, it was amazing. Maybe it was all the walking, or maybe it was the cold, or maybe it was just being in Switzerland, but I can’t even begin to tell you how much bread I ate. You know, when in Rome...
Day Two-
Let me introduce you to my cousin Chris’ girlfriend. She is from Brazil and professionally plays volleyball for a Swiss team. She is tall. Just as tall as Chris. Which is crazy that Chris would be able to find a girl as tall as he is! It's some kind of miracle! Anyway, Mari (spelling?) and Chris were going to Basil to see the Brazilian volleyball team play a team from Holland, and we decided to tag along.
Kirsten and I arrive at the train station with only about fifteen minutes to get in the ticket line to purchase a group pass to cut across Germany and back into Switzerland. The line was long. And slow. And there is nothing worse than a long and slow line when you are in a hurry. Some how Kirsten sweet talked her way to the front of the line, purchased the ticket and we took off running, only to make it on the train and find seats with just about a minute and a half to spare.
The volleyball game was pretty lopsided in terms of skill level. The Brazilian girls were quite good, although the Dutch team had one girl that when she served the ball, you basically just tried to get out of the way… it was like a bomb was going off in the gym. Anyway, these girls were GIANTS! I mean, HUGE! I have never seen so many tall girls in one place at one time! And to make things even more humorous (to me at least) was that when they were all together, they looked “normal.” I’m no expert on volleyball, so their height kept me much more entertained than their game.
When we got back home we had fondue for dinner. Now, only in Switzerland can you sit around a pot of melted cheese, a bowl of bread, and a few bottles of wine and call it dinner. I have never been a huge fondue fan in the past, but tonight, oh man, it was amazing. Maybe it was all the walking, or maybe it was the cold, or maybe it was just being in Switzerland, but I can’t even begin to tell you how much bread I ate. You know, when in Rome...
A Jetlag Hangover
December 27
Day One-
They made me go on a "little walk".... ha. I was totally "hung over" with jetlag and of course the Swiss solution is to get outside and get active. Which, don't get me wrong, sounds like a promising solution, but when your head is spinning and 10am their time is 4am my time, I was not really feeling this idea. Add to it, icy paths and crazy dogs, it was just... lovely. Jokes aside, it was a beautiful walk, with a delicious lunch! Probably some of the best soup I’ve had in a while. Yes, almost better than Bakers Crust’s Mushroom and Brie. Their "little walk" ended up being about 4 hours. Towards the end of it Kirsten said "Chris, can't we take that path over there? Won't it be quicker?" His response was classic, “Will it be about twenty minutes?”
Of course I was the only one in the group that caught his reference to my uncle and how he often uses the term “twenty minutes” very, very loosely. Twenty minutes in our family translates to approximately an entire afternoon.
Day One-
They made me go on a "little walk".... ha. I was totally "hung over" with jetlag and of course the Swiss solution is to get outside and get active. Which, don't get me wrong, sounds like a promising solution, but when your head is spinning and 10am their time is 4am my time, I was not really feeling this idea. Add to it, icy paths and crazy dogs, it was just... lovely. Jokes aside, it was a beautiful walk, with a delicious lunch! Probably some of the best soup I’ve had in a while. Yes, almost better than Bakers Crust’s Mushroom and Brie. Their "little walk" ended up being about 4 hours. Towards the end of it Kirsten said "Chris, can't we take that path over there? Won't it be quicker?" His response was classic, “Will it be about twenty minutes?”
Of course I was the only one in the group that caught his reference to my uncle and how he often uses the term “twenty minutes” very, very loosely. Twenty minutes in our family translates to approximately an entire afternoon.
Somewhere over the Atlantic
December 26, 2009
So I’m sitting on a Delta flight, heading to Switzerland for the New Year holiday. Cut me a little slack with the writing in this blog. I’m two-ish hours into the flight, as well as two-ish glasses of red wine into the flight. But let’s be real, with the combination of the druthers of traveling and the altitude, I’m feeling pretty damn spectacular right now! I feel like this is probably the best remedy for jetlag. Get slightly pissed at 7pm American time, which will cause me to pass out shortly after 1am Swiss time... Folks, I’m thinking we have a winner.
So what to talk about…? My day started not too early, but still early enough, this morning. I was awakened by a cute Guy, and informed that it was time to get up! Much to my refusal, I climbed out of bed and proceeded to get ready. The gentleman that he is went downstairs and emptied my dishwasher and started to reload it! I honestly don’t think that I thanked him for this because I was so neurotic this morning, but it really meant a lot. And yeah, I definitely hope to keep him around beyond my typical new year’s curse.
Other than my dishwasher being emptied and my trip to the airport, there wasn’t anything too exciting until I reached Atlanta for my five hour layover. (Thank goodness I’m not on “The Amazing Race” because a five hour layover would just be unheard of!) Anyway, for the first flight I had to gate check my carry on backpack. Now, this is not just any carry on backpack… this is a backpack containing not only my lovely mac, BUT Kirsten’s wedding dress. (Yes, her dress fit into a backpack. Yes, it’s that small. And yes, it will have wrinkles.) After gate checking and saying a silent prayer to Jesus to protect that bag and it’s contents (because let’s be honest, if I showed up in Switzerland without that dress, or a damaged version of that dress, I might as well skip town and never be seen again!) I sat patiently awaiting what was going to happen in Atlanta…
Now, apparently the Atlanta airport is simply trying to keep up with the Jones’ … even though the “old fashion ways” seemed to work just fine. Instead of being handed your gate checked baggage when you exit the plane, they send it to a fancy baggage elevator at the end of the… man, what’s that tunnel from the airport to the plane called? Crap, it totally escapes me right now… but yeah, that tunnel… there is an elevator, specifically for gate checked bags! Yeah, ponder that for a minute.
We were all patiently waiting for our carry-ons when all you could hear were people saying things like “how silly is this?!” or “if they don’t hurry up I’m going to miss my connection!” The tiny, Asian Delta lady finally appeared, wearing her blue and white, obvious airline lady garment, and attempted (keyword: attempted) to punch in her pass code to get the elevator to open. It wasn’t working. And then we had the stereotypical manly men trying to show her how to work it. (Cue the Rocky theme song.) Keep in mind, they were just passengers, who as of 5 minutes prior were all commenting on how they had never seen such a thing! You could tell the poor girl, probably mid thirties or so, was having a horrible day to begin with, and had no clue what to do with all these angry travelers who so desperately wanted their baggage back!
Me, of all people, should have been freaking out. The contents of my 2-10 backpack totaled well over $2500. If anyone should have been pounding on the door and pretending she was Jack Bauer trying to save us from terrorists, while trying her luck on the pass code that she probably needed a thumbprint for, it should’ve been me! How dare these people feel like they had the right to cause a mini-riot and make this woman feel completely insignificant! Long, long, long story short, a larger gentleman who spoke a little English and mostly Hebrew (according to his wife who told me many times that they were about to miss their flight to Colorado, where it was only five degrees this morning) went up and proceeded to bang and pull on the garage-like elevator door like he was going to free prisoners of war in addition to our luggage. All of our luggage was spared with only one casualty...
From my angle all I could see was a black, duffel looking backpack was wedged between the lift and our floor. Goodness, cue the prayers. My thoughts included a few obscenities and many prayers… “Oh shit! It can’t be my bag with the wedding dress! I knew I should have gate checked it! I knew I should have gotten a fake ring and been a bridezilla and forced them to let me take this bag on the plane with me! Dear God, please not my bag! Not the wedding dress!” As I slowly approached the mob, I see my 2-10 logo smiling back at me on the top shelf of the elevator. With a sigh of relief I quickly grabbed the bag and meandered my way up the… (crap! What the name of that tunnel?!) wondering which poor person walking past me was going to miss their next flight because their bag appeared to have taken one for the team.
And that folks, were most interesting parts of my day. There was very little “people watching” done in this airporting adventure. I was shunned to Concourse E in Atlanta at 12 noon. Do you know how few flights leave from the international concourse in the afternoon? You have to wait to at least 3:30 or 4:00 to see sign of life beyond your own and the lady, bored out of her mind, selling magazines. (I went an bought one because I felt bad for her, and maybe because I was in need of human interaction…)
It’s 7:56 American time… time for me to close my eyes along with my laptop and call it a night. I’m only going to be in Switzerland for a week… there’s no time for jetlag.
Signing off as I fly across the Atlantic,
Suz
So I’m sitting on a Delta flight, heading to Switzerland for the New Year holiday. Cut me a little slack with the writing in this blog. I’m two-ish hours into the flight, as well as two-ish glasses of red wine into the flight. But let’s be real, with the combination of the druthers of traveling and the altitude, I’m feeling pretty damn spectacular right now! I feel like this is probably the best remedy for jetlag. Get slightly pissed at 7pm American time, which will cause me to pass out shortly after 1am Swiss time... Folks, I’m thinking we have a winner.
So what to talk about…? My day started not too early, but still early enough, this morning. I was awakened by a cute Guy, and informed that it was time to get up! Much to my refusal, I climbed out of bed and proceeded to get ready. The gentleman that he is went downstairs and emptied my dishwasher and started to reload it! I honestly don’t think that I thanked him for this because I was so neurotic this morning, but it really meant a lot. And yeah, I definitely hope to keep him around beyond my typical new year’s curse.
Other than my dishwasher being emptied and my trip to the airport, there wasn’t anything too exciting until I reached Atlanta for my five hour layover. (Thank goodness I’m not on “The Amazing Race” because a five hour layover would just be unheard of!) Anyway, for the first flight I had to gate check my carry on backpack. Now, this is not just any carry on backpack… this is a backpack containing not only my lovely mac, BUT Kirsten’s wedding dress. (Yes, her dress fit into a backpack. Yes, it’s that small. And yes, it will have wrinkles.) After gate checking and saying a silent prayer to Jesus to protect that bag and it’s contents (because let’s be honest, if I showed up in Switzerland without that dress, or a damaged version of that dress, I might as well skip town and never be seen again!) I sat patiently awaiting what was going to happen in Atlanta…
Now, apparently the Atlanta airport is simply trying to keep up with the Jones’ … even though the “old fashion ways” seemed to work just fine. Instead of being handed your gate checked baggage when you exit the plane, they send it to a fancy baggage elevator at the end of the… man, what’s that tunnel from the airport to the plane called? Crap, it totally escapes me right now… but yeah, that tunnel… there is an elevator, specifically for gate checked bags! Yeah, ponder that for a minute.
We were all patiently waiting for our carry-ons when all you could hear were people saying things like “how silly is this?!” or “if they don’t hurry up I’m going to miss my connection!” The tiny, Asian Delta lady finally appeared, wearing her blue and white, obvious airline lady garment, and attempted (keyword: attempted) to punch in her pass code to get the elevator to open. It wasn’t working. And then we had the stereotypical manly men trying to show her how to work it. (Cue the Rocky theme song.) Keep in mind, they were just passengers, who as of 5 minutes prior were all commenting on how they had never seen such a thing! You could tell the poor girl, probably mid thirties or so, was having a horrible day to begin with, and had no clue what to do with all these angry travelers who so desperately wanted their baggage back!
Me, of all people, should have been freaking out. The contents of my 2-10 backpack totaled well over $2500. If anyone should have been pounding on the door and pretending she was Jack Bauer trying to save us from terrorists, while trying her luck on the pass code that she probably needed a thumbprint for, it should’ve been me! How dare these people feel like they had the right to cause a mini-riot and make this woman feel completely insignificant! Long, long, long story short, a larger gentleman who spoke a little English and mostly Hebrew (according to his wife who told me many times that they were about to miss their flight to Colorado, where it was only five degrees this morning) went up and proceeded to bang and pull on the garage-like elevator door like he was going to free prisoners of war in addition to our luggage. All of our luggage was spared with only one casualty...
From my angle all I could see was a black, duffel looking backpack was wedged between the lift and our floor. Goodness, cue the prayers. My thoughts included a few obscenities and many prayers… “Oh shit! It can’t be my bag with the wedding dress! I knew I should have gate checked it! I knew I should have gotten a fake ring and been a bridezilla and forced them to let me take this bag on the plane with me! Dear God, please not my bag! Not the wedding dress!” As I slowly approached the mob, I see my 2-10 logo smiling back at me on the top shelf of the elevator. With a sigh of relief I quickly grabbed the bag and meandered my way up the… (crap! What the name of that tunnel?!) wondering which poor person walking past me was going to miss their next flight because their bag appeared to have taken one for the team.
And that folks, were most interesting parts of my day. There was very little “people watching” done in this airporting adventure. I was shunned to Concourse E in Atlanta at 12 noon. Do you know how few flights leave from the international concourse in the afternoon? You have to wait to at least 3:30 or 4:00 to see sign of life beyond your own and the lady, bored out of her mind, selling magazines. (I went an bought one because I felt bad for her, and maybe because I was in need of human interaction…)
It’s 7:56 American time… time for me to close my eyes along with my laptop and call it a night. I’m only going to be in Switzerland for a week… there’s no time for jetlag.
Signing off as I fly across the Atlantic,
Suz
Yeah... scratch that...
Well, I'm in Switzerland, and I'm tired, but I still have a delightful case of jetlag so of course I am awake at one o'clock in the morning, wishing upon a star that I was asleep.
Anyway, scratch that last post that I wrote a few months ago. To give myself a little bit of credit I have done a great job at almost everything BUT blogging. To subtract from that credit, I caved and joined Match.com, again. Although, credit should be given where it is due... I am dating someone that I met from the site! Hooray! Let's just hope he puts up with me being gone for most of January... Anyway, back to my whole self absorbed blog and the credit I keep giving to myself. I have been crafting (quite a bit actually), I haven't been wearing my nightguard (due to some crazy dental issues that involved a front tooth replacement with a chicklet), and I have traveled more, which brings me to my current situation... laying on an air mattress in a tiny, dark room in Switzerland.
I finally have some internet connection that I am stealing from somewhere in the world, so I am going to go ahead and post some of my journal entries from the past few days, so just in case you at home, my fellow Americans and loving friends and family, if you are totally bored, I have your solution! You can keep up with me and all my globetrotting.
The next few blog posts are my souvenir of Switerland. (disregard the blog given dates)
Anyway, scratch that last post that I wrote a few months ago. To give myself a little bit of credit I have done a great job at almost everything BUT blogging. To subtract from that credit, I caved and joined Match.com, again. Although, credit should be given where it is due... I am dating someone that I met from the site! Hooray! Let's just hope he puts up with me being gone for most of January... Anyway, back to my whole self absorbed blog and the credit I keep giving to myself. I have been crafting (quite a bit actually), I haven't been wearing my nightguard (due to some crazy dental issues that involved a front tooth replacement with a chicklet), and I have traveled more, which brings me to my current situation... laying on an air mattress in a tiny, dark room in Switzerland.
I finally have some internet connection that I am stealing from somewhere in the world, so I am going to go ahead and post some of my journal entries from the past few days, so just in case you at home, my fellow Americans and loving friends and family, if you are totally bored, I have your solution! You can keep up with me and all my globetrotting.
The next few blog posts are my souvenir of Switerland. (disregard the blog given dates)
9.25.2009
Friday Night.
I have something very serious to discuss with my thousands of followers tonight. Today was a huge day in my life, and when I say huge, I mean monumental. Today was the day that I realized that I am the only single (meaning alone, not married, without significant other) person in my circles of friends within a two hour radius. What's a girl to do? I was discussing this with one of my married girlfriends at which point she begins to ponder... "I don't have any single friends (other than you of course) either!!" What's come of this world? How is it even possible for there not to be one single single within my group of friends in the 757?!
What does this mean to you? Well, absolutely nothing, because more than likely you have a partner in crime with whom you spend your evenings with. For me though, it means I have a lot of free time (when I'm not working one of my several jobs I suppose). With all this free time I have decided that in order to avoid Match.com for the third, or is it the fourth attempt... sad... anyway, I must find little things to keep me busy and positive! Here's my list:
1. I have decided I need to be better at blogging. Now, I know that there is no one reading this. No one at all. Raise your hand if you have fallen upon my blog and you consider yourself a "follower"... [...crickets...] ...despite your silence, I'm going to write anyway. And I'm going to try to be better at it.
2. I will do at least one craft a week! And I will blog about it! I'm not trying to rip off that Julie & Julia cooking movie... Let's just see how long I will stick to it.
3. I will wear my nightguard... Silly I know... not something you expect to see on this list, but this bite guard isn't the most attractive accessory, so I might as well take advantage of the fact that there are no boys sleeping over and I don't have to look... well, let's just say I don't have to look my finest.
4. I will go to the movies alone one night. This is actually something that is on my list of things to do before I'm 30, but I figure it is something that I should do while I'm single, so it should be on this list too! I might as well embrace it! Not sure if I can handle it on a Friday or Saturday night right off the bat though.
5. Travel. Well as much as I can. My job(s) keep me in town more and more these days. But I'm going to try to squeeze in as many weekend trips as possible!
6. Spend Friday night's not feeling guilty about staying home, crafting, and watching tv shows like "Say Yes to the Dress" or "Masters of the Reception" :-) Love it!
What does this mean to you? Well, absolutely nothing, because more than likely you have a partner in crime with whom you spend your evenings with. For me though, it means I have a lot of free time (when I'm not working one of my several jobs I suppose). With all this free time I have decided that in order to avoid Match.com for the third, or is it the fourth attempt... sad... anyway, I must find little things to keep me busy and positive! Here's my list:
1. I have decided I need to be better at blogging. Now, I know that there is no one reading this. No one at all. Raise your hand if you have fallen upon my blog and you consider yourself a "follower"... [...crickets...] ...despite your silence, I'm going to write anyway. And I'm going to try to be better at it.
2. I will do at least one craft a week! And I will blog about it! I'm not trying to rip off that Julie & Julia cooking movie... Let's just see how long I will stick to it.
3. I will wear my nightguard... Silly I know... not something you expect to see on this list, but this bite guard isn't the most attractive accessory, so I might as well take advantage of the fact that there are no boys sleeping over and I don't have to look... well, let's just say I don't have to look my finest.
4. I will go to the movies alone one night. This is actually something that is on my list of things to do before I'm 30, but I figure it is something that I should do while I'm single, so it should be on this list too! I might as well embrace it! Not sure if I can handle it on a Friday or Saturday night right off the bat though.
5. Travel. Well as much as I can. My job(s) keep me in town more and more these days. But I'm going to try to squeeze in as many weekend trips as possible!
6. Spend Friday night's not feeling guilty about staying home, crafting, and watching tv shows like "Say Yes to the Dress" or "Masters of the Reception" :-) Love it!
9.01.2009
My newest obsession...
So we all know that I will find a random thing, obsess over it for a while, and then move on. Well folks, today is the day for yet another "Suz Obsession."
Last week, well, maybe it was two weeks ago... yeah, it was definitely two weeks ago. I was invited to a friend's apartment in Hampton overlooking what I believe to be the Chesapeake Bay, for some chicken salad. She has the cutest apartment ever, but my chicken salad scores a few more stars than hers. Anyway, my newest obsession is not about her apartment or her chicken salad, it is about the beverage she served.
To wet my whistle she served me a purple Vitamin Water. I was slightly resistant, because A. I'm not typically a fan of purple beverages, and B. Let's be real, I'm not one to venture too far from the beaten path when it comes to eating and drinking. I like to stick to what I know and love, although it seems that whenever I live on the edge and try something new it is rare to find myself unsatisfied... (note to self.)
So flash forward a couple days from the introduction of the purple Vitamin Water and my life. I'm walking through Farm Fresh and notice Vitamin Water is on sale! $1 a beverage! Only problem... I don't know what flavor water I was served! What's a girl to do other than buy all of the purple and pink Vitamin Water's on the shelf! You know I cannot turn down a sale!
I walk into my house with about seven different flavored Vitamin Waters, even including flavor names that I assumed I would not like (Raspberry for example - bleh!), but I could not take the risk of missing out on my newest beloved. It was like wine tasting, minus the crackers and the alcohol and the feeling you are left with after sampling the reds and whites and everything in between. After a few days I had tasted and sampled and fallen in love with six out of the seven flavored waters! Now I am not here to argue for or against the nutritional value of this purple beverage, but lo and behold, my love is not necessarily with the beverage itself, but it's with the labels....
Take for example the Focus Vitamin Water:
"focus
kiwi-strawberry (a+lutein)
not a lot of singers can rock. even fewer can roll. and once you throw pop in the mix, you can forget about it. but the multi-platinum kelly clarkson pulls off all three like a diner does breakfast, lunch and dinner. most vocalists couldn't even lip-sync to a set like hers. so, how does she do it? behind her hazel eyes is some serious focus. she's living proof that with a little concentration you can do anything... catch a fly with chopsticks, solve a sudoku puzzle, or climb the corporate ladder. just stay off the top of the charts - thats kelly's territory."
I mean, how great a read is that?! Especially considering the fact that it's coming from a beverage bottle?! Let's just hope its not only the fact that I'm actually enjoying these purple beverages that keeps me surprised and entertained! Keep it up Vitamin Water, keep it up.
Last week, well, maybe it was two weeks ago... yeah, it was definitely two weeks ago. I was invited to a friend's apartment in Hampton overlooking what I believe to be the Chesapeake Bay, for some chicken salad. She has the cutest apartment ever, but my chicken salad scores a few more stars than hers. Anyway, my newest obsession is not about her apartment or her chicken salad, it is about the beverage she served.
To wet my whistle she served me a purple Vitamin Water. I was slightly resistant, because A. I'm not typically a fan of purple beverages, and B. Let's be real, I'm not one to venture too far from the beaten path when it comes to eating and drinking. I like to stick to what I know and love, although it seems that whenever I live on the edge and try something new it is rare to find myself unsatisfied... (note to self.)
So flash forward a couple days from the introduction of the purple Vitamin Water and my life. I'm walking through Farm Fresh and notice Vitamin Water is on sale! $1 a beverage! Only problem... I don't know what flavor water I was served! What's a girl to do other than buy all of the purple and pink Vitamin Water's on the shelf! You know I cannot turn down a sale!
I walk into my house with about seven different flavored Vitamin Waters, even including flavor names that I assumed I would not like (Raspberry for example - bleh!), but I could not take the risk of missing out on my newest beloved. It was like wine tasting, minus the crackers and the alcohol and the feeling you are left with after sampling the reds and whites and everything in between. After a few days I had tasted and sampled and fallen in love with six out of the seven flavored waters! Now I am not here to argue for or against the nutritional value of this purple beverage, but lo and behold, my love is not necessarily with the beverage itself, but it's with the labels....
Take for example the Focus Vitamin Water:
"focus
kiwi-strawberry (a+lutein)
not a lot of singers can rock. even fewer can roll. and once you throw pop in the mix, you can forget about it. but the multi-platinum kelly clarkson pulls off all three like a diner does breakfast, lunch and dinner. most vocalists couldn't even lip-sync to a set like hers. so, how does she do it? behind her hazel eyes is some serious focus. she's living proof that with a little concentration you can do anything... catch a fly with chopsticks, solve a sudoku puzzle, or climb the corporate ladder. just stay off the top of the charts - thats kelly's territory."
I mean, how great a read is that?! Especially considering the fact that it's coming from a beverage bottle?! Let's just hope its not only the fact that I'm actually enjoying these purple beverages that keeps me surprised and entertained! Keep it up Vitamin Water, keep it up.
8.25.2009
He's Just Not That Into You
"Girls are taught a lot of stuff growing up. If a guy punches you he likes you. Never try to trim your own bangs and someday you will meet a wonderful guy and get your very own happy ending. Every movie we see, Every story we're told implores us to wait for it, the third act twist, the unexpected declaration of love, the exception to the rule. But sometimes we're so focused on finding our happy ending we don't learn how to read the signs. How to tell from the ones who want us and the ones who don't, the ones who will stay and the ones who will leave. And maybe a happy ending doesn't include a guy, maybe... it's you, on your own, picking up the pieces and starting over, freeing yourself up for something better in the future. Maybe the happy ending is... just... moving on. Or maybe the happy ending is this, knowing after all the unreturned phone calls, broken-hearts, through the blunders and misread signals, through all the pain and embarrassment you never gave up hope."
3.23.2009
Viva la Vida!
Guess who got two tickets to see Coldplay today?! May 20... Between Leslie and I we probably have an extra ticket, so let me know if you are looking for one!
Never be the first...
Suz: Yeah, they BOTH rode my bike when I wasn't even there!
Leslie: they did???
Suz: YES! Wouldn't you have been mad too?
Leslie: especially since you haven't like been out on it much
Suz: I know!!
Leslie: That's like driving someones car before they do!
Suz: I KNOW
Leslie: or being the first to use the butter tub
Suz: hahahahahahahaha
Leslie: Seriously, they should know better. Not cool.
Never be the first to use someone else's butter tub.
Leslie: they did???
Suz: YES! Wouldn't you have been mad too?
Leslie: especially since you haven't like been out on it much
Suz: I know!!
Leslie: That's like driving someones car before they do!
Suz: I KNOW
Leslie: or being the first to use the butter tub
Suz: hahahahahahahaha
Leslie: Seriously, they should know better. Not cool.
Never be the first to use someone else's butter tub.
2.16.2009
....travel down the road and back again....
Have I mentioned my recent love of "thrifting" to you yet? My break through moment was when I discovered the "Color of the Day" at The Salvation Army! You can't beat getting sale items from a thrift store! If that's not the epitome of "thrift" I don't know what is!
This weekend, actually, Valentine's Day (not relevant to the story, just thought I'd throw that out there) I was hitting an antique mall on my way to Hertford, NC to look for junk, or tables, or a bright yellow door with an antique door knob that my mom almost had to pry me away from (again, not relevant, but this door was absolutely AMAZING! Sadly, I have no where to put such an item...) when I turned the corner and saw the most glorious dresses! They looked as if they had been stripped right off of Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sopia! It was like these dresses just hung there, with a glow around them, and maybe even angels singing in the background... cue the flashback music and a dazed look on my face...
I found myself back in college, more specifically Halloween 2005. My roommates and I, the clean cut girls that we were, decided to dress up as the Golden Girls. (Yeah, we were some hardcore rebels...) While most crazy college chicks are dressing up like playboy bunnies, frenchmaids, or skanky police women... my roomies and I hit the thrift stores in the search of "old lady dresses." It took a while, but we found what we thought were perfect dresses and purses and shoes, all of which fully captured the old women inside each of us. To form more unity amongst our "costumes" we spray painted our shoes gold, that way, if there were any questions about what we were and why we were wearing clip on earrings, we could point at the shoes, which, we believed, spoke for themselves in the most matter of a fact way, plainly stating "Duh, we are The Golden Girls."
Flash back to real time... Who would've thought that our dresses were not perfect Golden Girl dresses! Who would've thought that right outside Hertford four, even more perfect dresses hung, simply awaiting my discovery! No, I didn't purchase these gems... I simply stood, in awe, of their golden glory. And then with a quick (and sneaky) snap of my my ice blue chocolate LG camera phone I captured the moment, and shared it with my roomies (well two out of three... Christen hasn't quite caught up with the times and the whole texting thing yet. I fear her wrath whenever she receives texts and realizes she has to pay a quarter to read something that someone could've simply called and verbally told her, for free. That's just a heads up to any of you who were unaware of the existence of non-texters. Who knows, they may be the smartest of all, 30 years from now, when the rest of us have carpal tunnel, folks like my brunette roommate will be painlessly flaunting their jazz fingers in front of us.)
I'd like to finish up with blog with a cheesecake, the picture of the Carolinian Golden Girl dresses, and possibly a picture or two of Halloween 2005.
This weekend, actually, Valentine's Day (not relevant to the story, just thought I'd throw that out there) I was hitting an antique mall on my way to Hertford, NC to look for junk, or tables, or a bright yellow door with an antique door knob that my mom almost had to pry me away from (again, not relevant, but this door was absolutely AMAZING! Sadly, I have no where to put such an item...) when I turned the corner and saw the most glorious dresses! They looked as if they had been stripped right off of Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sopia! It was like these dresses just hung there, with a glow around them, and maybe even angels singing in the background... cue the flashback music and a dazed look on my face...
I found myself back in college, more specifically Halloween 2005. My roommates and I, the clean cut girls that we were, decided to dress up as the Golden Girls. (Yeah, we were some hardcore rebels...) While most crazy college chicks are dressing up like playboy bunnies, frenchmaids, or skanky police women... my roomies and I hit the thrift stores in the search of "old lady dresses." It took a while, but we found what we thought were perfect dresses and purses and shoes, all of which fully captured the old women inside each of us. To form more unity amongst our "costumes" we spray painted our shoes gold, that way, if there were any questions about what we were and why we were wearing clip on earrings, we could point at the shoes, which, we believed, spoke for themselves in the most matter of a fact way, plainly stating "Duh, we are The Golden Girls."
Flash back to real time... Who would've thought that our dresses were not perfect Golden Girl dresses! Who would've thought that right outside Hertford four, even more perfect dresses hung, simply awaiting my discovery! No, I didn't purchase these gems... I simply stood, in awe, of their golden glory. And then with a quick (and sneaky) snap of my my ice blue chocolate LG camera phone I captured the moment, and shared it with my roomies (well two out of three... Christen hasn't quite caught up with the times and the whole texting thing yet. I fear her wrath whenever she receives texts and realizes she has to pay a quarter to read something that someone could've simply called and verbally told her, for free. That's just a heads up to any of you who were unaware of the existence of non-texters. Who knows, they may be the smartest of all, 30 years from now, when the rest of us have carpal tunnel, folks like my brunette roommate will be painlessly flaunting their jazz fingers in front of us.)
I'd like to finish up with blog with a cheesecake, the picture of the Carolinian Golden Girl dresses, and possibly a picture or two of Halloween 2005.
1.26.2009
In the cupcake zone...
I could not sleep last night and found myself watching "The Soup" much after midnight. I was hysterically laughing when this clip came on, and my poor dog, who was curled up in bed with me was so upset by my behavior that she leaped out of bed and didn't return until the morning. Anyway, enjoy the laugh... It had me crying myself to sleep last night (due to laughter)!
1.23.2009
A few minutes to spare!
I had a few minutes to spare today, well, actually, I didn't have any minutes to spare, not even one, but I spared them anyway. 4pm on a Friday, can you blame me? I should be able to take 15 minutes to try a new craft!
I'm a huge fan of the shabby chic slash distressed look when it comes to decorating. I was on my way home from visiting realtors today and stopped at the Salvation Army. (It's always a toss up as to whether or not you will find something there, but let me tell you, anyone who is local, the prices have dropped since their "Grand Opening") I bought this funny looking flower candle thing today for all of two bucks. It was bronze, and ugly-ish, I mean, it's not something I would have put in my home. But for a couple of dollars, I figured, let's see what I can do with this... took it home, oh wait, did I add it was on sale?! ($1.50!) So I took it home, experimented with my spray paint and turned it into this: (the photo is pretty crappy, and does not do it justice... but... here goes...)
Before:
After:
Feed back welcomed! :-)
I'm a huge fan of the shabby chic slash distressed look when it comes to decorating. I was on my way home from visiting realtors today and stopped at the Salvation Army. (It's always a toss up as to whether or not you will find something there, but let me tell you, anyone who is local, the prices have dropped since their "Grand Opening") I bought this funny looking flower candle thing today for all of two bucks. It was bronze, and ugly-ish, I mean, it's not something I would have put in my home. But for a couple of dollars, I figured, let's see what I can do with this... took it home, oh wait, did I add it was on sale?! ($1.50!) So I took it home, experimented with my spray paint and turned it into this: (the photo is pretty crappy, and does not do it justice... but... here goes...)
Before:
(Spitter advises us to "Stop and Smell the Flowers")
After:
Ta-daaaa! I think its kinda cool now... Not yet sure if I am going to keep it, but it's definitely something I would consider buying in a store now!
Feed back welcomed! :-)
1.20.2009
Things that make me ________ today:
Things that made me smile today:
My dog. Spending time with Leslie and learning how to use photoshop, at least a teeny tiny bit of it. No line at the post office. Eating dinner with my boyfriend at the coffee table. Finishing up with my reports for the past couple of weeks. Talking to yet another realtor to check off my weekly meeting list, and receiving an email confirming the shipment of the new warranties. The presidential inauguration. The hope Obama has... and will... provide to our country, even if it is simply because of his incredible public speaking ability. My kittens purring the second I talk to them. My wii fit reported my weight loss to be 7 pounds. The Biggest Loser, even though Joelle was not sent home.
Things that made me frown today:
The 4-6 inches of snow that were predicted for the day... it never showed up.
Things that made me laugh today:
All of the public schools in the area were closed today due to snow, which I previously mentioned above, never showed up. My mom, grandmother, and aunts drove all the way to Raleigh, NC to see Celine Dion. (Oh just wait, that's not the funny part). Upon their arrival they were informed, via a call from my sister, that the show has been postponed to tomorrow night. Stuck in Raleigh, in a hotel room, on vacation, with two smokers, and absolutely nothing to do, except wait for Celine.
My dog. Spending time with Leslie and learning how to use photoshop, at least a teeny tiny bit of it. No line at the post office. Eating dinner with my boyfriend at the coffee table. Finishing up with my reports for the past couple of weeks. Talking to yet another realtor to check off my weekly meeting list, and receiving an email confirming the shipment of the new warranties. The presidential inauguration. The hope Obama has... and will... provide to our country, even if it is simply because of his incredible public speaking ability. My kittens purring the second I talk to them. My wii fit reported my weight loss to be 7 pounds. The Biggest Loser, even though Joelle was not sent home.
Things that made me frown today:
The 4-6 inches of snow that were predicted for the day... it never showed up.
Things that made me laugh today:
All of the public schools in the area were closed today due to snow, which I previously mentioned above, never showed up. My mom, grandmother, and aunts drove all the way to Raleigh, NC to see Celine Dion. (Oh just wait, that's not the funny part). Upon their arrival they were informed, via a call from my sister, that the show has been postponed to tomorrow night. Stuck in Raleigh, in a hotel room, on vacation, with two smokers, and absolutely nothing to do, except wait for Celine.
1.17.2009
Breast Cancer Cupcakes
I had a super slow day of work the other day and baked up a batch of cupcakes. When it came time to decorate them I had to put my thinking cap on. My friend's mom just found out that she has breast cancer and was having surgery that day... which lead me to there creations: 
I hear they were delicious! I didn't want to eat them, you know, beginning of the year "i want to lose weight this year" thing that everyone goes through, so I sent them to Indian River High for the teachers and the special education kids.
I hear they were delicious! I didn't want to eat them, you know, beginning of the year "i want to lose weight this year" thing that everyone goes through, so I sent them to Indian River High for the teachers and the special education kids.
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