Today I was thinking about Brasil and how much I miss the people. Here's a short video of Justin pulling manjioca root from the neighborhood so we could cook it for lunch at Andrea's house. The kids are her nephews. Sorry about the camera angle.
It's annoying but I don't know if I can fix it. The other video is New Year's Eve in downtown Brasilia at a free concert with a forro band. We were with some friends Alice and her kids Smenia and Icaro. I miss this culture and the people so badly sometimes.... like today!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Bummed
Today I'm a little bummed. My knee is still hurting so I haven't run in a month. Grrr.
Caroline and Jordan made it safely to Erlangen, Germany for the summer. But I'm gonna miss my sister. I liked having her just a few blocks away and seeing her belly get bigger every week. BTW, it's a boy. :)
Also, I have been going a little stir crazy. Haven't been up in the mountains in a while and haven't traveled in quite some time. :(
I just feel a little sad today.
Wish I had a dog like Zoey.
Caroline and Jordan made it safely to Erlangen, Germany for the summer. But I'm gonna miss my sister. I liked having her just a few blocks away and seeing her belly get bigger every week. BTW, it's a boy. :)
Also, I have been going a little stir crazy. Haven't been up in the mountains in a while and haven't traveled in quite some time. :(
I just feel a little sad today.
Wish I had a dog like Zoey.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Best Time of the Year
Summer is the best season of the year. Why?
1. It's sooooo warm. There is an abundance of sunshine and greenery.
2. Normally there is no school, but this year I'm in school.... but it's way easier in the summer.
3. All my favorite things are in full swing: Farmers Markets, hiking, backpacking, running in the canyons, whitewater rafting, swimming, barbequeing, family/friend get togethers... etc.
4. Sleeping with all the windows open.
5. Park City is gorgeous and it's a good time to make money at the hotel.
6. My birthday!!
Let's talk about #6. I realize how lame it is to blog about my birthday when it is still 3 weeks away but I get really excited every year when it's coming up. All year long I let school, taking care of my family and other events take precedence over me. So I make a point to be a bit bratty about making sure that my birthday is JUST right and we do only what I want for just 16 hours. I think that's fair. 364 days of putting myself on the back burner constitutes one day where I can be the center of the universe... right?
This year I'm trying to decide what I want. Here are some things I've come up with.
Nike makes this neat little chip you can attach to your running shoes and another thing you plug into your nano iPod. They link together to track your distance, time and speed and you can make your playlists according to your running times. You can also keep a record of your times and workouts. So cool! I have a GPS watch, but the idea of the convenience of this little set up would eliminate the bulkiness of the watch on my tiny wrist.
Justin has a pro-form with Lole Clothing. Since they only make clothing for women, I have been looking at what I could use. Bermuda shorts for sure would be awesome. I think I like these best.
When I was taking piano lessons in Jr. High my teacher was from Hawaii. She would always give us lychee candy as a treat if we had practiced. Then when I had the actual fruit in Kauai last year I fell in love. There's gotta be an asian grocery store that sells lychee candy, right?
Ever since my Auntie Liz made me a virgin cosmo in New Jersey I fell in love with mocktails. Her sister, my Auntie Cathy made me virgin cosmos or "pink drinks" when I lived with her. This book has great reviews for serious mocktail/appertini/wine alternatives. I'm a foodie and the idea of making non-alcoholic beverages that are just as complex is really cool.
Lastly, a good solid sports bra is in order. I have worn out a few of my old ones from running a bunch. Justin can get good deals on these from backcountry.com.
Lastly... John Mayer is coming to Utah again! *Girly scream* I totally want tickets for me and Evelyn... since Justin thinks he would be viewed as gay if he went with me. Shrug. His loss. Tickets to see Mr. Mayer would be very very sweet.
1. It's sooooo warm. There is an abundance of sunshine and greenery.
2. Normally there is no school, but this year I'm in school.... but it's way easier in the summer.
3. All my favorite things are in full swing: Farmers Markets, hiking, backpacking, running in the canyons, whitewater rafting, swimming, barbequeing, family/friend get togethers... etc.
4. Sleeping with all the windows open.
5. Park City is gorgeous and it's a good time to make money at the hotel.
6. My birthday!!
Let's talk about #6. I realize how lame it is to blog about my birthday when it is still 3 weeks away but I get really excited every year when it's coming up. All year long I let school, taking care of my family and other events take precedence over me. So I make a point to be a bit bratty about making sure that my birthday is JUST right and we do only what I want for just 16 hours. I think that's fair. 364 days of putting myself on the back burner constitutes one day where I can be the center of the universe... right?
This year I'm trying to decide what I want. Here are some things I've come up with.
Nike makes this neat little chip you can attach to your running shoes and another thing you plug into your nano iPod. They link together to track your distance, time and speed and you can make your playlists according to your running times. You can also keep a record of your times and workouts. So cool! I have a GPS watch, but the idea of the convenience of this little set up would eliminate the bulkiness of the watch on my tiny wrist.
Justin has a pro-form with Lole Clothing. Since they only make clothing for women, I have been looking at what I could use. Bermuda shorts for sure would be awesome. I think I like these best.
When I was taking piano lessons in Jr. High my teacher was from Hawaii. She would always give us lychee candy as a treat if we had practiced. Then when I had the actual fruit in Kauai last year I fell in love. There's gotta be an asian grocery store that sells lychee candy, right?
Ever since my Auntie Liz made me a virgin cosmo in New Jersey I fell in love with mocktails. Her sister, my Auntie Cathy made me virgin cosmos or "pink drinks" when I lived with her. This book has great reviews for serious mocktail/appertini/wine alternatives. I'm a foodie and the idea of making non-alcoholic beverages that are just as complex is really cool.
Lastly, a good solid sports bra is in order. I have worn out a few of my old ones from running a bunch. Justin can get good deals on these from backcountry.com.
Lastly... John Mayer is coming to Utah again! *Girly scream* I totally want tickets for me and Evelyn... since Justin thinks he would be viewed as gay if he went with me. Shrug. His loss. Tickets to see Mr. Mayer would be very very sweet.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Week Off
This week there has been no school, minimal work and LOTS of lounging in the Henderson apartment. We watched reruns of Seasons 2-4 of The Office and actually got to watch our favorite shows on Thursday (The Office, 30 Rock and The Marriage Ref). For 2 days I only went outside to get in my car to drive to work.
Unfortunately I have no pictures to display of us in our pajamas lying on our bed watching TV. Too bad. But here are some exciting things we did this week:
-We hung up the mirror that has been lying against the wall for 7 months waiting to be hung. BIG accomplishment
-We threw away 3 boxes that had been sitting by the mirror for 7 months waiting to be thrown away.
-We moved the 2 bags of DI clothes from the bedroom to the living room and even into the car. Though they still need to be dropped off...
-We got Justin's old Love Sac from his parents house and moved it into our front room which now takes up about 1/3 of the space and looks like a giant fuzzy polar bear. I still can't lay on it because the cat slept on it and I sneeze everytime I'm near it.
-I cleaned off the showerhead which had a huge build up of mineral deposits that were starting to form stalagtites (or is it stalagmites?) from the holes. It was weirdly satisfying... like popping a zit.
Here are some actually exciting things we did:
-We went to a session at the SL Temple with our stake and did some of Justin's family names. Afterwards we ate at Macaroni Grill.
-Justin decided to ride the SLC Century on Friday night (it was his 5th ride of the year) and did it on Saturday morning in 5 hours! He came back tired and sunburned but did great!
-We attended our stake conference Saturday night session and afterwards went on an adventure to go to Central do Brasil for some pastels but sadly they had gone out of business. So instead we went to Five Guys and on the way tried to save a stray dog who was crossing 13th East in Fort Union and was almost hit 3 times. Unfortunately she got away from us and we had to just pray she would be okay. Five Guys makes a TERRIBLE grilled cheese sandwich, btw. But their Canjun fries rock.
All in all... an exciting week! This week we start summer school. Not sure how I feel about it but this semester I can actually enjoy Saturdays. It's been a year since I have had Saturdays off. I can't wait to run in the mornings, go to the Farmers Market and do some canning with my mom!
Unfortunately I have no pictures to display of us in our pajamas lying on our bed watching TV. Too bad. But here are some exciting things we did this week:
-We hung up the mirror that has been lying against the wall for 7 months waiting to be hung. BIG accomplishment
-We threw away 3 boxes that had been sitting by the mirror for 7 months waiting to be thrown away.
-We moved the 2 bags of DI clothes from the bedroom to the living room and even into the car. Though they still need to be dropped off...
-We got Justin's old Love Sac from his parents house and moved it into our front room which now takes up about 1/3 of the space and looks like a giant fuzzy polar bear. I still can't lay on it because the cat slept on it and I sneeze everytime I'm near it.
-I cleaned off the showerhead which had a huge build up of mineral deposits that were starting to form stalagtites (or is it stalagmites?) from the holes. It was weirdly satisfying... like popping a zit.
Here are some actually exciting things we did:
-We went to a session at the SL Temple with our stake and did some of Justin's family names. Afterwards we ate at Macaroni Grill.
-Justin decided to ride the SLC Century on Friday night (it was his 5th ride of the year) and did it on Saturday morning in 5 hours! He came back tired and sunburned but did great!
-We attended our stake conference Saturday night session and afterwards went on an adventure to go to Central do Brasil for some pastels but sadly they had gone out of business. So instead we went to Five Guys and on the way tried to save a stray dog who was crossing 13th East in Fort Union and was almost hit 3 times. Unfortunately she got away from us and we had to just pray she would be okay. Five Guys makes a TERRIBLE grilled cheese sandwich, btw. But their Canjun fries rock.
All in all... an exciting week! This week we start summer school. Not sure how I feel about it but this semester I can actually enjoy Saturdays. It's been a year since I have had Saturdays off. I can't wait to run in the mornings, go to the Farmers Market and do some canning with my mom!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Finals Week
This is finals week. Once I finish this blog it's all business til 12:00 pm Wednesday when I walk out of my last final. Justin and I have a final on Tuesday afternoon (physics), then I have my chemistry final the next morning and Justin will do his Organic Chemistry and Genetics finals back to back on Thursday morning. Celebration will commence Thursday evening at Five Alls. Hurray!
Then a week break and we jump into summer semester.
Lately I have been dealing with the harsh reality that life is not fair. It's not fair that my chemistry teacher is the only one in the entire department that isn't curving her grades. It's not fair that Justin and I got stuck with the new physics teacher who just can't seem to write a decent test or have consistent graders. It's not fair that after 2 years of working at the spa I'm at I have no seniority whatsoever and that the new hires have priority in their work schedule instead of me, who has been a trainer and leader since our first director left. It's certainly not fair that everyone there has received pay cuts. And it's not fair that my sweet husband will have to work Saturdays in the summer when he has been wanting to have them off all school year so he can train for his races.
But that's life. And God is teaching me a valuable lesson about patience and humility. It's easy to feel entitled to special treatment and reasonable teachers/employers. But the truth is, all I can control is my attitude. Gratitude is key.
Justin and I are doing our best and even though it feels futile sometimes, I know we are learning life lessons that we'll need as educators, parents and activists in our communities. But like Dwight Schrute said last week, "Why can't I just be a puppeteer and have it work for once????"
Haha. Oh well! God is good and has provided for us so far. I have faith that everything will work out for the best.
Then a week break and we jump into summer semester.
Lately I have been dealing with the harsh reality that life is not fair. It's not fair that my chemistry teacher is the only one in the entire department that isn't curving her grades. It's not fair that Justin and I got stuck with the new physics teacher who just can't seem to write a decent test or have consistent graders. It's not fair that after 2 years of working at the spa I'm at I have no seniority whatsoever and that the new hires have priority in their work schedule instead of me, who has been a trainer and leader since our first director left. It's certainly not fair that everyone there has received pay cuts. And it's not fair that my sweet husband will have to work Saturdays in the summer when he has been wanting to have them off all school year so he can train for his races.
But that's life. And God is teaching me a valuable lesson about patience and humility. It's easy to feel entitled to special treatment and reasonable teachers/employers. But the truth is, all I can control is my attitude. Gratitude is key.
Justin and I are doing our best and even though it feels futile sometimes, I know we are learning life lessons that we'll need as educators, parents and activists in our communities. But like Dwight Schrute said last week, "Why can't I just be a puppeteer and have it work for once????"
Haha. Oh well! God is good and has provided for us so far. I have faith that everything will work out for the best.
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