It All Started with a Gondola

Once upon a time, Brad had a dream. A dream to row a gondola in Spain. Or at least live there and work for a month. In a cheap apartment off craigslist. Brad was going to spend $1000 to fly over there, but Christin thought this sounded MUCH too expensive and googled how to get there cheaply. How?
By going through Dublin, which was only $400, and then taking a RyanAir flight to Spain, which was $50.
And then Christin thought, "Going to Dublin is $400? Are you kidding me? I think I'll go to Dublin."
And then Christin got a new calling as a Family History Consultant which got her thinking about the Alsace-Lorraine valley, which is about the most quaint place on EARTH, where the Carbiener family originated. So she looked up RyanAir flights to Strasbourg, France, which were $30 (as opposed to Paris, which were $1000).
So Christin and Brad are going to Ireland and France. They will stay in Castles and Hostels and Cool Hotels and Go Surfing and Kiss the Blarney Stone and Ride Bikes and Eat Croissants. Christin will only be gone for 12 days, but Brad will stay longer. So that he can meet some hot Italians and maybe even row a gondola.

Awww!!!

Almost as cute as Ariana's:
http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/smitten/2009/05/the-best-marriage-proposal-in.html
Also, you can link after this to the one about the couple who only knew each other for a week and the "G" they got for their anniversary is TOTALLY cool.

Get Ur Hair Did

For Free! Go here (yes to Boise, yes to Layton, yes to AZ, no to WA. Sorry Mindy!)
http://www.kerastase-usa.com/_en/_us/conso/specialoffers/our-treat.aspx

Excitement Across The Pond

I have spent the last two days planning the coolest vacation ever. Brad and I are going to Ireland and France in 26 days and I can hardly stand it. Here's a little picture I stole off flickr to help you get excited, too. Just one of my many ideas of awesome things to do for my first time over the ocean. :-)

Coming of Age

So most of you are aware that I'm a little obsessed with magazines. The obsession has mellowed in previous years, but my coffee table is still overrun with SELF, Glamour, Oprah, the Ensign, and Women's Health. I've been a loyal subscriber for years. But recently I felt a little betrayed. These are the covers from March and April:


I was offended initially when Taylor made the first appearance. And then Miley showed up. And lastly, Vanessa High School Musical Hudgens. REALLY??!!!
Since when did teenagers become my role models?

Best

Another best for you (I love returning to the roots of this blog):

These, hands down, are the best store bought cookies in the world. 

On the other hand, aren't Chewy Chips Ahoy always strangely disappointing? I mean, it sounds like such a good idea, and then you taste one, and you're like, "What chemicals, exactly, did they put in this thing to make it not dry up?" Because they taste like you're asking for stomach cancer.

Blackberries

You know why Heavenly Father made blackberries so beautiful? Because they don't actually ever taste as good as I want them to. And I would never eat them if they weren't so pretty. But this morning I mixed them with Wallaby Dulce de Leche yogurt, and they were close to delicious. And Yoplait Blackberry Pomegranate is delicious, too. 

Maybe I just need to be more creative with these things.

Booty Time!!

I caved and bought Pirate's Booty for the first time. I always thought it was popcorn. Turns out it's just really yummy styrofoam peanuts. Very odd. 

"Word" Texting

Some of you may call this "predictive text," others "T9". Others of you have iphones or blackberries and are just "cooler than everyone else and get real letters." My phone calls it "word" text, so that's what I call it, and I'm kind of developing a loathing for this program. 

Yes, I know, texting is a modern marvel. I appreciate it. It's helpful and fun and potentially exciting, but REALLY?

• "Ganging" gets used more than "hanging"?
• "Might before "night" ?
• And it's not all just alphabetical. I know. I just can't remember the ludicrous exception right now. But it's not helpful.
• Whoo-hoo. Yay. Yeah Right.
• Blogging is not a word in their dictionary.
• Neither is Dave.
• But the country of Surinam is. 

There is literally almost one word per text that is not available to me. Am I really just that verbally unique? I've taken to writing short words (like "do") and then erasing the "o" to get the letters that I want. And typing half words at a time. It's ludicrous. I get random capital letters that I don't want switching back and forth between "ABC" and "Word." And it looks like I'm on crack. AND.. I use TIME a lot in my texts. And 2:30 is not a "word." AHHHGGRRR!!! And my phone, unlike some of your cooler ones, does not learn words either. Nope. My battery might last for three awesome days, but the dumb words will always show up first. 

I have Brad to thank for me switching since he made me feel like a grandma every time I texted someone letter by letter, but at least then I never wanted to throw my phone against the wall.

I used to like my little Nokia.

Yogis

I have attended yoga now 3 times at my new gym. I've had 3 different instructors and I've loved them all. They were:

- A 20-something year old guy who I couldn't quite figure out but was very alternative and his poses flowed better than any class I've ever been to.

- A very tiny Asian who disappeared when she lunged into Warrior II. With a heavy accent. So you were constantly searching for her tiny body. But I still liked it.

-Another tiny Asian who had no accent whatsoever, was very into yoga and "listening to your body" "making choices with your body and what poses you were choosing by level and why" and breathing. I came in late and people were alternating which nostrils they were breathing out of. Good thing my allergies weren't bad today. She didn't correct any of my poses, but she did probably notice I'm a crappy inhaler/exhaler and probably hold my stress in my breath, so she kind of walked her hands up and down my back while I laid there and I loved it. And we did dancer pose, which made me feel happy. And then at the very end of class she played this song, which made me feel even happier. It was the first time I said "Namaste" sincerely. Oh, happy day. 

So I went out and bought gold high heels. And a necklace. Because I'm still learning to accessorize. Candice would be so proud.

A Little Self-Deprecation

I posted this for you last time. I might as well do it this time. 

Last time it was the view from Hayden road when I ran the Altima out of gas.

This time it's the view from the Bel Air on the 101 Freeway. 

Did I mention I live less than a mile from 4 gas stations. 

And I've never run out of gas until this year? 

(Sorry; it's a phone picture and I don't know how to rotate it)

Staff Appreciation Day

For staff appreciation day, we got cheesecake and this sweet hat. Here is Agnes, from Ghana, who really worked it, I think.

Speaking of Which...

At that wedding reception, in the parking lot, was this plant. 

REALLY? 

Did this little plant cost you $1000 or what? Is it really worth this huge cage?

Wedded Bliss

I just got back from my 3rd wedding reception in as many weeks, which has obviously got me to thinking. I have realized the following:

• I have no "home ward" attendees. Florida, Texas, Idaho? No, I'm not expecting any random ward attendees from out-of-state. And this single ward of mine consists of a lot of people close to a decade younger than I. 
• My parents live in BULLHEAD CITY. Besides being a terribl[y unpretty]e place to hold a reception, I know really no one there. Because I have never lived here. 
• Most of my friends have children or child and could easily use that or distance as an excuse to not attend. 
• I have an entire household of stuff. I am a mom to everyone of my young[er] friends here.

That being said, I plan on having a very exciting and fabulous wedding. I don't know where it will be. I don't know exactly how it will go down. I don't know who exactly will be there (groom included). But I hope you all have plans to attend. I'm starting a savings account. Maybe you should, too. For the plane tickets. 'Cause I don't need a blender. 

You see,  this won't be a reception of people I barely know. I'm counting on you, my lovely friends, to dance with me into the night. (Please)

Wherever that night may find us. 

p.s. I realize that I did not attend all of your weddings, and that that could very well make me lame and even hypocritical for even posting this. However, we were all younger then. And poorer then. And I still couldn't go to the temple even if I had shown up. And most of you can. If you want to use that as your excuse, though, you can. And I guess I'll have no choice but to forgive you. 

Celine

Today I hurt my ears a little bit singing "The Power of Love" in my car and blasting it on my new awesome birthday speakers.

Resilience

There are quite a few qualities that I tend to admire: loyalty, perseverance, dedication. You know, there's something special about every living thing. One trait I really admire in this particular plant is resilience. I tend to take good care of the people in my life (generally speaking). I tend to not take very good of pets or plants. So I would like to give a little shout out to this ONE plant who has survived 7 years of inadequate attention and stuck with me no matter what.
Thanks, Little Green One.
(These pictures were taken 24 hours apart. Water is magic.)

"I'm Just Going to Gilbert for awhile..."

Having always been a combination of supposed tough girl/hopeless romantic, I've never been one to cry very hard at good-byes. The idea of moving from one place to start another has always had enough of a romantic notion for me that my visions of all the exciting possibilities ahead sort of precludes any sadness I might have about not seeing my friends for a few months. Somewhere deep inside I know I'll see them again, and that the ones who have touched my life by the time I leave will somehow manage to be in my life forever. And this makes the good-byes much more manageable.
Along this line, last week I warned Bridget not to expect too many tears when she moves to Utah tomorrow. Plane tickets to Salt Lake are really not that expensive, the guys in her new ward are too hot and tempting to stay away for long, and, we know too many people getting married here for her to stay away. She needed this warning. After all, I didn't want her to think I didn't value our friendship.
And then two hours later John stopped by. After a brief stint here, he announced he was going to go to Gilbert (which is about 15 minutes away) for about an hour and a half. Without me. Before I really got to spend quality time with him. On Easter. Still, not a big deal. Really. 

But there are sometimes I'm not too proud of being a girl.  Like when a boy you kind of like a lot leaves unexpectedly, and a girl known for crying two tears at significant occasions suddenly cries 50 tears for absolutely no reason at all. And she tries to blame her hormones, but secretly wonders what emotional reservoir that flood stemmed from. 

And then there is today. 

Today Ariana Smith got engaged to Tyler Miller. Bridget, Brad, and I hid in the bushes at Desert Botanical Gardens so we could watch. And even though only Bridget got to stay to take pictures because Brad and I got kicked out by the Park Ranger, it was an incredible adrenaline rush and madly exciting to be part of such a historic event like the start of an eternal marriage. ok, gag a maggot, I know. But seriously, they are quite perfect for each other, and it was very exciting. 

Afterwards, we all had a chill-fest at my house, where we looked at proposal pictures, Sexy Young Phil serenaded us with his guitar, we ate delicious Nello's pizza, and celebrated with Blue Bell. 

After most people left, Bridget and I sat on the couches, while an exhausted John slept on a couch, and Brad figured out how to get 1500 pictures from one computer to another. 

And then Bridget put on her Phil CDs. The Phil CDs are two heart-wrenching perfectly touching albums compiled solely for the intent of squeezing as much sentiment as possible out of this moving situation. They are remarkable albums, capable of stirring up all kinds of emotions. So even when you think you are stable, these songs bring up all sorts of raw unprotected emotions- like analyzing the fact that every relationship in your life seems to be in some sort of terrifying transition and maybe you're happy and maybe you're not. And maybe you're perfectly okay but maybe just maybe you're falling apart. 

And then the night ends with two girls on a couch bawling their eyes out, quite likely for very different reasons, but still resulting in some sort of unspoken bond. 

And then you realize that no matter why you're crying, sometimes friendships are woven by words not said and hugs not given, but just times and moments somewhat like these. 

So there you go Bridget, you got your 50 tears. Just don't expect me to cry tomorrow. 

I'm not even that girly.

 

Sneaking In Some Fun

Last week I worked Wed, Thursday, Fri, Sun, Mon, Tues. So really my little time off on Saturday night was precious and short-lived. And I just sold the Bel Air back to Josh. I only have a few days left with it before it gets on a truck headed to Alabma.
So last week, John and I took it to a car show. (And tonight, we are all going to the drive-in!!)
The car show we went to takes place in a parking lot in North Scottsdale every Saturday. Every Saturday for 25 years. It is very low key; you just show up and park your car. It did make me want to spend a couple thousand dollars on the Bel Air for new paint and upholstery, but people were very nice and humored me and asked me questions about it. And it was so fun to see some of the older cars. My favorite was the turquoise thunderbird. So so cool. And no, I didn't even take a picture of it. There was also this sweet red car with surfer red interior, the coolest luggage rack, and the sweetest surfboard rearview mirror ever. It used to be in a museum in Japan, and the owner loved to talk about it. Such cool stories.
Then we went to this little ice cream shop that's been around for forever and is very original. Just to sneak in some snacks before John went off to a party and I went home to hang out with Brad and try out Buca de Beppo, which was a little disappointing. (Not hanging out with Brad. Buca de Beppo. Pretty Blah.) At Sugar Bowl, we had an Orange Raft (Sherbet floating in Sprite) and PB ice cream. Both of which were amazing. And a hot dog. For protein. :-) It was such a cute little place and so fun.

Oh, and a little self-conscious side note. My tummy is a little more obvious than in pictures from a few weeks ago. We can thank the fact that I took an entire month off of working out to focus on eating easter candy, cookies from the cafeteria at work, and Target Chocolate Chunk Hazelnut Biscotti (a candy bar masquerading as cereal) while the rest of you were running 10K's and half-marathons and waking up at 5:30 in the morning to run before the rest of us even thought about waking up. I think I'm going to run today before it gets to 110 outside again!

Sorry It Took So Long

It sure doesn't take long to get sick of looking at pictures of ham, does it? I worked quite a few days in a row and have been pretty lazy, so sorry that I haven't posted in a bit. The Tuesday after easter was our friend Dr. Brad's 32nd birthday. He got accepted into Johns Hopkins and may be moving soon, and we are going to miss him so much. He is so very cool. Bridget decided we should get up early to celebrate his birthday. So she called his roommate and determined when his usual breakfast time was. Which meant I had to get up at 7:30am. Ouch. So I crawled out of bed, we brought ham, eggs, and waffle mix, and headed over to Dr. Brad's. Here's a few pics from our early morning celebration: Bridget cutting ham, Dr. Brad pretending to be Sherlock Holmes-ish, and The Mug That Bridget Broke.

Easter Weekend Part IV

Easter Dinner. I've never really made an Easter Dinner. I dye eggs, but really, a big dinner? What's the point?
Except Fresh & Easy had hams on sale - 7.76 pounds for $5. Ok, that wasn't the exact price, but it was about what our ham cost. I thought it was a fully cooked ham that I was going to just cut up for salad. But it wasn't fully cooked, and it had a bone in it. This was a predicament. I had my mom e-mail me a recipe. She thought it might have too much ginger in it, but it didn't. It smelled AMAZING, and was the most moist ham I'd ever had (sorry mom). Also, I made a carrot soup I found on Glamour.com. It looked more like pureed baby food carrots, but, despite this, also was so so delicious. And we had instant mashed potatoes. And Brad wore this pimp outfit. Oh, it was me and John and Bridget and Brad and kinda felt like old times and I loved it. Bridget is moving to Park City, UT in two weeks and it will be so so sad. I love her and will miss her so much. Happy Easter!
I moved the recipes to Candice's and My Dinner Blog. Since I haven't posted anything to it in like a year. And they made this post way too long.

Easter in Ghana

Hohoe Easter
Originally uploaded by Lasse80

I work with a woman named Agnes, whom I love. She is from Ghana. In her village, this week is an important one. On Friday night, everybody dresses in black and usually there is a storm. There is singing and a commemoration of the events of the crucifixion. This starts at Midnight. On Sunday, the people awaken at 3 am when the moonlight bathes the village. Everybody is dressed in white and they all are singing hymns. 

Here in America, we get dressed in our black "clubblin'" clothes on Friday and it rains one of the 10 days of the year it does that here. It storms until Sunday morning. About 3. And then it stops. My brother and I wake up at 5:45, throw on our white sweatshirts, and drive to Tempe Town Lake. Where I look for my Reflections of Christ CD and put on "I Know That My Redeemer Lives." The sunrises at 6:01, and I impatiently think I'm waiting only for the sky to light up. When it does, I'm ready to leave, and Brad says, "I just want to stay until I see a sliver of the sun." I'm reminded that sometimes the Lord doesn't operate on our time table and sometimes we need to have patience with Him. I turn the car around, and within 10 minutes, I have watched a full sunrise for the first time. Amidst planes, power lines, and freeways, flanked by a man-made lake, I imagine Ghana and the Resurrection, and I celebrate Easter. Even as my retinas recover.

And then sleep, for 1 more hour, until I wake up, and worship in a different way.

Easter Weekend Part II

And for my first Facebook event, I will be dyeing Easter Eggs. About 5 dozen. A couple things about this:

• Even with adults, this is so crazy messy.
• But CVS near ASU has a ton of kits even the day before Easter. Because a lot of college kids don't actually do this. 
• So we had marble, transformers, sparkle, tye dye, and eggs-of-our-own-making. 
• SOS pads are the best for getting dye off of a kitchen table when you just assumed that dye would come off your kitchen table, and, really, it doesn't. Moms plan ahead and lay out newspapers. Single people still just think, "They're all adults; what's the worst that could happen? hmmm....maybe sticking Peeps to the wall?

Easter Weekend Part 1

A GUY AND HIS GIRL ON THE POLE. WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON, BUT THEY SURE HAD EVERYONE'S ATTENTION



US- FREAKING OUT

Bridget and I had a plan to have a girls' night out. Well, with a couple guys she knew. It started with her hairdresser who has a mad crush on her and his drunk super-freshly-divorced friend who proved to be too much to handle for to long. He was heavy on the defensive and all too pretending-to-be-a-jerk-crying-inside. A terrible combination, really. So we left.
After a nice little dinner at Stingray sushi. Which I really like. Except I need to remember Morning Dew sushi roll in better than Las Vegas. Even though Las Vegas is very good.
So we left. Freezing our butts off (a little rainy, maybe 60 degrees?) but chilly and we were in heels. We walked a few blocks towards a club and then hailed a taxi (my second ever) and he gave us a ride for FREE! sweet! that doesn't happen. And he smelled good. And he was from Africa and talked all pretty. Anyways,
so we ended up at Devil's Martini and danced for a bit even though it was kinda lame, but still kinda fun. I talked to a group of guys who were far too full of themselves to pay us any attention, which was annoying. But they were dumb.
So John came and rescued us. Truly rescued us. Both in the dance partner way and the ride home way. And then we went to AXIS RADIUS.
Axis Radius is the epitome of Scottsdale. People like to look pretty and be seen here. There is FOG, which is so so cool. That was my favorite. These are the dancers.

I jokingly said I was going to drop out of school and make this my job. Just tan, go to the gym, and wear cool boots.
Just kidding. Terrible. But very scottsdale.
So anyway, I'd never been, and it was fun. And I got in free, which made me feel cool. And talked to a cool guy from London, and one from Ecuador. Just fun.
It wasn't Bridget's favorite night, because, really, the clubs were close to empty and the guys were a disaster. But I loved spending time with her, and really, it's all about the memories, right?

What a Fun Little Conference Watching-Pickles Meeting-Baby Shower Throwing- Desert Photo Shooting of a Weekend This Was.

Ok, so I really do like being social. I question myself on this once in awhile because sometimes I simply do not like the groups in which I find myself. But surrounded by friends or even people I just find enjoyable? I love it. And I don't get tired of it. At all. So this weekend. Was great for me.

First. Conference watching. Conference is back again. And we love it. Me, Brad, John, Bridget, Tyler, and Pickles. Bridget brought over English Muffins from her work, LGO. They taste a little like healthier doughnuts. Brad made amazing swiss cheese, avocado, egg sandwiches. He did get some crap from Bridget and John about the Miracle Whip, but that happens when you grow up in a house where you don't taste mayonnaise until an 8th grade field trip. It was a nice time. A little louder than some sessions. No question I'll rewatch this session- or at least read it, but it was a comfortable and enjoyable few hours.

Next! Pickles Meeting. Ok, out of order, I know. This is Bridget's friend from Boise. Real name: Jared McGee. (I think). Pictures? at www.perfectmiracles.blogspot.com. Very nice person. He brought over two other friends last night who were pretty cool and it was fun to all hang out. I love meeting people who at least share some of my affection for Boise, and they all did.

Third! Baby Shower Throwing/Sprinkles Eating. Larry from my work got married last year to a cute girl Amanda from Tennessee. They met on the internet and are adorable. And she is due now on April 25th. But she doesn't know too many people here, so Bridgette (from work) and I threw her a fun little baby shower on Saturday. (I missed the second session of conference. I spaced it when the planning began.) Bridgette brought cute little butterfly and flower decorations and some sandwiches. I brought the cupcakes and provided the house. And the baby food for that crazy tasting guessing game. Baby Mac & Cheese is so gross!! It was fun to hang out with some of my favorite work people and I really like Amanda, too. A few people stayed til almost 5- four hours after it started. I loved every minute. And the cupcakes were delightfully delicious. They had little pink bunnies and little baby bottles and were caramel praline and carrot cake and chocolate and vanilla. If you ever get a Sprinkles where you live, don't get Vanilla. It's so boring. Not like Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. That's Different.

So people all day Saturday.

Then...

Sunday. Me and Brad and John and Tyler and Ariana. Ariana brought over delicious little oatmeal muffins for the morning session, reminiscient of October conference and our Women's Health muffins. A little more tired. But I definitely heard all the talks, and they were really excellent. Lots of temple & happiness & peace & productivity talks. Then I took a wonderful nap. ahh. nap time.

Second session was probably the most chill. Just me, John, & Brad.

Then I ROUND BRUSHED my hair. This to me is somewhat craziness. I do not really understand the appeal of doing ones' hair for 30-40 minutes everyday. This seems like a very long & tedious process that serves only to take that much longer for me to get to Target. Or clean the house. Or get the mail. Really. It just seems like it takes absolutely forever. But. Vanie, the girl who cut my hair in February, makes my hair look beautiful when she round brushes it AND she came over to teach me on Monday, and we did our hair together and I was crazy late to FHE but it was fun anyways.

So, Bridget loves to take pictures. Bridget wanted to take pictures of me (and John) in the desert. She told me to do curls. I assume that meant round brush since I didn't have a curling iron. I will never ever be a cosmetologist. I swear this to you. But I did it. And I had some big Utah girl hair. Vanie is a convert. But she gets the Utah hair thing. This she was born with.

So outfits, bar stools, and boots in tow, we packed up the Bel Air and headed out to the desert. I posted 50 pictures on facebook. Can I just tell you? These pictures turned out amazing and were so much fun. And I swear to you, the first person to ask me if these were engagement pictures will be shot on contact. No. They were us messing around and Bridget loving both her amazing talent and her amazing camera. And it just so happened that John and I have some great individual pictures and a few thankfully cool pictures together. And the Bel Air looks cool, too. Here's a few shots.

Great Weekend.