2013

Sorry I haven't posted in a long time.  I guess I am the only person that used Google Reader, so now that it is gone, I don't remember to look at blogs or post.

Here are the highlights to my 2013 year:

1. Running-  I have become a runner, not a fast runner, but a runner.  I was running on the tredmill some the first have of the year, then in July my family convinced me to do a 5K that was a downhill course.  I ended up running it will my sister trying to help her, but I really enjoyed it, so I signed up for another 5K.  From July to December I have ran six 5K races, and I plan on continuing to run.

2. Europe- I was blessed to go to Europe twice in 2013, I went to France in Feburary and Greece, Italy, and Spain in June.  The second trip, I was a group leader of a group of about 13 people (mostly students) taking an education trip to Europe.  It had it's stressful moments, but it was so much fun and I can't wait to go again this summer.  I never was a big fan of Paris before I went, now I totally get why Paris is so popular.  Paris was amazing, beautiful, and timeless.

3. Bucketlist item- Ever since college, one of my bucketlist items was to go to Florence, Italy.  Most people do not understand my extreme love for Florence.  Florence is where the Renassiance began and where some of the greatest artists lived.  The Renassiance was all about celebrating life and tryinng to enjoy life after the plague had wiped out so much of Europe.  Part of going to Florence was getting to see the David statue.  It was literally breathtaking.

4.Mom survived another year- My mom has had a rough year, and a few scares.  Some how she pulls through, and I have gotten another year with this amazing women.  I know I may not have that much more time with her, but I will take every moment I can get.

5. Dad running- My dad has been trying to get in better shape the last two years, I finally convinced him to 5K with me.  So on Dec 28, my dad ran his first 5K in 36:30.  He did amazing and actually enjoyed it and said he might do another one when it gets warmer in the spring.

BRING ON 2014!!!!!!!

Spain

We finished up our adventure in Barcelona, Spain.  Just like before the ferry we were on was running late.  Thankfully, this time it was only two hours late.  So we had ate dinner at a normal Spanish time on the first night, 9:00 pm.  We then went to our hotel, and our hotel was amazing!!!!  The next morning in Spain he had our walking tour of Barcelona, we saw all kinds of things.  Las Ramblas, which is a famous street, Christopher Columbus state, the famous church (right) that is still not finished.  They have been building it and adding on to it for like 50 years, and they still have a least 20 years to go.  Crazy.  It was also cool to see some of the Olympic stuff, we drove by the stadium, the pool where they had the diving competition, and a few other places.  Then a small group of us went to the Pablo Picasso Museum.  We didn't have much time because the line was super long, (but we got in free) it was worth it because where else are you going to see that many Picasso's.  I didn't realize that when Picasso was younger, his style wasn't the same, it was more realistic and not abstract.  I guess you learn something new every day right?

Our group at the famous tile lizard statue.  Don't mind everyone else in the picture, it is a very busy spot.

One of my favorite things from the whole trip is getting to go to see the stadium for FC Barcelona.  Only five of us wanted to do it, but it was amazing.  You start out going through a soccer museum, then you get to see all different areas of the stadium.  We got to sit in seats at field level, in the middle, then at the press box.  Just in case you are like me and don't read Catalan "Mes que unn club" means "More than a club."

Italy

Ever since my junior year of college, visiting Florence, Italy has been on my Bucket List.  After spending three days in Greece, it was time to travel to Italy.  We were traveling by ferry...super cool by the way, but bad news...the ferry was running five hours late.  So we had to wait around in this little tiny terminal at the dock for FOR-EV-ER.  Finally the boat arrives, but then they have to unload everyone and all the trucks, eventually we get on the boat.  The trip itself from Greece to Italy, at least the path we were taking was about 26 hours of travel.  It was cool to walk up to the top deck after the sun had gone down and just think that you were cruising along the Ionian Sea, in the middle of the ocean, without a thing in sight.  We arrive in Italy at 11:00 at night, no big deal right...WRONG!!! We still had a four hour drive ahead of us to our hotel.  I didn't get much sleep on the bus, and the last hour or so was rough as my motion sickness medication wore off.  We arrived in the town of our hotel only to drive around the town at 3:30 in the morning for another twenty minutes because the bus couldn't find the hotel.  Eventually we got out and walked to the hotel, I was just thankful to get off the bus.

I didn't get to sleep until after 4:00 am, thankfully we got to sleep in until 8:30 the next morning, but then it was off to Florence.  We first had a walking tour of Florence with our local guide, we saw things like the Gates of Paradise, the Duomo Church (above) which is the fourth largest church in the world, and a demonstration on how the make leather. Then we got some free time, first things first...Gelato at the most famous gelato place in Florence...Vivoli.

To be honest, it was AMAZING.

After gelato, some of us wanted to go see The David, I mean it is only the most famous statue in the world.  I teach about The David every year, so of course I wanted to see it in person.  They do have a replica outside, but I HAD to see the real thing.  Standing in front of this wonderful piece of artwork was a dream come true and something that has completely changed my life, that is a story for another day.

 Then it was time to climb the 500 steps to the top of the Duomo.  At the top of the large church is a dome, that was the largest dome in the world from 1436-1881.  You can walk up about 500 steps to the highest point in Florence to get a view of a lifetime.  I'm not going to lie, the last hundred steps or so was rough, but I made it to the top and I'm thankful I did.

The next day we had about half a day to get to see Rome.  We weren't even suppose to go to Rome, but our Tour Director was able to fit it in for us.

Trevi Fountains: Legend says if you throw in one coin- you will return to Rome, two coins- you will return to Rome in love, three coins (depends on who you ask)- return to Rome married or divorced.  Any guesses on how many coins I threw in???

Italian Pizza...enough said

We literally got 15 minutes at the Vatican.  Basically we only had time to walk around St. Peter's Square, but it was still pretty cool.  I will want to go back and actually get to experience more of the Vatican.

After our fast visit to Rome, it was off to the port to board the next ferry, this time headed to Barcelona.  

Greece

 I have had one amazing summer!!!  After the school year ended, I turned my attention to getting ready for my European adventure.  On June 14, the adventure officially began....at 4:00 am.  Since we were a group checking in at the airport we needed to get to the airport early, so me and the other leader were waiting for our students at 5:00 am.  We got all checked in and eventually got on our flight to Atlanta, from Atlanta we boarded a flight to Amsterdam.  Long Atlantic flights always make me a little nervous, because I know I most likely won't sleep.  After we boarded and took off, we were informed that in entertainment system was broken and they would have no movies or anything to help pass the time.  So...eight hours in a middle seat staring at the seat in front of me.  After the longest flight of my life...we arrive in Amsterdam, we get ready for our last flight to Athens, Greece.  We FINALLY make it to Greece and have to wait a little bit longer as another group was arriving soon after us.  We get on a bus and head to the hotel and meet our tour director, Kostas.  Since we had four different groups in our one large group, day one was a pretty easy day, well as easy as it could be after 24 hours of travel.  We got our room assignments and then went off to the beach.  Our hotel was only about two blocks for the beach, we were all excited to get to go swimming in the Aegean Sea.  This beach was beautiful, but very different from the beaches I am used to on the Atlantic or even the Pacific.  Instead of sand, the beach was rocks...ROCKS.  You did not want to walk along the beach feeling the sand between your feet.  In fact you didn't want to take off your sandals at all.  The rocks made it different, but going to the beach in Greece was still AMAZING!

                                                        Look how clear the water is!!!


Our hotel was not in Athens, but in a town right outside of Athens.  So day two meant going to Athens and doing your typical Athens stuff.  I was looking forward to this day most in Greece...I teach about Ancient Greece every year and it was a dream to go to the Parthenon and see all these amazing things first hand.

Our Taylorsville group.  The Parthenon was breath taking...like literally.  I could not believe how amazing and beautiful it still is.

The next day, we went on a one day cruise to three different islands.  We went to this island, Hydra that was your typical Greek island.  They had no cars on the island.  The only modes of transportation were donkeys and bikes.  I of course paid to take a donkey ride around the island, it was pretty cool.

 Our view of Hydra as we docked the boat...beautiful.  We continued on to two other islands before we returned to mainland Greece.  On the last island, we again went swimming, but this time after I got in I soon got stung by a jelly fish.  So I got out and went and got some medicine from our cruise ship.

The next day we headed to Corinth, Greece...as in 1 Corinthians.  I was awesome to sit in this ancient city and read some passages from Corinthians.  I know it is a little nerdy, but cool to me.

I didn't want to overwhelm everyone with pictures, so I hope these few are enough.  Adventures from Italy to come soon.

Graduation

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated my blog.  I really don't have much of an excuse.

Thursday, June 6, was the last day of the school year and I had the "pleasure" of going to graduation.  Actually I didn't mind, the kids I student taught as 7th graders were graduating, so this has always been a special class for me.  When it came to graduation, I think I had the best seat in the house, right in front of an interrupter for a deaf person.  I have always enjoyed watching people use sign language, and this was no different.  It started out simple, with the interrupter and the deaf lady chatting before the ceremony began.

When it came time for the National Anthem, it was almost an emotional experience for me.  I love the National Anthem, but I don't know if I have really paid attention to the words in a long time.  This time I was listening to the words, and focusing on the sign for each word and it was amazing.  I could tell this guy was very good, he had lots of emotion and facial expression during the songs and speeches he was interrupting.  My favorite part was when he did the sign for rockets.  The picture is of him during a speech, since would be standing during the National Anthem.  If you have never seen the Star Spangled Banner signed, I suggest you watch the video, I happen to think it is amazing...and this video is nothing compared to the guy at graduation.

Spring has Sprung....almost

I have been dog sitting the last week, which may sound odd for me.  My sister went out of town and I have been watching her dog for her.  Belle is the only dog I would EVER dog sit for, she is amazing.  I would get a dog, if I knew she would turn out like Belle.  Anyways,  because I have a dog, I have to take her for a walk a few times a day.  We don't go anywhere special, just around the complex that I live in, but I we have walked I have noticed something.  Spring is here!!!

The week started off cold and wet, there were very few signs of spring on Monday and Tuesday.  As the week went on I could tell that spring was indeed on its way.  As I would walk around I would notice the tree went from nothing, to little buds, to starting to bloom, and some even have leaves growing again.  I am amazed at how fast the world was coming back to life.  I love spring...my allergies don't, but I love spring.  I love seeing the flowers and the green grass, the birds flying around.  After winter, it is nice to see things coming back to life again.

Maybe tomorrow I will take some pictures...we even have some ducks in the pond next to my building.  I love it.

Spring Break

This last week was my spring break.  I really didn't have much planned...I made a goal...to go to four temples in four days.  I normally try to go to the temple at least twice a month, but for whatever reasons, I have struggled to go once a month.  I wanted to use spring break as my chance to catch up and I figured it would be a great way to prepare for General Conference.  One of the great things about living in Utah is that is is possible to go to four different temples in four days.  I know, I am very spoiled, so I need to take advantage of this situation as much as I can.  Temples are closed on Mondays, so I started on Tuesday going to the Jordan River Temple.  In case you are unfamiliar with Jordan River, it was the second busiest temple in the world for many years...until TWO temples were built within it's temple district.  Because of this, it has sessions every starting every 20 minutes.  This is so nice, I never worry about what time it is or if I will make the session.  If I miss it then you only have to wait 20 minutes.

 Wednesday I decided to go to my favorite temple and one of the newest...Oquirrah Mountain.  When Oquirrah Mountain was built, South Jordan, Utah became the first city to have two temples.  They are only like five miles apart from each other, but I have a special spot in my heart of Oquirrah Mountain.  

Thursday was the day I went to Salt Lake.  Interesting fact, Salt Lake is the closest temple to my house...but I am not in that temple district.  I know I don't really have anything to really complain about, but it is just an interesting fact to me.  I have only been to Salt Lake a couple of times...I hate driving downtown, so I normally go to Jordan River.  But there is something special about the Salt Lake temple, just the history you feel while inside is amazing.  I love the modern temples, but Salt Lake will always be cool.

To finish off my week, on Friday I went to the Bountiful temple.  I wanted to get to temple this week that I had never been to...sadly it didn't happen, but I was happy to include Bountiful in my temple trip.  It is an extremely beautiful temple, and it has it's own parking garage!!!  How cool is that???  Sometime soon I will go to Manti and or Brigham City, it just wasn't in the cards for this week.

Tennis

The boys tennis season is in full swing and things are going better than last year.  We still are having some challenges, but for the most part things are better.  Right now we are 1-2 for the season, but one of the losses was very close.

The last two days I have spent large amounts of time at the tennis courts.  Yesterday I think the count was six hours.  I played some for about an hour or maybe just 45 minutes.  Then I watched some of my team play each other and then I played some again at the end.  It was a beautiful day, that is the only reason I stayed as long as I did.  In fact I got a very small sun burn yesterday.  I don't have any friends that play tennis, so if I ever want to play it has to be with students, so I had to take advantage of it while I could yesterday.  It is odd to think that I am starting to really like tennis.  I enjoy just rallying (hitting) than playing a real match, but I have liked learning a new skill.

Paris Day Three

Day three is Paris was not a full day, I had to actually learn a few things...you know since that is why I was in Paris.  So I had about three hours of training before we headed back out.  I learned some awesome things that I hope to use in the near future to make these trips amazing.  Anyways we had an option after the training, we could have free time in Paris or go with the tour guide to a city just outside of Paris that is where all the artist live.  They have street artists in this square where you can buy local artwork, or even sit for an artist.  The cool part for me was the church... the Church of the Sacred Heart.  It is this HUGE church as you can see above.  I was so beautiful.  I think I might even like it more than Notre Dame.

After that we went to dinner, it was this flat bread thing, that was almost a pizza.  It was pretty good, I can't complain...actually I really liked it.  Then it was off to our cruise...

We had been offered a chance to go on a river cruise earlier in the morning.  The tour guide had worked out a great price for us, only 13 Euro each.  I was told a river cruise is something you cannot miss in Paris so of course I signed up.  I think it was from the river that I got my best pictures of the Eiffel Tower, you could actually see the whole thing.  We also got to see the Statue of Liberty up close.  This Lady Liberty is one fourth the size of the one in New York, but they are facing each other.  I like this one because you can see the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Feb. Running Totals

I started of Feb on fire at the gym.  I thought I was going to blow my Jan running totals out of the water.  Then Paris happened and I lost a lot of steam.  I was still determined to at least match Jan and run 28 miles.  In Feb I ran 28.5 miles!!!  Again I have started off March doing awesome at running, in fact yesterday I ran 3.25 miles and then 2.0 miles today.  I can only hope to keep up the good work.  I'm still trying to lose the weight I gained in Paris.

Paris Day Two

 Sorry for the long delay for more updates on my Paris trip.  Day two was another AMAZING day in Paris.  After walking and riding the subway on the first day, I was glad to see a bus waiting for us after breakfast.  We drove through town and I just loved looking at the building, it was crazy to think about how old they were.  I was also glad that I didn't have to drive, they streets were crazy and I didn't understand the rules of the road.  In fact in one place they told us that the round about at the Arc de Triumph had no rules, you just had to be gusty and go for it.  Our first stop was at one of two domes in Paris, this happens to be where Napoleon is buried.  We didn't have time to go inside, but the outside is pretty impressive so I can only guess what the inside was like. After most of the group stopped in a cafe for some coffee and I used the bathroom (I learned to never pass up a bathroom) we got back on the bus for a stop at the Eiffel Tower.  I didn't want to be one of those people that just LOVE the Eiffel Tower, but let me tell you....I LOVE the Eiffel Tower.  It is so impressive.  We only had time for a few pictures but I cam back to see the tower at night later on day two.  After the Eiffel Tower we got back on the bus to head out of Paris to Versailles...I honestly can't tell you how long the drive was because I fell asleep on the bus.  On the way back it wasn't too long so I think it was just a small cat nap for me.  Which I know was much needed at the time.

I know it is a cheesy picture of me trying to prove the Eiffel Tower isn't that big, but I thought it was funny.  Then we move on to Versailles, which was a royal palace for many years before the French Revolution.  Many rooms had paintings on the ceiling, this one was actually painted on the ceiling while others were painted then glued on the ceiling...crazy huh?  Versailles is VERY ornate, like they were trying to prove how important they were.  Outside the very fancy and impressive palace is a GOLD fence!!!  That's right the fence is painted in gold leaf...oh to be rich.

 Around 5:00 they dropped us off and gave us some free time to do whatever we wanted to do in Paris.  The two people I was close friends with got together and we decided that we were going to get a crepe, walk around some, eat dinner in the Latin Corner, and then go see the Eiffel Tower at night.  The crepe was super yummy, dinner not so much, but it was an adventure...but the Eiffel Tower at night is a must see.  We figured out how to get there on the subway and as soon as you come up out of the subway we got a perfect view.  We walked a minute or two and looked up and it began to sparkle.  We figured out that it sparkles for five minutes on the hour, but it was cool to see in real life.  Once we got to the base of the Tower, we knew we wanted to go up.  It was a Saturday night so we waited for about a hour, but sooooo worth it.

The Eiffel Tower truly is amazing and I'm so happy I got to experience it.  I'm said my camera with a flash wasn't working so I don't have great pictures from the top...Next time. 

 Remember how I said you never pass up a bathroom??  Well when I got in line for the Eiffel Tower I didn't realize how long the wait was going to be.  About half way through the line I knew I was in trouble, but I couldn't leave the line to go the bathroom.  So I just had to suck it up and be a big girl.  I was very lucky and they had a bathroom at the top, if they didn't I'm pretty sure I was going to have to pee my pants.

Day one in Paris

Well my Valentines Day was spent traveling across the world.  My first flight was from Salt Lake to Chicago and was at 11:30, it was a very small plane and a tight fit.  I tried not to sleep because I wanted to sleep on the long flight.  I was traveling with a married couple from Idaho the whole way, I was nervous about what it would be like traveling with people I didn't know for the next 15 hours.  It turns out we hit it off right away. And we were friends together for the whole trip, it was nice to make such good friends.  The picture of the right is just before we landed, and is really my first view of France.  I lucked out and on my first ever international flight was not a full flight.  We were booked on the last row of the plane, but the flight attendants told us the flight was not full and we might be able to get our own row if we spread out. Of course we did, the front of the plane was full, but the back was almost empty.  The three of us all got our own row.  I choose to be in the middle with three seats so I could almost lay down flat.  I didn't get a ton of sleep, but I got a lot more than I would have if I had to sleep sitting up in a chair.  On the way out a took a picture of my bed.  Now right as we landed I was super excited, but my excitement was calmed when a "Code Red" announcement was made.  "Code Red" is never a good thing, they then began asking for a doctor.  The flight attendants in back took some medical stuff up towards the middle of the plane, and came back and said it wasn't really serious.  But a lady was on the ground when we passed her I felt so bad, and happy it didn't happen in the middle of the flight.

We went through customs and made our way through the airport, I guess we were the first of the teachers to land so the leaders picked us up and then we had to run to pick up some more people who were landing soon.  We had to wait around at the airport for a couple of hours before we got to go to the hotel.  While we were waiting I found the Mona Lisa in the bathroom.  Who knew the Mona Lisa was really in the bathroom of the Paris airport.

 We finally got to leave the airport and went to the hotel for just a minute.  I met my roommate for the weekend, she was from Alaska.  I'm glad I didn't have to travel that far.  We talked for a minute and got ready for the rest of the day.

We walked to the subway and got a quick lesson on how to navigate the subway, it was a crazy experience with 50 people and the rest of the normal people in Paris.  We went to the shopping center right outside the Louvre Museum.  But before we went in they let is get lunch on our own...my first experience in ordering or really even interacting in French.  I don't know enough of French to order in French, so I picked something that looked simple and could basically point to.  Before I went into the museum I took a picture of the cool inverted pyramid just outside the entrance of the Louvre.  It was very impressive.

I only had a few things I really wanted to see in the Louvre.  I made sure that I went right to the Mona Lisa.  It is so impressive, I knew it was small...but it was still over whelming and amazing to see in person.  This is the closest you can get to the Mona Lisa, but I didn't care.  I was so excited to see her.

 
Another piece of art I wanted to see is called Winged Victory.  It was actually on the way to the Mona Lisa.

The third piece of art is Venus de Milo.  She is a famous Greek sculpture, I think she was my second favorite piece of art that I saw.

So the Louvre also has a large pyramid that you walk under on your way out.....

 Here is what it looks like from the outside.

I have no ideal what this is, but I thought it was really funny, so that is why I had to take a picture of it.

We found out later that to see everything in the Louvre you would be there day and night for 39 days and only looking at each piece of art for one second.  So needless to say we didn't see everything.  After leaving the Louvre we had a walking tour of Paris.  We stopped by the river and I thought it was a good time to take a picture with me in it, as proof I was actually in Paris.  This is the Seine River, the river that goes through the middle of the city Paris.

This is the oldest clock in Paris, they just barely restored it.  It is awesome and what's crazy it is just on the side of a building.

We then made a stop at Notre Dame, an 850 year old church.  It is amazing, to think that they were able to make sure a beautiful building that long ago.

I haven't been in too many Catholic churches, it is still awesome to see the candles.

My first day in Paris concluded with a French dinner.  While everyone else was ordering wine or beer I got French Sprite.  The main course was duck, I have never eaten duck before, but it was actually pretty good...kinda salty, but still good.  We went back to the hotel and crashed.  At that point we had basically been going for two days.  The hotel rooms were nothing special, but it was a bed and that is all that mattered at that point.  I basically passed out and I don't think a bed had ever felt so good.

Running totals

I have been going to a gym regularly for a year now and I love it.  It has been a great change that my life needed.  I love going to the gym after work and getting out all my frustration in a natural healthy way.  One of my goals for 2013 is to keep track of how many miles I run during the year.  For anyone that knows me, knows that I am not a runner.  I have been working very hard to learn how to enjoy running or at least not hating it.  Maybe after a couple of months I will make a goal of how many miles I want to run over the year.  At the beginning of the year I had no idea what would be a reachable goal, so I have trying to keep track every day.  

I know it is odd, but actually prefer running on a treadmill than outside.  I like to see exactly how fast I'm running and how far I have ran.  That and it is healthier to run inside in Salt Lake during the winter, we have the worst air quality in the country.  In January I ran around 28 miles.  I have no idea if I can keep that up the rest of the year, but it will be fun to see if I can.  I am about to get way busy with boys tennis starting in about three weeks, so I guess I'll find out soon.  

Hello February

I don't think I have ever been so happy to see January be over and February to come.  Even though I don't have a specific reason why January was tough, it just was. Maybe because we got twice as much snow as normal, or the fact the average high temp in January was 19 degrees....but no event that made it rough.  I even had a vacation in January, so I don't know why I'm complaining.

I look forward to February for one BIG reason...I finally get a stamp on my passport!!!  I will be going to France for a few days in two weeks.  I am starting to get super excited and stressed at the same time.  I have already had a few dreams about not making my flight or something going wrong with this trip.  I know it is going to be a crazy adventure, I mean who goes to France over the weekend???  I doubt I will ever adjust to the new time and I hope it doesn't rain the whole time.  Even if it does, I will get to see the Mona Lisa in person.  I teach about that painting every year and now I finally get to see it. 

I never would have imagined that France would be the first stamp on my passport, but now that it is going to happen I'm happy with it.  I have always said I didn't want Canada or Mexico to be the first place I go.  Well I guess France isn't the first place, in high school I went to the Bahamas...but I don't count that.  You didn't even need a passport then.

Give me about another week and then I will really start to stress out.  I'm really worried about sleeping on the plane.  I don't sleep on planes, but I know if I don't, I'm going to struggle.  We land at 8:30 in the morning and hit the ground running, no naps, no nothing.  I'm the type of person that if I don't get sleep, I actually get sick.  So that is the last thing I need is to make myself sick from not sleeping.  So if anyone has any good ideas on how to rest on a plane, let me know.

Disneyland!

Living in the west I always hear how great Disneyland is. But very few had been to Disney World, so I didn't really listen to them much. I finally got to go to Disneyland and I had a blast. I went on a long weekend with people from work and it was just what I needed. We got out of the super cold and bad air quality and just had some fun. I was said that Disneyland didn't do fireworks the night I went but besides that, I had a blast.

I also got to go to California Adventure and that was pretty amazing as well. They put on an awesome color, light, and water show instead of fireworks. Before coming home I got to walk along Newport beach some, it was almost 80 degrees. Then I landed in Utah and it was 8 degrees.

I can't wait for my next adventure... Which is only 15 days away!!!!