I'm in love with the holidays

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, as many of you must be aware. It marked the beginning of the holiday season for me. Although I must admit I started listening to Christmas music the day after Halloween. All month I'd been looking forward to Thanksgiving. I was really excited to cook, more than anything. And I spent most of the day cooking. I made all the traditional foods (traditional to my family). I made turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, rolls, candied yams, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and gravy, some veggies on the side, and of course pumpkin pie! And I of course, ate way too much ;)



Fact: The first time I cooked Thanksgiving dinner, I made the meal for a about 25-30 people. That was three years ago.
Fiction: I did it all by myself.

When I was a kid my family always put up our Christmas tree the Monday after Thanksgiving. I got a little anxious this year so Greg and I put ours up today! It makes me so happy. We also put Christmas lights out on our patio.

Since I have such a big family we always draw names to decide who gives gifts to whom. I started calling my mom up at the beginning of November asking her to have my family still at home draw names for Christmas. All month they've been meaning to do it, and every week I call and ask. Today I finally found out who I am giving a gift to, my little brother Ben! and Greg gives to my mom! I'm so excited. I love buying presents.

A couple of weeks ago I ordered our Christmas cards that we'll be sending out to close friends and family, and they arrived earlier this week. Man, I'm just so excited! I'm excited to start making holiday candy, and maybe even attempt to make eggnog. I even have my first holiday party of the season coming up a week from today. Jeez, I love this time of year :) I feel so happy.

Abbie

This week we are dogsitting our friends' puppy Abbie. She is so adorable. The most well trained puppy I've ever seen. She reminds me of my brother's old dog Zeus, and she reminds Greg of his old dog Tiffany. We've fallen in love with the sweet thing. The best part of having Abbie around is watching Greg play with her. He seems like he has so much fun, and Abbie does too. I think it is so amazing how much happiness a dog can bring to a home, especially when they are as well behaved as cute, little Abbie. She's still pretty young but she knows a lot of commands, and she's really obedient. We've spent the evening trying to teach her to play dead. She doesn't quite have it, but I think she'll get it soon. Well, here are pictures of the cuteness I'm witnessing:

Home Sweet Home

As all of you know, I'm from Utah. Greg showed this article to me. It made me really happy. Read it. Keep in mind that there are a few things about Utah that I don't like, but this article made me really proud of my childhood home and my heritage. Go Utah!

http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12480476

Birthdayween

I had a really great time at my birthdayween party last night, thanks to everyone that came :) Also, a special thanks to Melissa and Mabel who made yummy cake and cookies. I am so lucky to have so many wonderful friends.

When I woke up this morning Greg made me bacon, eggs, and toast (he's a sweety). We started talking about how fun the party was over breakfast. He mentioned that he thought it was so thoughtful of Marco to take water around to everyone on our cookie, cooling tray. Thanks Marco! That reminded me of the parties Greg use to throw at his house in high school. Greg had a wagon filled with drinks that he would personally roll around to each of the guests. Greg is a good party host, always has been. Greg also had the perfect house for hosting parties. His basement was two to three times the size of our little living room, it had a pool table, fooz-ball table, a big screen t.v., a kitchenette, and plenty of places for people to sit and enjoy. Oh yeah, and a back door to a nice backyard that overlooked the valley below. It was beautiful. Thanks Greg for being the best and for hosting fun parties! Here are some pictures from the party and one from this morning:

Universal Health Care

On NPR this week I heard someone (sorry I'm not sure who it was) debating why Universal Health Care is sooooo bad for everyone. This person argued that in places like France and Sweden people don't get to choose their doctors. They may not get treated immediately, and overall the health care quality will not be as good as it could be if health care was privatized.

Now let me be completely honest with you for a moment, I'm a big fan of Universal Health Care. I think it is ridiculous that people have to spend an exorbitant amount of money on health insurance every year, and the moment they have an accident or get sick they still get stuck with paying a good portion of the bill (or all of the bill) because insurance companies try to weasel their way out of paying for as much of the bill as possible. Then after all that, you are guaranteed to have your insurance rates go up. And even worse, if you have some sort of terminal illness or precondition to something like sleep apnea you then have to pay loads more money for them to pay a portion of your bills, that's IF they allow you to keep them as your insurance provider.

So now that you know my view on that, let me tell you about my personal experience with Universal Health Care. In 2004 I was studying abroad in southern France. One night near the end of March I was in excruciating pain. The lower/right hand side of my back was throbbing. I didn't know what was wrong, and I just prayed and prayed it would go away by the morning. It took hours to fall asleep. In the morning I felt ill. More ill than I have ever felt in my entire life. I had planned to spend that day being a tourist with a friend in Lourdes. I told my friend how sick I was, but I didn't want to miss out on an adventure so I went anyway. Around 11 am I thought I was going to pass out. I found a bathroom, and tried to calm down. I was breathing heavily, and I couldn't see straight. Since I was in the bathroom, I decided to relieve myself (sorry to be so disgusting, but this is an essential part of the story). I realized immediately that I peeing blood. I started crying. I didn't know what to do. I was in a foreign country with socialized health care for gads sake!

I told my friend that I was peeing blood (this friend was a friend I met in France, and hence was French). He immediately called up some people and asked what doctors they would recommend I go see. Then I called and made an appointment for the next morning. I chose the doctor. The next morning I arrived to my appointment on time, and I didn't even have to wait. Nor did I have to pay some huge health care cost :) My doctor was very knowledgeable. She made me feel comfortable. She performed a whole exam even though pretty immediately she identified that I had a kidney stone. She informed me of all my options, and told me her highest recommendations. She then sent me to a lab to get my pee tested. At a time when I was feeling physically at my worst, and was scared of out my mind to be sick in a foreign country, it was a relief to have such a great experience with the French SOCIALIZED health care system.

I honestly don't think that our experiences with our doctors will change that dramatically if we adopted Universal Health Care. I do believe that more people will receive health care, and that people will be able to afford health care. I think it is a great idea and American's shouldn't be so scared of socializing something that everyone requires once in a while.

Besides, we are already socializing banks (due to the Wall Street/Bailout crisis). As a matter of fact I was watching Real Time with Bill Maher and heard Chris Rock (I believe) mention that Americans are so afraid of SOCIALISM, but now with the whole Wall Street-Money Crisis-Bailout thing going on, we are SOCIALISTS and aren't receiving any of the benefits of socialism...like Universal Health Care, equal education for everyone...and that sort of stuff. Of course he was making a joke about the current crisis, but he does make a good point.

On The Road

Yesterday while I was driving on the U.S. 101 South at 1:30 in the afternoon something odd happened. I was in the middle lane, traffic was running smoothly right around the 65 MPH speed limit, when all of a sudden all of the cars around me hit their brakes. I figured there was an accident, or road construction, or something. After all traffic isn't usually stalled at that time of day, even on the 101. I drove for a few minutes, I didn't see an accident. I didn't see construction. I didn't even see a car pulled off to the side of the road having car troubles. What I did see was a horizontal line of cars leading the following pack of cars I was in (I was actually quite near the front of the pack). Leading the pack of cars was a typical black and white police car. It had it's lights flashing and it was behaving oddly; It was driving diagonally, back-and-forth, across all of the lanes, not allowing any cars in any of the lanes to pass it. I thought, "well, this cop must know something I don't. Surely NOW we'll come to some construction, or a terrible accident of sorts". Minutes and miles pass, we are all driving about 25 MPH. I don't see any construction. I don't see any accidents, not even a car pulled off to the side of the road. Then all of a sudden I see the cop speed straight ahead, off into the distance and disappear, and nothing else happened. Isn't that weird? Very strange in my opinion.

So speaking of driving, I was watching Elizabethtown at about 3:30 this morning, and it inspired me to want to go on a road trip. I'd like to travel across the country and listen to music and see places I've heard of, but never seen. Someday.

Speaking of "on the road," On The Road by Jack Kerouac, is one of my favorite books. I haven't read it since high school, but I remember when I read it I felt like going on a road trip and changing my life. For a moment I really wanted to be a beatnik.

Humans are made to RUN

Yesterday my older sister, Jannifer, completed a 100 mile race. She took third place out of all the women, and finished 3 hours faster than she had planned on! I'm so proud of her! That is amazing! About a month ago she competed in a 50 mile race, and I was amazed then. I almost can't believe that she ran a 100 mile race!

It is hard to believe that anyone could run this kind of distance, it must take an incredible amount of training, high levels of pain tolerance, and a huge amount of mental strength!

This morning I discovered this article:
http://discovermagazine.com/2006/may/tramps-like-us/article_view?b_start:int=0&-C=
You should read it. It is kind of long, but super interesting. It is all about how humans are designed to run. from the ligaments in our legs that do nothing for walking, but are essential for running, to our BIG butts that balance us when we run, but do nothing when we are walking or sitting (It is even believed that our butts have to be "big" for us to be able to run. That makes me feel better about the size of my buttocks!). The article talks about how our body is more efficient at regulating heat than any other animal, and that is the reason why we can outlast any animal when running long distances whether they are faster than us or not. At some point the animal will have to stop or it will overheat and die of heat exhaustion. Even our neck and shoulders have evolved to help steady us when we run. Incredible.

I don't think I'll go out and run 100 miles any time soon, but it is nice to know that if I set my mind to it and trained intensely I could do it.


This is my sister Jannifer and my brother Nick, the two most amazing runners I know :)

Barack Obama and Technology

Yesterday I was driving in the car listening to NPR. NPR was having a pretty interesting discussion about Barack Obama giving people the opportunity to find out who he will choose to run as his VP running mate via their cell phones.

Someone called in to NPR and said it was just a gimmick to increase his celebrity status. Another said it was so people could feel important and good about supporting Barack Obama. Another said it was an interesting way to collect data from people that likely don't have home phones and therefore couldn't be included in census studies. Someone else said it was a way to get people excited about the campaign. I think those are all pretty interesting answers, and I wish I could have heard the whole discussion before I had reached my destination. Maybe I should download it.

This whole topic kinda got the wheel in my brain turning. I am one of those people that receives daily emails from "Barack." I occasionally donate a bit of money here or there to his campaign, and watch the video clips he sends out. Overall I'm pretty excited about the possibility of him winning, and I really enjoy "hearing" from him or someone on his campaign daily. So as my brain was spinning out of control, I thought, you know this is one of the many reasons why I support Obama. HE GETS MY GENERATION. My generation includes the up and coming leaders of this country, and the people that are the most active throughout the world. He gets that COMMUNICATION is a big deal to my generation, and he uses communication to its greatest potential. He is an effective communicator. Overall, he is savvy, he's in touch with the modern world...that can only be a good thing.

I'm sure I could say a lot more about this, but I won't. I'd love some feedback on this particular post. :)

Running

I started running when I was 14 years old. My whole family runs. Both my parents have ran multiple marathons. My older brother qualified for the Olympic tryouts this past year and competed in the tryouts. My older sister has ran many marathons, including the Boston Marathon, and now runs ultra marathons. My three younger brothers all run. My little sister is good at running, but doesn't like to run. So pretty much my whole family runs, it's a family affair. I'm not a fantastic runner, but I do ok.

When I first started running I adored it. I lived to run. It felt good to have wind blowing in my hair, my legs moving fast, my heart pounding, and sweat dripping down my body. Not only did it physically feel good, but I made so many friends running. For a long time it was normal for me to run 7-10 miles a day six days a week. I've participated in multiple 24 hour runs and I can honestly say that the most I've ever ran in a 24 hour period is 33 miles. I've ran to the top of Mount Timpanogos (11,749 feet in elevation). I've ran three marathons, a handful of half marathons and many, many 10K's and 5K's. I don't bring this up to brag, but to show just how much I LOVED running for so long. I think it is safe to say I was addicted.

Since my last marathon in June of 2005 I haven't loved running. I've hated it. I've dreaded going outside and moving my feet. I've been lucky to get three minimal runs in a week. At some point I even swore off running. I can't really say why. I was just tired of it. Even though I didn't feel like running most days, I was really sad I wasn't keeping up with my runs. Last year, because of a good friend, I ran the San Francisco 1/2 marathon...completely unprepared. Although, I did fine in the race, and really enjoyed the course I still didn't feel like running.

However, this May Greg and I moved to San Mateo, CA. For some reason when I moved up here I caught the running bug. For three months now I've been running almost every day, and I've been loving it. for the first time in three years I'm starting to remember why I loved moving my legs fast, sweating disgusting amounts of sweat, and feeling my heart pound inside of my chest. I caught the running bug just in time to start training for the San Francisco Half Marathon again. I ran it on Sunday and did better than I expected. I mean, I've definitely gotten slower over the past five years, but I did great for me. I held an 8:24 minute per mile for 13.1 miles. I was hoping to hold a 9 minute mile, so that's great. Out of 1,984 people in the half marathon I came in at 443rd. Out of 1,145 women in the race I came in at 140th. Out of 377 females in my age category I came in at 59th. Anyway, this post has turned into me bragging about me...that's probably not very fun to read. So I'm sorry readers. I'm just so happy that I'm loving running again. I have another half marathon this Saturday in Provo, UT. Wish me luck!

Brighton High School Cross Country Team 1999-2000


At the top of Mount Timpanogos with Sarah Larsen and Lorraine Looney


San Francisco 1/2 Marathong 2008

MORE PIZZA

Back in March I wrote a post about pizza in the Bay Area. Tonight Greg and I went out to dinner with our friends Gautam and Mindy to a restaurant called "Cicero's Pizza, the pizza with the secret." Gautam and Mindy are big fans of this restaurant, and now we are too. This pizza was like no pizza I've ever had before. It is the thinnest crust I've ever had. It is thin in the same way that Saltines are thin. I admit, sometimes it is the chewy thick crust that is appealing about a pizza, but the Cicero crust is nothing to laugh at, it is YUMMY!

Our friends recommended the cheese pizza because otherwise it is like having a salad on top of a thin crust, and this pizza is about the taste and texture of the crust. The sauce is pretty good too, sweet, but not too sweet. We also got a pepperoni pizza, which was good because it wasn't too much topping. If you want more information you can check them out here: http://www.cicerospizza.com/

One really great thing about Cicero's pizza is that you can eat a lot of it before getting full. Since the crust is thin you'll want to eat more slices than usual and hence enjoy it over a little more time than a regular pizza. This is a good pizza to eat when enjoying the company of friends.



Since Greg and I moved to San Mateo in May we've started ordering pizza from ZORBAS PIZZA www.zorbaspizza.com
This pizza is delicious! It is my favorite. They have a pretty diverse menu, and as usual we generally get the pepperoni pizza, but sometimes we get it with olives too:) This pizza has a chewy crust; a crust to die for. It is much thicker than Cicero's crust, which is a plus for this pizza. The crust kinda reminds me of Papa John's crusts; chewy. They also have yummy cheese and delicious sauce. I could eat this pizza every week and never get sick of it. ZORBA's also has a really delectable greek salad. I haven't tried any of their other salads, but I would recommend this one.

Now I'm in the mood to have a pizza party.

I Love GREG

Today is mine and Greg's second anniversary. It is hard to believe that we have really been married for two years. Time flies. I just wanted to reminisce about some of my favorite memories of Greg...I have so many it is hard to choose what I want to share. This post may be a bit lengthy, just to warn you.

Greg has written about how we got together, so I won't talk too much about that, but I will say this: our first date...second time around...was amazing. In fact it was magical. We hadn't seen each other in about five years, but it was like we had never been apart. We went to dinner with some friends, then played some games at a friends house...which is a funny story, but probably deserves a blog dedicated solely to that night, so IF you haven't already heard the story feel free to ask.

After that first date Greg sent me an email. This is the email:

hi there kjersti,

so how was the drive back? and work? for me, today was nice and
relaxing, i slept in and then read the da vinci code all afternoon.
how Come i do that? once agAin i'm neglecting my homework; oh well.

i hope you receive this email, this is the address i am trying to use
more and morE now.

i had a wonderful time with you last night. i enjoy discussing thingS
like books and history with you. it sure is a treat when i get to see
you. =) i hope you cAn come to the colin mochrie show with me.

have a great week and don't forget about all of our spRing break plans!!

love,
greg

----

RUBBKI CKBYUH, Y QTEHU OEK
shift = 322 (modulo 26)

You may notice some odd things about this email, originally I didn't. Months after receiving this email Greg asked me if I had figured out "the code". I was so confused, I didn't know what he was talking about. After getting some direction to look through some old emails I was able to figure out that this email was a code. Maybe you can figure it out, if not I can tell you what it means. Anyway, this was the first of many codes that Greg and I exchanged. It really made me feel special when he would give me codes. It was always so exciting to figure them out. I would usually spend hours looking up things like ASCII, binary code, and Caesar Ciphers. Then I would sometimes have to understand certain references to songs, movies, or historical events. It was always worth all the time spent. Greg always had sweet, sometimes cheesy messages for me. I always tried to give him codes back, but mine were always way too easy.


Greg and I lived about four hours away from each other before he moved to California, but before he moved we use to take turns driving back and forth on the weekends to see each other. One weekend I visited him it was really rainy. We didn't know what to do, but one thing you should know about Greg is that he is full of good, creative, unique ideas. He suggested that we take the TRAX (the Salt Lake City train) to downtown Salt Lake City and go to the courthouse to watch a court hearing.

On the train ride we both started to notice the strange people sitting around us. Greg pulled out a notebook and started writing me notes. We started to make up stories about each of the people on the train and kept passing them back and forth. It was so hard to contain my laughter. We still have the notebook, somewhere, with all our notes. By the end of the train ride Greg had asked, or at least suggested to me (in the notes) to come out to California with him when he moved to go to Stanford. It was on that train ride that I realized I was falling in love....I know, I'm a cheese ball.

Once we got to the court house we couldn't decide if we wanted to go into a drug hearing, murder hearing, divorce hearing or what...so we left and went out to lunch.


When we were first married we lived in Redmond, Washington. Greg was doing an internship, and had moved there before we got married. When I moved there I didn't know a soul. We were only staying for the summer so I didn't get a job, and for some reason I was really scared to go do anything alone so I didn't know a soul besides Greg all summer. Greg was so wonderful during this time though. Everyday at lunch time he would come home to our apartment and have lunch with me. (which was about a ten minute drive one way...so it took up a big chunk of his lunch hour). It was the best part of my day everyday. It would make me light up the same way I get now when I pick Greg up from the train station. The moment I see Greg I can't help but to smile. I always like when he comes home. Even if I've had a bad day everything gets all better the moment Greg gets home. He makes me so happy....so back to Washington. Since I didn't know a soul I got pretty lonely. At some point I got a bit depressed and cried about it to Greg. The next day he showed up in the middle of the afternoon and said something like, "Honey get ready, I'm taking you on a date." Then he took me to see a Woody Allen movie and to my favorite restaurant in the whole world, Thai Ginger. Greg always knows how to make me happy.


Some of our best moments together have been when either of us have had to make big decisions like where to work, where to go to school, what to study, where to move, etc. The day I found out I was accepted to Santa Clara University (the school I really really really wanted to get into for my masters program) Greg pulled out the camera and as I opened the acceptance letter I started jumping up and down and screaming, and Greg joined right in. We celebrated that night. It is the most wonderful feeling to get to share moments like that with Greg.


Funny things happen with Greg around all the time. One time, not too terribly long ago Greg and I were wrestling (something we do far too often). He started to bite my armpit. I screamed out, "I hope you got deodorant on your teeth!" Immediately Greg ran out of the room spitting and screaming "I did, I did!" Another time we were wrestling he piledrived me head first, that hurt really bad, but it was funny.

There are so many good memories, like: camping in Bryce Canyon, Camping along the Oregon Coast, Camping in Yosemite, Big Sur, Death Valley, Mount Ranier, Colter Bay and other randome places. Going to baseball games for the Salt Lake Bees (aka Stingers, or Buzz), Seattle Mariners, and of course the San Francisco Giants. Going swimming (something we really enjoy doing together), or simply sitting around watching our many favorite T.V. series like Arrested Development, Real Time with Bill Maher, LOST, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Dexter, Prison Break, and others.

How could I forget to mention going to Greg's cabin!?! The first time I went to Greg's cabin I was 16. We watched Better Off Dead. Years later he took me there for spring break and taught me how to snowboard. The cabin is a sacred, special place for us. Maybe someday we'll go back up in the attic to read a story that we wrote on the walls in random order with a code to decipher what order in which the story should be read.

We have a lot of great memories together, I've merely mentioned a few of them. I love being married to Greg. It really is the best thing that has ever happened to me. :)

1/2 burned

I've had a little extra time lately since I'm out of school for the summer. For a while now I've been complaining (mostly to myself) that I am pasty and need a tan. When I lived in Utah I use to go tanning all the time, but curiously, living out here in California, I've hardly gone at all. Partly because tanning in Utah is cheaper than out here in the Bay Area. Partly because Utah summers are great for laying out in the backyard, and here I don't have a backyard. Anyway, back to the story, I decided to lay out at the pool today. I clearly wasn't keeping track of the time, or about how much time I was spending on my back vs. my front...a while after coming inside from my long lay-out session I felt the back of my legs burning, then my back burning. I went to look in the mirror...my front side looked great, slightly tan with no burn...a good base tan to start the summer out with. Then I turned around, my entire back side is as RED as a lobster...seriously! So now I'm half burned...I'm kinda embarrassed, ah well, that's what I get for exposing my skin to the harmful sun's rays.

Who Needs Toenails Anyway!?!

In Early May Greg and I went with some friends to play miniature golf for a friend's birthday. The day was going splendid. We were about half way through when one of the balls went flying into a near by pool of water. Greg, being the hero of the day, went off into the water (in his flip flops) to save the ball. He came out triumphant, BUT with the wrong colored ball. So he went back to the pool of water with a big smile on his face, determined to get the correct ball. However, on the grass, next to the pool of water there was a post or rock or something very hard. He slipped and his big toe crashed into the post, his golf club hit him in the eye, and he landed on his butt. The next thing I know he is pulling his big toe nail all the way back asking "What am I suppose to do?" I almost fainted. Blood was oozing out in the shape of a big toe nail. He managed to clean it up with a couple of band-aids and dirty water in the mens bathroom. Then he finished the game of mini-golf. THEN he went out to dinner with the gang. FINALLY, at almost 8 pm, he decided he wanted to go to the Instant Care center down the road.

At the instant care center we were met with a doctor that didn't seem to know anything. She certainly didn't have very good social skills, and acted as if Greg should know what the best thing to do was. Once a decision was made as to whether the toe nail should stay or go she attempted the process of cutting an entire toe nail off. She started by stabbing a needle into the tip of his toe, wiggled it around, and claimed that she numbed it. Greg could beg to differ. I watched the whole thing, and almost threw up. Next she grabbed some plier like utensil and grabbed hold of the big nail, moved it around like it's nobody's business, then gave herself a little pep talk that we could all hear. She said, "I'm just gonna do it." Then with some scissors ripped into the nail and very NOT-gracefully cut the damn nail off to the very edge of the cuticle.

It was very dramatic, and painful. I still cringe just thinking about it. So you can imagine how I felt when this evening I saw Greg trip, barefooted, into our ottoman, ripping off a portion of the opposite foot's big toe nail. It wasn't nearly as bad, but it was bleeding a bit. I told Greg he needs to start wearing steel toed shoes at all times. I am serious.

My Bedroom

I put together our bed today all by myself. It made me feel all confident and independent. It reminded me of when I was thirteen years old and I wanted hard wood floors in my bedroom. Originally my bedroom had hardwood floors, but years before had been covered with carpet. I asked my mom if we could have the hard wood floors restored. She told me that wasn't a good idea. So I went into my bedroom and, over the next few weeks, moved my furniture out of my room, tore out the carpet, tore out the cushioning under the carpet, and tore out all the nails, staples, and thorny like boards that held the carpet down. When I was done the floor looked so beautiful.

My mom was, of course, impressed. I think she also felt a tinge of guilt that she hadn't helped me, so she decided to help me paint my room. It was so elegant looking. It looked like it had been restored to it's original condition. If I do say so myself, it looked like a professional had come in and fixed up the place, not a thirteen year old little girl.

That was a really significant experience in my life. It secured the idea in my mind that whatever I set my mind to I can accomplish. I still feel a lot of pride when I think about all the work I did. Unfortunately, a few months later I moved to a newer house. I wonder if my hard wood floor is still on display in that house. I wish I had pictures.

:(

Today I saw two of my first friends here in California. I met them both through a French class at the Bechtel Center at Stanford. One is from Tokyo, Japan and the other is from Lima, Peru. They told me they are moving in less than a month, and our other good friend from Spain is moving too. It made me sad. They have been some of the most inspiring people I've ever met. We are always talking about our cultures and personal worldviews. I feel like I've expanded my worldview so much from all that they've shared and experienced with me. I'm really going to miss them. Goodbye girls! :(

Moving

Many people that have known me for a long time know that I move A LOT. I moved last weekend to a new apartment after having lived in my last apartment for one year. Since the year 2000 (8 years) I've moved 18 times.

Moving is so refreshing, it is like a deep internal cleanse. I always feel so hopeful when I move, like everything I've ever wanted to do I can finally do because I've moved somewhere new.

Despite having moved so much my favorite place I ever lived was the house I grew up in in Salt Lake City, Utah. I lived there for the majority of the first 14 years of my life, and it is where my mom grew up. My grandparents were the original owners of this house. In the back there is a big weeping willow tree with a tire swing. Someday I want to buy it back so we can keep it in the family.

Pizza, Pizza, Pizza!

A while ago I had some really yummy pizza from a pizza place right around the corner from my house called Maldonado's Pizzeria. Greg and I were on a walk, we saw it, so we went in and ordered a pizza. We just got a pepperoni pizza because that is Greg's favorite. I normally like to get pizza with a bit more on it than pepperoni, but let me tell ya, I was NOT disappointed! It was GOOD. The crust was just right. It wasn't too thin, or overcooked, nor was it too thick. I normally prefer thicker pizzas, but this crust was just right. The sauce must be the secret ingredient to this pizza...it was sweet, but not sugar sweet, tomato sweet. mmm.....I'll definitely be going back there again.

A few weeks ago a friend of ours invited us out to dinner to celebrate his birthday at Toto's Pizzeria and Restaurant in Millbrae. It was that night that I said to Greg, "Greg, we should find the best pizza in the Bay Area, I'll write a blog about it." So here I am, writing about what I know so far. So about Toto's...it was a busy place, we kinda had to fight for a table, but it was worth it. They only offer a small selection of toppings, so we chose a pizza with sausage, mushrooms, and olives (olives always make a pizza extra yummy in my opinion). As I ate this pizza I thought, "This pizza is good, what is it that makes THIS pizza good?" I ate more, then more, then more, finally I knew what it was...garlic! There was nothing out of the ordinary about the crust, the sauce, or the other ingredients, but this pizza had chopped up garlic all over it...mmmm...if you like garlic, which I do. I think I like Maldonado's better, but Toto's is really good.

To cover many of the other places I've tried so far, but without the intention of noting what is so good, I'll start with Frankie, Johnnie, and Luigi's (I think that is the name of the restaurant on El Camino Real in Mountain View). This place was recommended to us, and we've had it a few times. We've never ordered it with extra sauce and/or cheese, but that is suppose to be really good. I personally thought this pizza (we got the cheese pizza) was ok. Better than anything I'd ever make, but not the best. I'd probably order the calzone or some other dish at this restaurant instead of pizza.

Next, I have to admit that we really love Round Table Pizza. We almost always get the Maui Zaui, and it is the best! This pizza is a comfort food for me. I'm not really sure how I would rank this pizza because I can't really separate my good memories spent at Round Table from the taste of the pizza.

Like I mentioned I like thick crusted pizza, so Pizza Chicago (also on El Camino Real I think in Palo Alto) was calling my name every time I drove by it, then I went there. There crust is thick, but not very yummy. The sauce and toppings aren't anything very great either. I think this is my least favorite pizza.

As I try more pizza in the area I'll try to remember to write what I like or don't like about it. Signing off.

I'm a bore

Lately I've been wondering if I am boring. To find out I just want to list some things that make me not boring, and some things I could do to make me less boring than I already am. Here it goes:

Why I'm not boring:

• I am learning a lot of cool stuff these days like attachment theory, and object relations. I think it is fascinating.
• I do art projects every week. This week I made paper heart boxes with the girls I babysit, and we painted, and next week we'll be making Valentines, and maybe some Valentine treats.
• I still use my imagination. This past week I got to play with Polly pocket and a doll house! wahoo!
• I'm getting better at Yoga all the time, and am actively trying to learn about all aspects of yoga.
• I keep up with politics.
• Last weekend I hosted a poker party, and it was fun.
• I try new things like going to horse races and making new recipes.
• I celebrate life whenever possible.
• I try to read in French everyday, and try to improve my French.

So I guess a lot of what I just listed could qualify as me being boring, but the truth is I really enjoy all that stuff I listed, so I don't care. Now for part deux.

What I could do to make me less boring:

• travel more.
• be more social.
• check out local attractions like the farmers market, six flags, wine country, etc.
• read more.
• start a new hobby, like I could make a website or something...I think that would make Greg more attracted to me. I should do it:)
• volunteer to work as a counselor for some good experience.
• invest in the stock market
• go hiking
• have a dance party
• go dancing

there is a lot I could do, I guess what I'd like to do is pick up a new hobby. Anyway, this is the most boring blog I've written yet. They are all kinda lengthy and boring. I'm not very good at this blog shit.

The Nanny Diaries

I just finished watching the Nanny Diaries. I've been wanting to see it for a while, since I'm a part time nanny (still). It is suppose to be a feel good kind of movie, but not something that really blows someone away with how great it is. However, I have to say, in parts I was choked up with tears. I really related to this movie. This is why:

Scarlett Johansson who plays Annie the Nanny has just graduated from college, and feels all this pressure to enter the real world work force, but it just doesn't feel right so as a temporary solution she becomes a nanny. At first it doesn't start out so well. The little boy is a little trouble maker, but soon they bond, and she starts observing the family's life. His parents are hardly home, and when they are they don't want him around. They care more about what school he goes to than him. All the while, Annie is the only loving care giver in his life. At one point in the movie the little boy tells Annie that he loves her, and even though she doesn't think she should, she tells him she loves him back. On his birthday he gets scared by a clown and wants Annie over his mother. When he is sick Annie takes care of him while his mother relaxes at a spa. Ultimately, Annie sacrifices a lot of her personal happiness to care for this little boy, which is very rewarding, but also extremely tiresome and burdensome. Annie has a very hard time deciding if she should quit her job. She knows just how much she is needed, and she genuinely cares about the little boy's welfare over her own. How it ends is somewhat unimportant to this blog post so I'll leave it out.

All of what I've just written are examples that relate to how I feel all the time as a part time nanny. Most days are excruciatingly long, and even though the girls I care for are little angels they can drive me nuts. No matter how much I want to quit I know that I'll have to have a really really really really good reason to quit because I just care so damn much about those girls. It is so sad for me, but also happy when one of the girls says to me, "you come to my dance class, but mommy can't," or when their dad comes home in the evening and they say, "are you staying dad?" and then they beg me to stay instead of him. Occasionally they tell me they love me, and when I'm not there their mom tells me they count down the days until I'm coming back. It is really nice to be wanted and needed, but sometimes I feel bad that I'm the person they get when really they want consistent love and attention from their parents. I don't mean to say that their parents do a bad job of raising them because in actuality they are magnificent parents. Really what choked me up the most was the bond that Annie the nanny shared with the little boy, and how he came to love her as a family member. I feel like the girls I nanny are like family, so I just worry about their welfare. This movie did a good job of pointing out why I should worry a little, but not too much. Besides, I'm a really great nanny:)