The Life Pursuit

#typographynerd

2011-10-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

that happened

2011-09-19T22:59:00.001-07:00

AND it was awesome.

2011-09-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

sometimes going back to school is depressing. everyone comes back from summer and you remember how everyone went on 3 missions and 4 humanitarian trips and has 14 fiances and 17 internships, and what am i up to? oh ya know, still sitting on my couch eating dino nuggets and watching freaks and geeks on youtube. same thing i've been doing for a few years now. i'm okay with that though.

pretty sure this sign is aimed directly at me. however, i definitely deserve it. and need it.

end of vacation photos

2011-08-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

the hike

2011-08-27T12:49:00.000-07:00

wakeboarding

2011-08-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

not to brag or anything

2011-08-23T18:28:00.000-07:00

i ate lunch/chatted in spanish with two mexicans and then had indian food for dinner and actually knew what stuff was. so proud of my cultured self.

camping

2011-08-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

more to come later

boone

2011-08-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

gone fishing

2011-08-19T13:26:00.000-07:00

he was free

2011-07-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

listentofeist.com

hiking is cool

2011-07-23T20:15:00.000-07:00

EPIC MEAL TIME

2011-07-19T21:59:00.000-07:00

possibly the most delicious thing i have ever eaten.

2011-07-14T13:44:00.000-07:00

i (sometimes) dismiss cupcakes as a stupid girl trend....but that was really good.

and i know how badly you were dying to see pictures of me eating a cupcake. i hope it amused you like it did me.

lately

2011-07-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

my family {mom, brother, brother & brother} have been in town for the past week and a half.

so far we:

1. "celebrated" the fourth of july with a parade, shopping, and eating at olive garden. no fireworks, no apple pie, no barbecue. our family doesn't really know how to celebrate this holiday...but we have fun anyways. at dinner the waitress was almost insisting that i have a glass of wine {how old do i look?} and then we overheard a man in suspenders say "well, it's uhmerika's birthday so i'll have some apple pie." yes.

2. went to the provo rec pool. contemplated why people wear skimpy swimsuits and go tanning. {you really just sit there for hours? doing nothing???} still can't figure it out.

3. watched more tv than is healthy.

4. tanner hacked my facebook, changed my phone background to a zoomed-in shot of his backside, and i am scared to find out what else.

5. watched Boone play soccer.

6. went to wal-mart and counted obese people. {mom's idea. she got to 11 but forgot to keep counting. and we were there for around 15 minutes.}

7. went to yogurtland. not as magical as i expected.

8. went glow-in-the-dark mini golfing. watched tanner and wyatt take on the batting cages.

and now...funny pictures!

springfields

2011-07-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

2%

2011-07-06T21:17:00.000-07:00

go here.

rebellion

2011-06-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

why is it okay to have breakfast for dinner but not dinner for breakfast?
today i rebelled against this by having breakfast for lunch. {also known as having two breakfasts...or second breakfast?}

it's summertime

2011-06-28T15:59:00.000-07:00

so i think i am super antsy thanks to mexico. only working 7-11 gives me weird life hours, and lot of free time during the day. since i can't just go to el centro all the time. . . here's what i do.

quality time with my record player.

D.I.

this was $3. i didn't get it.

i made cupcakes for my friend allie's birthday...i still have around 10 little cupcakes sitting on my kitchen counter but no more frosting. oops.

i turned my guitar into a 5-string. totally on purpose.

someone please hire me. i am a good worker i swear.

bright eyes-shell games

Unleashing the Dormant Spirit

2011-06-26T17:32:00.000-07:00

"When you cannot love someone, look into that person's eyes long enough to find the hidden rudiments of the child of God in him.
Never judge anyone. When you accept this, you will be freed...
If someone hurts you so much that your feelings seem to choke you, forgive and you will be free again."

-BYU Devotional, Elder F. Enzio Busche
[click]

jamz

2011-06-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

Lisa Mitchell-Neapolitan Dreams

The Drums-Forever and Ever Amen

Little Scream-Cannons

Bon Iver-Calgary

Tapes n Tapes-Freak Out

Fleet Foxes-Grown Ocean

post 5-9pm nap

2011-06-21T22:00:00.000-07:00

it took me an hour to open this bottle. an hour!!!!

an hour!

an hour!!

an hour!!!

an hour!!!!

also, who decided that this would be the summer of me having to always be places at 7 am? i would like to have a word with that person. i am probably too tired to make a good argument though.

provo the weird

2011-06-18T17:59:00.000-07:00

LOOK! the blog has been re-vamped! do you like it? you should tell me you like it. even if you don't.
sooo i am back in provo. i forgot how weird provo is. within the last 72 hours, i have seen a bicycle gang, got checked out by a scary-looking dude outside a tattoo parlour, and been greeted {in a british accent (?)} by a guy carrying an orange juice jug and whistling a forest-tune. so basically it's been great fun. i am writing from my new apartment...and i have an asian roommate! dream come true. and both of my roommates seem really nice. my room-roommate gave me cinnamon rolls this morning. soo nice.
but anyways, here's what i did today, brought to you by cute iphone photos.

read a book.

ran up and down the spiral staircase a billion times. hopefully that stays fun forever and never gets annoying.

put a new star on my map. as you can see, the Americas aren't doing so well, but Europe and Asia look good.

hung up my velvet elvis.

made a paper heart chain.

and here's my new room!

because i know you care so much. i can sense it all the way through the internet. weird, huh?

i also played angry birds, watched the office, and ate indian food, but those things aren't nearly as fun to photograph.

leeeeaving on a jet planeeee

2011-06-15T16:11:00.000-07:00

what i won't miss:

garbage on the streets

tomas being smelly

going to school and receiving 0 feedback on all of my work. for the whole semester. no joke.

hanging out with the same 30 people. {no offense, i really love all you people but it's kinda like you, again? and again? and everyday for the next month and a half?}

wearing the 6 outfits i brought with me over and over and over and over and over

being told when to eat, what to eat, stand here, sit here, here's your laundry

100 degree weather

being called "trasera" {this means butt}

what i will miss:
cenotes
mexican family
roommates and friends
speaking spanish
elote!
mexican friends
bubu lubu's
marquesitas
progreso beach
tomas
pool in my backyard
learning lots and lot of new things
frijol
not having to cook or clean or do laundry
jamaica {the drink, not the country. . .i've never even been there}
getting away with things because i am white
basically all the food

also i learned that some cars here have a cat-call horn. learned it the hard way. several times. told you i was learning valuable stuffs here!

looking forward to loooft apartment and seein my frens!

week 6

2011-06-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

¡hola!
this week we...
went to the zoo!

we saw toucans, which was one of my goals in Mérida. {I was hoping to see them in the wild, but that's okay. I'm not sure if they even really live in the wild here.} There were also jaguars, tigers, lions, monkeys, etc. All the animals were behind chain-link fences and only about 10 feet away. It was kinda frightening.

we went to the temple and got serenaded on the bus on the way there! This video is sideways and I don't know how to turn it. . .sorry.

We also went to a hacienda. First we walked around the tiny village and hung out with some school kids! They were adorable. We asked them how old they were and they were like, "I'm 18! I'm 90! I'm a million!" And we were shooting a soccer ball into a goal and a little girl came up to me and was like "do you want to try" and i said yes, so she made them give the ball to me. :) Another girl told me afterwards that they were all staring at me because they had never seen blonde hair before.

We learned that the families that owned the haciendas only went there about 3 times a year. So they have these huge houses in the countryside and don't even live there. Crazy.

We got a tour of the whole hacienda, and saw how things are made from henequen (a plant native to the area that looks like aloe vera but is bigger and more fibrous). It seems like a looong process and there are a lot of machines involved. My favorite part was seeing it go through a machine that literally turned it into green goo. Here's part of the process:

Then we went by horse-drawn train/cart thing again (!) to go see a mayan man and his "house." Basically they had an example of a mayan hut and the mayan man who "lived" there (named Antonio). He showed us how they harvested henequen, and then said a few sentences in perfect spanish...haha.

The whole hacienda was pretty touristy, it was very funny. After that we got back on the horse cart/train thing, and I got to sit next to the driver and chat with him. He said that tourists came there from all around the world, and that there were a bunch of french tourists that had been coming to the buffet there everyday. I asked him if he or any of the other guides there spoke french, and he said that the guides only spoke spanish, mayan and a little english. I asked him how they communicated, and he said well...they didn't really. Whaaaaat? Anyways, we passed literally thousands of henequen plants on the way to the cenote.

After the cenote, we went and ate lunch at the best buffet everrrrr, and our host moms came. Lili is the best...she started talking to one of our friends, and she was like, wow I love your mustache! And then she grabbed his hands and started singing and dancing about mustaches. She does this stuff all the time. It is the absolute best.

That night we went to an institute dance. It was semi-formal so lili chica let me borrow one of her dresses, and she went with us too! I think she had a lot of fun. So Mexican dances are a lot different than I would have expected. We got there and the lights were all on and everyone was dancing salsa in couples. Thinking about it, it's kinda weird that we turn the lights off at our dances...I danced with one of our friends from church here and it was pretty fun, however, I cannot dance like those women at ALL. It was pretty funny because none of us knew how to dance to salsa but when they put on "normal dance music" no one else knew how to dance. Also they played this song which is really popular here, but the only words are "Barbara Streisand." I am so amused/confused by this.

Saturday we woke up and were dead tired. We had some really cool plans...but they didn't go through. That's okay though. We went to el centro and there was a Christian festival type thing going on there super randomly! (????) They were "preaching" and saying "Jump for Jesus!!" and people were jumping and clapping, and there was a rock band playing Christian music and these cool dancers with tambourines and ribbons. I really like two out of three of these things (tambourines and ribbons, not christian rock).

Then we hung out in El Centro, and we had elote with chile and queso! I was not expecting it to be good at all but it was delicious. {see here} And we also had marquesitas, which are sort of like crepes but harder. We had nutella and cheese in ours. It was good. And then there were some street dancers randomly...they were pretty good! I was not expecting to see that here. I have a video but blogger wont let me upload it for some reason, so...

Then yesterday we went to church and at night it started raining really hard. It lasted a few hours and our street flooded a little bit.

FIN.

week 5

2011-06-05T20:06:00.000-07:00

only 11 days left! I sure don't want to leave this place...
this week we:

said goodbye to my long blonde hair {!!!}
before: long blonde braids

obviously this is a quality photo.

loong tangled locks. kinda getting out of control...

and now...

{drumroll, please...}

short and a little bit darker!

trying to get back to my natural color, but i think i missed it a little. that's okay though, it will fade. I was going for a cut like this:

this hair change did not make me french or transport me to the 60's. unfortunately.

anyways, i know you care sooooo much about what my hair looks like so now we're going to talk about real stuff!

I had two papers and two projects all due this week. I think everything went pretty well. For my culture class, we made a telenovela that highlighted the social relationships during the Porfiriato. Our teacher was laughing so hard he started crying. And then we discussed the caste system and it's implications today. As for our other project, we made a powerpoint and prepared a presentation about the Mercosur. We got to class the first day, and our teacher had some other things he wanted to talk about so only about half of the groups presented. The next class all the other groups presented, and he said we would present the next class. The next class we watched a movie and didn't present. I don't think we're going to. And that is Mexico for you.

We finally went and visited the historical chapel in Itzimna. We used to wait at the bus stop there a lot, so we took a second and explored.

cool colonial architecture.

There are posters everywhere for this chihuahua that got lost in the area named Xmat (Shmat). I cannot get over how funny that name is. Also we may or may not have gone out for hamburgers after this. I will not provide photos since it is unsure.

We went to a baseball game for the local Yucatan team. A fight almost broke out when a pitch hit the batter in the arm. The local team lost and when we mentioned it to anyone here, they were like yeah, could have told you that. haha.

Here we are with the lovely Leones mascot.

Friday we went to Ek Balam and saw more ruins. I have nothing to say about it because I have already talked about ruins like 100 times. But they are cool.

Then we went to Valladolid! We visited the cathedral, swam in a cenote, and walked around the town.

What am I going to do without cenotes?!

That night was karaoke night! Our mamá was nice enough to let us have a party at her house. It was so much fun. Before the party me, Catie and Lili sang some songs in spanish. When the party started it was a lot of salsa and Fergalicious. Don't judge.

Saturday we went to a place where hammocks are made. They are tied by hand and it takes about a week to make a hammock...I don't think I could ever have that much patience. The room/wearhouse they make them in was filled with hundreds and hundreds of hammocks. To tie them tightly, this guy wound the strings around his legs...so cool.

Then we went to Valladolid. The whole town is cute and clean and painted the best shade of yellow. I love yellow and I was in heaven.

And that sums up this week! I am off to go listen to some good music because I have had too much party music shoved into my ears this trip. I can feel my brain cells shriveling up. Not to be pretentious or anything...

week 4

2011-05-29T21:36:00.000-07:00

what happened this week:
1. visited the palacio de gobierno (governor's palace) and looked at murals by Pacheco, that depict the culture clash between the Mayans and Spanish.

2. Went to the mercado. Again. Bought a hat for 60 pesos ($5). I realllly love that place.

3. Met with Alfredo Rodriguez y Pacheco, a senator for the political party PAN. He told us a lot about government corruption, especially among the opposing party, PRI. Also, the governor of Merida uses all the city's money to throw free concerts--Elton John, Shakira and Juanes all performed there for free, meanwhile no money is spent on parks, education, public health, etc. The people are tiiiicked.

4. Went to the beach at progresso and watched the sunset.

5. Went to a "play" that ended up actually being a silent film with titles in English. Ditched the movie to do some gift shopping, and ran into a man playing the saw. He and a little boy that sold flowers played the saw with us for about 30 minutes. I obviously needed to add another instrument to the ones I have attempted to play/play [poorly?]: piano, guitar, ukulele, violin, organ, accordion, recorder, etc. Bascially I aspire to be this man. He just hangs out in hawaiian shirts and plays the saw all day. What a chill life.

6. The Route of the Cenotes: On Saturday we took a long bus ride out to the middle of nowhere. When we got off the bus, we all packed onto these horse-drawn train/cart things. Half the time I thought these men were taking us out into the middle of the desert to shoot us...

view of the cart from the front

However, these strange contraptions actually took us to three beautiful cenotes! All of them were underground and two had really steep ladders leading down to them. Inside the water was incredible shades of blue and green. It was very refreshing--completely clear, cold, and clean. There were holes in the roof where light shone through and tree roots had grown down through the holes. We spent most of our time climbing up rocks and jumping off of them. Definitely an activity I need to do more often. Climbing up stuff and jumping off of it is the best.

duudes

2011-05-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

i'm trying to do homework but i just keep finding funny things that are funnier than homework! life is so hard!!!
like mindy kaling's new book. Sorry, it just screams my demographic (16-30 year-old girls that think they're funny. and no i didn't make that up. for serious i read it in wsj of all places. it's a real thing dude. also i'm now obsessed with the word dude.)
also a joke site for girls??? made by zooey + co? duh, pleeease. So far it is so cute that i am "awwww"-ing more than giggling but i refuse to give up yet.
also, zooey blogs. and her blog is so much cooler than mine. i should probably just give up now.

not to be stalkerish or anything, but do you think she pins?

week 3

2011-05-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

weeeeek threeeeeeeeee.

On Monday, we went to a small pueblo called Komchen. It was a LOT different from Merida. Very poor and humble. We went primarily to watch a bullfight, and we went and saw the bullfighting ring they had set up right after we got there. I was really surprised at how small it was. I saw a bullfighting ring in Spain that seated several thousand, but this ring was probably for about 200. Our guide took us to a little party they were having there, and then to a graveyard. I am always super fascinated by graveyards...this one was beautiful. They build these box type things above the ground to hold the body, and then bring flowers or things that they think the person would need for the afterlife. They also dig up the bodies after they have decayed. Needless to say we saw some bones and a human skull that still had hair on it. I didn't think it was real at first, but apparently it's totally normal. It was nice to see how much these people cared for those who had died and also how important religion is to them.

As we were walking back to where the bull fight would be, this old shirtless man started talking to Catie and I...and we had no idea what he was saying. After a second he explained that he had been speaking to us in Mayan. (Another guy tried to teach us some German before...as if learning Spanish isn't enough for you people...!??!?!) He was very nice but very drunk and kept telling us that he wasn't trying to offend us (?). His granddaughter was learning English but was too shy to talk to us (she was about 6 years-old), but as we left she yelled "Goodbye!" and I yelled "¡Adios!" It was cute.

When we got to the bullfight, there were some little boys playing around with the capes, pretending to fight eachother. Then the real bullfighters came out...only they were like 16. They had these white painted boards that they could run and hide behind if the bull got too close/violent, and they used those a lot. It seemed pretty dangerous. We had heard that they always kill the first bull, so I was excited/nervous about that. But the matadores lured the bull all around the ring and then older men on horseback lasso'd the bull and took him away. They did this 6 or 7 times. . .until it was 10:30 and we had to leave. So no bulls were killed in the making of this blogpost! Also these dudes have my same tights...

Tuesday we only had class from 7-9am, so Catie and I went to the mercado in El Centro. It was a lot like the souqs in Doha. They even had some of the same stuff. It was really fun and we were actually where the real people that live here buy stuff--not a tourist trap! I thought I forgot my camera but noticed later that it was actually just hiding at the bottom of my bag. Oops. I am definitely going back though, so I will get pictures then. We also stopped and ate a a semi-sketchy street vendor. We had these mini-tacos that they have everywhere here with salsa and watermelon juice. Right after we were finished eating though, Catie noticed an insect leg in her juice. Now I can't drink watermelon juice without wanting to barf and our Mamá keeps making watermelon-flavored tang...I thought I had a stomach of steeel because I didn't get sick afterwards. Thank you to my parents for teaching me while I was young to cultivate my immune system through letting me eat potted dirt, seaweed on the beach, and snails from the backyard (actually what the heck kind of parenting is that?) However, on Thursday we didn't get home from school until around 2. The hottest part of the day. And it was about 104degrees out. We came home and ate lunch but I had a headache and felt reallllly hot. But I went to a friend's house to go swimming and then came home early because I still didn't feel well. The next morning I felt like trash and didn't go to school. I slept forever and thought I probably just got dehydrated. My host mom got really worried though and took me to the program doctor (it's free, so why not?). He just prescribed some antibiotics and said I should be fine soon, but that he didn't know what it was from. It could be from food (but it had been three days since the sketchy stuff!!!) or just from heat or dehydration, or whatever. The thing was that we were going to Chichen Itza the next day...luckily I felt a bit better the next morning, so I decided I could go. I liked Chichen, but I thought Uxmal was better. Maybe I was just tired and grumpy and still not feeling that well. Probably. Chichen is considered one of the wonders of the world, so there were a ton of tourists and vendors. It was very impressive though, and a lot of the rock carvings were extremely well preserved.

That night we got back into town so we could hear Elder Cook speak to the young single adults. Elder Cook, the mission president over this area and the representative of the 70 and their wives all spoke about qualities they found in their spouses. Just when I thought I had gotten away from BYU.

food for thought

2011-05-15T20:19:00.000-07:00

happy sunday.
http://www.malawiorphancare.org/
http://lds.org/service/humanitarian/help?lang=eng

Week 2 In Review

2011-05-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

So this week wasn't as exciting as last week (I have homework and essays? What?!), but Mexico is still the best.

On Monday night, we went to El Centro for FHE to watch a cultural dance performance. My favorite part was when they did this:

Then on Friday we visited a hacienda called Yaxcopoil. It was pretty interesting and we mainly just wandered around. Afterwards we went to Uman and ate these banana snow cone things. Sounds weird and I was a little hesitant, but they were delicious.

Yaxcopil

Catedral in Uman...that was closed.

On Saturday, we had an excursion to Celestun, a wildlife reserve. We saw saw some birds and flamingos, and then went swimming in an "ojo de agua." Like cenotes, underground water fills these pools with clean, see-through water. You could see right through the water to the very bottom and watch the fish swimming.

Afterwards we ate lunch and hung out on the beach for awhile.

Merida, The First Ten Days

2011-05-09T14:29:00.000-07:00

Incase you didn't know,
I'm in Mexico!
I have been so busy that I feel that I haven't had much time to record my experience. So here we go:

Day One: I left friday morning (Thanks SO much to the Pauls for letting me stay at your place! You guys are great friends!!!)My second plane had a small mechanical problem, but it took them about 45 minutes to find a mechanic. We got here pretty late but I found my bag waiting for me and was the first student to meet my mamá. Her name is Lili and she lives with her husband and 23 year-old daughter, Lili Chica. This woman has been wonderful to us; she treats us like her own children and tells us that she loves us everyday. I am so grateful por mi familia here in Mexico. They do so much for us and really treat us like family.
By the time we got home, it was pretty late so we went to bed.

Day Two: Lili and some of the other mamás took us on the bus and showed us how to get to school. It is really hot in the daytime, and there is a lot of humidity. Doha is probably a little bit hotter, but the humidity kills. We swam in their pool, played with their perrito, Tomás, and went to El Centro later with some other people in our group. It's basically the center of the city that houses a cathedral, historical buildings, shops, restaurants, and cultural activities. We walked around, explored, and ate at "Los Trompos."

Day Three: We went to church at a local ward. I think they were surprised to see thirty gringos there...It was testimony meeting and I was impressed by the strength of the testimonies of the members here. We had a great lessons and I understood pretty much everything. We relaxed at home and then went to a fireside at the stake center, which is in El Centro. We walked around the temple for awhile and then took the buses home.

Day Four: The first day of school! I had my Latin American Culture class from 11:30-1:30. We talked about the ancient civilizations in the area. It was pretty interesting. Me, my roommate Catie, and another girl prepared a 10-minute presentation about the Incans. (Side note: I have four roommates and I loooove them. They all lived in Foreign Language housing together this past year, so I am kinda the odd one out, but they don't treat me like that at all. They are wooooonderful.)My roommates and I went to another host house and swam in their pool. We went to "Taliban Tacos," which was a mix between Yucatecan tacos and Shawarma...kind of. There seems to be a bit of Arab influence here and some business have their names written in Spanish and Arabic. We also went to Costco which was pretty much exactly like it is in the US. Merida has a Wal-Mart, Burger King, McDonalds, TGI Fridays, Sears, etc. The American fast food restaurants all deliver just like they do in Qatar. Everyone else is amused by this...haha. Later on we went to Profe's house for FHE. We did a get to know you game and his wife talked to us about how courage and patience are the two tools you need while traveling abroad--courage to try things new but patience to abide by local customs and maintain safety. Very wise advice.

Day Five: We had class at 7 am, so we left the house at 6 and I woke up at 5...mas o menos. Class ended at 1:30, and we went to the beach after we went home and had lunch. There were a lot of waves, so the water was throwing us around a lot, but it was still fun. We walked around, and I drank juice out of a coconut! It actually was actually kinda nasty. The guy that was selling them cut them open after we were finished and gave us what was inside...which was really slimy. Oh well, haha.

Day Six: Woke up, went to class for two hours, and then went to El Centro...again. We seem to be going there a lot but I don't mind at all. It's very interesting and beautiful. All the buildings are in the colonial style and painted like different flavors of ice cream. I love it. We were there with almost the entire group. Really, this wasn't a very smart idea. It was fun to hang out with everyone but we drew a lot of attention to ourselves and the street venders wouldn't leave us alone. I had a guanabana popsicle...there are so many fruits here that I have never even heard of.

Day Seven: Most of our group went to the temple to do baptisms with the ward. It's a pretty small temple. We talked to the bishop's daughter a little, and she goes to the same school that we do! Later some of us went and ate a restaurant in El Centro, and Catie found a cockroach in her food! We were also serenaded by three mexican men. They asked us what we wanted them to sing, and Catie requested "Besame." The words in English are basically, "kiss me, kiss me more.." It was ridiculous, haha.

Day Eight: Fridays are our field trip days, so we don't technically have "class," but our teacher takes us on an excursion and teaches us about it. We went to Dzibilchaltun (ancient Mayan ruins). It was sooo hot. Luckily we got to swim in a cenote afterwards. It was so refreshing and the perfect temperature. Since they're full of groundwater, they're very clean and there were blooming lily pads. The water was blue-green and very clear. It was perfect. Later we went to a beach house of one of the families and ate tacos al pastor with our host families and enjoyed the beach. That night we went to an institute activity at the stake center. We thought it was going to be a dance, but it actually turned out to be a game and movie night. It was fun but a little awkward, atleast for my super-shy self. I did talk to a few Mexicans, and my Spanish held up pretty well.

Day Nine: We went to Uxmal! I think the photos speak for themselves--it was incredible. I'm amazed at the things the Ancient Mayans knew. Our teacher told us all about their customs and their way of life. I think this pyramid is better than the ones in Egypt. After exploring and climbing a billion stairs, we had lunch at Uxmal's hotel and swam in their pool. I talked to a Canadian girl who said she was also on a study abroad with her school, and they were going to Peru after this. I don't think she spoke any Spanish. That would be so hard. At night, we went to the light and sound show. They told Mayan legends over the speakers. It was way cool.

Day Ten: Went to church, came home and talked to my family, and relaxed! Spent forever editing photos and writing this! Happy Mother's Day, Mom. I wrote in my blog like you told me to.

2011-04-24T12:38:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter!

I like

2011-04-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

[here, here, here, here, and here]

I am really missing things I had saved on my old computer...but I guess I will just start fresh! I am enjoying getting lost on this website.

I'm back!

2011-04-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

Dear blogosphere,
I know you've missed me so. But just give me a chance to explain!
My computer died unexpectably and unfixably. A week later was finals week. And now I have to move, pack and get out of the country.

But I am the proud new owner of a macbook! I am done with this semester! I am halfway done with college! and Mexico in 9 days!

Also, I've been using grooveshark. And apparently it has a 'tude.

More on my way super exciting life later.

less than

2011-04-03T22:11:00.000-07:00

one month.

looks pretty great, especially since it snowed today.

home

2011-03-26T23:50:00.000-07:00

I hate trying to explain to people where I'm from or where I consider "home." Why can't we all just be from planet earth?

brigitte

2011-03-22T17:05:00.000-07:00

I like to listening to music in French because i have no idea what it means, so i just imagine that the lyrics are really charming and witty. How can you not when she's this cute?

Fried Eggs

2011-03-20T23:13:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen this video before....how are you even on the internet.

I'm not here to talk about how stupid this music video is or slam this poor 13 year-old girl. Honestly, I'm glad youtube didn't exist when I was younger because I would probably be known for something like this. I just want to throw in my two cents in saying that this is so funny because modern pop music is completely laughable. Unintelligible Lyrics. Poor grammar (see T-Pain's "Buy You a Drank," or "The Way I Are" by Timbaland. Or you know, don't.) Kids that are famous before they can even drive (how did this girl get a convertible at 13?). A token black guy rapping nonsense. Auto-tune.

In all honesty, it upsets me. How did we get here? I don't get it. Why is most popular music so awful? In my version of a perfect world, we know Femme Fatale as the Velvet Underground song, not Britney Spears' new album.Taylor Swift doesn't exist, or atleast doesn't win grammys for being an off-key cliche. All I know is that my kids are going to grow up listening to Buddy Holly, not Justin Bieber.
Yes, I do have strong opinions.

2011-03-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

Did you know that eggs expire? I found that out today when i realized my eggs said best by December 23.

I Recommend:

2011-03-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

Papercuts-Do What You Will

The Velvet Underground-Sunday Morning

Local Natives-Airplanes

The Flaming Lips-Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt.1

Miniature Tigers-Bullfighter Jacket

The Shangri-Las-Give Him a Great Big Kiss

Here We Go Magic-Collector

2011-03-13T17:26:00.000-07:00

Dr. Jules Hilbert: Hell Harold, you could just eat nothing but pancakes if you wanted.
Harold Crick: What is wrong with you? Hey, I don't want to eat nothing but pancakes, I want to live! I mean, who in their right mind in a choice between pancakes and living chooses pancakes?
Dr. Jules Hilbert: Harold, if you pause to think, you'd realize that that answer is inextricably contingent upon the type of life being led...and, of course, the quality of the pancakes.

pancakes. definitely pancakes.

2011-03-11T21:47:00.000-08:00

Wednesday one of my professors said I was "very clever." Thursday another professor called me a genius. Friday I am wondering why everyone who has a PhD has no idea what they're talking about.

everyone else is weird

2011-03-09T20:32:00.001-08:00

2011-03-08T19:26:00.000-08:00

do you ever go the entire day without realizing that you have maple syrup on your face?
...
me neither.

p.s. mmmyeaaaah.

This isn't even real

2011-02-26T09:31:00.000-08:00

APRIL 11TH WILL BE THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE.

I'm Obsessed

2011-02-25T20:13:00.000-08:00

This week in fails

2011-02-22T10:28:00.000-08:00

not pictured: cheeseburger at 2 am, snow sunday morning, eating that sandwich.

HOLY HOLY HOLY GRAMMYS

2011-02-14T09:55:00.000-08:00

I am so happy.

Happy February 14th, 2011

2011-02-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

I am celebrating by cleaning and drinking the last of my milk before it expires.

2011-02-10T21:01:00.000-08:00

I've been looking through photos from freshman year and I look stoned in 75% of them. No wonder I didn't have any friends.

In other news, I made a new goal of getting on this really hip blog.

$

2011-02-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

what

2011-01-12T21:54:00.000-08:00

Why am i getting so many of these lately?...

Ready to Start

2011-01-05T10:23:00.000-08:00

I just bought a new ukulele. And I got a huge raise at work. I am ready for the new year. BRING IT 2011.

Christmas Portrait

2010-12-11T18:54:00.000-08:00

Today I sent packages to my grandparents and sister, went Christmas shopping, studied, and fell asleep to the Carpenters' Christmas record.

I'm really excited to go home. And I love Christmas.

Last year's tree looks perfect right now.

She & Him for Bust Magazine

2010-12-10T11:13:00.000-08:00

finals are starting and i feel nauseous...as in i am actually sick and i'm getting nothing done.

What Difference Does It Make-The Smiths

All I ever think about anymore is cats.

2010-12-01T18:49:00.000-08:00

i love cats. 

so when i say this etsy gift guide, with gifts for people who like cats, obviously I was excited.

{from sleepyfawn}

11/29

2010-11-29T20:47:00.000-08:00

anyone want to eat arabic seasoned peas and listen to the partridge family with me?

no? okay....

i want to go hooooooooome/3 more weeks

it's 1963. it's 1964. it's 1957. it's 1962.

2010-11-16T19:46:00.000-08:00

Bearcats

2010-11-13T21:35:00.000-08:00

My friends, the Bearcats, just released a new EP! And it's great!

They had an EP release show on Friday at Velour. Everyone who bought a cd also got a sweet commemorative pin. (see below).

You can get a free download of "brutality" on last.fm (go here).

Holga

2010-11-12T16:25:00.000-08:00

I am now plastic fantastic.

Kate Spade Wishlist

2010-11-11T20:02:00.000-08:00

i like kate spade.

also i have the best sister ever. she gave me pizza and hello kitty stuff. and ringpops.

loving this:

2010-11-10T21:44:00.001-08:00

Postcards From Italy from ForYouLoveMe on Vimeo.

Write About Love

2010-10-29T21:30:00.000-07:00

I finally picked up Belle & Sebastian's new album. I really like it!

Check out the video they made for Scottish television:

???

2010-10-12T17:06:00.000-07:00

also, this.

Nadinoo and birthday?

2010-10-11T16:59:00.000-07:00

this is how i feel right now

2010-09-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

Proof That Old Things Are Just Better

2010-09-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

{here, here, here, and here.}

She & Him

2010-08-27T17:44:00.001-07:00

She & Him
Originally uploaded by crazybobbles

I saw she & him live yesterday! They were so great! I've heard that Zooey's vocals can be weird live, but she and the entire band sounded perfect. They played the Beach Boys with Zooey on uke (!) and M. Ward's "Rave On," which is one of my favorites. I loved it!

Mom

2010-08-23T17:57:00.000-07:00

I'm obsessed with these old pictures of my mom. They are more than lovely.

vacation photos

2010-08-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

the longest post ever

2010-08-12T19:57:00.000-07:00

the longest post ever!
the longest post ever!
the longest post ever!
1st and by far most important:

arcade fire.

of course it's awesome. so much nostalgia. and they make monotony interesting. genius.

if i could marry a band, it would be this one.

this is probably my favorite song so far:

listen to this song! listen to the whole album! listen to all their albums! listen to their unreleased songs and demos! shave part of your hair! do whatever you want!

in other news...

dear creatures' new collection!

and ummm can that guy please be my boyfriend?!

i almost bought those shoes from urban outfitters...

and this dress from orla kiely!

bows and velvet and mustard yellow are a few of my favorite things!

also my dad bought me a velvet elvis!

also i'm eating a popsicle!

also new record for exclamation points!

oh yeah and i just got back from a 2-week vacation. more on that later...

The Cherry Blossom Girl

2010-07-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

My favorite blog of all time is The Cherry Blossom Girl. Alix has my dream wardrobe, listens to David Bowie and Wilco, and is the definition of cute french girl. Basically, she's really cool. I may or may not have named my guitar after her.

hoooray!

2010-07-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

i like this video, and that it doesn't make tons of sense, and that it's a really blurry black and white, and that mini zooey girl's hair is HUGE and that it has nice clouds.

i also like that i am seeing them at the end of this summer for freee. (see twilight concert series).

She & Him - Thieves from Merge Records on Vimeo.

thats all for now :)

miu miu

2010-07-14T22:36:00.000-07:00

These shoes are so wonderful...

music-summer cats-super

template and summer playlist

2010-07-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

I finalllllllly finished my summer playlist. It's pretty much all the songs I have been listening to over and over. Here you go!

oh, lately

2010-06-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

what have i been up to?
well...

blowing bubbles in the kitchen

eating sloppy joe's

making the looongest paper chain ever

wearing my roommate's clothes while she's on vacation

and hanging out in my wolf t-shirt!

Girls With Glasses Show

2010-06-19T13:17:00.001-07:00

I Am A Girl - The Girls With Glasses Theme Song from The Girls With Glasses on Vimeo.

sailor dresses

2010-06-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

i have been dying for the perfect sailor dress. these ones come pretty close.

(text links to website)

i'm still obsessed with this!

2010-06-15T18:36:00.001-07:00

soooooooooo good.

this picture makes me want to cut my hair!

2010-06-11T21:23:00.000-07:00

but i'm not going tooooooooooooo!

laundry day

2010-06-09T21:27:00.000-07:00

I just thought i would pull these out of flickr obscurity...i love the smell of clean laundry.

cardigans rule.

i wish i could date elvis!

2010-06-03T19:01:00.000-07:00

I've been renting a lot of old movies from the local library. I hope i have watched a lot of good things by the end of the summer! I just watched "Easy Come, Easy go," featuring Elvis playing tambourine-a dream come true!

screenshot obsession

2010-06-02T22:46:00.001-07:00

2010: The Year We Made Contact (sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey)

i'm tilting my head back and cheating but you can see the point

2010-05-26T23:15:00.000-07:00

long hairs!!

:)

2010-05-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

tap

2010-05-16T17:40:00.000-07:00

I'm signed up to take beginning tap dance in fall semester. I'm already so excited.

I will be able to put these beauties on my feet...

and do this!

(well i probably won't be that good...)

dear, you

2010-05-06T18:27:00.000-07:00

click here! and here!

holy excited!

2010-05-01T14:50:00.001-07:00

http://www.saltlakemagazine.com/Blogs/Lounge-Act/April-2010/Twilight-Concert-Series-schedule-venue-is-gonna-be-awesome/

Two By Two

2010-04-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

2 people living in a 6 person apartment is starting to have its benefits.

i have two sets of drawers, two closets, two desks, two chairs, and best of all...

two beds.

i am a very spoiled girl, i know.

ghetto life, day 1

2010-04-24T22:03:00.000-07:00

my real provo life has begun.

2010-04-21T23:05:00.000-07:00

A billion notecards, 13 hours of work, 7 headaches, 6 exams, 5 days, and one eye twitch later I am done with finals.

finally.

i hate this continent

2010-04-14T00:49:00.000-07:00

photos:yours truly

April 10, 2010

2010-04-10T14:17:00.000-07:00

I feel like today is a good day. One of those days that only ever happens once.
I started work on Monday. I really love it so far.
and this song is the most beautiful thing i've ever heard.

want, do not necessarily need

2010-04-05T23:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

2010-04-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

happy easter!

Alice in Wonderland

2010-04-01T21:46:00.000-07:00

I had to write a response paper on the disney character I am most like. Somehow, this is what I came up with.

my life?

2010-03-26T23:11:00.000-07:00

"We are satisifed with our mediocracy because we have had no experience of any thing better."

true. if everyone knew what was actually good, i wouldn't be the only one obsessed with this:

Vivetta Cat-spiration

2010-03-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

cutest/funniest thing ever.

Volume Two

2010-03-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

it's almost here.

listen? http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124615798&sc=emaf