8.31.2009

Who Wears it Better?

Two People, One Look. You decide who wears it better . .

Miley or Hilary



Serena or Angie?


Jon Gosselin or Niels . . . .

Skipping Town

We skipped town and spent a few days in San Diego last week. We didn't do the Zoo, the Animal Kingdom or the whole Sea World thing. Perhaps when the kids come along down the road, but we only had a few days and didn't want to battle the summer crowds and the overpriced admissions.

Instead we just bummed around and relaxed. Neither of us have been to San Diego a ton, so we really enjoyed exploring and walking around. Personally, I am a big fan of their downtown Gaslamp District. It was lively and hopping, but not overly crowded like New York. It was also nice and refreshing not to have SMUT in your face everywhere you turned.

We didn't take a ton of pictures, but here are a few:

Kayaking the La Jolla Caves




You can see the sea lions behind us


It was pretty cool to see these sea lions up close. We were actually right next to them but I couldn't take my camera with me on the Kayak, so I went back after and got an aerial shot.



We also saw dolphins and leopard sharks right next to us. To be honest, I was freaked out by the sharks a little and our guide picked up on it. Apparently I don't hide fear very well. So he reassured me that they were "bottom feeders" and didn't want to eat me. Riiiiiiight.


Waiting for the sun to burn off the clouds at Mission Beach, but it never did. So much for tanning.




Niels has decided what he wants to put in our future backyard. No big deal, just a surfing simulator machine. We watched the qualifying event they had going on for the "Flowrider World Championships" in Singapore this fall. What if your title was Flowrider Champion of the World?





We went to Old Town for some authentico Mexican Food and toured around for a bit. My favorite part of the day was going inside the old dental office. As we were walking out some woman shrieked "I absolutely hate dentists!" I'm guessing that Niels will have to get used to that becasue many people share that same sentiment.

Padres Game






This picture is mostly for Becca and Jen. Basically I hate wearing athletic shoes with jeans! It feels so wrong and tacky, but desperate times called for desperate measures!




Niels was a fantastic sport with me being overly fixated with winning tickets to see Wicked again. We tried all three days, but had no luck. He vows never to do dumb lotteries again.

8.17.2009

1 Down


Yesterday was our official one year mark of moving back to Las Vegas. One year down, 3 more to go.

We like it here and we are really enjoying this chapter of life. However, we are really looking forward to seeing where chapter 3 takes us in a few years.

8.16.2009

The Big Fat Persian/Mormon Wedding


I remember going to many bar mitzvahs in junior high school and being in complete awe of the new and unfamiliar traditions and celebrations. I had a similar feeling last summer when we went inside the Hagia Sophia and some of the other mosques in Turkey and we watched local people partake in their praying rituals.

I actually have always been naturally curious about the affairs and lifestyles of different people and different cultures. Some may call it being nosy, and it sort of is. But not in a bad way - well at least I think so. Perhaps this explains why I enjoy blog stalking, or "BLALK-ing" so much, and yes I just admitted that (you do it too).

So what I'm really trying to get at here is that we went to an Iranian/Mormon wedding last weekend. It was hands-down one of the cooler events we have ever attended. Our friend Brigham (um, can you tell he's LDS?) went to high school with me and Niels. And his wife Sameen is a dental student with Niels at UNLV. They had dated for 5+ years and finally sealed the deal.

Both Niels and I were pretty intrigued to see how it would all go down because Brigham and Sameen are both very pious in their respective religions. Needless to say we were both really impressed by the whole spectacle.

They started with the present day Iranian wedding ceremony. Basically there was a bench that faced a long table with several different objects and foods traditionally associated with marriage in their culture.

There are way too many to name, but some of the most interesting items were: The Koran, golden fertility eggs and walnuts, live goldfish, real sugar crystals and the mirror of fate.




They sat on the bench under what they call a wedding cloth where different members of her family rubbed sugar cubes together over their heads in order to wish them a sweet life together. Thankfully there was a paper on our table that explained all the symbolism of the items, as well as the translation of the entire ceremony as it was performed in the Farsi language.



My favorite part of the whole ceremony is when the celebrant asked Sameen if she would be Brigham's wife. As part of the ceremony, she didn't answer and was silent and her family members replied to the celebrant that she was too busy to answer because she was out picking rose petals. So the celebrant asked Sameen a second time if she would be Brighams wife. Again, she was silent for a moment and her family members replied in Farsi that she was out feeding the sparrows and couldn't be bothered right now. The celebrant asks Sameen for a third and final time and she says, "Baleh!" (yes). The entire room went nuts. Everyone started making all sorts of loud clicking and rolling noises with their tongues and hands - It was fantastic.



Mr. & Mrs. Brigham Joffs

After everyone calmed down from witnessing the lively Iranian celebration, they had everyone sit down and the Bishop came up and civilly and lawfully married them. Talk about a tough act to follow! He did a great job, and both ceremonies were done so tactfully.



We truly had a great time. I really can't think of any other wedding we have stayed at for five hours like we did for this one. We danced to ethnic music intertwined with Michael Jackson, we had great food and saw some old friends from high school. Persians definitely know how to throw a great party!




Specialty drinks menu. So classic.

8.13.2009

Financial Cuts

As of late, most everyone I know is trying to find small shortcuts to save a little bit of cash here and there. For some it is out of pure necessity, and for others it is for pure enjoyment of having a little extra padding left in the checking account at the end of the month. For us it is a good mixture of both.

I have found it very interesting and telling to hear what things or services some of my friends and family are cutting back on, or completely axing out of their budgets. I have learned that what is deemed as an absolute necessary/can’t live without thing or service on one persons list, can be a totally disposable or vain thing on another persons.

For example . . . my sister called me last month to inform me that she was getting rid of her cell phone completely. Thankfully her shenanigans only lasted 6 days. Then there is my friend who cut back on her cable package so she could keep her tanning membership. Another friend has to have her bi-monthly pedicure, but can't dish out the dough to go grab some lunch.

Let me be clear . . . I’m not judging here - I am simply noting that everyone has their own financial priorities and quirks, myself included!

I’m just saying that I could never get rid of my phone, and I am destined to be pasty for the rest of my life so I can live without the tanning membership. Sure I love a good pedicure, but I enjoy a few good lunches a LOT more.

I'm sure there are some of you that might look at the things that we have chosen to ax and retain in our budget and could feel differently.

Financial tweaks:
  • Cut Fancy Cable
  • Cut Internet (share with neighbors)
  • Cut caller ID (this one is killing me)
  • Eliminated soda runs
  • I give Niels his haircuts (double standard - this won’t be working both ways)
  • I have turned into that annoying lady in front of you at checkout with all the coupons
  • I don’t go into Target without an action plan or list.
  • Didn’t renew my Costco membership (again, killing me)
  • Got rid of the kitten
  • I have been very creative with the dusty cans and boxes in our pantry
  • Thermostat is kept at 81 in this Vegas summer (poor Niels)

Sticking around (for now) :
  • Cell phones
  • Gym membership
  • PEST CONTROL – especially after Jen’s run-in last week!
  • Nice-ish shampoo & conditioner
  • Nice-ish toilet paper
  • Fresh produce
  • My hair cuts

Dear Blog

Dear Blog,

Sorry for the recent neglect. I have been too _______ to update. Please accept my apology.

Warmest Regards,

Susie