When in Rome . . . . (and Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, and France)

Go big or go home.

We figured we should probably take one last big trip before meager dental school lifestyle begins in September, and before our baby factory opens in 20____.

We leave this Friday for a 12 day Western European Cruise. We have both never been overseas so it should be great. Kind of a poor picture above, but we visit the following ports:

BARCELONA, SPAIN
MARSEILLE, FRANCE
FLORENCE/PISA (LIVORNO), ITALY
ROME (CIVITAVECCHIA), ITALY
CAPRI/NAPLES, ITALY
MYKONOS, GREECE
ISTANBUL, TURKEY TURKEY
EPHESUS (KUSADASI), TURKEY
ATHENS (PIRAEUS), GREECE
VENICE, ITALY

Let us know if you have been to any of these ports, and what we should be sure to hit while there.

Bon Voyage.

Nice Smile Libby

Niels has created a monster.

This is Libby, our landlord's dog.

Becasue we live in a basement apartment, and our front yard/entrance is essentialy our landlord's backyard, we are greeted by Libby everytime we come home. When we first moved in last year, Niels would stop and play fetch with one ball for a few minutes. Overtime, Libby wised up and started sneaking Niels two tennis balls, smart lady .

Her latest brilliant idea, 3 of them.

Treat Your Mother Right

Little Miss Sunshine

When it hit 80 degrees for the first time this year on Tuesday, I decided that I am generally SUCH a nicer and more pleasant individual when it is warm outside.

I was talking to my friend Andrea about this last night, and she said my sun-induced kindness is by no means a coincidental correlation.

She explained that I have just been SAD for 6 years in Utah.

Party Central

We had our share of parties last week. The festivities started on Thursday with Niels’ graduation. A big thanks to everyone who came to celebrate. I was really disappointed that it snowed and was a cold day on Thursday because I really wanted to go to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. I love tulips and it is by far one of my favorite events of the year. My sources tell me it wasn’t all that great this year because the flowers weren’t even fully bloomed because it has been such a nasty winter.

On Friday Niels walked. He graduated in Psychology which is part of the Family, Home & Social Sciences Department, (a.k.a the largest department at BYU, a.k.a the longest convocation ceremony ever.) Niels wasn’t as excited as I thought he would be to be done. He says it’s because he can only think about how he starts all over again for another 4 years in August. Completely understandable.

Friday night I had the chance to throw a shower for my step sister-in law Mauri. She has two girls, and is expecting her first boy any minute now. In fact, it was a miracle this shower took place seeing how Mauri was checked into the hospital last week hooked up and everything. However, baby Wesley knew he could not come into the world without having new boy clothes and blue blankets. So thank you Wesley for staying in until you could be well accessorized.

Mauri happy to have boy toys, and her daughter Katelyn claiming the John Deere.

Saturday was bridal shower day for Melissa, my friend Taylor’s fiancée. It was very fancy, almost like a miniature wedding. Some girls made her this apron, and it is my new envy. This picture does not do it justice, but it is oh so cute. Too bad I can’t sew . . . but if you are a friend that knows how to and wants to know something I want for a future gift, this is it. Wink, wink

Sunday, we played hooky and ditched church. Instead, we went to Salt Lake to celebrate Brandon Hofheins' b-day. We currently live in the Hofheins’ basement and have been close friends for 6 years now. We all went to listen to the MoTab Choir at Music and the Spoken Word. The Tabernacle Orchestra happened to be performing with them which was a great addition. Sure CD’s are ok, but there is something about sitting in the tabernacle and listening to all the voices and instruments live with all the acoustics. Very cool. There were also tons of tulips at Temple Square, so I got a mini Tulip Festival after all.

The partying continues this week with Niels’ b-day on Thursday, and a celebration for our Grandma in Vegas on Saturday. Party on.

Flipping Fetch

Onset Movie Narcolepsy

visit videodetective.com for more info

You know when you get the kind of questions about what you like least about yourself, or if you could change one thing about yourself what would it be? . . Well, while I have many things I'd love to alter, one big thing I'd like to improve is my ability to stay awake in movies.

Any time, any day, at home, in a theatre, full-rested, lights on, caffeine induced, loud action movie: Doesn't matter, I will still fall asleep 95% of the time.

I should note that while Niels used to think it was cute when I would fall asleep in his lap while we were dating, it has now grown to be one of his most major pet peeves. In fact, we will rarely see a movie in theatres past a 7:30 showing, because my on-set narcolepsy increases dramatically.

On Saturday I decided I really wanted to double and see "Baby Momma" with my friend Andrea and her husband. She told me they would love to see it, but they wouldn't be in Provo until 8pm. I didn't want to admit to her that I was a pansy, so my tourettes kicked in and I said, "Oh ya, that's not a problem at all, we will just go to the 10 pm showing."

Well, I made it. As petty as it sounds, this is a huge step for me. The 20 oz. Mountain Dew, Hot Tamales, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler made my night. Hilarious flick.

Does anyone else have my problem by the way?

13.1

I ran in my first half-marathon on Saturday in SLC. Overall, it was a great experience and extremely worth it. My cousin Lori decided she would spontaneously run it with me 3 days before the race, having not trained at all.

My favorite part about Saturday was how my brain was extremely active with all sorts of subconscious thoughts, inner monologue, random memories, and people. It was the best 2 hours and 15 minutes of unsolicited thoughts I've ever had. They just kept coming. I don't know how to explain it well in words, but if you are reading this post, you likely crossed my mind at some
point on my run.

I was also extremely moved by all the community members that came out to support all the runners. While many of the spectators didn't have any single person they were supporting, they just liked being a part of the hype. There were literally hundreds of people lining the streets and neighborhoods. They were ringing bells, blaring music from their homes on massive speakers, passing out all sorts of quick sugar fixes, water cups, giving out high fives, etc. It was awesome. My friend Becca was a little concerned that I took candy from a stranger in Sugar House =) I was too busy thinking about all the other random stuff to think twice about that.

Many things helped me get through training and the actual race. I would like to express my deepest appreciation for the following:

Lori Bonham: Thank you for spontaneously texting me last week and asking who was running with me. When I told you I was el solo, you eagerly/crazily said you would do it. Although you made me feel like a pansy for having trained for 12 weeks, I am SOOO thankful you did this with me!
Pre-Race 5 am: TRAX Station. Am I really this white and short? Ha!

• Colleague Music Mixes :
  I work with a great crew at Logoworks. I mentioned to a few colleagues that I was burnt out on my running mixes, and they totally helped me out. I came back from lunch on Friday and there were 5 new Cd's of music on my desk from various people with good luck post it notes on them. There is nothing like having great friends and good music to keep you going.
  
  
• Fergie Ferg :
  You know, I really do not want to like her music, but somehow she manages to make every song she "sings" so catchy and super conducive to keeping the adrenaline pumping and the heart rates up in women across America. While I had over 4 hours of songs on my iPod, Fergie stands out above all for keeping me the most motivated and for making me feel so G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S and flossy. Thanks Fergilicious.
  
  



• Awesome shoes: Buy Asics. Enough said.
  



• A healthy body with working parts:
  This one sounds a little corny, but honestly when I ran past people in wheelchairs cheering on the masses from the sidelines, I could not help but to think how I sometimes take for granted that I have two legs that work well, a nice set of lungs, etc. etc.


• My supportive husband:
  
  
  Niels has been super supportive of me training for this. Often times he would come home from school at night, and I would be out the door at the same time to get my miles in. Thank you for putting up with it and for waking up at 4:30 am to come watch me on Saturday.
  

• Porta Potties: I would usually rather hold it until I burst than use one of these. But I gained a new appreciation for these wonderful inventions.


• 80's speed-walker moms: I love you. Hot pink sweat bands and vibrant colored everything. I couldn't help but to smile as I passed you and admired your get-ups, your perfectly placed hair, and make up. I wish I could hear what you had loaded on your i-pods. Thank you.

Vegas Housing Hunt: Round 1

I want to thank my friend Stephanie for sending me the following message . . . . “It stopped snowing in Utah, update your blog.” Sadly Steph, it is still snowing here, but I have been slacking regardless an I have no excuses. Here’s our catch-up.

We spent last weekend in Vegas for a friend’s wedding, and I began the overwhelming process of finding housing for our big move this fall with my sister Jen.

Come to think of t I don’t think I officially posted anything about us moving, so if you haven’t heard already . . . we are moving back to Vegas in August and Niels is going to UNLV dental school. Some say a simple phone call would have been sufficient to tell our families the big news, but I just have a different way of doing things I guess. Niels said, “My family will know immediately that did not come from me.”

Exhibit A:

One of the 15 packages filled with Vegas paraphernalia we sent out to family.

Needless to say, my housing hunt trip wasn’t extremely productive as we are still 4 months out from the big move. We have decided to rent until the first of next year until we really decide what part of town we want to settle in for 4 years.

I have likely ruled out living in an apartment, after checking out roughly 10 complexes with my sister Jen only to be whistled at and cat called by drunk 30 year-old bachelor’s barbecuing poolside. You know, the ones with the barbed-wire tattoo arm bands that still use bleach to frost their tips and wear pukka shell necklaces? Ya, Don’t want those creepos knowing I am home alone frequently while my husband is at school at night. . . .

"Come to my BBQ sugar. "

Still Sneezing Fushia, Snow is STILL Falling

One annoying characteristic about Utah during this transition of seasons, is how it will be gorgeous for a week or so, and then out of nowhere, snow comes back. ARRRGH!

I have never been huge on superstitions, but after this very long and nasty winter of snow, I am willing to do what it takes to make spring come, and to make it stay.

This weekend we decided to go to The Hari Krishna temple in Spanish Fork to the annual Festival of Colors. We joined 10,000 other people for the Krishna's celebration of the arrival of spring and the passing of winter; definitely my kind of reason to celebrate.

Before Shot (* Notice that it is a fairly nice day outside)

Basically, everyone buys sacks of colored chalk and once the main bonfire is lit at dusk, it is time to cover everyone in sight in color. This is a reenactment of the actual "Holi Celebration" that takes place each year in India.

Verdict: Very cool experience.

Afterthought: I was pretty sour as you could imagine when I woke up on Sunday and realized that all of our dancing and partying to bring in spring had failed me. This was the view out my kitchen window . . . A fresh 2 inches.

Only in Utah Part V and VI

Saw this plate while I was in a dead stand-still traffic jam on I-15. Speechless, really.




Apparently, small signs don't get the message accross, but 5 of these puppies sure do.

A White Easter

Happy Valley has never been a top vacation hot spot for my family. To paint a clearer picture of what I mean . . in my 6 years of living here, they have come for my graduation and my wedding. I am honestly not bitter about this, becasue I understand that Utah does not have as much to offer as say . . . Disneyland or a beach when you only have limited vacation days.

However, this situation might explain that when my sister told me last month that she was bringing my joy in life (my nieces) up to spend Easter and their spring break with me and Uncle Niels, I nearly fell off my chair. For the next few weeks, I called every couple days to confirm that she was serious and hadn't changed her mind.

By the way, my nieces have never really seen snow besides "Vegas Snow"!!! So, we decided that we would stay in Park City for the weekend and let them experience Utah's "Best Snow on Earth".

One classic conversation with my seven-year-old niece Taylor . . .

Me: "What do you want to do when you visit Utah?"
Taylor: "Can we build a white snowman?"
Me: "What do you mean, what other kinds are there?"
Taylor: "We only build grey ones in Las Vegas becasue the snow is dirty"

We had such a great time with the girls. It is fun and such a self-confidence booster to be around our nieces . . . they think we are so fun and cool =)

Niels seems to think we will have have all boys some day, while I am banking on all girls so that we can have all these cute hand-be-downs and accessories of course. It should be interesting what happens based on the track record of mostly all girls in my family, and mostly all boys in his. Needless to say, he has won the hearts of all of our nieces. . . They love their "Uncle Skittles." (Sydney couldn't say his name when we first started dating, and thinks Skittles sounds better)

A Friendly Reminder . . . Support the Troups

What's hot, what's not

I wish I was talking about fashion.

But sadly, candy is my forte and my guilty pleasure of adulthood.

My brother-in-law Trevor once told me that he would have no problem digging a hole in the Sahara Desert, throwing every fruity, gummy, sour thing that ever existed into it, and never think twice about digging them back up. My heart ached at the thought.

Instead, I was thinking . . . "I could throw every snake that existed in that desert hole."

That being said, I would like to share two new treats I have explored recently . . . one pure bliss and one pure miss.

Pure Miss



Chocolate Skittles? Not a good mix of flavor and texture here. Ecckkkk!

Pure Bliss

Peanut Butter Whoppers, genius. Very hard to come by. . . I have only found them at Wal-Mart check out lines amidst all the mothers yelling at their 6 children in their carts. So worth it.

I Kill Citizens

It was a dark and snowy morning @6am . . . a few instant, sure characteristics of a bad day for me. . . I stumbled out of bed and into my laundry room to grab my running clothes out of the dryer. With my eyes still trying to peel themselves open, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that my bottle of bleach had tipped over on top of my dryer. Not thinking twice about this, because the cap was screwed on of course, I grabbed the bottle to return it to it's upright position. As I grabbed the handle, my palm met the label on the bottle which was completely drenched.

At this point everything on my body that was formerly only semi-conscious, woke up quickly. I began to asses the un-reversable damage of bleach, and started to pat the various stacks of the clean, folded laundry on top of my dryer. Everything felt fine, and then my eyes met the last stack before my hands did . . . I froze as I registered that my one and only favorite pair of designer Jeans were RUINED.

Now this post might seem somewhat petty and materialistic, but these jeans were my first big purchase after I graduated from college and had a real job. They were my envy that I could not afford as a poor student, (I actually still shouldn't be affording them as a newlwed either, not to mention an upcoming dental student's wife.) 

If it was anything else, I would have seen it as an opportunity to by a new one. But . . I, like most women, don't necessarily have the easiest time when it comes to shopping for jeans. It is a serious process for me that takes a lot of time, money, and alterations. Let the process begin . . .