The Larsens

Best. Meal. Ever.

2011-11-22T15:35:00.000-08:00

I'm coming out of overwhelmed-with-life-induced hiding to share the following recipes. You're welcome.

Want to knock your lover's socks off? (Also, want to die from a saturated fat induced coma?) This steak recipe is seriously the BEST. I have made it with clearance Rib-eyes and NY Strips and those $5 steaks taste better than some I've spent $30+ on in a restaurant!

I've told a lot of you about this recipe before, so when I finally sat down to find it in a digital format, I thought it would behoove me to share it with y'all.

(While I'm at it, can I give a plug to Cooks Illustrated "Best Recipes" and "New Best Recipes" cookbooks? Even for a hack like me, every single thing I have made from these has turned out excellent. Their detail/description is exactly what I need to make me feel a teensy bit confident in my decisions. Buy these books and make this Steak ASAP!)

Anyways, enough of that. Here are the recipes (just copied and pasted from the website)! Serve it with killer mashed potatoes, green beans and THE BREAD (omg have you tried it?!?) and I'm telling you, you will die (literally. because if you added up how much butter I just told you to injest, you just might).

Cooks Illustrated Pan-seared steaks:

Why this recipe works:

For a pan-seared steak recipe with a full-bodied, complex steak sauce, we cooked the steaks in a high-quality, heavy pan, reducing the heat to prevent burning and moving the steaks only once. By adding a few extra ingredients to the traditional trio of wine or brandy, stock, and butter, we transformed canned stock into a luxurious, refined sauce for our meat.

To cook two steaks instead of four, use a 10-inch skillet and halve the sauce ingredient quantities. Pan sauces cook quickly, so prepare the ingredients before you begin cooking the steaks. Use a heavy skillet with a nonreactive cooking surface.

Ingredients

4 boneless 8-ounce rib-eye steaks or top loin steaks, 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick, thoroughly dried with paper towels
Salt and ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Heat heavy-bottomed, 12-inch skillet over high heat until very hot, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, season both sides of steaks with salt and pepper.
2. Lay steaks in pan, leaving 1/4-inch of space between each; reduce heat to medium-high, and cook without moving until well browned, about 4 minutes. Using tongs, flip steaks; cook 4 minutes more for rare, 5 minutes more for medium-rare, and 6 minutes more for medium. Transfer steaks to large plate and tent with foil to keep warm while preparing one of the related sauce recipes.

Shallot Butter Sauce
( I often sub out the shallots for onions, because they are easier to keep on hand, and I usually forget the Parsley because I don't keep it around the house).

Ingredients

2 small shallots , minced (about 1/3 cup )
4tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 4 pieces
1teaspoon fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon
1teaspoon minced fresh parsley leaves

Instructions

Follow recipe for Pan-Seared Steaks, transferring plate with steaks to 200-degree oven to keep warm. To same skillet used to cook steaks (do not clean skillet or discard accumulated fat), add shallots and cook over low heat until softened, about 1 minute. Turn heat to medium-low; stir in butter, scraping up browned bits on pan bottom with wooden spoon. When butter is just melted, stir in lemon juice and parsley; season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over steaks and serve immediately.

Highs and Lows

2011-08-26T10:58:00.001-07:00

At dinner each night at Rising Star, we review our "highs and lows" from that day. Some of mine from the two weeks...(kicking myself for not writing them down each day)

High: Watching Mandy and Kim kick butt at construction
Low: The stereotypes Indian men have about female capabilities

High: spending time in the colony and watching the patients serve one another
Low: having so much going on in my personal life that I'm having a hard time staying "in the moment"

High: figuring out that shouting "left, left, left, right, left" is insanely helpful when carrying huge concrete rings
Low: watching the Indians laugh at us while we paraded down the streets of the colony shouting "left, left, left, right, left"

High: watching my student finally start to get the hang of multiplication tables
Low: being exhausted from not sleeping on our Delhi trip and almost falling asleep during tutoring

Other things I've been super grateful for during this trip:
- air conditioning
- canned chicken
- ice water
- diet coke
-wheat thins
- wifi (and Skype!)
-Amanda and lex, the India pros
-zit cream (somewhat prevented a repeat SA forehead disaster)

Week 2 at Rising Star

2011-08-04T23:15:00.001-07:00

We spent our second week at Rising Star in the same rotation as week one. Education on Monday and Friday, Construction on Tuesday and Thursday, and Medical on Wednesday.

Education was better this week than last week; the kids and I got into a rhythm and I made an effort to have more patience, but it was still really hard. I have such respect for parents and teachers, especially after this!! We spent a few periods reading with students, and a few periods working on math. It's important not to distract the kids any more than they already are, so we don't take many pictures during education.

Construction continues to be crazy hard but oh so rewarding. It's funny, Amanda says that each session seems to have a focus and ours is definitely construction. We spent last week carrying the roofs for outhouses but this week we were building septic tanks. And by building septic tanks, I mean carrying 6-8 200lb cement rings over to the holes that were dug by each hut, lowering them into the holes and then filling the spaces between with dirt. We did this about 6 times total. The cherry on top was the last day when we were informed that we would be carrying the concrete rings all the way from one end of the village to another. Because we were physically carrying the rings, it takes about 6 people per ring to lift and we had to take several breaks along the way. By the last few rings though, we had devised a system of carrying them by sticks that we had wrapped around with rope, while shouting "left, left, left, right left" to keep in synch. Don't be surprised that I was the one leading the shout.

We had some issues with the local men - like them insisting we carry the rings in the most complicated, inefficient way possible and trying to force the girls in the groups into "woman work" of digging in the dirt rather than hauling concrete slabs (we stubborn americans are not accepting of the limiting stereotypes in other countries) and so we put up a fight and proved them wrong. While I wasn't the strongest gal there (by far, Mandy and Kim were crazy tough) it was still so rewarding to look back and see all that we had accomplished in a week of busting our butts. I'm sure every group was impressive, but I'd like to think my group was especially so.

Because of our group's schedule, we only made it out to the leprosy colonies once this week, but what an experience it was. When we had gone before, it was either just Amanda, Patrick and me or a teeny colony so it was awesome to see our group rally together to provide such loving service to those in need. An especially sweet moment was watching a grandfather parade his grand-baby around to all the volunteers to admire.

I also loved observing the selflessness that exists, even in a community where almost everyone is suffering. One man, for example was the first one at the clinic, and yet he spent the time assisting all the others before finally, at the end, unwrapping his bandages and allowing us to help him. I see so many examples of impatience in India that it's especially touching when you have moments like this.

Play time is fun, but SO hot. I usually don't make it the full two hours because I'm a wimp.

Each night, after play time and dinner, we spend time with our assigned "family".

The littlest girls, getting ready for bed.

My family, Saraswathi's family, is by far the cutest group of girls you've ever seen in your life.

I'm especially partial to one girl, Mariambee

who shares my love for reading. We've spent the past week reading The BFG to one another (each reading one page and then swapping). We didn't quite finish before inlet, but hopefully she will finish on her own and continue reading with other volunteers. It is incredible to see how good she is at reading in English, especially compared to her classmates.

There are so many amazing girls in our house; like Monica, with her gorgeous eyes and fabulous cropped hair (I want to copy her!)

Vandamala with her kooky sense of humor

Nadia with her shy smile

and Prianka with her loving devotion to the family

I'm so lucky to have met these girls, who have shown me how to love unconditionally, quickly and fiercely. They don't guard their hearts here; they throw their love at you so strongly, it's almost shocking, until you realize you've done the same to them.

Saraswati, the house mother, is so so sweet.

She and Amanda became close in the two months Amanda was there, and it's easy to see why. I loved watching her interact with the girls, who live so far away from their families, they really treat her as a mother and love her like one. She's leaving to be married soon, and you can tell that she is so heartbroken to be leaving her little family.

I don't have as much to gush about Patricks fam, but the grin on his face pretty much sums up his feelings about this place.

Misc india photos

2011-07-26T06:51:00.001-07:00

Where we eat dinner each night

(You better believe amanda and I spent a full day in Chennai tracking down one of these tents to bring home as a souvenir)

Serving up dinner on banana leaf plates

The cold water dispenser. (especially appreciated after play time!)

Where the kids eat their meals (no silverware, just hands!)

Squatters and bucket showers

Rising Star lawn mower

The Elephant house (where we stayed)

Dance class!

Delhi and Agra

2011-07-24T15:59:00.001-07:00

While at Rising Star, we spent a weekend on a group trip to Delhi and Agra. It was a bit of a whirlwind adventure but so so fun. Although, for the record, I'm not sure I can handle a trip with 30 other people ever again.

We left Rising Star at about 3 in the morning (Amanda and I were supposed to wake up at 2 but somehow neither of us actually SET the alarms and we woke up in a panic about 20 mins before we were supposed to leave) and arrived in Delhi around 10am after a quick flight out of Chennai

Our first reminder of why we don't travel in groups came when someone in the group realized he had left his passport on the plane and had to go searching for it while the rest of us waited an hour. Awesome. Thank goodness he found it!

Driving through the city was pretty crazy. Vendors everywhere, every vehicle imaginable all on the roads together, people running out in the middle of traffic to ask for money. Nuts.

As we headed into Delhi, our first order of business was a Rickshaw ride through Old Delhi. I am not exaggerating when I say it was like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride on Steroids.

The streets were so narrow, our Rickshaws barely fit through. It was definitely nerve wracking to look up above us, see the bundles of exposed wires, and then look back and see a scooter coming at you, full speed ahead.

As we swerved through the tiny streets, past shops and vendors and often straight into other vehicles, I counted at least 5 times that I thought to myself, "ok, this is it, you are about to die", and yet, here I am blogging, so clearly we survived.

We also spent time in the Spice Market and Chili Markets which were straight out of a movie. We rushed down dark alleys, the ground covered in slippery, slimy muck, while stealing glances at the mysterious men conversing in the shadows. Seriously.

We LOVED it. Often when we visit a country, I don't get a "holy crap this is authentic" vibe in the tourist areas, but I sure did in Delhi.

The spice markets were so beautiful. Stacks and stacks of nuts and spices everywhere you turned. I bought some Saffron and Indian Vanilla that I am so excited to use when we get home!

The Chili market was pungent. My nostrils literally burned from the smell of the dried pods.

And to get to it, we had to climb up a dark, steep, slimy staircase. Once we were at the top, a whole new view of Delhi unfolded before us.

We headed off to an Incredible lunch where we gorged ourselves on the best Indian food I have ever had.

(thanks for smiling, Patrick)

Butter chicken, garlic naan, basmati rice and raita. Mmmm I am drooling just thinking about it.

While waiting for our food, I ventured outside to visit the local snake charmer.

Imagine my surprise when, as I sat down next to him, he opened up his basket and pulled out a Cobra (which he proceeded to hand to me)! A rat snake is one (harmless) thing, a Cobra is another! But I think Patrick was even more terrified than I was. He kept saying, keep calm Sarah, keep calm. Haha.

We spent the rest of the day driving the 6 hours to Agra so that we could wake up to a sunrise over the Taj Mahal. (oh yes and a stop at McDonald's for ice cream cones and air hockey)

Talk about an incredible place!

It is 10000 times cooler in person than pictures. I had no idea it was so huge! And so so intricate? There is inlayed marble everywhere. And the entire compound is perfectly symmetrical - including the useless building to the right, built solely to balance out the Mosque on the Taj's left hand side.

When we first arrived, there was a heavy layer of fog (helllooo monsoon season!) but luckily it cleared up by the time we left so we got a zillion pics in it's full glory.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm a novelty item in India. Lots of pics like this...

And this...

To be fair, we took lots of pics like this...

and this...

So I'm sure it evens out.

We headed back to the hotel for breakfast and naps before meeting up again to go to the Red Fort and shopping.

Somehow we missed taking a picture of the outside, but trust me when I say this thing was very huge and very red.

A totally different style than the Taj, but still soo detailed and beautiful. Amanda and I have a fabulous idea to create a vegetable garden inspired by the gardens here.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in a Rug factory

marble factory

and crappy street markets. We were all extremely disappointed by the shopping opportunities on this trip. Yet another reason it's better to travel solo. At least there were lots of commissions given to our tour guide though! :)

That night we ate at Pizza Hut. it wasn't exactly what I would have chosen, but if you insist in me eating pizza after a week of Indian food, I'm not going to put up a big fight.

We left the next morning to drive back to Delhi, in time for a very quick tour of the Baha'i temple before more crappy shopping and our flight back. It's aptly named the Lotus Temple and it was really cool. Sparse on the inside, but the outside was amazing.

And the grounds were beautiful as well. Which was refreshing since India is not exactly tidy.

Afro trees!

Oh yes! And how could I forget, a pit stop/ elephant and camel ride!!!

The outskirts of Delhi were the biggest shock for me. That's where I started to really see the abject poverty the people here live in. I can't even fathom living that way and yet there they are. Wading through the garbage, swatting swarms of flies and squatting in dirt clods outside their tent village slums. It was really hard for me to stare out the window of our bus for the 6hrs it took to get back to the city, but it was also really important for me to see and acknowledge. My life would be a whole lot easier if I'd never gone to Delhi. I selfishly wish I could just pull a curtain over that part of my brain and keep moving on because I'm overwhelmed by the amount of need in this country and the inability to do anything about it.

And yet, I'm still quick to rush back to my fancy air-conditioned hotel room. I keeping feeling like this country is in a constant state of contradiction, but then again, so am I.

Rising Star: Day 4

2011-07-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

Today our group was Medical. We went to a special needs school and a very small leprosy colony (only 3 people! Compared to about 50 or 70 in others)

The special needs school was quite the experience. There was such a range of needs - some kids were severely handicap and others were only slightly. It was sad to me because there was no distinction between the skill levels so I doubt that the kids were getting the help they individually need. It was also so sad because they were abandoned there by their parents.

The leprosy colony was stopped at was really just a house that three leprosy-afflicted people live in. We visited with the two women and man, who make a living working as a tailor and weaving baskets/purses. It was a brief stop, but valuable nonetheless. Rising Star has an amazing operation, and it's wonderful to see that they value all of those in need, even when it's so much work to set up the stations and equipment for just three people.

Heading back to rising star, I couldn't help but get emotional. The concern with social stigmas and caste system here is so hard for me. I can't imagine just abandoning a family member because they are disabled or because they are sick.

I am so grateful for the family I was born into. Every day I am here I just can't help wondering why I am so lucky and others are subjected to this insanely hard life. It's so heartbreaking and such an eye opening place to be.

I never imagined it would be this bad. That poverty could really be this horrendous. Driving through the cities and the outskirts of towns, you are bombarded with mountains and rivers and lakes of trash, mud and sewage. There are flies everywhere, people are wading barefoot through the filth and animals are munching on garbage.

Parts of the country are pretty, but most of it is rough. I'm loving being here, but it's not easy. I'm not in love with India the way I thought I'd be. Maybe I'm a wimp, but I can't help it...

Rising Star: Day 3

2011-07-19T07:48:00.000-07:00

Today was Construction for our group. We did construction at a leprosy colony about an hour from Rising Star. Leprosy-afflicted people are cast out once it is discovered that they have the disease and are set up in colonies together.

The colony we did construction at is a large and very advanced colony. They have an art studio, shops, carpenters, tailors, etc. Their microfinancing and farming are pretty successful.

It's very HOT here. And there is lots of construction to be done. But it's India so things are maybe not the most efficient...we spent the day toting heavy concrete roofs all over the colony. Roofs that had been dropped off the day before as the construction activity. Why they didn't just drop the roofs off at each house that day is still a mystery, but we just smiled and toted and smiled some more.

I felt awful because at one point, I was carrying a roof piece with another volunteer, and it slipped and fell to the ground, snapping in half. These are relatively expensive and we just basically threw money away. Still feeling bad about it.

As we were leaving the colony, we stopped by a snake charmer and Patrick got to hold a rat snake. Ahhh! I'm not a huge fan of snakes. Not terrified, but definitely not in love.

That night during family time, we sang hymns with some of the girls. They may not know what the words mean, but they love singing them. It was so sweet.

Rising Star: Day 2

2011-07-18T09:52:00.000-07:00

Volunteers are grouped into three groups. Mine and Patrick's group scorpion. We then rotate the groups each day between three different volunteer activities; education, construction and medical.

Our first official day our group was assigned education. Lex is currently the education coordinator (cool!) so it was fun to see him in charge and running the show.

Education is basically tutoring. We have 6 students that rotate every 40 minutes and we either help them with writing, reading or math.

Education is HARD for me. I am not a naturally patient nor child-loving person, so I struggle with this. It's also hard because the kids are learning a completely different language and alphabet (Tamil, their native language, has got to be the craziest thing I have ever seen/heard. Impossibly different from English).

The kids I tutor are a mixed bag. Most if them are not strong students and I hate that I get frustrated with them. But it's a wonderful feeling when they do start to understand how to sound out a word or do some math. I'm telling myself it's important practice.

We spent some time with the kids after dinner tonight, during family time, but I was so exhausted that I ended up fast asleep at 9pm.

Rising Star: Day 1

2011-07-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

We were able to arrive at Rising Star a day earlier than the rest of this session's volunteers, so Patrick and I went out on Medical Duty with our very own medical expert, Miss Amanda Cowan.

Not surprisingly, Amanda was snatched up by the medical team during her first week at Rising Star, and has since gone out with them every day of her 5 week stint.

We traveled to a relatively small colony of leprosy-afflicted people (calling them lepers is a serious insult, because they are people not a disease, so we stay away from that name) and were immediately put to work.

It is incredible to see how efficient and well-organized this small group is. They have become quite the well oiled machine under the direction of Dr. Susan, an incredible doctor who quit her glamorous career in Delhi to help serve those in need out here in rural India.

There are five stations at the leprosy clinics -

First - blood pressure and pulse is taken and recorded, then they are assessed by Dr. Susan

Second - sent to the "pharmacist" for replacement bandages and medications

Third/Fourth - they are sent to the foot washing station (where Patrick and I spent the majority of our day) where their bandages are removed, ulcers are documented, feet/hands are washed and sores are rubbed with Neem oil (a special vegetable oil that helps soften the calluses around open wounds and also serves as an insecticide to prevent ants and rats from eating at their wounds (leprosy affects your nervous system so that you have no feeling in your extremeties, often meaning you don't notice any bites or bugs until it is too late)

Fifth - They are sent to see Navamani, the nurse, who cleans the wounds and wraps them in cotton.

It's an emotional experience, that's for sure. These people are so crippled and are in such pain, and yet they are smiling and hugging and chatting with you. They are so grateful for the help they are receiving, and it makes me want to do so much more. I wish they were able to have their sores healed completely, to have their fingers and toes grow back, so that they could regain their standing in society.

I am so grateful that I was able to be exposed to this and help. Just wish there was something more we could give.

After returning from the colony, the rest of the volunteers arrived, we had orientation, and got to meet our "families" during playtime.

A group of volunteers are assigned to a group of children (who are all living at Rising Star under the supervision of a house mother) to play with and visit with each night.

I'm totally biased but I have the cutest family ever. I'm so lucky that I get to be in the same family as Amanda and it is really fun to sound time with her and the darling girls each night. We read, play hand games, sing songs, chat and get to know the girls better.

We finish up the day with dinner (which is super hard for me since it's vegetarian Indian food, both of which I dont love) and more time our family.

The days fly by here. I can't figure out where the time goes but I am EXHAUSTED each night and excited to wake up each morning!

Arriving in Chennai

2011-07-18T08:49:00.001-07:00

It was a long trip to India, with a two hour layover in Tokyo, Twelve in Singapore, and the flights in-between, so needless to say when we final,y arrived in Chennai on Saturday at 6pm, we were anxious to get going!

The line at customs was abnormally slow, but we finally made it to the front, only to find that because I didn't have the address of the Marriott hotel, we weren't allowed in the country. I guess I am dumb for not having my reservation printed out, but I have never in my life ever been turned away at customs for not knowing where I was staying. The guy proceeded to yell at me, telling me to call them (no I did not have a phone or phone number) and just all around stress me out. Luckily someone came to the rescue with a fake address and phone number, which worked fine until the next customs agent asked me what my hotel room number was. Excuse me? Since when does anyone know the room they are staying in before check-in!

After all this, we were definitely relieved to get out the door and make it outside. I was so happy to see Amanda and Lex's smiling faces after we collected our baggage.

After all the flying and travel we were pretty exhausted, so having experts there to take the stress off us was awesome.

We spent the night in Chennai, made sure amanda got some KFC (5 weeks of indian food is rough!)

and went to church the next morning before heading out to Rising Star. I loved being able to wear a Sari to Church, it makes you feel like a princess!

Church was a neat experience. A mix of Tamil and English in all the classes. It never ceases to amaze me that you can go anywhere in the world and an LDS church is still an LDS church. I was especially surprised at how many members there were! More than I have seen in some parts of the US!

After church, we took a 3hr bus ride past Chenalput village to the Rising Star campus.

Talk about an incredible oasis in the middle of nothing! The organization has done such a great job at building the school, volunteer hostels, keeping the grounds spotless, and all-around making it such a welcoming place to be.

The electricity isn't so stable (I'm currently writing this post during one of the frequent blackouts), which means the air conditionig and wifi are off, but hey! We are happy that there is even air conditioning and wifi some of the time!

Our first day was spent unpacking and getting accustomed to the squatting toilets, bucket showers and insane heat.

You better believe I was dead tired by 9pm!

Just FYI

2011-07-12T19:55:00.001-07:00

A certain California (south central Los Angeles to be exact) dream of mine just came true. We're kind of freaking out and jumping up and down at the same time.

Someone sure is making us learn how to be flexible!!!

Location:Just FYI

Things I've learned so far

2011-07-10T20:05:00.001-07:00

1. A cold shower in India is the equivalent of a hot shower in South America. Both not quite up to their description, but bearable nonetheless.

2. At Rising Star, Larsen can easily be mistaken for Carsen, a volunteer from last session. And when your brand new pack of salami is in the fridge, the other volunteers will quickly assume that Carsen left it, not that the Larsen's brought it. Good thing we brought 2.

3. Squatting is best done on your haunches.

4. Why wait in line when you can shove your way to the front?

5. Henna smells like beef jerky (which is not awesome when you are trying to fall asleep with your henna'd hand next to your face)

6. Air conditioning is god's gift to wimpy Americans

Guayaquil

2011-06-27T15:08:00.001-07:00

Patrick served a good portion of his mission in Guayaquil, Ecuador so while we knew it might not be the most picturesque stop on our trip, we needed to spend a couple of days there.

We were so lucky to be able to stay with a good friend of Patrick's from his Mission. Dario and his family, are some of the sweetest people I have ever met.

And we may or may not have tried to smuggle their daughter home with us this afternoon :)

Our first evening in Guayaquil, we went on a tour of the city, stopping at to the Parque de Iguanas,

the malecon (river boardwalk) and climbing 444 steps to a chapel at the top of the city in a neighborhood called Las Penas.

What a cool place.

On Saturday, we took a trip to Salinas, a beach town about 2hrs from Guayaquil.

It was definitely an experience. We were constantly being hassled by food/craft vendors

while lounging in our rented cabana (you can't escape them! We didn't even want the cabana and yet somehow ended up paying $7 for the honor).

At some point we were approached by a man offering to take us whale watching. He pointed out his boat, said we could hop in and go out to see the whales. Since it was pretty cheap, and whale season we figured oh what the heck let's do it. 1.5 hrs, three boats and two captains later, we were finally on our way. We saw several whales come up for air, and one flipped his tail out of the water, but unfortunately we didn't get to see any breach. Still a pretty awesome experience, and we had the benefit of being in a country where you can get super close to the whales without breaking any laws :)

After our whale watching tour, we wanted to grab a bite to eat. When we pulled up to the group of restaurants, we were immediately accosted by the waitstaff of several establishments, all encouraging us to come to their restaurants. That's been fairly standard on this trip, so it wasn't strange, the strange part came when we tried to sit down. They were literally fighting for us to pick a place to eat! I felt like wherever we chose, we were making somebody furious! Luckily once we chose a place, they left us alone. Delicious seafood after a day at the beach is always a good idea.

Today, our last day, we went to Church at the building that Patrick had gone to when he lived in Guayaquil.

He wasn't sure if he would remember anyone, or even if anyone he knew would still be there, so he was thrilled to see 5 of the 6 converts he had baptized all still in the same ward!

It was such an incredible experience to see how happy they were to see him and vice versa.

They all even still had their Book of Mormon where he had written his testimony! And one even had his picture! I loved meeting everyone as well, and only wish I spoke Spanish so that I could have heard all the wonderful things they had to say about Elder Larsen.

After church, we took a tour of the areas he lived. Check out his apartment!!

He says it looks pretty much the same. Can you believe he lived there? I think I would have died.

And look at the dirt roads!

In the largest city in the country, there are still dirt roads? Apparently 90% of the roads were dirt when he was there 8 years ago, but the city has done a lot to improve things and now most streets are paved, except in the most dangerous areas.

Although there have been vast improvements, that's still one rough town. I can't imagine living there. I think the thing that has been the strangest to
me is how mixed the living conditions are. There are nice apartments next to little shacks, next to huge pits full of trash. And everywhere is under construction/for sale. I don't think I saw more than 10% of the buildings that didn't have some sort of incomplete portion. And yet, people are still living in the houses!

And with that, we're finally at the end of the trip! I can't believe it went by so quickly! And yet, I'm definitely ready to head home. I thought I could handle months of travel, but it turns out, I am not the best long-term budget traveler. Big surprise, I'm sure :) but I am so glad we took this trip. I know it's one we will remember forever.

Next stop, India! I am so excited to meet up with Amanda and Lex at Rising Star!!

Getting to Guayaquil

2011-06-27T15:05:00.003-07:00

After our bus rides to Cuenca and Loja, you'd think we'd be prepared for the one back to Guayaquil. But I guess a ten hr ride is a bit different from a four hour one. (if anyone can tell me how taking the same route as two four hour bus rides turns into ten hours, that'd be great. Oh wait, it's South America, no need to explain). We were on some of the windiest roads I have ever seen, complete with crazy people hopping on whenever we slowed down (which was pretty often) to sell random stuff. At one point, a man with no legs got on and crawled through the aisle begging for money. I still can't figure out how he got on in the first place, since we never officially stopped, but you better believe I gave him a dollar. We had one ten minute bathroom break, but other than that it was full speed (more like crawl, those roads were BUMPY) ahead.

Once we arrived at the bus depot in Guayaquil, we made our way to the taxi stand to get a cab to our hotel. Two problems though. First, we had read in the newspaper that two tourists were shot and robbed two nights before while riding in a cab, so I was slightly paranoid about making it to the hotel; and secondly, the cab drivers were selective about whether or not they would even take you where you wanted to go. They would slow down just enough to find out where you wanted to go, and then either pretend they didn't understand your request or just speed up and drive away.

At one point we were pretty sure we were going to spend the night at the bus terminal.

Luckily, we finally found a cab driver willing to take us to our hotel. When we eventually found it (after about 15 minutes of driving up and down the same street, what kind of hotel needs a sign out front, anyways), they explained that another guest had really, really liked their room so they decided to stay an extra night - which meant they had no room for us, even though we had pre-paid the reservation. How convenient.

After ten hours of sitting on a crazy bus, an hour trying to get a cab, and another 30 minutes of searching for the stupid hotel, our patience was gone. They claimed they were calling around for another hotel for us to stay at, but I was not about to risk being swept into the night to go to some sketchy motel in a 3rd world country. No way, Jose.

Taking matters into our own hands, we insisted on a refund and a ride to the Airport Sheraton. Shockingly, it worked! Next thing you know, we are walking into a QUIET, Air-conditioned, clean room. We were Wayyy too excited. And even better, the hotel was right across the street from a mall with a food court full of America. We were skipping across the street in excitement.

I told Patrick, while that may have not been my favorite part of the trip, it quite possibly was my happiest. So silly, the things we take for granted, but I'm telling you, after two weeks of "roughing it", nothing feels better than a belly full of KFC and a plush bed. Sheer happiness.

Not to mention, the breakfast buffet the next morning was awesome. Stale bread with margarine and jam gets old after about 2 days and we were on Day 13.

As excited as I was about heading to the Galapagos, I was tempted to just stay in that bed for the rest of our trip. We both agree it was the best $100 we've spent in a lonnnggg time.

The Galapagos

2011-06-27T15:05:00.001-07:00

Patrick has been out of his mind excited about going to the Galapagos ever since we started talking about this trip.

We were there about five days, and it was not even close to enough time. What an awesome place! I have 800 gazillion pictures of iguanas, sea lions, birds, tortoises and yes, even some blue-footed boobies! and that doesn't even take into account what we saw while diving!

Everywhere you turn, it's swarming with creatures. It's kind of weird because at first glance, it seems like a bunch of desert islands without any habitation, but once you get a little closer, you realize just how wrong you were.

On our first day, after getting off the plane and taking a water taxi to the island,

we checked in to our fabulous hotel, Galapagos Suites, (which we highly highly recommend, loved it!!) explored the town,

and headed out to the Charles Darwin Research center.

(oh yeah and also got our passports back. Note to self, the super expensive island entrance fee is cash only, and if you don't have $200 on you, there are no ATMs at the airport, so they take your passports hostage. Wha?? Yeah well at least they still let you in. Can't figure out the no ATM thing though).

The Darwin center is basically a animal sanctuary so we saw tons of Galapagos Tortoises

and Land Iguanas.

Oh yeah and cactuses.

They are everywhere! And look like trees which is interesting. Have you ever seen a cactus that looks like this?!

Day two meant diving! Our goal was to see hammerheads, and lots of them, so we planned our first day of diving at Gordon Rocks, a dive site famous for Hammerhead sitings.

Although I was still pretty congested from my cold, I popped a few Sudafed and we were on our way.

We had heard the ride could be a but rough, so we took some motion sickness pills, but we are both pretty good at boat rides so we weren't super concerned.

Let me interrupt my story to say that both Patrick and I are pretty good divers. We've had our fair share of tough dives, and while not hard-core we aren't usually woosie either. I have ear issues, but other than that we hold our own.

Anyways, back to the diving. I made the mistake of chatting with a fellow diver as we began the 1+ hr boat ride to the site. A few minutes in, I knew I was doomed. The water was SO rough, and I kept praying for her to stop talking so I could concentrate on not barfing. Too late. I lost it, then Patrick, then me again, then Patrick. We took turns at the side of the boat pretty much the whole ride out. By the time we got to the first site, things were not looking good.

We finally made it into the water, and started to descend but I could not get my ears to clear for the life of me. Usually it's tough, but I eventually get them to clear and catch up to the group, but this was 100x worse than usual. The currents were so strong, the water had poor visibility and I was doing everything I could to just stay calm. Thank goodness for a great dive master, who stayed with me until I finally got down. Once we were at about 80ft, the sea life started to pop out. Next thing you know, there is a school of 30 hammerheads, followed by 6 eagle rays, two sea turtles, and 6 white tip sharks.

Then you turn the other direction and there is a school of 30 more hammerheads!

It was seriously UNREAL. The dive flew by. Just absolutely breathtaking. Probably the coolest stuff I have ever seen. It was like screens just kept being pulled aside and more things would appear.

Everywhere you turned there were sea turtles, rays and sharks.

So, I started to think it was worth the seasick and ear issues. Invigorated and excited to get back on the boat to talk about everything we saw, we prepared to climb up the ladder and all of a sudden I felt a stinging on my neck. At first I just ignored it, stuff like that happens all the time and it's usually nbd. But then my chin was on fire! A jellyfish had latched on and was stinging me everywhere!

By the time I finally got back onto the boat, I was a mess. Emotionally drained and in tons of pain, I basically just had a meltdown. The worst part was knowing there was still another dive PLUS another hour or so wait until we got back in the water AND our 1+ hr ride back. I was sitting in the corner crying, Patrick was barfing over the side, and everyone else on the boat was trying to ignore the two pathetic creatures they had gotten stuck diving with.

Not our finest hours. In fact, I'm not really sure why I'm even telling the Internet this story! Although, looking back, it is pretty hilarious. This picture pretty much sums everything up. One barfer, one baby.

We sucked it up, did our second dive, and survived the boat ride home. Yes, the dive was cool, yes we saw tons of awesome stuff, but I'm still not sure if it was worth such a horrific day. At one point I had to talk myself down from swearing to never dive again. Looking at the pictures will help remind me it's worth it, I guess.

So we went to bed early that night, and woke up not super thrilled to be heading out on yet another boat, this time on an Island/Snorkle cruise. Turned out to be fine (fun even!); we bought some extra strength motion sickness meds and slept the whole way there. Plus it was a bigger boat so that also helped. Plazas was a really cool island. Tons of marine and land iguanas, birds and sea lions. Like I said before, when you first see the islands you think there is no way anything lives there and then you are blown away by what you see! So incredible.

We were supposed to dive again on Thursday, but you couldn't pay me to get back on that boat. And Patrick wasn't so keen on it either. Throwing up 8 times and getting attacked by a jelly fish on the face will do it to ya, I guess. Wimps. So instead we hiked out to Tortuga bay, which was one of the most gorgeous beaches I have ever seen.

Oh! And we even saw iguanas swimming in the ocean!

And took a bay cruise

to see more birds, iguanas and fish.

Blue footed booby!

Lovers cove

Look at all the iguanas! Crazy!!

We ended up at this swimming hole, called the Grietas which was gorgeous!

The food was mediocre for the most part, fairly overpriced tourist stuff,

but we found a street full of authentic Ecuadorian food and ended up eating our last two meals there.

The shrimp encocado was amazing and the Carne aponada was awesome! I guess you cant go wrong with shrimp in a butter/coconut sauce and chicken fried steak, but still! We also had at least one (or two) Magnum bars daily. And I read three books. Always a good recipe for a great trip.

We are excited to someday come back to the Galapagos, now that we've kind of figured out how to do it. We definitely need more time, and want to stay on another Island or two. Definitely put it on your list of places to go!

Ecuador! (more specifically, Cuenca and Loja)

2011-06-20T21:24:00.001-07:00

So we did it! We made it to Ecuador! I can't believe our trip is more than half over already!!

Once we landed in Guayaquil, we headed over the bus terminal to catch a bus to Cuenca. The bus ride takes about 4hrs, but you can't beat the price! $8! And since our time is worth a lot less than our money these days, we were all for it. Plus, it's way more of an authentic experience...right...?

While in the bus terminal, guess who we found at McDonald's? (I will neither admit nor deny if I was ordering at the time.) Missionaries!

We were so excited to see them, and Patrick got a kick out of talking about all his old mission haunts. I told them all to go home and get married and bring their wives back on a tour someday :)

Anyways, 4 hours later, we arrived in Cuenca. it's a cute colonial town in the Andes.

Patrick had actually only been there once before, for a day, so it was a new adventure for us both. We wandered the town, ate at an awesome restaurant, Tiestio's, that had about 15 different sauces and side dishes for our meal,

Look at all that food! For just the two of us!!

and saw 50 zillion churches.

I still can't get over the number of churches in this country! There is one every block or so, sometimes even right across the street from one another! Oh yeah and we went to their Museum, but 80% of it was either closed or broken. There were some Incan ruins though which was cool (Cuenca was the 2nd largest Incan city, after Cuzco, Peru.

AND some real shrunken heads! Too bad we couldn't take pictures. But trust me they were suuuppeerr creepy.

Our hotel (Villa Nova) was decent, clean and the breakfast was good, but I can't seem to get used to how thin the walls are in these places! You hear your neighbors AND all the cars. I need to get better at sleeping in loud places. I'm a wimp who needs silence and darkness.

In all of the Andean cities there are these cute local ladies dressed in darling outfits. I tried to find where they buy their pleated skirts but apparently they are homemade :(

Anyways, after Cuenca, we got back on another $8/4hr bus to Loja!

Loja is where Patrick spent 6 months of his mission, so it was really fun to watch him remember the streets and parks and even some restaurants! We may or may not have eaten at his favorite Mexican restaurant, A lo Mero Mero, twice

and his other favorite, El Fogon once. Your memory is a funny thing, and Loja was not quite as "cute" as Patrick remembered. It was much more of a regular 'ol city, so after about 3 hours we had seen it all. We had to remind ourselves that this was not a place you would normally go on a vacation, but it was a fun place to come to reminisce.

Proof that nerdy gamers have no nationality :) this place was packed!

Since we still had a day left in Loja, we decided to hire a guy to drive us to Zamora, a town about 1.5hrs from Loja that is the entrance to the jungle in Southern Ecuador. The outskirts of the city has a National Park, Podocarpus, where Patrick had spent some of his free time on preparation days.

Our hotel hooked us up with Manuel (you want to go where? Hmm ok, I know someone with a truck, he will take you, just be ready at 8:30. Uhh...ok...). We weren't really sure what to expect, but excluding the fact that he had zero personality, and AMAZING photography skills,

Take 1. Nice pavement!

Take 2. Maybe just hold it a little straighter?

Take 3. I give up.

he had a clean truck and was very polite. It was a fun (albeit HOT) day and the park was full of gorgeous butterflies, amazing waterfalls and gigantic ants.

Zamora was a nice town, our five minute tour showed us the way to the gold mines,

the clock on the hill,

the town square

and the river walk.

Oh yeah! And some guys catching a snake.

On our way back, we stopped for lunch and Manuel lectured me on
a. Drinking soda (it's really bad for you)
b. Drinking anything cold while sick ( I'm currently suffering from Gripé, aka a cold, and apparently I was making it worse with my Sprite.)
c. Meat and processed carbohydrates. He only really eats salad. (Thanks dude. Glad I ordered the grilled chicken instead of the fried chicken, can't imagine what your opinion would have been on that one.)

So yeah, I was happy to get back to The (notso)Grand Hotel.

Side note: These Latins are not shy with their opinions! At one point in Cuenca, Patrick was accosted by some dumb old man who was trying to start a fight about Osama Bin Laden not really being a terrorist, luckily we just walked away.

We did manage to find the LDS church which was fun because Patrick got to show me all around inside.

He says it was the nicest chapel of all the cities he served in. It was definitely a nice building! Also, instead of the U.S. Standard basketball courts in the cultural hall, they have an indoor futball court!

We also saw the "door to the city"

and a park full of buildings representing other countries. I told Patrick it seemed like someone had gone to Disneyland in the 70s, and came back and tried to put "It's a Small World" all over the city. Kinda awesome, definitely weird.

And that about sums up it all up! Stay tuned for our awesome "night in the U.S." and the Galapagos!!!,

Amazon Rainforest

2011-06-17T17:31:00.001-07:00

Patrick and I spent 4 days in the Amazon, about 3 hours (by speedboat) down the river from Iquitos, Peru.

The outfit we used, Otorongo Expeditions, is owned by a guy from NY who married a girl from Iquitos. He is extremely outdoorsy and the lodge is totally his dream come true. Definitely not mine, though! Haha. There was no electricity, hot water or refrigeration, so we were really roughing it! Four days was PLENTY.

So day one, we arrived and took a quick tour of the local market

Patrick's new dog. A Peruvian hairless.

( it was raining so we didn't get many pics), and then headed out to the lodge!

After lunch, took a tour of our surroundings. It was amazing how many crazy things were within a couple hundred feet of where we slept every night!

Oscar, our guide, did a great job at explaining all if the medicinal benefits of the plants/trees and pointing out what insects were poisonous and in what way (Wayyy too many for my liking!)

Did you know termites are a natural mosquito repellant? Just cover yourself in them and then rub their dead guts all over. Nbd.

We were only brave enough to rub it in our hands. Chickens.

Fungi everywhere. Most are hallucinogens, or deadly.

Nasty thorns on almost all the tree roots!

Cacao pods. The seeds in side were surrounded by a delicious pulpmthat you chew off.

One of the coolest things we saw was a tree called Dragon's Blood.

If you cut it with your machete, there is a blood red sap that oozes out which you put on wounds or cuts to help stop bleeding, kind of like a liquid bandage. He had us taste it, and it was soo weird because it was definitely a liquid but it tasted super dry in your mouth.

We also saw a rubber tree, and the dried sap is just like rubber bands!

We found a few frogs and TONS of spiders.

Some armored millipedes, can you tell I am happy to have it crawling on me?

Crazy huge bullet ants. At least one inch long! Too many bites and you die. Awesome.

Also spotted, a teeny tiny monkey up in the trees called a Pygmy marsupial. Apparently it is the smallest in the world! So tiny, and so quick, that we didn't get a pic :(

We then had a break until dinner, where we played with the lodge pets, a crazy toucan

and some Macaws that reminded me so much of Grammie's Lanza! Their squawks sure brought back memories!

After dinner, we went in search of tarantulas

and Caimans (same family as a crocodile). Yes, we caught that in the creek right by our room!

It was seriously like something out of your nightmares. We were trudging through mud and spider webs, in the pitch black in search of dangerous bugs and animals. I kept asking myself, why did you CHOOSE to do this? Haha.

Some really cool, but super hallucinogenic tree frogs.

We were very careful NOT to put our hands near our mouths or eyes after touching them!

It is so hot and muggy there that it wipes you of all energy, and since there is no electricity, you are more than happy to be in bed by 9 each night (under your mosquito nets!)

Every day follows the same routine, an adventure after breakfast, back to the lodge until lunch, followed by a siesta (loved this part! I always want a nap after lunch and here that's all everyone does!) and then another adventure. Then you hang out in the hammocks

until dinner

and try to do an adventure that night (although we had bad luck with rain so only got to go out that first night).

Highlights included tons of cool birds,

Check out those nests!

troops of monkeys (impossible to get a pic, they move soo fast!), spotting 4 sloths (one with a baby on it's back!),

swimming in the Amazon about 500 feet from pink and grey dolphins(!!!)

piranha fishing

(for the record, Patrick caught one and I caught two, thankyouverymuch),

washing Patrick's hair with Amazonian shampoo

Visiting an ENORMOUS Ceiba tree

And visiting two local villages.

This is why Patrick wasn't allowed to eat pork on his mission. So sad :( poor little piggy.

I'm a brave eater, but not brave enough to eat prehistoric catfish cooked by a local...

At one village, this lady had the craziest pet! It is basically a huge rat.

Considered a delicacy in the Amazon, people think she is crazy for keeping it as a pet, but you can tell by her face, she loves this thing like her own child.

The best part? It lives in a diet of coke and crackers!

So bizarre.

It was neat to see the villages, but also sad. Most of the girls are mothers at age 12 or 13 and they often claim to be impregnated by the Pink dolphins (local legend) to avoid getting in trouble with their parents, so they are almost all single moms. The villagers eek out a living off of basic fishing and farming rice & yucca. Their houses are just one room huts on stilts

with tons of relatives sleeping in each one. But they take pride in what they have, and seem pretty happy.

We watched one family weave palm leaves for their roof.

They said that they buy big bundles of leaves for 10 soles ( about $3) and have to carry them 5 hours back to their houses!

We had some crazy rain

and some gorgeous sunsets.

Oh, and on our last day, before heading back to Iquitos, we trekked out to some enormous Lilly pads. I'm talking HUGE! Several feet diameter.

The underside is super thick, like kelp!

And stopped by a Sugar Cane rum plantation. It was pretty neat to see how the sugar cane is still pressed by hand. And we picked up some fresh sugar cane molasses to take home!

Usually, there's a horse instead of a human, but I worked just fine!

Overall, we had a fabulous time and would definitely come back to the Amazon! It was a great way to end our time in Peru as well. Next stop? Ecuador!!

Machu Picchu!!!!!!

2011-06-10T15:14:00.001-07:00

Aahhhhhh! I am nervous about this post because nothing I write or post pictures of will do it justice. This was an absolutely incredible experience and so breathtaking.

We planned to be on one of the first buses up to the entrance, so our hotel recommended that we be there one hour before the bus actually left the station, or 4:30 am. We arrived at about 4:40 and there were already about 200 people in line ahead of us.

Clearly we all had the same plan. Good thing the bus company has done this before. There were about 15 buses lined up ready to take us up.

The ride was pretty windy, but not near as bad as it looks from google earth.

(those switchbacks are the road!)

Once you get off the bus, everyone rushes to a booth to get their tickets stamped to climb HuayanaPicchu, which is the huge mountain at Machu Picchu.

Only 400 people are allowed up each day (200 at 7am and 200 at 10am) and we were some of the last ones to get a stamp.

Upon entering the ruins, we thought it was really cool,

but then we walked about 500 more feet in and BAM!

It opens up into the full site. It is so much larger than I had thought it would be,

and the walls/huts are much bigger than I had expected.

Every two minutes we were turning to each other and saying "how did they do this??". There were so many perfect right angles on the walls, windows, even an aqueduct system.

And THEN we saw the Alpacas!

They were just wandering through the ruins, eating grass and bugging tourists. I loved it!

Watching the sunrise was an experience in itself. I am soo glad we went in right when it opened!

We explored around,

took a zillion more pictures,

and walked out to see the Incan Bridge.

How in the world did they get that thing there?

We then stopped for a picnic. Not a bad place to rest, eh?

At 10, we began climbing

See that? That's the tip we climbed to!

It took us about an hour to get to the top; a climb full of crazy steep steps and inclines.

Thanks for the railing, Incans! One wrong step and you were dead meat.

Rumor on the path was that the record for ascent was about 15 minutes, by one of the Incan trail porters. I was so terrified of falling off the sides, I don't know how anyone could be so brave! My knees were so shaky, and I'm not even that afraid of heights! There were a few of those obnoxious, impatient climbers whom rush past you, but for the most part, everyone was super encouraging and friendly along the path.

Oh yeah, and there are two tiny caves you have to squeeze through.

At the top there are more ruins!

I thought the climb was impressive on it's own, but clearly people were doing this thousands of years ago with granite on their backs! I blame it on the office job. If I was an Incan, I TOTALLY could have done that ;)

Beautiful views of the entire valley.

Aww, cute!

I feel so lucky that we were able, and determined enough to climb to the top. Absolutely worth waking up so early and pushing ourselves to do it.

We left Mach Picchu around 1 and spent the rest of the afternoon catching our breath, eating a late lunch, and then it was back on the train and back to Cuzco!

When we got in, thoroughly exhausted from such a long day, we just wanted to grab something to eat and go to bed. . There are two fast food options in Cuzco, McDonalds and Bembo's, which is a Peruvian (South American?) chain. We decided to try Bembo's even though it looked kinda scary. When in Rome, right? We took one bite of the hamburger and...headed to McDonalds. So much for expanding our palates!

Our final night at the net house was hilarious. Let's just say someone finally understands my neuroticism about icky hotel beds and jumped out of bed screaming because he thought he felt a bug crawling on him. Luckily, he was wrong. Also, we downloaded a white noise app for the iPad which was GENIUS. No more barking dogs! I finally got a good night's sleep.

We are headed back to Lima today, and then we are off to the Amazon! Iquitos here we come!!! Not sure if there is Internet there (somehow I doubt it, but thanks to this awesome iPad app, I can keep writing posts and save them until we do have Internet!)

Aguas Calientes

2011-06-10T15:08:00.001-07:00

Getting to Machu Picchu is not a simple process. First you fly to Cuzco, then you take a 4hr train ride to Aguas Calientes, the closest town to Machu Picchu. And then you take a bus up to the entrance. Also you have to buy tickets for each thing separately and at completely different locations. We bought our rail tickets online, our Machu Picchu entrance tickets in Cuzco and our bus tickets in Aguas Calientes.

We were on the cheapest train (there are three levels) and it was very nice. It is still not that cheap though, and we heard that peruvians can take the same train for about 5x less than they charge the tourists. Definitely a racket.

Waiting in the train station. Excited to get on our way!

I was, of course, the first person to ask the guards if I could sneak out to the trains for a picture, and I think they regretted allowing me because about 100 people followed suit.

The train ride is through gorgeous countryside, straight through small towns, and across rivers.

A group of people way tougher than us, hiking the Incan trail while we speed past in our lazyman's train.

Since our train left fairly early in the morning (7:45), we arrived in Aguas Calientes around 12:30. Some people do Machu Picchu as a day trip, which seems crazy fast to me; I am very glad that Patrick planned for us to stay overnight.

The town is super small, so we easily walked to our hostel and checked in. It was definitely a step up from the net house (or as Patrick has so sweetly dubbed it, the hell house), but still pretty icky. We are starting to see why backpackers smell so bad and look like they never shower; if we are "splurging" on $35 a night places and are still afraid of the bathroom and bed, I can't imagine what the $15 places are like. Good thing we are already in love because I'm pretty sure we look (and smell) like homeless people. Case in point: My accomplishment for today? Showering, washing my hair AND shaving my legs. Yeah, that's a big deal these days. Gross.

Anyways, after checking in to Pirwan, we explored the town. There are a zillion identical restaurants, all with a 15 sole lunch menu of soup, entree and drink.

I finally got to have lomo saltado, and I have to say, for $5 it was pretty dang good!

There were tons of street musicians wandering the streets. I love the music here, it really adds to the experience.

We finished exploring the town about an hour later. The Incan flag is very similar to a flag we are familiar with in the US, but the meaning is very different! Also, it is the law that in the month of June, every building must have the flag displayed somewhere. So we saw lots and lots of rainbows.

It is definitely a poor city, but extremely clean and there are police all over the place. Tourism is clearly their sole source of income here, and they take it seriously.

We grabbed an early dinner at a really cute place called The Tree House Restaurant; it felt similar to places in San Francisco and the food was good too! We finally tried Alpaca - in the form of a pasta dish.

It was pretty good - the flavor was very similar to beef, but it was kind of dry and the texture was a little weird. I don't think I would be able to tell what it was if no one told me, it could easily pass for beef. I wouldn't seek it out, but am not opposed to eating it.

We attempted an early bedtime since we had to wake up the next morning at 3:15 am to catch the bus to Macu Picchu. Yikes!

I've got a bone to pick with South America

2011-06-10T15:06:00.001-07:00

Dear Peru,

For the record, Coke Zero is NOT the same as Coca lite. Dying here. And I'm not even a DC addict.

Also, what is up with your cheese???

Not to mention, it would be great to know your flight has been delayed an hour and has moved gates a bit earlier than, say, 15 minutes AFTER your flight was supposed to leave.

We're taking this one day at a time. And are celebrating every time we get on the correct flight and show up in the right city. So far, so good.

Now, if only I could find me some Diet Coke...

Xoxo,
Sarah

Cuzco!

2011-06-08T15:35:00.001-07:00

We left Lima bright and early Tuesday morning (read 6:30 am because we were paranoid about getting our flights sorted out). For some reason I was super nervous about waking up on time so I was continually waking up in a panic, only to check the alarm to see it had only been 45 minutes since the last time I'd checked. Anyways, needless to say we awoke on time, and got to the airport with plenty of time to deal with our plane tickets.

Patrick had purchased the tickets on starperu.com but we were only charged a portion of the fare for "safety purposes". We couldn't find proof of purchase anywhere online, and the only evidence we had that we had actually bought anything was the screenshot he miraculously thought to grab when the order processed. So yeah, we were a but skeptical. But, low and behold all went smoothly.

Happy smile of relief.

Upon arrival in Cuzco, we were instructed to drink some coca tea (not too bad!) and rest for an hour or two to stave off the altitude sickness. We had read a few horror stories online and were a bit nervous, but we were fine.

After seeing our bed, I was LOVING my sleep sack purchase. I may be prepared to rough it on this trip, but that doesn't mean my body has to touch any of it!!

Next stop, the Cuzco market! We had seen it on No Reservations and were super excited to check it out.

Piña y naranja juga. Delicious! I can't get over all the fresh juices they have in Peru. I am not usually a juice fan, (because I am a snob and think it just tastes like sugar and fake crap) but the juice here is incredible. We were careful to make sure that it was pure juice, with no water added so that we would be safe from bacteria, but then a little too late, we saw the juicer, strainer and glasses in the bucket of local water. Oops. It's over 24 hrs later and still no issues so I'm pretty sure the coast is clear.

Wandering around the market was a total trip. Honestly, this was unlike anything we had ever seen before. We have both seen some pretty crazy butcher shops, but Cuzco takes the cake for SURE.

We got in trouble for taking pictures of people - in fact, I'm pretty sure someone cursed me but I gave her some soles so maybe it canceled itself out?

Cuzco is maybe the most interesting city I have ever seen. There is so much culture and they have preserved the foundation of the city extremely well.

They even make the fast food restaurants fit into the scenery - we didn't notice the McDonalds until we just about walked in accidentally!

Oh and another reason this town is endeared to me forever? Just look what we stumbled upon while wandering around!

How could I not love a city with cute little donut ladies!

We took a little tour around the town

which was really cool because we got to see a lot of the actual residences up in the hills.

The Andean people have crazy endurance, the hills are STEEP and they live pretty far from the center of town.

Walking to and from every day is not an easy task. Especially when they are carrying all their wares AND a baby(!) on their backs.

We stopped at the Cristo Blanco and snapped a few shots of the city at night.

We also did quite a but of shopping in cuzco which was a bit of a surprise because I rarely buy anything on vacations. Patrick didn't know what to do with me, he says he has never seen me like this before, haha. I was so drawn to their wares (and cute families), I even bought something for my someday baby! (couldn't resist).

For dinner we HAD to eat Cuy, better known as Guinea Pig to us. Patrick had tried to eat it while on his mission, but it's a little $$ for a missionary budget so we took advantage while we could.

Honestly, it tasted fine, but it definitely got my psychological creep-out going. I think it was the rubbery texture of the meat and skin, as well as the greyish undertones.

Not something I'd run out and eat every day. But I'm glad we got to try it!

A funny anecdote from the evening: as we were trying to find the restaurant, we were approached by some local "art students" who helped us figure out where we were going. They mentioned that they would come back to find us when the meal was over and see if we wanted to buy one of their paintings. So, after dinner, while listening to some typical Peruvian music, in comes the art student. Surprisingly, he doesn't seem to remember us, but whatevs, we'll look at his art, right? So Patrick ends up buying a painting from him, and we leave. As soon as we walk out of the restaurant, who are we approached by? The ACTUAL guy who had helped us find the restaurant. This is going to sound totally racist, but I swear it's true. Every 20-something Peruvian guy looks exactly the same. They all have the same haircut and are about the same height. Needless to say, he was pretty pissed off when we didn't buy something from him as well. Oops!

The night ended back at our somewhat scary "bed and breakfast" where we are 98% sure we were the only guests. After the worst nights sleep of our lives (paper thin walls and howling dogs makes for GREAT white noise), we awoke at 5 in order to make our train to Aguas Calientes. The staff never showed up for the "breakfast" portion or the check-out, so I am hoping we left the keys in the right place! Unfortunately, we are booked there again tomorrow night so I guess I will find out soon enough!

Ok enough with our day in Cuzco already! Next post, Aguas Calientes!

Lima: day two

2011-06-06T20:54:00.001-07:00

Another day has flown by!

Today we left the apartment fairly early, after a delicious breakfast of eggs mixed with "typical Peruvian sausage" and fruit/yogurt.

On our way to our tour bus, Patrick made a new friend at the bank.

The place we are staying is in a great location,

close to so many restaurants as well as parque kennedy, where the city tour began. We made it to the tour bus just in time.

We had a great time getting to see the miraflores district where we are staying, as well as downtown Lima.

During the bus tour, we visited the Cathedral de Lima, which is the oldest cathedral in all of south America!

No cathedral is complete without some skulls and baby coffins.

Also in the cathedral square, we met a dog wearing glasses...

... a lady selling galletas (but I wasn't allowed to stop and buy one:( )

And lots and lots of postcards.

Later, we found the "park of love" complete with dozens of lovestruck teens kissing in the corners.

There were tons of hangliders and surfers at the beach. Although it was pretty overcast today, it is always gorgeous at la playa!

Overall, a fabulous day!

The most fabulous part, you ask? The food of course!! And here you thought this post was finally almost over.

Ever had a chicharron sandwich and a naranja, limon, & manzanita jugo? No? Well I HIGHLY recommend it. Incredible!

But say you are still hungry. Maybe a stop at pescados capitals for some world famous ceviche? Okay, okay, fine. (so fresh and flavorful!)

And for dinner? Let's just say we were adventurous.

Beef heart anticuchos and 21-day-old crispy suckling pig, followed by crema volteada (like flan but 100x better)

Happy hubby. Seriously such incredible food.

Oh yes, and a limonada por mi.

So now I'm stuffed, tired and ready for our next adventure. We head to cusco in the morning to begin our journey to macchu pichu! Wish us luck (still not totally sure we have plane tickets) and that we don't get altitude sickness!

Location:Bellavista,Lima District,Peru

Lima: day one

2011-06-05T20:05:00.001-07:00

Dear(South American) Diary,

Well, we finally made it to Lima! After delays at every airport, I wasn't too sure if we would actually ever arrive.

While in Lima we are staying with a "host family" that we connected with through Patrick's best friend from High school, Jon. Jon lived in Lima for two(?) years and lived with the Alvarez family when he first arrived. We figured, for the same price as a hostel, why not get an "experiencia autentica"!

We were greeted at the airport by Edwin, which was fabulous because we were accosted by taxi drivers as soon as we walked out of customs so I was grateful that we didn't have to deal with negotiating a fare.

Patrick sat in the front and brushed up on his Spanish while I took some blurry shots of the drive.

Can't escape the chains. That would be a burger king, IFC, and pizza hut all in a row.

Lots of Casinos too!

Today was election day so there were signs for the two candidates everywhere!

Unfortunately for our host family, keiko did not win.

We spent some time visiting before eating a delicious home cooked dinner of arroz con pollo (chancho for Mr. Allergic to chicken). And then, of course, we headed out to find the best fried dough in town for dessert. Don't act surprised.

According to my research, that would be the picarones in parque kennedy. Sweet potato donuts, smothered in honey. Someone's a fan...

Delicioso!

Pardon the ijustgotofftheairplaneandlooklikecrap smile.

First impressions: it's much cleaner than we expected, the Alvarez fam is fantastic and our room is great, and I'm falling more in love with Patrick every time he opens his mouth and starts to speak Spanish. It's a whole side if him that I've never seen before and it is so fun.

Clearly I'm exhausted, i just got super cheesy. we are off to bed! Tomorrow we are taking a city tour and hopefully meeting up with Meredith Jones Hendricks sister for dinner!

Xoxo

Location:Bellavista,Lima District,Peru

holy cow

2011-05-11T09:46:00.001-07:00

Looks like somebody needs to learn how to deal with curveballs over here.

I had lots of great plans for our latest move to so cal. So many.

But Patrick got in to the University of Texas yesterday. That's not in California, folks.

But it is in Austin! And by golly if I have to move to Texas, that's the one place I'm excited to move to.

Never thought I'd call myself a texan.
(still praying for a usc acceptance though. Admissions gods, I'd be real into that)

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Pt Reyes Adventure

2011-03-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

Continuing with our New Year's goal to get out and enjoy the Bay Area, Klarissa and I snatched up Groupons for horseback riding in Pt. Reyes National Park.

We're so lucky that Abe and Klarissa are always willing to come along on our bizarre-but-fun outings (like driving all the way to Sac-town for cheeseburgers. I don't care what you say, Squeeze Inn was SO worth it.). It's not every day that you make friends who are so "go-with-the-flow" and you actually enjoy being with for 12+ hours.

We started out the day with a stop for the "best glazed donuts in SF". And then made our way across the bridge and up the coast for our horseback ride.

The ride was gorgeous. Our tour guide was a bit strange, but it added to the "charm" of the outing. That, and Patrick's midget horse who wouldn't (couldn't?) canter to save it's life.
(Do you see how far behind me he is?! ha.)

After the ride, we went to a cute little restaurant in Pt. Reyes - where Abe and Patrick got cornered by the President of the Bay Area Porsche club (pronounced Porsh-A mind you. Got corrected on that thrice). We also had the freshest oysters ever. WOW. So delicious. Tasted just like the beach.

Since we were already so far north, we decided to make the most of it and drive up to the Pt. Reyes lighthouse. Have you been yet?? It was incredible. So So So beautiful!!
(Working off the lunch and donuts. Soo many stairs!! Over 300 steps each way.)
Plus we just so happened to time our adventure perfectly with the arrival of the Elephant seals. Who knew! It was so cool to see them waddle around the beach.After long drive home, successfully avoiding car-sickness on the winding PCH, we finished the evening watching the BYU game. I may not like sports (and the screaming that goes along with it) but I do love to watch Patrick and Abe get so excited. Presh.

Baby Shower for Diana Hulme

2011-03-13T18:12:00.001-07:00

I've somehow avoided throwing a baby shower for the 4 years we've lived in SF, but when my dear friend Diana announced she was having a baby (And moving to NYC!), I knew it was time for me to pull it together and host a NYC-themed par-tay.

I'm full of great "ideas" but I'm not real good at the execution part. That, coupled with the fact that Diana is the queen of cute (seriously. check out her blog and you will want to hate her too. But you can't because she is so sweet) was some serious pressure.

After enlisting help from some amazing girls, we pulled it off. And it was so fun!!

Although I can't say I wasn't happy when it was all over, (Especially after Ashley and I stayed up all night trying to make caramel apples for the party favors and failed MISERABLY, resulting in an emergency plan b - a stop in our PJ's at the infamous Bob's Donuts at 2am with all the bar-hoppers.) I had a great time and am so excited for Baby Hulme!!!

A few lessons learned for next time:
-Don't attempt caramel apples for the first time the night before the party because you will fail. -Don't put cheesecake out 2 hours before a party bcs it will melt,
-Taisja is a genius and can solve any problem you have before your meltdown starts (including how to get sugar on the rims of plastic martini glasses - honey- duh.)
-Creepy "baby" pictures are hilarious.
-Delegating to people who are more talented than you is ESSENTIAL to a good party.
-There's always someone who's already had the same idea as you and has executed it better than you will. Just get over it and steal their ideas.
-Hand-cutting frilly streamers takes a LOT of time and gives you hand cramps. But even if your husband says it isn't worth it, ignore him because it totally is.

Link to a better re-cap than I can provide:
"Baby in the Big Apple"

p.s. especially special thanks to Klarissa for designing the cutest invite EVER.
p.p.s. all pics stolen from Diana's blog. Thank goodness for friends with nice cameras!

kind of a big deal

2011-03-04T15:54:00.001-08:00

Someone is at BYU this weekend "Guest Lecturing" and giving Advertising students tips. (Also seeing Jimmer's last home game. How convenient).

I keep getting calls/texts/emails from friends about how their cousin's sister's best friend is interviewing with some hot guy from San Francisco (confession: I made that part up, they are all referring to him as Patrick) so I guess that means he's making a good impression. Duh.

Movers and shakers over here.

I won't talk about the fact that I've just sluffed around at the apt watching "Bethenny ever after" while he's gone.

It's depressing (and COLD) when you're home alone. But you get to have girl time! I went to the Ballet last night and am having a sleepover tonight. So looks like we're both having fun :)

Love

2011-02-14T05:05:00.000-08:00

I interrupt my white-sand-clear-turquoise-water-lounging to make a public display of love for Mr Larsen.

I especially love him when we're on vacation. So this Valentine's Day is especially sweet. How could you not be more in love with someone when your days consist of sleeping in, rubbing sunscreen on his cute sunburned back (poor see-through lover boy) and heading out to play with Sting Rays?

Anyways.

Patrick, you are the cutest husband in the world. I am obsessed with you and I'm pretty sure everyone is sick of us, but I don't care. They are specifically sick of the photo love shrine I have accidentally created at the office. My desk is surrounded by pictures of you, and then when you come by to say hello (since we work together! so ideal!), it is like Patrick overload!! i.e. my dream come true. I joke that it is sometimes too much, but we both know I can't get enough.

I am so proud of all of your accomplishments and hard work. I love how sweet and devoted you are. I can't wait until our next grand adventure. Because with you, it's always 100 times better than I could imagine.

love love love love love love love love love.

Time for more Vacation

2011-02-02T11:35:00.001-08:00

It's true. We leave for Grand Cayman a week from today.

I love vacation.

I love that we are going to play with dolphins, swim with Sting Rays, kayak in bioluminescent caves and go horseback riding on the beach (my sly attempt to remind Patrick that he promised me a horseback ride on the beach).

I don't love that I threw my "get ready for the beach" plan out the window on Jan 14th. I gave it a solid two weeks, but alas there is just TOO MUCH GOOD FOOD here.

I need to move to the suburbs.

Counting down the minutes. I haven't been this ready to go somewhere since Christmas!! (You can smack me now).

Guilt Trip...

2011-01-19T16:09:00.000-08:00

I've been bugging Patrick for a few weeks about taking me on a date. Like a real "pick you up at 6, wear something cute" type date.

I'm tired of being in charge of planning EVERYTHING. (Minus picking where we eat, he always gets to pick where we eat).

I mean, I know I've got it good and I'm lucky that we even have time to hang out regardless of who's planning, but does anyone else feel like this has happened to them?

Seems like a boy's favorite part about being married is not having to pony up with creative date-nights anymore. (ok his second favorite part). But I'm putting my foot down.

Take me to mini-golf OR ELSE!

p.s. someone made the point that I need to differentiate between FB posts and blog posts; just because I can now post from my phone doesn't mean I have to every time I think about it. Duly noted.

Screw the diet...

2011-01-15T20:11:00.001-08:00

I'm getting a double.

The original drive-in.

2011-01-15T20:08:00.001-08:00

Well worth the $5.

Forays into red lipstick...

2011-01-13T11:45:00.001-08:00

Starting slow, with "berry".

The last time I wore bright lipstick was in college, and Patrick made me cry with his response (or lack there of. Oh boys, they think we can't read their faces).

I'm learning to ignore his looks.

GSP Holiday Party 2010

2011-01-11T20:36:00.000-08:00

Tried out "Rent the Runway". Best decision ever.

Where else can you get a $400 Milly dress for $50?? Especially a sparkle dress that I'd never wear again anyways.

4 years of Holiday parties, and we're still having fun. Especially with Mr. Larsen being "allowed" at the last two (one of the perks of working at the same place).

Testing technology

2011-01-11T16:57:00.001-08:00

My First mobile post. If this works, perhaps it will inspire more regular blogging?

Leaving, On a Jet Plane...

2010-11-05T19:58:00.001-07:00

*I would just like to point out that this post is made possible by In-Flight WiFi.

After a sporadic burst of frequent business travel, I've become quite the "Up in the Air" -esque snob. I'm hitting "Silver status" on Delta on Monday and my extremely optimistic goal is to reach "Gold" by Christmas. Although, at the rate I'm going, maybe that isn't too unrealistic. Then MAYBE I won't be in the back row middle seat anymore (that's what you get for booking day-of flights, I guess. Who knew Detroit was such a popular place?!!)

I'm miffed when the in-flight Wifi isn't working. I complain when the power outlet under my seat doesn't work properly. A year ago, I was content if I got a TV, let alone internet and an outlet to charge my laptop.

If my room at the Westin isn't big enough, or on the "Preferred Guest" floor, I'm irked. Excuse me, where's the bath robe??

All my conversations with co-workers at the hotel bar are about "elite status" or the best hotel rooms. And I'm getting a little addicted to Diet Coke (Why does it taste so much better than water on an airplane?).

What's happening to me? I love my jet-setting ways, but I'm starting to understand why "Road Warriors" get so burnt out.

See you Monday, Detroit. Here's hoping I'm on the 23rd floor. And that I don't forget my underwear again.

STUHRESSED

2010-10-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

How much OJ do you need for breakfast for 75 people?

How many eggs and milk do you need for french toast for 75 people?

How many freaking sausage links do you need for 75 people?

The Church camp-out is tomorrow, and I might just be freaking out a little bit.

Let's just say, I'm real excited for this weekend to be over.

over and out.

Best Birthday Yet!

2010-10-04T15:11:00.000-07:00

I may be a bit biased, since I'm the one who planned everything, but I think this was Mr. Larsen's best birthday to date.

We started out with breakfast at Dottie's. Although the food wasn't quite up to the hype, it was fun going out to eat so early in the morning and heading into the office already in a sugar coma.
Our busy days at the office (yes, same office, if you've been living under a rock) were interrupted by an ice cream cake. Patrick was late to his own party, but are you surprised? That boy has absolutely no sense of time - and refuses to put his cell phone/text message ringer on. Not that it matters to me that he NEVER answers my calls or texts.

After work, we shopped around a bit until our superlate reso at Wayfare Tavern. O. M. G. such a good meal!! We feasted on Bone Marrow, Uni and Creamed Corn, Fried Chicken and an incredible burger. Not to mention the best mac and cheese I think I've ever had. Birthday boy was so full of cheeseburger, he even passed up dessert.

I fooled someone into thinking that was the end of the celebrations, but Saturday morning I surprised him with a trip out to the Concord Airport. Our good friend, Brynn, and her father were kind enough to take us on a private tour of the bay area from their 4-seater plane. They even let Patrick fly on his own for a bit.
Highlight of the tour? When Patrick took the yoke and said "You know, it's ok I don't really want to fly. No, seriously, I'm really nervous, I'd rather not". Brynn's dad thought he was joking, but I could hear the true fear in his voice. HA!

Unfortunately, our dear fogged-in city was a bit hard to see, but it was still so fun.

All-in-all, what a great birthday. I sure love birthdays, but I especially love the birthday of the love of my life!!!

Just sayin'...

2010-10-04T13:46:00.001-07:00

...It's really hard to judge if a photographer is talented or not if all their subjects are ugly.

That said, anyone know a good "family portrait" photographer on Kauai?
Unfortunately, it seems the person who shot this image is fully booked ;)

lover boy

2010-09-28T15:44:00.001-07:00

turns 29 tomorrow.

And just in case he decides to actually check this blog, I won't spill the beans on all the exciting plans I have in store for him.

Lets just say, it's gonna be a good one. As long as everything goes as planned...

xoxo Mr Larsen. I really couldn't ask for a sweeter husband.

I should probably follow up with...

2010-09-28T15:37:00.000-07:00

I just signed into my blogger account for the first time in WAY too long and saw the frustrated wallpaper post from JUNE.

Well, friends, soon after posting that rant, I stumbled upon some crafty person's post on how to create your own temporary wallpaper out of regular paper (masking tape covered in double sided tape). Which I latched onto and forced my AAM to help me slowly complete over a two week period.

We're getting mostly positive feedback (minus the fact that it makes some people dizzy) and still need to hang up some pictures to help "cut the pattern", but I am just so dang proud of myself for following through on something even remotely crafty! (Even if it took me several months).

Cue applause. Ta da!

ARRGHHHHH

2010-06-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

Are all my posts going to be complaints now? Such a hard life, I know.

But I seriously can't help it. When we moved into our office, Sam (my officemate) and I decided it would be fun to wallpaper our huge empty wall and we were sold on Sherwin William's EasyChange paper. It sounded exactly like what we wanted! Easy up, easy down. Temporary wallpaper for your temporary needs (or some crap slogan like that).

Until it came.

We measured, we cut, we prepped, and then when we went to put it up (because the lady on the phone told me all I had to do was get it wet) it didn't stick. Alas, when I called back, another lady explained that you still have to "prep" the walls and by prep, they mean paste them. WHA??

No thanks.

Then yesterday, I stumble upon Tempaper. THIS IS WHAT I WANTED ALL ALONG. You don't want to know what words flew through my head.

Now the big debate. Spend more money to buy the wallpaper I need (patrick, please don't kill me) or just move on. I fear it's going to have to be the latter. Esp after our trip to NYC.

If you love me, I wouldn't mind a few rolls of Damsel. Or Etta or Gio. Heck, I'd take any of them.

Gonna go wallow some more now...

:(

2010-06-06T18:18:00.001-07:00

Our TOM's are scheduled to arrive on Tuesday. Just in time to NOT come with us to NYC :( Fingers crossed that somehow they get delivered tomorrow instead.
Not that I need wedges on vacation, I guess, but still...

hallelujah.

2010-06-04T14:42:00.000-07:00

When you haven't been able to wash your hair since MONDAY because of the perma-straightening chemicals and the day you're finally allowed to wash it, your special shampoo is two days late on arriving,

this is a blessed, blessed sight.Thank you UPS. I am so excited to wash my hair tonight, you have no idea. So if any of you were planning to call and ask me on a date, I can't go because I'll be washing my hair. Sorry. However, the whole reason I was sold on this "keratin" treatment was because I won't have to touch my flat iron for 6 months. So in that case, I'll be ready to go much quicker than usual :)

Family Pics

2010-05-19T21:58:00.001-07:00

While in Hawaii, we decided to start a tradition of taking family portraits. So sad Amanda wasn't there, but I think this upcoming year we'll all finally be together! I honestly was not thrilled about everyone wearing white/denim because I think it's kind of cliche, but in the end I think everyone looks great. So I guess I should shut up :)

Here's a sampling of my personal favorites...
*Sorry for the water marks, we didn't get digital files which is totally obnoxious.

Hawaii

2010-05-19T21:41:00.001-07:00

Hard life, going to Hawaii for New Year's Every year but someone's gotta do it.

We had a blast. Did a little diving (just might have flown all the way to the Big Island to go manta ray diving and the dumb rays might have decided not to show up. ARGH), a little eating, some family picture (next post), and a LOT of laying by the pool.NYE was spent at Lahaina Grill. I had a great time, but am definitely an old lady because I was falling asleep in my plate by the end of the night.Patrick, on the other hand, was full of energy--right up until the last minute.He's just too funny sometimes.

Precious

2010-05-19T21:36:00.000-07:00

How could I not post this one?? Patrick wins for World's Best Uncle.

Holiday Party take 3

2010-05-19T21:27:00.000-07:00

This year's Holiday party was the best ever. You know why? Because Patrick finally got to come!! Our parties are employee-only so poor Mr. Larsen's been left out the past two years. Not anymore though!

This was also the day I finally got news of my long-awaited promotion. So I had an especially good time.The three newest managers. Well, hello there :)

We stayed just long enough for my feet to totally swell up. Also, for my sequined leggings to completely come un-sequined. Oops.

That's not a costume...

2010-05-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

Doesn't Patrick the thug look good? I hope you get an especially good look at his neck tattoo. I'll have you know that two Chinese speakers were able to decipher that was "death" on his neck from across the room. Thankyouverymuch.

Most people didn't think I was dressed up. Not sure how I should take that.Happy belated Halloween!

Australia: Part 2

2010-05-19T13:20:00.000-07:00

So if you think about it, our trip was kind of bizarre. Cairns and Sydney are totally not close to each other. It's kind of like going on a trip to the US and wanting to fit in California and Chicago in a week. But then again, the tickets were such a steal--and there was no way I wasn't hitting both cities, so that's the way it goes.

We didn't plan too many things to do while in Sydney--we wanted to just take time to wander the city and take it all in. Looking back, it might have been good to plan a little bit better because I think my dad got a little frustrated with my "free spirited" excursions. I think I learn a little more about how to plan a successful trip each time we go somewhere.

On our first day there, Daddy and I took a bus tour around the city to get an idea of what was what. We had a great time, especially when we got off by these gorgeous cliffs. The water was spectacular. Pictures do not do it justice. (At least crappy point and shoot pics don't).

We also stopped by the famed Sydney Fish Market. Holy cow, that place is incredible!! (Don't worry, we took Patrick back a second time).

Look at the size of that Pelican! I've never seen a bird that big in my life.

Also, Patrick better be glad he locked this gal down, because I found the love of my life while we were there. An Asian Australian selling lobsters. Swoon.
We had quite the fish feast. Including, but not limited to, jelly fish salad,
Ultimate fish platter,
and some fancy crab that everyone was so excited was at the market. I don't remember the name, but I do remember that it wasn't worth the effort. But crab often isn't (for me).
We also saw shark fins for sale, which I've never seen before. So sad.

The main attraction during our stay was the infamous bridge climb.
with these awesome jumpsuits.
Unfortunately, you can't bring your own camera up (if you were to drop even a bobby pin, it could prove catastrophic to the cars below) and the pics they sell you at the end were HORRIBLE (I was so ugly it was ridiculous) but to give you an idea, if you look really closely you can see some people at the top of the bridge in this pic.
We went at sunset, and I've got to say it was pretty incredible. Really a cool experience and I am so glad we were able to do it!

Another highlight of the trip was a backstage tour of the Sydney Opera House. Where I got to sit at a VERY famous piano.
But alas, once again, camera shots were restricted and the few I was allowed were only so-so. Good thing I took pictures in my mind! (weird.)

We also took the ferry to Manly beach, which was a fun way to spend a few hours.
Except there were tons of jelly fish on the shore! (And it was super windy so I didn't really get to tan. Boo.)

I think Patrick's favorite part of the trip (and the sole reason I have any chance of convincing him to move to Sydney) was going to Max Brennar's Chocolate Cafe. We went several times while in NYC and he is OBSESSED. So excited that there was one in Sydney. This time the obsession was the belgian waffle.

My dad and I prefer to eat more locally. For example, kangaroo.
All in all. A spectacular trip. Thank you Daddy!!! I love you!

Australia: Part 1

2010-05-19T12:44:00.000-07:00

I've been dreading a post for a while now because I feel like I can't NOT post about our trip to Australia, but it's just overwhelming me. Anyways, maybe if I get this out of the way, I'll be back to my more regular (yet still sporadic) posting schedule?

Last October, Patrick and I joined my Dad on a fabulous trip to Australia. I've gotten close (New Zealand and Fiji) but never made it down under. I've been dreaming of going forever and was thrilled to finally get my chance!

I thought it was an incredible trip. I hope the boys agree. I still talk about moving there weekly--and if it were up to me, we'd have moved months ago. Patrick refuses though. Something about being too far away from our families. Obv he loves you all more than me because I can't stop thinking about it.

We started off our trip in Port Douglas (near Cairns) as we knew we HAD to dive at the Great Barrier Reef! Port Douglas was a darling little vacation town and way cuter than Cairns. So glad we decided to stay there instead!

While there, our main focus was diving the Great Barrier Reef (which was pretty incredible, although it was a bit rocky so the visibility wasn't as spectacular as we had hoped. And Daddy got a wee bit sea sick on the second day. Fiji still wins for best in my book)We also fit in a "nature tour" (which honestly was pretty disappointing. It had rained that day so most of the animals were in hiding, and the Platypus we were promised never showed. It was also really really long and by the time we got home we were all pretty exhausted and over it. Oh well! You win some, you lose some. Right?).
On our last day in Port Douglas, Patrick was boss. He wanted to go to a crocodile farm, which sounded a bit lame at first but we followed his lead. Turned out to be the highlight of the trip!! Go Patrick!

We got up close and personal with baby crocs. Literally.
*He was totally squirmy which was kind of terrifying.We even got to eat one! (Delish.)
We also got to pet a Wallaby!! He was soo cute! I want one.
Koalas only look cute. They're mostly lazy and have scary claws. I still want to hold one though.

Other highlights included learning to drive on the opposite side of the road

And eating (of course!). Gotta say, Port Douglas has got the right idea when it comes to breakfast. Ice Cream on Pancakes??! Patrick was in heaven! (Ok, so was I)
Also, Mocka's "World Famous" meat pies were pretty great too. We ate there at least twice.

And we couldn't leave without trying a true "Aussie" burger, complete with picked beetroot. Have to say, I think I prefer mine the American way.
I would happily go back to Port Douglas for another vacay any day. However, Sydney is where I left my heart. Sigh. What an INCREDIBLE city! Don't worry, I'll break up the posts a little so they aren't too daunting. Stay tuned for Sydney!

whoa!

2010-04-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

Richie? Since when are you a model? And for such high quality online banners to boot. Hilarious. And if it's not you. Then you have an identical twin wandering the streets. look out!

Proud

2010-03-11T17:37:00.000-08:00

This week Morgan and I have already attended the following classes:

Bootcamp
Kickboxing
Spin
Dance Fusion
Kickboxing

And I'm on my way to spin. And it's only Thursday.

I'm going to Lululemon tomorrow to pick out a nice reward :)

Maybe just maybe I'm starting to like this whole exercise thing.

Flava Flav!

2010-02-17T15:51:00.000-08:00

Guess who I met on-set?

If you can believe it, he's even more awesome in person. Especially when you get an upclose shot of his "Flava' Flav" grillz.

Love at first sight.If you've seen the Sprint "Bubbles" commercial that's running now, you can't miss him. "Hey, this is Flava Flav, who's this?!"

Moving on up...

2010-02-17T15:47:00.001-08:00

I got an office last week. With an office-mate. And a couch.

I bet you can guess where I'm sitting now :)

So far, so good. There's definitely perks to being a manager.

I guess I blew that resolution...

2010-02-17T15:32:00.000-08:00

So much for my great idea of my exercise/eating updates, huh?

I started to get nervous about posting...every day I felt guilty in some way and would chicken out. Whether I ate too much, or not enough, or the wrong thing.

But you're owed an update. So here goes. (Apologies for the length).

Basically, I started out really strong. Dropping almost 10 lbs due to cutting out the bad stuff.

Then I went to Costa Rica. Dang Guacamole.

Then I went to Seattle. Dang Red Mill Burgers.

Now I'm going on a shoot for work for 3 days. Dang craft services.

Excuses aside, I've definitely seen a great improvement since the beginning of January when I had my panic attack/crisis. Patrick and I have taken photos each month and I was pretty blown away comparing the two last week.

I guess I'm learning that it's not so much about the number (although part of me will always dream for my high school 115), but really more about what I look like. It's just hard to accept that. Weighing myself is such an easy way to think of success and I can get the satisfaction from it weekly (or bi-weekly, or daily, or twice a day. Yikes, I kind of get obsessed!).

I'm really proud of Morgan and myself for our trips to the gym--and I even went a few times in Costa Rica. These are the successes I need to focus on. The fact that exercising on vacation used to be something I laughed at. Same with going to two spin classes, a kick boxing class and a core class in one week (have not done that well lately, but I blame the travel schedule).

My updated goals are to control my vacation eating and try to get in exercise when I'm away. I'm pretty proud of how I've been doing when I'm at home, but I'm traveling more than I expected and it's really hard for me to say no to freshly fried donuts at Pike's Market. (Can I have another dozen please?) And it's even harder for me to push myself at a hotel gym.

I do feel skinny today. But I think it's the dress. Can I wear it the rest of the month please?

The Fattest Housewives of San Francisco

2010-01-06T21:24:00.000-08:00

First off--thanks for the well wishes so far! I really appreciate it, and would love to hear tips, recipes, etc from all of you!

I do want to quickly clarify my "low carb" comment--I mostly mean to cool it on the bread before dinner, the french fries, the cookies, stuff like that. I'm really excited about exploring some new whole grain options--just need to quit with the refined/processed ones. I'm a carb-a-holic and it's definitely a major factor with my weight gain. I am proud to say that at lunch today I passed on the bread at the table AND swapped my fries for salad.

That said, Morgan and I have decided to start our own little "biggest losers" competition--So if anyone is interested in joining, please let me know! We'll be starting it officially next week.

I don't know about you, but my goal is to look like Gretchen from Real Housewives (no, that's not a joke. Just an unrealistic goal)

One other thing.

2010-01-06T14:55:00.001-08:00

Weaning myself off carbs is going to be really hard.

Like really, really hard.

NYR: Part 1

2010-01-06T14:19:00.001-08:00

While among my list of New Year's Resolutions is to post my backlog of posts, and to post in a more timely fashion, I have a more real and pressing resolution to share with you all (and therefore make myself more accountable)

After reading several books, watching lots of propoganda and just plain old deep thought, Patrick and I have dubbed 2010 the "year of Veggies".

(This also stems from the fact that I'm the fattest I've ever been in my life and I'm kind of freaking out. Wait, I'm not 22 anymore?? How did this happen!)

So starting Jan 2nd (Jan 1st didn't count, we were on an airplane with nothing but chocolate to eat...) we've embarked on a new course of dining.

After two days, I'm so proud of myself for what I've eaten that I have to stop and remind myself that it's only been two days. And that means there are 363 days to go. (Then I get depressed, so I start thinking about the last two days and get happy again, haha)

So as part of my commitment to our new way of life (and my better blogging habits), I've decided to use this space as a food blog--documenting what I eat, how the new recipes turn out, and holding myself accountable for every mini-snickers I steal from the reception desk on 1 (even if I think the calories are canceled out in my walk down from 6).

As of Monday, I'm officially on my new, self proclaimed "better for me" diet, with the following rules:

-More Cooking at home
-No Processed Sugars (and little to no sugar of any kind)
-Low carb (Especially refined carbs and French Fries)
-Lower animal product consumption (Especially beef)
-High vegetable intake (including trying my best to like things I never before have liked, like tomatoes, mushrooms and olives)
-Increased fish consumption (including learning to like the fish I cook myself)
-Increased whole foods
-Less processed foods
-No cheeseburgers (booo)
-More water
-EXERCISE

Anyways, I'm sure there will be plenty of bumps in the road (cheeseburger sized bumps, most likely), and I don't think I can get Patrick to give up Pizza or PB&Js for lunch, but we're trying to improve.

**This post is not intended to be self righteous or demeaning in any way, and I apologize in advance if it is. I know everyone has their own beliefs on what is and is not the right way to eat, and I'm not judging. Just making myself accountable to my new choices**

Labor day with the Rogers

2009-12-04T16:44:00.000-08:00

The Rogers came up with a great idea for Labor Day weekend--why not cram in two "must-do-once-if-you-live-in SF-but-never-again" in one day.

Perfect idea.

Winchester Mystery House? Check.

Monterey Bay Aquarium? Check.I'm pretty proud of myself for this shot. Doesn't it look like I'm really under water? hahaha.

Love

2009-12-04T16:27:00.001-08:00

To celebrate 2 whole years of love, back on August 31st, we decided to head up to Napa to Michael Chiarello's Bottega restaurant for the best lunch in the world. I'm still a bit disappointed that I didn't get to meet Michael, but since it was our anniversary--and I would have probably been all over him, had we actually met, it's probably a good thing.

I had the fresh corn, snap pea, egg and chopped almond salad to start and the chive risotto with Duck Confit for my entree and Patrick had the "bacon and egg" appetizer with the short rib entree.And he of course, had some sort of coffee/chocolate/caramel torte for dessert.We're still talking about it. And asking each other when we can go back.

After our late lunch, we headed over to a cute little park where Patrick surprised me by bringing a blanket and my current book--so we could lay in the sun and just enjoy a beautiful afternoon. He also wrote this sweet list of things he loves about me while rubbing my head.

Man, I'm one lucky gal!

UCW 2009

2009-12-04T16:08:00.000-08:00

This year marked the first year of (what we hope to be) a yearly tradition. UCW (or Ultimate Couples Weekend) consisted of 3 blissful day courtesy of Bob and Lisa Cowan at their luxurious beach chalet.
We lazed around the beach, Boogie Boarded played football with some HS all-star playerand just all around thoroughly enjoyed one another's company.
Some stayed the whole time, others came just for a few days (or hours).Look! We even found a baby! :)
Can't wait until next year! Everyone, mark your calendars (and try to get a boyfriend) for Labor Day 2010. We're trying to figure out how to double the invite # so all y'all can join us.
*Clearly, a lot has happened between UCW and this post. Breakups, babies, phew! I gotta get more timely in my blogging 'cause now this is a little awkward!

Alameda County Fair

2009-12-04T15:49:00.000-08:00

Some of you may be surprised by my love of a good county fair.

I mean between the matted rat tails on old men
And the freakshow children
It may not sound like my kind of place.

But you forgot about the funnel cakesand the soft serve
The corn dogs
And, of course, the fried snickers.
How can you resist that melty, gooey, deliciousness!?

PLUS the pig races needed an "Adult" volunteer. And you better believe my arm shot up faster than a speeding bullet.
I was very serious about my job.
Which totally paid off because I won a Gold Ribbon for my efforts!(ok, it's yellow. close enough)
Thanks for humoring me Patrick! Except I know you loved it just as much as I did :)

Santorini

2009-12-04T13:48:00.000-08:00

When we were planning our trip to Greece, the only thing I knew I wanted to do FOR SURE was go to Santorini.

Why, Santorini? Well, that's where "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" was filmed, of course! And although I do love me some Blake Lively action, the real reason I was smitten was because it was so breathtakingly GORGEOUS. White buildings, bright blue doors, beautiful beaches and most importantly, DONKEY RIDES UP TO THE TOWN. I was dying for a donkey ride.

So I did my research, figured out that we could take a short day trip from Crete and booked the ferry. Every travel site I found said that once our boat pulled into the harbor, we could just take a quick donkey ride up to the center of town and find all sorts of fun things to do. No advance planning needed!

My family went with me a bit begrudingly--we had to leave Crete at like 5am and wouldn't get home until 10 that night--and you've seen our hotel in Crete. It's not exactly a place you'd want to leave. I'm pretty sure my dad and Robert would have stayed had I not begged them to join us.

So anyways, fast forward a few hours and we are pulling into the port in Santorini. I'm jumping out of my seat--soo excited for a Donkey ride and whatevr else this magical city has in store for us. We walk off the boat and....this port is deserted! I mean there is NOTHING there.

Where are all the street vendors, the tour guides hawking their wares, and more importantly,where are the donkeys?!

I think my dad got a bit irritated at that point. I could see it in his body language and on his face. I was scared. We all stood around for a few minutes and then decided to take a taxi up into town to figure out what to do. Still a bit nervous that this plan would make me fall flat on my face, we all climb into the cab and head up the steep hill.

The cab driver convinced us that it might be fun to rent some ATVs for the day and ride around the Island. He drops us off at some random ATV rental shop and we signed our lives away.Santorini turned out to be the best decision any of us had ever made. The island is perfect for ATVs and we got to see just about the entire thing in one day. We drove down to the famous black sand beaches for lunch and up to Oia after that.

Oia was spectacular. It's where "Sisterhood" was filmed and looks even more incredible in real life. Why isn't every city like this??

After Oia, we headed into Thira, after a quick stop for the best OJ in the world (no exaggeration)
and I found my donkey rides. Hallelujiah! Patrick, Lex and I took a gondola down to the bottom (to the port I thought we were coming into) and hopped on. It was so silly, but so much fun!Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the port to hop on the ferry. We drove back to the ATV shop, had some ice cream, grabbed a taxi and headed down to the port. We were there fairly early so we went into a little restaurant and just relaxed for 30 minutes or so. We started to see the ferry pull into view and we all started to grab our belongings.

This is when it goes from great to HORRIBLE.

My dad couldn't find his backpack--with his wallet, passports, cell phone, etc. Basically anything that was important to us was in that backpack.

After some scrambling, and some very nice cab drivers letting us use their phones to call the ATV shop, we discovered that he had left the backpack at the shop. He and Robert hop in a cab and sped off to the shop. Patrick, Lex, Tom and I were left at the port--hoping they'd make it back in time.

So the ferry is moving in fast. And the four of us are talking logistics--how long it will take for the people to get off the ferry, then to load it back up--then we can probably stall for a few minutes, etc. We're thinking we've got plenty of time. Until the boat finally pulls in. I have never in my life seen people get off a boat so fast. It was like an ant hill that got trampled. Literally 3 minutes later, they're herding us onto the boat. We tried to stall to the end of the line, but that only saved us MAYBE 20 seconds. We're the last people onto the dock and I start trying to talk to the crew members about what's going on--asking them to wait just a minute or two longer for my dad and Robert.

Let me tell you that most Greeks we incountered were the nicest folks in the world. So sweet and kind. Not the crew on the ferry. No matter my begging, pleading, sobbing (yes, sobbing) they were not budging on leaving the dock. They're pulling away as I'm screaming and crying to have them wait just a minute longer for my dad. Everyone is staring at me, I'm talking MAJOR scene here. This guy didn't have an ounce of kindness in his dark black heart. I'm pretty sure anyone else would have waited at least a minute or two--I mean, this is their last ferry of the night. They don't have a schedule to stay on.

So luckily, Tom had his iphone and we called my dad, told him that they'd missed the ferry and that we were on our way back to Crete. Luckily a nice crewmember took pity on us and figured out how to get us on a Bus back to town (or at least close by) since both sets of car keys were also in the backpack.

We got back to the hotel around 1am--and Robert and my Dad were able to hop on another ferry that morning--and were back by 12. All, in all, it turned out fine. But MAN those few hours were a mess!

I think Santorini is going to have some great memories for us after this. Beautiful island and great adventure. It's a good combo :) Plus, a great story for us all to tell!

Facebook has Australia pictures

2009-10-27T22:38:00.000-07:00

don't worry, I'll blog too.

Just wanted to share :)

Good night.

Overwhelmed

2009-10-26T21:34:00.000-07:00

even going on vacation was stressful.

And when I get stressed, what do I do? I sleep.

Not so productive to getting unstressed.

I promise, someday I'll blog again...someday...

In the meantime, I'm going to bed.

This one's for you Robert

2009-09-29T13:54:00.000-07:00

Two years ago today

2009-08-31T21:22:00.000-07:00

I married the cutest, sweetest, hardest working guy in the whole world.

To celebrate, we drove up to Yountville and ate at Bottega--Michael Chiarello's incredible Italian restaurant. After lunching on marscapone/chive risotto with duck confit and braised short-ribs, Patrick surprised me by driving to a nearby park, pulling out a blanket and books and letting me lounge in the sun while he composed the following list: (too long and too cheesy for a blog, but I had to share/save)

What I've learned about my sweetie in two years:
-She is the most beautiful thing on the planet
-She has the cutest laugh
-She loves to smile
-She loves people--all types of people
-She is extremely personable and able to talk with anyone
-She's fearless
-She has great fashion sense
-It's impossible for her to not look SOOO cute
-She loves the Food Network
-She loves great food
-She's a hard worker
-She could do anything she sets her mind to
-She would do anything for me
-She is alwasy thinking about me
-She knows what I like
-She loves her head to be rubbed/scratched
-She loves trashy tv and magazines
-She can plow through a book in no time
-She hates football
-She hates politics
-She has gorgeous hair
-She has soft/wonderful skin
-She loves adventure
-She hates broken promises
-She has expensive taste
-She's a beach rat
-She hates strange showers
-She ahs the most beautiful, dainty hands in the world
-She has the cutest shoulders
-Her eyes are warm and loving
-I couldnt live withou her
-I wouldn't be happy without her
-She is quick to forgive
-She has a temper
-She's extremely intelligent
-She's willing to try new things
-She loves diamonds
-Almonds are her friend
-She loves hot fudge sundays and coconut cream pie
-She is thoughtful
-She is loving and willing to take care of me if I need it
-She's funny
-She has a mischevious side
-She's sneaky
-She's great about putting up with my gas
-She transforms after 10pm
-She's assertive
-She's confident
-She's nosy
-She is always in my bizness
-She wants to do what's right
-She is my best friend
-She is the best cuddler
-She loves naps
-She loves the white blob
-She loves for me to sing to her even though it sounds terrible
-She loves to dance
-She loves trashy food
-She doesn't know how to spit
-I'll never beat her at Buzz Quiz tv
-I would do anything for her
-I couldnt have been more lucky

OK, maybe he exaggerated a few of them, but i LOVED it. Talk about lucky!!
Here's to another year, even better than the last two!

Crete

2009-08-19T13:32:00.000-07:00

Part two of our vacation was Crete. We took the ferry from Athens to Crete--which was more like a miniature cruise ship, btw, SO HUGE! We thought that we'd be able to see more islands that way, but in hindsight, I think I'd have rather taken a plane because it's a shorter trip and we didn't really see anything from the boat. We did get a small taste for what a cruise might be like, and I have to say, I liked it! Maybe someday I'll get to go on a cruise...sigh...

We arrived at the Port in Heraklion around 11pm and when we got off the boat we were a bit shocked by how crazy and unorganized everything was. There were people all over the place--we felt like we were in a zoo! We finally found a cab that would take us to the car rental place (btw, all Taxis in Greece are brand new mercedes. Must be a good gig!) but when we got there we discovered we had to have international driver's licenses to rent cars there. WHAT? Who ever heard of that?? Lucky for us, the guys at Budget didn't say anything about international DL's for THEIR rentals so we quickly signed a few papers and grabbed the keys before they could realize what had happened.

After spending tons of money on Europe maps for the Garmin, we couldn't get the thing to recognize our hotel on the nav. Crap. So we're driving through Crete with no idea what the signs say at 12 at night praying we're on the right path. Daddy was more nervous out than I've ever seen him

Thankfully we got there with no problems (minus when Robert almost drove us straight into the side of a mountain)

Pulling into our hotel, we got giddy. MAN this place was nice! (Shoulda taken more pics)Plus they upgraded all our rooms to private infinity pools. Yes please!
We had lots of optimistic plans for when we were in Crete--all sorts of sightseeing and day trips.

But when you wake up to this
All your sightseeing plans go out the window.

So basically, the whole time all we did was lie around drinking frozen pinapple daquiri's We did go scuba diving a few times though, which was awesome. Especially the night dive. Loved that!

With our Dive Masters Juan and Kostos

Getting to the beach from the hotel was a bit of an adventure. We had to take a glass elevator from the reception area down to the beach. I'm sure there's some deep metaphor in that somewhere...
And, thanks to the recession, we were able to get the lounge chairs right at the waterfront without waking up at 6am (anyone who's been to Hawaii knows that is a major success)
As you all know, vacation is about ULTIMATE relaxation, AKA reading about the glory days of wrestling while wearing a bath robe and laying in bed all afternoon.

My favorite pic of the trip. He is so dang cute!

In case you still don't get how great this place was, here's proof that EVERYONE loved it.

*The last post will be on our day trip to Santorini. Expect it in about 2 months

Not sure if you can tell...

2009-08-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

but I dyed my hair last night.

And by "I", I mean my friend who is an apprentice at Renaissance Salon. Anyone looking for a cheap ($30) but professional color/cut in SF should let me know. Trish is great!

What do you think? I think...it's great! Not too dark, so just a little different than usual.

It's been so long since I last colored my hair (highlights before Mere's wedding to be exact). I hope I don't get too addicted because this could get expensive!!

The (1st of a few) Posts You've All Been Waiting For....

2009-07-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

I figured if I put it off long enough, the demand would be so great I'd have hundreds of people commenting on it and I would be the talk of the town. But, I agree with Noelle. Enough is Enough.

So here goes nothin. And I'll warn you, it's a long one. So cuddle up for a good read :)

First off, let me state that this was NOT your average vacation. I fully admit that it was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE and THE BEST VACATION OF MY LIFE. With that said, jealousy will ensue.

Delta had a special when you transferred your AMEX points to Delta points, you got a 20% bonus. Which means we used the same amount of points and got 1 first class ticket which Lex, Patrick and I shared. Lex: SFO->Atlanta, Sarah: Atlanta->Athens, Patrick: Athens->Atlanta, Lex: Atlanta->SFO
Apparently I was the only one who enjoyed it enough to take pics. Also, I was the only one who had a crazy drunk man sitting next to me chatting me up and rubbing my arm to find my "veins". CREEPY.

After arriving at the Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens and jumping up and down when we walked into our SUITE the first order of busines was to explore the Plaka and get a Gyro.
Tip#1: Let me say, this was not your average U.S. Gyro. First off, they are not lamb (HALLELUJAH) they are beef, pork or chicken, 2nd the Pita bread itself is SOO much more delicious. And most importantly, THEY PUT FRENCH FRIES IN YOUR SANDWICH. Can I just tell you how great that is? Because it truly is great.
It was really hard for us to stay awake until my parents and "the boys" (aka Robert and Tom, Robert's mission companion/BFF) showed up at the hotel and we might have taken an itsy bitsy nap even though it's totally against the rules of anti-jetlag.

Once they got there we went to Milo's Restaurant, which is supposed to be one of the best in Athens. Top Rated. I did my research.

Tip #2: Fancy, ridiculously overpriced restaurants in Greece are not worth it and aren't very good. Fancy, expensive Greek restaurants in SF, however, absolutely are (Kokkari!). Homestyle and street food are way better. But it was fun to catch up and we all enjoyed ourselves Our first full day in Athens we met up with Dennis--son of "the best taxi driver in all of Greece" or so their website says. Basically, Dennis was a suave, Jeff Sheets look-alike limousine driver who took us all around Delphi and Athens. I'm not a huge fan of 80 person tour groups, especially on 6 hour RT drives to see ruins so after lots of research on TripAdvisor, I decided to go with Dennis (who was actually cheaper for the 7 of us than using a tour group). I, personally, loved him (And the boys will tell you he loved me, but whatev). And I really liked having an advocate while we navigated a country whose language is completeley indecipherable to Westerners. Looking back, it would have been nice to have a tour guide at each of the sites and I probably should have booked one for a better learning opportunity, but it was also pretty nice to just wander at our own pace and have some fun.
Delphi was spectacular. I've said this several times since we've been back but it's just SO INCREDIBLE to have seen these structures that we've learned about our whole lives. That we've read about, read books that reference and that began civilization as we know it. Just blew my mind.
Not to mention, I got to touch "the center of the universe" which was pretty cool.

After our tour of Delphi and the Delphi Archeological Museum (where you are NOT allowed to take pictures with statues in fear of angering the Gods) Dennis took us to the best meal we had our entire trip. I wish I had known then that it would be the best meal of the trip because I would have paid closer attention. Greek Salad

Mezza (Appetizer) Plate

Tip#3 Whoever invented Tzatziki was having direct conversations with God when they did because that stuff is INCREDIBLE. We ate it with everything--bread, meat, rice, pita, by the spoon, whatever.

*If you don't know what Tzatziki is, I'll forgive you. Greek Yogurt, Dill, Cucumber and Garlic

On our second full day in Athens, we took a tour of the city. Parliament Building (by night, obv.)

Which reminds me, I haven't talked at all about the weather. If you ask me, it was borderline perfect. Just barely too hot, but there was also a great breeze so I was happy. Too hot for Mom so that's why you don't see her in the pics. We sure missed her though!Hydrating before the hike to the top

After watching the weekly changing of the guard parade directly across from our incredible hotel (led by the neighborhood dogs) Ridiculous uniforms, no?

we drove up to the Acropolis to see the Parthenon. Let me tell you, Delphi was cool, but this stole the show for me. I could not get enough! One of the most famous archeological sites in the history of the world, and there I am. Just hanging out at Athena's Temple like it's no big deal. Not to mention how it's right in the middle of a thriving metropolitan city.
We also got to climb Mars Hill which is where the Apostle Paul delivered his famous sermon. It was pure marble (so a bit slippery). We read Acts 17 aloud from Tom's iPhone and were joined by fellow tourists while reading which was pretty cool.
After our tour, Dennis took us to a very authentic Greek restaurant for lunch--where he says he goes when he wants some "momma cooking" and doesn't have time to go home. It was fun to try some truly authentic dishes and of course, have watermelon for dessert (everywhere we went there was tons and it was soo delicious).

Our tour of Athens ended at the Ferry terminal as we boarded our "superfast ferry" to Crete. I'll also stop this post there and try to break things up a little for all those of you who hate reading and only like pictures.

Love love. Off to shop and see Harry Potter! Opa!

TJ's Egg White "salad" with Chives

2009-07-08T14:44:00.001-07:00

Kinda glad it only had two servings.

I've been eyeing it for months thinking it sounded good, and on Monday I went for it.

Maybe it would be better with crackers? Not sure I'll ever find out. Egg salad needs yolks and mayo in my book.

*Greece post coming someday. You know how I am. Check out the FB pics for now. Robert and Lex tagged me in a few. Lets just say it was the best vacation of my life. No exaggerations.

MJ

2009-06-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

We're taking the Taxi into Athens from the Airport and our driver goes--Michael Jackson, he's Kaput, huh?

Assuming he meant his career is becoming a dud we laughed and agreed and moved on to the next subject.

After checking into the hotel and turning on the TV, we realized OH NO Michael Jackson really did go Kaput. Tragic day for all of us.

In other news, Greece is fabulous. 10 plates of Tzatziki later, we're headed to Crete tomorrow afternoon. I'm craving the ocean more than I ever expected to. Can't wait to leap into the Aegean!!

Not another Shopping Post!

2009-06-23T16:34:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, it really isn't another shopping post.

Technically, it's not really a food post either, it's a camping post. But food was the reason we camped.

So basically my life only revolves around food and shopping. Are you surprised?

Three weeks ago, we met up with the SLC Besties (minus Laura who bailed last minute in order to find a job. psh.) on the NorCal coast for a little Abalone diving.

In case you didn't know, Patrick and I are chickens. So we didn't dive. But we DID camp (one whole night) and I got totally sunburnt.

AND...I ATE RAW(still living!!!!) ABALONE. See? Here's proof. I'm totally tough. (so so nasty)
My new best friend Eric wins for best photo of the weekend. Agree? (And yes, that's an Old Milwaukee next to him. I did not partake but was told it was DEESSGUSTING)

We had an incredible time (minus getting pulled over for having 10 people in the back of a pick-up and slicing up my fingers while cleaning the $500 beasts)

For those of you who are wondering what Abalone is, Klarissa claims it's a sea slug. But if you've ever been to a fancy restaurant and seen it on the menu for upwards of $100 an entree (I have) you know it's no ordinary sea slug.

Luckily for us, we did not have to pay $100 a person to eat this delicacy. But we did have to work dang hard to clean it, slice it, pound it, and fry it.

Was it worth it? Umm yeah! I was so excited to finally try this thing I've been hearing about my whole life. To be completely honest, I think I'd prefer it if it was prepared for me at a resaurant (aka in slightly more sanitary conditions) but I'd do it again for sure.

Oh yes, and we went on a hike through Fern Gully.

Don't worry, Patrick's just faking it.

Thanks DeMaso clan for the invite!!

Brad or the Abalone?

2009-06-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

Changed my life in 4 days

Yes, I made a decision

2009-06-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

You all know about my bathing suit drama. Yes, it's true. I ordered over 30 suits and couldn't decide for 2 months which one to keep. But when you're going to Greece, it's an important decision!

Thought you all should see the final "keepers". Thank you Daddy, I love my birthday present!! (BTW everything's from the Bloomingdale's "Private" sale. I'll just tell you now, don't go. It's DANGEROUS)
DVF Cover-up. Doubles as a top, no?
Juicy suit. I know EVERYONE has this one already, but it's honestly quite flattering to my mid-section aka my worst feature.

And, of course, you can't go to Greece without a huge straw hat!!

1 week and counting. Not that I'm excited or anything...

Idiot

2009-06-10T15:01:00.001-07:00

I seriously have a problem. I buy food- good, quality, (expensive) food and then forget all about it and it goes to waste.

Namely vegetables and meat.

So, to combat this problem, I decided we'd just buy things the day we wanted to make them, to stop with the waste. (Also, because I can't figure out how to freeze meat and then defrost it and still have it taste ok)

But then pork tenderloin was on SUPER SALE at Safeway so I was like ohh, I'll just pick some up and for sure cook it in the next day or two...

I just remembered it's still in the fridge. Would have been cheaper to just buy it full price when I actually wanted to cook it, I think.

2 for 1 Movie Tickets??

2009-06-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

I know, right! Sounds way too good to be true. But I saw the ad in a magazine this morning and just verified it online.

Here's the scoop- If you are a Visa Signature Card Holder, there's a promotion going on right now where if you purchase movie tickets on Fandango.com/visasignature they'll deduct up to $13.50 from your order of 2 or more tickets once a month through 9/30/2010 (or while supplies last, of course).

How awesome is that??!! We're definitely seeing UP 3D this week!