Cruisin'

When my Grandpa Leavitt was still alive, and when I was a little girl, he would take me "crusin'". Crusin' consisted of just hanging out with grandpa, going to flea markets, and where-ever the wind would take us. I liked it because it was some one-on-one time and I was spoiled rotten. All I would have to do is tug on his sleeve, look up at him with my bright green eyes, and say, "look grandpa!" while pointing to the desired object. It worked like a charm every time.
Don and I went "crusin'" this past spring break to Ensenada, Mexico and Catalina Island. It was wonderful, being surrounded by the smell of the salty air, and the sound of the rolling waves on our Cruise ship which was named, oddly enough, the Paradise, and forgetting for 3 blissful days that we had any care in the world. Time passes fast when you go "cruisin'" and I've found that the past time hasn't changed. Only now my grandpa is replaced with Don.
We went with our friends Eric and Kim Larsen, and carpooled to Las Vegas where we spent the night with some family friends. We walked down the entire strip just to ride the Stratusphere, which turned out to be too much money for the entertainment it offered. So then we walked all the way back. The strip is forever long, and not really all that exciting when you don't smoke, gamble or want to pay $7 for a Ben and Jerry's ice cream cone. Stupid Vegas.
Our next part of the trip was sunny San Diego. I like the name Diego, I think that our next pet will have that name. (*Just a note: Floppy Joe died this Christmas, it wasn't quite Christmas without Joe... infact I wrote a limerick-eulogy for him, well, it was actually just something I said before the flush. It went:

There was an ol' fish named Joe,
who always went with the flow,
His fins were all frayed,
We're glad that you stayed,
But now it's time to go.

And that's the end of Joe's story.)
Back on topic, San Diego was really nice, especially compared to Vegas. They had really good food there, and we went to this fun little beach called La Jolla, which, they say, means, "the Jewel".
The next day we went to Sea World. It was my first time, and I must say, I'm impressed. I could be a marine biologist. Seriously. I didn't know that sea turtles could absorb oxygen through their skin. Go figure. I was also impressed with how clean they kept the park, and how well they trained the animals. I didn't think those animals could be trained. I did think that the whole killer whale presentation was cheesy. I think I ruined it for some of the people around me when I bust out laughing at what was supposed to be one of the most touching parts.
That night we hopped the boarder into Tiajuana. It's exactly what they say it is: an armpit. We did however get some really good tamales. When we came back across the boarder we had to wait in a line that was at least five city blocks long, for about 45 minutes. This was my first experience outside of the country.
But the next day we boarded the cruise ship. Complete with about 50 other Utah State University students. I kid you not. If we were to take a poll of the biggest group of people from one place aboard that ship it would be good old Logan, Utah.
I liked being on the ship. Someone made my bed every single day, and folded a cute little towel animal, which we didn't have the heart to destroy because they were so dang cute. And they left chocolate on my pillow. Does life get any better? Never mind the fact that for the first time in my life I could order anything I wanted (several times) from the menu and not feel the least guilty because there were no prices listed on the menu. And I was waited on several times by our professional Thai waiters, who were impressed that I could say hello to them in their native tongue. We could also eat up to 7 times a day on the ship, which is a stark comparison to now. Now we've been living off of Sundays lasagna because neither of us have time to cook. Oh! I also had tea time on the ship. It was really nice, and one of my favorite memories about the trip...I was sitting in a lounge with the sunlight flooding through the window with the gentle swaying of the boat and an emerald sea outside of my window, all while delicately sipping a cup of tea...okay, it was three cups of tea, and several cucumber sandwiches, among the other sandwiches. After a while the waiters started avoiding me. I also met a charming lady with an English accent who was from no other place than...Orange County California. Anti-climatic, I know, that's exactly what I thought when she said it. I thought I was having tea with a bona-fide english lady. She made up for it and admitted that she'd lived in Oxford, Paris, and Italy. When she asked where I was from I told her,
"Utah."
"Oh," she replied, "land of the 'lost' people."
...what the heck does that mean? They knew where they were going when they came here.
We also stopped off at Catalina Island. How come no one ever told me how amazing it was? And by amazing I mean, "lush, tropical, no-shoes, casual wear, bike riding, mural tiles, kick-butt snorkeling and sea kayaking packages, 1920's get-away with the smell of waffle cones and ice cream while reggae music magically plays off of the waves and dolphins jump off shore," amazing. I fell in love with Catalina. It is the only place I would even consider getting merchandise that had it's name on it. Usually I avoid all of those stupid sweatshirts and hats with the annoying, "Yellowstone", "Jackson Hole" banners labeled across them. But I would wear a Catalina shirt with pride!! I think it would also be good for my psyche. I could look down at the shirt the day I was wearing it and think of how amazing it was...and in would float the memories of all the previously mentioned things. I have to admit that while we were pulling away from the island, I forlornly watched it's profile disappear from my window.
Our last stop was Ensenada. It was probably the second most educational place that we visited aside from Sea World. And that's because we had a kick-butt tourist guide. I could tell you all about the economy, history, religion, and language of Ensenada, and how it's connected to sushi. But I won't bore you with the details. We went and saw the La Bufadora, which means the "blow hole."
Ensenada was a really big tourist trap. I felt bad for the poor woman with her daughter who sold necklaces day-after-day, and wished that I had enough money just to give to the store owners who seemed so desperate so sell an item...any item to us. I wish I could've explained that we weren't really rich, that we were really college students who would be living off of ramen noodles for the next month or two, or three because of this trip. I felt that the places I saw in Mexico poorly represented the country as a whole. It would be like going to North Ogden and thinking that all of Utah looked like that. People don't know about Zion's, Capital Reef, Arches, etc. All they see is the butt-ugly, concrete encrusted, city.
I learned on this trip that I am an engineer:
~I read all of the signs at Sea World so that I can learn more, because I'm not in school and my brain is bored.
~I think about the roads when we drove from Utah to California...are they using HD-21-W.B., or epoxy?...By the way, Nevada has really weird roads the colors were weird, and on some parts there wasn't any crown...???
~I wonder if the cruise ship treats it's own water system,..and how the heck do they get the toilets to flush that much? You really could suck a pound cake or small child down one of those things.
~ I also wondered how the pipes work on the boat. I stared at the pipe network above my head while I was eating dinner every night.
So, that was my crusin' time. It was pretty awesome.

kitchen update

Happy February!
I hope that everyone had as great of a Valentine's Day as I did. We were actually able to eat in our kitchen, which isn't quite done yet, but close enough to move a table into and cover up the construction with candle light. Anyway, last Saturday night we spent the night tiling our counter tops, most of which I placed. I'm so dang proud, because I can barely walk in a straight line let alone lay out tile straight. But it doesn't look half bad, and it's nice that Don can check my work and keep me straight. So, here are some pictures of us tiling. All we have to do now is grout, seal, have the plumber come, and then paint! Yeay! We're so close!

Daemon

I found my daemon at goldencompass.com I thought it would be cool to find out what my soul would look like in animal form if it walked beside me. This is what I turned out to be. I'm sure I wouldn't be half as proud if it turned out to be a chipmunk or something.

Lights, Camera, Action!

So, in case you haven't noticed I haven't posted for an entire semester. Now, this isn't the time for mock faces. It's been one heck of a semester, and when I say "heck" I mean heck. But, luckily we survived, if not barely. Since I'm not even going to attempt to surmise the entire semester I will tell you some of the resent events.
Lights-This Christmas we went to see the lights on temple square, where we were joined by my mom, sister, sister-in-law, mother-in-law and step-father-in-law. Crazy, I know. It's funny how you forget how beautiful it is. It really makes me proud of my Utah roots, too.

Camera-
I turned 24 on the 19th of December. Happy Birthday to me! Actually, I was feeling kind-of glum because #1: I didn't do anything super cool that day in commemoration of the special event, and #2: I'm getting old. How the heck did I get here?? I'm almost a quarter of a century old. Now, I know that might be a silly thing to say, but regardless, I've gotten to that point where I want to stay the same age that I am, or either start going backwards. I have to finish the end of my story, however, and say that my birthday night definitely made up for it. Ashley decorated my bedroom with black crepe paper and balloons, complete with a sign that said, "Because you're so old!" (that's what the pic is of) And then gave me a couple pints of Ben and Jerry's to dr0wn my sorrows with. It worked. Then later Don took me to my favorite restaurant called La Noni, which serves amazing Tuscan Italian food. Soooo good! All -in-all it was a good birthday. So good, in fact, I think I might turn 24 again next year.

Action-
This is a picture of my kitchen. We moved a couple months ago (end of October to be exact) to Millville, Utah. It's about 5 min. south of Logan. This is another reason why I've been to busy to post, that and the FE exam, which I still don't know if I passed...but Don did!! Yeay Don! We found out New Years Eve. And I'm so excited for him! For those of you who aren't familiar with the FE exam it's like the Bar for law students. Other reasons for not posting include a flood in our new apartment, as well as finals. It's been a crazy semester. But, we also have been putting in a kitchen. During this Christmas break Don just barely finished putting in the tile floor, and it looks so good. It's a sight for sore eyes, that's for sure. Although this picture isn't really doing it justice. Right now we're in the process of putting in the cabinets, as you can see. Then we need to finish some electrical work, and make some counter tops, install some appliances, and...presto! Our kitchen will be finished. For someone who likes to bake and cook as much as I do, it seems like it's taking forever. But now I'm to the point that I'm just happy that it's getting done, and coming along so nice. I'll keep you all updated on our kitchen. Don is doing such a great job, and it's wonderful to have a husband who can do things like this.
The semester is starting back up next Monday, Jan. 7th. And hopefully it won't be as brutal. They say that your Junior year is the hardest, so thank goodness that we just finished ours. I have two semesters left, and Don has three if he does the Concurrent program for his Masters, and two if he sticks with his Bachelors and continues to work for Sargent and get his Masters over the next couple of years. Speaking of Sargent, Don got a raise! Yeay!
I will hopefully be going back to UDOT this semester as an intern with benefits. I'll find out in the next month or so if my 95% secure job worked out or not. I'm crossing my fingers because I'm becoming a bitter waitress, and I don't like people half as much as I did when I first started my waitressing career. If I do get the job I'll never have to go back to waitressing again. Well, that's everything in a nutshell! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and New Year! Love and miss you all!

Pottered

I've been Pottered.