Is this really my life?

I am sitting here wondering if this is really my life. My life is just usually more organized and planned. It is Saturday night and on Monday I'm moving. The only problem is that I don't know where yet. I'm thinking of getting in the moving van on Monday, spinning a dial, and just driving in whichever direction it points until I get somewhere. But I'm not that crazy yet I guess. I'm sure I'll figure something out. I have to. Soon. But until then may I just say that I'm glad I am a Mormon and always have been. Tonight I saw a guy walking home from the grocery store carrying a big old case of beer and I thought to myself, 'If I weren't Mormon I'd be a raging alcoholic right now.' So I guess it is a good thing that the only time I've ever had alcohol in my life was on accident on my mission and maybe because it was an accident and was on my mission that the firewater didn't take hold of me and turn me into an alcoholic right then and there. So, here's to being Mormon in times like these.

Marley & Not Me

My dad had to fly to another area of the mission today and also since I'll be heading back to the U.S. on Monday my mom and I just decided to just enjoy life and play all day. First we went to two different beaches...Cumbuco and Futuro. I have decided, especially after this trip to Brazil, that I could easily become a beach bum if I lived closer to the beach. I especially love body boarding and especially here in Fortaleza because there is virtually no animal life...I don't know if it is because the water is a little extra salty, or the water is too warm or if there just aren't reefs nearby but you just don't see seaweed, nasty dead fish washing up, or really any animal life...you hardly even see many seashells. Animal free...just the way I like it. I mean don't get me wrong...I love marine life in aquariums or when you are snorkeling in clear waters or at Sea World. But I don't want to see anything when I'm trying to swim or body board. There must be fish farther out in the ocean here in Fortaleza because you see tons of fishermen but luckily for someone like me, with an intense fear/fascination of sharks and the ocean, there isn't much close to the shore. Whoa, that was a major tangent, which of course will be too long for my casual blog readers and leeches but not for the die-hards or really bored people or the people who really love me like my mom and grandma. ANYWAY, after we went to the beach we got cleaned up and then headed to the salon where my mom gets her haircut and where you can get a manicure for 7 Reais, which thanks to the awesome strong dollar, equals 3 dollars U.S. That's right, three dollars. And the salon is pretty nice and they take their time and do a really good job. You can even get a manicure and pedicure at the same time and can even get them both done while you get your hair cut. Talk about multi-tasking. Oh yeah, and the pedicures are 3 bucks too. So you can get a manicure and a pedicure for 6 dollars TOTAL. I almost feel guilty for making someone scrape dead skin off the bottoms of my feet for so little. Not to worry though, I gave them big tips. Then we were off to the mall which was quite an adventure. The mall is pretty big...at least the size of SouthTowne in Sandy or maybe a bit bigger and yet apparently only ONE store in the entire mall will validate your parking pass no matter how much money you spend in the other stores. We didn't know that though, so we asked the guy at the movie theatre about getting our parking card validated. Apparently he didn't understand the fabulous Portuguese/Spanish/English/Sign Language mix my mom and I were using to communicate because he proceeded to gesture in the air how to insert your parking card into the place where you exit the mall parking and then using his arm he showed us how the pole would move from a horizontal position to a vertical position which would then allow us to leave the parking garage. WOW, he must have really thought we were dumb. We just said "Obrigada" and then left the area before bursting into laughter. Everything is just a little extra complicated here which provides quite a bit of confusion and fun for me and my mom. We decided to grab some Pizza Hut at the mall before heading to the movie. While you stand in line there someone comes and takes your order on a little notepad. Then you still stay in line and then when you get up to the cash register the person who took your order comes up to the register to tell the cashier what you want and then you pay and then they actually start getting your order ready. And this "help" ordering wasn't just because of the wonderful Portuguese/Spanish/English/Sign Language mix that my mom and I speak...they were adding in the extra ordering step even for the native Brazilians. Oh, and then when our pizza was ready they didn't call out a number or bring it to us or give us any indication it was ready. It just sat there getting cold until we went to ask about it. Crazy system. Then after the movie we got gelato. Here you can't just go choose your gelato and then pay for it. You first have to go the cashier area, tell the cashier whether you want one or two scoops, and pay. Then the cashier gives you a little card that tells whether you are a one scooper or a two scooper and then you go over to where the gelato is and choose your flavor. Weird. Anyway, I've gotten WAY off from what I intended to blog about today which is the movie Marley and Me which is the movie my mom and I went to tonight. First of all and just for the record, even though I am not a lover of dogs or anything to do with dogs, I will just say that for being a movie about a dog it was a sort of decent movie. Sort of. So here's the rundown for those of you who don't know. Basically this couple (Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson) get married and then buy a puppy and this dog turns out to be the most horrible dog ever and basically (as far as I'm concerned) tries to destroy their lives but for some weird reason they still love the dog and they don't get rid of the dog. And really, truly, even though it was a movie I could not at all relate to at all I think that Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson did a pretty good job and the movie turned out decent...even though Jennifer Aniston's upper lip looked like it got a little too much collagen or Botox or whatever, and Owen Wilson still has the weirdest nose EVER. During the whole movie though, I just couldn't help but just want to scream out "Get rid of the stupid dog and your lives will be so much better!" The dog chews up everything, goes to the bathroom where it shouldn't, barks, jumps, etc. ANNOYING! But, they of course keep the dog and it becomes like a family member and then of course it gets old and sick and is at the vet dying and Owen Wilson is saying goodbye to the dog and giving this whole little "Even though you were a horrible dog we love you speech," and at the end of his sad, sad goodbye the movie gets all quiet and all of a sudden SEVERAL (like 10 to 15 people) start SOBBING. Yes, SOBBING. Sobbing over this touching part of the movie. Now I have cried during a movie before but I don't think I've ever sobbed over a movie and if I were going to sob over a movie it would not be in public and would definitely not be after an Owen Wilson dog speech. Yeah, so apparently Brazilians LOVE dogs or something. Or maybe they just get REALLY into movies. It was pretty funny. Especially watching people walk out of the theater wiping away tears. One lady's eyes were even all red and puffy. I don't get it I guess. The end.

Like a lamb going to the slaughter...

You know when you are in the middle of a really fun time in your life but you almost can't enjoy it because you know that a really not fun time in your life is on the way? Like a little lamb frolicking on a grassy knoll who senses that the next day is slaughter day... That's how I feel right now. Like a lamb soon to be going to the slaughter. BECAUSE, I'm in Brazil right now with my family and I still have three whole days left here and I'm having fun but I know that in just a few days I will be going back to: 1) a job I don't like 2)having to move by January 9th and not even having housing arrangements in SLC made 3)starting school again It is just like the end of the summer or Christmas break as a kid. I'm trying to just have fun and not think about what is coming but it is hard not to see the end of fun and freedom in sight. At least I'm going to Belize 10 days after getting back from Brazil. That what is keeping me alive right now. Happy end of the holiday season everyone! Enjoy your last days of freedom.

2008 Year-end Summary

Year-end Summary 2008 alcohol units consumed: 0 (excellent) cigarettes: 0 (v.g.) pounds lost: 15 (good) pounds re-gained: 20 (not good) pounds re-lost 5: (v.g)

Summary of 2008, a year that was mostly great...

January & February: I honestly can't remember ANYTHING about these two months, which actually makes my year end summary a bit easier. I know I was in school and working. It was probably super cold and snowy too. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. Oh wait...I just remembered something. I went to San Diego with my friends Heidi and Melissa from work. I can't remember if it was January or February but it was so much fun. Especially since we crossed over into Mexico for a day and went to Tijuana and Ensenada. I heart Mexico.

March: In March I road tripped Portugal, Spain, Morocco, and Gibraltar, U.K. with 4 of my spinster friends. Other than losing my luggage, getting stuck in the Holy Week crowds, and getting a flat tire on the Spinstermobile it was SO MUCH FUN.

April: In April I sold my little townhouse on Sienna Park Lane. I loved being a homeowner but I was ready to be not settled down for awhile. I especially didn't want to be stuck owning a house in Utah in a bad economy, so luckily I got out when things were still good. Yay for selling my house in less than 30 days!

This is when I started to dislike my job.

May: I spent May mostly moving out of my house. It was sad to leave it...especially because I just got done really decorating it (even though I lived there for three years) and then it was time to move. Because I hadn't found a place in SLC yet I moved all my stuff home to Idaho and spent a couple of weeks living in Provo with my Aunt Jenny. It was fun staying with her family but not fun commuting.

Dislike of job increases in May especially now that I sold my house and was officially unattached to Utah.

June: I used up all my vacation days in June so I could spend some time with my family and have a break from my unfulfilling job. My little brother Tyler got home from a mission to Ethiopia and Uganda on June 5th and then my parents headed to the MTC to prepare for their mission in the Brazil Fortaleza mission on June 21st. It was great to see Ty come home alive...especially now that we've heard his true mission stories but sad to see my parents go. I mean, I was happy for them but sad that we all have to be apart for 3 more years.

July & August: I gladly took a leave of absence from my work and I spent most of July and August in Paraguay working on some credits for my Public Health degree. It was a good experience and it was nice to get away from my job for awhile. On my way back from Paraguay I stopped off for a quick visit to my parents in Brazil. It was fun to see them adjusting to life in another country.

September: Back to school and work. Yuck.

September is when dislike for my job turned to hate. It was a long month.

October: During Fall break Kate, Christa and I headed to Costa Rica for a fun week of spinster travels. We had such a great adventure and the trip went really well despite the mudslides and lost luggage. And even if I had gotten swept away in a mudslide it would have been better than being at work.

November: Can't remember anything really except that I worked a ton...even on Thanksgiving Day. How sad and depressing.

December: Half a month working and hating life with the second half of the month spent in Brazil with my whole family and loving life. We had so much fun just being all together for the first time in six months. I'll post more on this later.

Overall, 2008 was a great year. I guess the theme for this year though could be "The year I started hating my job." I am SO READY for a change. I just don't know what yet. Hopefully I'll figure something out before I go completely insane. Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR everybody!

t h a n k f u l (times 7)

Seven things to be thankful for in no particular order... 1. We all got to Fortaleza safely and on time. We we're especially lucky to get Russell here on time (he came two days later then the rest of us) because he got delayed in Idaho Falls due to big time snow and fog. He was only supposed to have a 45 minute layover in Atlanta too, but luckily the flight out of Atlanta was delayed so he didn't miss it which was good since they only fly to Fortaleza every other day. And then on Russell's flight from Atlanta to Brazil some guy punched one of the flight attendants in the face so they almost had to emergency land in Miami but they decided to take him to Brazil to be arrested there instead. Haaaaa good luck getting a fair and fast trial in Brazil over the Christmas holiday!

2. And not only did we all make it safely and on time but so did ALL of our luggage (all 10 suitcases plus carry-ons)...even though we used my unlucky red luggage. I guess my luggage is only unlucky and gets lost when I really need what's in it and not when it contains things like tomato soup, Kleenex, and orange sticks.

3. And in all that luggage not one thing got broken or spilled of the 500 pounds of stuff we brought my parents. Not even the jars of dill pickles we brought...or the cocktail sauce, Christmas decorations, and other breakable things we packed. 4. And...I didn't even get busted by customs for bringing my mom and dad some milk, chocolate milk, sour cream, cheddar cheese, buttermilk, and cottage cheese. And everything stayed nice and cold in the cooler we packed. The only bad thing is that now they'll have to go through dairy withdrawals again. 5. Lee, Kim, Ty and I were on the first ever (as far as we know) direct flight from anywhere in the U.S. to Fortaleza, Brazil. We consider ourselves VERY lucky that they just added this direct flight. It saves us from having to fly all the way down to Southern Brazil from the U.S. and then all the way back up to Northern Brazil on a Brazilian airline as you used to have to do. That's about a 10 hour travel time savings (now it only takes about 18 hours) as well as about a 700 dollar savings. So yay for Delta! Before we left Atlanta they even had this big ribbon cutting ceremony for the inaugural flight. And then when we got to Fortaleza after landing they didn't pull to the gate immediately and then they got on the plane's intercom to tell us that it would be a few more minutes before we could go to the gate because they had to "baptize" our plane in honor of the inaugural flight. So we're sitting out on the tarmac and then a few firetrucks came out and doused the plane. It was pretty cool/funny. And then when we got into the airport they had this reception breakfast (see below) waiting for us. They had big dogs from Delta there all dressed up in formal wear as well as news reporters and people from the Fortaleza tourism board there to hand us each free beach bags, hats, and maps of Fortaleza. We would have felt like superstars except we were really tired and dirty from traveling.

6. I'm glad that I was able to get 195 little packages of candy from the U.S. (one for each of the missionaries in the Brazil, Fortaleza mission) made up from the candy I brought before my dad and brothers ate it all. It was quite a feat. We probably had close to 100 pounds of candy for the missionaries.

7. Thanks to my awesome new big fat carry-on that came with my luggage set I was even able to bring my mom a 220 volt, 6 quart crock pot. I've never before had a crock pot in my carry-on. I guess there's a first for everything!

t h a n k f u l

December 17, 2008... Today I am thankful that even though all of my clothes are ugly and I haven't been clothes shopping in FOREVER that I will just be with family in Brazil and won't have to worry about impressing anyone. It gives me less stress in packing...and I'm all about less stress lately.

Love...True Love...

You know love is true love when... You see someone (or something's faults) and still love them (or it). This weekend when I was in Idaho I was reminded that: 1) The roads are horrible there in the Winter. Especially the side roads. They don't plow or don't do it often enough because the roads stay covered in snow/slush longer than in Utah (or it may be because it is usually slightly warmer in Utah). Luckily usually people actually slow down, are courteous, and don't drive like idiots so we get by even with the bad roads. 2) The radio stations in SE Idaho are crappy and every time I'm home (in Idaho) I long for my Utah radio stations. Good thing I have my iPod. 3) Idaho Falls really is lacking on restaurants, big time. I notice this more ever since I sold my house and completely stopped cooking anything more complicated than Mac n' Cheese and ever since my mom moved to Brazil and I don't get her home cooking (although I do get Lee and Kim's home cooking quite often). BUT despite these three things that Idaho is lacking in I still LOVE Idaho. It is quiet there. It is peaceful. The only traffic is 17th Street at Christmastime and the Greenbelt on the 4th of July. My family is there. My extended family is there. People are nice. Life is a little slower. Life is a little less competitive (compare numbers of luxury cars in SE Idaho to SLC and you'll see what I mean...although Idaho guys do get pretty competitive with their trucks). Housing is cheaper in Idaho. I may even one day be able to buy another house. So it must be true love. I can see that Idaho is not perfect and yet I still love being there. Maybe part of it is just going where everybody (or at least somebody) knows my name...dum, dum, dum...and they're always glad I came (usually). I'm not intending this blog to turn into an Idaho Rocks Blog or anything. But I guess the worse things get for me here in Utah, the better Idaho seems. That's all.