Thursday, December 18, 2008

San Antonio, TX

New Orleans to San Antonio was a l-o-n-g drive. The drive was projected to take around 9 hours; however, this was complicated by the fact that we woke up at the crack of dawn and left early to get a good start... Well this was all a good plan, but by the time we got to about Baton Rouge, we realized we forgot some medications in the hotel. So we called the hotel, confirmed that they were there, and turned around to get them. So 2-3 hours later we were just about back to Baton Rouge. What a nightmare!

When we finally got to the hotel, got the dogs setteled in, and started to get comfortable, we were ready for a time out. Then it happened... they started power washing some buildings right outside our window. We called the front desk to find out when the air compressor would be turned off, and we found out that there was no city ordinance stopping them from working. We promptly asked for a room change and were put in the back of the hotel on a club level floor away from the noise.
We woke up early the next morning and decided we were going to take in all we could that day before heading to Las Cruces, New Mexico. We had a mexican breakfast at Mi Tierra cafe and bakery. The huevos rancheroes were amazing!
After having breakfast we decided to get some items from the bakery for breakfast the next day... fresh strawberry churros and cinnamon and sugar covered tortillas. We then figured we were ready to take in the Mexican market, river walk, Alamo, and other spanish missions in the area.
After our breakfast we went to the Mexican market. There we found all sorts of fun things. We felt like we had crossed the border. There were pots, ceramics, candies, catholic novelties, and everything all straight from Mexico.
Next we strolled along the riverwalk on our way to the Alamo. It was still early and a lot of the shops were not open, but the whole area was decorated for Christmas and was amazing. The river in San Antonio made Indy's canal walk look like a joke. The weather had turned from a beautiful 78 degrees to a cold, windy 34. We were ready to get inside and were lucky the Alamo was just a few blocks away.

The Alamo, where Santa Ana and the Mexican army defeated the Texan colinists, was beautiful. It is right downtown with the city all around. We made sure we brushed up on our history before visiting. I thought that the Texans won at the battle of the Alamo; however, now I know they held off Santa Ana and his armies for two of the three battles. Once the third commenced, however, the Alamo quickly fell and the colonists surrendered. However, this defeat helped garner support for the following battle of San Jacinto where the Mexican army was driven from Texas permitting the annexation of the area into the states. Just in case you were wondering... After visiting the Alamo, we went to the San Antonio Missions National Park.
These are some pictures of two of the missions we were able to go through. The missions were the towns that the Spanish established to convert the Indians to Catholicism. The missions include huge land areas where the inhabitants lived and worked to support the community. There were aqueducts, farms, and the whole nine yards. The large buildings were the churches and are still working today for the most part. San Antonio was a great place; we felt like we left the US for a day and spent the afternoon in old Mexico. After leaving San Antonio, we rushed through Las Cruces, NM and then Palm Springs, CA. We are now in San Francisco, CA spending some time with the Aarons. We look forward to seeing everyone for Christmas and will see you soon.

New Orleans, LA

Finally we arrived in New Orleans. We were expecting it to be all torn up and just a shadow of what it was pre-Katrina. However, we are happy to report that New Orleans is alive and well. We stayed down town and were able to walk to the French quarter, Mississippi River, and the surrounding area.

This was the view from our 21st floor window, looking toward the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico.

Everyone was really worried that we were going to get into a big ice/snow storm in Louisianna, and fortunatly we did... This is Fullerton Street complete with live music, christmas trees, food, snacks, and a snow storm every hour on the hour. We even ran into...

The "BIG" man himself. After visiting Fullerton street, we spent some time wandering around the French Quarter. We were amazed by the beautiful buildings and the size of the area. For some reason I always thought it was just Bourbon street. It is, however, about thirteen or so complete city blocks. I think you could spend days roaming the streets, but we only had one, so we tried to take in the highlights.



One place we knew we had to try, thanks to Annie, was cafe du monde, the original french cafe in New Orleans. They serve cafe au lait, hot chocolate, fresh orange juice and beignets.

It was easy to spot cafe du monde thanks to the huge line outside (come on folks, this isn't disneyland). Fortunatly the line went quick, and we were in beignet paradise in only a few minutes.
At this point, if you are not familiar with a beignet, you may be asking why would anyone wait in line for a beign-who's-it or what's-it. Well, a beignet (pronounced "bin-yay") is a french donut. They take the beignet dough, which is similar to a sweet bread dough, and fry it. The beignet is then topped with more powdered sugar than necessary and served warm with cafe au lait, hot chocolate, or orange juice.
This is Mark enjoying his a little too much... look at that mound of sugar!
After our little piece of heaven, we toured through Jackson square, visited the french market, and enjoyed the warm, sunny weather. Overall, New Orleans was a great stop. We were sad to leave but looking forward to a change from France to Spain/Mexico in our next stop, San Antonio.

Jackson, MS

Once we left Memphis we started our long treck through Mississippi. At one point it felt like we were stopping every hour, between the dogs and our 44 ounce Cokes. Mississippi is a pretty state, but there is not much going on, so you can imagine how happy we were to see a city of more than 2,000 people. We made a stop in Jackson to see the city, snap some pictures, and grab a bite to eat.Well, if you remember correctly, I have already told you about Mark and his state capitols. Here we go again... I have a suspicion the real reason we made a pit stop in Jackson was for this picture, so enjoy.
It didn't stop at just the capitol building. Once Mark saw the governor's mansion, he had to snap a few of it as well. Then it was on to New Orleans and a couple days of tourism.

Memphis, TN

Our first stop was Memphis. It was great weather, and the drive was beautiful. We followed the Mississippi river down and even stopped at the trail of tears rest stop and visitors center in Illinois. After catching up on our history, we made it to the point of Illinois and finally crossed the mighty Mississippi.

This is the double "M" pose we established for our crossing of the Mississippi into Memphis.

We first went to historic Beale street (home of the blues) and did some shopping and browsing through some of the old bars and music hot spots. This put us in a rockin' spirit, and we decided it was time to pay a visit to the king.


This is Elvis's Graceland from the front gate. It was all decorated for Christmas, complete with a larger than life nativity in the front yard.


Part of the tradition is to sign the front wall and pay tribute to the king. This is a small area outside the front gate to the mansion. There are names covering every square inch of the walls around graceland.


As we left Memphis, bound for New Orleans, we found a perfect place along the Mississippi for a dog walk and break. Daisy loves to run at top speed from one of us to the other, so we let her run the length of this grass patch before we got in the car for a long drive to New Orleans.


Saturday, December 13, 2008

We'll be home for Christmas...




Now you may be looking at this map thinking, wait a minute... I know there must be a better route than that. Well, you may be right. There is surly a shorter route, but I don't think it's better. We have been having a great time so far on our drive home. We left on Thursday (12/11/2008). Our first stop (B) ... Memphis, TN, home of the blues, jazz, and rock-n-roll.


Tuesday, December 9, 2008

26 and still got it...

On Saturday Mark and I celebrated my 26th birthday. We went shopping (my FAVORITE thing to do, especially when I get to spend money) and I got two new dresses and a really cute shirt. Next we went to Olive Garden for dinner, and then we went home and just relaxed (instead of studying for our final exams). On Sunday (my actual birthday) we just had a quiet day. But Mark made me my favorite cake, rainbow chip!
I didn't even get ready that day, since it was stake conference, or as Mark calls it, his free day. So I look really hot in the pictures Mark took of me with my hair not done and no make up on. Oh well, I still got it, right TJ?

Thanksgiving...and then some!

I am retarded and totally forgot to take pictures of Thanksgiving this year. The Morgans had us over, along with Ryan, TJ, and Evan. We ate, and talked, and played with the kids, and watched YouTube clips of Jessica Simpson singing live (she's so awesome...) and of course, Charlie bit me. We all had a lot of fun making fun of Jessica Simpson singing the little drummer boy, and perhaps even better, singing Who Will Save Your Soul with Jewel. Mark does a pretty good rendition of her, you'll all have to ask him to show you. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures that night...

But we had a post-Thanksgiving celebration with Ryan, TJ, and Evan, and this time, we took pictures. We had more yummy food (special requests for TJ's prosciuto wrapped asparagus), and I even cooked my first turkey ever! I was really quite proud of it.


We decorated the table with candles and one of Mark's favorites, a horn-of-copia... What's that, Mark? Horn of copia, like a horn with copious amounts of food in it, also known as a horn of plenty. That's what Mark thought people were saying when they said, "cornucopia." Funny...



And here are some cute pics of us enjoying our Post-Thanksgiving celebration, since we didn't get any pics of the "real deal"...

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

12 Days of Christmas TAG

OK, I got tagged by my cousin, Sara, so I thought I would give it a shot…

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me....

1 embarrassing moment:
You mean, aside from the whole VT fiasco?

2 best friends:
I can’t choose just two – so I’ll give a shout out to my sisters (Nikki and Angie), Cami, Elizabeth, and Bonnie

3 things you buy regularly:
Diet Coke from Speedy on my way home from school; Diet Dr. Pepper from Speedy on my way home from school; Diet Mountain Dew from Speedy on my way home from school

4 places you want to go (and might actually really go):
Paris, France; London, England; Venice and Rome, Italy; Santorini, Greek Isles (Someday… long after our $1 million debt is paid off)

5 goals for the upcoming year (that you might actually do):
I’m going to say amen to Sara’s work out five days a week; Stop procrastinating school stuff; Fix our back bedroom up (instead of using it as storage); Clean out the garage (so I can accomplish the previous goal and use it as storage instead); Sadly I can’t think of a fifth goal… Guess I’m just that close to perfection

6 things most people don't know about you:
I am very critical of myself and others (I guess you could say I am rather harsh and quite judgmental– Dang it, Mark! You rubbed off on me!); I LOVE rap music, especially Snoop Dogg and Eminem (I’m ghetto at heart… ‘Sup Vegas!); I can’t stand it when people speak improperly, and it infuriates me to see it in print (ie: the “Jacob” chapter in Breaking Dawn – for hell sakes, Stephenie, wouldn’t’ve is NOT a word!); I watch the Friends episodes like they are going out of style, and I am a Desperate Housewives JUNKIE; I used to be quite shy, but I have become very outspoken and even abrupt (not sure which part of that is the new news); I have an entire wardrobe for my doggies (yep, I’m one of those…)

7 things you would never say:
I second the curse word thing – never had one escape my lips… (That’s a damn lie!); No, let’s not go shopping…; No, let’s not go get a coke/go out to dinner…; No, I don’t want… (you fill in the blank); Yes, I do agree, Jessica and Ashlee Simpson are so talented when they sing together! (Seriously, go check out the YouTube video of Little Drummer Boy – good crap!); Oh, I already did that…; I am so sad I’ll be finished with school in just a year and a half – where did the time go?

8 things you love about the Christmas season:
Getting to go visit family; Getting time off school; Decorations; Christmas movies; Christmas albums (Sarah McLachlan’s is GREAT!); Shopping (after Thanksgiving Day sales) and being shopped for; Snow and cold weather (but I hate this after the Christmas season); The fact that church meetings are actually Christ-oriented around this time

9 things you say to your kids:
I got nothing… (And yes, I am aware that my grammar here is very improper...)

10 things you do a lot:
Laundry; Dishes; Blogging and blog stocking; Grocery shopping; House décor shopping; Clothes shopping; Online shopping; Go to IKEA (changed my mind about that place after I realized I am not 60 years old and it is OK if my house is not decorated in country like the rest of Indiana); Play with my dogs; Watch movies

11 things you would rather not live without: Family; Friends; My doggies; SLEEP (at least 8 hrs a night, but that never happens); A king sized bed (specifically, mine); My house; My car (which is large enough to transport our IKEA purchases, unlike our last vehicle); Diet Coke (or some other caffeinated diet drink other than Pepsi); McDonald’s (that’s sick, I know…); A good mall (although I’ve been living without this for two and a half years now); Movies/TV shows

12 people to tag: If your name is on my blog, I tagged you… That means you, Jena and Catherine! Sha, right! And monkeys can fly out of my butt!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

TWILIGHT


Well, it's official! TJ and I are going to see Twilight at midnight one week from tonight... My only beef about it is I am not all that thrilled about the actors they have chosen. I am especially not thrilled about their choice for Esme - she was on Grey's Anatomy and bugged the crap out of me on that show! And Bella kind of bugs, too. But hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised. I am (regardless of the actors) very much looking forward to our "girl's night out!" Thanks, TJ!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

I LOVE A GOOD MOVIE



My friend Bonnie had a tribute to her five fav's, and I thought it might be fun to see what everyone else's top 5 favorite movies are. Here are mine:

1. Pride and Prejudice (the A&E six video or two DVD version - about 5 hours and pretty much Jane Austen word for word, with Colin Firth, thank-you-very-much).

2. Sabrina, the "new" one with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond (the old one with Audrey Hepburn is also classic, as well as everything else she has been in).

3. French Kiss, with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline. Or maybe I should have put this second. I don't know why, but I have always loved it.

4. Same thing with Only You, Robert Downey Jr. and Marisa Tomei. Always loved it.

5. So I Married an Axe Murderer. An "original" Mike Myers. Enough said.

And a few that deserve a shout out:

Under the Tuscan Sun, Diane Lane and Sandra Oh.
Anything Audrey Hepburn.
Anything Harry Potter.


OK, I HAD to add this...

I asked Mark if he could tell me what my five favorite movies are. He said, "Friends disc one, Friends disc two, Friends disc three..." He bought me the series two Christmases ago, and that theme song resonates from our house almost daily (I usually listen/watch while I clean). So I guess that's his way of saying, "Yes, I am sick of Friends..." Just for the record, though, he was able to tell me my 5 favorite movies with very little prompting.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

AND THE SAGA CONTINUES...

Well, I thought I would blog a new "twist" to the ongoing saga of the unexpected visiting teachers. I knew I was totally rude last month (without meaning to be), but I guess I didn't expect that my stress that night would transcend into a relief society issue to be "resolved." I got a message from my relief society president tonight indicating that she had been looking through the visiting teaching records and noticed that I didn't have any visiting teachers assigned to me, and that needed to be "resolved." She wanted to know what my schedule was and where I live so that she could, "pair me up with someone who can be of service and who won't just be a pain in my neck..." Can you believe that?! So, obviously, they requested not to be my VTs anymore, since I am just so rude! I probably should feel bad (or embarassed), but I don't. I would have thought they would have been intuitive enough to realize that I was just extremely stressed out and in no fit state to entertain. Sheesh! Women can be so touchy!

Monday, November 3, 2008

WHO DUNNIT???

This year for Halloween, Ryan and TJ decided to host a murder mystery party. Everyone was given a character to portray, complete with personality description. Mark was Balihi, the Rogersandhammerstein Monster, and I was Dr. Angela Deth, D.D.S. These two characters were pretty fitting, I thought. Mark was supposed to portray a cross between Frankenstein (the monster part) and a musical theatre diva (divo?). I was Dr. Deth, a dentist who loves to put her patients under - six feet under. Mark's costume was a real trip. It consisted of light green face paint, two nasty "cuts," cat ears and tail (he supposedly starred in CATS), and a tutu - a tribute to his time on the stage. I went in goth, with a black and grey wig, white face, and black eye makeup and lipstick. I also had a nose ring (look closely) and several earrings. Mark wasn't too keen on wearing a typical pink, girly tutu, so I made him a red and black skull print tutu. Very masculine indeed.

Ryan and TJ were a mummy (King Aldrinktotat) and Lizzie Bordeaux, a woman who pledged her innocence on the charge that she killed both her parents during childhood.
Travis and Vicki were an asthmatic devil (namely, the Prince of Dimness - he wasn't altogether too bright) and Madame Garlique, a communicator of departed souls. They had the BEST props... Travis would pull out his "inhaler" and take a long puff anytime he was questioned or threatened, and Vicki would change the subject by fortune telling and tarot card reading.
Jacob and Brittany were Hannibal Schecter (doesn't the name say it all?) and Glumda, the Wicked Witch of Depressed.

And this is all of us together (Way to go on figuring out that camera's ten second timer, Mark!) posing in all of our evil glory...
I would definitely recommend hosting one of these parties, to all of you who have told me that you've been wanting to. It was a lot of fun (as long as the people you invite are as much fun as we all were)!

Halloween Divas

Last year Daisy and Starkisha were a pumpkin and a devil for Halloween. Even though their costumes were really just glorified t-shirts, they were still pretty expensive (good 'ol PetSmart). We thought we would try something else this year, since we noticed that Walmart now makes pet costumes, and for pretty dang cheap, too. So we bought two costumes, one skeleton and one witch. We intended the witch for Starkisha and the skeleton for Daisy...

Oh, and by the way, that mess you see in the background was the state of my house when my VT's tried to come over!!! I had just kicked a huge pile of clothes out to send to the laundry room, and Mark had a huge set up for working on his denture - what a nightmare...


Well, it seemed that the witch was quite a bit too small for Starkisha (it wouldn't snap together by about two inches!), so we tried to swap costumes and put Daisy in the witch and Starkisha in the skeleton to see if it was a little roomier.


Well, it was a little roomier. But apparently Starkisha is not a "small" dog anymore - her belly was way too big for both costumes, even though they fit her length-wise. Rather than try and exchange the size, we just returned the costumes. But we made sure to get pictures of them first. That's all that really matters anyway...