Florida Fun in the Sun

Background points: 

1. I don't like using last names in my blog posts, because I like to give people some resemblance of privacy, and I hate when people use my first and last names in blogs. You know, do unto others as you would have others do to you, and all that jazz. Now that you know that, you must also know: writing this blog was really weird, because I call Zach by his last name, probably 90% of the time.

#tbt #iwasfat #CSRM #missionaries

2. I haven't seen Zach since the mission, so about 3 years or so. We've kept in contact, text, and chat on the phone occasionally. I think my favorite thing to ask him is "Why aren't you married?" because he just laughs it off. Either way, we got along really well on the mission, and we still get along fabulously post-mission.

Storytime:

Zach told me earlier this year that he was planning on going to Austin sometime this summer, which made me super excited all year. But like every other time there's a possibility of us running into each other, something happened where he couldn't go anymore. Like how he purposefully goes to whichever mission reunion I'm not attending. (I'm on to you!) We were chatting on the phone one night, and he was just "why don't you come here?" and I immediately say "I'm not flying to tampa to spend a weekend with you." He's saying, "why not" and I'm saying many reasons, "It's going to be expensive. I don't have any time before you go off to school again. You're not really serious." We talked, and I looked at flights, hypothetically of course. It turns out, Houston to Tampa isn't that expensive for a weekend, and since I would be staying with his family, I would just be paying for airfare and if we went out to eat. It also turned out, there was a great weekend that worked perfectly for my schedule. I made him go ask his mom, for real, if it would be okay if I came to visit and verify he wasn't offering as an impulse thing. Once that was okay, I just had to think about it....and the real concern surfaced. If I went to visit him and stay with his family, everyone is going to think we're dating. I told him this and he just said "who cares? people are always going to think what they're going to think". Valid. I booked my flight. 

The only plan I had for the weekend was spending some quality time with Zach, which is exactly what happened....everything else was extra. I flew in Friday night, and he's messages me to see if it's okay that his mom comes along to pick me up from the airport with him. I'm like, "uhhhh....sure." It was a great decision. His mom, is super awesome, and I adore her. We picked up his oldest (maybe?) brother and went to dinner near Clearwater Beach, where one of his younger sisters and her friends joined us. It was great. I think the best part is when we got back, and I met his youngest brother Matt, who was just waking up from a too-long nap around 10ish. I greeted him, and he just gave me one of those i-just-woke-up-and-nothing-makes-sense looks. I laughed. The next best part was that Zach's mom more awake and ready to stay up than I was. I felt so un-cool.

Saturday morning started off wonderfully. I did my 5-mile run on a trail down the road from their house (see pic above). It was my first 5-mile run; I was worried I would die from the distance, and Zach's family was worried I'd die from heat and humidity. Personally, I think Florida was less humid than Texas that week. I also had to tell Zach to make sure I didn't make up excuses to not run. The sad thing is, it was my last long-distance run. I've been making tons of excuses since. #fail

I went running, while Zach and Matt went to help someone move. Zach's mom made an epic breakfast when we all got back. We headed to the beach, where Zach and Matt did an indoor surf thing, while I hung out and shopped a bit with Zach's mom. Then it was beach time. The sand was so white and the water was nice, warm, wonderful, and clean.

On the way to the beach, I was having quite an interesting family drama morning, because everyone was convinced my older sister was dead. I thought she had been taken. It was very dramatic, and quite entertaining. Turns out she was just asleep. It was so anticlimactic. It did leave us very intrigued for the morning.

I'm not sure if I should share this story, but I'm going to anyway, because I don't have many boundaries. Zach's brother, Matt is a teenagers. One of the teenager things I heard from him was him complaining that his parents "cared too much" and "believed in him too much". I laughed so hard. Fast forward a few weeks. I'm in the car with my mom and sister, and my mom is driving me insane about something. I'm about to open my mouth and say "STOP CARING SO MUCH", but instead I think of Matt and start laughing. It was a great moment. I'm such an adult.

Dang. My face looks nice and tan. Go me...Zach looks tan too.

After the beach, we went back to the house. Zach and I went shopping for groceries for dinner, which was great, because we were very inefficient and kept backtracking trying to find things on our shopping list. I got to request spaghetti with meatballs for dinner. Victory! To make dinner even better, the sister missionaries showed up. I LOVE MISSIONARIES! It was a great night. The evening ended with a stroll and lots of sweets from the Sponge Docks. Then I introduced them to The Mindy Project. There were a few moments where I questioned my decision, but I LOVE THE MINDY PROJECT! NO REGRETS!

Sunset at the Sponge Docks. Isn't it BEAUTIFUL!?!?!?!

Sunday Funday! Sunday was great. I wore my pretty new flower dress and had to borrow a safety pin to keep it appropriate. Clothing these days. geeze. Church was amazing. I was so uplifted. There were some great speakers, but my fav was a 15-year-old boy, who converted recently. The sunday school teacher was deaf, and had great insights into the book of Job. The Relief Society was full of women with wisdom. It was great. I didn't realize how much their words would impact me later the week. Seriously. There were a number of ladies battling cancer in the room, and they were talking about dealing with trials and cancer. I loved one older lady telling about when she got the call that she had cancer. She said something along the lines of, "When you get bad news like that, you take a moment to be miserable/upset/angry. No more than 24-hours. Then you have to get back and face it" She said she called her doctor back and said "ok. what are we going to do about it?" I'm not saying that everyone should deal with cancer or bad news this way, but I really liked the spirit behind her words.

We made sushi for lunch. Homemade sushi. I've never made homemade sushi before, and I felt super posh. It was awesome, and fun. After lunch, the only way to end a great weekend is with a great dessert! So I made Sister Bunker's birthday cookies (aka homemade oreos). They were a hit. Of course. You can't go wrong with those cookies. 

Overall, it was a great weekend. I needed it. I needed to relax, and spend some time with a friend. I had a great time. Maybe it won't take years before we see each other next. His mom asked me over the weekend what I thought about Zach, or if he's what I expected, or something like that. I've told him, and I told her: Zach is not what I thought he would be like outside of the mission. That may sound bad, but I mean it in the nicest way. You get to know and love fellow missionaries on your mission, and they just stay that way, in missionary-mode, in your mind forever. Zach just got more awesome since the mission, and I love it. 

To Paris, With (a Positive Feeling That is Not) Love

Anyone who knows me, knows I have a severe lovelike/hate relationship with France. One of the worst problems with France is so many people go there with high expectations. However, France isn't as great, romantic, or wonderful as people think, especially since most people's experience of France boils down to one city: Paris. This will be my third time in Paris, and I have corrected my previous errors and have come with very negative expectations. When things went wrong, it was to be expected. When something was nice, it was nicer than I anticipated, so I was quite happy. Don't get me wrong, Paris does two things amazingly that I love.

1. Crepes (and other pastries)
2. Versailles

Please note: Anytime you see this type of sign...it doesn't mean they will actually speak to you in English. It is more of a general statement that they understand English and will willingly communicate back to you, but not necessarily in English. Parisians generally like to pretend they don't speak English, and will *not* speak to you in English. What happens is you point, attempt words in French, and try to interpret what they are saying back to you in French. Maybe since I'm older or I now speak a second language, I feel like I was able to understand a lot more French that before. Go me! I also learned how to properly ask where the toilet is, instead of just saying "Toilet?" and trying to look confused.  #pointofpride

Day 1: We took the (super early) high-speed train from London to Paris, and I quite enjoyed it! No surprise, as I always prefer a train against a plane if the timing makes sense.We checked into our hostel, which was right around the corner to the train station, and went out for crepes before our tour. Now, I've been on a number of the Sandemans Free Tours throughout Europe, and I would highly recommend them. However, this may be the first time I've been genuinely bored during a tour. This is surprising because I'm a huge nerd, and I always stand at the front of the group to soak in as much learning as possible. France and Paris have such rich and crazy histories, but we didn't hear much about it. Towards the end of the tour, it started getting cold and rainy. Plus, the tour guide was a Londoner who openly admitted to preferring Paris, so there was obviously something wrong with her in the first place.

We bought umbrellas from a street vendor. Erica's lasted about an hour before she broke it when she was swinging it around. #badluck There was a weird ball being hung in the middle of the Eiffel Tower, which is really distracting. The guy who took the picture was a construction worker, hence the Eiffel Tower being decapitated at the top. #guillotine

I'm not even sure what's going on here, but I love it. 

Day 2: After Sacre Coeur, Saryah wanted to check out a cemetery. This led to an epic journey of trying to find a toilet, eating yummy pizza, and eating even yummier pastries. I will dream of that raspberry tartelette for the rest of my life. We found the cemetery, but there was only this bridge over it. We were about to begin a search for the entrance, but Saryah said "nah. This is good. I'm happy." I made her take a photo as proof we were there.

We were trying to find the metro and accidentally wandered through the red light district #oops

We decided to separate for a few hours because Erica wanted to see the Louvre, Saryah wanted to see the impressionist paintings at Musee de Orsay, and I wanted to go see an old church. Personally, I think I made the best choice, because I love old buildings more than art. However, I found this awesome painting at Saint-Sulpice. I have seen many old churches. Seriously. I've seen A LOT; I really love them. I have never seen them have a painting depicting Jesus Christ and God as two separate and distinct beings. I believe God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are three separate and distinct beings with one shared purpose, to help us return to live with God and Christ again. I was so happy to see that in the church!!! 

This is the view I found walking out the east side of Saint-Sulpice, and it was BEAUTIFUL! I did filter, because I wanted to make sure this photo came alive as much as the real view did for me.  I made it back to the hostel about half an hour later than we planned, but so did we all. We all arrived within 10 minutes of each other being late. #greatmindsthinkalike

Later that day we were walking around trying to find some food, and it started pouring rain. I think the best part was while we pulled out our umbrellas from our bags, the Frenchmen scattered like little ants. It was pure panic and chaos for the next few minutes. #giggles

Day 3: We debated this thoroughly last night. One of the most beautiful things about Versailles is walking the gardens and seeing Marie Antoinette's little cottage. We checked the weather last night and the forecast said 20% chance of rain in the low 70's. Saryah and I put our umbrellas and jackets in our purses for the next day, while Erica put her jacket and umbrella in her backpack...the same backpack she checked into luggage storage for the day. #badluck We hopped on the train and as we were travelling, we saw that we were travelling towards dark and ominous rain clouds. As soon as we walked off the train, it started to rain. Erica was wearing a white shirt. #badluck We decided to look for an open shop, but nothing was open so early. Instead we popped into a bakery to get some yummy food to bring and hide in Starbucks. We stayed in Starbucks for about an hour before we decided that we didn't want to go to Versailles in cold rainy weather, but I insisted we at least go and take pictures in front of Versailles. The picture above is a representation of Erica's bad luck for the day.

Since Versailles was a bust, we went back to downtown Paris with plans to eat lots of pastries. When we arrived, the sun came out and it became a beautiful day! We decided to stand in line for Sainte Chapelle, which was highly recommended to Erica. Evil Saryah with her student + EU status let her in for free. (This also happened at other museums where she was allowed to bypass the lines and just walk through). I had to pay. The stain-glass was EXQUISITE! But it was a little pricey just to walk into one room of stain-glass. We wandered around, played in a park, and saw the Statue of Liberty.

mini Statue of Liberty!

We then went our separate ways, as Erica and I headed to Ireland, and Saryah went on to Italy. But first we ate more pastries! But seriously. Our diet during out three days in Paris consisted of crepes and French pastries. #noregrets 

The Fault in Our Stars

Let's face the facts. There are 2 comedians in my life that can do no wrong. Mindy Kaling and Tina Fey. I've read both of their books. Correction....I've listened to their audio books, which they narrate. Brilliant. In Tina Fey's book Bossypants she talks about the rules of improv. As someone who did theatre all in junior high, i know exactly what she's talking about.

1. Always say yes. #bestruleever. 
2. There are no mistakes, only opportunities. 

Now someone who does not do theatre or has a boring life, should take note of these rules. Why? because they make life more interesting. You want to go to Puerto Rico this weekend? No = Oh, okay.#nofun #nofriends You want to go to Puerto Rico this weekend? Yes = party time. See? Flawless logic. Of course, this rule has it's limits to excude the bad immoral sneaky people things in life. ie. No prostitution, stealing, breaking the law (some exclusions do apply), killing people, etcetera. It's fun and it keeps life interesting when you are open to new opportunities.

You know those old tv's with the bunny ears that were small screens in a HUGE box from the old days? You know, the ones that should be in museums for people to look at and laugh at as they think about current technology? Yeah, that's the kind of  tv my family has my whole life, since probably the 80's. It is pretty ghetto-licous. But with parents who grew up with nothing, they just see a working television and no reason to spend money to buy another working television. Now, to present time, the tv remote has been lost, so my dad missed watching Dr. Who. This of course is more unthinkable and ridiculous than having a super old tv, so my dad immediately requested that my brother go help them pick out a new tv. Now this new tv is all hi-tech and HD. It has netflix and my dad decided to get Hulu Plus so he can watch current tv shows too. He's so funny.

Now, the weekend of the new TV (3/15-6) , I slept over at home because I had a long week and wanted to escape. Due to my long week, I was feeling ready for a good long cry, which is ideal when you are planning on setting aside time to read a very sad book. That's right, I do enjoy a good emotionally traumatic book every once in a while. I read The Fault In Our Stars. Don't be alarmed by any spoilers, because you know it's going to be sad based on the summary, so please, calm down. As I was reading this book, I was cry. It was a constant of tears streaming down my face while I sat on the couch downstairs in the living room. My mom walked by and of course interrupted my intense emotional connection with fictional characters to ask me if I was ok. I responded "Of course!" and she interrupted again saying "are you sure?".  Please note the difficulty that exists when there is a very pivotal part in a book and then your mom interrupts because she's concerned that you are sitting by yourself in tears. Please. Later she came by and said sometimes along the lines of  "you dont have to keep reading it if you dont want to" and I said "why would you say that? I love this book!" and she said "it doesn't look like it". Don't questions a girl crying over a book! It was a great book. I loved it. It touched my heart and I will forever remember it. (I was introduced to my love of heart wrenching books when I read The Book Thief....on an airplane, and ended up bawling my eyes out next to a stranger, and trying my hardest to maintain some composure and not freak out my anonymous neighbor. #amazingbooksenvokeextremereactions)

(3/17) So does ditching your family to hang out with family take away from how bad it is to ditch your family? The other week, I was talking to my Aunt Sharron and she invited me over for dinner, and my mom said it was fine and added something along the lines of she's no longer friends with Aunt Sharron for stealing me away. I dunno. But I went and it was funny because Aunt Sharron meant to call my mom the next day and invite the rest of the family over, but she forgot. lol. So I went and ate dinner with them and it was fun. One of Aunt Sharron's old mission companions (from Argentina) was there, and Uncle David's mom was there. So we had a fun time after dinner talking in Spanish as I realize how bad my Spanish skills have become. Whoops. It was  lot of fun and I really enjoy this side of my family.

Now for the Charles quote of the week: I'm not diabetic, im just really angry!

So for work, my boss has asked me to update my resume to include things that I have been working on for the past 10 months. It was stressful. The bonus to working on your resume at work is that the management can look at your resume with you and give you some good advice about what they would be looking for in a resume. It was pretty funny because the plant manager was like "you need to put that your an excel expert!" lol. I'm really not that great. but it make me laugh. He thinks I'm so great that he gave me what he calls a "mission impossible" which lead me to having to read computer coding in Microsoft Visual Basic. I honestly never thought I would have to look at computer code again after my freshman year of university. It was gross. I gave up after two days. They really weren't expecting me to figure it out, but they were hoping. Nope. Leave that German engineering to the Germans (it was a program written by one of our German facilities)

So I've been meaning to do Pottermore for a while. I signed up when I was in New Zealand with Saryah due to her intense peer pressure. But when my big sister sent me a link about what each house would read in real life, I realized, I need to finally be sorted. So I did. It took longer than expected to get to the chapter where I could get my wand and be sorted. It turns out I'm a Ravenclaw. Woot. (I was secretly hoping I would be a Slytherin and terrified I might be a closet Hufflepuff #hpdrama) It was a happy day.

On Wed night (3/20) after golf, I was called out. I got another calling, and was talking to one of the stake counselors. He was pretty funny, and it turns out I live close to him, so he asked if I had taken a walk around the lake my hotel. I said I have seen it and have been meaning to talk a walk around it, but I become a vegetable as soon as I get to my room after work. He called me a lazy bum, and I laughed at he truthful remark. Therefore, the next day, after picking up some books from the library, I went and read outside by the lake and enjoyed the sunshine during my lunch break.

Now speaking of books. One important thing you have to know is I am a recovering addict. I'm addicted to reading. Sometimes I fall off the wagon and cannot stop. That is what happened that week. I read 7 books in 6 days, and didn't sleep much. A book to me is like a pringles can to everyone. Once you pop the fun won't stop, aka, i cannot stop. I just get tooo curious that I have to know how it ends. It's bad. I'm working on it. Acknowledging you have a problem is the first step to recovery. Right? I have to practice putting down a book in the middle of it. It is hard, but I try.

This fact may have contributed to Saryah coming over and us not doing anything...together. She came over and found me on goodreads. Then instead of encouraging me to do something, she joined me and we looked at book lists of books we could read in the future. Eventually we determined we needed food, and I made speghetti. It was great. Then we watched The Hunger Games before bedtime, when she went to bed, and I stayed up reading a little later. The next day (3/23)  was PANCAKE DAY! at Stevie and Sonja's. It was fun. We ate lots of pancakes. Everyone had a party. Afterwards, Saryah and I went to Half-Priced Books. Yeah. Problem, remember? Then we were so tired, that we went back to my place and sat on the couch together and read our books. She left, and I continued to read. It was a very relaxing day.

Speaking of Saryah, she is moving far away. So sad. She has asked me to drive up with her to her new residence to keep her company on the long drive. May I just note the life parallel of how we roadtripped the North Island of New Zealand together May 2012, and we are roadtripping the Southwest together in April 2013. Adorable we are. The only problem is I will have to fly back, so I had to start looking at one way tickets back to Htown. I pressed a wrong button at one point and accidentally searched for a round trip ticket to find that the cheapest round-trip ticket would save me $70 and get me home on a direct flight rather than a connection flight. #savyshopper #likeaboss

Now for some angst. I was talking to a girl the other day and she's about a year or two older than me. In our conversation she said a couple of times the key phrases of  "when I grew up" and "in my generation" as in...we are from different generations. She referenced the fact she grew up without cell phones and had to use payphones. Ummm, yes, so did I. I was on my best behaviour and smiled the entire time, but in my head I felt very patronized. It was one of the most ridiculous things ever. #bahhumbug

My last story of the week comes from me working from home on my laptop one night, while listening to music on my personal laptop and thinking, why can't i connect the two laptop screens? (I have two screens at work) It is hard to go from working on two screens to one small laptop screen. #workangst

I Feel Infinite

Get ready. This is three weeks worth of life updates.

Tues (10/9) night. I was going to sleep after a long day of working and updating my blog. As I was dosing off to sleep...there is a knock on my door. I remember Sage saying how kids used to knock on Jon's door to annoy him. So I didn't open the door. Instead, I got my phone and was at the ready to call 911. Mainly because i'm on the bottom floor and i was scared they would try to break in. I said a prayer for safety and peace so i could get back to sleep. I woke up to a text from Lindsay saying that Sage slept over (on a worknight) and to come over cuz she was making cinnamon rolls. So I went over super confused to find out...it wasn't kids knocking on my door last night...it was sage. Her car broke down and a cop gave her a ride over to our apartment complex. Sadly, Lindsay burnt the cinnamon rolls #supergross #superfunny It was a very long 11-hour day at work. the good thing was, when I went home, Cody brought me some homemade apple pie! She's sooo nice!

Thursday (10/11) there was a vendor who came over to take us all to lunch for our vendor meeting. We went to eat at a "Texan" restaurant and i got some yummy sweet potato fries. Guess what they came with? MARSHMALLOW CREAM DIP!!!!!!!!!! #noway #dreamcomtrue It was amazing. I was very happy and ate a lot. I was also impressed with how knowledgeable I am. My SNL savvy-ness made me cool too as we chatted about the SNL take on the debates. Later in the day, we decided it was a good idea for Lindsay to throw snow peas at me over the cubicle wall so she didn't have to get up and walk them to me. Please realize...we do not have neighboring cubicles. There is a cube between us. lol. It was soooo funny, especially cuz the first time, it didnt make it into my cube. good thing the person in that cube was not there. lol.

New Life Goal: Make Family History COOL.

At the Gateway to the West

Friday (10/12), Sage, Lindsay, and I hopped in the car to start our epic drive to St. Louis. before we started our drive, Sage and I decided on a safe word for when we get super obnoxious to lindsay. Sage and I feed off each other's energy...so when one of us gets ridiculous...the other quickly follows and it escalates. lol. So for lindsay's sanity, we chose...Yogi Bear. And only had to use it twice the whole weekend. At one point...lindsay turned up the music so loud that sage and I couldnt be heard over the music. #ohwhatfunwehave :) We made good time to St. Louis thanks to Lindsay's driving. We went to a cute little place where it served cheese and pretzels...lindsay's fav german food. so we ate that. our food came but sage didnt eat....she said the food had too many colors. i've never heard of something like that before. we pulled out the we're-not-leaving-this-table-until-you-take-a-bite card. it was soooo funny. like a kid being scolded. She even made me take a bite of her food first to tell her it wasn't bad. So we were finally able to leave and go see The Perks of Being a Wallflower...something I've been wanting to see for WEEKS! and finally we are near a place with a cinema to see it #victory Of course we missed the previews....because we have bad luck like that. But the movie was AMAZING! I was skeptical when it began because all the scenes from the tailers were in the first part of the movie...so i didnt know if it got any better than that...but it did. It was heart-wrenchingly beautiful. I cried. And also received a firmer testimony of God's love for children, like Elder Oaks talked about during General Conference. We finished the drive to Sage's house and Sage's mom has rice crispy treats and homemade chocolate chip cookies waiting for us when we arrive.#goodsurprise

Botanical Gardens

Saturday (10/13) Sage's mom made a HUGE brunch for us. There were homemade hashbrowns, chocolate chip pancakes and juice! I was sooo stuffed afterwards. plus i found out we share the same birthday. #birthdayfriendsforever Lindsay and I took off into St. Louis to do some sightseeing while Sage spent time with her family. We went to the Gateway Arch and it was cool. I felt like i was going up in an alien spaceship going to the top. It was cool. The museum in there was super cool too. Then we went to the botanical gardens. it was beautiful. and the sun came out for us too. We ate sushi for dinner and it was really good. We saw the Old Cathedral and it was gorgeous. There was mass going on, so we were discouraged from taking pictures but we went in for a few moments. Wonderful. It was a long day of sightseeing and we were so tired because it was chilly and the getting dark. Our phones were slowly dying so we decided to get back to sage's with batter power. We made it back and were so tired that we just turned on the tv and watched Step it. The first one was terrible. the second one was pretty legit. I recounted to Lindsay about my times dancing in The Streets and how I had to inspire a crowd in a club to let me and my crew dance even though we were different :)

Sunday (10/14) morning, Sage's mom made another huge breakfast and stuffed me up soooo full. It was a lazy day and it was nice. we spend the day in st. louis before our drive home to Sedalia. It was a really fun weekend meeting Sage's AWESOME family and hanging out in a home again.

Monday (10/15) - Friday (19)  was my kaizen event that i was hosting. So for a week, I'm in charge of a team to implement the inventory management kanban system that i've been working on the past 6-7 weeks. it was soooo stressful. It was a week full of being at work from about 7am-6pm or later to get stuff done. Half my team was in and out. I was sooooo busy that i didnt have time to really talk to my family or text anyone. I also realized I'm not made to do manual labor full time. but it was fun to be in the factory getting dirty and working hard. but i was soooooo tired. By friday I was about to die. Friday, Lindsay took off to Chicago and Sage and I made our own epic plans. We decided to go see Pitch Perfect. I had to wait for one of the guys to return the company car so i could have it for the weekend. Around 6:30, I called him to remind him to hurry back. He told me that he returned the car, but forgot to return the car keys. #genius so I had no time between getting off work and the movie to eat...so i made a judgment call with the help of sage for what to get for dinner....decision: hot chocolate and yummy starbucks sweet bread. #thisiswhyimgainingweight When I got to the cinema...there was a line. Seriously. It was out to the middle of the parking lot. I asked the people ahead of me if that was normal. it was not. Sage found me when i was almost at the front. haha. so we went in....missing the previews and probably the first few minutes of the movie. BEST MOVIE EVER. I almost peed my pants laughing the whole time #iatemytwininthewomb #crushedit #ihaveafatheart The movie was so good we were on a movie high all night long. we got back to my apartment and danced in the parking lot as sage blasted It's Time by Imagine Dragons. It was a beautiful expression of joy :) Then we kept being giggly all night and went out to get ice cream and snacks from fast food places....
Me: mcdonalds makes shakes? are they good?
Sage: yeah. i had one in high school

:/

...and watched The Mindy Project. We also made some new goals that will forever change our lives :) Can I just say....Pitch Perfect is Hot Rod kind of funny. So if you like Hot Rod...i think you'll like Pitch Perfect.

Saturday (10/20) I woke up a little later than I wanted and i went to Wal-Mart because I decided I needed a new color of lipstick to spunk up my morning. I went dark this time. I drove up to Independence and thought that all the church history sites where really close by....false. so I road tripped it further north to see some sights. I enjoyed the brisk autumn air and beautiful scenery of some land the church owns. I loved seeing the cornerstones for the Far West Temple that has never been build and the American flag flying proudly on the grounds. I got a snack at the little store there because i had no time to stop and eat (i was on a strict schedule). I was able to visit Liberty Jail and reflect one my favourite revelations from a modern day prophet. The prophet Joseph Smith (please note: Mormons do not worship Joseph Smith) received it after being falsely imprisoned for months in a cold gross prison...he received this comfort from our Saviour, Jesus Christ:

And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he? 

I was then able to attend the Saturday night session of stake conference in Warrensburg, which was nice. 

Sunday (20/21). I went to the Sunday session of Stake Conference, which was really great. My favourite part what when one of the speakers spoke about how we need to re-evaluate our lives. I dont know what he said specifically that made me pause, but I loved it. I saw my Institute teacher (aka Bible Study teacher), and she invited me to have dinner with her family after church. So I went over and tried my best to not be awkward. It was cool because her husband is the brother of my family's home teacher from when I was growing up. It was a lot of fun and everyone was soooo nice. It was nice to have a homecooked dinner. I went home because I was so exhausted, but I decided to go over to Sage's later that night to say hi and finally see her place. #badidea after hanging out for a bit, I wanted to get home in time for a tv show so I left and the street was not well lit, so I felt for my keys, pressed the unlock button and hopped in the car. I put the key in the ignition and was a little confused when the engine wasnt starting. I decided to pull the key out and do it again....only to realize the key wasn't coming out. Sage came out to help try and get the key out (it turns out it was not the actual key but a decorative key I got in mexico where they take an old key and engrave your name into it. So we got some soap and pliers to pull the key out....and it broke the key off in the ignition. I called a locksmith and he was with us from about 2.5 hours trying stuff only to realize that the key is really in there. ugh. i was trying not to cry and trying to convince myself  i could not get fired for this, even though my brain was not very convinced. I sent an email to my boss to call me in the morning, and texted lindsay to tell her she needed to pick me up in the morning. Sage had to drive me home.

Monday morning I got to work and went to talk to my not-really-boss-but-the-guy-who-looks-after-us-best, Mike. He laughed at my story, which made me feel better. But I felt so bad that I avoided the lady who is the keeper of the keys. By the end of the day I found out that the whole office knew...and the factory knew. Everyone was convinced that Sage and I were high or that I was super drunk because getting the wrong key stuck in the ignition is so dumb that you had to be under the influence of something to do something so stupid. I felt horrible, embarrassed and like and idiot. So I went to the store and bought stuff to make cupcakes. I promised the guys a few weeks ago I would make them cupcakes, so i made them, and everyone else in the office cupcakes to ease my troubled mind and heart...and to hopefully earn some goodwill. So the week was long and hard. I had a huge presentation on Tuesday about my project so far and I felt like I will not be remembered for my awesome work on this project, but will forever be the girl who broke the car. I was depressing and discouraging.

Tuesday (10/23) night I got a late night text from Lindsay asking if I was awake....I was totally watching alias on netflix :) Her neighbors were being loud, like always and she was pretty sure that the boyfriend was beating the girl, so she called the landlord to complain. Moments later they came knocking on her door (and she actually openned the door) and yelled at her. Then they went upstairs and called the cops on her, lying and saying she came upstairs to yell at them. Because they sound crazy, Alex (her bf) and I were in agreement that she needed to get out of there, so she came over and slept over. I drove over to her building because it was cold and dark to pick her up only to have her creepy upstairs neighbor blatantly creepily watch us through the window. #creeperalert

Thursday (10/25) Lindsay and I matched today. As in, we had on red-orange tops that were the exact same color and black skinny jeans. We had to train some people on the Kanban system, so when we put on our matching steal toed sneakers....it was too much. LOL. lindsay was freaking out and everyone thought we were so cute. hahaha i had a nice long chat with my dad, something time has not allowed me in a while. Lindsay called and asked me to help her move, because she got a new apartment because of the scary neighbors. So we moved her. Then it was tv night and sage came over and we had some social time. #goodtimes

After work on Friday (10/26), I took our new Ford Escape and drove to Nauvoo. I asked Lindsay to ask permission to use the car, because i'm pretty sure they'll never let me touch it again, and she agreed. #goodfriend I checked into my hotel and was glad i didnt rely on the GPS on my phone because there were some areas on the drive where I had no data connection. Luckily, I printed out directions earlier, but forgot how difficult this archaic way of following directions could be ;) I went to see the Nauvoo temple. I almost hit some guys dressed in all black on a not lit street, and was scared they would kill me as revenge. (yes....i have an overactive imagination that makes me freak out more than normal people). The temple was GORGEOUS and was the first time I ever saw it. After the Saints left Nauvoo to head west to Utah, mobs destroyed the temple and someone burned it down. It has been recently that the church reconstructed the temple as it once was. There is nothing like staring up at the temple to calm my troubled heart and soul after a stressful week. I love the temple! So I went back to my hotel afterwards and read a book, because we are too plugged into the internet some days.

I remember loving this statue of a family when I was a little girl,
and i still think it's wonderful. Families can be together forever :)

Saturday (10/27). I got a late start because i stayed up too late finishing my book. So I had a waffle for breakfast at the hotel, checked out and left to go straight to the visitor's center. However, Google believes the Visitor's Center is on the other side of the Mississippi River than it is. So i went to a different town, and there is no bridge in the town to cross...so I had to drive another 40 minutes, and go over a toll bridge to get to Nauvoo. I should have just gone the way I went last night, but Google said this way was faster. #cruelfate. I took pictures of the temple during the daytime. I went on a horse drawn carriage ride tour of the historic town and it was soo nice. they had quilts for you to use because it was cold and the winds off the Mississippi River are very cold.  I went to the little bakery  and they had little gingerbread cookies for you to have. #yum I toured some of the buildings, but didnt have nearly enough time. I remember coming here when I was little, and it was summer so we walked all around. But this time it was sooo cold. I had on my earmuffs, scarf, winter coat, and boots. #supercold

After seeing some buildings I went to visit Carthage Jail. For yall not in the know with LDS Church History, Carthage Jail is where the prophet Joseph Smith and his brother were killed by a mob while, once again being falsely charged, waiting their trial. It was an experience and one of the ladies there was so kind and shared such a powerful testimony of the divinity of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the calling that Joseph Smith had to restore Christ's church onto the earth. I then drove back to Nauvoo, even though the sightseeing places were closed, you could still drive around the town. What I really wanted to do was to take myself back to imagine what it would be like to have to leave this beautiful town. LDS History Lesson: For early church members, leaving their homes was not new. They had left Ohio because it was not safe for them. There was an extermination act signed by Missouri's Governor Boggs forcing church members to leave their homes in the dead of winter from their homes in Missouri, and they were allowed a swampy marshland in Illinois to start a life again. Church members drained the area and named it Nauvoo and started a town where they were able to live in peace for some years. Then, once again, due to mobs, they left their homes. I walked the new Trail of Hope with leads you from the town to the Mississippi River, where they would have had to cross to start their journey westward to find a new home. It was cold, but I tried to imagine what it would be like to leave your home and all your possessions because you could not take them with you. As you walk away, the beautiful Nauvoo temple, which was built with so much love and faith, fades into the distance. It was a moving experience I will never forget as I made it to the banks of the river and looked westward, as they once did, with faith that God will always direct our lives and our paths. With these thoughts on my mind, I made my journey back to Sedalia and felt spiritually prepared for Sunday.

Sunday (10/28) was great. I woke up early and wrote down some thoughts for my talk in church. I was excited because I was asked to talk about my mission. Talk about my mission? BEST TOPIC EVER! My dad and lil sister both commented on how I dont even need to write anything down because I could talk forever about my mission #truestory but I felt impressed to write some thoughts down so I would not ramble. I was the second talk, and I went over on my time limit, but really, i was so happy and loved every minute of it. Then in Relief Society, they forgot to ask someone to give the lesson, so I volunteered. We had a Q&A about being a missionary, and more specifically, a sister missionary. It was AMAZING! I loved it. I felt wonderful and fell more in love with my life. It's amazing how well our Father in Heaven knows our hearts and what we need. I felt so blessed for the opportunity to share something I love so much with others. #bestsundayever

Note: I will be an auntie at 10am (central time) on Friday. #icantwait  

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!

I was picked up at the airport Thursday night (Aug 30th) by my big bro. Best broseph ever! because it was pretty much midnight. He drove me home; when we arrived, we went straight to my lil sis' room, sat on her bed and just hung out for a while chatting because we haven't been together for months! It was then bedtime, so I went to my room...only to realize that I was not tired and so I watched Netflix! It was awesome, and then my mom snuck into my room before work and we got to chat it up! Coolest mom ever. Then Dad woke up shortly later and we hung out for a bit. Then we woke up my brother and sister and we rodetripped upto the BLUEBELL CREAMERY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Best family trip. We drove up and had a tour. at the end of the tour you get as many samples as you want and then a GIANT cup of ice cream of the flavor of your choice. I highly recommend everyone going to check it out :)

I then got reunited with my good friend Netflix and we had a good time together watching, The Glades. Awesome. Until I fell asleep and ended up sleeping about 12 hours. I woke up. I looked at my watch to see it was 6 o'clock. I went out of my room and my parents were awake. I felt super disoriented and had to clarify if it was Friday night or Saturday morning. They told me it was Saturday morning. The jetlag is messing with my mind!

mom at work

Saturday was mom's day. we went to get mani/pedis. mom, me, and my brother went to get her a iPhone 4S. my mom officially has the coolest phone out of everyone in my family. truth.  we got sweets and partied it up. The entire day dad was at home bbq-ing. Athena and Jay showed up. It was so fun. Cool big sister alert! Jay and I got to cook together...aka...he cut up some sweet potatoes and i cut some veggies to saute. It was a great bonding experience. Then Jax and Davey showed up. The party was really getting started. Then stevie and sonja showed up with the kids! It was awesome cuz i hadn't actually seen the little one because she was born while i was on the mission. yay! it was an awesome family get-together. we seriously had too much fun. it should be illegal how much fun we had.  Everyone eventually left and mom, dad, saryah, and i decided to watch The Hunger Games! then Hollister decided to visit, so i left the movie to talk with her. it was sooo nice catching up. bffs are great.

 Sunday was relaxing. Church was lovely. The day was super relaxing. Monday was Labor Day and we got to party it up at home and I got to run some errands that I've been wanting to do since I got back to the states. Tuesday, I took mom to work and got to help with her classroom. it was so cute. my mom is adorable! I got a haircut before heading off to the airport and flying to Kansas City. (which is not in Kansas). I finally got to use my Nook, which was exciting. The guy who sat next to my on the airport was super bro. He was like a 40 year-old frat boy. He told me stories a lot of very interesting stories. I just smiled and nodded, feeling bad for his sad life choices. Nevertheless, he was entertaining. I then waited after getting my luggage for Lindsay's flight to get in. We met up and it was weird that we haven't been together for so long. We hoped on the bus to take us to the rental vehicles. We were told we might not get the Jeep Liberty because they needed to do some general maintenance. My response? Give me Liberty or give me Death! We got the Liberty, after having to wander around the lot clicking the key button trying to find the car. We started driving and had to stop shortly after because we were starving and Lindsay LOVES Wendy's. She got her food quickly but they had to make mine...then the guy forgot to give me my food. So I had to go and get it later. The guy felt bad and offered me a frosty, i said "make it two", so Lindsay and I got free Frosties. WIN! We got into Sedalia around 9pm. We went to Lindsay's place first...and there was no key for her to get in. I went to my place and there was no key box either. We went to the front office and no one was there. We called the number, left a message and then went to the Holiday Inn to have a place to sleep.  They were booked up for the night. We were about to go to a different hotel, but then the apartment manager called us back. Apologized. and promised someone will be there to let us into our place. We got in and I went to Walmart to get some hangers and stuff for breakfast tomorrow.

Wednesday and Thurdsay was full of LEAN and KANBAN training and afternoons were filled with going to Walmart for things we don't have, food, and watching cable. I haven't had cable since 2008! It's quite a treat! We also made a friend. Her name is Sage and she's a vegetarian and from St. Louis! I didn't make that up. So friday, we had a girls night into Columbia (where Mizzu is) to see Batman (because Lindsay still hadn't seen it) and have some dinner. It was a nice night out.

Slacklining = legendary

Saturday was a day to sleep in and the afternoon we went out with Sage and did some slacklining!!!!!! I only just heard about it when I was in Germany...and now people know about it in Missouri! Crazy. WE spend lots of time doing it and by the time we were over....I could get up on my own and take a step. It was magical. I felt so accomplished.

Sunday I went to the family ward in the morning and the single's branch. it was a long day but very uplifting. Tuesday was Taco Tuesday....so we went there for lunch. believe it or not, the crispy tacos were yummy. I was quite happy. Wednesday was not so great. I was feeling sick and nauseous all day. Kim from work told me I looked pale. I went home and went to bed early. I woke up to Lindsay calling saying she's been sick all morning, so she called us in sick and i proceeded to sleep for 14 hours straight. I do remember solving a murder mystery in my dreams. So even when I'm sick I'm productive. It's moments like this when I wish that I lived at home so someone to take care of me! So I cuddled in a blanket and watch a marathon of The Mentalist on TNT. Love cable. As long at I'm not standing up I don't feel too bad. i hate being sick. it's such a waste of time. My personal theory is that when i'm super busy, my body has no time to get sick, but as soon as life slows down, my body is catching up with me. Life in Missouri is definitely different than I'm used to. Putting a city girl in a small town. But it's nice to slow down for a little bit. I think the saddest part was on Sunday when a lady asked me if I was dating someone and I said no and she said, "well, you probably wont find anyone out here". Sad.

ps. i just had to order exercise shoes online because there is no where to get them around here and shoe shopping for running shoes on the weekend isn't my idea of fun. 

Skating Through Life

so to offset the fact that i dont want to go back to the states, im trying to think of things im excited for:
1. not having to worry about buying a carbonated drink on accident. seriously, i ask for an orange juice and sometimes i'll get some carbonated orange drink that makes me want to throw up.
2. my chi working again. it doesn't work in mainland europe :/
3. mexican food.
4. not having to stay up super late to talk to people in the states.
5. washer & dryer in my apartment

To be honest, I love everything about living in Munich. I really cannot complain. Lindsay and I were talking Monday night about how blessed we are. I was saying that my biggest complaint was that I was too tired to go rollerblading that night. If that's my biggest issue, life has to be pretty good.

it turns out stracciatella our ice cream of choice

So something that Lindsay and I have discovered is that people in Munich are dress super casual for work. As in, it's hard to tell if people are just hanging out or going to work. There are people who show up in just a t-shirt and jeans. Others have a nice button up shirt and jeans, but jeans are very much the norm. It's super nice. I love it. Everyday is "casual Friday". I'm a believer that you work better when you're comfortable. Anyways, I also love that Munich is so close to lots of lakes. After work on Friday, Petra and I went off to Lake Starnberger. It was beautiful. It was a cool day in the 70's, which made the water seem as cold as it really is. Nevertheless, we went into the water, and Petra thought my oh-man-it's-cold faces were funny. We stayed out for a few hours till it got too cold to stay out, and went back. Then I was too tired to go out that night, so I had a quiet night in and went to bed early.

Saturday, Jamie and I spend the day together exploring the town. We did a Third Reich tour with the coolest tour guide, Ian. We walked around the city as he showed us important monuments and told us stories. I'm not going to lie, history is pretty much my fav subject. I would have gotten a degree in it, if I believed in liberal arts degrees. So my nerdy love was well fed, after I escaped the preppy college kid who kept on wanting to talk to Jamie (who I was with). I then had to escape the conversation and walk by the British (love!!!) tour guide so he could answer all my questions, and I could listen to other people's questions too. There was also this older American couple, who were soooo American. It was embarrassing. Side note: the only problem with doing touristy things, is that you're surrounded by tourists. It sounds like I'm being a little hypocritical because I am a tourist, but I try my best not to act like one, especially an American tourist (the worst!). Friendships have ended over things like this. Back to the story: It was a great tour. We then walked back to the city centre after stopping off at the White Rose Memorial in front of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. We crossed the street and I saw a girl waving at me, so I waved back awkwardly. She kept waving, so I turned to Jamie to point it out, and Jamie knew the girl. It was Precious! (who is now one of my cool new friends). We were talking and we saw this cute little girl taking pics with an umbrella on a fountain. Of course, we had to copy her :) It was fun. Then we took a bike tour, which was soooo BORING until the last one hour. That means, 75% of the tour was lame, especially because I think the FREE walking tour was a lot better and more informative. That's a bad grade. It was overall a good day. Especially since we got some Eis from Jamie and my fav Eis shop. So good :)

Sunday was a good day. It was an exhausting day, because I woke up tired. We had an amazing talk on grace and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. My fav part was when he was talking about how the Lord strengthens us day by day through His love and grace. I loved it. yay! The best part had to be when our Relief Society teacher gave us chocolate & peanut butter cookies. Her husband just got back from a trip to the states, and she gave him a large list of things she wanted so she can bake American food. SOOOO GOOD!!!! Through a miracle, I managed to make it home safely without dying. I was SO TIRED! I fell asleep after forcing myself to eat some food (so I wouldnt wake up starving). I put my alarm on so I wouldn't sleep too long, but when my alarm went off 2 hours later, I wanted to break my phone because I was still tired. I forced myself awake, but I was super groggy the rest of the night anyways. But I managed to make it to the YSA dinner, which I was happy about. We had cafe rio food. The meat was totally worth the trip. I even found out the secret seasoning. Using a crock-pot and soaking the pork in dr. pepper with chili powder. I can't wait to try it! Also, Nathan had some visitors that he met through MormonExplorer.com, and they were crashing at his place. Not going to lie, I want to try it out. I've been wanting to try out Couch Surfing, but am just too nervous. Strangers are scary, but church members are like extended family you just haven't met yet. #truestory

 Monday was AWESOME! So my computer has a great translation option, which is helpful for all the German websites that I interact with. Munich does this awesome thing where every Monday night during the summer, you can go rollerblading through the city, and they shut down streets and have cops blocking things for you. We thought it started at 7. Turns out it was a bad translation. The location (right at the Deutsches Museum) opens up at 7. But we didn't know that so we got there at 6:20pm to rent some free rollerblades, only to find out we were super early because the rollerblading doesn't really start till 9pm. So we went and laid down in the grass to enjoy the beautiful weather and doze off till 7. I really didn't want to go because I was so tired. Lindsay convinced me to go, so I did so reluctantly. Little did I know, our views of this night were going to
completely flip. We got our blades, and I remember being good at rollerblading when I was little, but I was wobbling and Lindsay was freaking out that she was going to die. I got some knee pads, and Lindsay got some knee, elbow, and wrist pads. (she wanted to be prepared.) The event started about 9:15pm, and we were some of the first people. There were thousands of people and it was sooo cool! I lost Lindsay during a downhill slope in the street. I was making a video and then realized I kept going faster and other people were slowing down and I was going to die. Then I found her and she told me she fell (fall #1). The next downhill, one of the event helpers offered to help me with the slope, so I grabbed onto him and he controlled our speed down the hill. This hill became Lindsays fall #2. I had to consciously go slow so I wouldn't leave Lindsay behind. She was so tense and nervous after her two falls, being really scared that more slopes in the road would be ahead. Little did she know fall #3 was coming, not from a slope, but because someone ran into her. Her sock had came off her foot, so we paused so she could fix it. Then we realized, we were at the end of the group. Literally. There were people trying to get you to go faster; the problem being, Lindsay couldn't go any faster, she was at top speed. Luckily, someone offered her an arm and skated her faster so she wasn't the last person. Then I lost Lindsay again, and when I found her she was with a helper named, Peter. We called him Peter Pan, and Lindsay was his Wendy, because when he was helping her, she could fly! She told him she would be okay for the rest of the way because the end was in sight, like 50 feet away. Then came fall #4. LOLZ. I was in high spirits and really happy that we did it. Lindsay on the other hand vowed to never rollerblade again. It was a fun night, one of the best in Munich. I can't believe it's taken us this long to do it. Funny comment from Monday night about the spiders around out metro stop: "The spiders are having babies. They're like muppet babies but scary!"

Tuesday joke of the day: Lindsay and I were having dinner at the Augustiner. The problem with this is it's a total Mean Girls lunch room experience. You have your food and then you have to wander through the tables to find someone who who has a free seat and is willing to accept you to their table. it took us a while. But as we were talking, Lindsay was talking about a movie title, "the road to....the road to...something that starts with a 'D'". My response..."Damascus!" Lol. Bible jokes are the best :) 

My Life's Constant

Moment in time: Germany just kick Greece's butt and is on their way to the semi-finals in the Euro Cup. Woot.

I've been wanting Union Jack shoes for YEARS
they didnt have them in my size :(

It's been a long week. I was sent to Redditch for the week to work on a new project. It is interesting and fun. And I'm pretty sure I suggested that we all have a meeting in two weeks in a different part of Germany, so i'm going to have to travel again. Which means, Redditch this week. and i'm in London for the weekend because it was pointless to fly to Munich only to turn around and fly back for my project meeting in London next week. Then my suggested trip to one part of Munich and then the following week i'll be in Schopfheim, Germany (which is where Germany, Switzerland, and France meet up). With all the travelling, I'm finally understanding what my dad would say when he got back from business trips. I would always ask, "what did you see?!?!?!" and he would say "not much, I go to work, eat dinner, and then back to the hotel". I never understood why he didn't have tons of time to sight-see. i get it now.

With all this travel, my new motto is "home is where my suitcase is". For the past four Sundays I've been travelling. These are the locations because some one asked earlier.

1. New Zealand to Texas
2. Texas to Missouri
3. Missouri to Germany
4. Germany to England

When I was in New Zealand, Saryah thought it was weird (and probably a little annoying) with how I wanted to go to church every Sunday and then something would happen so we couldn't and I would be upset. Luckily on my last Sunday there, I was leaving in the evening, so Saryah & I were able to make it to sacrament. It was amazing. I was so overwhelmed with how peaceful and wonderful it was to be at church. 

When I landed in Germany, I literally put my stuff in my flat, had a 5 minute shower and left to try and find the church. When I saw it I just burst into smiles. I was smiling all through the German meeting. Luckily, they had someone translating, but I was trying not to giggle as I attempted to sing the hymns in German. It was wonderful. Then I went back that night for a Young Single Adults (YSA) dinner they were having. Then I went back for the YSA Family Home Evening on Monday night. One of the girls saw me there and said "you've been here two days and have already come to church 3 times" to which one person said "she has her priorities straight".  

When I flew into London on Sunday, I made sure to get a train ticket that would give me enough time to go to church before having to head off to Redditch. I was in a state of bliss the whole time I was in church. I was able to answer questions, sing my fav songs, and love life.

I don't talk about this to show you that I'm obsessed with going to church or that I'm creepy weird. I did these things because with all the crazy moving, living out of a suitcase, being in a different place, and always meeting new people...there is one constant in my life. Always. No matter where I am or what's going on in my life, the gospel of Jesus Christ and His church is there, and it's the same no matter what country or language it is. The Holy Spirit is there, testifying of the truths that are being taught. There is a peace that enters into my soul when I walk through the doors. It realigns me after a week of awkward moments or complete cluelessness or exhaustion. It doesn't matter where I am in the world or whether or not I speak the language, the Spirit has no language barriers, and I know I'm surrounded by people who feel the same way. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the same no matter where you or I are in the world, and I know that it is Christ's church. 

The Awkward Moments of My Life

Oh the many embarrassing/awkward moments of starting a new job in a foriegn country where you dont speak the language. I'm going to have so many of those moments in the coming year. yay me.

Maybe my fav moment of the week: Someone approached me as I was getting off the metro to go to work and started speaking to me in German. Instead of saying "I dont speak English", I got tongue-tied, didnt conjugate, and said "you dont speak german". The guy gave me a really weird look, and I quickly walked off because I felt so awkward.

I went grocery shopping, and, SURPRISE! everything is in German. I had milk and cheese on my grocery list. It was a lot more difficult than I thought. Cheeses look surprisingly alike. So I just had to look at it and determine if I liked how it looked. Same with the milk. I did notice that one milk said "Soya" and I stayed away from that. But grocery shopping was hard. I didn't get the cheese I wanted in the end. It's good cheese, but not what I was planning on when I bit into my cheese sandwich.

Marienplatz

It's like having a greenie experience without having a trainer who knows the language to help you out. For example at lunch time (or dinner, when I go to a bakery to get something because I'm too hungry to cook when I get home). I literally look at the food and point to get it. At lunch, I look for the most appetizing meal, and say the German word for "little" so they give me the smaller portion as I point. I honestly don't know what it is that I'm eating. Same at the bakery. I know it's something that looks good. But I have no idea what it's called.

Anther awesome moment is earlier this week with the doors. I know I posted it on facebook, but I just want to say it again. All the doors at work have the german words for "push" and "pull". But when you do not know what the words mean, you recognize it, but you don't know what to do. I would push and pull. There was one door that you push to get in but then there is some sort of knob on the other side you have to twist. So I was standing at the door pushing and pulling for a bit until I decided to try the weirdly shaped knob. Now that I have made flashcards to help me and Matt has given me a little trick to remember, I only slightly pause at doors to think and then I remember. So if you ignore the strange pauses before going through doors, I totally look like I know what's going on. Plus, I even managed to program my email into the german scanner without realizing it. Now that's talent.

Dont worry...that's an Orange Fanta in my hand

At work they gave us a card to get in the doors and then another to put money on so you can buy lunch next door. I tried to put both the cards in the card holder they gave us but it didnt fit. So the second day, I was determined to make it fit. I definitely made it fit, but then I couldnt get it out. :/ I tried using my teeth and different things. I broke a nail. Then an IT guy came in to ask if I needed help with my computer. I said no, but then asked him about the cards and if he could get it out. He took it away and a bit later returned with it out. He then made me promise 3 times that I wouldnt do that again. He saw me later that day and made me show him where my lunch card was.

I had a conference call about the project I'm working on last Thursday. I tried to log in and it wouldnt let me. I messaged my boss to tell her I was having difficulties, but that I was working on it. I had to download java onto my laptop and when it downloaded (after taking forever) it said that it couldnt read it. So I had to download it again. By the time I got it all worked out, I was connected long enough for them to say, "so any questions? ok. well we'll talk again next week. bye!" AHHHHH! Que horror!

Beer Garden in English Gardens

On Friday, things were better. I was feeling good about life. At the end of the day, I realized I was probably one of the last people there because everyone leaves early on Fridays....and the automatic doors stop being automatic. I was standing in front of the automatic door, locked in the building, trying to figure out how I was supposed to get out of the building. Luckily, some guys came up about 2 minutes into it and found the tiny button hidden on a far wall that you press to open the door.

So after a long week of work, Jarrett (who got into Germany earlier that week) and I decided to meet up. We decided to meet in the English Gardens. But my phone died after I told him where in the English Gardens I was. after waiting a bit in one place, I decided to start walking. luckily he spotted me and we were both starving and went to a Beer Garden in the English Gardens to eat. Jarrett got a giant pretzel.

Isar River

On Saturday, Jarrett and I met up. I rented a bike, and we biked around the area. It was a super hot day but Munich is GORGEOUS!!!! The guys renting me the bike said I had to have a "Ladies" bike. It was pink. Lol. We got some ice cream to cool down. We then went across town to play soccer with some of the Munich YSA (Young Single Adult) people. It was fun. It was way to hot for me to play. I was melting and I could hear Saryah in my head yelling about being in the sun and skin cancer, so I stayed in the shade.  Then I got a nice little private German tour with a friend the rest of the evening. 

Sunday:  But I had a great church day. I got into London in time for the YSA meeting time. On the tube I saw a guy in a white shirt, tie, and dark trousers, with a girl in a modest (shoulders covered and dress was down to her knees) dress and I thought, "they're totally going to church". So I used my super creepy stalking skills to follow them out of the station and saw them joined by two other modestly dressed girls. So I asked if they were going to the LDS church and they responded positively, so I asked to follow them. It was lovely. One of the speakers was an RSM (returned sister missionary...i made up that terminology) It was a beautiful talk on the Plan of Happiness (which I LOVE!!!) and we sung "How Firm a Foundation" which is one of my favs! It was a wonderful Sunday. I sat with my new friend Lloyd (who has my dream job of being paid to travel and show people the world) and his Australian lady friend.  Then in Sunday School, before the class started, I thought I heard Spanish but I wasnt sure, so I asked as class was starting. The guy said he was from Venezuela! He was super excited I spoke Spanish, but we decided to chat after class. The class was amazing. It was about remembering the wonderful things our Saviour has done for us. It was a great lesson. And afterwards, me, the teacher, and the Venezuelan just chatted it up in Spanish. It was GREAT! I love latinos! It was awesome. They were really funny guys. Then I had to leave in the middle of the third (and last) hour because I had a train to catch....but I missed my train anyways, even though I was totally on time.

my "ladies" bike and ice cream

When I got to my hotel room, I had told my family I wanted to Skype for Father's Day. It was crazy. The sound wasn't working on either of our laptops, so we were miming to each other and typing. Eventually, they could hear me, but I couldnt hear them, so they made me talk a lot and then type the questions. We switched to Gmail video chat after I had to download the function. Then we realize that we could use the video chat of Gmail and the voice my dad's phone's Skype app. It was a fiasco. After about an hour from initial contact, I think we managed to be 100% voice and video functioning with Gmail video chat. WIN!

It's been a good first week in Germany, and this week I'm in Redditch, England. I'll tell you about it next week. On a happy note, Marijn, Jelmer, Jarno, Lukas, and I have finally agreed on a date and location for hanging out. It's going to be a PARTAY! I can't wait.