I'm taking the day off work today to get my act together. I fly to San Francisco tomorrow to apply for (and hopefully come home with) my student visa. Mom and I leave early tomorrow morning (our flight is at 8:30), so the New Year festivities will be slightly abbreviated for me this year. Either that, or I'll just be completely exhausted. :)
*This kind of makes me feel like a missionary again. Speaking of which, I really hope there are some sister missionaries serving right in Paris that I can go on exchanges with. What a blast that will be!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
A Note From France
As I've been going through all the stuff I moved from the townhouse back to my parents', I found a notecard I had sent to Jessica and Happy while I was in Europe with my family last May (2007).
Isn't it cute? I loved the pop-up Eiffel Tower.
Here is what I wrote:
Hey, ladies!! We're off to Berlin in the morning, so I just thought I would drop you a line from Paris before we left. London was great, Paris was FAB-U-LOUS, and I absolutely need to move here. We'll see what Germany and Italy have in store for us next! Thanks for holding down the fort while I'm gone! See you soon. Love, Sar.
Over the past few days I've been having some minor freak-out moments. When I think too hard about moving to a city with 11 million people, by myself, without knowing anyone, I kind of get nauseated. But then I see things like this notecard, and I realize how comfortable I am there, how much I flat out love it, and how well I communicated with everyone in Paris when I was there with my family (I definitely took on the role of official spokesperson).
I'll have two full weeks to adjust to Paris life before school even starts, so I'll be able to figure out where the grocery store is, how long it takes to walk to the Metro, how long the train ride is, and how long it takes to walk to school. I'll have time to go see some exhibits, and maybe even go on my first out-of-country adventure. I'll stop in to go to Institute on my first day, call the missionaries to figure out which ward I'm in, and get myself unpacked and my shelf in the kitchen cupboard and fridge stocked so I don't just eat panini and crepes for a week straight (my immediate family knows that this is a serious possibility). The second day I'm in town is when I go to school to have my language skills tested. Once that is done they will determine which class "level" I belong in and I'll know more about what my class schedule will be like. That's the 22nd... and classes don't start until Feb. 10th. So, really there's no good reason for me to freak out.
I'll also be taking a LOT of pictures. So prepare yourselves.
Isn't it cute? I loved the pop-up Eiffel Tower.
Here is what I wrote:
Hey, ladies!! We're off to Berlin in the morning, so I just thought I would drop you a line from Paris before we left. London was great, Paris was FAB-U-LOUS, and I absolutely need to move here. We'll see what Germany and Italy have in store for us next! Thanks for holding down the fort while I'm gone! See you soon. Love, Sar.
Over the past few days I've been having some minor freak-out moments. When I think too hard about moving to a city with 11 million people, by myself, without knowing anyone, I kind of get nauseated. But then I see things like this notecard, and I realize how comfortable I am there, how much I flat out love it, and how well I communicated with everyone in Paris when I was there with my family (I definitely took on the role of official spokesperson).
I'll have two full weeks to adjust to Paris life before school even starts, so I'll be able to figure out where the grocery store is, how long it takes to walk to the Metro, how long the train ride is, and how long it takes to walk to school. I'll have time to go see some exhibits, and maybe even go on my first out-of-country adventure. I'll stop in to go to Institute on my first day, call the missionaries to figure out which ward I'm in, and get myself unpacked and my shelf in the kitchen cupboard and fridge stocked so I don't just eat panini and crepes for a week straight (my immediate family knows that this is a serious possibility). The second day I'm in town is when I go to school to have my language skills tested. Once that is done they will determine which class "level" I belong in and I'll know more about what my class schedule will be like. That's the 22nd... and classes don't start until Feb. 10th. So, really there's no good reason for me to freak out.
I'll also be taking a LOT of pictures. So prepare yourselves.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Days of Auld Lang Syne
As I have spent some time thinking of things I want to do or change in 2009, a few things have come to mind. I am not going to call them New Year's Resolutions, because I think that gives me too much leeway to "give up" if I don't keep them up within the first few weeks of the year (and considering what the first month or two of the year will be like for me, I'm not going to set myself up for failure. I know my limits.).
So, instead, I am setting goals for 2009. I will share them with you. (I hope they don't bore you to tears.)
The first goal is what inspired the title of my post*; it's the one I've been thinking about the most over the last month or so. Last year I took a "Writing Your Personal History" class to fulfill one of my last English requirements for my minor. Because writing at least 250 words in my journal every day was required to get a good grade, I wrote every day for as long as I was in the class. But, as you might guess, a couple of months later I had dwindled down to only a couple of times a week. When my wonderful friend Camille went missing and was later found dead near Bridal Veil Falls, I abandoned it altogether because I couldn't bring myself to write what I was feeling and thinking about. It was too painful--too final--to write it down on paper. But I feel really strongly about writing my personal history. I have a terrible memory, and I want my children and their children (should they be interested) to have access to all of the memories that will too soon fade away.
So, with that abbreviated version of my thought process, I want to share with you a new blog project I started. It's called "This Time It's Personal," and the purpose of the blog is to provide prompts for people who want to write their own personal histories but don't really know what to do. I make no claim of expertise. The only thing I'm an expert on is failing at journal-keeping. So... if you're interested in writing your personal history (or encouraging your children to write theirs), join me in my journey. You can go to mypersonalhistoryblog.blogspot.com or just click here to check it out and read about how it is going to work. I posted the first prompt just a few minutes ago.
If you like what you see there and want to share, I would love for you to link to it on your blogs. The more, the merrier (and frankly, I think the more, the "successful-er" we'll all be at keeping journals or making progress on our personal histories)!!
My second goal is a bit more simple. :) It is:
Exercise at least three times a week for 40 minutes or more.
Exercise wasn't something I ever thought about when I was younger. I played soccer and danced for years and years, so I never needed to think about it. But since abandoning soccer, clogging, and track, I've never been really consistent about exercise unless my grades depended upon it.
Well, it's time for that to change. It's time to make healthy living choices my go-to, default, no-questions-about-it way of life.
Since I won't have a car in France, and I think I'll have quite a bit of spare time every day (who knows what my schoolwork will be like), I am committed to exercising at least three times a week for a minimum of 40 minutes. Now, I'm not going to put a lot of restrictions on what counts and what doesn't. I'm also not going to require of myself that the 40 minutes be consecutive. I'm also not going to require that my heart rate reach a certain level, or that I burn a certain number of calories per day, etc. The most important end goal for me isn't weight loss (though that is important for me), but a healthy and active life. My big hope is that by the time I come home, I would rather walk to the grocery store or to work, that I would rather go to the gym and get a workout in than eat Sour Punch Straws and watch TV. It's a big change, and it's going to be really difficult for a long time. I may not be to that point when I come back, but I know that if I am consistent, I'll be much closer than where I am now.
So, maybe two goals isn't super ambitious, but I feel like they're big goals that will take a lot of self-control, discipline, reflection, and TIME. So I'm okay with just having these two main ones to work on.
*I saw on Wikipedia that Auld Lang Syne has been used as a rough equivalent to "Once Upon a Time," so I thought it fit in with the idea of writing my personal history, since I think of personal histories more as an actual story, like a memoir, than a journal.
So, instead, I am setting goals for 2009. I will share them with you. (I hope they don't bore you to tears.)
The first goal is what inspired the title of my post*; it's the one I've been thinking about the most over the last month or so. Last year I took a "Writing Your Personal History" class to fulfill one of my last English requirements for my minor. Because writing at least 250 words in my journal every day was required to get a good grade, I wrote every day for as long as I was in the class. But, as you might guess, a couple of months later I had dwindled down to only a couple of times a week. When my wonderful friend Camille went missing and was later found dead near Bridal Veil Falls, I abandoned it altogether because I couldn't bring myself to write what I was feeling and thinking about. It was too painful--too final--to write it down on paper. But I feel really strongly about writing my personal history. I have a terrible memory, and I want my children and their children (should they be interested) to have access to all of the memories that will too soon fade away.
So, with that abbreviated version of my thought process, I want to share with you a new blog project I started. It's called "This Time It's Personal," and the purpose of the blog is to provide prompts for people who want to write their own personal histories but don't really know what to do. I make no claim of expertise. The only thing I'm an expert on is failing at journal-keeping. So... if you're interested in writing your personal history (or encouraging your children to write theirs), join me in my journey. You can go to mypersonalhistoryblog.blogspot.com or just click here to check it out and read about how it is going to work. I posted the first prompt just a few minutes ago.
If you like what you see there and want to share, I would love for you to link to it on your blogs. The more, the merrier (and frankly, I think the more, the "successful-er" we'll all be at keeping journals or making progress on our personal histories)!!
My second goal is a bit more simple. :) It is:
Exercise at least three times a week for 40 minutes or more.
Exercise wasn't something I ever thought about when I was younger. I played soccer and danced for years and years, so I never needed to think about it. But since abandoning soccer, clogging, and track, I've never been really consistent about exercise unless my grades depended upon it.
Well, it's time for that to change. It's time to make healthy living choices my go-to, default, no-questions-about-it way of life.
Since I won't have a car in France, and I think I'll have quite a bit of spare time every day (who knows what my schoolwork will be like), I am committed to exercising at least three times a week for a minimum of 40 minutes. Now, I'm not going to put a lot of restrictions on what counts and what doesn't. I'm also not going to require of myself that the 40 minutes be consecutive. I'm also not going to require that my heart rate reach a certain level, or that I burn a certain number of calories per day, etc. The most important end goal for me isn't weight loss (though that is important for me), but a healthy and active life. My big hope is that by the time I come home, I would rather walk to the grocery store or to work, that I would rather go to the gym and get a workout in than eat Sour Punch Straws and watch TV. It's a big change, and it's going to be really difficult for a long time. I may not be to that point when I come back, but I know that if I am consistent, I'll be much closer than where I am now.
So, maybe two goals isn't super ambitious, but I feel like they're big goals that will take a lot of self-control, discipline, reflection, and TIME. So I'm okay with just having these two main ones to work on.
*I saw on Wikipedia that Auld Lang Syne has been used as a rough equivalent to "Once Upon a Time," so I thought it fit in with the idea of writing my personal history, since I think of personal histories more as an actual story, like a memoir, than a journal.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Christmas Traditions
Every year my family gets together with dad's side of the fam for a Christmas party. The party involves soup, hot rolls, chatting, and... hockey sticks.
That's right. Every year we reserve the cultural hall at my aunt and uncle's church the weekend before Christmas and we play indoor hockey. It's a blast. Sometimes we play basketball or volleyball as well, but this year we added dodge ball instead.
I always love getting together with our extended family, on both sides. I never realized how rare it is for extended families to get together frequently, so I feel really blessed that I was able to grow up being close to so many of my cousins.
Another tradition with our immediate family is bowling and pizza the week of Christmas. This year we went to Fat Cat's and did bowling and Costa Vida. Yum.
Hooray for Snowshoeing
I went snowshoeing with my dad on Christmas Eve. We were gone for about three and a half hours. It took me at least that long to warm up again once we got home. Brrrrrr. It was a tad nippy outside Wednesday.
We hiked up our usual ravine, but it was like a whole new place because there was about 5 feet of snow underfoot. Toppled trees that we normally have to crawl under were completely covered in snow and we were able to walk right over them. It was really fun, super cold, AND according to my heart rate monitor I burned 1150 calories. Nice. If only I had three extra hours a day that I could go snowshoeing.
A bunch of the trees in the ravine still had leaves on them.
The ravine we hike in.
This is a funny little sign near the top of the ravine.
The ravine opens up to a few ridges... a few sort of "foothills" on the back of Cascade.
We hiked up our usual ravine, but it was like a whole new place because there was about 5 feet of snow underfoot. Toppled trees that we normally have to crawl under were completely covered in snow and we were able to walk right over them. It was really fun, super cold, AND according to my heart rate monitor I burned 1150 calories. Nice. If only I had three extra hours a day that I could go snowshoeing.
A bunch of the trees in the ravine still had leaves on them.
The ravine we hike in.This is a funny little sign near the top of the ravine.The ravine opens up to a few ridges... a few sort of "foothills" on the back of Cascade.
Then... over the southern ridge into a meadow, down the hill to meet up with the road and trek back to the parking lot. (Where, unfortunately, the bathrooms were "locked for the season." LAME.)
Oooooh, I'm going to miss my mountains.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Snow Day
I wish I could take the day off of work and curl up in an armchair with a great book. I would spend the day reading and watching the snow fall out my front windows. Aaaaah.
Trees covered in snow are some of the prettiest things to me. They look delicate like lace, but pretty (unlike lace).* I also love the look of the Rockies covered in the snow and reflecting a golden, pink, or purple sunset. I hope I get to see that a few times before I go. Especially because there are no mountains anywhere near Paris.**
*I'm guessing none of you know this about me. I hate lace. I think it is ugly, with only a few rare exceptions. I'm more of a minimalist, and so lace just looks gaudy and over-embellished to me. Though there are rare instances when I think it is beautiful. Rare instances.
**I don't know how I'll ever be able to tell direction. You can click here to see a panoramic shot taken from the top of the Eiffel Tower. It's got a lot of distortion, but you can at least see that there are no mountains. :)
Trees covered in snow are some of the prettiest things to me. They look delicate like lace, but pretty (unlike lace).* I also love the look of the Rockies covered in the snow and reflecting a golden, pink, or purple sunset. I hope I get to see that a few times before I go. Especially because there are no mountains anywhere near Paris.**
*I'm guessing none of you know this about me. I hate lace. I think it is ugly, with only a few rare exceptions. I'm more of a minimalist, and so lace just looks gaudy and over-embellished to me. Though there are rare instances when I think it is beautiful. Rare instances.
**I don't know how I'll ever be able to tell direction. You can click here to see a panoramic shot taken from the top of the Eiffel Tower. It's got a lot of distortion, but you can at least see that there are no mountains. :)
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Just A Month...
until I fly away on a jet plane.
I started packing yesterday. Is that too soon?
I am a classic over-packer. But I'm looking forward to packing for a 5 month adventure, because I'm pretty sure that means it will be impossible to overpack. Suh-weet!!
I have two checked bags, a carry-on, and a laptop bag. I don't actually know how I'm going to get all of my luggage from the airport to my apartment in Paris, but I'm pretty sure I'll be shelling out a few Euros so I don't have to do it by myself.
And I'm not going to lie... I'm probably going to ship my pillow and my earring organizer over. Mock me if you must, but a good night's sleep and NOT sifting through hundreds of tangled earrings are totally worth the extra effort (and cost).
I started packing yesterday. Is that too soon?
I am a classic over-packer. But I'm looking forward to packing for a 5 month adventure, because I'm pretty sure that means it will be impossible to overpack. Suh-weet!!
I have two checked bags, a carry-on, and a laptop bag. I don't actually know how I'm going to get all of my luggage from the airport to my apartment in Paris, but I'm pretty sure I'll be shelling out a few Euros so I don't have to do it by myself.
And I'm not going to lie... I'm probably going to ship my pillow and my earring organizer over. Mock me if you must, but a good night's sleep and NOT sifting through hundreds of tangled earrings are totally worth the extra effort (and cost).
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