Oh it was so worth it!

Our beautiful Christmas tree this year.

Getting a pre-lit tree is so worth it! Every year, the day after Thanksgiving we put our Christmas tree up, and every year I tell myself I love putting the lights on the tree. Well to actually make it looks good is a long, hard, itchy process. Last year I hated it. So, this year, E and I decided to just bite the bullet and buy a new, pre-lit tree from our favorite store- Costco!

We got it home, set it up, and were awed by how beautiful and bright it was. The ornaments went up quickly and easily, and our house was transformed from a dull home to a sparkling magical Christmas paradise! My cats really enjoyed the entire day too, and one of them is always either under the tree sleeping, or pestering the low hanging ornaments.

The Thanksgiving weekend went smoothly as well. Wednesday E and I made four pecan pies for Thanksgiving. Then on Thursday we relaxed and headed over to E’s house in the mid afternoon. We ate a fabulous dinner, enjoyed the company, and celebrated Ch’s birthday. Then we headed to my Mom’s house. Things were different, but fun. My Grandpa was feeling a little better, and enjoying the time with family. My sister brought her boyfriend, and my brother brought his girlfriend along with a roommate. My mom invited two “friends” and all it all it was a great night.

Then yesterday we went over to my dad’s and celebrated with him. We had steak, sweet potatoes, salad, bread, and more pecan pie. The changes were hard, but we had a wonderful time with family and friends over the holidays.

Grandpa Joe

My Grandpa is still very sick. A month after his chemo and radiation the doctors were able to go back into his bladder with a scope, and see if the cancer was gone. To every one's disappointment, it was not gone. This minor surgery of testing for cancer really upset my Grandpa's system, and made it so his kidneys could not function properly.

Well after a short hospital stay, the very disappointing news that the cancer was not dead, and his weakened state, we are hoping things will take a turn for the better. He might decide to get his bladder removed altogether, which will be a huge, scary surgery for someone his age, or he might decide to live with the cancer until the end.

It is a very hard decision for all. I hope he's feeling a little better for Thanksgiving.

Figs in Italy

I've always dreamt of Italy, walking her streets, hearing her language, and eating her food. It sounded so romantic and wonderfully different than my day to day life back home. When I was there in September everything I had hoped for was true. Italy was wonderfully different, and the streets, language, and food all enticed me.

On day in an open air market in Bolzano I bought some figs, by far my favorite "Italian" specialty. I picked them out, ordered, and paid for them all in horribly broken Italian. I ate my three figs right there on the street. It turned out to be one of my favorite Italian memories by far.


Paying for figs at the local market in Bolzano.

Yoga- a memoir

Okay, maybe it’s not a memoir; it’s really just a blog entry.

I’ve been going to a yoga class at my local gym on and off for about six months. It is hard, but wonderful. Usually when I get there, I’m tired, cold, and hungry (it is held right over the dinner hour). We are told to focus on our breathing, and always to try to do a little better. The class starts, and soon I begin to enjoy myself.

We do many moves, poses, and stretches, and I’ve become substantially more flexible. By mid-class I’ve worked up a light sweat, and I feel energized and strong. The teacher is wonderful, and keeps things simple and calm. She talks almost as if we were meditating.

Before class ends, we close our eyes, breath, and tell ourselves to have clarity of mind, clarity of speech, and clarity of actions. I go home feeling much better.

Math, math, evil evil math

So E is planning on going back to school. This time he’s going to get something he’s always wanted - a computer science degree. He can do the work, he’s excited about the challenge, and he already has a strong foundation in many codes. However, there is a drawback, the math. E has always struggled with math. He is so quick, clever, and smart in all other areas of study, but math has always stumped him.

In the beginning of his college career math was proving to be such a stumbling block, he and I decided to see what could be done about it. E went to disability services and they found he actually had a mathematic learning disability.

So E got a great degree in something that didn’t require math, and he excelled. He was first in his class, helped teachers give guest lectures, and even was a TA for a couple classes, but he always dreamt of computer science.

So he’s finally ready to go back. He’s going to have to work his ass off to get through Calc I and II, and it will probably be the hardest thing he’ll ever do. He’s already hit the frustration of not understanding what he’s learning, but he’s pushing through. I’m very proud of him, and I hope every day that he’ll be able to overcome the evil evil math his degree requires.

502 Calories Burned

Staying slim is hard work! I enjoy working out, like I enjoy cleaning the house- it needs to be done, and I feel better once it's over with.

Last night it was dark, late and cold and I was so tired. But, I got my lazy butt out the door and went to the gym. I spent about 45 minutes on the elliptical watching an interesting show about Monk Seals. Negative 502 calories later I felt much better, accomplished, thin, and ready to eat a hamburger!

Ha ha! Oh well, at least I resisted the burger temptation and had leftover Halloween candy instead.

Travel

The more I travel the more my list grows. I'm addicted! I think I have the next five years planned out. Here is where I want to go:

Summer of 2007- Great Britain and Scotland
Summer of 2008- Alaska
Summer of 2009- China or Thailand
Summer of 2010- Galapagos Islands
Summer of 2011- Turkey or Hungry

One of the things I've done on a few of my trips is when I order a great meal, I take photo across the table. It shows my food, and E looking at his food. It has been a fun series, but I am kicking myself that I didn't get one of these photos in either Amsterdam or Africa.


Pesto in Portofino, Italy


Cannoli in Little Italy, NY


Fish and Chips in London, England

Fall leaves

I took this photo last year at my cabin. All the aspen leaves had fallen, and it had rained. I thought the carpet of wet leaves was very beautiful.

Top five- why I love fall

5. Fall foods- E and I love to make pumpkin, squash, and cranberries all through fall. One of our favorite recipes is pumpkin waffles with pecans and maple syrup.

4. Decorating for Halloween- I love spooky things. I have always loved the idea of locations being haunted, so this time of year I have a blast decorating for Halloween. This year’s highlights are the framed picture of a “haunted house” we have, and a shadow box with a real dead bat in it. Spooky!

3. Sleeping- As the weather gets colder and the leaves start falling off the trees, taking long afternoon naps in our reading nook is perfect. We’ve waited all summer to head back upstairs for a long afternoon nap.

2. Thanksgiving- Thanksgiving is coming! I love Thanksgiving, being with family (we’ll see how it plays out with my family this year) and eating as much as you want, and enjoying the changing of fall into winter is one of my favorite times all year.

1. Changing leaves- I love when the leaves start to change. We are lucky in Utah, and we get two falls, one is watching the leaves on the mountains change, and then about two weeks later the leaves in the valley change. I love walking through crunchy leaves on a clear, brisk fall day. Nothing’s better.

Some of E's Italy photos

E took some great photos in Italy. We purchased some frames and oversized paper with some of our wedding money, so we're going to hang some of them on the wall.

Here are a few we like from Venice:

Damn, my new bike is really cool!

Yep, I finally bought it—a new mountain bike. It took 13 years, and a whole lot of pressure from my friends, but I finally bought it. It’s a Gary Fisher, with shocks (of course) and some other “sweet” components that I don’t really care about.

All I know is it rides like a dream.

So over the weekend nine of us went down to Moab to bike bike bike. We rode Poison Spider Mesa and the Slick Rock Trail. I really wish that I knew how cool Slick Rock was before, it was awesome. Smooth and steep, and more beautiful then I imagined.

I rode well (at least for me) and I think I’m improving each time. I’m still fairly daring, and will try most things, but didn’t fall, and was successful on a lot of the steep hills.

My dreams will be with Slick Rock until next May, I’m counting down the days.

On another note, I’m pulling all my Halloween stuff tonight. I love this time of year, and I’m excited to “spook-a-fy” my house! Bats, spiders, black cats, and lots of little gravestones here I come…

A few more Italy photos

I still and just soaking in all the joy I felt in Italy. I loved it; it was everything I have dreamed about my entire life and more. I wanted to post four photos today, one from each area we spent time in. Soon I'll post some of E's best photos. He is an awesome photographer, and his stuff should be showcased!


When we first got to Italy we stayed in Venice. San Marco's Square floods each day during high tide, it is the lowest part of the city. E and I walked there at night and were amazed at how quiet it was (during the day it is mobbed with people). I took this photo of the reflection on the church in the flooded square.


The next region we spent time in was the Italian Alps. One day E and I took a cable car and then a train to a small town high in the mountains. We loved wandering around, taking photos, and making gnome jokes (they are very popular in this region). Pretty soon we found ourselves lost. Nobody spoke English and they spoke very little Italian (we were in a German speaking region), after a lot of running, turning around, and asking for directions we found the train. It is one of our favorite memories.


On the coast we went to a region called Cinque Terre, five small towns all clinging to the cliffs (see my photo in the previous post). Each town was full of cats. This one specifically caught our interest, we loved how he got a drink right in the center of town where Italian's have been getting fresh water for hundreds of years.


We loved Florence. Both E and I couldn't believe how beautiful the city was. This photo I took from our hotel room at sunrise. In the distance you can see Brunelleschi Dome, the bell tower of Santa Maria Novella, and the dome of Cappella Dei Medici (built by Michelangelo). Wow! You don't get a better view than that.