Birthday Wrap Up

This birthday was great - turning 31 was better than turning 30. But it started out a little sad because the morning of my birthday, Darren had to leave on a business trip. No bueno. But I figured it would be okay, I was headed to Disneyland to meet my friend Sara for lunch and my $69 merchandise card (if you are a season pass holder and don't want a free ticket, they give you a gift card). 

I was rushing because I was short on time and I was on the phone with Sara walking through the entrance to Disneyland, scanning the crowd. She told me she was standing to the left and I saw this:

Darren standing there with a giant lollipop. Turns out he wasn't leaving until Saturday but had packed a suitcase and told me that he was leaving for a few weeks.  I was so surprised!!!!

So we spent some time at Disneyland - Space Mountain and then we headed over to the California Screaming and Soaring Over California. It was so much fun - there was hardly any  wait and it was such a fun way to spend my lunchtime! I also spent my merch. credit on 4 dvd's - apparently you can't buy churros with the gift card. 

Then that night, I had a quiet little dinner and Sprinkles cupcakes (thanks Nan!). 

Perfect Day. 

Feeling Nostalgic.

I look at the blog decor8 on a regular basis, I like to look at pretty things but I LOVED today when she featured a Portuguese artist from a flickr page. 

Ahhhh, I felt a little bit better about my lack of ability to speak Spanish because I could read the Portuguese on this site! Really well. And it reminded me of Portugal - my home for 3 years. It's strange how I miss it there sometimes, even though I haven't been there in so long. It was just my home for a while. But a very beautiful one. 

This is the picture that sparked my nostalgia:

Bucaco Forest (Boo-sock-ohh) 

. 

*image borrowed from Beijoterias flickr page

Underneath the picture she wrote - Now I know that it is good to forget all you have walked. This is true - I have walked that staircase! 

How many can you do?

I saw this list recently - it makes me laugh and realize, that maybe I need a few more skill sets? 

50 Things Everyone Should Know How To Do

I have a few of the basics down - build a fire without matches, change a tire, deliver bad news (I think I have that one), win or avoid a fistfight (I have given a black eye but prefer to avoid), drive a manual transmission. 

What I need to work on? Travel light. Not so good at that one. 

I can do 38 out of 49 (no need to count the alcohol one).  

Uno Mas

See? I am already learning. Work in progress. 

12) Learn to play the piano.

Once upon a time I did. But I am not asking for a lot. I would just like to play some hymns. 

2009 - Goals to Align

Yeah, it rhymes, I may have stolen it from my friend Corey. This new year will mean a new list of goals I would like to accomplish. I took a few items off the list such as, "fit into a size 4." This has not happened since junior high and won't happen without surgery and an eating disorder, so I am going for something a little more realistic. 

1) Run another half marathon.

I am not sure how many half marathons I have ran but I really love them. The full marathon is too hard on my knees but a half is fun and good to train for. 

2) Olympic distance triathlon

The last one I competed in was a sprint, I would like to compete in something a little longer. And closer to home this time.

3) Learn Spanish

 NO, really learn Spanish. I have tried to learn it without classes but I do need more structure. Darren, or Senor Harris has agreed to be my profesor so I can understand more at church. 

4) NO SODA FOR A YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is in all caps for a reason. I LOVE soda. Love, love love it. But I feel that we need to part ways for about a year. That and Darren bet me that I could not go without soda for a year. There may be a monetary reward with this bet.  This includes all soda - even root beer floats. (his rule, not mine). The only thing I can have is an occasional sparkling water. I have survived 20 days so far, I'll be fine. Just 345 days to go. 

5) De-clutter my home

I am throwing a  lot of things away. Trying to simplify. (Might need to find a focus word for 2009 like Elizabeth, will think about that one). 

6) Photography  

I don't want to be a photographer for hire but if I am going to take a picture, I would like it to be a good one. Darren and I work a lot - so there isn't a lot to take pictures of but maybe when we slow down? (Have a suspicion that life never really does slow down - no matter what stage). Sign up for classes, learn to use photoshop.

7) Learn how to reupholster

-Random but I have always wanted to know how to do it. Would love to take a class. 

8) Slow down

One of my greatest challenges. I always seem to be multitasking. Which doesn't always translate into getting a lot done. It mostly gets a lot of things halfway done. 

9) Travel Somewhere New

I love going to new places, almost as much as I love going to familiar places. This year I would like to travel more within the mainland USA. But if the opportunity came to go to a new foreign location - I would be okay with that!

10) Family time

Spend more time with family. It lifts my spirits. I love spending time with people who play a constant role in our lives. Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews, cousins - these are relationships that exist no matter where a person lives or what choices they make - family is a constant. 

11) Spiritual Health

This has been a tough one for me this past year. Since we have been married it has been much harder to find spiritual fulfillment. Not because of marriage - which has been wonderful but because of the language barrier that I experience at church. It takes a lot of effort just to understand a prayer and sometimes I find that I go through 3 hours of church hardly understanding a thing, which is frustrating. This is one of the reasons I want to learn Spanish but I also want to find other ways in which I can grow spiritually by studying, temple attendance and more service to the members of the branch. 

Whew. Goals that are attainable - I like it. It will help me put my year in perspective. I have a feeling oh-nine is going to be an adventure!

New Year, New Neighbors

This new year has brought many things, I now have to remember to write 2009 on checks (very difficult task). But the nicest surprise are these new neighbors:

Lexi and Casey moved in right across from us! I could creepily look into their living room from my kitchen. Luckily, we are both rather private and keep our blinds closed. The benefits of having a sister live this close is always having a friend to bug. She is forced to love me regardless of how much I visit her. And truthfully we don't see each other as much as you would suppose. I think there was a 2 day stretch where I didn't see her at all - which is pretty amazing, seeing how our front doors are about 15 feet away. It is comfortable and nice to have her and Casey live so closely. 

The new year always makes me think of new goals that I want to accomplish. But that is a whole post on its own.