Swiss Days: A Yearly Tradish

One wonderful fall day in September 2008 Malinda aka my mom and I went to the awe-inspiring festival that is Swiss Days. Shortly after visiting Swiss Days we {meaning I} decided to make it a yearly tradish.

Since my first glorious encounter with Swiss Days I have found my love to only grow into a true passion for the yearly event celebrating the founding of Midway, Utah by the Swiss. I look forward to it and plan for it months in advance. It is a Swiss inspired playground for old and young alike who enjoy jewelry, quilting, metal statues of elk, kitchy house wares photography of families dressed alike, children's costumes, cutting boards in the shapes of pigs, soap with things in it, Swiss singers and dancers- in legit costumes and all and my personal favorite the "Swiss Royalty." I'm not really sure what the point is but these girls just do their Swiss thing.

There is also an outstanding display of Swiss based food. This includes Swiss scones, Swiss sandwiches, Swiss Ice, or as you common people know it as snow cones, Swiss water and SWISS NUTS!

This brings me to the ultimate part of the Swiss experience: the Swiss Nuts sign. Our first visit to Swiss Days my mom and I thought it would be clever to take a picture under the Swiss Nuts sign. Get it? Because we are nuts about the Swiss!

Year 1: 2008

This is after many attempts to get the sign in the background. Malinda is a little crazy-eyed but this was the best we got. Notice my hair. It was hot so I pulled it up. Cute.

Year 2: 2009

Shea Whitney joined us this year. UNFORTUNATELY the Swiss nuts sign wasn't there so some nice lady took a picture of us. On the bus. Once again, it was hot this year. I may have fainted under the band stand's shade.

Year 3: 2010

Malinda's religion is showing and I have somewhat of a grimace- it was hot and I just needed a Swiss Ice, but we were reunited with our sign so all was well at Swiss Days.

This segues me to my final thoughts about Swiss Days. In case you didn't catch it, it is bloody hot. It's the kind of hot that I might kill someone because I'm mad it's so hot. Every year Malinda laughs at me and asks why I put myself through sweating out my weight in Swiss Gatorade but I do it because I love it. I love the Swiss food and Swiss entertainment and Swiss goods. I wouldn't trade looking through all of the Swiss booths and eating Swiss carmel apples with Swiss Malinda for anything. Not even skipping the Swiss dehydration and Swiss heat stroke part.

Here's to Swiss Days 2011!

Also look at this word:

pulchritudinous

It means beautiful. But when I see it I think of a pterodactyl.

P&B

Cold Tangerines

"I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don’t want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines, and sing out loud in the car with the windows open, and wear pink shoes, and stay up all night laughing, and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets, and throw parties, and eat ripe tomatoes, and read books so good they make me jump up and down."

Shauna Niequist

TEN TEN TEN TEN TEN TEN TEN TEN TEN TEN

Dear Reader,

I am moving to France. In ten days. It's happening.

I am excited and nervous and tired just thinking about it and over emotional {I literally started crying about chocolate. While I was texting Jenna. Because I was telling her how much I love it. I may be losing it.} and I'm ready to go but not ready to leave.

Ron: One person couldn't feel all of that, they'd explode.

Hermione: Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have.

I think my emotional range is the size of the Black Lake {Harry Potter reference. Try to keep up, yeah?}.

Maybe once I know where I'm living I'll be okay. I'd rather not have to peddle the streets of Paris like Esmerelda in Notre Dame, living in the Metro station making friends with the pigeons and goats.

Whatever these are legit fears.

I'll keep you updated. In the meantime I will be reading Harry Potter, eating chocolate chip cookies and napping.

Things I must get done continued...

I have...
purchased my plane ticket {$267 round trip!}
gone to San Fran to get my visa
gotten halfway through my course contracts
written my acceptance letter for my scholarship

I need to...
finish my course contracts
email my school
contact the bishop of my future ward
find housing

I have 36 days until I leave.

WOW!

7.19.10

"Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them all."

Henry David Thoreau

7.16.10

"A ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for."

7.12.10

"Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house."


-Henry Ward Beecher

90 days

give or take

Love love love!

This tumblr

A few of my favorite things...

My best friend, aka my person, and I tend to be completely oblivious to the world around us. It does not matter what setting we may be in, or who might be listening to our conversation, we talk loudly about inappropriate things/giggle/gesture wildly and make extreme facial expressions as if we were the only two people around.

One might say that when together we have the combined maturity level of a 5 year old.

We don't purposely lack regard for others, it's just sort of how we've always been. And to add to this we are not very smooth in most situations. Alone we are fine. But for some reason that I cannot figure out, when we get together we overcompensate and fly into a panic and make fools of ourselves.

It's rather strange.

Together we've been cussed out, gotten in trouble by multiple teachers at school and been far past embarrassed to the point of mortification in work settings. But, I think we are now too far beyond caring what people think so we are even more disruptive, loud, and inconsiderate to really change.

Although we've been in uncomfortably awkward situations, this is one of my favorite things about our relationship.

I also love that when sitting in church, all Jenna has to do is flash me a look and I know exactly what she is thinking (WHY is that girl making that face? or HOT PINK high heels should be banned). I love when we are supposed to be quiet one of her looks will send me (and her) off into a fit of hunched and shaking shoulders, trying to cover a red face, tears pouring out and disgustingly unattractive snort laughing. I love that if we ever get into some weird tiff (usually due to my lack of maturity) we almost instantly move on from it by realizing how much we just love each other. I love that we call each other "my person" and completely mean it. I love that we regularly visit someone's bench at the cemetery, even going as far as cleaning off the headstone, and have been for the past 4 years. I love that we used to sneak Jenna out of her house so she could sleepover at my house, even though her parents knew the whole time. I love that we can have a completely intellectual conversation about some novel or exotic place, shortly followed by "Oh my heck (fill in the blank) is so hot. I mean seriously. I just want to make out with his body." I love that Jenna appreciates the word apothem just as much as I do.

I just love that girl.

Happy birthday my tiny dancer. I love you more than I could ever say!

P&B

Yeah yeah yeah!

Today I received an email with a list of all of the other teaching assistants going to France with me this year!

Two of them have already written!

I am excited!

FRANCE!

Stupid.

Today is stupid.

It is a stupid, stupid day.

I just want to get into my bed, eat chocolate, and watch Grey's.

Stupid.

"It's Friday,

I'm in love."

My Foxy Lady

Recently I've had this new found obsession with foxes.

Why?

Because they are cool.

I think it may have started when I watched the movie Fantastic Mr. Fox {"I'm asking if he thinks we're in for a hard winter.... He doesn't seem to know"} a few weeks ago. I really just want one as a pet. Wouldn't that be so cool!? "Yeah, this is my pet Fox, Foxy. Jealous?"

In case you were wondering, I've found out some interesting facts about foxes...

A pack of foxes is called a skulk.

A fox's bushy tail is called a brush.

Its acute muzzle is called a fox face.

Foxes stalk their prey just like cats. Also like cats, they often play with their catch before they kill it. If they aren’t hungry, they may even catch mice just to play with, then let them go when they are done.

A fox’s hearing is so sharp they can hear a watch ticking forty yards away.

Although it is a member of the dog family, some of the fox's habits are very cat like as well.

{I don't even know if this is a fox... but look how cute it is!}

"Vulpes Vulpes!"



Foxes rock.

J'aime Paris!

So.

I only decided about a week and a half ago that I am positively going to France.

That being said, I have:

-had five freak outs
-had one major freak out to the point of crying at work I was so stressed out
-almost withdrawn from the program
-given twelve million self pep talks
-made eighty billion pro/con lists
-eaten too much chocolate {and that says a lot coming from me}

But, I also...

-spoke French with a new friend
-was asked by someone at work about the pronunciation of French words to translate them for TV
-have been able to use my French to help tutor my Spanish speaking student learning to read English
-spoke French with a stranger
-met three Haitians {LOVE that word!} and spoke French with them - they said I had a good accent!
-had many moments of peace about my decision {although they are quickly followed by a fresh wave of panic}
-am getting REALLY excited!

Plus I had a great conversation with Shea Whitney today and she calmed me down. Luckily she is a little bit saner than I am.

So for now, I am still planning on living in Paris, France for a year.

How lucky is that!



Peace and Blessings

Things I must get done in the next four months...

* Complete my course contracts
* Write and send my scholarship acceptance letter
* Go to the San Fransisco French Embassy to get my Visa (and visit the Full House house)
* Find housing in France...yeah.
* Sell my car
* Get together all the things I will need while in France
* Put holds on all of my accounts
* Buy a plane ticket
* Refrain from having anymore freak outs.

This list will only continue to grow.

Awesome.

From Lemony Snicket "Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can’t Avoid"

"It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things."

Okay. That is so not how Mer and Christina act. "Let's hug it out...I'm really proud of you Meredith Grey."

Whatever.

But this episode looks promising. Hopefully it will be exciting to save the season from being a complete mess of mediocrity.

We will find out in t-minus eighteen hours...


Peace and Blessings

Yes, I did leave the house like this.

So I know I'm having one of those days when I have had this exact conversation {or similar ones... multiple times a day}.

Me: Hi, how are you doing today?

Person With No Tact: I'm good how are you?

M: I'm very well thank you

PWNT: You are?

M: ...yes?

PWNT: Oh.

M: Well, I mean, I'm a little tired...

PWNT: Yeah you look...{studying the unkempt frizzy mess atop my head that I call hair, barely there makeup, slouched position because my chair back is broken, overall bored expression, lack of lip gloss and unfortunate outfit that doesn't quite go because I was trying to be bold}... tired.

M: ...I'm going to get some chocolate.

Letter from John Keats to Fanny Brawne

My dearest Girl,

This moment I have set myself to copy some verses out fair. I cannot proceed with any degree of content. I must write you a line or two and see if that will assist in dismissing you from my Mind for ever so short a time. Upon my Soul I can think of nothing else - The time is passed when I had power to advise and warn you again[s]t the unpromising morning of my Life - My love has made me selfish. I cannot exist without you - I am forgetful of every thing but seeing you again - my Life seems to stop there - I see no further. You have absorb'd me. I have a sensation at the present moment as though I was dissolving - I should be exquisitely miserable without the hope of soon seeing you. I should be afraid to separate myself far from you. My sweet Fanny, will your heart never change? My love, will it? I have no limit now to my love - Your note came in just here - I cannot be happier away from you - 'T is richer than an Argosy of Pearles. Do not threat me even in jest. I have been astonished that Men could die Martyrs for religion - I have shudder'd at it - I shudder no more - I could be martyr'd for my Religion - Love is my religion - I could die for that - I could die for you. My Creed is Love and you are its only tenet - You have ravish'd me away by a Power I cannot resist: and yet I could resist till I saw you; and even since I have seen you I have endeavoured often "to reason against the reasons of my Love." I can do that no more - the pain would be too great - My Love is selfish - I cannot breathe without you.

Yours for ever
John Keats

How wonderful.

{From "Bright Star"}

Today I had a perfect moment...

I was sitting at a stop light with my windows down, eating a piece of Dove dark chocolate, listening to Bach and thinking about France.

As if this wasn't awesome enough I saw a missionary on the side of the road physically high five a man driving by in a work truck.

He will do great things.

Love it!

My New Theme Song...

In the past month I...

got a raise at work.

received a full tuition scholarship for the 2010-2011 school year.

was accepted for an internship in France.

Awesome.

Crux.

Haitian.

Garrish.

I love these words.

Carry this picture for luck

So, here are some photographs that I have taken...

{Okay I know her leg is cut off but look at her body and her HAIR!}

Thoughts?

Peace and Blessings

Seriously? Seriously!

This is pretty much how I feel about life right now...

Sometimes I...

Dig through the Frosted Mini Wheat bag until I find the ones with the most frosting

Want to only eat chocolate. For every meal.

Skip classes even though I only have five days left

Put on too much mascara because I just can't stop!

Only listen to Dashboard Confessional

Want to stay in bed all day watching Grey's Anatomy

Say literally when I mean figuratively

Want to leave everything and move to Europe

Wish that my life had constant background music, like a life soundtrack.

Pretend I'm asleep when really I just don't want to talk to you

Want to ride my bike Clinton

Want to have a huge public freak out

Never want to speak French again

Fake laugh. Sometimes people just aren't funny

Listen to the same song over and over again...

Remember something that makes me laugh out loud

Want to get "gloriously fat"

Just need to wear red lipstick

"Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead."

-Lucille Ball

So, where are all these entitled men?

Seriously though.

Help I'm alive...

Dear Reader,

I have not written on my blog for a while now. Partly because,

one. School consumes my life

two. I was rewatching all the Grey's seasons which takes priority over everything else in life-beside school {by the way season two is definitely my favorite.}

three. I haven't really had anything to say

four. I am lazy.

So here I am once again trying to be creative or whatever.

I do have a few things to share with you. My beautiful cousin Katie took some photographs of me a few weeks ago which was very fun albeit it was freezing and the lighting wasn't great. Here are a few of the pictures she took of me...

Also, on Sunday I went out with my sister and took some photographs of her. As you can see she is a much better model than I am...

I know right. I'm jealous too.

So that is that.

Also, here are the songs that I'm OBSESSED with at the moment....

Help I'm Alive by Metric

Home by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros {credit Shea Whitney}

Dream by Priscilla Ahn

Peace and Blessings.

Sometimes you just need a little Grey's

"This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body…”

-Preface to Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman

My Best Friends

Today I made a trip to some used bookstores. This is what I found...

Ah. I just love books.

Also I just finished season two of my favorite television show. Grey's Anatomy. Can we please have a moment of silence for Denny... Oh how I love him so! I've seen all of the seasons before, some multiple times, but I still get emotional over the characters and their overly dramatic lives. I know it sounds silly, but if you've ever seen it you would completely agree. It's simply amazing.

Period.

This is what I saw today

How Utterly Fantastic

Dear Reader,

I am starting a new adventure. This is an adventure of adventure (yes, an adventure of adventure), trying new things, stepping outside of my 'box' and other starting anew euphemisms.

In the recent weeks I've been thinking about things and have come to the conclusion that I want more. I don't mean to sound like Ariel ("Wouldn't you think I'm the girl, the girl who has everything.... But who cares? No big deal! I WANT MORE!" Ariel is my favorite Disney princess, but you must admit, she is a little spoiled. I mean, her dad is the king of the ocean and she has everything the could possibly want, including a bod that is hot enough to wear sea shells as a bra, but she still wants. Okay. Greedy Ariel rant over). I am grateful for all that I have. But I want to be doing more, and more specifically doing things that I normally wouldn't do.

So, here I am.

I am writing a blog in hopes that it will be somewhat of a creative outlet for me... we will see. And who knows who will even read this. Probably only my stunningly beautiful and amazing sister who unknowingly gives me a complex. And I'm okay with that. Because really, this is for me. But, I would be happy to share my adventurous adventure with others if they are so inclined to follow along.

So Reader, if you have made it this far, I congratulate you. I hope that you will keep reading!

Peace and Blessings