Wednesday, December 31, 2008

I'm Here

I live in North Carolina. This is still a little surreal. I feel like I'm on vacation, not really living here. Probably because I don't have a job, but hopefully that will change soon. Job hunting sucks, by the way. There is absolutely nothing fun about it. But I'm sure something will work out eventually. I just hope I don't go broke by then. ;)

Ok, so I know you're dying to know about our journey from Utah to Texas to North Carolina. Well, here goes: We drove straight through from Provo to Dallas. No stops, except for gas and food. It was pretty miserable. I can't sleep in the car, especially when the seat can't lean back because everything I own is piled up behind it. So even though Jared was wonderful and did most of the driving, it was still not very enjoyable. But 22 hours into our journey, we made it to Dallas. It was noon on Christmas Eve, so we were able to enjoy pretty much the whole day there.

Highlights of Dallas: Christmas (of course), honey baked ham, Blue Bell ice cream, seeing cousins, hanging out with my family, taking pictures with Leighana.
Oh yeah, I had a birthday during that time, too. I'm 24 now and I don't feel any different, but I do like saying "24" instead of "23."

This is by far the cutest Christmas present I have ever seen.

2008's awkward sibling Christmas picture

Hanging out with cousins at the grandparents' house

We left Dallas on Sunday, the 28th (Leighana's birthday - sorry we had to leave on your birthday, Lele!). We wanted to take more time to enjoy this stretch of the drive because neither of us had really spent any time in the deep south. We stopped for the night just outside of Birmingham, Alabama at a Motel 6 that made me want to throw up. Here's why:
  • There was a Big Nasty Hair on the hand towel in the bathroom.
  • It stunk.
  • I used my own pillow so I didn't have to lay my head on their pillows, but that was kind of a bad idea because then MY pillow STUNK.
Also, I kinda got the heebie-jeebies when we saw the MANY signs in the parking lot that said "Lock your car! We are not responsible for theft or damage to vehicles or loss of life!" Ok, maybe the sign didn't say "loss of life" but I felt that was implied. And then we went to the lobby to check in, except we couldn't actually go INTO the lobby because it was after sundown, so we had to talk to the lady through a bullet-proof glass window.

Ok, so we left the next morning and drove a couple hours to Atlanta. Our plan was to get lunch, go to the aquarium, and be on our way. But apparently, the Georgia Aquarium is crazy busy (especially because there was a bowl game going on that weekend in Atlanta) and we had to wait in line 45 minutes just to buy tickets. And the tickets have times, so even though we got there at 1:30 PM to buy tickets, we couldn't get in until 4:00 PM. But that was alright because we took that time to wander around and see some other things in Atlanta, like the Olympic Centennial Park and the CNN building.

I didn't know Jared was making this face in the background, but I think it's really cute.

This is the hummer/broadcasting station that was used by CNN reporters in Iraq.

We finally left Atlanta at about 6:00 PM and drove the rest of the way to North Carolina. We arrived in Raleigh about 1:00 AM. I'm so glad we made it here safely!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Just when I was getting used to being a Utahn...

I will soon be a North Carolinian.

I'm moving to Raleigh, NC to close the 2,000 mile gap between me and my boyfriend, Jared. He moved there in August for school and I've finally decided I like him enough to follow. Putting aside my fear for the future and my sadness of leaving my dear friends in Provo, I'm pretty excited. It will definitely be nice to spend more time with Jared. We have tons of fun adventures planned already.

I'm excited for:
1. the Smoky Mountains
2. the beach
3. southerners
4. venus flytraps (they are native to North Carolina and I want to grow one)
5. being only 4 1/2 hours from DC
6. MY TOTALLY AWESOME HOUSE!

Yea!

Jared is going to help me move out there and we are going to stop in Dallas on the way to spend Christmas with my family. Wish us luck for our 40 hours of driving.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Soundtrack of my life

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your music library.
2. Put it on shuffle.
3. Press play.
4. For every question, type the song that's playing.
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button.
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...

Opening Credits: "Lullaby"-Kalai

Waking Up: "Ain't Nothin' Like" -Brad Paisley

First Day of School: "Control Freak" -Copeland

Falling in Love: "The Day Before You" -Rascal Flatts (this one actually fits really well)

Fight Song: "Hop a Plane" -Tegan and Sara

Breaking Up: "One Fine Wire" -Colby Caillat

Life: "Alone" -Kenny G (no! I really hope this song does NOT describe my life!)

Mental Breakdown: "Time Stands Still" -All-American Rejects

Driving: "Somewhere A Clock is Ticking" -Snow Patrol

Flashbacks: "Ice Ice Baby" -Vanilla Ice (should I be embarrassed that I have this song on my computer? Cuz I'm not.)

Getting Back Together: "Dancing With Angels" -SheDaisy

Wedding: "It's My Life" -Bon Jovi (hmm...not your traditional wedding song)

Birth of a Child: "I Can Tell" -BBMak (I might be a little embarrassed to have BBMak)

Final Battle: "Tied Down" -Colbie Caillat

Death Scene: "You Can Do It" -No Doubt

Funeral Song: "Oh Dear" -Matt Costa

End Credits: "Luckie St." -Cartel

So...this didn't work so well. But you should do it anyway, because I like to see what kind of music other people have in their libraries.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Thank you!

Check out this full-page ad in the New York Times defending the LDS church and other faiths. I adamantly agree that whatever your political or moral opinions, violence and vandalism are unjustified.

http://www.nomobveto.org/images/nytad_lg.png

Friday, December 5, 2008

Snow Sports

I once saw skiing (also applies to snowboarding) defined as "the art of catching cold and going broke while rapidly heading nowhere at great personal risk." Pretty accurate, I think. Nevertheless, I really wish it would SNOW so I could hit the slopes!!! What is this? December 5 and no snow??? Agh!

More NZ pics

Check out more pictures on facebook here and here.