Weekend To Do List

PS. Enjoy Spring!

Oh boy, I've got Joy!

Things I am grateful for today...

That yesterday was as perfect as any May day gets. It started well, went well, and ended well.

Running into old roommates and friends.

Growing up.

Feeling young.

Letters from sister missionaries. I miss you Amy!

Reading THE BOARD.

The lilac smell in every room.

Relaxing pillow spray.

Allergy medicine.

My stealthy bike that sneaks up on people. It's so quiet that one might say it has a magnetohydrodynamic drive.

That I ride my bike to work every day minus Wednesday because I work late.

That I wear my helmet and glasses. I confess, 80 percent is for safety reasons, the other 20 percent is because I don't want people to recognize me.

Ride to work day.

Being home with the family this summer!

My little bro who is now passing ALL HIS CLASSES!!!!

The creative genius in Chad that has shown itself lately in his new long board business. He has made six so far and has orders for more.

Chad's sauce and style. Maybe just his saucy style.

Sierra's awesomeness and sisterly insight. I can't believe I missed out on having my little sister as my friend until I was 17 years old.

My creative and beautiful mother who put up with us on Mother's Day last Sunday.

That mom stocked the fridge, had frozen meals pre-cooked in the freezer, and left cash for groceries while she was gone.

Dad taking Sierra and I fishing and four wheeling last weekend.

Dad's hard work and him reading the scriptures each morning while eating breakfast. I have my own "breakfast Book of Mormon" full of crumbs and milk stains because of his example.

Red, yellow, and orange birds.

The three baby robins in our tree out back and their diligent mother who perches on the fence.

The effectiveness of hand sanitizer.

An delightful poem such as this one.

My laptop. I might still get a year or so out of it after all!

White skirts and dresses paired with flirty spring shoes.

Finding a blossom in my hair this morning after our flower fight last night.

Blogger. I need to stop stalking and gawking however.

Reading the newspaper each morning (including my horoscope: "A problem with competition will need immediate attention").

My six dollar Asics running shoes that are still going strong.

The fact that I really don't care how good I look while doing my morning run anymore.

Some conveniences of Facebook and the fact that I have NEVER and will never take a quiz of any kind.

The regular river trail runners that say hello each morning.

Cookie cutter houses despite it all.

My smiley bishop who I saw on campus today!

Linking words while blogging.

Funny design concepts like this.

Windy days.

Hot keys.
The primary colors, which I happen to be wearing right now.

10 cent raises and free water bottles.

Waiting lists.

Seeing Life in Technicolor.

The power of a hot shower or a long bath.

Tomatillo salsa. So easy: 10 boiled tomatillos, 1 jalapeno, 2 cloves of garlic, one bunch of cilantro, salt and pepper to taste. Blend it all up baby!

Returning missionaries.

Les Misérables and Jamie Pugh.

Temple night, Thursday night. Call me if you want to come.

Nuvia, my mentee. I also love that we are both major fans of chocolate chip cookies. Oh, by the way, if anyone is interested in mentoring check out the Web site here. One of the best decisions of my life so far.

Adobe Illustrator. Do you like my new blog header?

Laughing until my cheek muscles hurt after finding and perusing this blog.

The Harold B. Lee Library.

The Daily Universe.

To have two part-time jobs this summer.

Great supervisors and co-workers.

My fear of vending machines.

Garbage day every Monday. Somehow it is very reassuring and comforting to me to know that every monday the garbage will be taken away.

The crisp and wonderful letterpressing of wedding invitations.

Toothpast, mouthwash, and yes, even the dreaded floss.

Harper's random Saturday activity club. What is planned for this week?

Organization and that now my sister is feeling the vibe.

A new baby niece this fall!

The talent of this. I kind of really want to see this in real life, does anyone know how I can?

Inspiration in unexpected places which make creativy ooze and gush.

Words of the Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley.

Becoming "anxiously engaged" in the full life around me.

Home Again

Final Farewells to Our Home in Alcalá

Lauren, Elaina, and I. Elaina was the kindest host "mom" anyone could ask for. Everyday I smiled and laughed with Lauren around!

We finally were able to navigate around our little Alcalá and find our apartment after figuring out that we lived next to this awesome water fountain.

Wait for green. Press the button. I think I picked up a nasty habit of jaywalking in Spain though.

We lived right next to a post office which was convenient. I felt so happy when I was able to send a package all by myself!

Numero siete. Our apartment building.

The everyday walk to school.

It's funny to see all the laundry hanging outside of the apartment buildings.

A phone booth. Not as cool as pictures I've seen of vintage phone booths in London, but still a little different.

For the longest time I had no idea what these booths were. They are actually lottery booths where you are able to get a ticket for the lottery. I wonder what it would be like to work there each and every day. A percentage of the money from the lottery ticket revenues goes to the blind and disabled (ONCE).

There are ATM machines on every corner.

A photo booth on the street.

An eye glass shop. The shops put down metal covering things at night and during siesta and sometimes there is some pretty neat graffiti on the outside.

The equivalent of the Dollar Store in the U.S. (except that things are more than a dollar). Think cheap stuff and little trinkets. These stores seemed to be pretty common in Spain.

Inside Acalingua, our school.

Our Spanish classroom.

We had only a small space heater so the first month we wore our coats inside everyday.

The vending machine in the school. I had to take a photo because I wanted to remember the palmeras and choco bon bons. So good!

The plaza behind the school. I did my homework here often. Did you notice the funny walking/leash thing the little baby is wearing?

I fell in love with Alcalá when I went on a walk and saw this. It remined me of floating down the Provo river during summertime. Lauren and I often went running in a park and by this river.

Overlooking Alcalá. Part of our study abroad group went on a Saturday hike up above the city. It was interesting to see the size of Alcalá and see the difference between the center of the city near the Plaza Cervantes and the outlying houses and apartments.

Coca, León, Santiago de Compostela, the Holy Grail, Salamanca, and Ávila

Our final week of adventure around Spain!

(This post is going to be starting from the end of the trip, sorry if that confuses anyone.)

Our last stop on our last trip around Spain was in Coca to see this castle. Sadly, we arrived just in time for siesta and it was closed. On our way back to Alcalá it snowed. And we thought we had seen the last of winter. Ha!

We spent Friday in León. The main highlight of the city is the beautiful cathedral full of stained glass windows.

Outside the cathedral paper chains made of hand cut-outs hung on the fence and up to the windows. I never found out the reason for the garlands, but I think it was for a celebration.

We took a tour of the cathedral and learned about the restoration project for the cathedral.

Medieval stained glass window.

There wasn't too much to do in León. We got some suckers to pass the time!

A león in León.

How fitting to visit the pilgrimage site Santiago de Compostela on our final week-long trip around Spain! I'm so glad that we saved this incredible place until the end. The patron saint of Spain is the apostle James, or Santiago in Spanish. In the cathedral are the supposed remains of the apostle. At the center of the cathedral is a statue of gold and jewels of James and you can go up behind it and hug him. Kind of strange, but it is a big part of the pilgrimage to finally be able to hug St. James at the end of your journey.

We spent Wednesday and Thursday in Santiago de Compostela and we were able to attend the pilgrim’s mass (held every day at noon). It was my first mass and I really enjoyed it even though it felt very different and foreign. I'm glad I sat by Megan who had been to many masses before.

The architecture of the cathedral is extraordinary.

Saints. Who is the only one without a beard?

A poor shot of the inside. The gleaming gold mass in the center is the main and the statue of James.

On Thursday evening we went to an orchestral and choral concert at the cathedral. The music was beautiful and the setting perfect. Sound filled every corner of the vast cathedral. There is a strong spirit of beauty and there are moments where it can drench our souls.

There was a bagpipe player next to the cathedral.

A guy dressed up like Moses(?) outside the cathedral.

The symbol of St. James (Santiago) is the scallop shell, it is found all along the pilgrimage trail and in the city.

On a street near the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. It was like the "Costco" of Spain because people were handing out samples in the doorways of the restaurants, enticing the tourists.

We saw the Holy Grail in a tiny villagey sort of place, high in the mountains, called Os Ancares.

This place is famous for the Celtic-style stone huts, called pallozas.

Wildflowers and moss on an old stone wall.

Imagine living in a palloza and having this view to wake up to every morning. I would do it in a heart beat.

Pilgrim walking sticks, notice the shells tied on to the tops.

Tuesday afternoon we spent in Salamanca.

We saw the cathedral (above photo).

We visited La Casa de Las Conchas. A house with scallop shells all over the outside and fantastic gargoyles in the courtyard.

One of the most famous sites of Salamanca is the Plaza Mayor, famous because of the movie "Vantage Point." It was fun to see people plopped right down on the ground in the middle of the plaza, just taking a little sun, chatting with friends, people watching (I was at least), and eating lunch.

Here is the plaza all lit up at night.

We began our trip on Tuesday morning by stopping in Ávila to see the preserved city wall. The whole town had a medieval atmosphere about it. "Ávila is important because of its association with the great mystic and reformer St. Teresa de Jesus, better known as St. Teresa of Ávila. Teresa was a 16th-century Carmelite nun who reformed her order, had many ecstatic visions, and wrote several books. She is the female patron saint of Spain and was the first woman to be named a Doctor of the Church."

Valencia

We visited the Lladro factory and store in Valencia on Friday morning. I loved the nativity sets and the mother figurines. For our last institute class, the history of the Church in Spain, we watched a documentary on the temple and saints here in Spain. Part of the flim showed the role that Lladro had in the Madrid Temple and creating a version of the Cristus for the temple.

In the afternoon we headed to the beach!

It was the perfect place to watch the sun set behind the city.

On our final day Heather and I made our way over to see the Ciutat de laes Arts i de les Ciencies and the largest aquarium in all of Europe, also known as the L'Oceanografic (Oceanographic Park).

I think these were windows, they look very futuristic to me.

The picture doesn't do this building justice.


Yellow irises and pelicans.

Don't these birds make you think of Valentine's cards or jelly beans?

He posed for us!

Jelly fish are incredible and so delicate.

This big daddy star fish was almost 2 feet long.

One of the strangest fish that I've ever seen. What kind of fish is this?

It was crazy to be walking in a tunnel, separated only by glass, with sharks all around you.

Side note: Once upon a time I thought that I would be a marine biologist. That dream died when I realized that fish could be just as frightening as dogs. I still love fish though and had a great time at the aquarium!