Christmas 2013

a tree in the trouse

I don't know if I've ever told you guys, but a few months ago I moved. My plans to live with one friend fell through last-minute so I was left really stressed about where to live (and I had to move out in 2 weeks). I looked all over but didn't feel good about any of the options I saw. Randomly, I decided to look on my ward's fb page to see if there were any openings (even though I had looked on it many times before). Sure enough, someone had posted an opening. Strangely, she had posted it weeks before but I had never seen it. It was quoted as being 200 bucks cheaper than my current place. !!

Sounds great, right?

Well, I didn't tell you that it is a...trouse.

What's a trouse, you say?

That's what I said. My (now) roommate described it as something between a trailer and a house. I thought she made the term up until I looked it up online 5 minutes ago. Urban dictionary states this as the fourth definition:

4. Trouse  

An add-on built around a trailer, with the intended end-result looking like a "real" house. Usually contruction goes incomplete, as most trailer-dwellers lack ambition and money, and the end result is a TROUSE.

Lack ambition and money? Excuuuse me? So what if it's true...but ask me in four months from now and we'll see who's lackin $$ ya know what I'm sayin?!!? Saving this 200 bucks a month is gonna be Bomb. That's not what I'm thinking, though, when I have to leave my shower running at all times (pipes might freeze, yo), or when I'm freezing in bed (space heater works. most of the time...) or when I can feel the breeze through my walls sometimes, or when the toilet is lopsided, or when the bathroom is freezing, or when I look up and see stains on the ceiling...

Anyways. I digress. 

My point is - although this place is weird, and I kind of feel awkward telling people sometimes I live here, my roommates are awesome. Why do I say that? Maybe it's because they bought me a caramel sunday because they knew I had a bad day. Or maybe it's because they make food/dinner and often share it with me. Or maybe it's because when I share my dinner/food they offer to do the dishes. Or maybe it's because they are just nice and friendly. Or maybe it's because they invite me to their parties, introduce me to their friends, and are reasonable, nice people. 

Yesterday we went to go get a Christmas tree! Every time I open my door, I get a whiff of fresh pine smell. And boy is it amazing. 

This is us when we realized this was THE ONE.

 Don't know where my eye went...but this is a groupie shot (the dude is NOT our roommate, haha)

 Ps. I love apple cider.

 Erica is putting on the lights - I thought this was a cool picture.

 And...the finished product! Best smell EVER. And best SIGHT EVER!

 

Thanksgiving 2013!

Recipe for an awesome Thanksgiving Break:

1. Cooking with the Master Chef, Ryan. I mean, who else cooks a turkey in a grill (and it comes out super succulent), cracks their own walnuts for chocolate-covered walnuts, owns a mortar and stone, grinds their own nutmeg, regularly shops at Persian grocery stores? Yep, my bro...

2. Eating a delicious, and I mean D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S Thanksgiving meal. With this awesome family.

 

3. Ping-pong Tournaments in the garage while jamming to sweet tunes.

 4. Obnoxious levels of picture-taking ;) And my wonderful/hilarious/fun bro/sis-in-law.

5. Game nights. x 5.  Complete with craze, exhibited on Ryan/Kie's face (look closely).

new obsession: DOMINOS. Why did I never know about this game before?

 6. 70 degree weather and the beautiful beaches of Santa Monica...

 7. Touring the streets of Los Angeles (I don't think I've felt this cool in years...haha)

8. Spending time with these three AWESOME people. Who I happened to be related to...

 9. Eating out at a sweet Chinese restaurant in China town!

TARO + Juliet!

 10. Picnics at the park complete with too many sunflower seeds, long talks, Frisbee and volleyball games, beautiful weather, homemade (gourmet) packed lunches.

Love these kiddos!

Ryan decided to throw sunflower seeds at us. And Kie, well, I don't know what she is doing ;) Haha!

Me and my bro!!

my bitter diatribe

Sometimes, boys are idiots.

I'm usually not one to man-hate, and this is not even 1/100th of the bitter diatribe I could say right now, and I'll probably delete this in a few months when I feel ashamed I was ever this bitter enough to blog about it, but I kind of feel like it's long overdue.

So there it is. I said it.

For all the men males not reading my blog:

• Don't ever compare women to food. Especially doughnuts. On any number date. 
• Don't ask me why I'm not married at age 27 and inquire specifically about my issues, forcing me to make up some issue I don't actually have.
• Don't ask me about what kind of house I want when we are not even dating.
• Don't play mind-games with your ex-girlfriend and start dating someone you don't even like when YOU were the reason the relationship didn't work out. A new girl is not going to solve your emotional problems, and you're just messing with her emotions, my emotions, and your own emotions.
• Don't text me all the time with absolutely no purpose. 
• Don't wait 2 weeks in between each date.
• Don't ask me a question you don't actually want a real answer to.
• Don't try to make a decision about me before you've even built our friendship.
• Don't tell me you want to live next to your mom and dad the rest of your life - if you want any chance with me, wait until I'm already in love with you before telling me that. I don't care how cool your parents are.
• Don't walk another girl to in front of MY (your ex-girlfriend's) CAR and get her number while I walk to my car after an activity. Not classy. At all. And just plain juvenille. Have the respect to do it in private or somewhere else in the parking lot. Don't tell me you don't know what car I have, because I know you know. 

I'm done.

Frary Peak Hill Climb

I did a race on Antelope Island 

last weekend - Frary Peak Hill Climb - which consisted of 3 miles straight uphill (1500 ft eleveation gain) and then back down. Let's be honest - I hiked (not even fast-hiked) the 3 miles up and then sprinted down those 3 miles. I passed 5 people coming down! But was more sore than I have been in years because of that downhill sprint. 

The run, although ridiculously out of my range of fitness, was BEAUTIFUL. I could see all of Salt Lake city to my east and all of the Great Salt Lake to my west. The run followed the ridgeline of Frary Peak. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of these awesome views (no camera on the run), but here are some pictures of me and my friends who came to support/run: Maranda & John.

November.

What have I been up to as of late?

1. Spending a lot of time with my girl friends: Kassidy & Sarah

  

2. Obsessing over where I live. 

#nofilter

3. Working a lot. It's kind of become the norm to throw myself into my work. Just yesterday I left work feeling like, "Now what do I do?" I spend so much of my time working, or thinking about work, or doing homework relating to my work, that when I don't have to think about work, or do work, I don't know what to do with myself. I guess that's good? I don't know. While I'm enjoying my "down time," I'm realizing I need to pick up some hobbies.

4. Running.

This is the view from one of my runs around Sandy. I'm kind of still obsessed. It's my outlet. I'm trying to get all the nature-y things in before it turns ice or 4 months (blk) and I have to resort to pretending like I know how to ski...

fairy friends

My 2nd grade team decided to be fairies for Halloween. I loved watching all of the kids' SHOCKED faces when they saw us. My favorite part of the day. I'm really loving my job these days. It's still busy, exhausting, and frustrating at times, but I feel like I'm finally past the "hard hump" of the beginning of the school year where the kids don't know you and you don't know them (and they don't know what you're saying). And that means I'm finally to the point of letting my personality out more at school - being crazy and fun around them instead of stressed and tired. Makes the job easier, and also makes them have more fun. Yesterday I let the kids "free write" (something I learned in my online class I'm taking right now about Literacy) about anything they wanted. I encouraged them to be creative with the vocabulary words we have learned (which were posted on the wall). I was amazed at all the things they could write in Chinese (and how much they enjoyed it!) and it made me happy I was teaching. In Chinese, they wrote sentences like:

"I eat my classmates every day."

"Ms. Hatch's hair is messy."

"Ants crawl and dad watches the clouds."

"Mom and dad and my little brother like to play video games."

I'm amazed at them.

Also a bonus is that I love my coworkers. They are spunky and help me enjoy the job. And, they probably know more about my life/struggles than anyone else in Salt Lake.

#happyhalloween?

Remember that one time your last-minute attempts to find a costume for Halloween failed epically for the first time, ever? Remember how you had to settle for wearing flannel and a scarf made of 5 minxes that smelled like must to a Halloween party with a guy you might like? Remember that? #halloween2013 #creativityendsat27apparently