What the What?

Here is a quick catch up on my New Year's resolutions. While Daniel and I have not walked every day nor every weekend (there has been some serious rain pourage on a some consistent weekends), Daniel has been walking on his own about twice a week and sometime three to four if I'm with him.  He actually wants to do it himself.  So while I thought I had ruined that goal, I would say it has been successful since Daniel is doing it himself and ultimately it is for his health. It does help that we live next to the river so walking is actually enjoyable.

June seems to have flown by and I have two acts of kindness to do, but everyone seems to do acts towards me. I had a captain buy my meals for my entire trip (man did we eat well, Greek food and sushi). My mom let me come  to her house in DC and drag her around the Aerospace museum and look at airplanes. 

The Enola Gay; drop the first Atomic bomb.

My one good deed  was accepting a calling in primary for the CTR4. Okay this really was a saintly act since I've only taught this class three previous times and am sick and tired of it.  There also is the fact that right now in my life I am so not into children. I've become that person who just sees them as sticky, loud, money suckers that ruin you body. It doesn't mean that I don't like individual children because I really do connect with some (and most connect with me whether I like them or not). The only positive thing is that this will be a very good form of birth control (there are 9 in this class and exhaust me beyond belief).

May Day

So I didn't think I would get any good deeds done for May and I was thinking that was mighty fine.  I had the last week off and I wanted to visit family and friends, so off to Utah I went.  This ended up a bit comically because I started at 4 am and I had to miss two flights before I could get to Salt Lake. I got stuck in Houston for roughly six hours, but I got to see two flight attendant buddies.  One I escorted to his plane and talked to him, and the other I helped to get to Las Vegas (she was going to go this really messed up way and her time so wasn't adding up).  It made it nice for me because I was able to talk to someone to Salt Lake and she even said it brighten her day.  I guess the next was that I had the gate agents cracking up. I'm not sure exactly what I was saying, but it made their weekend since they had to work the holiday weekend I count that as my second act.

Now onto the picture fun.  When I go into to town I went over to my friend Jody's house, she got show off her house and I got to see all of my college buddies.


Yep they made the U totally worth it.  Two of them didn't even go to college with me, but hey it was still awesome.
 

Sunday was nice because I got to spend it with my dad because everyone was out of town.  We decided to make our traditional Christmas dinner of Lobster and Steak. Since I canceled Christmas last year. This was quite the treat; that and I can't grill in my apartment.








For Memorial Day, I went with the Gedge family to visit dead people.  This hit my morbid fancy so I went along (I know this is a normal thing to do on Memorial Day, but growing up we always went to movies). 

A Gedge relative with the same birthday as me.

Aunt Alice and I have a common ancestor, so we are cousins.

Cousins playing around



 I got to see my Opa and Nana's grave. It was nice of my in-laws to let me visit.

On Tuesday I got to fly down to St. George to visit my Gran and Jenn and her new baby. I came back the same day after enjoying good breakfast and lunch.  But I had to go to the Melty Way, a grilled cheese shop that my sister-in-law kept talking about (we had a plan for months to go here). It was so good. I had to show the world ie Facebook. Love pictures of me stuffing my gob.



Slow going

This April has been pretty boring.  It has been as slow as the plants I'm trying to go. Even if they have had a few near death experiences; they still seem to want to live.  Hopefully in May or June I will have nice pictures to show off.

I did bother to randomly be kind to people.  One was simple; I had to talk to a friend while she cleaned her house. I sat on her bed (the only clear place) and watch her throw out junk two years older and put her room in an orderly manner.  She said it wouldn't have gotten done because she couldn't just wonder off when she was bored with that room 'cause I was still sitting in there.  It was a little cathartic for me because I didn't realize that I had gotten rid of so much stuff last year when I did my 100 things closet and clean out my kitchen. No way would I get down to a 100 gadgets, but I could get rid of crappy bowls/Tupperware.  It was a little much to see all her stuff (to be fair she did go from a house to a two bedroom apartment).

My next one is spectacular.  I helped a girl have a 16 year old party.  Her mom didn't have money for a simple party of taking the Front Runner to Salt Lake, do the Temple Square thing, some historical sites and a lunch.  I thought this was awful mostly, because I expected a car (a crap car, but a car none the less) and something great because I was 16.  I figured if this girl wanted this relative cheap smart party she should have it.  I donated some money and can't wait to hear that she had a good time, or thought or whatever it is 16 year olds think of stuff.

Here is a photo of my knitting since everyone seems to be spitting out babies right now.
 BABY LEGGINGS!!!!

Thought I was in Trouble

This month I thought I wasn't going to make it on my good deeds, but I can say that I'm successful without even trying.

First deed may not really count because I am the one to receive it, but it was in the spirit of it so I get to count it because I'm the judge of this thing anyway.  I had called my friend freaking out, as I usually do, over work and left a panicked message. I then snidely told her to get back to me ASAP. It is a joke between us because I constantly call her and it takes a week or two for her to get back to me.  I didn't have a week this time and it drives me insane that she can't promptly get back to me.  So she called me back really late that day and left a message because I was working.  It was a rushed brain barf of a message and at the end of it she said really quickly, "You'll do great. I love you! Bye."  I was really surprised (eyebrow lifting, pulled up short, surprised).  She and I aren't super close, and I usually say something totally inappropriate to her in personal emotional situations that we talk about. So we don't close our conversations with trite and casual phrases. Anyway I was really touched because she meant it.  It had totally slipped out of her mouth because she was talking so fast in a total distracted manner.  I didn't realize how much it meant to me because I had this funny voice in my head that said, "See someone besides Daniel would care if you were dead."  I told the voice to shut up because I already have a sick fascination with death and being prepared for it, so I didn't need to start dwelling on that. 

So yeah doing something good without the person knowing that is the theme of the month.  This one I truly didn't know I was doing anything great even as it was told to my face.  I was out with a buddy of my from church doing our Visiting Teaching.  We use this as an excuse to get together since our lives are so busy (I don't even know how or why we became friends since we have seen each other a handful of times, but hey we clicked).  Anyway for once it got off the beaten track and we were laughing because she had said that her really good friend went to Paris and didn't even get her a crummy "My friend went to Paris and all I got was a T-shirt" shirt.  And she looked at me and I kept thinking, "Geez that person is a jerk" and I realize she was making fun of me and I didn't  even get it for a while, but then I  did I started to laugh (I don't do giving junk unless it speaks to me of that person).  Later on the conversation turned serious and she was telling someone that she didn't want her Visiting Teachers or her Visiting Teaching companion to change because that has been the biggest help in her life right now.  I knew who her teachers were, but for the life of me I couldn't think who her companion was and I was kind of jealous. And then it totally dawned on me she was talking about me.  I busted laughing because I didn't see myself that way.  I saw myself as her friend, and I am always the one that is just a friend and not "the life saving friend."  She looked at me, and I explained that I was trying to figure out who her companion was until it finally hit me. She thought I was the biggest ditz, but I must have been having a rough night not to be putting two an two together.

Onto Italy

Florence is one of the most happiest beautiful cities I've been to.  Since I was there in the gray and rain I can really say that.  I have wanted to come here since my senior year in high school where I learned about Michelangelo's Unbreakables and saw "A Room With A View"

Started trip off with Gelato

We got Florence by taking the night train. Daniel loves using the train to get around.  We got a sleeper car with four other people, and we picked up some really loud obnoxious teenagers that were loud and we had to yell at three times before they calmed down.  Daniel still likes to go by train because they are so fast and different.   Once in Florence we found our bed and breakfast out in the suburbs (we got to see the same local old men stand outside and argue about the same things near every morning, but when it rained).  First stop, food, and then I wanted to see the Duamo and the baptistery.



The Duamo, yes I'm in the picture, but the building dwarfs me you can barely see me even if I'm standing out in red.

The Dome

Dante Inferno





Going up the steps in the dome was so steep. It was one of the coolest, but harder hikes I've done. You climb at an angle it gets you to understand the earth is straight, but curved and you don't know it.  It is pretty trippy.



Having a nice sit with a view after our hike.



Going down



Baptistery

Gate of Paradise





We then tried to see the David it was closed on Monday, so we saw the replica of where the original stood.  We also got a layout of the city and walked every where.  The best part was eating at the cafes.  It was funny because all the places we ate were tourist traps and not good, but when we found some high rated sandwich shops we were in heaven.  Ham is different from Prosciutto and it is a big difference.  Just because I'm American doesn't mean that when I ask for Prosciutto I mean ham.

Daniel playing Assassin's Creed

We had to go back to the B&B because Daniel had a surprise for me.  We had walked so much that massive blisters had formed.  They were huge on both feet and took at least three bandaids to cover each one up.



The Next day we consentrated on seeing the David and the Unbreakables which are in a museum that they want you to buy prints so that you can't take your own pictures.  Even though it is to scale in the square the replica doesn't do it justice, but at the same time I think it is not shown to it's advantage in the square while the museum makes it magnificent. We also found a new sculpturest, Lorenzo Bartonlini, it was amazing just to see his castings (none of his actual works are in Florence, but mostly in France). My favorite is the The Inconsolable which is on a grave in Pisa. We then went to the Uffazi and saw the Birth of Venus which I liked before, but was really great with scale and in person.



Michelangelo's Grave 

Santa Croce

The courtyard of the De Medici chapel and Donatello's grave.

UNDER A LOGGIA

That is the title of one of the chapters in a Room With a View.  We always seemed to end up here sitting, enjoying the sculptures and people watch.  It was gorgeous at night, so we decided to get pictures of Florence at night.





An Obelisk for you Christine! Right in front of Santa Maria cathedral.

The Gold Market on the Arno

 

I loved that random street corners would have frescos out in the
open.










My new favorite thing to do is cooking classes in foreign countries. Daniel and I learned how to make a killer Tiramisu and fresh pasta. 

We took ourselves home by way of Milan, dirty little city--meh, so that we could get first class.  It was awesome because we got the flat beds.  Now that is the way to travel!