Hey There Hi There Ho There

Sorry I haven't posted in a WHOLE WEEK.  I know- you're crying, right?  (Whether from withdrawal or relief, I don't really want to know :P)

Well, I moved across the country.  And I've been sick.  Like gross-don't-come-near-me sick.  So that's been pretty awesome.  (<-- I wish I could visually draw sarcasm dripping from that statement.)

BUT!  I have had some amazing experiences:

-Bridal Shower for a Best Friend
-Classical Concert at Tanglewood
-Norman Rockwell Museum
-Boston
-Shadowing in NYC at Ogilvy
-New apartment
-First day of school?

Pictures and stories are coming soon, never fear.  I just wanted to reassure you all that I have not deserted the blogosphere.  Take courage.  Hehe.

Ka-Ching (Take Your Money)

I am crazy about Marshalls.  The store, not a boy :P

I love little stores, but I can't help myself- I dearly miss this big ol' chain when I'm at school.

Wonder why?

Three dollars.

Five dollars.

Done and done.

Sun is Shining

As my little sister, O'Kara, told me today, "Everyone has to go to the beach at least once during the summer.  Otherwise, it's not a real summer."

Guess where we went on this perfect day? Hammonasset Beach!

(It's right next to a salt marsh, where there was some stinky water reminiscent of Yellowstone.)

And of course we got ice cream cones at Lenny & Joe's :)  What other way do you end a beach day?

Look what I saw on the drive home, though!  Summer is coming to an end :(

Case and point? I go back to Provo in exactly one week!

I'm Really Really Graceful...

I'm pretty talented, if I do say so myself.  However, that talent seems to lie more in "how much can I hurt myself in one day" rather than, say, dancing or walking :P

I went to Cirque du Soleil a few years back and was just today perusing videos of the show I saw.  This girl is pretty much the polar opposite of me (she's ACTUALLY very graceful) and, boy, do I wish I could do what she does (I did always want to run away and join the circus):

Reading Rainbow

Today was a lazy day.  I tried to convince my siblings to go to a museum with me but they had been "a million times."  Gosh.

So, what did I do?  I read ALL day.  And found some good books to recommend in the process.  So, I decided to compile a list of books I've read this summer that I enjoyed and thought that maybe you would too! (see list below)

I love it when people recommend good books to me because it's sometimes hard to find them on your own.  So, if you want, share your favorite books with me and I'll continue to post about good books I read when I find them!!  I love to read pretty much everything, so anything is fair game :)

These Is My Words was one of the two books I read today.  I had heard about it before and searched for it in the BYU library (no success), Provo library (no success), and my little library in CT (partial success) which had to borrow it from another library.  When I finally got my hands on it, I loved it!!!  You read Sarah's diary and the words themselves reflect her growth.  Love, guns, Indians-- what more do you want? (388 pages)

The Hunger Games.  I'm pretty sure lots of people have heard of it.  I've seen students at school walking around with their heads buried in it, barely avoiding other students, segways, and trees.  It's super fun and addicting, telling the story about a girl named Katniss that must fight for her life in a staged arena against other teenagers/children.  Go for it!!  Just FYI- there are two more books in the series, the third being published in September 2010. (384 pages)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was one of the books that some of my friends read for book club.  I wasn't home at the time, but I decided to check it out and it quickly became one of my favorite books.  It's the only book by this author (with help from her niece), as she died before it was published.  However, her voice really resonates me (it's quirky and funny) and, told in letter form, it's about post-WWII Britain/Guernsey Islands and people who love books/life. (288 pages)

Born To Run was introduced to me by my dad.  He's more than a little obsessed with this book about how humans were built to run long distances.  It's fascinating, with a true story interspersed with tons of facts, and you'll probably walk away with the strange urge to run 20-miles barefoot. (304 pages)

Graceling and Fire are placed in a different world where (...wait for it...) maaaagic happens.  Okay, so I'm kind of a dork :P  But if it's your thing, these two books, about two women with totally different gifts, were really fun, different, and the type of book that, before you know it, you've read two-thirds of and can't wait to see what happens next. (480 pages)

A Thousand Splendid Suns is, as you can see from the picture above, another book by Khaled Hosseini, who wrote the excellent book, The Kite Runner (which I also recommend).  This book is more about women in Afghanistan.  Yes, I cried (one of the sure signs that I'm connecting to a book emotionally.) (400 pages)

Top Chef, Here I Come!

My mom and sister are at Girl's Camp this week, so I get to be in charge... of dishes, cleaning, and food, that is :P

I decided to make homemade pasta and sauce for dinner tonight.  I used a friend's recipe, and I know there are recipes and instructions all over the web.  Try it out!

Delizioso!

Hollywood, Here I Come!!!

My friend, Danny LeFoll, is an aspiring filmmaker.  He asked me to help him make this film one afternoon.  I think it turned out really cute, so check it out:

It's Divine

So my brother and I have been posting some of our favorite Divine Comedy videos on each other's Facebook walls.  Here are two of our favorites:

"City of Magnificent Intentions" -Charles Dickens

Sorry for the lack of posting this past week.  I have good reason however!  I was on vacation!! ...... well, more of a vacation than the one I'm already on haha :P

My friend Sarah, my sister N'Krysta, my sister-in-law Suzie, and I took a road trip down to Washington, D.C.  We stayed with our good friend who used to live in Connecticut, Jennifer Anderson.  It was so fun!!!

Anyways, I have about a million pictures from the trip, but I chose just a "few" of my favorite pictures and stories to tell you:

(Wednesday) First, a long drive in Sarah's car.  D.C. is 6-8 hours away from my house in Connecticut.

It was great for catching up on some zzz's, though.

Finally, we arrived in Washington, D.C.!!

(Thursday) We found this funny sign in Arlington.  Click on the picture for a closer look of the creeper sign.

Delicious lunch on the National Mall.  There were some teenage boys playing frisbee nearby and one of them had a BYU t-shirt on.  Suzie tried to talk to one of them; he told her that didn't go to BYU yet and then walked away.  I guess he wasn't interested in talking to older women haha :P

This grinning old man skull was part of a fascinating exhibition at the Museum of Natural History.

Cera and Sarah.

In case you can't tell, we're mimicking the fossils behind us.  We're pretty good at being dinosaurs :)

At the Museum of American History, Suzie posed next to a costume from a Carol Burnett sketch.  Check out the classic spoof of Gone With the Wind.

I love love love gymnastics.  So of course I needed a picture next to Nastia Liukin's leotard from her individual all-around gold-medal win from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

There was entire exhibit about Abraham Lincoln that was really interesting.  For instance, did you know his illiterate step-mother encouraged his education?  He and his father became estranged and weren't even speaking when his father died.  President Lincoln had two different casts made of his face; you can see the aging that the presidency caused him.

Sarah hadn't been to a zoo since she was 5 years old, so, on Friday, we went to the National Zoo.  When we got off the metro, though, we couldn't figure out which way the zoo was.  There was a map nearby that we consulted, but it turned out to be upside down.  How did we discover this?  Oh, by walking a mile in the wrong direction :P

I did find a photo-op in that random downtown, though.  Oddly enough, there is a giant inside joke at BYU about Wu-Tang.  Check out this HumorU video to get in on the joke.

The zoo was a lot of fun (when we finally got there).

It turned out to be Sarah's favorite part!

We all modeled next to the Connecticut Avenue sign.  N'Krysta looked the most like an actual model, though :)

This was one memorial I had never seen before.  The Air Force Memorial was designed to mirror the formation pilots make for a fallen comrade.  Free concerts are held at the memorial on Friday nights.

On Saturday, we went to the Eastern Market and ate some of the famous Blue-Bucks.

The stands had awesome artwork, produce, crafts, etc.

Throwback anyone?

We also went to the Holocaust Museum, but pictures aren't allowed.  I had never been before and wasn't quite sure what to expect.  It was a solemn, enlightening, thought-provoking, emotional experience.

We dined at 2Amys with our good friend Tito.  The pizza and Italian rice balls were pretty delicious.  We actually hung out with Tito all week.  My favorite part of the whole week was staying up till 2am with him, N'Krysta, and Sarah playing card games on a blanket outside.

(Sunday) Jen took us to the National Harbor.  It was a beautiful morning.

We saw this awesome statue, called The Awakening.

And just had tons of fun :D

We decided that N'Krysta had a "black" sounding name, so we re-christened her N'Kryzduh.  There she is with her peeps.

Jennifer was so awesome to let us crash at her house.  She was mine and Sarah's YW leader when we were Mia Maids.  She is one of the most sincere and sweet people I have ever met.

We went to church right near Mt. Vernon.

And who did I run into?  My old friend Jonathan.  We lived near each other back at school.  Favorite memory with him?  Once, we played foosball as a team and we won 20-something times in a row.  In fact, we have never been defeated... challenge, anyone?

Finally, on the ride back home, we were using toll-free directions from Google.  Due to some construction, I had to improvise and accidentally took us into the Baltimore ghetto.  But we got home just fine, albeit late (2am anyone?).