Viva La Mexico!

A bunch of us went on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera last month and it was absolutely incredible! The past few months have been SO stressful and this vacation was the perfect way to purge myself of a mountain of anxiety.

Our first stop was Puerto Vallarta and we spent the majority of our day on a zip-line tour through the jungle. The zip-line course was built around the movie set of “Predator,” so we occasionally had scary alien action figures jumping out of the bushes to startle us. They were lucky that I didn't reflexively pop them with the big steel pulley I was carrying!

Zip-lining was a blast! We all had so much fun and the scenery was unbelievably gorgeous. Our tour guide referred to Easton as “Grande” the whole time, and I won’t deny that everyone looked pretty nervous every time he came flying into each station at warp speed.

After the zip-line tour we spent some time exploring Puerto Vallarta. What a beautiful city! I was so sad when we were forced to get back on the cruise ship later that night.

Our second stop was Mazatlan! We got off the ship at the crack of dawn and made our way to a beautiful beach resort called El Cid. Our day in Mazatlan essentially consisted of eating (I just couldn’t get enough of that Mexican food), boogie boarding, and a lot of sitting around on the beach with my book…which is pretty much my idea of a perfect day!

Our final stop was Cabo San Lucas, and I can safely say that Cabo was my favorite destination. We took a water taxi over to Lover’s Beach, which is the stretch of beach where the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez meet (hence the name). I was completely astounded by the beauty of Lover’s Beach…words can’t even describe it!

Legend has it that if two people go into this little cave…three will come out! Wink wink. Don’t worry, we never actually made it to the cave…although Easton kept trying to lure me in there.

The section of ocean on the Pacific side of the beach was technically off-limits to swimmers because of the extremely powerful waves and currents…which naturally compelled all of the boys to run directly into the water.

They thought they were so rugged…

…and too tough to steer clear of restricted water…

…until the massive waves got ahold of them…

…and gave them the beating of their lives.

All the boys ended up with cuts and scrapes all over them, and Ben even popped his eardrum after being slammed into the ocean floor. I’m sure they considered their injuries a small price to pay.

We also had plenty of time for snorkeling, ultimate frisbee, wheelbarrow races, and shopping. I’m such a sucker for the street vendors.

Between ports we somehow managed to fill our time on the ship as well…

I had so much fun on the cruise and I met lots of new people. I guess we all need a chance to escape reality sometimes, if only for the sake of our own sanity. But I suppose all good things must come to an end…and now I’m just wondering when I’ll get a chance to execute another escape plan!

Newsflash...

...I am a bad blogger. There's a chance you already knew that. I'm aware that my blogging habits are lame and sporadic, but hey...I do my best.

I finally got my grad school applications in! I went through some form of personal hell in the process (including sprinting through local campuses to try and get applications handed over before the deadlines), but it's finally over! Now I can just sit back and wait to see which schools actually decide to let me through their doors.

And with that in mind, I'm off to Mexico for a week! I am SO looking forward to a little sunshine and relaxation. I'll worry about that whole "finding a job" mumbo jumbo after I get back. So, until then...Adios amigos!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Holidays were pretty mellow for me this year, but I have absolutely no complaints about skipping the craziness that usually accompanies Christmas and the New Year. It was so nice to spend some time just relaxing with family and friends! I'm so sad that it's all over...in fact, I'm in complete denial and I haven't stopped listening to Christmas music yet.

I spent New Year's Eve in Seattle and had so much fun, even though it was freezing up there! In fact, I almost couldn't make it back to San Diego because my airplane was stuck in the snow. The plane had to be de-iced twice and then tugged away from the gate before we could finally take off amidst a blizzard of snow. Thank goodness for dramamine, because the contents of my stomach were dying to make a reappearance during all of the turbulence.

Here we are sipping cider during the final countdown to 2009!

I haven't ever been very good at keeping New Year's resolutions...so perhaps my first resolution should be to work on following through with this year's goals! That being said, my New Year's resolutions for 2009 include, but are not limited to:

1. Hopefully get accepted to grad schools and decide where I want to do my master's program.
2. Exercise at least a couple days a week...which will be a huge step up from my current frequency of NEVER.
3. Take better care of myself so that I don't get sick so often.
4. Find a job in the psychology field until school starts in the fall...and avoid being swallowed by the country's "financial crisis" in the meantime.
5. Learn to play the guitar! I bought a guitar years ago but I have never actually committed myself to taking lessons and learning how to play. Hopefully by this time next year I will be posting a video of myself playing a Ramones song to exhibit my sweet new guitar skills.
6. Be happy!

I hope that 2009 brings you an abundance of health, love, and laughter! Happy New Year!

Congrats Becky and Weston!

Over the weekend I flew up to Utah for a few days to finalize my letters of recommendation for grad school applications, and my short trip just happened to coincide with the birth of Becky and Weston's adorable little guy, Holland! I'm pretty sure that Becky purposely extended her pregnancy past the due date to wait until I was in town. So thoughtful.

Holland is absolutely adorable and I am so happy for the lucky new parents. Good luck you two...I hope you can manage to get at least a little bit of sleep over the next few months!

Giving Thanks

I love the holiday season! I find so much comfort in the consistency of my family's holiday traditions, and this Thanksgiving was everything I had looked forward to. We cooked all day, ate WAY too much food, and consumed enough pie for five families. Talk about living the good life!

We also had a chance to visit with our Uncle Dennis and his whole clan while they were in town over the holiday. It has been way too long since we have had a chance to see our cousins and it was so fun to catch up!

Does anyone else see a family resemblance here?

Thanksgiving is a good time to reflect on my millions of blessings and all the things I'm thankful for, so to name a mere few...

I'm thankful for Kylie...the best dog in the world. Every single day she makes me laugh, gives me unconditional love, and keeps me warm in bed at night!

I'm thankful for old friends. I love the way holidays bring everyone home again, and I will always appreciate the fact that no amount of absence or distance can ever change some friendships.

I'm thankful for Easton, who has supported me through some of the most challenging times of my life.

Most importantly of all, I'm thankful for my family. I am so blessed to be a member of such a loving family, and I continue to be amazed by their kindness, selflessness, and unwavering loyalty. I'm deeply grateful for my parents and sisters, and I love them so much.

Christmas is right around the corner! I'm definitely going to soak up as much Christmas music, tree decorating, hot chocolate (regardless of the fact that it's practically beach weather outside), Christmas shopping, and pumpkin pie as I can! Happy Holidays!

The Grim Reaper lives in San Diego

Today I decided to celebrate the amazing San Diego weather by hitting the beach with a friend, and on the way we drove by this hearse parked a couple of blocks from Cardiff beach:

Apparently the Grim Reaper enjoys a sunny day at the beach just as much as anyone else!

Tagged!

Angela tagged me on her blog a couple weeks ago and I somehow completely missed her post, so now it’s time for a little belated tagging action. Sorry it took me so long Angela!

Apparently I’m supposed to tell seven weird or interesting things about myself, and then tell seven other people to do the same and leave them a comment about it. I can’t promise anything very interesting, but here ya go!

1. I love nail polish and I tend to buy a lot of it, but all nail polish must meet TWO requirements in order to be considered worthy of my purchase: It must be an outrageous color, and it must be sparkly.

Here is an extremely flattering (not) picture of me at a concert last month. You can see my bright turquoise nail polish...one of my favorites!

2. I eat my biggest meal of the day around 2:00 in the morning. I have always been a night owl by nature and I am generally awake until ridiculous hours, and for some reason I get ravenous when the 2 a.m. hour rolls in. Last night at the aforementioned time I ate a bowl of spaghetti, a piece of pumpkin pie, a packet of fruit jammers, some canned pears, and a few potato chips. I fell asleep with an uncomfortably full stomach and told myself that I really need to break that habit…but I guarantee that I’ll be gorging myself again tonight.

3. I am obsessed with flip flops. I have a huge tub full of them but I never feel like I own enough. One of my favorite things is when I find really cheap flip flops at a grocery store or gas station, which is exactly how I found my favorite fluorescent pink ones in a barrel at Food 4 Less. I wear my beloved flip flops all year round, even during frigid Utah winters. You can take me out of San Diego, but you can’t take me out of my flip flops.

4. I hate R&B music and I think it physically raises my blood pressure. There have been times where I have started to feel really irritated for no reason, and I find myself flustered and annoyed and can’t figure out why…and then I realize that there is R&B music playing in the background somewhere.

5. My pupils are ridiculously oversized. I hate having such big pupils for a plethora of reasons: My eyes are more black than they are blue; I flinch every single time I walk outside and the bright light hits me; I look like the devil in pictures because my eyes turn bright red; and I am already getting horrible crow’s feet around my eyes from squinting so much. The only silver lining I can think of is that I have pretty good night vision!

This is a totally raw picture of me with my beautiful friend Lisa. She is a total knockout...and I'm just evil.

6. I am completely obsessive-compulsive about cleaning my teeth. I don’t know why I’m so fanatical but I hate it when my teeth feel dirty. I usually brush about four times a day and every night I have a ritual that includes brushing, flossing, using a tongue scraper and gum stimulator, and rinsing with fluoride. Make fun all you want, but I have a very clean mouth.

7. My biggest vices in life are Dr. Pepper and fruity candy. I don’t believe all of that mumbo jumbo about how food can’t make you happy, because if I have a Dr. Pepper in one hand and a strawberry Laffy Taffy in the other…I guarantee there will be a smile on my face.

I'm not sure if there are seven people who even read my blog, but I tag: Courtney, Jessica F., Sam, Tisha, Mallory, Anna, and Hilary!

Happy Halloween!