Attention campers. Lunch has been cancelled due to lack of hustle. Deal with it.

Heavyweights. Anyone? Anyone? I found these pictures of Olympic divers mid-are and they are cracking me up! And made me think of Heavyweights for whatever reason.

source and more photos here http://www.sportsgrid.com/media/photos-of-olympic-divers-in-midair-are-pretty-much-the-greatest-things-weve-ever-seen/

The weekender

I hate sports on TV. Hate them. But the Olympics do something to me. Yesterday I snapped at Jared because he turned off the Lithuania-Argentina basketball game I was watching. I was transfixed watching Ariel Hsing play ping-pong. I stayed up way past my bedtime watching men's gymnastics. I loovveee ittttt.

Other then sitting in front of the t.v. watching other people work out, I did burn a few calories of my own this weekend. Saturday I embarrassed myself trying to pay games at Pioneer day in the 100 degree heat, and then later that day the AC unit in our apartment broke!

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that between jumping around outside playing volleyball, folding clothes in the third ring of hell (my apt), and driving to safety (my grandmothers house) in the pit of doom (my car, which also has no AC), I probably lost 5 lbs of water weight. This was promptly returned to me in the form of fat weight when Jared decided to make chocolate chip cookies.

In other news, Jared looks real cute in suspenders. 

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

Awkward

• Doing tie dye sans gloves. A day later and I look like my fingernails are caked in dried blood.
• Beautiful polyestor Dolly Parton blouse, meet 105 degree heat.
• Your Grammie telling letting you know you could really use a haircut and a blow out. 

Awesome

• Scoring the most perfect lemonade colored jeans on sale. These puppies fit like the dreamiest of dreams.
• Thirty min filling up water balloons that last about 10 seconds. Still worth it.
• Diet Cheerwine.
• Looking at your bloated to-do list and thinking "I got this."

P.S. If I dyed my hair this color, would it be an awkward or an awesome?

Work it, I need a glass of wata...

So again I have faced my inner demons and have bought a ticket for the get fit train. There are few things in this life that I hate/love more then exercise. I hate every second of the time I spend doing it, yet nothing boosts my mood and self confidence like breaking a sweat. I remember when I was working out really regularly, Jared could always tell when I had skipped a day. Why? Because I would act like more of a brat then usual, thats why.

Because I have never been one to push myself, I've tried a few little tricks to help me get along the way: apps, a chart and some new sneakers. So far I'm a week in and have found a way to sweat every day. My sugar addiction has yet to be reckoned with.

 I'm not planning on posting ghastly pictures of my milky white flab or anything, but I do want to use my blog as an outlet for this part of my life as well. I need people to know I'm trying, I do. I need to have that fire under my butt.

The Mean Reds

Sometime I forget how old I am, until I realize I have a little brother with a fu manchu to rival Hulk Hogan.

This weekend I got to hang out with my dear ol' Dad and the Jellyroll, aka Joel pictured above. That was so nice. Overall I had a great weekend.


However, when Sunday night rolled around, I got the weirdest feeling. I got a bad case of the mean reds. Do you remember that part in Breakfast at Tiffanys when she explains what they are?

Holly: You know those days when you get the mean reds?
Paul: The mean reds, you mean like the blues?
Holly : No. The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?
Paul : Sure.

Anyway, Sunday night the mean reds came to town. I never did get quite to the bottom of it. Something to do with being a grown-up and being a child all at the same time I guess. I think it's important to document those nasty little moments, just as well as the great ones. Everyone feels like a pile of crumbs sometime. What really counts is that by the morning I felt like I had conquered something and that I could move on. I think the real key is to just embrace them, realize you don't always have to have a reason to be scared out of your whits (sometimes lots and lots of good things that all add up can be overwhelming). Maybe babble to someone very close to you about it. It doesn't make you crazy.

 Do you ever get the mean reds? How do you feel better?

Awkward and Awesome

Awkward

• Sitting down and feeling your ENTIRE SKIRT BACK SPLIT. There are no words, only horror. It wasn't even a tight skirt, I swear it!
• Losing a crock pot lid in a tiny one bedroom apartment, searching for 20 min, then having Jared find it in about 5.
• My neighbors leaving all of their garbage, including gross moldy fruit cocktail of death, on our tiny shared staircase balcony.
• Every single minute of every daylight hour seems to be scheduled and booked, weekends included. None of which include blogging, which bumps A&A Thursday to Friday. 

Awesome

• Tomorrow will be 6 months is wedded bliss. Wow. 
• Planning vacations that aren't just pretend anymore. 
• Morning yoga and our new star chart to fight the battle of bumminess.
• Having a fantastic friend to come and save you after you split your skirt at work.

Kipin's Guide to Walt Disney World: Epcot World Showcase

The World Showcase! Aka The biggest gift shop in the world! Ok, so you get some culture from walking the countries, even a few cool little rides (including Jared's second favorite in all of WDW), but the world showcase is big on two things: trinkets and eats. What could be better?

I myself prefer to start in Canada, and this is a contradiction to my biggest tip of all:

Tip #8 (which should be number 1): Always go left! This is a simple strategy that can help you skip major lines. When given the option, human beings will almost always choose to go right. Lots of rides in Disney have two separate queues or entrances. You'll cut out a lot of grief this way.  

So back to my contradiction: When I do the world showcase I prefer to go right. This is because of one simple fact: France is closer this way. And do you know what is in France? Well, we'll get to that later.  

Tip#9: No matter your age, go ahead and get a Duffy on a stick to color and carry with you to the different stations at each country. Its a good little (free) souvenir and makes an excellent fan.

Canada: Go see the circle vision movie! It has Martin Short! Plus, there;s a lovely little water feature and the castmembers dress in flannels.
Eats: The Le Cellier Steakhouse is supposedly amazing. Take me with you when you go plz. 

Great Britain: They used to have the fake Beatles here. Now they don't :(. Head to the back of the gift shop to meet Mary Poppins, Winnie the Pooh and friends.
Eats: I LOVE the fish and chips here. Probably my favorite meal in the park. The Rose&Crown is also supposed to be quite good, and they have patio seating. Eat here during the fireworks and sit on the patio for the best view in the park.

France:  I actually really enjoy the movie here, though if you're tired it will lull you to sleep. You may in fact want to watch solely for the nap opportunity.
Eats: Oh my beloved. get here quick and head your butt to the Patisserie. I'm not triflin with a simple mickey head ice cream, oh no, I go for the good stuff. Napoleons(above), croque monsieur, cream puffs as big as ya head! So good. Again, GO LEFT, for goodness sakes go left. there are two lines in the skinny little joint, so even though the line may seem ridiculous, it movies quickly.

I also liked eating lunch at the restaurant here, though its pretty heavy for a warm day. Ratatouille comes out to great you!

Morocco: My favorite thing about Morocco is the kidcot station. They'll write your name in Arabic.

Japan:  The Japanese gift shop is my absolute favorite! Go in, watch them find a pearl inside on oyster, get your fill of Totoro, awkwardly phrased but adorable postcards, and visit the kidcot for your name in Japanese!
Eats: They have the craziest candy and treats here. My friend Kyle liked to get these little jellied rice pillow puff candies. He said that it was like eating a breast implant. It is. A delicious one.

Tip #10: Skip America, pausing only briefly for a funnel cake and/or turkey leg.


Norway: Best. Everything is the best. The line for Maaelstrom may look long but it won't take long, and the ride is the epitome of Disney cheese. I love it. Jared loves it more.
Eats: School bread in the bakery. Also, there seems to be hot dudes manning the counter in there pretty consistently, if you're into that kind of thing.

Mexico: Jared wanted us to have our wedding reception inside of EPCOT Mexico, and he has been known to secretly climb the pyramid, so ya he kinda likes it. Mexico is home of mexican Donald (who always has a pretty short line) on the right side of the pyramid, and a really cute mini small world meets mexico ride.

You may have noticed I missed some countries. Do what you will in these. They ain't bad, but I wanted to focus on favorites.

Here are some wrap up tips for EPCOT:

Tip #11:Only do Kim Possible challenges if you have been to the park enough to not mind running around the coutries with no strategy what so ever. You will jump all over the place and it can be frustrating. Some of the missions unlock really cool things though, especially in Japan.

Tip #12: If the food options seem a little heavy, The Land pavilion has an excellent salad with golden beets and goat cheese.

Whew. This was long, hope you enjoyed!

Kipin's Guide to Walt Disney World: EPCOT

 I love Disney with all my heart. I did a college program there 2 years ago and worked on it's a small world and Peter Pan. I know the parks like the back of my hand. I though it may be good to do a post of tips for doing the parks up right.

Saturday Jared and I met up with our old friend Beth to meet her fiance, Kiefer, and to take WDW by storm. We had an excellent time!Jared was a crazed rule breaker and decided he should ride this horse in Japan. This is a key tip on what not to do, unless you are very nimble and very sneaky. Luckily the Bird is both.

Our series will start with EPCOT. I love this place, I always have. I'm not sure how exciting it is if you're a tiny child, but I've always really enjoyed it, and there are definitely some secrets to be found...

Reminiscing

Things have been so hectic around here lately. Jared starting school has thrown off our usual schedule and I realize how spoiled we've been this summer with all our down time together.  This week we got one lousy night! But never fear, the weekend is almost here! I'm so excited to head off to Disney tomorrow, even if it will be 100 million degrees.

Last night we stayed at my grandparents house so Jared could work on homework. He didn't end up getting off until late, and when he walked into the bedroom I was immediately taken back to 5 years ago.

I lived with my grandparents throughout college, and almost every night Jared and I would get off work and then meet at my house. We usually wouldn't meet until 9 or 10. Sometimes we'd go on walks in the neighborhood, down to the old pool and playground, jumping the fence to look around, creeping each other out in the dark.

Most of the time we'd end up in my room talking for hours and watching TV, cracking each other up and trying to be as quiet as we could. Two in the morning would roll around and he would head back home.

The picture up top was from the first time we ever went to Disney together, February 2008 I think?


Last night he brought me a Blizzard and we talked and watched a little TV, but this time he stayed :). I'm so glad to have my best friend.

Awkward and Awesome

Awkward

• Overhearing someone talk to herself about the tightness of her skirt in the bathroom
• Plastic drawers are $50. What?! I will continue to store my excess in laundry baskets I suppose. 
• Let me paint a picture for you: There are 5 delicious apple fritters in front of you at The Doughnut Shoppe. They are as big as your head. A man in running shorts buys 4 of them...no wait make that all 5. You inwardly pout, which I guess he notices because he apologizes and puts tells the woman to leave one for this girl here. Elation. A woman quickly butts in right after that and orders the last fritter, YOUR FRITTER. You take solace in a fresh glazed and try not to think to badly of the fritter thief. 
• My laptop is still broken, Jared and I are like gypsies moving around every night finding a place for him to do home work. 

Awesome

• Headed to Disney World this weekend! 
• Having family right next door to my office and our weekly lunch dates. 
• Started jogging this week and I haven't been kidnapped or passed out yet from the heat. 

Mixtape Tuesday

1. Download "The Wizard" by Uriah Heep
2. Get in a vehicle after 8 pm
3. Roll down all the windows
4. Turn it up 
5. Magical silver platform boots optional, printed bell bottoms and mystical hand gestures are not.

Stuffed Weekend

This weekend, oh this weekend. What started as a quest to go rock climbing quickly turned into a marathon food festival. My brothers came up and that occasion dictated we visit The Doughnut Shoppe for breakfast. Have you been there? oh please go. Such deliciousness you have never known. People wait 30 min sometimes just to get a fresh glazed. These are smart people. The service is quick, don't get me wrong. It's just the doughnuts are so delicious they sell out in a snap.

We meant to work all of this off at the rock gym, but of course we were foiled because the rock gym is cursed. 18 and an ID to climb? Phooey. But that didn't stop us from burgers and shakes and movies. Later of course there was dinner.

The next day was the worst/best. Grammie lunch followed by Grandma Cathy dinner. Banana pudding and Cookies. Roast and Spaghetti. And then of course we wrapped it all up working on a cheeseburger jigsaw puzzle.

At least it inspired me to get up and jog this morning.

Mission Accomplished

This past week, I've struck two important events off my to-do list. The first, and most important of which is I've spent the past week carefully crafting my wedding and engagement photo books through Pinhole Press and I'm finally done! I ordered both and they should be here within a week. I ordered the full sized panoramic book for both, one in green one in periwinkle. Periwinkle was Jared's choice haha, hopefully it won't be too purple in real life! I'll be sure to share pictures and a review when they get here.They were truly a labor of love. I had such a great time deciding on the layout of the book. I always did want to get into publishing....

 The second, slightly less important but just as thoroughly enjoyable,  event was seeing Moonrise Kingdom. I want to see it again! Who wants to go? I really loved this movie. It was sweet, poignant, clever and beautifully directed. The kids in this movie are terrific actors. Some of the khaki scouts in particular blew me away. They just really killed it. And don't even get me started on the art direction. Crisp, color saturated perfection. Did anyone else think Suzy looked like Emma Watson?

If you saw the book you'll remember that Suzy loved Fantasy Fiction and brought stolen library books with her as she ran away. Wes Anderson took the fake books and made little animaions for each one! Check them out here. (no spoilers dont fret).

I am so glad it's the weekend again. We really should have one Wednesday off a week. It was so refreshing to have that break. Jared has started summer classes and I'm back to work of course, so we only really get to spend time with each other a few nights a week now.

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

Awkward

• Your Grandmother telling you you dress like a teeny bopper and trying to force you into polyester pants from the sale racks of Regency mall.
• Riding your bike in a maxi dress, getting tangled up and taking a weird slow motion tumble. 
• Ordering ice cream with half one flavor, half another and being handed the most ridiculously huge ice cream cone ever made, then trying to pretend you're not anything  thrilled but horrified because everyone is judging you and your huge ice cream cone. 
• Eating said Mount Delicious before it melts into oblivion. 
• Apt 3 is currently a skivvies only zone. Six more months and I will have central A/C. 
• Did anyone else get secondhand embarrassment watching Spiderman?

Awesome

• Voxer app which allows me to walkie-talkie with my ex-pat friends, free!
• Fourth Of July and its many explosions.
• Just ordered a book of wedding photos from Pinhole Press and could not be more excited!
• Working on my engagement book, too. 
• Moonrise Kingdom. Finally saw it and absolutely adored it. 

Netflix: Strictly Ballroom

I love movies. I also love opening my trap and giving my opinion about absolutely everything. I've discussed this before. Actually my debut in The Spinnaker, my college newspaper, was a review of  the film "Takers" and how much I hated it.

My last birthday I was gifted with a Netflix streaming subscription. At first glance, Netflix seems to have really been kicked off their high horse now that you pay separately for streaming and home delivery, but I promise you can find treasure with a bit of digging.

Last Friday Danielle and I watched Strictly Ballroom, Baz Luhrman's first in his Red Curtain trilogy (the other two are Romeo & Juliet and Moulin Rouge)

I first fell in love with this movie in high school. My wonderful YW leader gave me strict instructions to watch it after she found out I was obsessed with Moulin Rouge.

Strictly Ballroom is loud, tacky, Australian and fabulous. It's about a boy who wants to ballroom dance in his own way, and the girl who want's to help him do it. Girl starts out ugly.  I think that's one reason I love this movie, girlfriend is REALLY unnattractive, they go for the look fully and don't just slap a pair of glasses on her and call it a day (I'm looking at you She's All That).

The pretty girls around her aren't much better, while I'm at it. The bangs rise like sails in this movie, and the more sequins and blue eyeshadow the better, I say.

In the end if you like Center Stage, Baz Luhrman or just being entertained, you should really really really watch this movie.

Plans

Are you a planner or a fly by the seat of your pants type of gal? While I love spontaneity and am usually pretty flexible, I live to make a plan. Check-lists? Dreamy. Research? Scintillating?

One of my favorite things is to hunt for a new restaurant, read reviews on both Yelp and Urbanspoon, maybe a blog post if available, scour the menu and then pitch the idea to whoever I'm going with. That probably sounds terrible to you. Freakish perhaps? i assure you it brings me peace of mind and pleasure. What can I say, I like to have options. The one thing I hate is going into something blind. I mean, what if I didn't pack the most into my experience? What if I went somewhere new and missed an opportunity to see a great little art exhibit or diner, just because I was to lazy to do some light, or more often then not heavy and extensive, Googling?

I will give myself props, if things deviate from my plans, I really don't mind much.

One of my best friends, Danielle, is also a queen planner. Last Friday we started planning our Girl's Night hours early.Ice cream, Wendy's and Strictly Ballroom.