The wierdos I live with

I love my new roommates,,, even if they are a little wierd.

And their wierd boyfriends..

Seriously, I live with beautiful and awesome girls!

My New Diggs

So it has been a couple weeks since I've written anything about me, but its past time. The big announcement,,, drum roll please,,, I moved into a new apartment. I've been living with my sister for the last six months, which has been great. I've really enjoyed being there, it has provided lots of opportunities to spend time with my sister and nephews and new brother in law. However, they moved into a new home, congratulations them, and decided not to take along the extra baggage. ;)

I happened across an apartment complex that I am extremely excited to live in. First and foremost, I realized just recently I have been living in a "temporary status" for the past four or five years. I haven't been living anywhere where I've really settled in and made it my home. Even when I was in Romania, I knew I wasn't going to be there forever and so even though I lived there for two years, it still felt like I was living out of a suitcase. The first thing major benefit I've really enjoyed is hosting people.

Last week I had a couple of co-workers over and we made a cake together.

I also live closer to friends, such as Marcie and Dave

I've also made new friends, and I'm having lots of fun meeting tons of new people. Sam, one such new friends, and I went for a drive up Millcreek Canyon and oh the spendors we enjoyed.

However, the thing I am most excited about in my new place is my awesome new roommates. They are absolutely darling girls and we are already a tight knit group. I'm incredibly grateful I found such awesome friends I get to live with.

Shana, and her boyfriend Dave,
And I have yet to get a picture of Lynette, but this pretty much encapsulates all that is Lynette:

Look familiar?

One of the many delicious treats I used to enjoy in Romania was "cozonac"; poundcake. This is extremely popular around Easter. Today I happened to open my webbrowser to MSN what what should I see on today's recipe's but... this!
YEAH!!! This stuff is fantastic! You can find the recipe here:

http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/nutella-swirl-pound-cake-recipe

Obama awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?

I'll say it; I'm a fan of Obama. I think he is a great man with great aspirations. I truly believe that he could have a tremendously positive affect on the world, not just the US, but the world. I think his beginnings as a community planner in the inner city of Chicago is a great place to be coming from when you are trying to make decisions that affect everyone. I read his biography. I earnestly believe he is a good and honorable man. That being said, I have to admit, learning that Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace this morning was a bit of a surprise. He's been in office less than a year.

The flip side of this I believe is that it is an indication of just how well thought of he is internationally. I was not in the United States for most of Obama's campaign and therefore didn't get to see how things were unfolding. However, being overseas did give me the opportunity to see how receptive the rest of the world is to him. As a result, right from the beginning I thought Obama would be good for the US in repairing relationships with other countries. I think the fact that he has been nominated is a great indication that the rest of the world is open to what the US can achieve.

Way to go Mr. President. We're behind you!

Camping!

So this last weekend I got to go camping! I went with my "married" friends and a very handsome, attractive, charming person with beautiful blue eyes and winning smile.

Everyone, this is Parker! Troy and Katie's son, he is six months and absolutely adorable!

Of course because Nicole & Brent and Troy & Katie were all together, there was a game of bang. Brent and Katie really got in to it. Autumn is my favorite season and it looks like this year is going to be an incredible year for the leaves so I'm looking foward to that. I have a goal of going all all the major canyons on the Wasatch Front this fall. I'm way jazzed about that. A perfect example of why fall is better. There is nothing like hanging out in a hammock, in the mountains, with someone you love. But something about the autumn, the warmth of the light, the crisp air, the delicious food, just makes all that even better.

We didn't get Dave in the picture, he left way early in the morning to get to work. But the rest of the crew, from left to right; Troy, Katie, Me, Nicole, Parker, Brent, and Seth. Too much fun! Thanks for a good time guys!

Setting up House

My sister is trying to move into a new house within the next week. (Everyone cross their fingers for her, we aren't sure if everything is going to work out yet.) So last Saturday we tried to get everything ready for her to move it. Its amazing how many little details go into these things. The great part was her two boys got to help with the action.

Rusty helped clean

Wyatt was quite the handy man, putting the closet door knobs on

And my dad over-saw all of us. (Read: came behind us and fixed all the mistakes, like putting the lock on backwards on the door.)

A swingin' time

So last Friday I went Swing dancing with a couple friends and man was it fun. I really enjoy dancing, but I'm really terrible at it. So finding someone that can move me around was quite enjoyable.

This is my super svelt friend Andrea

I tried to get a picture of her and Ryan dancing, but there were moving so fast it was literally just a blur
Here we have Emily and Tyler, who are getting married this weekend. Congratulations to the happy couple!

And finally me, in my all time favorite dance move, the dip!

Flat Tire and Goodness of Humanity

I have a theory. A girl does not need to know how to change a tire. (Just for the record, I know how to change a flat tire. I do. It just takes me three hours to do it. ) But she really doesn't. All she needs to do in the event of a flat tire is stand out next to the flat tire and look helpless and within three minutes, so burly man will be along to help. Really, three minutes.

I went to leave for work this morning and didn't even make it more than five feet out of my driveway before I had some kind soul there offering to help me. I didn't have to do anything, he changed the whole thing. It really does restore your faith in humanity, knowing that when you really are in a bind and someone knows how to help you, they are right there waiting to do so.

Good Friends

Last night was so much fun. I went out with some friends to Salt Lake. Nicole has been a friend of mine since forever when she went and left me for a man! (The nerve! ;) Her husband, Brent, is now working at the church office building so we went up to see what he does. Dave, a friend of Nicole's and mine came along as well. We eat at the Garden Resturant in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in downtown Salt Lake. Check out the view behind us!
Afterwards we stopped by Troy and Katie's to play "Bang", the stupidest game known to man. Brent and Katie had a bitter duel to the death that lasted a half hour!

But all in all we had lots of fun. And we're such a good looking group!

Finishing up Labor Day weekend

So just to finish up the Labor weekend, Sunday after church I went up to my parents cabin. This was sort of a sad as my parents are getting ready to sell it at the end of this month. I think they both are sad to see it go, but my dad is looking forward to building a new one just down the way. Either way, it was the first time in a long time since our family has had some quality time together so it was nice to bet here together. We just stayed over night, but still had plenty of time to goof around,

Get in some serious backgammon competitions,

Enjoy eating lots of vegtables from Mom's and Aunt Lisa's garden,

And just hang out

What a weekend! :)

I live in the best state ever part II

So when I got home from camping yesterday, it was still the middle of the day. Plenty of day light to burn. What could I possible do with a couple of hours in the middle of a beautiful day? Go on a motorcycle ride with my dad of course!
We went up around the Alpine loop that goes from American Fork Canyon to Provo Canyon. It was (I think) my first time around this loop (unless we did it as a kid and I just don't remember). But I can't believe what I was missing. It was the coolest ride ever!

I live in the best state ever!

I realize this is probably biased, but I think I live in the best state ever. Friday I had decided I wanted to go camping. Now there are a couple things you have to keep in mind, I hadn't given thiis much thought beforehand, and I don't get off work until 5. Fortunately I have friends who are always up for an adventure. Dave, a good friend of mine, said he would be up for the adventure and off we went. Within 20 minutes of leaving my house, we were at the mouth of the canyon, ready to head up. I didn't think we were going to have much luck, getting such a late start on a holiday weekend, but fortunately Dave knew exactly where to go.

We started at the trail head at 8:30 and got to the end of our 2.2 mile hike around 10. We had decided to give "hammock camping" a shot. This was my first time every sleeping in a hammock. And I have to say, aside from getting a little cold that night, it was pretty cool.
I realize there is something about being outdoors that makes food taste really good, but out omelets with avocados the next morning were sooooooo good!
This was our base camp. Again, I live in the coolest state ever!
It was so much fun! I can' t wait to go again! The lake you see behind me here was so clear and smooth, it was like glass. Except for the the 20 fish that were jumping out of it any given moment. (No exaggeration! At any given second, there were at least 20 fish jumping, ii

Summer is almost over

So I don't know about everyone else, but there are a couple things for me that indicate summer is winding down. Labor Day weekend is certainly one of them, but nothing says Fall is on its way like a football game.


Last night, I went to the first U of U game of the season and it was great. The entire stadium was completely sold out and people were proud to represent their team spirit. It has been quite a while since I've been a student, so sitting in the student section also proved extremely nostalgic. Everyone around me screaming all the cheers and fight songs, it was quite entertaining and a memorable night.

Climb Night

So what's the latest with me? Well last night I went rock climbing with a couple of co-workers and friends. This has been a new thing for me, I haven't done much climbing before but I really like it. Last night we went up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Challenge Bluff.

Hey down there! This is me, showing off my stuff.

This is Carolina, Skylar's wife. She's the coolest!

Brian and Skylar, a couple of guys I work with

Last but not least, this is a friend, Ryan, doing his thing

This one is for you

I started this blog when I was living in Romania as a way for people back home to keep up with what I was doing and see pictures of me. While I was never great at keeping it updated reguarly, such updates have been far and inbetween since I have come back to the States. I think my reasoning behind this was that I was mostly just seeing most of the people who wanted to know what was going on with me. These last few weeks have shown me that is not the case and I am touched. I have had several people who have become part of my life and have asked me to update my blog. To those people I say I am sorry I let that slip and that I will do better. I hope no one feels like I have been neglectful. That is not my feeling at all. I am so grateful for the people who have become a part of my life. And now that the schmary part is over, I now progress with today's entry. :)

So last summer my good friends, Sorina and Marian came to the US for almost a month and we drove all over Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California. Being from Romania, they are used to most goods being transported either via train. As we spent a siginificant amount of time on the highways, we had a good look at the US's main method of transporting goods; the semi truck. Sorina was facinated with these big trucks.

So when a good friend of mine who is a truck driver was passing through Utah, he offered me an inside look at the life of truck driver. Thank you, o' friend of mine!

This is inside living area where he spends a good part of his time when he isn't driving. I was surprised at how basic it was. I guess I thought it would be more like a mini apartment when really all it is is a bed with two shelves.

(sorry, the picture is on its side, I couldn't get it upright)

This is me in the living area. Just call me Vana White.

Wahoo! Look out! Here I come!

Good Times

Well sorry I haven't been very good about keeping this updated. The upside is that its been because I've been so occupied as of late, which I think is a good thing. :)

Life is good. I moved out of my parents and into my sister's basement. I know, I'm really moving up in the world. :) Actually its a good thing. My sister is getting married in August and this is a sort of last chance to get some real bonding time in with her and her two adorable boys. I've been loving it. Its been awesome to wake up in the morning to handsome blond boys who are so excited that I'm awake they jump on the bed.

Work is going well. I am really liking it a lot. I went to Denver a couple weeks ago on my very first ever business trip. It was just for the day, but a great experience.

And aside from that, here a few pictures of what else I've been up to.

Enjoy!

Catching up with a friend I knew as a Sister missionary in Romania and has started dating a friend of mine, but she didn't meet him through me. Ain't it a small Mormon world?

Going skiing with Melissa up at Sundance for the first time. (At Sundance, not skiing.)

It was so warm that day, by the end we were pushing our skiies through puddles.

Showing off my motorcycle to my friends and taking them for rides. Man I love riding that thing! So awesome!

Snow-shoing up Big CottonWood Canyon. I went with a group of people I had never met before (except one. I'm not some kind of wierdo that just goes up to people and asks if I can join their group. ......... Oh wait, yes I am! ;) Anyways, ended up that one of these guys used to work where I work now and another one of the guys I had known when I was four years old. Again, ain't it a small small world?