List your top 5 hobbies and why you love them.
1.) Cooking - I've loved cooking my entire life. My earliest memories are of cooking! I don't know why I love it so much...I think it has to do with the cultural element of food. It brings people together, no matter where they're from or who they are. It's something everyone has in common. Nobody gets mad when you bring them delicious food!
2.) Shopping - It's always been a stress reliever for me, which is odd since my family tends to not particularly enjoy it. There are few things that make me happier on a Saturday afternoon than going to the mall and just leisurely wandering around. I don't have to buy anything...I just enjoy going. Yes, I know it's weird.
3.) Traveling - I don't feel like I should have to explain this one! There's so many amazing things you can get out of travel. From the bit of traveling I've done, I've gained new favorite foods, a new appreciation for different cultures, language skills, friends, indescribable experiences...the list could go on for ages. The magical thing about travel is that it changes you as a person for the better. I wish everyone could dive into another culture with an open mind...it'd make the world a better place.
4.) Exercising/Being Active - While I sometimes have a love/hate relationship with the gym, I love being active, particularly when it doesn't seem like I'm doing it solely for the exercise aspect. Whether it's throwing on a pair of skis and or going for a walk, I love being able to get out, experience nature and appreciate my body for the amazing things it is capable of doing.
5.) Writing - I've always expressed myself far better through written words than spoken ones. Writing just makes sense to me. I love it and I would not be who I am without it.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
A Rant
This is going to be an unusual post for me...if you don't want to hear a mini rant on religion and politics, you might want to skip this post.
As all of you are aware by now, there was an incredibly tragic school shooting in Connecticut last week. I was very upset by this, as most of the world was. My heart still breaks for the families whose lives will never be the same. It was a senseless tragedy.
This tragedy has also brought up a lot of issues, primarily gun control. I have my feelings on that, but that's not what's on my mind today. What's on my mind is God. Specifically, the ridiculous articles I've read quoting politicians who claim the tragedy in Newtown happened because "we've systematically removed God from our schools."
I beg to differ.
Do you honestly think that God decided He was going to let dozens of innocent children get killed because the (secular) government doesn't allow prayer requests in class? How on earth can people honestly believe that? As a religious woman, I am quite frankly outraged that someone claiming to share my religious beliefs could make such an asinine statement.
God is very much in our schools. God is very much in our workplaces. God is everywhere. As a child, I attended both public and parochial schools. Did I ever get treated differently because I was open about my Christian faith? No. Was I ever told I wasn't allowed to pray? No. Last I checked, prayer is a conversation between an individual and God. It isn't something that has to be conducted in a public forum. I prayed just as frequently in public school as I did in private school.
There are no laws that prevent students of faith from coming together and praying. No one's going to get kicked out of school for saying a quick prayer with a friend at their locker. If you want teachers to lead you in prayer daily, there are parochial schools you can attend. Don't have the money for it? There are scholarships and charities that will make it more feasible for you. But FYI - as a former student of a parochial high school, I can attest that typically pre-class prayer requests become more of a way to eat into class time rather than the well-meaning prayers they ought to be.
By attending a public school, parents or guardians are knowingly sending their children to a place that is meant to be free of religion. Public schools are run by the state. Separation of church and state...that whole thing. This is not an attack on your religion. This is not belittling you for having faith in things unseen. Believe it or not, it's actually protecting you. It's freedom from all religions. These guidelines and laws prevent groups like Westboro Baptist Church and other hate groups from parading around schools on religious grounds. It prevents a young Muslim child from having to participate in prayers to a Hindu god. It prevents a young Christian from having to fast at Ramadan. Freedom from religion allows each person to live according to the beliefs they have without forcing them on anyone else. Want to pray to Jesus? Go for it. Just don't force the Jewish kid down the hallway to participate.
No one's going to get kicked out of school for silently praying before an exam. If you're a devout Muslim and you need to pray five times a day, go talk to the school office and they'll most likely allow you to do so, provided you do so in private. I remember being jealous of Jewish kids when I saw on syllabi that students could miss classes on days we didn't already have off for religious reasons.
No one's trying to "systematically remove" God from schools. And if anyone honestly thinks they are capable of doing that, it's laughable. God is so much more than a public prayer session. God's inside the hearts of believers, and that's something that will never be stamped out of any school.
I don't know about you, but I know beyond any shadow of a doubt that my God was there in Newtown. He was there with the students who sat silently in a tiny bathroom, hoping they would survive the day. He was there providing strength to the teacher who was killed while telling the shooter her students were in the gym while they were actually hiding in the closet. He was there in the hearts of people who came out to comfort and provide for those hurting.
Don't you dare tell me that my God abandoned anyone because a secular institution doesn't allow public prayer inside its walls.
My God is so much more powerful than that.
As all of you are aware by now, there was an incredibly tragic school shooting in Connecticut last week. I was very upset by this, as most of the world was. My heart still breaks for the families whose lives will never be the same. It was a senseless tragedy.
This tragedy has also brought up a lot of issues, primarily gun control. I have my feelings on that, but that's not what's on my mind today. What's on my mind is God. Specifically, the ridiculous articles I've read quoting politicians who claim the tragedy in Newtown happened because "we've systematically removed God from our schools."
I beg to differ.
Do you honestly think that God decided He was going to let dozens of innocent children get killed because the (secular) government doesn't allow prayer requests in class? How on earth can people honestly believe that? As a religious woman, I am quite frankly outraged that someone claiming to share my religious beliefs could make such an asinine statement.
God is very much in our schools. God is very much in our workplaces. God is everywhere. As a child, I attended both public and parochial schools. Did I ever get treated differently because I was open about my Christian faith? No. Was I ever told I wasn't allowed to pray? No. Last I checked, prayer is a conversation between an individual and God. It isn't something that has to be conducted in a public forum. I prayed just as frequently in public school as I did in private school.
There are no laws that prevent students of faith from coming together and praying. No one's going to get kicked out of school for saying a quick prayer with a friend at their locker. If you want teachers to lead you in prayer daily, there are parochial schools you can attend. Don't have the money for it? There are scholarships and charities that will make it more feasible for you. But FYI - as a former student of a parochial high school, I can attest that typically pre-class prayer requests become more of a way to eat into class time rather than the well-meaning prayers they ought to be.
By attending a public school, parents or guardians are knowingly sending their children to a place that is meant to be free of religion. Public schools are run by the state. Separation of church and state...that whole thing. This is not an attack on your religion. This is not belittling you for having faith in things unseen. Believe it or not, it's actually protecting you. It's freedom from all religions. These guidelines and laws prevent groups like Westboro Baptist Church and other hate groups from parading around schools on religious grounds. It prevents a young Muslim child from having to participate in prayers to a Hindu god. It prevents a young Christian from having to fast at Ramadan. Freedom from religion allows each person to live according to the beliefs they have without forcing them on anyone else. Want to pray to Jesus? Go for it. Just don't force the Jewish kid down the hallway to participate.
No one's going to get kicked out of school for silently praying before an exam. If you're a devout Muslim and you need to pray five times a day, go talk to the school office and they'll most likely allow you to do so, provided you do so in private. I remember being jealous of Jewish kids when I saw on syllabi that students could miss classes on days we didn't already have off for religious reasons.
No one's trying to "systematically remove" God from schools. And if anyone honestly thinks they are capable of doing that, it's laughable. God is so much more than a public prayer session. God's inside the hearts of believers, and that's something that will never be stamped out of any school.
I don't know about you, but I know beyond any shadow of a doubt that my God was there in Newtown. He was there with the students who sat silently in a tiny bathroom, hoping they would survive the day. He was there providing strength to the teacher who was killed while telling the shooter her students were in the gym while they were actually hiding in the closet. He was there in the hearts of people who came out to comfort and provide for those hurting.
Don't you dare tell me that my God abandoned anyone because a secular institution doesn't allow public prayer inside its walls.
My God is so much more powerful than that.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Excedrin for Nobel Peace Prize
Whoever invented Excedrin needs to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Yesterday afternoon, I had a migraine. This was one of those throbbing, can't-see-straight, please-turn-off-all-the-lights, I'm-about-to-vomit migraines. Every possible symptom of a migraine was in there. It was like the perfect storm of migraines.
Of course, this happened two days after I decided to take Advil out of my purse, so I was sitting at work feeling like my head was going to implode at any second. And, one hour after work ended for the day, we had our company holiday celebration...aka lots of people and noise (which are just great when you have a migraine!).
Fortunately, my friend Julia and I carpooled to work, so she delivered me home right after work and I downed a glass of water and two extra strength Excedrin, then laid in bed for ten minutes with all the lights off.
Lo and behold, by the time I was arriving at the restaurant less than an hour later, the throbbing was subsiding and I could see without big blurs on everything.
And the holiday party was fantastic :)
Are you listening, Nobel Peace Prize committee??
Yesterday afternoon, I had a migraine. This was one of those throbbing, can't-see-straight, please-turn-off-all-the-lights, I'm-about-to-vomit migraines. Every possible symptom of a migraine was in there. It was like the perfect storm of migraines.
Of course, this happened two days after I decided to take Advil out of my purse, so I was sitting at work feeling like my head was going to implode at any second. And, one hour after work ended for the day, we had our company holiday celebration...aka lots of people and noise (which are just great when you have a migraine!).
Fortunately, my friend Julia and I carpooled to work, so she delivered me home right after work and I downed a glass of water and two extra strength Excedrin, then laid in bed for ten minutes with all the lights off.
Lo and behold, by the time I was arriving at the restaurant less than an hour later, the throbbing was subsiding and I could see without big blurs on everything.
And the holiday party was fantastic :)
Are you listening, Nobel Peace Prize committee??
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Macaron Cooking Class!
I just signed up for a holiday macarons cooking class at Sur La Table in Salt Lake City!
If you've ever been to Europe with me, you know of my love of these delightful French cookies. They're a very unique sandwich cookie...some sort of delicious filling in the middle of two soft yet crisp (it makes sense if you've had one) meringue/almond meal cookies.
If you've ever been to Europe with me, you know of my love of these delightful French cookies. They're a very unique sandwich cookie...some sort of delicious filling in the middle of two soft yet crisp (it makes sense if you've had one) meringue/almond meal cookies.
Even though I'm traditionally a straight up chocolate dessert kind of girl, macarons are fantastic in about any flavor you can imagine. I believe my love of salted caramel came from a macaron I tried at Laduree in France, long before that flavor was all over Starbucks and every other chain in the world.
When I was in London this summer and went to Paris for about eleven hours, I made a point of stopping in Laduree. When I returned to London, I learned there was one in Harrod's! So, of course, I had to go to Harrod's myself and see if they were as wonderful as the ones in Paris.
Of course, they were great...but I had to make sure ;)
Anyways...the ability to make these fantastic concoctions has always escaped me, so I'm more than a little excited to take a class about it. Supposedly, the instructor is fantastic. The recipes are all holiday-themed, too, so it should be an introduction to some fun flavors!
Stay tuned for more macaron posts after I become an expert!
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
30 Questions: Predicting the Future
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?
I'm going to cheat and not really answer this question because I don't try to really think about where I'll be in 5-10-15-however-many years. It's not because the future freaks me out (cue Motion City Soundtrack song) or because I'm a commitment phobe. It's because I spent a good five years of my life planning where I'd be in the future and guess what? I was totally wrong and couldn't be happier about that.
So, my approach to the future is just to go where the ride takes me. That's not to say I don't have goals. I'd like to get married and have kids. I'd like to continue to have a successful career in Olympic sports. However, I'm on no strict timeline for any of those. It's out of my hands, and I'm completely fine with that.
So, all I'll say to where I see myself in the future is that I see myself living my life and continuing to go with the flow!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
30 Questions: Superpowers
If you could have one superpower, what would it be and what would you do with it first?
As a fan of TV shows like Heroes and movies/comics like X-Men, I could get pretty specific with this answer. But long story short, I'd love to have the ability to fly or teleport. It'd just make life much easier! Rather than sitting in airports for hours waiting to travel home for holidays or somewhere for work, I could just up and go. First thing I would do? Probably cancel my plane ticket for the holidays and travel home with my newfound powers!
Plus, flying would just be fun.
Monday, December 3, 2012
30 Questions: Childhood Memories
Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.
Those of you who know me well know that I have an absolutely horrible memory (well, unless we're talking about song lyrics or very random trivia). This applies to me as a little kid, as well. So, most of my childhood memories are lacking in detail because I don't remember much of them!
My biggest memory from childhood is baking cookies. Whether it was Christmas or just making chocolate chip cookies, it was always an event. My brother and I would always make a game of sneaking to the refrigerator to snag a taste of cookie dough while it was chilling. There was always a fight over who got to lick the bowl or the spoon. Usually, I cheated by "accidentally" leaving a lot of dough on the spoon and claiming that. Christmas cookies were the biggest of all our baking - it was an all-day event, starting with making the dough, then chilling it for a few hours, then absolutely destroying the kitchen in a cloud of powdered sugar and flour as we rolled out the dough and eventually iced the cookies. And every year, we took a picture like this:
Next stop on the memory train is family travel. I remember going on my first cruise when I was in 4th grade with my mom's entire extended family (cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents). To a 4th grader, that ship seemed like being let loose in a big city! We went to our kid's clubs and snuck through the casino even though we were convinced we'd get kicked off if we got caught in there. Also when I was little, I went to Washington, DC, with my dad. We waited in line with some Chinese tourists at the Washington Monument who were obsessed with my blonde hair and wanted to take pictures with me. I wore little dresses around because I was at an age where I liked to do that. It was a great trip for a young girl to go on!
Finally, I remember creating crazy, imaginative games out of nothing with my brother and sister. We still laugh today about some of the things we came up with! We had "games" called Alaska (this was mainly just hiding under lots of blankets), Kitty Kitty Kittens, the Return of the Alien Show and many, many more. Most had their own theme songs to go with them, too. We were very creative children who really found a way to have fun with just about anything.
So, there are the memories. And as a bonus, here is my famous photo from my infancy.
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