Birthday

April 28th was my birthday, and it was a great one! Of course, the day began with some Starbucks. Lindsey Vonn popped into Starbucks as Julia and I sat outside enjoying the warm weather, so that was a fun little birthday sighting. After some wandering around in Park City, we decided to head down to Salt Lake for some birthday pastries.

And my, what amazing birthday pastries they were!! Julia found a French bakery inside the Grand American Hotel and I had the best macarons I've had since actually being in France! To top it all off, they had a gorgeous flower-filled courtyard at the hotel where we got to sit and enjoy them.

Seriously...this vanilla macaron was life-changing.

After a quick Olive Garden lunch in SLC (yes, I gave into a chain restaurant - I cannot resist the breadsticks and salad), we headed back up to Park City! 

For dinner, a small group of us headed down to Main St. for dinner at Oishi, my favorite sushi place in town. It was delicious and it was great spending time with good friends! Julia planned an awesome day...it's great having a friend like her around!

So, that's this year's birthday! I'm excited for summer to be here so that I can enjoy some warm weather, get outside to run (although I must say skiing is a much more exciting outdoor activity) and not wear a coat! 

30 Days of Photos - Day 1

I saw this on a friend's Facebook and thought it might be a good way to keep me motivated to update this blog.

Day One - A picture of yourself with fifteen facts

1. I love hiking and climbing mountains. I've summited two 14ers since I've been in Colorado (including Mt. Belford, where the above photo was taken).

2. I love to cook.  One of the things I am most excited about in my new apartment is the lovely kitchen!

3. Authentic Mexican food and margaritas are basically a guaranteed way to cheer me up if I'm having a bad day.

4. I love traveling!  I have a bucket list of places to go all around the world.

5. I cannot wait to get a dog, but I'm not a fan of large dogs...I'm hoping to keep the family puggle tradition alive.

6. Over the seven months I have been in Colorado, my respect for amateur athletes has grown so much...it isn't really possible to put the amount into words. 

7. I'm more than a little obsessed with Starbucks. 

8. If I'm drinking, it's probably wine (or the aforementioned margaritas).  Cheap wine is fine because I rarely notice the difference.

9. I'm alcohol intolerant, so I don't drink that often and when I do, I need to take allergy medicine about an hour before or else I get sick.

10. I form a strong opinion on most things and I love getting in friendly debates about them.  

11. I'm a tree-hugger, pro-choice, pro-immigration, pro-same sex marriage, strongly opposed to Don't Ask Don't Tell...basically, I'm a liberal and quite proud of it.  I'm educated about it, though, and I know there are flaws in every ideology.

12. I'm pretty much always cold.

13. I like to stay active...some of my hobbies include speedskating, hiking, cycling (in the gym for now since I'm bike-less) and going on walks.

14. I was inspired by the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games to apply for internships with the US Olympic Committee.  I got hired eventually by the digital media department.  Coming out to work for the USOC was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

15. I'm one independent study away from a masters degree in political science.  Although I have no intention of working in politics (I used to want to...I clearly changed my mind), I'll have the degree!