Before I had James, I did a journal prompt that was titled "100 Things I Love." I recently revisited this list and enjoyed it so much, I wanted to add it to the blog.
Here we go:
100 Things I Love: (in no particular order)
Skinny jeans. Finishing an art project. Music. The feeling after working out. Candy. Surprises. Fruit. Painting. Pictures. Learning. Halloween. A clean kitchen. Cinnamon rolls. Nostalgia. Alphabetizing. Rain. Lemonade. Summer. Organized spaces. Dustin Kensrue. Spaghetti. Mean Girls. Psychology. Fireworks. Purple. Family. The smell of fall. Alaska. Sleeping in. Spice cake. The 4th of July. Tommy Boy. Being LDS. Neuroscience. Mountains. Presents. Harry Potter. Pad Thai. Reading. Mom. Singing in the car. Lists. The 90's. Sunshine. Temples. Warm concrete on bare feet after the sun goes down. Kissing. Crafting. Nieces and nephews. Picture frames. JACOB. The smell of laundry detergent. Laughing. Having the day off. Being outside. Vacation. Doodling. Thrice. Thunderstorms. Cuddling. Playing games. Trees. Volleyball. Buying small notebooks/journals. Mopping. Snow cones. Shopping (not grocery). Nail polish. Lemon meringue pie. Teal. Apple/cinnamon scents. Shaved legs + clean sheets. Guitars. Staying up late talking. Vans shoes. Hot tubs. Prismacolors. Christmas. Ron Swanson. Clouds. Garlic. Scrapbook paper. Walking barefoot on sand. Following through. Hanging out. Screen printing. Hermione Granger. Cardigans. Sushi. Mom's homemade ham & potato soup. Hugs. Screamo. Corn on the cob. Doner Kebab. Vienna. Virgin margaritas. JAMES. Volcom. Kayaking. Sour cream & onion potato chips.
I looooove making lists (obviously, it's in the above list), but this list has to make me more happy than any other list!
Showing posts with label happy times. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happy times. Show all posts
Friday, November 21, 2014
Friday, June 6, 2014
One of my favorite things . . . ever . . .
This post is about to get weird. You have been warned.
Not weird in the way a good portion of the Internet is weird. But weird in the way that I am about to talk about something people don't spend much time talking about.
Breasts, medically speaking.
Yes, it's weird. I don't know why it's weird, but I'll get to that later.
Okay, here's the point of the post: I love breastfeeding. Seriously, absolutely no joke, I adore it.
Time to make a list (I make a lot of those)
Why I Love Breastfeeding:
1. I'll start with the motivation I had behind breastfeeding. Before there was ever a baby or a need to feed him, I wanted to breastfeed because of the medical benefits. Hopefully, most people are at least somewhat aware of them. I think the best argument for why breastfeeding is best can be found on every container of infant formula. It says, and I quote: "Experts agree, breastfeeding is best for baby." If the #1 competition for breastfeeding conceded that breastfeeding is best, it must certainly be so. But, to convince you further, here are some more detailed arguments:
*Even after one feeding, your baby's levels of immunoglobulins (the building blocks of the immune system) skyrocket to exactly what they need. A breastfeeding mother gives her baby her very own immune system. A formula fed child takes two years to reach those same levels. Breast milk contains antibodies for illnesses that the mother is current battling, protecting her child from the contagions that he would be exposed to anyway.
*Breast milk changes over the course of a babies life to suit the needs of a baby at the very specific point in the development they need it.
*Breast milk contains agents that scientists have not been able to identify and formula does not contain, because we do not know how to replicate them.
*Babies who are formula-fed have higher incidences of ear infections, eczema, food allergies, asthma, gastrointestinal infections that cause vomiting and diarrhea, pneumonia and other respiratory diseases, obesity in adolescence and adulthood, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, childhood leukemia and lymphoma, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). (This info is from the American Academy of Pediatrics guide to breastfeeding.)
Every health organization across the world recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. So, yeah, breastfeeding is awesome.
2. Now, for the unexpected benefits. The best one by far is the closeness. Holding that baby close to you, his little hands resting on you, his little eyes glancing up at you. Ugh, I can't even handle it. It is one of the best feelings in the world. It is, of course, related to the skin-to-skin contact that is so beneficial for babies health and mom's psychological health. It also has to do with the rush of oxytocin the bodies generates while breastfeeding. Nothing like a hormonal boost of good feelings to make you associate positivity with something you are doing.
3. Feeling like a champion because every single ounce and inch that the baby has grown is 100% because of me. What kind of a rock star am I when I single-handed grew that baby (inside and outside the womb)! I obviously feel pretty cool about myself when I look at how big his head is getting or how much longer he is now and think that, for his first six months, that was all because of my efforts.
4. Once he started becoming the wiggle-meister that he currently is, being able to hold him and have him lie (mostly) still was a nice feeling. I, for one, loved having a little cuddly newborn, and miss that in itself quite a lot. Breastfeeding is the closest I get to having my newborn back.
Now, to clarify, breastfeeding is NOT easy, in the beginning. For some people, it is never easy. I totally understand the "why am I doing this?" feeling. I, fortunately, just never even considered the option that I was going to try formula feeding instead. It was like my brain did not permit that kind of thought. After, 5 weeks, things got considerably easier. I was able to say, yes, I can make it to six months. That is reasonable. And after about three months, I began to really love it. (It helps that it takes him much less time to each, so it is basically like a 10 minute cuddle now, whereas before it was an hour long ordeal.)
Two things I need to say. I do not intend to attack anyone or insult anyone who did not breastfeed their child. I understand that there are a multiplicity of reasons for not breastfeeding. Sometimes the body is just physically not capable of doing it. Sometimes it is a ridiculously hard trial and it never seems to get easier. I get that.
I did want to say this so that if someone reads this who is contemplating quitting might be able to try it a little bit longer. I also wanted to post this to hopefully change someone's mind who is like, "I'm just going to formula feed, it seems easier." At least try! It's almost selfish to not even try!
Lastly, I hope that someone who hates it might be able to endure it long enough to have this wonderful positively experience that I have been so blessed to have. I am 100% sure that I am going to cry the day James is completely weaned. I will miss this wonderfully fulfilling and meaningful experience. One of my greatest achievements is that I stuck with it long enough to have this kind of wonderful experience with my baby. I am so grateful for that.
Not weird in the way a good portion of the Internet is weird. But weird in the way that I am about to talk about something people don't spend much time talking about.
Breasts, medically speaking.
Yes, it's weird. I don't know why it's weird, but I'll get to that later.
Okay, here's the point of the post: I love breastfeeding. Seriously, absolutely no joke, I adore it.
Time to make a list (I make a lot of those)
Why I Love Breastfeeding:
1. I'll start with the motivation I had behind breastfeeding. Before there was ever a baby or a need to feed him, I wanted to breastfeed because of the medical benefits. Hopefully, most people are at least somewhat aware of them. I think the best argument for why breastfeeding is best can be found on every container of infant formula. It says, and I quote: "Experts agree, breastfeeding is best for baby." If the #1 competition for breastfeeding conceded that breastfeeding is best, it must certainly be so. But, to convince you further, here are some more detailed arguments:
*Even after one feeding, your baby's levels of immunoglobulins (the building blocks of the immune system) skyrocket to exactly what they need. A breastfeeding mother gives her baby her very own immune system. A formula fed child takes two years to reach those same levels. Breast milk contains antibodies for illnesses that the mother is current battling, protecting her child from the contagions that he would be exposed to anyway.
*Breast milk changes over the course of a babies life to suit the needs of a baby at the very specific point in the development they need it.
*Breast milk contains agents that scientists have not been able to identify and formula does not contain, because we do not know how to replicate them.
*Babies who are formula-fed have higher incidences of ear infections, eczema, food allergies, asthma, gastrointestinal infections that cause vomiting and diarrhea, pneumonia and other respiratory diseases, obesity in adolescence and adulthood, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, childhood leukemia and lymphoma, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). (This info is from the American Academy of Pediatrics guide to breastfeeding.)
Every health organization across the world recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. So, yeah, breastfeeding is awesome.
2. Now, for the unexpected benefits. The best one by far is the closeness. Holding that baby close to you, his little hands resting on you, his little eyes glancing up at you. Ugh, I can't even handle it. It is one of the best feelings in the world. It is, of course, related to the skin-to-skin contact that is so beneficial for babies health and mom's psychological health. It also has to do with the rush of oxytocin the bodies generates while breastfeeding. Nothing like a hormonal boost of good feelings to make you associate positivity with something you are doing.
3. Feeling like a champion because every single ounce and inch that the baby has grown is 100% because of me. What kind of a rock star am I when I single-handed grew that baby (inside and outside the womb)! I obviously feel pretty cool about myself when I look at how big his head is getting or how much longer he is now and think that, for his first six months, that was all because of my efforts.
4. Once he started becoming the wiggle-meister that he currently is, being able to hold him and have him lie (mostly) still was a nice feeling. I, for one, loved having a little cuddly newborn, and miss that in itself quite a lot. Breastfeeding is the closest I get to having my newborn back.
Now, to clarify, breastfeeding is NOT easy, in the beginning. For some people, it is never easy. I totally understand the "why am I doing this?" feeling. I, fortunately, just never even considered the option that I was going to try formula feeding instead. It was like my brain did not permit that kind of thought. After, 5 weeks, things got considerably easier. I was able to say, yes, I can make it to six months. That is reasonable. And after about three months, I began to really love it. (It helps that it takes him much less time to each, so it is basically like a 10 minute cuddle now, whereas before it was an hour long ordeal.)
Two things I need to say. I do not intend to attack anyone or insult anyone who did not breastfeed their child. I understand that there are a multiplicity of reasons for not breastfeeding. Sometimes the body is just physically not capable of doing it. Sometimes it is a ridiculously hard trial and it never seems to get easier. I get that.
I did want to say this so that if someone reads this who is contemplating quitting might be able to try it a little bit longer. I also wanted to post this to hopefully change someone's mind who is like, "I'm just going to formula feed, it seems easier." At least try! It's almost selfish to not even try!
Lastly, I hope that someone who hates it might be able to endure it long enough to have this wonderful positively experience that I have been so blessed to have. I am 100% sure that I am going to cry the day James is completely weaned. I will miss this wonderfully fulfilling and meaningful experience. One of my greatest achievements is that I stuck with it long enough to have this kind of wonderful experience with my baby. I am so grateful for that.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Epic end to an even more epic decade . . . (Tribute to Thrice)
About a month ago I went to my final Thrice concert. It was their Farewell tour, they are basically done being full-time touring musicians. I still have hope that they might make more music one day, but there's definitely no guarantee.
Basically, this was the greatest concert I've ever been to, in my short life of concert attendance. Such a good crowd as far as participation goes. I was a little bit out of the heat of it because we went upstairs on the balcony, but it was still a phenomenal experience. Not being in the middle of the crazy moshers gave me a chance to just sit back and listen when I really just wanted to savor the minute, instead of jump around a punch dance like everyone else. Truly, it was musical perfection.
Since the concert, I basically have felt like listening to only Thrice. I will turn on something else, but it will only take a matter of minutes before I start thinking about a Thrice song I would rather be listening to. This is the band that has ruined all other music for me.
You (as in the one reader I get a year with this blog) may be thinking to yourself, "What's so great about this band I've never heard of?" Well sir/ma'am, let me tell you why they are so friggin good and I could not possibly ever have another favorite band.
Mostly, it's Dustin. Don't tell my husband, but I basically love this man. He is truly amazing. If Dustin writes it, it is pure lyrical gold. I will give you some examples:
"The lesson you'd do well not to forget
Your life could be the one it's wisdom saves
At sea, where you're beleaguered and beset
On every side by strife of wind and waves
Despite the best of maps and the bravest men
For all their mighty names and massive forms
There'll never be and has never been
A ship of fleet secure against the storms.
When kings upon the main have clung to pride
And held themselves to masters of the sea
I've held them down beneath the crushing tide
Til they have learned that no one masters me.
But grace can still be found within the gale
And fear and reverence, raise your ragged sail."
-King Upon the Main
Not convinced? Okay, we'll keep going.
"I've never been this cold, the fire's gravity compels
Like planets cling to sol, I feel my orbit start to fail
Like moths to flame I come, too close and all my oaths are burned
As star begin to run, all my accusers take their turn
And calling curses down, from my lips lies like poison spill
And then that awful sound, the sound of prophesy fulfilled
And then I met your eyes, and I remember everything
And something in me dies, the night that I betrayed my King."
-from Like Moths to Flame
And there is so much more where that came from. He is so brilliant, I hope his pursuits now that he is not a frontman take him to the world of literature because I love reading everything he writes. He's capable of saying so much with so little:
"Tell me are you free
While the gallows stand
And bullets lance the bravest lungs
Will I fold my hands or hold my tongue
Or let the flames lick at my feet
Or breathe in fire and know I'm free
Flames will rise and devour me
Oh, to breathe in fire and know I'm free."
-from Firebreather
The second song example is also the second reason why I love this band so much. What other band could scream and make me feel reverent. NONE! I love that Dustin is so religious and his lyrics reflect that. I really do feel closer to God while listening to certain songs. Take this one for example (one of my all-time favorites):
"All you great men of power, you who boast of your feats
Politicians and entrepeneurs
Can you safeguard your breath in the night while you sleep?
Keep your heart beating steady and sure?
As you lie in your bed, does the thought haunt your head that you're really rather small?
If there's one thing I know in this life, we are beggars all.
All you champions of science and rulers of men
Can you summon the sun from its sleep?
Does the earth seek your counsel on how fast to spin?
Can you shut up the gates of the deep?
Don't you know that all things hang as if my a string over the darkness, poised to fall?
If there's one thing I know in this life, we are beggars all.
All you big shots that swagger and stride with conceit
Did you devise how your frame would be formed?
If you'd be raised in a palace or live out on the streets,
Choose the place or the hour you'd be born?
Tell me what can you claim? Not a thing, not your name!
Tell me if you can recall just one thing not a gift in this life
Can you hear what's been said?
Can you see now that everything's grace, after all?
If there's one thing I know in this life, we are beggars all."
-Beggars
Now if that doesn't convince you that they are amazing, I don't know what will, but I will keep going nonetheless. The next reason for loving this band can be summed up in one word: Teppai. This guy is so amazing. Not only does he shred like its nobody's business, but he just oozes style and awesomeness. I love seeing him live, he just grooves around the stage like he's in his room playing by himself.
Another thing I really, really adore about this band is their musical diversity. Album after album, I never get bored. There is something for every mood I am in. Feeling like head banging like a crazy person? Listen to The Illusion of Safety or Artist in the Ambulance. Feeling like getting deeply introspective? Vheissu or The Alchemy Index. Just chilling? Beggars. And if you ever need to get seriously pumped up, one word: Firebreather. I wish so much I had known about these guys when I was playing volleyball. It would have gotten me much more riled than any of that hip-hop nonsense we played during warm-ups.
I thing the last thing I have to say is that it just doesn't get any better. I can't explain it. I've just never listened to anything this good. And in some cases, I've never listened to anything so beautiful. I think this is exemplified best in this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvYmxHN4z7k
So there's my long-winded tribute to Thrice. Hopefully, someone will listen to my constant pleadings and give them a try. But if not, I'll just keep my wonderful little secret hidden from at large and know that it doesn't get any better than this.
Basically, this was the greatest concert I've ever been to, in my short life of concert attendance. Such a good crowd as far as participation goes. I was a little bit out of the heat of it because we went upstairs on the balcony, but it was still a phenomenal experience. Not being in the middle of the crazy moshers gave me a chance to just sit back and listen when I really just wanted to savor the minute, instead of jump around a punch dance like everyone else. Truly, it was musical perfection.
Since the concert, I basically have felt like listening to only Thrice. I will turn on something else, but it will only take a matter of minutes before I start thinking about a Thrice song I would rather be listening to. This is the band that has ruined all other music for me.
You (as in the one reader I get a year with this blog) may be thinking to yourself, "What's so great about this band I've never heard of?" Well sir/ma'am, let me tell you why they are so friggin good and I could not possibly ever have another favorite band.
Mostly, it's Dustin. Don't tell my husband, but I basically love this man. He is truly amazing. If Dustin writes it, it is pure lyrical gold. I will give you some examples:
"The lesson you'd do well not to forget
Your life could be the one it's wisdom saves
At sea, where you're beleaguered and beset
On every side by strife of wind and waves
Despite the best of maps and the bravest men
For all their mighty names and massive forms
There'll never be and has never been
A ship of fleet secure against the storms.
When kings upon the main have clung to pride
And held themselves to masters of the sea
I've held them down beneath the crushing tide
Til they have learned that no one masters me.
But grace can still be found within the gale
And fear and reverence, raise your ragged sail."
-King Upon the Main
Not convinced? Okay, we'll keep going.
"I've never been this cold, the fire's gravity compels
Like planets cling to sol, I feel my orbit start to fail
Like moths to flame I come, too close and all my oaths are burned
As star begin to run, all my accusers take their turn
And calling curses down, from my lips lies like poison spill
And then that awful sound, the sound of prophesy fulfilled
And then I met your eyes, and I remember everything
And something in me dies, the night that I betrayed my King."
-from Like Moths to Flame
And there is so much more where that came from. He is so brilliant, I hope his pursuits now that he is not a frontman take him to the world of literature because I love reading everything he writes. He's capable of saying so much with so little:
"Tell me are you free
While the gallows stand
And bullets lance the bravest lungs
Will I fold my hands or hold my tongue
Or let the flames lick at my feet
Or breathe in fire and know I'm free
Flames will rise and devour me
Oh, to breathe in fire and know I'm free."
-from Firebreather
The second song example is also the second reason why I love this band so much. What other band could scream and make me feel reverent. NONE! I love that Dustin is so religious and his lyrics reflect that. I really do feel closer to God while listening to certain songs. Take this one for example (one of my all-time favorites):
"All you great men of power, you who boast of your feats
Politicians and entrepeneurs
Can you safeguard your breath in the night while you sleep?
Keep your heart beating steady and sure?
As you lie in your bed, does the thought haunt your head that you're really rather small?
If there's one thing I know in this life, we are beggars all.
All you champions of science and rulers of men
Can you summon the sun from its sleep?
Does the earth seek your counsel on how fast to spin?
Can you shut up the gates of the deep?
Don't you know that all things hang as if my a string over the darkness, poised to fall?
If there's one thing I know in this life, we are beggars all.
All you big shots that swagger and stride with conceit
Did you devise how your frame would be formed?
If you'd be raised in a palace or live out on the streets,
Choose the place or the hour you'd be born?
Tell me what can you claim? Not a thing, not your name!
Tell me if you can recall just one thing not a gift in this life
Can you hear what's been said?
Can you see now that everything's grace, after all?
If there's one thing I know in this life, we are beggars all."
-Beggars
Now if that doesn't convince you that they are amazing, I don't know what will, but I will keep going nonetheless. The next reason for loving this band can be summed up in one word: Teppai. This guy is so amazing. Not only does he shred like its nobody's business, but he just oozes style and awesomeness. I love seeing him live, he just grooves around the stage like he's in his room playing by himself.
Another thing I really, really adore about this band is their musical diversity. Album after album, I never get bored. There is something for every mood I am in. Feeling like head banging like a crazy person? Listen to The Illusion of Safety or Artist in the Ambulance. Feeling like getting deeply introspective? Vheissu or The Alchemy Index. Just chilling? Beggars. And if you ever need to get seriously pumped up, one word: Firebreather. I wish so much I had known about these guys when I was playing volleyball. It would have gotten me much more riled than any of that hip-hop nonsense we played during warm-ups.
I thing the last thing I have to say is that it just doesn't get any better. I can't explain it. I've just never listened to anything this good. And in some cases, I've never listened to anything so beautiful. I think this is exemplified best in this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvYmxHN4z7k
So there's my long-winded tribute to Thrice. Hopefully, someone will listen to my constant pleadings and give them a try. But if not, I'll just keep my wonderful little secret hidden from at large and know that it doesn't get any better than this.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
A homemaker . . .
. . . That's me! Not really, but I have been trying a little bit harder than usual lately and have been moderately successful. Go me! Tonight I made ham and potato soup. It is one of my favorite meals from my mother's recipe box, and I have to say that mine was a pretty close match. I am very proud. Unfortunately, my husband wasn't even here to share it with me, but I will still post the pic of my accomplishment.
Yeah, I am pretty pleased with myself, if you can't tell. Next I will try to make homemade oven-baked fries! Wish me luck!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Europe was . . .
So amazing. I can't believe that at only 21 I got to go to Europe and experience some of the most amazing sights the world has to offer. We were so lucky to be able to take the opportunity now when we are young instead of waiting until after our future kids have grown up (i.e. 30 years from now). And what a great chance for us to have five weeks, just Jacob and I, to be with one another more than we have in the past six months!
Vienna is one of my new favorite cities. I can't quite explain why. Yes, it can be a very wicked place. Smoking, racy advertisements. But there is something about it there that I just love. It is probably the architecture. People back then (1500's - 1800's) definitely cared more about the exterior of their buildings than American builders do now. And although I can't say that I believe in what the Catholic church teaches, they sure do make some beautiful cathedrals. Vienna is chuck full of them. Stephansdom, Karlskirche, Votiv kirche, St. Peter's . . . they were all so beautiful. I also had the opportunity to get to know Vienna really well. Their U-Bahn system is amazing, and gave me the opportunity to go anywhere in the city I wanted to go. It easily began to feel like home, and while we were visiting Prague, I referred to Vienna as home. I definitely want to go back there someday.
I very much enjoyed the food offerings of Austria and Germany. Man-o-man, Wiener Schnitzel is so good (no, not the American fast food chain; they've got it ALL wrong). European Fanta is crazy good. I couldn't imagine that using real fruit juice could make a drink so much better, but it does. The Turkish people are definitely doing something right with Döners. They are so good, even if I get it "nur fleisch." And while in Germany, I have never experienced such amazing sausages. Münchener Weißwurst, Nürnberger wurst, and the Coburger wurst were some of the most delicious things I have ever put in my mouth!! The Coburger wurst is roasted over pine cones and gives it the most crazy awesome flavor. Even just thinking about it is making my mouth water.
Germany is very beautiful. Vienna is a lot of concrete, but i got to see so much green while I was in Germany. Rolling hills of green green green. Coming back to Utah made me feel like I was wearing brown sunglasses. (Don't get me wrong, I still love Utah). Rothenburg was a great place. It felt and looked just like you would think an old-fashioned, little German town would look. Nürnberg was one of my favorite cities we visited. Besides their crazy awesome sausage, the buildings there are so beautiful. It reminded me a lot of Vienna. Bamberg was also very cool (besides all the drunk teenagers). We walked up the big hill to a cathedral and palace that overlooked the city. We had an amazing view of the red-shingled houses and the stormy atmosphere added to the effect.
Coming home was bittersweet. Yes, I will miss the places I have seen and I will miss the food. But there is something about being home and being back in routine that feels nice. It is also nice to wash my clothes in a washing machine instead of in a sink, by hand.
All in all, the best vacation I have ever been on. I got to spend my first anniversary in one of my favorite cities, and it was wonderful to spend so much time with my sweetie.
Vienna is one of my new favorite cities. I can't quite explain why. Yes, it can be a very wicked place. Smoking, racy advertisements. But there is something about it there that I just love. It is probably the architecture. People back then (1500's - 1800's) definitely cared more about the exterior of their buildings than American builders do now. And although I can't say that I believe in what the Catholic church teaches, they sure do make some beautiful cathedrals. Vienna is chuck full of them. Stephansdom, Karlskirche, Votiv kirche, St. Peter's . . . they were all so beautiful. I also had the opportunity to get to know Vienna really well. Their U-Bahn system is amazing, and gave me the opportunity to go anywhere in the city I wanted to go. It easily began to feel like home, and while we were visiting Prague, I referred to Vienna as home. I definitely want to go back there someday.
I very much enjoyed the food offerings of Austria and Germany. Man-o-man, Wiener Schnitzel is so good (no, not the American fast food chain; they've got it ALL wrong). European Fanta is crazy good. I couldn't imagine that using real fruit juice could make a drink so much better, but it does. The Turkish people are definitely doing something right with Döners. They are so good, even if I get it "nur fleisch." And while in Germany, I have never experienced such amazing sausages. Münchener Weißwurst, Nürnberger wurst, and the Coburger wurst were some of the most delicious things I have ever put in my mouth!! The Coburger wurst is roasted over pine cones and gives it the most crazy awesome flavor. Even just thinking about it is making my mouth water.
Germany is very beautiful. Vienna is a lot of concrete, but i got to see so much green while I was in Germany. Rolling hills of green green green. Coming back to Utah made me feel like I was wearing brown sunglasses. (Don't get me wrong, I still love Utah). Rothenburg was a great place. It felt and looked just like you would think an old-fashioned, little German town would look. Nürnberg was one of my favorite cities we visited. Besides their crazy awesome sausage, the buildings there are so beautiful. It reminded me a lot of Vienna. Bamberg was also very cool (besides all the drunk teenagers). We walked up the big hill to a cathedral and palace that overlooked the city. We had an amazing view of the red-shingled houses and the stormy atmosphere added to the effect.
Coming home was bittersweet. Yes, I will miss the places I have seen and I will miss the food. But there is something about being home and being back in routine that feels nice. It is also nice to wash my clothes in a washing machine instead of in a sink, by hand.
All in all, the best vacation I have ever been on. I got to spend my first anniversary in one of my favorite cities, and it was wonderful to spend so much time with my sweetie.
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