Check out my Salvadoran life

Hey, kids. Sorry I haven't been writing much lately. I've been busy doing a myriad of projects in El Salvador, and if you want to hear about it, check this out.

one for the readers

I haven't been a very good blog friend lately.
I've written a few posts, but none that are worth sharing with the world. Some too personal, some just not inspired.

Either way, here's an update:
I leave for El Salvador in less than 24 hours. Read about my adventures here. I probably won't be posting much on this blog until I get back.

Anyway, what it really comes down to is this: I'm going to El Salvador!!!!!!!!

Spring Haikus

No more blow dryers

Packing away all my coats

Time for sunny days

One week till I leave

New places, scary but fun

I can barely wait

Of course before I

leave I might meet someone great

but they can sit tight

a question

Love-to-be:

You're old fashioned and I'm a little old fashioned,

so why don't we take black and white photographs and name our children Lucy and Harold

and build a home out of pennies and patience

and you'll read the paper as I'm finishing up dinner and after the food is gone we'll sit at the table for hours,

still hungry for each other's company,

even after all these years?

image via

that time

so it's that time of year again.
when people graduate.
when people leave.
and this time, I'm leaving, too. (but i'm coming back.)

It's kind of weird to think that two weeks from today, I'll be on my way to (or maybe already in) El Salvador.
I finally get to put a stamp in my passport.
I've gotten my vaccinations (heavens, 3 in one day was a baaad idea)
I have a plane ticket.
I still need to pack.
I still need to buy a few things, like Chacos and cheap, quick-drying skirts and T shirts.

And, don't tell anyone, but: I'm a little.bit.scared.

It's unknown, but it's going to be exciting. And the unknownness is what is exciting.

This is a big step for me.
I committed to this a few months ago, and I'm following through with it, and that is an accomplishment all on its own.

And whatever this trip ends up being, it will be good for me. Because learning is never a bad thing.

image via vi.sualize.us

one of my favorites so far:

So sometimes I read this blog "letters to crushes"*

Today, I read a post titled "The best places to fall in love are book stores and libraries."

Oh boy, oh boy do I agree with that.

Full post here. Read it.

*Thank you, miss Katya, for introducing me to it!

Copywriter

Give me five seconds to be totally self-absorbed and braggy to say:

I GOT INTO THE CREATIVE TRACK!

For those of you non-advertising majors, this means that I get to call myself a real writer of copy and get to work on cool projects, spend hours and hours brainstorming and juicing my brain of creative brilliance.

I can't wait.

this is me:

Yesterday I went grocery shopping at my favorite little grocery store.

As I was walking around the store, my basket overflowing with fruit, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains, I remembered a part of myself that had been set aside.

A part of me that had been overshadowed by big generic supermarkets, small paychecks and relying on others for transportation, but was just waiting to come to the surface.

To remind me of some things I really care about.

So this is me, at least when it comes to food:

I like to buy organic*
I like to buy local
I like to buy free range animal products*
I care about the planet
I prefer wheat
I have a slight addiction to greek yogurt



So maybe it's time I start living up to who I really am, and how I really want to eat.

{I can't wait until the farmers market starts up again!}

*when people ask me why, it catches me off guard and my mind blanks on the research, but basically it comes down to this: I like my food without a side of pesticides.
* This is another one that, for some, requires explanation. My thoughts are: healthy animals make healthy animal products.

image via

the substitute people

From Elizabethtown. I sort of love that movie.

Claire: "Do you want to hear my theory?"
Drew: "Of course."
Claire: "You and I have a special talent, and I saw it immediately."
Drew: "Tell me."
Claire: "We're the substitute people."
Drew: "Substitute people?"
Claire: "I've been a substitute person my whole life. I'm not an Ellen; I never wanted to be an Ellen. And I'm not a Cindy either, although Chucks loves me."
Drew: "I'm sure they do."
...
Claire: "I'm impossible to forget, but I'm hard to remember."

image via this and this

why I love advertising:

Because even at 1 am, when we've already been here for 9 hours today, and we're tired and sugar-overloaded...we all still want to be here.

Because looking at blogs, surfing facebook and looking up information on wikipedia all counts as research.

Because our professors care enough to hang out with us until the work is finished, even if the stuff doesn't get done until 1am.

Because everyone brings food to share.

Because it's just fun.

A conversationalist

Love-to-be:

Please be the kind of guy who can just as easily chat with the cashier at the grocery store or the CEO of a major corporation.

And please make sure you tip well at restaurants. Trust me, I've been a server.

Because I know if you show consideration and genuine interest in the lives of people you barely know, you'll treat me with the same respect.

xoxo,
Just Me

Grateful

Life is just so good.

Let me tell you a story

A boy walked in the room.
A boy she'd seen before, one she'd met once, several years ago, but it was a brief encounter and not one he'd probably remember.
But she remembered, like she always did.

Boy: "I've met you before..."
Girl: "Yeah, we met freshman year once. It's _______, right?"
Boy: "Wow. Yeah."
Girl (to his other friend): "Yeah, and I think I met you, too. It's _______, right?"
Other Boy: "That is an impressive memory!"

(semi awkward pause)

Boy: "Wait, so how did we meet?"
Girl: "We met at _____'s cabin one time; I wore your sweatpants." (What?! Did I really just tell him that?? stupid. stupid. stupid.)
Boy: "Whoa, really?! Wow. And that was the only time we met?"
Girl: "Yeah, remember? we all jumped in the creek in the morning, and got soaked."

Boy: "Oh yeah, I do remember jumping in the creek" (But clearly, he doesn't remember me...dang)

Lesson Learned: If you happen to have a near stalker-like memory when it comes to people (not your fault, you were programmed that way), don't let on so quickly. Play the "Oh yeah, you look kind of familiar to me too..." card for at least 10 minutes and then slowly work in the "wait..do you know so-and-so??"

This is a much better solution than the "Oh yeah, Firstname Lastname, don't you remember the 30 second introduction we had 3 years ago with Mutual Friend in Random Location where you told me you are from Hometown and you have Number of kids in your family. Wait...and you don't even remember my name?"

Whoops.

Crunch Time

Okay, guys.

I know you're there, somewhere. (and if you're reading this, yes, I mean YOU).

I'm working on my creative portfolio and I need to include a few things:

a little bit about myself

some brilliant advertising

and (here's where you come in)

a few writing samples, extra creative stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else.

If you've read one of my blog posts or one hundred, now is your chance to tell me what your favorites are.

So pretty please leave me a comment with the title/link to a post of mine that you thought was good enough to reread.

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a taste

Today I wore no jacket to school.

And I walked to class

And I wasn't cold.

California runs through my blood and I crave the beach almost as much as I crave chocolate.

Today felt a little bit like the beginning of spring, and the end of a winter that wasn't the most stressful, but it had its moments.

Today was a day when the world was conquered.

When somehow everything came together and worked, even when I was sure it wouldn't.

And for that, I am grateful.

images via this

remember to breathe

It's one o clock in the morning and I'm still up.

I feel an interesting mix of energized and overwhelmed.
I know that when my alarm goes off tomorrow morning (at the bright hour of 6), I'll wish I'd have gone to bed a little earlier.

But I was up talking to my best friend, what can you say?

There is still an Art History test to be studied for.
And some work to be done.
And a meal to be planned
And some clever lines of copy to be written.

Sometimes I wish I had a span of 48 hours to not sleep and just get things done. Check off the tasks on my to do list for the next week, so I could actually enjoy the fun things.

But, alas, 5 hour energies and cups of coffee are not really my style.

Un-Do List

Things I did NOT accomplish today:
-writing the thank you notes I need to
-addressing fundraising letters for this little trip
-laundry
-applying for a few more scholarships for next year.

However, I was able to:
-make a dozen homemade bagels (they were delicious)
-make a pizza to use up some leftover pizza sauce
-spend some quality time with the roommates
-listen to the words of some inspired leaders at stake conference and at the CES fireside. (L. Tom Perry is my hero).
-meet some new people and laugh...a lot.

Oh well. There is always tomorrow.


ps: two of my favorite women in the whole wide world are coming to visit me this week. and I couldn't be more excited!

everything is more romantic in french

This may just be one of the most romantic songs I've ever heard.
I fell in love with it when I heard it play at the end of French Kiss.

Louis Armstrong's trumpet can take my breath away any day.
And Edith Piaf's voice is incredible.

I don't even need to hear the words to want to melt into some dashing man's arms and forget the world.

the kitchen

the darkest chocolate couldn't compete with the brown in her eyes as she wheeled that horn of plenty to the kitchen door.

the kitchen,
where tomatoes marry milk, butter and basil
to make a pot of soup
to share at the dinner table
across from the man with salt and pepper hair.

they talk about the city, the state, the world
theories are touted, and definitions are discovered

an encyclopedia is the entree
that complements the creamy tomato soup.

their conversation continues long after
the soup spoons are cold
and the bread is no more than crumbs
and water droplets have dripped down the sides of the water goblets.

and as she stacks the two bowls in one hand and walks over to rinse them in the sink,
he remembers how she wanted a house with a big kitchen
and why he was okay with that.

for my mom, my dad, and our kitchen.

eat it up

I love to cook.

At 16, when my mother was anxiously trying to pass on some of her food wisdom, I never would have expected the above statement to be true.

To be honest, I was intimidated by the measuring cups, the saucepans and the kitchen stove.

The idea that with a prayer and a great recipe (or no recipe at all!) one could whip up something delicious was completely foreign to me.

When I moved into my first apartment (after living in the dorms and eating cafeteria food all year..,remind me, how is the first year of college any different from high school?), I lived off of grilled cheese sandwiches, condensed tomato soup, and cheese quesadillas.

(I know, Mom, you taught me better than that.)

It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I had an epiphany I could almost taste:

I can do this; cooking really isn't that hard.

I learned that the worst that can happen is that you have a great story to tell about the time when you burned the toast three times in a row, or when you forgot to grease the cake pan.

And the best than can happen is that you make a batch of brownies that sort of become legend in some circles, or you sit down to a Sunday dinner that actually resembles your grandmother's cooking.

But more than just cooking, I really learned how to eat.

I learned to like* salad.
I learned that almost any vegetable tastes delicious if it's sauteed in olive oil and salt and pepper.
I learned that the best chocolate cake doesn't come from a box, but from my grandmother's recipe book.

This is all just to say that I'm feeling pretty confident with the knowledge that my future children will not starve, and even better, won't survive solely PB &J and macaroni and cheese.

*read: tolerate
**A couple of weeks ago, I discovered Orangette....oh to make delicious food and write about it all day.