twilight + weekend

I hate to admit it. It's a little embarrassing. But I'm a Twilight fan. My little sister has been reading the Twilight series non-stop, literally non-stop. She told me to read them because they were "soooo good". I figured they were not really my age but when I was standing in the airport to leave for Paris, I thought I should get a book to read on the flight. I walked into the airport bookstore and saw Twilight. With only a few minutes to make a decision before I boarded, I grabbed the book and bought it (an Anderson Cooper bookmark was complimentary with the purchase, ow ow!). So I guess you could say, I accidently read Twilight. I didn't plan on it, didn't desire to, it just accidently happened. BUT I like it! I remember going through the stage of intrigue and infatuation with vampires when the movie Interview with a Vampire came out and Brad Pitt portrayed a very good-looking vampire. It's not the same with Twilight but the love-story is very... sweet. So I finished the book last Thursday and took my little sister and her friend to see the movie. I have to admit I was a little disappointed with the movie. The acting of the two main characters is not that great. And the love between the two seems to develop out of nowhere and for no reason, leaving me emotionally unattached. However, despite his potential arrogance and self awareness that may come from the thousands of teenagers wishing they could have his babies, Robert Pattinson was a very HOT vampire. I mean he really rivals Brad Pitt.

The rest of the weekend was less eventful with a 60-minute run/walk on Saturday morning, 2-hour eye appointment Saturday afternoon, hectic 45-minute Sunday school lesson on Sunday morning and a 30-minute swim workout Sunday night. Have I mentioned that I have been out of the water for atleast 3 years!? I have lost all my swimmer muscle and endurance. But it only makes me want to be back in the water more and gain it back.

Tonight, I'm white tornado-ing my house to get ready for our Thanksgiving parties this week. I'm so excited to have people over to our house. I love hanging out and catching up with old friends. Wednesday night is with friends from high school that graduated in '03 with me. Friday night is with friends that I went to high school with but wasn't really friends with them until last summer. Most of them are 1-2 years younger than me but still a lot of fun. I'm so excited this week officially starts the holiday season. Oh and can I say "Beat the hell outta t.u."? Or should I just hide behind the couch this Thursday at 7pm?......

parents.

Tonight I went over to my parents house for dinner and then stayed for awhile sitting on the couch in my living room. My mom comes in to talk to me and she's really into redecorating the interior of our house. So she's throwing ideas around to me and asking my opinion when my dad comes in and sits down with us. He's in a goofy mood and teases my mom about all the decorating. We discuss how the DVR isn't working which brings the attention to the tv/entertainment system. My brothers have hooked up a surround sound system that sits right in front of the tv and because of it's lack of asthetic appeal, my mom covered it with a fancy decorating cloth which sometimes inconveniently blocks the reception of the remote control. My dad teases her about that and which point she walks over to the tv and says,

"Tell me where you see this in a decorating magazine?" And lifts off the fancy cloth to reveal the hideous surround sound system.

My dad replies, "Well, what about in the I-want-to-change-the-channel magazine? How do they show it there?"

I realize that you had to be there and have had experience the difficulty of changing the channel from the couch in order to fully appreciate my dad's comment. But still, it's funny to me and I'm glad my parents can laugh at each other and enjoy (for the most part atleast) the nuances they have. I'll have to get pictures of this decorating dilemma to add to this blog.

Memorial Park walk

My roommates and I are training for the half-marathon on January 18, 2009. They started last week but since I was in Paris last week, I just started this week. On Monday, I did 40 minutes of run 3 mins/walk 2 mins and it was a great workout because I ran so much harder because I had those walking breaks. Yesterday, I was only supposed to walk for 30-40 mins. On my way home from work, I stopped at Memorial Park to do my walk... and I loved it.

The park was absolutely beautiful with the green trees and open field of the golf course. The sun was setting and casting beautiful colors and peeking out from behind the trees. And the weather here has been absolutely perfect... mid 70s during the day, not a cloud in the sky and dry! I had my music playing and I just thoroughly enjoyed my walk.

I felt like my mind was clear and I could just absorb God's beautiful creation! It was a great walk in the park! :)

Paris pictures

Links to my facebook pictures of Paris

city of lights 1

city of lights 2

End of vacation

Well it's Sunday night and tomorrow morning my vacation officially ends. I'm sad but I shouldn't be because my vacation was everything I could have wanted it to be. I had an amazing time in Paris and got to do and see so many things. It was long enough for me to feel like I really had a break. But it's just going back to the mundane. The everyday life that gets me down a little. I know life can't be always super exciting because then we wouldn't be able to appreciate the good moments so much. But I just don't want this vacation to fade from my memory and feel like it never really happened. I want each big life experience to move me on to another step... to contribute to the next thing I'm going to do. Like I'm walking up stairs... each thing I do gets me closer and closer to the top. My only problem is I'm not really sure what's waiting for me at the top or what I'm climbing towards.

I have so many feelings coming out of this trip to Paris. Part of me really wants to move abroad and live in a different culture for awhile. I'm not sure if I'll enjoy it but I feel like I need to do it to get it out of my system. It's something I can't seem to ignore for several years now.

Above all though I'm so thankful for the trip to Paris. The thanks goes to God because I was only able to do this trip because I went to college, graduated, got a good job, had amazing parents who let me live at home for free for a year to save money and blessed me with good health. I'm so lucky and I know it. I probably take it for granted but I'm trying not to. Live each moment to the fullest. Live life moment to moment and let life happen to you. Hence the name of my blog. :)

Hopefully work is bearable tomorrow and not in shambles.

Back home

I'm back home in Texas! My last few days in Paris were a lot of fun. When I was landing in Houston I was really happy to see home but also really sad that I wasn't in Paris anymore. I stayed up from 1am to 10:15pm to try and fight jet lag. But now it's 8pm on Friday and I'm so ready to get in bed.

I'm in College Station right now because Ricky got his aggie ring today! WHOOP! He's dunking his ring at 10:09 tonight. Hopefully I can make it to 10pm. Then it's off to Waco to see the aggies beat the hell outta the Baylor bears.

I've had a lot of thoughts about Paris and experiencing a different culture and all that. It was such an amazing experience. I'll write more later. Too tired right now. :)

Paris Day 5

Tomorrow is my last day in Paris!! I can't believe it's almost over. It's been such an amazing trip. Today, Andrea and I went to the Eiffel Tower during the day and took some cute pictures. We walked down Rue Rivoli and did a little bit of shopping and then met Remi on Rue Mouffetard to eat at this tart restaurant. This restaurant was so small that my dad or Ricky could not eat there. Like they literally would not fit. Everything is so close. Andrea and I were sitting across from each other at the table and our knees were touching! But it was delicious. 

After that we tried to go to Musee Carnavalet but it was closed because today is a holiday in Paris. So we decided to go to the largest cemetery in Paris that was huge and has a lot of famous people buried there. It was so cool walking around in there. I will put up pictures on facebook later. It was phenomenal and it was fun walking around with Andrea and Remi. Remi took us to tea/coffee and then we went back to the apartment to chill before dinner. We met up with Rebekah and had dinner and then walked to the Pantheon to check it out. It's huge and a really cool building. I'm glad I got to see it. Andrea and I took the metro back to our area and walked back to our apartment. 

Tomorrow I plan to spend some time walking around Paris just to take it all in before I leave. I don't want to leave because I've enjoyed Paris so much. I've had a very unique tourist experience. I feel lucky for how much I've gotten to do and learn because I'm staying with someone who lives in Paris. We are really tired though. It will be nice to get some rest when I get back. And I can't wait to see all my pictures!! Au revoir.

Paris Day 4

The Eiffel Tower at night was so beautiful! Andrea's friend Rebekah came over and had dinner with us in the apartment and then we went to the tower and it was breathtaking! I was impressed. I'm glad I saw it lit up at night and then every hour on the hour, it sparkles for like 5 mins! It was very cool. 

This morning Andrea and I went to The Louvre and I was again blown away by the art in there. My favorite were the French paintings. I like the art that actually looks like real people and tells a story. A lot of art like Picasso's stuff doesn't look like real life and that's not really my thing. But the paintings were beautiful. The statues were awesome - my favorite was The Winged Victory. It's a woman's body with no arms or head but big wings coming out of her back. I saw the Mona Lisa. The fame of that picture has ruined the enjoyment of the art. Ropes keep you like 10 feet away from her and there's plexiglass in front of it. Sad. We also saw the remains of the fortress, which is the original Louvre that they didn't find until the 1980s when they were putting in heating for museum. 

After the Louvre we met up with 2 of Andrea's friends and had lunch off Rue Muffetard and then went to the red light district and took a picture in front of the Moulin Rouge. Very interesting area of Paris. Tickets to see a show at the Moulin Rouge are like $100ish. We met up with Remi and then went to Sacre Cour - this huge church on the top of a hill. While we were walking back down, everyone insisted I try Nutella in a crepe so I did and it was really good. I like crepes a lot, especially with Nutella :). Now EA and I are just taking it easy tonight and cooking in the apartment and chilling. 

My feet are killing me from all the walking around the city and the walking up and down stairs to get in and out of the Metro. But it's so much fun. I love how the Parisians dress and I love the scarves, boots, coats. I love taking the metro but I've heard it gets old. I love the cafes and openness of the restaurants and stores. I love the closeness of the lifestyle here - the small tables, small doors, tiny staircases, tiny bathrooms. I wonder if it would get old though. I don't like the lack of toilettes in the city and that you sometimes have to pay to use them. I don't like the lack of water fountains. This has been such a neat experience and Andrea has been such a trooper the whole time and so patient with me while I experience it all for the first time. I wish I didn't have to come home so soon. :) 

Paris Day 3

Last night, Andrea, Remi and I went to see Quantom of Solace and it was good but not as good as Casino Royale. After we walked to the Latin Quarter and had dinner at Le Tango De Chat (the tango of the cat). I had vegetable soup, salmon with fries, chocolate mouse and a glass of Chardonnay for about 17 euros. It was good and one of the great things about French restaurants is they don't turn tables like they do in America. They let you take your time and don't hurry you. It was really fun talking to Remi, an authentic French guy (although according to Andrea not your typical French guy). We walked back across the Siene River, passed Notre Dame and said goodnight and went home. Oh and the French greet and say goodbye with kisses on the cheek and I love it. I wish Americans did that. Remi does 4 kisses but I met this other guy who just did 2. If I were French I'd only do 2 because 4 takes way too long. 

Anyway, this morning Andrea and I woke up early and went out to Versailles to tour the chateau that Louis VIII built and Louis XIV made all fancy. It was really crowded and I felt like the museum didn't do a great job of making it looked like it was still in use. We basically walked from empty room to empty room looking at all the paintings on the walls. It was beautiful and overwhelming how much detail was in each room but I just wish I could of seen what it was like to live there and see how they used each room. After the chateau we walked into the gardens which were a let-down because basically all the greenery is dead and the fountains are off because it's low-season. I'm glad I saw Versailles but I think it would have been more fun to see it in the summer. But the Hall of Mirrors is amazing and the artwork, statues, painting, busts, decorations are phenomenal.

After returning from Versailles, Andrea and I walked around La Marais (our area we are staying in) and looked for a falafel restaurant and tried that for the first time. It was really good and different from anything I've had before. Then we came back to our apartment and took an hour-ish nap. We were so exhausted! Tonight we are going to cook a small meal in our apartment and then go to the Eiffel Tour at night with our bottle of wine, cheese and bread. Golly, don't you wish you were here! It'll be fun but cold! I just love being here! It's so great! 

Paris Day 2

I'm in Paris! Everything went fine with the flight over here. When I got to the airport I managed to make it through customs, get my bag, find the RER (train) station, purchase a ticket and get on the right train. However when I got on the train, I pull out my cell phone to text my mom that I made it and text my cousin, Andrea that I was on the way and realize my phone does NOT work here. I called AT&T before I left to ask them and they said it would and gave me the rates and everything. But it didn't.

So I start getting nervous, plus the train was skipping a lot of stops so I was scared it might skip mine and then I would never find Andrea. But luckily it stopped at Denfert Rochereau and I got off and looked around for Andrea and she was no where to be seen. So I start to panic a little but think maybe she's running late for her class. So I just sit at the metro station and just wait for awhile. But really I'm starting to panic because I have no way of contacting anyone and I have no way of communicating with the people around me for help and I have no idea where in Paris I am and no idea where to go if Andrea never shows up. After failing at asking a few Parisians if they speak English, I finally find a young man who does and he helps me try to buy a phone card to use on a public phone to call Andrea. But in order to find a public phone we walk upstairs to ground level to exit the train station and I see Andrea waiting for me!!! Phew! I was really starting to panic. I thought I was just going to get back on the train and go back to the airport because more people speak English there and could help me call Andrea. But she was there. I figured out later it makes a lot of sense she was waiting for me upstairs because in order to enter the metro station you have to purchase a ticket and she didn't want to get on the metro, just pick me up but I didn't even know the top floor existed. I thought I was just supposed to wait for her down by the train. 

Paris is so much fun with Andrea!!! I'm loving it. I'll update more later because our apartment has free internet and Andrea brought her laptop. Paris is awesome. I saw Tuileries, the Arc de Triomphe via Champs Elysee, Saint Chapelle cathedral and Notre Dame. Andrea and I are about to go meet her French friend Remi to see Quantom of Solace. So fun!!!! :)

Au revoir!

I'm leaving for Paris today!!! So much has been going on since I last wrote but it was overwhelming to find time and energy to sit and update this blog. Plus I had so much to say I didn't even know where to begin. The spanish has been on hiatus because of Paris planning but when I get back I'm going to start learning again.

My flight leaves at 6:35pm tonight and will fly for 9-10 hours and land at 10:45am on Friday in Paris which will be 3:45am here in Houston. It's going to be the longest day of my life. When I get to Paris I have to find the RER station, buy my ticket, get on the correct train, find a seat that's big enough for me and my suitcase, avoid pickpockets who "prey on naive and jetlagged tourists", get off at Denfert Rochereau, find Andrea. After that my trip will be a breeze (hopefully)! I'm sure from there Andrea and I will go check into our apartment, unload our stuff and then start exploring Paris - finding things to do to keep me awake until bedtime to avoid jet lag.

I'm so excited but I really don't feel like I'm actually flying to Paris tonight. I think it's because I have absolutely no idea what to expect. It'll be nice to actually be there after planning this trip since March! I'm really hoping hoping hoping I can blog while I'm there to give updates on the trip.

When I get back from Paris, I have one night in Houston and then I'm leaving for College Station the next day for Ricky's Aggie ring day! WHOOP! Staying in CS with my friend Stacy and then driving to Waco on Saturday for the A&M vs. Baylor football game. Oh gosh, I'm gonna be tired! But can't miss out on the fun! See you when I get back! Pray for me and check back to see if I update while I'm in Paris!

Au revoir!