Sweatpants and Sweet Potato Fries

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Macchu Picchu

Macchu Picchu was the high point of this trip for sure! The hidden city is way up in the Andean Mountains. The Incans put it up there so they could be closer to the Sun God. I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Chance of a lifetime: Peru!

Kevin has been able to travel with his job the Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic! This October I was able to join him and his company on the trip of a lifetime! To Cuzco, Peru!!

See his side of the story with most of the details of the trip here:

http://www.kevinpmcgrath.com/1/post/2012/12/peru.html

While I was there I wrote down some of the things that I observed, and I'm glad I did! Now I can share all of the great things I was able to see and not necessarily capture on my camera :)

Peru Observations:

-Most of the buildings were Huts/ adobe shacks
-Women carrying stuff on their backs, really heavy loads, with blankets used to wrap the materials close to their bodies
- Hundreds of Mangy dogs running around, they ruled the streets!
- The Scenery was like a really green rural utah
-Holes were carved out of the steep hillside and covered with tarps for homes
-People seen climbing up the steep hills
-the cows were very skinny!!
-"No roof no pay taxes" rule makes all homes roofs unfinished. Most buildings were 3-4 stories high and the first few floors would be where the families lived and had shops where they worked, but the top floor remained unfinished and usually had clothes lines with clothes hanging all over.
-Cusco is very high in elevation, so the Air is thin, feels like a brick is on your chest.
-Little boy looks like he's 3 running home from school by himself on a busy street, lots of children running around unsupervised.
-Women in traditional clothing
-People everywhere sitting on the street, don't they have some place to be?
-One LDS church among the dirty unfinished buildings, was like a beacon in the dirty city!
-Honking means: I'm turning. Don't walk out in front of me. Don't slow down! Screw you!

Service Project Day:
Self sufficient schools/orphanages
Girls: learn sewing, knitting, baking/cake decorating, ceramics
Boys: agriculture, farming, baking, ceramics, cooking, carpentry, metal work, dairy
Had various chapels, dentist, barber, 2 psychologists on staff, as well as housing orphans

Insta-sensation!

I'd like to go off on a tangent before I resume updating my life on here. Apparently I am unable to update on the regular. Which is a tangent from my tangent. So here's the thing, I feel like Instagram was created directly for me. I wish I had had it as a teenager, and all through college. Don't get me wrong, I have always taking many pictures, mostly of myself of course, but I haven't always had an avenue to share them! And INSTANTLY! Sometimes I wonder whether it not people will actually enjoy my posted pictures, but even when someone else posts something lame, I love looking at them! So, I might as well share too! Really this just gives me an avenue to selfishly share pictures of my food, activities, and outfits :) so, I am going to continue posting to my hearts content!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Summer Wraps Up

Well, as summer comes to a close, Kevin and I worked on "Spring Cleaning" this weekend and I am feeling pretty good about it...

Also, pretty much if you have been wondering what I am up to, I recently discovered Instagram and I am a chronic Instagramer now :) Literally, I am ALWAYS posting photos. It is probably my most favorite thing right now. :)

And... After I got back from Newport Beach grand opening, I went to the San Jose California Grand opening! It was crazy and busy!

Mostly, I am excited for fall to start :)

Monday, July 9, 2012

California Suprises

Recently my wife Melanie went to California for a couple of weeks to help train employees at a new Chick-fil-A store in New Port Beach, CA. Since my mission area was just about 20 minutes away from where she was staying I wanted to go visit while she was there, but with my work and everything else going on I couldn’t go. Luckily she brought some of the best parts trip back to Utah for me to enjoy.

Roscoe’s is a delicious restaurant in southern California that serves up an unlikely combination of chicken and waffles all on the same plate. Although I would have loved to have some of their food brought back for me, I got the next best thing, a sweet t-shirt. To wear with my new t-shirt I also got an incredible pair of new sandals. In San Clemente, CA there is a factory discount store for Rainbow sandals. If you have never had a pair I would highly recommend them. Once you break them in they are incredibly comfortable, and at their store in San Clemente you can get a pair at a great price.

Since I am hard to surprise, and I knew the shirt and sandals were coming there were two more surprises waiting for me when Melanie got home. The first was a crayon ring. I first saw crayon rings a couple of years ago online and thought they were an awesome idea, so when my wife saw them at a store she grabbed one. The last surprise was a huge bad full of my favorite lotion, orange ginger from bath and body works. I don’t know what it is but I love the smell. So when Melanie saw that her hotel had free mini bottles of it she just grabbed one every day she was there, so two weeks later I now have a full supply. My wife is aweome!

Monday, June 18, 2012

Newport Beach Work Vacation

Well folks, i am typing this on my iPhone, so if I misspell, don't hate. I am sitting in my room in the Marriott resort and spa hotel in Newport Beach, California, right across from the Fashion Island Mall with a beautiful view of a green green golf course and the blue blue sea :) I can see the sail boats and fancy houses... Though I flew out here with the intention of working hard, turns out I am hardly working! The Chick-fil-A opened in the Fashion Island mall on June 14th, and it is full of upscale shopping and in one of the most affluent areas in the country. Everyone is BEAUTIFUL and extremely FASHIONABLE and well dressed... Everyone has a "pocket pooch" with crazy outfits and bedazzled collars on. I even saw a man pushing around a stroller FULL OF PUPPIES! Really!? I don't understand. But all in all, everyone seems really nice. I have driven up the pacific coast highway (or the PCH as the locals say) all the way to Oxnard through Malibu and seen the many beautiful scenes of fanciful houses and beaches... We went to Hollywood and saw the Chick-fil-A there... We ate at Roscoes chicken and waffles... We went to the rainbow sandals outlet and purchased fancy flippy floppies... And we have made s'mores and ordered pizza and hung out around the hotel... I have loved meeting and getting to know the other trainers and learning their life stories :) I have one more week before I fly back to land locked Utah and my only goal is to get to the beach!! Happy vacationing to me!!