7.13.2011

Fifty Nifty United States


Here's a challenge for you.

 Visual/spatial skills have never been my fortè. At 27 I still can't correctly label every state on a U.S. map.  But before you lump me with the likes of Miss South Carolina, please know that I could at least sing you all fifty states.

It turns out I am not alone. Awhile ago Baldo and I put ourselves to the test with some friends. With blank U.S. maps in hand we traveled back to 5th grade geography and cheated hurried our way through the list.  My score?  36.  I am not smarter than a 5th grader.  Only one of us came close to a decent score, and we commenced calling him a teacher's pet the rest of the night.  LOSER!

If you have a few spare minutes to destroy your self-confidence, print off this map, give it a go, and post your results in the comments.  I secretly hope you do horribly so I feel better about myself.


7.11.2011

Who Am I?


I am a woman.  I belong to a sisterhood of underestimated power.  We are strong.  We nurture, we mend, we uplift, and we create.  I refuse to define my worth by the size of my bust, or the weight of my body.  All women are beautiful.  I have great ideas, a curious mind, and a big heart.  Sometimes I care a little more than I should, but if I don’t care, who will?  I find joy in marriage and in the prospect of motherhood.  God loves me, my husband loves me, and I love me.  I love being a woman. 

7.10.2011

Who Am I?

One hundred words. 
 That's it.

I'm going to discover a new identities, and write. 

That's it.
One hundred words.

7.08.2011

The First Step...

The first step in addiction recovery is admitting you have a problem.

Well...
I have a problem.

My sister-in-law popped my Sprinkles cherry a few weeks ago and I can't get enough.  How do I know I have a problem?

Exhibit A:
I went three days in a row this week...without even realizing it until the lady taking my order asked, "Are you the the girl with the cute jellies I saw a few days ago?  I recognized your bangs."

Exhibit B:
My husband just caught me job hunting on the Sprinkles' website.  He wasn't too happy.

I have since vowed to avoid Sprinkles until I get back from my San Diego trip in two weeks.  I think I can make it.  But if I can't...




don't be mad, promise?

7.02.2011

Hong Kong: The Places


Remember like 5 years ago when Lauren and I traveled to Hong Kong?!?!
Here's a trip down memory lane (And if it sounds like I'm a grumpy old man it's because I'm sitting in the airport in Boston trying to get home after a long week away from my Duke, and the flight is getting pushed back and back and back and back.)

Back to HK: Our first morning we hit the streets, and learned really quickly that Hong Kong is not a early-bird type of city. They stay up late and wake up late. We walked around, and saw the only people awake were those cleaning the streets. As you can see the weather is great, and Lauren was able to put on a jacket for the first time in over a year! In this picture we found a fresh fruit market! Buying fruit that wasn't $10.00 was heaven.


We found the Hong Kong Temple!

So you know we had to make it a photo shoot kind of event!

We loved to take the ferry across the Harbor, but would not love to ever touch that water...way too many unknowns in there.
This is Kowloon looking at Hong Kong Island.
So Raymond met with Big Mike through work and lives in Hong Kong. Raymond spent one full day showing us the real Hong Kong. We were like old pros after learning all the tricks from Raymond. Here we are at the Peak of HK Island. If you are hooked and watch the Bachelorette...this is where the guys met up with Chris. (Yep...I just related my blog pictures to the Bachelorette).
Now that I think of it...I can relate all these pictures to that show, but I won't. We just watched the Harbor light show. If you like lasers and bad old-school music...this is for you.

Traveling with Lauren is so much fun. If you ever get a chance I would encourage it. We play silly games, talk about crazy crap, and most importantly we take a BUTTLOAD of pictures.

We met a kid taking pictures too, and he hooked us up with this one. We had just hiked up a lookout tower. The steps were straight up. Since we walked everywhere to begin with...it was not the most fun I had.


At said park, There is a memorial of the doctors that lost their lives fighting SARS. HK was hit hard since there are so many people, and so much contact between the people. Oh, and that's what Lauren looks like reading.


Lauren just got some crazy hot dog on a stick and then we took this picture. She was happy. I'm not sure if she thought by doing that to her hair made her fit in with the people better?!?! She was only 3 ft. taller than everyone there, and white!


Lauren would always stop and look at crap, so I would always have to turn around to make sure she wasn't taken and sold into a crazy underground world of American girl prostitution. Never watch the 2008 hit Taken before traveling overseas. So, Lauren caught my look back.


While in Asia if you don't throw up duces in your pictures...get out of the pictures. Even though Duke Nuts is smiling she was not feeling too well after the high speed ferry boat ride to Macau.


Really expensive car, and not so expensive red shorts. Love it.


Macau is like walking the streets in Portugal. It was a nice getaway from HK for the day.


Of course Lauren wanted to take pictures of this sick Library. It was full of old people reading books and the paper. It was in the middle of two streets.

15 minutes of cable car ride gave us some great views of HK.

And it lead to the middle of nowhere.  What would you build in the middle of nowhere?  I would build a huge Buddha.  My Buddha would have his hand up saying "talk to the hand," because "talk to the hand" is one thing I want to bring back.


Lauren loves her fake Ray-bans.

All those people took the cable car to get here.  Just think about the lines.

Pun intended.   Don't let Big Mike read this.


Closest thing to ever kissing Buddha.

I'm a Besich, so that means we can't open our eyes very well.

"Talk to the hand."


I will have orange doors in my house. Just got to talk my dad into painting them.


Buddha's got back.


Saying prayers.  I will not joke about this.




So this picture makes me tear up.  The Kimball boys were so much fun.  At the end of our day with them... we had a newfound respect for Stan and Lynnsey.  We hope to be half as crazy as they are when we have all boys ;-)


I grabbed her butt in the picture right after this one. Lauren didn't upload it. I wonder why?


Boe is a stud. The chicks were all over him. 1) Because he is super cute. 2) Because it is good luck to rub blonde hair.


Chilling!


Lauren hates mascots. That's why I always make her take these pictures.

This dude in the suit was a little sketchy around the kids.


Boe is getting yelled at because he was being loud next to the Panda. The kid is one. I don't think he understands her.


He does understand that crocs shouldn't be that big.


One day this picture will be with a little brown boy with dark hair and sunglasses. For now... Boe is a great practice. (Freaking heavy as a mother...but great practice.)