Getty Villa

A while ago we went to the Getty Villa with Sean's parents.  This was a first time visit and I loved it!  It was the perfect day to go, crystal clear skies and just the right temperature.  The Getty Villa is located in Malibu right off Pacific Coast Highway.  You drive up this long and pretty driveway made with large stones.  These stones are representative of the Roman streets.  In fact, that was my most favorite part of the Getty Villa.  Everything was suppose to be a recreation of ancient Rome.  The villa itself is the same building that has been excavated at Herculaneum and they tried to recreate the decorations by mimicking what has been discovered in various villas from both Pompeii and Herculaneum.  Having been to Pompeii this was a real treat!

I know a museum trip is a win-win when Sean enjoys it too!

I love her story.  The real version of her (this is the copy) was excavated by the large reflecting pool outside the main portion of the villa (remember this is a copy of a real villa in Italy) but when they excavated the pool on the inside of the courtyard they saw pedestals that matched.  So, she originally stood by the interior pool and for whatever reason someone moved her to the outside pool.  She now stands in her original position.  Cool, right?  Isn't archaeology interesting?!

I LOVE the Roman courtyards.  If I could build my own house it would be something like this!

Another shot of the courtyard, love it!

It was really cool to see how they decorated the walls, floors and ceilings and to think they were inspired by real designs.  Basically, this is what a home would look like 2000 years ago!

My favorite parts of the collection was seeing the paintings and carvings of women's hairstyles.  Interesting to see how little some hairstyles changed.  I also really enjoyed see these stamps.  I love the ones that roll and some of them were so tiny!

One Month Without TV

(Warning: Longer-than-I-expected-to-write Post)

I did it!  Some people doubted me but it was a lot easier than I expected!  I went one whole month of NO television watching.  This included watching movies (whether at home or at the theater).  For good measure I also threw in no Facebook.

Now you may ask, why would I give up television, movies and Facebook for a month?  No, it was not for lent as some have asked. I had been thinking about it for a while that I wanted to go on a TV break but didn't know when the best time to do it.  The reason I wanted to do it was I felt I was spending way too much time watching my shows and "passing" the time.  I wasn't doing enough of "me" time to develop friendships, interests and talents.  I soon realized if I were to undertake a challenge like this it had to be all or nothing.  So I decided on February 28th that on March 1st I wouldn't watch TV (or check Facebook) until April 1st.

When I told Sean about my challenge he said, but the Amazing Race just started!  How can you miss that?!  True, my all time favorite show just had their second episode of the season.  I had recently posted about how nothing stops me from watching the Amazing Race.  I knew for me to feel like I accomplished my goals, my challenge would have to be all or nothing.  That meant I had to give up the Amazing Race for a month (which was quite unfortunate that I picked March since it has 5 Sundays).  It took some time to soak in but Sean finally realized that our alone time together wasn't going to be watching TV either.  He asked if my challenge could be Monday through Friday.  Again, I told him it had to be all or nothing.  This was hard for Sean because a lot of our time spent together is cuddling on the couch watching a movie or some shows.

I wouldn't say I am addicted to Facebook. At all.  I am not one of those individuals who posts several times a day.  But I felt that if my challenge was to help me better improve myself, than I should give up some seemingly frivolous activities, like Facebook.  That was the end of my restrictions.  I didn't want to put too many that the challenge seemed too daunting.  I wasn't tempted to check Facebook but I was in a habit of when I had down time to check it, so I had to delete the app from my phone in case I accidentally checked it.

There were a couple of things I wanted to get out of this challenge.  By not being distracted by tv or movies I wanted to have some quality time visiting with family and friends.  I also wanted to find some more "me" time where I could focus on developing my talents and skills.  Lastly I wanted to feel happy and less dependent on television for entertainment.  Or simply put, I wanted to feel less addicted to television watching. 

So what actually happened?  I spent a lot more quality time with my husband.  I did go out and socialize more with friends and family.  I went to bed a lot earlier and therefore got a lot more rest than I normally did.  I did not get as much "me" time as I thought I would.  I do feel less drawn to the TV.  And I had a great realization about Facebook.

I view a lot of new technology and habits as necessary evils.  Smart phones, texting and Facebook fall under this category.  I hate the fact that our society has become so dependent on instant social media that real conversations have gone to the wayside.  I HATE when people are constantly on their phones, especially when you are having dinner or a conversation with them.  Almost everyone I know who owns a smart phone follows bad ettiquette (with adults being the worst!)  I dislike how texting and Facebook have replaced calling (or heaven forbid visiting!) someone.  What I hate the most is that I find myself slipping into these bad habits too.  But throughout my break I have soften (very little) to these necessary evils. 

I realized that this is the way our society is going and this has become the new normal.  Doesn't mean I have to like it, but I do have to accept it.  This was very evident with my Facebook ban.  There are many people who I do not have contact abilities other than through Facebook.  That is my only way of communicating.  Facebook is a great way to see the highlights of what people are doing.  In a sense you do stay connected with people much better than before.  I miss seeing what my friends are doing or the cute pictures of nieces and nephews that get posted.  I do feel a little out of the loop without being able to check Facebook.  So Facebook isn't all that bad as long as you aren't addicted to it (which I wasn't--just decided to include it with my challenge for fun).

Now how do I feel about the television part of it.  Surprisingly it wasn't very hard.  I can think of two times when it was really difficult.  Two weeks ago Saturday and last Friday.  Both of these days I spent a long time in the yard doing gardening and laborious yard work.  I was tired, dirty and all I wanted to do was relax, put my feet up in the air and zone out while watching a movie.  Those were the only hard days.  So my conclusion about television?  I will be watching the past episodes of the Amazing Race.  And probably NCIS.  But all my other shows?  I dont have a burning desire to get all caught up.  I think I might finally drop one or two of my shows.  I will enjoy my mind numbing television watching occasionally but I hope that I can remember what it was like to get so much more done without spending all night glued to the TV.

In conclusion I am very glad I did it.  It was a great accomplishment because I did have to sacrifice some good things.  I knew if I picked a more convenient time, say summer time when everything are reruns, than it would have defeated the whole purpose. 

A challenge, after all, isn't a challenge unless you push yourself and do something that is not easy.  

Biking and the Ruins of the Old Zoo

A couple of Saturdays ago we decided to go on a mini adventure.  We loaded our bikes up on a very old bike rack and made the semi-treacherous trip down to Griffith Park.  Our bike rack is the rack we used when I was younger.  I told Sean the rack lasted a trip to Idaho but I dont think that made him feel any more comfortable heading onto the freeway. I do admit it was a little nerve wracking looking back to see our bikes bobble up and down.  We made it to Griffith Park in one piece without loosing any pieces. 

 

Sean's become a pro assembling our old school rack!

We decided that we would head south along the Los Angeles River.  Of course the river isn't very pretty but there was some very interesting sites along the way.  We saw a random grocery cart sitting in the middle of the river, homeless(?) people washing in the river and crowds of every demographic riding along the path.  It was really interesting to ride right along the freeway.  The traffic into Griffith Park was almost at a standstill so I was really tempted to say "hi" to the people who had their windows down.  Sean would have been too embarrassed so I didn't. 

This was the final location for one of the seasons of The Amazing Race

We biked to Los Feliz where we crossed over into Griffith Park.  It was a little bit of an uphill but nothing too bad.  It was a very warm, sunny day--perfect to be outside.  We found a nice grassy place to pull out our picnic.

One of my main objectives was to visit the Old Zoo.  I remember seeing an episode of America's Next Top Model filmed there and I heard it was a really cool place to visit.  What I didn't expect was the crowds!  I think it was the most crowded part of the entire park!  There were many different parties going on, a private photo shoot, family outings and some sort of Mascot get-together.   There were a couple of different old cages that you could explore.  I really wanted to know what those cages housed.  I would love to find an old map of this zoo but a search on the internet yielded no results.  There was a sign near the cages that explained that one reason why the cages were left "as is" was to educate the public on the advancement of zoological sciences.  The cages and conditions were a lot more primitive than what we see today at zoos.  No wonder people were all up in arms about how the animals were treated!  We tried to explore off the beaten path but couldn't find any more ruins.  We'll save that for a time when we didn't have to lug around bikes. 

I loved how this party was inside the enclosed area, awesome!

This area had an amazing view of Glendale.

The archaeologist in me loved this place!  Our society doesn't have many ruins so I got to take advantage of what I can!

These were some hardcore cages!

I seriously need to find a map and find out what animals were here.

This was the funniest thing!  There was some sort of Mascot get together because there were about 2 dozen furry people walking around (very casually I might add).

It was a quick trip back to our car but before we got there we found some deer just chillin' on the side of the road.  It was kinda ironic because I kept seeing the deer crossing signs and was thinking to myself, "I have never seen deer here-there cant possible be deer living in the middle of LA!"  Well I ate my words because there were 3 of them just chillin right next to the road.

I didn't get a good picture but if you look closely you'll see at least 2.

Our trip was sort of impromptu but it was a blast!  We cant wait to go back and explore some more!

The Amazing Race!!!

For those who know me well, know that I LOVE the Amazing Race.  It is one of the few shows that I've seen almost every episode.  I even told my Home Teachers once that they had to go home so I could watch the show.  THAT is how much I love it!  My coworkers know that at least a couple of times a week I find a way to incorporate the Amazing Race into our conversations.  And those who know me REALLY well, know that I applied to be on the race back in 2006.  So in honor of the 22nd season I've posted my sister's and I audition.

Let's be honest, I think there is a reason why they didn't pick us.   I dont think they got past the first 10 seconds.  Stick around till the end because that is the true gem of the video.  Don't judge too harshly. 

A Quick Little Visit to Utah

Sean and I recently went to Utah for a wedding and to visit friends and family.  It was a great trip!  It had been super cold the week leading up to us being there so we were super nervous that it would be ridiculously cold.  But we brought the nice warm southern California weather with us and it was quite pleasant.  It did snow a couple of the days which made Sean's ski trip with his brother excellent.  We went home on a snowy day which was not so nice.  It took us about 2 extra hours. 

We stayed with Sean's grandparents who were gracious hosts.  We went out to dinner to Brick Oven with Sean's brothers, cousins and grandparents.  On our way to the restaurant we drove past the Smith Fieldhouse where I saw Taylor Sanders walking out to his car.  Sanders is on the volleyball team.  That sort of made my day since I LOVE watching BYU Men's volleyball.

We spent some time with my cousin Carey.  We had a very yummy lunch and spent time playing on the wii.  Sean really loved playing Mario Chase with Carey's youngest on the Wii-U.  We busted out the Just Dance and enjoyed acting crazy.  They live really close to the Oquirrh Mountain temple so we stopped by to take some pictures.  We really enjoyed the visit. 

The main reason for our visit was to go to a wedding reception for a very good friend.  Sherstin and I were EFY co-counselors during my first year of EFY and we instantly clicked.  I just LOVED this girl.  I almost felt like she was a long lost sister or something.  She had an AMAZING reception with this old world travel theme.  In fact I loved it so much we came home and bought similar decor for our home.  Since she was an EFY friend I knew I would see other EFY friends.  I was not disappointed.  Afterwards I realized something poignant.  Sometimes when you get together with old friends all you talk about is the past--the things you had in common.  With these EFY friends we actually didn't talk about anything about the past.  It was all right now and the future.  I felt like that was a good sign of our friendships--that we didn't have to rely on the past to keep it going. 

Our next visit was with Sean's family.  We had a great visit with his grandmother.  Daniel, Sean's brother, joined us for the visit which was a nice surprise for their grandmother.  On our way to her house we saw a rather large snowman.  We had to stop for a picture.  Grandma Ann was super sweet with the room set up for a nice visit.  She had water and snacks all out waiting for us.  She had some good stories to tell and we really enjoyed the visit. 

After that we headed over to Sean's Aunt house where we met up with more extended family.  It was a very entertaining night with a scrumptous dinner, games and entertainment by the younger kids.  Sean's cousins are really funny and we had a blast watching them dance to pop songs.

Sean spent the next day snowboarding with Daniel at Sundance.  He went just after the film festival but didn't spy any celebrities.  Oh darn!  I guess its a good thing we live in Los Angeles!

While Sean went snowboarding, I visited with some friends.  First, I spent some time with some Hanfordites, Alicia, Amber and Breanne.  It was so good to catch up.

Afterwards I headed to my BYU, which has changed a lot since I attended there.  It is a bittersweet emotion.  I went to the Wilkinson Center and walked by my old job, the Information Desk.  The people working there now didn't look as cool as I am SURE I looked!  :)  It was a very good job.  I can thank my brother Peyton for getting it for me.  I met up with my old roommate Casey.  We were roommates freshman year and loved each other so much that we roomed together throughout our Junior year.  We missed senior year because I went to live with my sister first semester and Casey left for a study abroad second semester.  We had so much fun together during college!  Seirously she is one of my best friends!  She now has a sweet little boy which she brought.  While we were talking we saw a girl we both knew.  Evie was from Casey's home ward and I knew her when I was living in Boston (seriously, the world is so small when you are a Mormon!).  We had a great time catching up with Evie.

My last visit was with another old roommate, Heidi.  I was thinking about it the other day and I thought how I ended up as Heidi's roommate was interesting.  Heidi lived directly below us freshman year but I never really got to know her.  When I was working at the above mentioned information desk people I sort of knew would stop by to talk.  That is sort of how Heidi and I's relationship bloomed.  She would just stop by to say hi to a girl she sort of knew.  Then one day I told her, we need another roommate, you interested?  And she was!  That is how Heidi came into my life.  And boy did she bring spice in our lives!  Probably one of my best years was when Heidi, Casey and Liesel were my roommates Junior year!  It was the best year!  Heidi also has a sweet little baby.  She was adorable (even though she got a little cranky because it was her bed time).

That was all our visits.  End result = a very good trip.

Disneyland!

Sean and I realized that even though we go a lot we havent paid for Disneyland tickets since college.  The reason for that is the generosity of my brother who works as an Imagineer and as such gets us in for free.  Since this generous perk we've always gone with singles or family.  We've never gone with a family with young kids.  A friend of ours who is a Disney employee invited us and one other family to Disneyland.  We were so excited to experience Disneyland with new friends and especially little friends!  It was a very fun day taking it slow and riding the little kids rides.  Our first ride was Peter Pan soon followed by Dumbo, It's a Small World, Gadet's Go Coaster, Nemo Submarines, and Pirates of the Caribbean.  I was very disappointed to see that my favorite ride (Thunder Mountain) was down for upgrades.

We ate at a fun little outdoor restaurant between Fantasyland and Frontierland.  The comfort food (ribs, chicken, sausage, cornbread, sauerkraut, baked beans) was served family style.  My favorite touch was our beverage glasses were actually mason jars.

We're grateful for our friends for the good time we had. 

Cleopatra and New Years Eve

My new sister-in-law had new nephews she hadn't met so for the Christmas break she flew out to the East Coast to spend time with the new additions.  This left my poor brother to fend for himself during New Years Eve.  Being the ever so nice sister, I invited him to spend New Years Eve and Day with us.  I had heard about the Cleopatra exhibit at the California Science Center and learned it was in its last week at the museum.  I booked my tickets and we all drove down to Exposition Park.  I used to work at the Natural History Museum which is next door to the Science Center.  I hadn't been back in two years and I was amazed with what they've done to the area.  The museum has added on and there is a metro extending out past the museum.  The exhibit was pretty cool.  It focused on some underwater archaeology that has been done in recent years to better understand Cleopatra.  It was a great history lesson.

The evening consisted of games, pizza, crab, watching TV, and toasting with Martinellis. 

 

I've come to the conclusion that New Years Eve really isnt that big of a deal.  Unless I get invited to a party next year (which is unlikely) or I host a party (probably just as unlikely) than I am going to go to bed at my regular hour.