Turkey

Breakfast as we pulled into the port. (My usual grits. I became very fond of grits on this vacation.)

Met at 8:00 in Medusa Lounge, got off boat onto a small pier. We had arrived in Alanya, Turkey.

Got on two buses, taking our places in the back row. (As there are three of us and all of the seats are clumped in twos except for the three seats across the back.)

First stop: Perge
According to Acts, Paul traveled through Perge then later gave a sermon in Perge.

I didn't quite understand what it was we were looking at, other than ruins. It was very interesting, none the less.

We bought these matching dresses in the gift shop on the cruise ship. I enjoy that, although we are dressed in similar clothing, we all have our own distinct style. (And I look to be 72% legs.)

There is a roped-off section where the dirt was swept away to reveal this beautiful tile work underneath. We brushed away the thick layer of dirt we were standing on and were pleasantly surprised to see these tiles underfoot.

Outside the ruins was a little gift shop. I dropped a 2 Euro coin and it fell through the slats in the deck porch area of this gift shop. :/ I don't think I bought anything in this shop, but I believe Celeste bought a scarf. (One of thoooooouuuusands she purchased on this trip.)
On the outskirts of the parking lot, a woman had jewelry laid out on the ground. I chose a chunky necklace, which I think I paid about $5 for.

We got back on the bus. Lunch time!

Our guide explained that lunch would be a buffet, and it was $10 a person. He would collect the $10 as you got off the bus. Objections were raised, and our guide agreed to let us look over the food before we decided to purchase the buffet.

I perused and refused.

I spent about $4 for this Coke Zero. I enjoyed this meal of Coke Zero.

After lunch we headed over to Aspendos Amphitheater.

Our cute little guide was born in Turkey but was raised in Germany. Oh my, what an accent! I had a hard time understanding 30% of what he said.

Our lesbian power couple Christmas card pose:

The gladiator that you had to pay well to pose with.

After Aspendos:

SHOPPING!

We were taken to a market that had shops down every little street. The shops and streets were all pretty neat and clean. We stopped in a few stores and chatted with the employees while looking at the goods. One man in particular LOVED AMERICANS! He got all gushy when we told him where we are from. Unfortunately, his watches and jewelry were way too expensive for me. Nice guy, though.
I bought a few keychains and bracelets (with a nazar for the Evil Eye) from a little shop being run by two brothers in their teens.
Celeste and Rachel went wandering down to, um, I'm really not sure where. I was wearing boots and my feet were killing me. I chose to stick around the shops.
I wandered into a store that had interesting knick knacks, carved chess sets, tea pots, etc. I ended up buying three rings with large stones (for about $3 each, if I remember correctly).

"I can show you the world; shining, shimmering, splendid."
Cele has found herself a flying carpet.

There were belly-dancing outfits EVERYWHERE. One guy kept trying to get me to buy one. I laughed. I laughed hard.

Back on the bus!

A little market, as seen out my window.

 

The sun sets over Turkey.

 

That time I went to five countries

"They are not eye candy, they are like 12-years-old...they are Happy Meals."

Down 33 lbs since April.

I'm hosting a Welcome Home party for my jawline.

Because guess what, that means I am halfway to my goal of losing 65 lbs before I gain it all back in November (when I have a 3 week culinary experience on vacation in the Mediterranean.)

on the road again

I love roadtrips alone. Listening to whatever I want, stopping whenever I want. It is a relaxing, entertaining time.

A few weeks ago I drove down to Nevada to see my sisters and meet my darling new nephew, Noah. He is teeny tiny and so dang cute.
I wish I could've stayed for weeks rather than hours...I love playing with these boys.

“Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping.”

After this coming weekend (payday) I will have just under $4,000 in savings. I will continue to save up for my vacation (to Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, Egypt and Italy) through about October...

I want to have an iPad for my trip.
I want to have entertainment for the flights (over 30 hours on a plane), I want to be able to journal my entire trip. I want my itinerary and information at my fingertips. Not to mention access to maps and directions while we are in Italy (ya know, as long as I find wi-fi.)

I bought a TV in 2006. It was just over $100.
I bought a camera last January. It was just over $100.

I have never spent more than $150 on ANYTHING, EVER.

I keep staring at this iPad...the single item in my cart...

OVER FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS
($640 if I want the 32GB)

I just can't pull the trigger on it yet.

Over five hundred dollars.
Sheesh.

I'd have to do 34 mens haircuts to pay for that. (Ahem, I'd have to have more than a few male clients who pay me to cut their hair.)

I'd have to get a decent tip from over 160 clients at work to pay for that.


Somehow I can feel OK with paying $4,500 for a vacation but appalled at paying $500 for an iPad. Maybe because I haven't actually paid for the vacation yet...or because it is broken down into smaller pieces: flight, cruise, hotel etc.

In Review: 2010

I've sucked at keeping up-to-date, I know. Usually for my review I can peruse my posts, however this year I had to use Twitter and FB. Sheesh.

Super long and image-heavy. Thats a warning.


January--

* Needed a change. So, uh, I dyed my bangs pink.

* Bought my new camera, A Canon Powershot SD1200. Awwwww, it was love at first sight.

* Went to a pirate-themed restaurant for my friends birthday party. It was hilariously fun.

* Dropped a 400+ degree curling iron on my décolletage. Ouch.

* Went to Erin's birthday party in downtown SLC. So fun!

* Met Ben Lyons and took Ryan's picture with Paris Hilton in Park City during the Sundance Film Festival.

* Went on a road trip to Las Vegas with Ryan. Got to spend time with my sisters family!!!

I miss being with these girls every day. :(

 

February--

* Transferred from the Sandy location to the Provo salon, saving me a lot of gas money.

* Worked my behind off on the treadmill, lost 17.5 lbs during February.

* Got to watch my darling little niece be blessed. Oh Madilyn, SO CUTE!

March--

* Juggled both salons, loving the tips in Sandy but hating the drive.

* Hosted many movie nights with friends.

* Dreamed I pulled big leaves of cabbage and broccoli stalks out of a wound in my abdomen. (Time to lay off the veggies?)

* Did my own taxes for the first time.

* Went to a ward activity during which we had a pinewood derby (which we won with Chris's recycled car)

Our St. Peepentine's Day Massacre cake

* My big sisters came to town!!! Yay! Got to play with my nieces.

April--

* Listened to old reel-to-reel tapes of my parents in the late 1960s. Couldn't help crying when I heard my Grandpa's voice for the very first time.

* Grandma dreamed I married a man named Philmino. She suggested I look in the phonebook...

* Got really sick. Was probably a cold, but I claimed Swine Flu, because come on, its a funny name.

* Celebrated my little nieces 1st birthday. Oh Grace, you crack me up.

* Went on my first business trip! :D (Well, first for my business.) Flew to Las Vegas to go to a beauty convention. Got to spend time with my big sister and her family.

* Spent the day with Elizabeth, Richard, and Deborah's families in Mesquite and St. George.

* Met Nick Arrojo at the hair show.

May--

* I worked at the salon a lot and worked out a lot. My jawline made an appearance for a little while there.

* Got very into looking up genealogy. Found some funny stuff like a distant cousin named Utahnah.

* Hosted a fondue party, which turned out well and was so fun!

* Flew to Las Vegas to for a week as FauxMama while my sister and brother-in-law went to NYC. I went to school programs, assemblies, and preschool graduations.

* We did a lot of shopping.

* We went swimming at Ashley's house.

 

 

* We celebrated the last day of school with root beer floats.

5-year-old, Luke: "Emma and me weren't alive when Caroline was a baby. Was Jesus still not done making us?"
Luke trying to understand texts: "Uh, so does the paper envelope fly through the universe then come back to the world?"

* I made the most perfect chocolate chip cookie EVER.

* After my siblings got back in town I went out with Ashley and Annyong.

* Went on vacation with my entire family

June--

* We played in the ocean

* Visited the Mormon Battalion Museum

* Went to Sea World

...went on rollercoasters

...and sat in the Splash Zone during the Shamu show

* Played on the beach

* Got sunburned

* Went to a Padres v. Mets game all together

I sat by my big brother, Aaron (We are very look-alike-ish in this pic.)

(Got even more sunburned. Ouch.)

* Went swimming all together.

* Went to museums and had silly fun with my nieces and nephews

* Went to dinner as an entire family. All 32 of us.

  
* Drove back to Orem with Meridith and Ben.

* Played with my nieces while my parents, Meridith, Ben, Aliesha, and Clarke were in the Philipines on a random vacation.

* Participated in my wards Summer SuperActivity

went boating

was Ginger Spice in a lip sync

July-- 


* Got locked out of the house for 3 hours.

* Worked a lot.

* Ran around in the rain during a sudden intense rainstorm, got totally soaked. So dang fun.

* Watched a few neighbor kids walking down the street dressed as cowboy, a hippie, SpongeBob SquarePants and a watermelon slice. Pure awesome.

* Suddenly had no cell phone for a few weeks. Felt so nekkid.

* Had a fun evening with Rachel and Katrina. Went to the Planetarium and the Cheesecake Factory, was sung to for an early bday celebration.

* Worked a lot.

* Had a shared birthday party with Celeste.

* Turned 26-years-old.


August--

* Had a crazy dream wherein I was chased through a museum, tried to get my familys attention during an orchestra concert, and found a death threat on my car...which wasn't my car.

* Used some needle-nose pliers...then they used me. Accidentally ripped my finger open and pulled off flesh on the pad of my finger with the wire-stripper part of the pliers. (The picture is a day or two later, partially healed...its hard to see the part of the flesh that was only torn back, not ripped off.)

* Woke up with a slightly painful hip. Looked in the mirror and noticed a deep-set impression of my remote control in my hip flesh. Fell over laughing. Really.

* Brought my lil niece Caroline to see the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in concert with Rachel and her sister.

* Sat on the porch with Deborah, Aaron and Caroline until after midnight to watch the meteor shower. It was really fun.

* Stayed up until 2 a.m. with Caroline to continue watching the meteor shower. We laid out blankets on the SportCourt and pointed out each falling star. So fun!

* Went to Lagoon with my singles ward and Elizabeth, Jayar, Suzanne, Richard and their families.

It poured for the first hour or two. Plastic bag ponchos are the great equalizer.
Then the weather became PERFECT!

Got kicked off a ride because the restraint wouldn't close over my huge chest. Oy vey.

* Had a family reunion with my siblings, aunts, uncles, and a handful of cousins for my Grandma's birthday.

* Went to the home of a family friend (old neighbor of my grandparents) where is housed a ginormous collection of random old stuff. Oh how I loved it.

* Got to play with my siblings!!!

* Got a new drivers license. It is a horrible picture. I look drunk.
[picture unavailable]

* Took my car, George V Dubya, in to be fixed. Being car-less is no fun.

* Bought a hydraulic chair for my home salon. :D :D :D

* Played SuperMario Bros for Wii for the first time. Nostalgic and lovely. I would really really like to own it.

September--

* Went to the Storytelling Festival with some friends. Fun to be with friends, but bo-ring storytelling.

* Got completely out of credit card debt! Now the only money I owe is to my parents.

* Went on a roadtrip! St George! with Amy, Aubrey, Rachel, Danny, Chris, Kevin, Celeste, Brittany and Hannah. (Aaron couldn't go with us, he was replaced with a Big Hunk bar.)

* Met a Little Person. Suggested he has many Halloween costume options (R2D2) because oh my gosh, I have no tact.

* Badly cut my finger up in two places. Because I'm just that good. Bled through 7 Band-Aids.

* Went to the Beauty & the Beast sing-a-long with Brittany. Did her hair for her Belle costume. :)

* Saw Hanson in concert in SLC with Aaron! Had so much fun.

October--

* Gave myself full bangs.

* Had a lot of explosions in my dreams, huge fireballs; like my brain was being directed by Michael Bay.

* Made it through my first corporate review. Was so nervous, but it turned out OK.

* Went to Las Vegas to surprise Caroline on her birthday. Was a lot of fun.

* Worked a lot.

* Had a lot of movie nights with friends. Fell asleep during a movie then apparently said, "I'm tired like a candle...but just the top, just the wick part."

* Got George back!!!

* Helped plan/set up/host the ward Halloween party. Dressed kind of like Ursula the Sea Witch...but a toned down version.

 

November--

* Worked a lot.

* Took advantage of my new Netflix account by watching entire seasons of several shows including Lie To Me, The IT Crowd, Bones, NewsRadio and others.

* Went clothes shopping with my manager and salon owner to get an outfit for the fashion show I'd been asked to model in. Lesson learned: JC Penny and Khol's are not places for a girl with any sort of curve to her if she has any sense of fashion.

* Went to the Harry Potter midnight showing with a bunch of friends. So fun.

* Received notice for prospective jury duty! Huzzah!

* Introduced Ghostbusters to some friends, none of whom enjoyed it. Crazy, crazy children.

* Thanksgiving happened. I invited Kevin to join us as he had nowhere to celebrate. Went to the movies with a bunch of siblings and nieces and nephews. Fun, fun.

December--

* Was offered a promotion to be Assistant Manager of the salon. (Accepted, but the higher-ups have to watch my numbers until January before I can get the job.)




...And that has been my year so far.