1. hike mt. fuji-i knocked this off my list pretty quickly. hiking mt. fuji was rough but i learned that i have some serious endurance, even if i wanted to die most of the hike.
2. live to be 32-success!
3. make 5 new friends-success! it's a constant effort here because people are always coming and going.
4. avoid great white shark breeding grounds (contributed by my bro, Josh)-success!
5. visit at least 3 new countries-this past year i made it to thailand, taiwan, hong kong, and macau. i also went to mainland several times, which if you have ever been to okinawa you know that mainland is essentially a different country.
6. get SCUBA certified-sad face. i was all scheduled to go and then i got sent on a last minute, extended business trip to mainland. mostly it's my own fault because i waited until the very last minute to work on this goal. i'm still going to get SCUBA certified so all is not lost.
7. grow my hair out-success! it's past shoulder length. i'm getting really tempted to chop it again...
8. get a will-as morbid and depressing as it was, i created a simple will and living will for myself. turns out i'm worth way more dead than alive. creepy.
9. get a japanese massage-i got a massage in tokyo right after hiking mt. fuji. really, really not relaxing but mostly that was because my calves were in knots.
10. go to tokyo disneyland-this was my reward for hiking mt. fuji. the japanese love disney. like a lot.
11. go to the states at least once-i made it twice. both times, i was at a course for work and then got to jet over to utah to visit family and friends.
12. get master in addiction counseling certification-success! i was so nervous about this one because my employment was contingent on me passing the test. thankfully, i aced it and am officially a MAC.
13. read more than i watch tv-i did really well with this until i got apple tv. apple tv makes it way too easy to lay on the couch and watch hours of tv because it's all at my fingertips. being in a hotel with stupid military tv has helped me cut way back on my tv time again.
14. save my cost of living money every month-i did well on this 90% of the time. i have to admit, i sometimes used it to travel instead but i have definitely increased my savings account quite a bit.
15. learn basics of japanese-50% success. i can say the necessary things like thank you, please, yes, no, i'm sorry, excuse me, good, i don't understand, 1-10, water, tea, good morning, good day, good evening, and that's probably it. i have gotten fluent in pointing, motioning, etc. if that counts for anything.
16. walk the seawall by my house every night-fail. i did walk the seawall a quarter of the time. i'm always glad when i do because being that close to the ocean is cathartic.
17. use my vitamix everyday-success! in fact, i miss my vitamix when i'm traveling or on a business trip. it's changed my eating life.
18. use less store bought items, make more things myself-success! i also switched over to all natural products. i'm still in the process of getting rid of some non-natural products but i'm almost 100% all natural!
19. blog once a week-epic fail. for some reason, blogging seems so hard and tedious to me. maybe it's because i don't know how to really make the blog pretty or user friendly. i'm going to shoot for a more reasonable goal this year.
20. email a friend/family member once a week-sucess! i actually didn't email that often but i did write a lot of letters and cards which i think counts.
21. actually do the things i pin on pinterest-success! i use the recipes i find on pinterest all of the time. i am not as good about doing some of the crafts because i'm limited to what i can get here and i don't have a good space to do bigger diy things like re-do furniture.
22. get five stars on just dance-success! just dance is my favorite thing. it's the only thing i use my xbox for. well, that and the michael jackson experience.
23. read 5 classics-success! man, i waited until the very last minute with this. i was feverishly reading every waking moment until 2 days before my birthday trying to finish the last book. i read The Count of Monte Cristo, which is a 1000+ pages. I really liked The Count of Monte Cristo but i ran out of time so i chose shorter books for the other four: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Alice in Wonderland, and The Great Gatsby.
24. be active in my ward-success!
25. get laser hair removal-success! i am in the process of getting my underarms and legs done. i'm probably half way done. it's going to magical when i'm done. magical.
26. sew one thing-fail. i also left this until the last minute and then couldn't do it because of my business trip. i am going to make some couch pillows, eventually.
27. keep a daily gratitude journal-50% success. i did really well for a while and then kind of sucked at it. i do notice a different when i make an effort to notice things that i am grateful for.
28. use my craft supplies-50% success. i did use some of my craft supplies. i also gave a bunch away.
29. decorate for every holiday-i decorated the crap out of my house. i also did festive activities such as decorating gingerbread houses, making and decorating sugar cookies, dying easter eggs, etc. holidays are more fun when i make more of an effort to celebrate them.
30. only buy things i really love-95% success. i would be able to do better in the states but sometimes i have to buy something here i don't totally love but need.
31. cut back on dairy intake-80% success. when i cook at home i don't use any dairy and i try to steer clear of it but it's hard when i go to someone else's house or out to eat. i do feel tons better when i don't have it at all.
see a future post for my list of 32 things in the year of 32.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Saturday, July 20, 2013
bangkok
i know, i know. worst blogger ever. i'm about to blog blast you. get ready for it.
here's a quick synopsis of my trip to bangkok. better (really) late than never, right?
we arrived in bangkok still feeling pretty sick so we checked into our hotel and took a much needed nap. when we woke up, we explored the neighborhood and got some eats. we headed back to the hotel and crashed for the night, hoping to feel better the next morning.
thankfully, we both felt better the next morning. we headed to the dock to catch a ferry to the grand palace. we met a very sweet taiwanese lady and chatted with her on the ride over. she gave us some tips for a future trip to taiwan.
we got off the ferry and followed the crowd to the grand palace. along the sidewalks, there were people selling all kinds of things. the weirdest being, used dentures. no one i asked seemed to know why. the grand palace was beautiful but really hot. there was no shade anywhere. thankfully, i read about the dress code and didn't have to layer on clothes like many of the other people there.
after grand palace, we walked around the area and ended up in a market. for a bit, we thought we may never find our way out. we did and no worse for the wear. we agreed that we were really hot and needed a break so we headed back to our hotel to lay by the pool and read.
after we were all cooled off, we grabbed a tuk tuk to see a "lady boy" cabaret show at a hotel. beforehand, we decided to eat in the hotel coffee shop because there was a thai Elvis impersonator. he was actually more convincing that i anticipated and he loved us because we cheered him on.
the cabaret show was entertaining. afterwards, we got suckered into taking pictures with the dancers. "tip for us?"
we went back to our hotel, feeling under the weather again. we went to bed early slept in. we decide to have an "American Day" which consisted of walking to the US embassy (to mail ourselves our souvenirs from chiang mai), going shopping in a real shopping mail, and seeing "the hobbit." it was a nice, relaxing day.
the next day, we decided we needed to get serious about sightseeing so we took the ferry and saw a bunch of wats. the first wat we visited, wat pho, is known for their massage school. we toured around and then got foot massages.
on the way out we saw a "fortune" teller. he used our date and day we were born, the time, etc to determine our personalities and futures. he was actually fairly accurate.
he told me i'm too picky when it comes to boyfriends :)
we hit up wat arun next.
climbing up and down those stairs was a bit treacherous. chinatown was and i tried durian fruit for the first time. all hotels have signs saying not to bring in whole durian fruits because they smell bad.
after chinatown, we wanted to take the ferry back to the dock near our hotel. instead we got on the wrong ferry and ended up taking a 2 hour ferry ride. once we realized we would in fact be able to get back to the right port eventually, we were able to enjoy the ride and seeing bangkok from the river.
for dinner, we planned on going to the peninsula hotel to partake in their chocolate buffet we had read about in the travel guide. there was mention of chocolate sushi and other delicious dishes so we decided to try it out. you can imagine our surprise when we discovered they had discontinued the chocolate buffet. however, they did have a huge buffet dinner available so we decided to eat there. we visited the peninsula hotel in hong kong as well so we decided we were creating a tradition. the food was delicious.
of course, after dinner we had to get a foot massage before going to back our hotel.
second to last day in bangkok. we were signed up for a tour to see the floating markets. we failed to make sure it was a private tour so we ended up on a tour bus with 50 other people. when we signed up for the tour, they didn't mention that we would be visiting other places like an elephant park where the elephants were clearly being mistreated or a snake farm where cobras and mongoose fight. we chose to stay in the bus for both of those stops. finally we made to the place were we would take long tailed boats to the floating markets. it was cool to see how the thai in that area live.
we made it to the floating markets and were put on canoes. our guide steered us around all of the wares and food. it was cool to be in the spot where you see all the tourist pictures of thailand. i got mango and sticky rice from a lady in a canoe. so delicious. one of the canoes had a heating unit in it and the lady was making some sort of meat dish. so industrious.
on the way back from the tour, the bus dropped us off a jewel museum/store where they try to trick tourists in to paying really overpriced jewelry. by this time, we were done. we wanted to be back at our hotel. finally, a van picked us up and started dropping people off. my friend really had to go to the bathroom, we hopped off at one of the stops and headed to an indian restaurant for food, rest, and relief. i will never make the mistake of booking a group tour again! on our way back to our hotel, we grabbed a starbucks milkshake and got a foot massage. back at our hotel, we took a quick cat nap because sitting on a tour bus takes it out of you! and apparently naps take it out of us because afterwards we felt the need for another foot and hand massage. we went to dinner at a place i had heard about called cabbages and condoms. it's a place that brings awareness to AIDS and STDs. They had sculptures made out of condoms.
the next day was new year's eve. we started off our morning laying out at the pool then got a mani/pedi. we went to the famous mbk mall's food court for lunch. you pay for tickets and then use the tickets to buy food from all the different vendors. we heard from someone that the street vendors who get popular enough then move to mbk's food court. the day wouldn't be complete without a foot massage so we got one o n the way back to our hotel. we got ready for our NYE out. we went to central world where they have concerts and fireworks. there were SO many people there. we were standing outside one of the beer gardens listening to a concert and all of the sudden people started pushing. we thought we were going to get trampled. it was pretty scary. thankfully, someone moved the barrier to the beer garden and we were able to sneak in, out of the chaos. security confronted us about being there but ended up letting us stay. we watched a thai performer and danced with some random thais. we walked the streets and watched the fireworks. around 2am we decided we probably should head back to our hotel so we could get ready to fly out early the next morning. we also took our last tuk tuk ride.
i didn't sleep at all that night because by the time we got back to our hotel and showered, it was only 2 hours until we had to take a taxi to the airport.
thailand was definitely a fun and memorable trip. i would love to go back and see the thai beaches!
here's a quick synopsis of my trip to bangkok. better (really) late than never, right?
we arrived in bangkok still feeling pretty sick so we checked into our hotel and took a much needed nap. when we woke up, we explored the neighborhood and got some eats. we headed back to the hotel and crashed for the night, hoping to feel better the next morning.
thankfully, we both felt better the next morning. we headed to the dock to catch a ferry to the grand palace. we met a very sweet taiwanese lady and chatted with her on the ride over. she gave us some tips for a future trip to taiwan.
we got off the ferry and followed the crowd to the grand palace. along the sidewalks, there were people selling all kinds of things. the weirdest being, used dentures. no one i asked seemed to know why. the grand palace was beautiful but really hot. there was no shade anywhere. thankfully, i read about the dress code and didn't have to layer on clothes like many of the other people there.
after grand palace, we walked around the area and ended up in a market. for a bit, we thought we may never find our way out. we did and no worse for the wear. we agreed that we were really hot and needed a break so we headed back to our hotel to lay by the pool and read.
after we were all cooled off, we grabbed a tuk tuk to see a "lady boy" cabaret show at a hotel. beforehand, we decided to eat in the hotel coffee shop because there was a thai Elvis impersonator. he was actually more convincing that i anticipated and he loved us because we cheered him on.
the cabaret show was entertaining. afterwards, we got suckered into taking pictures with the dancers. "tip for us?"
we went back to our hotel, feeling under the weather again. we went to bed early slept in. we decide to have an "American Day" which consisted of walking to the US embassy (to mail ourselves our souvenirs from chiang mai), going shopping in a real shopping mail, and seeing "the hobbit." it was a nice, relaxing day.
the next day, we decided we needed to get serious about sightseeing so we took the ferry and saw a bunch of wats. the first wat we visited, wat pho, is known for their massage school. we toured around and then got foot massages.
we hit up wat arun next.
climbing up and down those stairs was a bit treacherous. chinatown was and i tried durian fruit for the first time. all hotels have signs saying not to bring in whole durian fruits because they smell bad.
after chinatown, we wanted to take the ferry back to the dock near our hotel. instead we got on the wrong ferry and ended up taking a 2 hour ferry ride. once we realized we would in fact be able to get back to the right port eventually, we were able to enjoy the ride and seeing bangkok from the river.
for dinner, we planned on going to the peninsula hotel to partake in their chocolate buffet we had read about in the travel guide. there was mention of chocolate sushi and other delicious dishes so we decided to try it out. you can imagine our surprise when we discovered they had discontinued the chocolate buffet. however, they did have a huge buffet dinner available so we decided to eat there. we visited the peninsula hotel in hong kong as well so we decided we were creating a tradition. the food was delicious.
of course, after dinner we had to get a foot massage before going to back our hotel.
second to last day in bangkok. we were signed up for a tour to see the floating markets. we failed to make sure it was a private tour so we ended up on a tour bus with 50 other people. when we signed up for the tour, they didn't mention that we would be visiting other places like an elephant park where the elephants were clearly being mistreated or a snake farm where cobras and mongoose fight. we chose to stay in the bus for both of those stops. finally we made to the place were we would take long tailed boats to the floating markets. it was cool to see how the thai in that area live.
on the way back from the tour, the bus dropped us off a jewel museum/store where they try to trick tourists in to paying really overpriced jewelry. by this time, we were done. we wanted to be back at our hotel. finally, a van picked us up and started dropping people off. my friend really had to go to the bathroom, we hopped off at one of the stops and headed to an indian restaurant for food, rest, and relief. i will never make the mistake of booking a group tour again! on our way back to our hotel, we grabbed a starbucks milkshake and got a foot massage. back at our hotel, we took a quick cat nap because sitting on a tour bus takes it out of you! and apparently naps take it out of us because afterwards we felt the need for another foot and hand massage. we went to dinner at a place i had heard about called cabbages and condoms. it's a place that brings awareness to AIDS and STDs. They had sculptures made out of condoms.
the next day was new year's eve. we started off our morning laying out at the pool then got a mani/pedi. we went to the famous mbk mall's food court for lunch. you pay for tickets and then use the tickets to buy food from all the different vendors. we heard from someone that the street vendors who get popular enough then move to mbk's food court. the day wouldn't be complete without a foot massage so we got one o n the way back to our hotel. we got ready for our NYE out. we went to central world where they have concerts and fireworks. there were SO many people there. we were standing outside one of the beer gardens listening to a concert and all of the sudden people started pushing. we thought we were going to get trampled. it was pretty scary. thankfully, someone moved the barrier to the beer garden and we were able to sneak in, out of the chaos. security confronted us about being there but ended up letting us stay. we watched a thai performer and danced with some random thais. we walked the streets and watched the fireworks. around 2am we decided we probably should head back to our hotel so we could get ready to fly out early the next morning. we also took our last tuk tuk ride.
i didn't sleep at all that night because by the time we got back to our hotel and showered, it was only 2 hours until we had to take a taxi to the airport.
thailand was definitely a fun and memorable trip. i would love to go back and see the thai beaches!
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