Kiwi-speak 101

During my time in New Zealand, I've been keeping track of all the words/phrases people use here that I found amusing. So listed below are the Kiwi terms with my American English translation. Enjoy :)

.NZ - Pronounced en-zed. The letter "zee" does not exist in Kiwi's vocabulary. When reciting a website it's always "dot co dot en-zed."

Keen - Probably my favorite NZ word
Example: If you're keen, I'd like to take you to dinner tonight. OR Should we get lunch now? I'm keen!

Translation: Are you down to do this? OR I'm down.

Jeepers - an exclamation that may or may not be used only by my supervisor Tim

Example: Jeepers! That bus almost hit us!

Translation: There is none. I'm pretty sure the last time that word was used in the States was during the making of the Scooby Doo cartoon.

Heaps - used to describe amounts of things

Example: I have heaps of work to get done.

Translation: I have tons to do today!

Cheers - used for almost EVERYTHING

Example: Can you get this done for me? Cheers. (Leaving) Cheers! (Making a joke) Cheers!

Translation: Thank you, goodbye, etc.

As at - seen in Financial statements

Example: Loans as at 30/06/11

Translation: Loans as of 6/30/11

Lollies - Did the lollypop guild song just pop into anyone elses' head?

Example: Pinapple lumps?! Look everyone, Kaitlin just brought us some lollies!

Translation: No, Pinapple lumps are not a kind of lollypop. Lollies = any kind of candy

Pash - Not to be confused with posh

Example: I'm not going to pash just anyone!

Translation: Make-out, snog, mack on

Twink - No, this is not referring to the Rainbow Brite Character

Example: Can you pass me the twink? Cheers!

Translation: Twink = white-out

Flash - No, not that kind of flashing...

Example: Wow, your flat is so flash.

Translation: Hip, cool, fancy

Sweet as - Sweet as what? No. It's just sweet as. (can be used with anything - cool as, sweet as, flash as...)

Example: That outfit is sweet as!

Translation: Take the "as" off the phrase and that's what it means

Ta - I still can't use this one without feeling awkward

Example: Can you pass me that lemonade? Ta!

Translation: Thanks!

Well, I hope you were keen to read this and thought it was sweet as. I have heaps to get done so I have to end this blog post. I'll probably post about all the other flash things I did in NZ after I get back to the states.

Cheers!

Falling in Love with Auckland

(This was written a week ago. I've been so busy at the client and running around NZ that I haven't had time to post.)

Wow, what a weekend. It was amazing, crazy, shocking, beautiful, peaceful, warm, and loving. Yes, that many adjectives in one weekend. So let's start with the actual week. It's was my first week on the actual client. My co-workers explained the client as the NZ equivalent of a US credit union. They're a huge company, but they have our audit team in a conference room that is as big as my room at college. There are 5 of us working in this room. Really tight quarters. It's a really good thing I get along with the people on my team. I'm in the corner and if I need to get out I practically have to climb over my teammates. And one side of our conference room is glass. One time I was trying to slide behind my in-charge and I gave the people at the client a very nice view of my bum pushed against the glass. So classy. You can view the miniscule space I work in below.
My team is really fun to work with because it's really diverse. My in-charge, Reka, is Hungarian (blonde hair, black and red sweater) and has told me a bit about life during the cold war in Hungary. Linda, the G3 (third year) is from Vietnam and is dating a boy from Russia. Tijana, the G1 on the client is from Croatia. She has a ton of crazy stories from everything that went down between Croatia and Serbia. Tim, aka The Wolf, is the only Kiwi I work with on a regular basis. He's teaching me all the fun Kiwi lingo and the cultural difference between NZ and the US.

Linda and Tim have to go to Christchurch next week to do some audit work down there. Linda's freaking out because of the tremors that happened about a month ago after the initial earthquake. Tim was talking about how he's not going to put the latch on hid hotel room door in case there's another quake or tremor so he can get out quickly. Oh the exciting world of accounting.

Friday night was... an adventure. First of all, Friday was the big "chip in for Christchurhc". Everyone in NZ wore black and red and did something to help people in Christchurch. My firm had a mixer where we recorded a message for our coworkers in Christchurch. Then Claire, Renae, a few Kiwis and I went to see the Warriors take on the Bulldogs in Rugby. It was really fun. Thankfully one of the G1s brought me a ski jacket so I wasn't freezing. This G1 was also the guy who gave me a USB with heaps of Kiwi music on it. Awesome. It's a really good thing we had covered seating because it started POURING part-way through the game. And of course the players kept going like nothing had happened. It didn't phase them at all.


After the game we met up with a bunch of G1s from the office. Ok, let me tell you - Kiwis drink like fish. I'm pretty sure they could give any Irish person a run for their money. They were all smashed before we even went out. Yeah, in a nut shell I've never been more grateful for my BYU College experience in my life.

Moving on, Saturday we woke up to a BEAUTIFUL day. It was amazing outside. We got up and ran out to mission bay and back. (Google Mission Bay - It's amazing) I ran about 6-7 miles and Claire did about 10. It was amazing, but Claire screwed up her foot and I totally killed my knee. We make quite the crippled pair.

After we showered we got ready and went to the skytower. It was AMAZING. It would've made my mom freak out because it was so high! It's the highest building in the southern hemisphere.

After the skytower we tried to go to Newmarket where I work everyday to get some cupcakes that my team introduced me to. I hate frosting, but I LOVE these cupcakes. I'd seriously eat their frosting with a spoon. Anyway, we learned that everything in NZ closes at 5pm - which is the time we got to Newmarket. Yeah, awesome. After walking around Newmarket we decided to test my sense of direction and attempt to find Parnell St. to get something to eat. Anyone who knows me knows that was a bad idea. We ended up having to call Renae and have her pick us up at a random Caltex (petrol station) in another town. We would seriously not be able to survive without Renae. But if you think about it - getting lost only once in 2 weeks is pretty good.

Anyway, Renae dropped us off back in the city. We went and got Thai food at this little hole-in-the-wall place that was recommended to us and it was SO GOOD! Then we decided to splurge and get a really nice dessert at a restaurant overlooking the city. It was really beautiful. It was one of those moments where Claire and I looked at each other and said, "Oh my gosh, we're in New Zealand!"

This morning Renae drove me out to the Hamilton Temple. It was so cool to be at a place where my Dad was when he was on his mission. I also go to see the LDS College where Dad played basketball against the NZ teams. It's so surreal to see places I've been dearing about from my dad my whole life.

I was able to attend church today which was so wonderful. I seriously needed that. One of Dad's companion's families have totally taken me under their wing. I'm now attending FHE with them, going Visiting Teaching with their niece, going to their daughter's birthday party, and am now singing in the choir at a musical fireside with them next Sunday. At choir pratice today they introduced me to everyone as their daughter. It's so nice to feel like I have family here. Plus, everyone in the ward wants to take me places, give me rides, etc.

The first week Claire and I went to bed at 7:30 every night because of the jet lag and had no social life outside of work. Now, we don't know how we're going to eat all our food that we have in our apartment because we have someone who wants to take us to dinner almost every night this week. We've finally settled in and we only have two weeks left. It's surreal.

I'm totally in love with this place.

NZed

Here are a few pictures from our (Me and Claire) trip to Rotorua. Our first day was really cold and wet and we were both in a not so great mood. But day 2 we completely fell in love with New Zealand.
Yes, I am sitting in the right side of the car, in the drivers seat. I took the first 1.5 hour shift and Claire took the second shift. We survived - obviously. But we're really glad we had each other while we were driving at night as we were still adjusting a bit to the time change.

This is at the thermal village - I dare you to try and say that name. (The full name is the really long name at the bottom) Thank goodness it was a thermal village - that's the only way we didn't freeze.

Day 2 we went to the Rotorua Museum (the really pretty building behind me). Up until the 60's it was used as a bath house (kind of like a spa, but to treat ailments) using the natural hot springs. It opened in the early 1900s. They had some pretty fun exhibits, including some childrens book authors. I now have to go buy the books for my nephew. Or to keep for myself :)

After the museum it was raining on and off and Claire and I were sick of being cold. We decided that we would drive around Rotorua's mountains in the safety and warmth of the car. This was the point where we fell in love with NZ. Honestly pictures can't do justice to the beauty we saw. The most beautiful thing we saw was when we happened by the Blue Lake.

That's me by the Blue Lake. It was phenomenal. It really IS bright blue! After driving around a bit more, we went back to the edge of Rotorua Lake - more specifically to the Polynesian Spa. Ok, the Polynesian Spa is one of the top 10 spas in the world and it was AMAZING. We got to soak in the natural hot pools for an hour before our massages, and we got to wear these amazingly comfortable robes. We were so relaxed after our massages. After my massage, my massuse came up and asked if she could ask a personal question.... she asked how small my waist was! That was pretty funny. But it turns out she asked because apparently her waist was about 2 inches smaller than mine when she was 18 and she just couldn't believe she had ever been that small! Haha Anyway, the spa was the perfect end to our weekend. We made it back to Auckland in one piece and were SO glad to sleep in our WARM apartment. Plus, we IMMEDIATELY did all of our laundry because all our clothes smelled like sulphur - yuck!

This week I started working onsite at the client. There are 5 of us working at a round table in a room that is approximately the size of my bedroom in Provo - no joke. It's definitely cozy. Thank goodness I get along well with the people on my team - at least so far.

One of the perks of being an intern is that we aren't supposed to work overtime so I get sent home at 5pm while the rest of my team works until about 7 or 8. Since the rest of my team works overtime I get to take the train home instead of catching a ride with one of my coworkers. Today I walked 5 minutes from the client to the train, got on the train, and walked what was supposed to be a 15 minute walk home. Ha! 15 minutes? With my sense of direction? Yeah, try 30 minutes. But I didn't mind too much because I walked by a bunch of cute boutiques and cafes I want to try out.

Claire and I went to Ponsonby (one of the "posh" neighborhoods) and had Thai food for dinner. We LOVE this city now and are SO glad we've started taking some time after work to explore it. We're definitely going to explore more after work. NZ and I got off to a bit of a rocky start - mostly due to jet lag. But now I'm totally falling in love with this place!

P.S. NZed is what people here say when they're telling you the url of a website. It's always .co.nz and instead of saying "en-zee" they say "en-zed". Quite entertaining.

Cheers!

Kia Ora

Kia Ora from New Zealand! Claire and I have almost been here a week and it's been quite the journey so far! We have limited access to internet which is why I have been a bit MIA lately. So much has happened that I hardly know where to start!

The flight over was LONG, but thanks to the ambien that the doctor gave me I slept for about 10 of the 13 hours to Auckland. Once we arrived Claire and I were pretty dazed. The expat from Boise in the office, Renae, came and picked us up and made sure we stayed awake our first day to try and start adjusting. (I JUST got over my jetlag) Seriously, Renae has been a lifesaver - she takes us grocery shopping, helped us get sorted with our phones, and even took us driving a few times so we wouldn't be complete novices on our first weekend trip!

Speaking of, right now I'm in a hostel in Rotorua. Claire and I rented a car and drove the 3.5 hours to Rotorua. That's right - I drove on the left side of the road, on the right side of the car, in the dark and rain - and survived!

It is COLD and raining like mad here. But we braved it all and went to a geothermal Maori village with a name I still can't pronounce. Te Whakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao is the full name of the village. (Quite a mouthful). We saw the geysers, hot pools, hangis, and a really cool cultural performance. I think it was the first time that it REALLY hit me that I'm in NEW ZEALAND!

Since it was so cold and wet we couldn't do the luge today, but we're really looking forward to the polynesian spa. We have to drive back to Auckland tomorrow night to be at work bright and early Monday morning. Our hostel is quite interesting. It's super clean, which will make my mom happy, but there's no central heating. There's something called underground heating. Supposedly there's heat coming up through the floors. It's warm enough that we don't die, but I still have to go to bed in my flannel pjs, knee socks, and hoodie and I'm still cold. Oh well, it's only one more night.

Our apartment in Auckland also doesn't have central heating, but we have electric heaters in our bedrooms and one in the livingroom/kitchen. And surprisingly we stay really warm. Our apartment is RIGHT next to the harbour. The view is so beautiful, and we're literally right across the street from the office. It was really convenient last week as I was working in the office. But I start working on a client site on Monday so my commute will be quite a bit longer. Everyone in the office is really nice and quite keen on getting to know the new US interns. In fact, we've been invited to go out several times with the G1s and G2s (1st and 2nd year associates).

Next weekend we're going to see a proper Rugby match - the Warriors. I'm pretty excited. We're going with a bunch of people from the office. Renae made sure that some of the guys were coming with us so they could explain everything. (Little do they know I already know a wee bit about Rugby).

Claire and I are going to start going to cafes near our apartment with free wifi after work so I should be able to upload pictures soon. Sorry for the novella with no pictures, but now you're all caught up on my adventures and next time (hopefully) there will be pictures.

I miss you all and love getting emails/fb messages. Ask my dad or fb me if you want my work email - I'll be able to respond more quickly that way. xoxo

DC Commuter

If you can't read what Meg wrote on my mirror on my first day of work I'll translate for you. It says: Good luck! Play nice with the other kids!

I've been working for almost 3 weeks now and am finally a real DC commuter. Every morning I get on the Metro using my smartrip card (similar to the oyster card I had in London), ride for about 30-40 minutes reading my book (Persuasion, by Jane Austen this week), then get off and walk approximately 4 blocks to the office. I feel like an adult- it's weird.

This past week was a bit rough because I've been (and still am) sick; however, a very sweet guy from school sent me lilies and chocolates. :) Definitely made my week better.

Anyway, today was spent getting everything ready for New Zealand. I leave in less than a week! I can't even believe it. I don't think it will really hit me until my first few days in Auckland. I met the girl I'll be living with at national training in Orlando and I think we're going to get along wonderfully.

This will most likely be my last post while in the States, but stay tuned for news from New Zealand!

Thrill Issues?

Tonight Meg, Alisa, Alisa's friend Jen, Mom, and I will be staying overnight at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia.

Well, staying overnight isn't exactly the best description. We're going on a ghost hunt. In other words, we've paid to explore a 200-year old building that was used as a mental hospital in the 1800's, at night, and freak ourselves out.

If you want to see where we'll be staying, or see the interesting history of the place, click here.

Meg and I are currently taking bets on who will start crying first.

Children

When people ask my age I usually get reactions ranging from "No way! That can't be right!" to "Well, I'm sure you'll appreciate looking so young when you hit 30!"

Basically I don't look anywhere near my age. Chopping my hair helped me age to about 18 - on a good day. In fact, my brother in law's 12 year old nephew told his mom that I look like I'm in middle school... this happened yesterday.

Anyway, I have accepted this as a part of my life. But today something unexpected happened. My dentist asked me if I had any kids yet... most people ask if I'm old enough to babysit.

Completely unexpected? I think so.

Winners Don't Watch

Once upon a time I had just finished my freshman year at BYU. I was home for the summer and although I was working full time I was very bored. I found an awesome dance studio and took some fun classes to keep me in shape. I've gone back every summer since and now my sisters take classes there year round.

I went to hip-hop cardio tonight with my sisters. It was my first time back this summer. At one point my sister Alisa said she was going to sit out the next song and watch. Linda, our sassy teacher said, "Winners don't watch!" and made Alisa get her butt back on the floor. Alisa's been going to Linda's class twice a week all winter/spring and SHE got tired.

I probably won't be able to walk tomorrow. I blame Meg. She was the one who requested two legs and butt songs one after the other.

This Face

So far this summer has been great! I spent a few extra weeks at school and took trips to Arizona and Idaho. While in Idaho I spent time with my friend Sarah from study abroad! We went to dinner and got pedicures. It was so great to see Sarah. Plus, I loved Idaho because people kept telling me I was tan.

On Mother's day I went to my grandparents' house and spent time with my extended family. Grandma made chile verde and we ate and ate until we couldn't possibly put any more food in our mouths. It was fantastic.
Two nights before I went home the Tutes (My London girls, Diana, Becca, and Koko) went to Color Me Mine because 1- It was the last time we'd all be in Provo together since Koko is going to Jerusalem in the fall before she graduates and 2- It's where Becca works. Despite my complete lack of artistic ability, my teacup and saucer turned out pretty nicely. After we left, Diana, Koko and I went to sonic for a soda and on our way home we did a Chinese firedrill - because Koko had never done one before! It was definitely a fun outing.

On my last night I went to the nickelcade and got mustache's as one of my prizes. I had such a fun time wearing one. Although I don't understand how guys aren't sneezing constantly because they tickle! It was a fun last night in Provo.

New Zealand update: Tonight I have a call with my contact in the Auckland office so I can ask all my questions about my time in New Zealand. I now have a work visa and my flight is booked. I'm not really looking forward to the 13.5 hour flight, but I'm really glad that my roommate Claire and I were able to get on the same flight. Claire and I are starting to do research about all the things we want to do on our weekends off. The number one thing on my list? Rugby game.

Being home is wonderful. It's warm and humid and beautifully green. Not having a schedule makes it a little tough to get out of bed before 10am, but I have only a few more weeks until I start my internship. In the meantime I'm planning a few day trips with my mom to go antique-ing, visit a few museums etc.

My favorite thing about being home:

This face:

Giggle.Chuckle.Chortle.Guffaw.Hoot.

If you need a good laugh, check out FinallyFamousFilms.

Mountain Men is my personal favorite.

Limbo

Well, I survived my fourth year at BYU. One more year and I'll graduate with my Masters degree. Then I have to be a real adult. Wow. Freaky. I can't think about that right now. Moving on.

Right now is the time of year I love the most, but soon come to hate - the period right after I finish finals but before I start my summer job. Right after finals I feel exhilarated and free, but once I have too much free time without any sort of schedule I start to feel like I'm in limbo. Thankfully I fly home in a little over a week and will have my little nephew to keep me busy. However, there have been a few events over the past two weeks that are worth mentioning.

I had the opportunity to go to dinner with my mom's side of the family. My grandpa is German and grandma is Mexican - it makes for very interesting family gatherings. Anyway, we went to dinner in Salt Lake at a German deli. It was great to see McKell and little Hannah (although she's not that little anymore). I had a blast catching up with my aunt, uncle and cousins. Although this dinner reaffirmed the fact that German food is not exactly my favorite. I swear that my sandwich had at least an inch of sauerkraut on it.

Last week I had the opportunity to drive to Arizona for my cousin's wedding. It was great to escape the cold for awhile and get some sun. I am happy to report that I am a shade less pasty than when I left. (Observe the sunburn below)
Candace was a beautiful bride - she was absolutely glowing. I'm really glad I got to be with my family to celebrate with them. I was really happy to see Megan again, since I hadn't seen her since January. Due to a tragedy in one of our neighbor's families, Mom and Dad weren't able to come to the wedding - so I definitely missed them.

Family reunions always make for good stories. The family fun began on the drive there. My cousin Kenzee and I played chauffeur to my grandparents and drove them down to Arizona. On our first night in the hotel Kenzee and I got showered and in our PJs and started a movie. Grandma got in bed (it was 7:30pm) and said, "well goodnight girls!" and went to sleep. We found this pretty hilarious and teased her about it for the rest of the trip. But the funniest part was the next morning. We stayed in a little town right between the borders of Arizona and Utah. On one side of the room, Grandma's phone switched to Arizona time. On our side of the room, Kenzee's phone and my phone stayed on Utah time which is one hour ahead of Arizona. We were going to leave at 8am the next morning so I set my alarm for a little after 7. Yeah, that's right, my alarm went off at 6am Arizona time and Kenzee and I were ready wayyyy too early.

We had a family luncheon after the wedding, but before the reception. One of my aunts had made a whole bunch of heart shaped sugar cookies. She told us all that she had baked them in the shape of hearts because she loves us all so much. It was a very sweet speech and we were truly touched. But as there were tons of leftover cookies we continued to refer to them as "love cookies" for the rest of the weekend. In fact, I don't think I'll ever be able to think of them as sugar cookies ever again.

I think I can sum up these family gatherings like this: Coke/Pepsi, sports, eating, joking, eating, sports, eating, and eating. It's true. After you finish a huge meal it's not even two minutes before grandma tells you it's time for dessert. And she doesn't listen to you if you insist you need a little more time before dessert. This is the same grandma who I'm pretty sure has fed me approximately 10 lbs of popcorn a year since I started college.

Anyway, life has been pretty boring since I got back from Arizona. I really can't wait until I fly home. In the mean time however, I've been finishing my visa application forms for New Zealand. I'm so excited!

Aotearoa - Land of the Big White Cloud

So the past two weeks have been a little rough (several tests, papers, life), but then my luck changed. I went to Salt Lake and got a super cute haircut and went out to lunch with my cousin Chris. By the time I got to my grandparents' house I was feeling pretty great. The cherry on top? I learned a new word!

Aotearoa - Land of the Big White Cloud.

That's right people - I'm going to New Zealand! I was fortunate enough to get an internship with KPMG this summer and once you accept your internship you can apply for the Global Internship Program. Originally I applied to go to Norway, mostly because I thought - when else would I ever go to Norway!? I had my phone interview Monday and had been stressing about it ever since. In fact, I was so worried about it that I didn't sleep at all last night.

Today (April 1st) I received a phone call from one of the directors of the GIP. At first I thought he was calling to tell me I hadn't been accepted. He told me I wasn't going to Norway, but they would like me to take the weekend and consider if I would accept an offer to go to New Zealand. I was about to tell him right then and there that I would most definitely accept and didn't need the weekend to think about it, but the phone cut out, as he was calling me from Istanbul. I didn't quite believe it and was still convinced it was some elaborate prank orchestrated by my father. But lo and behold, it's true! I logged into my email account and sitting in my inbox was my offer!

I will be spending 4 weeks in New Zealand!!!! I am so excited! My dad is just as thrilled as I am - New Zealand is where he served his mission and has always wanted to go back to visit and now he has a reason to! I'm not really looking forward to the 21 hour flight, but other than that I'm looking forward to this new adventure! This is quite funny because Diana (my friend from my London Study Abroad) is in New Zealand right now teaching. Once she gets back to the states I'll be going! How funny! I haven't been able to tell many people and won't post this until April 2nd because no one believes me and thinks it's an April Fools joke. But it's true!!! New Zealand here I come!!!!!!

Things I loved about this week

This week has been pretty crazy/stressful/frustrating with the ridiculous exam I'm studying for where the professor doesn't believe in teaching 70-80% of what's going to be on the test, or my recent insomnia, etc... However, I realized that this week looks a whole lot better when I list all the things I've loved about this week.

1. Valentines package from my Mama - complete with candy hearts, a little mermaid valentine, funfetti cupcake mix, and a new curling iron
2. Getting an email from my best friend from high school who is studying abroad in Jerusalem
3. People telling me that my new shorter hair is really cute
4. Wearing my new sexy brown knee-high boots
5. Running into someone I was just thinking about and opening a window of opportunity that I was really hoping for
6. Plans to go get sushi with my bestie
7. My little sister introducing me to my new favorite song
8. The fact that my roommate and I spent much of today texting ridiculous things in Spanish
9. This
10. Knowing that in 22 hours I'll be done with this stupid exam

Cows, Smog, and Rock and Roll

"Oh my gosh! Are those COWS!?" I yell before slamming on the breaks. Becca and I had been in the car for more than two hours at this point and had reached Logan after dark. It had taken nearly 20 minutes, and 2 turn-arounds on the same 1-mile stretch of road to find the small country road off the main road that leads to my Aunt and Uncle's house. Once we finally made it, we were extremely startled by the baby cows (yes I know that a baby cow is called a calf) who think it's fun to stand RIGHT next to the road.

When we finally pulled in the driveway I was relieved. It was so great to see my aunt and uncle and cousins. I hadn't seen them in over a year! We all went to my cousin Dillan's band gig. I've mentioned them before - they're called Till We Have Faces.

It was really great to see Austin (above) who is just 10 months younger than me. (Notice she's rockin' the Till We Have Faces t-shirt. I got one at the concert. Can't wait to wear it!) Anyway, the concert was AWESOME! They played some brand new songs that I had never heard before and I loved them!
This is Becca and my second TWHF concert. We're pretty much huge fans. We had a blast dancing and jumping around. However, we stood RIGHT next to the speakers and our ears were ringing for a good 12 hours after. Ear plugs would probably be a good idea next time.

So, I really want them to record their newer songs because I want them SO badly. But I got their current CD and just uploaded it on my computer. Out of their songs they have recorded I'm OBSESSED with their song "Painting a Silent Planet" You can check it out here or here. After TWHF, EyesLipsEyes played. They were really great and the lead vocalist saw Becca sitting down at one point and he totally turned and serenaded her. It was really funny. He had a ton of energy and liked wearing his tambourine on his head.

The next morning I made breakfast for everyone and then Becca and I headed to the hot springs in Honeyville. The inversion was really bad so there was smog everywhere. You couldn't even see the sun! That was slightly depressing. However, the hot springs were so relaxing! It was so great to get out of the cold. We lounged around in the hot water for 2 hours, talked, and met some really interesting people who were quite chatty.

Obviously you can see that we looked SO attractive after our trip to the hot springs... After we were sufficiently prune-y we headed back to my aunt's house to shower and get ready. We left Logan around 5pm to make the drive back to school. On our way back we stopped at the mall. We got our eyebrows threaded! What an adventure! It was a very spur of the moment decision. We probably should have done that as we were leaving because our eyebrows were bright red while we were shopping. The salespeople at Zumiez had no qualms about pointing it out. It was pretty funny. Anyway, I bought a new ski jacket that is SO cute! I also got a few new cute shirts. (Thank heavens for birthday money!)

Despite the cows and inversion, the whole trip was exciting, relaxing, and just what I needed.

22 and Purple

So, today was my 22nd birthday. When I walked out of my room this morning I found the apartment covered in purple streamers and purple balloons. And when I opened the refrigerator to get my orange juice, opened my cupboard to get cereal, opened my drawer to get my hairbrush, or walked to the door to go to class I found purple notes wishing me a happy birthday, telling me I'm pretty, or telling me to have a great day! My roommates are the best!

Business Law was even better than usual when a certain unnamed, rather good-looking, accounting student walked in wearing a purple shirt and handed me a pink Gerber Daisy wrapped in purple tissue paper. (His shirt really is purple, it just looks blue compared to the dark purple tissue paper)

After classes I got to go out for a nice dinner with Tommy. When Tommy left for his mission in Oaxaca, we made a bet. I didn't get married while he was gone and therefore he owed me a really nice dinner. I introduced him to Indian food and he LOVED it.
Then my apartment had a small get-together to have ice cream sundaes (because I don't like cake and frosting). Everyone was told to wear purple. (If you can't tell, Tae's black and white striped shirt has purple buttons, and Becca is wearing my purple watch)
I was truly spoiled today by all the birthday wishes and wonderful presents! Kaitlin and Rachel gave me a 12-pack of vanilla coke, a pack of reeses, and a 2-liter bottle of cherry coke, Koko (aka Koryl) gave me a nutella-filled cupcake (very reminiscent of our London Centre Days) and Alexa (in true Kaitlin-Alexa fashion) got me a purple leopard-print scarf, and six cans of cherry coke. I also received a ton of sweet phone calls and texts from friends and family!

I think one of my favorite gifts was Liz's "Twenty-Two Reasons why Kaitlin Rocks My Socks" ranging from #3 "every color of purple nail polish on the entire color spectrum" to # 15 "I am not going to slip, I am walking with a purpose" or #22 "Nice boots" "Do you want to wear them or do you want to date me?"

My best friend from high school, Stacey, is studying abroad in Jerusalem this semester but made sure to send me a very sweet email for my birthday and in addition to the email sent me this poem.

BIRTHDAY BIRTHDAY COMING TO EARTH DAY PINK AND WRINKLED AND SMALL BIRTHDAY BIRTHDAY IT WAS THE FIRST DAY YOU WERE ANYTHING AT ALL

YOU COULD CRY AND WIGGLE AND ITS ALWAYS FUN OT REMEMBER THE DAY THAT YOU WERE BRAND NEW

I'm pretty sure 22 is going to be great. And purple.

Westergard Family Food Fest 2011

So I just got back from the first ever Wayne and Sherry Westergard family reunion. I got to see my parents, sisters, nephew, brother-in-law AND my extended family. From the picture below you can tell we were pretty happy about the 75-degree weather in Arizona.

It was the first time the entire family was able to be together since my cousin got married nearly 6 years ago. Having everyone together was a blast. However, I wouldn't exactly call it a reunion. It was more of an eating contest. All we did was EAT. Seriously, I'm pretty sure we all gained at least 10 pounds. By the time we all gathered to eat and then got everything cleaned up there would be 2 hours until the next planned meal. And the thing was, my aunts are such great cooks that there was no way you could refuse to eat!
The first day we mostly hung out around the house. That night we reserved 3 lanes and went BOWLING!!!! I found out that bowling isn't exactly my strength. (But I was better than my little sister who lost to Grandma!)
Day 2 we ate some more (shocking!) and then went to see a show. If you know anything about "America's Got Talent" you'll be familiar with the Dutton family. They were performing in a nearby theater and we all went. It was really fun, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the comic relief parts of the show.
Sunday evening we had family home evening where we wrote down on pieces of paper 2 things about ourselves that no one in the family knows and tried to match them to each family member. I found out that my 16 year old cousin who is smaller than I am can eat 40 buffalo wings in one sitting! (And I thought my package of oreos in one sitting was a feat!) We also played "minute to win it" and I learned how to get an oreo from my forehead to my mouth without using my hands... that was hilarious!

I really enjoyed spending time with my family, and am really sad that I had to leave the warm, sunny weather. It's supposed to snow tomorrow....blah.