CALIforeign

I'm sure you're all thinking to yourselves, "my, what a clever title that is," and I assure you it is. But while I wish I could take the credit, I must be sure to give it to its rightful source, my little sister, Katie Marie. My family and I were driving in our lovely red rental coming back from the Grand Canyon a few weeks ago and I mentioned that we are "foreign" in Arizona. She then proceeded to come up with "Califoreign," which is very suiting. While the people don't speak with some sort of unknown accent, there are many differences between California and Arizona (I can only speak of the places I have seen: Scottsdale, Phoenix, Sedona, and the Grand Canyon). These differences include, but are not limited to the following:


+The speed limit on most of the freeways we drove was 75mph v. 65 or 70. This was SUCH an amazing thing and I highly suggest that California follow up and do the same. The pace of life has changed and sped up, it's time the speed limits follow in suit!
+People tend to follow the traffic laws, both driving and pedestrian (ie. Actually waiting to cross the street till the pedestrian crossing light comes on, slowing down when the speed limit sign instructs, and etc).
+Where we have weeds and generally ugly shrubs, they have impressive, interesting, and oh-so-cool looking cactus.
+The terrain in general has red rock and random rock/mountain mounds/formations scattered about instead of farm land or vast expanses of, nothingness.
+The climate is generally warmer, and drier.
+The people are much more natural. They wear less make-up and just "do less."
+You can be driving in the desert one hour, and in a place covered with snow the next.


Overall, I LOVED the Arizona that I saw. Especially Scottsdale and Sedona. But as I previously mentioned, my parents took me to a movie right after picking me up, so my experience in Phoenix was minimal, but very good seeing as Sherlock Holmes was so great. Excellent cinematography, story, and acting. I can't express how excited I was to see Noomi Rapace of the Swedish ( and original) version of Girl With the Dragon Tattoo! She was phenomenal. The film was full of very artistic scenes and the expected/unexpected twists you expect from Holmes. And let's be real...how could I not be happy when I got to look at ginormous Robert Downey Jr.'s and Jude Law's beautiful faces!?! But onto the travels!


We drove from Scottsdale to the Grand Canyon, and while it was a 4 hour drive (of which approximately 2.5 I slept =/), it was incredible! The scenery was picturesque and so different from what I am used to seeing in the Golden State. 

 Sis and I getting our nap on :) 

Pinkie & Brain

 Just so you understand my family-- We flipped a U-turn on the highway so we could go back and snap this pic. And yes, I did insist that we do so. I'm sorry...

Beautiful white Birch Trees are all over

And then, we got the the South Rim of the Grand Canyon! It was one hell of a sight to see and leaves no doubt in my mind that it is one of the seven wonders of the world. It expands as far as the eye can see (here's a little perspective: to DRIVE from the South Rim to the North Rim would take about 5 hours 8-O ) and in order to get the true experience you have to stay for at least a couple hours, which is easy to do. We arrived around 12:30pm and spent the afternoon walking to the different view points and driving to the different look-outs. The colors change as the day passes, and when the shadows start to set in you can really see the details of its geography. 

 ~12:30pm

 ~2:30pm

I think that it is only after leaving the Canyon that you really start to appreciate its beauty and realize just how exquisite it really is. It took my family and I 10+ years to go see it, but I am glad that we went at a point in my life where I will always remember what I saw, and I have no doubt I will return. After all, I still have to take a helicopter ride above/through it. :) I highly suggest that everyone make it a goal to go see one of the wonders of the world that we happen to have right here in the U.S. Quite amazing to think about! 

Sedona was a true gem. The town is known for its red rock formations, and has the cutest area full of shops and places to dine. We had the most amazing buffalo nachos as an appetizer (I'm now hooked on buffalo meat!) in the Cowboy Club's Silver Saddle Room. I recommend stopping in to grab a bite and sip on a delicious, scrumptious, flavorful local Arizona brew if you ever find yourself in the neighborhood! I anxiously await the day I can return to Sedona and spend a bit more time there exploring all it has to offer.

The final city that I was blessed enough to see for a little while was Scottsdale. As soon as I found out that the giant "LOVE" was there, I made it my mission not to leave without getting a photo. And so I did :)

 Tried my darndest to get up in that "L"

 What can I say? They get it from their mama ;)

Sisters by chance, lovers by choice

And while the family vacation wasn't all lollipops and gum drops (but let's face it, when your family is in a car together/living together for that long, something is going to break out at some point), it was so much more fun than I could have ever expected, no offense fam! It was such a laugh-filled time and I am very excited to return to Arizona sometime and see more of what they've got to offer! 

Today's Quote: “No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” –Lin Yutang

Reflect Without Regret

Since we are in a new year, I find it only appropriate to look back on 2011 and compile a little list that explains why life is so good. I am sitting here, up way past my bedtime once more (but then again, can I really say I have a bedtime now that my life is "in my control" and no longer dictated by school, or much of a schedule at all for that matter?), and I can't help but be overwhelmed by joy and happiness about the things I have done, experienced, encountered, and what is to come. The future may be uncertain, but if the last 22+ years are any indication of what's to come, I know there is no reason to have any fears. And while we may be five days into the new year, I would like to take a moment to thank 2011 for being oh-so good to me :)


2011 started on a cruise ship for my family and I, and I would have had no way of knowing what this year would bring for me. Some things like my last season of water polo and graduating from college were sure to happen, but I could never have expected that I would enter into 2012 with such clarity and calmness. I started 2011 with a heart overflowing with love, in a place it might never have been before. And as the spring semester passed, it continued to fill with love and grow, and I entered 2012 with a heart overflowing with a different but equally as wonderful kind of love. Yes, graduating and completing my final season of polo are sad milestones to have passed, but it is because of the following reasons that I reflect on 2011 as being one of the best I've had yet!

• I learned to love again; to really open my heart and just let it in, and out, without holding back or fearing the outcome.
• The water polo season wasn't our most successful as far as our record is concerned, but our friendships grew so much and are running deeper than ever before.
• I rang in the new year (2011's) on a cruise ship with family that I love, and that can never be bad (unless of course it's the Titanic..).
• When I thought my summer would be spent in Chico working as a lifeguard, I ended up snagging an internship at Disney's ABC! It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life, and I was finally able to move down to LA, a dream I've had since I can remember. 
• Meeting some awesome Germans outside of a club, who ended up becoming my closest friends of the summer, and people I still plan to see in the near future.
• Getting to hang out with my SoCal family of friends, who are some of my dearest, and my uncles that I rarely see due to the distance.
• Expanding my family of friends through Mike CHEXXX
• Running off to EDC Las Vegas and having one of the best weekends of my life
• Random trip to San Diego with nothing but the clothes (swimsuits/cover-ups) we'd been wearing all day at Venice
• Going to the Music Box too many times ;)
• Learning about and growing to love an industry I had never considered before
• Figuring out a little more about the things I like, and those I don't
• Too many good times and so much love shared between new friends, who became the best of
• Kaitlyn Tolin (Toke) moved into our house in the fall, and it became a home.
• Ilona coming to visit from Finland
• Rhoan coming to visit, and bringing some new Aussies into our lives as well
• Arthur coming to visit from France with his luscious curly locks
• Last minute decision to go to San Bern for Halloween weekend and driving, literally, almost the whole Cali coast from SF to San Bern. --Family Reunion w/ the McGeekersons.
• Not getting worked up over school and studies, but instead investing my time in relationships and making memories that will prove to be more beneficial than any lesson they try and teach in a classroom.
• Beginning a blog, that I will use to guide me through the rest of my days

And while there are so many other things, the one that stands out most (possibly because it is the freshest in my mind) is New Year's weekend. I still cannot get over how great it was and how much love continues to flow through our group (via Facebook groups, obviously;). It makes me think, if I feel this kind of love from my friends, then the love that God has for me must be the most overpowering thing in the world. I feel crushed its weight, but lifted up by its greatness all at the same time. And if a group of people can make me feel this way, I have nothing to fear because the love my God has for me is even greater and will carry me through everything! 


Now that I have, once again, released the positive energy and love that is within me out into the universe, I hope it finds its way to you and can help carry you through any hard time you might be facing! When things start to feel hard, just stop moving for a moment, take a deep breath, and say, "We can do it." It is something I have been practicing with vigor the last few weeks, and I have never felt more stable or guided. Sleep well my little loves, we will meet again soon :)


Today's Quote: "All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on." -Henry Ellis

Word.

I'm On A High

Welcome to the dawn of the dead dear friends! We have made it into the talked-about 2012!! I hope that everyone out there had as lovely and memorable a new year's as I did. I spent my NYE in Lake Tahoe in the South Shore, where I attended Snow Globe Music Festival with some of the most incredible people ever to find their ways into my life! Overall, we had a group of about 20 of us that passed the love and caring on to one another the whole weekend. And while they may never see this, I have to take a moment to give a HUGE shout-out to those people who have taken control of my heart and entered into the new year with me, in only a way that this group can together!! 

The festival was out of this world, to say the least. Having a music festival of this sort in Tahoe is ingenious and I am thrilled to see it happen more often. The setting was incredible; the Lake Tahoe Community College provided us with amazing grounds to dance, frolic, and play around on. The main stage was idyllic on the football field, and at any given moment if you were to look around you would see the beautiful, tall trees surrounding you in the clearing (the field), and straight above was the night sky. Now, if you've never seen the night sky in Tahoe or any other place with a higher elevation, I suggest you put it on your bucket list and do not pass before you have seen it! The sky is so dark and lovely, and the stars shine brighter than you've ever seen them before. It will literally take your breath away and cause you to stare in awe and wonder at its beauty. 

But not only was the setting absolutely wonderful, the people were of the highest caliber. Especially those from our very own Don't Mind If I Do Krew and Team Take It Eacy. It gets increasingly harder to say good-bye and live my life without these people as the years pass, but when we gather, the most incredible things happen. Never have I found myself in a group of people who are so intent on positive thinking, positive vibes, and passing the love through oneself and onto others. The level of caring and consideration in this group is a rare treasure. Each one of us is a gem in our own way, and we all bring some element of life to the group as a whole. We are a group of people who may not see each other but a few times a year, but during the times we are together, the love you feel is incomparable to any other time. We are all such positive thinking people who like to release positive vibes into the universe, as well as listen to the world and let it take us where we are supposed to be. We would leave the group and wander around, just knowing that we would find each other again. And we always did :)

One of the most ultimate highlights of the festival for me was Bassnectar's set on Friday night. He absolutely KILLED IT!!! His set was so sexual and incredible that I thought I had about died and gone to Heaven. The beats he was throwing our way were fresh to death and channeled all the way through my body to move me in a way that has not happened [in public] ever before! I hope I can get my hands on that live set from some where, because I want nothing more than to blast it on repeat until I see him again! I am not sure I saw a single set that didn't melt my face off in some way, and was so happy to see some people that I'd never even heard of before. Other sets that I saw included: Thievery Corporation, Emancipator, Yacht, Kraddy, Run DMT, Big Gigantic, Porter Robinson, NastyNasty, Pretty Lights, Tipper, Fish Bone, Datsik, Eliot Lipp, Heyoka, Hottub, Star Slinger, Dilated Peoples, B. Bravo, Samples, Two Fresh, Paper Diamond, and The Glitch Mob. WOW, what an amazing weekend of music!!! And just an amazing weekend overall!


By far the best new year's I have ever have, and it will be a struggle to surpass the greatness in the coming years. But I gladly accept the challenge ;D

And now that the new year has begun, I am making it my goal to actually continue this blog in a consistent fashion! The resolutions are in the working, and I would love to know what yours are, so please share!


Enjoy your third day of the new year my friends, and let's make this year even better than those passed!