Forecast: Great Things Ahead

So week before last, when I was home from Paris and suffering from extreme jet lag...

I lost all motivation for anything. I didn't want to do anything with my life. Absolutely nothing. No motivation to graduate from college, no motivation to run a marathon like I had been planning, no motivation to serve a mission, no motivation whatsoever to make something of myself.

I told my mom that it was kind of scaring me.

And do you know what she told me? She kind of laughed and told me that it was because I was preparing to do great things and be more motivated than EVER.

Yeah, right, I said. That makes no sense. We don't become completely UN-motivated and then just magically become motivated. That's not how it works.

But this week, I am feeling much more motivated. I'm still not excited about the next semester, I'm still probably not going to run a marathon in the next four months.

But you know what?! I'm feeling great about life. I'm just revving up the engines to accomplish GREAT THINGS.

So next time you feel completely unmotivated, just remember--
maybe you're just getting ready to be a mover and shaker.
maybe you're about to do something great, you just need a breather before you give it your all.
maybe you're going to accomplish amazing things...sooner than you think.

and maybe...maybe you're even going to CHANGE the world.

Maybe!

Return

So I'm home...and I'm wondering, where did the time go?

As I sat in the Chicago airport during my layover it began to hit me that I was back in America...the lack of sleep from the time change, the information overload of being able to understand every person around me, the food-chomping Americans, the multi-colored clothes and the sweatpants, the news in an understandable language...

And then I was home.

It's kind of overwhelming and I'm struggling with knowing what direction to go in my life, and lots of other things...

and I just don't know if I'm ready to face my life again. I mean, it's wonderful, but still, it's...life.

I guess God just has certain ways he wants me to grow, but goodness it hurts sometimes.

Perspective

Two men looked out of the self-same bars.
One saw mud, the other stars.



























(Photo taken in Brussels, Belgium)

Paradis Sur Terre

Hot chocolate at Angelina today on Rue de Rivoli.
I just about died and went to heaven when our server carefully set out the fork, the knife, the cup for our hot chocolate, a small pitcher with the hot chocolate to pour in the cup, the cream, and then the pastry.
It was beautiful.

chocolat chaud au chocolat blanc


























My patisserie.
Saori, le cheesecake Japonais
Cheese cake au citron vert, gelée de fraise, mousse au cream chesse, sablé croustillant citron vert, coquille croquante au chocolat blanc, guimauve à la fraise.


























Heaven on earth.

Amélioration

Three weeks ago I left church fighting back tears.

I hated it.
I couldn't speak French.
I couldn't share my testimony.
I couldn't volunteer to pray in Sunday School.
I couldn't understand anything in Sacrament meeting.

The feeling of having a testimony and not being able to share it is perhaps one of the most frustrating things in the universe. Not being able to communicate and understand is a truly a handicap.

This week though, I left feeling uplifted and edified.

And you know what?
I still can't speak French.
I still can't understand most things spoken to me in French.
In fact, sometimes I am still extremely frustrated with the fact that I struggle so much learning this language.

But I had said the opening prayer in Sunday School.
And I had made a comment in class and shared my testimony of families.

Regardless of whether anyone had understood my poor attempts to form coherent sentences...
I was happy.
Because I did what I could.
I gave what I could.

Even when it was two small mites.

God takes what we can give.
He's not so much interested in the amount we give
as much as the proportion we give.
And the only proportion he really wants is all.

I'm still working on that.

But today--
I gave my two mites.

Buffoonery at Notre Dame

What do you notice about this picture?



Yes, there is a man with a Rudolph the Reindeer nose.

Why, you may ask?
Because he is a self-declared entertainer.

While I was waiting in line to go on the roof of Notre Dame I saw this man...

-Follow around an old man, imitating his stooped posture
-Call out to a random middle-age woman, "Maria!" and go to hug her
-Grab on to an father's hand, pretending to be his daughter who was trailing a little behind him
-Kneel down by a old woman and say, "Mama!"
-Put his face right by a young woman and try to kiss her cheek when she turned around
-Imitate an elderly woman who seemed lost and pretend to give her directions behind her back



Sounds pretty obnoxious, right?!
I mean, what a creeper.
But he was hilarious.
And it was so funny to watch.

How would that be...
To be a clown.
With no inhibitions.
With the purpose of gaining a little money
and making people laugh.

I realized this man can take off his nose in two seconds
and walk down the street
and no one will see him for anything other than
another man on the street.

But for fifteen minutes
He was an entertainer
a joker
a buffoon
with an audience
that loved him.

Le Metro: Introduction

The metro really defines my stay in Paris. It's the way anybody gets around anywhere--more than four million people take the metro each day. The commute to my classes at the institute takes a little under an hour with the time it takes to walk to the metro station, take the metro, change metro lines, and walk to the institute building from the metro station. The metro actually runs quite fast though.

Those of you who know me well know that I HATE public transportation.
But, you know, I'm in Paris, so what the heck.

The trains mostly run underground and some metro stations transfer more than 10 different trains. There are 14 lines through Paris and none are circular. They intersect with other lines, but all lines are independent of each other and none of them share trains. Supposedly there are over six hundred police officers assigned to the metro, but I swear I never see A SINGLE ONE. Well, maybe once or twice. I mean, I saw some guys with torture tools in their belt, and I assume they were police.

The metro is an interesting place. I decided the other night when I was in the haunts of a foreign metro station by myself that if I were to imagine how a nightmare would look...it would look like a metro station. Imagine descending down dirty stain-covered stairs, lots of people, or sometimes no people, dirty tiled walls, unsavory characters, dank smells, curving passageways--welcome to the perfect setting for your own little nightmare.

Welcome to the metro.

Un Bienfait Caché

So once again, I am sick. In Paris.
I think Heavenly Father is trying to tell me something.

Is it to be grateful for my health?
Yes.

Is it to take care of myself better?
Yes.

Is it to remind me to have compassion for others when they are sick?
Yes.

Is it so I will appreciate those days when I can do whatever I want instead of stay home in bed?
Yes.

Is it so I would take some time today to read the scriptures and email some of the wonderful people in my life?
Yes.

Is it so I could take some time today to really figure out what direction my life is taking and which ways it should be going?
Yes.

There are just way too many good things that have resulted from me being sick.

Un beinfait caché
A blessing in disguise.

10 Things I Love About London

We took a trip to London a few weeks ago (I know, I know...I'm behind on blogging) and I just fell in love with the city. Here are 10 things I love about London, in no particular order:

1. It's classy.

People speak properly, they dress properly, and the men are gentlemen. Oh, and they speak English. I sure love that.


2. Harrod's.

It is the world's largest department store. As intimidating as it is, I just loved it. It's everything a department store should be. Posh, elegant, and never-ending. Their perfume section is about the size of China. There's a line in the new version of The Parent Trap where the girl's takes her shopping and says, "Let's go get lost in Harrod's!" Oh, and it's totally possible. It's huge. I looked around the interior section and I found the most adorable accent table and teacups. I didn't want to take a picture though, because, for crying out loud, I was in Harrod's. It's kind of posh in there, you know?! I also looked around the children's section. Luxury lines of clothing for your baby. Christian Dior and Marc Jacobs for your little ones. Oh fabulous. The apparel galleries (yes, can I call them galleries? They definitely weren't like any store I have seen before) were just like the movies. You walk in and see a rack with one of each item--a fur coat, a cream jacket, a navy blazer. I didn't feel like I could even touch a rack without a salesperson taking the item of the rack for me. The best part--as I left Harrod's to get on the subway, I saw some Red Hat Society members congregating by one of the doors. It was quite an enjoyable moment for me, because I realized that is just what a Red Hat Society member should do--go to Harrod's for the day!



3. St. Paul's Cathedral.

One thing I definitely don't like about London is that it costs a lot of money to get in all the churches and many other places you could possibly want to go into. However, if you attend a worship service at St. Paul's it costs you nothing to enter. So that we did! I loved the choir--it was composed of half adults and half children, and the sound was beautiful. St. Paul's is designed in the neoclassical style, one of my personal favorites. It was so clean and beautiful. A lot of old churches and cathedrals feel dark and gloomy, but I love St. Paul's because it feels light and airy. St. Paul's is also the church on Mary Poppins, "...feed the birds, tuppence a bag, tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag..." I didn't realize this until after I had been to St. Paul's (and actually after I had left London), but I remember all the birds flying around St. Paul's. No bird woman, but I can put her in a memory of St. Paul's with the birds.



4. Kensington Gardens.

Most beautiful park in the world. I absolutely loved it. My favorite memory of London is getting up early to go jogging in the mist-covered gardens that seem to stretch on forever. I love the monuments, the wildlife, the Serpentine, all of it.



5. English food.

It's not bad like people make it out to be. They also have fabulous Indian food in London. Not to mention Wagamamas, a Japanese food chain restaurant that I just LOVED. We only have 2 in the US, one in Boston and one in DC. I'm making a pilgrimage when I get back to the States. Oh and scones. Scones from Harrod's. Mmm.



6. Shows in London.

Broadway, Shakespeare, you name it. I saw Shakespeare's As You Like it at the Globe and Phantom of the Opera in Her Majesty's Theatre...now doesn't that sound fancy.



7. Sunsets on the Thames

My first night I got to see this...and that's when I fell in love.



8. Covent Garden on Friday nights.

My friend Sara and I went to Covent Garden and walked around the beautiful quaint streets with their shops and restaurants and pubs. We saw an adorable restaurant with heat lamps around the tables and seating on the roof. We saw boys calling up to an apartment above for their friend to come down and go out with them that night. We saw men gathering and intellectualizing around jovial looking pubs. In the square, musicians sometimes come to play their music and maybe make some money, if they are lucky. We finished our night around the Covent Garden square listening to a guitarist in a small section of the courtyard. I can't even describe how perfect it was, the perfect London experience. It was dark outside, but the light coming from the restaurant nearby created the perfect ambiance. A small group was gathered around him, a guitarist who sang with a soft kind of roughness that fit in perfectly with the now-silent shops and streets surrounding us. His final song was Iris from Goo-Goo Dolls. The whole feeling was indescribable--with the quiet streets that still buzzed with people and the warm lighting and the cobblestone streets...another reason to fall in love with London.

This is a fountain close to the area in front of the National Gallery--it lit up with lights that changed colors--from blue to purple to orange and then yellow and green.



9. London is clean and tidy.



10. London just fit in with who I am--it was classy, friendly, safe, clean, proper, and absolutely lovely--and I loved it. A person can be alone in London. In Paris, I wanted to be with people, but in London I was content to be by myself. People get up early. They go jogging early. They go to work early. This city suits me!

Les Patisseries de Paradis

Patisseries, glorious patisseries!
I have been to three ridiculously amazing bakeries in the past 2 days. The best part is, it was all part of my homework.

The first is a traditional bakery called Poilane that bakes its bread in wood-fire ovens, using the same method since 1932. I ordered un petit pain de ble aux noix which was walnutty little loaf that put me in bread heaven.

Poilane--

Before I talk about the next two bakeries, I need to introduce to you the "macaron." Do not be confused, this has no relation to the coconut macaroons we know and love. Instead, this is a sandwich cookie that has a crisp cookie on the outside and a rich ganache on the inside.
They are indescribable.

Laduree is the bakery that created the macaron at the beginning of the 20th century, and the macaron has been heaven on earth ever since.

Pierre Herme is a more modern bakery that has created many distinct and original flavors of the macaron.

Expect to see flavors like fruit de la passion, petale de rose, chocolat citron vert, mangue jasmin, and pistache amongst many others.


Laduree--



Pierre Herme--


My mom and I were talking on skype today and she was asking me if there were many bakeries in Paris. "Mom," I said, "Really, what kind of question is that?" Then she told me that she thought heaven would have three bakeries on every street. "Well, Mom," I responded, "Paris must be heaven then!"

La Petite Chocolatiere

Those of you who know me well know that I hate chocolate.

But this little patisserie had some of the most scrumptious looking pastries I have ever seen.



Not to mention it's adorable.



And fairly close to the Eiffel Tower.



Bon appetit!

Gardens of Monet

So when I was in high school oh-so-long ago (ha ha) we sang a song in my choir class about the Gardens of Monet. My very bestest friend/cousin and I made up an interpretive dance to this song to perform at the concert. However, for some strange reason which I still don't know, my choir teacher didn't want us to perform it! (Love you Joanie)

However, I had a little reenactment in the Gardens of Monet today:







(Um, why am I posting this??? This is kind of embarrassing.)

Anyway, moving right along...the gardens were absolutely beautiful and the house was just so quaint and sweet. Pictures weren't allowed in the house, but here are a few glimpses of the beautiful gardens that Monet painted.

Here is the street leading up to the house...isn't it so picturesque?





















and the gardens...






































































The Pont Japonais (Japanese Bridge)


The beautiful waterlilies Monet painted...

















And my own little impressionistic rendering of the water lilies in photograph...






















It was so nice to be in a beautiful place surrounded by beautiful things, away from the city...Giverny, Je t'aime.

Rue des Mauvais Garcons

Translated: Street of the Bad Boys
Bring it on Paris!

A Sick American in Paris

So I've been a week in Paris!

It's been quite eventful.

I arrived without a problem, although very tired, in the Charles de Gaulle Airport and took a taxi to the wonderful little establishment (ha) known as the Etap Hotel. The rooms kind of reminded me of what I would expect on a space ship. They were...um...contemporary? I don't know what to say about the bunk beds or the completely plastic shower and toilet closets. The thing is that my roommate and I got to stay there 2 nights, instead of just 1 like everyone else because our host family didn't want us until the next day because they had an event to attend.

The first night we went on a boat ride down the Seine River with our whole group.
If you want pictures of that look here.

My favorite bridge in the Seine in Pont Neuf because it has lots of angry faces carved on it.

And by lots, I mean there's dozens. Our tour guide said that each face was for one each of King Louis XVI's counselors who didn't believe his bridge would hold. How's that for getting back at your critics?! Their faces are still there, so I guess they were wrong!

Well. I had been feeling a little bit of a sore throat about the time I got to Paris, very minimal, but when I woke up on Sunday morning at the Etap Hotel I was really, really congested in my throat and head. It felt...weird.

As the week continued, I kept waking up with the same thing except worse every morning. It got to the point that I couldn't eat anything because it hurt to swallow so bad, and I lost 5 pounds in 4 days...not good. Especially when you're in Paris. That's not normal. I also was having trouble breathing easily at night and wasn't sleeping well because I was so sick.

At first, I went to the pharmacienne and they gave me "mal de gorge" throat spray. It was kind of like a super-weak chloraseptic. Um, ok, well that's nice for like one minute to ease the pain, but hello?! people!? I can't breathe at night or eat during the day! A little throat spray is not going to help me.

It's really frustrating to get sick in a foreign country because...it's hard to know what to do. Finally on Wednesday, I knew what I needed to do. I went straight to the institute building where we had classes, asked for a blessing, and asked for help finding a doctor. I thankfully was able to get both and went to the pharmacienne--again, but this time with a prescription--and got this:

On a side note, when the doctor saw my throat she said, "Impressive!" because it was so swollen.

I spent the day in bed yesterday (really exciting when you're in Paris, I know) but today I went out for half the day and spent some time in the Jardin des Tuileries and walked around the Opera area. Taking lots of meds, and finally getting better.

Even though I've been sick, I've still done so much! I've sat on the grass by the Eiffel Tower, walked down the Champs-Elysees, shopped at the Marche des Puces (flea market), bought some fabulous pants at H&M, gotten lost in Boulougne, eaten a delicious pastry from La Duree, took the wrong metro, asked for duct tape and received funny looks, and so many other things!

My next post is going to be on a cute pastry shoppe my roommate and I found by accident :o)

Paper Chain

My paper chain.

Is short.

I made it a couple months ago, and it seemed like the longest paper chain in the world. It stretched out forever. I stapled together nearly a hundred blue, brown, and pink pieces of cardstock. Each a day. Seemed so long.

And now my paper chain looks stunted. It's short, barely has two weeks worth of days left on it. It can barely hang in a loop now instead of loop after loop after loop.

Do you know what that means?

PARIS here I come!

Family Movie Night

So for FHE last night, we decided to watch a movie.

I had two red box movies I hadn't returned--
17 Again and
Confessions of a Shopaholic.

So we took a vote.
And do you know what the outcome was?



















Did I mention boys outweigh the girls in my family?
Did I mention I had FIVE brothers, three of which are teenage boys?

And they chose Confessions of a Shopaholic over 17 Again?

Hmmm...interesting.

Fortune Cookie

The best part about Chinese food is the fortune cookies. Don't you feel just fabulous when you get the perfect fortune? and you just know good luck is coming your way?

Well, I went to Pei Wei with a friend this past week and I got a fortune cookie. This is what it said:

"You will be recognized and honored as a community leader"










What the??? That was not good enough for me. So I got another fortune cookie.

My next one read:

"Watch for a stranger near you to soon become a friend."










Hmm...still not good enough.

Three times a charm!

"Now is the best time for you to be spontaneous. Serendipity!"










My favorite word. This was my fortune soulmate.

Can't wait to see what happens!

Moral of the story: Eat lots of Chinese food and don't be afraid to eat more than one fortune cookie. Or two.

How to Remove Wallpaper

There are two reasons to watch this movie:

1. If you want to learn how to remove wallpaper
2. If you want to see me be obnoxious on camera



Oh, and you really should wait 15 to 20 minutes on the Dif...ha ha.

Blog

So I've really been neglecting this blog lately.
But don't worry. There are good things to come.
Promise!

Weddings Weddings Weddings

This summer I am going to a lot of weddings.
And by a lot, I mean so far about 10.

Tomorrow starts it off with my cousin getting married...
Then next week I have three receptions to go to, and I'm playing the harp in a wedding luncheon...that makes 4 in one week...

Yikes.

And then two of my best friends from high school are getting married this summer...
and another cousin...and one of the s from harp ensemble...

I'm sure I'm missing someone...

Not to mention I play the harp for weddings...
That adds a few more...

You know, going to all these weddings could be a little bittersweet for a single . Especially since half of them are my age.

However, looking on the bright side, by the time I go to all these weddings I will know exactly what I want for my own wedding someday...it will be pretty close to perfect.

Let the wedding bells ring!

Paradox of Life

Happiness and inner peace.
Sometimes you have to choose one.
They are not the same thing.

Mother's Day Dinner

For Mother's Day this year I made my mom dinner.
But not just any dinner.
It was a four course, fine china affair for ten.

I brought up all the china for the basement and Ben and I made the place setting.

Oh, and the place setting included one dinner plate, one salad plate, soup bowl and platter, salad fork, dinner fork, knife, teaspoon, soup spoon, wine glass for water, wine glass for pink lemonade, and dessert cup. We even had silver candlesticks.

Amanda found the perfect flowers for the centerpiece.


It was beautiful.


Before food...


And after food!


We started with French onion soup...


Followed by a cranberry almond spinach salad...


Then the main course including rosemary pork...


garlic and lemon potatoes...


and fagiolini al parmigiano (green beans with parmesan)


So the plate could have used more color, but it did turn out nicely. All my siblings helped a lot. They were amazing. It took five hours with their help and I can hardly imagine how long it would have taken without it!


and dessert!


Crème chantilly with strawberries and shaved chocolate. Mmm....


And then...there were the dishes...


Lots of dishes.


Never ending dishes.


I had to take pictures because this may never happen again.
As much as I love fancy...I really hate cooking.

But oh my heart, I really love fancy dinners. Maybe it will happen again.
I think it's worth it for the end result. I like making things special.


And most of all, I like making my mom feel special. Because she deserves it.
Happy Mother's Day Mom.