Can this guy get any cuter?

I think not. Mr. Joseph Gordon-Levitt you have my heart. You have my heart.

Happy New Year.

My Favorite Art Form

There is something about travelling and seeing new places that does something to my soul. It's not just the excitement of being out of your element, the independence, or the people you meet. There is so much more to it. 

"I sometimes think, how is anyone ever gonna come up with a book, or a painting, or a symphony, or a sculpture that can compete with a great city. You can't. Because you look around and every street, every boulevard, is its own special art form..."  - "Midnight in Paris"

Each street you walk down speaks to you. Each monument you pass embodies the heart of the city and the people who shaped it. The tinkling of music coming out of shops or the pounding bass from the cars that pass by, the city is a culmination of every kind of art. Just as a great piece of literature captivates you in its beauty, and entices you to be bolder and think grander, a city does the same thing on a much larger scale. Every place I have visited has changed how I perceive the world, and has opened my eyes to what is truly lovely about existence, because that is what art does. It speaks to your soul and makes you hunger for more. Embracing a new city is definitely my favorite way to experience the magic of art.

List in Progress

As I cleaned my room this evening (I hate cleaning checks) I stumbled across the notebook I carried with me everywhere this summer. The pages are filled with scribbled directions to youth hostels, bus routes, random thoughts I jotted down as I wandered foreign streets, and the beginnings of my bucket list. I was able to do so many things this summer that I never imagined I'd have the opportunity to do, and it made me think about all the things I still want to do. With endless hours on buses, trains, and the metro I had ample time to jot things down as they came to me. Here it is, a list in progress.

-Make my own truffles

-Fly business class

- Visit Asia for an extended period time as part of a humanitarian effort

- Go snowshoeing

- Enter in a race and run at least a 5k

-Be comfortable riding a bike

-Learn to snowboard

-Visit every continent (4 down, 3 to go)

- Learn how to make delicious crepes
-Crowd surf

- Go skydiving

-Hike in the Alps

-Get a 4.0 at least one semester at BYU

-Go cross country skiing

- Finish a triathlon

-Fly in a private plane

-Ride in a helicopter

-Drive along the entire west coast highway. Mexico to Canada.

- Visit all the Beatles sites in Liverpool

-Go in a shark cage

- Go surfing

-Study abroad

-Ride a gondola in Venice

-Go on an African Safari

-Learn to shoot a gun (and actually be able to hit something)

- Go rock climbing

- Go Para sailing

-Go Hang gliding

- Learn to sew

-Walk across Abbey Road

- Make an intricate quilt

- Learn to sketch

-Visit the Smithsonian

- Visit Vermont in the Fall

-Travel the world on my own

-Visit Tuscany 

-Learn how to change the oil in my car

-Travel the Lake District in England

-Walk on the Great Wall of China

-Visit Machu Picchu

- Catch and clean a fish

-Roadtrip across the United States

-Feel total and complete independence

-Ride a camel

- Visit the Grand Canyon

- Go bungee jumping in Australia

- Take a belly dancing class

- Take a ceramics class

-Learn to paint

- Go to Florence, Italy

-Go sailing

-Attend an Olympic event

-Have my own garden

- See the fjords in Alaska

-Go white water rafting

-Ride on a dog sled

-Visit the Pyramids

-Ride a mechanical bull

-Go to a horse race

-Visit every state in the US (10 down, 40 to go)

-Attend a renaissance fair

-Swim with sharks

-Go on a cruise

-Make homemade pasta

-Make a souffle 
- See the Aurora Borealis 

*last updated 1/14/12

My Sister is Cooler than Yours

My sister freakin rocks. I'm pretty sure she is the funniest person out there- whether she intends to be or not. She is an individual and never tries to hide who she is. She is the best friend I could ask for. Be jealous that your sisters aren't as cool as mine.

The Usual

Just another day with the girls.

We made a play about witches...

drew pictures...

jumped on the trampoline sans pants (don't worry, I kept mine on)...

 ...and did some belly dancing.

All in all a good day.

Final Stop: Warsaw

 Highlights in Warsaw

- People that work at the airport, they made me laugh

- Visiting the tomb of the Unknown Soldier

- Trying dumplings and polish dogs

- All the beautiful fountains

- The coolest looking mall I have ever seen with pretty sweet shops

- The colorful houses stacked together

- Eating nasty quesadillas Deanna just had to have, and not having to pay for them

- Stumbling upon the worlds greatest cupcake shop

- Having two polish preteen girls translate the cupcake signs so we knew what we were ordering

- Having the whole row to myself on one of our flights

- The Warsaw Uprising monument

- Random colorful flying ponies outside an old building