2010: review the year in film

Here's another great review of 2010, this time through the years movies, really good check it out:

twenty ten

Can you believe how fast this year went by, 22 days left. Here's a pretty amazing recap by google:

oh nah..nah..

This week there are two holidays during the work week (Monday and Wednesday). So most of the Spanish have taken a 5 day weekend, except of course the hardest working women in town, the volleyball team! Ha. Anyway, we've only had one practice a day, different from our usual two a day, this week which has given me a little more free time to roam around the city and I've been doing it with my headphones on. Have I ever told you I love music, a good song can always puts me in a good mood. Here's what's stuck in my head today:

p.s. I can literally feel every muscle in my body, but I don't care cause Christmas vacation only 12 days away, YAY!!!!!

20 Christmas Challenges

I'm a big fan of the blogosphere, just because I think there are so many creative people out there and I love that I can experience a little bit of that through their sharing in blogs. With it being Christmas time and all, there are so many great Christmas themes out there and this is one that I wanted to embrace and share. Naomi Davis writes for rosckstardiaries and shared these great Christmas Challenges (there were actually 25, but I got them a little late, so I chose 20), that she gets from her mom each year. What a great tradition, hu? Here's the list:

1. go out of your way-- befriend someone today that needs a friend and follow through to christmas
2. tell someone you love them
3. in your prayers today, give thanks for every blessing without asking for anything
4. try to be as kind as possible to others today
5. try not to quarrel with family members today
6. do a good deed anonymously
7. make goals for yourself-- seal a copy in an envelope to be opened in a year
8. do something fun for a child or younger sibling
9. try to forgive someone who has wronged you, be reconciled
10. make a "give list" instead of a list of gifts you'd like
11. quietly reflect and choose uplifting activities vs shopping
12. phone or send a card to an old friend or family member
13. make a christmas treat for someone else
14. be a calming influence today and control your temper
15. accept the gift of forgiveness-- pray for some weakness and ask for help in repenting of it
16. look at christmas lights... where does all light come from?
17. sing carols
18. do something nice for someone without their knowing it was you
19. be the first to say hello to people all day
20. ask someone to tell you about a past christmas

awwwwww

how cute is this:

just because

two things I found today that made me a little happier than I was when I left practice:

from Vanity Fair. Mr. Depp, then, now, and always:

and this from http://www.terrysdiary.com:

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Honestly, I cannot remember the last Thanksgiving I had at home with my family. I've been living away from home since I was 18 and since fall is work season in college we always worked on Thanksgiving. But just because its been so long, doesn't mean I'll ever forget the way it feels to be in the kitchen with my mom, or hearing my dad talk about some new recipe my step mom was trying to master, the smell of the house when I wake up on Thursday morning, everyone trying to dig into the food at breakfast time, or the positivity you feel when everyone sits around the table and talks about what they are thankful for.

Twenty-ten has flown by and I have nothing but thankfulness for the year's obstacles and opportunities. Thankfulness for the continued love and support of my family while I am off living out my dream. Thankfulness for the friendships that have survived the years and the ones that give me comfort everyday. Health, and for the health of those around. For my best friend in the world, my sister and her constant love, advice, understanding, and friendship. I'm thankful to be right where I am, right now, because I am embracing and learning everyday more and more about life. Give thanks today and everyday, Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Peace

i write...i travel..i eat...and I'm hungry for more

If you went through any of the dvr's own by my family members (there are 4, a bit excessive I know) this summer you would find multiple episodes of of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. Ooh Tony, my hero.

Anthony Bourdain is an American chef, writer, traveler and tv...lets just say hero. Tony, (yes, I've spent enough time with him that I can call him Tony) has dropped his gig as a chef to travel around the world for this tv show and pretty much eat. He different from all other "travel shows" cause he's cool. He says when the food is not so good, he's funny, he's always got a beer in hand, and is not afraid to look like a complete idiot while fishing, getting a Turkish massage, or spending Halloween in Dracula's castle in Romania.

He's traveled everywhere from Dubai, to Vegas, to Rome, Tokyo and Uruguay, always with a local companion eating at the best, not the most expensive, or the trendiest, or the most modern, just the best tasting restaurants (or shacks) in each place he visits. Like I said MY HERO. Now, let me explain a little fact to you all, I am a pescaterian, i don't eat meat, but I do still eat seafood. I have absolutely nothing against meat, I didn't stop eating meat for any particular reason pertaining to the taste or an animal rights purpose, i just stopped. Sometimes the smell of meat completely turns me on and other times it makes me completely nauseous, what can you do, c'est la vie. With that being said, sitting on the couch, for countless hours watch Tony suck juicy bone marrow, or have beef that's been cooked all day underground melt in his mouth really makes me happy. I get to live all my carnivorous desires out through "my friend in my head" Tony Bourdain, so, thanks Mr. Bourdain and keep doing it!

this and that

...my little brother and Taylor got married!!! The week before he reports to the Navy, he's such a grown up. exciting, right? Cheers

...heading into week 7 of Superliga and still loving it here

...missing my Bonglos so much

...super excited about Christmas vaca

...excited to be going to Saint Raphael after Christmas to play

...trying to come up with New Years plans, the possibilities for 3 free days are endless

...not to mention, I'm kind of pumped for practice tonight, our setter is back and I'm anxious to work in a new position

happy thursday :)

complete and utter humiliation

Don't you hate when people ask you to tell them your most embarrassing moment, cause if it was that embarrassing, why on earth would you want to repeat it, right? Well I had a pretty embarrassing moment published in a magazine recently. Yes, a Regional sports magazine. Nice, I know. It went a little something like this...

When I arrived at practice one evening there was a reporter there, tape recorder in hand, staring straight at me. I didn't worry cause I usually can get out of these situations with a simple and clear "I don't speak ____ (insert native language here)" and bam, on to the next girl, but not this time. Conveniently my Lithuanian roommate is speaking really good (or so I thought) Spainsh, so she could translate for the reporter and I...fail. He started with the hardest question "Why Spain?", if you know me and know what I went through this summer to get here you know the answer to this question is not easy. Then the usual "Vegas to Haro (aka the city with more bars than people)?" "how have you adjusted to the team" "what do you do in your free time" and then the completely inappropriate "to the both of you (Erika and I) how do you find a guy around here when you're so tall." Inappropriate right? Firstly, what's wrong with being 1 meter and 90 centimeters (that's 6 foot 3 inches in English)? I love being tall. Secondly, señor, what makes you think I'm looking for a guy? Thirdly, please señor, don't miss construct our words. So after nervously laughing at this question Erika and I have a discussion in English of course.

me:"Um...we haven't really been out looking for guys.."

Erika: "um, everyONE here is so small, even if we were we'd have a hard time.."

me: "um, there were tall guys in Logrono",

Erika: "yeah, but they weren't really cute, were they?"

me: "they were tall...ok, just tell him, we got to met some athletic guys when we went to a handball game in Logrono, that was fun i guess"

Erika: "ok, good."

Tell me if you hear any of that in what was PUBLISHED in this magazine:

"We went to a handball game in Logrono and there were some athletic and good looking guys there, we want to go back, ja ja ja"

F A I L sir. Fail Mister Reporter man, twisting our words and publishing them in a SPORTS MAGAZINE!!! Omg. On top of this blasphemy, there are three lovely pictures along with the article, one of Erika looking bald (her words, not mine), one of me with my eyes half closed and a third of the two of us in which we're laughing, but it just looks like we both smiling really hard (as to say, run boys...and run far!) Soooo incredibility embarrassing. But I thought maybe no one will see it or care, until one of my teammates shows up to practice "Look at what I saw in the doctors office today!!!" Then five days later from my coach "Uhhh, Jenny, what did you say to the Rioja Sport man?" Complete and utter humiliation, I just hope those are the only two copies of the magazine circulating.

f o u r

I remember when I first heard you were coming, I couldn't believe it was true. Then the first time we met, it wasn't under the best circumstances but I didn't want to let you go, so I held you and kissed you and held you some more. Every time I see you you're smarter, funnier, bigger, and looking more like me. I want to spend all my time with you, but we both know I can't. When I see you after a long time apart, I feel like a child on Christmas Eve, like I can't wait anymore, like I might burst with excitement. I love you so much, sometimes I cannot imagine what my life will be like when I have my own. I love spending my summers with you dancing, jumping on the bed, going to the park, watching "Big Brothers" and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, blow drying our hair, eating hot tamales, taking pictures, and sleeping in the big bed together. Happy Birthday Mya Leilani, Auntie LOVES you!

I'm supposed to be here

fyi: this post is pink for Breast Cancer Awareness month :)

"¡Yo quiero más!" This is was what my setter said to me while she looked me in the eye, after the first ball she set me I was left blockless and the crowd went completely berserk. Yesterday was one of those days. The journey to get here was long and not without stress but I'm exactly where I am supposed to be.

We had a pass and serve yesterday morning and after the hour flew by we went in to the locker room to watch some video of the other team. After the video ended another video started... I recognized it immediately. I instantly got chills:

"I don't know what to say really, 3 minutes til the biggest battle of our professional lives. All comes down to today and either we heal as a team or we're going to crumble. Inch by inch, play by play, til we're finished...

....when we add up all those inches, that's gonna make the fucking difference between winning and losing"

Al Pacino's speech in Any Given Sunday, so appropriate at that moment in time. The anxiousness of starting a new season, the anxiety of playing a team that on paper is supposed to be better than you, the excitement to be on this journey with new people standing next to you. But everything he said in that 4 minutes and 30 seconds was everything we needed to hear. It's all about those few inches, who's willing to go that extra inch, what are you going to do for another inch, and do you trust that the person standing next to you is going to go that extra inch for the team, because they know that you would?

We came out in front of our home crowd of 600 people, (who by they way were absolutely insanely fun to play in front of) and lost the first set, but came back and won the next three. It wasn't at all an easy feat but we battled for every point and fought for every inch and came out on top. Since April when I tore the ligaments in my ankle I've been waiting for the chance to get back to 100% and I think I may be close. When it's game point 24-23 and the other team calls a time out and my Coach looks at my setter and tells her to set me the ball, that's feeling I've been waiting for and yo quiero más.

Hoy empieza la SUPERLIGA!

So seriously excited about our first match of the season tonight! All week long the first and last thing my coach has said in practice was: "Chicas, el sabado empieza la liga!" with his big blue intense eyes and a smirk on his face, I'm so pumped. My competitive edge is dying to be fed and starting the season at home against the team that finished in second place last year could not be a better way to fed it. Vamos Haroooooo!!!!! Ah, and yea I had to change my number to 5 cause my 3 was already taken, no big.

la...la...la...laaaaa

For as long as I can remember music has been in my life. I can close my eyes and see my mother in the kitchen, with music playing, singing (off key granted) "l.a..la..la.la..la..doo..doo.doooooh, ahh...ahhh.aahhhhhh!!!!" Or remember being dragged to one of my sister's madrigals concerts over the 6 or 7 years she sung in the choir in school "shut de do, keep out the devil, light the candle, everything is alright." Music has so much power or I guess the power you give it. It can spark a memory or change a mood with just a few notes.

When I see people walking around with headphones in their ears I ALWAYS wonder what they're listening to; I wish I could stop everyone and ask. As for me, I find a good song and listen to it until I find a new one, I have clear evidence of this when I look at my iTunes library play count and see a song with 50+ plays cause I had it on repeat while I sat on a train and stared out the window, just because of the way it made me feel. The song I currently die for is "My Love" by Sia. First of all I love Sia and secondly the song gives me goose bumps and the lyrics make me a little giddy inside cause I know one day I'm going to have this. Here's a video I found, which is nothing official but pretty and includes the lyrics, glad to share.

one step much start each journey

i want to:

• have more nights like last Saturday...
• eat in a new restaurant every week...
• expand my spanish vocabulary...
• have flowers in my room always...
• make a monthly budget and follow it...
• find a way to incorporate the chocolate donut I had today into my diet (dinner?)
• get a sim card for my i4...
• skype with Mya and Jogee...
• call my grandma just to hear her say she loves me and for her to tell me I'm special...
• meet more fun people in Haro that aren't on my team...
• have courage, always...
• make a pineapple coconut cheesecake
• hug someone I love...

because it's Wednesday and I'm smiling

I took this from a blog I read and love: http://myteacupsinpeony.blogspot.com/ and because I can officially say that according to this list I AM fearless:

fearless is not the absence of fear.
it’s not being completely unafraid.
fearless is having fears.
fearless is having doubts. lots of them.
fearless is living in spite of those things that scare you to death.
fearless is falling madly in love again, even though you’ve been hurt before.
it’s fearless to have faith that someday things will change.
fearless is having the courage to say goodbye to someone who only hurts you, even if you can’t breathe without them.
i think it’s fearless to fall for your best friend, even though he’s in love with someone else.
and when someone apologizes to you enough times for things they’ll never stop doing, I think it’s fearless to stop believing them.
it’s fearless to say “you’re not sorry”, and walk away.
i think loving someone despite what people think is fearless.
i think allowing yourself to cry on the bathroom floor is fearless.
letting go is fearless.
then, moving on and being alright…that’s fearless too.
but no matter what love throws at you, you have to believe in it.
you have to believe in love stories and prince charmings and happily ever after.
love is fearless.

summer is over

so here it was:

home after 9 1/2 months and she didn't forget me :)

Anthony turned 21

I partied in San Diego with the Beautifuls

we met Sandra at the finish line of a half marathon in San Diego

partied with some old friends in Vegas and listen to reggae with mom and my old college roomy

I stayed in this little cottage in colorado

we celebrated Father's Day with the kiddos

I spent 2 amazing weeks in Maui with Dave

I felt the pressure of NBA basketball from the scorer's table

I entertained my Czech teammate from France in Vegas

these kids made me smile everyday, even on the days I cried

we caught some stares with our matching shirts throughout Green Valley

I had the chance to reunite with old high school alumni at GVHS

I helped my mom pick out a wig for an 80's party

now I live here, with this smile all the time

my life is...

sleeping with a only a sheet...

nescafe every morning...

sweet sweet nectarines...

red rioja wines...

volley...

complete excitement from receiving emails...

eat, pray, love...

celebrating the virgin de la vega in street markets and fairs...

usa basketball...

missing mya and jogee...

my new black bag...

listening intently, speaking slowly and smiling always...

excitement in my chest from what tomorrow will bring, everyday...

turning every corner and finding something new...

living phone less...

barbecues in the park...

the realization of how blessed I am as I look back over the past 6 months...

good.

happiness is

• getting to see my niece, nephew, and seester this weekend

• spending time with people I love

• living in AMERICA

• getting paid to teach kids volleyball 5 hours a day

• being here in 9 days:

with him:

• getting to spend 9 days in July working for NBA

• maybe living here from July 2010 til April 2011:

Hope everyone has a great week!