Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Life is hard. People get taken from us too early with no explanation. Be a good human. You never know what tomorrow holds. We get by with a little help from our friends. "It takes a second to say hello and a lifetime to say goodbye..."

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

The. Olympics.


Olympians have waited and worked tirelessly their entire lives for these 2 weeks of glory.

For which I will gladly and unapologetically be the most anti social person, cancel on engagements and park myself on the couch for these 2 weeks; with olympic sized goosebumps and emotion welling in my heart.

I love the Olympics and absolutely everything about them. The inspiration that comes hand in hand with the games are endless. From the sheer athleticism, to the raw emotion, to the camaraderie created between countries and strangers; it's a beautiful thing watching athletes who have dedicated their lives, made sacrifices not even the common athlete can wrap their head around.

Passion is unleashed after countless hours of practice and training, of the same monotonous moves over and over, on the biggest stage in the world.

And then the feeling of completing their routine/race and how we can see that there was absolutely nothing left they could have given.

I love watching this emotion unfold. It's not planned or premeditated; it is years of hard work kept in check through discipline and sacrifice, that can finally be unleashed, crowned with a medal and showered with tears of joy.

There is not much like it, and it is by far my favorite reality tv show to watch.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Today is World Cancer Day and there isn't a more proud sister out there than me of this little guy who fought the beast, won and shows me every day what standing up again and again when the world is thrown at you is like. My little hero. I love you Sebastian, thank you for inspiring me, always. 

It's SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!!! But I'm in Europe... now what??


Superbowl Sunday, it's not an official holiday in America but let's be honest, we basically treat it like one. There has been a party going on in New York for the past week with streets shut down and games set up and activities to participate in all in support of the upcoming Sunday. There's probably just as much merchandise sold in team paraphernalia for this day to support the teams that rivals decorations sold for Christmas. And every other post on social media is dedicated to something to do with the big day; whether it be the players, the teams, the commercials. If that's not proof enough then I don't know what it is.

And then when 'your' team is a part of this 'holiday', well you might as well call in sick the next day to work because guess what it's party time. All year you've dedicated your emotions, your Sundays, your time, to this team. You've lived the ups and downs, you've laid friendships on the line talking smack; you're in. And it's all been worth it because now you've made it to the day where you can wear as much of the team color as humanly deemed possible, the more the better. Show up in mascot uniform; congratulations you're awesome! High five!

Then there's the food. The infamous Superbowl snacks, the drinks. This day can be considered a holiday because on every other American holiday we justify eating bad because hey, guess what? It's a holiday! I can do what I want! Fried food? Sure, have 8 helpings. Chips and dip for days? Better believe it! We're in the Superbowl man!

This 'holiday' is even great for those who live in the state of the Superbowl team but haven't watched a game all year, but hey the team is from your state, they're you're people. Jump on that bandwagon.
I've been in Europe all year, I used to be an avid sports watcher. Sportscenter was the only channel I watched, I loved everything sports. Then Europe came, and with each passing year my interest has ultimately waned off.

But as soon as I knew my Broncs were on the the tail of the Superbowl, I was back in! Streaming the playoff games at insane hours of the night and cheering like a lunatic alone in my Euro apartment with mu Peyton jersey on. (yes these are real life events)

Being the true red white and blue American that I am, and wanting to share my Americanisms with my Euro world, I planned a watch party. Complete with snacks, drinks and all. I've been looking forward to it all week!

The day finally came, SUPER BOWL SUNDAY FUNDAY!

Then I woke up and I realized I was in Europe and the reality of the situation set in. The game doesn't come on here until midnight. Yes, midnight. That is a whole lot of hours to fill before game time.
What to do, what to do...

Here is my euro guide to Super Bowl Sunday:

Step 1. Sleep in. The later, the better.
Step 2. Make breakfast, try a new recipe. Why not? You're alone, if it fails only your taste buds will know.
I went for eggs and oat/almond flour pancakes. Don't let the image fool you, they really did taste a lot better than they looked! haha
Step 3. It's prime time ski season in Europe. Every Sunday there are great events on in beautiful snow covered destinations. Flip on the tube and do the Euro thing.
Step 4. Clean. Extensively. Like, take everything out of your cupboards and get the beads of quinoa that have collected in the corners, and dust the top of that cupboard that no one ever sees, type of cleaning. You have hours. Go for it.
Pretty sure my apartment has never been cleaner.
Step 5. Laundry. This is a great one if you're Euro living. It takes time; washing, hanging up the clothes, waiting, repeat. Solid couple of hours right there.
Step 6. Sauna. It's Sunday, everything in Europe is closed, except for the sauna. Might as well get a good de toxification in before purging on Super Bowl snack fun.
Step 7. Take a nap. It's going to be a late night. Sleep now.
Step 8. Paint your nails, clean out your email, Skype, catch up with friends. In America they're just waking up and starting their Super Bowl day preparations.. meanwhile you've already checked everything off your list and don't have much left to do but twiddle your thumbs.
Step 9. Make your Puppy Bowl Picks. For all of you that don't know, Animal Planet hosts their own kind of Super Bowl, a Puppy Bowl; before the real big show. Well this is perfect for Euro-Americans, a show before the show, time to kill. Go PUPPIES! Sparky, August and Mandy were on my team this year. They perfrormed just about as well as the Broncos did.. tough day for me.
Step 10. Food/Drink preparation.
Mexican style! Pumpkin homemade tortilla enchiladas compliments of Alyssa with my margaritas and guacamole. We make a good team.
 Step 11. Congratulations! You made it! It's 8pm! Well that would usually be time in America to already be at the infamous half time show, but in Europe you're friends are just starting to roll in and the eating can begin, only 4 more hours till kick off!
My Euro Super Bowl friends :)
We played Phase 10 and cards game while waiting for the game to come on, fun times!!