I ♥ family

I know what you are all thinking - it's about freaking time Sherrie starts updating the blog (keep scrolling too...have posted stuff previous to this posting)!! I have been very busy and have lots to update with...so hopefully today and over the next few days there will be loads and loads of new posts! These pictures have been continually stacking up to be posted (yes, for the last 5 months or so), so I am going to finally post them!

This was one of the weekend I came home to visit from DC - graduation weekend last May

Like nephew, like aunt!


Jessica's ballet recital this past summer


Janell and Chris' Wedding this past summer. Janell may be one of six cousins my age, but I'm lucky to get a long with all my cousins really well, especially those of us that are the same age. The three girls, me, Julie, and Janell have stayed especially close. We frequently get together and are the best of friends, which I am so grateful for!! Janell and I have become even closer the past few years through different similar life experiences - dating being one of them! We have both been through our ups and downs, but so happy she and Chris finally tied the knot! I really enjoy having Chris around (especially since he allows me to frequently kidnap his wife), even if he is annoying when BYU beats my team at football. I'll let Janell keep him :)










We meant to get pedicures or AT LEAST repaint our toes before the wedding...looks like we had time, eh!?! haha


Grandma's Birthday dinner


Happy birthday to my big brother. I sure do love him! Wish I could see more of him and Heather and my cute little nephew!! So fun to be with them though when I do get to see them.




I have a baby Hitler nephew and the nerdiest sister...she says she learns it from me!


I was at Janell's a couple weeks ago and stole a bunch of pictures from her from over the years...so here are a few old school pictures that I loved!

Julia's wedding back in 2004

Me and Janell at the Tim McGraw concert


Shopping in Park City, UT and Holi Krishna


The Family Christmas Party 2008 with Janell and Paul

A Powerful Truth

Violence against women and girls continues unabated in every continent,
country and culture. It takes a devastating toll on the lives of women, on their families and on society as a whole. Most societies prohibit such violence – yet the reality is that too often, it is covered up or tacitly condoned.
– United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

This is a really great link, please, please go to it and listen!! Being aware can be so powerful!! Wish I could do more in this world to help!

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/08/20/magazine/kristof-audioss/index.html?tham=&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=a3

I can't wait to read the book that touches on these stories...Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn. Please visit their site and spread the word!!

http://www.halftheskymovement.org/
Half the Sky lays out an agenda for the world's women and three major abuses: sex trafficking and forced prostitution; gender-based violence including honor killings and mass rape; maternal mortality, which needlessly claims one woman a minute.

Summer through Fall Randoms

Alright, here is the update summer through fall, minus the dance trip! I will post some slide-shows when I get around to making them!
One of my old roommates from my semester in Romania was in town, so the few of us that were all in Utah at the moment got together to see her. I love, love these girls! It still amazes me whenever I get with these girls that one semester abroad, four months that made such a huge impact on each of our lives in one way or another, could have brought the ten of us so close together; girls that probably would not have been friends in any other situation. We all have such extremely different personalities, but all have a base and passion for life and humanity. I have some of the best memories in my life with these girls (plus the 6 that aren't pictured).


A weekend with Clog America! This summer Clog America hosted our first International Folk Dance Festival. It was small and quaint, but we all had a good time! Alex and Kyle, our videographers from tour this past summer came into town from San Francisco, which was a lot of fun to see them too!!



My D go married! This is the only picture I have from Derek's wedding, the other is of me and D hiking Machu Picchu. Derek and I have been friends since we were 4! We fell out of touch a few times when he moved in the 8th grade - became reacquainted in high school after randomly bumping into each other at a mutual friend's house and then again after a random encounter at the gas station in Bountiful years later. We have since stayed in touch and he's one of my really good friends.


Oh my poor car! Pobrecito! This car has been so great...hopefully it can get me through a few more months, at least!

NOV 25: International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

"We must unite. Violence against women cannot be tolerated, in any form, in any context, in any circumstance, by any political leader or by any government.

The time to change is now. Only by standing together and speaking out can we make a difference."

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

The month of October was Domestic Violence Awareness month. I had this to post and never did...but since it is important, I am still posting. However, today, the 25th is International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Since this is all along the same lines, I felt even more justified in posting it :)

Women aged 15-44 are more at risk from rape and domestic violence than from cancer, motor accidents, war and malaria, according to World Bank data. Domestic violence is such a sad and tragic event that is unnecessary.



Besides it being Domestic Violence Awareness month, October is also awareness month for SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and Breast Cancer.



Domestic violence touches the lives of Americans of all ages, leaving a devastating impact on women, men, and children of every background and circumstance. A family's home becomes a place of fear, hopelessness, and desperation when a woman is battered by her partner, a child witnesses the abuse of a loved one, or a senior is victimized by family members. Since the 1994 passage of the landmark Violence Against Women Act, championed by then Senator Joe Biden, our Nation has strengthened its response to this crime and increased services for victims. Still, far too many women and families in this country and around the world are affected by domestic violence. During National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we recommit ourselves to ending violence within our homes, our communities, and our country.
During this month, we rededicate ourselves to breaking the cycle of violence.

-Barrack Obama

i want it gone. all gone.

This post may seem shocking, as I don't often open up much about some of my deep wishes, desires and hopes when it comes to love or relationships. However, a friend of mine introduced me to this new blog and I am obsessed! I really love it! It's all about love and relationships - all types - with friends, family members and significant others. I came across this posting though...and for a minute I couldn't help but think about my ex. How many times I have wanted SO badly to just push a delete button - delete all those unwanted memories of all the awful things...and sadly, even of all the good things, cause then you can not ever miss that person. It may sound cold, but I think most people that have ever fallen in love and experienced an intense, horrible, and emotional breakup, it makes perfect sense.
I am not saying that I'm not grateful for the way things ended up and definitely do not sit around pouting, wishing things would have worked out differently. However, the thought occasionally crosses my mind - what life would be like had I married him. I wish I could say that it doesn't, but it does, I can't help it. That's all. I am happy with how life is though. I have a lot going for me and things always work out the way they need to.
Here is part of the posting from the site (and no, I'm definitely not trying to say that I'm still in love with the ex-fiance or think about him that much...this just made me think about it for a minute and since this blog is like a "journal" for me, I'm posting it):


Love is hurting me again,
Love is making me cry again.
It's aching in places that didn't ache before.

I say quietly to myself, Please.. Please let me be. Please stop hurting me.
The pain will eventually fade, but the next night, it haunts me again.

Sometimes I wish that there were such magical device like from the movie (Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind). Where you can erase the entire memory of one person you wish to delete. Like deleting his picture from your computer. Permanently. Even if that person made a big impact in your life, even for a short period of time, like. I want it gone. All gone. Unrequited love is the most cruelest love out there. I'm in love, all alone. It's been a year since we broke up, of course I'm all alone, what am I thinking? Sorry it's the love gas talking. But it's so strange to be in it all by myself. If he was still in love like I am, he'll be back right? He would tell me, wouldn't he? Here's the thing: Why do we question love? Love should be blunt and straight forward. If he loves you, he'll come back. He'll come back.... Or am I bullshitting myself? There goes the question mark again. I need to get myself out of this loop. I'm in love with a man who doesn't even keep in touch with me anymore. I'm in love with a guy who, I'm pretty sure, doesn't think about me on a daily basis like I do with him.

Only because I miss the guy who wouldn't let me get off the phone until he fell asleep.
Only because I miss the guy who was willing to drive 2 hours to come see me.
Only because I miss the guy who told me he loved me first and blushed like a little boy.
Only because I miss the guy who told me he wanted to be with me forever.
Only because he assured me that long distance won't stop him from loving me, that, "I can do it. Don't you worry about that."
The list goes on and on..

That's why I'm here still drowning in that love.
It never left me.
So now I'm alone in love.
I tell myself, "It didn't work for a reason. It's been a year. You've got to move on."
But I always lose that arguement with myself.
I'm lost in love.

The past couple months have been the darkest days of my life. The time is only stretching more and more. And I'm still where I started. The walking wounded.

The unrequited love.
Doesn't matter how many drinks you have with your girlfriends. Because you still go to bed going over every detail, the what if's, the why's, that time you told him "Long distance is hard, I've tried it. I'm not willing to go through it again if you don't think you'll be able to handle it." He reponded with, "Don't worry. I love you too much." and like an idiot, I believed him. Sometimes you even convince yourself that he'll see the light and drive 2 hours to show up at your door.
I'm still waiting for little pieces of my soul to fall back into place. But how much longer? Does time really heal all wounds? Seems like time isn't on my side on this one..

It's been so long since I've seen you (heart pounding)
I miss you so much (throat thickening)
But I need the little pieces of my soul back, however long that may be (absolutely can't swallow)

- Anonymous.


the danger of a broken heart is not the pain.
not the tears, or anger.
not the ache, not the loneliness,
not the quiet, the empty seat, the bed now much too big.

the danger of a broken heart is what we have to repair it with.
mistrust, hopelessness, faux comfort.
independence.
the oaths we take. what we swear to ourselves.
the danger is self-reliance.

the danger is that these stitches in our heart don't fall out.
that they are there to stay.
because they must.

the danger is that we know it isn't about love anymore.
and,
it isn't about how perfect we are in our world.
it's about how perfect we are in theirs.

the danger is that two became one.
and a half of one...
well.

half is not whole.

but now we must make it so.

-lauren

Cartagena and Taganga

We finally got into Cartagena around noon after the 14-hour ride - in an ice box, may I add. Cartagena is an amazing city where the book and movie “Love in the time of Cholera” takes place. We had a crazy taxi driver who talked a million miles an hour and didn’t pronounce all of his consonants - he was very difficult for me to understand, but sure had some hilarious stories! We laughed most of the 20-minute taxi ride with him.
We stayed right in the heart of the colonial district in Cartagena, which was absolutely magnificent. The city has such a romantic atmosphere and contains some buildings that are hundreds of years old. We took a stroll through the old colonial streets where the Scarlett and I took advantage of the shopping vendors and bought some clothes and paintings. Scott took advantage of the Botero paintings being sold by a lady at a little coffee shop and bought the Mona Lisa, which is a depiction of her as if she were about 50 pounds heavier - perfect for Scott's mantle :) We had an amazing dinner that night, which was WAY too cheap for how yummy it was! We ended the night at a nice little cafe for dessert, which was beyond words!









The next morning we went on a tour to a small volcano, Volcano de Lodo el Totumo, which is filled with warm, gray mud and is located about 40 minutes outside of the city. We spent a decent amount of time drifting into a hippo-like state in the mud and got some nice mud massages. Being in the muddy area was the weirdest sensation! It felt like walking in pudding, but we couldn’t feel the bottom or even sink, and if you could get your legs down at all, it was thinner, slimier and a bit rockier - aka kinda gross! I chose to just skim along the top, which is about all we could do anyway. The volcano was so full of people that it was hard to get around, but definitely worth the experience!
After our mud bath, they send you to wash off in the lake next to the volcano. One word - NASTY! I'm sorry but having the three of us all with our master's degree in public health, all any of us could think about were all the water-borne diseases that were making their way into our bodies (which later, I did find a nasty red worm in my bathing suit and about lost it!). I'm sure we were quite comical for any of those around us though. As the old women from the community had us remove our bathing suits and washed us down, all Scarlett and I could do was look at each other and continue to say, "Keep your legs shut, keep your legs shut! All the nasty ones make their way up the urethra!" haha See what I am saying? Entertaining, I'm sure!
We then got back in the bus to leave, but unfortunately we didn't make our way anywhere too quickly. Our bus driver backed into a car. We ended up spending about an hour waiting as they fixed the situation. After which, we went to the beach and swam while they fixed a fish lunch for us.
A little more info about the volcano and why it is the way it is: Rising 15 metres from the ground like an oversized anthill, El Totumo is a classic example of a messy mud volcano that has been created by natural gases emitted by decaying organic matter underground. As the mud is pushed upwards by the gas, it deposits and hardens above ground. As more mud oozes out and spills over the edge, it grows in size and gradually forms what you can see today - a miniature volcano with a rich, creamy mud crater at the top.







After cleaning up, which took quite some time (and I'm pretty sure Scott still had mud coming out of his ears the rest of the trip), we went to a church up on a hill overlooking the city. This church took the place of where the Indians used to worship a goat. It was a beautiful view of Cartagena's new and old city. I also got to hold the CUTEST little sloth ever! Now, I know what you all may be thinking - GROSS!! Had I known what I know now about sloths, I would not have held him. Period. However, he was so cute and cuddly and I do have to say that Scarlett and I, despite the fact that moths lay their eggs in sloths fur and they are one of the dirtiest animals on the planet, we still want a sloth farm! Scarlett has a picture with the same sloth from last time she visited Cartagena a few years ago and I always found him adorable whenever I looked at the picture on her desktop. We will keep our sloths on our farm nice and clean though :) And yes, I'd take one of these suckers ANY day over a dog!!





We didn't get to see much else since it was a Sunday evening and everything was closed. However, after strolling around the city for a bit - watched the sunset at the beach and checked out the old slave-holding area, which have been converted into little shops - we ate at the fanciest Italian restaurant, which had fantastic food and great atmosphere instead. We ate by candlelight...awe how romantic! haha It was excellent and only $10. After dinner, we went for dessert in the town square on cobblestone streets surrounded by lanterns. Two guys played guitars and serenaded a couple by us and then a group of local kids were street performers did some typical Colombian and Afro Colombian dancing. The people who live in the north are descendants of slaves and had some great moves. We had a great time telling embarrassing stories and laughing. What a great day we had!






June 15 - Taganga and Jews: Grabbed a taxi to the bus station tohead out of Cartagena. Our driver's name was Franklin and he was really interested in what Utah was like and asked us to send him pictures. We also discussed the origins of reggaeton. We then grabbed some empanadas and fruit juice and hopped on our bus - Santa Marta found! When we got to Santa Marta, we took a taxi to Taganga to our hostel, Divanga. There was a nice swimming pool, hammocks, and an awesome restaurant there. Scott and I went to the beach while Scarlett hung out in the hostel because she wasn’t feeling well.
This was such an interesting town, where many of the bars have signs in Spanish and Hebrew. Apparently, lots of Israelis come to this town after serving their mandatory military service. So Scott fit right in. It wasn’t the prettiest beach and it was more desert than tropical, but overall had a really cool feel with a laid-back lifestyle. As you walk through the dirt streets, there are houses with elaborate speaker systems set up in front of their small homes, playing salsa and meringue songs at disco-tech volume (of course competing to see who can get it the loudest), while sitting around talking with friends and family. I am surprised that most people aren’t deaf there. I loved the Afro-Colombian culture in Northern Colombia - they are incredibly kind.




June 16th - Snorkeling and Beaching it in Taganga: Poor Scarlett woke up sick with a sore throat, but after some medicine and a nap by the pool in the hammock, she was feeling well enough to be a trooper and we took a boat ride to a beach that you could only get to by boat (even with how much she hates the Ocean and beaches). We had a good time at our private little beach; such a good time that Scott ended up a little red lobster for our flight home (poor guy!) cause he forgot to put on more sunscreen. Scott and I were able to take an under-water adventure for a cheap $10. Snorkeling is always amazing to me to be able to see all the cool things under water (kinda creepy too though).
We then went back to the hostel and swam in the pool to get all of the salt water out of all of our crevices and noses. We got fresh blackberry juice and listened to the Rastafarian skinny black bar tender with dreadlocks (which I had a slight crush on - something about being a foreigner and the dreads I think!) sing to Motown, rap and Alanis Morissette while he made our drinks and while we waited for our food. Definitely the epitome of cool with his dreads and carefree attitude. He may have smoked a little too much pot though (however, this is Colombia we speak of! hehe) because it takes either a real confident person or slightly high person of any gender to sing like that with Alanis. We all laughed pretty hard as he wailed away with her high-pitched tones.






Ahhh...I love Colombia!!