Anyone up for a crazy New Year's Eve? I know this is incredibly early, but this plan is so crazy it will take awhile to plan. After talking with a coworker about how great New Year's is in Europe, I thought it would be cool to be there to see it. Then I remembered I have been to Italy for New Year's and that was definitely a crazy experience. Everyone drinking their own bottle of champagne and then throwing it in the air to celebrate?!? Um... yeah I prefer not getting knocked out by flying champagne bottles. Thank you kindly.
Obviously there are several places around the world that look like they have amazing New Year celebrations. So I started forming a plan. Why not be able to knock out two places in one year? How would that be possible?
Wait for it.
By celebrating New Years twice in one year!!! And just a tiny bit of research (i.e. googling) showed that it's possible to be in Tokyo and fly to the west coast in time to ring in a second New Year! Here's what the schedule would look like:
1. Celebrate in Tokyo!
2. Board a flight and take a nice little nap.
3. Land in San Francisco and enjoy round 2!
Oh and to further sell this plan, get ready for this bit of information. Round trip from San Fran to Tokyo... $682!!!! Boom!!! (Also don't be surprised if you see me vacation in Tokyo! I had no idea you could fly there so easily!)
Now I'm still not 100% convinced this will be the two locations I end up celebrating in. There are a few options. On the west coast we have: Seattle, San Fran, LA, oh... and Hawaii (<---- winner!!)!! And in Asia/South Pacific we have: Tokyo, Sydney, Auckland, and Fiji! Personally I would totally be up for a Fiji/Hawaii New Year combo. But that may be just me. I'm up for discussing the details if anyone is interested in joining me!
P.S. Only general flight duration times have been researched, not specific times guaranteeing this plan is foolproof. But that minor detail will get sorted out later. Lol.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Sunday, January 11, 2015
So totally random
I had been planning to write a blog post about really random (but useful) things that I know. But then when I tried to do that I could only think of one really good random fact that other people probably don't know. I don't want to deprive you of that knowledge, so here it is:
Guaranteed Way to Pick a Great Pineapple:
With lots of produce items it's all about checking the firmness of the fruit/veggie. Not the case with the ole pineapple. No sir. You want to pick a great pineapple every time, it's all about the green "leaves" (?... Didn't say i know the technical terms for the parts of the fruits/veggies). If you can easily pull off the green leaves from the center (that last part is important) then the pineapple is ripe and will be delicious! Don't waste your time trying to pull the leaves from the outside, this works only with the leaves in the center. Seriously this tip has never failed me and pineapple has definitely moved up my list of favorite fruits because I always get a good one! You're welcome.
I thought I would have some more of these great tips, but then I realized I don't know what facts I know that other people don't know. Ya know? This isn't the first time I've been in one of these situations. Turns out this also happens when you're asked to describe unique foods from the region you grew up in when you move to a different part of the country. It's hard because I don't know what would be unique for them if it's something I grew up with. Ah life's conundrums!
Anyway... I'll give a few more random and possibly useful facts that I know. Maybe they're not as random as I think, maybe they are!
Guaranteed Way to Pick a Great Pineapple:
With lots of produce items it's all about checking the firmness of the fruit/veggie. Not the case with the ole pineapple. No sir. You want to pick a great pineapple every time, it's all about the green "leaves" (?... Didn't say i know the technical terms for the parts of the fruits/veggies). If you can easily pull off the green leaves from the center (that last part is important) then the pineapple is ripe and will be delicious! Don't waste your time trying to pull the leaves from the outside, this works only with the leaves in the center. Seriously this tip has never failed me and pineapple has definitely moved up my list of favorite fruits because I always get a good one! You're welcome.
I thought I would have some more of these great tips, but then I realized I don't know what facts I know that other people don't know. Ya know? This isn't the first time I've been in one of these situations. Turns out this also happens when you're asked to describe unique foods from the region you grew up in when you move to a different part of the country. It's hard because I don't know what would be unique for them if it's something I grew up with. Ah life's conundrums!
Anyway... I'll give a few more random and possibly useful facts that I know. Maybe they're not as random as I think, maybe they are!
- There's a little arrow next to the gas symbol on your dashboard that tells you what side of the car the gas tank is on. Super handy when you have a rental car!
- Radio stations end only in odd numbers. (Not sure how that's helpful, but it's random)
- Even numbered interstates run east-west and odd numbered ones run north-south.
- Mile markers decrease as you head south or west. Makes for easier judgement of how much farther you have to drive. (I guess I know a lot about traveling. Must mean that I've spent a lot of time driving.)
- Bananas are meant to be opened from what we consider the bottom. If you pinch the bottom they split apart and open easily.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Where did 2014 go?
Happy 2015!!! I can't believe that "the holiday season 2014" is already over! That happened so quickly! Just a quick summary: Thanksgiving was spent in Muncie because of my sister's retail job requirements (aka working on Thanksgiving!). We had a very laid back few days with the highlight possibly being finding all the amazing-ness that is Rural King! (Seriously... you should check that place out! Who knew you could make amazing knock off Auntie Anne pretzels? This things are legit, I promise!) Christmas was a very typical Christmas: family dinner and church on Christmas Eve with my mom's sister, family present time Christmas morning, dad's side on Christmas afternoon, and cross country reunion (year six... whoop whoop!) on the day after Christmas. The random surprise from the Christmas holiday was getting to see a friend before she hopes the pond one last time! Yeah, I have a pretty chill family when it comes to the holidays and I love it.
New Years was different though. My friend suggested meeting up in Nashville for the New Year's Eve bash and of course I wasn't about to miss a trip to one of my favorite places!! So after working a half day on New Year's Eve I took off for Nashville, where I met up with a friend, had some dinner and hit the streets of Nashville to ring in 2015 with Gavin DeGraw and Lady Antebellum! It was a pretty spectacular New Year (evidenced by the following pictures)!
As most people do at the end of a major event (i.e. a year) I did a little reflection of my 2014. I didn't realize that 2014 was really a major year of travel for me! I went to weddings in Mississippi (twice), Chicago suburbs, and Michigan. I went to Las Vegas (twice), Portland, and Denmark for work. I went to Colorado (Denver and Colorado Springs), Key Largo, and Nashville for vacation. And I went to Nashville and Indianapolis to run half marathons. Frequent flyer miles? I think so!
Going hand-in-hand with reflecting on the past year is setting goals for the new year. Now I've tried the resolution route before and I've been less than successful. So this year I'm taking a different approach. Instead of a list of things/goals that I'll probably forget 30 minutes after I write them down, I'm going to have one word defining my actions for the new year. That's a lot of pressure on one word! Alright I know you're dying to know my 2015 word. So here it is... Lauren's word for 2015: commit! That's right! #commit2015 is going to become a huge thing! (Kidding. But seriously...) There's a few changes I want to make and committing to those goals is going to be the only way I can succeed. I don't want to share all of the changes I've been thinking about, but I will give one example. My mom has challenged my sister and I to live a bit healthier. Since weight is an easy measurement, we have a goal that we're each striving for. If we can each hit the goal, we're going to have a little celebration. Committing to that goal! Stay tuned throughout the year to find out some of the other goals I've committed to!
New Years was different though. My friend suggested meeting up in Nashville for the New Year's Eve bash and of course I wasn't about to miss a trip to one of my favorite places!! So after working a half day on New Year's Eve I took off for Nashville, where I met up with a friend, had some dinner and hit the streets of Nashville to ring in 2015 with Gavin DeGraw and Lady Antebellum! It was a pretty spectacular New Year (evidenced by the following pictures)!
As most people do at the end of a major event (i.e. a year) I did a little reflection of my 2014. I didn't realize that 2014 was really a major year of travel for me! I went to weddings in Mississippi (twice), Chicago suburbs, and Michigan. I went to Las Vegas (twice), Portland, and Denmark for work. I went to Colorado (Denver and Colorado Springs), Key Largo, and Nashville for vacation. And I went to Nashville and Indianapolis to run half marathons. Frequent flyer miles? I think so!
Going hand-in-hand with reflecting on the past year is setting goals for the new year. Now I've tried the resolution route before and I've been less than successful. So this year I'm taking a different approach. Instead of a list of things/goals that I'll probably forget 30 minutes after I write them down, I'm going to have one word defining my actions for the new year. That's a lot of pressure on one word! Alright I know you're dying to know my 2015 word. So here it is... Lauren's word for 2015: commit! That's right! #commit2015 is going to become a huge thing! (Kidding. But seriously...) There's a few changes I want to make and committing to those goals is going to be the only way I can succeed. I don't want to share all of the changes I've been thinking about, but I will give one example. My mom has challenged my sister and I to live a bit healthier. Since weight is an easy measurement, we have a goal that we're each striving for. If we can each hit the goal, we're going to have a little celebration. Committing to that goal! Stay tuned throughout the year to find out some of the other goals I've committed to!
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