Wanderlust

I really like looking up places that I want to travel. It's kind of a hobby of mine. I just google the names of random places, things to do in these places, how much plane tickets are. It's really unhealthy of me actually because it makes me want to drop out of school, quit reality and spend all my money. Nevertheless, here is a list of the top 5 places I want to go:

1) Taj Mahal - it was built in the 17th century by Shah Jahan for his wife. This huge white marble structure has dazzled people for ages and I've always wanted to see it in person.

2) Seattle, Washington - this is probably the most realistic on my list. I loved Portland and people have told me Seattle is better. I figure I'll love it, especially because of its plethora of coffee shops!

3) France - Eiffel Tower, anyone? This has been a life goal of mine since I was about 7

4) Sweden - I really want to go with my mom to see where we came from. My aunt and uncle went recently and actually visited with some distant relatives and said it was really great. 

5) Barbados - this is purely for the beaches. 

Crafts, anyone?

Well, yesterday my sister and I spent the evening being crafty. Once we started we couldn't stop! 

For Christmas my sister got a very cute earring holder that I love, so we decided to make our own. We spent all day going to Home Depot (for chicken wire), scrapbook stores (for fun paper), and antique stores (for picture frames). 

This is what we came up with!  

We were planning on just making two but we got really carried away and made 5. 

This is the glass I shattered into my lap.  :-/ 

These are my favorite and probably what I will be putting up in my room at home!

A question I've had for a long time

So, you've heard of Naked juice right? They boast the use of "naked fruits" with no sugar, no preservatives, no anticoagulative agents, no cardboard added. Well, I've had a question that has long plagued my mind that I need your help with. 

If you were sitting around, naked, drinking Naked juice, and you spilled some on yourself, would you be more naked or less naked?

A new favorite

I recently finished reading Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller. It's probably one of my new favorite books. Its everything that I love in a book; travel with some deep thoughts thrown in among random hilarious stories. After I finished I wanted to buy an old VW van, throw some random stuff in the back and drive around the country and settle down somewhere fantastic. Anyone want to join?

I'm Famous.

I'm featured on event coordinator, Liene Steven's blog today. It's called Blue Orchid Designs and lately they have been doing a meet the reader feature. Since I have known Liene for a long time and she knows I blog-stalk her she asked me to participate. :)

Here's the link to my bio: Meet The Readers::Angela

A Capitol Fourth

Well, I completed a life goal of mine this past Friday. I got to spend the 232nd celebration of our nation's independence in Washington DC! 

We started the day off with the 4th of July Parade, which to be honest, was not the most thrilling thing I've ever seen, but hey, it's about the experience, right? :) Then we wandered through the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, featuring Texas, Bhutan and NASA. Don't worry, I didn't understand the connection either. Then we began our search find the perfect spot for fireworks.

Here you can see that we took a break to stand in the World War II Memorial. I couldn't decide if this demoralized the idea of the memorial, but it was really hot outside and others were doing it, so I took my chances.

It rained quite a bit after we finally found our place for fireworks. The rain definitely cooled us off and provided a distraction from the heat. 

After we got settled, the people kept pouring on to the Mall. This picture of the Lincoln Memorial is to give you an idea of the insane amount of people that were there! It was crazy!

And this was our view of the Washington Monument about 100 feet from where we were sitting.

All in all the day was quite an adventure. I loved being around all that history and all the people on such a great holiday. I can't wait to go back sometime for the 4th of July and do it all over again!

Airport observations

As I sit here, at a gate not far from mine, I have carefully thought out some facts about airports. Here is what I have realized:

Pretty much everyone working here is grumpy, or at least seems grumpy, especially when you do something not quite right, like try and wear a pashmina through the xray box. I think all the workers would all be happier if they had spirit days at the airport. For example, luau day or pajama day. How could you be grumpy if you wore your favorite cartoon pants or a lei?

Also, everyone in line at the security checkpoint seems a little distant. They should have mandatory ice breakers in line. Like a back massage line, or the forced laughter game. That would be great.

Coffee is a status symbol. You seem cooler, or more experienced if you have a cup wrapped in a sleeve filled with the nectar of the Gods. I'm going to rebel (even though I LOVE coffee) and start drinking Capri Sun or something equally ridiculous.

I always pray before I get on a plane too. Obviously I throw up a little "keep us safe" prayer. But mostly I focus on things like, put me next to someone that really nice, let there be a good movie to watch, and if I'm feeling bold I pray for an upgrade to first class. Is this awful of me?

Being friendly is totally worth it. Plus it makes your red eye to New York a lot better. 

That being said I'm on my way to BALTIMORE to spend a month hanging out with my sister :D I'm super excited. Expect some super exciting blogs (with pictures included) soon.