Amaretto. Have you wondered where the flavor of Amaretto came from? Well I went to a coffee shop a while back with a co-worker. When I went to sit down and wait for my friend I noticed a bottle of Amaretto flavoring with a picture of apricots. So my little research on Wikipedia:

Amaretto is an Italian sweet almond-flavoured liqueur. It is made from a base of apricot or almond pits, sometimes both. (Side note: over the summer I went to NY with my brother's family. My sister-in-law told me to keep the pits of the apricots we bought at an orchards because within the pit is a seed that tastes pretty good. I got a nut cracker and cracked the pit, the nut wasn't bad).

The legend:
Despite the known history on the introduction and acceptance of almonds into Italian cuisine, more recent takes on the meanings and origins have come about, further popularized by the two major brands. Though of sometimes questionable factuality, these tales hold a sentimental place in Saronno culture.

In 1525, a Saronno church commissioned artist Leonardo Da Vinci and student Bernardino Luini to paint their sanctuary with frescoes.[4] As the church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Luini needed to depict the Madonna, but was in need of a model. He found his inspiration in a young widowed innkeeper, who became his model and (in most versions) lover. Out of gratitude and affection, the woman wished to give him a gift. Her simple means did not permit much, so she steeped apricot kernels in brandy and presented the resulting concoction to a touched Luini.

Silly me but knowing the legend, knowing there is some history behind the flavor, Amaretto makes me more inclined to enjoy it although rarely since I don't drink.

I went today to get an oil change. I got there at 7:30am in hopes that there wouldn't be many cars before mine. I was in luck, or not. It just so happens that they ran out of my filter and I had to wait for one to be sent to this location. I brought a book but after 1.5 hrs and maybe the cold air I became impatient. No surprise for anyone who knows me. I complained to the worker manning the desk. Well, in the holiday spirit when he asked me to come up to the desk to sign the paper, and informed me there would be no charge today since I had to wait so long. That kinda made my day, saved myself $20. What a holiday surprise!

If you are going to mop, please clean out the mop after you've come out of the bathroom and please change your water. Such a random request so I will give you my background. At work the housekeeping will mop up the whole unit with the same bucket of water and by the time they are finished the water is sooo filthy and it smells like crap everywhere. Literally. Then again at the car service this morning, mopped the bathroom and came out and mopped the rest of the sales floor; public bathrooms are the worst. I tred very lightly when I left.

Have you ever read a book and felt so engrossed in the book, the characters, the story that when you put it down you felt lonely, and sad? It was almost like having your best friend move away. There are a few series of books I have an attachment to: Anne of Green Gables Series, Wizard of Oz Series, The Work & the Glory, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Harry Potter. I have a decade of love for the Potter series. I can't believe it has been that long. I remember so clearly how it all started. It was my Christmas break Freshman year at BYU, My mom had bought my brother this book series that was suppose to be good, the first 3, to encourage him to read. I picked it up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and finished the 3 books a week later. From that moment on I have been at all the midnight movies, or book releases. I cried in books 5,6, & 7.

Lovin the South

I'm a planner. I plan things. I want to do things so instead of waiting around for someone else to spontaneously think to do something I plan it. It isn't really a good quality because when things don't go as planned it is disappointing for me. SD & I planned on going on a cruise for 6 months. We talked about possibly going on a road trip prior to that so we both had an idea of where we wanted to go and had the exact opposite plans. Awesome!

1.) Asheville, NC Loved this place. Great downtown, restaurants, scene. SD has a friend who lives there so we stayed with him. He met us in the afternoon and gave us the 5 hour tour. He works seasonally at a resort and we went there to watch the sunset and see the place. As we walked through the resort we stopped by the spa, what would be like to sit around in a robe waiting for one treatment or another.







2.) Gatlinburg & The Smokies Initially the idea was to stay with a friend and go to Dollywood but I found out the day before that Dollywood was closed in preparation for the Holidays. I was totally bummed. But it we had a marvelous time despite the change in plans. We rode into Gatlinburg, The Gateway to the Smokies. We went on a little hike, and then rode up the tram at the mountain top resort. What is most memorable about this night is our attempt to go to a small town restaurant. We called the place to get directions, she told us to go Right. We went til the pavement ended, through the windiest road, deep in the the forest and we kept going hoping we'd hit the place thinking the lady was smart enough to give us accurate directions. I was so pissed off and was just gonna eat a PB&honey sandwich but we stopped at a convenience store that was serving dinner at 10PM. Small town places close at 9PM so we considered ourselves lucky.





3.) Nashville, TN It was a beautiful city. I really loved it through the pouring rain. I didn't let the rain stop me from sightseeing. We walked around the Grand Ol' Oprey which was almost washed away recently (the mall and the museum were), the District, and the River Front (which you could see the stadium from the pedestrian bridge), and the Parthenon. I wasn't going to miss seeing a life size replica of the Parthenon at Centennial Park. We had the best BBQ at Jack's (really good BBQ sauce too)on Honky Tonk row. We drove through one of the more prominent neighborhoods in Nashville. The next morning we went to the Dukes of Hazard Museum, Love Circle (an overlook of Nashville), and the Bellemead Plantation.






4.) Memphis, TN From what we saw of Memphis the city seemed really ghetto.

A pyramid in Memphis; the Parthenon in Nashville. huh...

Beale St. is suppose to be the most lively at night but for us it was dull. Maybe we hit the street a few hours early, or their must have been a game on that night or something.


We rode the trolley through town and a few different locals took it upon themselves to give a little tour of the city while we were on the trolley. It was great, a free tour! I was amazed at how friendly everyone was.
I thought Memphis BBQ would be amazing. Rendezvous was recommended by several sources but after we licked the BBQ off the bones, meaning there was no meat, we decided that Jack's in Nashville was soooo much better.



National Civil Rights Museum
At Riverfront Park we viewed the most amazing sunset. It was awww inspiring (is that how you say that?)





Graceland redeemed Memphis. We listened to some Elvis on the way into town to prep ourselves. I didn't know when we bought our tickets what a special treat was in store for us. Elvis did what he wanted, dressed, acted, helped people, was very generous, kind, and man he was a heartthrob. I understand now why women of all ages love him. The house was so cool. One room was called the Jungle room. It had green carpet on the floor, walls, ceiling, a indoor fountain, eccentric furniture. There were several museums after the house tour, automobile, jet, the fashion king. He really set a new fashion trend for the white folk.






Sun Studios were it all began!


5.) New Orleans, LA the 'Who Dat?,' capital

Cemetery #1

Camping at the KOA. Hotels were $75 cheapest so we decided we weren't going to pay that so we really went with the original plan this time. We put up the tent with the wrong poles, that SD brought from home, and camped.
After getting the campsite ready we made our way back to town, we parked, and first off hit a Pralines store. We bought a variety of those sugary treats, the rum, coconut variety were the best. Then we walked the street a little ways and ended up watching some street performers by Jackson Square. I got distracted by the bags of beignets that everywhere was carrrying so we left. Beignets are tasty fried dough pieces rolled and covered in powered sugar. It was a delightful experience. I hate to admit it but I think that we went 4-5 times in the few days that we were in New Orleans.

French Quarter with hanging flower baskets, wrought iron ballastrands, and weddings processions.
Jackson Square with street performers, palm readers, and people selling their arts.


Went to movie Life as We Know it, because we didn't want to go back to the campsite so early and freeze our butts off

We attended the First Baptist Church. We sang a lot is really all that I remember about it. Worship by song, prayer, and....don't remember the last one.

Garden District. Instead of walking through the streets because there was so many of them we drove through every street. Stopping to take pictures of the homes we really like or just to stare at how beautiful they were.

Other highlights:
Muffeletta Sandwich...sooo good.
Life Jazz at Cafe Beignet
Haunted History Tour of French Quarter

The airboat tour we initially had signed to go up on had boat trouble and wasn't going out til the afternoon ride. We tried to book another tour but with traffic, and the distance we barely missed it. The lady was nice enough to let us hop on a Swamp tour for free.


We drove across the longest bridge on the Nation


6.) Atlanta, GA
Christian was so nice to have us stay with him. We arrived so much later than anticipated because I had us starting the day in Biloxi (which I had planned on staying there with a friend) and then I didn't account for crossing time zones again.
One of the oldest Krispy Kreme shops


Aquarium. My highlight was seeing the whale shark.



Coke Factory. Loved the intro movie. I made myself ill in the tasting room. The Italian beverage Beverely is grusome. I wanted and felt like I was going to vomit after I tried it.


CNN tour.

Westin Hotel at night gave a beautiful view of the city. Apparently it is the tallest hotel in the nation.
We had a snack at the largest drive-in, The Varsity.

Christian took me to eat at an great BBQ restuarant which I tried Brunswick stew.
Before leaving town the following morning we took a hike at Stone Mountain.


7.) Orlando, FL
A visit with Bethany and Jake.
Introduction to Jeremiah's for some gelatti, and more delicious BBQ at a place I can't remember.

Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. Harry Potter Wizaring world. Butterbeer was fantastic! Pumpkin juice was delicious. Hogsmeade was great! And Hogwarts was so awesome.



I can't forget the Jazz vs. Magic game which the Jazz won. Dwight Howard is a man I could stare at all day, especially his arms.


to be continued for the Cruise

Thanksgiving

I just returned from my month long trip. I visited 7 states, drove 4500 miles and went on a cruise. I was debating where I would be for Thanksgiving, whether I wanted to be on the road somewhere or home. Once I decided I was going to come home, I then tossed around the idea of going to a restaurant for and taking myself out to a movie. Why would I want to spend the day alone? I hate when single adults conglomerate food, which doesn't take that good usually, and I wanted something tasty. But I was persuaded by my friend that Thanksgiving isn't just about good food but friendship and the people you share it with. OK. So I sent a message to Shannon to see if she was still up for having me over.

I pulled up to my house around 10PM, and unloaded my car. I'm back. Strange coming home to a place that isn't going to home for very much longer.

Thanksgiving Day! I hit the gym. Ran bout 5 miles. Lifted weights. Showered. Visited a friend I haven't seen in 2 months. He just returned from India, Nepal, and Bengledash. Awesome pictures and stories. Dyed my hair. Made my peas. Headed over to Shannon's. I enjoyed the company. We played White Elephant Bingo. Sang songs while Bill and Shannon played the guitar. Good times.






The table setting was beautiful, very FALL. Shannon put so much effort into the presentation, and the cooking.




Come to find out Shannon has never cooked a Turkey before. Not bad for her first one.


I can't describe how grateful I am for my family. I was raised with a conscience, things are very black and white to me. I am aware of the possibilities greatness, and beauty. I was raised with the knowledge of a Savior and Redeemer who has given me life. I am fortunate to have an appreciation for the simple things. I am free to choose. I love. I can't wait to be with my family again. My friendships hold the same bonds as my family. I couldn't forget to mention all my wonderful, amazing, and inspiring friends.