Disneyland Recap

Guess which of these things happened at Disneyland this week!

1. I overspent my budget by $150.
2. I went on Splash Mountain 3 times in a row with Kimball.
3. I ate cookies for dinner one night.
4. Kate pooped all over me.
5. We waited in line for 45 minutes to go on Peter Pan, even waiting while it was broken down.
6. I got pink flowers painted all over my face at the Princess Fantasy Faire and walked around with my face painted all day.
7. I had a blast running around to rides and activities with Tony, Melissa, Megan, Logan, Kimball and Kate.
8. I had breakfast with Minnie and friends.
9. I was so tired on the plane ride home I sprawled out across 3 seats and went to sleep.
10. All of the above.

If you said, "All of the above" you are right. We had such a great time. This is my 3rd Disneyland trip with my brother and his family. Now the kids are big enough to go on most of the rides. (Nice job, Logan, knowing how to work the 40 inches requirement with your hat on!) The only thing the little kids couldn't do was the Indiana Jones ride so we did some fancy swapping with the adults. Megan was very brave this time too.

Disneyland was all decked out for Christmas even though it was 70 degrees. We loved seeing the characters and the parades and going on the rides. Here are a few choice photos:















A little worn out but ready to watch the fireworks above the castle.



















With the always fabulous and entertaining Captain Hook!

In honor of Grandpa Naccarato

On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked and my Grandpa Naccarato was there on the USS St. Louis. According to an article in the Deseret News dated December 7, 1968, my grandfather recalls, "'That we were missed by torpedos and other fire was undoubtedly due to the skillful handling of our ship. I remember the ship's dash down the channel as it zig-zagged violently...In the mind's eye of every man on the ship, a torpedo was headed our way.'"

Grandpa died when I was 15 years old so I never got to ask more about the stories from Pearl Harbor. One thing I do have from grandpa is the collection of coins he had from all the countries he visited while in the Navy. I love getting the coins out and looking at them to remember all the places he'd been.

My Grandpa Naccarato was very loving and very patient (he had to have been to live with my grandmother!) He wore dentures and used to entertain us by flipping them out with his tongue and then smiling with his teeth sticking out. Grandpa always smelled like cigarettes and Listerine. In fact whenever I smell Listerine, I still think of him.

Grandpa used to love to take us to the airport to watch the airplanes take off from the observation area. (I don't think you can do this anymore.) Whenever we stayed with my grandparents we always knew we'd get to go see the airplanes and I think he enjoyed it as much as we did.

Grandpa was always a hard worker. He spent most of his life working at Jordan Meat (which no longer exists) in Salt Lake. He spent the last years of his life working for Salt Lake City Water.

Love you, grandpa and thinking of you today!

36 Hours in Washington DC can change your life

I just got back from a very fast trip to Washington DC. I left Denver in a snow storm on Thursday and the flight was an hour late. My good friend Leslie picked me up in Baltimore and we went to meet Leslie's husband Tom and our mutual friend Bridget for dinner. We had a great time at dinner catching up on life and reminiscing about all our election monitoring experiences. (That's how we all know each other.) After dinner we hung out at Leslie and Tom's place for awhile. Leslie and Tom graciously offered me their spare bedroom for the night.















The next morning I was off to the State Department at 6:00 a.m. to take the Foreign Service oral exam. Tom walked me to the metro and somehow I managed to find my way to the building I was trying to get to with only a few wrong turns.

Ever since I was 16 I have wanted to join the Foreign Service. In order to get in you have to pass a series of very hard and exhausting tests. I took the written portion back in March and then I was invited to take the oral exam. I paid my own way to DC and took vacation time from work. I tried this several years ago and went to Chicago to take the test but I did not pass. At that time I decided that I'd try it again.

The exam was a full day with a group exercise, writing exam and personal interview. You are being watched and evaluated at every moment. It's very stressful. At the end of the day they tell you if you passed or not. Around 4:00 I was called into a room with 2 other candidates and we were told that we passed.

I was in total shock. My dream is one step closer to coming true! We received lots of congratulations and well-wishes from the evaluators and then got down to business. There are no guarantees that I'm "in" just yet. I have to pass security and medical clearances and then I go on a "list" ranked by my score. My score is okay but I can earn extra points for language. I guess I know what I'm going to be doing for the next 2 months...Russian immersion. My Russian is so bad that it will take a lot of work to get it back to the point that I could pass a test.

It's so awesome to have made it this far on the journey. The process may be about a year and a half but at least I feel like I'm on my way. So now I wait.

I navigated my way back to the metro and Union Station to catch a train to Baltimore. I was pretty proud of myself for being able to do that while I was in a state of shock AND trying to text message everyone in my phone on the way.

Stay tuned...

Salsa Central Denver Holiday Party

Last night Salsa Central Denver held its annual holiday party. There was lots of yummy food, great dancing and, of course, my cool salsa friends. Dancing is so much fun and I am becoming a little bit better at cha cha each week. Here are my cool friends (the ones I spent Thanksgiving with).

Thankful for Friends

This is the first Thanksgiving I have missed being with my family in 13 years. Last time I was away was when I was on my mission.

I decided not to take a trip to Utah for Thanksgiving this year because I wasn't sure how the election would go and if I'd need to stay here anyway. Plus, I have a few trips coming up next week and then an extended stay with the family at Christmas.

Today I am very grateful to have friends here in Denver who were kind enough to invite me over. In fact, I had two dinners. Aerie (friend from church) and Santosh had a few of us over and after dinner we played games. Then I headed out to Jason and Theresa's house for fried turkey and smoked turkey that they did themselves in their backyard. This gathering consisted of our little group of salsa friends.

I feel very blessed, thankful and taken care of today even though I missed seeing my family. I am looking forward to some fun, relaxation and cleaning the next few days.

Happy 150th Birthday, Denver

Yesterday the museums were free in celebration of Denver's 150th birthday. I took advantage of the opportunity to go to the Colorado History museum because I had never been before. They had a special exhibit about Denver's 150 year history. It included everything from life in the old west (saloons, brothels, etc.) to the historic neighborhoods, to John Elway.

I was impressed with the rest of the museum which had lots of mining tools and mining exhibits detailing the booms and busts Colorado has experienced over the years. There was quite a bit of information about the Native Americans who lived and still live in Colorado. My favorite exhibit was the detail about the 10th Mountain Division who trained in the Rocky Mountains for wintertime combat during WWII. They fought a campaign in the mountains of Italy during the war. I enjoy learning about WWII and it was a story I was unaware of until yesterday.

It was a warm, sunny fall day and lots of people came out to attend the free events. Just one more reason I like living in Colorado!

Blessed to have served with...

One of the things I like about being a member of the LDS church is the opportunity to serve and get to know people that you might not otherwise get to know. I had such an experience serving the Relief Society presidency in my ward here in Denver.

Stacey, Becky and I served together as a Relief Society presidency for about a year and half. Lots of things were hard about this calling but we became good friends. Stacey and her husband moved to New Mexico about 2 1/2 years ago and today they came back to visit. I was surprised to see their family and shed a few tears of joy from the very brief reunion. I sometimes forget how much I love the people with whom I serve and how strong those bonds can be, even when you are not serving together anymore.

There's nothing like a difficult calling to create a bonding experience. (A shout out to Evonne, too!) As with most service opportunities, you think you are giving service but it turns out you are really the one being served by those who are working with you. I just need to remember this DURING the calling and not years later.

Luckily I had my camera in the car and captured the moment on film!

Relegated to the role of pig

Ever since I had my early morning seminary kids act out the good Samaritan story, they now want to act out everything. Yesterday we talked about the prodigal son and the first thing they wanted to do at 6:00 a.m. this morning was act it out.

One of my students assigned everyone a part. I was told to play the part of the pig in the stall where the prodigal son ended up getting his food. So there I am supporting my seminary kids by sitting on the floor snorting like a pig. They video-ed the play on their cell phones so as soon as one of them (and someone will) puts it up on You Tube, I'll add a link.

I don't know why the sudden interest in acting out the scripture stories. All I know is when they are acting they are awake and sometimes that is the best we can do. After the prodigal son, there was a very rowdy performance of the ten lepers.

First free weekend in 3 months!!

What will I do with my first free weekend in 3 months? Certainly not anything fun! I have too much cleaning to do.

1. Recycle a month's worth of newspapers



















2. Put away my clothes hanging in the guest bathroom for several weeks.













3. Organize my seminary stuff that has been on my living room floor since August.













4. Try to put everything neatly back into the storage closet (dismantled after mom and grandma left in August).



















5. Make a trip to the Goodwill!

My Buddy Max

My friend Max is in town from London. He is actually an Elections Commissioner for the United Kingdom and wanted to come and observe our process in Colorado. I got him hooked up with some of the counties here, including mine.

Max and I were partners in Shkodra Albania in 2005. It was his first mission and my fourth. He was a great partner and we stayed up all night watching them count votes at our counting center. He survived on Red Bull and Mars Bars. I survived on sheer force of will.

Then when I was in Albania last time as a Long Term Observer, he was assigned to my group. It's funny that we see each other about every two years. I brought him a welcome to Colorado gift--a 4 pack of Red Bull.

We met for dinner last night and then he stopped by our office today to observe our process.

Pre-Election Musings from an Elections Official

Does anyone else have a pile of mail that looks like this? This is from the last TWO DAYS ONLY.
And I voted a week ago!















If you vote on Tuesday, please thank the people who are working at the polls. I have worked elections since 1998 and I can tell you that it's a thankless job.

I have spent the last 3 weeks of my life working my butt off almost around the clock to make democracy work in my small corner of the world. I chose this profession because I believe in what I do. I don't get paid well, I work long hours, and I sacrifice my personal time because the work behind the scenes has to be done.

Unfortunately over the last 3 weeks I have also experienced being yelled at, verbally abused, accused of disenfranchising people, and being lied to by people who want to vote but failed to meet deadlines. Is it too much to ask of a person to say "you have to register on time in order to vote" or "you have to fill out a registration form in order to vote"? It's so easy to participate in democracy but people fail to take responsibility and then they blame the government for denying them their rights. Part of democracy and voting means taking responsibility.

On the brighter side this week, I have seen people wait in line for 2 1/2 hours to vote. They were patient, friendly and excited and seemed to wear their wait time "war stories" as a badge of honor. I have had voters say "thank you" when we have gone above and beyond the call of duty to help them and accommodate them. I have watched first time voters come in so excited to vote that they have to announce to everyone that they are a first time voter. These are the times when I have to remind my self that the system, however flawed sometimes, actually works.

Both my grandfathers fought in WWII and my dad fought in Vietnam. I was raised with the belief that our country is good and that democracy is worth fighting for. This is why I do what I do. So yes, if you can vote, thank a veteran. But also, thank the election workers you meet on Tuesday. They will appreciate your gratitude.

Good Samaritans?

Today in Seminary we acted out the story of the Good Samaritan. I let my kids dress up in costumes and do their own interpretation of the scriptural account. I think they had the most fun beating up the man on the road with ping pong paddles. Hey, at least they were awake!

It's like working in Disneyland

On Saturday we had a single adult Halloween party. One of the ladies brought her 4 year old daughter who was dressed up like a princess. I also happened to be dressed like a princess (using an old bridesmaid dress that comes in handy at Halloween.) This little girl was in awe of me and my costume. She stared at me and kept hugging me. Her mom asked if she could have her picture taken with me and I, of course, said yes. Then I totally got into the princess role and milked it for all it was worth. The little girl was in awe of my princess act.

Then in walked my friend (also Amy) dressed up as Snow White. Well, that was the icing on the cake for this little girl. Turns out there were 3 princesses at the party and I'm pretty sure we just saved this little girl's mother from a $1000 trip to Disneyland to have princess encounters. It's as close as I'll ever come to working as a Disney princess at my age.

So we took a photo of all the princesses...














And here are some of my non-royalty friends...

Radiant Reds

I just couldn't pass up taking a photo of the radiant red leaves outside my apartment complex. I am sure New England leaves are beautiful but the mile high mountain reds, yellows and oranges are spectacular.

My Colorado tv debut

Want to see me on the news in Colorado? Click here for the Fox News video. (BTW...I don't normally answer phones in the phone bank but I ultimately supervise that operation so when the media came, I was there on phones.) You have to click on the video link on the sidebar for it come up.

It finally came!

I got my diploma in the mail today. It's official. For some reason I am so paranoid I kept thinking that they were going to find a reason not to give it to me. Now it's mine, all mine!

I also bought a new camera today because mine was old and crappy. I think the freezing cold of Albania really did it in because it has never been the same since. Clearly I hadn't set the date and time when I took this photo.

Workdays, Weddings and Winter

Today I got a nice break from my 15 hour Saturday workdays. I got to attend my friend Ketie's wedding. I met Ketie at a singles activity right after I got back from Albania a year and a half ago. I heard her telling someone where her country is located and of course I went running over to say that I'd just come back from there. We have been friends ever since. Ketie and her son Jimmy were baptized into the LDS church in June 2007. She is a wonderful mom and a very caring friend.

David is from the Czech Republic. He treats Ketie and Jimmy so well. I am so happy for them. Ketie's ward put on a fabulous wedding and lunch. (I also attended a shower for her last week.) It's really wonderful to see a ward rally around one of the new members and really support her. Ketie's sister came from Albania for the event. I got to bust out the 3 or so Albanian words that I know--yes, good and thank you. I'm sure she was either really impressed or wondered what I might be thanking her for.

After the wedding I had to go back to work. During the drive home at 10:30 p.m. I saw snowflakes! It's supposed to snow in the city tonight and tomorrow. Can't say I really follow the weather much anymore since I am usually cooped up in my office these days.

Oh the Irony

Today in seminary we were talking about when Christ was suffering in the garden of Gethsemane and he asked his apostles to wait for him. Instead of waiting and watching, they fell asleep. He then asked them something like, "could you not watch with me one hour?"

When I looked up from my scriptures, 5 out of 7 of my students were sleeping. Seemed like a perfect time to draw some kind of parallel--can you not stay awake for 45 minutes in seminary while your teacher is doing every song and dance she knows to keep you entertained? Probably not the most Christian way to teach the scriptures but some of them actually opened their eyes for a moment while I pointed out the irony.

"Whatever it is, it's not enough"

That's what I said to my boss when she handed me my paycheck today. It's only Wednesday and I've already worked more than 40 hours. A little bit bitter on payday, are we? YES!

The Orphan Car

Every morning at 6:45 a.m. when seminary is over, I pile 3 of my students in to my car and drop them off at their high school, which happens to be on my way to work.

They told me awhile ago that they call my car "The Orphan Car." I asked, "Why do you call it that?" They said, "Because we are like your orphans."

Still confused I asked for further explanation. One girl explained, "Look at us. We are each a different color. It's like you adopted 3 orphans." I looked and sure enough, one student is white (Caucasian), one is brown (Native American) and one is black (from Liberia). I love my diverse little seminary class but I never noticed the "colors" in my car.

Now they think it's hilarious that when they get out of my car in front of the school they yell, "Bye Mom!" It makes me laugh every morning.

What?!?! Shocking!

I saw this on Yahoo tonight when I checked my email. I'm still reeling from the shock of the news. Wow! All the years I've been a Clay fan, I never saw this coming. It's going to take me many hours to get over this bombshell.

I'm not ashamed to say I own all his CD's. I voted for him on AI (2nd season rocked) and saw him two times in concert with my sister. Aahhh...the memories of my sister screaming at the ten year old girls in front of us to put their posters down so we could see.

Be what ya gotta be, Clay but I won't be buying the magazine.

I'm having a Melinda Moment

Melinda? Are you reading this?

Tonight I made my own home-made laundry detergent and it was truly a Melinda moment. My friend Melinda is the most resourceful person I know and this seems like something she would do.

I am trying to save a little money, oh and the environment. All I needed was my (NEW!) food processor, 2 small bars of Ivory soap, baking soda and Borax. I can't wait to try this fine concoction on my laundry. There are many recipe variations. The one I tried was at instructables.com. Good thing I have no life and I can do my laundry on Friday night!

Rule #27 of Salsa Dancing...

If you don't feel like going dancing, DON'T GO. You'll only embarrass yourself and no one wants to dance with someone who is ornery and tired. Furthermore, you won't have fun and then you'll come home and write a miserable post on your blog for your friends and family to see.

Premonitions?

On Saturday night I went to an open house. A friend of mine has launched her own on-line clothing boutique. Check out www.vintagefringe.com to see her cute clothes. I bought a new shirt and I was so excited because it's unique and I haven't bought any clothes for a long time. Today I wore my new shirt to work.

Now I have this co-worker who doesn't quite live in reality and she, shall we say, makes up a lot of things. Most of the time I think she makes up things so as to try to initiate a conversation with me and I just refuse to oblige. Here is a recent example:

Co-worker: "It's gorgeous outside."
Me: "It's 50 degrees and overcast. What are you talking about?"

She tries to initiate a conversation about the weather and I just flat out won't go for it. It always begins with "It's gorgeous outside." I don't know that I've ever used gorgeous to describe the weather conditions. In fact, I don't know that I've used gorgeous since junior high when we said things like "Ralph Macchio and all the guys in Duran Duran are sooooooo GORGEOUS." But I digress...back to the shirt.

So I walked into work today and here is how the conversation went:

Co-worker: "I had a dream about you last night."
Me: Silent but slightly freaked out.
Co-worker: "Yeah, we were processing ballots and you were wearing that EXACT shirt."
Me: "That's not possible. I just bought it this weekend."
Co-worker: Acts as if she has just had a premotion about my weekend clothing choices.

Good thing I didn't buy the green one or I would have really blown her dream.

Remembering

This morning in Seminary my students and I were talking about September 11, 2001. Most of the students in my class have no real memory of that day because they were 7 and 8 years old at the time and they couldn't really grasp what was happening. One of my oldest students is an immigrant from Liberia. She was still living there and even though she was 10 at the time, she doesn't really remember much about that day.

Not only did this seem strange to me but it also made me feel old. As adults we have the ability to remember where we were, what we were doing, and how we were feeling when the September 11th attacks happened. Sometimes I'm not sure if I like those memories.

I mentioned before that I was on my way back from an election mission in Belarus and was stuck in Germany for several days. Here are the snippets of memories and feelings I have from that day:

--The kindness of strangers. A man at the airport let me and my friend use his cell phone to call home because the land lines were jammed, we said, "but we have to call America" and he said, "that's okay."

--The love shown to me by the people in Germany. So many times people out of the blue would say to us how sorry they were and how their prayers were with our country. Many of the churches opened their doors to just let people come in and sit and reflect.

--The longing to be with my family. I remember that I just wanted to be home with them. Not that there was anything I could do and it didn't make much difference where I was. I realized, though, that I really, really wanted to hug my whole family.

--When I finally made it back to Salt Lake several days later I remember the American flags that were hung and posted everywhere. It felt like coming home to a different and changed world. I wondered at that time if that "united" feeling would last. Seems like it's hard to hold onto that.

Hearing the news reports is still hard for me. I can't even imagine how hard this day is for those who lost family and friends. Though it's hard to hear, I don't want to forget.

What's that barnyard smell?

Still feeling (or rather smelling) the effects of henna.

Tonight I went salsa dancing and the minute I started to sweat I could smell something repugnant yet strangely familiar. Yes, the smell of wet straw in a stable. It was my hair and the henna has come back to haunt me. Who knew the smell would come back when my hair was wet with perspiration?

Well, I hope no one noticed it. I don't want to be known to the guys at the salsa club as "the girl who smells like a farm." How embarrassing!

Amy+Henna Hair Color=Bad news

Since I had major car repairs last month, I am trying to find ways to be more frugal. The woman who does my hair is on extended maternity leave so I figured this would be a good time to try to color my own hair without feeling guilty for ditching my hair stylist. I love her dearly but it costs me a fortune to have brown hair!

I went to the Sunflower Market (my favorite store!) and bought some henna hair color. Yes, I'll admit that I am much more granola since I moved to Colorado.

Well, the henna was a disaster, a total mess and it smelled like wet hay in a stable. After I mixed together the green concoction I tried to paint it on my hair as the directions said. When I was done my hair looked and felt like green straw and my sink looked like this.















The rest of the bathroom was splattered with green henna as well. I thought it was such a bright idea because I could let it sit on my hair for an hour while I prepared my seminary lesson for the next day. That didn't happen because I spent the next hour cleaning my bathroom. When I finally rinsed it off the shower was a green disaster--the tile, shower curtain and tub were covered in henna. Luckily it was a good excuse for me to clean my bathroom and the seminary lesson went on the way back burner.

Lessons I learned: 1) Henna is a bad idea when you don't know what you are doing. 2) Suck it up and pay $150 for someone to color your hair for you because it's worth it.

Finally some down time

I actually had a free weekend this week. I haven't had one of those in many, many months...probably since before Memorial Day. Granted, I did have to go into work yesterday but I went in when I felt like it and worked until I felt like it. No rushing around trying to get in 5 hours of schoolwork for me anymore!

Saturday I went to the gym with Renee' and we did power walking on the treadmill and a Pilates class. I got my grocery shopping and laundry done. I also went to a singles activity up in Lyons. It's about an hour from Denver and it was fun.

Today I went to church, did my Seminary lessons for the week, had a nap, talked to my mom, and caught up on my email. Aahh...I love being back to my boring life!

Aunthood!

"Aunt Amy" is one of my favorite titles. The last 2 weekends I was able to be in Utah with my family. The first weekend I took Callee's kids and last weekend I took Tony's kids. It's so fun for me to do things that I never get to do in Colorado because I have no kids here to play with.

Saturday I took Megan, Logan and Kimball to the Children's Museum at the Gateway. We had so much fun that it was hard to leave. Afterwards we had ice cream. The great thing about being an aunt is that the kids are always obedient and well-behaved around me. I don't have to discipline or get after them like their parents do. Funny how that happens...

I also survived Kimball's bloody nose (a real gusher!) at the Museum. The next day in church Kate had a major explosion and pooped all over me. So I think I've had enough with the bodily fluids for now.

Sunday the whole family was together for my mom's birthday party. It's so fun for me to be with my family. I love them so much--I must because I've seen them four weekends in a row and I live 500 miles away.














Silly kids! Logan, Megan and Kimball at the Gateway. (Notice the tissue I stuck up Kimball's nose. Enlarge the photo and you can see the blood all over his shirt!)















Aunt Amy and little Kate















Grandma Liz and her seven cute grandchildren

Friends for Life

Last night my friend Leslie from DC was here on business. She got to my place last night and we went to dinner and then she stayed here (couldn't get a hotel room in Denver during the DNC!)

It was so great to see Leslie. We met back in 2001 when she recruited me to go on my first election mission to Belarus. Because I had listed my church mission on my resume she knew I was Mormon and told me that she was as well. We met for the first time in Minsk, Belarus.

The election was very interesting and it was very clear that we were not really welcome there by the government of Belarus. We were all anxious to go home when it was over. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001 thirteen of us from the US boarded a very early flight from Minsk to Frankfurt, Germany. We landed in Germany thinking we'd be boarding a plane to the US when we learned very sketchy details about the attacks on our country. We ended up stuck in Germany for 3 days because we couldn't get home. (There is more to this story that I'll tell some other time.)

United airlines put us up in hotel rooms but we had to have a roommate. Since Leslie and I are the same religion and we decided that it would be good for us to share a hotel room. After all, both of us realized we had to do laundry in the sink and well, you get the point.

Unfortunately with the lack of sleep from the election, food issues, stress, etc. we both ended up sick, and I mean really sick. Both of us were throwing up, had diarrhea, had coughs and had colds. Hotel bathrooms are not so sound proof and we put up with each other in this condition for 3 days, add to that not knowing if or when we would be able to go home.

So last night Leslie was on the phone with her husband trying to explain to him how she knows me. She was retelling the hotel/sickness/September 11th story. I commented that once you share an experience like that with someone, you are friends for life! That certainly holds true for Leslie. I think we got to know each other at the worst possible time and we both still liked each other. Though I don't get to see her often, she is my friend for life.

This photo was taken in Minsk on Monday, September 10, 2001. That's me in the middle and Leslie is on the right with the yellow sweater.

The World of Star Wars According to my Nephews

While in Utah I took Mason and Ethan to see the Clone Wars movie. The movie was alright. They enjoyed it anyway. After the movie we went back to their house and we played Star Wars, talked about Star Wars, and watched Star Wars. Here are some Star Wars references I learned.

Light savers=light sabers
The force=a power people have to "force" things to happen like people to choke and light sabers to fly.
Eterial walkers=Imperial walkers
Dark Sivious=Any bad character who cannot be otherwise identified
Chihuahuas=Ewoks

I sure love those boys. They are so good. It was fun to spend the day with them and babysit them Saturday night.

My $2000 Utah Vacation

I just got back from yet another weekend in Utah. I had to go pick up my car that broke down there 2 weeks ago.

Turns out it was my transmission that blew out and it couldn't be fixed in Ephraim, Utah where I last left it. The car was towed to Provo to a transmission specialist. Then the nightmare with the warranty company began. It's nice to know I have a warranty for these types of disasters but trying to get them to do anything was such a hassle. It took 2 weeks to go through all the crap and 24 hours to actually FIX the car. Then they only paid a portion (more than the warranty cost, though, so I can't complain too much) and I was stuck with a rental car bill for 2 weeks. Add to that the gas going back and forth and this was an expensive summer. I took advantage of a free Saturday and got my haircut, had a pedicure, and took my nephews to see the Clone Ward movie.

Now me AND my car are back home in Denver. I have busy week ahead of me. I am volunteering for the DNC and Early Morning Seminary starts tomorrow. It's back to 9:30 bed times and 5:00 a.m. wake up calls.

I have something in common with Michael Phelps!

I heard that Michael Phelps eats 12,000 calories a day. Wow, that's amazing because sometimes I do too!!! Granted, he swims and trains for hours each day and is able to burn those extra calories. Well, that's where Michael and I differ. I eat 12,000 calories, exercise for an hour and think that eating so much is okay because I "work out."

So tonight I went and swam for an hour at the pool here at my apartment complex. Thanks Michael...and congratulations on your 8 gold medals.

Great Graduation Gift

I got many gifts for my graduation. (Thank you all, by the way.) One very special gift I bought with the gift certificate Grandma Macey gave me.

It's a Cuisinart PowerBlend Duet Blender/Food Processor.














I love to cook and if there's one thing I can get excited about it's a kitchen appliance. Let me just take a moment and explain my reasons for getting excited about these small counter top electronics.

I grew up in Utah where everyone gets married really young. All a young lady has to do is get engaged, go to Target or Bed, Bath & Beyond or whatever and register for kitchen appliances, and then people buy them for you as gifts. Those of us who don't get married are left to buy our own appliances when we move out.

As an apparent punishment for not marrying, I have had to buy my own towels, linens, dishes, furniture, etc. (I am not bitter, mind you; I am just stating the facts of life.) So...many of my appliances are hand me downs (crock pot), extra wedding gifts (someone gave me a blender because they received 2), Christmas gifts I've asked for over the years (electric skillet, waffle iron), or things I bought myself (toaster). I have wanted a food processor for so long but just have not been able to justify the expense.

Well, with Grandma's generous gift certificate I went to Macey's and bought this bad boy. I can't wait to make smoothies AND chop vegetables all at the same meal. Some things are just worth the wait!

Finally Graduated!

I finally got my Masters degree today from the University of Denver. It was a gloomy, rainy 52 degree day in Denver so they moved everything inside. It didn't dampen anyone's enthusiasm. Everyone was wishing each other congratulations and it was fun to catch up with some people I got to know while in the Applied Communication program.

Mom and grandma Macey flew in last night to be with me. My good friend Kathryn also came. I was glad they were there to help me and cheer me on. At 7:00 a.m. this morning we had to be at the school for the hooding ceremony for Masters students.















Then we went to the general commencement. I wish I had something to say that was grand and inspiring but honestly I'm just happy to be finished and to be able to do other things besides work on my paper.














We stopped by my office and they had a cake and flowers for me.















Then we had dinner with Kathryn and Mike and they got me a graduation Barbie Cake. It was really the "icing on the cake" for the day!

Twas the night before the Colorado Primary Election

...and I am exhausted. You can plan, plan, plan and at the last minute it is chaos no matter what. We're not even expecting a high turnout, which is disappointing with all the work we have put in. I did my last judge training class today and I can't say I was sad. We may have a few weeks to collect our thoughts and then it's full speed ahead for November. So I'm going to bed!

Seven Seminary Students

I just got back from an Arapahoe Stake fireside where they did a seminary "kick off" program for students and teachers to meet. I am going to have seven students this year which is so exciting because last year I only had four. I teach two wards combined and we are going to be in a member's home this year rather than the church. Our church building is located in what you might call the "inner city" even though it's in a residential area. Some mornings we would come and the door was left unlocked all night and knowing the area, it just is too unnerving for me to worry about building security all the time, so we moved to a member's home nearby.

I continue to be impressed with the youth in our area. As a teacher I sat on the stand part of the time and looked out and thought, "All these kids get up and go to seminary at 6:00 a.m. every day. Wow! They are really devoted to learning the gospel." Seminary was the foundation of my testimony and I am grateful to be a teacher now.

I almost missed my best friend's wedding!

My best friend Stephanie got married yesterday in the Manti Temple. I was able to drive from Denver and our friend Amy came from Seattle. It was great for Steph's husband (Phil) to see the 3 old political science majors from the University of Utah together in action.

I almost didn't make the wedding. First, I wasn't sure if my work would let me take off the Friday before the Colorado Primary. Luckily things are slow and they agreed to let me go.

I started my 7 1/2 hour trek from Denver at 6:30 a.m. on Friday to make the 3:00 wedding. Everything was fine until I got off I-70 in Salina for the 28 last miles to the Manti Temple. That's when my car started having trouble. I didn't know it at the time but my transmission was completely blown. I was parked at the side of the road in hysterics sort of praying for help but more raving lunatic than spiritual. My mom was coming from Salt Lake and her cell phone wasn't getting service. I wasn't sure what to do. I couldn't believe I'd come all that way and gotten so close only to miss the wedding.

My frantic prayers were answered when one Deon Rosequist pulled over and asked if I needed help. He was the one who told me my transmission was shot and when I told him I had one hour to get to a wedding he got me to put my car in low gear and offered to follow me 20 miles into Manti while I drove really slow. I must have looked pretty pathetic standing there bawling my head off to a stranger, but it got worse. You can see in the picture the skirt I'm wearing is very flowy. Well, standing out on Highway 89 with traffic moving so fast was not a good idea because as soon as a semi truck passed, my skirt flew up completely and I flashed the good Samaritan. Nice, Amy.

I made it to the temple with 10 minutes to spare and I walked into the sealing waiting area and continued sobbing hysterically and then I started sweating and had to explain what was going on. So much for reverence.

It was great to finally meet Phil and to see Steph's family. Steph and I met my second day of college in Russian class back in 1990 and we've been friends ever since. We were room mates for a few years and have done many road trips, rock concerts and other fun things together over the years. I am so happy for her.

So now my car is sitting at a Ford dealership in Ephraim, Utah and I had to rent a car to get back to Denver. It will be at least a week or more before it's fixed and then I'll have to make a return trip. Luckily I bought the extended warranty on the car so I'm hoping this is just a major inconvenience and not a reason to file for bankruptcy. This turned out to be the most expensive trip to Utah I have ever had. But I made the wedding and it was worth it!

Mental Exhaustion

I just got home from teaching 3 election judge training classes in a row. I love training but I have literally been talking for 9 straight hours. I have to give the same instructions, tell the same jokes and tell the same stories over and over again. Do you know how exhausting it is to try to "sell" the joke when you've told it so many times? I have to remember that it's the first time the people in my class are hearing it and I have to give them the same energy I gave in the first class I taught 3 weeks ago. Not easy. I have lost count of how many classes I have taught over the last 3 weeks but I think I'm getting close to twenty. I'll be glad when the primary election is over next week. I'm tired!

The Best Calling in the Church

I am thankful for my calling as Early Morning Seminary teacher. Right now it's the best calling in the church because I have been off all summer. Today at church I was talking to 2 of my students and they were telling me how excited they were to start up again. As much as I am enjoying the extra hour of sleep, I too am excited to start up again in a few weeks. We will be doing the New Testament this year which is much less intimidating to me than the Old Testament.

Today I substituted in Primary leading the music. I have never done this before and I'll put this down as a calling I don't think I ever want! It's intimidating to have little children staring at you like you are crazy. I was sweating profusely and trying to lead songs that I don't even know. I admire any of you who can do this calling and love it, my mother included because this is currently her calling. I'll stick with early morning seminary.

14 Days Above 90 Degrees

I heard on the radio that Denver has had 14 consecutive days above 90 degrees. It must be unusual because everyone is talking about it. From the weather reports it looks like we are in for more.

Okay, not that I would know the outside temperature since the only time I'm outside is the crack of dawn when I walk into the office and later in the evening when I walk out of it. The good news is my election judge training program is going so well. People are happy and even though I'm getting tired of listening to my own jokes, I love training people. The election is in 2 weeks and so far I've only had one major meltdown at work. Let's hope we can keep it to just one!

And the big news is that my capstone paper and project were cleared with minor changes and I am going to graduate on August 15. I really thought it would never happen but everything came together. Mom and grandma are coming to cheer me on and I will be so excited to see them. I love having house guests. I am trying to figure out what I'm going to worry about next and what I'll do with all my free time.

Travel + Leisure???

Does anyone subscribe to this magazine? I do, but really I don't. I got a free subscription when I renewed my subscription to the Denver Post. It was either this, Golf Digest or Food and Wine so I thought Travel + Leisure might be a magazine that I could actually read. What this magazine does is remind me of trips I will never take, luxury airliners I'll never fly, and five star hotels I'll never stay in.

Their August 2008 issue included a list of the top 10 best cities in Europe to visit. Those of you who know me know that I have been to Europe many, many times. I just go to the weird places that no one has ever heard of. Here are T+L's top 10 European cities (and we might as well call this list "cities that Amy will never go to.")

1. Florence
2. Rome
3. Istanbul
4. Paris
5. Krakow
6. Prague
7. Venice
8. Barcelona
9. Vienna (I stand corrected--I did have a layover in the airport here once.)
10. Salzburg

I decided to put together my top 10 European cities. I wouldn't necessarily recommend them as tourist destinations, but hey, I like them for sentimental reasons.

1. Riga, Latvia. Okay I WOULD recommend this as a tourist destination.
2. Kukes, Albania. Stayed for 3 months and froze my butt off but it was very quaint and I enjoyed studying the behavior of many farm animals.
3. Kiev, Ukraine. Yeah, I would recommend Kiev too.
4. Prizren, Kosovo. The fully-stocked grocery stores and bakeries saved me while I lived in Albania. Charming little city.
5. Stip, Macedonia. Centuries old Turkish and Roman ruins in the most random places.
6. Odessa, Ukraine. I have no idea what it is like now but 20 years ago I thought the beach on the Black Sea was cool.
7. Novosibirsk, Russia. Well, it's more Asia geographically but it's a fascinating Soviet city (and it's NOT Moscow).
8. Kutaisi, Georgia. Breathtaking mountains, monasteries aplenty, fabulous people.
9. Shkodra, Albania. Best pizza I've ever had!
10. Skopje, Macedonia. Loved the Turkish caravan stops, Albanian bazaar and Macedonian Orthodox churches. Fascinating cultural mix.

I would like to know from anyone out there, do you have a favorite European city that did not make the T+L list? If so please post the city and tell me why.

Kate is here!

I'm a bit late on the post but my niece Kate arrived on Tuesday, July 15. She came a few days past her due date but we are glad she is healthy and well (and that Melissa is too.) That makes 5 nephews and two nieces for proud Aunt Amy. It will be a few weeks until I can meet her.

The Sweet Rewards of Work

I have complained once or twice or twenty times on this blog about how NOT fun it has been to do this Masters project. I have been working on a model election judge training program for a year. It's interesting and it's what I love but it has been grueling. I have read dozens of books on training theory, I have done more research than I ever care to do again, and I have agonized over how to do this right.

Today I actually got to see the fruits of my labors. I started training election judges today with my model program and by all accounts, it seemed to be a hit. My bosses were happy, the judges were happy and I was surprisingly happy. It felt good to actually do it and know that this was the program I designed, developed and now implemented. Several of us at the county will now train so I passed off all the scripts to the trainers and they are all now trained to take it and run with it. It's hard to turn over my baby to others because it's been mine for so long. I think the sign of a good program is that the program is good enough that it can be turned over to anyone to present. Hopefully it will stand through all 55 classes or so that we have to teach.

I am collecting some data through post-class evaluations and I will continue to collect data on election day and after. The next hurdle in the training process is finding out if people actually learned something and if they can implement what they learned on election day. We will soon find out...For right now, I am going to breathe a sigh of relief that my strategies actually worked in a real, live classroom situation.

What I did today...in case anyone cares

I feel the need to justify the fact that I am overwhelmed just a tad. Here is a typical Saturday:

6:30 a.m. got up and got on my work email. Must clean it out when it's quiet. Also had employees working overtime today who needed questions answered.

7:50 a.m. off to Target for weekly grocery shopping. Must be there when it opens at 8:00 a.m. Stopped at the library to return books.

9:00 a.m. start cleaning the house and cooking dinner. The missionaries are coming at 5:00! Thank goodness for the Crockpot.

10:10 a.m. off to the gym for cardio and weights.

11:50 a.m. home to shower and get ready for the day

12:45 p.m. off to the salon to get a manicure and pedicure. Must keep toes looking fab for my hot dancing shoes. The color I picked looks like I spilled cranberry juice on my feet.

2:15 p.m. nap time! I deserved it after the week of 12 hour work days, one service project, 2 dance lessons, and two seminary meetings.

3:50 p.m. get up and finish cooking and cleaning before the missionaries arrive.

5:00 p.m. dinner with 4 elders. Think I convinced all of them to register to vote in their home states and vote absentee by citing 12th Article of Faith coupled with a guilt trip.

6:00 p.m. Elders leave and I clean up the mess. Dad called right after they left. Nice conversation was had.

7:00 p.m. work on Masters project (I have to start really training election judges on Monday with this project!) same as I do every Saturday night. In other words, NO SOCIAL LIFE FOR ME 'TIL THIS IS DONE. Had to turn down two offers from friends tonight and be disciplined.

11:20 p.m. I'm sick of working so I am blogging and going to bed (after brushing, flossing and scriptures).

July 4, 2008

So here we are, 20 years later after my reminiscing celebrating the 4th of July. I took a nice 3 day weekend trip home to Salt Lake to see the family. Melissa and Tony were (and as of this writing ARE still) expecting a baby. She is due today but I was hoping she'd come early so Aunt Amy could meet her but no such luck.

This is me and my Star Wars obsessed niece and nephews. I love these kids so much. I got to play with Mason, Ethan and Sagan on Saturday. We played Star Wars, of course. I was Princess Leia and Ethan pretended to do the Darth Vader choke on me so I fell down on the floor as if I had fainted. They continued to play with their light sabers (aka light SAVERS--we're working on that!) and after a few minutes of them ignoring me I asked, "What am I supposed to do now." Mason replied, "Why don't you stand up and shoot someone." Duh, Aunt Amy. Apparently I'm not very good at playing Star Wars.

I also played with Megan, Logan and Kimball. We played chase in their backyard but it was so hot we couldn't stand it for long. So we ended up inside playing Legos, which is what I used to do with my brother when he was little. Now I play Legos with his kids with his old Legos.

I also got to spend some time with Joel, Katy, Dave and Grandma Macey. I think I have the coolest family ever! As always it was a fast and fun weekend and I look forward to the next trip!

July 4, 1988

Here is an excerpt from my journal from 20 years ago. This was written in Moscow, Russia which was then the USSR.

"After lunch we went to this little tiny park which was about the size of our front yard. We lit sparklers, waved our flags, popped balloons, ate our melons and sang 'God Bless America' and 'The Star Spangled Banner.' It was a little celebration like this that made me appreciate something important like freedom."

Later that night we "waved our flags out the window and sang." We were probably on the 20th floor of the hotel and I remember leaning out the window and throwing candy up to the guys from our group who were on the floor above us. The stupid things you do when you are young...By acting so silly we caught the attention of 5 Bulgarian boys who were in the room next to us. I remember going over to their room and trying to communicate with them. We exchanged addresses and when I got home I wrote to all of them. Only one wrote me back--Ivan.

Ivan and I have kept in touch ever since. We have not met face-to-face since meeting 20 years ago in Moscow. We wrote letters, then emails, then instant messages. Ivan got married a year ago to his beautiful wife Nadya and they have a brand new daughter named Sofia (see photo).

Meeting Ivan and keeping in touch with him over the years has certainly been a great experience. We made an interesting cross-culture, long distance friendship. I got to hear about the fall of communism in Bulgaria, the building of democracy and ultimately EU membership through his eyes.

So happy anniversary Ivan! I hope we are still in touch 20 years from today!

Are Mormons Happy?

Someone not of my faith asked me this question this week. I have spent a lot of time thinking about it. Life is hard sometimes and I think we all have challenges and struggles. I also think there are happy and unhappy people in every religion.

However, I've been trying to pay attention this week to things that make me happy about being a Mormon. Here is my list for the week.

1. I am happy that people notice that there is something different about me. I was talking to another Mormon friend on Wednesday who said that we forget that the spirit we have really radiates and people are searching for that "light" that we sometimes take for granted.
2. I am happy that when I ran out of sugar yesterday I went to my food storage (that my church teaches us to have) and I had more sugar.
3. I am happy that when I go to church I have the opportunity to be corrected and can improve. Today we talked about the blessings of fasting and I realized that I needed to make a better effort.
4. I am happy for the opportunity to serve. Tonight I was asked to go sit with a sister who is extremely unhappy for a lot of reasons and I am happy for the hope that I have in the atonement of Jesus Christ.
5. Talking to and about my family makes me happy.

I went visiting teaching today (also makes me happy) and the message of why I'm happy came to a culmination in something Spencer W. Kimball said that was part of the lesson, "If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective." Perspective on life--where I'm going, why I'm here and where I came from makes me happy. Spoken much better by a prophet.

Since many of you who read this blog are also Mormon, how would you answer the question "Are Mormons happy?"

The Colorado Star Ball

Last night I went to the Colorado Star Ball with my friends from salsa. It was a ballroom dance competition for amateurs and professionals. Couples from all over the country competed in the American Smooth, American Rhythm, and Latin categories. (We weren't competing--just watching.)

I've never been to a real ballroom dance competition before; I've only seen them on t.v. It was incredible to watch some of these pros close up and thanks to Renee' we had great seats at table near the center of the dance floor. I'm convinced that the best thing about ballroom is not the actual dancing but it's the sequins, eye make up and hairstyles.

Here is a photo of me and my salsa friends. Renee' (the one with the curly hair) is my salsa teacher. The three of us are just a few of her "groupies."

June 15, 1988

Pardon me while I reminisce about June 15th twenty years ago...

This was the day I left for what was then known as the Soviet Union. I was a "student ambassador" selected to go on a peace mission to meet with students in the USSR and talk about how we could bring about peace between our two countries. Though the Cold War was kind of nearing the end with Gorbachev and Reagan meeting, it was not a place that Americans went to, certainly not 16 year old Americans.

I was so fortunate that my parents encouraged me to go and even paid for it. It was a trip that changed my life and set me on a course to study politics, Russian, and international relations. I had no idea at the time that my life would be so deeply affected by this trip. Since then I have made two trips back to Russia and several more trips to the former "Iron Curtain" countries. I love the people and I am amazed by their spirits.

Since this trip I have made many great friends because of my interest in that part of the world, I had a blast studying Russian at the University of Utah (even though I can't speak much anymore), and I gained a stronger testimony of the gospel along the way. While in the USSR we were able to have 2 sacrament meetings where I definitely felt the spirit in a communist country and came to understand God's love for all his children no matter where they live. It was a life changing experience at 16.

When I returned home I wrote this in my journal, "I will never take anything for granted again like clean water, clean hotels, the FDA, the Board of Health, air conditioning, soap, razors, washers and dryers, deodorant, money, tv's, radios, variety of food, shopping malls, and especially freedom."

Life 20 years after this experience is way better than anything I could have possibly dreamed and I am so grateful for the direction this gave me in my life.

So here is a photo of me in Red Square in 1988. I wish I still had those skinny legs!

I'm a Salsa Show-off

Last night I went to a church single adult dance. I usually don't go because I find them horrifying (to say the least) and about as socially productive as sitting in my apartment alone staring at the wall. Nevertheless, I went to support the people who were in charge because they are my friends.

I had pre-requested a salsa song because there is one guy I know who also knows how to salsa and we wanted to try dancing together. So, the dj thought she had fulfilled my request by playing a Latin pop mix of Shakira and Enrique Iglesias. Nice, but not salsa. So I went up to her and said, "I requested some REAL salsa music" and she explained that's what she had just played. I said, "No. I really am a salsa dancer and that was Latin pop." She was very confused as to why anyone would request salsa but she finally found something. I don't know how she could have been confused as I was standing there in my 3 inch silver sparkly ballroom shoes with suede bottoms. (Who's the freak at the church dance NOW? I mean really--who wears their ballroom shoes to a church dance? Uhh...I do.)

My friend and I danced and put on quite the little salsa show with some traditional salsa topped off by a cha cha. I must be attention starved because I enjoyed showing off for every second of those dances. I've been working hard for almost a year to be able to dance and it's time to start reaping the compliments. I had several people come up and ask where and how I learned. I gave out my name and email address and told people to let me know if they wanted to start learning and I would be happy to introduce them to the hobby. This is how I morphed from salsa show off to salsa ambassador at a single adult dance.

And despite my 3 inch heels and hip shaking, the night was as socially productive as sitting home alone staring at the wall.

Miss you, Grandpa

Today is the anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 1944. My grandpa Macey was a part of the D-Day invasion. He survived and made it up the beach. Several days later he was clearing land mines, stepped on one and his leg was blown off. He once said to me, "People always say to me, 'Boy, that's really too bad that you lost your leg' and I'd respond, 'I didn't LOSE my leg. I know exactly where it is. I just can't get to it.'" Grandpa always had the best sense of humor and he always had a positive attitude despite all his health problems.

We lost our hero 10 years ago and I know his children and grandchildren still miss him. I always think of him on the D-Day anniversary and I am so proud to be his granddaughter.

The photo above was taken in June of 1994 after my graduation from the University of Utah. Grandpa wasn't well enough to attend the ceremony so we went to see him afterwards.

Remembering Mr. Biggs

I am in Glenwood Springs, CO for an elections conference. Almost 3 years ago I was here doing a training with Kathryn when we were in a car accident at this intersection. We were going through a green light and one Wesley Biggs turned left into us and totalled the state vehicle we were driving. Because of my morbid sense of humor, I needed to take a photo on the median were I spent quite a bit of time for the cops, paramedics and paperwork.

Luckily Kathryn and I weren't hurt too badly but we also spent months dealing with workman's comp and physical therapy. The weird thing was that we were driving to this training class up I-70 through the Rocky Mountains in a blizzard and had to take a major detour through Breckinridge, even though we were trying to get to Grand Junction. We survived the hazardous road conditions and got hit going 20 mph in sunny weather.

Ahh...the memories!

All Hail Broke Loose

Last night I was out walking on the lovely trail behind my apartment complex when I got caught in a massive hail storm. Then my walk turned into a run.

It calmed down and then about 11:50 p.m. I was awakened from a deep sleep by what sounded like an attack on my apartment building. Oh don't worry...it was yet another hail storm. It was like little shards of glass were hitting my windows. Hard to go back to sleep after that!

Today I had to drive to Glenwood Springs for a meeting. What did we have to drive through? Another hail storm. Welcome to spring in Colorado.

Jet Lag is a Beautiful Thing!

I made it home on Saturday at about 2:00 p.m. The 10 hour flight from Munich to Denver was fabulous because no one was sitting next to me so I could sprawl out on my little 2-seat row. When I realized no one was sitting there I almost cried. Thank goodness for the little things because I was exhausted.

When I got home all I wanted to do was sleep. So now it's 1:40 a.m. on Sunday morning and I am ready for the day! I feel very productive right now cleaning, organizing and blogging. Hopefully I can go back to bed in a little while and try to resume my normal sleeping schedule.

Here are some random thoughts and photos on Georgia. I found Georgia to be a lovely and pleasant country. After having spent time in Albania, Georgia seems much more progressive, calm and stable (well, aside from the ethnic conflicts going on in parts of the country we weren't allowed to see, but that's another story). The people are lovely and hospitable. Conditions are generally good and it surprisingly did not have that "post-Soviet" feel to it. I can tell that the country is eager to westernize.

Georgia has been a Christian nation since before Christ was born. It's a very religious country and there are churches and monasteries dating back hundreds and hundreds of years. What treasures! This is the Bagrati Monastery that was built in the 11th century. It is currently being unearthed and restored (minus the ceiling).

Here you can see the icons they are restoring in the Gelati Monastery after the inside was white washed by the Bolsheviks.




Georgia has great food! I feel like I have been on an organic diet for a week. Everything we ate was fresh from the local gardens. They made wonderful salads with beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, fresh parsley, eggplant, etc. And they use walnuts in a lot of dishes. The meat was also fresh. And the cheese...oh the cheese! My favorite dish is khachapuri which is the national dish of Georgia. It is bread cooked with hard, salty cheese and it is fabulous. I have to say, though that I did get overloaded with the stuff. The last day at breakfast at my hotel the owner said, "Do you want khachapuri?" I said, "No thank you" and he brought me khachapuri anyway.

Happy cows! The cows in Georgia do not eat the trash like they did in Albania. These cows have plenty of grass and leaves to eat and it shows. They look strong and hearty and they taste good too. (My apologies to you vegetarians out there!)

These missions are always fun to make good friends from all over the world and re-acquaint with old friends from other missions I've been on. I was so glad to meet Bridget from Washington DC. She was my room mate, fellow tourist, and now a friend. I was also happy to see Lola from Spain who was an LTO with me in Albania last year.

Even though it was a difficult and tiring mission, it was a great experience. I am glad to be home!