Some are Worth-While and Some are So-So.

WELCOME TO EURO DISNEY!
Sorry it's been a bit... This last week in Swansea has been NUTS!
I will tell you all about it this weekend (when I will have more than enough time to blog my brains out).
But for now... The Magic Kindom.

Rockin' the Kanga Pouch. In spite of what it looks like, I'm not actually wearing a "bum bag" (fanny pack means something TOOOOOTALLY different here). It was much easier to wear my cross-body under my jacket, because of France's stunning reputation, but it ended up lookin' straight funky.

OUTSIDE OF THE PARK. I believe this was taken as I was a bit teary-eyed. What can I say, Disneyland makes me a little emotional.

Dad & Mom (Yushi and Courtney) outside of the park. Dad was complaining about the rain, so he got this "reaaaallly coooool" poncho ;)

Yes, we're the the three best friends that anybody could have!

Waiting in line for Space Mountain. Looks like fun, huh?

Right before we got up here to take a picture, there was this fiercely fabulous five year old girl rockin' every pose she could. Unfortunately we didn't look nearly as glamorous.

Waiting for something, I'm sure. Maybe the parade?! Which, by the by, was so magical. Finally got to see Aladdin!

The first "whoosh" of "It's a Small World"! I like that you can tell we are moving (and oh, so happy).

We didn't get to see many characters at the park, but when we spotted Pluto, we knew we needed to take a picture! We waited for a minute, and let the kiddos go first, but then Pluto and I made a mad connection and he swept me off my feet (or, rather, pulled me to his side) for a picture.

There must be something about me and cartoon dogs. Goofy was equally excited to have a picture with the three beauties.

On the teacups with my beautiful roomie, Melissa! It was the second ride we walked straight on that day!

Belle, outside of Gaston's pub. Made me miss the days of "B&B"!

Making a wish at the most magical place on earth. But really, what more could I wish for?

Disney was SUCH an amazing experience that I would not trade for ANYTHING!

Mad Love.

Some day all of our Dreams will come to be.

MORE?! You want MOOOORE?!

Our whole "day one" travel group (minus Yushi). This was taken outside of the Louvre, on the way to Champs Elysees.

I don't know why I like this picture so much, but I just think it is so adorable. The sun on the Pyramid, the smiling faces, the closeness. I love it all.

My gorgeous Cali-Girl, Allison. I am amazed by her love every day! I am so blessed to have her in my life.

Potentially my favorite picture of the entire trip. I was trying to explain my "dog face" to everyone and Courtney and Allison clearly had their own renditions.

Inside The Louvre. Gotta have the classic mirrorXchingching going on. 

Unfortunately I can't take credit for this beautiful photo... it belongs to my roommate, Caleb, who is has a wonderful eye for photography.

This one, however, I will take full credit for ;) Paris at night... just incredible.

Standing with my best friend, by the Eiffel Tower, watching it sparkle... Probably the most incredible experience of life.

 Allison is gonna LoOoOove me for this one ;) On the bus home from Paris... Clearly SO excited to be leaving. NOT.

Be looking forward to DISNEYLAND pictures... because those are coming very soon!

Mad Love.

Where Were They Going Without Ever Knowing The Way?

PICTURE-TIME MEGA-POST!
As promised, I come bearing gifts of Paris.
I won't say much to start, since you've read the previous blog detailing my activities... but I will tell you these are just a glimpse of my trip. These are some of the photos I took, but I will be sharing other's pictures at a later date!
DAY ONE:

The back of Sacre Coeur. The sky was SO amazingly blue and the weather was perfect for our first day in Paris.

The sun beaming across the side of Sacre Coeur. We couldn't have wished for a better day to take pictures!

 My best girlfriends- Melissa, Allison, Courtney, and Me- outside of Sacre Coeur. Lookin' a little tired from our overnight bus ride!

Sacre Coeur. SO. STINKIN. BEAUTIFUL. (I'm sure the architect would just LOOOVE that I used the word "stinkin" to describe this gorgeous building. :-/ )

The first crepe stop of the day. Yushi loved the little french kitties.

Stepping out of the Metro and seeing The Louvre for the first time!

I have no idea what was happening in this picture... but I get a kick out of it every time I see it!!

The Pyramids at The Louvre.

The Mona Lisa... no big deal. =)

If anyone can decipher the name of this painting, I'd be forever grateful. The lighting is captured so wonderfully.

Amazed at the statues all over Paris.

The Christmas Market along the Champs Elysees.

Arc du Triomphe in the distance!

Senior Pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower!

Three of the Oklahoma kiddos!

Being silly with two of my favorite chicas =)

One of the MANY crepes I ate on this trip! This one was Apricot!!

Eiffel Tower at night!! So. Beautiful.

Allison and me... with yet ANOTHER crepe.

Notre Dame at night... SANCTUARY! 

The side of Notre Dame. Even the alley ways in Paris are beautiful.

Sacre Coeur at night... SUPER. CREEPY.

Pretty amazing first day in Paris, huh?

I promise to post more pictures... there are TONS!!

Mad Love.

I'll Show You Magic.

Officially on the bus home from what may have been the best weekend of my life. Just throwing that out there...
Disneyland, Eiffel tower, the louvre, and so many other incredible sights have been fully enjoyed in a matter of 48 hours. I call that astonishing.
Right now I'm in a state of uncertainty about my consciousness. By that... I mean I have absolutely no idea if I should be sleeping or awake. So I chose the middle ground: blogging.
I don't even know where to begin. This was literally a majestic weekend and I have so many pictures and stories to share (which obviously I will do as soon as I get to an actual computer). But I guess I could always just start from the beginning... So all aboard the Stanky mobile & strap on your lap belt to avoid pissing off cap'n crankyballs.
Day one: We arrived at our hotel in, what I was warned by my mom was, the ghetto of Paris. Fortunately it was not sooo ghetto, and was actually just up the street from Sacre Couer. We walked to the basilica from the hotel, where we took lots of pictures, Nick got tricked into paying 10 euro for a string bracelet, and ultimately nom'd on some delicious crepes. The basilica was absolutely breath taking. I'm never underwhelmed by the architecture here. It is just continually amazing to me how these buildings have withstood so many things in their lifetimes and still stand so strong and beautifully.
After Sacre Couer, we souvie shopped our way down to the subway station, where we would make our descent to The Louvre. By the way, I have almost decided souvenirs are a total waste of money. No offense, but unless it's made of chocolate, I don't want a lil' Eiffel Tower hanging around & invading my personal space. Let's be real.
The Louvre was stunning. I was told not to go unless I had a full day to devote to the museum, but as most things in life, I disregarded that information and went anyway. Of course, we found the Mona Lisa straight away, then spent the rest of our time looking at the Italian art and the gorgeous hall(s) of statues. The building, on it's own, was just so wonderfully crafted. The detail is just so impeccable; and yes, every single fleur de lis was completely necessary.
Just outside of The Louvre is a park called Jardin de Tuileries. There's an incredibly picturesque fountain, arc, and ferris wheel, which of course were all captured via our crazy tourist tactics. We took soooo many photographs on this trip.
Just past the Tuileries is Champs Élysées, which is this amazingly large street that is bustling with French life and energy. There just so happened to be a Christmas market up the street, so we quickly parused that on our way to the Arc de Triomphe.
We then hopped on the subway to head to the Eiffel Tower before it got too dark. We grabbed crepes and took about a million photos of ourselves (and the tower of course ;) ). It was a totally stunning view from where we stood (a place called the Trocadero). You could perfectly capture the entire tower and much of the city behind it. Of course, it can't ever be truly captured... But I think we did a pretty good job of trying!!
We wanted to head back to watch the tower sparkle at night, but it wasn't quite dark yet, so we walked up the street for some grub. The name of the restaurant we ate at escapes me, but it was some of the best pasta I've ever had. Lasagna and carbonara. Mmm. Made me miss Ando's, though.
After a nice sit down dinner, we headed back to the Eiffel Tower to watch it light up, sparkle, and wish we had someone to take cute kissing pictures with ;). I WILL get a good kiss in front of the Eiffel Tower before I die.
I can't even describe how amazing the tower looks at night. We were all so tired before it lit up, but as soon as it did, we were all aglow and extremely joyful. Such. A. Beautiful. Thing.
We stopped by Notre Dame on the way back to our hotel, mostly so I could scream "SANCTUARY!!!" in honor of Seanie Modo. Seriously so incredible when it's all lit up at night. It also could have something to do with the frigid air and Christmas tree outside of the church. This time of year makes everything so much more magical.
Then back to the hotel for the night... To prepare for Saturday: EuroDisney.
Literally, this was the most magical day of my life. I know I say that every time I go to Disneyland, but that is because I genuinely mean it. It gets better every. single. time. I mean, seriously, it doesn't get better than Christmas at Disneyland.
Today's crew was: Courtney, Yushi, Melissa, and me. It was beyond nice to have small group, simply because it meant we didn't have to look after a gaggle (and let's be real, we didn't have to attend to the needs of 56 people... Just 4).
We woke up around 8:30 and were at the park just after it's 10 am opening. We didn't leave until midnight... I think you can say it was a successful day. Time. Well. Spent.
We started the day off at Space Mountain, went on The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, It's a Small World, The Teacups, Thunder Mountain, and spent the rest of the day exploring the park... And maybe even crying a little bit. I am not even going to try to defend that one. When we walked through the gate, I cried when I saw Mainstreet USA. Then again, when I saw Aurora's castle. Seriously, Disney has the ability to make a grown woman cry. While that's not hard for most... It takes quite a bit of excitement for me to actually shed tears. So. Happy.
It snowed, there was a parade, Goofy AND Pluto were mad crushin on my lady bits, I got a free hot chocolate, aaaaand we literally walked RIGHT on to my favorite ride (The Haunted Mansion)... Which by the way, they did NOT update after the movie. For this, I am eternally grateful. It was still the story of the bride dying on her wedding night and grotesque as that sounds, I like it to be that way. There's no cohesion in the Anaheim version. But that's a story for another day... I was also pleased by the fact that It's a Small World was Christmas themed. Very, very magical in every way.
The only tiny little thing I would have changed was the fact that many of the characters weren't out because of the poor weather. I mean, it's my prerogative to find Aladdin, and convince him to come home with/marry me, every time I visit the park. I did see him in the parade, though. Which I can DEFINITELY handle. He is MINE, JahhhzzzMAN.
That night, after the park closed, we shopped around Downtown Disney for a bit before heading home. I ate my first REAL candy apple, which by the way was scrumdiddlyumptious! I would say Saturday ranks in my top 10 best days of life.
Ok let's be real, Friday and Saturday COMBINED was the best day ever. Paris is beautiful and EuroDisney was magical. Which can only mean one thing: this weekend was beaugical.
I will post photos so you can live vicariously through me ;) you're welcome.
Mad love.

Oh, you Fancy, huh?

Last night was perhaps the last "fancy night" we will have in Swansea. This weekend, we are headed to Paris and undoubtedly will spend every last cent we have to our names... so we probably won't be able to afford doing our nights on the town anymore.

This is not to say it was a sad occasion... by any stretch of the imagination. Yushi took us to this wonderful restaurant named "Cosmo" that is basically a buffet on crack. I tried to take a picture with my phone but for some reason they have a strict "no photo" policy... I managed to snap the dessert bar, though!

We ate and ate and ate to our little hearts content, then with food babies in tow, went to Kontiki for cocktails. It is always nice to see everyone dressed up... but never too cool to rap every line of the songs at Kontiki.

We didn't go dancing afterward, par usual, because we were all pooped from the papers we've been writing the last few weeks! Regardless, it was a fantastic "last hoorah". (I'm sure my Swansea-pals reading this will not agree that this was the last shaboigan, but trust me, check your bank statement and you'll come to terms with the fact that I'm right about this one.)

Here is (a portion of) the dessert bar at Cosmo. Why, yes, that is a chocolate fountain. Not pictured: Indian buffet, Chinese buffet, Japanese Buffet, Sushi, Grill, and other various delicacies.

Sitting with the STUNNING Allison... feeling pretty full (and we were only on like plate 4 of 8). 

 My lovely best friend, Courtney-"LaSarah". I am so excited to be spending the weekend with her in PARIS!

Before we went out, Nick and I decided to get our "Meerkat" on in the hallway.

We had to snap a few pictures before we went out... because it's a RARE occasion that I actually match or do my hair.

At Kontiki... Sippin' on private stock. Ok, they're Blackberry Mojitos... but they are scrumptious!

Courtney took some photos with a real camera while we were out, so I will have to post those later! The ole iPhone ain't so bad, though ;)
I must be off to pack for Paris!
Mad Love.

It's the Hap-Happiest Season of ALL!

I have a new obsession: Christmas Markets.

Last week, our very own Swansea opened their Christmas market! They are full of delicious treats, cute crafts, mulled wine, and fresh donuts! (All things I love, love, love.) Don't tell anyone, but I've already gone TWICE!

I took a few snaps on my iPhone to show you what it's all about... but I will have to go back and take real pictures with my Nikon one of these days. It's seriously so adorable and I just want to share all of my warm and fuzzies with you!

This is the sandwich stand where I've eaten lunch both days! I have tried the Turkey, Cranberry, & Stuffing... Pork, Applesauce, and Stuffing... and Steak, Onion, & Mushroom. All. So. Delicious.

This is me on day one with my Pork and Apple sanny. Yeah, I ate the whole thing, judge me.

THEN we went for Crepes and Donuts. Actually, this was crepe day. BUT the next day, you bet your sweet buns, I got donuts.

Nick and me with our fantastically marvelous crepes... or as Nick would say, "craps".

Ok, this has nothing to do with the Christmas markets... BUT I made some delicious eggless cookie dough bites topped with nutella the other night. Side of milk. BAD IDEA, y'all. Fun Fact: I have IBS and milk is basically my "arch nemesis". Chocolate, butter, and all other delicious things are also SO MEAN to my stomach... but I don't even care because they are so nummy.

Made you want some sugasuga, huh?

Mad Love.

Pack our Bags and Get Away

Happy Saturday afternoon, my lovecats.It's yet another dreary day in Swansea (weather-wise, that is). While the rest of my house is still sleeping, I have been up for a while planning my trip home. SCARY, huh? I officially come home in... 3 weeks! Well, I leave Swansea in 3... then leave London the next day (Sunday the 18th). I absolutely can not believe my time has flown by so quickly. Honestly, I'm starting to get a little freaked out about going home.
Number one fear? Packing. Number two? Hauling everything through a train station, a bus station, an airport, a shuttle, a hotel, another shuttle, and back to the airport. By everything I mean 3 suitcases (aka my life in 3 plastic shelters). Number three? Flying standby... you're never entirely sure what will happen! Number four? I'm sort of terrified that everything has changed at home. I will be coming home to a new house, new co-workers, new semester... and I've got to admit, I'm kind of scared. You might think it's silly to be scared after 4 months of being away from home... but honestly, the amount of change that's happened in my own life is insane... so I can only imagine how it will be back home.
I guess all I can do is put in the hands of God.
My mom is funny about chain mail... she hardly ever sends it on, even though it may mean she gets eaten in her sleep by wild dragons; however, sometimes she'll send me something that's just... perfect. For example, the day I revealed my sick obsession with butter to my roommates, she sent me a chain letter about the good qualities of butter and why you should eat it often (and over margarine). But for the purpose of this story, my butter addicition is irrelevant.
The other morning, after a long night of travel, I opened my inbox to an e-mail about a "to-do" list. First, I'm thinking, "Oh my God, Mom. I don't want to DOOOO anything right now... except maybe take some extra stregnth somethin'somethin' and a nap". Then, despite the fact that my contacts were so dry they could cut glass, I read the e-mail. It was all about giving God your to-do list, trusting that he will help you, and being patient.
I wouldn't classify myself as overtly-religious or anything, but this e-mail really spoke to me. I guess moms have a way of knowing when something needs to be said. A lot of the time, I get frustrated with little things, and want them to be sorted out immediately. Unfortunately... the world doesn't revolve around one single person ;) and everything takes time. I guess right now I need to focus on giving up my worries to God and praying for the best.
I know this blog post has barely anything exciting going on... but I think I just needed to sort out a few things via type- and isn't that what a blog is for? Well, I've successfully finished my mug of Cocoa, so now it's off to find whatever adventures lie ahead for the day. AKA: Do my laundry so my roommates will find me socially acceptable, even if it's only for a day.
Mad Love.