i'm still alive!

well friends i just wanted you to know that i'm still alive and haven't been eaten by any tigers yet (we actually didn't see any tigers, but we did see a Leopard!). india is great. it's very exciting wherever you go. america is definitely boring compared to here. we have no palaces built with forts around them, no taj mahals, no wild animals, no stray dogs, pigs, and cows eating garbage on the side of the road, america actually obeys traffic laws,--side note, the driving here is insane! it's so crazy that it works (i haven't seen a singel accident), lanes are more like white lines that some idiot wasted his time painting on the road because no one stays in their lane, you can put 3 cars on a one lane road, motorcylces weave through the traffic, and honking your horn is like breathing. it rocks to drive in india. end sidenote--also, america doesn't have people caring water jugs, bundles of sticks, and other large objects on their heads. the only thing that america does have are western toilets. turkish toilets are evil. meredith and i refuse to use them because it's impossible to go to the bathroom. seriously. i am definiltely ready to come back home to clean bathrooms.
well, this past week we stayed at the "Jungle Hut" which is up in the mountains and it was like staying at camp. i loved it. we were at the base of the mountains and it was a little touch of home that i needed. i saw the moon and stars for the first time since i left america (pollution is bad here).
this next week we are going back to Patti's house (patti=grandma. if you want to know what she looks like she is a skinny version of the grandma off of mulan), having an open house for friends and relatives that want to see Ramesh and his crazy family, going to see a proffesional tennis match at the stadium that's down the street from Patti's, then on jan. 5th we are flying home!
i am definitely ready to come home, see my family, stinky pete, friends, hug my dog, use clean bathrooms, and eat american food. if america does anything right, it's bathrooms, showers, fast food and other cow meats (i need steak!), and ice cream.

well, this is sarah the jungle warrior signing out from the other side of the world saying " be thankful for Toilet paper, real napkins, and drinking water!"


p.s. andrew has read all six harry potters, plus 2 more books in 22 days. he's a maniac. he definitely deserves a fanny pack and a t-shirt for reading the most books (amy do you remember those contests at Bountiful Christian?). see you all soon.

leavin' on a jet plane....

Dear Friends,
I realize I have posted something almost everyday this week, and that there are a lot of pictures of Micah and I posing in my house, but i'm leaving tomorrow and probably will not post anything until I get back so I might as well go out with a bang!
This picture is from last night when Micah and I went to the Dinner Theatre at WHBC. It was very fun!
We're leaving tomorrow around 3 in the afternoon and I cannot wait! I've been on a plane twice in my life, and it's never been longer than 2 hours, so being on a plane for a total of 17 hours... ah! I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year, and I hope you enjoy the snow! See you next year in 2007!
Sarah

p.s. I did wear shoes at the dinner in case you were worried that I was a freak!

the perfect match.

my mom and i made sugar cookies last week and decorated them.
the little guy's bow tie is my favorite.

Strangers in the Night...

Friday night Micah and I went to his ROTC "Holiday Ball." It was so much fun, and the other ROTC guys are so awesome. here are some pictures before we left.

VEGAS BABY!

This post is continued from the Arizona one. on our way home we stopped by Las Vegas. here are a few pictures.



below--Caesars palace. those aren't stairs, they're escalators!















left--the coolest Mcdonalds ever!




left--"your wedding live on the internet FREE!"


right--there were so many wedding chapels! this one says "24 hr. drive up wedding window!"
left--it comes out of the hotel...and KABOOM!

on the road again...

On Tuesday afternoon my mom, dad and i hit the road for Arizona to visit our old friends the Workmans. We drove to Mesquite Nevada and stayed at the Casa Blanca resort-casino-spa. spa? yeah right! anyway, on wednesday we drove to Chandler, Arizona which is a couple miles from Phoenix. We had a very yummy Thanksgiving homemade by the beautiful Lisa. Friday we went shopping at "World Market-Cost Plus," "The Great Indoors," "DSW -discount shoe warehouse," and then we topped it off with "Savers!" you can never go wrong with a second-hand store. Saturday we drove to Las Vegas and checked that out, and then drove to St. George. we finally got home on Sunday afternoon! Arizonians are strange people. for one they drive crazy! they also have "thin blood" which means that 75 degrees to Arizona is like Utah's 53. you can always tell who the tourists are because they are wearing shorts in November and Arizonians would never do that! let the photographic journey begin!




we had a bit of fun with these ones...these are our Album covers. we haven't decided the name of our band yet.

bottom left--the Workman's home.


bottom right--me, mom, dad, Larry, Lisa, Levi, Josh.
























below--the courtyard at the oldest hotel in Phoenix.








below--the traditional "Tumbleweed tree!" i told you Arizonians were strange!

ah freak out!

i'm freakin' out!
i leave for india in 3 weeks!
i'm freakin' out!
because i'm leaving in 3 weeks i have to take finals early!
i'm freakin' out!
i've stayed up late every night this week because of homework resulting in being late to class the next day!
i'm freakin' out!
perhaps going to Arizona with my parents for Thanksgiving will be good and relaxing...
if not...Amy i need to see happy feet.

amy

Amy this is for you.
i watched it today.
i'm going to pray like he does...

i'm tired

tonight i am babysitting the 2 Vanderstraten children. Katie and Bec. Katie is a cute 1st grade girl, and Bec is an energetic 3 yr old boy. Richard V. works with my mom. Richard and Mary went out to dinner and are probably having a great time considering this is the first time they have gone out since they moved here (which was a long time ago). i got here and we watched Cars, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, and frosty the snowman. quite a huge line up of movies, but Mary said the kids can stay up so it's alright. it is now 11:25 and the kids are asleep. i wish i was asleep.

chaco, chaco, chaco

well friends here is my latest steal. i bought these little babies for 40% off! woo! what a deal! the exact color is called "ladybug." thought that was cool.
so now i can join mat, amy, and stinky pete in the chaco song...(i can hear them singing it now).

la-de-freakin'-da!

i watched this video in my business class. it was great! just thought i would share this amazing motivational speaker with you all. if you have no idea what these pictures are...we need to talk.
have an amazing day everyone!

a vicious cycle.

lately is seems like i'm in a vicious cycle.
i don't want to be (who would?!).
i get discouraged (for various reasons...mainly spiritual), throw myself a pity party, invite a few kind folks, get encouraged only to realize that it's my fault that i'm like this and so i get discouraged again.
i'm very, very thankful for all you kind folks out there that encourage me.
thank you.
that is all.

all on my own...well, sort of.

i'm living in my parents basement. it's my own little apartment! i have a laundry machine, sink, fridge, dishes... it's wonderful. my mom decorated it in a retro/ antique/ things from grandma's basement/ before we transformed it into my place, so i'm trying to figure out what needs to stay or go. the ugly brown table is craig's card table, and the blue one is the actual table. the tall fridge is the real one, and that small old one is a pantry because it doesn't actually work as a fridge. the sink unit thing came from my grandpa's work shed, and i love it. i love my dishes too! my mom and i bought a lot of stuff at walmart on saturday, and it was so much fun to shop for every thing! i'm so excited! ya me! that is all.

what a rush!

Last night jesse, micah, matt, and i saw "Flags of our Fathers." It was really good and you guys should all go see it! Micah and I rode with jesse to the movie, but matt and jesse bought tickets for "The Departed" right after our movie. 2 movies in one night! So micah and i drove jesse's car home and almost died! It was crazy, but we're still alive so I'll move on.
So the movie was really good, but during the previews i was so sick of the movies that were coming out. All of them are about genocide, hurting people, cheating people, stealing...why can't we just get along?! all of the things that have been in the news and happening around the world makes me so sad. The world has gone mad and last night i was so sick of the evil that is in it. Don't get me wrong, most all of those movies that are coming out will be really good ( really good! and i would like to see some of them), but right now i need a shrek movie. Does that make sense? Happy and funny. I need the next "feel good movie of the year." that is all.

the forgotten adventures of sarah and suzy...

today was a great day...and it's not even over yet! it's only 3:48pm. right now i'm sitting at the counter in suzy's kitchen listening to a great song. today was the first time in a long time that i got to hang with my b-e-a-utiful suzy Q. it was grand, and i miss it. it's hard not going to the same school as suzy and not seeing her everyday. tough..."life's tough, get a helmet!" enough about that... at 5:30 suzy, kelli, katie and i will be going so see the amazing production of THRILLER! i cannot wait! girls night all the way. before we head to the show we will be stopping by the oh so good resturant of wingers! i love that place, and i know exactly what i'm going to order...wings. enjoy your weekend, i know i will! "ME TOO-suzy"
---notice that in everyone of these pictures my mouth is open, and suzy is always on the left and i'm always on the right....we don't know why.