Ode to the Internet

I LOVE THE INTERNET SO MUCH!

Whew, okay, that is out of the way.

Two weeks after moving, we finally have Internet. From now on...next time we move I am going to insist on having Internet on right along with water, electricity and gas before I set foot in my abode. It has been a rough two weeks, no music, no blogging, no reading endless and mindless articles, YouTube, Netflix...can you see how sad I've been? Going camping for a few days, I can handle roughing it without Internet...beyond that all bets are off.

We're loving our new apartment. My favorite feature? Windows. Our last apartment didn't have a window anywhere, or at least a window respectable enough to call a window. This is what basement apartment living is all about. That's before we get to the made in the 1970's carpet.

Yes, we love our new apartment. It's taken a lot of getting used to...before I could be in the kitchen, my sweetheart could be in any given room in the apartment and we could carry on a conversation. This apartment is a little too big for us to be wandering around in and have nice continuous conversations. So we're learning to sit still and complete conversations before exiting the room.

Also...we've never needed furniture up until this point. Last apartment was too small for furniture. Now we have a big vacant room that I believe people call a "living room". It's a bit echo-y, and it turns out (as we learned from our prior apartments) American visitors (well, come to think of it even our international visitors...) find it a bit odd to be invited to take a seat on the floor. Couches, dinner table seating are apparently big things in our culture. (I sincerely hope you caught my sarcasm through all of that.)

I'm incredibly happy right now. I'm so happy to be moved out of Utah County, so not my kind of town. I've gotten comments from Salt Lakers about how "rough" a transition it must be working in Salt Lake City and moving here after growing up in and living in Happy Valley for so long...but honestly, it just feels like coming home. People are so nice in Salt Lake. Everyone's a little "weird", and it makes it so we can all get along and be genuine. I love it.

Years ago, when I first moved to Salt Lake City, people must have thought I was so strange being so quiet, shy and downright fearful of speaking. I got over that fast once I saw that Salt Lake City really is a place you can be open and honest about who and what you are. As long as you don't shame others for being different, others won't shame you for being your brand of different.

I definitely feel like my sweetheart and I are moving towards a brilliant new era in our lives. I'm excited about all the opportunities we're being presented with and blessings we're receiving from God everyday. Every time I get alone with my thoughts, I feel as if I'm bursting with joy. I'm so grateful my little heart can't quite contain it. I can't believe I wake up every morning with my sweetheart right beside me. I spend each day working on various creative projects for my JOB. I've put a great distance between me and my hometown. I can't believe this is my real life.

I feel like I should use that last paragraph for an acceptance speech or something. I am pretty sure a few of you readers are laughing and saying something like, "Sheesh, Annalisa...don't get so excited you're STILL in Utah and that's not very exciting." and "Whoop-dee-do, you have a decent job out of college...chill out."

But I will not "chill out", I am celebrating this victory with full gusto.

Peace!

New Job! New Home!

Well, folks. As you can probably tell, right now I am struggling to keep this blog from dying. You wouldn't believe all that's been happening in a few short months. I remember taking a road trip with my mum and sister and saying, "You know, I feel like my life has gotten a little too calm. I haven't really had much change in the last couple years. Things are a little too easy. I just go to college and get doted on by my wonderful boyfriend. I kind of get the feeling things are about to change, like, a lot."

Can't wait to move here!

How's that for premonition? In an era where marriage proposals are massively orchestrated events with the date typically picked out by the bride-to-be, that next week my boyfriend surprised me. A few short months later we married and I left my hometown (hooray!) The semester after that I graduated from college and thus was formally tossed out in to the cold, cruel world.

Following graduating, I worked an internship at Pearls with Purpose (great cause, I do recommend checking them out. I'm not just saying that because I've worked on their website and written some of their content.) Two months passed, I got a dream of a job offer. Title? Marketing Lead. That title comes with my own office, benefits annnnnnnd a huge move northward!

I wrote a while back that while you're in your twenties, if two years of life are the same, something's probably wrong. This decade of life is ALL about change. So, so far I am greatly succeeding at keeping the changes running. This new job means a move for us that I'm very thrilled for, I hate living here. It will be so good to head to a bigger city and enjoy bigger opportunities.

Valentine's Day

I get spoiled year round. I married Prince Charming, what can I say? But I thought post-February 14th I could share a slice of my daydream of a life.

Morning. I'm the morning person in our relationship. I can think of about three times in our marriage he has ever gotten up before me; likewise, he can probably think of about three times I've ever stayed up past 11:30 pm. My sweetheart was awake BEFORE me making delicious scrambled eggs and OJ for me. Bonus, he washed dishes...which is always a delight. Since moving to this apartment and realizing the sink does not have a garbage disposal (and no dishwasher!) dishes have become a sheer horror for me. My sweetheart has become a superwasher now, I've got entire weeks without touching a dirty dish. That's love, friends. 

After breakfast we headed up to Salt Lake City. We both were delighted to be away from Happy Valley for the afternoon, especially to go hang out with DINOSAURS! You read that right, we hit the Utah Museum of Natural History up by the U. It's a delightful museum. I highly recommend it. Currently the exhibit of interest is the Chocolate Exhibit. Have some chocolate handy before you come because this exhibit stinks up the whole museum. You will INSTANTANEOUSLY  have  a craving for chocolate as you try to read about the Utahceratops. It's going to happen. 

After some delightful "museuming" (Museuming needs to be a word...museums are truly meant to be experienced as a verb,) he let me pick our restaurant. Lo and behold, I've been away from Salt Lake City for too long and totally forgot my favorite sushi restaurant wasn't open until evening. We headed off to downtown to go to an old sandwich shop I used to frequent...but my observant sweetheart pointed across the street to a doner kebab shop.

Dear Americans. This isn't a grilled veggies and meat on a skewer shop. The DONER part of doner kebab is very critical. Doner Kebab is only the most magical thing you could wrap your lips around and sink your teeth into. I got introduced to doner kebab when I was in Germany three years ago. It is a Turkish thing. It's closest cousin is probably the Greek Gyro...however doner kebab is prepared and served with delightful seasonings and spices that you would never find in a gryo. 

The place is called Spitz, and although a doner kebab in Utah is not the same as a doner kebab in Ulm, sitting on a bench staring up at the world's tallest cathedral...it's stunningly delicious for something you don't have to cross the Atlantic to get. I daresay, the fries are simply to die for. I about cried from joy eating this food much like what I enjoyed during my time in Europe. 

All in all...a fabulous Valentine's Day with the love of my eternity. That was even before he unveiled two giant bags of SweetHearts and a tin of Pirouette Hazelnut cookies. What can I say? The man knows me well.