Eve & Iris' infront of Samatha Jones' door (SATC tour)

Eve & Iris at Tortilla flats (features on SATC) - this is where the whole restaurant sang me happy birthday!

Eve & Iris' infront of Carrie Bradshaw's door (SATC tour)

Eve & Iris at TAO for Eve's Birthday Dinner- YUM! - yes that is a big BUDDAH behind us :)

Eve eating a cupcake from Magnolia's (SATC tour)

NYC- Eve & Iris’ 26th Birthday Celebration (Jan 12-15, 2007)

Friday Jan 12, 2007-

I began my journey to NYC on the redeye from SFO to JFK- arriving at JFK at 6:30am. Luckily, I have the most amazing best friend, who actually came to meet me at the airport. For anyone that really knows me, I have no sense of direction, and I fear that if left to my own devices, I probably would have ended up in Jersey. Anyways- Much of this blog was actually written by my dear friend Iris. She did such a fantastic job chronicling the events, that I will let her tell most of the story, and add in my own commentary as required.

Our birthday consisted of 4 main people, Me, Iris, Harp and Craig. Harp & Craig are Iris’ friends from Edmonton (although currently living in Montreal- lucky bums!) Everyone arrived to Iris’ Amazing little apartment on the Upper east side at an OBSCENE hour this morning. I am talking like 4:30 and 6:45 AM. When we all congregated, we took a little snapper and got ready for our day. First stop- we took the subway and made our way to Times Square, with a pit stop at Grand Central Station.

We got to Times Square and hung out for a bit in the area. We stopped by the Letterman studio, then walked through Midtown and made our way to the Plaza where Iris and I were meeting the Sex and the City tour (SATC) . Both of us are huge fans of SATC--VERY into it. We used to start our Friday nights out with the new episode in her Edmonton apartment back in my UofA days. We went on the tour and saw a ton of the sites where the girls hang out etc. We got to sit on Carrie's stoop and as we are waiting to get our pic taken, we see Nina Katz (she was the one that made the face to Carrie when they met) walking her dog. How random and cool. Sure she isn't a major celeb or anything, but still a little weird, right? On the SATC tour and a person that was on SATC walks by. Again, uber-cool.

We finished the tour and meet up with Craig and Harp, and began the walk back to Iris’ Pad.

On the walk we saw a film crew and big lights, so we decided to check it out. It is the new Elisha Cuthbert / Jesse Bradford movie that is filming in the city. While we didn't get to see them making the movie (it was all the stand-ins doing rehearsals) we did see them as they were walking to the set. Iris thought Jesse Bradford (he was the really cute guy from Bring It On - one of the best teen movies EVER) was super cute- although I wasn’t really sure who he was. We hung out and watched them film for about 15 minutes, and let me tell you, the job is not that glorious. It was actually really tedious and boring- getting every camera angle, lighting ect exactly right.



Saturday Jan 13, 2007-
As I mentioned before, Iris and I are obsessed with SATC. We love this show and we always have—we are original SATC junkies. So, obviously, this weekend was going to have an SATC theme.

Saturday we awoke, went down the West Village and put our name on the wait list for Pastis and went walking around. Pastis is an uber-cool brunch place popular for celebs and beautiful people in NYC. While walking around we saw Nigel Barker - from America's Next Top Model! While I don't watch this show regularly, I do watch it enough to have seen Nigel and noted how HOT he is on tv. Lemme tell ya, he is ACTUALLY that good-looking. He was walking around the neighborhood with his kid. SO cute.

We headed back to Pastis and were seated at our table. At this point we were all actively searching for celebs, as we are all sightly celeb obsessed.

I went to the bathroom, and when I returned to my table I walked smack into Elisha Cuthbert ! She is Jack’s daughter on 24- my favorite show!! Elisha is a cute, girl next door type. Shes REALLY short tooo. I wasn’t wearing heels and I was at least 5 inches taller than her, which would but her at about 5 1”

We finished brunch and made our way down to the WTC site, and my pick, the Century 21 discount department store. I visited this place on my first NYC trip with Sean, but we all know that Sean is NOT a great shopping partner. He gets really annoyed and impatient- much the same as I am when forced to watch sports. I found the PERFECT pair of new TAG jeans. This is the exact pair I have been searching online for- and found that the only place I can but them is planet funk in Hollywood---but I found them, and they were totatlly discounted (like 60% off)! I live for discounted fashion finds- Happy birthday to me!!

We walked to Canal Street and SoHo, shopped a little more, we made our way home. Dinner for the evening was going to be Tortilla Flats, a Mexican restaurant that was featured on SATC. This place was awesome! The food was great and not expensive at all. The whole meal for all four of us came to $50! Can you imagine?! The owner stopped by our table and gave everyone a free round of drinks (diet coke for me), and then got the whole place to sing happy birthday to me- How Coool is that!!

After the restaurant, we went to this underground music venue called, the MisShapes. The MisShapes are these DJs who Iris says are basically the three coolest people in NYC. They have had Madonna guest DJ for them and often feature secret shows by the likes of the YYYs and The Strokes. So we go.

Boy, this was not our scene. I am talking about hipsters and little mod kids the likes of these eyes have never seen before. We were going to leave, as this was not what we were expecting, but then this band gets on stage. No it wasn't any major bands, but it was a really great group from Brooklyn. They were called The Pretty Boys and they totally rocked. I met the lead singer and she gave me a copy of her CD- I’ve been listening to it in my car, and they totally rock- very Garbage-esk.


Sunday Jan 14, 2007- Happy Birthday to ME!!

Sunday was Eve's birthday in NYC. We all got up (this was a big slumber party weekend, with Iris and I on the pullout and Harp and Craig on the air mattress in the living room) got dressed, watched a couple episodes of Entourage (Iris’ gets everyone addicted to that show) and then Craig and Harp left back to Montreal, and Iris and I had the whole day all to ourselves! Yippeee!!

We decided to walk all day and see what this city has to offer. We walked from the UES to SoHo. For those of you unaware of the distance, it is about 100 blocks. 20blocks= 1 mile, so this was a 5 mile day (in heels I might add- not the smartest idea). Along the way we shopped a bit, but mainly just walked and hung out.

For my birthday dinner we had the idea of going to Tao. It was a great meal, probably the best sushi I have ever had in my entire life- even better than NOBU in London! I just have to say, "Wow". We even had dessert- although there really wasn’t anymore room in my tummy. I had chocolate souffle, and iris had some pastry concoction.

After we stuffed our bellies full, we sat by the Plaza Fountain. I love this fountain, and have to say it is Iris’ favorite little spot in the city. It is just so old school NYC. The Plaza, Central Park, Fifth Avenue. It's the New York from movies. It is the New York you see and think, "Wow, I might like to visit New York one day".

So that was our weekend. It was super fun and so great to see my bestest friend Iris.

For anyone that is wondering, sean was working nights all weekend, which is why I decided to go elsewhere for my birthday. See, I really don’t have a lot of friends in SF, so I thought I would be super lonely and depressed if I spent my entire weekend at home alone, and hating Sean. So instead, I went to NYC, had a blast, and came back missing my Seany-sean. What a great trip!!

Oh Yeah, my cab ride back to the airport on Monday morning was a trip. The driver must have been a crack addict because he kept figiting, and scratching his ENTIRE body the Entire 40 mintue drive to the airport. I was SO Thankful when I arrived in one piece.

XOXO

Eve

Here are a couple of pictures from 2006. Please forgive the random order of the posting and the associated comments. I cannot figure this whole formatting this out!!


1- London- my 2nd work trip to london with my good friend harmandeep. this is after we went to SPOON for dinner- a swanky affair indeed.


2- Hawaii- Aug: This is me & Sean at the PCC in hawaii.

3- Tri Gril Tri- Sept:
Me & Sean after I finished the race!! What a great feeling :)


4- Deepy's 30th Bithday:
Sean and I at a club in SF. This was is very first time clubbing in SF, and the man can dance:)

5 sister Celebration: July- My big sisters betina and serinda (& Mena) came for a visit

6- Jasper @ Christmas- Me and poopie on the slopes at jasper. What a great time!!

Christmas 2007

Christmas this year was full of mini Christmas Miracles! Sean & I headed up to Slave Lake right after work on a non-stop flight on Friday Dec 22.

Christmas Miracle #1- No flight delays- no air related problems- a nice change from our last years Christmas flying fiasco!

Christmas Miracle #2- We rented an economy car on priceline (non-refundable) back in August, thinking it would be sufficient to hold us and our luggage. Well, plans changed and we all decided to go Snowboarding in Jasper- meaning there was no way all of our stuff would fit in the little Haundi Accent we’d rented. I tried to upgrade the reservation prior to our arrival, however, it was going to cost an additional $700 to get an SVU- no Way- We’d make it fit! Then, the nice ticket agent just asked us if we wanted a mini van because they had so many of them, and they didn’t have very many small cars left. I jumped for joy inside and knew that someone was looking out for us.

Christmas Miracle #3- The roads to Slave lake were clear, no ice, and the weather was fantastic. We saw 3 huge moose along the way, and thankfully we did not hit any of them. This was like a little wildlife excursion for Sean- he’d never seen a moose before this trip, and in just 2.5 hours, he saw 3! We arrived safely to Slave Lake around 2:30am.

Saturday Dec 23

Saturday was a fun filled day. First we all went to Tim Hortons for Breakfast, and met up with Danielle & Shawn along the way. Timmy’s is Slave Lake’s newest hot spot with the drive thru line winding along the entire parking lot, and a priceless sign that reads, “ We’d like to serve you better, however, we are in need of additional Staff. Should you know anyone who is interested please refer us to them”. Slave Lake is a booming Oil/Lumber town, so its really hard to find minimum wage service industry workers, even at $13/hr starting wage.

We visited with the family for the morning, did a craft with Abby in the afternoon and then drove over to Danielle’s house for a visit. She and Sean have the nicest home- I cannot wait to have my very own house someday. Although, at the rate we’re going, I’ll probably be too Old and Tired to care about decorating, and we’ll have to get a single story as I’ll be in a walker by then. Boo Hoo! Kaleb is so grown up! Hes really a nice boy.

Mom made Christmas dinner, after which we opened our presents. The majority of which were for Abby and Mena. However, I think Abby wanted more as she kept opening up my presents! I guess I’m still a kid at heart bc I wanted to open my own presents- but how do you say no to a 3 year old without looking selfish? Mom loved the Hawaiian Moo- Moo I got her. Bright blue flowered print synthetic silk- just up her alley! Betina got me this fantastic MEC bag. I’ve been wearing it all week, and I love it! Sean got a cool Oilers hat from Keith, and Dad got a lot of socks. Overall, I think everyone was happy with their presents.

Sunday Dec 24

We all went to Church to see Mena get blessed. Dad gave the blessing and Sean stood in the circle. Sean didn’t bring a white shirt, tie or church shoes (packing space was very limited)- luckily, Dad buys size 10 shoes even though he’s actually an 8.5, and has an abundance of white shirts and ties. The blessing was really nice- it was nice to see my dad give one. Growing up my grandpa did all of the baptisms and father blessings were not the norm in our house, so I’ve never really seen my dad use his priesthood. You’ll be pleased to know though, that he can still give a good blessing 

I love going to church in SL because it just feels so much more comfortable than church anywhere else. I get to see most of the families I grew up with and chat with all of the ladies that were my teachers over the years. Plus, Lindsay Leishman is engaged!! She brought her fiancé to church- so I got to meet him as well! I really miss feeling normal at church. I always feel so inadequate at other wards bc it is such a molly Mormon fashion fest. Who cares if I wear the same skirt to church every Sunday? Not Me!

After church we met up with Danielle & Shawn at BP’s for lunch. Its tradition to go to BP when in SL. Its my favorite SL restaurant. After which we headed off to Jasper.

The drive to Jasper was BEAUTIFUL. We saw more moose, deer, elk and mountain goats. It was the most relaxing 5 hour drive ever. I really miss Alberta driving. Its so stress free and enjoyable. I wasn’t looking forward to all of the driving we’d be doing this trip, but it actually turned out to be really great. We listened to all of our new CD’s that we got for Christmas and stopped in Swan Hills for a potty break. That was defiantly a culture shock for Sean who did not believe that the place only had ONE gas station. Oh dear Seany Sean… life is different in small town Alberta.

We got to jasper around 6pm and checked into Maligne lodge. This is the same hotel we’ve always stayed at for our annual spring skiing Jasper trip growing up. I have very fond memories of this place, and was very excited to share it with Sean.

Christmas Miracle #4- We were booked for 3 rooms to accommodate everyone with a bed to sleep in. However, the nice counter lady gave us a poolside suite instead, saving us $300! The room was perfect as the pool and hot tub were right outside our room (no running across the frozen parking lot in our skivvies!) We all had a bed to sleep in and there was a huge Kitchen for us to do all of our cooking (re-heating) in! We got to hang out together for 2 solid days. Everyone was in a good mood and we had a fantastic time.


Monday Dec 25- Christmas Day

We woke up at 7:30am and opened our stockings together at the kitchen table. Sean got me such a great stocking- loads of my favorite gum (ice breakers), Christina Argularia tickets and awesome earrings that I’ve been eyeing at Target! Thanks Sean- you did great!

Mom loved her stocking too- VS perfume, giradelli and See’s chocolate, Slippers from the London Marriott, a walmart gift certificate, an earing/necklace set and another gift certificate from timmy’s! She was in heaven. Dad got a lot of Socks in his 

Christmas Miracle #5- We got to the slopes at 10am- and they were PERFECT. I have never seen Jasper so empty! It was 0 degrees celcius outside, the sun was shining and there was fresh powder everywhere. It was some of the best ski conditions I have yet encountered. Sean was super impressed too!!

We all took the first couple of runs together- and Sean was doing surprisingly well. Its his 5th time snowboarding and he has the basic carve down. Anders is an AMAZING skier! He spent most of his time on the double blacks in the trees. Not something I attempted, as my snowboard just doesn’t have the turning radius for the trees. I always crash and get stuck- not fun. So, Patience and I explored the various black diamonds- which was super fun. I love having someone at my level to board with.

After skiing we ate a lasagna dinner (courtesy of M&M meats) and went in the hot tub. Mom and dad forgot their swimsuits though and all of the stores were closed. I love the outdoor hot tub at Maligne…. Its sooo nice! And it helps the soreness in your muscles to loosen up.

Tues Dec 26-

Our 2nd (and final) ski day in japser. Again, another beautiful day skiing. We skied solid from 9am to 12:30- when we met up in the lodge for homemade sandwichs and poutine. Poutine is a Payne ski tradition as well. We only get it when skiing as it is death on a plate, but boy oh boy is it tasty. We took a quick lunch today in order to get back on the slopes.

On the way to the ski lift, sean fell- a silly fall, but he sprained his knee in the process. I went up once more to the top with my dad, and then skied to the bottom to see if sean was ok. I really wanted to keep boarding, but I knew that if I were hurt, sean would have called it a day and comforted me. I think Sean is just a nicer person and I  Dad checked out his leg and was 90% certain is was just a sprain. We ended the day a little early, as Sean could no longer board, and patience was really nice from her hard partying th night before (jk).
Our drive back to Edmonton was again Beautiful and relaxing. We arrived at Iris’ apartment at 5pm, took showers, repacked and then went to Joey’s Tomatoes for dinner. The perfect end to a perfect Christmas Vacation.

Wed Dec 27-

We flew back on our non-stop flight- again no long delays.

Christmas Miracle #6- My boss gave me 3 days off without taking vacation, the 27, 28 and 29. Ive had a VERY relaxing time chilling out at home, watching movies and cuddling with my Seany Sean.

Merry Christmas to All!! I will post some Christmas photos tomorrow.

At heart- I am a Rebel

Sean and I just celebrated our 2nd anniversary last week- 12/11/2006 to be exact. After being married for 2 years, our relationship is healthy, stable and full of love. Being creatures of habit, we often do the same things over and over again- movies, eating out, cooking, mountain biking, working out- and then every once and a while do something out of the ordinary, like our trip to Paris, Christmas 2006 snowboarding in Canada, or our favorite mini-breaks to Utah. Sean is the best husband I could have ever hoped for- and everyday I see more and more why we were destined for each other.

While 90% of the time, I love being married, the other 10% of me misses the fun and excitement that comes with being single. The butterflies in your stomach when you are talking to your new crush, the girls only road trips to Vegas, LA, Edmonton ect- and the general freedoms that come with not having to answer to anyone, spending money as you please and being an Independent Woman.

Well- dear sisters and Iris- I found a small way to pretend that I’m single again, and get the “butterfly feeling”!! Last Saturday night I dragged Sean out to a club in SF for my friend Harmandeep’s 30th birthday. It took a LOT of convincing, as Sean was never a club kid- but for the sake of me, he came. It was fantastic. It is SO much better dancing as much as you please with your husband and not worrying about sleazy guys getting all up in your face! I felt “Bad” again, and I LOVED it!! I saw Sean in a new light- he was the total hottie at the other side of the room that I was eyeing all night and am mustering up the courage to talk to. Plus- Sean is a great dancer! The man has rhythm! Sean was by far the hottest man in the place- and that gave me the butterflies!

I really am a rebel at heart, and I don’t think I’ll ever really change- so in lieu of bad behavior- I have found a new outlet that makes for a great substitute. Next Anniversary- We’re going to a club and Sean is going to shake his groove thang!

Showers—

To most people, showers are enjoyable-- A relaxing time to reflect on your day, your dreams, and to sing your heart out, like Xtina. (at least Sean seems to enjoy the singing bit).

I, on the other hand, hate to shower. It is a huge chore, and is just too much work to be enjoyable. A full shower, is like a 40 minute process, and I just do not have the time to do this every single day-

1- Shampoo
2- Condition (leave in 3 minutes)
3- Wash face
4- Wash body
5- Shave legs
6- Dry off (and don’t get the floor soaking- sean will be MAD!)
7- Moisturize Legs, Arms and love handles (but you have to be really dry or it doesn’t soak in your skin)
8- Re-dress
9- Towel dry hair
10- Get make-up completely off of eyes
11- Moisturize face
12- Leave in conditioner
13- Comb hair
14- Blow dry hair upside down with round brush

Pheufff--- it just takes forever!!! The whole time I am thinking about everything I need to get done, or what Sean is doing in my absence!! I wish I could just stop thinking about my to-do list and enjoy the hot water, steamy bathroom and relax.

One day… I will learn to relax… just like the rest of the free world. I will give up exercise, will order my very own piece of cheesecake, and I wont care if my hair is flat from air drying.

Today though, I will continue my every other day shower schedule and I don’t care if anyone thinks this is gross…. There was a time (Summer 2003 on the SL GOLF COURSE) when me and my sister poopie would only shower on the weekends. The smellier we got, the less the bugs ate us. How I miss those days.. when showering was not a mandatory part of life.

Thanksgiving 2006

Thanksgiving was Awesome this year! Margie came up to visit again, so I had a female companion to do lots of girly things with. I put Margie to work right away, and we baked pies (pumpkin & tin roof chocolate) & wrapped Christmas gifts her first night here. The pies were amazing- especially the Tin Roof pie. I included it in the Christmas 2006 collection, so you’d all better make it next year! It is To Die For!!


We ate Thanksgiving dinner at the Do-Little’s house, a family friend of the Werner family. They were very gracious to have us and we enjoyed the food and company. Well… almost all of the company- they had 2 very HAIRY cats and I was sneezing, wheezing and itching from the neck up from the moment I walked in the door. Note to self- inquire if host has felines prior to invitation acceptance.

Sean’s brother Rob brought a date- a nice Asian girl named Fiona. She was really nice and spoke English very well (she was visiting from Malasysia). Margie & I had a great time laughing with her. She was envious of Sean & I, and openly expressed the desire to have someone special, as she said, “It is lonely being single”. While I was single, happy & FREE prior to my life with Sean, I have to agree that Sean is the most wonderful blessing in my life. I am a much happier person with him than without. We often talk about what a miracle it was that our paths crossed when they did.

On Friday we had a marathon day of walking the dish, Mani/Pedis @ my favorite Asian sweat shop, Chiloptle burritos, shopping at Nordy’s Rack & Target, going to the movies w/ seamy sean (Déjà vu- 3.5 stars!!), and enjoying dinner at Bucca de peppa (a Payne-werner favorite). By 10pm I was crashed out on the couch while Margie enjoyed SATC (6th season).

I love that Margie visits me at Thanksgiving, and I love making the pies, so that I get to take home the leftovers and eat pumpkin pie for breakfast (assuming Sean doesn’t get to it first).

My Top 10 Blessings I am Thankful For

1- My Seany-Sean
2- My family
3- My friends
4- My health
5- My father for putting me through BYU & teaching me the value of hardwork.
6- My education
7- The Great Outdoors
8- Air Travel
9- Chain Restaurants
10- Discount Retailers

Addicted

Thanks to my sister Betina, I have a new addiction in my life, the ever popular medical TV series, Grey’s Anatomy. It takes a lot to get me to start watching a new show, but when I find one that I like, it takes over my life, and like a good book, I just cannot put it down until it’s done. The problem is that it is not a 400 pg book, rather, it is a tv series, and there are 27 commercial free episodes at my immediate disposal via blockbuster online.

I started Season 3 weeks ago- telling myself I’d just get the first disc to see if I liked it. Well, I LOVED it. I polished off the first disc (4 episodes) in the first weekend, and now, three weeks later, im done all 27 episodes of season 2. While it has been an emotional rollercoaster- of highs and lows, living vicariously through the lives of Lizzy, Meredith, McDreamy and my favorite heart patient Denny…. Im so glad its over. It took over my life. I didn’t get a thing accomplished in the last 3 weeks, and there is a big dent on my couch, 3 additional lbs on my hips and an endless to do list (ie- clean bathroom, grocery shop, laundry- all of which have been neglected for 3 weeks!). I will have to wait at least 3 weeks before I go back and watch season 1, otherwise before I know it, Christmas will be here, and I will have neglected to wrap presents, bake cookies, send out Christmas cards or pack my bags for Canada.

Oh how I love grey’s… but I’m glad its over for now 

My Top 10 ALL Time favorite TV shows (in no particular order)

1- Grey’s Anatomy
2- ER
3- Friends
4- 90210
5- CSI Las Vegas
6- CSI Miami
7- Sex in the City
8- Seinfeld
9- 24
10- Road to Avonlee


Ps- Congratulations Serinda Minnie, on the birth of your new baby girl!

Minneapolis-
Last week I had the opportunity to go the Minneapolis Minnesota for a few days for work. I was totally dreading the trip, as it is not a “hot spot”- I thought of it as a hole in the Midwest. My friends- I was wrong. Minneapolis is a very clean, spacious city with great shopping, restaurants, lots of parking, very friendly people and its cold and crisp, just like home. Plus it has the Great Mall, which reminded me of a brand spanking new West Edmonton Mall.

I felt totally at home in the city. People look you in the eye and smile, the cashiers make friendly small talk, and people are genuine. I think I am getting tired of California. Don’t get me wrong, I love the weather, my job, the mountains, the beach, cheap mani/pedis and fresh produce- but I found that I no longer look people in the eye and smile anymore. I think I may have turned into one of them when I wasn’t paying attention- a road raging, inpatient shop-o-holic that needs instant service at my every whim.

I am really missing the small town feeling- where everyone knows you (or of you), you can walk alone after dark without fear of getting shot, and you can go to the mall and not have to stalk people for a parking spot.

Today, I miss being in Canada.

Christmas Letter Entries

Calling all Payne family members- please submit your 500 word summary of 2006 to me by Nov 1, 206. Include the following:

1- personal life update (job, school, pregnancy, adoption, disney time share ect)
2- Significant other/child update (eden, oakley, abby and the mysterious "e" baby)
3- significant achievement in 2006
4- Goal for 2007
5- favorite breakfast cereal

Also please include your mailing address in your submission so that I can get them sent out. I will also provide dad with copies to send out to the masses.

XOXO

Eve

ps- Iris- you can include a submission too if you'd like :)

Patiences' Requested Update

ok poopie- i havent posted anything recently bc nothing exciting has happened, and I dont have any funny insights into society as of late. Lets see whats going on-

1) Im FINALLY moving tonight. This supposed move has been underway since August. We got a call from our apartment mgr while in hawaii who informed us we had to move. So- went we got home, we started packing. I feel like our lives have been on hold. we cannot invite people over for dinner, we cannot leave town, even my eyebrow tweezers are packed away. Its a little insane living from boxes- so finally, it will be done. Why did they have to call us in August and tell us- 2 weeks? Its been more like 2 months!

2) Mom and Dad are coming to Cali this weekend! The agenda is as follows (of course i have an agenda silly)

Friday

• Tour Eve's work & have lunch at Tibco Cafe
• mani/pedi (eve & mom), Hair color (dad).
• Walk the dish with Dad- Drop mom off at Walmart
• Drive to San simeon (3 hr drive)
• sleep at sleazy motel

Saturday

• Go to hearst castle!!
• Drive back to Mountain View
• Work out & go to a movie if theres time
• Big Family Birthday dinner at Bucca Di Peppo for Sean's Dads bday (which coincentenally is oct 18, same as my dad, sean , and sean's dad)

SUnday

• Church
• BBQ
• Airport

Ill let you know if something exciting happens with the move or the visit. Im certain after a weekend with both mom and dad together, somethign is bound to come up :)

XOXO

Eve

My Offical Tri Girl Results:


Bib Name City, State Age Gen AG OA
450 Eve Payne Mountain View, CA 25 F 11 30

Swim 00:18:46.3 Bike 00:51:48.0 Run 00:33:02.3 Finish 01:48:56.1

I finished 11th in my agegroup (25-30) and 30th overall. There were 754 participants!

Yippeee!!! Next year, Im going for the top 10 in my agegroup.

Tri Girl Tri- Napa Valley Saturday September 30, 2006


Well friends- its done. I have sucessfully completed my first ever sprint triathlon this past weekend. I faired quite well, especially considering I was in London last week, not training very hard and eating especially delicious, yet not nutritious meals. Plus the fact that I was completely jet lagged from the 8 hr time difference, i was not sure i would even finish the race without puking.

The event was composed of the following segments:

1/2 mile open water swim in freezing cold lake berryessa
15 mile bike ride on rolling hills
4 mile run on rolling hills

The swim was hard. I've never swam open water before, and I had a really hard time swimming straight. I kept looking up and saw that I was way off course everytime, so i would have to waste time swimming back... i lost alot of time here. Plus the water was really cold, so it was hard to get a full breath- as my lungs felt like there was a cement block on them. ANyhooo-- i pretty much sucked at the swim portion. Its my own fault though, as I only swam once in all of september- next yr i'll do better at this.

THe bike ride was awesome. I passed at least 15-20 people on the ride. I guess all of my spin classes and mountain bike rides paid off here. I definatly gained some time in this leg. Plus it was Really fun! I love speeding down hills- it is such a rush!

The run was also hard. Mainly bc my body was tired- as i have trained for this using the dish at Stanford, which is full of really steep inclines. My pace was slow though. I could probably improve here if i do the following 1) dont spill your gu all over your bike during transition and 2) Dont drink soo much water at the transition point that you have stomach cramps from overload.
Lessons learned for next year!

I finished with a time of 1hr46 min. 3rd place in my age division was 1hr 42 min, so I think I was in the top 10 in my age group- but ill have to wait until the offical results are posted before I am sure.

This event has inspired me to do more athletic type events. I am thinking of doing a half marathon in SF on saturday Dec 9th- anyone want to join in the fun?

XOXO

Eve

London- Sept 23-29 2006

Another fantastic business trip to London with my good friend Deepy :)

Saturday (10/25)- We got to the airport and was offered a free round trip ticket to anywhere Virgin flies and a free night hotel in SF if I would leave the following day (Sunday). Unfortunately my new boss was not comfortable doing this, so we had to say no. Why is it that I can never actually take advantage when these flight offers come my way? There always seems to be some reason why I cannot do it. Anyhow- Virgin seats are tiny. The tiniest you have ever seen. I’m certain they have weight restrictions of the passengers, and anyone over 200lbs cannot board. Seriously, they just would not physically fit into the seat, and I highly doubt they have seatbelt extenders either.

We finally got to our hotel around 2:30pm Sunday afternoon- and let me tell you, this is a Great hotel, with a balcony view of Hyde Park. Amazing. Beyond this job, I cannot foresee myself ever being able to stay at such a nice place again. One great perk to being an accountant is all of the business trips, fancy hotels and restaurants that I’ve enjoyed. I’m sure in my next career as a hair stylist I will miss it dearly.

We went for a stroll down to Leichester square. This place has the most amazing gelato ever. I didn’t have any however, as I was sadly stuffed full from a late lunch at the hotel. If only I’d know that ice-cream was near, I never would have touched the pizza! I bought a few cute London souvenirs for my fam- and we walked all the way back to Hyde Park. We hung out there until dark listening to all of the religious/political ranters at Speakers Corner. It was actually really fun! It is so interesting to listen to the passion that people have about their religion, values and worship.

Monday (9/25): Today we woke up & took the train to Maidenhead. Nothing eventful in Maidenhead, just a means to an end--- my method of getting to this glorious city (London)! We headed back to London at 6pm, and picked up theatre tickets to see “Chicago” starring Ashley Simpson as Roxy!! The show was actually downgraded to a smaller theatre and tickets were only $50 (USD)… not back for London theatre. Im super excited to see a real live Simpson… even if it is only Ashley. I am actually excited to hear her sing live—I wonder if she really sucks as much as they say she does.

We got back to the hotel around 6:30pm- had a snack in the “Executive Lounge” (which is a Great Perk of corporate travel), and then I hit the gym. To my dismay there was nothing to set my magazine for reading while on the treadmill. So sad!! I haven’t read my mags for a couple of weeks, as I was saving them up for London, as I new the treadmill was awaiting. Its usually to hard to get outside to run while traveling, as I have no sense of direction, and I will inevitably get lost… (when I was in Salzburg me and my friend ran to a different town… although we didn’t know it, and no one that was up at 5:30am knew English, French or Spanish---so we end up being 2 hrs late for class!! It took us a while to figure things out)

Monday night we went to NOBU. This is the Hip sushi restaurant that all of the Hollywood celebs go to. Beyonce and J-Z were there on the weekend---- so my hopes were high to have a celebrity sighting. Atlas, I have terrible luck, and I never see celebrities even though I stalk them down like a crazy person. The sushi was the best I’ve ever had- it was so fresh and not fishy tasting at all. And we have my favorite chocolate soufflé for dessert--- yum! The décor was awesome---oozing with coolness as Betina would put it.

Tuesday (9/25): This morning I woke up early to work out. I haven’t done this since I started my job at Tibco, because I actually really hate it. It makes me hungry and sweaty all day long. The reason being is there is just too much to do in London to waste away my evenings in the gym.

After work I roamed the shops on Oxford Street. I only bought some chocolate as the dollar does not go very far in London. For Dinner we went to Bentleys, a 100 yr old Seafood Restaurant. The menu was very limited, but the food was delicious. I got king prawns- my favorite seafood dish. We sat beside an older English couple. They were extremely proper- dripping with wealth. They actually started to talk to us after we’d both witnessed a lover’s quarrel in the restaurant. This girl hit the boy and walked out, then she came back to find that the boy had left her, and she ran out in a frenzy. It felt like a scene from the movies.

Wednesday (9/26): In the evening on Wednesday we went to the theatre- another of my London favorites! We saw the Chicago production starring Ashlee Simpson as “Roxy”. This was defiantly the highlight of the trip. I was a little skeptical as she has had a few blunders in her live performances (SNL, NFL), but I must say we were both impressed. She is so skinny and pretty! And she actually has a good voice- an alto—but good none the less. Her stage movements were fantastic, and she was really funny! She played the part of Roxy very well. This is her first week in the show and her family is in town watching her. Her mom was in the stalls with another older lady. Seriously, this show is awesome! We rented binoculars so we could see up close (although the theatre was quite small). She was soooo Great!! I don’t have enough good things to say about it. Great music, awesome dancing, great costumes, sexy men dancing- fantastic! Chicago is a must see!!

After the show we asked the security if we could go back stage. They said no, but told us where she exists. We stalked the back “stage door” with about 40 other people. If it was in LA there would be hundreds- so it was quite nice. We waited for about ½ hr and then she came out! She was really nice and signed autographs, smiled for the cameras and said hi to people. She’s really pretty, gracious, and the girl has talent. This made my Trip!! (Lets be honest, it actually made my year). We KNEW she was going to dinner afterwards- but we didn’t know where. So unfair bc for once we can actually afford to eat where she’s eating J



Thursday (9/27): Ill give you another update if anything cool happens tonight- I just really HAD to post this blog early as I was so excited about Ashlee Simpson (I’m such a celebrity obsessed stalker- I know). At least I have good friends to join me in the quest.

Tonight we are going to a new “It” restaurant called Spoon. At least, that is what the concierge at the hotel tells us, and he hasn’t led us astray yet. Maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll run into the Simpson clan while we’re out tonight!


XOXO

Eve


PS- I have my triathlon on Saturday, the morning after I return. I’m really hoping the jet leg doesn’t affect me too much and that I can perform like a Rockstar. Well, actually I’m just hoping to finish somewhere in the middle. I am getting really nervous bc I am here in London and therefore not training as much as I’d like to this week. Although I have heard that week before a race you shouldn’t push yourself too hard, so maybe my daily trips to the hotel gym will be ok. Wish me luck!!

Pie Baking Contest

I'm sooo bummed- I didnt even place in the pie baking contest, and I made the yummiest pies. I even hedged my chances to win by baking 2 pies and having Harmandeep enter one of them.

Who would have thought that there would be 30 entries?##$%&!, Yes thats right t-h-i-r-t-y! Who has time to go home at night at bake pies? Seriously, I thought I was the only looser out there. Nope, there are at least 30 others like me here at Tibco.

The pies did turn out deliciously though. I think I will but the Tin Roof Pie in my Christmas receipe contribution this year. Its Delicious!!

Next year- Im baking strawberry rubarb!

Treadmills

Unlike many avid runnings of the world, I love Treadmills. I love them because I know exactly how many minutes & miles I am running, I can adjust the incline as i see fit, and i know my calorie burn. While I hate the smell of the gyms, the noise of the machines, and the grunts from the weirdo's around me... nothing can replace the timer settings of the treadmill.

Well my friends.. I have found a new discovery (new to me)... a Heart Rate Monitor/Watch. I bought one a couple of weeks ago, and it has changed my world! Now I can enjoy the beautiful california weather when I run, while still knowing the miles, minutes and calories burned. In Fact... it even has settings for my maxium heart rate and optimum training zone.. so I always know where I am cardiovascularily! For me, a type A, Red Accountant type, these numbers matter. A regular jog in the park doesnt do it for me, as i have no record of my progress.

Goodbye smelly gym with no A/C, Hello nature, fresh air, and sweet sounds of nothing (but my ipod).

XOXO
Eve

Terrible Day at Work/Pie Contest

Work has been SOO Stressful lately. There is so much to do, so many demands on my time, and worst of all NO time for teddy and moo's. Why is it that I have to find out about brit's new baby from someone else. And why , or why cant I book Jasper hotel reservations in my down time? BECAUSE THERE IS NO DOWN TIME!!! Gone are the days for 15 minutes breaks.

On a Side note, my work is having a pie baking contest this Thursday. As there are not too may molly homemakers working at Tibco Software (Besides HR of course), Im fairly certain I will have a decent chance at making the top 3. So, if any of you have ideas for a great pie recipe, please let me know asap. I am torn btwn an adventour Tin Roof Pie (chocolate, carmael & cream layers), or a tradiional Dutch Apple pie. Please submit your vote on what you think will win-

1) Dutch Apple Pie
2) Tin Roof Pie

Note to Self-

When training for a sprint triathalon, and doing a 1.45 hr workout consisting of a 55 minute Spin class, followed immediatly by a 45 minute run on the "hill cylce", try to eat something more substantial for dinner than a chicken salad from chilpote. While tasty and fufilling on normal days, eating a meal such as this after you've burned 1000 calories will not sustain you through the night.

Its 1:14am, and I woke up crazy hungry, after going to be at 10:30pm. I just had some toast and honey nut cherrios, and now im about to hit the sac again, with the dilema of " Do i have to brush my teeth again?"

Did you guys hear about Anna Nicole Smith? I guess her 20 yr old son died of a massive heart attack 3 days after she gave birth to a baby girl. I didnt even know she was pregnant. checkout the link: http://www.teddyandmoo.com/blog/?cat=435

Hawaii - Aug 8-14 – Oahu baby!


Day 1 (Tuesday)
We arrived at the Honolulu airport around 11am, just in time to pick up Patience who flew in from Washington. This was the first time I’d seen Patience since my wedding! It seems like forever ago! Patience had a LOT of stuff- a lot of HEAVY stuff… for such a small person, she sure did pack a heavy load. We met seamy-Sean at the rental car place & hit the road. Mind you, business in Hawaii is not run as efficiently as it is in the US, so it actually took us close to an hour at the rental place to get our car. Sean was not a happy camper. We are both lacking the virtue of Patience…. Thus it is a really great thing I have her as a sister! Oh- the other good thing- we paid for a compact and got a full size V6 Malibu with a sunroof! Sweetness. Rule #1- Always book a Compact. Car lots don’t usually carry very many of them, so the chances that you will be upgraded to a mid size are high.

We checked into our hotel- the OUTRIGGER Waikiki--the one with Duke’s! This is where Sean and I had our last meal on our honeymoon. Ohhhhh….. young love. Anyhow, our room was huge! And the balcony doors actually opened, unlike most hotels on the mainland (or maybe that’s just Vegas).

Patience unpacked one of her many suitcases, and unveiled gifts from Thailand. A silk elephant tie for Sean, a 2” silver cuff for eve, and plenty of dried mangos for all. Next we put on our swimsuits and hit the beach. Ohhh… how I love sunbathing. Well, actually, now that I am 25, I cake on the SPF 30 (45 for my face), and I really don’t get any color. We tested out the water for the first time--just as I thought, warm and tropical. I really cannot stand the ocean unless it is in tropical waters. Otherwise it is just too cold, salty & reeks of fish. Yuck.

In the evening we hit up the Wal-Mart and stocked up on essential supplies for the week including Breakfast Cereal & Milk, Animal Crackers, Beach Towels, Snorkel Gear & diet cokes. Let the fun begin!

We headed back to the hotel for some dinner at Dukes. We didn’t get a patio seat though, and found that the “inside dining experience” really wasn’t worth the price.
Hawaii Tip #2: Get an outside table at Dukes.
Hawaii Tip #3: Get your essentials at Wal-Mart

Day 2 (Wednesday):
A friend of mine from PwC let me in on a little Hawaiian secret- - the Swap meet. It is on Wednesday & Saturdays from 7am-3pm at the Stadium. I started out the day by bounding out of bed bright and early –( why can’t I ever bound out of bed for work ?)—enjoyed breakfast on the balcony, and woke up the lazies! At 7am we were off to the swap meet. It was everything I’d hope for and more. Racks of Hawaiian Shirts, shell jewelry, homemade soaps and muumuu’s (just for moms). Sean told us we had to be done by 9am to get to Hanama Bay before the crowd- and we were done, at 9am on the dot. We drove to Hanama Bay--- and found that the parking lot was full, and it was an hour wait to get in. Sean was FUMING mad at us for shopping for so long – so we decided to come back the next day. We stopped at the grocery store and had sushi and spam for lunch. Ummm,,,, eating like the locals! Next we headed back to the hotel & laid on the beach for a while. Nothing like a relaxing Hawaiian vacation. For dinner we headed to Cheesecake factory, which was right next to the hotel. The Cheesecake factory is by far my favorite restaurant ever! I love the décor, service, menu & especially the desserts. Sean & I shared the new crazy layer cake and Patience got her very own Godiva brownie Sundae! NEVER skip out on dessert at the Cheesecake factory—life is just too short.

Hawaii Tip #4: Get to Hanama bay bright and early! (before 9am)
Hawaii Tip #5: Taste the local cuisine!
Hawaii Tip #6: Don’t miss the swap meet.
Hawaii Tip #7: Save room for Dessert--- you’re on vacation!

Day 3 (Thursday):
Today we got picked up by Betina’s old BYU friend Mylie & her family. She married a really cool Hawaiian surfer dude, and they took us canoe surfing on Waikiki! It was really fun, and something we never would have done alone! Afterwards we went to lunch with them and made our way back to the hotel around 2pm.

Just enough time for Sean’s nap, and for Eve & Patience to go to the Mall. Yes- that’s right, more retail therapy! Just our luck, Nordstrom’s rack was right there! Ohh!!! I looked at purses, as I am dying for a large black leather hobo type bag. I found a few that were nice… but I just couldn’t justify the purchase. I’m really trying to not give into my every material desire, as I need to save for a house. Patience, on the other hand, bought herself a really cute wallet, upon my persuasion of course J. After shopping we went to the movies and saw a chick flick—obviously not a memorable one though, as I cannot remember the title!

Sean met up with us after the flick, and we had dinner at Bucca De Peppa. We lucked out and were seated on the Patio. There is nothing like eating outside in the tropics. I think that if I lived in Hawaii, I would just have a picnic table outside instead of an inside table- I would hate to waste the weather & the view..

I love Bucca!! Our service was a little mixed up, as they brought the main course out before the salad.. .but no worries, they gave us dessert for free so all was well. Plus the waiter was a cute surfer kid- and he and Patience had a little flirting fest. It was so cute to watch,,, ahhh, to be young again J



Day 4 (Friday):
Another bright and early morning, enjoying the view. There is nothing quite like waking up to the ocean breeze & a clear blue sky. I think I was an island child in another life. We woke up and hit Hanama Bay first thing. We got there in plenty of time- watched the required video and hit the water. It was raining though, so it took some courage to go on, but it was well worth it. This was my first time snorkeling on a coral reef- and it was amazing to see all of the coral! We swam way far out, and it started raining hard on us! It was warm in the water though- and the fish were SO BEAUTIFUL. I think that snorkeling is by far my favorite thing to do on tropical vacations. Its free, fun, relaxing, and even a little bit exciting. I got myself caught in the reef- and my heart did start to pound a little. That is until I squealed for help and my seamy Sean came to the rescue. I think patience needed a little rescuing herself as well.

After the bay we hit the hotel, showered up and made our way to the other side of the island to the PCC (Polynesian Cultural Center). I have heard a lot about this place, so my expectations were high. A little too high though as I wasn’t overly impressed with it- With the price tag the size of Disneyland, I expected a little more glam & glitter. Perhaps it’s because I’m basically Tahitian, so I know what real island dancing and culture feels like. There is nothing quite like the real thing.

The Luau was fun. I mean, you are In Hawaii, you must go to a Luau--- but it’s still just an all you can eat buffet with large quantities of average food.
Hawaii Tip #7: Go Snorkeling as Much as Possible!


Day 6- (Saturday):

Today we went back to the swap meet in the morning. I decided that all my Christmas gifts for people this year would be from Hawaii! Christmas in Hawaii--- (except, it will really be in Slave Lake!) Patience bought a bunch of stuff too- Vacations really are for shopping, as you have all the time in the world to look around!

At 10am we parted ways as Patience took the PCC shuttle back to the north side of the island to go to the temple (which is really pretty), while Sean & I drove out to Waimea Bay for more snorkeling. This beach was absolutely amazing. I wish I had pictures, but paranoid Sean wouldn’t let me take the camera out of the car. Sometimes I hate that he is a cop—he is super paranoid about Everyone!! Waimea Beach is where the local teens hang out. There was a HUGE rock that all of the local kids were jumping off of. It looked like so much fun—and I’m sure if I were still btwn the ages of 14-23 I would have been right there with them. However, as I am married to a geezer- I laid out and snorkeled instead. The snorkeling was even better here, as there was no one else doing it! The reefs were still alive and stalk full of those Sea- Urchins!! We even saw a giant sea turtle, and swam around with it for a good 15 minutes. It was the coolest thing ever (except swimming with Stingrays in Tahiti of course). I really loved Waimae Bay- probably my favorite place on Oahu!

For dinner Sean & I went back to Buca De Peppa. IT was just so good the first time, that we had to go back. Plus we had a $10 off coupon from the night before. We even ordered the same food- Macaroni dish, pizza & berry shortcake, which was quite possibly the richest, most deluxe fruity dessert I’ve ever had. I usually don’t classify something as a “dessert” unless it involves multiple layers of chocolate, however, this cake has changed my mind. When at Bucca, order the Berry shortcake- its delicious!

Hawaii Tip #8: Go Snorkeling at Waimea Bay.

Day 7 (Sunday):
I let the lazies sleep in this morning, while I took a nice long stroll on the beach, and the read my trashy chic lit on the beach chairs. The beach is SO relaxing in the morning, with very few people out, calm waters and a beautiful sky. Breathtaking!! Around 9am, I woke S&P up, and we headed to the chapel. We got a little lost on the way, but found our way after a quick phone call to Dave. (Trusty Dave- he would answer his cell phone at a funeral)! The speaker was really boring! The old Hawaiian ladies sitting behind us were cackling him- it was so funny. Why is it in America we never say what we really think (without getting ourselves into trouble)? It seems like Europeans, Hawaiians, and Thais are so much more honest.

After church we did my favorite thing ever- Sunday Brunch at the Cheesecake Factory! I only ever get to do Sunday brunch when I am on vacation, usually with Iris. I love brunch…. If you have time for a lazy brunch, you know the day is going to be a good day! We lightened up today and skipped dessert though—it was after all only 11am.

Next we hit up the beach for a quick hour, and then Sean took a nap. That Man LOVES his naps. I am not a napper. I just don’t wake up refreshed, rather, I wake up extremely grumpy and even more tired than before. I’d rather just not nap and go to bed earlier. After Sean woke up (upon my prodding), we headed to the movies! Self- Great Day! We saw the new M Knight Shalaman movie. A really weird story, good acting—but just a bad story. And, who knew M. Knight Shalaman is Indian? And a hottie at that!! At least I had some eye candy for a couple of hours.

After the flick, we dropped Patience off at the airport, and headed to back to the cheesecake factory one last time. Not famished, and feeling guilty after a week of indulgences, we both got appetizer salads- which are sooo tasty, healthy and cheap too! I think I’ll get one sometime again soon.

A Years Supply of Food

I grew up in a family that made monthly COSTCO trips, stocking up on flats of tomato soup, pie filling, bags of flour, sugar & powered milk. When we got home, we whipped out the black jiffy markers and labeled the food in a month/year format. Although Im not certain the food was actually put into a LIFO rotation (last in first out), it was an activity we did with glee.

Today I am married to a man, who-much like my father, LOVES his food storage. Only, we live in a 600 sq ft apartment, as opposed to the 10,000 sq ft pink monstrosity where I grew up. As such, my dear seany sean has become very creative in his venue for his food storage. While I took ownership of our little walkin closet immediatly upon move in to house my necessities, Sean has made his claim on the real estate located beneath our bed (which incedentialyis housed on cement blocks to increase the area available for this storage). He has wheat, oats, honey, peanut butter and boxes upon boxes of triple chunk brownie mix under our bed. When I am baking, and I run out of an ingrediant of sort, he comes proudly to the rescue with a brand new costco size box of quaker oats. He does this with a smug grin that says, "ha! Looks whos laughing now, of ye of little faith!".

Not only does Sean monopolize the underneath part of our queen sized bed, he also maintains a vast supply at his parents house. In total he has about 50 hugh plastic contains of wheat, honey & powdered milk, amoung other supplies which I cannot disclose in this blog. He purchased these goods at the vipe age of 22- right off his mission and at the peak of his righeousness. His Mom, who is probably the sweetest lady i know.. has allowed him to house his storage in her various basements, guest rooms and under their own bed for many years. Most recently, the home of sean's supply has been the fmaily cabin in utah. Thankfully, we just sold it---- which meant we had to make a SEPERATE trip to Utah for the sole purpose of transporting this food supply from the cabin to his parents new basement in Saratoga Springs. The ironic part about this is that Sean &I will probably never partake of this food storage, as we plan never to live in Utah. Although, Im sure Sean's family will be living fat and happy in times of famine or natural distastor.

Finally, I write to tell you about my own little guilty food storage pleasure-- my 3 months supply of low sugar quaker instant oatmeal in peaches & cream, Strawberries & cream, and maple. I love this stuff- I eat it for breakfast & my 10:30 & 3pm workday snacks. However, at $5 a box, it breaks the bank to buy the stuff. I've tried the generic stuff, and it just doesnt do the trick. I've found that Safeway has periodic sales on the stuff, at which time, it retails for $2.49--- a total steal. I often find my self making periodic trips into safeway witht he sole purpose of checking out the breakfast cereal section to see if my beloved oatmeal is on sale. As the sale only happens a few times a year.... I stock UP!! In fact, at my last visit, I purchased every box they had out on the shelf- approximatly $100USD. Laugh if you may, but this is my bread and butter. Im not sure I could make it through the workday without my oats. Anyhoooo--- as I mentioned earlier, I live in a 600 sq ft apartment which is already full of seans food supply and my growing wardrobe- thus, the home of my oatmeal resides in the trunck of my little white jetta, betty. So beware friends and foes- because if i ever pick you up at the airport, you'll probably have to hold your suitcase on your lap :)

Sorry for the laspe in blogging--- Its busy season at work and I am swamped!

XOXO

Eve

Sean’s Brother’s Wedding

This weekend Sean & I went to Utah for his younger brother’s wedding. While I wasn’t super excited to travel again, especially not to a wedding- it turned out to be a really fun weekend. I am not prejudice against all weddings- I’ve been to a few really fun weddings full of fun people, loads of great food & drinks and upbeat music thats gets everyone dancing. My friends Cory & Nicole and Harmandeep & Vik both had amazingly fun weddings. However, the difference is that these fun types of weddings are not usually of the LDS sort.

Through my years at BYU, I’ve experienced several traditional Mormon weddings. They are usually a reception lasting 2-3 hours in the church cultural hall complete with basketball hoop and fluorescent lights. Although the bride tries her best to decorate, nothing can really cover the fact that it is in a gym. Secondly, they never really serve dinner--just finger foods and pink punch so you always leave hungry. There usually isn’t any program- no speeches from the bride’s father, no best man or maid of honor to share embarrassing stories and no trivia games exposing the secrets of their youth and courtship. Rather it is usually just a drop in and do the “meet & greet” through the dreaded “Line”. If you’ve ever been, you’ll know what Line I’m talking about.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was no church or related gymnasiums on the itinerary for the day. The ceremony was in the morning at the Timpanogous temple, followed by a family lunch at Thanksgiving Point. The food was great, I got to see Larry, Gerri & Katryn from DC (among many other of Sean’s extended family), and they had a really nice program of short but heartfelt speeches and a cute slideshow. It was an intimate, classy affair.

(On a side note, Sean & I went out to DC last year and stayed with Uncle Larry & Aunt Gerri- and they are the coolest people. He is a democrat lobbyist on “The Hill” and has some great juicy DC tales to tell. She is down to earth and really open minded, and they have Katryn, their teenage daughter—who I love hanging out with her bc she reminds of Celeste and also reminds what it is like to be a teenager).

After lunch I kidnapped Gerri & Katryn, and we had a little girl time shopping and sharing family secrets (Im slowly learning the secrets of my new family). We had some great girl time, full of Express (my favorite clothing store), Starbucks and Krispie Kreme donuts! We didn’t really go in for donuts, just a diet coke, but as soon as we walked in the door they handed us 3 freshly baked (deep fried) glazed donuts. While it is relatively easy to resist the cold and stale grocery store donut stock, it is much harder to resist a steaming hot donut dripping with glaze… ummmm…. It was delicious. Gerri and I also bonded over our love for all things Coach.

Finally, around 7pm there was an outdoor casual reception in a beautiful backyard with a wide open view of the mountains. It was a really warm evening and there was a really cool jazz band providing grovy tunes and a chill atmosphere. Plus- Bonus, they have the yummiest wedding cake ever. So good that it rivals Betina’s German chocolate cake that she made for my wedding. This cake had a chocolate and a white layer- it was pudding cake, really moist and delicious with a custard and fruit center filling. I think I should be a cake taster in my next career. Sean and I both really enjoyed the evening.

We ended the night by leaving the reception around 9pm and hitting up Café Rio on our way back to Chateau Dave (Sean’s old roomate who we stayed with). Café Rio is my most favorite Fresh Mex restaurant of all time. I will have to dedicate and entire blog to Café Rio. I will do this once my crazy summer travels come to a close.

Alright- that’s all for now folks. We’re going to Hawaii on Tuesday and meeting up with my sister Patience there- Yippeee!! I haven’t seen her in 1.8 yrs, so this should be fun! I will be sure to tell all about it later.

XOXO

Eve

Sister Celebration-

Last weekend my sisters Betina & Serinda came to California for a “Celebration of Serinda Trip”, sponsored in part by the Slave Lake Family Clinic--- and it was so much fun! On Friday we went shopping at the Gilroy outlets and shopped a’ plenty. Serinda bought lots of cute maternity clothes that show off her bump, and a ton of darling baby girl clothes from Carters’. Did you know that there are the cutest baby boy fireman clothes? When I have a kid, it will defiantly be dressed as a fire man. Betina said that I should just buy the outfit right now--Ha, I told her… no babies for me for many moons.

After shopping we got mani pedis at one of the many Asian sweatshops in California. It is just $25 for a mani/pedi, and they do a pretty good job- totally beats the $60 I paid for a pedicure only on my Hawaiian honeymoon cruise! Later that night we went shopping again, this time to my favorite store, Target. B & S both bought the cotton a-line skirt that I have- it’s so comfy you almost feel like you’re naked. Best $9.99 one can spend. We also looked high and low in several stores for a twirly dress for Abby. Did you know that there is a severe supply shortage of twirly dresses for little girls? We looked in at least 5 stores throughout the days’ shopping for such a dress- without luck! Serinda finally settled on some twirly PJ’s instead. I think someone could make some money if they resurrected the swirly twirly girly dress. We got home around 9:30pm, and Sean had yummy BBQ all ready for us to eat. What a sweetie.

On Saturday we went to SF to see the sights- although we were all pretty tired in the morning, so we weren’t in the most excited of moods. Plus, the SF traffic drives me crazy.. Luckily Sean was there to drive us around, thank goodness for husbands. We saw the golden gate bridge, Coit Tower, Fisherman’s warf & Union Square. Next we had Lunch at the Cheesecake factory at the top of the Macy’s in Union Square. We had a 45 minute wait, but spent most of the time in the Macy’s furniture dept on a big comfy yellow couch. The kind of couch that sucks you in and wont let you go… ahhhh sweet bliss. Everyone was really hungry, so I brought out a menu so we would all be ready to order once we got seated. Our waiter was really hot. Although, I didn’t say anything at the time, as not to offend my dear seamy-sean.. who is the hottest hottie of them all. We ordered my favorite appetizer, the corn boats, had our entrees and then dessert. Serinda wanted her very own piece of cheesecake- and she said that she could eat the whole thing by herself. I really didn’t believe her, bc the cheecakse factory desserts are HUGE—Amazingly, she did it! Wow… im so impressed by my tiny big sister dinno!! We also got a HUGE piece of yummy chocolate fudge layer cake that Betina, Sean and I polished off. Yum Yum.. I could go back everyday for a piece of that! Chocolate = Happiness.

We got home, giggled and napped for a couple of hours, and then headed to the movies, a glorious Payne Tradition. We love the movies- it was a chick flick “You me and Dupree” with Kate Hudsen and Owen Wilson. It was really cute- and Im sure Sean is happy he didn’t have to endure it with me. Afterwards we came home, relaxed, and hit the sack.

The weekend was over before I knew it, but we all had a great time. I love seeing my siblings. I love that I have so many of them, its like having 6 best friends.. You just cant beat it. If only my mom didn’t turn crazy raising us- I might be tempted to do the same. However, I would like to keep my sanity, so I will only have a couple of kids…. But we will have great cousins… so it might be close to the same thing—I can only hope.

Thanks for coming Betina & Serinda!! We must have an annual sister trip tradition!

XOXO
Eve

Target – pronounced “Tar-Jea”

I just wanted to let you all know how much I love Target. 10 minutes after I got home from London, Sean & I took a trip to our favorite store. Target is massive and has everything you could ever want or need. Cute clothes, accessories, movies, tools, house wares, shoes, and most importantly, diet coke from the fountain with lots of ice. Target sells all of the household essentials that are sold elsewhere (Bedbath&beyond) at a fraction of the price, but, you dont have to deal with the dodgy people that patronize Walmart chains. Target is clean and well organized, unlike its trashy trailer park competitor, Wal-Mart. Actually, I don’t even think Wal-Mart is competition for target… its in a class far below.

Our first stop in Target is always the McDonald’s, where we get a diet coke and refill it as many times as we want before we leave the store. I put extra ice in it, as Europeans just don’t do ice (among many other things- A/C, customer service, deodorant ect).

Next, I visited the jr’s clothing department and got the cute blue striped cotton skirt for $12.99. I bought the red one before I left and I love it so much, I had to get the other one as well. I only shop in the Jr’s dept at target, as the Women’s dept is a little too “old” for me—I much prefer coming to work looking like a teeny bopper. It makes for a good impression with my superiors.

Finally, we got a photo album, in which, I will put all of our vacation pictures to commemorate the summer.

Ohhhh… I love Target.

XOXO

Eve

Final Week in London- (7/17/2006- 7/22/2006)

I am back in California, I flew in yesterday afternoon, and a holy heaven, California is having a heat wave (105’F). Anyhow, here is a little synapse of my last week in London.

London also had a heat wave with temperatures around 30-37 degrees Celsius the whole week. The office was miserable as European’s really don’t do A/C. They think they have A/C but it’s not the same. The afternoons at work really hard to get through. My boss, David, kept running to the bathroom to dunk his head in water. It was super funny!!

We found the best place to eat for lunches while working- the Baguette Shop. They made fresh whole wheat baguettes with whatever you wanted. I was adventurous and tried Hummus & Roasted Veggies the first day, however, the veggies were soggy, so I switched to my favorite staple, turkey & Cranberry (just like Togos). It was delicious and surprisingly inexpensive.

Monday July 17

On Monday night Me, deepy and her cousin Davey went to this awesome vegetarian restaurant, “Eat & Two Veg”, a play on the traditional English “Meat & two vegetables”. Davey also informed us of another meaning to it, but it’s not G rated, so I will not share. The food was delicious, fresh & healthy, finally!! I had broccoli for the first time in 3 weeks... it was a little hard to swallow after weeks of Cadbury & gelato everyday. We also got this amazing hummus appetizer. I highly recommend this place: www.eatandtwoveg.com/eatv.php

After we ate, we headed to SoHo, a hot spot for clubbing, restaurants, and London’s gay crowd. We walked around- and get this, it was a Monday night around 10:30pm and the streets were hopping! No festival, no holiday, no real reason, Davey said it is always a party in SoHo. We went into this club called “G-A-Y”. (and yes, it is a gay club). They played the best dancing music! Christina, Madonna, and all this British pop that I haven’t heard before.

Tuesday July 18

After work Me, Harmandeep & our boss David went to an English pub around the block from our hotel. It was so nice outside; we had to fight for an outside spot- the place was packed. We initially were just going for a quick drink (ie- brewsky’s for them, Diet coke for me), but we met some nice locals and ended up eating dinner there and leaving around 11pm. I got warm chocolate fudge cake for dinner. You see, it was primarily pub fare (ie- deep friend), so I thought, well, at least this will taste good. Yum, I Love Chocolate Cake!

Wednesday July 19

Tonight we had dinner on a Boat “Hispaniola” on the water, right across from the London eye. It was a work thing. Lots of wine involved. I had diet coke J The menu was really lame-o. It seemed like a washed up restaurant that hasn’t changed its menu since its hay day in 1970, but is still ridiculously expensive and had terrible service. http://hispaniola.co.uk/. Don’t go!

Camille arrived at my hotel that night and was waiting for me upon my return. It was SO nice to see her!

Thursday July 20

Yipppeeeee--- My last day of work in London! I love the last day of an audit. It feels like the last day of a semester of school. I get butterflies in my stomach, and am really zoned to wrap up and get on with it. Work went fast, and we ate a Lot of treats today! There was cake left over from a work party the day before, and they gave out snickers ice bars because it was so bloody hot. Not that I needed it, but I ate it anyways, and boy was it delicious!

Harmandeep took off to Darby after work to see her family, so it was just me and Camille. We went to the hotel gym together (to work off the snickers bar), and then went out to Eat and Two Veg again. I just can’t get enough of that place! Camille didn’t appreciate it as much though. She wanted Thai, but Thai food and anything else that is 90% grease or deep fried burns a whole in my stomach and leaves me rolling around in agony for hours. After dinner we walked around London, going through Soho, Leicester square, Piccadilly circus and Oxford Street. We finally made it back to the hotel around midnight, and then hit up the hotel lounge for a bit to giggle and catch up.

Friday July 21

Friday was my last day as a tourist in London. I woke up, went to the gym for a quick run, and then me & Camille ordered room service for breakfast. I love room service. It is my favorite thing about hotels. And in London, it’s pretty much the same price as going down to the restaurant, in fact maybe even cheaper.

We were out around noon, and headed to Leicester square to pick up discount theater tickets to see “Footloose” that night. Next, we headed to the London Eye, the British air Supersized Farris wheel that gives you a great aerial view of the city. It was a little pricey ($20 each), but so is everything else in London.

Next we checked out Harrod’s-- the massive luxury department store that princess diana’s lovers’ father owns. The place is the size of 4 Nordstrom’s. We looked around, but not for long as I’m really getting over the whole “window shopping” thing, since everything is double price in London. It gets old and depressing after 3 weeks of not buying a thing!

We met Harmandeep back at the hotel around 6pm, ate in the hotel restaurant, and then got ready for the night and headed off to the Novello Theatre for the 8:30pm performance of Footloose. We had AMAZING seats- 16th row in the stalls, and we only paid $50 each. As beautiful as the theatre was, there was no A/C. It was like a sweat factory. Everyone was undressing. We all took off our shoes, rolled up our pants, and took as many layers off as we could without looking like tramps. Not that there was anything to worry about, as there were middle aged, large & hairy Persian men behind us that had their shirts off, with their big, hairy, sweaty, bellies hanging all over the place. This would NEVER happen in America. It was sooo funny, I couldn’t stop laughing.

Footloose was an amazing show. It was high energy, lots of dancing, fantastic songs, and a lot of comedy infused into the story line. It was my FAVORITE show ever!!!! Camille didn’t enjoy it quite as much and me and deepy though. She has a trained eye for dancing, so her standards are a lot higher than ours. I loved it though... you should totally go to see it if you have the chance. My favorite scene was the “Hero” song which showcased a fireman, tom cruise from top gun, a policeman, and some other uniformed hottie. Everyone was singing and dancing in the aisles. GO SEE FOOTLOOSE!!

After the show Camille headed home and me & deepy went out to a club with her cousin and his friends. I forget the name of the club, but it was SO Awesome! There were 4 different rooms and the décor was kind of eclectic- think Rococo infused with funk. The music was all house—hard house, funky house, ect. We danced and danced!! I haven’t danced that much since my days with Jessie in LA. (BTW Jessie, what are you up to?). We left around 2:15 am, and headed back to the hotel. Camille, the most thoughtful person ever, packed most of my things for me- all tightly rolled and in my suitcase. What a sweetheart, thanks Camille!

Saturday July 22

D-Day. I was so tired after only 3 hrs of sleep, and no one would shut up! The taxi driver to the airport was this old man (who should have been retired), and he talked from the moment he picked us up, to our drop off at Heathrow- a 45 minute ride. He was giving us a history lesson of London. A very sweet old man, but I just wanted to sleep. Then, on the plane I sat beside this 50ish Irish guy, who again, would not shut up. Talk talk talk. I do NOT need to hear about your daughter, your job, your home ect when I’ve only had 3 hrs of sleep. Plus I did not get an Aisle seat- ulgh. I hate being trapped in the middle- but at least there were no crying babies in the vicinity. Then, my car ride home, the driver wouldn’t shut up either. This guy was super annoying. I cannot go into detail. Nonetheless, he did not get a good tip from me.

Oh, did I forget to mention that Harmandeep was actually booked for Sunday’s flight? It was quite traumatic at the airport, as the guy could not find her on the system anywhere. I had to leave her there in order to get through security to make the flight- I felt sooo bad!!!! As is well though, and she should arrive today.

Conclusion: I LOVE to travel. I love seeing new things, learning a little bit of history and trying out new foods. I love nice Hotels. I love the Marriott dream bed. I love room service, and I LOVE European architecture. Go to Europe --- book your trip for next year!

XOXO
Eve

My free Weekend in London!

As most of you know, I have been in London the past week for work. Most of my time has been spent working, commuting and eating out, I had a free weekend, and it was fantastic!

Saturday:
I woke up naturally without an alarm clock. This is my most favorite way to wake up, and I think that all weekends and vacation days should start with a natural wake up. I went to the hotel gym and ran for 45 minutes. Its really important to me to work out while on the road. I think it is one of the hardest things to do, as I am not in my routine, but I must make the effort to use what is available to me.

Harmandeep and I went to a really great restaurant for lunch, the IVY. It is a really popular restaurant in LA, so we thought we’d give it a go. The food was amazing! I got these grilled prawns that were seasoned to perfection, and we shared the yummiest chocolate soufflé. I love soufflé- you know, the freshly baked chocolate cake with hot chocolate sauce on the inside, along side vanilla gelato-- its amazing!

After the Ivy, we made our way to Camden Market. This is a street with a ton of cool shops and an open market, somewhat like Malibu in LA. Lots of unique stuff, mostly punk rocker stuff, but there were some gems to be found. The prices were totally reasonable (for London), and the energy of the area was awesome. We found a discounted ALDO store, and went a little crazy. Finally, something we could afford!! We each bought 3 pairs of shoes for 30 pounds total-(approximately $60 USD) - a great price! Davey (Deepy’s cousin) met up with us, and we found an outdoor patio/pub, where we sat down and enjoyed the sunshine. Davey ordered something similar to Canadian Poutine- It was french fries, baked beans and cheese. Way too much fat content for me to partake, but I think it’s a pub favorite here. There were some free magazines sitting on the table, and I flipped one open to see what kind of cool things there was to do in London, and there were naked MEN everywhere!! This is when we looked around and discovered that it wasn’t just a traditional English pub, rather, we had stumbled into a traditional English GAY pub. Ha ha aha…. We had a good laugh.

Later that night we went out to eat at this cool Asian Fusion restaurant (although I forget the name). Everyone’s food was really good, except mine. I ordered a seared tuna salad, which is generally a safe bet. What I got were 3 pieces of lettuce and a bunch of raw tuna chunks. It was really not good. Why do I always seem to order the bad food? I’ve learned not to order salads in London- they just don’t have the quality produce needed to make it delicious (like California).

Sunday:

Yippeeee--- church holiday! I woke up naturally again, got dressed in my blue express sweats, flip flops, and pink carry all bag. Armed with my Eye Witness London guide book and tube pass, I went out to explore.

First stop- the National Gallery (free): I spent most of my time in the Impressionism & post Impressionism periods, as they are my favorite. I got the audio guide, which I ALWAYS recommend to do, as it makes “old stuff” a whole lot more interesting when you hear the history behind it. I saw a lot of Manet, Monet, Degas, Renoir & Van Gough. My favorite piece was actually not from the impressionist period, it was the Marriage-a-la-mode series by Horgath (1743). It’s a series of 6 paintings that show a husband and wife who married for money rather than love- and its full of funny English Satire of the lives of the bourgeoisie. I studied this work in my Art History 202 class at BYU, and I would have to say its one of my all time favorite works. You must check it out if you ever have the chance.

2nd stop- Leicester square: I got a little lost getting here, but I finally found it, and the discount theatre ticket booth I was searching for. However, the only tickets available for the matinee showing were “Stomp” and “Blue Man Group”, neither of which I wanted to see. Oh well- I’ll try again on Thursday with Camille. I walked around the square and got the best gelato ever- it was even low fat ($5). Im defiantly going to hit that place up again before I leave.

3rd stop- the Tower of London & Tower Bridge ($15). The tower of London is awesome. Its where they used to house prisoners and do public (and private) hangings. I got the audio tour ($4)- again, totally worth the extra cost. I also saw the crown jewel collection. Mom- you would Love this one!

4th stop-On the Tube ride home, I noticed that the Tate Modern was one of the stops along the way, so I thought, what the heck, I may as well check it out too. Although I am not of fan of most modern art, they do have some Rodin’s (the kiss), and I do like pop-culture art. However, once off the tube- there were no signs, and the map in my eye witness London guide book was not especially helpful in this instance. Im sure it would have been if I knew which way was north, but I can never figure the whole North thing out. Left or Right? After about ½ hour of looking for the Tate, I gave up and called it a day.

Back to the hotel for a workout & shower, and off to dinner.

I met up with Harmandeep and we went to the Hyatt Regency hotel’s Itilain restaurant. It had a good review on google, and it was a short walk away, so we checked it out. The service was impeccable, but the food was actually bland. I ordered Tuna again, but it was tasteless. Fresh, but tateless. Thankfully we had some chocolate soufflé to wash it down. And yes, in case you were wondering, I am a FATTY. I must go on a diet upon my return home.

Well- right now its Monday morning, and I’m on the train to work- its almost at my stop- Maidenhead, so I’d best be going. I love you all!

XOXO

Eve

Ps- My sister patience is home from her mission!! Yipeeeeee--- welcome home Patience!

PPS- My friend Camille is coming to stay with me on Wednesday night (here in London)! Yippee again!

I Love Paris In the Summertime!


I went to Paris last week with Sean and our friends Vik & Harmandeep. It was just as magnificent as Id remember it, in fact, probably better! Here is a synapse of my Parisian vacation:

Day One: We arrived to our hotel around 6pm. Sean took a nap, and me and Harmandeep went exploring around our hotel, and found shopping everywhere! The best part about it is that July is SALE month, so everything was like 50% off. We just window shopped, but it was still amazing. around 9pm we went back to the hotel, picked up the guys and ate outside at a cute little restaurant at the champs de e'lsee. We hung out and people watched until around midnight, and then made our way back to the hotel, for a good nights sleep.

Day Two: The best part of European hotels is that breakfast is often included in the price! We had the cutest little breakfast room in the bottom of our hotel that looked a lot like a renovated dungeon. We ate hot chocolate, bread, Natella, and pastries every morning. Sean was in heaven.

We started early, at like 8am, and went to the following sites:
1- Sac a Coeur (Free) (the church of the sacred heart). Wow, I love this place! It provides the most beautiful views of the city.
2- Painter’s square: Because we were there early, it was not yet packed with tourists, so we were able to really look at the different artists’ works. Harmandeep and vik got a drawing done, and then I decided to get one too ($50). The artist who did mine was totally French. He chain smokes the entire time he did it, and had really creepy old man eyes. Yuck. He did an ok job, but I am always disappointed by these portraits.
3- River Ride: ($11 each). We hopped on a boat-ride, and got a tour via water of the Parisian sights. This was a great way to get orientated to the city, and the sun was a shining.
4- Latin Quarter: Next we strolled through the Latin Quarter. This place has a cool university atmosphere, cheap food, and lots of character. There was so much great food here for cheap, baguettes, pastries, gyros, crepes, pizza, Greek, Indian, anything you could ask for.
5- Notre Dame: (Free) Notre Dame is a huge gothic style church. It is so beautiful to look at. We strolled around the grounds for an hour taking pictures and enjoying our time.
6- Eiffel tower ($11 each): After a quick hotel stop we headed out in the evening to the Eiffel tower. We took the elevator all the way to the top floor. It’s pretty crowded up there, so tom must have gotten a private visit when he proposed to Kate. The views from the top are amazing- we took lots of pics.
7- Latin Quarter ($11 each): We loved the Latin Quarter so much the first time; we decided to go back there for dinner. This was the night of the Paris/Portugal football game, so service was a joke, and so was getting a table in a restaurant with a big screen. All of the restaurants without TV’s were desolated, while the ones with TV’s were packed to the brim, it was pretty funny. We were lucky and found what was probably the last spot open with a partial view of the game. It was really exciting to be there during the world cup, especially since Paris won that game. The atmosphere was soooo awesome! I wanted to stay out and party all night, however, Sean insisted that we get home, as he was sure there would be riots on the streets. Well, he was right, the next mornings news reported the riots right where we were. Ha Ha, I guess he can say I told you so.

Day Three:
1- The Louvre ($8/each): The Louve is such a beautiful building. The architecture is inspirational. It makes me wonder why they don’t build buildings like that anymore. We saw 3 different wings of the museum, which took about 3 hrs. My favorite stuff there are all of the statues and sculptures of naked people. It is sooo sexy.
2- Muse Dorse ($7.50 each): I’m a huge fan of the impressionist era. I love Monet, Degas, Van Gough… all of it. While the building itself is not very impressive, the works inside are awesome. Besides all of the sculptures of the Louvre, the works here are defiantly my favorite.
3- Shopping: Next we headed back to the hotel, took and hour nap, and then I headed off shopping while Sean continued to sleep. I found that my feet are TOO big to fit Parisian shoes. I found 5 awesome pairs of flats… but none of the stores held my size (which is about a 40 or 8.5 US). Crazy. My feet are the average size in the US, so it goes to show you how much smaller Parisians really are. I think it is because of all of the walking, and stairs they climb in the Metro. London doesn’t have stairs, instead it has escalators, which is why most of them are plump.
4- Latin Quarter ($11 each): Dinner again at Latin Quarter- this time for Greek food. We had a hard time deciding where to eat, as we were overwhelmed with choices. However, the broken plats in the doorway, live music, and promise of “free drinks” from the doormen brought us in. The food was good, not amazing, but reasonably priced.
5- Arch De Triumph (free): Wow- I forgot how awesome this piece of art was. It is massive and so intricately carved. I love it!!! It is my favorite thing in Paris. No one really talks it up, so you expectations are not high, and then you see it and boom, it takes your breath away. You can go to the top for $8, but since I did that the last time I was here, I didn’t think it was worth the moola.

Day Four: Boo hoo- our last day in Paris!! Well, we were actually ready to go by the end, and we’d seen the major sights, eaten great food, and were Metro’d out!

1- Versailles ($20 each): We took the train to Versailles, which is about an hour train ride away. There were no real directions in our guide book, so we just followed the signs in the Metro station. It was fairly easy to get to with one minor mistake. The grounds of Versailles are immense. There are fountains and sculptures everywhere. Most of the Male parts & noses were brokenJ. The inside is impressive. Every room has huge murals on the ceilings, and is decked out in gold- so of Rococo ish if you know anything about that era. We got the headset tour which tells a lot of the history of the palace- which I defiantly recommend. This is a MUST see… even though it is an hour away.
2- Latin Quarter ($5 each): After Versailles we stopped in the Latin Quarter for lunch. We had the yummiest gyros ever!!! They even had katsup for me, which I was forever grateful for. The guy tried to call me American for wanting katsup on my gyro, but I quickly corrected him, and ensured in a lengthy conversation of how Canadians are not the same as Americans.
3- More Shopping ($30): I went shopping again while Sean slept. I’m not sure what it is about men, but they seem to need a whole lot more sleep than women. I cannot nap. I don’t have it in me to nap, so instead I shopped, and I found a few good deals.
4- Arch De Triumph: I had to see it one more time, during the day J
5- Cars- the Movie ($10 each): By the end of our sight seeing, we really just needed to sit down and do something normal… so we went to the movies. The theater was really nice; however, they play more commercials before the movie than America!! It was a good ½ hour before the movie started- insane. The movie was cute- I recommend it to anyone.
6- Crepes ($5 each): Before making our way back to the hotel, we stopped for a late night dinner of Natella & banana crepes, my favorite combination. Well, truth be told, I haven’t actually tried another kind of crepe in Paris. I love the Natella/Banana combination so much, that I just get it every time. Why stray from perfection?

Day 5: We woke up at the butt crack of dawn to get to the airport—for our flight to London Heathrow. We took an overpriced shuttle to get there- a Cab was actually a lot cheaper for four people.

I LOVE Paris. It was probably the best vacation Sean & I have taken together. It was really fun going with another couple (Harmandeep & Vik), and the Parisians were actually nice. Last time I came, some rude French man told me off in the metro for speaking English. This time however, they were very hospitable, very surprising.

Go to Paris!! Here are some travel tips:

1- Don’t waste money on full service restaurants. Crepes, gyros, baguettes, paninin’s are all cheap, yummy and fill you up.
2- Take the Metro! Get a 3 day visitors pass
3- Get the City Pass ahead of time for the museums ect- it will save you A LOT of money (we didn’t do it this time, and are kicking ourselves in the pants for not planning ahead- so unlike me!)
4- Bring a bottle of water with you. Drinks are REALLY expensive to purchase on the street.
5- Map out your metro ahead of time. This will save time and confusion.
6- Wear comfortable shoes- you will do a LOT of walking!
7- Don’t pay extra for the Versailles garden pass- you can just walk in there for free.
8- Try to speak French--- they will appreciate the effort.
9- Don’t speak too loudly- the French are quiet people.
10- Buy the “Eye Witness Paris travel guide” ahead of time. Get it used from Amazon. Com. It is the best travel book out there, with lots of directions and useful tips. This is the brand I purchase for all of my travels. I swear by it.

Avoir for now! Je t’aime!

XOXO

Eve

The Top 10 Reason's Why I Love My New Job

10- I have one boss instead of 12, and he is a nice guy :)

9- I dont have to wake up at the butt crack of dawn to work out anymore!

8- I have time to have a life

7- I work from 8:30-5:30 and get paid for every hour of it!

6- Me & Sean get a free trip to Europe - we're leaving on monday, yippeee!!

5- My office has a soda machine so i get Free diet cookes with Lots of Ice Everyday!

4- No Commute! No traffic! No wreckless Asian drivers!

3- I live 6 miles from work & get to ride my bike to work- i feel like I'm in grade 6 again :)

2- We have a GREAT caferitia with healthy food that is subsized by my company.

1- I work with my very good friend, Harmandeep- we share an office and giggle all day long!

I have worked at my new job since Feb 21, and have loved every mintue of it! It has turned my world inside out. For anyone unhappy with their current job, just get a new one. It is SO worth the effort!

XOXO

Eve