Happy=Pretty

One of my first assignments for my production class was to take a self portrait that conveyed our personality in some way. It was based on this awesome article/project.

I'm a pretty girly girl. It's ironic because throughout my life I've found it incredibly difficult to find girls I'm really compatible with and make girlfriends that last longer than a year or two. I've always found it incredibly easy to befriend guys though. It's weird. But yeah, I'm very feminine. I own three pairs of jeans, and about a million dresses and skirts. I wear heels at least two or three times a week. I enjoy doing my hair and makeup and shopping and making/buying beauty products and generally just playing around with my appearance and attempting to make myself look good on a daily basis. You could say I know a little bit about grooming/style/beauty.

The main, most important thing I've learned through all this is that my appearance is almost entirely determined or at least very much affected by my mood and outlook on life. It's insane, really, how much they're related. When I am happy, when I feel loved, excited about life, and thrilled about/grateful for my current situation I look in the mirror and feel radiant. My eyes look bluer, my skin feels clearer and smoother, my hair looks voluminous and beautiful without even having to do anything with it, and I feel thin and confident in anything I put on. I smile and feel like people notice, i walk down the street and feel like I'm worthy of being admired.

When I'm depressed, when I feel alone, sad, angry, hopeless, cheated, or generally unexcited about life I look in the mirror and no matter how hard I try I feel like I can't make myself look presentable. It doesn't matter how perfectly I curl my hair or how many little brushes and shades of eyeshadow i use or how cute my outfit is. I just feel and look blah and gross and mediocre, just like I feel inside. It's frustrating, but also very enlightening.

I've come to conclude that happiness really does equal beauty. That's the biggest beauty secret I have. The more happy and excited about life you are, the more beautiful you will feel and look to yourself and the rest of the world. You know how you see some people walking down the street or in a class with you or at the grocery store and they just radiate beauty and positive energy, even if when it comes down to it they aren't really what's considered "typically" attractive? It because they're happy and  they're confident with themselves and it comes out in their appearance and body language. It's truly an amazing phenomenon.

So find reasons in your life to be grateful, to feel joy. It's good for the soul and it's good for your image! There's nothing better than feeling great about the world and then looking in the mirror and feeling even better about yourself. Happiness truly is the key to life-long beauty.

Have you ever experienced mood-appearance correlations? Do you feel more attractive when the world around you seems more attractive? Let me know, I'd love to know if you guys have had the same experiences as me :)

<3
Em

E-Readers

E-readers, guys. Nooks, Kindles, whatever. What's your opinion on them? I personally agree with the sentiments of the cartoon above. And it's not like I never gave them a shot or anything, my mom let me use her brand new nook while I was in Greece, and man was it a pain in the ass. They say ereaders don't glare in the sunlight, but this one sure did. and it took FOREVER to charge, so I'd be in the middle of a reading a really good book out on the beach or next to the pool and suddenly it would die so I'd have to wait 5 million years before I could start reading again. And then I had nothing to do while sitting at said beach/pool. which sucked, a lot. 

also, it's just not as fun to technologically turn pages. And you can't underline things or write notes in the margins or dog ear the corners, which i always do. I get the appeal, I do! but it really wasn't my thing. especially since i hope to have a large library someday, and it kind of loses it's spectacle and awesomeness if all your books are digital files on a tiny little device. also, what if you lose it, or the internet goes under, or some other crazy thing happens where you cant access your digital files? we'd all be effed for a lot of reasons but mostly it would really suck that you wouldnt have any of your books anymore. i believe some things- magazines, important photos, and favorite movies included- deserve to have a physical, hard copy. And I'm not giving up the feel of real paper, the sight of printed ink, and the weight of an actual book in my hands any time soon.

Also, those commercials for the e-readers really piss me off. You know, where they try to make books look lame and like a huge hassle and e-readers look awesome and wonderful. You know who's going to buy an e-reader? someone who loves books. So don't try to sell your product by dissing on what your market loves. Annoying.

That's my rant for the day. am I old guys? am i now venturing into the "back in my day" territory? because this is the second post in three days about how that new-fangled technology is grinding my gears and I wish things could be simple, like they used to be.

hm. something to think about.

anyways, see you lovemuffins tomorrow, have a happy humpday!

<3

Em

Tasty Tuesdays: Crazy Feta!

Oh my gosh you guys, do I have a recipe for you. I first found it on that wonderful yet soul sucking website called pinterest, and it's one of the only things I've "pinned" that I've felt like I absolutely HAD to try as soon as possible. As soon as possible turned out being about a week later. And it only took that long because it was the last meal I scheduled for Stew and I. Cause I schedule a week or two of meals at a time, so we can go grocery shopping together and get exactly what we need. Cause I'm adorable.

I may not have expressed this very clearly on this blog but there are a few ingredients in cooking that I LOVE. Number one: cheese. Oh lordy, cheese. I have been and could still be a vegan, but damnit I can't let go of my cheese. Crappy, run-of-the-mill cheese fine, whatever. But chevre? gruyere? gouda? What is life without them. Last year, stew and I probably ate nothing but cheese, bread, and fruit for dinner at least once every two weeks. When I'm hungry, I usually crave a hunk of cheese, nothing else. Yep, I know it has opiates in it. I'm an addict, and I don't plan on quitting.
Number two: lemon. What can't be improved by squeezing half a lemon over it? very few things. I always add more lemon than called for in recipes, and if lemon is served as a garnish to any meal, I squeeze the heck out of it over everything on the plate. I love lemon.
Number three: SPICY. I used to hate spice. I'd throw a fit when we went out for indian food and my dad wanted to order anything past mild. I don't know when the switch flipped but somewhere in high school I started loving all things firey. Jalapenos on everything. Fire sauce at TB. Sriracha and chili powder on mac n cheese. Chalulah on hash browns. I just can't get enough, guys. I love the burn.
Number four: garlic. but everyone loves garlic, so who the eff cares. garlic is the spice of the gods and we all know it.

SO, theres no question why I'm deeply, madly in love with this spread/dip/meal if you eat it straight from the bowl with a spoon like I was tempted to. It's a combination of feta, roasted jalapenos, roasted garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil. oh, my.

Apparently It's from a DC restaurant called Cava, but the recipe I used was one that had already been adapted from whatever recipe the restaurant uses. It's awesome, delicious, and if you can handle a wee bit of spice, you'll love it. And so will whatever guests you invite over to the party you're serving it at because seriously, you should not trust yourself alone around a bowl of this stuff.

I made this with some baked zucchini cakes which came out meh so I wont give you the recipe, stuffed into halves of whole wheat pita bread with tomato, lettuce, and onion. It was TO DIE FOR and really low in calories too. Surprisingly low. I'll tell you more about that after the recipe.

Crazy Feta- (btw, i halved this recipe from the original and it still made 24 1 tbsp servings. If you're putting it out for a larger party, just double the amounts I have given.)
Ingredients
1 8 oz block feta cheese- I used trader joe's
1.5 jalapenos
1/2 head garlic
1/4 cup plus 1/2 tsp olive oil
zest from 1/4 lemon (or half small lemon)
juice from 1/4 lemon (or half small lemon)
pita chips, pita bread, fresh veggies, or whatever your want for serving.

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Take your 1/2 garlic head, cut off the top bit (not the part that keeps all the cloves together) and drizzle with the 1/2 tsp of olive oil. Wrap the garlic in foil and put on a baking sheet. You'll probably have some excess oil from the 1/2 tsp, so use it to coat the jalapenos. I roasted two and just saved the leftover roasted half. Place the oil coated jalapenos on the same baking sheet, and stick it in the oven. The jalapenos will take 10-20 minutes to get slightly charred (flipping them halfway is helpful) and the garlic will take about 40 minutes. go longer if you want. it just gets softer and more caramel-y.

when you remove the jalapenos (after about 20 min), let them cool and then remove the skin, cut in half and remove the seeds, and then chop into very small pieces.

while the garlic finishes roasting, crumble your 8 oz block of feta into a bowl. The smaller pieces the better- this is a dip after all. Then add your chopped jalapeno, and the zest and juice of the lemon. the 1/4 of a lemon is just a guideline. I like a LOT of lemon, so I was actually wishing I had more of it in my dip. If you're a lemon lover like me, go crazy. if not, stick to the recipe. Take your garlic out of the oven and using a hotpad or some other device squeeze the soft, caramelized cloves right into the bowl. You should have something like this:

Add the 1/4 cup of olive oil, grab a fork, and mash away. Mash until the jalapeno is evenly distributed and there are no more large chunks of garlic or feta. It should be between the consistency of a dip and a spread... nice and thick but not too thick :)

This recipe made a cup and a half of dip, or 24 tbsp. the calories equal out to 45 cals/tbsp. Not bad at all considering it's mostly cheese and oil. the average mayonnaise is about 90 cals/tbsp, and it's no where near as delicious as this stuff.The pita I used was 160 cals a full round so 80 for a sandwich pita, and the lettuce, tomato, and onion only come to about 10 calories. the zucchini patties were 18 cals each (one per pita) but they weren't that great so you don't have to worry about them :)

that makes a healthy, delicious, filling meal at just 180 cals if you use 2 tbsp of crazy feta, one half pita, and a decent amount of lettuce, tomato, and onion. I love good for you yummy meals :)

Oh, we also made Firefly Arnold Palmers (just in case you felt like you were being too healthy) made with Firefly Sweet Tea Liquor (have you tried it? it's amazing! like Arizona sweet tea with alcohol. Stew being 21 has opened me up to a whole new world of alcoholic beverages), Simply Lemonade, and a wedge of lemon. Soooo good. and the perfect complement to this fresh, tasty Mediterranean meal.

Be back later, have a wonderful tasty tuesday my lovemuffins!

love,
Em

Texting

This made me giggle :)

But seriously, don't you just hate it when you text someone and then they take 200 million years to text back? it doesn't even have to be someone you're romantically involved with, although that can make it more annoying.  It's especially sucky when they text you back quickly the first time and then take forever on a subsequent text.

I also get annoyed when it happens through email. Yes, me=a million years old. I still use email. For instance, I emailed my boss on Sunday (the day after the schedule was made) to tell him I couldn't work on Tuesday at 10 am, because I have school. which I have given him the schedule to. So I don't know why I was scheduled to work on Tuesday at 10 in the first place. Anyways, I emailed him telling him I couldn't be in, and offering to work that night... no response by tonight, monday night. So I emailed him again, asking if he had received my previous email, apologizing for the inconvenience, and giving my availability schedule again. Still no response. Soooooo..... here I am, left wondering if he's going to be totally surprised and upset that I'm not at work tomrrow at ten am, or if he got my first email and just hasnt felt it necessary to email me back. OH THE DRAMA AND TENSION.

lol.

It's also retarded when someone texts you something like "how are you", and you respond and ask them how they are, and they respond with a one word answer. It's like, hey. YOU texted ME, so what's with the not engaging in the conversation? Is that really your whole purpose for texting me? you just wanted to see how I was? Because then you feel like you're annoying them by texting them back, when you weren't even the one who wanted to text in the first place. But I'm sorry, "how are you" "good, how are you?" "good." is not a conversation worthy of wasting time and texts.

Anyways, this whole new digital age has made our lives soooo much easier, but also so much more complicated. For instance, there's no more suspense and romance left in courting, because you can just text the person you like all day long until you're tired of them. No more waiting for the phone to ring for a date or having to, you know, figure out what a person is like based on conversation. it's all on facebook now. it's weird, and i'm not sure I like it. I'm pretty sure I'd be ok going back to the days when boys had to make an effort to talk to girls and we got to dress up pretty and receive flowers and make good first impressions on real live dates. Maybe it's more awkward and embarrassing, but it sounds nicer and more real, and more fun.

this was a totally random post, spurred by that one funny photo i found on (you guessed it!) pinterest. so I'm going to go before I get way to deep about very shallow things like email and texting.

see you all tomorrow, have a wonderful night :)

<3
Em

Movie Mondays (Season 2!): The Machinist

Let me tell you about the day that I saw this movie, because it was one of the best turn-around days ever. as in, it started out really crappy and then wound up being really great. It was summer, after I was back from greece, so... late july sometime. We had been planning a super duper awesome 4 person salt river trip (optimum salt river group is five, but four will do), but when we woke up balls early in the morning to go grocery shopping and start driving, one of our four (ahem, KRIS) pooned out and said he had to work. which is bs because his manager was one of the people going on the trip. and they live together. so it would have been fine. but anyways... i was very upset and made him feel very very bad about ruining our salt river trip. Since it's what we would have done on the river anyways, I told the 2 other people that now had a day off for no reason that we should just drink and watch movies and have a rainy day all day. SO, we bought a bottle of rumpleminze and a box of hot cocoa and got started. and this was the first movie we watched. and i loved it.

is that story relevant to the movie? no, not at all. but i decided to tell you anyways, because it's one of the days that sticks out in my mind from this summer.

I'm in love with psychological thrillers, guys. I just can't get enough of them. I loved shutter island- I saw it twice in theaters and wouldve seen it again if someone asked. I think I saw inception three times in theaters. I love Memento, and I show it to people who haven't seen it whenever I get the chance. And Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is always #1 or #2 on my favorite movies list. Maybe it's because my mom is a psychologist so I'm naturally interested in the human mind. Maybe I'm just crazy and love watching other people delve into their own crazy minds. I don't know, but I love it.

The Machinist is that kind of movie. The main character is totally dysfunctional. His world is austere, strange, and complicated. Did you ever hear about that movie where they made Christian Bale lose like a million pounds to look stick thin and totally unhealthy to play the part? This is that movie.

Trevor Reznik is your run of the mill blue collar worker- except for the fact that he hasn't been able to sleep in over a year. His intense insomnia has made him extremely, extremely thin, and his only company are a hooker named Stevie and an airport diner waitress named Marie. One day, he begins finding cryptic post-it notes around his apartment, most of which show an unfinished hang-man game. Not long after, he meets a fellow coworker he's never seen before- Ivan- that, according to his bosses and other coworkers, doesn't exist. Trevor spirals further and further into the depths of confusion and illusion as he tries to figure out who Ivan is, what the post-it notes mean, and why he hasn't been able to sleep in so long.

It's freaking awesome.

But I like crazy, melancholy, confusing, dark movies like that. If you do to, then great! You should so, so, so check it out. and even if you don't, it's worth a watch just for the way it tickles your brain and makes you think and question.

Here's a trailer:


so good. and by the way, it feels soooo good to get back to movie mondays! So refreshing :) Another one next week, and another post tomorrow!

Back to Normal...finally. well, kind of.

It has been a summer to end all summers, guys. I'll get into it more later (like i said i would last time.. heh..) but for now I want to let you all know that things are getting back to NORMAL. well, kind of. there's a prescott/salt river trip this weekend and the vw festival in two weeks, but other than that, i'm getting back to my ol' school-year routine. Back to working out every day, because we know how well THAT went over summer.. although i will mention that i still managed to lose about 15 pounds through sweating my soul out and hiking every day in greece :) It also helped that I wasn't around Stewie, so I wasn't tempted to make midnight runs to the grocery store for things like turtle pie and french onion dip and bbq chips. Yeah. we did that a LOT last year.

Anyways, tangent... back to working out. back to school 4 days a week. AND, I got a job, so I'll be bringing in the dough- as well as rolling, knotting, stretching, and tossing it, because I work at a pizza joint again. Best of all though, back to BLOGGING. i know i've said that a million times, but i'm taking this monday, which happens to be the start of the week that also marks the first of september, to jump right back in with movie mondays, tasty tuesdays, lovely little things, etc. yay! I saw some cool movies this summer so I've got a nice little list of posts for the next few weeks... I think it will be very, very good. get ready for one coming at you this afternoon.

I've still got greece pictures to show you, and a whole summer to try and concentrate into a blog post.. it's been an intense one, my friends, a very intense and wonderful one.

got to do homework and like, be productive or whatever... ;) so I'll leave you guys for now and have a movie monday up in a few hours!

love love love
Em

if i was...

this is something silly and random that has been floating around the blogosphere for a while. I used to LOVE filling out those facebook notes, and before that myspace survey bulletins, and even before that chain email surveys! god does that make me feel old. i even sent a real live paper and pen and stamps and envelopes chain letter once. oh, geez. anyways. it looks like fun, and due to all my previous survey loving experience, i couldn't resist.

• If I was a month, I would be October
• If I was a time of day, I would be twilight
  
• If I was a direction, I would be East
• If I was a planet, I would be Venus
• If I was a piece of furniture, I would be a book shelf
• If I was a poet, I would be Sappho, without the lesbianism ;)
• If I was a gemstone, I would be an amethyst
  
• If I was a tree, I would be a weeping willow
  
• If I was a bird, I would be a dove
• If I was a tool, I would be a screwdriver
• If I was a flower, I would be a lilac
• If I was a kind of season, I would be spring
  
• If I was a musical instrument, I would be a flute
  
• If I was a word, I would be 'ambiguous' (but not in a bad way, necessarily
• If I was a feeling, I would be passionate. passionate love, passionate anger, passionate creativity, everything.
• If I was a fruit, I would be a nectarine
  
• If I was a sound, I would be a quiet wind
  
• If I was a body part, I would be finger tips
• If I was an automobile, I would be a baby blue convertible (like nancy drew!) but a hybrid one.
  
• If I was a place, I would be Loutro, in Crete, Greece. The place i felt most connected to in years.
  
• If i was a jewelry, I would be an anklet
• If i was an age, I would be 26
• If i was a weapon, I would be words
• If i was an animal, I would be my darling clementine 

distracted...

 oh, summer. you get me off doing things like lake picnics and fancy dress parties and '50's beer pong nights and late nights and lunches out and you get me forgetting about blogging! i missed it, and i missed you all, but i can't say i didn't have a lot of fun in my last few weeks of summer :)

I've got a few posts planned for the next couple weeks- i'm planning on doing that fast i listed in my 20 things before i'm 20 post within the next few days, cause i've got a salt river trip planned for labor day and I'd like to look nice and healthy and detoxed and thin :) I also need to do an end of summer post, because this summer was epic and crazy and amazing and the best summer of my life and also the most insane at at times sad summer of my life. so you guys need to see lots of pictures and hear lots of details :) aaaand i've got a few other things up my sleeve for the next few things that i think will be fun... not to mention the 200 remaining greece pics!

for now, let me tell you some things that have been going on these days:

i had my first day of my junior year of college today (upperclassmen, woo!). i only had one two hour class starting at 2pm and it was a breeze. i'm so in love with my schedule this semester.

i'm hoping (and kind of expecting, fingers crossed...) to get a job at brooklyn pizza on fourth ave this wednesday. i have an interview and my buddy caleb who worked with me at mama eddas up in prescott put in a good word for me. we'll see!

stewart and i broke up. don't freak, we're still best friends and we're actually still living together this year. things had been drifting for a while and it just feels better this way. we do everything we used to do, just without the relationship-y part, and it's been going great so far :)

i hung out with all my old friends from edda's this summer- like, i spent every night at their house- and it was the hardest thing in the world to say goodbye to them :(

i watched the entire series of battlestar galactica with stewart, and I LOVED IT. judge me accordingly.

I've been feeling really inspired lately, and i finished two poems/songs tonight. maybe i'll share them with you soon :)

I went to see horrible bosses. it's good. worth a look. only if you're under 40 and like the actors, though.

this is probably the most confusing, exciting, love and emotion-filled time of my life... it's been crazy, and i've come to realize i can never know what to expect and i can only know what i want in any given moment, not for the long-haul, at least not now. it's been crazy. i wish i could say more, but it's complicated.


a real summer post will be coming soon, probably after the salt river trip in a couple weeks. i missed you all, and i appreciate you all sticking around in my absence. love you!

<3
Em

20 in my 20th: #16 Learn to play a new song on the piano- a recent, alt-folk song which I will also sing to.

The quality on this vid is kind of bad, and it's certainly not my best work- but I was pretty proud that I learned this song on the piano! The song is "40 Day Dream" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. I don't actually have sheet music or anything for it... I just looked up the guitar tabs online and then converted it to work for the piano. I think it counts for #16 of my 20 things to do in my 20s though :) hopefully I'll just keep improving as I practice it a bit more.

enjoy!

and don't mind the pups wandering around in the background :)

<3 Em

Orange Basil Shrimp Ceviche

Ceviche is an example of some of the reasons I really love cooking. It's so simple, yet it usually blows everyone's minds with how freaking delicious it is. Also, the whole concept of it- cooking fish without heat, with the acid of citrus alone- is really cool. Food can do some pretty crazy things.

I hadn't had ceviche since... well, mexico last winter, but before that i hadn't had it since I was a youngun, and my grandpa would make it for our family every once in a while. Back then i didn't know what it was, and my parents just called it "marinaded shrimp". Probably because they knew if they told me it was raw shrimp that sat in lime juice for a few hours I wouldn't eat it.

I don't usually eat meat, but I ate it in greece (it's kind of necessary... though I ate less than I thought I was going to have to) and so I felt ok about making this for my parents and myself a few days after I got back. It's an adaptation of one of Dan at The Food in my Beard's recipes, and as is the case with most things that are inspired/from tfimb, it was awesome. really, really refreshing and surprisingly full of flavor. like, suspiciously full of flavor, for how few ingredients there are.

Make up a batch of this, it's freaking delicious and seriously one of the most perfect summery dishes out there!

Orange Basil Shrimp Ceviche
Ingredients
1 pound raw shrimp (get the best quality you can find) 
5 oranges
4 limes
2 tbsp finely chopped basil
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/2 red onion
1 clove garlic, finely minced or grated
Salt and pepper to taste

  1. Start by removing all the crap parts of the shrimp- the legs, shell, etc. Then cut the shrimp into small, 1 cm pieces.
2. Juice the oranges and limes through a strainer into a medium serving bowl. Make sure you get as much juice as you can!

3. Cut the onion into thin strips. you could also dice it if you wanted to have a more salsa-like ceviche, but my grandpa always used thin onion strips so that's what I like :)

4. Add the onions, garlic, basil, and cilantro to the bowl with the citrus juice. Stir to combine.

5. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste. you can always add more after the shrimp is done cooking, too.
6. Add the shrimp to the marinade and stir, making sure all the shrimp pieces are completely submerged. Cover with plastic wrap and stick in the fridge for 1-6 hours, or until the shrimp is completely opaque and cooked all the way through. the cooking time varies depending on the size of your shrimp pieces and how fresh the shrimp is. The longer you leave it in there the more cooked and marinaded and flavorful it will get! I left mine overnight. Serve with chips or eat by itself.

20 in my 20th: #4 Get a Puppy

I'm on a roll with these 20 things, guys. I signed up for home ec last week and got my sewing machine tuned up to make sure it's in perfect working order, and I'm just finalizing a couple songs I've been working on on the piano- one that i wrote and one that i didn't write but i love. thats 3 more things that'll be coming at you all in the next few weeks! it's been really fun working towards these different goals and writing up these posts :)

Onto the thing you all really want to hear about- this adorable little love muffin!

Name: Clementine, as in Kate Winslet's character in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind- one of my top three favorite movies. 

Age: 5 months

Breed: Terrier mutt, but she definitely has some border terrier and some wire-hair in there. She also must have some kind of small breed terrier in there because she's tiny and she probably won't get much bigger.

Color: white, with beige-ish wiry top coat in some places

Eyes: beautiful golden brown

Where I got her: Phoenix, AZ- some guy owned her mama and daddy and I guess had to get rid of all the little pups. She was the last one left.

How I found her: craigslist, baby!

Personality: so very  sweet and shy- when i first met her she tried to high-tail it into the guy's kitchen- but she quickly warmed up to me and now thinks I'm her new mama. she follows me everywhere i go, and when I have to leave and then come home she sees me and wags her tail so hard her whole back half wiggles back and forth. She's very quiet, except for if she sees a dog and feels threatened by it- then she'll growl and potentially bark. usually this happens when she's sitting on me or on the couch and the dog comes into the room, so i put her on the floor so she and the dog are at the same level. I'm working on socializing her (which should have been done when she was younger, but i guess the dude didn't take care of that) so that when she's a bit older she can be nice and friendly with other dogs and people. she's very, very smart and seems pretty willing to be submissive- i haven't had to teach her how to heel at all, she just naturally walks next to or behind me on a slack leash when i take her out for walks. unlike the dog i grew up with (that my parents still own), clover, she doesn't have an endless appetite and bottomless stomach- she's generally uninterested in food, although i have gotten her to finish her meals the last two times. this means food will be cheap and I won't have to deal with her being all over me for it, but it's also made it hard to be successful with starting her training commands- like sit, stay, etc- since she doesn't really care about the treat reward in my hand that usually captures a training pup's attention. 

She's such a little cutie, and I've been trying to take her lots of places so she can get more comfortable with the world. she's already doing so well! she doesn't flinch or tuck her tail between her legs when she sees people or other dogs, which she certainly did the first day or two i had her. We've gone down to the downtown square a lot, as well as to other friends' houses, the vet, around the neighborhood, and to the barkery. she's getting more sociable every day! she's such a little sweet heart, and I know she's going to grow up to be such a well-mannered, sweet little companion.

<3

Em

Greece, Day 8

I promised you guys I'd start posting more photos weeks ago, i know. I just couldn't bring myself to sit down and edit them all... plus I'm still processing and adjusting to this "normal" life thing again... it hasn't been easy and I really haven't been in the mood to have to deal with it all. but here you go- most of the picture posts won't be this long, but i didn't want to split up one day's worth of photos (and this was a busy day!) In this set are pictures of Plataea, where the battle of plataea took place (shocker, right?), Gla- an ancient Mycenaean ruin that was covered by a lake for a very long time, Thermopylae, where the battle shown in the movie 300 took place, and Delphi, where all kinds of cool shit from the Pythian games to the Delphic oracle of Apollo occurred.

 Greece is full of gorgeous flowers. This one was in Plataea. Modern Plataea is just a teeny tiny little town, and Ancient Plataea is even smaller- just a few old very worn down ruins, mostly the bases of houses and such.

 Nick got our Professor to pretend to fight him to recreate the battle of plataea- as if the prof is a persian and nick is a greek.

 This is Gla- it's actually quite huge, though it's hard to really see much in this photo. the whole thing was covered by a lake for a very long time- mostly you can just see the wall that lined the perimeter of this Mycenaean town.

 The boys- and one, in particular- had a habit of flexing their muscles for every picture we took. This is us girls (well three of us anyways) making fun of them :)

 see what i mean with the muscle flexing?

 This is Thermopylae, where the battle that is featured (and hollywood-ized, though not as much as you might think) in the movie 300 took place. Imagine the greeks coming down through those rocky, steep mountains, and the Persians approaching from the sea, which would be opposite these mountains. There's no longer a sea there, it's just farmland, but it's cool to think about.

 looks kind of familiar, doesn't it?

 A tribute to the Spartans, who fought to their death.

 Schmules doing his reading

 Statue of Leonidas, the spartan commander (Gerard Butler's character in the film)

 The spartans would of course not actually fight naked, but the Greeks were obsessed with the male form and perfection, so they always sculpted their warriors to be mostly nude.

 The view from the bus as we drove up the mountains to Delphi

 A tholos at the lower ancient site in delphi. Most tholos' we don't know the purpose of- in later pics you'll see some tholos tombs and at the agora there was a tholos where the important people in athens would meet, but this one and most others give no clues as to what they could be used for. Tholos just basically means round building, by the way.

 This is the greek version of an exit sign! weird, huh?

 If you look really closely at the center of this pic, you'll see a whitish dot. it's a goat! If you zoom in a bunch you can actually make out it's shape.

 Swimming pool at the ancient training area in Delphi. The pythian games- one of the four panhellenic games- took place in Delphi, but at the upper site (next set of photos). The lower site was where a lot of training took place. this swimming pool was aobut 4 or 5 feet deep now, but was surely deeper in antiquity.

 some of the boys pretending to swim in the pool.

 backstroke!

 awesome tree at the lower site

 the lower site at delphi

 there are a million stray dogs and cats in Greece! In delphi in particular, there were a bunch of cats that hung out across from our balconies at the hotel.

Nicholas, one of the two "greeks" on our trip. If you couldn't tell, he basically has a bottomless stomach. That night he pretty much finished everyone's food for them.


more pics in a few days!

<3
Em