A week later, and a year older!

So. It's official. I'm 25 years old now! Would you believe it? It's true, and so far 25 has been so good! Last weekend was dedicated to celebrating! Here's some of the highlights:

Friday: Dinner with Tori and Rachel at Tapa the World for amazing tapas and my favorite Sangria in the whole world!

Saturday: Breakfast and shopping with Mama-- I got an ipod! Now I just have to sync it... Then party with the Graff's that involved delicious appetizers, wine tasting, and interesting Liquors. Finally, a bar hopping extravaganza that actually only included two bars: Whiskey Wild (just had to) and de Vere's (a new favorite). I stayed out too late and drank too much and had a great time!

Sunday: Brunch with the church crew at Capitol Garage then a movie night in.

Thanks to everybody who shared the celebration with me-- it definitely would not have been as fun and meaningful as it was without you! Everybody has been so wonderful and I am definitely blessed to have such great people around me all the time. 25 is going to be a great year, I can tell already!

Annual "I Love Springtime" Post

I've been watching it coming for a little while. All of a sudden I was driving down Riverside and there were billions of magnolia trees in bloom! Then it was the daffodils, then the stinky white blossoms outside of my apartment, and camelias! Now it's lilac, tulip, and calla lily time! And as of last Friday, it's my favorite season of the year-- Spring. First of all, Springtime represents new beginnings, which I think is neat. Also, my birthday is in the Spring (more about that later!). But really, my favorite thing about Spring is all of the color. The bright, fresh green and the flowers of all different types. It just looks pretty! There's no getting around it! Fresh and new and pretty. So, Happy Spring everybody! Go outside and enjoy it!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Most of us know St. Patrick's Day as the Irish drinking holiday, but where did it come from? Who was St. Patrick, and why is it celebrated on March 17th? Well, let me tell you!

St. Patrick was not actually born in Ireland-- he was born in Wales. The first time he went to Ireland was not by choice; when he was 16 years old he was kidnapped and forced to be a herdsman. He escaped and returned to his family only to be called back to Ireland a few years later by God through a vision in which the Irish people said to him, "we appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us." And so St. Patrick began his missionary career.

Another thing that St. Patrick is known for is chasing all of the snakes out of Ireland. Well, most people agree there probably weren't snakes in Ireland to begin with, but this could have been some kind of metaphor for converting pagans who used a serpent as their symbol.

And why do we celebrate on March 17th? That was the day that St. Patrick died. He is believed to be buried in the town of Downpatrick in Ireland.

And what would this blog post be without a factoid about alcohol?! Did you know that more Guinness is consumed in Britain than in Ireland? It's true. But even more interestingly, the second top consumer of Guinness in the world is Nigeria, with Ireland coming in third.

Weekend Update

I had a great weekend! Here are some highlights:

Friday: Costco run with Rach and Heather right up until they closed. We got eco-friendly laundrey detergant, toilet paper made from 100% recycled materials, and St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc which I didn't know they sold outside of the winery.

Saturday: Slept in (woohoo!), went to captial nursery to get necessary items for a potted herb garden (hopefully I won't kill everything this time!), then dinner and dancing for Alicia's birthday!

Sunday: 6th grade girls at church are a great way to get the morning started, ultimate frisbee with some great people (good exercise + new and old friends = sooo fun!), movie/dinner/hang out with Andy.

All in all, it was a really great weekend.

On this Day in History...

On this day in 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from the island of Elba where he had been exiled for less than a year. While on Elba, Napoleon was given sovereignty over the 12,ooo inhabitants, and he was able to retain his title of Emperor. In the few months he spent on Elba he created a small army and navy, upgraded some agricultural methods, and developed some iron mines. I guess he really believed that "idle hands are the devil's tools." That or he was just an egotistical work-aholic.

Turns out Napoleon was a fascinating person, and not as short as many people believe. If you want to find out more, click here.

Super Sappy Valentine's Day

Another Valentine's Day has come and gone. It's a day that has never really bothered me. Sure, I've bought into the whole "it's cool to hate Valentine's Day because I'm single" thing every once in awhile. But really, to me Valentine's Day is just a commercialized holiday that makes people compelled to give each other chalky little heart candies. I feel just as love-sick (or just as happy) on Valentine's Day as any other day of the year.

One thing I can appreciate though, is the history behind Valentine's. The day is named after St. Valentine who, legend has it, continue to perform marriages even after Roman Emperor Claudius II banned marriage in the third century AD, and was martyred for doing so. That's how the holiday got it's Christian name, but the celebration goes farther into pagan Roman history. It has it's roots in the festival called Lupercalia-- a celebration in which naked men would whip young ladies in hopes of increasing their fertility. Those crazy Romans! What didn't they do?

If you want to check out more fun facts and history about Valentine's Day, go here. Ok, love you! Mean it!

Happy Spainiversary!

Tomorrow, my sister and I are headed down to Oakhurst, CA to visit one of my very best friends, Tori, for a celebration we call "Compostella Day." January 28th, 2007 I completed a 500 mile pilgrimage with these two women in Spain: the Camino de Santiago. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I'm going to spend the next two days reminiscing about it. If I haven't ever told you about it (which is unlikely) please ask! I love sharing the stories. For now, Buen Camino a todos!