This Is All I Need To Say

That is all I needed to say.

Something To Look Forward To

Now that the Bachelor is over and there is nothing to look forward to on Monday nights, something has been weighing heavy in my heart.  Is there anything that can fill in that emptiness? I mean, crazy Utah chicks wishing death-by-monkeys on other girls is hard to replace.

Well, tonight I found my answer:

RALPH MACCHIO

 

SIGH...I now have a new reason to look forward to Monday nights. My Karate Kid is going to kick some booty on Dancing With the Stars. I actually don't like the show but I will definitely be watching Mr. KK as he karate-chops his way to the top. 

Isn't he dreamy? 

And no, I do not care that he is like 49 years old because he still looks like the teenager who learned how to "wax-on, wax-off" from Mr. Miyagi. 

I'd date him. 

Sorry Will Smith Jr., you just won't ever do.

 

Three-Ohhh

Fantastically Fantastic!

Yep, I just said that (or I guess wrote it). That is the best way to describe these 30 years of my life. Sigh...the word “thirty”…I say that with some difficulty. Honestly, I am completely fine with being in my 30’s. The ONLY negative is that it is harder to find cute, active, fun guys who have similarities in their lives with mine. I only know a few guys that fit this profile and I do spend time with them. The only problem with it is that once you know they are not right for you, you can still have fun with them but you have to keep meeting other men that fit that profile to date and that is hard. Like I previously stated: the only negative thing is the guy situation.

With all that said, I have loved my life up to now. It has been so full of happiness and love and adventures and learning and so many other things! Sometimes I think I am going to die any minute (which I would be fine with p.s.-I leave everything to my parents), because I pretty much have done all the things I wanted to in my life. Even all the things mentioned in my Patriarchal Blessing have come to pass. So in all reality it could happen at any minute.

Well, I did not mean to start talking about death. My point is that I feel my life has been rich and fulfilling.

Something that I have always been blessed with is good friends. Even though my family moved around A LOT throughout my life, there were always people who were willing to take me in and accept me as a friend. Gracias amigos Chilenos y Argentinos por su amistad. I think a life without friends is not worth living. I hope that I can be that type of a friend myself.

Another part of my life that has been richly blessed is by having a wonderful family. My parents are good, honest people who are supportive (and for all those who know them, they are very funny). When I was growing up, we were the kind of family that would have dinner together and laugh and laugh and laugh. We would play Monopoly until so late that we would have to leave the board out to finish the game on another night. They allowed me to have a big imagination, and I did have a big imagination. My sibs are pretty awesome too. We used to play together, we used to sing together. They are still great and they are so supportive of everything I do. Even from afar, my family has always been very close. Just as an example, even though I did not live with my parents for about 12 years, when they finally moved here it was like we were never apart. I am grateful for that.

One thing I cannot leave unmentioned is the fact that I have always been so blessed in everything! I am someone who believes there is a God and that God is our Father. The little miracles I have seen in my life have proven it over and over and over again. If I could share some...people’s jaws would drop. Literally. Even how my family and I ended up living here, it is all a miracle. I am so grateful for my many blessings every day. There was a really difficult time in my life when it was hard to even get up in the morning and have any strength to do anything. What got me through those difficult times was counting my blessing. I would think about all my blessings as I drove to work (5 to 10 min) every morning. I was not allowed to repeat any in one day. I never had to. The most unreal part about all my blessings is that I am not even that good of a Daughter! Really! Yet still, I am blessed and I am so grateful and will try to be better.

Anyway, just a few simple thoughts about my wonderful life.

Happy birthday to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And The Countdown Begins

Happy birthday to me...in 3 months!

I decided to give myself a few cool presents for my next birthday. Why? Because I'm turning 30. Yeah, I know I should not worry about it, I will live, it is just the beginning of my life, blah blah blah. No matter how you put it, it is a little depressing because your 20's are considered some of the best times of your life. When you were a kid, didn't you want to be in your 20's? I remember I always had crushes on college guys because I thought they were so cool.

Either way, because I was afraid that it is going to be more of an un-happy day than a happy day, I have started giving myself presents to prevent any depression that may accompany the event.

Present #1
A fabulous bed!!!!!! It is twice as big as my old one and 50 times more comfortable!! I hate to say it but if anyone ever wants to marry me they will have to take the both us or neither...

Present #2
I wanted to remember what I was like in my 20's, so I decided to have professional pics taken. It was a little scary; most of the time I am messing around and my pics show me camping, etc. But I found a fantastic photographer who made me feel at home and I literally had some of the best time of my life!

Here's a sample

If you would like to see a few more go to Stephanie's blog.

The problem now? Since I already gave myself 2 amazing gifts before the dreaded event, I now have to find something to do on the actual day of my birthday.

When I turned 28, I decided to celebrate by doing 28 acts of service. It was pretty fun! So now I need ideas of what to do, times 30. If anybody reads this, please leave any thoughts you may have (you know who you are!).

Here are a few of mine:
-Buy 30 items of clothing
-Taste 30 different flavors of ice cream
-Read 30 pages of a book I would never read other wise (not so sure about this one)
-Watch 30 episodes of my favorite shows (but that would take a lot of time)
-Do a different activity every 30 minutes
-Get a 30 minute massage
-Kiss 30 guys (hope my parents aren't reading this one). Just kidding mom and dad!!!!
-Write 30 attributes that I would like to have
-Disappear for 30 hours (likey likey)

OK, that's about all I can think of. Any suggestions?

End of Summer

I can FEEL the end of summer coming...
The smells, the sounds, the sunrises and sunsets... everything is different.

I have mixed feelings about it all coming to an end. Summer is my favorite season, especially here in Utah.  For me, the temperature "highs" and "lows" during summer are perfect; I am the "I'd rather be hot than cold" kind of person. On the other hand, end of summer just means beautiful changing leafs and snowboarding season (and of course hot chocolate) will soon be here. So I guess it is not all that bad.

This summer has been pretty amazing and it kind of had to be because...uhm, yeah...it is my last summer in my 20's (somewhat depressing to say, I know).  I got to do a lot of the things that I had been trying to do for a long long time but had not been able to for different reasons. All I can say is that the memories will remain.

There is a song that always makes me think of the end of summer.  It is called "Anything But Mine."  Here is to celebrating the end of a most wonderful season.

  

Confessions

As much as I am excited about what will soon happen in my life, I am also a little weary. Confession/Public Announcement #1 my parents are moving here in a few days.

YAY FOR ME! I mean, it is exciting to think that after 12 years of spending Christmas' without family, this will never happen again. There are so many reasons why them moving here is such a great thing but I have to admit, there is something that worries me.

For years, I have been used to giving the same answer to the getting-to-know-you-question "Where does your family live?" by saying either Chile or Brazil, which are the countries my parents have lived in during that time. Now I won't be able to do that anymore!!! My answer always made me feel that I had something unique to talk about and it has been a great conversation starter. Saying that my parents live a few minutes away is just not going to be the same.

As a result I have started thinking about other things people may not know about me that I could perhaps use as conversation starters.

Cristina's Confessions (aka possible conversation starters)

1. When I was in elementary school I put a pencil lead in my ear, I'm not sure if it ever came out ;)
2. I tend to bite my fingernails when I'm nervous (I know, now you're all grossed out)
3. I am an impulsive shopper. I can invest a lot of mula on something I thought of buying just minutes ago. But also I can get a whole outfit in 20 min
4. I don't shop very often, I can go months without buying anything (good thing, please refer to #3)
5. I love Dog The Bounty Hunter
6. I hate Chicago (the group not the city, I'm not a hater Chicago people)
7. One time I ended up at the ER dressed up as Cleopatra and left with braces on both feet
8. I sleep walk sometimes, or maybe I should call it sleep run? And sometimes run into things...
9. The song "Alejandro" by Lady Gaga mentions all of my cousins (from one side of the family)
10. I have ripped a phone book in half

All these confessions have stories to go along with them. Would any of them work as conversation starters?

Be afraid, be very afraid

Havasupai: Before and After the Flood of 2008

2011 UPDATED DISCLAIMER: I have been told by several people who went to Havasupai in 2010 that the water in my pictures doesn't reflect its true color. In theirs it was as blue as before. I think this has to do with the fact that in 2010 we got there right after they had a mini flood so there was still stuff in the water. Please read on!

I decided to write a review on how Havasupai (a.k.a The Garden of Eden) has changed since the August of 2008 flood. It was one of the biggest floods they have ever had. The water rose up to 8 feet. All 400 members of the tribe had to be evacuated. All tourists were also evacuated and flown by helicopter to the top of the Grand Canyon.  You can imagine what that did to the tribe who's sole form of income is tourism.

2008 months before the flood

2008 during the flood

I was one of the lucky people who got to go to Havasupai before this great flood. I have so many memories of that place!!! Because of my wonderful past experiences I was a little hesitant to go back and see what damage had been caused to this beautiful place. In case you are curios, this is my review and comparison of the before and after.

1. THE HIKE IN: although the way to get to Havasupai is pretty much the same, it did seem to me that there was more gravel on the trails. This made the hike more difficult but not terribly. I found a couple of spots looked different. There was also a mini flood the week before we went.

2. TOWN: the town is pretty much the same. The same buildings, same houses, etc. Something that I liked is that they have a new little store which is one of the first houses when you get into town. So if you really feel you are dying by the time you reach town, you can go there. They also serve pot roast meals every day at dinner time (not that I ever ate there but it's an option). I also liked that there are more signs, or at least they seem to have made them more clear on how to get there.  They no longer charge you the environmental fee (which was only like $5 bucks anyway). People are as nice as always and the kids as as cute as ever. The new Dr. and RN in the clinic are super great and all buildings have extra great AC. And just so you know, the grocery store is not totally over-priced. I always recommend that you either buy fresh fruit in town or have some money for at least one meal. It saves you weight on what you carry in and it helps you not get completely sick of your carb/protein packed food.

2008

2010

2008

2010

2008

2010 This is a little bit of a different angle. Still the same.

2010 Better directions.

2010

3. HIKE TO THE FALLS: first major change: the river looks like there was a flood and Navajo Falls, totally gone. But!!! There are some new falls which are actually really fun and beautiful.  You can tell they have had to clean up a lot. There were lots of piles of dead trees but they are small and they do not get in the way of the beauty of the hike.

2008 Navajo Falls

2010 Navajo Falls from a distance

2010 New falls called Rock Falls from a distance.

4. HAVASU FALLS: these are the first major falls you come to right before you get to the camp ground. They have changed a lot. But at least they are still there! The area where the water begins to fall literary lost about 6 feet of height and the water now comes out on the right side only (right side when you're looking at it) and the area is a lot smaller.  The pool that used to be below it lost several yards of area and it is not as deep. Before you could swim up to the trees and it got deep pretty fast. Now you have to walk down to it quite a bit. But the locals have done a great job at putting sand bags to try to help it recover and they really have cleaned up debris.

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

2010 Still beautiful and fun.

5. THE CAMP GROUND: well, what can I say? It is completely different. the river used to split it in two almost evenly and there were more campgrounds to the left side (when hiking in). Now the river goes to the left and there are more campgrounds to the right. This is the area that looks the most like there was a flood. I can't even imagine what the locals have had to clean up!!! And they are still working on it!!!! There are lots of piles of trees that are getting burned, and there are lots of areas that needed a boardwalk or big log to get through. They have also build a couple of bridges to get to the left side trail to get to Mooney Falls. There are still lots of trees for those who want to tie a hammock and there is still vegetation. So it's not all bad. In all honesty, people who had never been there never even noticed. To spring of drinkable water (and no, we did not filter at all) looks different but it is still in the same place. It is a little harder to get to because you have to cross several arms of the stream to get to it but there are boards to walk on. There used to be a wood building in front of it... gone.

2008. That little stream is now the river.

2008

2008

2008. This river is now re-routed. See video.

2010. Old campsite from afar. You where the earth brakes a little, that is where the river is.

2010 New river path.

6. POTTIES: Honestly, the most improved thing is that now they do not have portasoooo much better. They have 3 large compost stations. They are pretty high end porta-potties that do not smell are pretty clean, give you enough room to not have to touch anything, always have enough TP,  you can change in them if you want, and they are not full of bugs. This made my trip so happy!

2008-definitely the best improvement

Yay for clean potties!

No more of these!

7. MOONEY FALLS: I think that this is the fall that has changed the least. It is maybe 1 or 2 feet lower than it used to be, but it really does look the same.  The way down has not changed at all.  It is the same chains you have to hold on to. The pool at the bottom does have sand bags but it is just a little smaller and definitely not as deep. The little water falls that are right after it also look pretty much the same. So much fun!

2008 Mooney Falls during the day

2010 Mooney falls

2008 Going down.

2010 Going down.

8. THE RIVER/TRAIL DOWN BELOW: the river has a new waterfall that seems to come from the gully. It is this cool rock that is actually quite beautiful. Also most of the river is not as deep so you can pretty much walk it almost all the way to Beaver Falls. I wouldn't recommend it though because it takes 3 times longer to get there. The trail is pretty much the same. You still find yourself completely surrounded by green. It is like being in a the jungle. The rope swing and the small water hole? I am not sure because I couldn't find it. The giant water hole where you could jump from really high? I am  also not sure.

2010 new waterfall

Before

After

Before

After

2008 Old rope swing (don't know if it's still there)

2008 Looking down at the big water hole.

2008 Jumping into the big water hole.

2010 New place to jump in.

9. BEAVER FALLS: On the way to these falls I was happy to see the famous Palm Tree. It is still there! To get to the falls, you still have to climb up the log with the ropes. That trail pretty much looks the same. The actual falls looked much the same to me but the areas surrounding them were a little different.The way to get down to the falls is different. There is an easy trail a little past the lower one, right before you get to the sign that says you are leaving the reservation. They did not seem as deep. I am not sure if there is still the under-water cave because I didn't check but the rock walls looked different enough that I didn't feel comfortable checking it out. Plus I was scared to go in them before anyway.

2010 The famous palm tree!

2008 ("after" pictures coming soon)

10. WAY TO THE COLORADO RIVER: honestly, I don't know if that changed at all because we didn't go that far. But since it was higher ground I'm guessing it is pretty much the same.

Final thoughts: In all reality, I was sad the first day I got there. Things seemed to be so different and it was sad to think that they will never be the same. Then I got over that, and I started enjoying the beauties of one of the most unusual places in the world. It is still beautiful, the water is still as blue as Gatorade, and the adventures are innumerable. I did notice that people that had not been there did not seem to mind the changes at all and their experience was as magical as my first one was.

So would I got back again???  

HECK YES!!!!

But since I always tell myself I'm an idiot for hiking out (especially when I get to the switchbacks), next time I'm getting a mule. Or maybe I'll take a little flight!