Monday, August 9, 2010

Stateside!

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Hey guys!

So since my last post I have been stateside for two weeks! It’s crazy to be back! I’ve been so busy that it doesn’t seem like I have a minute of downtime. Currently I’m writing from a Starbucks in Orlando! My only moment of free time as I passed on going to Disney with the fam!

So where to start?

I dyed my hair dark!

My sister gave me a kitten....I named him Callen!

I was given a welcome back party!

My cousin came in from outta town for a visit!

Spent time with the family!

Went to Louisville!


I went to Indy to visit some family friends.


Atlanta!

Enjoyed some Orlando nightlife!


It’s so weird to be back in a country where everyone is speaking English! I am so used to not understanding everything that is being said around me, that it’s crazy when I overheard conversations and understand what is going on! Being back makes me want to stay back home! I'm not going to lie just being here makes me want to go back to Europe to just train the person replacing me and to come back for good. I miss America, I miss my family and friends, and I just miss the culture in general. I wouldn't trade my time in Europe for anything, yet lately I've been questioning if going back is the right thing for me at this point in my life....I guess we shall see.

I also wanted to share a tip I’ve learned for being on vacation and not gaining weight. Because let’s face it, we are on vacation and want to relax and enjoy our time. It is very possible to eat out and not gain weight! In Prague I managed to lose weight, and Europe is the land of large portions! Mainly it was due to the fact that I walked a lot! But when I would eat out I made sensible choices, and would listen to my body! It usually started with a light breakfast and heavy lunch and a light dinner. I would snack also on an apple or a piece of fruit or crackers if I was really feeling hungry. By listening to my body I wouldn’t eat just because it was time to, I ate when I was hungry! Wow, that sounds so much easier than it is right?! I am so used to eating because it’s time that I would sometimes eat when I wasn’t hungry, or if someone else was eating I felt I had to!

Do you have any tips on losing weight or maintaining while on vacation?

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Prague Part 2


Okay I've had this posted typed up since Monday, but have had computer problems.....Apparently sometime in my 16 hours traveling from Hungary to la U.S.A my computer got hacked. I am still not sure if it was only my email account or all my personal information so I've been hesitant to use it!


Prague Pt. 2

Skipping the uninteresting and hardly eatable hostel breakfast, Jane and I made our way into the main square.

Just some background, Jane and I have been to Prague together before. Way back in 2008 we went with her boyfriend and another friend of ours when we all lived near Munich. Needless to say we had already completed the tourist thing before so this trip we planned to do something different…..and we succeeded!

We got Thai massages, which was a little nerve racking because we weren’t sure if they really were going to be a Thai massage or a “thai massage”!

We did a lot of shopping…

Coffee drinking….

French marketing…..

And ended up going to the movies……

Eclipse. I’ll admit I felt like such a geek, but the movie selection wasn’t great and in the Czech Republic they speak Czech not English, so to find a movie in English was a plus! We ended up joking the rest of the night that we took in a “mind fluff” movie because if you’ve read the books or watched the movies you know why. For some strange reason I’m drawn to it but I have no idea why….maybe I like to read things at a teenager’s level?!! Either way it wasn’t so bad.

After the movie we went back to the half-naked hostel and slept (or tried to at least!)

Sunday, our final day….it rained! Go figure, we had plans to spend the day chill-axing up at a local park and having a picnic! Needless to say that was a wash. So our last minute scramble to find activities wasn’t that hard to find!

We stumbled onto a rock candy demonstration. (It is not like our rock candy fellow Americans!)



And got free samples. (I split what is pictured with Jane!)


After leaving we found a …… festival.

I found it very interesting even though it was not my religious holiday. They had really nice music and dancing and had a good positive energy. I ended up speaking with one of the main men that is involved with this religious group. He was super nice and told me lots of information about the religion and related it back to criminology once he found out that was my major. It was really fun to go in the parade with them also, the atmosphere was amazing!

So that’s about all the interesting bits of my trip. Unfortunately I was only there for the weekend and I traveled about 12 hours just to be able to go!


In other news I am back in the States! I am sooo happy to be here! I will have a recap post soon because it sure hasn't been a dull moment!