Subway, Metro, Underground, U-Bahn . . .

During my lunch today I found this interesting little photo-article about the World's Most Impressive Subways. Of course, Moscow was represented as numero dos, or should I say "dva?"

For those of you who haven't had the privilege of traveling to the Motherland, I can vouch for both Moscow and St. Petersburg as having overwhelmingly beautiful metros. And I am an expert of metros (okay not really). But I have ridden on the following systems: Madrid, Barcelona, London, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and NYC (in that order)!

What I love about the stations is that each one has a theme and is decorated accordingly. If the stationed in named for a famous writer there will be sculptures of the writer, his prose will be in mosaic on the walls, floors, or ceilings. There might even be paintings depicting scenes from his stories. Another theme is sport; these stations are near stadiums and are a tribute to athleticism and ancient Greece. Regardless of the theme, I've got to agree that "praising the common man" really suits me when I'm cruising around town enjoying the luxury metro stations! They also use escalators (that are insanely steep) so it helps when your are a little worn out at the end of the day or if you want to chat it up with your traveling companion.

Thank you Wikipedia for the following photos of Moscow's stations:

And here are a few from good 'ole St. Pete:

I don't know about you guys, but after seeing these NYC's stations kind of make me want to barf!

Hubby Tag

Okay, so I pretty much never do tags, but Tiff tagged me what seems like a hundred years ago, and I think I might be ready to give one a shot.

1.How long have you been together?
Two years, one month, 2 weeks, and 6 days according to this tracker thingy on my blog.

2.How long did we date?
You do the math.
Met/Started dating – Feb 19
Engaged – July 29
Married – Nov 18

3. How old is he?
26, but don’t remind him

4. Who eats more?
Sometimes it’s close, but typically he will eat a little more

5. Who said, "I love you," first?
I did. I’m such a sucker; I couldn’t hold out.

6. Who is taller?
He is, thank goodness!

7. Who does the laundry?
That’s me.

8. Who does the dishes?
I’m the Dishes Master. But Stas is the chef, so it works out nicely.

9. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
It varies. Currently I am, but one of us doesn’t like consistency in sleeping situation, so whenever he wants to switch, I just go with it.

10. Who pays the bills?
I do

11. Who mows the lawn?
What lawn? We have a lawn—SWEET!!

12. Who cooks dinner?
My Master Chef Husband!!

13. Who is more stubborn?
Depends on who you ask and when you are referring to

14. Who kissed who first?
Stas kissed me first.

15. Who asked who out?
Stas

16. Who proposed?
He did! Biggest and best surprise of my life!

17. Who is more sensitive?
Generally me, but we each have our moments

18. Who has more siblings?
I win this one!

19. What were you doing ten years ago?
Marching band, planting acorns, riding around in the back of Megan’s Camero or Ashley’s Ranger, going to Sonic, loving stake dances, having way too many crushes on silly boys, and being an excellent student, and the perfect daughter—right Mom & Dad?

20. Five things on my to-do list:
1. Work, work , work
2. Exercise
3. Study Russian
4. Take Buster on a long walk
5. Follow up on insurance claims (I hate this type of grown-up stuff!!)

21. Things I would do if I was suddenly made a billionaire.
Pay off law school loans and all future tuition
And if there is any leftover after that then
-buy a house with a garage and two bathrooms
-a new car for me that is reliable and doesn’t keep breaking
-a new car for Stas just because I love him!
-go visit my family in Texas just in time for my sister’s new baby
-visit my in-laws, I miss them!!
-send my parents on a vacation to New Zealand
-buy my brother Jeff an airplane
-invest some
-charity

22. Three of my bad habits:
1. Sometimes, seldomly, on a rare occasion I might bite a fingernail
2. Not knowing what to do, so not doing anything
3. Not flossing

23. Five places I have lived:
1. Texas
2. Utah
3. Spain
4. PA
5. Connecticut & Wisconsin (but I don’t really remember them)

24. Five jobs I have had:
1. Acorn Planter
2. Sonic Car-hop
3. Accounting Clerk
4. Whatever you want to call what I did at Atlas/Nuvont
5. Financial Analyst

25. Things people don't know about me:
I think most people know something about me, and then if you combine all of me then that covers most things. But I’ll throw out a few, just for fun.
-I ran a marathon.
-I am married to an alien.
-I hated and therefore never wore sweatpants from when I was about 8 until I was 22. My roommates had to convince me that it was alright, and that they are absolutely comfortable.
-I only cook about twice a month, but I am a great sous-chef a couple times a week. And am an excellent dish washer.

I tag: Whoever so desires!

The West Shore ain't safe no more

Monday evening Stas and I were enjoying a calm evening-he studying, me-working, Buster-chill-laxing, when we heard some sirens get really loud and really close. We went out on our balcony to see what was going on, only to find police cars and fire trucks whizzing down our street!!! I was thinking "Hmmm, that's odd. Hope everyone is alright." Then we went back inside to resume our activities.

A couple minutes later we hear some noises, Stas peeks out the window and informs me that there is a helicopter outside. What!?!?! So we head back out to the balcony to check things out. In fact there was a helicopter exceptionally low, flying literally right by our place! We could feel the wind from the propellers! Then we watched it land in the street not a quarter mile from our place!!!!!!! I was thinking that maybe someone fell or a kid got hurt, and was just grateful that we have a good response time from our township's emergency team!

Come Tuesday morning when I was driving to work. I like to listen to a radio morning talk show; they give a news report every half hour. No biggie. Except when they start talking about and armed robbery in MY township! What!?! yes, there was "police activity" in MY township, my supposedly peaceful and safe neighborhood!! Oh and there is no coincidence, the "police activity" was happening just down the street from our building, in our same neighborhood, where regularly go running and walk Buster!!!! I share a gym and a pool with these people!! AHHH, where is my pepper spray!?!?!

So, for those of you just so curious to know what happened, if you can stomach it, here are links to the news article and they even had a video!!! Holy moly, they show the actual house; totally walked Buster right by it-twice-earlier Monday evening!!

One Hurt, Three at Large After Home Invasion

Man Robbed

Buster

Introducing Buster G.,
the cutest pup around.

After several months of discouraging pet searching we came across Buster and his four brothers at a breeder in Lancaster County. They were advertised online and we quickly called to make sure that they were still available. Here is his photo from the ad:
Tonight we went to visit and see if they look as good in person as they do online. They did! It was hard deciding between his brothers, but we went with Buster (originally they had named him Mason, but we wanted a more dog-ish type name; and I love Buster Bluthe). The family he lived with was so nice and helpful; I'm really grateful to them.

Buster has already had quite a social life! After we picked him up we visited our friends Fitz and Eric (there were another reason to cruise down to Lancaster). Then we stopped of at Mai's house to pick up a crate and meet her pups, Dubs & Bella. After a quick trip to Wal-mart for a few necessary supplies, Buster finally made it to his new home. Here is a current family photo:


Buster Facts:

Birth date: November 1, 2008
Mom: Pure bred Shih Tzu, all white
Dad: Pure bred Yorkshire Terrier
Current Weight: 4 lbs
Favorite Hobbies: Being rubbed behind the ears & talked to, burrowing, and chewing on Julie's toes


We went on our fist walk tonight and learned a few things. His little legs make stairs nearly impossible. Also, after a serious face-plant coming off a curb, he has become very resistant to any sort of elevation change.

Wish us luck on our new adventure!!

I'm the man.

After quickly resolving a complex financial problem (okay, so the problem turned out to not technically be financial, but I'm the one who figured out how to fix it!), my boss's boss came by to tell me, "Julie, you're the man and fast, too!!" So yeah, I'm feeling pretty good about my job security. At least for the rest of the day! Or until he learns that I just posted at work. ;)

My own little world

For Christmas my co-worker got everyone little stickers with silly sayings on them. Mine says:

I live in my own little world but it’s OK,
Everyone knows me here

Some might take offense, but I honestly just don’t think that he has any good material on me, considering we are both Mormon, runners, and accountant-types.

Here is what the other stickers said:

“No WHINING!” for the boss-man, of course
“Princess” for our resident self-declared princess
"Lottery, a tax for people bad at math"
“BEER: the reason I get up every afternoon”
and
“I’m out of sick days so I’m calling in DEAD”

The last two are my personal faves, as they are very fitting of their recipients.

This is Texas!

This weekend while renewing my vehicle registration, I came across this, and it made me happy:

If you can't read, it says:

Go ahead, dream as big as you want, this is Texas.

Belated Birthday

This year at work they forgot my birthday again. No real big surprise or concern. That is until the following Monday, today.

It turns out, the only one who had bothered to remember was out sick, so that little reminder she'd set up in Outlook was moot. Oops. Well when she got back, she threw together a little celebration for the following Monday. Too bad things didn't quite go as planned.

Monday, unknown to any of us, was the day planned for some major layoffs. This put a pretty big damper on things. So we celebrated quietly in the break room, as others were cleaning out their desks. Pretty sad. But I still felt special; after all, i got two birthday presents from work: a cake and to keep my job (for now)!!

About time

Three months later, NY Times gets it right.

I breastfeed.

Okay, not really. I don't breastfeed, and there is no one for me to breastfeed aka I do not have a baby. BUT there is a giant billboard on my way home from work that says just that: "I breastfeed." I was even behind a bus today with the following ad/PSA:
There is a link on the bottom that I can't read, but after using my friend Google I think that is for the PA Breastfeeding Coalition. Apparently August 2008 was even proclaimed Breastfeeding Month. Nice. I guess that it's good to know that there is so much support out there if/when I need it!

Phillies Phriday

Forget Halloween, around the office it was all about the Phillies!!

After the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series in a suspended game five Wednesday night, our boss Tony declared it Phillies Day on Friday and brought in all of his garb to help get us decked-out for the occasion. Go team!!

I just couldn't resist

Dilemma

Here’s the scoop. I got a voicemail Saturday morning from a ward member telling me that she is throwing a candle party the following Thursday, and wanted to invite me. She said she had an invitation to give me, but hadn’t seen me in church the previous Sunday to give it to me personally. Also, because she’s in Primary, she never ‘sees’ anyone. Note: This is The Assumer from this post. We aren't super chummy.

On Sunday I anticipated the exchange where she gave me the invite and I feigned excitement while trying to come up with a conflict of why I couldn’t go. Well Sunday came and went, and besides seated during sacrament meeting I only saw her at a distance down the hall between classes.

So here is my dilemma:
I know that I will not be buying any candles at this party (there’s not really any spot in the budget for party purchases, especially ones that cannot be eaten or used to cover the body).
Do I go ahead and attend, giving the appearance of being interested, but the disappointment of not buying? What if the peer pressure is too much and I give in and buy one? Then I have to come home and tell my husband I was too weak to say no. Or do I just go as an attempt to branch out and make more friends, just to learn that there is a reason why I am not friends with the party hosting/attending type?
OR
Do I just not go? The hubby and I can always use the QT (quality time), right? When I see the hostess next I can just small talk it like always and ignore the fact that I didn’t go to her party. It's not like we ever discussed it together. It is very easy to not get voicemails, right? And with not actual invitation (paper or e-vite), I don't even know what time it starts! These women’s husbands will eventually graduate Med school and move away, right? And if not, then hey, we’ll only be here for19 more months, right?

I guess it really comes down to what is ruder:
A: Go, eat the food, and hang out, full well knowing that you will not be making any purchases.
B: Being a no show.


Please, sound off.

Happy Early B-day to Me!!

I've been doing some research on healthy eating, and really wanted to get a blender so that I could start making Green Smoothies.

Well, Stas wasn't too thrilled with that, because I had sort of {cough, cough}, given away {cough, cough} a blender that we had gotten for a wedding shower gift. No-I didn't re-gift it!! We hadn't used it in the first ten months of our marriage, so in an effort to get rid of all the things we hadn't used before we moved across the country, I had sort of given it to Stas's best friend Eric. Okay, so I am totally guilty.

Well, while we were at Costco, earlier this month, I spotted a red blender!!!! Oh beautiful day, I hadn't seen a red blender anywhere (especially not one under $100, much less at this reasonable price!). I convinced Stas that it would be an excellent option for my birthday and he agreed. Wow. I really never thought the day would come when I would want a home appliance for my birthday. Well, here we are, not to mention the bread machine I want for Christmas.

Armed with my red blender and a fridge full of veggies I embarked on my first adventure in the world of "raw" eating. Here I am with my very first green smoothie! I have had 1-2 green smoothies every day since then. I can absolutely tell a difference in my energy and my body. I can now go much further for my morning runs and I don't come home wiped-out, I haven't once had a sore muscle, and I find it much, much easier to get up in the morning. Which says a lot coming from me!!

Yesterday Stas even joined in on the smoothie loving. He also said it tasted pretty good, which is HUGE coming from someone with such a refined pallet, seriously!

While I am not 100% converted to the raw diet, I am definitely learning a lot.

Here are a few of my favorite food links (consider it 'food for thought,' ha!):

• Green Smoothie Girl (Robyn's infertility struggles did a complete 180, when she started eating raw. Oh yeah, and she stopped having to wear glasses!)
  
• Anne (not actually a food site, but has a ton of good recipes and tips)
• Running Raw (a professional athlete who eats a completely raw vegan diet!)
• Raw Food Art (how she overcame cancer is a miracle!)

Apartment Up-date

When Stas got back from his internship this summer we made a few changes. We flipped the living room around and added a new cozy chair and ottoman.Note the beautiful impatients. We started these babies from three tiny seeds. They are gorgeous!!

We also got some new seating (I love the double X's on the backs of the chairs!), tablecloth, place mats, and napkin rings! Check out our snazzy monogrammed napkins (thanks Mom!!!).

Random cell phone photos

Back in July I saw these beautiful hydrangeas at Wal-Mart. They were so gorgeous I wanted them for our balcony (as if there is any space left, it's our own little Garden of Eden). Knowing that I was about to go out of town for two weeks, I decided against purchasing their beauty, but they will always be remembered!

What you can't read on this sign is "Gentle Family Dental." I, for one, am very impressed at someone's ability to rhyme gentle and dental.

One day leaving work a bunny rabbit was just hanging out, waiting for me by a tree. Well I was too slow getting my phone out, and this is the only shot I got of my furry friend as he (or she) scurried away.

I had never seen these stubby shopping carts until we moved to PA. They are really quite genius. They are so easy to maneuver around a crowded store, and they are just the perfect size for my quick trips to the market.
This photo of Dirt is from the 4th of July. Seriously, these shades are "all the rage!" Everyone I know wants to try them on. They say it is just because they are curious, but I know it's because they only wish they had enough confidence to wear them on a daily basis, right?
When we were all together for Bean's wedding we even took turns passing them around the table and taking everyone's photo wearing the stylish eyewear. This time Plip couldn't pull the "I'm embarrassed to be seen with someone wearing those sunglasses, so please find a different pair to wear or I refuse to get out of the car" card on me, like she did when she came to visit this summer!

FOG

The fog was incredible this morning!! All the moisture from the river sure makes a difference. I was very, very glad that I am so familiar with my route to work, because in certain areas the visibility was only 20 yards or so. You couldn't even see the stop lights, until it was too late to slow down! Here's a shot from my parking lot at work. There was not the worst of it, but you get the idea. Behind those trees is a huge seven-story office building completely hidden by fog.

Congratulations!!

Congratulations go out to my friend Kristi, her husband Christopher, and all of their family!


Abigail Katherine Malcolm, born at 2:29 on Wednesday October 8, 2008. She weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces and was 20 ¼ inches long. She is a beautiful little girl with a head of beautiful dark hair.

Kristi and I met our Freshman year at BYU and enjoyed a lot of crazy-good times during the following few years. Then she moved back to North Carolina to marry the love of her life, Christopher. Kristi, I'm so happy for you and your baby girl!!!

I never thought this day would come

Hallelujah!!!!I am SO glad that gas is back under $3/gallon!

Happy Lief Erikson Day!!!

As a shout out to my Icelandic heritage, I would like to wish you all a very merry Lief Erikson Day!!

As a recent visitor to Columbus, OH and knowing that our local public schools get Columbus Day off, I'd say that my homeboy Lief's getting the short end of the celebratory stick! Amerigo Vespucci too, for that matter!

Leif Erikson Day is an American observance occurring on October 9. It honors Leif Ericson, who brought the first Europeans known to have set foot on North American soil. In 1964, Congress authorized and requested the President to create the observance through an annual proclamation. Lyndon B. Johnson and each President since have done so. Presidents have used the proclamation to praise the contributions of Americans of Nordic descent generally and the spirit of discovery.

In addition to the federal observance, some states officially commemorate Leif Erikson Day, particularly in the Upper Midwest, where large numbers of people from the Nordic countries settled. In 1930, Wisconsin became the first state to officially adopt this holiday, thanks to efforts by the Norwegian-American initiator, Rasmus B. Anderson. A year later Minnesota followed suit. In 1963, the U.S. Representative from Duluth, John Blatnik, introduced a bill to observe it nationwide. The following year Congress adopted this unanimously.

October 9 is not associated with any particular event in Leif Erikson's life. The date was chosen because the ship Restauration coming from Stavanger, Norway, arrived in New York Harbor on October 9, 1825 at the start of the first organized immigration from Norway to the United States.

Source

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