26 moments

Last year I posted 25 moments for my birthday.
I loved looking back and recapturing the best moments.
Maybe it'll be a tradition.
Yesterday, I turned 27. Here are 26 moments from my 26th year.

1. Visiting Home (from Taiwan)
Fall is my favorite time in Utah, especially at USU.

2. DWYSYWD

I promised my Grandma years ago that no matter what, I would sing at her funeral.

'No Matter What' meant traveling 14,000 miles that week. A deal's a deal.

3. Siblings United
This funeral was the first time that all of my siblings have been together.

How is that possible?

Lisa's a bit older than the rest of us and she grew up back East.

She visited before Trina was born and then when Mick was on his mission.

Every vacation or reunion since, someone was missing for various reasons.

4. Traveling around the beautiful island of Taiwan

5. Planning our trip through Southeast Asia.

Lady Business Meetings after work, crowded around our kitchen table in our cruddy Taiwan apt.

Tanier would delegate assignments, Hanna and I hardly did anything....haha.

Oh T. I'm sorry.

6. Holidays Overseas

Penny did NOT like the Pumpkin Pie at our Thanksgiving Dinner in Feng Yuan, Taiwan.

Celebrating Christmas in a Buddhist Country was weird.

No Christmas Trees. No Holly. No Lights. No Santa. No Bethlehem. Never again.

7. Singapore

Loved this country.

Eating some traditional Malay food with my right hand ONLY.

Left hand is for going to the bathroom. duh.

8. Cankles

The second day of backpacking, I got a severe sunburn that resulted in cankles for a week+. Here we are at the steps of the Batu Caves in KL, Malaysia. Those steps were numbered to infinity.

Elevated Elephant Legs

I have never been that uncomfortable.

9. FRIZZ.

The humidity in Asia had a fiesta everyday with my hair.
I mean, really.

10. Epitome of GROSSNESS
This next one is really hard to share...but I think about it often.

Moving to Taiwan caused a lot of complications for me....the stress, culture shock, humidity,
change in diet, schedule, medications, etc etc made a MESS of my face.
Cystic acne is not funny, it hurt to wash my face, to touch it and even to sleep on.
This photo isn't that bad and hopefully nobody will ever know the extent of it.
The worst part was looking in the mirror and being disgusted by my appearance.
I've edited EVERY photo I own and all that hit the worldwideweb...minus these few.

It wasn't just acne, but my face broke out in rashes every few days.

Needless to say, I think I'm allergic to Asia.

Thanks goodness for American Dermatologists, I'm almost good as new.

11. Thailand
Onto happier things. Thailand is my personal heaven.
I'll never forget the excitement I had every morning to wake up...so I could eat.

curry.fruit.roti.

Ziplining through the jungles near Chiangmai is a must. coolest place on earth.

12. Cambodia

How else would you transport pigs?
13. Hong Kong

I was so hungry the night I went to dinner with some hong kong locals.

When they brought out this food: I looked at Tanier. laughed and then shed a few tears.

Cow Organs. Chicken. Pig Intestines. Sausage and Beef. Still not sure which is which.

The next day they took us to eat again.
Meatballs and Fish Balls. Grossest stuff EVERRRRRR!
We refer to meatballs as 'the fetus' (white blob with a meatball surprise inside!)

Eating it to be polite. gagging and then quitely spitting it into the garbage.
14. TANIER GLAUSER

Tanier was my roommate and fellow teacher in Taiwan. It wasn't friendship at first sight, which is what I love the most. I was a pill when I got to Taiwan and she didn't enable my bad behavior. But as we learned more about each other, we became the best of friends. She has been the most stable and reliable friend to me this year. I absolutely adore her and I'm thrilled she's flying in to chillax this weekend. xoxo

15. The Great Wall
You must go. It really is incredible.

16. Beijing Treats

Eating Snake...

...and then dry heaving it.

17. Teaching the cutest Asian Kids.

I miss those nose pickers.

18. Cabin Time.

I love this photo-when Amanda saw my thermals AKA 'little boy pants', she fell to the ground laughing..and then so did I. And I wanna say she even wet her pants. It's not that funny, but I LOOOVE friends that laugh at everything. Makes life bearable.

This same night, I bet Amanda $10 to swallow a Tablespoon of cinnamon.

(not physically possible).
I'm evil. What a great weekend.

19. Chalk Festival

This day was so much fun with Liz, Heather, Brandon and his friends.

Sweet pic, right?!

20. Road trip
Visiting Pa in Spokane with my sis and cuz

My Grandpa is the cutest thing in the whole world. He's hard of hearing so we email and he says the darndest things....like duffer and sprite. mmmmmuah I love him.

We had so much fun trying on Grandma's jewelry and clothes.
We laughed. Then cried. Repeat. This trip was one for the books.

21. Easter.
It's the best holiday. Outlaws vs. Inlaws is always a healthy rivalry.

Adult Easter Egg Hunts, who would've know they'd be so fun!

22. Duck Beach over Memorial Wknd 2010
I wouldn't have missed it for anything!

23. Trip to LA
We ran into everyone we knew from DC.
Who knew Huntington Beach was going to be a remake of Duck Beach?

24. Trip to SF
I had never been and was itching to go. The architecture is amazing.

I fell in love....except that it was FREEEEZING. Hated that.

We dropped by Lake Tahoe on our drive home.

Never go on a roadtrip without an ipod. Noted.

25. Sky Diving

Holy Macaroni. Exhilirating.

26. TOU 1/2 Marathon
I've never had someone cheer me on at a race before. Having someone at the finish line was so fun. These two sisters are great for me. Thanks for your support ladies.

A friend asked me a few weeks ago what I'm passionate about. I've come to a few conclusions. One of them is birthdays. They're really important to me, not just mine..everyone's.

Overall, it was a great day.

I received lots of funny messages and then had Thai for dinner with friends.

It has been one incredible year. Bring it #27....I'm ready!