Travels Part 3: Everywhere else!

Since I take forever to post things I'll speed up the traveling with my favorite pictures and places. Sooooooo much beauty and history. I wish I had been taking History of Creativity while on the cruise because it would have been like the magic school bus episodes where you become ant size and travel to what you learn about. Anyways I loved it all! Here are the pics.

Sorrento

HUGE LEMONS!!!

POMPEII

We ported in Naples and drove to Pompeii. It rained on us the whole time but I still loved Pompeii.

This is their version of a McDonalds. They would put stone pots in the holes which would insulate the pot and keep it hot, thus preventing food borne illnesses. Wahlah fast food!

And a Pizza Hut or Brick Oven! Pompeii knew how to cook!

Buffalo Mozarella Pizza! We each had our own pizza.

AMALFI COAST

ROME!

Pantheon

The BEST Gelato EVER!!

PISA

Stairway to Pisa. It feels crazy climbing up a lean tower.

On top of Pisa

Crepes in Nice!

Palace in Monaco (Near the church where Grace Kelly is buried)

This trip wouldn't have been as fun without this little girl keeping us entertained! Thanks Abbey for making us all laugh. Especially when you eat french fries!

The Gang

We had an amazing trip with the family and we wish we lived closer so we could have dinner like this more often!

Travels Part 2: Malta

After two days in Barcelona we hopped onto the Disney Magic! After a day of eating delicious food, we arrived in Malta. The highlight of Malta was the hypogeum of Hal Saflieni. It was very well preserved. Only 10 people are allowed in every hour and tickets have to be purchased well in advanced to be able to get in. In the hypogeum they use to hold dead bodies. I was expecting it to be creepy but it wasn't, I felt like a cavewoman in a cave mansion. Take a look.

Side Fact: They would carve out the rock with antlers. THAT'S CRAZY!

If I had to guess what the animal of Malta is, I would say the gecko. As we were walking around the city we stopped at a park that had little geckos all over. Maybe even thousands! I-Spy geckos.

Here we are on the boat as we are leaving the port. Bye bye malta.

On the trip I was introduced to new foods. I can now say I have tried Cinderella.

But there is no need to worry She is still alive and well.

Travel Bug in Full Action

Asking for two weeks off from work on my first day of work isn't the most ideal situation, but I had to; because there was no way in a bazillion trillion years I was staying home for this trip. And not only a trip, but a cruise. And not only a cruise, but a DISNEY cruise!! Not only a DISNEY cruise, but to the Mediterranean!!

We had planned on going in December with Ben's parents, Justin (brother), Kim (sister-in-law), and Abbey (their banana baby). I was blessed to marry into a family of traveling pants and I love it!! As little kidish as I am I couldn't wait to be across the globe with Mickey and Minnie!! It didn't seem real for a long time that we were actually going to Europe until about a month before. My excitement and anticipation meters were bursting. A couple weeks before we left, both Ben and I would dream of different things on the cruise like Pinocchios Pizzeria, ice cream, Disney movies, crepes, and macaroons!!

We were able to see and do soooooooo many things. Every port we docked at provided us with a different adventure. We soaked in as much of the culture through sight, taste, sound, walk, subway, bus, etc.

First Ben and I flew into Barc(th)elona, Spain. We spent two days in Barcelona before we set sail. Highlights include Ben getting pick-pocketed within the first hour (without knowing it and his wallet being in his front pocket. It's a blessing he only had cash in it).

After getting lost trying to find a restaurant others raved about on trip advisor, we gave up and got on the hop-on, hop-off bus. The bus made getting around and seeing the major highlights SUPER convenient. We love the hop-on, hop-off. It's a no-brainer.

We learned all about Antonio Gaudi--he is the genius and architect of Gruel Park, Casa Batllo (didn't get any pics here) and the Sagrada Familia, three of my favorite sites. The most influential architect of Spain! His work is found all over the city.

Park Guell-This park was constructed in the 20th century. Gaudi's house is here and again the detail is immaculate. Very abstract and colorful.

Sagrada Familia-The detail and carvings in this temple is the most exquisite I have ever seen. Gaudi devoted his whole life to this project until his death, unfortunately he was only able to construct a small part of the temple. The project is still under construction but still follows the plans and models that the famous Antonio Gaudi left.

Gondola ride to a castle.

One of my favorite things to do is walk around and stop at little shops along the street. It is even better when the stops are filled with interesting food. We stopped at a little candy shop and we found the best candy! I don't know why we wanted candy because we never do in Utah, but I guess that's what we do on vacation. We had to try tapas. I had in my mind that tapas were a dish in Spain. But I found out they are equivalent to appetizers. Now I understand why no one could give me a set answer for, "Where are the best tapas?" It's like someone asking me where are the best appetizers?

That's all I can muster out for today. I'll be back with more highlights in the future.

FTE=40 hours/week (Full-Time Employee)

I got a job!!! This whole weekend I've been excited because I found out that I got a job with the Salt Lake City School district. I worked with them during my internship and never thought that I would have the opportunity to work with their district again. I was contacted about the job opening while I was in Hawaii. Right when I got home I applied for the job, then I passed the RD exam, and then had a job interview a week later!

My first interview was this past Monday. After interviews on Monday, they were going to narrow it down to the top two candidates for another interview. I got a call back for another interview, on Thursday, where I had to do a 5-7 minute presentation and more questions. I went through that with a smile and they called me back later that day to offer me the position! I was so excited!!! I must not have done too much damage during my internship, because their bringing me BACK!

I start tomorrow and can't wait to work with the district and on top of it, this time I get paid! And FREE school lunch every day!!! And I get my own desk with my name on it! (I can't wait for Ben to make me something that I can take to hang up!) And business cards! And working with amazing people who I am ready to learn and grow with! And little kids! I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up, mostly because my mom is a teacher, little kids are funny and I like kids. But I changed my mind during college. I found the best major for me where I could teach and educate on nutrition and study food! Now I get to do just that, and even get to fulfill my childhood dream of being around little kids. I can't wait to be starting my professional career in an area that I know I already love. Timing of everything has truly been a blessing and I'm so very grateful.

Do you think this means I'm a grown up now?

(I know this picture isn't related but it sums up how I feel)

Little things excite me. Like....

Someone in the ketchup industry figured it out. New and improved ketchup packaging.

Say good bye to the mini .32 ounce packets that have enough ketchup for 3 fries.

And a BIG hello to .95 oz big boy ketchup!

I found this newly packaged ketchup at Chic-Fil-A. (By the way, how do they get their chicken to taste so good? Seriously, their chicken beats any other chicken.) Another great feature is the option to dip the fries or tear the top to squeeze it individually on each fry. And the instructions on how to use it are fool proof. Look at it again, it's a wish come true. There's even a facebook group called "I Hate Ketchup Packets. " Boy are they going to be excited about this!

I don't see why it has taken the ketchup companies this long to come up with the genius idea that everyone else was coming up with everytime they used the little ant packets. We're making progress. By the time we have kids, those little packets will be ancient history, and I'm glad!

I welcome the new ketchup packets with open arms and hope to see all restaurants around the globe making the same switch.

Jim Gaffigan has a funny bit on ketchup but unfortunately youtube doesn't have it any more due to copyright blah. It's really funny, but since I can't humor you with his ketchup bit, here is his bit on bacon. Enjoy but only with the peace of mind that ketchup packets have made a turn for the better.

To be R.D. or not to be?

I took the BIG TEST today to become a Registered Dietitian. It was quite scary and I have spent the last ummmm 6 weeks off and on studying for it. But this last week was serious crunch time. Since it is a computer based test, the results would appear shortly after I answered the last question. When I got to that point and clicked “next,” I then had to take a survey, of all things, while my score was being calculated. I don’t know why they do this before I know my score, it killed me! I don’t remember one thing from the survey, my heart was beating so hard, I just wanted to know, did I PASS or not? Phewwww, I PASSED!!! I wanted to tell everyone! I felt like I could breathe normal and that my brain could relax. My brain needs a short vacation and while I’m looking for jobs, it will do just that! I think I’ll have Ben refer to me as Kimi, The Registered Dietitian, at least until I get sick of it, or until others just catch on and it just flows naturally with the name. If you haven’t passed me on the street today, I just thought I’d let you know that yep, I’m a Registered Dietitian!

Sincerely Yours,

Kimi J. Sycamore, RD

(The “credents” look good)

bye, bye flash cards!

Paradise

I love Hawaii. Everything about it, even the bugs and how my hair goes puffy.

• We were on the Big Island in Kona.
• The weather was terrible 82 high 71 low.
• The water was warm crystal clear turquoise.
• My Ben wasn't able to come. He had to work :( (this is why being grown up and having a job stinks, but I'm very grateful he has a job none the less) He was the one that suggested that I go with my family since and I don't have to worry about getting work off (what a good husband, right). I jumped at the idea and told my parents I was coming!

Some pics from the trip. Chet boogying away. The waves were huge!

That's me! I think salt water and sand compliment my hair.

My grandma, uncle Ray, Yuki, Meg and Josh were on a Hawaiian cruise and docked in Kona for a day. We picked them up and spent a day at the beach with them. I buried Meg.

We also played beach volley. The guy with the long brown hair on the left looked just like Harry from Home Alone. The sand was HOT! We had to kick the sand around and make little holes in our area to keep our feet from burning off.

First snow cone of the trip! Mmmmm.... the best shaved ice is in Hawaii.
The BIGGEST snow cone of my life!

Lava rocks. This was the biggest surprise I had about The BIg Island, the lava rocks. When I was on Oahu, going to school, the island was lush and green. Parts of the Big Island are like that but because of all of the volcanoes it was very different.

We also went to the Kona temple.

With my dad vacation isn't vacation without a good round of golf.

Food!!! We packed a few lunches for the beach and had way too many spam musubi (I loved every bit of every one I had. They only seem fitting for Hawaii though). A worker at Wal-Mart referred to spam as the Hawaiian steak!

We each took turns choosing a restaurant to eat at. I choose Jackie Reys Ohana Grill. It was good but I don't rave it. The presentation was top notch though. I had the seafood trio. Shrimp, crab cake, mahi mahi, over a bed of purple sweet potatoes. (They think orange sweet potatoes are weird). I had some type of seafood at every meal. Mmmm, I had live it up cause I don't get fresh seafood in Utah.

I was really missing Ben by the end and he was the only thing that made me want to come back to the mainland. I LOVE Hawaii and I had a great time with my family. I can't wait to go back with Ben someday, then it would be perfect!

Oh and I saw a whale for the first time as we were driving to the beach!