margethai

Update: Love My Life

2011-11-06T11:47:00.005-07:00

Dear Blog Readers:

I know the the holidays are upon us, so I thought I would take a few minutes to update a few fun adventures I had this summer. Come along for the fun photo journey and enjoy.

First of all, did tons of hiking with my sister, Stephanie, mostly in Zion national park. On this particular hike, we practiced our laughing and rock climbing skills:

Then, I went to Thailand and Indonesia with friends and to visit friends; this picture was taken at our beach resort.

This picture is in Bali:

Then, my sister, Stephanie and my cousin Heather came to Thailand. I took this picture while riding on a motorcycle taxi in front of them. Seriously good times. I was able to be in SE Asia for about 6 weeks.

Next, my family celebrated my Grandpa Johnson's 95th Birthday with a family reunion in Oregon!! This is everyone who came from far and wide...even Canada!

My Grandpa swinging on the swing at my parents house at 95!

Among other races, I ran the Hood to Coast for the first time with my family...best time EVER! It was fun to run with my brother Travis and my mom.

And also my lovely cousins:

There was also a recent visit to Arizona to visit my brother Matt and his family, a few new additions to the family, and some birthday party...stay tuned for more. I'll post some more pics. Having a great time and loving my life, family and friends! Can't wait for the holidays!

Aunt Margo

2011-09-23T22:14:00.002-06:00

I have been an aunt another two times this summer. Once in July when Peter and Mary had Nyree, and a few weeks ago when Tanya and Travis added Charlotte to the brood. Love and miss them both so much!

Tanya's blog: treyandlucy.blogspot.com

I will have to get some pictures of Nyree to show how precious she is.

Hope to see you guys soon.

Love, Aunt Margie

The cost of hurt feet...$5?

2011-05-09T22:46:00.011-06:00

There is always an adventure to be had in Asia! A group of 6 friends came to Thailand, went home, and I went to Indonesia, taking advantage of having a friend there that could show me around. We went to a cultural show that was pretty cool.

Jake posted a blog about it if you are interested in an informational explanation of what we saw.

www.statesocietyandme.blogspot.com

In other news, I ran over the foot of an Indonesian man and then had to pay him off which made everything better?!?

It went like this, we were riding around a track in these colorfully lit carts that have bike wheels on the bottom and a steering wheel in the front.

Seems pretty fun and harmless, right?? It was until I decided I wanted to drive it! :)

The steering wheel pulled terribly to the left and it didn't help that I was laughing and talking while I was driving, when all of a sudden...BOOM! I looked at the object that I hit just in time to see a skinny Indonesian man limp away! Onlookers saw the color of my skin and grabbed the cart we were driving in yelling at us to 'STOP' because the "white girl hit him!" This was the picture right before impact...

One of the Indo friends I was with spoke pretty good English so we ran over to where the guy was sitting...who by this time had attracted quite a crowd. I looked at his foot, nothing looked broken, but he said he was in great pain. He said the wheel grazed his foot, not ran over it but it obviously still hurt. I wish I would have snapped a picture of him sitting there.

I repeatedly told him I was sorry but he would not make eye contact with me. As my friend interpreted for me, he was saying that he was going to have to go to the doctor.

Then an older Indo man pulled out some menthol drops and started rubbing it on the victims' foot. Continuing to apologize, I asked what they wanted me to do when my friend said that one of the men said I needed to pay him. I asked how much and he said $5 would be enough which is 50,000 rupiah (Indo money).

I handed the money too him and immediately the man rubbed his foot and said it felt better and that he didn't need to go to the doctor. When my friend interpreted this for me, I reached out and handed him another 50,000 or $5. Still not making eye contact, the victim lifted his foot up, wiggled his toes and said that everything was going to be alright.

Walking away, my Indo friend told me that I gave him way too much money, that the initial $5 was plenty!

I asked what would have happened if an Indonesian would have hit him. "Less money would have been paid, or maybe they would not have stopped at all. But they saw you were white, you had no choice but to pay."

That $10 was a lot of money for that guy...but what is the cost of a hurt foot? AT least I didn't hit the Lexus SUV that he was standing in front of!

Back in Bangkok, I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my sister and cousin for the adventure to continue!!

P.S. This is what happens to your feet when you razor sharp coral gets to them...

Photos are fun.

2011-04-18T17:02:00.006-06:00

I am still learning a lot about photography and my friend Andrea is always nice enough to let me practice on her and family...this time her kids. Here is a little idea of how our time went; I know I still have a lot to practice!

You may recognize them...they have been on the blog before and are getting older and cuter than ever!

Remember Gabe...
And Talia...

During the shoot, some people got hungry....

And some people just woke up from a nap...

We had some moments of surprise...

And contentment...
But we ended up with lots of kisses...

Thanks Andrea!

Fun in OREGON

2011-02-19T20:55:00.004-07:00

I love visiting home...lucky for me I have been able to be here for the last month helping take care of my sister in law and her kids...and sometimes her husband. Tanya is pregnant (yeah!) and very sick (BOO!)

Check out her blog to see the story... treyandlucy.blogspot.com

We have been having a blast and I am so glad to be here.

We have been to the Safari, Children's Museum, swimming, parks bike rides, scooter rides and more. Fridays has been our movie day. We pick a movie, go to and early showing, and are usually the only people in the whole theater (it's happened twice). We play tag, hide and go seek, make shadow puppets on the screen and have a great time!

This is us, when we went to see the Justin Bieber Movie in 3D!

You read it correctly, Justin Bieber, and this weekend is Greyson's birthday party.

Loving my time here...may want to make it permanent.....

Meet Jonah...

2011-01-15T12:06:00.003-07:00

Here is my newest nephew, Jonah Clark Smith born last week. This is Matt and Kathryn's second baby. I have loved visiting and helping to take care of him and his brother Ezra.

I could not help but snap a few pics the first hour I was there!

Just look at these little faces!! Who wouldn't love them!

Jonah Clark Smith: 5 days old

This is Ezra...his older brother who had just finished a little snack!

It never snows here....

2011-01-04T14:19:00.003-07:00

It never snows here in the high desert... But the other night it did! I love the snow for short periods of time

and was so happy when I saw this in Town Square...

Then of course I had to make a snow man and with a little help from a friend, came up with this guy!

I held his hand...

Building him was such hard work I started getting hungry...

I didn't eat him all gone or his true friend would have been so sad!

And then it he was stubble the next day. :( I will miss that guy.

Happy Birthday Dad!

2010-11-16T06:55:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Dad! Hope you have a great birthday. Love ya.

In search of the great sequoia

2010-11-07T23:44:00.004-07:00

Someone heard from somebody else that there was a giant sequoia tree in the middle of Pine Valley

National Forest...so our adventure team...the A-team as we call ourselves...set out to find it. The day started

with a sunrise hike on Angel's Landing with some amazing pictures and views. Just Dennis and I did the

morning hike. But as you can see the sky was amazing and worth the effort so early! Fall is so FUN!

It was a little breezy but beautiful!!

The colors reminded me of a tropical fish tank..they were SO vibrant.

As Dennis and I were finishing breakfast at a cafe, my A-team friend Jessica (pictured left)

planned an adventure to find the a giant sequoia tree in Pine Valley National Forest. The only

directions we had were to take the Browse exit off I-15.

After driving in a town of 20 for 2 minutes, we asked some people who were fixing a van outside a house.

They had no clue what we were talking about but then found a local who knew of the tree!! He, through his

facial expressions and tone of voice, made it clear that our 7 mile off road journey was not worth it. BUT...

WE MADE IT!!!! Jessica's sister, Cherise is visiting from TX while her husband is serving our country.

Dennis and a few others took a swing on the tree...

pondered over the trickling brook....(Anthony and Jessica)

And Cherise missed David her husband.

we also played some pine cone baseball and started a fire. All in all it was a great adventure day. The A-team will continue its adventures and remember....Plum's the Word!

Picture Time

2010-11-03T17:50:00.005-06:00

SMILE! My friend Andrea is kind enough to let me practice taking portraits of her family when an occasion arises. She gets a great deal on portraits and I get to take pictures of her darling family. In July, she had her second child, first daughter Natalia. The camera loved this family!

This is Gabe, the big brother! I love him because he says 'yes' to every request!

An hour of picture taking was a long time for this little one.

My friend Andrea...hot mama!

Gabe is so great to his sister!

This is Brent...the father...pictured with Gabe.

TOO CUTE!!

I love this shot. She was trying to figure out why I was in her face for sure!

Thanks Andrea and Brent for letting me take pictures of your family! It was a great time! I am in the market of building my portfolio so if you like what you see, let me know. Also, click on the link 'check out my pics' for more pictures of Brent and Andrea and also my friend Lana, who let me shoot her bridals a few months back. Happy fall!!

The Next Generation

2010-09-12T12:29:00.006-06:00

The next generation of Smiths is SO MUCH FUN and probably better than the first! My niece and nephews have all the great qualities of their Smith parents, tempered by the savvyness of the in-laws! This summer I had the chance to spend some time with them..which is one of my favorite things to do. From safaris to beaches to birthday parties and just hanging out in the back yard...Here they are!

LUCY: My beautiful, sassy, lip-gloss loving, one and only niece. We have a great time drawing, running, playing and having slumber parties. In Seaside this summer, she and I set out to find a candy store while everyone else was playing 'Fascination'...one of the many reasons we get along so well. :)

"TREY BOY": Trey and I love to wrestle and practice our karate moves together. He is very witty and is willing to try almost anything. This summer while camping at Timothy Lake, I dared him to dunk his body in the frigid water for $5 bucks....I had to pay up!

For more on LUCY and TREY'S adventures, and to see what crafts Tanya (their mom) is up to...click HERE!

ETHAN: This smart guy and I recently enjoyed some good Wii time as well as some outdoor fun. He always has the best stories to tell and remembers things with great detail. I love going swimming with this little fish because he is one of the best swimmers I know.

AIDAN: This guy is going will try anything! He has the bravest and most fearless heart. I love to swing and throw him around. That handsome and darling face can really give you a run for your money!

For more on ETHAN and ADIAN'S adventures and to see some of Emily's crafts and projects, click HERE!

EZRA: One of the newer additions to the family, this guy loves to play! We love to play on playgrounds together while he talks and makes friends with everyone. One of my favorite things is when he wraps his little fingers around one of mine and we walk together.

Last but not least....

GREYSON: This little guy can sing, dance and work his way around on the internet better than any other 2 1/2 year old I know! His Singing in the Rain, High School Musical and Mary Poppins renditions are like none other!

For more on Greyson and to see some of his performances, check out this BLOG!

I love these guys so much and can't wait for more adventures in the future!

Summer Fruit

2010-06-26T15:15:00.005-06:00

One reason why I love summer is because of the fresh fruit. When I visit Oregon in the summer, I love picking the blueberries, strawberries and all the other delicious fruit. I thought I would try to recreate that experience here before I head to Oregon.

My friend Sophie loves picking fruit as much as I do. While at work a few days ago, we heard of a cherry farm that had u-pick cherries...our favorite! We got up early on day and set out to find the farm. The instructions were not clear but we were determined...

This is what we found.

We had the best time picking..this is Sophie in the tree.

This is what the farm looked like from the road...the sun was super bright!

And this was the reward of our adventure! Totally worth it at only $1.00/ pound!

Oregon fruit, beware...

Drive my car

2010-05-24T22:32:00.000-06:00

Living in St. George a few years ago, my cousins and I started something we called cousin night...a night they ditched their parents to hang out with Cousin Margo.

Since I am in town for a short moment, we decided to have another cousin night, this time enjoying the presence of Stephanie! We made a video and I took some pics of my cousins so they could update their Facebook profiles...:)

Enjoy

Jesse and Jordan

Heather

Cousin Night Feet

Go Magic....

2010-05-22T15:14:00.000-06:00

I love Disneyland and have always wanted to go to DisneyWorld in Florida. Well, last week, thanks to my friend Freddy having a work conference at a DisneyWorld resort, I finally made it! The weather was perfect and off I went!
They almost didn't let me in because I forgot my ID to pick up my ticket at will call....but I talked the guy into letting it fly! As I was walking around, I saw some people gathering in a group so I stopped to see what was going on. One of the maintenance workers filled his sweep-up garbage collector with water and then used his broom to create this masterpiece on the hot ground.

I was sure to stop by city hall on my way out and get my pin. What 32-year old wouldn't?

I also went to Aquatica...it is the water park connected to SeaWorld. Luckily, I had some friends whose husbands were at the conference as well. There was a ride here where I got to pass through a tank of dolphins!

Of course hit the Epcot Center...I built my own future, talked to Crush, played almost every interactive memory game there, and went on a newer ride called Test Track. Loved it!

While at Epcot, I met Ali. He is from Morocco. Too bad the only words I spoke to him were, "Can I have a picture with you? I also saw some ladies that may have been there too long....

It was Freddy's birthday while we were there...it was also his friend Burt's birthday a few days later. So we went out with some people to a fun Italian dinner. Happy Birthday guys!

Saturday Freddy and I went to downtown Orlando and got some Thai food (not the best I've had) and saw this guy who was dancing around the streets with a handwritten sign on a piece of paper yelling and singing , "Go Magic, Go Magic." We were not even sure if they were playing but definitely got a kick out of this die hard fan. I forgot the SD card in my camera or you better believe you would have seen a picture of that! I miss Orlando.

I am 2/3 Ironman

2010-05-03T11:46:00.000-06:00

I was feeling good with my temporary tattoo ready for the longest triathlon in the circuit...the Ironman. The Ironman is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run (a marathon).

Ironman rules state that each section of the race has cut off times that must be made. If cut off times are not made, race organizers will pull athletes off the course. The St. George Ironman course was rumored by officials to be one of the toughest in the U.S. because of its gnarly hills on the bike and the run course which would make getting those cut off times tough. I felt ready.

A few nights before the race, my sister Stephanie accompanied me to the athlete meeting...

where we carbo loaded...

and I started to get a little nervous!

The next day we dropped my bike at the first transition, Sand Hollow, where the swim was to take place. As you can see, there are a lot of crazy people who had racked their bikes, ready to do this race!

Then race day arrived. The morning of the race, they announced the water was 58 degrees! My sister took this picture of the swim start and I am in this mess somewhere...probably towards the back. My toes, mouth and fingers all went numb during the chilling hour and a half swim.
IT WAS SOOO COLD!

I am lucky to have finished the swim though because hundreds of people got hypothermia and had to get pulled out of the water! During transition, it was hard change my clothes because of my frozen appendages.

Still freezing inside and out, I made it through transition and I was off for a 112 mile bike ride.

During my ride, a support crew led my sister, would calculate where I was going to be on the bike ride and then drove to that point to cheer me on! I was sooo happy to see them!

As mentioned earlier, each section of the race has time limits that must be met or an athlete cannot continue on the Ironman journey...this picture illustrates my next goal. About 17 miles from the bike finish, a race sweeper drove by in a truck and told me that I had five minutes to make the last cut off. I made the cut off and he started picking up athletes and their bikes who were behind me. I continued on my way, knowing I was cutting it close.

Because the sweeper had not talked to me again, I figured I had made the bike cut off time and was mentally preparing to run. Unfortunately, when I got to the bike transition, I was a few minutes too late and they would not let me run the marathon!!!

I WAS SOOOOOOO DISAPPOINTED! After a freezing 2.4 mile swim, and a grueling 112 miles of biking, my body was warmed up and I was feeling in good condition to run...which I feel is my strongest discipline...but they would not let me run!

Fortunately, I had a few friends who were volunteering at that transition who were there to console me...

and feed me...mouth full, pizza in hand.

So, I am officially only 2/3 Ironman...not good enough for me. I will do another one and finish.

And as if my pride was not already hurt enough, after I was done with my bike ride, they would not let me in the "Ironman Area" to get a massage, eat some food, or get my Ironman t-shirt. Lame.

One of my favorite things about racing was all the support I got from family and friends! Thanks everyone, especially Stephanie for following me around all day on no sleep! And be ready Ironman, I will finish you.

St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-14T23:53:00.001-06:00

I have never lived in a city, nor do I think that I ever will live in another city, that cares about St. Patrick's Day as much as Chicago. I was thinking about taking a swim in the river this summer but after all this dye, I've changed my mind. Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Fruitland Friends

2010-03-12T10:43:00.001-07:00

I love the Fruitland area of Salem where I grew up and went to school. I especially love my old friends from that area who I don't get to see too often. Lucky for me, Heather (one of my many favorites from Fruitland and beyond) was visiting Chicago for work and we went out and got caught up one night. Freddy, although not an official Fruitland Falcon but native to the area, came too and we had a great time! I wish it would have been someone's birthday so we could have sung 'Happy Birthday' in Dutch. Go Falcons.

The winner of the Giant Contest

2010-03-09T19:23:00.000-07:00

Gloria is the winner! The men are both 6' 5! Gloria, send me your address and I will send you a darling headband made by Tanya!

Thanks for playing

They might be giants

2010-03-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

They might be GIANTS or I am super short...or maybe it's a combination! Can anyone guess how tall these two men are? The first one to guess correctly will win a headband from Tanya's website! Good luck.

They might be GIANTS...or I am super short. I think it's a combination. This is my friend Kyle and his dad.

Sign Interpretation

2010-02-01T21:28:00.000-07:00

This picture is compliments of Fredrick Berning and is a GREAT display of the confusion that exists when parking in Chicago. These signs all have time restrictions, snow restrictions, and every other restriction you could think of that when all said and done, leaves about 2 inches for a million people to park their cars. New Year's Eve I borrowed Fredrick's car...and it was towed. I had to go to Satan's Dungeon to retrieve it! Additionally, last week I received THREE tickets in a 12 hour time period. I did contest the tickets and am waiting to hear back from the department of revenue....

These boots were made for RUNNING!

2009-12-22T16:16:00.000-07:00

I feel this is my greatest Chicago moment yet...these boots led me to a morning victory of chasing down a public transportation bus at 6 o' clock in the morning in downtown Chicago. Why?
I left my purse on the bus. That purse is my life...like many of you ladies know.
I have been waiting tables at the Elephant and Castle and have to work the breakfast shift on occasion. This morning, I took another bag with workout clothes to hit the gym after my shift. I BARELY walked in the restaurant, greeted my co-worker and realized I had one bag and not two...a work out bag and NOTHING ELSE!

So, I dropped my workout bag and did what any girl would have done...went outside in the snow to chase the bus down. ..with those boots on. My plan was to run as fast as I could in which case would eventually lead me to a cab...but to no avail. I ran my little heart out down Clark Street until another bus driver honked and stopped to ask me what was wrong. I quickly told him the problem and he said he would try to radio the bus....I kept running... and then....to my surprise...I saw a big yellow 22 (the bus I take) parked letting the last people off! I didn't think I had anything left in me until I started even faster to a bus that was just starting to pull away! But just before it hit the streets, I BANGED on the window, scared the familiar bus driver, and asked her if I had left my purse on the bus. She said someone had just turned it in (a dear saint as far as I am concerned), reached behind her and handed me my purse! Then my little boots walked me back to the restaurant and waited patiently for me to finish work, and then they brought me home. I never knew they had it in them.

PROTEST!

2009-12-04T17:05:00.000-07:00

I recently became gainfully employed at a restaurant downtown thanks to an old friend from high school, Eric Parks. It was right before the lunch hour rush, when a usually busy street became silent and police cars started to crowd the streets and sirens were blaring. The cause: a PROTEST!
There were police and picketers on every corner and the police shut down two busy streets of traffic while the rioters linked their arms together with large pieces of PVC pipe and laid down in the middle of the street!

I got these pictures with my cell phone so the quality is not the best, but I think you can get the main idea.
So being curious, on my lunch break I went outside and talked to one a girl who was holding a picket sign. The question, of course, was, "What are you protesting?"

To paraphrase her response, Obama is not doing what he promised as far as protecting the environment and Chicago being his hometown, they wanted him to know they were disappointed...I'm still wondering if he got the message.

Rebekah and Jarom...Married!

2009-11-25T23:10:00.000-07:00

Rebekah and Jarom got married last weekend! It was a beautiful wedding and I was so glad that I was able to travel to Utah and attend the wedding.

They are the most darling couple...a perfect match! She was, of course, a gorgeous bride and he was her perfect groom.

Bela also looked so beautiful!

Jarom bought Rebekah's ring in Thailand this summer...and I will say...it is the perfect ring! :) I wish both of them the very best in their live to come!
Love you guys!

For more pics, just click here or on the "Check out my pics" tab on the right side of the screen.

Colors of Fall

2009-11-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

So, I continue to have these 'first' experiences here in Chicago...experiencing people, places and things for the first time. One for instance, was taking pictures in Lincoln Park near my home! For the first time, a little squirrel followed me around the park for a minute thinking I was going to give him some food. He sat right up and begged for it!

The geese were also out yesterday. I frequent this path running to the lake and as of late, this gaggle of geese has been around. Sometimes I get nervous they are going to attack me, but I haven't had an unpleasant run in yet.

This is a pond right connected to the Lincoln Park Conservatory and Nature Museum. I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's iced over!

A beautiful fall leaf. I haven't see these for awhile because St.George never really had a fall.

These beautiful fall days invite cider and hot chocolate which I hope all of you are enjoying where ever you are. I'll probably post a few more pics just because I cannot get enough of these colors!

Good Bye Plates

2009-11-03T18:17:00.000-07:00

Good bye Utah plates! The last day of October was the last day these Utah plates were valid. My car now wears Illinois plates...pics coming soon. As you can see the plate frame is busted...here in Chicago people "tap" their cars into parking spots when they parallel park. Basically, it's perfectly acceptable to bump the car in front of you, and in back of you when you park. I got tapped a little hard one day and this was the result.

Here is a view of the city from the park near my new apartment.
These next pics are a little over due...My new bedroom.

The kitchen.

A view from my front window. I am on the 8th floor of a 9 floor building. There is a little construction as you see.

Tomorrow I am going to take pictures of the fall trees and leaves changing colors so that you can see how beautiful it is here.

I missed the parties...

2009-10-24T21:51:00.001-06:00

October is one of my favorite months...leaves, apple crisp, pumpkin treats, and the changing weather. It is also the birth month of two wildcats in SG, Jessica (left) and Colleen (right). They have some of the most fun parties ever and I am sad I missed out this year. I love hanging with these peeps.

October is also my nephew Ethan's birthday. I missed his 'super spy' party. I wish I could have been an agent at his party!
Be watching for fun pictures of Chicago in the fall!

Bad Knee

2009-10-09T23:58:00.001-06:00

Poor Freddy had knee surgery on Tuesday...for the third time. When I picked him up from his surgery, his knee was wrapped in an ace bandage of course, but today was the big unveiling...and this is what was uncovered! For his own account visit HIS SITE!

In order to keep spirits high before his "bionic knee" is back to normal, we like to feed him yummy things like Five Guys hamburgers. Get well soon!

Aloha!

2009-09-27T19:32:00.000-06:00

Aloha! Mahalo! I am back on the mainland and wanted to give a few highlights of my trip to Hawaii with Fredrick, Mindy (friends from McKay HS) and our new friend Matt. First of all, the picture above was taken at the Green Sand Beach..the only green sand beach on the island of Hawaii. http://www.hawaiiweb.com/hawaii/html/beache/papakolea_green_sand_beach.html As you can see from the link, this beach is surrounded by cliffs. If it had not been for meeting a random group of vacationing military friends, a four-wheeled vehicle, and some serious committment from all vacationers, we may have never found it.

Additionally, we went to an active volcano sight and were warned of sulfur dioxide poisoning in the air because the ashes were so close to us and the wind was blowing that day. I cannot remember the name of this volcano but it was really cool.

Another highlight was going fight Brazlian Ju Jitsu at a famous fighter's, BJ Penn, gym. Freddy and I went and worked out with some of the locals...BJ was not there that day but his brother was. When I left my shirt was drenched with sweat...we got worked out hard!

Another great highlight was night snorkeling with manta rays! The were within inches of us snorkeling! Someone did record us snorkeling with them, but we did not buy the video. Youtube has some great ones though if you want to get an idea of how close they came to us. Watch these videos.

These are just few of the many experiences we had! The NASA ovservatory, great resturants, beautiful beaches, and lots of airtime for the class of '96 alums. It was definitely a trip to remember and Aloha!

For Freddy's day by day break down visit www.thecof.com

Firsts in Chicago

2009-09-15T16:49:00.000-06:00

It has been been a week officially since I have made the big move to Chicago and it has been ridiculously fun, exciting and full of firsts. Having traveled somewhat extensively, I thought moving to another domestic city would not be so full of adventures, however, I cannot even start to detail all the new discoveries and experiences I have had, but here they are listed at firsts...

The first of the firsts: Colleen and I left St. George on a Thursday evening with the goal of driving straight through to Grand Island, Nebraska (which we accomplished). However, in doing so, for the first time, I got pulled over at 2:30am and instead of ticket, received a business card from the police officer.

...with a little note on the back. What kind of police officers have aqua blue gel pens? Just ask Colleen.

Then speaking of tickets, I got my first parking ticket in Chicago for not moving my car out of the way for the street cleaners, who happen to come on the third Tuesday of every month. on this street anyway. I'll have to start marking my calendar for every street in town. All the streets here have a different cleaning schedule. Freddy thought it was funny that I only survived a week without a ticket but check out his record: I've got a ways to go to catch up. http://thecof.wordpress.com/2007/12/26/real-cost-of-owning-a-car-in-chicago/ And, as a side note, that was documented about 2 years ago. The list is much longer now with the most recent offense being added last week.
I also got to meet the majority of Colleen's Nebraska -based family for the first time, including her beautiful mother (center) and her amazing cousin Jamie (and her family).

I also saw ribs being sold at a gas station for the first time, in Perkins, Ohio, on the way to Cedar Point Amusement Park: Roller Coaster Capital of the World. http://www.cedarpoint.com/.

I met the owners, who were all related, had some of the best ribs ever! I usually don't eat meat, but the ribs we ate were from a pig that was killed three farm houses away from the gas station...in other words, it was a home-grown, non-processed pig and it was delicious!

Then off to Cedar Point for the first time which has been on my list of things to do for quite sometime now. This particular, potentially sickening roller coaster goes up and over the top of the yellow tip at 120 miles per hour with only a seat belt and a lap bar that held me in as I felt like I was plummeting to death on the way down. Right after ribs? Not a great idea.

The last first that I would like to document is my first exposure to Gypsy Tears. What are Gypsy Tears and what are they used for? No one really knows, but Freddy is coming up with some good ideas. http://thecof.wordpress.com/

Champion: Traveler's IQ

2009-08-25T11:18:00.000-06:00

For the record: while I was in Chicago I introduced Freddy to a little travel game that was introduced to me sometime ago. It involves rapidly locating various cities, states, countries etc. on a map an getting points for accuracy and speed. Check it out! www.travelpod.com then click on traveler's IQ.

Well, it became quite the friendly competition to see who could score the highest points. We competed in the USA challenge to keep it fair. You can see whose traveling IQ is higher.
I must mention however, that Freddy did come within 8km of Portland, Or at one point and he does know the midwest better than I do...but not for long!

CHI TOWN: My soon to be home

2009-08-17T18:58:00.000-06:00

MY SOON TO BE HOME

Ten days ago I took the most unsuspecting amazing trip to Chicago! This is a city that I had been wanting to visit for a long time and finally took the plunge as a last hoo-rah before school started this year. It was so fun to be in a big city again. Here are some of the highlights. I went to the top of the Sears Tower which is the tallest building in the world! It's now called the Willis Tower but the natives don't call it that so I didn't either.

The recently added these viewing boxes which I stood in. I took a picture of what I would have looked like to the people across the way.

However, the highlight of my trip was reconnecting with my high school friend Freddy. He was the perfect host: taking me to lots of fun restaurants, letting me use his bus pass to get around, reliving senior pictures, and making me laugh harder and longer than I had in a long time.

He was also a good sport and went to Six Flags Great America where we had a super fun day riding rides and getting advise on rides from kids. Freddy actually blogged about it too...thecof.com
He is a really great writer and tells a really animated story about out reunion. Thanks for letting me visit, Freddy.

After checking out a grad school program there and falling in love with the city, I have decided to move there! I will be leaving St. George Labor Day weekend and driving across the country to start a new life and adventure in Chicago! I will be able to do all the things I love...MMA, work out and eat yummy Thai food. Chicago...here I come!

More Caves

2009-08-03T11:21:00.000-06:00

So, after the Buddha Cave adventure, my friend Jake and I decided to go to another cave, one that has a river running through the cave. I'll spare you the details of the 10 HOUR motorcycle ride...the when we finally got there, the enterance of the cave looked like this.

Inside was SO DARK! It was so dark the only light we had was the light of our Laotian guide's head lamp! The river was three miles long with natural water falls all over the cave. Our guide had to naviagate around them so we didn't get soaked!

The cool thing was there were all of these staglamite (does anyone know the official name?) formations that we got to walk around.

The total trip for this adventure was about $5...that included the boat ride and our guide. I love Laos!
Here is an example of how dark the cave was. It was a fun adventure and if you want more details or if you are planning to go...let me know! I'd be happy to help! Happy Caving!

The Caves Adventure Pt.1

2009-07-02T21:36:00.001-06:00

This is the adventure of the caves. The group shown in the last blog all set out to something called Tham Pha Pa (The Buddha Cave) in the Tha Kaeg region of Laos. We started out by renting motorcycles in Laos for about 8 dollars per day (a little more expensive than Thailand, but to be expected because Laos is a little less developed). You can see we were in some pretty remote areas. The cave was about 20 miles from the city.

The road was often paved with obstacles...ones that did not even flinch if a motorcycle came near!

And it rained right before we left! These are not gentle little
sprinkles, but semi-monsoons as it is the end of the rainy season in this part of SE Asia.

And of course, the trip would not be complete without the chain falling of one of the motor bikes every 10 minutes.

But after it cleared up there was some breath-taking Laos country to be seen.

When we got to the cave, the path from where we parked our bikes to the cave was high from all the rain water, so these little boys called an older man to take us to the cave in a little boat just like this one. It cost 20 cents to ride the boat.

Inside the cave were stalagmite formations like these with Buddha images of all sizes all around the cave. I asked my Thai friends if they thought it the images were placed there for a tourist attraction, but they said that long ago people used to bury their treasures in places like them to keep them safe and they thought it was legit. The ladies you see pictured here sit in the cave all day long and wait for visitors like us...which there are not very many of now because most people go vacationing in December. We were not allowed to take pictures of the actual Buddhas inside the cave, but this gives you an idea of the inside of the cave. It cost .50 cents to get into the cave.

After the ride home, we had some much needed dinner after the long ride. Pictured here are Yieow (blue shirt),Kaa, and me. It was an adventure I would definitely do again! What do you think? Would you go on an adventure like this?

Extended Stay

2009-06-29T09:03:00.000-06:00

First of all, I am alive...I decided to extend my stay in Thailand to visit a few more friends and have a few more adventures and I am very glad I did. I had the chance to visit the central/ southern part of Laos with my friends. I am going to have to blog about this adventure in two parts because it was so amazing! Here is part one's traveling team. Jake, Me, Kaa, and Yieow.
The internet connection here is having a little bit of trouble...so stay tuned....you will see some crazy/ amazing things! For Tanya's adventures in Thailand visit treyandlucy.blogspot.com

Stay tuned!

Giant Jellyfish anyone?

2009-06-15T20:35:00.000-06:00

J and R have only been here three days but we have been packing a lot in. We have been to the Grand Palace, the beach, almost every major shopping center in BKK! This is us when Ipicked them up at the airport after Rebekah stopped crying!

We went to the beach with a great family and Lily (pictured here with me) found a dead jelly fish that we examined for a few minutes.

This is R and J with Lily and Maniwan at the beach house we stayed at!

We are headed to Chiang Mai today for some elephant rides and other adventures and then into Laos! Rebekah is thinking about getting her hair permanently straightened here...what do you think?

love Margethai

A Mean Joke

2009-06-14T03:22:00.000-06:00

I'd like to welcome Rebekah and Jarom to Thailand! They made it to Thailand safely but upon arrival, I played a little joke that ended up with Rebekah in tears!

I had a Thai friend named Tawon hold up a sign for Rebekah and Jarom and then when he found them, Tawon told them that that I was in the hospital from a car accident, with a broken leg and had to have surgery! Tawon said that he would take R and J to the hospital. It was funny until Rebekah startead crying! I video taped the whole thing...when the tears started to flow... I had to intervene! :) I think that after I took Rebekah shopping yesterday, she forgave me.

Farewell to Tanya

2009-06-08T20:55:00.000-06:00

I was sad to send Tanya back to America yesterday morning! We had lot of adventures here including the riding elephants, motorbikes and taxis. You can see how happy she is shopping!

This was all the stuff she bought. She got some killer deals on a Spiderman and Batman suits for Trey! Though I was sad to see her go, I am excited to be a tour guide for Rebekah and Jarom who will be coming on Friday!

Here are some quotes from Tanya while she was here.
1. "You need me."
2. " This place is like a carnival all day."
3. "I just saw my life flash before my eyes."
4. " I don't know what I have been eating, but I've liked it all."

Bye Tanya. Thailand misses you already!

You should not come to Thailand if...

2009-06-04T20:45:00.000-06:00

Welcome back!
Thanks to all of you who logged on my blog! I'm glad you came back because today we are going to have a little lesson and play a little game!

Let's start with the game! To play, simply look at the following pictures and ask yourself, "Why is he in Thailand?"

Ready??

Exhibit Old Man #1

Exhibit 2: Old man

Exhibit 3: Old man

Great job! What do you think? What did you notice? I bet you noticed the same thing I have been noticing for years and the same thing Tanya noticed when she got here. They are all older men, apparently single and in the case of exhibit 3...looking for something.

We have concluded that they are trying to end up like this...Exhibit 4.

Hand in hand with a younger Thai woman which makes us sad. To be fair, we have decided (during our unofficial research) that there may be legitimate cases of business travel or other non-sketchy like activity; however, every time we see an older man it is difficult not to wonder what he is doing here.
The lesson: any man over 60 years old, traveling by himself may be up for immediate judgment and stereotyping by other travelers!

Have a great day!

Just the beginning

2009-06-03T04:36:00.000-06:00

WELCOME to my new blog that starts with my vacation in Thailand!

Two Thoughts for today.

1) I love Thailand.

2) My sister in law, Tanya, has been encouraging me for years to start a blog.

Finally, while in an internet cafe in Thailand on our vacation, she convinced me to go for it....Welcome.

We have been taking pictures with our new cameras,

visiting friends,

eating good food,

and enjoying Thai culture.

There will be many more posts to come....check back soon for more adventures!

Love, Margethai