I'd Say Yes To That...

20 Years Ago

'In Poland it took ten years, in Hungary ten months, in East Germany ten weeks: perhaps in Czechoslovakia it will take ten days'- Timothy Garton Ash

It was Berlin 1989, that stole the hearts of the West, it was dramatic, timely, familiar and it was played out for all the world to see. But it is Prague 1989, that has captured my heart.

Prague 1989

It started 17 November with a student protest...

Vaclav Havel, the unsuspected play write, found himself at the center of it all....

For decades Havel had worked restlessly for what was becoming a reality....

From Prague Spring, Charter 77, to The Plastic People of the Universe, Havel and so many others were there waiting for the day the communist would be no more.

Maybe you say well it was inevitable that the Communist would come to an end, after all Poland, Hungary and East Germany had already achieved success and go this I say you are correct. But over throwing the communist was not the greatest step, the greatest step was that followed after. The communist were gone, now the real work began. For almost 40 yrs, the communist system had been in place, this idealogical encompassed every aspect of life, nothing was speared. And then came the day the ideology was no more and everything had to change. A political and economic system were established as best those in Prague could do.

If you go to Prague today, you see a bustling city, its hard to think that 30 yrs ago these citizens stood in bread lines and participated in underground anti-government meetings. Thats why I love Prague, I can look at its citizens and see history in their face. Just normal everyday people who made history.

A Step at a Time

Tonight I ran the entire 2 miles...and I didn't even collapse from exhaustion...I was well impressed...just one more mile to add...then I might start feeling the exhaustion...

Ps I'm really hoping my addictive and adrenaline seeking personality catches on to this 5k craze...

I Need Some Help

Here's the deal, I need to know what you think...So I want a DSLR, I know many of you have one so I need to know what you've got and how you feel about it. I've been doing some reading on the matter trying to weigh just how much I should put into the body of the camera when really what counts are the lens. I was reading one photographers recommendations on the subject and she warned against buying more camera than I am going to use. I would rather prove myself as a photographer before spending a fortune on a camera body. Its the megapixels thats getting me, the much more moderately priced cameras have around 10 while the newer more expensive have around 15. Now I've seen some amazing pics printed with 10 so do I really need to pay for 15? My "bigger better" mentality tells me yes while the other part of me says 10 would be sufficient. Oh what to do? So thats why I need your help! What are you shooting with and what lens are you using? Thanks!

ps...I am currently considering a Rebel xsi...

The End Must Be Coming

December 5....
Jingle Run....
5k...
Magen Rabatin...

I never thought I'd do one but why not...

Mix n' Match

If you're checking out my church outfit, wondering if it matches, you are not alone.  I too am not sure if it matches but sometimes you've just got to mix it up.

Texas Style

Ever heard of that statement, "Everythings bigger and better in Texas"? Well, there is some truth in it, lets just take high school football for instance. In Texas high school football is a big thing, a really big thing. When I was in high school my school district built a new stadium, it was huge, Coke sponsored a jumbotron and small colleges would play there sometimes. And when it came to the game with our biggest rival well we played that in the old Texas Stadium, it was pretty cool. Well today the Texas Stadium is no longer, so where better to hold this years playoff games than the new Cowboys Stadium!

My old high school played Thursday night but instead I went last night to cheer on the school I sub at almost everyday. The game was so so but the Stadium was AMAZING! Really I just wanted to see the stadium so I was more than willing to flip the $12 admission to sit on the 10 yr line 8 rows up in the nice comfy seats. Honestly it was hard to watch the actual game when you've got JerryVision staring you in the face, it was crystal clear folks (and maybe the camera flashed to me for a min). You've never seen so many TV screens in one place, they were everywhere. The concessions was classy, nothing like what you would expect at a football stadium...the bar areas even have disco balls. So point of the story high school football in Texas is a big deal and Cowboys Stadium is even bigger.

Ode to the Girl in the City

I have this best friend, her name is Caroline, I wouldn't be surprised if you don't know her. Maybe you know her because I've told you story after story of the girl or maybe you know her because she is such a social diva. She has made quite the name for herself on the East Coast. I first "met" Caroline in Business 101 with Bro. Andrews. I totally remember Caroline from that class, she had a cast on her arm, I sat at the front of the class, but ask her if she remembers me and she'll give you the honest answer that she doesn't at all. We "met" again at the end of freshman year when we both interviewed for an RA position at Nauvoo. Well I remember her but she still has not recognition of the "meeting".

Okay so maybe our friendship got off to a rocky start. Then finally during junior year we really "met". Honestly, I wasn't really looking to expand my current circle of friends but she was persistent and by the time she was interning in NYC we were definitely good friends. Then a year later at graduation, I had no idea what would happen to the friendship. She was off to NYC and I thought I was off to the UK. We were moving on so of course it was realistic to think the friendship was going to change. Well I took a year off before grad school, stayed in TX and talked to Caroline probably everyday. She was miles and miles away but I knew everything going on in her life. Then that Spring I traveled out to see her, it was my first time in the city and I decided it was a very good thing to have a best friend that lived there.

Then I was off to England and again I wondered what would happen? Of course we weren't able to talk everyday like we had the previous year. But we did get to talk everyone in a while (thanks JP) and I have some of the best emails from her that year. Usually the emails sounded a little something like "seriously where in the world are you, I miss you." When I came home for a month between semesters she came to visit me and it was just like we lived down the hall from each other again, nothing had changed even though everything had.

This year Caroline and I have been totally spoiled, we've gotten to see each other twice and fingers crossed will be reunited within the next couple of months. Sometimes I forget that I am not actually friends with all of Caroline's friends even though I feel like I am (how can I help it, I hear so many stories). But I am just so glad Caroline has been my best friend for these last 5 years. So much has come in and out of our life's, jobs, schools, boys, cities, friends but she has remained a constant. Caroline and I don't really have that relationship were we look to each other for approval and for the most part we don't need the other to tell us everything is going to be okay (hence the awkward reactions when either one of us has ever shed a tear or two to the other). But seriously what would I do without the girl? And I think its about time I stop wondering what will become of our friendship, I am pretty sure its hear to stay.

What's For Dinner?

When my friends are far away,knowing what they eat for dinner makes the distance seem not so far.

You Win

Here's how the conversation went....

me: I am going to the 8th wonder of the world this weekend...

him: oh really whats that?

me: the new cowboys stadium, I am going to watch a high school team play...

him: cool...

him: I think I am going to Paris this weekend, Saturday night I'll be in Montmartre...

me: Shut up...I hate you.

Ben you win...or rather Montmartre wins...

PANDORA

Are you listening to PANDORA? I am and I'm loving it! Now I can see PANDORA having either a positive or negative effect on my iTunes account...either it can save me money because I can listen to so many great songs for free or a negative effect by me wanting to buy every song I like from iTunes. In a means to reduce my spending I am hoping just listening to the songs on PANDORA will be enough for me.

True Story

Other day I was my sisters tennis match and one of her church leaders came with her baby girl. The baby was really cute, dark hair and big brown eyes, basically what I hope my future daughter looks like. Without saying anything to my mom about just how cute I thought the baby was she said to me, "Magen, she looks just like you when you were little." Even Kaitlin came up and told me, "Mom thinks she looks just like you when you were a baby." So what that tells me is someday my baby will be just as beautiful and that makes me happy...

ps if my dominant dark eyes/dark hair fail me I just might be slightly disappointed...

3 Yrs Old

For maybe the past 3 weeks, I've been anticipating the 3rd birthday of the blog. I had considered "penning" a birthday post on Sunday but thought I should wait until the actual date, November 10. Well, the day came and went without a single thought of the birth (probably because I was running around like a crazy lady preparing for a bridal shower) and now I feel bad.

Hard to believe I started the blog my first semester of grad school...3 yrs later so many things have changed, so may pictures taken, so many meltdowns, so many trips, so many ambiguous posts just so much. I just love that my blog has captured so many aspects of my life I would have never written in my journal and would have otherwise been lost. I was reminiscing through some past posts and linked a few for your reading enjoyment...most of them are pretty old so you probably haven't read them...

Bitter Sweet

Straight To The Blood Stream

Wrong Way

Slightly Out Of Date

Overload

Addiction

Happy Birthday My Lovely Blog...

For What Its Worth....

* I have a few books...enough to fill 2 bookcases...I think that if you didn't know me, my book selection would make you believe I was pretty smart or something...

* I'll only ever throw 3 more bridal showers...then I'll definitely be done.

* I feel like my clothes multiply like rabbits so why when I look for an outfit do I think I have nothing to wear?

* I LOVE technology...its great that I can get dinner suggestions from a friend 7,000 miles away.

* Theres a city in Morocco named Rabat...someday I want to go there hold up an I and N next to the city sign and take a picture...(get it Rabatin)

* Gerdi Gerdi Gerdi...This is not my sandwich...Want to get it? Watch it HERE!

* My mind is constantly thinking about about the Balkan's...please can I go there?

* I literally had the thought today that the reason I feel out of place here is because I am seriously not suppose to be here any longer...it was reassuring and also a little scary.

* Last week I read The Cellist of Sarajevo, it was one of the most beautiful books I've ever read, I would highly recommend it to any and everyone....I am constantly amazed by resilient manner one is able to survive in under the conditions of war...

Yesterday I was craving England so much I had to turn on the BBC and watched Torchwood...I even thought about trying to Netflix Coronation Street...If you ever seen either one of these programs you know just how despite my state was.