To one of the greatest people in my life...

Happy Birthday Grandma! 

or as they say here "Joyeux Anniversaire!" 

90 years ago today a wonderful life joined this world in the form of one spectacular Julia. Little did she know then that she would marry a stubborn but hilarious Iowan, give birth to 3 crazy boys, move from her home state of Nebraska to California and become the greatest grandma to her only granddaughter. Yes, I have been spoiled rotten because of my lack of a Y chromosome, but through all those moments of spoiling I have been blessed to learn about life from one of the most wonderful people I have ever come across.

I have learned what unconditional love looks like. How to truly listen and express that you care. I have learned that I prefer most things the old fashion way. I have realized so much about myself through this woman and how I want to live life to it's absolute fullest daily. 

Dear Grandma, 

Words will never do you justice, but I'll try...

My love for books and reading is thanks to you! 

My addiction to graham crackers is thanks to you! 

My love for stationary and hand written notes is thanks to you!

My never ending faith in God and marriage is thanks to you! 

I am so thankful that...

you took the time not just to teach me to read, but how to love to read! 

you enjoy Ruby's chocolate shakes as much as I do! 

you made me wear itchy dresses and introduced me to the beauty that is live music! 

you taught me to make cinnamon bread so I can share it with others! 

you have always been there through all the highs, lows, smiles, tears, laughs and tons of delicious food! 

Grandma you truly are a saint if I ever met one and I am the luckiest girl to have spent so many wonderful moments in your care. I am counting down the days until our next hug... literally I am counting and it will be 40 days... 

I am sorry I cannot be there to celebrate this glorious milestone with you, but I would think 90 years is worthy of an entire year of celebrations, don't you? 

Love you lots and see you this afternoon on Skype! 

Kiley Anne 

xoxo

I think a summer batch of cinnamon bread is a must this year!! 

Thanks for reading & God Bless! 

Welcome to the blog world Jo

My great, beautiful, thoughtful, sweet, genuine friend Jordan has started her own blog. 

Check it out: http://whateverislovelypureexcellent.blogspot.com/

It is all things truly lovely... literally the cutest pictures, sayings, other blog posts she finds and beauty tricks. All things girly if I may say so myself...

Sneek Peek: 

**My recent Favorite is the "Keep Me"post in March**

Keep Me Sweet, Lord

Lord, you know better than I know myself that I am growing older and will someday be old. Keep me from getting talkative, particularly from the fatal habit of thinking that I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. 

Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs. Make me thoughtful, but not moody; helpful, but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but you know, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end. Keep my mind from the recital of endless details- give me wings to come to the point. 

I ask for grace enough to listen to the tales of others' pains. Seal my lips on my own aches and pains- they are increasing, and my love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. Help me to endure them with patience. 

I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessing cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally it is possible that I may be mistaken. 

Keep me reasonably sweet. I do not want to be a saint- some of them are so hard to live with- but a sour old woman is one of the crowning works of the devil. 

Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, and talents in unexpected people. And give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so. 
              -Written by an anonymous seventeenth-century nun 

Enjoy! Thanks for reading & God Bless! 

Cossonay... becoming Swiss Champions!?!

For those of you that have no clue what or who Cossonay is, it is the name of the village my volleyball team plays in. Therefore the club name being VBC Cossonay, check it out: http://www.vbccossonay.com/cms/ 

Cossonay is located just outside of Lausanne and my teammates come from various places located in the area. I have been thoroughly enjoying the last 2.5 months with these girls and am proud to say they are really good! So good in fact that we are undefeated in playoffs thus far . We are currently in 1st place and ahead of the second place team by 7 points. 

Check it out and follow us through our last 3 matches: http://www.volleyball.ch/?ranking_728_6390&L=1

I am sporting #15 these days and it has been treating me well!

We have our next match tomorrow, Saturday, against the second place VBC Glaronia and hope to claim another victory! This game is a big step towards becoming LNB (league B) champions and having the opportunity to move up to LNA (league A).

Thanks for your support and for reading! God Bless! 

Milano... Crema... Hein's...

Follow up blog to the one 2 blog's ago titled "Crazy fun in Crema..."

On my 3rd day in Italy (after saying bye to Pao as she ventured off to kick some volley butt), I got a great treat! Andy and Kate came to explore with me! I met them in Milano on Saturday mid-day and we started our adventure. We went walking towards the center and of course in search of a lunch spot. 

Mission accomplished below when we found a cute little pizza place with all sorts of dishes to enjoy!

This church is so detailed and one of my favorite in all of Europe! 

We had to climb this monster of a church and with thighs burning we finally made it to the top with smiles. 

This guy was impressive! He was making art from vegetables... flowers and birds... oh my!

Went to see the Santa Maria church, which my dad recommended for the "Last Supper" viewing... 

Too bad this is all we got to see because this is a tourist attraction... who'da thunk it?... must not have been sold out 2 weeks in advanced when my dad lived here 30 years ago... or he just left that part out maybe...

Dad's old stomping grounds that he stayed at with his friend PJ... They were hanging out together in California while I was on my trip and had to go step where they stepped so many years ago. 

'Spin on the bulls balls'... I didn't make this up. This is a tourist attraction and it is hilarious to watch all the people participate. Google it if you want to know more... I think it's for good luck. 

Night back in Crema... for Carnival. We had the pleasure of witnessing some fun outfits and singing. 

'Kill Shot!' ... For those of you watching the show "The Bachelor" you might appreciate Kate and I in this picture. 

Gelato time! 

The next morning, day 4, I decided to head back to Lausanne with Kate & Andy. We made a recommended stop for breakfast in Milan below.

 A little taste of home... Thanks for the recommendation Pao! It was truly scrumptious!

Above I learned that cinnamon in my coffee makes it so much more tasty! 

Best Breakfast I have had in 2 months!

The cool kids sit in the back of the bus!! So the story behind the above picture is that our "direct" train from Milan to Lausanne, turned out to be anything but direct. We had no idea the adventure we were to face when we woke up that morning. We all (all means everyone on the multi-car train) had to exit the train and hop on buses to take us to the next train station due to train track issues.

This is the lovely station of Varzo, can't you tell by Kate's face? We waited here patiently for our new train to take us to Brig, where we would again have to change trains before finally heading to Lausanne. Long day but the company made it bearable. 

A successful little vacation if I may say so! 

Thanks for reading! God Bless! 

Who is Joseph Kony?

This is the question that the world should be asking!!

It was brought to my attention through various social media forums today that a great injustice is happening in Africa. Now I know some of you are going to say things like "who cares" or "we have our own problems at home" but if you would just take a few minutes and read the rest of this blog. I am not going to ask you for any money. I am not asking you to do anything but what I know you all do daily... surf the internet, watch a youtube video and tweet, update status' or talk to a friend. 

Joseph Kony should be a well known name, but he is not. If you are an American and reading this, I bet you know the name Osama bin laden... even if you are not American I bet that rings a bell. How about Hitler, you know about him? Well, Mr. Kony fits right in with these tools. Yes, tool! Big dumb meany (putting it way too nicely), who bully's people and takes their lives away from them in the most awful of ways. The worst part.... most of the people he is hurting are children. 

Watch this video: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc

Now I know everyone reading this knows someone under the age of 18 whether it be a brother, child, sister, friend, student, niece, nephew, grandchild... Would you want the world to back you up if someone was taking their life away? YES! 

This movement is called 'Kony 2012' and it's goal is to help spread awareness throughout the world. The hope is to capture Kony who currently sits at the #1 spot of "World's worst criminals list" written by the International Criminal Court and do so by the end of 2012. 

If you want more information view the website: 

http://www.invisiblechildren.com/

Thank you for reading and I hope you spread the word!!! 

God Bless! 

Things just tastes better here...

I have realized in my 3rd year journey in the gorgeousness that is Europe that almost everything just seems to taste so ridiculously good. Maybe this is my way of coping without family, friends and familiar surroundings, but I am enjoying it nonetheless! Good thing my job here is to literally workout or I would come home needing to ask the flight attendant for a second seat and belt extender. 

Beware if you are dieting for the pictures that follow make me hungry and I just ate HAHA! 

 Rissotto dish at a restaurant on the lake front in Lausanne, stopped for lunch on one of my February strolls... MmmMmm Olive oil! How I love thee! 

My first and favorite cupcake (Smores flav.) from "Sweet Dreams" cupcake cafe in Lausanne. Located just a short walk from my apartment, dangerous I know, but the walk is uphill if that makes any difference. 

Ice cream from Movenpick, the famous and delicious tasty treat of Lausanne. I treated myself to this double scooper on my birthday. 

Still have not found a cup of coffee I enjoy more than the one at Cafe de Grancy... maybe its the setting but it is a true pick me up every time I stop by. 

My go to breakfast: Green Tea with Lemon, toast with a poached egg sprinkled with pepper. The eggs in Europe never fail to be beautifully orange in the center... America take notice! Orange tastes way better than yellow!

My birthday lunch and second sushi meal here in Lausanne this year. Although California sushi is practically unbeatable this comes in pretty tasty for being in a European land locked country.

A juicy steak covered in yumminess (mushroom sauce) with french fries. This is from my sponsor restaurant who never fails to give me a happy belly! *French Fries everywhere in Europe are always a brilliant yellow... another note to take USA!

Egg scramble burrito. Simple, easy and cannot forget the avocados! Although these tasty green loves of mine are not that cheap here, I cannot resist splurging on them, makes me feel at home.

Thanks for drooling with me! Don't forget to exercise today!

 God Bless! 

Crazy fun in Crema, Italia

Oh how I adore Italy. Doesn't matter where I go or for how little time, I always leave feeling rejuvenated and full of love! Maybe that is more like stuffed with the best food, but it sure feels like love. 

This February I was fortunate enough to have a 4 day weekend prior to my 25th birthday and lucky me I know some peeps down south. I went on a journey to Crema, Italy to see the lovely miss Lauren Paolini. She is playing volleyball in Crema which is located just outside of Milan. 

It is always good to catch up with old friends and get a familiar hug from an old teammate. It doesn't hurt that Pao is always the best host of all time! 

Her little city of Crema is a place I would have never thought to go had she not been living there and it is indeed a hidden gem. The cute little town is so full of character, yummy pasta and no shortage of gelato shops. Her team was so nice & welcoming as I crashed one of their lunches at their sponsor restaurant (pic below). It was another one of those "I would never think this place is here" moments. Had I not been with Pao to lead me down some back alley to this gorgeous secret meeting place, I would have never been able to share its yumminess with Kate & Andy a couple days later. 

The first day I was provoked by her coach to participate a little in practice and had forgotten what it is like to play with giants who hit like guys. Don't worry I came out unscathed and smiling! The next day I rode Pao's bike around town and it reminded me a little of my days last year riding bikes in the Netherlands (*Miss you Jolene!). I have the luckiest life! 

Here are a few pictures from the trip:

 (first 2 days only... check next Blog about Milan with Kate & Andy for more pics)

My train ticket to Milano on platform 3 in Lausanne... excited! 

2 hour nap on the 3+ hour trip to Milan, woke up in Italy to this view from the train window... already in love again! 

 Trip to the grocery store with Pao = I found Italy's version of Walmart and a heavenly section of yummy carbs! 

 Longhorns in Italy! So thankful that our paths crossed in Texas and continue to cross all over the world! 

 Entrance to the main center of Crema... Carnival season (like Halloween)

 Botero... Crema volleyball sponsor... Best food of the trip! I go back for seconds in the next blog

Main street of Crema... Italy never fails to put a smile on my face with the colorful buildings and adventures hidden down each street 

 Couldn't pass up some gelato... it is pretty much a must have daily in these parts! Like my Italian vitamin regiment... I highly recommend it! 

Thanks for reading! Missing you all, but soaking up the adventures!