Timeline

A few months ago, I went on a run and started thinking about my life from the beginning, or, what I can remember of the beginning of it. The moments and people that have defined who I am today. I started thinking back from a few years ago, to college, to high school, to middle school, and elementary school, and thought about each event and the people that have impacted and helped shape me. I ran for about an hour, and the entire time, I was listing all of this in my head and figured it would make a good read and would be nice to read again in the future.

As I was reminded of the events and my achievements, I couldn't help but feel a little proud of what I've taken on and accomplished over the years.

I'll start from the early school years, when I would stay with my nana and tata in National City. The elementary school I went to was Palmer Way and it was just a short walk from their house. I don't remember much about those first three years, probably because I didn't think too highly them. I remember having a few close friends, but I am so very glad I moved away from that school after 3rd grade. The kids were bad. And mean. I have a feeling I would be very different had I stayed there. I remember winning an award for inventing some kind of gardening tool we called "The Ram." My favorite teacher was Mrs. Cole in 2nd grade, and in 3rd grade, I joined the chess club. I remember going to this after school daycare program occassionally and dreading it because the other kids would spit in everyones snack, so I never ate. I also remember sitting in these chairs with the circular hole in the back, and the mean kids used to run around and kick everyone in the back. It was like in Toy Story 3, I went from the really bad classroom, but then after moving schools it was like transfering to the super nice classroom where the kids are really gentle with the toys--except the kids were gentle with each other. My biggest influences at the time were nana and tata. We played cards, I played with the dogs, developed a liking for coffee with nana, learned a little bit of spanish, and we watched TV. We watched I love Lucy, Lassie, and As the World Turns. I am thankful for those years with my grandparents because now I have such a closer relationship to them than if I hadn't spent so many years with them while growing up.

After 3rd grade I moved to Highlands Elementary where I started 4th grade with Ms. Scrudato and also started Am/Pm, our before and after school program. I made so many new friends here, most of which I still have today. Fourth grade whizzed by and soon I was in Mr. Hales 5th grade class playing Oregon Trail any chance I could. By this time, I was playing piano and took lessons every Monday night and also played any and every sport from football, kickball, softball, basketball, capture the flag, to four square and beating the boys in the 1 mile. That year I also became Class President and had one of my closest friends, Michelle, as our Vice President and we took a trip to the "capital city" Sacramento, which is really exciting when you're a 5th grader! My best friend was Jessica Mayne; we did everything together from hanging out during the weekend, to roller blading in the rain together and pretending we were spice girls. She was my first best friend and I still cherish the genuine friendship we had. That's the year I auditioned for Belle in our Am/Pm annual summer play and got the part! The year before I'd auditioned for Wendy in Peter Pan and ended up as a Pirate named Noodles! Auditions span from every school in the district, and I was shocked to have gotten the part of Belle. (I think it was a slightly biased decision by my favorite leader (and neighbor and basketball coach at the time, Nick)), but I wasn't complaining! Play practice lasted the entire summer and went from 9am-5pm. Originally, I was in "Cast A," which practiced in the mornings, and Cast B in the afternoon, but Cast B's Belle eventually dropped out, so I took both parts and practiced full-time.  My favorite friends were: Jessica, Ryan, Tomilyn, Lisa, Clinton, Dallas, Michelle & Adrian. At home, the pool had just been built, we had Lucky, Valley, and Missy, BW, the peacock and chickens.

Spring Valley Middle School was next. Band was my favorite. There were 4 levels of band: cadet, intermediate, advanced and symphonic. I joined cadet in 6th grade after seeing Jethro Tull in concert with dad. I started playing the flute and took private lessons every Saturday. Half way through the year, I moved to intermediate band. The best thing about band, was obviously Mr. Ring. What an amazing man; the only person I have ever known to control 90 students with instruments in their laps, and actually, to get all 90 students to adore him while doing so. 7th grade I made the jump to symphonic band, and by 8th grade I was the section leader and was also helping Mr. Ring every Friday before school with the flute section at Highlands Elementary. My close friends were: Cristina, Britnie, Jacelle, & Laura. My favorite teachers: Mr. Ring & Mr. Brus.

Ahhh, Monte Visa High. I remember how exciting high school was, with freshman orientation, finding out who your teachers are, picking out an elective...etc. I joined the cross country team, track team, started taking spanish and moved into honors English where I made friends with the smart kids, haha ;-) Sophomore year I fell in love with black and white photography- and Ms. Breedlove. I can't remember junior year being overly exciting other than when one of my teachers had anonymously selected me to attend a 2-day women's leadership conference at UCSD with the Jenna Druck Foundation. Senior year I was in mostly AP classes, on varsity cheer (whoa, switch over from CC and track), the senior ads yearbook editor, a key club officer and also working part time after school at Sweetwater Springs Elementary. I joined the choir at my church my senior year and spent a number of evenings practicing and recording for the Christmas performance in a a small group called "Angel Voices." I dedicated all of my Sunday mornings to worship that year. By 2005, I was an honors graduate, yay! My closest friends (in my year): Cristina, pretty much the entire boys water polo team, Amand: my psuedo brotha, PJ, Scuba Steve, Batman, Robbie, Andrew, Katie, Shaheen. I loved my running coaches: Naranjo, Lorenzana and coach Ross.

My Fav subject: Photo & yearbook
Fav teachers: Breedlove, Thomas, McAloney, Verdugo & Kastan

Next on the list--college!

Unlike all of my smart friends, I didn't get a ton of scholarships and offers, but in the end, it didn't really matter because I had no idea what I wanted to study and they did. I ended up at SDSU and quite happily so now that I reflect on it. I lived with my mama in Old Town for the first two years, then in Hillcrest the second two and was working as a shift supervisor at Starbucks (Point Loma, then Mission Hills). My favorite class turned out to be ASL in my second year{american sign language}, so much that I decided to study in the department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences. We learned about deaf education, phonetics and audiology. The only problem with this department is that you pretty much have to take it 150% seriously in order to get your masters or PhD to get a career in either field (whether it be deaf ed, speech pathology or audilogy). Regretably, I didn't take the GRE and I didn't apply to grad schools in the end. I say regret, but if I had, I wouldn't be where I am today!
My bests: Leiann, Andrew & Starbucks crew
Favorite classes: Astronomy (Douglas Leonard), ASL & Geology of National Parks and Monuments
Biggest inspirations: Mom, W.E.D. & Jeff Corwin

Post-college: I took a 30 day trip through Europe, ran my first marathon, volunteered with the Education Outreach Program at the S.D. Humane Society, met Peter, hiked half dome & we are now on our way to living happily ever after! I am so thankful for the wonderful people I've met and the opportunities I've been blessed to have endured and very much look forward to all the wonders ahead!

Til next time, all my love -

Make It Count

During these grey months, I often need reminders to help stay cheerful and positive. This Nike 'Make it Count' video is the perfect inspiration to keep my mind where it should be. It's reminded me that I need to cherish every moment. Even on a bad or rainy day, I need to be thankful for simply being alive. Death can come so quickly, so unexpectedly, I need to make the most of my time and not dwell on my past and what I don't have anymore; this happens more often than it should. Life is just too precious, and too short to get hung up on the negative. 

Turning 30

(Not yet!)

My cousin sent me this link about turning 30, and there has been one "By 30 you should know" that I have been conscious of for the past few years. It's number one.
By 30, you should know ...

1. How to fall in love without losing yourself.

In my last relationship, I completely lost myself (which is why I think I took the breakup so hard). I was embarrassed not to know who I was after we split. What were my hobbies? Who were my friends, what did I like to do with my spare time? Where did I put my energy, time, and money? Learning that you don't actually know yourself is seriously frightening and takes time, and some serious soul searching to find your inner you again. It took me approximately (maybe a little longer) three months to find me again. My strategy (totally unplanned, by the way): no computer for three months and hardly any phone usage,  unless absolutely necessary. I hid my computer under my bed and it took the place of that monster we've all been afraid of as a child. I didn't want to touch it, look at it, open it, or face any sort of social network reality. I didn't know how to deal with it because, quite simply, I didn't really know myself single! After three months of this, and after surrounding myself with amazing, inspirational people, after filling up every free minute of my day with something fun and active, I learned who I was again. And I fell in love with the person I'd become. I accepted who I was and vowed to never lose myself again, but instead to always continue to live a rich, full, vivid and colorful life. If there's one way that I could explain this strange process it was that before, I was living in black and white. But gaining so much insight, having more energy and finding where and how to channel it, I realized how truly colorful my life was becoming by practicing these new routines. I think you can only truly find yourself and gain this sort of "fresh start" after hitting a hard and nasty rock bottom. 

If you've talked to me lately or have been reading through the blog, then you probably know that it's been quite the adjustment for me moving to England. I've left behind sun, family, friends and a lifestyle that's been familiar to me my entire life. It's taken lots of time, patience, and more soul-searching dealing with my feelings and emotions I've felt over the last year, and I've had to completely readjust my way of living. On top of being newlywed, I am in a new country and everything is brand new and different. It's exciting having a new beginning, but as you can imagine, it's also terrifying, as change usually is. We have no plans for our future yet regarding where we'll live--we are trying to stay as open minded as we possibly can and not rule out any possibilities, since anything is possible! Overall though, as I reflect on my past year of living here, I've had my highs and lows, it's been a new and challenging experience for me; one that has made me work at not losing myself in it all. Thankfully, Peter and I are so very connected, and so open and honest with each other, that if I am ever feeling unbalanced, he's always happy to provide whatever I need to get back on track. 

15 Things you should give up to be happy

I found this next site on facebook and a couple of these "things to give up" kind of struck a chord with me. The few I've practiced working on are: to stop complaining, giving up resistance to change, giving up the past, and giving up attachment. 

Complaining. Who doesn't complain? It's way too easy to do. For me, it's mostly been about the change in weather. Heck, half of my blog is dedicated to my complaining about the weather! But alas, it's no good complaining about something you have no control over.

Resistance to change. We've all been through it, and as I've said before, it's scary! It's hard to change, especially when you can't let go of the past. Which leads me to...

Give up the past.

"I know, I know. It’s hard. Especially when the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so frightening, but you have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about – was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in everything you do and enjoy life. After all life is a journey not a destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the now."

I will admit, this is my biggest struggle! It's too easy to forget that when you were living in this 'past you can't let go of', you didn't stop to appreciate it enough. You didn't realize you'd miss it so much. This realization and struggle has really motivated me to stop focusing on what I left behind and pay more attention to what I have right in front of me, here. I am very happy here and have so many things to be thankful for--I just need to tuck my past away into a special folder in my memory.

Give up attachment. This is a tough one when a lot of my past attachments are at home and I constantly long for them. They span from people (family and friends), to hobbies (mostly hiking, racquetball, scenic runs) to food (the variety & having special meals with friends). Attachments create routines and it's a challenge to start brand new routines.

These are my goals, written. 'Til next time.

Venezia

I can't believe it's already been two months since our trip to Venice! I was so excited with the way we planned this trip because it was so spontaneous of us! Since we have x amount of bills to pay, debts, and savings to worry about each month, we had talked about a little getaway since my homesickness was at a peak in winter, but never really moved forward with that plan. Then for a few days in February, we talked about where we would go if we could and decided it would have to be Venice! On Leap Day (Feb 29), EasyJet was having a big sale on their flights and we found a really good deal to Venice and just went for it!! It was literally something we'd discussed for just a few days before booking. Ironically, our plan was (still...) to get away from the miserable gloom that is English weather, but lo and behold, the weather predicted rain and thunderstorms just before we left! Nonetheless, it's all about the experience, which is really what I should keep reminding myself in the meantime about living here! 

We had been really anxious for the entire three months leading up to the trip. We found this adorable apartment to stay in and had been in touch with the owner in the months prior to our stay. We'd researched restaurants and gelato shops (none of which we actually went to) and did a little studying and practicing of the beautiful Italian language. This was also going to be our very first flight together!! :-) Kinda crazy, right?!

When we arrived, we paid for our extortionately priced bus and vaporetto tickets (more on this later), and made our way to the gorgeous island of Venice. My first feelings about this incredible place reminded me of the way I feel when I'm at Disneyland. A blissful, romantic feeling completely overwhelmed me, despite the gloomy, misty weather.  As we tried finding our vaporetto route, we were told the America's Cup was currently happening (not sure how we didn't know about this!), so we weren't able to get off where our apartment was. Turned out, it was actually happening right in front of our apartment which was pretty exciting!! Luckily we took an early flight from Gatwick and it was only about 1:00pm when we got to our apartment so we had plenty of the day left to explore (and eat!).

We had decided that 200 Euros would hopefully be enough to get us through the few days we were there, but we were proved wrong pretty quickly. When we'd arrived at the airport, we paid for our return bus tickets, and 12 hour vaporetto (waterbus) tickets to get us to our apartment once on the Island, and for both of us, this came to 55 Euros. Ouch. I had been told that Venice was expensive but I didn't take it into serious enough consideration, clearly! Because it's such a tourist trap, shops and restaurants get away with and take full advantage of ripping you off. Peter and I do pretty well on a tight budget and tend to go for the cheaper options, but even the cheapest option in Venice is still ridiculous and it became really hard for me to wrap my head around and justify. That being said, we couldn't really afford much other than food.

I thought our apartment was located in the perfect part of Venice. It wasn't in the crazy hustle and bustle  where all the annoying tourists lurk, but it was just on the outskirts where some of the locals live. One downside of it being such a tourist trap is that it's actually a challenge to find locals and listen to them speak or watch them live their day-to-day lives. I really enjoyed that part with where we stayed-- we could see everyone's laundry hung above us just outside the door to our entrance, and we could hear the locals walking by daily.

We spent a lot of time getting lost and did a lot less planning than I wanted to. The walk from our apartment to St. Mark's Square was about 15 minutes, so we wandered up that way everyday and used it as our landmark. One of the days turned out to be ridiculously rainy and wet, so much so, that when we got home, we had to peel our clothes off and lay them on the heater to dry them out. We stopped in a cafe that day, hopeful that the rain would die down, and when it didn't, we popped into a shop, bought a pack of playing cards and headed back to our place to let it pass. It turned out to be the perfect opportunity to rest our feet since we'd been walking and exploring non-stop. 

Although the restaurants are too overpriced for me, the quality and taste of proper Italian food is more than enough for me to go back. I don't think I have ever wanted pizza as much as I did in the few days we were in Venice. The great thing about that is there are little carts/shops all over where you can pick up a slice to go for about 1,50-2 euros and the slices are massive!! As a bonus, I was overjoyed to find my most favorite toppings everywhere!!! Prosciutto & artichokes=heaven! (Artichokes are all over, which is heaven in itself for me!) It's been far too long since I've had some variety in food and Italy was the best place to indulge in that. Of course we also had to stop for a few gelatos...my favorite being pistachio, surprise surprise! Overall, the food is simply to die for and I certainly look forward to my next visit to that beautiful, delicious country!

Putting the gloomy weather aside, the over-priced (but extremely delicious) food, and a few minor flaws in our apartment (two single beds put together to make one which wasn't very comfortable to say the least), I must admit that it was such a perfect getaway for us and I know we'll go back one day when we can afford to spend out a little bit more. It was the perfect excuse for Peter and I to put our phones away and focus on each other and let the romance-filled air totally consume us. I felt so much closer to him and could actually feel the growth we'd made together from those few days away in that gorgeous city of love.

Watch our video below!

Venice from Lindsay Reynolds on Vimeo.

I've been tucking these away in to the back of my mind for a while and thought I'd finally share. So, after living and observing for 9 months in England, here are my likes and dislikes thus far. Mind you, they're in no particular order.

My Likes:

• Our house.
• The annual leave and maternity leave is great. It really is. American's are known as work-a-holics, and now I understand why.
• Nature. The greenery, the trees and flowers, the animals. Country life.

• Spring. So far I'm not the biggest fan of all the April showers, but I am so happy the weather is slowly getting warmer and all the flowers are in bloom. I adore the newborn lambs, goats, and llamas all over.

• I love how close we are to Europe. Flights are cheap and convenient, as is the Eurotunnel and ferry! 

• The history. Being physically present helps me appreciate the history this country possesses, and the buildings! Many of them still have thatched roofs, lots of tudor houses with visibly crooked beams, and the cathedrals.

• I love my in-laws. I am so blessed to have them. I honestly would not be as confident, or feel as safe and secure here without them.

• It's legal to drink in public!
• The public transport isn't always wonderful, but compared to ours in the states, it's pretty damn good. Plus, most of the busses are double decker :-)
• London. I don't think I could ever get sick of London. And it's only an hour away via train/car!

• Daylight savings in spring and summer. I haven't actually experienced summertime sunsets, but from what I hear, it's still light out around 9:30-10:00pm. Win!
• Good wine and yummy cheese.
• Everyone has a garden that are typically filled with homegrown flowers, fruits and veggies. This has been an inspiration to me to start growing our own! So far we have basil, thyme, rosemary, tomatoes, strawberries, squash and spring onions growing!
• It's a new challenge for me. I was ready for a big change and a good challenge and it's been exactly that.
• Being with Peter. I probably say this way too much, but I never knew there could be someone so perfect for me!  I am fascinated at how two people from two different continents can be so connected. I love starting and ending the day with him. I love watching us grow, change and progress in our relationship. Our love constantly assures me that we've made the right decision and have followed our destined path.

• Making new friends and meeting new people.
• Peter and I cook dinner every night. We rarely eat out, probably not even once a month. In San Diego, it's too easy to always eat out!
• Snow days. Especially if work is cancelled! ;-)

My dislikes:

• I am too far from home.
  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  
• Lack of SUN. San Diego officially spoiled me! For 24 years, I've been used to a warm sun, a tan, Vitamin D, the freedom to be outside anytime of the year, pretty much any time of the day. Here, it's quite the opposite!
• Certain things are really expensive. Electronics and jeans to name a few.
• Shops close too early! Like, between 5:00 and 6:00PM, and I don't even get off work until 5:00! This means that shops are insanely busy on the weekend. No. Thanks.
• Daylight savings in winter. I'm dedicating an entire paragraph to winter, so you're sure to hear about this again. It's dark when you wake up, and dark when you get off work. Sun goes down around 3:30pm. Hybernation, anyone?
• I don't necessarily dislike the food here, but I obviously can't quite satisfy my Mexican or sushi cravings. The food here is stodgy and filling and is admittedly easy to get sick of after a while. It's not as exciting to me anymore when we do go out because you can almost always guess what's on any menu, and nothing really tickles my fancy anymore.
• No hiking and no racquetball. Ask anyone what a hike is and they'll define it as a long walk. Haha. There is squash, but it just isn't the same, and it's kind of expensive.
• No toilet seat covers and you'll rarely find paper towels. Most "toilets" only have hand dryers.
• If you're looking for a plain cup of coffee, you'll likely only find an Americano (espresso). Not the best when you're after filtered coffee, it seems to be kind of rare.
• I never realized until now how much I look around for people I know. There are so many times I think I see someone I know, and then I have to remember, oh yeah, it can't be!
• When people ask me where I'm from and why I moved, the majority of replies are something along the lines of, "And you came here? I know where I would have moved!" Ugh. I know I shouldn't let that get to me, especially after the number of times I've heard it! 
• Winter. Winter is pretty much non-existent where I come from, which makes it especially rough experiencing what everyone else knows as 'the most wonderful time of the year.' I can honestly say that winter has been my biggest struggle so far. From November until...now!? May!? it's grey and cold. Sometimes it's windy, sometimes it's rainy, SOMETIMES the sun peeks through. When I've talked about it with other people, some have suggested I may have S.A.D, Seasonal Affective Disorder. If you've ever thought or been told you may have a disorder, then you probably know how overwhelming and scary it sounds. It's hard to swallow that it could actually be true. I know S.A.D is fairly common, but when I think about the symptoms: Depression, sleep problems, lethargy, over eating, loss of concentration, social problems, anxiety, mood changes..and how close they are to what I was experiencing--it's actually quite scary how spot on it is! Here are a few of my winter struggles...
• No tan. I know this sounds vain, but I've always been tan, even in winter. I'm ashamed to admit, that when I looked in the mirror and saw a pale body and face, I found it hard to recognize my normal self.
• No motivation to work out. I love running and hiking and biking, but when it's cold, I have no motivation to go out in it. Peter and I even signed up to a gym, but that didn't really help as much as I hoped it would either.
• Weight gain. As stated above, over eating was one of those symptoms that I unfortunately had. I don't remember actively thinking about it, but because I missed home and couldn't handle the cold, I just allowed myself to fill up at dinner time and without working out as much as I am used to, I just naturally gained weight.
• Comfort food--another explanation for the weight gain. Soups, warm pies, pasta, hot chocolate...anything warm and filling is all you want during cold winter days.
• Since I've never seen myself so white before, I am still embarrassed to show my arms or legs at the gym. I know I shouldn't be, because if I am white, then so are others, but it's just not what I'm used to seeing!
• Mood swings. One day I was happy, the next few, I was sad. Repeat for a few months.
• Home sick. The cold weather brought me constant reminders of everyone and everything I left behind.
• Feeling drowsy, tired and unmotivated. I know you've felt it before on a gloomy day! This is almost daily and soon enough you don't know any other feeling....until the sun comes out again and you suddenly feel alive!
• This sounds really silly, but I can remember so many times I didn't want to wash my hands in a restroom because it was so cold out and you know the water is going to be cold too!! 
• You can't really leave the house with wet hair. I'm so used to showering in the morning and letting my hair dry naturally--only if you want to freeze your butt off would you do this in winter!
• Our hot water takes forever to warm up in winter! Three people showering within a few hours of each other was a little risky...
• Seeing friends and family's pictures of San Diego or a sunny day on facebook. This always hit home. There's nothing quite like realizing life (and sun) still goes on with or without you.
• People vacation to the sun. In San Diego, you vacation to the snow. I'd much rather the latter, please!!

Until next time!