10 days till Africa

In less than 10 days I will be in South Africa!! I am so excited I can hardly stand it.  I am going for a little R&R and will spend 5 nights in Cape Town and 4 nights on a Safari to Kruger Sabi Sands!

Here are some pics of the loveliness!

{High Tea}

Source: mountnelson.co.za via Gaya on Pinterest

{Penguins}

Source: google.com via Gaya on Pinterest

{Fabulous Neighborhoods}

Source: google.com via Gaya on Pinterest

{Wine Galore!}

Source: google.com via Gaya on Pinterest

{Nice view from hotel}

Source: tripadvisor.com via Gaya on Pinterest

{Safari - making friends}

Source: tripadvisor.com via Gaya on Pinterest

Source: tripadvisor.com via Gaya on Pinterest

Source: elephantplains.co.za via Gaya on Pinterest

And the winner is....drumroll please!

The lady bug is the winner!

Thank you Tamara for submitting your cute pic Sophie Mae dressed up in her lady bug costume for Halloween!  It was a close race (5 of us voted for our top 3, and she came up with the most points). A 10 dollar target gift card will be mailed to you home! Congrats!

All the pets are of course winners, here are just a few of my favorites.  I really love costumes when they have attached arms!

Look at this squirrel - I love the arms!

Very cute cowboy!

A tiny bumblebee named Oliver

Cute little froggy...if I ever saw a real frog this big I might just die!

 I love how this is part Diva part princess. I think my sister in law Em girl might want the same sweater.

This cute kitty did well in the competition too!

This turtle is seriouslly killing me!

Turtles and bunnies tend to get along.  This pic scored in the top 3!

A lazy little cow! Moooo. I love the utter!

 I love the hat - I want one!

Once again the arms kill me! I love this little chicken. Even the cute husband and TV could not steal his thunder!

Clifford the big red dog....no need for a costume sucka!

Congrats to all of you who have super cute pups! I am sooo jealous.

Elliot - are you reading this?

CONTEST: Halloween costumes for your pet

I am doing my first contest.  It is short notice, but awesome none the less.

As we all know from previous posts, I want a dog, someone to love me and greet me when I come home. In order to keep my hopes up slash convince Elliot about how awesome a dog would be, I have decided the first competition will be for a gift card of 10 dollars to Target (where they sell pet stuff). Not quite the big leagues - but everything counts!

Send me a pic of your pet (dog, cat, turtle, gerbil, etc) in their Halloween costume. I will vote, and will find 2 random co-worker who does not know any of you vote also - to minimize bias!

Rules:
- You could submit up to 3 pics (of the same animal or of different animals).
- You must submit photos of animals you personally know (you don't have to be the owner, but if the owner submits a photo, you can't)
- You can NOT submit random photos you found online

Send me the pics to my email gaya.myers@gmail.com by Friday, November 4th.

Here is some inspiration:

Source: google.com via Gaya on Pinterest

Source: kohls.com via Gaya on Pinterest

Source: d30opm7hsgivgh.cloudfront.net via Gaya on Pinterest

Thank you cornea burning laser!

Top 10 reasons I am loving my new 20/20 vision thanks to Lasik

 

1. More bathroom counter and drawer space. Sigh-a-nar-a crap (see pic below)
2. Waking up in the morning, reaching for my glasses and realizing I don’t need them
3. Seeing the clock in the morning
4. Getting to wear different sunglasses on a whim
5. Being able to play tennis, jog, etc without the dang glasses shaking around
6. No more expensive contact solution
7. In the shower being confident I am using shampoo in my hair, instead of body wash
8. No more smudges on the eyeglasses – woot woot!
9. Seeing the individual leaves on a tree super far away…loving all these fall colors
10. Having the best vision I have had since 5^th grade

Here is a boat load of crap....mostly contacts, including an entire unopened box....adios!

If you are considering Lasik, start with this website: http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/SurgeryandLifeSupport/LASIK/ucm061358.htm

A reminder to be mindful

A few weeks ago I was in Raleigh visiting the family, when I noticed a small bell hanging from the doorway down to the basement (ie my dad’s shrine). I asked my dad what the bell was for and he explained to me, each time he walks directly in to it, bumping his head against the bell, which then chimes, and serves as a reminder to be mindful. Silly Gaya, I should have figured!

I will have to ask my dad more about what mindfulness means to him, but in the meantime, google told me “In its Buddhist context, mindfulness has three overarching purposes: knowing the mind; training the mind; and freeing the mind.”

Here are photos of the rents demonstrating:

{To bad my mom is too short to be reminded to be mindful!}

Do you Aldi?

So I went to Aldi the other day and have some thoughts to share:

First off, Aldi is a grocery store, according to wikipedia, ALDI is short for "Albrecht Discount", and is a discount grocery store that started in Germany. Interesting enough, Trader Joe’s began from a family trust of one of the two founders of ALDI. There are over 1,000 Aldi’s in the US, and over 9,000 worldwide (while there are less than 400 Trader Joe’s).

Aldi has staples (food, drinks (including wine), toilet paper, and other inexpensive household items. it seemed the majority of the products were their own brand (think trader joe's but not cutesy).

{Pretty crisp!}

{I should have tried these}

{Need a crock-pot?}

Some pro's:

-Not hard to make a decision, there is usually no more than two different brands for one kind of product. You want green beans - BAM - 1 choice, done!

-It was a small grocery store, and more manageable to leave without buying crazy items you never knew existed much less wanted (I have a problem at big grocery stores).

-Near my job

-The prices were good (especially on salsa, hummus, and pita chips).

-The products tasted fine (minus the hummus which was wayyyy to garlicky (although with Halloween and loose vampires..maybe I need to reconsider))

-No decorations and marketing tricks

Some neutral items:

-I think you have to pay for a cart, I was confused slash cheap so just carried stuff in the store and looked like a crazy lady

-They don't give you bags at the end (pro - for the environment, con - for me forgetting my own bags...dangit!)

Some con's:

-Them not taking credit card, and me having to leave the store, find an ATM, and come back! Kinda embarrassing, but I love my CC and the delta miles...

Overall I would rate my experience a B, not B+, not B-. It is no trader joe's on fun-ness, but it was nice on my wallet. My next stop is IGA. What are you thoughts on discount grocery stores? Any winning items I should look out for

Happy 1 year anniversary to my sister Spectra and her hubby Sawyer

Yes, my sister's name is Spectra....don't act like you are suprised.

A year ago today, Spectra and Sawyer got married in Minnesota in a Harry Potter themed wedding.  2 reactions happen when I tell people that it was a Harry Potter wedding, reaction 1, people are insanely jealous and wish they could have a sister as cool as mine, or reaction 2, they roll their eyes and secretly judge it.  I don't care if Glamour magazine said having a Harry Potter wedding is a "don't"

I was skeptical myself, but trust me, they kept it classy.

A few highlights:
1) spells and wands used during the ceremony
2) spontaneous combustion in the ceremony
3) butter beer
4) chocolate frogs
5) gourmet s'mores
6) the savenger hunt "Hunt for the Horcruxes"
7) sitting with our "houses" at the seated dinner
8) the owl decor
9) lots of tweed
10) late night dance party

Here are some pics:

Love you two! Happy Aniversary! Can't wait for Orlando in a few weeks and going to Universal for Harry Potter World! Count down!

cleaning silver - domestic fail

So my in-laws gave Elliot and me this beautiful silver platter serving dish that I think belonged to one of the grandparents.  I wanted to spiff it up and remove any tarnish, and this lady at an antique store told me about a technique that "easily removes tarnish" - well 2 attempts later (approximately 45 minutes, which mind you is about as long as an episode of Mad Men) I still have a tarnished platter.

Here are specific instructions from a university chemisty deptartment (aka legit) - http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/homeexpts/tarnish.html

They even give the fancy formula (I have no idea what this means, but I like the idea of having equations and such in my blog!

3 Ag2S	+	2 Al		6 Ag	+	Al2S3
silver sulfide		aluminum		silver		aluminum sulfide

So chemistry...why did you not work for me!



Here are pic of the process (although, what is the point of looking, since it did not work!)


{Before}

 {The supplies - thank god it was all free!}

 {Action shot!}

 {Chemistry - bubbles!}

 {Hoping this magic would work}

 {The after pic - which looks the same as the before pic = domestic fail}

So can someone just tell me who I can pay to fix this?

Meet my friend/ Lessons learned from a month in Atlanta’s coffeshops

So, sorry that I have been bad about blogging.  But - don't worry - I have a ton good blog topics coming up. So, I have a special treat for you today - a guest blogger. So, meet Missy.  Missy is a person, she has brown curly hair, she was a dancer for a big chunck of her life, and she is in med school in Isreal.  She came down to Atlanta to spend time with her sister and to study.  Here are here lessons learned from a month in Atlanta’s coffeshops

"I spent a little over a month living with my sister in Atlanta and studying for Step 1 of the US Medical Licensing Exam; most of my studying was done at various cafes throughout the city.  What I first thought was reverse culture shock since I go to medical school abroad, became a working list of lessons learned through encounters observed.

1.      Apart from the occasional patio, cafes are indoor spaces, which means indoor voices.  Apart from the occasional voyeur, people in cafes are usually there for their own reasons and don’t need to be party to the conversations around them.

2.      Nobody likes bananas poked, poked in their faces.

3.      When productivity is drawing to a lull, there are two options for continuing in a café: the blended coffee beverage or, if already shaky from caffeine, the 2 for 1 cookie special.

4.      Running lines for a production in a cafe is only acceptable when done in a language other than English.

5.      HR confrontations should probably occur in confidential locations—a cafe is not one of those.

6.      When it is over 85 degrees outside, wearing a wool scarf as a fashion statement might be met with: ‘oh, hell to the no!’

7.      If things are going wrong in life, it is probably a direct result of ignoring God’s very clear message to go do development work in South Africa.

8.      The decision to take a 2 hour work call on a cell phone at a cafe should be followed by treating tablemates with to a delicious beverage.  While teleworking is an important alternative to being in an office, there are more stringent rules of decorum; it is highly inappropriate to assume that it is socially acceptable to subject other patrons to business meetings.  Although, in all fairness, who ever really wants to listen to any one-sided cell phone conversations.

9.      Internet variability within a cafe offering free wi-fi is unacceptable, but the staff still has a moral obligation to report that to the clientele.

10.  White male privilege can be described as many things, but ‘oh, you know’ is not one of them.

"

My two favorite were the HR confrontations and the wool scarf!  My other friend here in Atlanta has a rule that for each hour or so you are there, you should buy 1 item. What coffee shop rules do you have?

Also - I want to start a blog feature called "what is in your purse/ wallet/ bag" - you know what I am talking about they are always asking famous people to look in their bag and see their fancy beauty products etc.  So I asked Missy - what is in your purse?

"I don't carry a purse, but I'm happy to tell you what's currently in the bag I carry most days:

Nalgene
Peruvian small shopping bag holding the tupperware from my lunch
Bills that I need to pay
White coat
Stethescope
Packet for history and physical in Hebrew
"Rapid Interpretation of EKGs"
Small notebook for writing down all of the things I have no clue about in the day

White cardigan
Mint mojito gum from the States
iPod
Hand sanitizer from Trader Joe's
Pens
A shell from my mom (probably from Cape Cod)
My wallet
A giant bobby pin

That's probably more than you needed/wanted to know.  And it sort of looks like I'm more studious and medical than I really am."

My favorites of these were the giant bobby pin and a random shell!!

Better be careful, I might pick on your next - what is in your bag?

Professional sports

Some memories from growing up:

- Being dressed as a toddler in a cheerleading outfit of my parents favorite college football team
- Fun tailgates outside of a football game of my parents alma mater
- Hotdogs with lots of toppings on it at a professional baseball game
- My parents always in the stands at my soccer games, cheering me on

Oh wait….those things did not happen….reminder – I was a child of hippies. I have tons of fabulous memories from growing up, but none of them involved sports. I did actually play soccer my freshmen year in HS in Oklahoma, and my parents showed up to a few games, but definitely brought a book to read!
Because I did not grow up with any of this, you can imagine, I am slightly overwhelmed at these types of events as an adult. Here are some of my recent experiences:

1) Went to my first professional football game (it was just a pre-season game though, but I still count it). It was the Atlanta Falcons vs. Miami Dolphins. I might rather be at Callaway Gardens watching the “birds of prey” show with a real falcon swishing over our heads, or at the Atlanta Aquarium watching the dolphin show. Elliot and I took MARTA in and it surprisingly easy. We had great seats that Elliot got super discounted from some girl on craigslist.

{Pics from the game}

Here is what I enjoyed:
Half time- they had tiny children playing football – this was wayyyy more entertaining than watching the professionals. Although I was concerned about the risk of concussion and traumatic brain injury. People were falling all over the place, and some of the kids were really good and fast, and could skirt around the other kids and make touch-downs. I loved this part! The tiny baby cheerleaders were also entertaining. I wonder if Elliot and I have kids if we would ever allow them to do something like this, or if we would pay them to play Oregon trail at home instead (read previous posts)

Here is what I spent the majority of my time doing:
Staring at 2 guys in their 30’s who came to the game with 3 dads in their 30’s, and their 3 sons. The dad’s were fully enjoying themselves, drinking a brewsky and watching the game, they would occasionally tell their 3 boys to stop climbing the railing and stop hitting each other. The 2 guys who did not have kids (at least with them), seemed slightly annoyed, and the 3 kids who were having a great time. I also enjoyed watching the couple sitting in front of the kids and turning around and giving evil looks to the kids (but not the dads). I guess some might consider this father son bonding time?

What I did not enjoy:
People making fun of me as we walked to MARTA after the game because I walk faster than them. ANDDD that lack of vegetarian options at the game.


I also went to a Braves game – I used to go a lot when I first moved to Atlanta, but have not been in 2 or 3 years (wow-zer). It was a fun game, school was back in session and it was a week night, so it was not too crowded (which I liked). I also got a free tumbler – plastic glass with a plastic straw from Publix.

Ohhhh – and big announcement – Gaya joined a fantasy football league – so more to come on that in the near future.

What is your favorite memory from a sports game?

Ps – I would love to know who my readers are. Leave me a comment sometime and or click the link “join this site” – gracias!