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Friday, April 29, 2016

I should really be sleeping right now..

My alarm is going to go off in three hours and I really should be sleeping but lately there have been a lot of nights where my thoughts keep me up into the wee hours (which I guess are really just normal hours for most college students). Other nights I'm able to fall asleep at 9:00 without a stir. You win some and you lose some. I lie in bed most nights stressing about how I'm not graduated from college, not married, childless, haven't received that raise I've been dreaming of for far too long, and these days my bank account looks like a seven year olds piggy bank. As soon as these thoughts come the mean thoughts are soon to follow. I begin to feel mad at myself for not being skinny and then it's all downhill from there if you know what I mean. 

This sounds like a pity party because it pretty much is. I have been trying to figure where this sudden self dissatisfaction came from since I'm actually really happy with my day to day life.  I guess all of this is mostly coming from my worry of what other people are saying or thinking. I mean I honestly worry that people are talking about how I'm a loser, or how behind I am in life compared to other people my age or when they were my age. Isn't that just silly? I mean a) I doubt anyone is actually that mean to say or think thoughts like that,  and b) why should I care if anyone cares? My life is good and I still have so much life ahead of me to reach my dreams that I'm shooting for now, and the dreams that don't even exist yet. Just this afternoon I was running up Emigration Canyon and it was windy and hard and I had to walk a lot because I forgot to eat today and I was weak. When I got to the top there was nobody around for the first time in my experience and the view seemed to be more breathtaking than usual. It was such a high for me to be outside again after being cooped up with the stomach flu, and the overcast weather and green hills made me feel like I was living in Ireland again. I ran down the steep hill with my arms spread wide since nobody was around and I kept saying to myself how beautiful life is and how grateful I am to be alive. I actually said those words in my head. Life is beautiful and I am grateful to be alive. The feeling was overwhelming and almost too much to be contained. I wanted to do a fist pump in the air for the big Man upstairs but then a biker came by so I decided against it (remember, I care what people think..).  

Anyway I guess what I am trying to get at is between what I felt this afternoon and what I felt tonight as I was trying to fall asleep I'm seeing how important  it is to do things that are good for my soul, and I can't be so hard on myself. I mean there's always going to be something that I can worry about. Always. I can also always care about what people think, but how cool would it be if I didn't?! I mean I wonder how I would feel everyday? I think my self worth would be greater. That is kind of funny because shouldn't my self worth come from what I think of myself and not what I am worried other people think of me? I am letting the thoughts that I think other people are having of me become what I think of myself. That is just crazy and it ends now. I am awesome and I am going to keep dreaming big but also being happy with whatever I get. And if all else fails I will always hold the (self deemed) title of Favorite Aunt. I will always have that going for me. 

I can sleep now. 

-Maddi 


Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Switzerland part 1

We flew into Basel, Switzerland late Thursday night and had a fun surprise when we found out that Euro Car Rental wouldn't let us rent a GPS. We didn't have internet on our phones but Bryce and MJ managed to find our hotel in France without a problem. That is considered mad skill in this day in age!

It's was crazy to me that we could walk out different doors to go to different countries.
 The first item on our agenda was to check out the Gruyere Cheese Factory. It was actually not that great and smelled like wet dog. I would recommend just heading straight to the village for fondue instead! However, we did get to try different cheeses and I now know that the less mature the cheese the better :)
 I found my house for when I move back to Switzerland!
 I was in complete awe when we pulled up to Greyere Village. I've never seen a more charming town. I'm starting to wonder why all towns aren't this way? I mean sure we can't all have the Swiss Alps for a backdrop but that's not excuse! 


 We had fondue for lunch and it was yummmmmmy. Somehow it took us three hours to eat. To be honest none of us are really sure how that happened, but by the end all of the kids were definitely done!
 We all took turns walking Jack around the village during lunch since it was taking forever. I switched out with Bryce and Mandi after I had finished eating and walked all the way to the top of the village and took pictures for a while.
Half of the reason lunch took so long is because we waited for an hour and a half for our raspberries and cream.. worth it!  

We took a train to Mt. Gornergrat where we had a great view of the Matterhorn. I really can't capture the beauty of Switzerland in a picture but let me tell you, it was breathtaking.
We always see the best poses from our fellow tourists and we couldn't resist copying this one
I've been sad about missing fall in the mountains so I was grateful this trip provided just that.
Zermatt was quite the town. It actually reminded me a bit of Park City
Bryce treated us all to some Swiss chocolate that was to die for good. I got the white raspberry chocolate and ate the whole think five minutes.