where was i? not blogging obviously

monday, we went out to eat at ray's, an on campus pub, with a bunch of people from our apartment building.  since it was an official activity, everyone's meal was covered by the activities budget!  i got a cardinal burger and it was delicious!  it was absolutely giant and it had all the good stuff including cheese, bacon, bbq sauce, and sauteed onions.  YUM!

tuesday, we went to a gsb small group dinner.  small group dinners are when a student (or in this case a student and his wife) sign up to host a dinner for ___ number of people at their house.  people sign up (normally six or eight) and then it ends up being a fun little dinner party, free for everyone involved (the host is reimbursed by the business school activities people), and a nice alternative to only meeting people at big parties where everyone is getting drunk and it's too loud to have a real conversation.

wednesday, was the sharks game.  of course.  obviously very fun.

thursday, i thought, was going to be very low key because i wanted to rest a little.  but i ended up getting off work a couple hours early and spent the next long while talking to mom and trying to search out a copy of my book club book at the main (and huge) library on campus.  and i spent the rest of the night doing who knows what that included my new favorite pasttime, writing my favorite missionary on dearelder.com,  and lots of eating.

friday, i got off work at TWO (the norm is around 6:15 or so) and didn't even know where to begin with my newfound afternoon of free time!  after making my mental list (i was going to write it down but kept getting distracted in my search for an adequate piece of paper) i took some time to relax, got a phone call from my wonderful sister eliza, started laundry, did some vacuuming, and made a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. 

then i got a call from chris reminded me of a halloween themed LPF (social mix and mingle) put on by the gsb (graduate school of business) so i met him on campus at five and we had a lot of fun at that. while i was there, i was also blessed with a phone call from my loving father (i talked to my mom on the phone for over an hour yesterday, i talk to my sister emily every day, i almost never hear from my brother walter but mom guilted him in to calling me at work yesterday for a few minutes...) which probably set a record because i don't think i have ever talked to my entire family one-on-one, long distance, in the space of 24 hours.  it was fantastic and i am still marveling that it even happened. 

beautiful campus

 

after filling my purse with lots of delicious halloween candy, we headed home, got our laundry, hung out, and got christopher dressed up for the gsb halloween party.   while he was gone, it gave me perfect opportunity to fold laundry, finish vacuuming, clean the kitchen, do the dishes, clean the bathroom, and write a blog.  what a very productive day!  i feel so good about life right now!

so now it's saturday and i'm just enjoying this sleep in, stay in bed, and hang out sort of day.


ps- happy halloween!!!

[not] late for an important date

wednesday night christopher took me on a wonderful date to the sharks game!  for those of you unfamiliar with hockey/the bay area, the san jose sharks are the NHL (national hockey league) team for the area and they're really good (although not as good as the colorado avalanche this year) so we've always liked them, and it's fun that we get to go to their games now and adopt them as our own.

we took caltrain to the game.  i LOVE taking public transportation on outings.  especially to sports events.  especially at night.  chris was so cute.  the whole time he was giving me game updates of all the hockey games from nhl.com and i don't know why but i just thought it was precious.

this is me watching my sweet christopher excitedly take pictures of all the players while they warm up.  he was like a little boy looking through the window at a candy shop.  luckily i got off work over an hour early (which was totally out of the blue and couldn't have happened on a better night) so we were in time to watch warmups.  so even though we were able to leave much earlier than we initially were going to, christopher was still in a hurry (unnecessary) as usual.  glad not to disappoint!

it actually was pretty cool though because it was long enough before the game started that we could watch from the empty front row seats.

we were so close to the players.  i like seeing the faces of hockey players because it is always a rare and special treat!  i've started to pick my favorites for the sharks.

i thought this was cool that their zambonis have fins!

half way through the game.

still tied after overtime.  that means SHOOTOUT!

this is us after the sharks won in an extended shootout.  i love that if you compare it to the previous picture of us you can see that we are actually visibly happier!

i mean, look at this boy!  he's so happy.  and so photogenic too...

all in all, really fun game.  and thanks to my daring husband (it made me nervous at the time because i always play by the rules) we got to sit in much better seats than we would have.  we sat at the top of the lower section instead of the top of the top section.  ha, our tickets were actually in section 220...

i mean, who wants to be all the way up there?!?!

not us.

we're real fans.

so super busy

well, things really picked up. 

will blog when i have more time!

so bored i might die

that's how i felt about today.

you can't win them all.

flag football, real football

today was a pretty eventful day.

christopher and i woke up decently early to go to a "roundtable discussion."  we try to stay educated on things and it turned out to be pretty interesting.  for this one, charlie rose interviewed eric schmidt (CEO of google -- he was my favorite), john hennessy, garth saloner, guillermo ortiz, penny pritzker, and caroline hoxby who are all just a random bunch of important accomplished people.

2009 Roundtable at Stanford

The Road Back: From Economic Meltdown to Renewal

How Do We Get There?

Scholars, politicians, and government officials will long debate the question of whether the economic collapse of 2008-2009 has fundamentally altered the world's established economic and social paradigms. At home and abroad there will be questions as to whether the U.S. will remain in its traditional economic and political leadership role, or be overshadowed by new engines of economic growth and prosperity.
Optimists point to Silicon Valley-style innovation, new technologies, and entrepreneurship as the solution to regaining economic momentum both in America, and around the world.
Others look to shifting centers of economic vitality to places like China and India as the world’s economic superpowers of the future.
In this emerging new hyper-competitive world economy, where is the road to recovery and renewal? As we emerge from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, what changes can we expect to see, and are there silver linings to be found? What will the long-term impact be on our lives and our fellow citizens around the globe?
Join renowned interviewer and 2009 moderator Charlie Rose and a distinguished panel of leaders for the fourth Roundtable at Stanford University.

on our way home, christopher asked if i would make tuna sandwiches for lunch and i told him we had no tuna.  he said he'd seen some in the fridge.  i told him it was impossible since i hadn't bought any tuna.  i'd looked at it at the store and decided it was too expensive and tuna didn't even taste that great.  he insisted.  i told him, if you can find some tuna, i'll make you a sandwich.

darn that boy.

he found tuna.  i guess i absentmindedly threw some in the cart because i knew it would make him happy (although in my pride i still have not admitted this to chris... i adamantly insist that i have no clue how that tuna got there) and what happens?  i have a husband dancing around in my face, quoting me in mocking terms "you find tuna and i'll make a sandwich."  that's the thanks i get?

we wives do not get enough appreciation around here.

anyways, after lunch (pancakes for me, tuna sandwich for chris) i took a nice nap while christopher studied.  it's good not to be a student.  i don't even know why he likes it so much.

i finally went to one of christopher's flag football games.  here are the highlights...

what a great run

already bored

great catch

bored again

 two guys running into each other and the ball hitting both heads

i snapped this picture on our way home from the flag football game.  who else thinks these palm trees look weird?  how does this even happen?  they're the only ones on campus i've seen that look like this.  it reminds me of when i take my hair out of a ponytail and it doesn't seem to lie flat again.  little did i know that palm trees and i have this problem in common.

then we went to our friends' apartment where they had a bunch of people over to watch the sad and disappointing game of byu against tcu.  the food was wonderful and the company was even better. 

and finally...  the real football game.  stanford homecoming game against ASU, which we left early but are still in the process of winning.

and if you hear about my husband failing out of stanford... specifically because of finance class... and even more specifically because of his finance midterm next week...

you'll know why.

this i can do

i got online this afternoon to check the weather and this is what i saw...

uh what?  am i dreaming?

no.  it's true.  i am in heaven.

you don't even know me

it's true, i'm a different girl now.

100% different.

and i know many of you never ever EVER thought this day would come...

but it has...

even if it might only be temporary.

but really, who knows?!?!


I BUY PRODUCE.

i haven't told many people, not knowing how long it would really last. but it's been going on long enough now that i feel i can share the news. i, carrie hillier, have been buying fresh produce since arriving in california over a month ago.

it first started when i went to safeway and had a breakdown. the food prices were outrageous. i talked to carolyn and my mom for support (grocery shopping is so traumatizing these days whereas it used to be the highlight of my life) and advice on what items SHOULD cost. according to carolyn, the food here is about double or triple the cost in colorado and according to mom, produce is about the same price or cheaper than it is in georgia.

so i used to not buy produce because it cost so much more than the easy tasty prepared and packaged foods, but now that doesn't apply so i have altered my grocery shopping accordingly. i spend at least six (but no more than ten) dollars on fruits and veggies per shopping trip and then another fifty or sixty dollars at walmart (aka my own personal version of hell). --some day i might devote an entire post to how much i LOATHE walmart-- then i call it a day.

the first few times i was going to safeway for produce and then walmart for everything else (not having a super walmart, this walmart provides a whole 3 or 4 aisles of food options) but then i discovered milk pail!


milk pail is like an indoor open air market with a farmers market feel so it's actually really fun to shop at. sometimes the prices are scribbled on pieces of torn cardboard or something ghetto like that. i normally get tomatoes, mushrooms, and a bell pepper for my breakfast burritos. i always get a number of pears since i've totally been on a pear kick recently and eat a few a week. and other than that it just depends what's on sale. sometimes sugar peas or a cucumber to eat with ranch. sometimes apples or peaches to send with chris to school. normally bananas because they're so cheap and easy and i've been loving banana sandwiches lately too.

and i normally try to find something new or different too. plutots have been my favorite (they're a hybrid of something but they look like a mini plum and taste super sweet). and this week it was a pomegranate. i haven't eaten it get so we'll see how that goes.

six or te n dollars buys a lot of produce and my goal is to eat it all before it goes bad so it gives me something to work towards. i do this best by accessorizing. instead of plain cottage cheese i'll eat it with a chopped up peach. bananas go on sandwiches, cucumber, tomato, carrot, goes on salads (and yes i've bought lettuce too... which i'm normally opposed to) or sandwiches or ranch, pears are my late night snack, etc.

to prove it

saturday evening i was bored, so i made a pasta salad (from a box... don't let your imagination get too carried away). wasn't ever in the mood to eat it until tonight. i put some in a bowl, added lettuce, ranch, grated carrots, peas (those were actually frozen) and wedges of a roma tomato. (i would have added boiled egg but didn't have one ready, avacado but wanted to save it for a rainy day... or tomorrow, and chicken chunks, grated cheese, crushed up bacon (i actually didn't have any bacon) but thought maybe it was getting a little to big for a one person dinner. still, instead of an average carb and fat meal, i snuck in lettuce, tomato, carrots, and peas... making it healthier, beefier (in a veggie sort of way) and cheaper (since i used less of my boxed pasta salad.

here's the hard evidence...

maybe it would have looked a little more appealing if i had taken the picture before i had eaten half of it (trust me, it started BIG) but you can tell from my eagerness that it was really just that good. anyways, my computer is being retarded and has made this the biggest ordeal ever so we're gonna call it good. 

but believe me. 

i'm a totally different person.

the weekend without pictures

dear liza,

here is the post you requested. i made no promises for pictures or entertainment. just a blog.

love you lots,

CARRIE


what did we do this weekend?

friday, after work, christopher and i went to the womens soccer game against USC (chris and paige, i wish you could have been there with us!) which was lots of fun... and we won! christopher was more talkative than usual so that was a very special treat for me.

saturday, we slept in and had a lazy morning. i daydreamed (this is required for my sanity and helps with my add tendancies) and wrote in my love journal (more on that another time if you wish) and took my sweet time greeting the day. that lead to a more rushed time getting ready but oh well. i went to the church to help out with a luncheon for a music workshop lead by by craig jessop. i missed chris's flag football game (again) but i think it was worth it to help out and it was good because i made a number of new friends. it put me in a fantastic mood for the rest of the day. i went to do my grocery shopping since i no longer have time to do that during the week (here's to being employed!) and picked up a number of things from milk pail (more about that later) and wal mart (the worst walmart ever ever ever). i almost have a breakdown every time i go to wal mart because it is just that bad. this time i called emmy for emotional support and she helped me finish my shopping and get to the register. the shopping trip took a total of two hours. way too long, but sadly, it's become the norm. christopher wanted to go to the stanford theater in downtown palo alto where they show old movies. we were going to see some like it hot when the cashier pointed out that if we'd come earlier we could have gotten the double feature for the same price. we decided to do that instead... so we'll plan on that for another night. in lieu of the movie we walked around downtown which was lots of fun. i always enjoy that.

man, this sure is a boring post.

sunday, we almost slept through church! luckily we woke up just as it was starting so we weren't too late. still anxious to get callings. after church we went to the GSB (graduate school of business) global fiesta which ended up being the highlight of my weekend. it was so cool. there were tons of tables set up with food from a lot of the different countries represented in the GSB. the students are so diverse and everyone is eager to learn more about everyone else. france had quiche and cheeses. brazil had the most amazing chocolates handmade by chris's friend sergio. two of the turkish girls from chris's class made food for and manned the turkey table. the columbian table had candies and coffee. the nigera table was grilling kababs, greece and egypt had gyros, a number of the tables had various types of teas and wines and one table had a hookah (with who knows what)... we didn't try any of those things but it was fun to hear what other people had to say about them. i left my purse at home so it wouldn't get in the way of my eating. smart move although i'm still sad not to have any pictures of the event because honestly, it was unbelieveable. some tables had music. the china table dressed you up in clothes and took your picture and printed it out for you while you were there. everyone was wearing clothes representing their country. the japan table was dressed up in japanimation costumes which was absolutely hilarious. the girls dressed up at the poland table just looked like a collection of lifesize national barbie or something. at the end, a bunch of students performed the bollywood dance and then everyone else joined in. seriously, the whole thing is nuts. i can't even describe it. and all of the food was phenomenal. i don't think i tried anything i didn't like. so then i came home and fell asleep and did some laundry and called it a day. but the food. the food was the highlight.

i pity whoever is reading this. i practically put myself to sleep!

MLK -- he's my man

what's not to love about martin luther king jr? chris and i went to a movie showing on campus of singing and how it affected the civil rights movement. it was pretty powerful and made me so thankful that people were willing to take a stand and make a change. i can't believe how recent it was that segregation was the norm. all of this stuff was happening 40-50 years ago. i mean, maybe it's because i grew up in atlanta where februrary was black history month, not valentines month or maybe it's just because i turn black during the summers. for whatever reason, this subject has always been very near to my heart and is something for which i am eternally grateful. i know it was tons of people, not just MLK, but he's kinda the symbol for it all. and last night in my prayers he (and his friends) got a special shout out. i love you mlk!

warning: a lot of pictures of SF and airplanes

after church on sunday christopher suggested we go on a hike or something. --maybe you don't know this but i have a thing for outings and day trips and i think they're the coolest thing ever-- oh my goodness, you've never seen anyone so excited in their whole life. i was even more excited when chris changed his hike idea to a go to san francisco and watch the air show idea. so we quickly changed clothes and off we went!!!

who knew? not me.


with our trusty magyar (hungarian) speaking gps


and i especially love day trip outings to the city. when we were in provo my favorite saturday activity was to spend the whole day in salt lake going to temple square, the visitor center, out to eat, gateway mall, the imax museum theater thing, and visiting my aunt and chris's grandparents. i just liked the feel of being in the city. especially when the weather is a little crisp... but that's just an extra.


i love the hills in san francisco. the first time i came here was at the begining of my senior year of high school to visit my brother's mission (san francisco spanish speaking) and it was love at first sight. i love the long straight hilly streets. i think i even loved it before i experienced it. i used to be addicted to this car racing computer game when i was younger and my favorite "track" was the streets of san francisco... it looked just like this picture!


but the real reason for the trip was to watch the air show... it was pretty cool.


me and a plane. look real hard. it's the squiggle above my head.


i love the boats in the bay. and i just love boats. it just looks peaceful. and classic. i thank my dad for my fond feelings for sail boats like these.


multi-tasking planes and boats


red, white, and blue came out of the planes while they flew around to patriotic music.


some of the planes flew really really low. i wish we could have been on a boat! next time, next time.


even cooler to watch the planes against such a beautiful backdrop.


another low plane


and then they would fly in groups...




super close together...


and it looked like they were touching...


i got a call from dad, mom, and walter on speakerphone. it was more than a little difficult to communicate through all the loud noise (don't worry liza, my hearing is still fine, although i'm sure you'll tell me that irreversible damage has been done to my ear parts) so i had to follow up with some informative picture texts.


we had a blast. -- note: this is where any other blogger would write "thanks for the trip honey!" or something like that, but i don't bother. chris has never read our blog before ;-) --


sometimes i feel like he's my kid instead of my husband. i think that's how my mom feels about my dad too.


lombard street. it never gets old. i love it.


chinatown. again, it just doesn't get old.


city traffic. already old.

honest to goodness though, i don't even mind traffic. unless i'm late or in a hurry i really don't mind waiting. and if i'm completely honest, i kinda like traffic sometimes. it reminds me of home because, really, this is exactly what atlanta looks like.

sadly though, christopher hates it. hates it like nothing i've ever seen. he even despises yellow lights and red lights... even when he doesn't have to stop all the way. he's always in a hurry. even when he has no where to go. why else would he speed and run red lights for absolutely no reason at all? he's a strange one, he is.

so yes, look at this last picture and you now know christopher's very own personal version of hell. good thing he's so righteous.

hopefully he'll forget soon (not likely so cross your fingers) about the terrible traffic. because he swore to me eighty times over that it wasn't worth it and we were never doing this again. ;-(

i WILL get him to change his mind.

it was so worth it.

apparently we only take pictures at football games

first off, i'll just go ahead and say that chris and i love going to stanford football games. the weather is always wonderful, the seating in the student section is open, and we've won every home game so far.

i love sitting in the student section. i love being a student-non-student. poor chris has to study and go to class because he's just a plain student.

anyways, this is us, just loving football. chris even has his redzone student section t-shirt on!


but i've gotta say, some things are just plain weird...



like this...
we're the stanford cardinals but i never see a cardinal on stanford sweatshirts or around campus or anything. it's always a pine tree. and as if a dancing pine tree isn't weird enough, check out what they have this guy wearing. this has got to be up there as one of the weirdest mascot outfits. it's almost scary.


on the 3rd, we played UCLA. they have a very good marching band. very professional looking.


but this is stanford... we are more liberal thinkers here. obviously. i'm sure you can tell by our marching band (which looks like utter chaos on the field during half time).


we're just happy campers. i mean, athletic football enthusiasts.