it's sunday evening..

...and it's time to start wrapping up a great weekend.

friday night, i joined a group of friends in my old huntington stomping grounds to watch the olympic opening ceremonies.  it's no secret that i love the olympics (favoring winter just a bit over summer), and it was especially enjoyable to experience them with so many other olympic obsessives.

the crowd included my friend kristina who worked at the olympic village during the salt lake games and my ukrainian/russian friend larysa, who provided a lot of helpful and insightful cultural background information.

it also provided an opportunity for me to try a new recipe, and in honor of the olympics, i chose the buffalo chicken crescent ring (representative of the olympic rings), i'd come across on pinterest.  wow! did it turn out yummy! the receipe can be found here and the only change i made was including the cilantro IN the mixture.

saturday morning came way too early as jami and i made an attempt to secure our tickets to this year's comic-con.

as previous attendees we had the opportunity to try our luck during a pre-registration sale.  only a certain number of tickets are made available and all 2013 attendees could participate.

in previous years, our experience has been EXACTLY like this:

(thanks to melissa for tipping me off to this scene, since i don't watch the show)

this year though, they 'randomized' the process and refreshing was a big no-no.  we had to log in early with a special registration code, then hope we would be randomly sorted in a registration 'session' that was high enough to still get tickets for each of our desired event days.

we waited, staring at our computer screens, hoping every two minutes (when they auto-refreshed) that we would be allowed to buy tickets, and that the tickets we wanted would still be available.  after an hour and a half of nervous anticipation, jami finally got in and was able to purchase all of our tickets. YAY!  so relieved that i can rest easy until july when i'll have to play the "big bang game" for nerd hq tickets (still a first come first served scenario).

late nights and early mornings make for an exhausted tara, but after an hour power nap, i headed to the cousins, to meet up with jenny before heading to a nearby karate studio in support of rachel and drew in their belt testing.  rachel, going for her brown belt, and drew going for his black.  it was interesting to watch the testing and i was honored to have been included in what was a great achievement for both of them!

walking dead is back tonight (yay!) and i can't get enough of the olympics, so february is off to a good start!

december

as seems to happen more and more, december just seemed to slip away when i wasn't looking.

it started with the final planning and execution of my last event of the year -- our biannual all employee meeting.  with a few added elements, this was our most 'complicated' employee meeting yet, and, to add insult to injury, i was also tasked with presenting.

those who know me well know that speaking in front of people is my all-time greatest fear. it's a nausea inducing fear that i try to avoid at all costs.  not to mention that there were a thousand moving parts (usually by me) that had to be handled while i was supposed to be on the stage in front of my 500 co-workers.  

the good news is that it all went off without a hitch.  and, i even learned yesterday that in the post-event survey sent to employees, my presentation ranked the highest of the event.  while i'm pleased and grateful for the result, i'm mostly just glad it's over!

fortunately the first couple of weeks weren't all fear and nausea.  my friend vicki invited me to join her at a minor league hockey game, where i had my first 'up against the glass' experience.

and i joined my roommate and another friend in los angeles for las posadas on olvera street.  not only was this my first time using the metro here (i still can't believe there is one), but it was also an interesting educational experience.  the event commemorates the journey of mary and joseph from nazareth to bethlehem, and their search for shelter. there were pinatas, and nativities, and singing. and, there were churros.  i don't know that i would do it again, but it was a new an interesting experience.

only a couple of days after my big work event, i headed to savannah, georgia.  

in november, i received a job offer from a company based there.  the offer was completely unexpected and created a lot a lot of internal conflict.  on one hand, i would really like to be back east, closer to my family.  on the other, i just wasn't sure savannah would be a good fit for me.  

my long weekend there was a bit of a rough one (travel problems, terrible weather), but ultimately it confirmed what i had already begun to feel. the job would have been a good fit, as would most of the people. but the city...is great for being a tourist in, but not to live in. at least not for me.  

the decision was not an easy one, and it occupied the majority of my free-thinking time in november and early december.  but turning it down also made me realize that i'm not ready to leave california just yet.  and there is a certain peace in that.

only a few days after returning from georgia, i was back on the east coast.  only this time, it was to meet my brand new niece and spend the week with my family.  

usually my visits home involve a lot of going and seeing. visiting with old friends, undertaking various activities.  this trip though, we all just kind of hunkered down and spent the week with each other. and it was perfectly lovely.

it nearly kills me to have say goodbye each time, and i still wish i could snuggle in with the new baby, but i was back just before new year's to celebrate in california for the first time.  

despite my reservations, i opted for the big local mid-singles celebration. and, while i have nothing exciting to report, it was an enjoyable evening spent with friends, which is really all i could ask for. 

back at work now i'm trying to get up to full speed preparing for my biggest conference of the year, while managing a nasty sinus infection.  

at this rate i have a feeling that my next post will appear in february and i'll be talking about how quickly january flew by.  seems to just be the way things go these days!

12 days

in the summer of 2012, my mom's side of the family had a big reunion -- our first in more than ten years.  it was an awesome weekend that provided a lot of opportunities to 'get to know' these extended family members -- some of whom were very young the last time i saw them.

one such example was my cousin wyatt, who was 7 or 8 (to my 25 or 26) at our last reunion. it was a neat experience to get to know him a little as a young adult and i was even a bit surprised at just how connected i felt to him and vice versa.  over the course of the long weekend, he felt more like a little brother than a cousin i hadn't seen in a decade.

shortly after our reunion, he departed on an lds mission for our church.  i had every intention of being a great letter writer and staying in touch, keeping up with his adventures in the mission field. but, as sometimes happens, i have fallen miserably short of those intentions.  with the holidays approaching, i have felt like i have some catching up to do (18 months later!), so i decided to send a '12 days of christmas' care package.  full disclosure, it has not actually been sent yet. i just completed it today, so here's hoping i can motivate myself to the finish line.

it was a fun process for me, finding the scriptures and coordinating items, designing and creating the tags... i found myself trying to imagine his response to each of the items (and which ones will elicit the most surprised laughter), and i hope that at the very least, the package serves as a reminder that his much older mostly non-communicative cousin has been keeping him in her prayers.

if you're interested, the full list is (and there is no rhyme or reason to the order):

1st day - swedish fish
jeremiah 16:16 - behold, i will send for many fishers, saith the lord, and they shall fish them; and after will i send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks

2nd day - shout pen/wipes
psalms 35:27 - let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, let the lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.

3rd day - flashlight
acts 13:47 - for so hath the lord commanded us, saying, i have set thee to be a light of the gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

4th day - candy canes
1 nephi 8:19 - And I beheld a rod of iron, and it extended along the bank of the river, and led to the tree by which I stood.

5th day - calendar
alma 34:32 - for behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet god; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

6th day - gummi worms
d&c 111:11 - therefore, be ye as wise as serpents and yet without sin; and i will order all things for your good, as fast as ye are able to receive them. amen.

7th day - something you suck on
mosiah 4:16 - and also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.

8th day - cheerios
d&c 68:6 - wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for i the lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even jesus christ, that i am the son of the living god, that i was, that i am, and that i am to come.

9th day - socks
isaiah 52:7 - how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that publisheth salvation

10th day - chapstick
proverbs 20:15 - there is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

11th day - hand sanitizer
psalms 24:4 - he that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

12th day - tums
d&c 9:8 - But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.

thankful

thanksgiving can be a difficult holiday for me.  i lost my dog cyra on my first thanksgiving here in california, and, with only a couple of exceptions, have spent most of them (since i moved here) flying solo.  it always seems to be a reminder that my family is far away.

this would be the year to change all that, however!  my cousin and her family recently moved to las vegas from utah.  initially, i thought this would just help make my dreaded work trips there a little sweeter, but i didn't realize there would be a holiday bonus as well!

laurie and her husband shawn were hosting thanksgiving for her siblings and their families, and were kind enough to invite me to join them.  i just couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend the holiday with so many people i love.

the long weekend consisted of everything a good thanksgiving SHOULD consist of; great food, great conversation, games, movies, sleeping in, staying up too late, pool and hot tub time (i mean, it's vegas after all), and a 15 passenger van.

growing up, i only saw these cousins about once every other year, but i have always felt a deep connection and abiding love for them.  they are people who i would choose to spend time with even if we weren't related, and based on some of the families i know, that is the highest praise i can give.

facelift

if you've been catching up on the blog using a feed reader, it might be worth taking a look at the actual blog for  a minute.  it's got a new look and i think it's super great and want you to see it :D