la dulce vida

So being normal 'me' I am copping out of a quality, word riddled update and giving you a picture play-by-play of my recent life instead. You are welcome.

I remember when I found out that Morgan was a huge Trans-Sibirian Orchestra fan I literally laughed at him. I always thought old-fashioned women who listen to Christmas music all year long listen to them really super loud while they vaccuum during the day or something... but apparently I was wrong... :) Anyway, for Christmas I tried to surprise him with some tickets, but he pretty much ruined that when he asked if I wasn't going to be traveling on a job if he could get us tickets... but even though it wasn't a surprise it was an awesome night. Dinner was great, TSO was phenomenal, and the company was the best part :)

So Morgan went on his mission to the Dominican Republic and so of course with him being a food lover I have heard lots of stories about the cuisine down there... well I was at the grocery store one night and while I was buying some bananas I saw they had some plantains in stock, so I bought some for him! He let them get to his desired ripeness and then made them as our dessert one Sunday night... I won't lie, I think they are a acquired taste, but they weren't all that terribly bad... I just feel like they should taste like bananas because they look like them, but they sure as heck don't! Either way, it was not only nice to see Morgan cooking (in that outfit, no less) but hear him reminiscing about his time there too. :)

At the beginning of December Morgan had his first powerlifting competition... just a local one here in Bartlett. It was actually a larger turn-out than he (or I) expected, and it was a really entertaining day! Although he didn't hit his exact weight goals, he did amazing for his first meet and well, just amazing for a human being at all! I think its safe to say he never ceases to amaze me!

After the meet we all went to Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate their success... And an end to their diet!

Best friends Morgan and Dave with their winnings! Morgan got 1st place in benchpress (340 lbs, state record!) and 2nd place in deadlift (495lbs!)

So this is what they call a "deadlift" - it scared the living hell out of me.

Remember?

When I was good at blogging? Oh no? Oh thats right... because it's not true! And its not going to change anytime soon, my dear friends and not-so-friends, lo siento, so don't get your hopes up.

In other news -

I'll be seeing this amazing show

with this amazing man!

In 2 days!

Dia de Gracias

I'm grateful for quality time with the people I love.{My Mom and I}

{My nephew and I}

{My babe and I}

Moments

So the other day, as I wrote an e-mail to my best friend who is on her mission far far away in Bolivia, I began to reminisce about the memories I had with her - in high school, in college, during summers - and I began to leaf through pictures that I have that date all the way back to when we were 16 (that is 6 YEARS AGO, AH!) until just before she left on her mission last September - I couldn't believe the difference, but I also couldn't believe the amount of pictures that I have during those years! My friends and family have always commented (and when I say commented, I mean made fun of me) on how many pictures I take - no matter what occasion or circumstance it is - I have always taken a lot of pictures - until, that is, I moved here! I still take a fair amount, ya know, snap one here and there when I actually remember my camera AND its charged - not a small feat, mind you - but it made me realize something deeper about myself - when I was 16, and even when I was 20 in college, I felt like the pictures I took, especially the volume of them, represented the importance of that event, or trip, or instance. I thought that in order to remember how significant that moment was in my life, that I needed 10 -12 images to capture it. Now I realize, not only do I not need 10 pictures, but I don't really need any - that the most important moments in life are actually those that don't usually call for a camera to be whipped out - or when they do, sometimes the most "imperfect" shot depicts the perfect moment - and sometimes, that one picture can remind you of a million memories you had that night, that week, that month. Sometimes it can remind you of all the moments you have shared with that person. Just that one can be powerful. It may sound silly - well I guess it is, actually - but I really believe its true. Images can document our lives, or we can allow people, places, events, and memories to become what defines us. And every so often the two mediums collide and allow us to do both.

For example:

{playing flashlight tag at Shelby Farms after hours :)}

Handy Work

I have a confession: I'm a terrible handy woman.

Now that I have made that disclaimer I feel comfortable sharing the adventure I undertook during my 5 day stay-cay.. and that is HANDYwomanWORK! I have been meaning to complete a couple of projects in the past few months - but being on the road for the majority of 2 1/2 months has put them on hold - so when I got 5 consecutive days off, and a boyfriend overly involved in school activities and therefore in Nashville for 4 out of 5 of those days, I decided to get things done!!

After many hours of measuring, hammering, screwing, leveling and "eyeing it" most of my creations came out less than perfect - with the exception of my shadow boxes - and thats only because they never actually made it to the wall, but are instead subbing in for an end table that I do not currently possess - but that is besides the point.... Here is a catalog of my efforts:

Next up: MY BEDROOM! :)

Alarm Clocks

What "Little Thing" I'm enjoying today do you ask? The absense of my alarm clock. Yes ladies and gentlmen, I know it will come as a surprise, but I, Julie Marie Bennett, inadvertantly turned OFF my alarm instead of ON last night and therefore did not wake up to that hideous beeping noise that jolts me from the wonderous world of dreams and happy slumber - but instead woke up to the beautiful sun shining through my drapeless window and realizing oh so sadly (and unfortunately very quickly) that I had indeed overslept... by a lot. So of course I was late to work... by a lot. So you might be wondering...why am I enjoying this little thing? Because I have felt so much more rested and energized the entire day - and fortunately for my coworkers have had a happier and more easily dealt with attitude (maybe thats due to the cookies I brought it for them, and not me - but a girl can hope) It's amazing what a little much needed beauty sleep can do to a woman - and when its unplanned, its just a little more enjoyable :)

Rule 32: Enjoy the Little Things

For those of you who have not seen the movie Zombieland first of all, you're missing out. Second of all, that means you wouldn't really understand my blog title. which means you're again missing out. Lo siento.

Either way - the little thing I enjoyed last night: grocery shopping. Forreal. I haven't done that "little thing" in about, hmm... 2 months? That's what happens when you are a bank examiner and travel constantly. When I'm home on the weekends theres never any point in buying food that will go bad the following week while I'm gone .... but I am officially in town for 10 straight days and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it! Don't get me wrong - I love my job! I love working at the banks with all different kinds of people and meeting new examiners and taking road trips with my girlfriend/coworker Meredith - but I also love my apartment, and my own bed, and my boyfriend!, and just being able to drive my own car anywhere I want somewhere familiar. I love the little things. So for the next 10 days it will be all about enjoying the little things.

Yet....some big things have been happening recently, and I thought maybe I should update!

Big thing #1: Chicago!

I went to attend a class for work - the class was great, the city was great, the shopping was GREAT.

About 15 of us from the class went on a segway tour of the city - I was so scared at first, but it ended up being so fun!

This is Meredith and I in our cab on the way to the airport (to go back to Memphis) Our cabbie got off the highway to go to the bathroom - while we sat in the car waiting!!

Big Thing #2: Corn Maize!

I have never been through a corn maze and made a deal with Morgan if he went with me to the maze we could go to a Haunted House (since I HATE HALLOWEEN, especially haunted anything). Well the maze ended up being haunted the night we went - So I got totally screwed on the deal - But it was still a lot of fun! :)

What do the guys do in haunted corn mazes? eat corn of course!!

Big Thing #3: The Branch Halloween Dance!

Morgan and I went as Mr & Mrs. Incredible - We had the idea for awhile (courtesy of my mother) but didn't really inact it until the day of the dance (traveling so much knocks the whole halloween costume thing down a couple notches on the to-do list) and I ended up making the shirts - they turned out great though and the dance was so fun!

My friend Jenn and I - she was Tinkerbell and won the Cutest Costume title!

The Incredibles :)

:)

Big Thing #4: the BASH Dash 5k!

I forgot to take pictures, but I was so excited about this race. I ended cutting 2 minutes off my time and finished in 28 minutes flat! Morgan came and was the loyal supportive boyfriend... definitely made me run faster knowing he was at the end :) Next up: Turkey Trot 5k over Thanksgiving break in Kansas City with my marathon-runner-mom!

Big Thing #5ish: LIFE!

It has been crazy but I love every single minute of it!!! :)

Did I mention?

That I ran a 5k?? I know I snuck it in a few times that I was training for one... and well, it happened! and actually its already been a month, I have just been so busy. And I just remembered about it today because I'm doing my second one this coming Saturday! I'm pretty excited about this one - the cause is awesome. The charity is called Girls Incorporated of Memphis and the 5k is named the B.A.S.H Dash which stands for Bold and Strong Heroes. It helps those girls in the community that don't have strong female role models in their lives and lends strength to them in any way they can - I know how grateful I am for the strong women in my life that have not only been my role models but my friends, inspirations and lifetime heroes, I think everyone deserves that. Anyways so wish me luck!

Here are a couple pictures from the last race (Sole to Soul, benefiting local homeless shelters)

Morgan is the one who got me started on my running kick (to prepare for a 1/2 marathon that I no longer have any desire to do, haha) and our friends Lara and Ryan (the cute engaged couple :) joined in on our fun.... Lara, Morgan and I were all 5k virgins!

Lara, Morgan and I after the race... Ryan finished in 27 and split, he had a class to get to...
These are our "trophies" Ryan got 1st place in his and Morgan's age group and Morgan got 3rd... I got 2nd in my age group! :)

Sega & N64

So every day around 11:17 my "boss" Brett (he's not really my boss, hes just 10 years my superior, but still...) locks up his office and claps his hands and moseys on over to our (Mere, Pope and I's) cube farm and says "Who feels like eatin" and I raise my hand and Meredith says "I'm starving" and Pope makes a phone call to his stockbroker and meets us in the cafeteria-ish place about 2 minutes later. ok anyways the point is, I eat with my coworkers every day - its always the 3 musketeers (again... Mere, Pope and I) and then whoever else is in the office (meaning whoever isn't traveling on an exam)... Well, Brett recently has moved over to the monitoring division so he's in the office 24/7 and lunch has become an interesting event. We usually end up talking about old college stories (his from 15 years ago, ours from 5 months ago), stupid things we do, football, pet peeves, and usually my love life (i dont know why, they are FASCINATED)... so a few days ago at lunch Meredith started telling a story about a "pre-party" her and her friends had before a formal at school (me being the naive byu-idahoan did not know these existed) and so as the story progressed Brett and Pope started telling us how guys did their pre-parties and it made me laugh... remember Sega? and Nintendo 64? Mario Kart and Golden Eye and Aladdin? That and a six-pack of beer. Boys are so weird. And don't pretend like you guys dont do that... or wish you could. I mean minus the 6 pack of beer I would be so down with that. I grew up with 4 brothers and I remember playing Sega & N64 for hours... and remember when it would freeze and every one had their own way of making it work? Like they were some kind of video game mechanic extraordinaire? I always blew into the bottom, like those few bits of dust that were housed in the piece of plastic were what was stopping the entire machine from working. righhhht. My brothers would always turn the console on and off like 18 times... like they were trying to trick it into working or something? Yeah I miss those times. And since I've been away from my brothers for awhile now I've started to forget how much fun simply hanging out playing a video game was, or how driving to the movie store to get $1 rentals is the perfect Thursday night, or getting Taco Bell at 2:00 AM after a midnight movie is probably the best weekend adventure. I mean as girls we always want to pretty things up... bake something, get all dressed up, plan minute for minute... boys arent like that. I think there are a lot of things girls can teach boys.. like hygiene, and a little more maturity (emphasis on the little) but there are some things we can learn from them.. like how to be more laid back, or how to pretend intelligence (ok maybe not that one), or just how to fix a frozen video game. I mean, I'd be alright with that. Boy do I miss my brothers.

Here Lately...

Life has been as crazy and busy as ever - Does anyone ever wonder why we think its going to slow down even though our past has always proved that wrong? I do. And I think that we just like to fool ourselves, try to make our subconscious believe that yes, one day you will be able to manage your time better, soon all your responsibilities will not overwhelm you even though..wait, they will still be overwhelming, and maybe even in the future you will be prepared for whatever life has to throw at you even though wait, that is sort of impossible and inherently stupid.. but of course, YOU will be able to do that. yeah, doesn't make sense to me either. - Anyway, I'm enjoying it and trying to remember to balance work, church, friends, family AND myself all at the same time... moment by moment.

Which brings me to what has been on my mind a lot lately - and how I feel my perspective and (therefore) my actions are changing dramatically because of it - and that is drama. OK well drama in and of itself hasn't really been running through my mind constantly (thank Heavens!) but it definitely sparked the brain waves and - in a round-a-bout sort of way - I'm grateful for it. You see, being 22 years old, female, unmarried, and oh, did I mention female? - drama kind of... finds me. and I'm not OK with it. I mean I never have been alright with drama or attention or rumors about myself (or anyone else) floating around the thick cloud of Mormon gossip that inevitably surrounds any singles branch - but these past 4ish months have seen a lot of "growing up" on the part of Julie and thus I'm even more fed up with the thought. I want to know who likes drama or being dramatic or creating it other than Kate Gosselin or Khloe Kardashian. I don't understand the point of it. I don't understand how people literally have nothing better to do than make a big deal about who is sitting next to who in church or who batted their eyelashes 4 times instead of 2 at someone who is single for goodness sake or who may or may not have been booty dancing down at Beale Saturday night. I mean really. C'mon. I'm not going to lie and say I haven't been caught up in A, B, C, or D) all of the above in the past... but here lately I've been practicing what I like to call "not caring". I don't care who sits next to who in church. I don't care if I'm flirting.. wait, I mean if someone ELSE is flirting with someone they like. I don't care if people get down and dirty on the dance floor. Why would I? (Why would you?) But I do, however, care about the people behind the 'talk'. I care about how their lives are going, if they need a listening ear, if they have a funny joke to tell me or if their classes are kicking their trash. I think we, including myself, forget sometimes the people behind the rumors, the gossip, the drama, and how they are actual human beings. They have what some people like to call 'feelings' with a little dash of 'human nature'. So here lately, that's what I've been trying to remember (and hoping others can too). It's been a really free-ing experience, actually. I've found that I have a happier, more carefree perspective... that my actions are becoming a reflection of who I really am or want to become not of who I think people will see me as... and that I'm going more with the flow of things instead of fighting against them... I can see how people might see this has being nonchalant about seemingly serious things, maybe a little heartless, stuck up, or what have you - (wait, is that drama I hear?) but well, you guessed it - I don't care... and that's just the way I am.

So now that that soap-box has been seriously lathered, I feel a teensy bit better that I got to share it with whatever unfortunate soul has to read it (you're kindasortanotreally welcome!)

OH and these picturas have nothing to do with my rant (or do they ;-) ), just an update...

Morgan and I at the Delta Fair

Levi, Mere muah and Morg :)

Accomplishing

So lately I've been trying to be better - better at being a friend - better at living alone - better at being crafty - better at being healthy - better at being myself - better at spirituality - ya know, all that important stuff - and I feel like I'm getting there little by little... I had a bishop my senior year at school that made a big impact on my life, whether he knew it or not, and for those two semesters he used a little saying as our ward theme and it was : "Try a little harder to be a little better" I think that I forget sometimes that things, that are worthwhile and important, take awhile to mend, to improve, to get better. I forget that its OK and normal and just a part of life. So lately, I've been trying a little harder to remember that.

I noticed that I have neglected my cute little apartment for a little too long since I moved in and started working. Everything got really busy really quickly and I pushed off some things that I really wanted to do... but then when my friends started hanging out at my place more and more I kept getting comments about how bare my walls were and so, on one of my Friday's off I tried to fix that (a little)....

My kitchen - I bought the shadow box art at Bed Bath & Beyond on sale for $4 and I got a few black frames to add my own artwork... my friends!
The other side -- Another shadow box artwork from BB&B and a few pictures (which are of course food related!) and my hanging on the left says "Dinner will be ready when the smoke alarm goes off" :)

I was very proud of myself for this one -- the key hook was heavy metal so I went to Lowe's and the kind man helped me figure out how to hang it up (without a drill) and with a little screwdriver finagling and a hammer, it came out just right. The hanging says "Remember the day's blessings, Forget the day's troubles" :)

My mantle -- I'm still looking for a mirror I love and some sconces, but until then!

and of course my attempt at a frame collage - I know they aren't exactly straight - but I measured everything and hung it all up, and by the end I was pretty worn out - I love it though and was really happy with out it turned out!

Also - I am training for a 5k right now and its 3 weeks away this Saturday! Its going great and I feel healthier than ever - some days are harder than others, and I still get out of bed everyday sore - but I know it will only get better!

The Growler

So I was just reminded of a funny story story that happened to me a few months ago, in the first few weeks that I started my job here in Memphis, and I wanted to share it, because its really too good/weird to not...

So one day, just like any of the rest here in the office, I was drinking some Diet Coke (aka LH) which subsequently caused the need to ahem, relieve myself, in the nearest restroom. Well, I made the familiar trek down the long hallway and to the ladies room. Now, here in the Memphis office at the Fed there aren't many employees, and surprisingly of those, there are very few females, and thus usually when I walk into the bathroom the lights arent on and the sensor kicks in when I open the door. This day was very different. As I opened the door, I noticed the bathroom was already lit up, therefore signifying another lady might also be accompanying me on my bathroom visit, but I still wasnt sure... and if you know me, you know that I am super jumpy and am scared very easily, so I was already a little wary... Anyways, so I opened the door wider and all a sudden I hear a door close behind the wall (where the row of toilets are) and a loud growl comes to my ears. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, a GROWL. So I stop short, still holding the door semi-open so I can make my escape if need be, when a little old lady about 5 foot 1 walks out from around the partition... and growls... again. But this time, she is looking straight at me, with her hands up by her face curled into a claw-like fashion (think: tiger) and then all a sudden bursts into laughter. Laugh-ter. Forreal. At this point, her sudden attack (yes, attack) had scared me not once, but twice, so my heart was pounding a little faster and for some reason my feet, or mouth, wouldn't move. When she notices I still hadn't moved, or recognized her existence with any sort of audible word or blink of an eye, she simply says, "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else". Like its completely normal to be growling at other people in the bathroom, but since it was me, someone she has never seen or talked to, that makes it abnormal. No, lady, its never normal and never OK and it never should happen again, sorry. So she turned around and started washing her hands and I, still not uttering a word, walk straight into a stall to escape... the Growler... which my department has now dubbed her.

When I told my boss this story at lunch that day he told me I should have barked at her. Also, I just ran into her in the bathroom 5 minutes ago and that's what reminded me of that story. Hope you enjoyed.

Drama King...

As most of you know, I am an avid football fan (please refer my blog post last season) Though pro is my forte, I don't descriminate against any others, whether college, highschool or pee-wee.. I enjoy it all... and as we are in the middle of week 3 preseason games, this time around is no different. As most of the nation (lets admit it, the world) knows, there is so much drama and shady crap that goes on in sports, and being the celeb figures they have turned into, NFL players are the drama creme of the crop. Please take for example.. Brett Favre.

He is the epitome of football, and is argueably one of the greatest players of all time. With the records for most career passing touchdowns, yards, completions and attempts (and oh yeah, interceptions...) you can't ignore the fact that football is definitely Favre's forte. But lets step back for a second, behind all his impressive records and rugged good looks (and dont even try to deny it), and please can I ask the question: What in the name of all that is holy is going through his head?!? I don't even know if John Madden could break it down into stupid terms for us, because I'm pretty sure there has been no rhyme or reason to this entire ordeal (which has lasted a painstaking year), other than the bright lights of the media. I mean I know Brett and I arent really on a first name basis and I don't know the exact reason why he's flip flopping and changing his mind every few minutes (oh wait maybe I do.. I used to do that.. when I was 15) but I do know that every football fan across the freakin globe is sick of it. There are a numberless amount of players who quit and are traded and dropped and retire throughout the entire on and off season, without as much of a blink of an eye or a wave goodbye... its football, you switch teams, you get old, you break too many bones, its freakin OK! but to go in and out of retirement 3 (4? 5?) times??! Yeah, maybe even thats ok with me. But to involve everyone else, make a freakin big deal out of Aaron Rogers taking over your spot, leaving the Jets, going back into retirement, and then going to the Vikings (a GB rival, noless) and doing it all in the shining spot light? please, spare me. Not only does it take over sportscenter for weeks at a time, but its a dissapointment. He talks like he's some down-home-Mississippi boy and turns around and pulls a fast one on you (ok multiple fast ones). I'm not ok with that.

Phew. Well now that's out in the open I can also tell you how freakin ridic (i.e. ridiculous) Plaxico Burress is. That's all there is to say about that.

And the world spins madly on....

I remember thinking about a week before I graduated "I can't wait for life to be less stressful so I can finally get some sleep and relax". It never occurred to me, 4 months down the road, I would be busier and (surprise!) more sleep deprived than I ever was during any finals week or procrastination dilemma. But it also never occurred to me, 4 months down the road, I would be moving to Memphis, TN on my own, meeting amazing new people, finding out my strengths..and way too many weaknesses, and learning how to be simply content. Though stability is a little more tangible than it was a few short months ago, things still get shaken up a bit, and I'm still adjusting a little more every day.

People ask me a lot if I like it here, if I feel like I fit in, if I wish I was somewhere else, doing something different...and sometimes I laugh at them (sometimes not the most appropriate reaction, mind you) and confess those questions have never really entered my mind. I never let myself question if this is where I belong, because I've already decided and know that it is, (I mean really, why would I come here if I didn't feel like I should?) and I never let myself focus on the bad (and believe me, there are a lot of crazies here in Memphis), because I know there is so much good and so much to look forward to, and I never allow myself to wish for something or somewhere else, because frankly I am so blessed to be here and doing something I love - why would I wish that?

So. Even though I haven't got the stress-free life I thought post-graduation brought, or a good 8-hour nights rest in weeks, or even took a Saturday afternoon to lounge by the pool... my life is pretty great. I have had a blast exploring Memphrica (as we like to call it), going on my first exam to Hartford, KY, attending my BFFs Ashley (Lund's) wedding reception, visiting my family in NC and going to the beach!!!, and just enjoying the last rays of summer.

Here is a photo log update of the last couple months... (In no particular order...)

Dancing at the Rumba Room - downtown Memphrica

The whole group - we were definitely the life of the party.

My Aunt Katy + cousins came to visit and we went down by the MS river

Cass & I at BB Kings - Beale St!

Ashley (now Lund) looked absolutely stunning and happy at the reception!! :) Jim, Mere and I at the Collective Soul/Gavin Degraw concert - Southaven, MS

me, Josh, JP and Cass at the Redbirds game - on Harry Potter night! :)

Pope's 24th birthday celebration!

4th of July waiting for fireworks on Mud Island

me + my sister = awesome

the sibs (minus christopher) - Sunset Beach, NC

attempting to skimboard again - fail again