How sweet it is

It has been about a month since I've been back in Bloomington and the feelings of fall have just started to settle in - the sun is setting a little earlier each day, the leaves are contemplating changing their color and my roommate Rachel is pumped about lighting her fall-time Pumpkin Spice candle. Yes, fall is most certainly in the air :)

My classes have been really great thus far. For my Fo

od Literature class, we visited the Bloomington Farmers' Market where I bought some delicious eggplant, apples and perfectly red grape-tomatoes. It was fun to see the community selling their goods and choosing with care the foods to set on their family table for their Saturday family meal. When my professor read my write-up for the assignment, she said my foodie voice came through so passionately that I should consider submitting my work to a food blogging website! Who knows, maybe I can work my love of food and writing into a lucrative side job :)

My roommates and I have enjoyed doing a little cooking of our own as well. This is a picture from our Mexican inspired weekend - stuffed bell peppers. They were extremely tasty and so easy to make. I had a lot of fun tweaking around with a recipe I found online - adding cumin and honey so give it more flare. I've also tried my hand at making a few soups, which have satisfied my cravings for eating fresh vegetables for sure. For anyone that wants a new recipe, just ask, I'm loaded now.

That's a quick update for now. Classes and rowing are going well and I'm realizing that I need to make sure that I'm keeping in check with myself and doing what's best for me - so with the changing of the leaves will come some good changes in my life - I feel the relief already!

Sending a big hug to everyone back home!

Take care,

Taylor

Back in Bloomington

Hi everyone!

Being back in Bloomington has to no surprise, reassured me that Bloomington is truly a home away from home. After a week long road trip across the country with Tamara, stopping in Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Ft. Smith, arriving in Indiana completed a laugh filled and successful first road trip. I can definitely say that I'm excited to return to Las Vegas for my 21st birthday and that I can't wait to head back to Ft. Smith for more time with my southern family :)

I am now completely moved into my apartment - living with 3 of my closest friends at IU, and we're only a block and a half off of campus - an ideal location for being close enough to classes and still having a neighborhood feel. Today, we had our first waffle Sunday, a plan in the making ever since last Christmas. Our place smells of waffles and fresh fruit and all of us are thoroughly stoked about being able to cook our own meals this year. Other than the smell of a home cooked meal, our place is constantly buzzing and we completed our living room decor with some excellent 70's inspired couches - looks aside, they are quite comfortable.

This week I have been busy with on-campus recruiting for the rowing team. As a co-captain this year, I have a lot of involvement with team happenings - practices, meetings, being a liaison between the rowers and the coaches, etc. It's been fun (an a little exhausting :)) to get tall, unsuspecting girls on campus, (like me last year!) excited about rowing and possibly joining the team. I've seen some girls multiple times and most have assured me they're coming to check out the call-out meeting next week. Our first team practice is tomorrow and on Tuesday we'll be out on the lake!

Classes also begin tomorrow and I've already packed my bag with books for my first day. As nerdy as this may sound, I love cracking open a new textbook and meeting my professors and fellow class mates. Tomorrow's classes are reporting and editing in Journalism and Spanish. My other classes this semester include micro-economics, a literature/intensive writing course about food (how perfect!!) and a literature class on works from the 1900's to the present (a class with a professor I truly admire).

I'm off to gather up my first load of laundry from downstairs (the first of many, many loads) and then to the athlete sports compliance meeting. After that, my roomies and I are going to look at some shoes and then head on over to the athlete pool party! May the best cannon ball win!

I'll be sure to update with some pictures from the end of the summer in Portland as well as some picks from the beginning of the school year here in Bloomington.

Wishing everyone a great Sunday and sending you all of my love!

Greece Update!

Hi everyone! Tamara and I compiled some of our favorite memories from our journey through Greece - lots of laughs as we recounted some of our stories :)

Be sure to check out her blog at goofygirltlc.blogspot.com to see what we've been up to!

Off to Germany and Austria tomorrow!
With love,
Taylor

Crete = BEAUTIFUL!

I realize that it has been a few days since I have last blogged about our exciting journey through Greece, but that is only because we have been so busy enjoying ourselves! Trust me, there has been no shortage of good times as we have continued from Athens to Greece's largest island, Crete. Crete is unlike anything I have ever seen - its beauty is truly insurmountable. Today, we headed over to one of the many beaches for some time in the sun and the Aegean sea!

As you can tell, the water here is a gorgeous aqaumarine shade and the sunshine here seems endless.

First stop Athens - second stop Crete ... Santorini ... here we come!

We never miss a beat

My last post left off with right before our second dinner adventure in the old Plaka district of Athens - a search for great food (check) and good company (double check). As you have read in Tamara's blog, our evenings seem to get better and better each night as we make new friends and keep up our relationships with those we have seen before. We have now established ourselves at one particular restaurant, which translates to something like Taverna Acropolis, where we sip drinks, listen to music and keep up with plenty of conversation with our waiter friends (two cute ones in particular :)) and those near by who care to talk. Last night we felt even more like locals as we chatted away into the night until 2 am. Past our bedtime? Oh well!

Our second full day in Athens started with a visit to Athen's Central Market off Athinas Street where lines of butchers sell their daily goods. Upon entering, the men all started shouting, so naturally, I took this as a warning that we were'nt supposed to be in there. I was startled, but soon realized that it was just their version of, how do I say, "hooting and hollering" at us :) The visit ended with a close encounter with a butcher - lol ... which almost resulted in Tamara almost slapping the man for his up close and personal actions with me. We ended up having a good laugh afterwards.

We then made our way to the National Archeological Museum where pieces like the Gold Mask of Agamemnon were on display. The artifacts were preserved with amazing care and the museum really took the time to explain the history and historical context that went along with the pieces on display. The rest of the museum is filled with scupltures and statues that served as grave markers of famous and "average" citizens. We were both blown away with the perfection and idillic qualities that the art embodied. At the end of our visit, we both agreed that the museum is a must see visit while in Athens.

Throughout the museum there were many gold pieces on display. Tamara and I both thought we might be deserving of some of the beatiful pieces of jewelry :)

Tamara kept telling me that I needed to look away from all of the nudity. As you can tell from this picture, it was a very hard task for me to accomplish as I grit my teeth to keep myself from looking at those perfectly polished butt-cheeks :)

After the musuem, I headed out to the English Gardens next to the Parliment building for a great run through the park where I saw many mothers walking with their children and an abundance of different types of flowers and trees. The rest of the afternoon was spent people watching a enjoying one of the local town squares that seem to be dripping with history. As far as our experience in Athens goes, let me tell you ... there is no shortage of fun here!

I'm already falling in love ...

As you have already read from Tamara’s blog, our first night in Athens truly made an impression on us. Walking through the old Plaka district under the towering Acropolis as we strolled through the narrow cobblestone streets has only further convinced me that living in a place full of immense historical character and a close community is something that ranks at the top of my list. Our first night in Athens began with a gaggle of oh so complimentary waiters … not that I mind :) - and our first full day was filled with an extensive history of Athens as we visited the temple of Zeus, the Panathenian stadium, the Acropolis and the temple of Poseidon. I think it’s safe to say that we took on our photographer roles with complete seriousness – trust me, there will be many pictures to share upon our arrival back to the states.

This morning, our day started with a tour of the city of Athens, guided by an enchanting woman named Sophia who is an archeologist and has taught at the University of Athens for 32 years. She was a huge wealth of knowledge on anything and everything Greek.

One of our stops was the Panathenian stadium where the archery events for the 2004 Olympics took place. The stadium, made entirely from white marble, holds 60,000 people. We decided to take a quick power shot… the first of MANY on our first day.

As we ascended the Acropolis, the view was absolutely breathtaking! It seemed as if we were floating on a cloud high above Athens … making us feel as if we were perched above the city like the Greek gods – okay, now I’m getting a big head :)

I think this day will go down as a day where the pictures in my history books finally came alive … a day when I could identify the Doric, Ionian and Corinthian columns that stretched upwards towards the sky. Well, all of this history has truly made me hungry – but that shouldn’t surprise any of you, seeing as how one of my favorite things to do it eat! Off to find some of those becoming young waiters! Make sure to check out Tamara’s blog (http://goofygirltlc.blogspot.com) for her perspective and notes on the day as well!

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