Emma’s Fantabulous Blog

I’m back from Iceland! It was great! I’m sore from lots of strenuous activities, as well as sun and wind burnt, and I’m still massively under slept. But I had a really amazing time. My 2 favorite activities were hiking into snowy mountains to find a hot springs that we then bathed in (this tour), and riding Icelandic  horses though a beautiful area (with this company).

Some of my favorite photos:

Check out my entire gallery of photos here.

I went with Devon and my friends Kate, Dan and David. We did lots of stuff… Which normally I would sum up, but Devon already did a great job at it on his blog… Check out:

What we did – Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.   Also see his impressions of Iceland, Impressions of our hotel and his photos.

I had a great time and I recommend the trip for anyone who would like a more active vacation, and doesn’t mind being cold all of the time. I certainly would like to return to soak in the Blue Lagoon some more.

British Lemur’s Big Announcement

Attention all.

Inspired by watching BBC World for the entire week that he spent in Iceland, the Lemur has had a revelation. (He also acquired a new accent and became fascinated with the British pronunciation of “coordinating”.) The lemur now has an announcement that he would like to share with the world.

Vampires at Boston Latin High School – Fox 25

Yeah. This is my alma matter. I feel like the standards and quality have gone WAYYYY down since I was there.

“Students say that they would like to be recognized for their grades and not their vampires.” Seriously guys? Why is this even getting coverage in the media? Also, how is the reporter keeping a straight face?!?

Extreme Sheep LED Art

OMG! This is sooo amazing! I totally want Bandit (Devon’s Dad’s border collie) to do this!

Blue Lagoon Iceland 2

Originally uploaded by Diamanx

Yeay! It has finally come! We leave for Iceland tonight with 3 of my friends! I’m so excited! We have lots of fun things… Trips to the Blue Lagoon (as seen in the picture), a hiking tour, a visit to an area with lots of volcanic vents & waterfalls, a ride on Icelandic horses to find magical creatures, and of course the must-see & do Runtur Pub Crawl! It should be tons of fun. Hopefully everyone won’t be too hungover to catch our flight the next day.

I’m totally looking forward to floating in those thermal pools. They look AMAZING. I have hiking boots, a warm water proof jacket, a swim suit and my passport. I am totally good to go…

Actually not really. I haven’t started packing and I have about 10 things on my “Must-DO Before Leaving” list. So I should probably get off my duff and get ready.

So, See you later! Or rather: Sjáumst síðar!

Honey Bee on Aster laevis

Originally uploaded by Tie Guy II

I’m very happy to live in a world where Devon can barter his madd inter-website skills for steady supplies of honey. Bartering is pretty awesome. Take money out of the equation, and each party gets exactly what they want/need. Website for them, honey for us. How awesome!

Plus honey, direct from the beekeepers! I can only imagine how delish it will taste!

After being woken up last night at midnight, 5am and 7am by my parent’s dog that we’re babysitting, I was very concerned that today was going to be a rough day. Other than being totally exhausted to begin with (additionally the ruppy had a similar schedule the night before), the day has turned into a mah-valous day of indoor snuggles while peering out at the winter wonderland outside.

I got some house cleaning done earlier, and now I’m curled up on my “diva” lounge chair with the ruppy, warming our toes in front of a nice roaring fire. Outside it’s cold & wet, but there are beautiful big fluffy snowflakes to admire & we have no reason to leave the house today. Man, I love the end result of planning weekly menus! Bundle up & stay warm kids!

It’s been a while since I’ve written a book review. Probably since most of my recent reads have been trashy romance… erm… I mean “historical-romance novels”. But as of late, I discovered my local library’s graphic novel section… So I picked up a few, and a couple were really good.

My fav thus far: Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea, by Guy Delisle.

Guy Delisle is an animator who has traveled to many countries through his work…. Helping direct & manage jobs that get outsourced to other countries where its cheaper to employ animators. His graphic novel Pyongyang is about the time that he spent working in North Korea. It’s really faciniating. You rarely hear such indepth reporting from outsiders about what life is like in Korea. Its especially interesting in graphic novel form, since outsiders are forbidden from photographing so many things, Guy had a great advantage as an illustrator, being able to depict his experiences.

His experience with the locals there is surprising, although not entirely unexpected. How there is no opposition to the regime, and how noone ever says anything against their country. The idea of that is just so foreign to me. It’s something I love about the US.  While I have many issues with how many things are handled in my country, I just can’t even imagine such total domination over a country’s population.  The book Pyongyang made everything seem just so “1984“.

In general, I recommend all people to check this book out. It’s very thought provoking to say the very least, and it certainly makes me want to learn more about North Korea’s history and the US’s relationship with them. The book is available at Amazon.com, or see if you can borrow it at your local library.