Tunesday: Asgeir Trausti

Jul 29, 2014

While in Iceland on our honeymoon, we were forced to listen to Icelandic radio in our rental car (because our silly American selves forgot an auxillary cord).
We would occaisionally hear some Sigur Ros and Of Monsters and Men but there was one song we kept hearing that tickled our fancy.
Although there wasn't a single lyric in English, the tune was quite contagious.
Somehow we managed to figure out the name of the song and the artist (I still don't quite know how we did it) and we found it on iTunes.
Nearly two years later, we still play it often.
It's kind of entertaining to hear us attempt to sing/mumble the words like we know what they mean.
Much to our surprise, the same artist, Asgeir Trausti, recently debuted an English album, under the name Asgeir.
As soon as Josh heard it on one of our favorite local radio stations he immediately yelled "this is that random Icelandic guy!"
Thanks to Shazam we realized he was right.
Josh's musical ears kind of blow my mind, and Asgeir's musical brain and voice and skillzzz blow my mind harder.

Go here to check out his newest stuff, it's quite lovely.
Go here to catch up on our Icelandic Honeymoon, in case you missed it. 

Quick breakfast for lazy people who want to attempt being healthy

Jul 23, 2014

If you are the type to hop out of bed in the morning, throw on mascara and scrubs, mayyyyyybe brush your hair, and then scramble out the door while possibly considering grabbing a protein bar for breakfast, then I've got the perfect recipe for you.
It really doesn't get lazier easier than this.
Sometimes waking up early enough to be at the hospital by 7:15 is hard work, ok?
Sleeping in that extra five minutes trumps making an omelet, or even a bowl of cereal for that matter.
My new official go-to breakfast is chia seed pudding.
I think I hear at least one health benefit of chia daily.
If you are somewhat confused and are like why the heck would I want to eat a chia pet? Then crawl out from under your rock and read this article.
It's a superfood.
They deliver the maximum amount of nutrients for minimal amount of calories.
They are high in protein, fiber (you get more full faster and stay full longer), and antioxidants (sayonara free radicals, cancer, and aging!)
Their Omega-3 content is unmatched (It has eight times more than salmon!)
They have five times more calcium than milk and seven times more vitamin C than oranges.
They also contain three times more iron than spinach and twice the potassium content of banana.
They have a positive impact balancing blood glucose levels, which is particularly wonderful for a Type 1 Diabetic I know...
I think my most favorite thing about chia seeds are the fact that upon contact with liquid they morph into little gooey gel balls.
Very reminiscent of my favorite 90's drink, Orbitz.

Chia seed pudding is ridiculously easy to make.
Just combine a little less than 1 cup of milk (unsweetened coconut almond milk for me) with two tablespoons of chia seeds, then stir, and let it sit overnight in the fridge.
If you sometimes forget to let it sit overnight in the fridge then that's ok, you can probably refrigerate it for 15-30 minutes in the morning and still be ok.
Stir it all up and separate the gloops that formed then add any flavoring or sweetener you would like. Vanilla, honey, agave, and maple syrup all work perfectly.
Lately I've been topping it off with fresh blueberries and toasted coconut and I can't get enough of it.
I legitimately get sad when I take the last bite.
Who cares if I didn't have time to brush my hair orrrrrr run two miles today?
I had chia seeds for breakfast! 

Tunesday: Bon Iver "Heavenly Father"

Jul 21, 2014

It's hard to beat a song written by Justin Vernon and Co. for Zach Braff's newest movie (which he wrote, directed, and is starring in)

P.S. Remember that time Bon Iver said they were done making music?
Lies.

Canyoning in Interlaken, Switzerland

Jul 17, 2014

Our pre-Europe research told us that Interlaken was the adventure capital of Europe.
It failed to mention that Interlaken was jam-packed with college kids and Americans.
We didn't mind. 
That meant English speaking people and that beer was nearby.
We were told, multiple times, by friends who had traveled to Switzerland that the main thing we must do is go canyoning.
What is canyoning?
Jumping, rappelling, sliding, and ziplining (and falling, in my case) down a canyon in the mountains.
Supposedly, Interlaken is one of the only places in the world that canyoning is legal.
Sounds like a blast right?
After that fun fact plus some extensive YouTube research I was like hayyyellllll no.
. . . but I couldn't go to Interlaken and not do the "thing to do" right?
Here's a recap video of one of the greatest experiences of our lives.

We woke up early to catch the bus for about an hour drive into the mountains.
Some people slept the entire ride (coughjoshcough) but the views were incredible.
All the quaint little mountain towns and waterfalls along the way will definitely stay engrained in my memory for a while.
We made it to our destination and donned our wetsuits, harnesses, and helmets.
Safety first, duh.
Oh, the helmets.
About that.
You are randomly assigned helmets and given a "nickname" to save the guides the trouble of having to remember your name.
I guess John Deere was somewhat an appropriate nickname for a north Louisiana mildly redneck gal.
This view though.
Josh was able to attach his GoPro to his helmet (so I apologize in advance for the excessive photos of yours truly)
To start off the "adventure" we attached ourselves to some seemingly stable guardrails and rappelled down a 150ft cliff.
The guides were pretty particular about where to jump and how to jump for each portion of the canyon.
It kindaaaaa stressed me out. 
Like "jump to the left, avoid that rock right there, then do a toe touch and the YMCA at the same time"
So many rules.
Stan, our guide, was giving us the option of climbing higher to do a 30-40 feet jump or staying where we were to do a 15-20 feet jump.
Honestly, I don't remember the heights, they were speaking in metric system talk and I didn't have a converter on me.
Basically, Josh did the terrifying super high jump and I wussed out and did the baby jump.
All the other girls did too, I couldn't embarrass them leave them hanging.
Somehow I managed to land wrong, again, and I paid for it.
Well, my butt paid for it. 
This was the hardest jump.
It felt like we were jumping into a narrow 5 foot wide gully, but Stan told us to jump then turn a 45 degree angle and kick your feet back upstream, meanwhile avoiding this large sharp rocking jutting out in the middle that could potentially murder you.
The butt slides were my fav.
Sometimes, after being submerged, the water was so cold it literally gave me brain freeze and made my scalp tingle.
Glacier runoff water is the devil.
The final jump of the canyon was a zipline (which required your numb, frozen by glacier runoff water hands to cling to).
Stan would tie a fancy knot, send you on your way, then yell LET GOOOOO and you would release yourself into the ice cube infested water below. 
It was so fun (yet so darn scary trusting your numb hands to support yourself).
We finished off the day with a few more slides (and a few more falls on my part).
I definitely won the award for doing every single thing with the most awkward form.
WE SURVIVED!


We returned to the site, changed into dry clothes, and then our life peak peaked even higher.
The guides sliced fresh bread and gruyere cheese for THE MOST MAGNIFICENT SANDWICHES OF ALL TIME plus beer.
Beer!
They gave us beer (and let us drink the leftover beer on the bus on the ride back)
Happiest campers of all time.


We booked our trip through the company Outdoor Interlaken.
We highly recommend using them for all of your Interlaken activities.
They offered so many great packages and the guides were top-notch.
. . . but the beer! 
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