It's the most wonderful time of the year

Pre-final article round-up time. Click the links. They are funny. And short.

Pulpo Paul was correct in predicting the Germans would beat Uruguay to take third place (3-2 final), but it was an entertaining match and the Uruguayans led for a fair portion. How Paul the Octopus ruined Germany's Cup dream.

In regard to the absurd number of handballs that have changed results this cup, what would happen if FIFA applied Sharia law. In my opinion, France would not have been in the Cup at all but for Henry's double handball to send them through over Ireland, but I don't think Suarez's handball against Ghana would be talked about still had Gyan put away his penalty instead of bouncing it off the bar. To be fair to Suarez, any other professional in his place would have done exactly as he did.

Rafael van der Vaart of the Netherlands reflects on his teammate Wesley Sneijder's success this Cup. "I suspect he (Sneijder) has a gold vuvuzela in his pants."

Finally, an article that pretty much describes why I'm supporting Spain over Holland for the final, even though I love them both. La Furia Roja, Pulpo Paul thinks you have what it takes and so do I.

vuvuzela fever

School break came just in time for the World Cup semifinals... the last day of break is the final. Spain and the Netherlands are playing for the title. Not only do I adore both teams, but there will be a new World Cup Champion. There have been only 7 winners in 18 cups. I love the World Cup. My life is consumed by soccer for 64 games of bliss. I watch it in class. I watch it in pubs. I watch it at hospital. It is my heart.

And I want a vuvuzela.

Hey look! I'm trendy!

Dear blog traffic,

If you got here by googling "Sergio Ramos," I feel that your needs could be better served by clicking the link on the right under "footy." Or just go here: Kickette.com. Stalk away, my darlings. :)

I swear I referenced a picture Sergio only once. Yoann Gourcuff is my footballer du jour. On that note, Sergio and Joan say hello. (AP)

Americana: Life in Color

I inherited my wanderlust from my parents. My dad loves to hike and explore nature for hours on end, and while my mom enjoys that, she usually leans more toward educational/historical attractions. Naturally, my family loves to roadtrip since everybody gets a little piece of their favorite activity.

Our last family roadtrip was in the summer of 2007. My mom and youngest siblings drove from Oregon to Wisconsin to collect my middle sister from school, then headed south. My dad, brother and I flew into Ohio to meet them. We drove all the way to like the third Florida Key and back to Oregon (9000 miles, if you were counting). To my family, this is not crazy. This is Adventure. Of course, if you were to ask them what it's like to travel with five of their six children, plus a friend of my sister's, they would tell you it's annoying. I'm pretty sure that's a lie, though, cuz I'm super-fun. Obviously. Especially in constricted living quarters.

Here's a few of my favorite pictures from the trip.

Hannah and Sam playing on the edge of the Cherohala Skyway in North Carolina


Imposing lady figure on some important building in Savannah, Georgia

For those of you familiar with Pirates of the Caribbean, this is my sister recreating the scene in which Tia Dalma casts the crustacean claws to divine the location of the Flying Dutchman. "A touch... of DESTINY!"

We were in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, eating bouillabaisse and other cajun delights.


A fishing pier in Ft. de Soto, Florida. My first sugar sand beach. :)

The sibs in front of a piece of the Berlin wall in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Home to the huge concrete Jesus.

I love going places. I hate being trapped in the city by nursing school. Most of the time. Nursing school is exciting. :)

This program is brought to you by caffeine and the voices in my head

I'm down to the last two weeks of my first semester of nursing school. It's my poor excuse for my lack of posting, but if you're really curious about what my life is like now, go check out my parallel universe at http://la-futbolista.blogspot.com/. I'm keeping the nursing school stuff separate for all of you who don't like blood, needles, and stories about poop and crazy people... as well as for me, because sometimes I just need a happy place.

Please excuse me while I go study my brains out.

My life is not the movies.

I watched Taken for the first time last night. It was intense, so I'm glad I didn't watch it before my trip to France last summer, and as it was, pre-departure conversations went like this:

"You're going where? Paris? OMG YOU'RE GONNA GET TAKEN!"

Not that I get into taxis with strangers. Or even take taxis, for that matter.

More ironic is the U2 European tour connection. If you've seen the movie, you know that the two girls who are taken headed to Europe to follow U2 on tour for the summer. When I was in Barcelona, we couldn't go into Camp Nou (FC Barcelona's soccer stadium) because U2 was warming up for a concert. We took some pictures with some cute Italian guys, but nothing too wild.

We traveled smart ...most of the time. We didn't get taken.