Recaps and Highlights!

I've been a bbbaaaaaaddd blogger! Sowwies!
I'm on vacation/have been completely absorbed by family in the land of San Diego...oops!


Our flight from Seattle to San Diego was straight out of a horror story, and one of the worst traveling experiences ever, almost as bad as our crazy trip to D.C. but I guess it all turned out okay in the end (I don't feel like re-telling it now, maybe some other time, haha)


But anyway, here's a quick recap of my Christmas...


Dec. 24, 2009 Christmas Eve:
9am Breakfast made by Chris (my brother-in-law) Esh...homestyle potatoes, poached eggs, & english muffins [dddeeelliiiccciiiooouuussss!]

12pm Lunch at Chilies with Kyle's grand-pa, mommy, Kaleb, Uncle Steve, Trevor, & Trevor's friend

2pm Last minute shopping at Mission Valley

4pm Early dinner at Kyle's Auntie B's house with B, Uncle Bob, the cousins & girlfriends, mommy & brother

6pm Dinner with my family at my parent's house, followed by playing the Wii and wrapping presents

12am Midnight Mass, and then home again to sleep!



December 25th, 2009 Christmas Day:
9am Kyle's Mom's house for present opening! [She got me a lovely ivory sweater and some pretty black earrings, in addition to the mass amounts of candy in the little stocking she got me, and some fuzzy socks from his grandma!]

12pm Back to my house for more present opening! [I got lots of long sleeve shirts, sweaters, a jacket, an ansel adams book, a necklace, oh, and a DSLR (!!!!! I know, right?!) from Kyle!!]

4pm Early Dinner at Kyle's Grandmother's house with Uncle Dean & his sons, Kyle's mommy & Kaleb, and of course Roy.

5pm Dinner at the Esh house (Chris' family) for the rest of the night.

---------------------
So basically, Christmas was spent running around, haha, hectic but fun. :)


Some other highlights:
Seeing Sarah Dozier the first Friday we were in SD :) I didn't get to see her for an extraordinary long time, just a few hours, but it was so very well worth it! We made bread sticks for lunch and caught up on life, which was wonderful!

Seeing Claire Friday night :) She had crazy stories from England, we even got to Skype with her BF which was nice! We played some games, Michael was also there, he even watched us play a round of beer pong (we lost horribly to Team Matt(s) because they...they're...just too good...) It was a fun little get-together :)

Helping my mom build the guest bed was fun (hah) it was last Sunday when the Chargers were playing, so in order to avoid traffic, we went to the Costco by Grossmont Center...but they didn't have the mattress in the right size! So we ended up driving to the Mission Valley one, and making it JUST in time! They literally shut the front door as my mom ran in at 5:59pm. Later that night we went to Sipz with Sondra, hehe :D

Dinner at Sultan Banoo ...great Persian food in University Heights! nom nom nom!

Playing with my DSLR! I've been taking amazing pictures :D

Watching Avatar! The movie was amazing, we saw it in 3-D and made it JUST in time! Highly Recommended!

Family Game Night was also fun! We played Scattergories! Haha...my family's a little too competitive, but we all had fun in the end :)

Avoidance

 I am avoiding studying for my finals...luckily there are only 2 left...unluckily, I lack the motivation to crack open the books and try to learn. Sigh...this always happens, I enjoy learning, and I usually like my classes, however, the last week or two is just dreadful because I'm so full to the brim with stuff I've learned, and it's at this point my apathy and impatience kicks in. 

I'd rather just eat my home made cookies and watch Christmas movies.

On the same note of avoidance, I'm awfully indecisive about what to get Kyle for Christmas...I've got a few present ideas, two of them that I'm really between...one of them being ridiculous/funny/kind of a joke/practical...and the other being something he's mentioned he likes/would want/useful/I think he'd really enjoy having. Sigh...or I could just get him a bunch of small things, there are a handful of movies I know he'd enjoy having...or I could get him a signed copy of a first edition book by his favorite author. There are endless possibilities! The worst part being that he's the person who's opinion I rely on on a daily basis! I just want to ask him what he'd rather me get him, because in the end, I just want to make him happy! Sigh...

Aside from this being the most stressful of the presents I'm thinking about getting people...I've still got quite a bit of shopping to do...and I guess I'm just going to have to do that when I get into San Diego, I'm not really sure how we're going to pack all the presents we've already gotten plus clothes! haha...The bright side is I bought a few things online, and just had them shipped to my parent's house :)

I really can't wait to be back in San Diego! All my best friends will be home, and it's been forever since I've seen the extra important ones (Sarah!! Claire! Sanya!) so I will be tackling them the second I get a chance! I love the holiday season! And spending time with all the people I care about! :) Linda and Chris are managing to make it down for Christmas after all, so I'm incredibly excited to see them too! (The slight downside being that the only reason they're coming down is because Linda doesn't have to work the day after Christmas because she lost her job...however, she hated her boss and has been planning on leaving for quite some time now! So good for her! Now she can find a job she really enjoys where they really appreciate her!)

I've fallen into a weird sleeping pattern, slightly off than my normal sleeping pattern...it's kind of weird/upsetting...the problem, I think, is that for the past 2 weeks or so I've had coffee everyday because we bought awesome cinnamon bun dairy free creamer (which I'm addicted to)...but the past few days I've been too lazy to make coffee, so I think I'm a little out of sync. Sigh...anyway, I should try to sleep. Today is Kyle and I's 18 month anniversary, lol, so I'm going to surprise him with a nice dinner, and a little present :)

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of margarine (or butter)

1 cup of peanut butter (I did half chunky half creamy)

1 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup of white sugar

2 eggs (or the equivalent in egg replacers) 

2 tablespoons water

2-3 tablespoons soymilk or milk

2 teaspoons of vanilla

1 cup of flour 

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

chocolate chips (i didn't measure, I just eyeballed it)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the water, soymilk, and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Add chocolate chips. Drop the 
3. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Baby It's Cold Outside...

BBrrrr...it's been record lows the past few days up here in the Emerald City. There's ice on the ground, and a snow storm heading towards us this weekend!

It's a good thing our heater doesn't work...oh wait. hah, sigh...on the bright side, if we close the bathroom door&bedroom door, the central part of our apartment stays a lot warmer! The downside being going to the bathroom is like going to the bathroom in your refrigerator. And we've been avoiding the arctic circle (the bedroom) and sleeping out here on the sofa bed because it's warm from us sitting on it all day, and this is where the warm blankets are.

I think I'm going to bake cookies to warm up the house and add a bit of delicious joy into our lives, hehe! :) I've been bent on baking ever since some neighbors came and borrowed some flour & sugar from us yesterday...Kyle answered the door in pink flannel PJs (hahaha, his pjs were dirty, so I let him borrow mine) they were 2 teenage girls, hahaha :D don't tell him I told you about that...but anyway, I'm going to go bake up a storm! I'll post pictures of the creations later :)

Getting into the Holiday Spirit!

We bought our little Christmas tree on Sunday and got it all dolled up in ornaments and bows...and our initial ornaments at the top :)

It's really been feeling like winter-time up here! It's been in/around 20-30 degrees the past few days...and on our walk to the grocery store this morning, there was frost on the grass and all the puddles were frozen! It is chilly!! Brrr...

But we keep warm, drinking warm apple cider, hot teas, silk nog, and coffee [with holiday flavored creamers like cinnamon bun & carmel apple & peppermint] :)

We went Christmas shopping yesterday, and I bought a few gifts! Today I sent out some holiday cards to friends and family :)

I love this season!

Jamie Bean and Drew Drop

I didn't mention an important part of my trip to San Diego in my other post, so here's a little secret for you: there are two little boys who stole my heart well over a year ago, and still have a giant hunk of it to this day...the secret is that I hope they keep it forever.


Jamie Bean and Drew Drop I call them affectionately...they are the most darling, trouble-making, intelligent little boys I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I hope we'll always stay friends...and to be quite honest, being around them makes me want to have baby boys...though I know I'd love baby girls too...haha.

Though their professions change often, last time I saw them, they were mutants, they are now currently spies, well, Drew was a cowboy spy...they'll always be my 'lil monsters :)

In need of Inspiration

I'm currently suffering from a lack of inspiration. I don't really know what triggered it, but I just realized that I am quite restless. I need to do something...make something...feel something. But I don't know what.

I'm just aimlessly wandering around in an empty room, and I don't know how long I've been here.
I think the remedy is going out and stretching my legs...it's a nice sunny day out, though still a bit chilly, 32 degrees or so. 


Maybe what I need is snow!

I know the mountains are full of snow right now...wouldn't that be refreshing? That sounds nice, doesn't it? A day in the snow :)


I just need to get out of this funk. It drifts in and out of my days, and I can't pin point it's source. I'm happy with where I live, who I'm living with (who I love dearly!)...what I eat...I think it's what I do to be honest. This whole not working thing/lack of productivity is really getting to me. I actually look forward to doing work for school...or cleaning! Sigh. I guess that's the problem. Trying to find a job while having made promises to go home for the holidays is tough work. No one wants someone who immediately wants loads of time off...especially because most people are hiring FOR the holidays! I'll feel better once I have work to do :)



Maybe I'll busy myself with a bit of creativity... but for that I need to buy a hot glue gun! And some string...

I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane

I'm currently flying through the skies at an altitude of 38014 feet with 411 miles to travel. I hate to sound like an ad, but I am currently loving Virgin America Airline. Their free wifi and interactive built-in screens is way too cool. Our flight from San Diego to San Francisco was a couple of episodes of South Park and some snippets of CNN during commercials. The seats are comfortable, the lights are blue/purple which provide enough light to see and aren't over bearing. I like this. Now if only they served a snack of some sort, they'd be perfect! Peanuts, Pretzels, I don't really care, just something to munch on...


I'm currently over stuffed, so I don't really mind, my stomach actually kind of hurts, but it might just be the food baby kicking :/ I had an egg salad sandwhich and some hummus and pita for dinner, and half of a giant chocolate chip cookie for dessert. I am stuffed to the brim!


On the bright side, I stumbled across the 500 days of Summer soundtrack, and found out that She & Him cover "Please, Please, Please Let me Get What I Want" and it's very well done: Zooey's voice is pleasant, the guitars and music are well done! :) It made me smile quite a bit, and reminded me of Sanya, who I unfortunately didn't see during this break :( However, we've made plans to reunite over Winter break, which is good, 'cause I miss that little Cambodian!


So, I've been a bad blogger because we've been in San Diego the past few days, and quite busy! Our Thanksgivings were good (for the most part)! I made 2 delicious Vegetable Pot Pies, one as a contribution to Kyle's Mom's Thanksgiving, and the other to my Mom's! We went over to Kyle's relatively early, though we might have been 30 minutes late...maybe. This is the first Thanksgiving that I realized that most other families have Thanksgiving pretty early, my family, however, is lucky if we eat around 6pm! Though the norm is around 8pm! We saw relatives from both of our families, and there was a lot of Wii playing, as well as a lot of the same questions. "How's Seattle?!" "Do you like it?" "Does it rain a lot?" "Do you have jobs yet?" "How's school going?" I should have thought ahead and made note cards with the frequently asked questions and their answers and passed them around the table! haha :)

Beautiful

In the Still of the Night
As I gaze from my window
At the moon in its flight
My thoughts all stray to you

In the still of the night
All the world is in slumber
All the times without number
Darling when I say to you

Do you love me, as I love you
Are you my life to be, my dream come true
Or will this dream of mine fade out of sight
Like the moon growing dim, on the rim of the hill
In the chill, still, of the night

Like the moon growing dim, on the rim of the hill
In the chill, still, of the night 

(As sung by Jo Stafford. Such a lovely voice, they don't make 'em like that anymore...)

The City Sleeps, But I Do Not...

I am back in the lovely San Diego, lying on the guest bed in the office.

Kyle & I stayed up all night last night to insure we made it on time for our flight, so after the excitement/adrenaline of running around airports wore off, and after having a filling brunch at The Big Kitchen (thanks Mommy!) the second we had a little bit of down time (we were making plans to go to the movies...) we totally passed out...for about 6 hours. Around 10pm, I stifled tears because I had missed Gossip Girl, had a mini-heart attack because I thought I still had papers to finish, and then relaxed because I realized it was all okay. My Mom had made a lentil soup & cornbread muffins, along with my favorite oven roasted rosemary potatoes (how do I survive without her?) for dinner, which she had kept on the stove warm for us :) Oh love I love her!

After eating and chatting some more, my parents and Sahar went to sleep. Kyle had missed a billion calls from his friends while we were sleeping, so he went out to spend time with them. I was too tired for any social interactions, but not quite sleepy, so I hung out with Omied until about 5 mins ago when I realized that he hadn't napped for hours and was tired, so I told him I was going to bed, and here I am, alone with my thoughts. The city sleeps, but I do not.

La-Dee-Dah

My stomach feels better today, my heart feels better today, I feel better today!


I've been nom-ing on crackers & white rice...drinking vitamin water...and my digestive system is a little less hateful. There's a bunch of school work that needs to be done, but it's not due until tomorrow/Monday, so I still have sometime to relax...at least a little bit. I picked my classes for the winter quarter, I'm taking Human Sexuality, Physical Geology w/lab, and Environmental Issues & Problems...woo hoo...

As next week approaches, it's definitely easier to just relax a bit, and simply look forward to seeing family/friends. Hopefully my shoes will get here a day early (they're arriving a day after we leave, which I didn't foresee as a problem, otherwise I would've had them shipped to SD!) so that's quite disappointing, I was looking forward to dancing around in them :/ and now they'll just sit and wait for me...poor things...especially because they've had quite a journey (I've been tracking them, haha). We're making an early payment on rent this month because we're coming back at an awkward time...and then once we're home, we get to spend a bum load on the rest of our bills! The joys of being a poor college student!

In other news, I used some left-over spaghetti sauce, threw in mushrooms, spinach, and zucchini, and turned it into lasagna :) I know, I'm quite amazing...I would've photographed it...but it's all gone, whoops!

I also watched 3 episodes of the Atheism Tapes (oh how I love BBC) and found it quite intriguing. Arthur Miller was my favorite interview, but it could be just because he's one of my favorite American playwrights, haha :) he also gets life-time brownie points for marrying Marylin Monroe, haha


As far as recent movie watching, last night I watched SLC Punk, and it was really good, sad and beautiful. Tonight, I'm watching Brick again, the first time I saw it I liked it, and I'm looking forward to watching it again :)


Goodnight, World!

Oh for Pete's Sake...

So, I have a gastrointestinal infection. Isn't that dandy?

Last night I had a crazy fever/chills/goosebumps/light headedness/blurred vision, not to mention my stomach felt like it was imploding.

It was quite the show, tears, flopping around, rapid heartbeat, totally incapable of breathing correctly, nausea. While falling towards the bed I managed to only have make it and now I have a ginormous disgusting blue/purple bruise on my thigh from slamming into the bed frame. It's quite disgusting looking, and I now have a slight limp because it hurts quite horrible when I walk.

Welcome to my personal hell.

Oh, did I mention that I have cramps because my Uterus has recently expelled a useless egg out into the world and it's withering away?

I felt like crap. If Kyle wasn't there making me herbal tea, drawing me a warm bath, and overall being amazing, I don't know what I would've done.

I was quite certain I was dying last night, but after a horrid episode of diarrhea, I eventually passed out, mostly from sheer exhaustion of pain. I awoke and felt a little better, the end of the world was not as close as I had thought, and carried on my merry way.

Today I awoke to find that my body still hated me, so I went browsing online trying to see what the hell is wrong with me. Of course I hate doing that, the internet is a scary place diagnosing horrible things. But my stomach was still relentless in it's attempt to kill me, so I decided I should at least call an advice nurse and figure out what I should do. There are no Kaiser's in WA, so with my luck, I spent an hour online trying to figure out what to do...then I gave up and called my mommy. Poor dear was awfully worried, which is why I didn't want to call her. Luckily, she's also incredibly helpful, and gave me some phone numbers. After numerous calls, and talking to an advice nurse, I'm told I should go into Urgent care.

So then I begin my journey of more phone calls, just to draw one simple conclusion: any Group Health facility will see me because they're a sister branch of Kaiser! Ta-dah! 

Shortly after, Kyle and I find ourselves in a strange, strange hospital...okay, it wasn't that bad, but we couldn't figure out how to get to Urgent care from the entrance we came in through the parking garage (wtf, right? it's called Urgent for a reason!) After wandering the hospital for a bit, we run into a kind nurse who points us in the right direction. We check in, go in, and we're soon out. I've been diagnosed with my little infection and all the doc had to say was good luck, you'll probably feel better soon! Eat plain foods, white rice, saltine crackers, lots of fluids, and eventually your body will just stop feeling like shit.

Sigh. I'm exhausted.  :(

Happy Camper Thoughts

These days, I'm quite a happy camper! This past weekend was spent hanging out/bonding with a new friend named Toni...she lives about an hour south from us in Tacoma on a beautiful ranch with horses and doggies! We ate mass amounts of food, drove back to our place and watched movies galore until we passed out :) On our trip back to Tacoma, we stopped and ate at Sonic's...all in all, quite an enjoyable weekend! It was nice hanging out with someone, haha.

Speaking of which, a week from today, we'll be in San Diego for Thanksgiving! It'll be fun! I've got a reunion girls day planned on the 24th with Jamala & Chrissy! Michael's dragging me and Nicole to see This is It with him on one of those other days *sigh* lol. Thanksgiving will be delicious and fun (I'm planning on making my infamous vegan vegetable pot pie!) and then the day after Thanksgiving we shall party-hardy!

I'm planning on making skittles flavored vodka while I'm home too, hehe! It looks easy enough, and it's the ideal time to make it...Kyle & I don't spend a lot of...well...any time drinking while we're up here, haha, and I found these instructions online earlier, and I'm dying to try it out! Plus, it'll be fun to bring to the party :) Though, it is a beer pong party...oh well, I can guarantee you that the girls will be excited to see it! hehehe

We're currently in the midst of trying to pick out classes for winter quarter...and...it's kind of bleh...I'm all done with school for now, haha. But what must be done, must be done! Thus is life...

This might sound a bit odd, and it could be my uterus being melodramatic, but I'm currently reading The Time Traveler's Wife, and I've grown a little too attached to the characters. I'm completely enamored with their story, and I find that I relate to it a little too well. I could feel my heart strings quiver and shake at every one of their painful struggles, mostly all the miscarriages. It's absolutely ridiculous for me to worry about something like that, but to be honest, I don't know if I could personally withstand such heartbreak and sadness. I was on the brink of tears contemplating it, and I don't know how people find the strength to try so many times. In the story, the go through six miscarriages...it nearly destroys them. I know that sadly, it's not an uncommon thing, and not to take my mother too seriously because she tends to blame any health problem to be a cause of my vegetarianism, but I had a cousin who had many miscarriages because she was vegan, and eventually she had to give up her veganism in order to have children. I wonder if that makes me more at risk. I know I should trouble myself with such things, but I can't help it. The majority of the time, I'm secretly enthralled at the thought of being a mother and let myself fantasize about how amazing it will be. But what if it's not amazing? What if I never have children? Oh, I can't bear that thought. So I'll leave it there. Maybe since I typed it out it won't haunt me as much? Sigh...I'm such a worry wort. I can't help it...I kind of wish I could.

I entitle this entry as "Happy Camper Thoughts" and here I am bringing myself down...so as to end this bit of darkness, I'll leave it at that. I am quite happy right now, and that's what is important.

Pirates and other Thoughts.

We went to a pre-screening of Pirate Radio last night (check the previous post about how we won tickets if you're curious) and it was fantastic. Sure I hated some characters, but I love(d) Philip Seymour Hoffman...he's a great actor, and the movie wouldn't have been the same without him. The movie does make me a little restless though...I loved the music, and I loved the style, perhaps I was born a little too late? I definitely feel that way sometimes.

Anyway, to appease me current desires, I will buy these shoes on Tuesday:

 

Aren't they just adorable?

I'm so incredibly excited for them because they're exactly what I've been looking for/reasonably priced, and they've been on my lifetime to buy list for so long! I'll wear them everyday!

I know what you're thinking...why Tuesday? Well, I'm buying them from Mod Cloth, and they offer 12% off on Tuesdays, so I'll get them a teensy bit cheaper :)

I haven't bought anything apparel wise in the longest time (aside from an undie splurge at Forever 21...but they were also on sale/essential!)

I also want Angelina Jolie's hair, as styled for Changeling. (The movie is amazing, by the way)

I almost have it, but it needs a professional touch, I know.

Hopefully I can get that done when I'm in San Diego :)

I would also prefer if my clothes were replaced with vintage styled clothes, wouldn't that be nice?

I think so. I just wish I could afford to do it myself.

...................

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I want to do in life, and I've come up with a few ideas...none that I've shared with anyone yet. Teaching will always be something I want to do, but I don't think that's what I want to do right now, or in the nearly future. I think it's something I would like to do later on in life. So I started thinking about the things I currently fancy, like art, music, movies, writing, home decor, fashion, photography, cooking.

Ideally, I would like to combine all my favorite things, but for now I'm currently enamored with the thought of doing interior design.

I spend all of my free time online looking at home decor/apparel...so why not do something with that, right? I think it'd be something I'd wholeheartedly enjoy :)

Of course, I'd minor in Art History, or something similar, because I do want to teach later on...or maybe I don't. Maybe (this is possibly a secret wish) I just want to be a house wife/mother later on in life. Would that be horrible?

I think not.

Thoughts on Love

It's so simple to say, and yet so powerful in an overwhelming, heart-stopping, paralyzing way. 

I love you. Je t'aime; Je t'adore. Te amo; te quiero. 

(Forgive my limited knowledge of languages, heh)

It seems as though for most people, despite it's complexities and intricities, love somehow loses it's power. Suddenly, almost as if it had never existed, people fall out of love. Or perhaps it's gradual, eventually the love, and the person they love lose their extra sparkle, and they're no longer as appealing.

That sort of thing seems natural to most people, but to me it seems unimaginable.

Not a day goes by where waking up next to K seems a little more boring than the previous day. 

Not a day goes by where I feel a little less fascinated, appreciative, or absolutely enamored with him.

I can't imagine a life without him.

Without his warm eyes, soft hair, strong arms, or perfect smile.

Love is exactly what it is, and how it should be described, yet at the same time, it seems incapable of fully describing how I feel.

I feel so absorbed with emotions; I feel so impossibly happy. The kind of happy where it feels like your heart might swell too much and explode.

It might be cloudy outside, and usually raining...but here inside we have our own little piece of paradise. The sun is always shining...sometimes it's warm, sometimes it's burning. But our love continues to flourish in the sun, in the paradise within the fort of pillows and blankets we've created.

.......................

I apologize, my thoughts are a bit too ridiculously cheesy...but blame them on my current read, The Time Traveler's Wife.

And so it goes...

I haven't written in a while, so let's change that, okay? Kyle and I recently found out the EMP (experience music project) was giving out free tickets to a prescreening of Pirate Radio in a scavanger hunt...if you live under a rock and have no idea what I'm talking about you can look up movie info stuff here, and you can watch the trailer here!

Anyway, here was their FB status update: There is a "Pirate Radio" scavenger hunt happening the next two days. Figure out the clue and you'll find free passes to the prescreener on 11/12. Hint: 10 piers south of where The Beatles stopped to fish during their first World Tour/ X proverbially marks this spot for plundered loot.

Somehow, using our genius minds, we knew that the Beatles had fished out of their hotel room, the Edgewater Inn, and went 10 piers down to pier 57. To avoid spending money on parking, I parked in a passenger wait zone (and luckily no one asked questions) while Kyle ran inside to look for some sort of hint. He didn't really find anything, haha. With the exception of a store entitled Pirate's Plunder! That sounded perfect, so he went inside...and didn't see any indication of anything related to the EMP or Pirate Radio! Feeling discouraged, he walked out of the shop and called me...using my great words of persuasion, he went back in the store and asked if they knew anything about it...turns out, while they didn't really know what was going on, they handed him a ticket, a poster, and a ipod-sleeve that says pirate radio :) Apparently the EMP didn't do a good job of informing them of what to do with the stuff they sent them...haha.

Anyway, this Thursday we get to go to the pre-screening! I'm incredibly excited because Pirate Radio was definitely on my to-watch list...and unfortunately, I can't go and see every freaking movie I want because the theaters are so expensive these days...even matinee is still like $7! So now that we've got prescreener tickets to see Pirate Radio, we can go spend money and see another movie :) 

The Emerald City Through The Eyes of Sebastian

*Please don't steal my images, if you want to use them, contact me/credit me for them. Thank you!*

Good Morning!

Hello Seattle! Quite a chilly morning we're having, huh? At least the skies are clear, and soon it'll heat up to normal temperatures :)

However, on the topic of fall weather, I'd like to post a recipe for a delicious Lentil Soup I conjured up yesterday that was too delightful not to post! Keep in mind, I stole and adjusted it, so I don't know what it's called, and therefore, must name it all on my on...so I will call it...

Sety's "it's 40 degrees out and I'm hungry" Soup!

Ingredients:

2 cups of mixed lentils (confetti = mixed, fyi)

2 cups of vegetable broth

1/2 cup of diced tomatoes

1/2 cup of tomato sauce

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1/2 of an onion

2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped up)

2 1/2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons of oregano

2 tablespoons of thyme

1 tablespoon of rosemary

1 tablespoon of pepper

1 tablespoon of salt

1/2 cup of white wine 

1 tablespoon of mustard

*if you have Dijon mustard, use that instead of regular mustard and white wine*

** celery or carrots would work well in this soup, I didn't have any, but feel free to chop them up and add them)

1. On a medium setting, heat up the olive oil for a minute or two. Add the onions, cook them for about 2 minutes until they are clear, then add the garlic.

2. Once the onions/garlic are lightly browning (not burning), add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Add the lentils (make sure to have washed/drained them thoroughly) and the vegetable broth.

3. After about 5 minutes, add the dry spices. Let it cook covered for about 20-25 minutes.

4. When it is full cooked, add enough water to your liking for the soup's consistency. Let it sit for another 5 minutes or so. When you're serving it, add the tablespoon of mustard to each bowl and enjoy!

*Kyle and I ate our soup with "cheddar" biscuits one day, and flour tortillas the next! :)*

Happy Halloween!

Hope you had a Happy Halloween!!

I sure did! :)

Meow!

Candy Candy!

We watched Hocus Pocus yesterday, and it put me in quite a Halloween-y mood :) It's my favorite Halloween movie...aside from...well, no. It is my favorite! I've seen it pretty much every year of my life! And, in my opinion, Sarah Jessica Parker looks very pretty in it (and I don't think really like her most of the time to be honest...lol)

This morning, I had a super tummy ache, and ended up falling back asleep while Kyle was planning breakfast, so he threw out the trash, and went to the grocery store (because he's a sweetheart) and bought nom-y foods as well as some pumpkins! I'll post pictures once we've painted them, hehe.

And to put me even more in the Halloween Spirit, Kyle's mommy kindly mailed us a Halloween care package! Filled with yummy Halloween candy! It was incredibly nice of her :)

I got an email from Alena (a friend I babysat for) and she was telling be about the Haunted House they're decorating...and I'm very sad I can't be there. The kids in their neighborhood are so adorable, and I'm sure they'll look extra adorable on Halloween :)

Plus, I know that Drew is going to be a Storm Trooper...I bought him the costume as a going away present from me when we moved...He needed the addition to their collection of dress-up clothes, and they had a Jedi costume, as well as Darth Vader...so it was only fitting they needed a Storm Trooper :)

Anyway, I will finish planing my costume (I'm still not sure what to be) and sip on some warm Apple Cider.  :)

Things that I love

There are quite a few things that I love. I love cooking, watching movies, our big comfy couch, our soft sheets, doing the laundry (our detergent is deliberately lovely), checking the mail, taking pictures, reading books, listening to music, laughing, smiling....lots of things. But I've come to realize that I love these things even more when I'm doing them with Kyle. Everything is just that much more full of love and happiness. I LOVE living together. Spending our days wrapped in each other's arms. I love that it's cold outside, it's all the more reason to cuddle, and bake cookies. :)

I do miss my friends, and I do miss my family...but is it horrible to love living in a little bit of paradise? I wish we could've found a way to make SD work...but would have been financial suicide to try to do what we're doing/live like we're living in SD. And plus, I kind of like going home to visit, it makes hellos even happier, distance does make the heart grow fonder!

But, every day is not perfect, we have our fair share of grumbles and cases of grouchiness. There are days when I feel like crying about everything. Or when our joking goes too far...same with the tickling (which I believe would be a great form of torture). One of us will pout and hide under the blankets...but to be honest, even these days aren't bad days, mostly, I think, because of our ability to apologize and forgive so willingly. True, most of our "fights" aren't even real, they're mostly just games. But every so often when one of us really is hurt, the sheer love in fixing things makes all the hurt evaporate. To be honest, I'm pretty sure it's impossible for me to be mad at Kyle for more than 5-10 minutes. I love him more than everything, so even when he's being annoying (like now :P) I can't help but love him. Sure, it'd be nice if we could go out right now, but I am aware that he stayed up all night, and sleep is important. So he has about 5 minutes before I go jump on him and wake him up, haha.

I'm so grateful to have him, honestly, he's more than I ever expected to have, I'm so lucky :)

In addition to Kyle, these things have been highlights of the past few days:

(Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Raisin Cookies!)

(Home Made Pazookie! lol)

 (New Toilet! Thank you Management!)

Choppity Chop!

At least once a year, I find this extreme urge to change my hairstyle...usually in an extremely dramatic way. This morning, I asked Kyle if it was a good idea to try cutting it myself (it's so hard finding a hair stylist you like, especially in a new city). He said "yes"...so if you dislike it...blame him, haha. :)

Before:

After:

Crime Scene:

 

I also now look cute in hats:

 

Sloppy Joe, Sloppy Sloppy Joe...

There are many reasons I love Kyle...currently I'm grateful he puts up with me when I'm a big blubbering baby. Alliteration aside, I'm being quite serious, haha. Yes, being a woman means becoming completely irrational and out of control of your emotions at least once a month, however, I pride myself on being unlike the rest of the female population because I'm quite the bad-ass mother pucker! I'm kidding of course, though I do wish I was bad-ass, and I do make an effort. Rambling aside, I can't help but lose control at least one day a month...and it's usually a week, hah. 

Yesterday we needed to go out and buy a book, and we took the time to make berry waffles and shower, which made us nearly late to go to the book store which was suppose to close at 4:30, we're only like 8 minutes away from the book store, so we would've been on time, but of course I was feeling dramatic and decided crawling into bed and crying was a better option, hah. But of course, my knight in shining armor managed to convince me to go with him and we ended up getting the book after all because the store didn't close until 6, go figure, hah. We went home and were hungry, so we decided to try to make something to eat before going back out. We ended up deciding to make vegan Sloppy Joe's. After finding a bunch of recipes and realizing we didn't have the real makings for Sloppy Joe sauce, especially because we don't have a key ingredient, Worcestershire sauce, nor do we have BBQ sauce (a sin, I know, haha). So we decided we'd make a concoction of our own...and then we slightly disagreed on how to do the sauce, stirring it in a bowl, blending it, or just throwing it into the pan and adding stuff as you go (my preferred method of cooking). I once again decided that crawling into bed/hiding under the covers/crying would be productive, and Kyle for the second time of the day held me, wiped away my tears, and cheered me up.

Oh the joys of having an understanding boyfriend/best friend. :)

Anyway, we decided to blend the ingredients, and let me tell you, it turned out amazing! I won't tell you extreme details because it is now an official secret sauce (I'm not gonna lie, I've always wanted to have a secret sauce!) but I'll give you a basic over view and leave out the crazy awesome ingredients :p 

This "recipe" made 2 sandwiches :)

For the "meat" part of the sandwich, you should use a "ground beef" that you're comfortable cooking with, we personally use:

For measurement purposes, I used about half of the package...

To start things off, you'll want to chop up about half a white onion and fry 1/3 of that it in a pan with some oil (I'd recommend vegetable or olive) on a medium heat. Once the onion is predominantly see through, add the "ground beef" to the pan and mix it about. Add a dash of salt and pepper for flavor. Stir things up a bit occasionally to make sure nothing burns :)

Next, you'll want to bust out a blender or food processor. We ended up making a hefty amount of sauce, hah, so you might want to make a little less than we did. We had recently used some diced tomatoes as well as some tomato sauce, and so as to save space in the 'fridge, we mixed the left overs into a single Tupperware space of about 20oz

We threw all of that sauce/diced tomatoes into the blender and added: 

2 cloves of Garlic

Remaining 1/3 White Onion

1 1/2 tsp. Paprika

1 tsp. Red Chili Pepper Flakes

 1 dash of Oregano

1 dash of Cumin

1 cup of Ketchup

4 tsp. of Mustard 

1 pinch of Salt 

Plus 3 Secret Ingredients (maybe if you ask super nicely, I'll tell you...)

We then blended a whole lot, and then blended some more...and then some more. Then we waited a minute, and blended even more!

 

After our blending, we then dumped enough sauce to cover the "ground beef" and let it simmer for a good 5-10 minutes on a low heat. Remember not to drown the "ground beef", and simmering will help the meat thoroughly absorb the flavors of the sauce.

We then grabbed to hamburger buns and toasted them in our toaster oven.

Take the buns out and put a good amount on the bottom bun, then sprinkle some of the cheddar cheese on that (we use Soy Sensation) and then put a little more slop on top of the cheese and put on the top bun. Hopefully your sandwich looks something similar to this little guy:

 Well, that's all for our Sloppy Joe recipe! If you ever make them, let me know how the turn out! Although we didn't personally add these specific ingredients to the sauce (because we didn't have them) they would have complemented the flavors quite nicely: lemon juice, BBQ sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. :)

And now for something with a little umph...

I'm currently at one of those points in the year when I crave some form of meaning to my life. The best way to do so would be to volunteer, so volunteer I will. I've been browsing some of the local options, there are a few that sound appealing: reading to low-income children to boost their vocabulary, working with an organization that provides blankets and housing for the homeless, spending some time at the local animal shelter etc. To be honest, I'm incredibly excited for the opportunity to make a difference. Does it make me a nerd that one of my favorite things about high school was being a part of clubs that focused on making a difference and helping others? :P

Speaking of high school, yesterday I received an email from an old high school friend! Actually, an old teacher of mine! It's nice being reminded you're not forgotten! It's also nice knowing that I just realized that if I ever needed a job, he would make a great contact, hah. I sound like such an old lady with old lady worries! Oh, the tides of life and aging, it's beautiful and horrifying. Quite the combination, no?

I've got my mind set on the birth of a new art project, though I don't quite know exactly what I'm doing just yet. I've got endless bottles of old-fashioned Coca-Cola bottles, and nothing to do with them! I can't just recycle them! Hopefully I'll think of something! I'm just waiting on some inspiration...I have taken a few artistic photos of them...but I feel like they deserve much more!

Anyway, I'm also tired of being out of shape, so I'm going to try to do something about that. I think I'm going to take on Yoga again, I always found it relaxing, and I love stretching, the feeling of your muscles tightening actually feels good to me! Maybe I'll go to the gym or take a dance class, or something, I don't know!

I love spending my days either working on classwork, or cuddling with Kyle all day, but I'm starting to feel a little too cooped up! Our days of exploration are fun...so maybe we'll just go out more often. Anything for a bit more excitement in life! haha. I am kidnapping Kyle and taking him to a pumpkin patch tomorrow...or Monday...whichever day is more weather friendly! It'll be fun, and hopefully surprise him! Which is a hard thing to do considering we spend all of our time together, haha. But hopefully I'll catch him off guard, and the surprise will go well! :)

I don't think he reads this, which is kind of neat so I can talk about surprising him and know he won't find out! Well, I think he reads it when he's incredibly bored, but he knows everything I'm writing about because he lives it, haha.

Anyway, I'm hoping to get some mail out today, we'll see how that goes. I have endless amounts of birthday/miss you packages that need to be shipped, it's just a matter of finding a post-office...

We're off to Costco now, yay for groceries! :)

Newest of News...

So, it's been quite a while since I've posted anything...it's time for a few updates, I suppose!

Since I last wrote a few things have happened...

1. We drove up to Vancouver, B.C. Canada to see Ingrid Michaelson!

2. While there, we ordered our first legal drinks! Kyle had a Rum & Coke, and because they were out of mint, I couldn't get a Mojito...so I just asked the bartender to conjure me up something tasty :)

3. The show was great! Ingrid's so funny, it was my third time seeing her! The first time I saw her was actually Kyle and I's first official "date" hehe :)

4. We got an amazing price on our hotel, and the room was quite luxurious! We had this amazing bath tub that I instantly fell in love with. Oh, and we got fuzzy white bath robes! hehe :)

 

 

5. I have made quite a few delicious meals including my special variation of Chana Masala, a Mexican themed Pizza, and Sety's Spaghetti!

6. I received my new camera (a cute fish-eye lensed lomography camera) who I named Sebastian to A) keep an alliteration between my cameras B)there's a crab on the top of the camera [it's named after Sebastian from the Little Mermaid!]