Bits & Pieces of Randomness

* I sometimes feel like a gazelle when walking in heels.  But not the graceful gazelle you're thinking about... More like a newborn gazelle first learning to walk.

* I got called out on my accent today.  Actually, I don't think a day has passed that someone HASN'T asked me where I'm from.  "I knew it must be somewhere in the south!  It's so cuuuuute!" Lol

* It's time for a family Skype session!  Going on 4 weeks here and I haven't seen anyone's face since moving.  I will fix this soon... Making my mama a Skype account ASAP!

* I'm getting back into my morning run routine and it feels oh so good!

* I love my mini and having a convertible.  If only it had more power... Next time ill definitely go for the S.

* My boyfriend is the best.  He came home from duty on Sunday morning and surprised me with Starbucks.  When he walked in the first thing he said was, "I messed up."  "What?" I asked confused.  "I remembered that you liked that new caramel drink from Starbucks and ordered it for you, but it's cold...  I thought it was hot and got it to help your throat." (I'm getting over laryngitis.)  What a sweetheart! 

FY I no surprise or thoughtful gesture is EVER a mistake!  My light caramel ribbon crunch frapp with no whip (he even remembered how I like it) was yummy :) 

* I have special numbers.  I see the numbers 1114 at least once a day on the clock and sometimes in other random places.  Coincidence that this is my birthday?  Any other significance you think?

* I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it here!  Still having moments of disbelief that this is my life daily.  Last weekend was full of fun times with friends, girls day on the beach,  good food and even a little shopping action.  

*There really is no comparison to sitting on the beach around a bonfire watching the lights of houses twinkle  in the hills along the horizon.

* Tomorrow is my first day off of orientation!  Moving up in the world :)

Culinary Confessions

I'm going to post this in humility and also a little out of guilt...

One of the hardest things for me to adapt to since the big move is cooking dinner. For the past several years I've lived on my own and never had to take into consideration what anyone else would like to eat, much less had to put the effort into actually cooking. I often had cereal, sandwiches, or microwave steamed veggies for dinner and it wasn't uncommon for me to go a whole week without eating meat.
Now that I'm staying with D for a while, this has all changed... Especially since his meals primarily consist of meats and carbs. I've been trying to come up with recipes that we'll both enjoy and that I can actually cook, but what tends to be happening is Ill pick the recipe, he'll alter it as needed and end up doing pretty much all of the cooking. I try to help as much as possible, but have found myself feeling helpless and ashamed that I cannot, in fact cook! :(

There have been several "oh" moments when he's had to explain to me the proper way to do something, or just embarrassing things I've done like last night when I dumped an entire box of rice on the counter because I thought it would be in a bag inside the box. Nope!

I also have a confession about the cookies I made for dessert...

I haven't admitted this one to anybody yet (D. cough, cough), just blamed it on a new recipe when in fact it was all me. Guilt has now taken over...

Yesterday I found an easy recipe for natural, flourless peanut butter cookies.

1c peanut butter
1c honey
1 egg
1tsp baking soda

Mix and Bake at 350 for 10 mins

I realized when gathering the ingredients that we didn't have any baking soda, but we DID have baking powder. Well what's the difference? After Googling substituting one for the other I found out that I COULD NOT substitute the baking powder because the cookies would turn out "gooier" then they were supposed to.

But I'm a firm believer that I can doctor any recipe (even after multiple failed attempts to do so in the past).

Since I was only making 1/2 the recipe, I decided that using the whole egg instead of half would definitely make it ok to substitute baking powder for baking soda.

My batter turned out pretty runny so I added a little more baking powder and peanut butter, spooned the soup onto the pan and stuck them in the oven. 10 mins later I had pancake-looking cookies that fell flat as they cooled. When I went to taste test one I realized it was so gooey I couldn't even scrape it off the baking sheet! No problem, they just need a little more time to cook right? I threw them back into the oven and broiled them hoping they'd come out nice and crispy. And they ALMOST did :) At least they tasted good!

The next time I make these cookies and actually use baking soda I'm sure they'll be amazing, and I won't have to lie/ blame the outcome on the recipe ;)

When this grace period of learning to cook is over and I've been re-named Betty Crocker, Ill invite everyone over for a gourmet meal. Scout's honor :)

One Week In

I can't believe I've been here for a week already!  Where has the time gone?  I had a few days to get oriented to the city last week and began my first day of work today :)  Work so far is AWESOME although I still have some big decisions to make as I interview for a full time position this Friday.  Prayers for guidance are much appreciated!

I have to say that the weather is gorgeous, although it is a a little chilly for me at times.  I'm used to the 80 - 90 degree temps during the summer so the 72 degree evenings once the sun goes down are definitely something I'll have to get used to.

This weekend was great.  We had a nice, relaxing day on Saturday strolling through La Jolla and hanging out with friends.  We had a yummy dinner at Roy's, a Hawaiian fusion restaurant and then went out downtown for a bit.  Sunday was a lazy morning of blueberry muffins (made by D), HGTV(my Sat am ritual), and then lunch/exploring Encinitas where I may possibly be starting to work full time.

Out for a walk

 Went for a run and did a little sightseeing!

Petco Park

View of the nieghborhood 

 Patiently waiting for dinner :)  Jackson LOVES his new friends!  

Prospect Bar and Grill

Top Down :)

Pacific Hwy

I'm really loving it here so far, but wish I could get used to the time difference from East to West.  I'm used to thinking 3 hours behind when trying to talk to D and now must think 3 hours ahead... sadly when I get to a point in my day that I'm ready to call home, it's usually 11 or 12 at night there.  But I'll get it figured out soon :)

The Seasonal Blogger Strikes Again

SO....

I've come to accept that I can't commit to blogging on a regular basis.

I have a bad habit of starting new projects and not finishing them.  Oh well.  Guess that's just part of who I am.  But I'll never give up on what's truly important, like family and friends :)

Since I've just moved across the country I've decided to start blogging again as a way to keep in touch with everyone back home.

My brother Benjamin and I had a great road trip to San Diego.  We left Friday afternoon when I got off work. (Yes, I'm a little crazy and decided to start the trip after completing my last day of work!)  We made three stops...  Birmingham, AL, Eastland, TX, and Tucson, AZ.

The longest day of driving was Sunday, bringing in 13 hours behind the wheel.  Thankfully the trip was easy and we had zero troubles along the way.  My only regret was missing the California state line sign.  I had planned to stop and take a picture with my NC tags next to the sign, but somehow ended up about 30 miles into the state before realizing we were in CA.  Oops!  

Since arriving I've been trying to get settled in and somewhat unpacked.  I went in for my pre-employment drug screen yesterday and for the first time wrote my official CA address.  My initial impulse was to write my old address, and I found myself smiling and in a slight state of unbelief as I wrote that I was a San Diego resident.  I had another ah ha moment later in the day... I was driving down the freeway with the top down, enjoying the beautiful scenery when it hit me, "This is my life now!"  Growing up I always had the desire to live in California.  I don't know what it was, (maybe the beautiful beaches and palm trees I saw on TV) but something about California always intrigued me.  Now here I am and to top it all off I have the best guy a girl could ask for by my side :)   Life is amazing!

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Live the life you've imagined."

-Thoreau

And to all my family and friends back home...  Leaving you was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make, but in the end I had to do it.  I'm sad I didn't get to see everyone before leaving, but I'll be back soon to visit.  My stubborn nature came out and I refused to cry or be upset before leaving.  I hope this didn't come across as my not caring; that's not the case at all.  In fact, it was my defense mechanism for not turning into a blubbering baby :)  I love and miss you all and carry you in my heart everyday <3

Ninja Style ; )

Lack of sleep + extra strong coffee + endorphins from a run =

Asian babies VS In vitro...

Yes.  This conversation did happen.  

Yesterday I visited my family in S.C. as I do most Sundays.  What's better than spending the afternoon stuffing your face with Grandma's home cookin' and catching up with everybody?  NOT MUCH : )

After lunch we were all outside enjoying the beautiful weather and talking.  I think we were on the topic of my nephew Mason, when all of a sudden my aunt asked when I was going to have one (a baby).  "It's your turn."  

It seems like here lately the comments of, "You're too young to have a boyfriend,"  "Don't ever get married," and "I'm too old to be a grandma"  have been replaced with "It's your turn,"  "So when are you getting married,"  and "Mason needs a cousin."  

Great.  As I reminded them once again that a few things have to happen before I start poppin' out babies, they offered up a few suggestions.  

Aunt Marsha: "You should adopt a little Chinese girl.  They're so cute and you can get one for around $20,000."  

Me:  "Yeah, like I have $20,000 just laying around to adopt a baby.  I'm doing good enough to support myself."

Aunt Marsha:  "Just go to the bank and take out a loan.  What are they going to do if you don't pay it back, take your baby away from you?" 

Me:  "Riiiggght.  Pretty sure I should take a loan out on a house before I ever consider doing it for a baby."

So my mama's suggestion was that I have in vitro.  

Me:  "Yeah don't think I can't afford that one either.  And then there's the whole deal of the child growing up with issues because it doesn't have a father around."  

Mama:  "Well did you get my message the other day with that link that I sent you?"

Me:  "What message?  What are you talking about?'

Mama:  "I sent you a text with a link to a website where you can adopt a baby and save it's life.  I'll send it to you again."

And then Grandma chimes in...  "Well I think you need to just do it the old fashion way.  Get married first, then have a baby.  That's the way people used to do it."  

Hahaha!  I have the best family ever.  

And no, for those of you concerned they were just kidding.  Well, everyone except for Grandma : )   

God really does have a sense of humor..

Yes, I'm still alive :)

This first month of school has been busy beyond belief, and I've been a little stressed out lately.  Ok.  A lot stressed out!  I was dealing really well, believing it would all lighten up after a few weeks.  This and the fact that I love my job  made the 11-12 hour days tolerable.  Along with the dreams I've had every night about still being at work.  I was really impressed with myself for the amount of patience and perserverance that I'd had!  It helped me to realize that I'm a much stronger person than I'd given myself credit for!

But toward the end of last week my optimism began to wear thin. And yesterday managed to disappear for a bit.  While I hate admitting it for fear that I'll be looked at as weak, I'm doing so for a reason.  Today God showed me his awesome sense of humor and reminded me that he's always here to help me through whatever I'm dealing with.  All I have to do is ask.

Well, beg is actually a more appropriate description of what I did...

While getting ready this morning I listened to a Charles Stanley podcast like I normally do, hoping to hear some great inspiration to help me make it through another day.  Nothing really struck me though, until I walked out my door.  It had been such a rainy, yucky morning that I hadn't been able to run, but as I turned from locking the door a certain patch of bright blue sky caught my attention.  It was such a contrast to the gray and gloom all around, and I was somewhat mesmerized by it.  I felt almost as if it was God's way of telling me that everything was going to be ok.  After a minute of standing there in awe, I headed out for work.  On the way I began to ask for peace and the ability to show kindness and concern for all of my kids, and not to feel overwhelmed.  I also began to beg.  "Please don't let today be like yesterday.  Please don't let the kids come in non-stop.  Please let me be able to get a break and focus on some of the other work I need to get done.  Keep them in class today.  PLEASE!!!". And at this point I found myself laughing and yelling out loud because laughter truly is the best stress relief.  And sometimes so is yelling.  :).  "PLEASE!"

And guess what happened?  I had a rather quiet morning with only a few sick kids.  I was able to get some work done other than giving out band-aids and checking temperatures (no that's really not all that I do), and at 1 pm the whole school lost power.  For about 2 hours.  The kids stayed in class thanks to all of the excitement, forgetting that they were sick and needed to see the nurse!  And I got lots of work done thanks to my laptop's fully charged battery :). 

I'm convinced that my begging had something to do with this, and that God really does have a great sense of humor.  It turned out to be a wonderful day :)