Well. I certainly seem to excel at waiting months between posts and then writing a belated summary of events, don't I? We'll see if I can nix that habit, but for now I will continue in that glorious tradition:
Work is going great: I love the kids that I teach computers to and my coworkers are all made of awesome.
ONE WEEK OF SCHOOL LEFT OMG. Technically two, but I do not have finals so HA SUCKS TO BE YOU NICK. Mwahaha!
Speaking of Nick, things are going great! Coming up on 4 1/2 years next month! And wow, it seems like our 4 year anniversary just happened, where the heck is time going? I have a feeling I am going to be one of those perpetually bewildered old people, always wondering how I suddenly got to be old when just a few minutes ago I was typing this post!
We're started going to the Farmer's Markets around us, and WOW real tomatoes taste amazing! I've been snacking on raw broccoli and ate a pear for breakfast and the oranges are so delicious and the eggs are tasty and the apple juice is . . . well, actually not as good as I hoped, I will try a different vendor next time. Overall, however, we love it.
My Uncle Steve is doing good! His fight with the brain cancer glioblastoma is documented here. To summarize: his surgery went well, his chemo sucked but he did it, and his latest MRI was the best it could be! There have been a lot of ups and downs and scary moments, but right now is good.
Oh! Hey! I got an ipad 2 for Christmas and I LOVE IT SO MUCH.
We ran in the Davis Lucky 7k and finished in like 48 minutes, or something. I forgot. But we did finish! We keep talking about doing more and then we don't. But I have found three new races in Sac that look interesting, so I will keep you posted.
I have one semester left at Sac State, and then I graduate! I should be graduating in December of 2012!!! Yaaaay!
That means I have to decide where to get my credential, and possibly my masters. Eep!
As for me, I keep pretty busy between work and school, especially this semester. I had to do 70 hours of fieldwork at 4 different sites, and write a lot of papers! That plus upping my work from 2 to 3 days a week teaching plus 2 days after-care . . . was challenging at times, but generally I enjoyed it. My stomach has been behaving (remember those days of gastritis/IBS/acid reflux? Me neither. Yay!) My biggest stressor lately has been trying to keep our apartment clean. That, plus wishing we had more sunshine on our patio so I could grow some non-shady plants (I would kill to grow some basil!).
Hopefully I will remember to update this blog every now and then. ^_~
Ciao!
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Friday, December 16, 2011
Happy Happy Happy!
Today we celebrated my birthday, my brother's birthday, and my boyfriend's birthday by eating dinner at my parent's house with my Nanny and my brother's girlfriend. We ate Vera Cruz tomatoes and baked potato and applesauce, with carrot cake for dessert! So yummy.
So now I am 23! I still feel the same. And my little brother is 20! He is all grown up. I'm sorry, buddy, but I still see you as a little boy who needs bossing. I'll try to work on that. ^_~
My parents just bought a 3D TV and we watched a 3D movie on it with our funny 3D glasses. It was really cool! Now we are home and relaxing before bed.
I have had such a great day. Nick woke me up by making waffles with chocolate chips, and then making me study for my last final (that part wasn't so great). I took my final (I think I did well!) and then came back for a few hours that I just spent with Nick. Then I drove to Olive Garden to have a luncheon given by the Board of Trustees for the teachers at the school I work at. It was just lovely, and really thoughtful of them to do. The director of the school stood up and said really nice things about all of us, and handed us cards with a bonus in them! He said that all the children love me and that the parents and even the teachers stop in to tell him that they like the way I teach. That was really, really nice to hear and I appreciate them so much! I really love my job. Also amazing is the Christmas presents that the parents give the teachers! I have received two armfuls of presents! Starbucks cards, candles, a beautiful Christmas mug, cookies, chocolates, candies, a little purse, a leather paper holder, a beautiful bookmark, numerous lovely cards, and so much more. There are really wonderful people at this school. ^_^
Here's to a great year! It's off to a great start.
So now I am 23! I still feel the same. And my little brother is 20! He is all grown up. I'm sorry, buddy, but I still see you as a little boy who needs bossing. I'll try to work on that. ^_~
My parents just bought a 3D TV and we watched a 3D movie on it with our funny 3D glasses. It was really cool! Now we are home and relaxing before bed.
I have had such a great day. Nick woke me up by making waffles with chocolate chips, and then making me study for my last final (that part wasn't so great). I took my final (I think I did well!) and then came back for a few hours that I just spent with Nick. Then I drove to Olive Garden to have a luncheon given by the Board of Trustees for the teachers at the school I work at. It was just lovely, and really thoughtful of them to do. The director of the school stood up and said really nice things about all of us, and handed us cards with a bonus in them! He said that all the children love me and that the parents and even the teachers stop in to tell him that they like the way I teach. That was really, really nice to hear and I appreciate them so much! I really love my job. Also amazing is the Christmas presents that the parents give the teachers! I have received two armfuls of presents! Starbucks cards, candles, a beautiful Christmas mug, cookies, chocolates, candies, a little purse, a leather paper holder, a beautiful bookmark, numerous lovely cards, and so much more. There are really wonderful people at this school. ^_^
Here's to a great year! It's off to a great start.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Life
My uncle was recently diagnosed with brain cancer.
This has affected our whole family and we are all consumed by worry for him and his family. There is such a feeling of helplessness, because all we can do is learn about this disease and support him.
And yet life continues on. Nick and I are nearly finished with this fall semester, and as soon as this next week of finals is finished I will be a senior! Finally. Work continues, and the children are all very excited for the holidays, ready for vacation. We are preparing for a family vacation: my family and Nick will be going to Barbados! My brother has joined a new band and performed a few nights ago, and he is looking to further his musical career by investigating music colleges. My parents are remodeling the house and just bought a new TV--a 3D one this time! We are all also doing our Christmas shopping and looking forward to spending time with our family. I will be spending this Christmas with my family instead of Nick's because of Steve's diagnosis.
We are all so busy in our lives, but sometimes life seems to pause. And we continue to worry.
This has affected our whole family and we are all consumed by worry for him and his family. There is such a feeling of helplessness, because all we can do is learn about this disease and support him.
And yet life continues on. Nick and I are nearly finished with this fall semester, and as soon as this next week of finals is finished I will be a senior! Finally. Work continues, and the children are all very excited for the holidays, ready for vacation. We are preparing for a family vacation: my family and Nick will be going to Barbados! My brother has joined a new band and performed a few nights ago, and he is looking to further his musical career by investigating music colleges. My parents are remodeling the house and just bought a new TV--a 3D one this time! We are all also doing our Christmas shopping and looking forward to spending time with our family. I will be spending this Christmas with my family instead of Nick's because of Steve's diagnosis.
We are all so busy in our lives, but sometimes life seems to pause. And we continue to worry.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Back in the Swing
We are now five weeks into the fall semester of college, and six weeks into teaching computers at the elementary school.
I'm kind of tired.
But in a good way!
Work is fun. Today I taught 3rd graders the entire left hand homerow for typing, showed 4th graders how to make a pie chart with M&M's (that they got to EAT after, whee!) and 7/8th graders how to do the basics of html. The only problem is I don't have as much time as I would like to spend on my lesson plans as I would like, because . . .
Yeah, school. It's kind of homework-y. The last two or three weeks each Sunday has been like 7 hours of homework. In a ROW. That is a lot of homework. Plus, ya'know, trying to actually spend time with my boyfriend (who is still wonderful) and my family (who are also busy) and Nick's family (Hi Clair!) and I am just BUSY.
(Notice I am up at nearly 1am on a school night just so I could have some goof off time. Normal hours rebellion, ahoy! Also, zzzzzz.)
Um. What else. Taekwondo is good! Mostly. And I did a cardio class! And got really sweaty. Um, I need to clean my fish tank. I need to clean my apartment. The list of things I need to do is kind of long, so let's just skip that and I'll say I'm totally going shopping tomorrow morning, because Kohl's gave me a $10 off coupon and I need work clothes! Yay, shopping!
I'm off for bed.
Ciao!
I'm kind of tired.
But in a good way!
Work is fun. Today I taught 3rd graders the entire left hand homerow for typing, showed 4th graders how to make a pie chart with M&M's (that they got to EAT after, whee!) and 7/8th graders how to do the basics of html. The only problem is I don't have as much time as I would like to spend on my lesson plans as I would like, because . . .
Yeah, school. It's kind of homework-y. The last two or three weeks each Sunday has been like 7 hours of homework. In a ROW. That is a lot of homework. Plus, ya'know, trying to actually spend time with my boyfriend (who is still wonderful) and my family (who are also busy) and Nick's family (Hi Clair!) and I am just BUSY.
(Notice I am up at nearly 1am on a school night just so I could have some goof off time. Normal hours rebellion, ahoy! Also, zzzzzz.)
Um. What else. Taekwondo is good! Mostly. And I did a cardio class! And got really sweaty. Um, I need to clean my fish tank. I need to clean my apartment. The list of things I need to do is kind of long, so let's just skip that and I'll say I'm totally going shopping tomorrow morning, because Kohl's gave me a $10 off coupon and I need work clothes! Yay, shopping!
I'm off for bed.
Ciao!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Feliz dia de las madres
Happy Mother's Day, Mom! This year I learned that while our mother's day is on Sunday, the Mexican dia de las madres was actually on Tuesday. I had no idea!
For this year's Mother's Day, Nick and I drove up to my parent's and had brunch at the town's elementary school, where mother's eat for free and the rest of us were only a dollar! It is put on by a community club and has pancakes, eggs, sausages, orange juice, and coffee, and the drinks and things were fetched by little boy scouts. It was fun!
After brunch we hung out with my parents at their house. Troy was still in . . . Ireland, I think?( He bounced around from Italy to Ireland to England to Germany in just a few days, it got confusing. But he comes home tonight! In like . . . 20 minutes his flight comes in!!!) That was nice, I don't spend as much time with my parents as I'd like to anymore.
Then we went to my Nanny's apartment and stayed for a while to talk and wish her a Happy Mother's Day. She recently got new hearing aides and it is noticeably easier to talk with her!
And then we were off to Nick's aunt's house where all his family was gathering for a Mother's Day dinner feast, full of yumminess and delicious 6 month old baby cousin giggles.
We left early because we both had homework due the next day.
It was a great Mother's Day. (Though I must admit, planning holidays now for two families can be haaaard. But worth it.) ^_^
For this year's Mother's Day, Nick and I drove up to my parent's and had brunch at the town's elementary school, where mother's eat for free and the rest of us were only a dollar! It is put on by a community club and has pancakes, eggs, sausages, orange juice, and coffee, and the drinks and things were fetched by little boy scouts. It was fun!
After brunch we hung out with my parents at their house. Troy was still in . . . Ireland, I think?( He bounced around from Italy to Ireland to England to Germany in just a few days, it got confusing. But he comes home tonight! In like . . . 20 minutes his flight comes in!!!) That was nice, I don't spend as much time with my parents as I'd like to anymore.
Then we went to my Nanny's apartment and stayed for a while to talk and wish her a Happy Mother's Day. She recently got new hearing aides and it is noticeably easier to talk with her!
And then we were off to Nick's aunt's house where all his family was gathering for a Mother's Day dinner feast, full of yumminess and delicious 6 month old baby cousin giggles.
We left early because we both had homework due the next day.
It was a great Mother's Day. (Though I must admit, planning holidays now for two families can be haaaard. But worth it.) ^_^
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Flowers for my Patio
Today my parents came down and we went flower shopping! We started and ending at Home Depot, and in the middle went to a lovely family-owned flower nursery, where we bought nearly all the flowers. At Home Depot we bought pots and potting soil.
The tricky part was finding beautiful plants that will thrive in shade, because our patio is mostly shaded. We totally succeeded.
Here is my $5 hanging pot that we planted with a red and purple fuschia in the center, surrounding it with red begonias and white alyssum. It will look so beautiful when they are all blooming!
Here is some clivia, in a Home Depot Malaysian pot. I LOVE the colors and the thick leaves! There are a few sweet basil plants surrounding it, and an alyssum.
Here is the clivia close up!
This is a type of lantern flower that will grow 4-12 feet! (If it survives my not-so-green thumb!)
A close up of the lantern flower!
Aren't they beautiful? I can't wait to see them all when they've settled in!
The tricky part was finding beautiful plants that will thrive in shade, because our patio is mostly shaded. We totally succeeded.
Here is my $5 hanging pot that we planted with a red and purple fuschia in the center, surrounding it with red begonias and white alyssum. It will look so beautiful when they are all blooming!
Here is some clivia, in a Home Depot Malaysian pot. I LOVE the colors and the thick leaves! There are a few sweet basil plants surrounding it, and an alyssum.
Here is the clivia close up!
This is a type of lantern flower that will grow 4-12 feet! (If it survives my not-so-green thumb!)
A close up of the lantern flower!
Aren't they beautiful? I can't wait to see them all when they've settled in!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Training
So. My first 5k is on May 7th. That gives me (and Nick, who will henceforth be part of "me", mostly because I am a self-centered blogger [redundant!]) just over a month to get into shape.
(And by "shape" I actually mean "ability to jog 3.1 miles without collapsing into a sweaty disgusting heap at the end.")
Prior to even knowing about the Race for the Cure, Nick and I had randomly decided to get into shape and started jogging on the treadmill and working out at our tiny apartment gym a few nights a week. We both can run about a mile and a half without dying. Much.
Enter Katie finding out about this race and registering, all within 24 hours, and suddenly we're both like, "Uh-oh. We actually have to DOUBLE our endurance. Crap!"
Friday we biked 16 miles, and actually felt pretty good after, aside from a sore bottom or two from sitting on uncomfortable bike seats!
Saturday we jogged 1.5 miles outside on the American River Bike Trail, and walked back home.
Sunday we biked 12 leisurely miles with Nick's family (lovely afternoon!)
Monday I biked 6 miles and stair climbed 1 mile, plus weight training. (Stupid treadmill-hogger guy was being a treadmill hog, so we didn't get any treadmill time. Grr.)
And tomorrow morning I juuuust might wake up early enough to go for a jog in the gym before I have to leave for work. Knowing me, however, I will set my alarm, wake up slowly, kill the alarm, and decide that working out is overrated and I could totally run 5k right now, blahblahzzzzzzzzzzzzcakes.
We will see.
(And by "shape" I actually mean "ability to jog 3.1 miles without collapsing into a sweaty disgusting heap at the end.")
Prior to even knowing about the Race for the Cure, Nick and I had randomly decided to get into shape and started jogging on the treadmill and working out at our tiny apartment gym a few nights a week. We both can run about a mile and a half without dying. Much.
Enter Katie finding out about this race and registering, all within 24 hours, and suddenly we're both like, "Uh-oh. We actually have to DOUBLE our endurance. Crap!"
Friday we biked 16 miles, and actually felt pretty good after, aside from a sore bottom or two from sitting on uncomfortable bike seats!
Saturday we jogged 1.5 miles outside on the American River Bike Trail, and walked back home.
Sunday we biked 12 leisurely miles with Nick's family (lovely afternoon!)
Monday I biked 6 miles and stair climbed 1 mile, plus weight training. (Stupid treadmill-hogger guy was being a treadmill hog, so we didn't get any treadmill time. Grr.)
And tomorrow morning I juuuust might wake up early enough to go for a jog in the gym before I have to leave for work. Knowing me, however, I will set my alarm, wake up slowly, kill the alarm, and decide that working out is overrated and I could totally run 5k right now, blahblahzzzzzzzzzzzzcakes.
We will see.
Monday, January 3, 2011
My Boyfriend's Foot Is On My Shoulder Like a Silent Stinky Angel
He really is a sad thing when he isn't feeling well, which is why I'm allowing it. I would like to note, however, that he is only about two days behind me in the same cold, and he's getting much more sympathy than I received. Poor thing.
Oh, there's so much that's happened, and so much that has stayed the same. Let's see. Nick and I both are now 22, which is exciting but kind of a letdown after turning 21 and being allowed to drink. What are we allowed to do at 22 that we couldn't do before? Say we're a year older, I suppose.
Presents! Presents happened, they were lovely. We had birthdays and then Christmas, and now I can't think of anything else that we either need or want. (Lies. There's always more want.) Our kitchen is not wonderfully full of all kinds of gadgets. Which is good for us, but bad for my waistline.
We spent hours opening these presents. It was fabulous!
Santa wrote my cousin Adam a letter, complete with sparkly snowflakes and a Rudolph. Santa likes sparkles. Katie likes sparkles. ^_-
It was a good Christmas. We returned via the sardinemobile and were happy to be home . . . and then promptly fell sick with a cold, which returns me to my poor sick boyfriend and his feet.
We both felt kind of icky and so stayed home for New Years Eve.
(TANGENT: Have you seen that How I Met Your Mother episode where the group of friends goes out to a club and they explain the differences between singles and couples? About how singles move around and get drinks and talk, but couples are so exhausted by the very act of leaving the house that they find a seat and stay there? That's now Nick and I are. We are a couple of old fogies living in 22-year-old bodies.)
(TANGENTY TANGENT: Barney's quote from HIMYM "When I'm sick I just stop being sick and be awesome instead. True story.") (I love that guy.)
ANYWAYS, SO, Nick and I stayed in and made spinach mushroom cheese ravioli's with our new kitchen aid and the new ravioli maker and they were DELICIOUS and then I made peach bellini's (frozen peaches, champagne, peach liquor, YUM) and then we watched Star Wars IV and smooched at midnight.
Time for the requisite New Year's Resolution List!
1) I will complete 500 miles this year! And do 30 minutes of exercise a day!
2) My mom and I will lose 2lbs a month (minimum) until we reach our goal weights! We will then maintain them. Yay!
3) Clean, clean, clean. Do not let apartment get explody again.
4) Spend more time with boyfriend and less time on computer.
5) Be happy and healthy and not let my stomach take over like it did for awhile there.
PS: My boyfriend's resolution this year was to kiss me more. I think I'm gonna like 2011. ^_^
Happy New Year!!!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Whoops
I haven't updated in so long that my computer forgot to remember my password for me, so I had to wrack my brains so I could post some gibberish. You're welcome.
Gibberish Point the First: I am having a hellish few days and it's all my fault. If you remember, last year I took microbiology and chemistry (and some more stuff) and got so stressed that I got IBS and it took me a year to feel better. I got Incompletes in my classes which meant I could take a year to finish my classes--and to finish them I need to take three finals. Which I procrastinated on for nearly a year. I have eleven days to take them and finish my education class and still work during which I am taking over teaching computers. I was busy for twelve hours straight today.
Gibberish Point the Second: dude, THANKSGIVING HAPPENED! I spent it with Nick and his family at their cabin in the snow! It was awesome! We ate a lot and played games and drank mai tais and discovered we don't like Bloody Mary's and totally didn't shop on Black Friday.
Gibberish Point the Third: I am super serious about this working out and losing weight thing. So super serious that I totally worked out for 45 minutes and then made cookies. BOO-YEAH!
Gibberish Point the Fourth: We finished watching all the available seasons of Psych and really want the next season to come out on netflix so we can stare mindlessly at the TV some more!
Gibberish Point the Fifth: My Nanny is moving here from Florida! She gets here soon. We're very happy she is going to be living near us!
Okay. I'm gonna go zone out in front of X-Files (my boyfriend is a geek) for the rest of the night so I can study my butt off tomorrow for my lab exam and portfolio tomorrow. Ugh.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Halloween
Happy Birthday to the best Mommy in the world!
Today was kind of busy; we drove to my parents house, drove our last foster kitten down to be adopted (like he is every weekend), went to the grocery store for mom's birthday dinner, drove to Nick's parents house and visited, drove to town again to pick up the kitten, saw a lady looking at him, chatted a minute, she decided she wanted to adopt him, stayed late to adopt my last sweet baby out, drove home, was sad a little bit about adopting him out with mom and dad and Troy, made dinner for mom (white wine sauce linguine with seared scallops, cheese roasted veggies, homemade french bread, and carrot cake), then drove past Nick's parents house to go to Troy's friend's free haunted house, screamed a lot, drove home, and sat down, whereupon I just realized I forgot to steal toilet paper from mom's house like I meant to.
That was the longest run-on sentence ever! Go me!
Nick was "Captain One-Eyed Willy" and I was his pirate wench. I'll post photos later.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Camping at Wright Beach
I spent the weekend with my parents and brother at Wright Beach, outside of Bodega Bay.
Legend has it that more than 80 years ago the largest rock was connected to land, and a family was walking out on it with their son, who sadly slipped off and drowned. In his anger and wanting to prevent another tragedy like theirs ever recurring the father blew up the connecting rocks.
Despite this beach being so deadly that you can't go in the water (and even going near it is discouraged due to sleeper waves) we had a great time! Here mom in her pj's holds Kali and Troy holds Sage (who is in her fashionable doggy sweater) while they play and tangle themselves up.
Hiking up the path to walk back to our campground, viewing the beautiful huge waves through the fog.
Daddy!
Happy weekend! And a welcome respite from the heat in Sacramento (over a hundred!) while we enjoyed high fifties, s'mores, and dad's homemade chili. Yummy!
Legend has it that more than 80 years ago the largest rock was connected to land, and a family was walking out on it with their son, who sadly slipped off and drowned. In his anger and wanting to prevent another tragedy like theirs ever recurring the father blew up the connecting rocks.
Despite this beach being so deadly that you can't go in the water (and even going near it is discouraged due to sleeper waves) we had a great time! Here mom in her pj's holds Kali and Troy holds Sage (who is in her fashionable doggy sweater) while they play and tangle themselves up.
Hiking up the path to walk back to our campground, viewing the beautiful huge waves through the fog.
Daddy!
Happy weekend! And a welcome respite from the heat in Sacramento (over a hundred!) while we enjoyed high fifties, s'mores, and dad's homemade chili. Yummy!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Packing
There are not words to express today.
At least not words for polite company.
^_-
To summarize: Packed. Lifted. Carried. Packed. Played tetris by fitting boxes and dressers and tables into a car. Brought Nellie-kitten to the park-and-ride and picked her back up after she was at PetCo to try to get adopted. Brought Billy-kitten to the veterinary because he has persistent diarrhea that is not going away with regular treatments. Tried to find a new foster home for babies. Failed. Ran out of kitten food. Drove to Nick's, ate delicious turkey chili and cornbread. Drove Nick to my house, watched Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp (amazing!) and made chewy chocolate chip cookies to bribe people to help us move tomorrow. Drove us back to his. Packed more. Drove home. Cleaned.
WE MOVE TOMORROW HOLY CRAP.
At nine tomorrow morning Nick and I will be at our apartment filling out paperwork and getting keys and giving them money. At ten or ten thirty our parents will show up with tightly packed trucks and SUV's. We will begin to move. Will probably get tired. I will offer cookies and beg them to keep lifting the heavy things so I don't have to. Katie will lift heavy things. Then eat a cookie or five.
This time tomorrow night Nick and I will be in our first ever apartment. WHEEEEEEE!!!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Sounds to Remember
Most nights our living room sounds something like this:
"RAAAAWRRRRRGAAAAHRRRBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMZING!" (Dad, playing video games)
and, this:
and, this: [clickityclackitytypetypetype. snort.]
and, this:
Welcome to the Symington's.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
De Young and Legion of Honor
A few weekends ago my family and Nick went to San Francisco to see the Impressionist Exhibit at the De Young museum, and the subsequent exhibits at the Legion of Honor. It was very fun and soooo beautiful! We spent the night in a cute suite and ate expensive food.
Mom and Dad being all cute outside the Legion of Honor.
My dad also blogged about the visit on his new art blog where he blogs about his paintings, so click to see the pretty pictures: De Young and De Restless.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Van Damme
I just spent Sunday through Thursday at the Van Damme campground in Mendocino, near Fort Bragg on the coast. The weather was great--we were having cool mornings and warm afternoons and cold evenings while at home they were sweltering in the hundreds. Ugh!
We biked up trails and to the ocean, flew kites and ran in the sand, soaked our ankles, poked through tidepools, and ate too many s'mores. I camped with Nick and his whole family, and our friend Ryan who we've known forever and ever. We went down to Van Damme very specifically because Nick's dad dives for abalone. Last year we went down and I dove with them but this year I stayed on the rocks with his mom and sister while Nick, his dad, and Ryan dove. Nick's cousin Brett joined us after two days and he dove the third day as well. Each day they pried off two to three abalone (like 10-25 feet down, they are giant snails stuck to rocks and they can be impossible to pry off) and we feasted on abalone for dinner.
Abalone are so weird! You gut them (eeew), slice them thin, and then mallet them until they are tender and then cook them however you like. We fried them in tempura/panko and they're soooo delicious! Monica made the most amazing fish chowder as well with some abalone in it and ohmigod it was so yummy!
We had so much fun just hanging out. We stayed busy riding our bikes and driving to beautiful spots on the coast. At night we sipped tea (or beer, or gin and tonic, or wine, whatev) and talked and told jokes and traded stories. Nick and I found the best shower where you can get like 20 minutes for a buck instead of the five minutes you were supposed to, yay! And then we shared the good news with everyone else. I bet the guys thought it was weird to go to the girls side of the showers. Heh.
Ryan took some awesome photos of Nick and I that I am so happy to have--I'm going to print some out for our apartment! I'll post them soon.
PS I've got to still take photos of my room! I went camping before taking them and it still is a little messier than I want to photograph.
We biked up trails and to the ocean, flew kites and ran in the sand, soaked our ankles, poked through tidepools, and ate too many s'mores. I camped with Nick and his whole family, and our friend Ryan who we've known forever and ever. We went down to Van Damme very specifically because Nick's dad dives for abalone. Last year we went down and I dove with them but this year I stayed on the rocks with his mom and sister while Nick, his dad, and Ryan dove. Nick's cousin Brett joined us after two days and he dove the third day as well. Each day they pried off two to three abalone (like 10-25 feet down, they are giant snails stuck to rocks and they can be impossible to pry off) and we feasted on abalone for dinner.
Abalone are so weird! You gut them (eeew), slice them thin, and then mallet them until they are tender and then cook them however you like. We fried them in tempura/panko and they're soooo delicious! Monica made the most amazing fish chowder as well with some abalone in it and ohmigod it was so yummy!
We had so much fun just hanging out. We stayed busy riding our bikes and driving to beautiful spots on the coast. At night we sipped tea (or beer, or gin and tonic, or wine, whatev) and talked and told jokes and traded stories. Nick and I found the best shower where you can get like 20 minutes for a buck instead of the five minutes you were supposed to, yay! And then we shared the good news with everyone else. I bet the guys thought it was weird to go to the girls side of the showers. Heh.
Ryan took some awesome photos of Nick and I that I am so happy to have--I'm going to print some out for our apartment! I'll post them soon.
PS I've got to still take photos of my room! I went camping before taking them and it still is a little messier than I want to photograph.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Happy
. . . because Mom and Dad called us from Alaska! For two and a half weeks all we had for communication was a few emails so it was exciting to hear their voices again. They are having a wonderful time on their 26 day trip from Beijing to Alaska.
We're doing well here too, bar a few arguments and if you ignore the mess. ^_- And the mess even isn't that bad--it's not any worse than it ever gets with Mom and Dad here, and we all recognize that we will spend a while cleaning before they arrive this Saturday night. It's been nice being in charge but I miss my padres.
We're doing well here too, bar a few arguments and if you ignore the mess. ^_- And the mess even isn't that bad--it's not any worse than it ever gets with Mom and Dad here, and we all recognize that we will spend a while cleaning before they arrive this Saturday night. It's been nice being in charge but I miss my padres.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Freedom . . .
. . . is having my mom's credit card while she and dad are on their 23 day long cruise from China to Alaska. Unfortunately I'm too terrified of my mom to use it for anything besides groceries. The downside to having a credit card since my parents are on the other side of the world is that all of a sudden I'm veeeery aware of exactly how fast the grass grows and thus needs to be mowed, how annoying it is to have to shepherd two eighteen-year-old, and how much mess three people can make in the house. The upside is I'm in chaaaaarge! Wheee!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Helping Mom Pack
Monday, April 19, 2010
Resolved
Just turned down a cruise to Europe in favor of getting two AS degrees and being able to afford a couch for our future apartment. Currently in shock. Wondering if I made the right choice. Minutes after hanging up the phone with my aunt to tell her no, thank you, I had a screechy conversation with my mom and Quentin and Troy in which I questioned every part of that decision. Still feeling screechy and like I might pull out my hair.
New Katie Slogan:
I'd rather be in Rome.
Conflicted
Imagine coming home and discovering that you have been invited on a cruise to Europe. The cruise itself is paid for, you just have to pay half of the airfare, and you'd be going with people that you know and love. Sounds too good to pass up, right?
Gah, I don't know.
My aunt and her family have an extra bed in their cabin that I could take, which is so awesome. I've cruised with them a bunch before and always have a great time. And it's EUROPE! We'd be stopping in Gibraltar, Alicante, Barcelona, Marseille, Florence, and Rome, and spending four days in Rome after the cruise before flying home. I am dying to go.
BUT. (Always a but. Stupid buts.) I'm saving up to move out with Nick. We already feel poor, and I've stopped spending my money, and I'm plotting ways to make more money over the summer. This trip I would be paying about 450 for airfare, a hundred or two for souvenirs, and god knows how much for trip excursions. I figure I'm looking at about a thousand dollars, which is about three months rent. (EEK!) (Nick seconds this EEK, but in a more manly way.)
Everything else is totally working out--my work is so understanding (I think my supervisor would go instead of me if she could ^_^), my yoga instructor says I can just do some extra work on my own to make up for the missed classes, and my online classes I could do on the ship.
I did wake up this morning and suddenly remember that I have to take a microbiology final exam for my Incomplete in microbiology from last semester (when I was sick with IBS/nervous stomach/anxiety and fell behind) and that I would be missing that test. So I wouldn't get my AS degrees that I was planning on getting come May. (Come to think of it, I think I'd miss the whole stage walking/accepting my degrees altogether if I go. Jeez.)
I am conflicted. I want to go so, so bad. It's just really bad timing. I don't know what I'm going to do, and I have to decide by tonight.
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