Phone Weekend.

Hi friends!  Sorry for the disappearing act – Memorial Day sort of bums me out & the overall blogworld attitude of “wooo three day weekend” just sort of made me angry.  I spent a lot of time thinking about Marc this weekend and being sort of sad that I understand the true meaning of Memorial Day these days, so it was better that I stayed off the internets.

Instead, I snapped a few pictures with my phone & called it good.

Friday evening: Went out for drinks with friends (and crashed at their house).  Somehow got really drunk off of three drinks and stumbled home.  Gross.

Saturday: Woke up at 6 am.  Went to a small town fishing derby, drank tea & ate a muffin, went for a walk.  Drove home, went for a 16 mile bike ride with my pops & then met my friend for sushi.  We spilt summer rolls and I had a thai salad (basic salad but add eggs, bean sprouts and peanut sauce) and a sunset roll (brown rice, spicy tuna and salmon on top).  Took a nap, ate dinner & babysat from 7-11.  While I was sitting, I read The Art of Racing in the Rain & I loved it – it was a great read.

 

Sunday: Woke up early, ate cereal & a chewy fruit bar.  Drove to my farmstand, since I’d seen on my ride the day before that they had asparagus.  Bought two bunches of asparagus and a bag of kale for 6$ and then ran/walked a 5k with Marc’s family.  Marc’s sister Maddie and I walked maybe 25% of it and ran the rest.  It was hot and blah, but it was fun.  We crossed the finish line in 39:26, which wasn’t bad due to our walking!  We ended up running back out and running back in with her dad (who just finished chemo) and then back out and in with her mom who walked the course.  I came home, showered, did dishes and laundry, grilled asparagus, made peanut butter and lounged for the rest of the day.

 

Monday: I did basically nothing.  I walked the dog down to the pond for a swim (and he drowned his frisbee), applied for two jobs, called my grandmother and napped.  I grilled tofu and asparagus for dinner, along with some sautéed kale & chickpeas.  I was laughing because my dad and I were using the grill at the same time and he was grilling chicken and white potatoes.   I ended up going out at nine pm because I was craving ice cream – it was a very productive (ahem) day.

I have been really lazy lately – taking advantage of my opportunities to nap and do nothing.  I know soon enough I’ll have a job, so it’s easy to do nada and not feel too guilty about it.

Do you think I’ll turn into an asparagus stalk if I keep eating a pound a day?

Boring Days, Boring Post.

Hi friends!  It’s funny – I have tons of time to post now, but due to said free time, I’ve got nothing to post about!  This week has included babysitting a few times, a little exercise (all bike riding has been thwarted by rainy days!), lots of naps, some reading, a few job applications, an interview, a “no” from another interview (bummer!) – things like this!

I’m hoping the rest of the weekend will be a little more exciting.  I was really looking forward to biking today, but surprise it’s raining!  I might ride my trainer for 30 minutes or so, but I hate that I don’t know the mileage I’m riding.  I have a computer on my bike, but it’s set up to clock the rotations of my front week and on my trainer, my front wheel doesn’t move.

I did get a little strength training in this morning, in the comfort of my bedroom while watching True Life…

Strength Training at Home

10 pushups (nose to floor)
1 minute plank (on forearms)
30 seconds side plank (left)
30 seconds side plank (right)
1 minute wall sit
15 booty slimmers (each side)
15 plié squats with upright rows (low weight because they’re not that good for you)
30 crunches
30 Russian twists (holding dumbbells)
30 chest flyes with double leg lifts
10 push ups (nose to floor)

Not surprisingly, due to the yuck weather, it was another chill day around here.  I didn’t take any pictures because it was boring.  I babysat for an hour and a half, made pizza on the grill, and watched Hart of Dixie (I am full blown obsessed with that show – don’t judge me!).  I also made plans to babysit for tomorrow night, which was easy since my social calendar is oh so full these days.

I’m going out with friends tonight though, and hopefully getting a bike ride in tomorrow!  Then tomorrow night is babysitting, a 5k on Sunday for Marc and other local soldiers (I’m walking it!) and who knows on Monday?  Long weekends are not as exciting when having no plans is the norm for everyday.

Do you have any “guilty pleasure” TV shows?

Grilled Stuff.

Hey!

This is sort of a rambly random post, so I apologize for that.

The last time I posted was Sunday.  It was a beautiful day & I got a great bike ride in.  I ended up meeting some friends for drinks at a local place & spilt some chips & salsa with the table. We had a great time laughing for a few hours & being amazed at just how terrible our waitress was…Then, I thought it was a great idea to come home and exchange text messages with a boy for four hours.  Yeah, I really like sleeping, so Monday morning was a treat.

Monday was babysitting, a long nap and happy hour with friends.  I’m trying to save money, but I don’t pass up 3$ drinks and 1/2 price appetizers!  I had a margarita, bruschetta & fried calamari (that my friends helped me eat!) for 14$, with tip.  Can’t beat it.  I didn’t take any pictures, but we had fun quoting Bridesmaids while stuffing our faces.   I really do need to stop spending so much time/money going out though, because it adds up fast!

When I got home last night, I had an e-mail from a company in Austin, TX wanting to do a Skype interview, so that ended up on the docket for today.  Video chats/interviews are so damn weird.  I think it went well, but she asked a lot of questions about the company & I am not super familiar with that particular study abroad company.

Today also included going for a treadmill run (2.5 miles), being incredibly hungry & McKinley getting his hairs cut.  He looks like such a pup with short hair.

Dinner ended up being really early, due to being so hungry.  I grilled some asparagus and tofu, which ended up being delicious.  The tofu I used was Nasoya’s extra firm tofu plus, which I started marinating this morning.

I sliced the block into six slices, pressed them between paper towels and put them in a marinade that was 2 tablespoons each olive oil, less sodium soy sauce & honey with dashes of cayenne, black pepper, ground ginger and garlic.  It came out slightly crispy on the outside and a really nice tender texture on the inside.  The marinade had the perfect bit of heat to it – I ate 2/3 of the tofu and 1/2 of the asparagus.

Now I’m munching on an entire English cucumber and getting ready to have a lazy evening in bed.  I’ve got babysitting and a bike ride on the docket for tomorrow!

Do you like grilling?  I only like to grill things that won’t kill people if I cook them wrong, so I stick with veggies, tofu and pizza dough.

Funday Sunday.

Hi friends!  Can I just tell you yet again how nice it is to remember that I now have a lot of free time for blogging, exercising and seeing friends?  Gosh, I missed my life.

It is a new thing though, to see my Google Calendar empty.  I’m used to it being full.  That’s me though, I like being busy – throughout my college life, I’ve always had multiple jobs, tons of coursework and a packed schedule.  It’s weird to see nothing on there!

 

Rewinding to last night real quick – I made dinner for my dad and I because he had some maintenance to do on one of his bikes before his 80 mile ride today.  I made a big salad with romaine, cucumber, fresh (raw) corn, red onion, hardboiled egg and avocado topped with a maple mustard vinaigrette first, then grilled pizza.  I like doing grilled pizza just because it means the house doesn’t get as hot from having the oven on.  I think it pretty much tastes the same.

 

This morning, I woke up when my dad was leaving and replied to blog comments, finally clearing my inbox.  I made a smoothie for breakfast (2 cups unsweetened almond milk, banana, 1 scoop vanilla whey protein, 2 tbsp peanut flour & ice) alongside a chewy fruit bar.  They really came together after sitting in the fridge and they are oh-my-god delicious.  Yum.  I ate breakfast while I finished the last book in the 50 Shades trilogy.  I know everyone was raving about them, but I thought the writing was pretty terrible – I guess they were engaging because I read all three.  I didn’t think they were nearly as risqué as some people said, but I guess there were still some parts that were pretty, uh, interesting.

After eating & reading I set off on my new bike’s inaugural ride.  I’ve decided she’s definitely a girl and need to think of a name.  Also, my new car is a boy and he needs a name as well.  I rode 14.5 miles in just over an hour, stopped halfway at some picnic tables to chug a vitamin water.  It is super hot out today (it’s 90 right now on my deck), so even though I had a Camelbak full of water, I appreciate my decision to stop for an ice cold drink.  Sitting in the sun was a nice rest too, before I headed home.  I even wore my Road ID – with photographic evidence.  I loooooove my new bike.

 

Now, I’m sitting on my deck, listening to the river, with McKinley panting next to me.  I finally remembered to call his groomer for a haircut, so hopefully that will happen this week!

Before I go, two funny things to share:

In 2010, my friend Holly & I flew down to North Carolina to visit my friend Maddie.  The first morning we were there, after I finished showering, I couldn’t get out of the shower!  I was super embarrassed and picturing my friends having to come in and rescue me while I was nekkid, but after a minute I figure out I needed to pull the shower door, not push it.  It still makes me laugh, especially because at the exact same time, my friend Holly had gotten herself stuck in the fold-out couch.

And this one, courtesy of Lara.  It’s just plain funny.

Do you name inanimate objects too?

Graduation Things.

Afternoon friends!

So, I guess if I count last night’s convocation as graduation, I am a college graduate, officially.  The ceremony was nice, blissfully short, which I appreciated.  The chair of the council presented me with my award (a certificate & a book that I am totally geeking out over) and he made a really nice speech about me to go with it.  I’m glad my family was able to come and see the ceremony, because they were really excited about it.  Those sort of things are really not my cup of tea, but I guess I could say I’m pretty proud of myself as well.  Other than my grandmother telling my professor my childhood nicknames and other terribly embarrassing things, I escaped unscathed.

We had a “family” dinner afterwards, which was weird due to my parents having divorced almost twenty years ago and an awkward mix of sides of the family, but everyone got along for the most part.  The food was good – we went here.  I had the special which was bay scallops over ravioli in a roasted red pepper and basil cream sauce.  I also had delicious homemade bread and one lovely glass of Riesling, which was perfect.

 

Only managed one picture on my camera, in which we’re all looking at different cameras.  Oh well.  In order: me, my third cousin Linda, my mom, her stepmother & my dad’s mom.  And, said book that I am looking forward to geeking out over – a fitting choice, for me.

Today, was just plain old fun.  I was woken up early by a text message invitation from one of best friends.  We had breakfast at my usual spot & my dad treated us both (since he was there eating as well).  A quick stop at WalMart & Marshalls, then a shower & then my graduation reward – a massage.  I booked myself an hour Swedish massage to reward myself and it was spectacular.  I spent the afternoon reading & lounging, before my dad surprised me my graduation present from him.

Isn’t she pretty?!  I’m so excited!

And tonight, I’m in charge of making dinner, since my dad is headed out on an 80 mile bike ride tomorrow with some friends.  Wonder what I’ll come up with…I’m thinking grilled pizza and big salads!

Chewy Fruit Bars.

Hi, friends.  Man, it feels weird to say that I’m done with college.  So, so, so weird.  I didn’t feel any different today than I ever have, so we’ll see when it sets in.  Maybe it will set it at my awards ceremony tomorrow, which my family has invited a crowd to.  It makes me happy that they’re proud of me, and I know tomorrow’s ceremony is effectively acting as a stand-in for me not walking at graduation on Saturday.  Speaking of tomorrow though, I’m wearing this outfit with black heels.  I wanted to wear something a little brighter, but since the dress code is supposed to be caps & gowns for the people walking, I figured I’d tone things done (our gowns are black).  It’s just a simple black top and one of my favorite skirts – pretty, but casual.

And speaking of not walking at graduation.  Yeah, I’m going to be getting a massage instead.  That sounds way more fun to me.

Today, I grocery shopped with my pops first thing.  We stocked on tons of things, which was nice.  It’s always interesting to shop together, since we have very different tastes, but we make it work.  Notable purchases: chicken, ground beef, crackers, cheese (for him), frozen vegetables, wheat tortillas, peanut butter cereal, graham crackers (for me), fish, pizza dough, yogurt, english muffins (for both of us).  Yum.

My other project for the day was whipping up a delicious treat using both Musselman’s Applesauce & a Musselman’s recipe – Chewy Fruit Bars.  I pretty much followed their recipe to a T, besides using Natural applesauce instead of cinnamon and adding apricots & cherries instead of raisins & walnuts (because I despise both …)

The top is a little crumblier than I’d like, but they taste like apple crisp and are incredibly awesome.  I love when Musselman’s shares recipes, because they’re always delicious.  I can’t wait to eat more of these, especially with some vanilla ice cream.  Mmmmm.  I especially love the idea of using applesauce as a filling and I think that’s an easily adaptable way to change up the recipe, so many ideas! Try them!  (Note: I received the applesauce and recipes directly from Musselman’s and am not being compensated in any way for my comments)

 

Tomorrow’s agenda = coffee with a friend, a workout, some work, awards ceremony and a big awkward family dinner.  Wish me luck!

Do you ever bake with applesauce?

Weird Week.

*huge exhale*

About 10 minutes, I finished my last assignment of my undergraduate career.  Such a weird feeling.

This week has been so weird, in general.  I spent the weekend in Maine, with my mom, which was interesting all on its own, because my mom and I are very different people.

• I had my first real job interview on Friday, over the phone.  We talked for 20 minutes, give or take, and I think it went really well.  It’s a temporary position, but right up my alley and perfect for networking.  I hear next week as far as how it went… *fingers crossed*
• In a moment of “I need a job desperation” I joined an au pair website and I gotta tell you, the German families on the site are blowin’ up my inbox so much right now.  I want to get done with university completely and find out if I get offered a real job (so sick of applications!) before I commit to living abroad for 6 months to a year watching little kids.
• Yesterday was my last day of work at my job at school.  This was something that made me really sad and it still hasn’t kicked in that I won’t be working there anymore.  I have been really lucky to work with a bunch of amazing women there for the last three years and I don’t want to leave!
• Work threw a little party for the three of us that we leaving, complete with cards (that I couldn’t read in front of them because I felt myself start to cry), personalized picture frames, and money.  I am so blessed to have known everyone there and had the experiences I have had.
• Tonight is my last class meeting, ever, and after my award ceremony on Friday, I’ll be totally done. Eeek.
• I can’t wait to throw away all sorts of papers and crap I’ve been saving until school is over, clean my room for real and be able to read books for pleasure again!

I also can’t wait to be able to blog again on the regular because I’m not so stressed out trying to work three jobs, finish school, get hired for a real job, and have a life, all at once!

I promise to be back tomorrow with better posts and comments on your blogs