Anala's Abstractions

MOVING!

2011-04-06T12:25:00.000-07:00

I've moved my blog!

My new home is City Girl Tumblr ! Come follow me there on all of my adventures!

Gadget Queen

2011-02-10T14:19:00.000-08:00

It all started with my Kitchen Aid Mixer and now it has spiraled out of control. Next I bought a food processor which helped with making homemade pie crusts and will definitely be used to make homemade pesto and other culinary dishes . Now I just acquired this little puppy: AN ICE CREAM MAKER! I have wanted one for so long and this one was rated really well on Amazon and so I can't wait to get it and make my own ice cream/frozen yogurt. With this I will also need to get a membership to my local gym because this is going to be dangerous!

Goodbye...

2011-01-19T20:46:00.000-08:00

My sad toe

RIP Alana's Toenail 1/19/2011

This morning as I was getting dressed I inadvertently said goodbye to my darling toenail on my right foot. It was quick, and apparently had been coming for some time. As you can see there's been some blood, and I had planned on going from a run this week but I am little nervous about it so I think I am going to hold off. I think also means it's time for some new running shoes.....

Long Weekend

2011-01-14T14:40:00.000-08:00

I am super excited for the long weekend! RSlo is going away camping tomorrow morning and I am thrilled to be spending time with my girls! There will be kayaking, picnic lunches, wine tasting, and some culinary adventures throughout the weekend. I will be tackling Korean BBQ for Saturday night dinner, and I will be channeling the great Julia Child and making a Roast Chicken for Sunday dinner. I plan on taking lots of pictures and share how everything turns out!

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T10:39:00.000-08:00

2010 was a really exciting year in which I felt I wasn't afraid to take risks and push myself to do things that made scared me. I traveled across the country seeing friends and family on a summer roadtrip, joined a fabulous bookclub where I got to meet some amazing women and enjoy reading wonderful books, studied for and took the dreaded LSAT, and trained and ran my first marathon! This has been a good year filled with highs and lows but I am happy to start a new year that I have no doubt will be filled with more adventures, challenges, and opportunities for me to learn and grow! Here are some of my resolutions for 2011:

Read more books and watch less tv! I watch entirely too much crappy tv so I have found that I am reading more with my Kindle anyway so now it's time to cut back on my television usage.
FIND A JOB! I decided that I don't want to go to law school and that I actually love the field that I work in, so this spring will be spent looking for a new job.
Enjoy my time in California! With looking for a new job, the reality that I will be leaving California in June is setting in more and more, so I want to enjoy my time in the state and visit lots of my friends that live all across the state.
Cook more! 2010 found me discovering a passion for cooking and baking and so I want to do more of it! I want to tackle more challenging recipes and just have fun in the kitchen.
Shop less! I need to save money, that's all.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! HERE'S TO A GREAT 2011!

Hibernating for the Winter

2010-12-06T16:30:00.000-08:00

The time is approaching for me to make my yearly pilgrimage back to the cold, snowy, wintery East Coast for the Holidays. I'll be in NYC for a week and then Indiana for 5 days. Being in California for 3 years my body has become wimpy and can't stand the cold, so for most of my time East I spend my days curled up in pajamas reading. I am very selective about where I go and what I do when I venture out into the chilly weather but I do spend a lot of time catching up on my reading which I love. With the addition of my Kindle I imagine that I will power through several books while staying warm and toasty inside. Here is my list of books thus far:

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins- I'm currently reading the Hunger Games which is the first book and I am already hooked! This will be book 2 of the 3 book series and I bet I will get through this one and Mockingjay which is the final book
My Life in France by Julia Child- The captivating story of Julia Child’s years in France, where she fell in love with French food and found her true calling. I love French food and am dying to go to France so this book should hold me over for a while until I save enough money.
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood- This was the book for my last book club meeting and I didn't really even start it so I am going to sit down and finish it.

Any other suggestions???

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

2010-11-12T14:42:00.000-08:00

Once again my birthday was here and went away. This year it was a lot more relaxing. I took the day off, got a mani/pedi and didn't do anything too crazy or planned out. I had a bday dinner with RSlo at our favorite restaurant and the next night RSlo made me an amazing dinner at home. He made Beef Bourguignon and it was incredible.

Both my RA's and my friend Kari made me red velvet cake so I've got lots of cake and this weekend I am going to tackle making an apple pie. Overall I had a wonderful day and this year my goal is not get bogged down by the small stuff and to do more cooking and baking!

Nike Womens Marathon

2010-10-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

I DID IT! I ran my first full marathon. I still sometimes look back on the day in shock and awe that I was able to accomplish it.

For me running the race was a emotional experience, I was entranced with the 20,000 runners that showed up to race day and inspired by all of the women that ran alongside me.

Race start was 7am and RSlo, my good friend Kari and I got there at 6:30 am and stretched and warmed up . It took me about 15 minutes to get up to the starting line and by the time I was up there I was ready to go and start running. The first half of the race was super packed because all 20,000 were running the same course throughout San Francisco and the full and half marathon course split at Mile 11 and that's where it became a lot easier to run. Here are my highlights during my 26.2

Mile 3- I saw my friend Karla! She and I had been talking a lot about the race (she was doing the half) but we were realistic that with so many people running we would likely not see each other. But as I was running in Fisherman's Wharf someone tugged my shorts and it was Karla! I was so excited and happy to see her. We didn't chat for long but wished each other well and kept going!

Mile 4- This was the first time I saw RSlo and Kari, they were able to take my long sleeve shirt. They had a little adventure themselves as when they went to get the car out of the overnight parking garage they realized they couldn't until 9am!! I was due to reach mile 4 at 8 am, so they had to take a taxi to mile 4 and then cab it back to the start line. Kari was adorable when she explained this to me, because she was really calm and I think she didn't want to freak me out.

Mile 9- There were oranges!!! When you're running water and gatorade are nice, but the juice from the orange slices we got there were refreshing and the sugar provided a lot of energy. There was a little boy holding a tray of oranges and he was the cutest little thing ever. In addition to oranges I was able to grab a banana which helped a lot since I was cramping up in my stomach. Almost immediately after I ate the banana the cramp was gone.

Mile 11- the full and half marathon course separated. Thank the lord! There were less people doing the full so I didn't have to navigate through people.

Mile 12- My friend Kari is a redhead and when I saw her red hair at mile 12 I was hurting. All of the aid stations by then were always inundated with people so I had been skipping some of them to avoid the crowd and I was starting to get dehydrated. It also didn't help that I had downed a salt packet (it helps replenish electrolytes). I was nervous that my muscles were going to begin to cramp up. Kari began running and she had some orange slices for me and she was able to stop at the aid stations and pick up water for me while I continued to run. She was with me when I ran through the 13.1 the halfway mark of the race, and was supportive.

Mile 15- here I saw Rslo and my other friend Christy and her hubby Mike. They were holding a sign that said "you do best", Kari told me that my RA's made the sign for me and I immediately starting crying. I was really happy to have the sign and see my friends supporting me.

Mile 20- Kari met me back on the course and by this point the race became mental for me. I knew that I had 6 miles to go and that was really nothing compared to the 20 I had just run, but it would also mean that I had another hour of running to do! Having Kari there really helped a lot. Kari came on to run and I noticed she had a sign on her back, the sign said "the race does not always go to the swift but to those that keep on running". Anytime Kari was in front of me I read the sign and pushed myself more. Kari had signs taped on the front of her. She had emailed my friends and co-workers and had them write supportive notes to me. She had 19 notes so she read 3 every mile. This was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for me and I was emotional hearing the words of my friends but also that Kari would spend time putting this together. The notes really did help me through the end of the race as it reminded me that there were people rooting for me and wanting me to succeed and accomplish this goal. There were moments when I REALLY wanted to stop and walk as I watched others around me do so but these notes pushed me onward and forward. I am forever grateful to Kari.

Mile 25 & 26- So the closer I got to the end, the more the race sucked. I knew I was almost there, but I wasn't quite there yet. By the time I got to 26 I had to say goodbye to Kari as they only let runners with bibs run the last .2. I could see out of the corner of my eye that Kari was continuing to run and I knew that this was the end and I had to pick up the pace. After every training run I sprinted at the end and this wasn't going to be any different. My finishing time was 4:32:02. RSlo was the first person I saw at the finish line and we hugged and I lost it. 4 months of training was complete and I had done it! Not to mention I got that lovely blue box. A girl couldn't ask for a better day!

I sometimes still can't believe I did it. I am immensely proud of myself and it was such a rewarding experience. I have to say that I could not have done it without the support of my friends and family. My friends Kristy and Kari did endless training runs with me and gave me lots of wisdom and advice. Rslo although a non-believer in the beginning always massaged my legs after long runs. My mom always asked me about my runs and told me she was proud of me. My friends Josh and Ali helped me find a 12 mile run when we visited them this summer in Nashville. Thanks for believing in me!

Less than 1 percent of the US population has ever run a marathon and I am so proud to be a part that of elite group. People ask me if I will run another one and I am not sure yet, and I am learning to never say never. But for now I am going to relish in this accomplishment!

It's Almost Here!!

2010-10-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

In six days I will be running my first full marathon. It's finally here!! 5 months of training all pays off. My goal is to run my race in under 4 hours and 30 minutes and I feel ready that I can accomplish it. I am so excited for this race which is something I have never felt before in any of the half marathons I have done.

This final week of training has me running no more than 3 miles in each run and I will even get to do the elliptical machine at the gym which is my very favorite. I got up to 20 miles a couple of weeks ago and although it was a bit of a rough run (we were experiencing a heat wave here in CA, and so it was not fun running in the hot weather) I made it through and I feel strong and prepared for the race. I head up to the Bay area on Friday-I'm staying with a friend on Friday night and then up to SF on Saturday to check into my hotel, roam around the city, and check in for the race. A good friend of mine will be running the last 6 miles with me as I anticipate those will be the hardest of the race and RSlo and a couple of my friends will be traveling around the city and seeing me at different mile points. I really can't believe I am doing this! I will be sure to blog about the experience post race.

I am also excited for this little lovely box I will get at the end of the race.

The Best Anniversary gift ever!

2010-09-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

I am in love....

RSlo got me this bad boy for our anniversary. If you've been following my blog you know that it has been my DREAM to have a KitchenAid Mixer. I love baking and my little electric mixer just hasn't been cutting it for all the tasty treats I like to make. My jaw dropped when I found out this is what I was getting and let me tell you, I sit in my living room and stare at this amazing machine. I am going to use it tomorrow to make cinnamon bread for RSlo since he will be back from Indiana. We haven't seen each other for 2 weeks so it will be nice to have him back, but I am not going to lie, knowing that I was getting this mixer helped me cope with him being gone. I have a wonderful bf!

3 years...

2010-09-17T14:22:00.000-07:00

Disneyland- 11/2009

RSlo and I will be celebrating our 3 year anniversary on Sunday! My goodness I can't believe it's been this long, I still remember him calling me the night we decided to start dating and us talking for a while and then realizing that during the entire conversation he was standing in front of the dumpster near my my apartment building! Since then we always refer to our anniversary as "Dumpster Day". I love him very much and he really is my best friend and I always enjoy being around him. He's my biggest cheerleader and I've grown and learned so much being with him these past 3 years.

Sadly we won't be together on Sunday since he is in Indiana with his family right now. I'll be thinking of him a lot on Sunday and I can't wait until he gets back and we can celebrate together!

Stay in the positive

2010-09-12T14:59:00.001-07:00

Thinking positive thoughts this week....

Hope you all will too...

Happenings

2010-09-01T10:19:00.000-07:00

I'm in the midst of RA training, which is exhausting and fun all at the time same time! I love my RA's and I am looking forward to the year!

Heading to Vegas for a bachelorette party Saturday morning! Leaving RSlo at home while I paint the town red with my friends.

My 16 mile run was amazing, I felt invincible, powerful and excited for my marathon!

Will post updates on my many adventures throughout the next couple of weeks!

It's Amazing...

2010-08-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

how you can run 9 miles over the weekend and feel like you are on top of the world and then run 6 miles a couple of days later and feel like you want to die....

On another note, I have incorporated swimming into my training routine. I'll swim on days when I am supposed to cross train which is twice a week. I had been not doing anything so I think swimming will only be positive.

Next up 16 miles on Saturday... yikes!

Diary of a Runner

2010-08-16T17:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday I ran 14 miles, my longest run yet. Here are the highlights:

Running at 6:40 am you tend to see lots of creepers so I tried to stay alert.
It drizzled for most of the run (not sure what's up with the weather when I run long distances).
Miles 13 and 14 were the roughest, I had to keep telling myself I could finish.
I ran out of water miles 13 and 14...
I was surprisingly not as sore as I thought I would be the next day.

Every long run gives me anxiety since it's distances I have yet to ever run. While I am happy with where I am, I realize I still have a long way to go before race day and that scares me. I also need to think about changing my diet, it wouldn't hurt for me to be a little healthier.

Pizza Night

2010-08-15T17:39:00.000-07:00

When we got back from our trip RSlo and I decided to have a pizza night. We bought a pizza stone at Target and got all the ingredients for pizza at Trader Joes. We each were responsible for a pizza and we put on music and made our pizzas. It was fun to cook together and it was nice to be eating at home. Before I took off on the trip I got a new oven so I was excited to be using it for our pizza.

RSlo making his bbq sauce

Making my pizza- you can tell I was excited

Rslo used to work in a pizzeria- he was showing off

My finished product

Rslo's pizza

The pizza's were delicious! Both had good flavors and we enough for lunch the next day. After dinner we headed over to a friend's apartment for drinks and to see many of our friends we hadn't seen all summer. It's been nice being back here in California!

Road Trip

2010-08-11T13:26:00.000-07:00

My first road trip is completed! I had a fantastic time and it was nice having RSlo as my travel companion. After Nashville we drove to Memphis and stayed over night. I don't know that Memphis is going to be on my list of favorite cities but we did get to go to the Civil Rights Museum which was constructed next to the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King was assasinated. We spent about 2 hours in the museum reading about the history of civil rights in this country as well as the events surrounding Dr. King's death. We were also able to see the room that Dr. King during his trip in Memphis when he was assassinated. You can also walk across the street and see the room where it is believed that James Earl Ray sat when he shot MLK. It was all really powerful and a great way to spend an afternoon. In the evening we headed out to the Beale Street which is the Bourbon Street of Memphis. There are a lot of bars and restaurants and there is a lot of live music to see. We ended up heading to BB Kings jazz club and listening to music which was nice since it was inside and air conditioned. Memphis was blazing HOT. It was close to 100 degrees during the day and cooled down to maybe 80 degrees in the evening. We were melting but we had a great time.

We headed to New Orleans following Memphis and this was my most favorite place of the whole trip. It was also really hot there but that didn't stop us from going out and enjoying the food, culture, and music of New Orleans. From Bourbon Street, to Rebirth Brass Band, to jazz clubs we made the most of time in the Big Easy and lived it up! I kept saying that I would live in New Orleans and RSlo agreed with me so who knows maybe that will be the next place we move to!

Maple Leaf Bar where we saw the Rebirth Brass Band

On the trolley heading back from the bar

RSlo made a new friend with the conductor

We had fun in the stores looking for gifts for our family

So Handsome

The room where this was taken was where this was signed

My favorite place in New Orleans!

Beignets and Cafe Au Lait the perfect afternoon snack

behind us is the Mississippi River

Bourbon Street!

After we left New Orleans we had a long haul for the next two days in an attempt to get to Las Vegas. We left New Orleans at lunchtime and we got to Dallas where we stopped for dinner and then pushed on to Amarillo where we stopped for the night. We slept in the car in the parking lot of a Walmart (classy I know) but surprisingly it wasn't bad and actually comfortable. The next day we kept driving and stopped in Albuquerque for lunch and then in Flagstaff for dinner. We went out and enjoyed Flagstaff for the evening and it's a pretty cool town. It was the first Friday and the town had an outdoor movie going on and many of the downtown establishments had drinks and appetizers, it was fun to walk around and see. We spent another night in the car (we looked up hotels but it was too expensive), this time not so comfortable as the last and by then I was ready to get to Vegas where we had a hotel and I could shower and be comfortable. Vegas was not all that I expected it to be, and to be honest I wasn't impressed. I'm not a big drinker anyway so the allure of drinking until you puke was not enticing and I don't gamble so I wasn't doing that. We had a great dinner on the strip and walked around and then called it a night. I am glad that I was able to go and see but it left me feeling "eh". The next afternoon we had lunch in Vegas and that hauled the 7 hour trip back home. I was happy to finally be home and not living out of suitcase. We got home and celebrated the end of our trip with a movie night. We rented Invictus got snacks and drinks and enjoyed being back. It's been nice having time back with out work but it is slowly ending as we begin work again tomorrow and the craziness of prepping for students to return ensues. I also need to kick law school applications into high gear, which means finishing my personal statement and finalizing my list of schools. But for now I will lounge and be lazy and organize my pictures from the trip.

Hoover Dam on our way to Vegas

There's a bit of history for you

Vegas!

Bellagio Hotel

The ending of our trip

Water Show

Last lunch in Vegas, he went out with a bang

Summer Adventures Part II

2010-08-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

I am finally back in California!!! I had an awesome vacation and it was so much fun seeing friends! I was bad about posting pictures so now I have some to put up and share!

NYC

I grew up about 5 blocks from here

It rained at the game

We spent the day with my lovely mom!

Indiana

Had lunch with my friends from grad school, who I hadn't seen in 2 years!

We went to the County Fair and I got to pet all of the animals, I was in heaven

The piggys were spooning

Nashville

Fitting that we saw this in Nashville (RSlo's hometown is French Lick, IN)

We went to a Blues Bar in Nashville to hear really great music

Alie and Josh- Josh and RSlo have known each other since they were born and Alie is his lovely wife. They are really awesome friends

Memphis

National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis

The Lorraine Motel where MLK was shot

When in the south you must have southern food

BB Kings jazz club in Beale Street

Diary of a Runner

2010-08-01T08:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I did my longest run of yet...12 miles. Today I am a little sore but feeling very accomplished. We are in Nashville staying in with good friends and I knew I had to do a long run while we were there and I was worried about running in the heat so I got up at 6 am on Saturday morning and got down to the run. I even slept in my running clothes to make sure it was easy to crawl out of bed and get on the road. My plan was to do 6 miles out and 6 miles back to the house and it was easy enough that I ran down one road all the way there. The first half was smooth, I had regularly run 6 miles so it didn't feel like anything I hadn't done before. I recently bought a fuel belt so I had water when I needed it and I have a playlist for running on my Ipod.

The second half of the run is where things got interesting. No sooner than did I turn around to start the second half did the rain come. Not a little drizzle, this was full on rain! I thought about stopping, but I was reminded of my friend Kristy who once told me that if it rained during my race I would continue to run so I should run in the rain during my training runs. She had a great point so I stuck it out and ran. The only thing that was a little uncomfortable was that my pants were heavier since they were cotton and were soaked. There were moments when I really wanted to stop but I pushed through. Towards the last mile of the run, a white car drove by me and I realized it was RSlo! I thought he would have still been sleeping by the time I got back from my run, but he hadn't realized that I gotten up earlier to run so he was surprised that I was so close to being done. It was nice to have him there and right at the end of the run he was standing in front of the house and I was exhausted by then (and it didn't help there was a small hill I had to run up), so I simply focused on his tie-dye shirt all the way until the end. I did the run in 2 hours exactly, which I was so proud of and I am glad that I pushed myself to do it!

I am super happy about my run. I am getting into runs now which will be more that I have ever done before so every long run is a little daunting but I am staying motivated and positive. I also need to start downloading more music because my playlist is only 2 hours long, and these longer runs will take a lot more time.

Summer Adventures Part I

2010-07-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

I write this sitting in the living room of RSlo's parents home in French Lick, Indiana (it's a small town whose claim to fame is being the home of Larry Bird- the Celtics player). We got in this afternoon after our fun filled time in NYC. We met up in NYC, me coming from Boston where I had a fantastic time with my good friend from grad school Lauren. We ate good food, watched Inception, (phenomenal movie if you haven't seen it) and just caught up on our lives post grad school. We hadn't seen each other in two years so we had a lot of catching up to do. From there I hopped on the Greyhound bus down to NYC (which took me back to my college days, since this was always my mode of transportation when going home) and experienced quintessential NYC summer: hot, humid, and increasingly disgusting the moment you stepped into a subway station. RSlo and I went to a Yankee game on Friday night and got caught in a huge rainstorm in the middle of the 5th inning. We were convinced the game would be rained out but by the time we got back to our apartment the game had restarted. The Yankees ended up winning 7-1. At least the rain cooled off the heat.

Saturday we headed to Long Island for an enagagement party for two of my good friends Karen and Josh. RSlo was a champ about the whole thing not knowing anyone except the couple who was getting married, but managed to befriend the fiance of the maid of honor and chatted with him the entire afternoon. It was nice to see college friends and catch up although once again it was SUPER humid and hot. Sadly I forgot to take pictures at the party especially since I had on a really cute dress and managed to do my hair really nice and makeup was done right. I always like to capture those moments.

The rest of our time was spent dodging the rain that came on Sunday and catching up with friends and my family. We spent Sunday evening having dinner with my mom and walking around the city. I swear I notice that I am turning into my mom more and more with her quirks, facial expressions, and sarcasm. The trip was super quick and we found ourselves leaving this morning for Indiana. We're here in Indiana until Friday. I love spending time here because I really do get to relax and unwind. I sleep a lot, read books and eat really well. We're going to see some of RSlo's friends and go back to our alma mater and visit our mentors that are still there. Before RSlo I didn't think I would visit Indiana at all after graduating and now I find myself coming back yearly and loving it.

Next post I promise to include this pictures I have taken thus far. I will try to be dilligent and post as often as possible.

Versatile Blogger Award

2010-07-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

I was bestowed this honor by the fabulous KingsMomma and now my task is to give 7 random facts about myself and then tag others. Here goes:

I don't like plain chocolate, if I eat chocolate it has to have something in it (i.e. nuts, fruit, etc)
I LOVE Cheesy poofs, I can eat a whole bag in one sitting. My favorite are the Trader Joes brand because they are reduced fat so I've told myself that it's a healthy snack.
I envy those full time bloggers who get free amazing fashion sent to them and they take ridiculous pictures of themselves walking in fields with expensive clothing on.
I've become a significantly better cook since I've been with my boyfriend. It's probably because I hate cooking for one.
The most cranky I get is when I haven't eaten in a long time. It's not pretty and it's one of the first things I tell people I travel with.
When I was younger I swam competitively and went to the Junior Olympics. I was a backstroker.
I have a finicky stomach but it never hinders me from eating whatever I want. I just sometimes suffer with a bad tummy ache after.

I tag...
Alie
Pauline
Lauren

SUMMER SUMMER SUMMERTIME

2010-07-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

I am like a kid waiting for Santa to bring presents...I am quite excited for my travel adventure to begin!

For the last couple of weeks lazy isn't even the word to explain me. I get up late, watch a lot of television, only shower when absolutely necessary (i.e. when I am leaving my apartment for more than a couple of hours). I've been reading books, spending time with my friends and just enjoying myself. I feel the way I used to when I had summer vacation in grade school: no obligations, responsibilities, just enjoying the summer.

This Saturday I am leaving for Boston and spending 4 days there visiting friends, then it's off to NYC and then Indiana and finally the exciting road trip begins. Today RSlo and I spent a couple of hours on Skype (such an amazing thing technology is) finalizing our road trip plans. We booked hotels, looked at maps, made arrangements with friends, and now are pretty much set on this trip. I'm really excited as I have never done anything like this before. It is also pretty nice that most of the places that we are visiting will be new places for both RSlo and I. I will try and blog about the places we visit and all the funs things we experience.

The other thing I will continue to keep you posted on is my running. I am in Week 3 of my training schedule. It took me a while to get motivated to start running, and now I am in more of a routine. I was pretty proud of my myself that I started day one with a 5 mile run and successfully completed it! Don't get me wrong I had some trouble walking for the next couple of days because I was sore, but the more I ran the less sore I was. I am also really fortunate to have a few friends to run with that keep my runs interesting. All in all I feel positive and motivated and dare I even say excited about this race.

Vacation: Party of One

2010-06-26T23:52:00.000-07:00

I am unemployed for the summer and I must say that I am loving it!!

Once I was done with work I took a trip up to San Jose to visit friends. I spent some time talking and catching up with my good friend Pauline. She was telling me that recently she took a trip to Monterey by herself to recharge and relax. I was really impressed that she did that, I myself have always been a wimp about taking trips alone. I can eat in a restaurant, catch a movie, and pretty much do most things alone, but there has always been something about going on a vacation by myself that has seemed daunting to me. Prior to my conversation with Pauline I had been looking up destinations to travel to alone but something always prevented me from making the decision to go ahead and do it. Am I worried about the safety of traveling to a new place alone? Am I concerned that people will judge me and think I am some desperate loser with no friends who has to vacation alone? I am not really sure, but I know that I won't get over whatever stigma I think is attached to a solo vacation unless I do it. I'm not sure when I am going to do it but I am committing myself to taking a solo vacation before the year's end.

I'll keep you posted when I figure out my destination...

IT'S HERE!!

2010-06-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

How is it that it is already June??

How is it that I am taking the LSAT TOMORROW!

I'm ready to get this done and for summer to come!

Where would you go?

2010-05-26T11:20:00.000-07:00

When I found this amazing contest to win two free nights at any Hyatt on the blog "Camels and Chocolate: Tales from a Travel Addict", it got me thinking about where I would want to go and why. Immediately I thought Trinidad and Tobago since this is where my mom is from and while I lived there when I was really little I have no memories of it. Once I googled whether there was even a Hyatt there (there is!), I decidedthat would be my place, because not only is it an amazingly beautiful place to go (I've seen lots of pictures of me there), but it would be insight into my family history, culture, and who I am. My dream is go with my mom some day so that I could experience all the newness and excitement of meeting family, and seeing where she lived and grew up with her. It would be our special vacation together and something that no one else but us would share. We talk about doing it all the time, but one day soon we'll really make it happen. So the question remains: where would you go?

Check out the contest here: Camels and Chocolate

Road Trip

2010-05-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

Summer plans are slowly coming together! Here's what we've pieced together thus far:

End of June- Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks (no dates set just yet and no real plan of how long we will spend there) we end this part of the trip with RSlo going off doing some backpacking trips, and me heading back to SLO.

July 18-22 Boston! I haven't been back to Boston in ages, but summer is my favorite time to visit (there's no snow on the ground then), and I'll be hanging with my good friend Lauren!

July 22-27 NYC! RSlo and I will be meeting up in NYC mainly to attend the engagement party of two of my good friends from college, but we will also be going to a Yankee game (we'll get to see the new stadium!), and just enjoying being in the city in the summer, which is something we've never been able to do together.

July 28- Trip back to California begins. So far we know we will hit Indiana, (which always means a trip back to our alma mater IU) and Nashville, but there is some talk of going further south and maybe getting to Louisiana. It'll be touch and go but either way I'm excited. Work begins again on August 12 so we'll have more than enough time to get back before then.

Right now I am just counting down the days until students will be moving out!

How I feel....

2010-05-04T17:49:00.000-07:00

Overwhelmed, tired, annoyed, over it....

That sums up my life these days, I feel like I'm a mess.

33 days until this awful test...

Eating my words...

2010-04-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

Remember that post I wrote about running and how I didn't think I would ever run a full marathon- if you don't you can read it here. Well it seems that I've gotten the marathon bug because I was chosen out of thousands of women that sign up to run the Nike Women's marathon in October in San Francisco. They get so many interested participants that they do a lottery every year, and it just so happens that my number was drawn. I think one of the reasons I signed up is that I didn't think that I would be chosen- (smooth move Alana!). I am excited, nervous, and freaked out! The cool part is that every finisher gets a Tiffany's necklace- which is probably the best finishers gift (most races give you a t-shirt, my last one gave a wine glass) I have heard of.

I will ~~probably~~ definitely devote a lot of time blogging about my training experience- I'll start right after I finish the LSAT in June. Wish me luck!

No love for the blog....

2010-04-18T16:25:00.001-07:00

My brain is on overload with logic games, reading comprehension and all things LSAT.... which means no time for my blog.

49 days until my test...

In happy news RSlo and I will be doing some sort of road trip this summer. Our job is only 10 months which gives us 2 months of free time! Some of the highlights will include Boston, NYC, Indiana, Tennessee. We're still figuring out the schedule and the course but I can't wait to see my friends in all of those areas! And by then I will be done with this horrid test!

Favorite Blogs

2010-03-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

The more that I began blogging the more aware I became of other blogs out and there and began to love reading them. From cooking to fashion, there are so many amazing blogs written by (what I think are) really cool people. I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorite blogs:

The Pioneer Woman- She posts some amazing recipes (a few of which I have used to make me look like quite the chef and baker) and she's got a great personality, that makes reading her blog a lot of fun. Be warned that this woman LOVES butter and is not afraid to cook with it.

Stellina*Stellina- Cynthia is friend of mine, who I went to grad school with. I'm so proud that she is following her dream of pursuing a career in the wedding industry. She loves all things weddings!

We are Not Martha- This was the first blog I began reading and really pushed me to become a better cook. Their recipes and easy are delicious and you can tell these women really love food. So from one food lover to another I love spending time at the end of my day reading new posts and printing recipes they've shared that I want to try.

Cupcakes and Cashmere - I recently found this blog and I love it because I find myself a bit of a fashion enthusiast. I wish that my wardrobe included so many of her pieces, but I do find inspiration to put together outfits from trends that I already own or are looking to purchase, from many of her recommendations.

Derby Girl Blog - Lauren is one of my besties from grad school, and her blog is my way of keeping in touch with her. She's quirky, funny, and has an unhealthy love for Coca-Cola. She is now going to be a published author as she just signed with a new company called Paper Lantern Literature. I am very thrilled for her!

These are a few of the blogs that I love and there are tons more that I am follow out there, so get out there and keep reading blogs!

My dream

2010-03-08T12:56:00.000-08:00

Is to have this mixer! Oh the delicious treats I would make with this thing. It's $300 bucks and too much of a splurge right now. One day....

MORE SCHOOL

2010-03-02T21:07:00.000-08:00

When I was younger I aspired to be a lawyer. Everyone who knew me knew that that was the path I had set out for myself and what I was going to do with my life. By high school I had settled on Entertainment Law as my specialty. I went to college and majored in Politics which I thought was expected and hated every minute of the major. I hated (most) of the students that were in my classes, I hated the reading we had to do, I simply did not enjoy any of it. What I did enjoy was being involved with the clubs and organizations that I participated in. From that I scrapped the idea of law school and went to graduate school and pursued a master's degree in Higher Education so I could work with college students.

Having been in the field for almost two years now I love what I do and the people that I work with, but there is a bit of emptiness which I attribute to not having pursued the thing that I loved and wanted for so long: the Law. Looking back I think I psyched myself out somewhere along the journey and started believing that I wouldn't be able to get into a good school and that I would not be ready for the law school rigor. Being older and I think a lot wiser, I know I wasn't ready because I was burned out and not passionate about law anymore, I needed to take some time and explore a new area to know whether going back to law school and being a lawyer was really something that I wanted.

So I've decided that it is and while I am frightened about studying for the LSAT's and doing law school applications, I also feel confident in who I am and the experiences I've had in grad school and the working world. I now know I am not doing this because I am scared to enter the real world as so many people do, but because it's been a dream of mine since I was little and something that I will be passionate about jumping into with everything that I've got. I'll begin doing intense studying for the LSAT, I am going to get a tutor (which is the most expensive thing ever) and I am going to look to study as much as I can and then based on my scores figure out where I will apply, wish me luck on this new adventure.

Time for a run

2010-02-19T13:32:00.001-08:00

In a month I am running another half marathon! Because I've already done one, I am not as nervous as my first one and I am doing a lot better training for this one. I have some friends that like to run that I get to go on runs with, which helps keep me motivated. I hope to average about a 9 minute mile throughout the race which will heavily improve the time in which I finish this race in comparison to my first race. People always ask me if I would ever want to do a full marathon and while I think I could work up to it, I don't think it's something for me. Running is brutal on your body, which I am learning personally as my ankle gets sore and stiff every time I run, and I don't know that it's something I absolutely love doing the way some of my friends do. When I start a run, I am thinking about when it'll be over. I am proud of myself when I've completed it but the heavy breathing, sweating, and sometimes seeing stars because I am so winded is not the most fun. For me it's a great way to keep in shape and get outside. Maybe one day I'll get the full marathon bug, but for now I am just going to relish in the fact that I two working legs that allow me to do 13.1 miles.

A Day about love...

2010-02-15T14:49:00.000-08:00

Another Valentines Day has come and gone...

Some people hate the holiday, they believe it's just an excuse for card and flower companies to make a killing off of people's emotions. Other people love the holiday and the idea that you get one more day to appreciate and value the people you love. I've always been in the middle about the day, when I was single I didn't feel slighted or upset that no one was buying me a gift and now with having a partner we usually treat it just like any other day. Last year we were doing a weight loss challenge and the loser had to pay for dinner on V-day at one of our favorite restaurants in San Luis. This year we actually didn't celebrate on the day, RSlo was taking a class all day so we went to dinner the Thursday before and then hung out with several of our good friends. I ended up spending Valentines at a winery with one of my friends Kristy, we tasted some awesome wines, ate lunch outside overlooking vineyards and overall had a lovely time. That evening when RSlo was done with his class we went to a bbq joint and shared a Valentines day dinner of tri tip and burgers. We ended the evening watching the movie Paper Heart, which was a cute movie about love that we both enjoyed. This has probably been my favorite Valentines day, there was no build up, no need for grandiose shows of affection, just spending time with people are important to me and taking a moment to experience a beautiful day, and making the most of my quality time.

Gone camping

2010-02-15T12:50:00.000-08:00

So RSlo wanted to go camping for his birthday. I myself have never been big on the outdoors but since I have been with him I have been more open to doing activities outside because I know he really enjoys it. We've been kayaking, rock climbing, and camping once before, so I thought why not do it again?

We took off work on a Friday and packed up stuff up and made our way to a camp site about 30 minutes outside of where we live called Montana de Oro. I'd been there once before to walk around on the beach area and hadn't even realized that people camped there. Upon getting there we decided to take a hike and experience the area. The week before it had rained non stop for 7 days so it was amazing that we got a beautiful day to which we could explore the area.

Hiking that afternoon was incredible. I sometimes take for granted that I live in an amazingly beautiful place. That Friday the waves were huge and we would just watch them crash on the rocks or fold out further. The sound of the waves was also so soothing. We passed lots of hikers along the way who were also enamoured with the beautiful day and the amazing trail. RSlo had his fancy camera so we got to take some sweet shots. Once we got back from our hike we set up camp and then walked back to the beach to catch the sunsight which was breathtaking. It was nice to be in place where it was ok not to talk as much because you wanted to be present and take in all of the nature surrounding you. Here are some shots of our hike:

When we returned from our sunset excursion, it was time to make dinner! We decided to go with tin foil dinners, we had sweet potatoes, peppers, sausage, onions, all together and cooked into deliciousness. I helped cut up the veggies and then I sat by the fire and stayed toasty. I got him a camping Dutch oven for his bday so he was excited to use it for the first time to make cobbler. The cobbler was a bit crispier that he wanted since he was still getting the hang of using the coals and getting the oven work enough to cook up the cobbler. But he was excited to get to use it. Once we made dinner and spent some quality time around the fire, we packed up all of our stuff so that he racoons wouldn't get to it and got into our tent just in time for the rain to start. The tent was waterproof but it was cool to hear the rain fall on the tent. Our sleeping bags kept us nice and warm and in the morning we woke up and got started on a nice breakfast. We lounged for a bit and then packed up and went home. All and all it was a fun camping experience and a great way to celebrate a birthday!

Check out my cool head light!

Started the fire by himself

Time for sleeps

Cooking Adventures

2010-01-18T19:59:00.000-08:00

In a down economy it never hurts to stay in and eat a home cooked meal. Here are some of my favorite pictures of making meals in the past couple of months...

Chinese food night- RSlo had recently learned how to make egg rolls and so we decided to do our own version of takeout.

I made beef and broccoli with lo mein (spaghetti noodles).

Frying up some more eggrolls! We made them ourselves! They were really tasty.

First Meal of the New Year- I got a Dutch oven for Christmas and lamb shanks with orzo were on the menu.

Yummy Lamb Shanks

The first time I had ever made orzo but it had a great flavor

I've also been doing a lot of baking, so I'll post some more pictures as I go along, but so far it's been a lot of fun!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T11:17:00.000-08:00

2010 started a bit slow, RSlo and I got stuck in Phoenix after missing our connecting flight back to San Luis. That was pretty disappointing since I was looking forward to ringing in the new year with my friends in San Luis, but slowly RSlo is teaching me to make the best of situations.

So much has happened this past year and I think I am a much stronger woman for it. Having moved to a new place and begun my professional career, I am amazed at the things I have been able to handle. It hasn't always been easy for me to ask for help in the past but this year I learned that I can't always handle things on my own and that I need to ask for support and help when I need it and that it doesn't make me weak doing so.

So I don't make resolutions but I do have some things that I plan on doing more of in the new year:

Cook more- I got a Dutch oven and several other kitchen accessories for Christmas and I plan to use them!
Exercise- I am running another half marathon in March, so I have to get back training.
Keep in touch with my friends- letters, phone calls, emails, I need to stay better connected.
Figure out my next steps- school, work, just planning the next couple of years (anything beyond that is too overwhelming)
Enjoy my life

2010 is going to be a great year!

Home for the Holidays

2009-12-23T09:03:00.000-08:00

I've been home since Saturday and will be in NYC until the 31st. Since my arrival there has been a foot of snow and the temperature has not been above 35 degrees. Saying it's cold is an understatment. Nonetheless I have been braving the cold to head out and see friends, or shop in the city. I always try to make most of my time when I am in NYC but I think the cold is making me take things a little slower. I brought home three books and I've been spending time laying in bed in pajamas and socks and reading. It's nice to take time to relax and unwind.

My family has never had many traditions when it comes to Christmas. We usually go to midnight mass at Saint Patricks Cathedral. I grew up Catholic and so while I am don't consider myself Catholic anymore (another conversation for another day) it's still something that I do with my parents out of respect to them. My parents also don't decorate the apartment. They did when I was younger but it's been a long time since I lived at home so I don't think it's something they get excited about doing. The one thing that is always a staple is that my mom cooks Christmas dinner which is a favorite of mine since I find her to be an excellent cook. Most importantly it's nice to be able to spend time at home.

RSlo is coming to visit NYC a couple days after Christmas. It's always fun to have him in NYC because I get to take him around to different places in the city and it's like I am seeing these places for the first time again. Our itinerary so far includes: go kart racing, vintage shopping in Brooklyn and going to his favorite Chinese restaurant that serves table wine with dinner. We are also going to cook dinner for my family one night. I am looking forward to it all.

Happy Holidays!

Friends: how many of us have them...?

2009-11-29T11:55:00.000-08:00

I have spent the past two weekends with friends and it got me thinking about friends. In grade school, high school, and college making college was no big deal (at least for me) I gravitated towards people who had things in common with me and I always enjoyed the friends I had. Never any drama, just about hanging out, having fun, and being supported.

As I have gotten older I am happy to say that I have stayed pretty close with a few of my friends from high school and several friends from college, but how do you make friends in the real world? Are your friends your co-workers, friends of spouses or partners, parents of your children's friends, how do you do it? I think all of those ways are true, I have friends that I became close to through RSlo, and I am really happy to say that I have had some great luck with meeting people and connecting with those that I work with. I have made some really close connections since I have moved to SLO and it feels great to have a social circle that makes me feel appreciated and I have fun with. Because of these connections I know that there are people across the country that I can visit and spend time with, which makes me feel incredible. For example, I spent Thanksgiving with some people from work that I have grown very close to and have become really good friends of mine in a short time. The weekend was filled with funny stories, lots of laughter, and really good restaurants. Spending time with them as well as my two great friends that I visited last weekend in LA makes me thankful for the awesome people I have in my life and that I need to work on cultivating and preserving the great friendships I have. I am not always the best at calling and keeping in touch but it is something that definitely plan on working on because it is always so sad when you think about that great friend you had a long time ago that you lost touch with. It's never to late to reconnect!

A very Disney Birthday!

2009-11-11T19:07:00.000-08:00

I just got back from the most amazing vacation/birthday! RSlo and I spent my 25th birthday in the happiest place on Earth and I was definitely happy! We took off for Disney on Monday morning and headed down south, we decided to first drive down to Santa Monica and spend some time at the beach. RSlo loves the water, so he got into his bathing suit and played in the water, I knew the water was going to be way too cold for me, so I sat on the beach and read my book and then eventually fell asleep (the sound of the water always does that for me).

We left Santa Monica and made our way back to Anaheim. One of my good friends Emily was in Anaheim for a conference so I was so excited that we were able to grab dinner with her over at Downtown Disney. We had a great dinner and then had the opportunity to walk around and catch up. The weather was amazing for walking around and we went into one of the many Disney Stores and walked around, it definitely got me excited for our day of fun!

My birthday was Tuesday and I woke up so excited. It's the way I used to feel on Christmas morning when I knew that I was about to open my presents. RSlo and I got to the park at 9:30 got our tickets (and my awesome birthday button) and stood outside of the park waiting for it to open. The park opened at about 9:45 and we got to walk through the gates. While the rope drop didn't happen until 10 (this allows you to get to the rides) we used our down time to take pictures with the characters. I can't believe how excited I got to see Mickey and Minnie and Goofy I felt like a kid again and not the least bit embarrassed or silly, just fun!

We had made a plan of attack the night before (with a great deal of help from lots of SoCal friends), and so we got some maps and got ready to go! Thankfully the park was not as crowded as I expected it to be so our plan worked really well and we got to do everything we wanted. We started at Space Mountain which we thought would have a really long line but didn't. We proceeded to go on all of the big Disneyland rides: Pirates of the Caribbean, Matterhorn, Haunted House (which was so cool since it was the Nightmare before Christmas), and the Teacups.

We were able to get through all the big rides at Disney by 12:30 (so surprising!) and we headed over to California Adventure. I think that's when we had the most fun. We went on the California Screamin' ride 3 times, and the Tower of Terror 2 times. We definitely both enjoy roller coasters so we definitely got out fix and Cal Adventure. We spent most of the afternoon there doing everything we wanted to do as well as partaking in some culinary treats : turkey leg and corn dogs!

We ended our day at about 6 and headed back to our hotel. We spent some time laying around before we went Tony Roma's for dinner. It was such a great day and really nice to talk and have drinks with RSlo at the end of it. I had an incredible day, this by far was the best birthday I have ever had and it took the sting of turning 25 away and made me feel like a kid again! I have also included some sweet pics of our day! I think I am still glowing!

New Traditions

2009-10-30T23:46:00.000-07:00

I have never been much for Halloween. Never really got into the costumes, going out, or doing much of anything. I would usually stay in doors during the "holiday" and didn't participate in any festivities put on by friends. This year has been something different. While I am on duty for the weekend and can't go to the Halloween party one of my friends is putting on, my friend Veronica and I decided that we would do some pumpkin carving. Prior to this, as you can imagine I had never carved pumpkins so I thought it would be fun. While I did have to respond to a situation while everyone else carved away when I got back I made my pumpkin. I had a great time doing it and I think it'll be something that I do every year. Who knows maybe next year I will wear a costume! The pic above is a picture of all of the pumpkins we carved ! Happy Halloween!!

Veronica and Jay the lovely couple we carved pumpkins with

Me and RSlo

Hair

2009-10-26T15:34:00.001-07:00

So I have never been too attached to my hair, in fact I am usually really annoyed with it. I always kid around about chopping it all off. Last Friday I stopped joking and actually decided to hack it off. It wasn't sentimental, I didn't cry as I watched my hair stylist take the scissors to my hair, I wasn't interested in keeping the cut strands of hair (although my hair was way too short to donate), and I definitely didn't regret my decision. Quite the opposite, I love my new hair do. It's different yet I still have styling options and most of all it won't take me hours to do my hair. It's always fun to change it up and try a new hairstyle, and I have gotten good reviews from everyone I know. I like taking risks with my hair and not getting bored, who knows what I will do next!
Not the best picture, but once I take better one's I will post!

Turning 25....

2009-10-20T09:50:00.000-07:00

And I am going to Disneyland!!! It's my bday gift from RSlo and boy am I excited! I have never been to Disneyland California, and they have this great deal that you can go for free on your birthday. We're taking off two days of work and driving down to Anaheim, I originally wasn't excited for this year's bday because I didn't have any plans, but now I get to celebrate a quarter century in the happiest place on Earth!

I need an apron!

2009-10-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

Now that things have settled down I am doing a lot more cooking which is exciting for me! I enjoy cooking for two and it cuts down on the amount leftovers I have.

Friday Night: I have done the usual stuff (pasta, baked chicken, etc) and I thought it was time to take on a bigger assignment: scallops. I had the most amazing scallops on my vacation to Hawaii and something about seared scallops sounds like one of the most delicious things to eat. I talked to RSlo about trying out a recipe and he was all for it. We took our lunch break and headed to Pismo beach where we knew we could get the best scallops and we did, they were huge and expensive. For 17.99 a pound, I knew I needed to make sure that I did a good job on these suckers.

The Verdict: The scallops were ok, I sauteed them pretty well however I wasn't in love with the butter taragon sauce I made to accompany them. I still haven't found a fish recipe that has been really great so I am still on a search.

Sunday afternoon: After the scallops and the lovely fishy stench that has lingered in my apartment, my next assignment was going to be a soup, butternut squash to be exact. I had bought all of the ingredients last week but never got the time to make. Sunday was a lounging day for me, and when RSlo threw out the idea of eating Hamburger Helper for dinner, I knew it was time to make my soup. As I roasted the butternut squash, I had a feeling that this soup was going to make my Sunday night the best. The smell of onions and garlic sauteing in the pot and created a beautiful flavor and smell emanating from my kitchen made me feel like a genuine cook!

The Verdict: I loved the soup! So much I kept burning my tongue trying to eat it. There was a great creaminess to it that I think adding both butternut squash and sweet potatoes to the soup. I loved it and I am excited to eat the rest of it throughout the week!

I'm not getting any younger...

2009-10-07T19:18:00.001-07:00

More and more I am hearing about so many of my female friends who are getting engaged. I never paid any mind to hearing about engagement stories, learning about people I know who have gotten engaged, who wants to be engaged, how big (or small) was the ring, and on, and on, and on. My freshman year roommate got engaged my junior year of college and for the life of me I couldn't fathom the idea of paying for a wedding, much less spending the rest of my life with one dude. I would always kid around with my friends who were in serious relationships about whether or not their partner was "the one" and if they saw themselves getting married to that person (unfortunately for my GLBT friends the answer to that question has yet to be yes). Because I myself wasn't in a relationship I never really thought about the meaning behind the questions I was asking.

Fast forward about 4 years when I now am in my own serious relationship. I find myself feeling very unusual when asked whether I see myself marrying RSlo. My go to answer (I have been asked so much, that I needed to formulate one) has been that RSlo and I have talked about it and we both aren't ready for it. Don't get me wrong I am in no way prepared to be anyone's wife, partially because I am not all the way sure what it means. But the more I am asked about marriage, the more I have to think about what whether marriage is something that I want, and in taking on a husband, does that I mean I also want children, how will we figure out where we are going to settle down. I am not getting any younger so some would say the time is now and if these are things I want I need to make them happen for myself. I don't have any answers to any of these questions right not, all I pretty much know is that I am happy in what I have right now and the more I hear about others the more I will think about what my next steps are...

2 years

2009-09-15T08:33:00.000-07:00

RSlo and I are celebrating our 2 year anniversary on Saturday!

It doesn't feel like it's been 2 years and I love hanging around him, seeing him smile, and laughing with him. He really is my best friend and I am my happiest with him even if we aren't doing anything. We've been through the end of grad school, a year of long distance, and now working together and I feel like we've gotten stronger. Nothing is ever perfect and we've both got faults but we work hard to communicate, respect, and love each other.

Happy Anniversary RSlo :)

Date night

2009-09-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

So RSlo and I decided to do date night a while ago (who has time for that now?) and treated ourselves to the movie Julie and Julia. We talked about grabbing dinner after the film but were so inspired by the film and the cooking that we decided to make our own meal! We got out of the movie sort of late and had to rush to the supermarket to get all the ingredients, but we decided on Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce, roasted potatoes, and bruschetta for appetizer. We split up and took on tasks, RSlo was in charge of the appetizer and nervous as I was about messing it up, I took on the entree. One of the things that I learned from the film was that you want to give mushrooms room to cook when sauteing them so I kept saying "don't crowd the mushrooms" as we cooked. Not only was the meal delicious and I was starving, but it was fun having a cooking partner. RSlo even let me wear his apron, which is a very big deal. It was a great date night and I was able to see the results of my hard work! I have included pictures for all of you to enjoy!

RSlo's apron, I am in the process of getting my own which will be a whole lot cuter

Bruschetta, Yum! RSlo did a good job

Hard away at work cooking

Finished product

Move- In

2009-09-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

The students are moving in today! The past two weeks have been the busiest, but I am loving every minute of it...except when I have meltdowns.

Reminds me of when I first moved in to college and how excited I was and how everything was beginning to change. I love this time of year!

Summer's Over

2009-09-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

So summer is coming to close and my what a summer it has been....

Awesome vacations to new and old places. Spending quality time with friends and family, and a major move.

With the end of summer brings new experiences. In 4 days, I will get 250 new neighbors, in the form of residents of my building. I am excited and while many people would think I am crazy to be looking forward to living with so many 18 year olds, I think it will be fun and they will keep me young....

Famous last words...

Chef Hamlett

2009-08-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

Trout from Cafe Claude in San Francisco

I have decided to dedicate myself to becoming a better cook and baker!

I LOVE food. I really enjoy eating at great restaurants but in this dismal economy, eating out was one of the first things I decided to give up in an effort to be more financially responsible. Because of that I decided that I should motivate myself to become a better cook. While I was home in NYC I rummaged through all of my mom's old cooking magazines and took the recipes that I thought would be cool, and put them my new cooking binder. I have also acquired a brand new food processor thanks to my mom, which no doubt will be used to slice, dice, and mince new and fun ingredients.

My dream is to become one of those cooks that can sprinkle a little of this and a touch of that and voilla! I have an amazing dish. However, I am taking baby steps and will start using the recipes that I have in my binder, and maybe borrowing some cookbooks from the library. There is a great farmers market in San Luis on Thursday evenings that I will utilize for great fresh products and I'll chronicle my dishes and let you know how they turn out. Here's to not burning down my kitchen!

Happenings

2009-08-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

So much has happened in the past couple of weeks!

I had a great time going home. Going home is always a mixture of stress, happiness, comfort, and love. There is an urgent need to want to see all my friends, spend time with my family, and spend time alone. From hanging in candy shops with college friends, to dinners and updates with best friends, to shopping time with my mom, I had a really great trip and I was happy to be back in my hometown.

By the time my trip was over I was very ready to return to my new home and unpack and get settled. The chaos of boxes and stuff everywhere in my apartment was definitely overwhelming and challenging and I just wanted to be done. It took me a few days but I was able to put everything in its place and I am currently blogging in my living room and loving my apartment!

The other big part about setting up in a new place is meeting new people. In the past few years I have become a lot more introverted and shy, so meeting new people is stressful and sometimes overwhelming. Over the past couple of weeks I have gotten the opportunity to get to know my new coworkers in both work and social settings. This has been quite an experience! Everyone is so different and brings different qualities to the table. It's been fun hearing their stories and little by little letting them get to know me and my story. I think it's been about two weeks now and I would say I am starting to warm up to people and the fun, sassy side of Alana is beginning to show. I am always a work in progress so being in big group settings will always be a little weird and uncomfortable for me, but the people here are great and I think this will be a really fun year socially and professionally.

New Home

2009-08-05T03:38:00.000-07:00

Monday was the big day. It was my last day at my job and then RSlo and I packed up my stuff and took off. I had given a lot of thought to what it would it feel like to say goodbye to my coworkers, they were so wonderful and supportive when I made the decision to to move on. I was thrown a really fun pool party, and they put together a wonderful scrap book for me filled with inside jokes, pictures, and well wishes, so my last day was definitely very emotional. I was reminded of the year and all that I had learned and how much I have grown since I moved to San Jose.

I had given so much thought to what it would be like to say my goodbyes and leave San Jose, however I hadn't thought about what it would be like to be in a new place. I spent Tuesday unpacking all of my stuff (there are way too many boxes), and getting accustomed to this big change. I realized that in a couple of days I will be meeting new people and creating new relationships and that this is definitely the beginning of a new chapter. The best part of the day was at 5 pm when RSlo got off of work and we had dinner together. He cooked a great meal and it was nice to eat together, we didn't really have much to talk about since we had seen each other most of the day, but I wanted to appreciate the moment since I also know what it feels like to not have that time together. Our fun was short lived as I headed to the airport Tuesday evening to catch my flight back to NYC, but I can't wait to be back, unpack all of my stuff and get settled.

To the best couple I know...

2009-07-30T20:19:00.001-07:00

Happy Anniversary Josh and Alie!

They are two of my favorite people and awesome parents to the ridiculously adorable Maggie, and I am just so happy for them so I want to share that!

I hope you guys have a great day!

New York, New York

2009-07-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

Next week I am heading back to my hometown of NYC for a little vacation. NYC is my favorite place to visit, because not only do I get to see my friends and family, but I feel complete in a special way when I am back. Here are some of my favorite things to do while I am in the city:

Sleeping in my bed at home- it's the most comfortable thing ever
Cupcake eating (Billy's Bakery, Magnolia, Crumbs, it doesn't really matter which one)
Mani/Pedi at my favorite place in the West Village
Shopping with my mom- she has the best style and it doesn't hurt that she'll buy me things
Catching up with my best friends

I haven't been back since December so this trip is long overdue and I am looking forward to it!

RSlo...

2009-07-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

Is a nickname that my coworkers came up with for my boyfriend. San Luis Obispo where he lives is also called "SLO", so they took the first letter of his first name added SLO to it, and hence the nickname RSlo was born. He won't admit but I think he kind of likes it...

Thanks Alie for reminding me to explain that better :)

Reflections on my Race

2009-07-28T10:08:00.000-07:00

I survived my first half marathon!

I was nervous, excited, and petrified all rolled up into one. My training had only gotten up to 5 miles and in the midst of training I went on two major vacations and ate a whole lot of food that you probably shouldn't eat when getting your body ready to run 13.1 miles. We spent most of the weekend prepping for the race, Saturday afternoon we headed to SF and made our first stop at the Pre Race expo to pick up our bibs and t-shirts. The expo was so overwhelming, so many people and vendors trying to sell you race related materials (shorts, energy drinks, etc), and my nerves set in. This did the opposite for RSlo, it pumped him up! I swear he was bouncing off the walls, and I couldn’t get him to be quiet. But it was so cute I couldn’t help but be happy with his positive energy around.

Sunday was race day! I checked my phone and saw that several of my coworkers had sent text messages wishing me luck. My favorite came from my supervisor who wrote “Good luck tomorrow!! Run like a fashionista at a sample sale”, she knows me so well! When we arrived at the starting area there was a buzz and energy that felt electric. So many people were there stretching and talking to their friends and loved ones. We took off at 6:06 am pumped and ready to go. RSlo and I decided that although his running pace was a little faster than mine we were going to run the race together. We saw some interesting people along the way, a man dressed up in costume like the Hulk including the green paint on his face, and a woman dressed like Superwoman to name a few. The route was amazing, we ran along the water by Fishermans wharf, the Golden Gate Bridge and on the rolling hills of the streets of San Francisco. I really could have done without the rolling hills because they came at miles 11 and 12, but I made it through. We met an amazing 70+ year old man who was running his 20th half marathon. He was the sweetest guy and smoked past us every time we saw him. I was inspired by the strangers running all around me and ecstatic that I was finally getting to do this!

I have to say this experience would not have been the same without RSlo. I love this man so much, and it grew as we ran beside each other during this race. He was so excited, positive, and supportive every step of the way. Every so often he would look at me and ask how I was doing, and would tell me how proud he was of me and what a great job I was doing. He was there at mile 12 when I hit the wall and didn't think I could do it anymore, and he held my hand as we crossed the finish line and gave me a big hug. Although we were not able to train together for the race, we were together when it counted and it was one of the best experiences I have ever had. The feeling of accomplishment once I completed was paramount and I knew that it was something that no one could ever take away from me. My official time was 2:29:31, and I do intend on running again with the hope of getting a better time that that!

New Beginnings

2009-07-23T11:11:00.000-07:00

After a year of living in San Jose, CA, I am moving to San Luis Obispo, CA. It's 3 hours south of SJ and happens to be where RSlo lives (now you understand the nickname!). Not loving being in a long distance relationship, we were both very eager to get back to seeing each other longer than a weekend and it worked out that in this ridiculously awful economy (particularly in the state of California) I was able to get a great job. It's with mixed emotions that I move, I have loved the friendships and connections I have made up here with my SJ peeps, but I am looking forward to this new chapter: exploring a semi new place (I have lost count how many times I have been done there), starting a new job in a new area of student affairs that I don't have a whole lot of experience with, and readjusting to seeing RSlo all of the time.

Moving date: August 3

Running

2009-07-23T10:37:00.001-07:00

So I am running my first half marathon on Sunday. Prior to training for this race, the most running I had ever done was for a bus or any sort of public transportation. My friends would make fun of me because when I would run, it would be on my toes and hardly looked like a run at all. However running a race has always been something on my bucket list, so there happened to be one taking place at the end of July in San Francisco. The best part of it is that I'll get to run across the Golden Gate Bridge which if you've ever seen it in person is a sight and amazingly long. While I have had to work on my motivation throughout my training period, the one thing I have loved about running has been how I can clear my mind and my thoughts while I run. I leave all of my stress, drama, and worry behind and focus on the task at hand: getting from point a to point b. I smile at the people I pass by, I cross the street so dogs won't chase me, I appreciate the wind when a cool breeze comes along, running has been cathartic and a great workout. While I am absolutely nervous to be running 13.2 miles on Sunday, I am relived to have an amazing running partner. My bf who I lovingly refer to as RSlo will be running alongside me and will serve as my motivator. Our motto for the race is the following:

"when we get tired we'll walk and when we get thirsty we'll drink. We're not going to run each other into the ground. And if we're in bad shape we'll say f*** it, and find a breakfast place along the route so we can watch all of the other poor schmucks slog through it."

I think I can handle that...

First Time Blogger

2009-07-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to write a blog. I have enjoyed the blogs of many of my friends because it's a great way to find out interesting pieces of their lives. Now it's mine turn to chronicle my experiences and adventures. I have a lot to say (usually), so I think it will be fun to use my blog as a vehicle for my thoughts, opinions, and whatever else is going on!

I may have a special blogger from time to time. It may be a bit of a challenge getting him to write, but I can be very convincing when I want to be ;).