Turning 25....

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!

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...

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

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

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

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

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...