Om Nom.

Remember when I was all domestic for about a week? Yeah, that was fun. I'm still trying to learn how to gain motivation to do anything after being outside and on my feet at work full time. This dang heat is exhausting! I'd rather be working in it than bitter cold, though.

Well, from that week, tonight I decided to make again those 'No Bake Energy Bites.'

They are sooo good.

Locked out.

Wolfgang and I are still learning this whole big city living with one car and two jobs kind of thing. We take each other to work, catch buses to each other's work, etc. It hasn't been that bad actually, but today wasn't so good for Wolfgang.

Today he forgot to take an extra key to the apartment when I took him to work, and didn't realize this until he got home...aaaand had to wait outside our apartment for almost 5 hours. He tried a few options of trying to get in, but no suck luck. Poor guy, I really did feel bad for him. Luckily he walked to a nearby Taco Bell and chilled for a while, until he felt awkward and felt like a homeless person who won't leave.

In the end, he survived the heat and was alive and well when I got home. I told him to make up for it, we could eat out anywhere he wanted to {our fridge is empty anyways, but that's a different story}. Paradise Bakery was closed too early, so Panda Express it was. We are high rollers like that.

Needless to say, I think we'll now hide a key somewhere outside our door now.

Hair with benefits.

A year ago sometime this last week or so, I decided to cut my hair real short. I was excited but nervous that maybe it wouldn't look too great. I had it cut by an amazing hairstylist and artist in Vegas, of whom I still try to get my haircut by any chance I get, which has only been 2 or 3 times in the last couple of years.

I had also decided that if I was going to make such a dramatic change on my hair, I had to go all out. I colored and highlighted my hair, and also decided to splurge on some hair product too.

When I had a roommate in Hawaii who knows how to cut hair and was an ex-hair instructor, she convinced me that there is a difference in hair products (in this case, shampoo & conditioner to be exact). At first I was very skeptical, and thought paying more for a brand of shampoo was overrated and just a trap. Needless to say after she gave me some of her fancy stuff, I was converted; I could honestly see/ feel a difference.

So, I bought these two at that hair appointment that day, a year ago.

And guess what? I'm still using them! They are also only 10.1 oz & 8.5 oz, mind you. Yes they cost about double what I would pay at a store for the stuff I would normally get, but I do have to say, the investment has paid off. With the powers combined of short hair and good product that I only need about a half a dime size of each, these bad boys have lasted me a year, and I probably have at least another month left in them. {And yes, I do shower and wash my hair daily, thank you very much}

I feel pretty happy about that.

California.

The goal of this blog post is to effectively share about our visit to CA, with minimal amount of words and pictures; I'm usually not so good at this. We'll see how it goes.}

Back in around April or so, Wolfgang and I randomly decided we wanted to go to San Francisco for our wedding anniversary this year. We bought cheap flights then waited, and waited, and waited....and finally were able to go this past Thurs-Tuesday. We had a great time, and took over 400 pictures. Ridiculous, right? I'm pretty sure we can delete a slew of them though.

Here's the condensed version of our vacation:

We flew into L.A. thursday morning and headed up to Paso Robles, where my aunt and uncle live. It had been 10 years since I had last seen my uncle, and a few years short of that since I had seen my aunt. It was so great to see them and to enjoy their company, and of course for them to finally meet the husband. Unfortunately, I have no pictures to prove this event, but it did indeed happen. We stayed with them that night, and then again on our way back. I swear these two will never age. I hope to be like them. They are so fun to be around, and it was good to catch up, reminisce, and play with the pets too, of course. We even watched a 20 yr old home video of when we all were together on the lake, and it was pretty funny.

The next day we headed up to San Fran! We were there for 3 nights, and stayed at two Marriotts, obviously. There we did all the touristy stuff, like:

Had delicious fresh clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl from Boudin (it's a must),



while meeting up with one of our good friends from Hawaii, and also having ridiculous sundaes at Ghiradelli Square. We miss his presence.

We took our time heading up the coast, so that's pretty much all we had time for the first day.

The next day, we went to China Town. Wolfgang was overwhelmed {in a good way, I guess} by all the crap you could by in the stores. His most favorite find apparently was this: (enough to take a picture of it). Thank goodness he didn't actually buy it, or anything for that matter.


We ate at a restaurant there in China Town for lunch, and that was an experience in itself.

Next we headed over to the Fisherman's Wharf to check out the Sea Lions. May I add that they were hilarious? I could have watched them for hours; they were just naturally comical. The extremely passed out ones were my favorite.

The little light colored Sea Lion in this picture, can you see it? (below) He's completely passed out with his neck and head completely cocked back! Ouch. So funny.
These two were pretty funny also. The big one in the front kept having his mouth in the water, but he was so out of it that every time he would somewhat notice, he would take his head out of the water...then it would end up right back where it was. The little guy next to him is so cute too!



We finished the day off with good ol' Lombard Street. Such a beautiful street with beautiful landscapes and cute houses!



The next day was our 2 year anniversary! Time flies. We had an amazing breakfast then we met up with my wonderful first roommate in Hawaii. She was so great to live with, and is a wonderful hostess/tour guide. First time I came to San Fran I stayed with her and her wonderful family. We ate lunch at Ike's Place which was pretty dang tasty. We then went to the wonderfully beautiful area of Presidio with its huge mansions nearby, old military homes, and beautiful parks. It was also the first time I had ever seen a huge military cemetery. It was very humbling. There we took pictures of the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge.
From there we went to "The Painted Ladies," because Wolfgang insisted on seeing the "Full House" {early 90s TV show} house. Needless to say we don't know which one it was? Pretty sure it was painted since then, or its really none of the above.



Obviously there were other more important things than us when taking this picture...



Our next big event was the following day on our way out of town, when we went to Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was SO cool. I've been wanting to go to this for years, ever since I saw it on tv or something for the first time. Since in my next life I will be a marine biologist {didn't really work out in this life} and my obsessed love for the ocean and its creatures, I had a great time, and so did Wolfgang too. Sometimes I am so overwhelmed by the beauty and complexity of God's creations, that I can't help but tear up a bit and just be in a total euphoric mood. Luckily no crying at the Aquarium.

We took way too many pictures there, but here are just a few.


Someday, I WILL pet you, dearest Killer Whale.


Well, it looks like I failed on my goal for this post.

We had a great time, even if I had an obnoxious head cold the whole time {it started the day we started our vacation. So convenient, right?}. The weather was great, a little cold but it was nice to be cold rather than dying in the heat for once. We were happy and glad we had the opportunity to take this nice little trip.

Back.

Back from mini vacation, getting over a head cold, and back to work. We took a few too many (hundreds) of pictures, so that'll be a doozey to get through; Will blog about it soon.

G'night!

The job.

I've worked several days at my job now, and it's going pretty well. The first day was pretty bad; let's just say first day at work + 1,200 frat boys = not a great day.

Each day gets better and better. So far my highlight has been when I had to 'work' IN the pool which consisted of chillaxing and blowing a whistle for a part of my shift. It was fantastic.

I do however feel like an old woman at my job. I'm older than many {most?} of my co-workers, and my feet KILL by the end of the day, and I also have bad shin splints from walking on concrete for 8 hours. Is my body already starting to deteriorate?! That's depressing.

Sometimes I feel frustrated or maybe even a little upset because this job is something I would be doing while in high school, but right now I'm just trying to focus on the fact that I'm very very grateful I finally have a job: an income and something to do(!), and that's all that matters right now, and to go on from here. I'd like to pretend that I'm suppose to learn something from this, and that better things are in store for me in the near future.

Thanks for clarifying the 'A.D.,' otherwise I would have REALLY wondered if this metal shiney plate was placed in concrete in 2007 B.C....

Threat.

Dear Blogger,

I do not like how you have behaving lately; I find it offensive and unacceptable. I would like to just say that I have already made another blog with a different blog 'provider,' so I might make the switch. Please don't make me do this; you know how I get attached to ridiculous things, kind of like my hotmail email address, and how I still haven't made the complete switch over to my gmail account.

Consider this your warning.


Sincerely,

Me.

Monumental.

Today marks the first time ever where I have gotten my uniforms for a new job...and they actually fit. It was kinda weird. I'm happy about it.

Thanks Marriott, I like you already.

This week

Wolfgang claims that, "Pinterest is the best thing that had happened to you." I kind of have to agree with this statement. The reason he agrees, is because I now try new recipes that he most of the time enjoys.

The reason I agree, is similar. I really wish I would have discovered it earlier on in my unemployed phase, because it has really given me fun things to do, and I have discovered that I enjoy cooking and baking {new things especially}- It's relaxing and somehow feels rewarding, although that doesn't make sense to me, because once your done, it doesn't last very long.

Anyway I know you've heard enough of me talking about Pinterest, so instead of me going on about it, how about I just share with you some things I found on it, and actually executed this week, shall we?

I did two simple crafts this week. I am not a crafty person, so I like to keep it as simple as possible. I haven't taken any decent final pictures of them, so you'll just have to check out the websites that I got them from. My first craft I combined this idea with this idea. I know, it's a little late in the year to be starting this, but there's still some time, right? And I'm going to add memories that we remember thus far.

For the other little project, I used this idea. My mom kindly let me take and use her cute button collection {thanks Mom!} and make one of my own. The difference between the one on the website and mine is that I didn't have all of the same type colors, so I used all different colors, so it turned out more interesting {funky or tacky?} than the one you see. Wolfgang claims he likes it, and I'm still getting use to it.

As for recipes, here's what I made this week:

Chicken and Cheese Lasagna Rolls

Picture and recipe taken from here.

These turned out really good, and easy- just my type. If you go exactly by the recipe/directions, you should know that A. it won't look like what it does in the picture and B. It will not make 8. It ends up making only 6, but that was ok we didn't need 8 anyway. so If you want the full 8, don't use the directed 1/2 cup mixture for each noodle.

Stuffed Green Peppers with Brown Rice, Italian Sausage, and Parmesan

Picture and recipe taken from here.

These turned out good as well, but the lasagna rolls are still the favorite of the two. I did a slight variation; Although I love brown rice, Wolfgang doesn't, so I decided to be nice and compromise and use white rice. I also just used plain ground turkey, and instead added some spices. I only made 3 {so I used less of everything} which was plenty, and one is filling to eat.


To satisfy our sweet tooth this week, I made these:

All Natural, No-bake Energy Bites

Picture and recipe taken from here.

I don't know if these are really all natural, but whatever.
These are SO good! We love them. I feel like I'm eating cookie dough, minus the raw eggs and I feel like they are a little more healthy, but that is to be debated.

The first batch it made only about 14, so maybe I made them too big? The next time I just doubled the batch, and made them a little smaller than before. There are all sorts of variations you can do with these, but this is what I used and they turned out great:

-Almond butter
-Oatmeal oats {same as "old fashioned rolled oats," right? ..}
-Honey
-Flakes from 'Special K w/strawberries' and 'Raisin Brand Crunch' {my favorite} cereal, and I just took out the raisins and strawberries and crunched n' smashed them flakes.
-Chocolate chips
-Craisins
-Vanilla
-A lil' bit of cinnamon

Dang, they're so good. I'm going to go have one right now.

Too much water.

This may be too much information... but today, I almost

Peed my pants.

This is not even an exaggeration, either.

I think the last time I had to go so bad, was about 4 years ago when I was on this date with a guy I had a huge crush on. We went with a couple of other couples to these awesome ice caves, so we were in the middle of nowhere. Needless to say I made him stop at the nearest gas station on the out skirts of town on our way back, and I fake-calmy made a dash to the bathroom. I didn't think I would make it, but I did.

Ok, back to today's story. In short: I had to do a drug test {the whole pee in a cup crap, ya know} for my new job. I downed a ton of water before, and headed to the HR department to get paperwork, then headed over to the drug test place. Well, on our way over {thank goodness Wolfgang was driving} I had to go REALLY bad. The kind where you seriously think you are going to miss the target, it hurts so bad you want to cry {I was tearing up a little}, etc. I was moaning and groaning and complaining the whole way, my poor innocent husband.

So we finally get to the place after what seemed like eternity, and it was closed for lunch. There was NO way I could keep it in for any longer, so I made it to a Subway. I relieved myself then purchased some cookies to secretly say thanks to the employees, and also to make up to the husband for me being so crazy.

In the end, we went to lunch, drank some more water, and made it safely back to the place and did my thing.

So glad no accidents happened.

Could it be?

I just noticed that all of a sudden here on my blog, all my pictures that got deleted from my Google Plus fiasco are no longer blanks, but now are black "pictures" with an {!}.

Could it be that the Google geeks are trying to clean up their terrible mess, and are trying to recover all my pictures that were deleted?! Probably not. But I can pretend.

FINALLY.

Yesterday I had a job interview, and I was hired on the spot!

I am finally employed!!

It's been a long almost 8 months. I lost track of how many applications I have submitted, but the last time I counted was 75, and that was a couple of months ago.

Unemployment is stressful, frustrating, and among other obnoxious and very unhealthy things. The job isn't a career or anything of what I want to see myself doing in the future, but a job is a job right now, and I'm very happy.

I have been humbled by unemployment, and I now have a new understanding and a heck of a lot of compassion for those who are also struggling in this awful economy. For anyone else that is going through what I had to, all I have to say is...NETWORKING! I was annoyed when people would tell me this, especially when I didn't know anyone to network with. But in the end, I'm fully convinced this is the only reason I got this job, thanks to my husband and his connections.

Oh, and I will be working for the lovely Marriott International. Sound familiar? Just maybe...

I guess this is what happens when you leave your house plant unattended in an AZ apt. with the A/C off and no water for a week and a half...trying to revive the poor guy.

As much as I love and covet the green, I'll always call the beautiful desert home.