Le Tucson

I really, really should be doing my math homework right now, but who wants to do  homework when you can revel in all the fun you had during spring break.

I usually go out of town or do something really big and exciting for the entire week of spring break, but that was not the case this year because I have a job, and I really like my job, and I like making money from my job so I can save up for an apartment and whatnot. So I pulled a few strings and instead of getting a full week off work, I got my work hours all smushed in the middle of the week so I was able to go out of town for the first weekend of my spring break.
And, of course, I took a trip to Tucson. Now, Tucson isn't somewhere I usually like to go, but sometimes you just have to go visit the lovely people who live down there. This time, I visited my friend Kaitlyn (who I have known since I was a toddler) and my newly engaged friend Sarah, who I have known since 8th grade.
At Kaitlyn's house, I spent a lot of time bumming around, which is perfectly normal. Kaitlyn and I both immensly enjoy books, so we each finished one while we were down there (I finished Cannery Row. Is it just me, or does that book lack a plot?) and we also went to Bookman's to each buy a new book. I bought Blue Like Jazz and John Coltrane's A Love Supreme to accompany my book.
Another thing Kaitlyn and I always do is go for a walk in her backyard. Her backyard is not fenced in--somewhere it turns into a massive wash full of desert plants and jackrabbits. I always take pretty wildlife and plant photos when I visit her, and all the ones in this post were taken in her back yard with my new camera.

Sunday, after when I probably would have gone to church with Kaitlyn (second service, when Kaitlyn attends, was a bit too late for my tastes, and I really didn't want to sit by myself), I drove to Starbucks to delve deeper into Blue Like Jazz. I must admit, it is a very striking book. Full of unique imagery and one man's description of what "Christian Spirituality  is to him, it is a must-read for anyone who likes to sit around and contemplate the meaning of life. So, once my overpriced soy latte ran dry, I walked over to Trader Joe's and bought almond milk, turkey bacon, organic eggs and gluten free spaghetti sauce for my cooking duties at Sarah's apartment.
We stuck to our budget this trip (yay us!), and my grocery bill rang up to a whopping $17--three whole dollars under my budget.


My time spent with Sarah was divided between eating, drinking sugary drinks, laying by the pool, shopping for clothing (I got my Easter dress, a cute pair of shorts and some stretchy cute blue dress that is for the next time I set foot in a club, aka, never) and watching four movies: She's The Man, Angels and Demons, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Benny and Joon.
It was wonderful to see both Sarah and Kaitlyn, as each of them are approaching new stages of life--Sarah is getting married and Kaitlyn is soon joining the medical work force. There is nothing in the world that will make you feel old like visiting two of your oldest friends and seeing how they have grown up.

Adventures in the Kitchen

When I’m in a good mood, I bake. When I’m in a bad mood, I bake more.

I'm in a bit of a funk lately. I'm planning a difficult schedule to juggle next semester, I just ended a three and a half year relationship with my boyfriend, and one of my close friends is getting married which just makes me feel old and somehow inadequate.

So I spent some time in the kitchen last week baking cupcakes, and some time in the kitchen baking cookies tonight. Who knows what else I'll whip up this week. (I definitely have to make a batch of homemade funfetti cupcakes for a birthday party on Sunday night.)

This is the batter of flourless peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, which are basically gluten free.

I was aiming to make ones like what I can find at Fair Trade Café here in Phoenix. The make the best gluten free vegan chocolate chip peanut butter cookies, but at $1.50 for two little ones...it's not cheap.

These cookies definitely matched the ones from FTC in taste, but not so much in shape. Instead of being cute little blobs of sugary peanut-y goodness, I got flat chips of sugary peanut-y goodness.

All in all, three and a half out of five stars.

My only problems is that they don't look cute at all like they did in the photos provided on the recipe website.

Also, they're a pain in the arse when it comes to getting them off the cookie sheet. I ended up sliding the entirety of the parchment paper onto the metal rack to cool. Not easy.

On the bright side, they taste delicious, and everyone at the office (who gets one--this wasn't a high-yielding batch) is going to be happy to eat them.

Coming soon: A post about my weekend trip to Tucson!

Adventures of 2013

Hey there, long time no see!
I have been really busy with school lately, and haven't really had time to go on any super crazy adventures, but here is what I have done as of late:

A trip to George's to clean in late December
I regret to inform you that this trip was definitely my least favorite trip I have ever taken. It was during my Christmas break, and the entire three days spent at George's with my dad and Daniel were spent cleaning the house from top to bottom. I never really considered George's Ranch to be a particularly dirty place (I prefer the term "rustic"), but from all the mop water, vacuum water, dust cloths, and disinfecting wipes we went through, dirty is the only word that can describe how that house was before we cleaned it.

Thankfully, we were able to take a short break on one of the days and go for a nice drive, where my dad and Daniel were able to go look for nifty rocks, and where I was able to play with the new Nikon my dad and I got for Christmas.
The rest of the weekend was regretfully spent cleaning. And watching movies. And making food.
As usual.

The Color Run in January
I don't know if you have ever heard of The Color Run, but it is basically 5 kilometers of colorful running/jogging/skipping/dancing/walking madness.
You start the run wearing all white, and at every kilometer mark, there is a crew of volunteers with cups full of dyed corn starch waiting to be thrown at you.
Of course, the day of The Color Run in Phoenix, it rained. Hard, cold, wet rain. However, we (me, Becca, Marissa and Becky) decided that we were not going to be sissy wimps and not go, or even be sissy wimps and bring jackets. No. We embraced the cold with goose bumps and shivers, and ran/jogged/walked the whole 5k in sub-comfortable temperatures.
And we hit up the dance party afterwards.

That's all that's really happened as of late, at least in the exciting-adventure realm. Daniel gave me a voucher good for one horseback ride in Wickenburg this spring, so that is most likely my next scheduled adventure. Stay classy, ladies and gents!

A word cloud of my blog as of today.

A New Adventure Awaits

It's now official--my parents put an offer on a new home, and their offer has been approved. We're moving.
I've never moved before. Never. Not once in my life. I've heard different stories from friends about their moving experiences--fun, terrible, difficult, easy. I'm not sure what to expect.
I do imagine it will make my life a bit more difficult. Instead of being a short light rail ride away from school and a quick drive from work, I'll be a 30 minute drive from school (not counting traffic) and a 30 minute drive from work. For the first time in my life, it will take me longer than four minutes to get to my boyfriend's house, more than 10 minutes to get to church, and more than 20 to visit my friends at Grand Canyon University.
I'm a little scared. I'm leaving the only house I've ever known behind, and moving into a house that is in no way mine--it is my parent's. They picked it, they plan on living in it for a long time, they're simply letting me move with them. And I'm a little unsettled by this.
I want to live on my own (with a friend would be great). I want to be able to pay for an apartment, to purchase my own groceries from a farmer's market across the street from that apartment. I want to have a kitten and a corgi, and take the corgi for walks and give the kitten a scratching post (which would be useless because my future cats are going to be de-clawed.) But I'm 19, and let's face it. There's no way I can afford all that. Not even the apartment. (I could probably afford the cat, though. But I'm "not allowed.")
So, for now, I'm going to wallow in my half-freedom, and save up for that impending day when I will be able to afford an apartment, and enjoy spending money on the adventures I can afford to spend money on, now.

The Adventure That Started it All

It was over two years ago, now, when my AP Literature teacher first handed out the papers. It was for extra credit, and we were to show them to our parents, get their signature, and have them check one of the three boxes:

• I am interested in sending my child on a trip to France
• I am interested, but cannot afford it
• I am not interested

Originally, my mother checked the top box, but I still had a bit of convincing to do before she would allow me to go. After much coaxing, I talked my mother into allowing me to go on this wondrous trip to France, Spain and Morocco as my high school graduation gift.

Nevermind that my favorite teacher (from Honors Freshman English, to AP Literature, to Creative Writing) gave birth to her baby boy prior to the trip, and was therefore not able to attend. It certainly would have been an entirely different trip had she come along (her replacement was the drama teacher, who was fun, but strict), but it was a wonderful trip nonetheless--even if I didn't get to taste any French wine.
We were able to pull out all the stops in Paris--the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, the Louvre,  the opera house, and a river cruise on the Seine. The best part is, I was with my best friends Becca and Bailey. And while we learned that putting the three of us in a hotel room together is a bad idea, their presence truly made part of the trip as unforgettable as it is.

Notre Dame, Paris

Besides pulling all the stops and seeing all the views, I learned to not be stingy with travel money. For heaven's sake, while you're in a different country, buy all the souvenirs you want! And eat all of the crepes, because there are none quite the same in America, and you''ll work them off when you hike la Tour Eiffel, anyway.
 Of course, I also learned that after the sixth cathedral or painting of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus, it all starts to look the same. I now like to say, "If you've see one cathedral, you've seen them all." However, France and Spain both differ dramatically in that aspect. French cathedrals really all do look the same, with similar rose stained glass windows, and tall Gothic style architecture, but Spanish cathedrals range anywhere from La Sagrada Familia to La Catedral de Cordoba.

La Sagrada Familia, June 2011

La Catedral Cordoba

It was somewhere between Barcelona and Costa del Sol that my love of travel seriously took flight. One night in Madrid (I believe it was Madrid), my four travel mates and I set out on an adventurous walk without letting our group leader know. While nothing really important happened on this walk (it was at least 8 pm, the sun was beginning to set, and nothing exciting was open, an exciting revelation came to me: I am an adult. I can make responsible choices, without notifying anyone, and have fun without getting into trouble.

Bailey, Becca, Hayden and Loni

Our late night walk in Madrid has become the essence of travel. Being spontaneous and smart, maybe breaking a few guidelines here and there, but understanding that, in the scheme of things, adventures are what make the memories, not lifeless nights spent in a hotel room 'midst a world that needs to be explored.

Summer Trips Beginning to Form

There's no way this summer is going to be as eventful and travel-filled as last summer was, but that's because I have a job this summer and I can't claim my vacations are "pre-existing" as I did before I was hired in the middle of last summer. What I've learned from working is that life is all about balancing the spending and making of money, and my two summer trips look perfect for that.

In May I shall be traveling to Tahoe with Daniel as soon as school gets out. We're going to take a two week road trip surrounding his sister's wedding, which will include Vegas, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, and Highway 1. We're paying for basically everything, except for room and board in Tahoe and Vegas. His parents are also giving us a little bit of money (what would have been one airfare ticket) to help us along.

In June my neighbor's daughter is getting married in Colorado. I originally didn't want to go on this trip because it surrounds my birthday (I hate traveling on my birthday), but then my mom mentioned that I could bring my lovely "brain-twin" Becca, and since she and I were already planning a 5-day weekend camping trip to Colorado, we just decided it would be better if we accompanied my parents as they would pay for everything and we would get to have just as much fun going off and being adventuresome.

So, in summation, California road trip with my sweetheart in May and Colorado Adventure trip with my best friend in June. And who knows--I'll probably join my other best friend Hannah on a 5-day weekend trip to her uncle's cabin in July or August. All in all, it's going to be a rather inexpensive summer of traveling, and I am so excited.