Inappropriate

Questions that you shouldn't ask:

•  "When are you having a baby?"
• Never.  Simple enough for ya?  This question seems to always be preceded by rants about how much the activities for kids  cost, the latest vomit or poop story, and talk about how romance has gone out the window because, "when you have kids, your priorities change."  Here's a tip, if you want to convince someone to have kids, maybe you should invest in some eye cream to eliminate those bags under your eyes; just a thought, but really, the sleepless look and the aggravated rants aren't convincing anyone.

• "How much money do you make an hour?"
• This question will never be appropriate.  Never, under any circumstance should you ask someone how much they make an hour.  Seriously.  Just don't.

• "When are you getting married?"
• The next person that asks me when I am getting married, (because this happens multiple times per week, usually by the same people), that person is getting punched in the face. When I answer "we're not in a hurry," or "I don't know," or "we're not ready for that," I don't appreciate the obvious scanning and the up and down looks.  No, there isn't something wrong with my relationship.  Thank you very much.

• "Didn't you just have a baby?"
• No, I didn't, but now I may have a desire to jump off of a building.  Unless you saw a baby vacate my vagina, or I tell you I just had a baby, keep that one to yourself, stupid.

• "What did he/she/you go to jail and/or prison for"
• People make mistakes, and those mistakes are probably not something they want to relive with you.  If you don't know, there is a reason you don't know.  I hope the next person that I witness asking this questions gets the response, "I killed someone for asking me too much personal information."

Some questions should be left to your therapist, gynecologist, and best friends.  Just some food for thought, people.

Sangria

We had a barbecue to celebrate Father's Day, and Alexis' birthday, and I made Sangria for the first time!  It was a huge hit, and I will definitely be doing it again.  I made a red and a white Sangria.  Definitely check out the recipe that I used!

For the best party sangria, you will need: 

• 1 Bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja, Zinfandel, Shiraz)
• 1 Lemon cut into wedges
• 1 Orange cut into wedges 1 Lime cut into wedges2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Shots of gin or triple sec (I left this out)
• 1 Cup of raspberries or strawberries (may use thawed or frozen)
• 4 Cups ginger ale or club soda

Preparation:

Thinly slice all of the lemons, limes, and oranges, then give them a squeeze into the best pitcher you have, add the wine, and toss the fruit into the pitcher.  Add the sugar, and chill overnight.  Right before you serve add fresh strawberries, and the sparkling soda of your choice.  I am telling you, it is delicious!

 For the white Sangria you will need:

• 1 Bottle of white wine (Riesling, Albarino, Chablis, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 oranges (sliced)
• 1 lemon (sliced)
• 1 lime (sliced)
• 2 cups of strawberries
• 1/2 liter of ginger ale or club soda (ginger ale for those with a sweeter tooth!)

Just as before, slice up the fruit and give it a squeeze into the pitcher with the wine.  Stir in the sugar until dissolved, and chill over night.  Just before serving add the ginger ale or club soda, and voila!

There wasn't a drop of either Sangria left, it was a real hit!

Bragging

Today is my friend Alexis' birthday, and I hope she has the best day, because she deserves it more than she will ever know. 

Alexis is:

• funny
• a certified personal trainer
• a competition rock climber (previously ranked 10th in the U.S.)
• caring
• a professional belly dancer
• smart; she has two honors degrees from The University of Texas at Austin
• speaks multiple languages
• is a 2X golden gloves champ (she made it to the finals four times total)
• a bad ass muay Thai fighter
• a total sweetheart.  
• an amazing pianist
• a talented painter
• a good listener
• super gorgeous

Did I mention she is gorgeous, because she is absolutely and completely beautiful? I shit thee not, she has done all of that stuff, and she is all of those things, and she isn't even thirty.  I hope her day is fabulous.  I hope this year brings her tons of good fortune, and I hope to make some awesome memories with her in the years to come!

Gordon B. Hinckley

I am about to quote one of the late prophets of the LDS church, bizarre, I know:

"True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one's companion." 

The Life

The life of a full-time college student, and a full-time employee is stressful, but it is also oddly enjoyable.  One of the simple joys of college is falling asleep in the J. Willard Marriott library, they have the most comfortable chairs!

There is something to be said about the quality of sleep that you get when you pass out.

Watercress Salad

Alright, this is a total no-brainer salad, and most of you have probably eaten it in restaurants (or maybe at home), but I am in love!

Ingredients:

• Watercress (1 bunch per person)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 lemon (per person)
• Salt 
• Pepper
• Parmesan Cheese (Optional)

Seriously, that is all.  Chop the stalks off of the watercress, which is a wonderful and peppery little green, drizzle a healthy amount of olive oil over the top.  Squeeze your lemons in with the greens, add salt and pepper to taste, and then toss.  I didn't add parmesan (remember, I gained twenty pounds?), but I have had it before with this salad, and it is orgasmic.  Make sure to get a quality cheese, and add some nice curls on top! Voila!  

Seriously delicious, and so refreshing for summer!

Road Trip

I went on a quick road trip this past weekend to help a friend move from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, and we had an absolute blast!  We flew into L.A., gathered up her things, hopped in her Lexus, and headed for Las Vegas!

We didn't arrive at our hotel, the Monte Carlo, until midnight.  I immediately assumed it was too late for us to go out and see the city, but I was wrong.  Clubs in Utah close at two, which is far from the case in Sin City.  Oh, how naive.

We quickly threw on our clubbing attire, makeup,  flat-ironed our hair, and we were out the door by 12:30!

This is the only picture we took

 Just my luck, the first five minutes on the strip I almost smashed right into a guy that had a six foot snake draped around his shoulders.  Really?!  I'm pretty sure that is stressful for the snake, and people like me don't appreciate it.  LEAVE YOUR REPTILES AT HOME, PEOPLE!

We met Alexis' friend, Jorge at The Palms, and he got is into two clubs, Moon and The Playboy Club, without a cover charge (thankfully, because it is ridiculously expensive!)  It was cool to see the atmosphere in the club, but it was mostly just reaffirming that it isn't my scene.  I can't believe there are people that live for that lifestyle!  I suppose if I had one ounce of rhythm clubbing would be fun, but I don't, sooooo I mostly just feel like an idiot.

I literally saw a vagina while I was "dancing."   I wanted to walk up to the girl and say "oh honey" as I tugged her skirt down.

Three shots of tequila cost $45...that is five dollars short of what I pay to get my hair cut and colored, with a tip!  If I wasn't a starving student that wouldn't be a lot of money, but it is, and I almost just turned around and walked away when the lady told me the price!  After some good alcohol, fun people watching, great dancing, meeting a cool new person, and laughing my ass of with Alexis, we went back to the room.

The night ended with us drinking water and eating vegetable chips in the hotel room (Alexis didn't think pants were necessary at this point, so she was walking around in zebra panties. Priceless.) I talked to Ben while Alexis passed out.  By the time I climbed into bed, the sun was rising.  I laid in the big, comfy hotel bed, and fell asleep, feeling like a rock star.

The drive home was fantastic!  I mentioned that Alexis owns a Lexus, because she let me drive it all the way home, and it was the best driving experience of my life!  Her car is quite the machine.  We really bonded over the trip, and I can't wait to go on another trip with her!

Serenity

My mom's house has always had a copy of the Serenity Prayer hanging on the wall, and I vividly and fondly remember the prayer being recited at AA meetings as a child.  As an adult, I try to look to the prayer as a model.  As an atheist, I interpret the message a tad differently, but the overall content is the same.  I often find myself saying:


I will achieve serenity when I accept that there are things I cannot change; I will have the courage to change the things I can, and over time, I will acquire the wisdom to know the difference.

Who Do You Love?

So, Ben left for Hawaii.  He will be gone for two weeks, which is cool.  He doodled a cute little countdown calendar on the whiteboard in our kitchen, and it made my heart melt.  Now that he is gone people have been asking me nonstop if I miss him, and everyone seems to be asking, "how are you holding up with him gone?"  I know that people mean well, and I know that he meant well with the calendar, but it all really made me think.

I felt a tad sad thinking about him being gone for two weeks, because I love him.  I like coming home to him, and hearing about his day.  However, I am not exactly devastated that he is gone.  I go to school full-time, work full-time, have tons of friends, and have plenty of training, cooking, reading, and blog writing to do.  I mean, really, it would be a bit pathetic if I was devastated or sad over two weeks of him being gone, right?

The sum of things has made me evaluate some stuff.  I love him, and I love our life together.  I like building our life together.  We do fun stuff, and Ben is my best friend, but I have a lot more self-love now than I have ever had.  Spending time alone isn't bad, in fact, it is kind of nice.  I had a great day in class, and kicked some butt (Chelsea style) in jits last night.  I was feeling great, and it continued when I went home to the empty house.  I made myself a steak sandwich on some delicious fresh ciabatta bread, ate half of the juiciest cantaloupe that I have ever tasted (Harmon's produce department is the best!), watched a movie, read Cosmopolitan from cover to cover (mostly to gauge just how sexist this "female friendly" magazine is), and I splurged on a mini Haagen-Dazs ice cream.

Who do I love?  I love tons of people.  But, of all of the people that I love, I have really turned into my favorite.

Summer Classes

I have dropped off of the grid just a tad, and it is all the fault of my summer classes.  I wish adults had summer breaks like elementary school children; Aaaaah, to reminisce about the days when I would steal change from my parents to get ice cream from the ice cream man!