Bits and Pieces

A whole bunch of randomness. I'm trying to break out of my bloggy slump!

• It is entirely too early to say this, but I will anyway: I have enjoyed going to work for the past 2 weeks. It's a completely different atmosphere than last year. Everything at both schools seems more organized and efficient, the energy is good, and things are getting done. Who knew this was possible?! I also love my new principal. Not only is she great to work with, but she's stylish and makes me want to actually dress up for work. Almost. My other, principal-less school is fine too. I hope they get someone good.
• Babies. I'll just say it! We have been talking and thinking about them. Unfortunately, we can't help being The People Who Are Waiting For The Right Time. I feel like we are ready but also not ready at the same time, if that makes sense. It doesn't help when I see blogs about women who are having trouble conceiving. It's heartbreaking, and I wonder if I'm ready for the emotional rollercoaster. So I'm just...avoiding it, I guess. Should probably avoid the internet all together. 
• Last week I planned all of our meals, and it worked. Miracles! I got most of the recipes from Pinterest, which 1) helped justify the time I spend on it, and 2) proved to Zach Pinterest is not completely useless. 

Basil-Feta-Apple Flatbread

I picked this recipe because we had most of the ingredients on hand. (Sometimes I'll just enter random things into the search bar and see what recipes come up.) I've managed not to kill a basil plant all summer, so I thought it was finally okay to pick some leaves. Now it's acting like it's about to die! Anyway, this came out a little sweeter than I thought it would, but it was still pretty yummy. Not as sweet as a dessert pizza, thank God.

Crockpot Beef Stew

There is no way to make beef stew look appetizing.

Random fact: I hardly ever cook red meat at home, unless it's on the grill. This week we experimented with the crockpot ("slow cooker," as my coworker calls it) and made a beef stew/chili hybrid. I got confused and was thinking of two separate recipes, so I combined them. I'm no longer afraid to leave a crockpot on while at work. The leftovers lasted 4 days!

Soba noodles with peanut dressing

I modified this recipe and used soba noodles, whatever vegetables we had at home, and peanut butter, because cashew butter is ridiculously expensive. Zach loved this one.

Quinoa with corn and scallions

Took about 2 minutes. So easy. I added chicken to make it more filling.

I plan to ride this wave of menu-planning inspiration until I flame out spectacularly!

•  Conversation Zach and I had at Target a few weeks ago:

   Z: Oh look, Justin Theroux and Jennifer Aniston got into a huge fight.

   R: No they didn't. They just got engaged.

   Z: It says so on that Star Magazine over there.

   R: I was on People's website before we left the house, and trust me, they are engaged now. I promise they  are engaged. It was on People.

Don't worry, this is not a normal conversation topic for us. Z knows of Justin Theroux because he loves the movie Mulholland Drive. (Ronni did text me about an hour later, stating her disapproval because she is holding out on a Brad/Jen reunion.) Zach is bemused by my weird preoccupations, like celebrity news, Gossip Girl reruns, and Kate Middleton. He doesn't mind though, because I do talk about real news and mostly save the silly stuff for sistertime/girltime. And because I fixed dinner for an entire week! 

Beginnings and Endings

How is it already August? The summer is winding down and I'm processing everything that's happened and about to happen. This year is just flying.

Zach started a new job with FedEx the week we got back from California, and so far it's been great. This has been a true blessing, because he wasn't actively searching for something different and this opportunity fell into his lap . Hopefully he has room to grow with the company--he already seems happier, which in turn makes me happy. He's adjusting to a longer commute and different work hours, but I think everything will work out fine.

I return to work this week, to the same schools as last year. I know some of my friends and family are surprised. And disappointed. It's complicated and there are more factors in this situation than I've let on to others. Basically during the last week of the school year some big administrative changes were made which affected my planning/decision-making/stressing-out process. My view was further influenced when I met the new principal at one of the schools. I was surprised at how much I liked her...and wanted to work for her. She told me exactly what she expected from me, asked me what I needed from her. After the confusion of the previous year, it was so hopeful. I could envision what I could actually accomplish, and this made me excited.

A more personal reason for my decision was not wanting another "first year." Collectively it seems the first year in education is the most difficult, and thinking of going through that again somewhere else...no. I am hesitant to jump into another school (or any school) simply because it's something different. Right now I can build on everything I learned last year, which hopefully means better service to the students. I know better than to say definitively what I plan to do as far as working, but will admit my heart is really in career counseling and high school.  For once I'm going to be patient and wait for the right opportunity--whatever it may be. When it's right, I will know it.

BUT I won't be passive. I won't have a problem walking away if it's the best thing for me and Zach. I just want to have a good year, do my best work, have fun, and be open to possibilities. Really, this career thing is my internal debate which will not die. Maybe I sort of like it? Anyway. Enough shoegazing!

It's the end of my summer, and it's been glorious. Summer 2012, you were too good to me.

San Diego and SoCal with my bestie!

This room has been downgraded from "blatant health code violation" to "moderately hazardous."

Favorite summer food!

The Tour de France and the Olympics = happy.

Made lots of jewelry.

How I love the beach.

Happiness is a toasted bagel.

Me n' my love!

Wii Rock Band/Beatles with the family. I learned that I have no rhythm/am a terrible drummer. 

Here's to a great rest of 2012!

San Francisco Part II

After enjoying Monterey and Big Sur, we headed back to San Francisco. By this point, we were both feeling a bit worn, so we studied the public transit routes when we got back to our hotel. Taking the BART and the Muni for the remainder of the trip gave us a little extra energy even though we still did a lot of walking. San Francisco is a good walking city.

Highlights from our final days in northern California:

Genki

I found this bubble tea cafe through our guidebook (Lonely Planet!). Genki was better than the place we tried in Chinatown, and it sold weird little Asian nick-knacks--lots of Hello Kitty.

Burma Superstar

Before going to SF, I asked my brother in law if he had any restaurant recommendations and he sent me a list. We went to a couple of the places, but out favorite was Burma Superstar. I've never had Burmese food, so I was excited.

We tried the tea leaf salad and the Burmese chicken curry. The salad had fermented tea leaves, sesame seeds, peanuts, and split yellow peas. It sounds so random, but it was really amazing. I believe I had an umami moment. I want to eat this salad right now. The curry was light, not too spicy, and served with coconut rice. My new favorite way to eat rice. We were really conservative with our menu choices on this trip, but I'm dying to try the other things on the menu. Why does this place have to be two time zones away?

Golden Gate Park

After Burma Superstar we walked to Golden Gate, which has so many things to see and do. I think we could've spent several days exploring this park.

There was an authentic Japanese garden and little tea house. We tried two types of tea: hojicha (roasted tea leaves) and sencha.

I finally figured out how to take video on my little camera (Lil C):

There are plenty of walking trails which lead to really great views of the city.

 Seeing the bridge never got old.

Open Door:

One of the places Clint recommended was Slanted Door. However, we are not cool/smart enough to make reservations ahead of time, so we settled for their takeout booth in the Ferry Building. Lemongrass tofu and steamed chicken and pork buns. Yummy. (So many pictures of us eating. I think it's my favorite subject.)

Ocean Beach:

The Pacific Ocean side of San Francisco. We took what seemed like the furthest Muni train to get there. But it was worth it. The whole area felt so much beachier and surfier than other parts of the city. It was freezing, foggy, and misty that morning, but it did not stop husbandman from going in the water. (Right now, he actually has a little summer cold. Everything has a price. But he enjoyed it, so it's ok.)

Half the shells were crushed in the suitcase on the way home. Boo!

So different from Huntington Beach, but not in a bad way.

Trouble Coffee and Outerlands:

Doing what we do best.

Mint whoopie pies!

Coffee and lunch in the neighborhood after Ocean Beach. We were clearly tourists, as we did not have enough tattoos to fit in. Not that we cared, but I just felt so bright.  Also, Trouble Coffee was a cash-only place, which we discovered only after we placed our order. We had to run to the ATM. We'll do anything for coffee.

The Mission:

In a city full of color, the Mission is literally the most colorful neighborhood we visited. Some alleyways and entire building facades are covered in murals. I love public art.

Mission Dolores, the first building in San Francisco. Beautiful and a little eerie, but maybe that's because I associate missions with the movie Vertigo. Eek.

Bi-Rite Creamery:

A precious little ice-cream shop. Zach tried the lavender honey and coffee toffee, and I tried olive oil. Olive oil flavored ice cream sounds strange, but it isn't. Not if you love olive oil!

Respect the olive oil.

I wish we'd gone to the Mission sooner because it was really fun and we could've tried more ice cream flavors. Christina and Clint--Tartine and Monk's Kettle are in this area, so if you ever come to SF this is your neighborhood. It's nice to be home, but I do miss San Francisco. It was only a week ago I was standing in line at Bi-Rite, trying to decide between mint chocolate chip and olive oil. Crazy. I miss the colors, the hilly landscape, the fog, the weather, the food, scarves, and exploring.

Dear San Francisco,

The jagged edge of the world

Of all the places I was looking forward to seeing while in California, Big Sur topped the list by a landslide. I'd read about the Pacific Coast Highway before, but nothing prepared me for how stunning this drive is in person.

We rented a car and drove south from SF through Palo Alto and Santa Cruz. Silicon Valley--not much silicon, but very hilly. It was pretty.

Northern California is very lush and green, like somewhere gnomes live.

Our cute Victorian hotel in Monterey:

They had me at "complimentary wine and cheese reception in the lobby." The fireplace was a bonus.

I love wine (in a non-dangerous way).

While in Monterey we planned to go to the aquarium, but got completely sidetracked by the gorgeous weather, the scenery, recreation trails, water, and the sunbathing seals!

Cannery Row, a bunch of old sardine canning factories converted into shops and restaurants.

We both got a little click-happy.

Seals! We watched these seals sunbathe for about 30 minutes. Yes.

It was so hard to tear myself away from this view.

In retrospect, I regret not going to the aquarium. But I don't regret soaking up all of the beautiful scenery. It was such a contrast to the hustle of San Francisco. I wanted to take it all in. Zach is happy any time he's outdoors, so it was a win-win. Still should've made time for the aquarium though. Guess we need to plan another trip!

Zach ignores the !Danger!Achtung! signs and climbs down to get in the water. I love my husband, even though he scares me sometimes.

Monterey is a cute little town.

The next day we went south towards Big Sur on the famed Highway 1/PCH. We stopped every few miles to absorb the views, the sounds of the water and smell of pine trees. Heavenly.

Compared to Monterey, Big Sur was so remote and isolated--all windswept and rocky. We continued snaking through hairpin turns, and the views kept getting more and more unbelievable.

It was truly the most stunning vista I'd ever seen. I actually cried a few times because it was so beautiful and overwhelming. It was like the beginning of earth--untouched by humans. Not that humans are incapable of creating beautiful landscapes, but this was Creation. It was so spiritual. Sometimes I'll look at pictures of southern Argentina and plead with Zach to go there, because it looks so pure and unspoiled, like dinosaurs could suddenly emerge. This was the next best thing to going to Argentina. Better, actually, because it's in the United States. I felt so patriotic too, like "This is in America! I live in this beautiful country! What else can I see in my beautiful country?!" I sound super crazy right now, but I'm just remembering how happy and overwhelmed I was this day. I was so, so happy.

Zach finally asked me to move from my perch so an Austrian family would have a chance to enjoy the views. I conceded, but only if they took our picture.

At a gas station off Hwy 1. Welcome back to reality and $5 per gallon gasoline!

We went hiking at Pfieffer Big Sur state park, among the redwoods and the gnomes.

On the way back to San Francisco, we stopped at one of the roadside produce stands to pick up some fruit.

$3.49 per pound for Rainier cherries! Unheard of here. The most delicious cherries ever.