Day 174-180: A New Approach...

So, after some contemplation, I've decided to keep up this blog in a new way. This will help reduce the amount of stuff I need to do during the week, and lessen the amount of stress during the week. I've decided every Sunday (except when I may be on vacation), I'll post seven photos of the previous week. Truth be told, it is EXTREMELY difficult with my schedule and enjoyment of sleeping to (remember) to take a photo every day, and I'm sure y'all would rather see more thoughtful pictures than photos of my ceiling. I knew you'd understand :).

So, without further adieu, seven photos...

I made some open faced blueberry pie...sooo good! The local grocery store here had a sale on blueberries (88 cents a pint!), so I grabbed up as many as were allowed and made this pie. Strangely, all last week my car smelled like fresh blueberries. I didn't think much of it, but decided to check the trunk just in case. Low and behold, there was a rouge package of blueberries in my trunk, which would have surely lost their pleasant smell sooner than later...I'm glad we found them!!

I love our humming birds, but they are SO hard to photograph!

What. the. heck. is. this. Tony wasn't interested in getting rid of it. Any takers? I think it's an alien pod. I'm also pretty ridiculous about being afraid of bugs, and I have a tendency to exaggerate.

Every time I cooked something in the oven of our new apartment, the fire alarms would go off. I thought 1) the last residents used too much oven cleaner and it was still burning off, or 2) I'm a terrible cook and I don't know how to operate a gas oven. Turns out I stored some grilling utensils beneath the oven in the pull-out storage space, and they caught on fire. Yikes! Good thing it was contained...

Noooo! My tomato plant is DYING??!?? I do have a black thumb :(.

The jalapenos seem to be doing fine---robust little fellas.

I bought some new Fossil sunglasses on base that cover 60% of my face. I love them. Tony calls them my face-huggers.

(Bonus) Looks like they can turn even the burliest of men into divas :)...hah!

Day 169-173: Loving life in southern California...

Day 169:

I HAVE A STRAWBERRY!! I hope this little fella grows big, and encourages his relatives to do the same. Oh buddy, do I have plans for these strawberries!

Day 170:

I love love LOVE the balcony on this apartment. I love being able to step outside with my camera, and appreciate all of the birds, lizards, plants and whatever else might be outside my apartment!

Day 171:

I made freezer jam, like in the old days. Ok, not really. I used a Ball packet, some sugar and berries on sale at Henry's Farmer's Market. I still felt connected to the pioneers, okay!?! Don't take that away from me.

Day 172:

I HAVE A TOMATO TOO! I can't believe it.

Day 173:

I love this bird. It totally hates me. Check out that stink eye it's giving me from the feeder. If it could talk, it would probably say, "Stop making such loud noises with that camera! You're ruining my ambiance!"

Day 161-168: I owe you a whole bunch of photos...again

I've fallen off the wagon in my posting. I apologize. Instead of labeling the days like normal, I'm opting for a hodgepodge again...

I promise, I'll get back to normal soon!

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I love it when I get to use my mortar and pestle--so fun!

Recently, Tony bought me a set of Henkel Vier Sterne knives, and boy are they fabulous. They are super sharp, and really easy to handle...I love them!

Mmm...zesty fries. You know you want some. The recipe is coming soon.

Look how honkin' big my tomato plant is!?!? I'm doing much better this year in terms of gardening, though I only was able to go up from my plant genocide in San Antonio.

They're blooming now! I can't wait until they give me food.

There is a colony of rabbits right around where I live. I think they're really cute :).

We finally bought a mattress for the spare bed frame. Now all we need is normal size pillows or some pillowcases. Sorry, Mom, I know this picture pains you.

I really do love the view out from my balcony...

And a bonus just for y'all:

The cutest planter pot ever.

New Orleans Edition, Day 2

After church on Sunday we went to the sculpture garden outside the New Orleans Museum of Art. I was overheated within 15 minutes. What happen to my ability to deal with heat in San Antonio?? Wimp.

There was a little train that ran around the museum's botanical and sculpture gardens--so cute!

I enjoyed the lake, where the trees were weighed down by moss. In many ways, it's what my mind's eye sees whenever it thinks of Louisiana. Well, that and gators sitting on the front porch of a one-eyed Cajun with three fingers playing the blues on a guitar. You know.

This little guy was really cool! There were lizards everywhere. You could hear them scampering in the bushes, waiting to build up enough numbers for world domination.

Wow, look at all the violins. I'm pretty sure Brittni would whole-hearted agree that they are violins. Definitely not cellos. Impossible.

It was so beautiful and tranquil there. If it didn't feel like the surface of the sun, I probably would have never wanted to leave...

All you need is love...

More of that moss. It's haunting.

In memory of Brittni's sweet turtle:

I'll leave you with a sense of progress. Brittni and I complete our first years of graduate study apart. We were one year older than the last time we had physically seen one another, and both of us had independently learned a vast amount of information. We are both very different than the last time we were together, but also very much the same. Progress had been made. Tests had been taken. Things had been checked off of our respective lists. We are continually moving forward, beyond what we imagined we could accomplish. Yet, at the core, we are still the same. I find this very comforting.

Day 152-160: New Orleans Edition, Day 1

So, I was not in New Orleans for 2 weeks, but in the 2.5 days I was there I accumulated a bunch of outstanding pictures. I'm going to use the pictures I post today as my last 8 days, even though I'm giving you more than 8 pictures.


These extra photos are for no other reason than to say I love you. Enjoy!

The trip started out rough on Friday. My flight from San Diego to Houston was delayed, and I missed my connecting flight to New Orleans. To make matters worse, there were no other flights until the following morning! So, I called up Brittni, told her I was going to be stuck in Houston, TX for a night, and without hesitation, she said: "Ok, don't worry. I'll pick you up at the airport." Holy. Cow. Brittni made the 5+ hour drive from New Orleans to Houston to pick me up at the airport. We were able to have a non-stop 6 hour conversation on the way back. A good portion of the time was spent listening to me say names like "Atchafalaya" and looking over the miles of bridge we were traveling on by moonlight. It was too fun!

We woke up early and went to breakfast at the Camellia grill. I was greeted by the waiter with a fist-bump, and I knew things were looking up. After breakfast, Brittni surprised me (well, kind of) with and a cooking class at the New Orleans School of Cooking in the French Quarter! I had such a fun time.

This is Tom, the instructor. He taught us how to make bread puddin'. The mirrors helped quite a bit...

And a roux for gumbo...

...which was delicious!!

We also made jambalaya! Do y'all know what people mean when they say "pope" in New Orleans? Garlic!!!

This is Tim and Laura...they're Brittni's friends from church, and they were our cooking buddies for the morning!

We had a good time too...

Here I am with the instructor, looking awkward :).

The bread pudding was marvelous--I think that's what I'm going to try to make first!

The pralines were also creamy and delicious, but definitely not as good as my momma's!

After our lesson and lunch at the cooking school, we headed over to Jackson square to see the Mississippi and the art (and artists) located all around the square.

Hello, Cafe du Monde, my love. We'll talk about you later...

I love the second floor balconies of New Orleans, they're all so lush and vibrant!

Being a tourist and posing for a photo in front of the cathedral :).

Here's the guy the whole square is named after...yee haw!

Brittni, hamming it up...haha...

She also took a few pictures during the trip. This one is one of my favorites--it captures how happy I am to be with her!

There is so much history in New Orleans--it's like the whole town is a historical distric. Here you see General Lee, glaring at the North with his arms folding. Darn yankees. I'm pretty sure I called him General Custard to Brittni, but she didn't seem to care too much.

We looked around on the levy by Brittni's apartment at the end of St. Charles. I loved looking at all the boats and rigs.

The moon rose over the Mississippi, and I thought about the stories of Huckleberry Finn that I read in high school. Cheesy, I know.

Brittni and I were having a great time!

Then, we went to Cafe du Monde, and I died. When I woke, I was in beignet and chickory coffee heaven.

We went back into the French Quarter, and Brittni led me down Bourbon street. I have now checked that off of my list of things to do. Before we left, she showed me this particular church located in the quarter. A light illuminates a teaching Jesus, and his shadow is projected on the face of the church. I found this to be an interesting juxtaposition to what was down the street and around the corner...

Finally, we were tired. I look psychotic in every picture taken hereafter. This is the best one. We're on the streetcar, going back to Brittni's apartment. What an incredible and full day!

I'll post more pictures of Sunday's activities soon!