Well...I haven't really been keeping up. Mostly because I generally keep up in order to communicate with my grandma Nono, who I have been seeing quite a bit this summer. Anyone who reads this blog probably already knows this, but my grandpa Gdad has been diagnosed with brain cancer and is pursuing treatment at the U of M, so in the three weeks I have spent in Ann Arbor this summer, I have seen them quite a bit, although not under ideal circumstances. I'm sure we are all missing the leisurely summer months at Lake Delavan that used to be my Julys and Augusts. I have been home a few weeks now and have been working a lot at Plum to try to make up for time away, and also because I recently received a promotion of sorts to Front of House Manager, although I am still serving. It's been just over a week since I started and am in the belly of the beast so to speak. A vegan beast.
June was beautiful in Seattle (and of course I missed most of it) and now we seem to be getting our typical "June Gloom" in August. Yesterday was rainy and high in the mid-50s. I don't mind much though. It makes it easier to get down to work. A hot cup of tea feels good. I do not envy the scorching summers the rest of the country has been having the last few years. We are not without good days though. Last weekend we had a little picnic to celebrate my friend and coworker's graduation from Massage School, and we were accompanied by four baby raccoons happily feasting in the nearby mulberry tree:
I took approximately a billion pictures, but none seem to do justice to how cute these guys were. After feasting they all took a nap together in a crotch of the tree with their little tails hanging down.
Also, in my like one day off since I've been home I got a crafting itch and found these cute succulents at the QFC, which inspired me to make a few terrariums. I got rocks and sand at the garden center, and made these guys:
The venus fly trap was on special. I keep trying to find a bug to feed to it, but wouldn't you know I have the most bug-free apartment ever. Never thought I would complain about that! The little elf I found in an old box I unpacked in my parents attic while in Michigan. They were boxes that had been unopened since we moved from the stonegate house in 1998. The geode and other special stones from the terrariums above also came from those boxes.
I couldn't resist buying this maiden hair fern. It looked good next to my dear bones, but sadly the cat kept trying to eat it there so I had to move it to the bookshelf.
The succulent in back is one from two years ago when we first moved into this place (yes, I have kept a plant alive for 2 years. Three of them in fact.) The one in front is new. I'm hoping they like this spot. I think the big one was getting sunburned in the front window.
Hopefully I can keep all my new plant friends alive and happy.
Very excited about the new backpack I bought! I've been carrying my laptop back and forth to work a lot and my current messenger-style bag, while cute, is not so happy for my back, shoulders, and neck. And the trusty orange LLbean backpack I used 7th grade through college has finally busted a zipper. The new bag is not huge, but has enough space for everything I need and should be great for travel. All the pockets I wanted (I've been craving a side water bottle pocket forever) and has a little "hiker" aesthetic so I don't look too student-y. Used it yesterday and SO happy.
I got the blue one obviously, but I do like the charcoal one as well.
Oh and here's some stuff I cooked/ate this week:
Rice and bean bowl with sauteed onions, tomatoes, avocados, and a fried egg. And cheese.
This is a peanuty soba noodle stir fry I made that was pretty excellent I must say. It went approximately like this:
-Sauteed onions in oil. Then added chopped carrots, celery, and fresh grated ginger.
Then made the sauce by throwing in:
-chili garlic sauce
-peanut butter
-soy sauce
-garlic paste
-plain yogurt
-siracha
-water (since you're cooking at med-high temps it can thicken too quickly)
Then add the rest of the veggies (I had red bell peppers, snow peas, water chestnuts, and green onion)
and I threw some black sesame seeds in there too.
Meanwhile, you're making the noodle. Then toss it all together and put some cilantro on top. We also had some chicken from a rotisserie that we added. It's basically fool proof delicious. There are no measurements which is how I like to cook.
In other news we have been looking for a house to rent to move in with Lauren and her friend. Between the four of us we have a good budget (even saving over our current rent, which is the whole idea) but there is not a lot of availability in the middle of the city and it is so competitive. You really have to be the very first person to put in an application, which asks you all kinds of crazy information. Apartment hunting gets me stressed out in a way almost nothing else can. Constantly refreshing craigslist, trying to respond as soon as an ad goes up to get the first showing, arriving super early, trying to make a good impression...we've only actually applied to one place (that we didn't get) but Nathan and I are already burnt out on the process. It's pretty overwhelming and my body feels like I'm about to run a race and the starting gun could go off at any second. We need to find a place before the 10th if we are to move in Sept, so that we can notify our landlord. And then moving. As if that isn't stressful to think about...especially because I can't get out of work on the 1st.
Not much is happening in dance these days. I am still injured. 2013 has just been a year of injury after injury and it has been exhausting. I can't think about it too much, because I become very depressed. I know that I can't let it get in the way of just making art, but also I feel like I can't focus until I figure out this housing thing and until I get into the swing of things at Plum. I also have so many traveling plans both recently and in the next few months, it's hard to get any consistency. Excuses, excuses, I know... We have another week-long trip to Michigan in early sept. for Nate and Liz's wedding. More nuptials in late September that Mom and I will likely be attending, and Nathan's conference in San Francisco in October. Hmmmmm...writing all this down has not helped my anxiety at all! But also: so happy for my friends, so appreciative of my job, and thankful for my family and all our good fortune. 1st world problems, yo!
