This wasnt on the list...

I’m not procrastinating; I have just run into some minor problems. Well I went to one of the greatest Italian restaurants I’ve been to since being back from Italy with my family. We ate and ate and ate. Poopsiedoodle went crazy with calamari appetizer, caprese, a main dish for everyone and even homemade tiramisu and chocolate cake. I fell in love with this restaurant. Unfortunately when I was there I realized my camera broke… I love writing, but words never do experience justice. The combination a great picture and a wordy description somehow suffices for me… I was going to borrow my roommate’s camera until I either fix it or invest in a new one, but that’s when my week went crazy.

I joined intramural volleyball, that’s right everyone… back in action. It was a great and fun game until I got hit in the face. I shook it off and kept playing, because that’s what athletes do… haha. I left with a headache, that didn’t go away after 2 days. I decided to go to urgent care and found myself in the emergency room 5 hours later getting x rays of my jaw and a CT scan. Good news, I fine! Bad news, I have a concussion. So I have a killer headache and am unusually tired. This week is a new week and I should be able to find a camera to suffice and enough IB profen to keep me sane…

Sorry Dad, but Spontaneity is the name of the game

This weekend has been full of surprises. My plan was to buy an old pair of rollerblades and ride down mission beach, but my friends had other plans for me. Austin and Amanda are two of my very best friends from high school and I give myself credit for matching them up. They came to San Diego so that we could spend some time together before they head off to their new schools: UCR and UCLA. We had planned to go to the Padres game that night, but they were insistent on helping me conquer something on my bucket list. Amanda suggested’ “why not go to UCSD and check it out!” Though, to be honest, I wasn’t in the mood to tour a college after being in school for a week, I decided to seize the day. We walked around the gorgeous campus and I felt like I was really in college, not that I’m not, but the campus is so big and looks like it should be in a movie. We took lots of pictures and compared the bookstore to Point Loma’s. Lets just say UCSD wins that competition. We spent the evening at the Padres game with Courtney and Shea, Padres lost, but since we were in the cheapy section, we got to see two people get arrested.

I had always planned to see both UCSD, and USD at the same time. I wasn’t expecting to see USD the way that I did though… David and I became friends when I realized it was going to be a long semester in Human Biology if I didn’t get some help. David and Andrew were the engineering majors in the class, and we became friends instantly. I made them laugh, and they helped me with strange biological concepts, like Mitosis. David and I decided we needed to catch up, so, he came to my apartment… in a MOTORCYCLE. I was so excited and he was so excited that I was enthusiastic about it. Though going on a motorcycle ride isn’t on my posted list, not getting on a Vespa in Italy is one of my biggest regrets, so this was my chance. He offered to take me on my first ride, hesitant because I know how my Dad feels about motorcycles and not wanting to disappoint him, I was torn, but after a short deliberation in my head, I agreed… I’m in college right? Carpe diem!

Riding on the motorcycle was one of the most liberating things I have ever done, and I found myself giggling through most of it, even though my leg would sometimes start to shake a little because I was scared. Pot holes, speed bumps, stop signs, turns on the freeway: these all become much more apparent when you aren’t in a car. We drove around and came up to USD, I told him that was on my bucket list too, so he turned right heading toward the campus. Instantly I was borderline obsessed with the campus. It looks like something out of Europe, and has an unbelievable view of San Diego City. We headed back home and I never realized how many neck and back muscles are involved in motorcycle riding, I was so sore! Even though I didn’t have a skull bandana or a leather jacket, I still felt pretty hard core and had a successful weekend checking 3 things off my bucket list…

What a great day to be at the AIRPORT!

I can’t tell you how long I have wanted to do this, but I am pretty sure its been since high school. I remember not having a job and typing into Google, “ cool things to do for free,” there were things listed like: build a sand castle, find a new lookout spot, fly a kite, but then I landed on “people watch at the airport.” It was genius and wondered why I had never done it before. I love the airport because every memory I associate with the airport reminds me of an adventure. People, myself included, do some crazy things at the airport.

On Wednesday afternoon, I headed to the San Diego Airport and of course brought a friend, Carlie. Carlie thought this was the strangest thing, but I assured her it would be eventful. We staked out in baggage claim and watched the tourists and the ones returning home. Carlie’s favorite person was a little kid with a penguin backpack; mine was the guy with pink flowers. Have you every just looked at what people wear to the airport? I think it should be nationally declared that all women wear yoga pants or a sweatshirt when going on a flight. We laughed a ton while watching families trying to get all their belongings and smiled when we saw people being reunited. We decided to migrate from baggage claim, because we started feeling like creepers.

We walked around for a while, but it was pretty bare on a Wednesday, compared to LAX. As we walked, we came across a movie being filmed. It was so cool! It was a short film called Eyes to Eyes, so when it comes out check for me in the background shot! We watched as they did take after take, and decided that Carlie should take over the main characters role, because she wasn’t doing such a hot job.

As we were leaving the security guard asked us where we were from since we were taking pictures… I told him we were waiting for a friend and her plane got delayed… a white lie to keep him from thinking we were totally insane.

I ended the day by visiting my mom and her friend Kelli in La Jolla sea glass hunting. A new adventure and something I love doing consistently, all in one day. Another check from my bucket list…

Bring me the PIE!!

Who knew we didn’t have an apple pie pan? Who knew peeling apples could provoke so many thoughts? And who knew that on Sunday afternoon my little apartment would smell of cinnamon sugar and freshly baked apple pie?

I don’t know why I decided to start with the apple pie, but I did. I got the recipe from the mom of my roommate Courtney. After researching the best apples to use for an apple pie, I take off to the grocery store and almost an hour later and $25 dollars poorer, I was in baking paradise.

At this point, Shea was napping, so I was on my own. Starting with the dough, I mixed the ingredients, 2 sticks of butter and all. It was a sticky mess but so fun! I put it in the refrigerator to just chill for a while (ha!) Then I began the apple peeling process. After much debate, I went with the Braeburn apples, and as I peeled all 10 of them I started thinking about all the things apples remind me of. Teachers, Adam and Eve, Twilight, and of course Johnny Appleseed.

Once my apples were sliced, I took a look at the pan we had and unfortunately, it was not going to do the job. I got back in my car and purchased the cutest red pie pan you have ever seen.

By the time I got back home the dough was ready, and that’s where Shea came in. To be honest I don’t know where the pie would be with out her. The dough was so sticky and we didn’t have a rolling pin. We laid out flour over the counter top and used an olive oil bottle to spread it out. We placed it in the pan and patched up the remaining holes. Then it was time to add my delicious apples to the cinnamon and sugar concoction. Adding hand full’s of apples to the mixture sent a brief preview of the divine home made apple pie smell that you usually only get once a year. After the second layer of dough was added, it was placed in the oven for baking, and not to mention a minor freak out when I began to wonder if I should have cooked the apples before hand.

I couldn’t stop checking the oven because A. I didn’t want my 4 hour project to burn, and B. it smelt so yummy, I probably checked it 10 times. An hour and a half passed it, and my pie looked beautiful. It was golden to perfection and apple pie juice was coming out from the little holes on the top. I waited about 20 minutes and couldn’t handle it anymore. I took out the vanilla ice cream and cut the first slice. It melted it my mouth, as for Courtney it burned hers since we didn’t wait long enough. Needless to say it turned out just the way I wanted it to, a yummy pie and check mark on my bucket list.

dont be confused :)

The list is not as short as the picture... The picture was just a start to this whole idea. Here, my friends is the list! I am open to suggestions :) Bucket List

Sky dive

Make real apple pie

Go see ucsd, usd

NOASING

Drive up to julian

Volunteer at a marathon

Mud caving

Mud run

Spend the day cooking with aunt Melanie

Sea glass hunt in Bermuda

Go back to italy

Pay the bill with friends

Water ski

Glass blowing class

Live in south America

Eat at sushi deli, pomodoro, find a new bfast place

Get a decent camera

Join a loma club

Fast

Visit dana, colleen, paul at school

Do college cliché trips

Cook salmon

Chicago trip with Meghan and Amanda… peer pressure Lucy to join

Impulse buy at the flea market

French braid my own hair

People watch at the airport

Camp in big sur

Have dinner with dr wood

Rollerblade down mission beach

Take spanish again… for fun

Ride my bike through napa

Get a secret tattoo

Go to an irish concert, flogging molly

Send a message in a bottle

Memorize the 10 commandments

Read the divine comedy…

Get a modeling gig

Take cpr class

Ride a camel

Surf then eat fish tacos

Teach English abroad

Go to an Olympic game

Visit ali and robertos house

Scuba dive

Witness to a nonbeliever

India

Roller blade down mission beach

Eat escargo

Spend the day watching movies that I should have already seen: armagedon, princess bride, wedding singer,

Go out in 4 inch heels

Paint my nails black

Leave someone a secret love note on their car

Offer a ride

River raft trip

Shiest the train system with PK

Temporary die my hair brown

Memorize the US presidents in order

Take freshman to the grocery store

Indulge in buying an anthropologie robe

Go to an NFL game

Go to a hockey game

Hike to the water falls

Fake drive dana to school

learn to make a hemp bracelet

Let cousin Jess teach me Yoga

The beauty of simplicity....

The idea is simple, but the challenge is great. If you knew me, you would think that these ideas are easy and wont be much of a difficult task, but to be honest, it just might. I started my list, my very own bucket list. Things that I have wanted to do, said I would do, and still haven’t…

I yearn to live my life to the fullest, not only for me, but for the glory of God. Right now my heart is in his hands and lately embracing new opportunities and trusting the people around me to show me His love is what He wants.

So here it is, a list of things that I will do. There is no time frame and the list has no limit. I want to see the Grand Canyon again, I want to cook a perfect salmon, go sea glass hunting in Bermuda, skinny dip in the ocean (that’s right Gma!), people watch at the airport, and of course skydive…

I don’t plan nor do I want to do any of this alone (I will if I have toJ). If you have hidden salmon cooking talents, please come teach, or if you have been craving Julian pie and want to take a day trip, lets split the gas. I’m curious to see where this journey takes me, but for now this is just the beginning to a new chapter. First stop... homemade apple pie!