One of a Kind Father

It has been quite a while, to say the least. Has it been a couple months? I apologize for being absent from the blogging world, but life turned into a marathon without a pit-stop for a quick water break. Between moving, going to camp, starting school, going down to Portland for one of my best friends, and just catching up, this was the last on my list.

Tonight as I was on Pinetrest, I saw this link 50 Rules for Dads of Daughters. As I started reading this blog (I will attach the blog below), I started tearing up. There are so many of these rules in which my own, one-of-a-kind -dad, took part of.

Number 19. “Teach her to change a flat. A tire without air need not be a major panic inducing event in her life. She’ll still call you crying the first time it happens” I remember, vividly, the time he taught me how to change a tire. It was a cool 90 degree day and I was in a dress, about ready to go to my first bachelorette party. I needed this information just in case if I was on the freeway with a flat. That same year, I was driving over at WSU and got my first flat tire. I was panicking for a second, but I was able to use my skills.

Number 20. “Take her camping. Immerse her in the great outdoors. Watch her eyes fill with wonder the first time she sees beauty of wide own spaces. Leave the iPod at home.” Our family took so many camping trips. There are endless memories for each camping trip. From Washington we would drive to California, Oregon, Idaho, and even Montana. I am so thankful for each camping trip. And although each camping trip was vastly different than the previous, there was still a constant through each one. Every night it would be raining, the same comment would never fail as we were trying to fall asleep, “DO NOT TOUCH THE SIDEs OF THE TENT.” For if we did, we would be sleeping in water by morning time.

Number 32. “Let her roll around in grass. It’s good for her soul. It’s not bad for yours either.” There is a tiny hill that is in our front yard at home. I remember Brett and I would roll down that hill in every possible way we could think. What I remember the most, however, is dad constantly watering the lawn during the summer. When I would go on a bike ride around the neighborhood and finally return home, he would almost be done. If it was hot outside, he would be standing on this hill and would spray us with water.

Number 42. “Let her know she can always come home. No matter what.” Maybe I took this to an extreme, but dad was and still is welcoming with an open door. After college, through student teaching (when you are paying to intern, basically) the door was graciously open. And until I was stable with my job and able to leave the house, the door was open. Even still, today, I am over at least once a week (it seems). The care, love, and generosity never end.

I am so thankful for my dad in my life. I would not be the same woman I am today if it wasn’t for him. Yesterday when we were celebrating his birthday and more memories were born as we were laughing, playing games, cooking, and just having fun. From time to time, we are all guilty of this, but we take things like this for granted. I have been holding onto these memories more and more. Why? A couple weeks ago, I went down to the Vancouver area to celebrate the life of one of my best friend’s father who passed away. As we were celebrating his life and the impact he had on others. I still cannot even being to imagine how it feels.

If you haven’t told your dad how much you appreciate and love him, take a second to do so. It is important to tell your dad the impact his has had on your life. I could not have asked for a better father. He knows how to put a smile on my face, taught me about dedication and motivation, taught me how to make tough decisions, change a flat tire, to throw a baseball, to go for my dreams, how to be happy, creating a successful life, to fight for the important things (to never give up), my love for education (he would always help me with homework), how to be at someone’s side no matter what, how to love, and so much more.

Thank you dad! I love you!

http://www.fromdatestodiapers.com/50-rules-for-dads-of-daughters

Puke, Faint, or Die

I remember reading a quote by the workout guru Jillian Michaels, “Unless you puke, faint, or die, keep going.” Before Monday at 7 pm, this quote used to just be in the back of my mind, never thinking that it could actually happen during a workout. This quote now has brought on a whole new meaning. On Monday, Robert and I dared to try hot yoga. I wish I recorded my exact thoughts during and immediately following hot yoga, but I will do my best to replicate my thoughts and feelings.

I guess I should start by explaining why Robert and I decided to take the plunge in trying hot yoga. Stupidity. Just kidding. There is a hot yoga studio that we drive by everyday and for such a long time we always said we should try hot yoga. Recently, a friend of ours started going to hot yoga on a daily basis and raves about it. We finally decided to just go for it.

Monday night we walked into the studio with our yoga mats, two towels (yes, two towels for each person), and water bottles; all ready to go. We signed up, and got a really good deal! 10 classes for $10—who can go wrong?! As we finished signing our lives away, people were already lining up for the class a half hour early. Robert and I were both shocked, but it also calmed us down a bit because if people are lining up a half hour early, this must be worth it. We peered into the class that was occurring and there were people lying on the ground who were completely covered in sweat, others who were dripping in sweat, people using weights (!!), and the feeling of death. We turned to each other and asked each other what we have gotten ourselves into. However, there was no backing out. We needed to rise up to the challenge.

The current class finished and the eager people waiting rushed inside to claim their spot. As I walked in, it hit me like a ton of bricks. There was nothing that could have prepared me for what I felt when I walked into that humid, overbearing 100 degree room. After I finished setting up my area (which was an accomplishment in itself) I turned to Robert and said, “I am outta here until we have to be in here.” I was in the room of death for less than 5 minutes and I was already sweating. The only thing that continuously went through my mind was, “How in the world am I going to be in that room, completing 26 different poses, for an HOUR?!” As the time hit about 5 minutes before 7, we reluctantly walked back into the room to try and acclimate our bodies to the heat.   

Class starts. After the first pose, I am sweating bullets. What is the first pose? The first pose was standing with our hands facing the front. That is it. However, I am starting to remember one of my favorite sayings, especially knowing that you are working hard...

Before we continue through the class, let me pause. I have taken other yoga classes before and hated them for various reasons but one big reason is because you shouldn’t be talking or laughing. There is one point in every yoga class that I have to try containing my laughter, every time. During yoga you are supposed to have controlled breathing so at the beginning everybody is taking deep breathes and letting them out. During this time, you are supposed to be as loud as possible when letting out your breath. There is no way of saying this nicely except, some people sound like fog horns and it makes me laugh every time. Every time. I control myself and anmy laughter; I am not that inconsiderate.

Continuing with the story. As we are moving through different moves my entire body is just a waterfall of sweat. I never thought a person could produce so much sweat. The good news is...

Let me tell you, I did not look cute. Not at all. I must have trained hard. Anyway, I realized during the class that it is more of a mental workout than anything. There is no clock so I had to continue telling myself it is mind over matter and that I can do this. I have ran half marathons, trained hard with trainers, but this was probably the most difficult workout I have ever had. There was no clock in the room so I couldn't even pace myself, and knowing whether or not we were close to being done. Normally if I am mentally tired, if I can see I am close to the end I can push myself. Around the second water break, I had to lay down. My body was definitely ready to quit on me. Luckily, this is common in hot yoga. As I was laying down on my mat, the only thing I could keep thinking was, "Jen, you can do this, you are laying down on a mat, you can stay for the entire time." Next to me, Robert was doing fantastic. He continued through a few more poses and then laid down as well. One thing that truly surprised me was that, even laying down, my heart was pounding. After I had another pep talk and the instructor opened the door to the outside and serenity rushed in with cool air, I was able to push through a couple more poses, and then laid back down. Once the class reached the poses on the back, I was thankful. There was a pose called 'Lying Baby' (I think) and Robert was laughing, he said he didn't know what to think of it-- he just gave me this look and laughed. We were laughing about it later Monday night as well.

There was a breaking point close after the baby pose and I turned to Robert and said, "I can't finish, I am too light headed." I quickly rolled up my mat and left. When I walked outside, the coolness engulfed my body, but at the same time so did accomplishment. I looked at the clock, I made it through 55 minutes. I was so proud of myself! A few minutes later, Robert walked out. He felt exactly the same way. After we sat for a couple minutes drinking water, I realized...

So why do I want to torture myself again? The answer is actually quite simple, love triumphs over hate. The instructor is excellent and she offers cautions about overexertion, and suggestions on how to do each pose with various levels of challenge. Yoga is also noncompetition, so you should not be comparing yourself with your neighbor-- you don't even have the same body type! It is all about strengthening yourself that day-- don't even compare yourself to the previous day. Be at peace with yourself for that day. Hot yoga is definitely a challenge, and as all of your know, I thrive on challenges, so this is up my alley.

Although I didn't puke, faint, or die I stopped because for that day, that is the farthest I could push myself.

Here is to a challenge. Here is to something new. Here is to something that will strengthen my body and mind.

Next torture hot yoga class? Tonight!

Halfway Gone, Half Left

Robert and I were in Fred Meyer the other day and there were massive displays of school supplies. As I saw these displays, I turned to Robert and said, “Already?! We haven’t even been done with a school for a month and there are already school supplies on sale!” A couple days later as I sit down to write this blog, I realize that summer is halfway gone but I still have half left to enjoy. One month until reality sets back in.  I have enjoyed my summer this year, which is the reason why I cannot believe it is flying by so quickly.

One thing I have truly enjoyed this summer is relearning my joy for cooking. It has been truly enjoyable, searching for new recipes and actually having the time to cook to try the recipes. During the school year, I come home, toss a bunch of random food items to make something magical (or not so magical) for dinner. There is now, a solid foundation of recipes to use throughout the year that I can turn to for dinner. I have to give Robert the credit for the last amazing dish we made on Sunday together. It was grilled salmon with a glaze, asparagus, and sweet potatoes. It was quite the little dance we created to execute this magnificent dinner. It definitely took two people to prepare this dinner. Robert was the one who made the entire salmon portion, but we had to coordinate the rest of the dinner to put on the grill and take it off and specific times so it would all finish at the same time. Coordination and communication was imperative, but as you can see below it turned out perfectly. It was a nice day that we could enjoy eating outside with a glass of Pinot.



The next day we spent a little time with my parents before our cooking class. Our cooking class was Sushi 101. Long story short, it was fun learning how to roll sushi! Not to be egotistical, but I rock. Rolling sushi is not as difficult as it may seem. It was quite simple! As you can see below it isn’t a piece of artwork yet, but for a beginner I would say it is quite good.



Although summer is halfway gone, I am so happy with my summer. The good news? I still have half left! What am I going to do with my half that I have left? Enjoy the time! Although August is going to be insanely busy, I am going to enjoy the extra time.

To and Fro

To and fro, but we made it home! Robert and I were able to take an extremely relaxing vacation for a week in California. From this week, we were able to chalk up endless memories, stories, and laughs.

As we left Washington, we had huge smiles on our faces just waiting to arrive in sunny California and drive to Napa. Once we arrived in San Fran, we just needed to grab our luggage and rental car before leaving for Napa. As we were standing at baggage claim, I turned to Robert and said, "This is where I always start to pray that my luggage arrives." As the last of the bags descended onto the baggage claim belt, Robert was still bagless. Needless to say, Robert went up to talk to the baggage claim representatives. The entire staff was not too helpful in the situation. The manager told Robert and I, "Somebody must have taken the bag." Awe-some, so helpful. Wonderful. The other representative gave Robert a claim number to follow online, but once he asked what the airline would do if it was never found (a.k.a receive compensation for his clothes) the representative, again, not too helpful.

We left United Airlines not too thrilled, but we didn't want it to ruin our vacation. We got our red Chevy car (Robert would know what kind of Chevy, I on the other hand, not so much). Each time we road in the car I couldn't help but laugh because of the uncomforting sounds Spit-Fire (the name we called the car) would make. As we started driving, we ended up taking the incorrect exits numerous times (we can now look back and laugh). AND once we had found the correct roads to take, we forgot that there were tolls in California and neither of us carry cash. As we were drawing nearer and nearer to the tolls, I was rummaging through my wallet, counting the coins I had. In eye sight of the toll, I only had $4.65 and we were in need of $5. Rummaging more through my wallet, I found $5 I saved for the last day of school, for coffee but never used it!

Robert turned to me and said, "Things ar looking up! YAY!"

Needless to say, we made it safely to Napa, where it was warm and gorgeous.



That is the temperature the day we arrived in Napa.

You could walk everywhere in Napa. This is part of downtown Napa where there are gorgeous stores, wine bars (of course!), and endless restaurants.

Since we arrived later in the afternoon and after being up since 4:00, we just walked around Napa and went to various wine bars that evening before crashing. That night around midnight we got a call in our room informing us, that yes, Robert's baggage had been delievered to the hotel! YES!

The next day, we signed up for a wine train. First, the bus took us up to Raymond Winery to tour. There, we spent about an hour and a half walking around the winery, learning, and soaking up tips about tasting wine. 

Also at Raymond, there was a chance to interact with the animals, as you can see above. There, Robert is feeding the goat rosemary. Who knew goats ate rosemary?! I definitely did not. From the winery, we hopped on the train for a fantastic lunch as we went through endless vineyards for about an hour and a half. It was definitely beautiful, to say the least.

The next day, Robert and I had scheduled a couple winery tours. The first tour was wine tasting with a cheese pairing at Robert Mondavi. At first we were skeptical because Mondavi is such a big winery that we thought it was going to be just this huge tour and commercialized. And on the contrary, it was not. We ended up having a private tour of Mondavi and the tour guide let us ask any questions we wanted and took us places that other tours were not going.  

 This is a picture of Robert and I in the aging room. There are a lot more barrels that what is pictured!

Just the beginning of the tour. We were starting to go through the vineyards.

This is a picture of just some of the acres that Mondavi owns.

 Another picture of the aging room-- more barrels.



These are the wines we had with our cheese pairing. They were all fantastic wines.

After Mondavi, we had another wine tour that we set off to find. This tour was a bit of a shock, especially the location and drive. 

To even start driving up to the winery, you had to radio up (which Robert is doing above) to open the gate. CRAZY!

This is a picture from where the winery is located. We started down by the lake.

Another picture from the same winery.

That was our last full day in Napa. Before leaving on Monday, we decided to go to this winery that we both wanted to see. It was absolutely beautiful. It was fun just sitting outside on a gorgeous day wine tasting, without having a care in the world. At this winery, we found a merlot that I like. I never like merlot, but this was a perfect creation of merlot. 

This was part of the garden we were relaxing, wine tasting in.

After we were done wine tasting, we started our journey back to San Fran for a couple days. In San Fran, we road the cable cars, got lost, saw a worker's demonstration in the street, walked around the pier, froze of bootays off, and so much more.



On the 4th of July, we spent the entire day down at Pier 39. It was such a fun day. First of all, the sun was shining and everybody was having a great time. Down in the pier, there were bands playing, shows, tons of people, and just the vibe was so much fun. Once night was setting in, Robert and I were starting to get cold. It never occurred to us to bring heavy sweatshirts to California, so we had to go buy cheap $10 sweatshirts (matching lime green) to keep us warm for the fireworks. After the fireworks, we were going to ride the cable car back to our hotel, well, we found out that the cable cars were not running after the fireworks (go figure). Instead of riding the cable car, we ended up walking from the pier back to our hotel (only about 2 miles, not bad).

It felt great getting away and relaxing. Everybody needs to relax and walk away from the everyday stress in life. Needless to say, to and fro we did make it back home. 

Rockstar Status

I am officially taking the title of Rockstar Status! Believe it or not, I am a good cook! Magically, when I have time to sit and find recipes, read them, and then actually go step by step through the directions, it turns out! I am just featuring one particular recipe that Robert and I found scrumptious.

I was a little unsure of the title, especially with "jerk" in the title. Who would name a spice Jerk, if it was good. Robert reassured me that the spice was good and that he used his many times on chicken. I caved, I decided to make it. 



 I read the recipe, made my grocery list, and set out to find the ingredients. I figured it wouldn't be too challenging to find, they all seemed pretty basic with the exception of the Jerk seasoning. Fast forward a bit... I got home and to my surprise, really the lack of surprise, I forgot ingredients. But alas, the Jerk seasoning was being a jerk at the store, so I couldn't find it. I sent Robert a text, and he came to my rescue with all the extra ingredients I forgot and couldn't find!



I put the ketchup, the turkey, onions, green peppers, oats, jerk seasoning, and an egg. I mashed it together with my HANDS! Love that part! It was starting to smell pretty good.

The one item I forgot to take a picture of was the mango salsa that I made. It had some papaya, mango, cilantro, lime juice, onion, green pepper, and avocado (the avocado wasn't supposed to be there, but I stole that idea from my mom because she makes something like this).

Robert slapped the burgers on the grill and we let them cook for a while. The one challenge we ran into was that due to the fact the burgers were so delicate, Robert had a difficult time flipping the burgers without breaking. The good news? He managed, with skill, to save the burgers. 

Ladies and gentlemen, the finished product! Healthy and amazing! It turned out well! So proud of the finished product! It even looks pretty good in the picture!



ROCKSTAR STATUS! BAM!



Saving the Brownies

Before I go any further in the blog, HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER! But more importantly, HAPPY LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!

Anyway, so I have started my cooking summer experiment. Let me say that it got off on a rocky start, but turned out okay in the end. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of trying to find something to bring to the end of the year staff potluck. For the life of me, I could not think of anything, well anything I could actually cook. Then, while I was spinning, I came up with the best idea: pasta salad! The idea was fantastic and I couldn't go wrong. I didn't want to come home before hand because I was already tired from the day and I wouldn't leave if I did. I figured on my way to the store I could call my the best cook in the world, my mom.

As I was driving to the store, I was praying that she would answer. No such luck. When I was roaming around the store, I was praying (again) that she would call me back. No such luck.

Alright, plan B: I am taking my friend Jen's idea to make brownies.

I went straight to the brownie mix and I luckily had all the ingredients (score)! So off I go home. I made dinner (which was salad, so don't give me too much credit for cooking). So I started mixing the ingredients for the brownies: eggs, water, and oil. Not difficult. Poured it into the pan and the oven was ready. I put the pan of brownies into the oven. As I was putting the pan of brownies in the oven my arm defnitely rubbed the oven! OUCH! Man, I was doing so well! Anyway, I set the timer for 29 minutes. I went off and finished other things I had to accomplish.

29 minutes later...

I returned to the kitchen as I heard the timer going off. I stuck a knife into the pan of brownies to see if they were done. NO! What the hey man?! I put the timer on for another 10 minutes. in my mind, that will definitely be more than enough time.

10 minutes later...

STILL NOT DONE! What in the freaking world?! I put the timer on for another 5 minutes.

5 minutes later...

STILL NOT DONE! I could not figure out, for the life for me, what was going on. I finally figured it out! The oven was set for the incorrect temperature! DANG! I still needed to bring these brownies with me to the staff potluck, so I figured that as long as the brownies are done and cooked, then nobody will get sick.

Low and behold, another 10 minutes later on the correct temperature, the brownies looked awesome.

Father

There are very few things I know for sure in life, but one that I do know for sure is how much I appreciate and love my dad. Everytime I go see dad, I know for sure I will get this huge smile and a big bear hug; nothing changes and I can always count on this.

As I have grown older, I have moved away from home and started my own life. It is one of those things where from time to time I wish I could go back to the time where he would lift me up on his feet to give me an airplane ride or wrestle me and tickle me until tears came out. Those were the small moments in life that I still cherish, as an adult, today. I can look fondly back upon those moments to laugh and appreciate. When life gets too crazy or overwhelming instead of going home for that airplane ride or tickling match, I can always call for advice. Dad seems to always have the right things to tell me or to keep me grounded in my decisions. The other thing I can always count on is the unconditional love which I am so lucky to have. Even if I had made some crazy decision that didn't work out so well for me, he was still by my side, cheering, loving, and coaching me back to the right direction.

Although I am growing up, I still think of myself as dad's little girl. Holding my dad's finger because that is all I could fit my tiny hand around, but I still feel like the picture below.

I will always be dad's little girl. I have the best dad. Ever. Happy Father's Day, dad!

I've Got the Attitude!

Julia Child once said, “The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”  As so, it is time, my friends. Believe it or not, it is going to happen. This is the year I am going to master cooking.

Yep, that is correct. For those who know me, you are probably dying of laughter and/or streams of tears coming down your face from laughing so hard. I figured it is do or die time with cooking. If I can pull out a miracle this summer with at least a few solid recipes I can survive and my future family will be able to survive as well.

It isn't just that, however. I am envious of my brother who is the go-to-cook of the family. He is the one mom goes to to help with: birthday dinners, holiday cooking, advice about cooking, and so on and so forth. How do I help with these occasions? I am there for entertainment purposes about cooking experiences. I have quite a few stories about cooking. I will share my favorite.

My favorite is the most recent incident. This was about a year ago, on Father's Day. I thought I would be a nice daughter and fix the most amazing father dinner. So i whipped up Chicken Caesar Salad with no problem, I cut the bread (already store bought), and probably something else (I don't quite remember). Anyway, for dessert I was making my dad's favorite dessert: fruit crisp. I figured i couldn't go wrong because it was his FAVORITE. I looked at the recipe and couldn't quite understand the process. I then proceeded to  call my mom for advice. She told me (I could almost quote this): just put the flour, oatmeal, sugar, and butter on top of the fruit. My reaction was, "MAN I CAN TOTALLY DO THIS! YES! I cannot screw this up!" Needless to say, I kept looking in the oven as it was baking and it wasn't looking like it was supposed to. I was a little worried, but I followed mom's advice so I couldn't go wrong. Fast forward, I did it completely wrong! I felt like I was back in kindergarten eating paste. Disgusting.

Now that summer is about 6 school days away, I have decided I am going to become a chef. It is going to happen! I have got that 'what-the-hell' attitude Julia Child is talking about. Why? I figure, what do I have to lose? Absolutely nothing! I have everything to gain. So watch out world, there is a new chef in town, with attitude!

Stay tuned during the summer for cooking stories!

Bringing Blogging Back

Hello Blogging World... again!

For those who are new to my world of blogging, hello. For those who have followed my blogs before, well, hopefully I will not disappoint and leave you hanging once again.

I have been contemplating on whether I should start blogging, again, or not. I threw the idea around for quite a while. There was always an excuse of why not to start, and let me share you some of the reasons (believe me, they are not good reasons):
1. I don't have time. If I have time to watch TV, then I have time to write.
2. The last thing I want to do when I come home is write. True statement, however, I don't blog EVERY night.
3. I don't have ANYTHING to write about. I tell my students, "Yes you do, you just have to brainstorm ideas.The idea will just appear!"

As you can see above, those are definitely invalid arguments!

So after much debate, I have made a commitment to myself, you, and the blogging world to reappear! There are some... okay, a few changes from the other blog: the name and background. Seems a bit minor, but I wanted to start out fresh! Unlike the last blog I created, this will be more about living the fine art of life; what it has to offer. More or less, little anecdotes about experiences and every once in a while just random thoughts that pop into my brain.

With that said, here's to a new blog! Here we go... I am bringing blogging back!