jumping in.

Well, K told me to write more since I’m going off the train as far as gchat goes. In fact, I finally switched to using my married name email because I didn’t want the temptation to go back.

So this is the post where I want to talk a little bit about what my thanksgiving week looks like. In fact, I conveniently made a fake calendar to show you:

I know, it looks a little halloween-esque down there at the bottom. Oh well. But, my real point is that I get three thanksgivings and one of them is with my Clemson family – my best friends. I am so, so excited.

You see, my Clemson thanksgiving usually has way too much food and way too many people crammed into way too small of an apartment. We all cook for hours usually (one year Chad made a ham that we bought at Kroger here in Athens since we were visiting – that’s kind of a cool connection right? yeah.. i know, it’s not really) and it took about 5 hours to slow cook to perfection. Another year, we went to my mom’s family pre-thanksgiving thanksgiving and ended up late to Clemson thanksgiving… so Mandy made tea and pumpkin pie for us to all take. It’s usually cold, rainy and there’s college football playing in the background. Basically, it’s thanksgiving with the family that you choose – the happy, non-awkward thanksgiving.

I love my Clemson thanksgiving and knowing that everyone will truly be gone from Clemson next year means that this is it, the last one. It’s bittersweet but, since Adele and Chad will be off starting the friday before thanksgiving, we are all cooking up a massive feast to celebrate and inviting “home” some people who have moved away. Since I started finally considering the fact that we won’t end up in Atlanta after this year, it’s getting easier to cherish the memories and harder to truly say goodbye. I can (and do) drive to Clemson, run errands and drive home [side note: this is for a bank that does not exist in Georgia. I am not actually THAT attached to doing errands], but even that will be gone soon enough.

Do you have any friend-based holiday traditions? Have they changed? I’m curious to see how we will all celebrate next year. Since we’re currently looking at three and four bedroom houses with large finished basements in Cincy – my Clemson family is all welcome to come to my house. In fact, I’d like to take this opportunity to tell them to please do.

 

jealousy.

You know, I have to say, I can be really insecure sometimes. When I was a little kid, I used to always think in terms of fair. I’m serious, like if I was halfway into cutting a PB&J that I was splitting with moo and I cut it crookedly, I would stop and figure out a way to finish cutting that would even it out. I still do.

I know it’s something I deal with. I try to keep a handle on it, and there’s a lot of things I’d never be jealous about (my car drives just fine so I don’t care that it’s not brand new; my apartment provides furniture so I don’t really care that not everything matches the furniture) but on other things, I just have that drive to be better.

Of course, I would never say that. But the wedding–I want my dress to be prettier than, say, my cousin’s, is the kind of thing I think. I try to stop and reevaluate.

Now, this is kind of personal since it’s something I deal with, but I posted it because I think that we all have our flaws and since I’ve been pretty bad sometimes at keeping a handle on this one, I’ll come out and acknowledge it. But the thing is, no matter how jealous I am over any little thing–I really am still happy for all of you and proud of how great you all are.

dinners with friends.

so yeah. carmen’s cooking tonight, her momma’s delicious beef-a-roni. I know, that sounds so weird to be excited for it, but I am! I can’t stay long because of stupid Supplemental Instruction, but yeah.

I am so so SO thankful tomorrow is Friday, I need the weekend to catch up… it sucks being behind! I’ll get all caught up on saturday and sunday and feel better, but for now, I feel craptastic.

Chad and I discussed briefly over the weekend taking a road trip to Cape Cod and Boston to meet his G-ma and other relatives that I have yet to meet. I think that would be fun, but I’m nervous!

Also, I started the whole “healthy eating” thing yesterday. I’m not really balancing it so much as I am keeping track of what I’m eating. Something delicious I made yesterday is a Chicken and Avocado pita:

1 pita
1/4 cup mixed greens (I used a whole foods mix that had absolutely no lettuce, just other greens)
2 slices avocado
3-4 slices cucumber
1/4 cup chicken, sliced
1 tbsp light sour cream

It tasted rather like a taco, but it was more filling; i’m using avocado as opposed to cheese on some things now, like sandwiches and such, because it does offer a nice mild flavor but it packs so many more health benefits.

I’ve been doing a lot of deep thinking and the thing is, I want to eat healthy things that taste good. Most people just make themselves choose the low-fat option, but why? Why can’t we have it both ways?

I’d rather have an effing delicious sandwich/pita and cucumber slices for lunch than a bunch of little shitty tasting frozen meals. maybe it’s just me, but it’s the way I’m approaching this.

Also… when you can’t get around it, that’s where smaller portions (and a good lot of salad) come in. No probs!

putting off a cold slumber. (t minus six hours until wake up)

it is downright frosty outside. the mountain areas of our local tv coverage are getting snow. that is still foreign to me that you have two different areas, different CLIMATES, covered by the same “local” channels.

so we are still going heatless. our electric bill was $21 less this month! I know, it seems kind of dumb–it’s $10 a person so why not pay it, right? But last month we left a LOT of lights on all night, or when we left. We’re trying to see if we keep the lights off, unplug the things we’re not using and keep the heat off if we can bring it down to $35 less per month. it helps that we’ll be gone for three or four days. (For comparison purposes: we have a two bedroom, two bath apartment with about 900-1000 square feet of living space. Our normal monthly bill is around $65-$72 dollars. This month’s bill was $50 after last month’s bill being $71.) It really doesn’t feel like a drag to have the heat off until you’re really cold, but mandy and I bundle up. We’ve gotten used to wearing socks around the house, to cuddling up under blankets. Two things make it really warm in our house (without using the oven or dishwasher for extra heat–we do that anyways): one thing is to burn candles! they do put out a lot of heat. Create a nice candle garden on your coffee table and keep your hands and feet toasty–and it doesn’t suck out heat like a standard fireplace. another thing we do is to keep the halogen track lights on for about 2 hours before bed. those things heat up a room like nobody’s business.

So anyways. We’re having a “college family” thanksgiving–all our friends are contributing food and drink and we’re meeting up at Chads/Nathans/Justins to chow down, i do believe. It’s nice to get together with them since I’m missing thanksgiving with my extended family. I mean, I could go down, but there’s really no point in going if i have to leave again on sunday then come back tuesday. LAME. But i’m making green bean casserole and bringing rolls and mandy is making an apple pie… yum! and betsy is bringing brown rice and nathan’s doing the turkey and kel is bringing pecan pie and some sort of pineapple casserole (i hope its the one i was going to make) and kit is making sweet potato souffle and carmen is making stuffing and gravy! I might throw in an extra veggie dish or something because i think we’re going to have a carb heavy meal if i don’t… some corn or baby limas or a squash casserole. haha. i’m excited. thanksgiving is such a relaxed and fun time.

also! I am baking pumpkin cookies this week so that chad and I can take some home to our respective families. I’m excited, I do hope they turn out like Granny Zuercher’s. (It’s a fabulous converted house bakery in Pendleton, SC not far from the square downtown! Stop by after a delicious lunch at Pendleton Cafe if you’re ever around that area!)

finallyyyyy. we put the tree up! again, stupid camera problems, so no pics yet. i didn’t do major ribbons flowing from the top this year, but it looks good anyways–i made a LOT of bows with that little roll of $3 ribbon! I bought two boxes of candy canes from Ingles for $.98 each and with that, the tree is done. My sewn ornaments don’t even have room on it, so instead of making those, I am making rustic stockings for the walls! At least it will make it a little more festive. I also think i’m going to tie ribbons around the mirrors on the walls, red and gold or red and white, and instead of poinsettias for my silver vases–a candy cane display! Not to mention the wreath and the snowflakes for the windows, and of course candles too! It’s going to feel a lot warmer decoration-wise than real-life, hehe.

okay. computer is dying, clock is reminding me i have six hours left, and i am refusing to plug in my charger until i use the computer tomorrow… so i’m out of here! peace!

 

ps: three things: I really want a good gyro, my computer charger gets so hot i use it to warm up (it’s another trick!) and i am posting the recipe for really really good hot choco right now.

• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup milk choco chips
• mix above things together in a saucepan on the stove over medium heat until combined. then…
• 1/2 cup mini marshmallows
• 1 packet hot cocoa mix
• stir these things in, let marshmallows melt, and then pour into mugs. Makes two mugs, but you have to top it off with a little cold milk (it cools it down so you can drink it right away, and also means the mix makes two drinks!)

ok, now i’m gone.

culture.

its funny how different the cultures of myself and my friends are. and by culture, i mean the things we do that express the places we live, the time in which we live and the things that we love… and honestly, i wouldn’t have it any other way.

for example, there are many things about me (of course! I HAVE a personality) but i’ll choose one thing that none of my friends would probably get: I have a large poster from spoleto of chuck close’s fingerprint painting/ink portrait of philip glass. Do you know who Chuck Close is? Do you know who Philip Glass is, or Roy Lichtenstein, or David Hockney? Do you know the symbolism of a polaroid? Those are just part of “my” culture. i listen to some random music and i cook and i love modern art.

I like our cultures. I’ll make a list of what I consider to be mine (things i treasure or things about me). You do the same!

photographs, notecards, cooking, modern art, IKEA goods, getting on the subway/metro, having premium bedding (soft sheets and fluffy pillows and duvet), moscato d’asti, christmas and the spirit of it, giving to others, water goblets and orangina, making good sweet tea, cooking charleston dishes well, open windows and open balcony doors (for that matter, screened porches), swimming, the ocean and the smell of saltwater, being in the boat, kisses, beautiful stamps, polaroids (and any printed photo), the color gray, fresh flowers, green grass, dresses, hat boxes (and other types of decorative boxes, baskets, storage devices), old school gift tags and old fashioned ribbon wrapped packages, weddings, making quiches, singing carrie underwood, soft sweaters….

i may be one of the last…

…girls in the universe, but finally i saw the Sex and the City movie. It’s cute, but it makes you really really want to get married and live happily ever after… and want to shop.

It also made me appreciate my friends… we are SO different, but all together, we are awesome. and it made me miss erica a lot… i mean, i know we have other close friends now but… she was our samantha, our wacky one.

anyways… so cloudy outside, but at least i got to sleep in this morning! it does look like it’s clearing up a little. Fall for Greenville tonight, I’m supposed to go with Chad. Mandy is going to some HS football game for her friend… somewhere in Greenville. Maybe she’ll want to come downtown first and get some food with us.

I wish these fall like temperatures would stay! And I think I found my cookie recipe for the cookie swap we’re supposed to have sometime in December before we leave… well, I’d hedge bets that Carmen’s leaving first, haha.

Ahh! Just nailed down a few details with Kit! So EXCITED! And I want to make this for the swap party:

Chilled Christmas punch: allrecipes.com – http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chilled-Christmas-Punch/Detail.aspx
2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (46 fluid ounce) can pineapple juice, chilled
4 cups cranberry-apple juice, chilled
1 liter ginger ale, chilled

DIRECTIONS
In a saucepan, bring the water, sugar and cinnamon to a boil; stir until sugar is dissolved. Chill. Just before serving, combine the syrup mixture, juices and ginger ale in a punch bowl or large pitcher. Serve over ice.

Okay. I am uberexcited. Ready for the season!

fall brings….

pumpkin recipes! This one was so good, I couldn’t NOT share. Basically, it’s like pumpkin cheesecake for your bagel

try this: http://www.bellybytes.com/recipe/jams/jams22.html (original link)

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread

Ingredients:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. Makes 1-1/2 cups (24, 1-tablespoon servings).

Nutritional facts per serving: Calories: 43 , Total fat: 3g , Saturated fat: 2g , Cholesterol: 10 mg , Sodium: 28mg, Carbohydrate: 3g , Fiber: 0g , Protein: 1g

EDIT: Oct 9th – my friends, sister and I love this you should definitely make it!

sleep[ily.]

I have a great boyfriend
and a great life,
and i am really very grateful to have both.

I have to do a job search project for business communications, and it is very difficult finding a job I’m “qualified” for–so many jobs want real marketing experience. It’s difficult to find entry-level positions. I’ll be going to the career fair for sure next year–I don’t know if there’s another way to GET a job straight out of college! Ridiculous!

I missed my bed, my comforter, my comfy apartment. glad to be back.

in the market

(another post tonight. i got off the phone)

the market i am talking about is of course the JOB market. Trying to find a job is very difficult right now! I’ve been trying since I got here–two months. I mean, I’m being oddly specific about the jobs that I am applying/looking for, and I’m in a rural area, but still!

Anyways. Other things on the agenda:
1. ΔΔΗ, i haven’t spent a lot of time hanging out with those people lately. not since the awkward dinner. then again, i’m not in clemson this weekend either. I guess that would change things.
2. i think if we painted the wall opposite the couch in the living room a bold color, like burgundy or brown or something, we could get away with not putting anything on it for a while.
3. britney spears’ new single is terrible. i mean, it’s good that she’s back out there, but a song called womanizer is not a great first release. try again darling.
4. i am trying to learn how to make great petit fours. if you’ve got any suggestions, leave them in the comments section please!
5. i love reading other people’s blogs because it makes me feel like i know them better. which, i guess in small part, i do!

lists are one of my favorite things.