Surfboard Saturday

I buzzed Conrad's head. He likes to get it started without looking, so it looks like this until I fix it and shear him clean.

We bought another surfboard. It was $30 at a swap-meet type surf convention at a park by one of our frequent beaches. Its taped on both ends, but its strong. Really excited about having 2 boards, because now we can both use them at the same time, rather than having one person float around while the other one catches a wave. After we had just purchased the board, we took it for a spin at Fletcher Cove.

We also hit up the Del Mar farmer's market and library. These are some pretty red and yellow sunflowers with purple leaves. The library was great. I'm starting the Hunger Games series.

Later in the evening, we went surfing again, this time at San Elijo. I like San Elijo because its level and the waves are generally Tess-sized, but its really grassy under the water, and it freaks my out every time I put my foot down. Plus, I thought I saw a shark (I didn't) and started having a small but real panic attack. I had to get out of the water before I lost control of my motor functions as a result of a crippling fear of sharks/anything in the water (including fish and big waves). So I didn't ride any waves, but I'm more concerned about the sea creatures, honestly.

After the crying and heaving was over, we went to VG bakery, a local donut shop and bakery across the street from where we park the truck when we surf. We bought buttermilk bars - which came highly recommended - and the guy even gave us a free blueberry one.

It was an excellent day. Except for the shark (that wasn't really there).

Update

So I've kind of been slacking as far as blog upkeep goes. Here's what's new:

- still applying for jobs. had one interview that went well, but they want someone full-time, which I can't do.

- going surfing a lot lately. The beaches are less crowded because kids are in school and weather is cooling down. We went surfing on Monday, and again yesterday, and are going again today. Yesterday I caught a wave. And stood up. For more than a second. Leaps and bounds, my friends, leaps and bounds.

- Made an awesome tie for Conrad. He prefers to wear it shirtless.

The usual.

Please go away

1. Lady Gaga. She peaked. I'm over it.

2. Smart phones. get them out of here. Am I the only one that thinks it's incredibly rude to use it when you are in the physical presence of other humans? It shows people that you have no respect for what they are saying, and that you'd rather have a digital relationship than a tangible one. I don't even like regular cell phones.

3. Multiple email addresses. Really? you need more than one?

4. Overeating. (this one is mostly for myself, not anyone else)

Goals

Start a business

Be more eco-conscious

- I already use reusable grocery bags, and I sometimes use my tin water bottle, but I really want to try to produce less trash. We take out the garbage almost every other day, and I think its ridiculous, considering there's only 2 of us. We shouldn't be throwing that much stuff away.

Get a job

-Job interview tomorrow. wish me luck.

Read more

-Internet less

Buy a house

Spend less on things I don't really need

Plan meals ahead of time
Be more appreciative of lovely things

I think these are goals most people have.

Tuna Casserole and the Learning Experience

dirty kitchen.

I was watching my shrill-voiced friend Rachel Ray on the tube (by tube I mean laptop) and she made a super yummy looking pasta dish. Its a Mediterranean version of the American classic: the Tuna Casserole. She changed a lot of things about this dish; so many, in fact, that its actually not really a casserole anymore.

Here's the recipe if you're cooking for 2-4 people:

Start cooking your pasta while you do the sauce.

Sautee half an onion and a couple finely chopped garlic cloves. Add 1 can of drained tuna (2 if you want to feed more people), chopped sundried tomatoes, 1/2 cup of dry white wine (I used some kind of Chardonnay), and 1/2 cup of cream. let it heat through.

Add your cooked pasta, and toss with some frozen peas (yes, frozen, because they heat up so fast and you don't want them to be soggy). Top with chopped basil.

So scrumptious. I also sauteed some mushrooms for my serving (Conrad has a thing about eating fungus) and it was amazing. I'm left now with a sink full of pots and pans, and a body that almost went into a food coma. We went for a walk, and will watch Jaws. I'm a little nervous about watching it, but hopefully I can knock myself out and forget I ever watched it.

Hilarious grocery store moment: I don't drink. And i just turned 21. So this was my first time purchasing any kind of alcohol. I had no idea what I was looking for, so a very helpful store clerk helped me find a dry white wine. I knew that the expensive wines are the better ones, and they are higher up on the shelves. As you move down the shelves, so you move down in quality and price. I knew immediately that I would be buying a bottom-shelf product, as I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the wines anyway.

So anyway, I checked out, legitimately embarrassed that I was buying a $3 bottle of wine (not because it was wine, but because it was $3). I realized when I got home that the guy never carded me. And I was sad! He probably knew I wasn't going to drink it. But I was really disappointed that I didn't get to flash my ID and show off my new legal age. So pathetic.

Enjoy the pasta!

Belmont Park

To conclude this wonderful summer...

This summer has been amazing. Conrad and I have made some incredible changes and decisions.

The biggest and first change was that we moved (quite suddenly) to Solana Beach. I was sad to leave Covina, and to be so far away from my family at first, and I was very upset to be postponing my education. But we made the move, have survived so far and many great things have come from it. I've grown closer with my in-laws, which is really important. We are right by a beach, and can go whenever we want (although, this summer was a particularly chilly one, so we didn't go a whole lot). The move has made Conrad and I grow closer as friends and spouses, because when we came here, almost everything was unfamiliar, and we kind of had to cling to each other for support and comfort.

Another big change is for me to get back into school. I'm really excited that I'm still moving forward, even if its not full-time classes. I'm making some friends, so I'm finally not all alone with my brooding thoughts all day. Still job searching.

We've adjusted our family timeline. This is something I always wonder about other couples, so for any curious friends, here's our baby plan. When we first got married, we said two years from that point we would get pregnant. Then, as time went on, we pushed the date back further. We love being married! Once we had been married for a year, we said two more years. But then I lost sight of my graduation date. It moved further away, so we moved the baby-date further away. As of right now, we're thinking three years, to give me time to graduate, and for us to maybe move one more time and settle in. However, a surprise would be a welcome, although difficult, one. We are so excited, and we look at onesies in the store and write down good names, but we are waiting, meanwhile strengthening the core relationship of this little family.

I am so anticipating Fall. Conrad's birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, maybe a cruise, cold cozy weather, colorful leaves, the smell of cinnamon and fire... So grateful for all our blessings.

Coldest Labor Day

This weekend marked the second summer Conrad and I have been a little family. We got to see all my mom's side of the family (well, just those that could make it this year), and had a nice, calm, long weekend. It was pretty cold and overcast at the beach, so we didn't spend a whole lot of time there. Which was fine since there's always a lot of other stuff to do.

I'm loving my French class, and so far I love my creative writing class. I signed up for one of the school's many free services for students that I think will help me in a lot of ways.

Big shout out to Mike and Laurie, who I don't see enough.