How I see the world...

Basically, it occurred to me today that there are two types of people in the world- those who like How to Train Your Dragon, and those who don't. The former are my friends, and the latter, beyond dead to me.

You might argue that there are also those who have not seen HTYD, but I don't consider this a category in itself. There exists in every person the potential for great good or great evil, and HTYD is merely the fastest way of quantifying where someone falls on that spectrum. Whether they have seen the movie or not, they will eventually be sorted into two groups.

Don't fear, I would never assume we live in a world of hate where half of all people correctly love the movie, and a foolish half turn their backs on it. I'm much more of an optimist than that. I assume realistically there are only, say, five people evil enough not to love that movie. One of them is probably that nutter who leads that church who is always saying that 9/11 was caused because of gays, or that Haiti deserved the earthquake because they signed a deal with Satan. I bet he wouldn't be able to recognize wholesome, family-friendly fun if you slapped him across the face with the VHS version.

Besides being a measure of one's soul, HTYD is also just the best thing in the world. If I could do one thing (and there was some stipulation, like no world peace, no making sure everyone had food and water, no curing cancer, etc) I would have everyone watch that movie.

I have a huge conflict going on internally about this. My own family and boyfriend have not seen the movie. The dragon reminds me of my recently passed-away doggie, so I will give my family a one-year pass before watching the movie, as it might be painful now. It will happen though. As for Leo, do I threaten to leave him if he doesn't watch it, or should I be more subtle than that? I've tried dropping hints. Today for instance:

Me: I was going to order How to Train Your Dragon this weekend on Netflix, but I thought I'd wait until you got here in January.

BF (being deliberately obtuse): But you've already seen that movie.

Me: You haven't though. It teaches you the values of friendship, how to be a good Viking, and most importantly, how to train any dragons you might come across.

BF: You could say that the last thing is probably the major focus of the film.

Me: So you'll watch it with me? Dragon training is a useful skill.

BF:....So, what are your plans now that finals are done?

I'll get him. He will watch that movie, if it is the last thing I ever do. I know how to subtlely pick away at him until he gives in. I want him to think he's doing it for me. It will make it all the sweeter when he realizes that showing him HTYD is the biggest expression of love I could ever give him.

I really don't have much more to say on the subject, as the movie speaks for itself. If you haven't already done so, run out, buy the movie, and watch it non-stop this weekend. You won't regret it.

Disturbing post (don't read if rape or poo offends you)

My boyfriend told me a story once about how his dad was in line with a woman at the grocery store. They live in a small town in New Hampshire, so they'd seen each other in the store before, always said hi. Well, this time I guess 'hi' wasn't enough, and the woman told Leo's dad about how her father told her that if anyone ever tried to rape her, just to loose control of her bowels. Because no one wants to rape someone covered in poop.

The story doesn't end here though. Leo's Dad nods (I imagine there isn't much you can say to information like that), and she continues. Apparently, someone tried to rape her once, and she followed this advice. I guess it worked.

I have been haunted by this story for the last year. The logistics baffle me. Anytime I am walking home alone in the dark I think about this, and all I can think is that I'd have no protection, because there is no way I could, um, "relax," enough to "save myself" in that situation. Honestly, it makes me doubt the validity of the woman's story. Yet, at the same time, who makes something like that up?

Why horses are the best

I've had a long, rough week (finals, friend drama, sickness, etc), and I went out this morning to ride my horse. Starla normally treats me as her human slave, designed to clean her up and feed her at her whim. Her general facial expression suggests that if she could talk, she would be saying, "MORE CARROTS, HUMAN!"

This morning though, I think she got that I've had just about as much as I could handle this week, and she was all nuzzle-y and cute. She kept resting her head on my back while I did her feet and pressing her face against my tummy while I was grooming her. Pretty damn cute, and why I'm willing to put half of the money I get each month into keeping her happy and healthy.

Though in reality, this probably wasn't her being cute so much as searching my pockets for food, but I'll take it.

She would eat me if I tasted like peppermint, licorice, or molasses. Luckily, I don't.

Things which irritate me more than they should:

1. Small amounts of things that come in deceptively large containers. This goes for anything from the face lotion I just bought that came in a box the size of my fist but ended up being in a container roughly the size of a silver dollar to those chip bags that end up being filled with air and three chips.

2. People who talk on their cell phones loudly on the bus. I realize there are times where you might need to communicate with someone via telephone while in transit, but it seems like this could be done using a normal voice level.

3. People who run for fun. I realize this isn't so much an irritation just as a recognition that these people are far cooler than me. They intimidate me, and I resent them for being so much more awesome than I.

4. Christmas music after Christmas. I love my carols, but you need to switch to something not-Christmas specific after the 25th (26th if you are Canadian). There are plenty of winter carols you can choose from.

5. When people confuse the gender of my pets. God help them if they ever do it to me when I have kids. Imma stab a fool.

6. Studying for finals. Hence the reason I'm popping off a random list of irritants instead of studying.

In which snow cures all ills (ie, school is canceled)

I awoke yesterday to a glorious white wonderland. It made this grey city shine and sparkle. I hope that I never grow so old or so serious that snow fails to make me smile.

This has actually been a wonderful week. Seattle, when I'm not in school, suits me perfectly. It's not that school is so bad, I just get really tired being taught everything by powerpoints, and some of the attitudes associated with the school. I just keep telling myself that if I can do this, it won't matter that I'm not enjoying it, it will pay off in the end. Er, so that was not the upbeat paragraph I was trying to write. Oops, redo.

This week has been fantastic. On Friday Dad came up and we went to a greek hole in the wall in my neighborhood. Amazing food, super cheap. We've hit up the Italian place, Romio's, a good three times since I moved at the beginning of the month too. I live in a delicious neighborhood.

Saturday I went to the U-District Farmer's Market with Sarah D. from school. It was a lot of fun, but freezing cold. We went to Chaco's Organic Cafe (I think that was the name), and had some delicious Egyptian Red Lentil soup. I had a great time. Poor Sarah, I think I talked her ear off. I don't get to be too social anymore. After, I headed to the Goodwill on the Ave, and found a classy pair of jeans for 10$. Not bad, since they retail at $185.

Sunday, Gabriele and I met up at the Cinebarre in Mountlake Terrace for Harry Potter 7. I had a fantastic time! It started snowing before I got there, so of course I was thrilled with that. The movie was great, and we split a pitcher of mimosas (also great :p) and a pizza. Yum.

Monday, the snow really started coming down, and I made an executive decision not to go in to school. It would have taken twice as long to get to school as my class takes. Not worth possibly falling. So I had a day off, a physical therapy session, and mainly watched more online tv than anyone should.

Today school was actually canceled, which was great. I walked around town, got some Christmas shopping done, and cleaned a little house. I have steadfastly been avoiding homework, which is going to bite me in the bum soon enough, but I just don't care.
Cameron gets into the airport tonight, so Dad is driving to get him, then heading here. Looking forward to seeing him. Been almost a year.

Tomorrow we're going to check on Starla. I'm a little worried about her in the snow at this new place. They aren't exactly as diligent as Teresa was about taking care of the horses. I'm sure she'll be fine, but I want to see her, ride a little. I leave with a pic of me adventuring in the snow yesterday. Hopefully I'll remember to write over Thanksgiving break!

Catching up

I hit a deep, dark place when I moved back, caused by the loss of my fantastic dog, distance from my boyfriend, and an odd living situation. As a result, I just didn't work on actually updating this thing. So we'll go with a short summary, then I'll hopefully do some updates that are a little more substantial.

September:
-School starts- quarter system is nice because the classes go fast, but it's disorienting too.
October:
-Mainly horseback riding, apartment hunting, schoolwork, and hanging out with Willamette people.
November:
-Move into my new apartment, still just starting to adjust to life in Seattle.

Mkay. Feel all caught up now? Haha, probably not. Well, I'll write a post about the recent goings on in my life, and we'll see from there.

In which I realize I never take photos....

Oh well, it's quantity of blog entries, not quality, right? The past few days have been busy again, but looking up. After no improvement, we took my dog to the vet, where she was tentatively diagnosed as having had a stroke. She got some nice cortisone injections, and while she is not yet herself (and may never be all the way), she's doing so much better. I'm glad not to need to say goodbye.

I've started riding again, and Starla is doing pretty well. The new barn is new environment than we are accustomed, but at least everyone is friendly.

I've spent a lot more time in Marysville than expected, because I wanted to be here for my dog. Last night I went back up to Seattle so I could have a night out with Angela and her husband. We went to the Melting Pot, which was completely amazing, and a great deal. If you go any day of the week during happy hour (4-6pm or 9-11pm) the chocolate and cheese fondues are half off. Drinks aren't bad either, considering it's a pretty classy place.

Today I caught the bus and headed to the University District, which I decided is the coolest part of Seattle. My friend Gabriele and her boyfriend Charlie met up with me and we had fantastic greek food at Costas, then got drinks at Earl's. We had heard that Earl's was like our own beloved Pete's in Salem, and there were definite similarities. The major difference is we were on University Avenue during a Huskies football game and the bar was packed with a sea of purple people. It was a little too crazy to get a good feel of the place, but I'll go back again.

Haha, I'll I've done the last couple days is eat delicious food! I was excited because I'd lost 3-4 lbs since getting back from Arizona, but I feel like I may have put that back with fondue alone :)

Pretty tired tonight, so I'm going to hit the hay soon. Ray Lamontagne tomorrow! I'm really excited. I just wish they weren't predicting rain. Anyways, goodnight.

The Times They Are A Changin'

Ugh. This weekend went better and worse than expected. Poor Starla. She's not a bad horse, but she doesn't have much experience with trailers. As a result, when we got her in one she saw my dad with the lead rope, bolted out backwards, fell over out of the trailer (didn't hurt herself, thank god), and gave my dad an impressive set of rope burns. I felt pretty awful about the whole experience, and both dad and Starla are pretty shaken up. But at least I own a trailer now, and can start training her the right way with the trailer.

I moved into the Seattle house, and it's going to be great. I just feel so weird to be in Seattle, when for the last year I was certain I'd be living on the East coast. It's odd, but I kinda feel like I failed by not going out of the PNW. Of course, it's hard to turn down such a great deal from such an exceptional school.

Tonight I came home from Seattle to spend time with my dog. She seems to be taking a turn for the worse, and I want to spend some time with her. I picked her out when I was ten years old, she's my baby.

The last few days have been tiring, just getting Starla settled, and dealing with moving to the new house. The news about my dog has just added to it.
This weekend should be great though, and a much-needed break. My friend Angela (and new housemate) and I are going on a girl date to the Melting Pot in Seattle. We're going to get dressed up and go out for drinks too :). Sunday, my folks and I are going to see Ray Lamontagne, which should be all kinds of awesome. So hopefully this weekend will make up for the trauma of this week.

If anyone is reading this, please send good thoughts to my poor little girl. She's an old doggie, but I'm not ready to say goodbye just yet.

My horse prior to being traumatized by the trailer.

My awesome doggie.

Gardening...really isn't my thing.

This isn't technically true. I love planting veggies and herbs, I just don't really care to do much with flowers. I appreciate them when they are there, and I'd love for someone to give me flowers at some point ;), but I just don't really care to mess with them much.

My musings seem rather random, until you realize I spent the whole day spreading bark. I'm tired. But hey, it's a low-intensity work out that I get paid to do, so I really shouldn't complain.

Leaving tomorrow morning for Salem. I'm pretty excited to see friends up there, and hopefully the horse-y move goes well.

I am excited to be back, and I can't wait to start hanging out with people again and move up to Seattle. I've been pretty restless in Marysville. Not a lot to do here except clean my old bedroom out or organize things. Both these options seem pretty dull. Next week looks like it's going to be a parade of working, socializing, and unpacking, so it should be pretty exciting. A week from now I think I'll be living in Seattle!

I got a trailer!

So the deal worked out yesterday, and I bought a sound, silver 2 horse slant for a very fair price (and about $1000 below my budget!). I will post pictures soon, but I forgot to take them today. The trip there and back was hellish with traffic, but I'm still glad to have it. We also have to work out some wiring issues between the trailer and my truck because the plugs don't match up, but my dad is working on that, and I'm fairly confident he'll make it happen.

Today I went and dropped more money on the title transfer and tabs. Boo. I'm feeling pretty broke right now. Need to remember to fill out my loan paperwork soon so I'll stay afloat in Seattle. After I got all the legal stuff taken care of I went and scrubbed the trailer down. Tomorrow I'll put a new coat of paint on the top, and next week I'm going to paint the rest of the outside. It'll be black and silver when I finish. I'll take pictures of the project as it progresses.

Other than that work, I weeded for my grandmother. I am pretty tuckered out, but honestly I think it has more to do with lack of sleep than washing the trailer and gardening. I was pretty high strung all night for some reason. Just going to chill tonight, start reading some of the 124 page required reading UW just sent me. I need to have it all done before orientation on the 21st. Joy. It's called "Taskforce on Childhood Obesity," which just sounds fascinating, doesn't it? Well, I best hop to it, and tomorrow I'll try to post pics of the new trailer.

Travels

This isn't a real post, I was just thinking this week about how many great places I've been lucky enough to see in the past twelve months. Last August I went to San Francisco with my roommate for the best mini-vacation I've ever had. She grew up there, so we stayed at her house and she knew all the must see attractions, and didn't mind taking me to all the tourist-y locations.

Then that October I went to St. Louis for a weekend to visit my brother. It was a great trip, unfortunately I was going through some rough stuff in my life, and acted pretty badly. I was just too anxious to go out, and I was in a bad mood. I did have a great time seeing him, and got to go to the botanical gardens and zoo, which are the best of each that I've ever seen.

January I flew to New Hampshire to meet my boyfriend's family. I had a great time, even though it was cold. I was visiting graduate schools at the time, so I go to spend a fair amount of time in Mass and Conn. I really enjoyed myself, even though it was freezing.

My other trips this year have been pretty well documented- New Hampshire this July and Arizona in August. I'm glad I signed up for a rewards program, I just wish I had done so sooner. I mean, there's 9 one-way flights in the last 12 months.

Anyways, going to look at the trailer tonight, fingers crossed that it will work out. I am ready to drop the money if it means having the tool. Lol, would you believe that all of the debt in my life comes from buying things for my horse (truck, trailer, etc), versus my private university education? Lol, and that a huge chunk of my grad school stipend is going to horse board. It's totally worth it, but it boggles the mind when you think of what all of this costs when added up.

Hopefully I'll have a good update tonight, we'll just have to see. I'm enjoying being lazy and chilling at home. Started cleaning out my old bedroom, but unfortunately I'm just too attached to everything. Oh well, a little at a time. Anyways, off to shower and drive an hour and a half to go look at a horse trailer. Wish me luck!

Contemplating building the ark

I made it back to Washington late last night, welcomed by the extreme cold and rain. It's the end of August, I am wearing flannel and cuddled up on the couch. I don't think I will survive two years of this, to be honest. I started looking online at long underwear.

The last weekend in Arizona was the best. Saturday Leo and I rented a car and drove out to the Sonoran Desert Museum. It's a zoo, museum, and garden of Arizona native animals, minerals, history, and plants. It is truly amazing if you can make it out there.

After we drove almost an hour to get to the best ranked Thai restaurant in Tucson, and we weren't disappointed. We went out to the District Tavern after dinner, and Leo played pool while I watched. He's getting pretty good.

Sunday we drove up to Mt. Lemmon, which was probably my favorite place in Arizona. There are huge pine trees (Ponderosas?), water, and it's about twenty degrees cooler there than down in the valley. It was completely beautiful. We visited the town of Summerhaven, and sampled some pretty awesome fudge, then moved on to start a hike. We didn't get too far before the rains started, but we climbed up rock faces off the trail, which was more challenging and satisfying. I am incredibly out of shape though, haha.

Sunday night we watched a movie and cuddled, then Monday Leo's roommate drove me to the airport. I'm really sad to leave, but hopefully it won't be that long until I see him again. Right now the plan is to visit around Christmas time, but I'm hoping for something in about half as many months. We'll see.

My folks picked me up at the airport, and I've just been chilling at home. Today was my dad's birthday so I got to spend a lot of time with family and go out to some pretty yummy meals today. Other than that, I made some bara brith, Welsh fruit bread, because it was definitely a cold baking day. It uses strong black tea, spices, and lots of fruit for it's flavor. I liked it, but I'm going to perfect the recipe before I post it. I want to tweak some of the ingredient amounts in the recipe I used.

Tomorrow my dad and I are going out to look at a horse trailer. It's a very reasonable price, partially because it isn't painted. If I buy it I will need to paint it myself, so that is going to be my project before school starts. I don't mind the challenge, and it will give me something to do in the next couple weeks. Just hope it stops raining long enough to paint the thing.

Hopefully tomorrow will end with me having a trailer, and a new project to work on. This weekend I'm picking up my baby and bringing her to the new barn in Woodinville, and starting to move into the new place. Life is starting up, and I'm pretty excited. I'll keep everyone updated on what goes on in the next few days.

Flowers at the Desert Museum

Native birds

View as we start to climb Mt. Lemmon



Leo on our rock climbing hike

Shopping and sunburns

Today I actually got up when Leo did and walked him to the door. Which meant I was up and at 'em by 7am. Made some pretty awesome vanilla cinnamon pancakes, showered, and headed downtown for some gift shopping.

I fail at bus systems. I was sitting in the front (reserved for elderly and disabled), so I could see where I was going in town. As the bus filled up, I was the only person to move to the back so actual seniors could take the seats. Clearly this isn't common in Tucson. The move meant I couldn't see a dang thing, and completely missed my stop. On the upside, I managed to orient myself and walk a mile or so to where I actually wanted to be.
On the off chance my dad reads this blog, I won't say what I found for his birthday, but I think he'll like it. I found my grandma a birthday gift that hopefully she'll think is cute- they sell little desert kits, with pots and cactus boxed for travel. I love 4th Ave in downtown Tucson. I went into so many cute vintage stores, and I could seriously go back again tomorrow and not have seen everything.

Afterwards I had pizza and ended up meeting up with my boy, who was headed home from school. He took his bike, and I had another complete transportation failure with the bus, getting off miles before where I needed to go, but luckily it didn't take too long to get back on another bus. Long enough to burn me up to a crisp though, lol.
We bummed around at home, took a nap, then I started dinner. I made spicy orzo with chickpeas, corn, tomato, spinach, carrot, onion, and garlic. I thought it was pretty awesome, and I think Indian food is on the list for tomorrow, so I am just anticipating an array of culinary delights.

I started reading The Jane Austen Book Club which is better than the movie, and a fun read. The characters are defined by what makes them different, and they are both too extreme to be believable yet the reader can still relate. I am not certain how I feel about her characters. Each of them often expresses thoughts that I have felt, yet they are constantly having these "insights". Nothing ever seems to be ordinary. Of course, maybe this is how life is for the author.

Other than that, just chilling watching Anthony Bourdain on Netflix. He went to the PNW and I got very excited. I can't believe I am moving to Seattle in two weeks. I registered for another class today, bringing me up to a total of 13 graduate credits my first quarter. I will be taking Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Topics in Public Health Seminar, Ecology of microbial hazards, and a journal class based around the BP oil spill. Should be a hard semester, but I bet I will learn a lot.

4th Ave (Epic, the coffee shop I like so much)

Monsoon!

Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of my own, but I've finally experienced the real Tucson monsoon season. I was shopping this afternoon at a used bookstore called Bookmans, heard a crack of thunder, then the heavens opened up. The streets started flooding right away, and within the hour they were flooded over on top of the sidewalks. Now I understand this flash flood phenomenon a bit better.

Yesterday was an utterly dreary day. I ended up trapped inside all day long, with no one in the house. Animal lover that I am, even the cats aren't that great of company after that many hours.

Today was much better. I was getting ready to go out to a coffee shop and do knick-knack shopping when my BF's roomie asked if I wanted to go grocery shopping with her. I am so glad I went out with someone in a car rather than slogging my way through the buses soaking wet.

We went out to the Blue Willow for lunch. I had a pretty awesome grilled eggplant sandwich on pita with goat cheese, grilled tomatoes, cucumbers, and various other delicious flavors. My only complaint is the world eggplant. In Britain, they are "aubergines". This is a much more pleasing name for a delicious food. I think we should adopt it here.

On to Trader Joe's and Sunflower, so I can pick up stuff for dinners and what not. My guy has been so busy with school he doesn't have any time or energy to go food shopping. Maybe it's a good thing I am here.

I got an email from SAFE (Save a Forgotten Equine), an equine rescue I really want to volunteer with. They sent the orientation info (unfortunately the next one is when I am still in Arizona), as well as other links. I am so excited to start up there. It seems like they are fairly flexible when it comes to hours, and the standard volunteering commitment ranges from 1 to 4 days a month. We'll see how often I can get out with school, but I'm really looking forward to having this opportunity.

Well, that's all for right now. Just drinking tea and listening to the rain fall.

More little adventures

Yesterday morning, after waking up to the cat digging it's claws into the back of my heel, I got up and went to Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Farm. It did not disappoint. Besides the scary living dinosaurs, there were deer, goats, donkeys, and my favorite- lorikeets. We spent the morning playing with the animals, then went back home.

My boyfriend needed to spend another day working, so he left just as I got back to the house. I had about six hours to kill while I waited for him to come back, so I napped, called a friend, and worked on my other blog. Not much exciting stuff when you have to walk anywhere you want to go in the heat.When he got back home last night we went to Sushi Hama, a local sushi place that boasts all you can eat sushi for $19. It was quite the experience. My favorite part of the evening was when the lights all turned off, a disco light came down, and I heard the most hokey disco Japanese-style rendition of "Happy Birthday" ever. If I could, I'd be back for my own birthday.

Today it's still only 8am, so I haven't fleshed out what my day will be. Maybe I'll go downtown...oops, no money for the bus. Well, hopefully something will pop up. Anyways, here are some photos from yesterday's excursion.

Cute little Fallow deer.

Two goats trying to get to the best treat spot.

Aren't they just scary?

Sweet face.

My favorites, the lorikeets. I had about five on me while I took this photo, including the ones perched on each side of the camera while I took the photo.

Tucson Photos

The Acropolis at Sabino Canyon.

My personal swimming hole at Sabino Canyon.

Some picturesque cactus.

Sunset at the state park.

Pretty cactus blooms at Sabino Canyon.

Summer time, and the living is easy...

I did try to walk to the pool, but unfortunately it was closed. It was definitely a tease- beautiful facities, and a full pool behind big locked gates. Luckily, the friend I'll be moving in with for a short while in Seattle called, so at least I got to have a fun conversation on my way back.

Yesterday we went down town and hung out at the coffee shop "Epic". I really liked it best of all the shops we've been to in Tucson. I got a scrumptious sarsaparilla float, and read while my boyfriend worked on math homework for his PhD program. I grabbed a few used books, and I made it almost entirely through My Sister's Keeper yesterday. I finished it this morning.

Really good book. Completely different ending than the movie (how are they allowed to make a movie after a book and change the ending?). A quick read too. It's 400 or so pages, but it flows really well, and is easy to follow. Now I definitely want to see the full movie as well. As a scientist, I think the more we do as people to question bioethics, the better. Just because we can do something does not necessarily mean we should. I feel like this is going to be the big issue in about ten years, when I feel the technology for more "designer" babies will be available.

After the coffee shop we went to an Indian restaurant called "Ghandi," which I thought was a bad sign, but I really enjoyed my food, and I got a ton for $7.

After a very lazy morning we are now getting ready to go to Sabino Canyon. It's considered a must do for Tucson, and I am pretty excited to go. I will try to grab a bunch of photos and make my next blog a bunch of photos from around Tucson.

Laaazy days

I was going to walk a mile to check out the local pool to see if it is open, but I have no keys to get back in the house, so I think I'll call it good for the day. Also, it's 101 F outside, and 68 F inside :D

Yesterday I checked out the art shops of Tucson. They have some pretty amazing things, especially Old Town Artisans. If I wasn't a poor grad student I'd stock up on some lovely pottery and paintings.

Did another tour de liquor in Tucson last night. I can't believe how cheap drinks are here. We went to Club Congress and The District. I've also been to the Shelter and Sky Bar out here. I liked Sky Bar- mainly because it seems like it is a super inexpensive coffee shop during the day, which is more my style. I think I'm going to get out of drinking sooner rather than later.

I am getting really excited for my move to Seattle. I am going to start out staying with a good friend from college, until I eventually find a place on my own, or good roommates from the school. We'll have a couple weeks before I start school where we will be able to start checking out Seattle hot spots.

Also, I think the time has come for me to start working out again (ie, my clothing doesn't fit). I am really excited for UW's fitness class offerings. Right now they just have the summer listings, but I assume they will have even more classes available come this fall. I am thinking aquatics or pilates. I know there is a completely free rec center to use, and I will make use of it, but paying to take classes always makes me more motivated to actually show up to the classes.

I sent a volunteer request to SAFE (Save A Forgotten Equine), and though I haven't heard back, I am hoping to become a volunteer for that organization once I move to Seattle. They are based out of Monroe, so as long as I schedule things well I can visit my own horse on the way back from the rescue.

My horse is still in Salem, but I can't wait to get her back and get started up in Seattle. I feel pretty lucky that my barn is only going to be 12 miles away from where I'm staying. I really want to start doing a little showing. I don't think showing is the most important part of horse ownership (actually, I have quite a lot of fun barely ever competing) but I want to see where I'm at in my riding skills, and I do think one of the better ways to get a comparison is to compete against other riders.

I am really enjoying Arizona, but it will be nice to get back to my regular lifestyle after this, be a little more active, not rely on public/bummed transportation to get around. Still, this is the type of relaxation I needed in order to want to move to Seattle and feel a little less burned out before school starts.

So, um, round two?

I guess I really fail at keeping a weekly blog. In my defense, it was weeks before we had internet in the house I shared this summer. I also was working 50 hours a week, riding my horse, and visiting my boyfriend. But I definitely failed at keeping up, so I'm going to give it a second try.

Right now I am in Arizona. BF is in class all day, so I pretty much have free time to do whatever I want (which is read up on horse stuff and catch up on my woefully neglected blog). I had a pretty fantastic living situation this summer. The girls I moved in with were nearly complete strangers, but probably ended up being the best roommates I've ever had.

In July I went to New Hampshire for two weeks, and had a lot of fun, despite the heat wave. We went down to Boston, up to the White Mountains were we stayed for super cheap thanks to travelocity. It was a really great trip, I just wish I could have visited at some point when they weren't enjoying a heat and humidity wave. I have to say, a great thing about AZ is how it lacks the humidity of the East Coast even though it is much hotter here.

I have two more weeks in Arizona, which suits me just fine. This feels like my first lazy break of the summer, and I am enjoying having no obligations on my time. Yesterday we went to the Tucson Zoo (Reid Park), and that was pretty fantastic. I love going to zoos and seeing the fantastic creatures evolved on this earth.When I finish here, I'll be flying to Seattle and setting up shop. I left my horse at the boarding stable in Salem before I went on my travels, because I trust my barn owner there to make certain she's safe.

Arizona in August is very different than the Pacific Northwest, but it isn't as bad as I expected. The heat is so much more dry than home. You really feel it when you walk on the cement though...you feel like you are being cooked from underneath. So far we've been bat watching, seen a few amazing sunsets, driven to the mountains, and checked at bars here. There is that same sort of organic, sustainable movement here as in the Northwest, so I am liking that experience very much. On Friday the University of Arizona hosts a farmers market that I want to check out. I want to take some fat heirloom tomatoes, basil, balsalmic, and mozzarella cheese for a delicious hot-weather meal.

As for today, I think I am going to be a bum. Yesterday we walked in the heat most of the day (though the zoo does a fantastic job keeping you shaded), and it wore me out. We ended up starting a Terry Pratchett movie "Hogfather" (AWESOME, any fans of his Discworld series should watch), and going to sleep listening to the thunder storm.

I don't have too much more to say in this, but I'll post some pictures from New Hampshire, and maybe next time I write I'll have some good ones from Arizona to share. Until next time...

Boston Harbor Drive to North Conway The White Mountains

Starting Up

I have not done that great of a job with this weekly blog concept, but I will be better once I settle into my summer routine. I had my boyfriend living with me for the last week before he went home for the summer, so my priorities were not my blogging.

We tried to do a lot of our favorite things together before he had to leave. We ended up going to Lincoln City and eating dinner over a bonfire on the beach with our friends. It was a lot of fun. I also got to host a great friend who came up for my graduation, so that was fantastic. After she left, we mainly watched movies and snuggled, which is completely perfect in my opinion.

I made him cookies for the plane ride back to NH, but unfortunately that resulted in his bag being searched. Luckily, he thought it was funny. I think these are probably the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever made, and they are vegan. I'll try to recreate what I did from memory.

Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips
Parchment paper

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix oil and sugar until completely mixed, add vanilla and 2 tablespoons water to the oil/sugar paste. Mix until water emulsifies in the mixture. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients, then add slowly to wet mix. Add chocolate chips and drop by rounded teaspoonful at least 2 inchs apart on a parchment paper-lined baking pans and bake for ~10 minutes. Makes about 20 cookies.

Since my fella is gone, I've just been trying to pack up the house I've lived in for the last two years to prep to move into my summer sublet. It is harder than you'd think to move that much accumulated clutter. Unfortunately I also get emotionally attached to everything, so I try to keep a lot more than I should. I've made some interesting creations while trying to whittle down my cooking supplies before the move.

I used this whole wheat pumpkin muffin recipe from vegweb.com (http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=5635.0) to make sweet potato muffins using canned yams. I just mashed the yams up in the juice they come in, and used them instead of the pumpkin puree the recipe called for. They were awesome, but if I did them again I'd only use half the oil the recipe calls for, and add a cup of shredded carrot.

This week is my first week back full time at work. I wish I could have more of a break, but unfortunately life is expensive. Luckily, I am working four sets of ten hour shifts, and so I get three days off a week. I tried to be productive on the packing front, as well as getting some much needed exercise. I rode my horse today for the second time since graduation, and am happy to get back in the habit. There is a dressage show at the end of July, and I think I'd like to compete. It would be nice to have a goal to work towards for the summer.

Well, the next post I will write will be from my new house. It is exciting to go live with new people in a different area, though I'm sad to leave my old place behind. I am also going to try to live somewhat simply this summer, so hopefully I'll have time to paint, ride, and write a little.

Winding down

Been a little while since I wrote, but between finalizing my thesis (I got an A, btw), and a nasty virus, I've been down for the count. I graduated this weekend. It was nice, but unfortunately there isn't much time to spend with the people who will be leaving right away with everyone's families there.

Last week my boyfriend and I decided to do breakfast for dinner, with mixed results. We used Trader Joe's whole wheat pancake mix, and it was great, but our attempts at vegetarian bacon looked (and possibly tasted) like dog treats. The hash browns were a disaster in and of themselves.

Luckily, we made a fantastic Indian meal for our friends a few days earlier, so I am not too ashamed of our failure. I am going to share the cauliflower recipe which is fantastic:


Indian Cauliflower with Mustard Seeds:
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground tumeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
2lb cauliflower florets
1/3 cup Greek-style yoghurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Cilantro for garnish

1. Heat oil in large pan over medium-high heat, add cumin and mustard seeds. Cook, tossing, for 1 minute or until mustard seeds begin to pop.
2. Stir in chili powder, tumeric, and salt.
3. Add cauliflower florets to the pan, toss to coat. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 10 min, tossing every 2 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender. Remove from heat.
4. Add yoghurt and lemon juice, toss to coat, add cilantro and serve immediately.

I make it without the cilantro, and it is still totally delicious.

Procrastination

A sure sign your thesis is due the next day is a sudden urge to start a weekly blog for the first time in your life. Procrastination is a college staple, and I'm little better than the next student. Though, to be fair, I'm really close to finishing the dang thing. So why not use this extra imagined free time to create a blog?

Admittedly, the title had me stumped. I'd like to make a weekly blog focusing on of life's finer things, but "Biology, horses, and baking" just didn't make for a keeper title. I figure my interests are random enough to keep a diverse audience entertained, but we'll have to see.

I am a female vegetarian college student biology major who likes cooking, horseback riding, tennis, line dancing, hiking and picnics. If you can't guess I grew up in the Pacific Northwest you really aren't trying very hard.

In two short weeks I will be free from my undergraduate years forever (though not if I don't finish this thesis), spending my summer working in a plant cell biology lab near Salem, OR, then making the trip to Seattle, WA this fall to start graduate school in Public Health at the University of Washington. In the meantime, I plan on experimenting with vegan baking, traveling to New England, hiking as many of Oregon's trails as I can manage, and just making the most of my summer.

Tonight is my second time experimenting with vegan cookie-making. I'm not a vegan, but I'm a vegetarian with an egg intolerance, so I think learning to cook some cruelty-free baked goods suits me just fine. I got the recipe I used off of VegWeb.com and they are called Chewy Chocolate Chip Jumbles. Delicious. Plus, only ~100 calories each, which most cookies can't say. Go to http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=32489.0 and check it out. I'm planning on trying a bunch of their vegan recipes before the summer is over.

Other than vegan cookies, this weekend had nice enough weather to see me exploring with my bike for the first time in ages. I am super out of biking condition, so I decided to take it slow and go to Minto Brown Park, just off of downtown Salem. It is a 898 acre nature reserve with a dog park, walking trails, and paved bike paths. Perfect place for a leisurely bike ride to get you back in the habit, or a morning walk with a friend to shake off the stress of the day.

Saturday night I was excited to find The Horse Boy on instant watch on Netflix. It is the documentary of Rupert Isaacson and Kristin Neff and their travels to Mongolia to combine shamanistic healing and horses as a means to help heal the painful side effects of autism in their five year old son Rowan. The story is miraculous, sensitive, witty, and honest. You should definitely look into reading the book (by the same title and an amazing read), or renting the movie. You can also go to http://www.horseboyfoundation.org/horseboystory.html to learn more, or donate to the learning center the family started combining horses and learning for special needs children.

Well, hopefully this is a good enough start for my first blog. Looking forward to adding more recipes, not just links, and telling people about great outdoorsy places to hang out in the Pacific Northwest. Oh, and boring you with stories about my own miraculous equine. Take care, and have a nice week :D