Playing Catch-up

So many things have happened in the past couple of years, so the following will be a, longer than I originally expected, recap.

Work:
In December 2014, I started a new job at a home health agency my mom works for. I started off as an Intake/Staffing Coordinator and worked in that position for a total of three months before the person I was filling in for returned from maternity leave. At that point, I was promoted (solely in position) from Intake/Staffing Coordinator to HR Representative. My "mentor" ended up transferring to another agency within a month after I accepted the position. I have been working at that agency, in that position from March 2015 to present. I fulfill many roles within the company -- part-time intake/staffing coordinator, payment poster, medical records clerk, administrative assistant, QA clerk -- basically I have my hand in mostly every aspect of the company. Sometimes I even wonder to myself what would happen if/when I decide to leave. I'm really not being boastful or big-headed. It's just a absolute fact, and most, if not all of the other employees know how much I'm contributing to the company. If only my boss were aware of that. For over half the time I've been with the company, I've been saying that I was only planning to stay for about a year or so in total, but I've since been with them for almost a year and a half and, because of circumstances to be written about later, may not leave for another half a year or so. The benefit to working in that establishment is that I sort of have leave to "do whatever I want." I have a set work schedule but have more freedom to go in late or call out when necessary, a freedom which I know I've taken advantage of a few times, but will be a blessing in the very near future.

Travel (within the past year):
Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara - day trip, Seattle, Seattle/Portland

We went to Santa Cruz in June of last year to celebrate James' birthday. It was an interesting experience but not as great as I guess I expected it to be. We stopped in a few of our usual places on the way up and some we hadn't been to before: Anderson's to try some of their famous pea soup, the Avila barn for some fresh fruits and to see the animals, the Apple Farm (they have the best fried artichoke and apple dumplings), and our usual taco spot (to remain unnamed ;D).  In Santa Cruz we visited a few coffee places, since James was really into coffee at that time, some really good ice cream places, and the Mystery Spot. We also stopped into Capitola for a bit before heading back.

In July, we had a day trip into Santa Barbara which was actually really nice and relaxing. We stopped by a few coffee places, checked out the Santa Barbara Mission, and the Santa Barbara Courthouse before heading home.

October saw us in Seattle for my annual birthday trip. We checked out the EMP and the Star Wars exhibit, which was really neat, wandered around Ballard on the day of my birthday, went on a chocolate factory tour, hit up a few coffee places, and a few beer places as well. It was on this trip that James discovered his interest and love for craft beer. My favorite parts of the trip were relaxing on the lawn in front of the Seattle Space Needle for a good hour or so after we had finished up at the museum and wandering around Ballard and the surrounding area where we visited their farmer's market, had some great food and dessert, and saw the house that inspired the Disney movie Up!

Our most recent trip took place this past April and was to Seattle/Portland. We stayed at a friends house in Seattle and attended the Emerald City Comic Con. I liked it a lot better than San Diego's Comic Con in how they arranged the con itself. Everything had its own designated floor/level, which made it easier to see things and walk around. My biggest disappointment is that ECC didn't have as many independent artists/writers/creators as SDCC has. I enjoy walking around their booths and seeing all the cute stuff that I'm never going to buy. All in all the ECC experience was good and I'm willing to go again in the future.

Seattle itself was an interesting experience. This time around we rented a car to get around the city easier, but since we were mostly there for the con, we packed most of our exploring into one and a half days. We stopped in to the Pike Place Market for a few hours, visited a few beer places, relaxed at Gas Works Park, checked out the panoramic city views at Kerry Park, and hiked the Foster Point Trail where James proposed! (More on that later.) After we left Seattle we headed into Oregon to explore Seattle and the surrounding areas.

Oh how I love Oregon. One day I want to eventually move out there. I love the greenery, the breathtaking views, the waterfalls, the quirky districts, the food! On our first full day there, we visited the Columbia River Gorge and oh my goodness it was even better than I expected. The weather was expected to be gloomy, but the sun came out soon after we reached our first stop and it stayed nice and sunny throughout our whole trip. We took our time driving up the Historic Columbia River Highway and checked out so many gorgeous waterfalls and vistas. We ended in Hood River where James checked out a few more beer places before we headed back to our hotel for the night. Over the next couple of days, we visited a few more beer places and shopped and checked out the various districts in the area.

Relationship:
If you've been following along through this post then you'll know that I'm engaged! James and I have been together for over ten years now. We've been through a lot of ups, and a lot of downs, but we've weathered them through and are now ready to settle down and make a commitment to each other and our future.

Personal Life:
A number of things have happened to me in the past couple of years, but the biggest one of all is that....I'm pregnant! After being together for so long, and not once having a scare, we're actually pregnant! It's exciting, and scary, at the same time, and is what inspired me to restart this blog, aside from the fact that I actually started writing in a journal, but being too lazy to hand write decided to type out a journal/blog instead.

If you decide to follow along on this journey, you'll learn more about myself and my aspirations for my life, family, and relationship.

Living in the Present

It's been a long time since I've thought of blogging. It's been even longer since I've actually blogged. Considering the numerous changes that have occurred during my life in the past year, I feel it would be beneficial to begin again.  For a moment, I considered creating a new blog for the sole benefit of having a clean, fresh new start with no past behind me, but how realistic is that? The past is where it is and is not something that can be changed, only reflected on. The past will remain. What can change is the future. So, here's to another beginning, another try. The past is behind me, the future ahead, but the present...ah, the present, is to be lived!

A Short Collection of Animated Shorts

I was browsing through some blogs I had bookmarked a while back. Suffice it to say, I came across a mention of an animated short based on the picture book titled The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore written by William Joyce. Of course I had to look it up on YouTube and after viewing it, had to share it here.

The short, also directed by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenberg, is brilliant and so much more expressive than the written story.

As is typical of me and YouTube, I came across a number of other shorts that I've either re-discovered or am now discovering for the first time.

The next couple of shorts I've come across previously and am happy to have re-discovered.

The first short, Alma, was written and directed by Rodrigo Blaas. It is a beautiful, yet eerie, film about a young girl and a toy store with its collection of dolls.

Paperman by John Kahrs is one of my favorite shorts and is about the chance meeting between a young man and a young woman and the forces that bring them back together.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find a good copy of it on YouTube, but a copy of the short can be accessed by clicking on the image above.

The next two shorts are new to me.

The first short, "Wind Mills," was made and directed by Guillaume Bergère, Guillaume Courdert, Maria Glinyanova, Bruno Guerra, and Charlotte Jammet at the Georges Méliès school as a graduation movie.

It is beautifully made with a hauntingly surreal soundtrack. The minimal dialogue toward the end of the film is roughly translated as "'We have enough wind to go!' 'I'm staying with your mother...leave without us' 'I don't want to go without you!'" (as taken from the comments section of the YouTube video).

This last short is a heart-wrenching one entitled Emi, written by Gwendoline Ancelin, that tells the story of a young girl, her father, and a momentous decision.

The last screen before the credits reads: "The greatest gift that we can give, is the gift of self..."

Culinary Adventures - Flour Tortillas & Creamy Homemade Taco Sauce

I LOVE having the house to myself. It gives me the opportunity to experiment and cook different things undisturbed. I've made homemade tahini, coconut butter, and taco sauce and I've experimented with various dishes as well.

Today's experiment was for homemade flour tortillas. I've been playing with the idea of making my own tortillas for a while now. I actually wanted to make tortillas as a precursor to making pita bread from scratch. They use basically the same ingredients, except pita bread requires yeast to make them more thick and bread-y. 

The tortillas actually turned out pretty well. They were a bit thicker than I wanted but that can easily be remedied by rolling them out thinner. We had them with shredded rotisserie chicken, refried beans, cabbage, shredded cheese, and some of my homemade taco sauce. Yum!

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Made-from-scratch Flour Tortillas

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour plus 1/4 cup flour for rolling

1 heaping tsp salt

6 tbsp softened butter

3/4 to 1 cup hot/warm water

Directions:

Mix butter into flour until fully incorporated. Dissolve salt into hot/warm water and slowly add to flour mixture until soft ball forms. Knead for two to three minutes. Roll dough into 2" thick log, cut into twelve equal pieces (for 6 to 8 inch tortillas), and roll into balls. Cover with plastic wrap or slightly damp towel and let rest for 20 minutes to one hour. On lightly floured surface, roll each dough ball into thin circles. Cook tortillas on pre-heated, ungreased griddle or non-stick pan for 30-60 seconds on each side or until bubbles form. Stack tortillas in dish towel to keep warm and pliable. Unused tortillas can be stored in a sealed plastic bag for two days at room temperature or up to one week refrigerated.

Creamy Homemade Taco Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

2-3 tbsp lime juice, to taste

1/4 tsp vinegar

1/4 tsp ground sumac*

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp dried dill weed

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in one pint jar. Refrigerate for at least 30 mins before use for all flavors to blend together. Keeps up to one week in the refrigerator.

*Sumac is a spice made from ground sumac berries. It has a tart, berry-lemony taste and is traditionally used in Middle Eastern dishes. Sumac can be used as a substitute to lemon when the flavor, and not the acidity, of a lemon is needed.