San Diego Zoo

This panda was soooo cute.



My favorite thing at the San Diego Zoo.



We went to San Diego for 5 days to celebrate being married for 1 year :)



Then we came back and moved a couple days later. Still finishing that project. I'm tired.

Christmastime is here

Well, we've polished off our first batch of Candy Cane Cookies. The Christmas season is really here!!!

I had high hopes of sending out real grown-up Christmas cards of us in front of the Chandler Tumbleweed Christmas Tree. (That's right, folks, a 25' stack of tumbleweeds, sprayed in glitter and covered in lights.) But alas, we only got a quick self-portrait and I'm out of time to send a decent mailing. I'm going to Denver on Wednesday and the family comes here the next Monday!

Cooking

My last post sounded oh-so-very anti-latest-greatest-thing and it's true that I do not like screen-addiction, but shortly after that post I jumped on the pinterest bandwagon. If used appropriately, I highly recommend it.

Since I got married in January I have been learning to cook more than ever before... and this site has helped me!! Here are some things I have made in the last few weeks that I found on pinterest.

Oven-baked Parmesan Seasoned Fries

Garlic-Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread

Thick, Soft Sugar Cookies

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Cupcakes

Chic-fil-A imitation Nuggets

I have also tried Mongolian Beef, Orange Chicken, and a steak marinade that we didn't like so much.... but I'm learning :)

I feel old

It seems that it is usually the older generation who says things like, "I don't understand all those gadgets you kids use these days," or, "Things were so much simpler/different when I was younger," or the like.

I'm 25 and I've been thinking that frequently lately. I can remember when home computers, e-mail, and cell phones were all new things. I've lived through call waiting, caller ID, and text messaging all being the latest communication technology. I remember when facebook was brand new and only for college students.

Now, I admit it, I'm outdated. I don't even know what the "latest things" are--Android, Nook, the multiple apps on iPhones and iPads. I haven't kept up, and honestly I have very little interest in doing so.

I still use a cookbook for cooking, library books or Amazon purchases for reading, my iPod (or more frequently radio) for listening, GPS for finding my way, and computer for simple e-mail and facebook. I know there is probably one device that could do all of these things AND OH SO MUCH MORE but please, spare me.

And it's not that I'm trying to be ignorant, it's that even now, with my very limited exposure, I am UTTERLY OVERWHELMED with all the content being thrown at me. Everything is more accessible. More ideas are being exchanged. There is so much more to see, read, learn about to keep up. More news sites to check, more blogs to read, more pictures to pin to pinterest, more photos of friends and people you don't even know to look at, and lots not forget, more advertisements.

In the midst of all that, I doubt if most of us really connect to PEOPLE any more. Personally, I can only take so much of all the STUFF without forgetting about the people.

hehe

I don't mean to make light of a serious situation.... but it is good to laugh right? I'd like to share with you the chuckles facebook status updates brought to me.

#1- Reports are now coming in that today's east coast earthquake was caused by our nation's Founding Fathers rolling over in their graves.

#2- "Breaking News: President Obama has just confirmed that the DC earthquake occurred on a rare and obscure fault-line, apparently known as "Bush's Fault"

And for a visual of the devastation something like this can cause, click here.

What a VOICE

"Romance" gets cheapened when it only refers to silly chick flicks. I think romance is the soft, idealized, appealing-to-all-senses view of the world. My friends, THIS is what I call romantic!

update

Since my last post what has happened?

We went to Colorado for a few days at the end of May. We enjoyed spending time with my family... and also the weather:)

We took a day trip to Flagstaff at some point in early June.

Andrew threw me a surprise birthday party, with the help of amazing host Bonnie, the weekend before my birthday. I was so surprised! I don't know how to post it here, but the only pic/video I got from the even is the video Emily took of me arriving and being surprised- and it's on facebook:) So many people came and I felt so loved:)

In other news, I have been taking an online Spanish Medical Interpreting class. It has been a challenge because my Spanish has been so out of use and interpreting is more difficult than translating on paper, and also because an unstructured online class means I have to be disciplined to stay on schedule. And I joined the gym again and have been feeling great for actually going!

Andrew is working sales instead of merchandising at his job now, which means the hours are more varied and he's not always working evenings, which he likes. He's pushing through the end of another semester here, and looking forward to a 2-week break in mid-August. In the fall one of his classes will be an internship helping a professor teach an Old Testament class.

And.. my laptop battery is about to give out so I bid you adeu:)