The Update!

SO! It has been at least 2 weeks or so since I've blogged, and I am so excited to finally update everyone on everything from Kyle's wonderful return to Christmas. And it has been a freaking blast!

A note: It's funny to go from blogging constantly to not blogging at all for a period of time. I've really missed it, and in many ways keeps me on track with goals that I've already set for myself, goals that I am aspiring to accomplish and keep my family and loved ones involved in my life that I don't get to see as often as I'd like (for one reason or another). AND, recently I've had somewhat of realization that some part of me wishes that I already owned my own house so that I could openly invite friends and loved ones to my home for fun festivities and events. As the holidays have been passing and after spending time with lots of family, owning my own household has become something that I want more and more within the next few years, hopefully...haha..somehow! Hosting seems like a natural instinct to me and I feel it shall be a way that I will be able to share with other people my love for them and repay all the kindness that I have recieved through the years. (obviously the holiday experience has had this affect on me haha)

Anyways, where to start? Well, as many of you know, I had been eagerly anticipating the return of my boyfriend Kyle from his 3 month-ish trip to Europe. I was out having dinner and drinks with a friend in downtown SLO after my first round of finals (much deserved may I add haha), when I get a text message from Kyle around 9pm. I didn't see the text right away because I had turned my phone to silent during dinner because it kept going off and I didn't want to be rude. Well, I didn't actually see his text until about 10pm. The text said something like  "What would you say if I told you I wasn't in Europe right now...". I also had 4 or 5 missed calls from him, and I'm thinking "What is that supposed to mean?" Suddenly, I realized that Kyle had text me from his american number (since he's been in Europe, I would get messages or calls from him from an international phone number, so him contacting me through his american number only meant one thing :D). "NICOLE!!! I NEED TO LEAVE RIGHT NOW!!", we paid for our drinks and headed for the cars, before long I was sprinting to my car, and speeded at least 5 miles above the speed limit the entire way home. I pull up my driveway and burst through my doorway and there he was! :D It was a wonderful surprise because he was supposed to arrive two days later,....all I can say is that I have the best boyfriend ever!

So since then it's been great having him home. Right now I am in Spokane, Washington and we have been spending time with his family. I feel like this blog is getting too long, so, I'll update you on Xmas celebrations later. Man, it has been fun though! Also, we're still trying to figure out what we're gonna be doing for new years, so if you have any ideas send me a message!

Merry Christmas!

Oh My Word...

Christmas party + Tequila+ Jenny = never again.

Although it was a very fun night for everyone at the Waterfront Grill, I have to say that I will not be accepting drinking game challenges from my manager ever again. In sum, Jenny lost.

But! It was fun :)  It was awesome to get everyone together like that outside of work. I realize that I have really grown to like my job at the WF grill, mainly because I really like all of the employees. Especially after last night, it feels more like a family than a bunch of coworkers together. There was karaoke, beer pong, lots of food, family, tequila, goldschlager, wine, bailey's....ugh. It would have been complete if Kyle had been there, but its now only a week until he comes back (yay!). In fact, I'll be leaving to pick him up from the airport RIGHT after my last final. And then, ...total freedom!! Yep, that is going to be a really really.. REALLY good day :)

Other than that, I have been studying for finals and I'm happy to say that I don't feel stressed about them. I'm beginning to notice that when it comes to testing for me, I get in my own way sometimes by stressing about tests. It is better for me to just look over the material and take more time taking the actual test. So, hopefully this strategy will continue to work for me for finals.

Speaking of, homework calls.

A Running Start

As Christmas gets closer and closer and as holiday festivities pop up, I realize how much I have accomplished in the past few weeks. While juggling the my average work/school day, I have to say that I'm pretty happy with my overall progress with school and with outside projects. I've somehow been able to finish xmas presents and study for finals :) It's a good feeling. 

It seems that this is the week for all of those Christmas parties, too. And go figure, they're all the week before finals. How appropriate :). The 6th is the Waterfront Grill Xmas Party, the 9th is Charlie's Xmas party, and the 10th is the Cliffsmas Xmas party. I think there may be another next week, but nonetheless, I love Christmas parties just as much as I love Christmas. It's almost like you get to celebrate xmas over and over again...almost ha. 

And after finals, I will finally have some time off, which I'm really looking forward to. 2 full weeks off! I've never taken that much time off, but as I'm getting older and incorporating more and more responsibilities, I'm finding that arranged "vacation time" is important. For instance, it helps keep you sane. I am very much looking forward to having more free time again. I feel like there's a lot I want to do and  a lot I have to look forward to in 2012 and I can't wait to get started :)

Today is a day set up for studying and possibly dinner this evening with good friends. I feel great because rent is finally paid and life is unfolding pretty well. I'm still trying to figure out the next steps to pursue my future goals, but I know that will be easier to figure out  once I get past one or two obstacles that are now presently at hand. One being that I would prefer to sell my car sooner than later. I own a 1999 Volkswagen Beetle that is in good condition. It's treated me well over the years, but I think it has come time for us to part our ways. So if you know anyone that would be interested, I'd love to have a chat with them. 

The upside to finishing the Wise Man's Fear is that I get to read other books that I've been wanting to read/finish reading. I find that once I finish one type of book, I'll switch it up to some other type of reading. Like going from non-fiction to fiction. I have this book on World Religions that I picked up again and it's so fascinating learning about other religions and comparing their similarities and differences. 

This is a week of beginnings and I'm very very excited to start.

Craziness

There's just no other word for it. Seriously, the next few weeks are going to be full of nothing but crazy.

First off, as I have mentioned before, my boyfriend, Kyle, has been adventuring in Europe for the past 2ish months and that alone has been a crazy experience! I've never been in a long distance relationship before and man, I can't help but feel for all those women who have boyfriends/husbands/fiancees/loved ones in the military right now. I tip my hat to them for making it happen. Alls I can say is that it is no stroll in the park, but it has totally been worth it and has made our relationship even stronger. WOO! Go team Kyle and Jenny (I think we deserve gold stars or something, ... a cruise to Hawaii would be nice ha) BUT! It is now no more than 2 weeks away that he'll finally be coming home! I am so happy I can't even begin to describe. By the time we see each other, it will have been one or two weeks shy of 3 full months of being away from each other. Yea. You bet your buns I'm stoked :) 

As most of us know, finals week (uuggghh) is coming up. In fact, Kyle will be arriving right after my last final haha. So in a way, I'm really looking forward to finals week ( I never thought I'd say that, but..I suppose there's a first for everything.) Not only that, but I am looking forward to being done at Cuesta College. I've been there for what seems like a lifetime and it will be nice to start a new chapter. And I have every ambition of acing my finals. So bring it on home-slice!

And who can forget, Christmas. I absolutely love Christmas. This year, it's a little different though. I'll be celebrating with Kyle's family in Spokane, WA. So that means, we'll be celebrating Christmas with my family here in SLO county before we leave.  I'm feeling like I'm hurrying to finish all of the gifts I'm giving and that there are possibly things I am forgetting about but will remember at the last minute. This year, there have been so many wonderful people that have come into my life, so there are even more people that I have been preparing gifts for. I think one of my favorite parts of Christmas is just being able to give to those you care about. It's a nice little opportunity to say, "Hey, thanks for being so awesome!" Who doesn't love that? Since the list is so long, it's been a challenge to keep up with the work that I have set out for myself, but it will be so rewarding when I can finally give you all my gifts :)  Again, "craziness"...seems most fitting.

OH! AND, I finally finished The Wise Man's Fear! I am both happy and sad, but there's a third book coming out sometime so it's not all that bad. But man! I wish I could give it all away but all I have to say is that Patrick Rothfuss is amazing. Between school and work, it's been somewhat of a challenge to find a quiet moment to just read as much as I want to. So this whole semester, all I've wanted to do is curl up with my book and read. I can't believe I already finished it ha, and I'm eagerly awaiting for the next piece of genius Rothfuss will unleash onto the world. 

Also, a word about school, I'm doing better than I thought I was and it has been a pleasant surprise to feel like it's all paying off. I mean, I wasn't worried I wasn't going to pass, but yes, I am one of those people that cannot deal with  a 'C' on my conscience. I'm paying for my education, so I plan on making the best of it.

I am happy to say that I'm  planning on hiking Bishops Peak Friday morning with my sister. FINALLY gonna do that sunrise hike and I'm stoked! AND, tomorrow we're doing a pot luck dinner here at my house which should be a lot of fun. The plan is to head out for bike night afterwards which I haven't been to since July. YAY!

To sum it up, craziness is painted all over my life at the moment, but I'm learning that it isn't always a bad thing ha. It keeps you on your toes and ready for whatever may come.

La vie est belle

You know those days when you wake up in the morning, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, you have all your homework done, all your bills are paid, there's food in the fridge, your room is clean and you know you're day is going to be great just...because!.....and then something you totally couldn't imagine happening comes right around and slaps you in the face?...Yep, this is the day I had a few days ago.

While I was getting ready for school on Thursday morning, one of my roomates knocked on my door. "Do you know that you have a flat tire?"...."WHAT?" Sure enough, haha, he was right. What made it worse was that I had no idea how that had happened (looks really cool in front of your roomate to have no clue how your tire blew, ha..ya), but there was a pile of rubber around the tire, so it looked like it just blew while the car was sitting there. It was the most bazaar thing and it looked like I would be missing class because of it (like any other college kid, I'd jump at any excuse to miss class, but not when its coming to the end of the semester when you're pumping out a bunch of projects that are worth more points than anything else in the semester...those darn teachers, they're so smart).

I figured, no biggie, I have a spare and I'll just have to do it myself this time (my dad is out of town and my brother is in school) and I'd make it to my second class no problem. Luckily, my friend Elaina was home and her boyfriend was coming over. Haha, they were both great sports about helping me, especially because it became more of a problem than simply changing a flat. When we tried to put the tire on, the tire was hitting the top shock/spring. We tried switching around tires on the car to see if that would help, but nope that wasn't the problem. It took us a few hours, between jacking up the car on a hill and figuring out how to make it work. ...Basically, I had already missed two classes and I had a test in my last class that I couldn't miss (that I had wished I had studied more for) so I got a ride to school and took a test I believe I aced..yay!

After scoring a ride to SLO (which was lucky because I was gonna have to take the bus), I sat in Kreuitzberg for a few hours, enjoying a cup of tea, reading, drawing, writing and....laughing about my whole day! I couldn't believe the series of events over the last few weeks. Nowadays, my days are so...routine, which I'm really not used to. In fact, I CANT STAND my days being so predictable. I like leaving some room for life to happen, so-to-speak. So, something like a flat tire just made me laugh all day because it was unpredictable and it was....great! I mean, not great that I got a flat tire, but that is life! It happens whether you approve of it or not, so you might as well enjoy it.  My whole day was different than what I was planning it to be and, in a way, it made me feel somewhat relieved. After a while (this whole semester) of the same thing day in and out, you wonder if that is the purpose of living, and it's easier to lose track of what is most important.

Under the stress of trying to figure out what I was going to do about my car, I was able to find a clear moment of peace and inspiration sitting there in that cafe. And it is this: there is no need to worry about how life will pan out (careers, majors, success, wealth) because it is not totally within our control, it is a beautiful balance of what happens and how we react to what is happening. My old director used to say, "99% of acting is reacting" Sometimes its not about what you do, but about how you react to what is being done. So, I was happy that I was able to laugh about my situation....haha unbelievable.

To sum it up, I called a mechanic, who turned out to be incredibly nice, quick, affordable and Australian! He said that my car (some major part of it that I can't remember) had slid down into the axel and that the reason my tire was hitting the spring was because a few bolts weren't tight enough (after the last person who worked on this area of my car didn't tighten it enough) and over time it had probably been sliding down until eventually it was enough to cause my tire to blow. He said I was really lucky and he had never seen anything like that in his whole life of working on cars. So, something is looking out for me!

I'm not gonna say that the day wasn't stressful, and that I wasn't worried about what was going to happen to my car (because I was!), it was overwhelming and I hope it doesn't happen again anytime soon. But it's nice to get a wake up call every once in a while. Next time, I'll be more prepared to have a better reaction.

I'm gonna go buy paints today (that's right people, the artist is coming back again for all you who remember). Even though this semester has been bumpy, it has been full of lots of inspiration and I'm happy I feel like picking up my art box again. We need outlets for crazy days like that haha.

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain."

Game in the Rain

So the weather has been really bipolar here lately, as I'm sure those who live in SLO know. We've gone from hot, summery, sunshine days to cold, overcast, foggy, rainy days within 24 hours at least a few times by now. It's been slowly becoming colder and colder and last night was surely the COLDEST.

My brother, Troy, played his last senior varsity football game last night....in the raining, freezing, windy weather. If the wind was just a few degrees colder, I'll bet it would have hailed! The plan was to meet at the field at 530 and the game started at 615ish. Well, somehow I got the information wrong and was standing out in the cold for 45 minutes before my family showed up. By the way, it was only sprinkling in San Luis, the game was in Nipomo and it was POURING rain. By the time my family arrived, my shoes were soaking wet and I was losing feeling in my feet.

Since it was the last game for the seniors, its traditional for the family to walk out on the field with the senior while the announcer says a few good words about the player. Ha, it was crazy walking out there, and the football team is HUGE so we were standing out in the middle of muddy football field in the rainy weather. By then my feet felt like blocks of ice. Really.

The game was fantastic! Seriously one of the best games I've seen them play, especially against our biggest rivalry, AG Eagles. Lets just say, my throat kindof hurts this morning from all the cheering and shouting I was doing, but man...I was so proud of Troy! I'm happy I was finally able to make it to his game, it's been a rough semester with two jobs and full time school, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world. And I gotta hand it to the players for being such good sports out there in the rain...it was literally pouring like this \\\\\, on a complete diagonal. We won 12- 0. BOOya! It wasn't until 3 hours later that I finally got feeling back in my feet, to be completely honest I thought I was gonna lose a toe or something if I didn't keep moving my feet around...ha but I didn't want to miss a play. Happy I didn't lose any toes.

On a side note, the semester is quickly coming to an end thankfully. I'm getting though tests, reviews and projects that are on the bottom of my syllabuses which is inspiring....at the bottom, yes! I feel like this semester has been hard, almost too hard but for many reasons other than just being academically challenged. It's weird because it can easily become overwhelming if one thing is thrown off (among all the things that I am juggling). I've never been through such a crazy time and I feel good about coming out at the end of this with flying colors. I just hope its all worth it in the end, but I know that this will be the last semester I have set up like this.... haha never again.

A Great Day!

Man, I don't even know where to start. Well... from the beginning I suppose :)

First off, this morning I was supposed to have a test in History that I was a little stressed about, but I was preparing as much as I could. For some reason, when I take tests I usually end up feeling like I could have studied more or something, so I'm not a big fan of tests. But! My class got CANCELLED!! It definitely made my day, and it was only 9am! Sweet!

I got to read the book I've been wanting to read basically since the semester started. (I love to read, but I love reading the things I want to read so it's been somewhat frustrating because this semester there's just no time to curl up with a GOOD book...and I'm used to reading a few books at once, so I just haven't felt all that stimulated by multiple text books, ...sometimes.... but rarely ha).

The book I'm reading is called The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss, its the second book to The Name of the Wind. If you haven't heard of Patrick Rothfuss or his books, they are most certainly worth looking into. If you like fiction adventure types, or know anyone who does, this is a GREAT book to read and Christmas is coming! I often end up liking books because of the author's style of writing. Rothfuss provides a good mix of clever intellectual humor, climactic story lines, and moves at a good pace. That's one of the problems for me this semester, I don't want to put the book down which only contributes to putting off more homework ha. Not to mention, the main character, Kvothe (sounds like Quwothe) was raised in a traveling "theatre" group (the Edema Ruh) and is constantly referring to it as a basis of character. It really is remarkable because I've never identified so much with a writer because of this reason and its freaking awesome! The overall plot is about Kvothe's story, his adventures at the University while he studies sympathy (a type of "magical" science...but its science so it's not magic..ya) and the whole book is him telling his own story so you don't know how he got to where he is now....just read it..i've already said too much..but clearly im excited about it)

Overall, my day at school today felt productive. I had a presentation in my health class on acupuncture. I felt pretty confident researching this subject mainly because when I went to massage school, my mentor/teacher was an acupuncturist so I wasn't completely dull to the subject.  And I'm pretty comfortable with talking in front of people, it feels like I'm on stage or something...so I had fun.

Then I had a cup of tea with my roomate later and we talked about Chinese Medicine which was a very interesting conversation. I'm excited because he's allowing me to borrow the book about it when he's done reading it. YAY!

I biked to the SLO Farmer's Market and brought my homework. Stopped by Kreuitzberg for a few hours and worked on my homework for a while, until the market started. I bought a bunch of veggies and the farmer hooked me up! Seriously! $4.00 for a huge thing of bok choy, 1lb of green beans, two huge tomatoes, three squash, four zucchini..and I think that's it. I also ended up getting some apples and onion from a different stand, but I only paid like $7.00 for ALL of them....it was sweet!

And now, I just got back, threw on some warm clothes (its freezing here right now! ). I wrote my amazing boyfriend Kyle Gaunt. If you don't already know, I haven't seen Kyle (in person) since September 22nd-ish and I won't see him until about December 15th. I love him so much and I'm happy to say that it's going great!  I cannot WAIT to see him again soon. ...SOON! :)

Right now I'm wrapped up in a blanket my Grandma made for me ( I love it ), listening to Christmas music, gonna read some more and brainstorm Christmas ideas.

This is how I basically feel right now.. :D  Gonna go make a cup o'tea!

The Lighthouse

Can I just say, that even though my lab class is over, I am somewhat sad because it was one of my favorite classes. Plus, the semester at Cuesta is WAY too long and  I would rather of had other classes end first but...I'll deal haha.

The last place we went to was a super old light house up past San Simeon. Not only was the lighthouse cool, but we got to see the type of restoration work they've done there and restore the habitat for all the plants and animals that naturally occupy that area. It was amazing! The entire bluff used to be covered in iceplant (basically a non native weed to our shores) and the whole area  (about 19 acres) has been restored with native plants. It made my heart feel a little fuzzy inside

Not only that, but their beaches are homes to a TON of Elephant Seals which acts as a mating, breeding and resting place for them. I didn't know this but that beach is the most popular place for the Elephant seals to come on land. The more I learn about our coast, the cooler it is. Who knew that our shores were so important to major species of wildlife on our entire coast! ya! Same goes for Morro Bay, it's one of the last estuaries along this coast line for migratory birds to come and feed and rest. I'm not really the kind of person that actively loves and saves animals, but I do think it's important to realize the impact humans have on other forms of life and respect that.

Anyways haha, what was especially cool was there are a ton of hikes right off the 1 that I didn't even know about. And they're only about 45 minutes out from Morro Bay. I think it would definitely be worth it to bring a kayak and a picnic and go out there to hike. There were at least three I saw, and hopefully there will be a chance in the next week to do all of them.

Not to mention, it was the clearest day ever! Seriously, from the lighthouse, we could see about 40 miles down the coast, which is where Cuyucos was. AMAZING!

Today, wine tasting is in order and anyone is welcome to join!

A Word

First off, finally made it to my last day of lab class! Woohoo! Finally starting to feel like this never-ending semester is finally ending. I'm so stoked to have my Fridays back to commence in more activities.

And if you don't already know, my friend Clarissa Spiller is going to be leaving the area to go sing on a ship for Carnival Cruise lines. I'm so stoked for her, but we won't see her for another 7 months :( a bummer but, HAVE FUN CLARISSA!

This Saturday, I'm going to try and get some people together to go wine tasting here in SLO. My sister Cortney and my friend Elaina have never been so, if the weather is nice this may be the time to go. I've never been to Edna Valley or to Latetia, so it could be fun :)

I was hoping to make it out to bike night tonight, but I ended up falling asleep instead haha. I guess that's what happens when you're sleeping schedule is unpredictable because your boyfriend is in Europe. haha. Anyways, this next week should be way better because I'll have more free time that I've had all semester. Woot.

Rutiz Family Farm

Just got back from one of my last environmental lab classes, and I'm stoked because I only have one more class left and I'll have my Friday day's back again. By the way, if you still need your lab credits, TAKE THE ENVIRONMENTAL LAB. You basically go on hikes and field trips all the time and learn about different areas and environmental issues around you. It has to be one of the best classes I've taken because it's so hands on and I feel like I'm really learning about something which is always a plus! Anyways..

Today's trip was to the Rutiz Family Farm and we learned all about his farm which is pesticide free and he uses organic soil. It was just super cool to learn about what this guy is doing to provide food that is good for people and the people surrounding his farm. He was saying that the farm used to be a strawberry farm, and in case you don't know, strawberries are one of the WORST fruits you can buy non-organinc. The amount of pesticides used to grow them is mind boggling! Anyway, the farm is located in Arroyo Grande in the middle of a bunch of homes, and the old strawberry farm was making people who live around the farm sick. I guess it was just eye opening because pesticides are in almost everything we eat and everything about them is just bad.

Jerry, the new pesticide free farmer, has a really great project going on there and I think if more people knew about him they would totally support what he's doing. One of the coolest things he has going is something called a harvest box. Basically, you get a box full of veggies from the farm and some fruit as well (a really big box) for only $15. The amount of food in this box is enough to support me for about an entire month! You can order these boxes online and you pick them up on Fridays when they're open from 1 to 6.

I thought it would be a cool thing to share! He doesn't go to farmers markets anymore, which are also good ways to support the same kinds of things, but if you're interested in a harvest box or more about what Jerry is doing, you can go to www.rutizfarms.com for more info. Cheers!

On Hallow's Eve..

Man! It has been a freaking crazy week haha. It all started with me getting sick, (ya, I know... me?? get sick???)  but I guess that's okay, I mean it only proves that I'm human. If you're not familiar, I'm not used to getting ill and this was a big surprise for me and somewhat of a wake up call that said, "HEY!!! Jenny! Slow down you crazy person!" Then, my car broke down in the middle of the Costco parking lot and thank God  Elaina was home to come get me. (Nobody likes to deal with car issues, they're just...blah). And can I just say, my parents are some of the coolest people ever! Thank you Mom and Dad for helping me get out of pickles!...And to top it off, midterms... enough said.

So! I'm happy to say I have plans for the weekend! I have acquired my Halloween costume for this year (normally I make my costume, but this year I just didn't have the time or the resources....so you can expect next years costume to be especially good). If you see a "little red riding hood" parading around San Luis, chances are it'll be me! Or one of them at least. I'm really looking forward to this weekend after such a draining week (seriously, I hate colds haha). Some close friends and I are going to a Halloween party!! This is the first time in a few years that I've actually had Halloween off and it's one of my favorite holidays... I'm way stoked :) I guess Halloween has always been a favorite because I normally get to show off my costume making skills and all the years of stage make up training. Walking around on Halloween always feels like I'm backstage before a show or something, not to mention free candy! (No matter how old you are, this is still really cool...even if you just have on piece, a free Twix bar always tastes better than one you would buy... just sayin)

As far as Saturday night goes, that is the plan. Halloween falls on a Monday this year, so I'm still trying to plan something for that night, too. Maybe a night hike or something?

Tonight, there's going to be a masquerade party (for Halloween) Mo Tav at 10pm, so if you're downtown you'll probably see me there modeling in the windows :) I've been hired to be a model in one of the windows for the beginning of the party, which will basically be me in a ballgown doing creepy things to intrigue people to come in. I've never done something like this before, but it's a chance to use my acting skills for fun and there is a little money in it too. Should be interesting!

Also, Elaina hasn't received her costume in the mail yet!! Does anyone have any last minute Halloween costume ideas? Lemme know :) Have a great Halloween!