road trip 2011: 3 putes, 4 stars

Once upon a time, two girls thought it would be a really great idea to take a cross-country road trip. Seven days, an H&M bag full of snacks, & a borrowed SUV.

They saw the Meteor Crater, the world's best preserved meteorite impact site.

They visited Dorothy's house in the heart of Liberal, Kansas.

They saw the Arch in Saint Louis, & sat in a creepy capsule of an elevator to get to the top.

They went to Chicago to meet up with the third member of their elite posse. While in Chicago, they ate & ate & ate. Their recommendations include Frontera Grill, The Purple Pig, & Quartino (ask for Scott, the best waiter in all the land & my boyfriend's doppelganger).

They drove 19 miles out of their way to visit Punxsutawney Phil, who lives in a tiny rodent habitat attached to the public library.

And finally, they parted ways to attend to their responsibilities at work.

I am at camp. The kids don't get here until Saturday so for the past eight days I have been filing, cleaning, socializing, stocking shelves, Ace wrapping elbows & knees & ankles, & tending to other miscellaneous injuries. The food is good, though I'm not impressed by the desserts (shocker). It is beautiful here, but it's been raining for the past two days. In my free time, I'm doing a lot of yoga & a lot of reading.

yum and yuck

Last weekend, Russell J & I took a mini vacation to Arizona wine country. We toured Alcantara Vineyards. After that, we made our way into the adorable town of Cottonwood, where we did a wine tasting at Arizona Stronghold. We grabbed a bite to eat, did a chocolate & wine tasting at the Pillsbury Wine Company Tasting Room, and then, we did the best thing that we did all weekend.

We did a cheese tasting.

There a few things I enjoy more than fine cheeses. If you also have a love for cheese, please please puh-lease go to Cottonwood and visit Bonne Lait. You could even bring back some cheese for me. I swear I'll help you eat it.

Unfortunately, I was pretty excited about delicious food & drink, so I didn't take any pictures. Oops.

We stayed at the Jerome Grand Hotel, which has been called one of the most active haunted locations in the world. Um. I do not like ghosts. I do not like thinking about ghosts. I do not even like watching Ghost Hunters during the daytime. Needless to say, I was not excited about our lodging for the evening. This is a picture of me in the elevator, which is supposed to be haunted by the ghost of an orderly who died by being crushed by the elevator back when the hotel was a hospital. Um, no thanks. Get me out of here, please.

I am leaving for camp bright & early on Wednesday morning & evening though this man makes my stay at a haunted house every time he takes me on vacation, I am really going to miss him for the next eight weeks. I mean, what other sous chef poses with my chickens?

veggies: 6/2/11

- yellow & petit pan squashes

- leeks

- green onion

- swiss chard

- carrots

- little yellow potatoes

- sweet onions

Mexican food tonight! We're eating pozole at home & then hitting up a paleteria for dessert. Yum!

home, on a happier note

I am a really lucky girl.

I'm lucky that I have a handful of women who love me and who I call "mom". I'm lucky that the same friends I had when I was eleven years old are some of my dearest friends today. I'm lucky that I have a job that allows me to fly home for graduations. I'm even luckier that I have the financial stability to be able to give a graduation gift to one of my favorite people. I'm lucky that I come from a close family. I'm lucky that my hometown was safe and supportive. I'm lucky that everyone in my life has always pushed me to succeed. I am lucky that I have a group of friends who are always prepared to rally around whichever one of us needs support.

I am lucky to know that blood is thicker than water, but love is thicker than blood. And cliche as that may be, I love that I have been surrounded by amazing people and have been able to choose such a beautiful family.

the hat

I have a much happier blog post in me somewhere. But today, I stumbled across a song that hits too close to home.

Going Home with a capital H becomes more & more strange. Going Home to support your best friend's family three months after her death is exhausting. Seeing your parents as people instead of parents is exhausting. Being twenty-three and on the verge of making a decision that will direct the rest of your life's paths is exhausting.

Going Home always makes me want to shrink back into my fifteen-sixteen-seventeen-year-old self, when I had all the confidence in the world & not a single doubt. I crave the love and the stability of hugs from friends I've had for over a decade.

Being twenty-three means that when I go to visit my best friend's grave, an adolescent with a too-short haircut will be watering her with a garden hose, because the grass hasn't quite grown in yet, and what was supposed to be a profound experience makes me laugh & makes my stomach turn at the same time. Close friends tell stories about her fierce love for me and I am so happy/sad that I don't know what to do next.

A post with us putting on our brave, happy faces for graduation is on its way soon. Today, I feel more like this song, bittersweet & honest.

veggies: 5/19/11

- red potatoes!

- a big, fat onion. Are you a sweet onion? We're not sure yet.

- swiss chard

- BEEEEETS! :)

- carrots

- green onions

- green garlic

all i want

...is a kebab. Or a kebap.

I would just about hop a transatlantic flight right now just so I could munch on a sandwich with a side of frites & an Orangina. Royal Kebab. Mister Kebap. Chicken kebab. Regular kebab. I don't care. I would like un kebab avec sauce blanche et un Orangina.

This is the voice of a woman who has been fighting a serious kebab craving for almost three years.

Help!