HI Everyone,
So here is a little update on what has been going on in my life for the last little bit.
The semester started and I am enjoying my classes. Here is a little highlight of each:
Experimental Food Science - We get to make a food product and test it in the lab for different nutrients (protein, fat, moisture, ash) and then package it and market it. Its pretty fun so far. My teacher said that one group from two semesters ago got approached by a large company to buy their idea and they are gonna "make millions" (my teacher says). So my group is making "Veggie Nuggets" for kids. They will be like a veggie patty (but with more veggies and less filler) but in nugget shape so kids will like them. Hopefully it will work out! I wanna make millions :-)
Advanced Nutrition - Lots of fun, this is the stuff I like. We took our first test and I got 96%. The lab component is pretty fun too. We do lots of case studies and run tests on our own blood. Its neat!
Nutrition Through The Lifespan - Really interesting. We are talking about nutrition through pregnancy...which should hopefully come in handy some day in the not so distant future (no, not making an announcement, just wishful thinking)
African American Music - really interesting, however I am much more of a science girl than a humanities girl - so I am taking this as credit/no credit.
I have been really busy with all of my classes and then my club. We had someone from food network contact us to set up a challenge for this show called "Chefs Vs City" and so I worked pretty hard to get the producer all the information he needed. I helped him design a challenge for the show...but I haven't heard back from him in about 6 weeks. So I have kind of kissed that idea good bye, but there is always a possibility that that can happen.
Other than that, I have been training for the Rock n Roll Marathon (and the La Jolla Half Marathon) with my friend Tracy. It has been a lot of fun. We got up to 10 miles the other day (without stopping) and I was so excited because it was the longest I have gone before. It was neat too, because we went on a Saturday, when there was a race going on (we were just about 10 minutes ahead of the pack) so there were aid stations and people cheering us on the whole time. We even crashed the little festival after our run (and got all the free stuff!) I think all of my running has inspired Jeff to join in too. He went running on one of my 5 mile runs last weekend, which was the longest he has been before, and I think he got hooked from it! Today he was talking about bringing stuff to go run on his lunch hour :-)
So, speaking of Jeff...He has been doing well. The band is getting hot again. They replaced the drummer and bassist with two new people, so Jeff has been practicing like crazy with the band to get everyone up to speed. They played their first show together at The Casbah last weekend, and it was AWESOME! Their drummer is this awesome chick named Darla, and she stands up and plays the drum machine and a real drum. It is neat to watch her do her thing. Hopefully next time they play, I will take some video or pictures so you can see them in action.
In the little spare time we have, we are enjoying our time together. Right now, I am obsessed with Lost and the musical The Wild Party. Speaking of Lost - if any of you who watch Lost would like to read an amazing column about each week's show, check this out:
http://www.ew.com/ew/package/roundup/0,,20313460_20345242,00.html
It is entertainment weekly's Doc Jensen's Lost Recap. He always gives insight and adds things that you never noticed or connected together before. It is great! I highly recommend reading it each week.
Well, that's about it. I will post more later (maybe :-)
I hope you all are doing well, and I'll talk to you later!
-Amanda
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Welcome to my private blog!
Jeff has been wanting me to go private for a while...so I decided to seize the day and so it. I would always kind of hold back on my posts, because it was public (maybe that is why there were so few of them). Hopefully now, since I can talk more openly about what is going on in our lives and hopefully this way, I can give everyone more updates!
Love,
Amanda
Love,
Amanda
Private
Hey Everyone,
I am taking my blog to private land.
E-mail me or facebook me your e-mail address so I can you to my list of friends.
Love,
Amanda
I am taking my blog to private land.
E-mail me or facebook me your e-mail address so I can you to my list of friends.
Love,
Amanda
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger - AKA. Goodbye 2009
I am not sad to say "goodbye" to 2009. Although I have been very blessed in many ways this year (good grades, have my old job back, Jeff and I are truckin' along, etc.) I have also had a really rough time emotionally. A lot of it I didn't really talk about (which is why I made this blog private - so I can fill you all in), but I feel like the things that emotionally or physically got me down this year will be inspiration for me to do great next year.
I had a lot of problems with school this year. Granted, my grades were great (4.0 this semester), but there was a lot of stress surrounding registering for class and taking the classes I need to take. Because of the California budget cuts, less classes were/are offered, and for some reason that is out of my hands (that I personally think is a conspiracy) I have a very late registration date. Those two things prevented me from taking classes that I needed to take which were pre-requisite classes, and because I had already planned on taking them at certain times (and assuming that I would be able to register for my needed classes) I was told by my employer (Dr. B) that I wouldn't be able to continue working there. So - last semester, I was taking classes that I didn't really want to take, that weren't pre-requisites for anything, and didn't really challenge me at all...And I was unemployed. Eventually I became self-employed and worked as a lifestyle educator (which was cool) for a couple CRAZY and weird doctors (which was not very cool). It was a very negative time in my life - sure I was making good money, but I wasn't happy. I was happy whenever I would help out at my old work (at Dr. B's office). When he finally found out that I was working for another doctor, he asked me to come back and work for him (which is where I have been since mid November). It has been nice being back at Dr. B's office, and I have been doing more and more lifestyle education through his office, and less front office work, which I like. I feel like now, communication is more open about my needs and my plans for school. I don't really deal with change or the unknown. This was a very rough time for me.
Another thing that was really tough on me this year was the passing of one of my best friends, Rebecca. She passed away in September after loosing a battle with addiction. We had been friends since we were 8, and did a lot of theater together. In high school, me her and my friend Chris were the three amigos and always hanging out and having adventures together. After high school, we still hung out a lot. She did the show that Jeff and I met in and befriended Jeff when I was too chicken to talk to him. She was the one who brought us together and Jeff and I hung out with her a whole bunch over the last 5 years. She dated one of Jeff's best friends at the time, Jessie. She was someone who I could talk to for hours and hours and just laugh and have a good time. A little bit before Jeff and I got married, our lives went different directions. She started taking prescription pain medications recreationally and was hanging out with a bad crowd (which is the reason why she was MIA at our wedding). That progressed to the point of being admitted into rehab. When she got out, Jeff and I were there for her. Then her phone got turned off and we lost contact again. Just a couple weeks before she passed away, she was back living in a sober group home, trying to get better. Two weeks before she passed away, she and her mom ran into my mom at church. My mom gave her my phone number and Rebecca called me a couple nights later. We talked for almost two hours and made plans to watch the piles of videos we had from the years of doing theatre together. She also was going to accompany me to Jeff's show that Friday night. Things got busy that week, and I didn't get a chance to call her until Friday morning. She said she was tired and wasn't in a good mood, so she didn't want to go to the show, but she said she would probably change her mind later and asked that I call her later before I left for the show. I didn't. The next day, I got a call from her mom telling me that Rebecca had died. It was without a doubt the most heartbreaking news I had ever heard. I had dealt with my great grandma and grandfather dying before - both of whom i was very close with. But this was a completely different experience. It was tramatic and shocking. This was someone that I shared SO many intimate moments with and someone who knew things about me (and vice versa) that no one ever would know. There are millions of memories I have with her, and I think about her every day, and I cry about losing her almost every day. For the last couple months, I have been going through the grieving process. In late September was her memorial service and November (on her birthday) was when I met with her family and my friend Chris to spread her ashes. Both of those events were very interesting... I could probably write a book about both of those events (maybe I will...)
Rebecca and me at a Softlightes show in 2006
Chris, Mike (our director), me and Rebecca in 2002 - "Graduating" from Junior Theatre's Confetti
Me and Rebecca backstage Junior Theatre in 2000.
Through dealing with this, I have renewed my friendship with Chris, (the other member of the trio). I have also been trying harder to keep my friendships with other people alive. Losing someone close to you really makes you realize how special the relationships in your life are. I sometimes get so involved in my own little world that I don't spend time with my friends or family...not even a call to say "hey how's it going..." I really am going to change that this year. 2010 is going to be my year where I renew and keep alive my friendships. I also am going to make an effort to go out and visit my brother in Louisiana and talk to him more. I can talk to him for hours and hours. He is really the only other person on earth who gets me and gets my sense of humor (he has seen the same movies as me, grew up with the same parents and have the same inside jokes). Now that he is in the military, I don't see or talk to him nearly as much as I did before. It is sad. I miss him.
I really feel like 2010 is going to be a good year. I am going to graduate next fall, and hopefully we will buy a place between now and then. I am going to be doing more "PLC" at my work (aka. lifestyle education) and will be able to work more hours on the weekend/early morning to bring in more money. Hopefully I will be able to do a show this year (I am trying out for three early this year - but unfortunately, because of everything going on in my life right now, I won't do the show unless I get a good part). I will definitely let you all know by February if I am doing any shows. I have been practicing a lot lately, and am getting my vocal cords in good condition again.
Here is a list of some things I would like to do in 2010 (and I won't call them resolutions, because if I do - then I will break them):
I had a lot of problems with school this year. Granted, my grades were great (4.0 this semester), but there was a lot of stress surrounding registering for class and taking the classes I need to take. Because of the California budget cuts, less classes were/are offered, and for some reason that is out of my hands (that I personally think is a conspiracy) I have a very late registration date. Those two things prevented me from taking classes that I needed to take which were pre-requisite classes, and because I had already planned on taking them at certain times (and assuming that I would be able to register for my needed classes) I was told by my employer (Dr. B) that I wouldn't be able to continue working there. So - last semester, I was taking classes that I didn't really want to take, that weren't pre-requisites for anything, and didn't really challenge me at all...And I was unemployed. Eventually I became self-employed and worked as a lifestyle educator (which was cool) for a couple CRAZY and weird doctors (which was not very cool). It was a very negative time in my life - sure I was making good money, but I wasn't happy. I was happy whenever I would help out at my old work (at Dr. B's office). When he finally found out that I was working for another doctor, he asked me to come back and work for him (which is where I have been since mid November). It has been nice being back at Dr. B's office, and I have been doing more and more lifestyle education through his office, and less front office work, which I like. I feel like now, communication is more open about my needs and my plans for school. I don't really deal with change or the unknown. This was a very rough time for me.
Another thing that was really tough on me this year was the passing of one of my best friends, Rebecca. She passed away in September after loosing a battle with addiction. We had been friends since we were 8, and did a lot of theater together. In high school, me her and my friend Chris were the three amigos and always hanging out and having adventures together. After high school, we still hung out a lot. She did the show that Jeff and I met in and befriended Jeff when I was too chicken to talk to him. She was the one who brought us together and Jeff and I hung out with her a whole bunch over the last 5 years. She dated one of Jeff's best friends at the time, Jessie. She was someone who I could talk to for hours and hours and just laugh and have a good time. A little bit before Jeff and I got married, our lives went different directions. She started taking prescription pain medications recreationally and was hanging out with a bad crowd (which is the reason why she was MIA at our wedding). That progressed to the point of being admitted into rehab. When she got out, Jeff and I were there for her. Then her phone got turned off and we lost contact again. Just a couple weeks before she passed away, she was back living in a sober group home, trying to get better. Two weeks before she passed away, she and her mom ran into my mom at church. My mom gave her my phone number and Rebecca called me a couple nights later. We talked for almost two hours and made plans to watch the piles of videos we had from the years of doing theatre together. She also was going to accompany me to Jeff's show that Friday night. Things got busy that week, and I didn't get a chance to call her until Friday morning. She said she was tired and wasn't in a good mood, so she didn't want to go to the show, but she said she would probably change her mind later and asked that I call her later before I left for the show. I didn't. The next day, I got a call from her mom telling me that Rebecca had died. It was without a doubt the most heartbreaking news I had ever heard. I had dealt with my great grandma and grandfather dying before - both of whom i was very close with. But this was a completely different experience. It was tramatic and shocking. This was someone that I shared SO many intimate moments with and someone who knew things about me (and vice versa) that no one ever would know. There are millions of memories I have with her, and I think about her every day, and I cry about losing her almost every day. For the last couple months, I have been going through the grieving process. In late September was her memorial service and November (on her birthday) was when I met with her family and my friend Chris to spread her ashes. Both of those events were very interesting... I could probably write a book about both of those events (maybe I will...)
Rebecca and me at a Softlightes show in 2006
Chris, Mike (our director), me and Rebecca in 2002 - "Graduating" from Junior Theatre's Confetti
Me and Rebecca backstage Junior Theatre in 2000.Through dealing with this, I have renewed my friendship with Chris, (the other member of the trio). I have also been trying harder to keep my friendships with other people alive. Losing someone close to you really makes you realize how special the relationships in your life are. I sometimes get so involved in my own little world that I don't spend time with my friends or family...not even a call to say "hey how's it going..." I really am going to change that this year. 2010 is going to be my year where I renew and keep alive my friendships. I also am going to make an effort to go out and visit my brother in Louisiana and talk to him more. I can talk to him for hours and hours. He is really the only other person on earth who gets me and gets my sense of humor (he has seen the same movies as me, grew up with the same parents and have the same inside jokes). Now that he is in the military, I don't see or talk to him nearly as much as I did before. It is sad. I miss him.
I really feel like 2010 is going to be a good year. I am going to graduate next fall, and hopefully we will buy a place between now and then. I am going to be doing more "PLC" at my work (aka. lifestyle education) and will be able to work more hours on the weekend/early morning to bring in more money. Hopefully I will be able to do a show this year (I am trying out for three early this year - but unfortunately, because of everything going on in my life right now, I won't do the show unless I get a good part). I will definitely let you all know by February if I am doing any shows. I have been practicing a lot lately, and am getting my vocal cords in good condition again.
Here is a list of some things I would like to do in 2010 (and I won't call them resolutions, because if I do - then I will break them):
- Visit my brother and his wife in Louisiana
- Spend more time with my mom, dad and grandma
- Be a really great wife and a good daughter and a best friend
- Apply for some scholarships through school
- Run a marathon
- Buy a house
- Graduate college
- Go to Disneyland a couple times
- Go on a trip outside of the U.S.
- Do a musical
- Take more pictures
- Spend more money on clothes
Here's to 2010!!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Culinary and Food Science Club
Did I ever mention on here that I started a club on campus this semester? It has been so much fun, I just thought that I would share it with everyone.
It is called the Culinary and Food Science Club, and we tour food production facilities, farms, and restaurants. We have different "food of the month" items and provide different recipes for each item. At every meeting, we play a food related game. The first meeting, we had a bunch of unlabeled bags of spices, and in teams of three, members had to guess which spice was what. At the last meeting, someone made Baba Ganoush and the members tasted it and guessed what ingredients were inside.
It is a lot of fun. Just recently, we toured the campus bakery and food production facility. They had little games and activities for us at each place. At the food production facility, we had to try to recreate a pasta salad by taste alone (my team won :-) The bakery had us decorate cakes. It was so much fun! Here are some pictures:
The Chef, Carly, Me, Rachael, Audrey, The Manager, Another Chef
Creating "mayo delight"
Our small group
Audrey and My cake
At the bakery
We also went to tour a cheese factory earlier in the semester, here are some pics:
Annie, Me, Cara
It was like "how it's made..."but live! This is the final rinsing of the fresh mozzarella logs. The best part of the tour was immediately after this, when we got to have samples!
The group at The Burger Lounge tour
Mandy, Natalie, Leslie, Salina, Cara, Me, Vanessa, Rachael and Carly
It is called the Culinary and Food Science Club, and we tour food production facilities, farms, and restaurants. We have different "food of the month" items and provide different recipes for each item. At every meeting, we play a food related game. The first meeting, we had a bunch of unlabeled bags of spices, and in teams of three, members had to guess which spice was what. At the last meeting, someone made Baba Ganoush and the members tasted it and guessed what ingredients were inside.
It is a lot of fun. Just recently, we toured the campus bakery and food production facility. They had little games and activities for us at each place. At the food production facility, we had to try to recreate a pasta salad by taste alone (my team won :-) The bakery had us decorate cakes. It was so much fun! Here are some pictures:
The Chef, Carly, Me, Rachael, Audrey, The Manager, Another Chef
Creating "mayo delight"
Our small group
Audrey and My cake
At the bakeryWe also went to tour a cheese factory earlier in the semester, here are some pics:
Annie, Me, Cara
It was like "how it's made..."but live! This is the final rinsing of the fresh mozzarella logs. The best part of the tour was immediately after this, when we got to have samples!
The group at The Burger Lounge tourMandy, Natalie, Leslie, Salina, Cara, Me, Vanessa, Rachael and Carly
Here is a link to our website: http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~cfsc/index.php
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Halloween Post
Hi Everyone,
I know it has been forever since I blogged. September was a rough month, and then October and November have just been busy busy busy! I am working back at Dr. Bressler's office after a brief stint at two other practices. It feels good, and I feel like I am becoming myself again. Jeff is still trekkin' along. I keep trying to convince him that we should record a Christmas song, but so far it is a no go :(
I have a couple pictures from our Halloween night. I was really sick, and so we didn't really do anything. We ended up watching Beavis and Butthead DVDs and carving pumpkins and going to get pizza at Mazara's, the Italian restaurant down the street (it was really good!) When we got back from that, we roasted the pumpkin seeds and watched Defiance with James Bond.
It wad a nice quiet evening. I bought some Reeses in hopes that we wouldn't get any trick or treaters and Jeff and I would have to polish the bag off, but we ended up getting a large family who whiped us out! Below are pictures from our pumpkin carving.
We leave for Utah for Thanksgiving next Friday, a week from tomorrow. We are both pretty excited. The night before we leave, my mom and I are going to dork out and go to the Twilight/New Moon double feature at 9pm an midnight. Should be a lot of fun!
Me Carving my Pumpkin
Me and Jeff
Jeff's Pumpkin - Jack Skellington - The Pumpkin King
My pumpkkin - Started out as Paul Stanley from Kiss, but then I messed up so it became shapes.
I know it has been forever since I blogged. September was a rough month, and then October and November have just been busy busy busy! I am working back at Dr. Bressler's office after a brief stint at two other practices. It feels good, and I feel like I am becoming myself again. Jeff is still trekkin' along. I keep trying to convince him that we should record a Christmas song, but so far it is a no go :(
I have a couple pictures from our Halloween night. I was really sick, and so we didn't really do anything. We ended up watching Beavis and Butthead DVDs and carving pumpkins and going to get pizza at Mazara's, the Italian restaurant down the street (it was really good!) When we got back from that, we roasted the pumpkin seeds and watched Defiance with James Bond.
It wad a nice quiet evening. I bought some Reeses in hopes that we wouldn't get any trick or treaters and Jeff and I would have to polish the bag off, but we ended up getting a large family who whiped us out! Below are pictures from our pumpkin carving.
We leave for Utah for Thanksgiving next Friday, a week from tomorrow. We are both pretty excited. The night before we leave, my mom and I are going to dork out and go to the Twilight/New Moon double feature at 9pm an midnight. Should be a lot of fun!
Me Carving my Pumpkin
Me and Jeff
Jeff's Pumpkin - Jack Skellington - The Pumpkin KingMy pumpkkin - Started out as Paul Stanley from Kiss, but then I messed up so it became shapes.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Trip to South Dakota (whip-crack-a-way, whip-crack-a-way, whip-crack-a-way!)
Jeff and I went to visit the Deals in South Dakota last weekend. We had so much fun, it was really hard to leave! I like to call this the "Spa Getaway in the Black Hills" trip, because Sarah spoiled us rotten! Jeff and I scored haircuts, pedicures, hair coloring and multiple tanning sessions. We definitely came home from vacation well rested and beautified!
Since this was my first trip to South Dakota, I wanted to make sure we snuck in a couple touristy things while we were up there. We got to spend a lot of time at Wall Drug, playing around and taking pictures:
The jackalope, my childhood obsession...
At the waterbench...
T-Rex
We spent a lot of time at Sarah's salon, The Polished Pinky. I tell ya, if she had the same salon, but in San Diego, I would go to it...It felt so nice and home-y.
Harper getting her nails done:
We also drove through the Badlands and ate Indian Tacos...
However, the climax of the trip came Saturday evening, when we celebrated Jeff and Sarah's 31st birthday. They haven't been together on their birthday for about 13 years, so Craig and I wanted to make it special. A week or so before our trip, he e-mailed me and said that he ordered a banner and a cake - he wanted to make this the cheesiest birthday ever. So I decided that noting is cheesier than shirts with pictures on them, so I make a couple for us to wear:
Jeff and Sarah's shirts say "Together since the womb" with a baby picture of them on it, and mine and Craig's say "Look who's 31 today!" with silly pictures of Jeff and Sarah on them. They turned out excellent...
On Sunday, we played tourist and went to Mount Rushmore. I am usually very disappointed when I finally get to see national landmarks. They always seem so much smaller than expected. However, I thought that Mount Rushmore was VERY cool! I really liked it. I was very impressed.
That evening, we went to Deadwood, played a couple penny slots and ate at Kevin Costner's restaurant. It was really neat being in Deadwood...One of my favorite movies growing up was "Calamity Jane" staring Doris Day, which is set in Deadwood. Infact, this picture was taken outside of the saloon that Wild Bill Hickok got killed at.
I actually have come to realize that I can sing a musical song about almost anything. When we were in Iowa visiting Jon and Anne Marie, I kept singing "De Butte, Des Moines, Davenport, Marshall Town, Mason City, Keokook, Ames, CLEARLAKE! Got to give Iowa, a try!" ... And now in South Dakota, I can't stop singing "Take me back to the black hills...the black hills of Dakota." (nerd alert!)
Anyway, it was a really good trip, wish we could go and travel to see family more!
Since this was my first trip to South Dakota, I wanted to make sure we snuck in a couple touristy things while we were up there. We got to spend a lot of time at Wall Drug, playing around and taking pictures:
The jackalope, my childhood obsession...
At the waterbench...
T-Rex
We spent a lot of time at Sarah's salon, The Polished Pinky. I tell ya, if she had the same salon, but in San Diego, I would go to it...It felt so nice and home-y.
Harper getting her nails done:
We also drove through the Badlands and ate Indian Tacos...
However, the climax of the trip came Saturday evening, when we celebrated Jeff and Sarah's 31st birthday. They haven't been together on their birthday for about 13 years, so Craig and I wanted to make it special. A week or so before our trip, he e-mailed me and said that he ordered a banner and a cake - he wanted to make this the cheesiest birthday ever. So I decided that noting is cheesier than shirts with pictures on them, so I make a couple for us to wear:
Jeff and Sarah's shirts say "Together since the womb" with a baby picture of them on it, and mine and Craig's say "Look who's 31 today!" with silly pictures of Jeff and Sarah on them. They turned out excellent...
On Sunday, we played tourist and went to Mount Rushmore. I am usually very disappointed when I finally get to see national landmarks. They always seem so much smaller than expected. However, I thought that Mount Rushmore was VERY cool! I really liked it. I was very impressed.
That evening, we went to Deadwood, played a couple penny slots and ate at Kevin Costner's restaurant. It was really neat being in Deadwood...One of my favorite movies growing up was "Calamity Jane" staring Doris Day, which is set in Deadwood. Infact, this picture was taken outside of the saloon that Wild Bill Hickok got killed at.
I actually have come to realize that I can sing a musical song about almost anything. When we were in Iowa visiting Jon and Anne Marie, I kept singing "De Butte, Des Moines, Davenport, Marshall Town, Mason City, Keokook, Ames, CLEARLAKE! Got to give Iowa, a try!" ... And now in South Dakota, I can't stop singing "Take me back to the black hills...the black hills of Dakota." (nerd alert!)
Anyway, it was a really good trip, wish we could go and travel to see family more!
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