6 Weeks

I can hardly believe it, but come this Friday, I will have been here in Texas for six weeks. I never thought the time would pass this quickly. However, between finding a job and starting to work most everyday, I've found some things to keep me busy.

Most days I find myself up by 4 am to get to work by 5. Its an all day affair and I eventually make it home mid afternoon. Its been busy at work and tomorrow will be my first day off in two weeks! I really enjoy work and am not quite sure what I'll do with myself tomorrow! I've taken on doing some catering deliveries and find that fun, exciting, and a good addition to my day! I am so thankful to have found a great place to work!

After a full day, I finally make it home to enjoy the fantastic company of my always amazing and wonderful roommate!

As usual I've been cooking almost every night and Brooke is continually being my guinea pig. The other evening was no different. I have never really been one to make soups, but really wanted some the other day. Therefore, I grabbed some ingredients out of the fridge, skimmed over some recipes and managed to create a quite tasty creamy vegetable soup. I've also been bringing the crusts from the bread at work home and making some amazing croutons! They were a simple but super addition to the soup!

Besides cooking and working, I've also been keeping the apartment cleaned. We've managed to get out and go dancing a couple evenings at the big Cowboys Dancehall. Brooke and I are gradually meeting new friends and try to squeeze in some time with them throughout the week as well.

Just across the road from our apartment is a new establishment that is a Hookah and Bubble Tea shop. It has become Brooke and my's new favorite place to go for a quick treat. The bubble tea is fantastic. This is a tea that is originally from Taiwan and gets its name from the bubbles that form at the top after you shake the tea up. There are so many flavors to try, too! Brooke and I have made good friends with the owner and try a new 'smoothie-style' bubble tea every trip. Our favorites have been Avocado and Honeydew, Strawberry and Yogurt, and Caramel Vanilla. If you've never tried bubble tea, I highly recommend it!

Besides all that, I have kept busy these last six weeks and can hardly believe I am heading home soon for a quick trip for my brother's wedding next week! It will be so nice to go home and see everyone! I am so looking forward to it! Until the next time, Take Care!

Eggplant

I love grocery shopping. Anyone who has met me probably already knows that.

My roommate and I go grocery shopping together. On one occasion we decided to buy an eggplant. We just figured we would try out a new recipe and see what we could come up with.

I did just that. I attempted to find a recipe that included ingredients from our refrigerator and cupboards. I couldn't quite find a recipe that matched all of our supplies. So, I just whipped some ingredients together and hoped whatever I came up with would be edible.

Its always exciting when I pull things out of the cupboard, throw them together, and they end up tasting fantastic! It always a fun and delightful surprise. The eggplant casserole ended up tasting very good.

I hope everyone enjoys delicious meals and treats every day. Food is so good and should be always enjoyed!

Movies

I love to watch movies. They take you to a different place. Movies can suck you in and when the movie finishes you can barely remember where you are.

I like all movies. I like comedies, and action films, and dramas and all others. However, it seems lately that every movie that I or my roommate and I choose to watch is a failure. We have been here in Texas for three weeks and I don't think we have watched a single good film.

If anyone has suggestions, we would greatly appreciate them. Brooke and I would love to watch some good films, however, we just can't seem to pick them by ourselves!

Little Children and My Blueberry Nights are just two movie selections that were failures. If anyone likes these movies, I don't mean to offend. However, I wouldn't recommend them for anyone who has not seen them!

I hope others are having more success in movie picks and enjoying the new semester of school or the beginning of a beautiful new season!

Rain

Yesterday I experienced my first Tropical Storm. Not only did I stay in my apartment and watch it, I experienced it first hand out on the road driving.

Hermine showed up out of nowhere if you ask me. We've had three weeks with barely more than ten sprinkles and all of a sudden I wake up and its pouring rain outside. And it doesn't want to stop!

I really didn't think anything of it, its just rain, right? So I headed out to give plasma. The way to plasma was not too bad. However, just as I am finishing up with my last drawing cycles the wind picks up and it looks real wet out. Unfortunately I really didn't think it was going to let up anytime soon, so I dashed out to my car in the rain mess. Twenty feet later and safely in my car, I was soaked!

Back out on the interstate. And now its getting bad out. I am finally understanding why Texans don't like to drive in the rain. The rain here, especially storms, is like snow to us in the north. We were driving about 30 to 40 mph on the interstate. Visibility was about 20 to 30 feet. You'd be driving along and then you were driving through a huge puddle on the road. For some reason the water here has nowhere to go. It can rain for 3 minutes and you'll find yourself hydroplaning already.

Besides the rain and the flooding and the slow speeds, there are actually people driving WITHOUT their LIGHTS ON! I couldn't believe it. Also, there were so many vehicles that had one light out or a brake light that didn't work. It wasn't just one car either; it was one every ten cars that had a problem with their lights. Also, some people would have caution lights on, others weren't staying in their lane...and at this very moment at 7:55 am someone has set off a car alarm in the parking lot. Anyways, these are just a few reasons why I believe Texans are not the best out on the road.

I eventually made it back home safely and stayed in the dry comfort of the apartment for most of the rest of the day. I was able to watch the trees blowing back and forth, the wind splashing loads of water against the windows, the rain flow continually over the ground with nowhere to go, and had the lights flicker on me and the power go out momentarily. I did get some cleaning done as well as other tasks done in the kitchen, so overall it was a productive day.

The next time though that a tropical storm comes through San Antonio, I think I will stay in unless I need to go out! And when I say need, I mean if I have to work! Stay safe and dry!

Welcome To Our Apartment

Welcome!

Brooke and I have definitely found ourselves a pretty comfortable situation here in San Antonio. We may share a room and only have a few pieces of furniture, but we have managed to make our apartment our own! Its as good a home away from home as it could be!