Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Graduate Student

I'm in the second day of the first week of graduate school. I thought I'd feel different. You know when you have a life changing event you somehow expect to feel different? Maybe it's not something you're supposed to feel instantaneously. I certainly didn't feel different for a long time after graduating from CSUCI. I suppose I wanted to feel different about being a graduate student. Alas, I don't.

I had a few different expectations upon starting school again and so far the impact has been minimal. Except for an enormous amount of reading I have to accomplish this week nothing really feels all that different. Again, maybe it takes some time.

I haven't been feeling well today. I'm wearing socks, sweat pants and a hoodie with the air conditioner on. My logic? I'd rather be warm in cold air than warm in warm air. Jeff isn't really buying it though. At least I'm comfortable. He says I should take a nap or just go to bed all together but I hate the idea of not getting any work done and throwing off my sleep schedule.

Hmm, come to think of it, I should have realized that sleeping more than 9 hours last night was a clue that I'm not feeling my best. I should try to make it into bed earlier tonight. I'm sure the 36 page article I'm about to read will help out with that.

On another note, it really sucks when my ADD kicks in while I'm doing required reading.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Our First Party :)

Though Jeff and I have only lived in Bakersfield for two weeks it feels like so much longer. I miss my mom and grandma and was really looking forward to them coming out to visit. They had only seen the apartment in pictures and since we finally got the place cleaned up and put together it was an absolute perfect time to have them come out for a party. We also happened to be celebrating my grandma's 75th birthday!

Homemade Ranch DressingWe put together all of the fixings for tacos, sat around the dining table and talked and ate and enjoyed really yummy food! The highlight of our lunch was the homemade ranch dressing I made this morning. I've never made anything like it before and it turned out absolutely perfect!

It had just enough zing to it without being overpowering. Ranch is something I typically associate with just salads or dipping but this particular recipe has me imagining all the different things I can do with it!

Homemade Ranch Dressing


No preservatives. No high-fructose corn syrup. Creamy, tangy homemade ranch dressing in 5 minutes!


No preservatives. No high-fructose corn syrup. Creamy, tangy homemade ranch dressing in 5 minutes!

Ingredients



  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise

  • 3/4 cup sour cream

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil

  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice

  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup buttermilk

  • 1 small bunch of chives

  • Small handful of parsley

  • 1 clove garlic

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1/4 tsp white pepper

Instructions




  1. Place all ingredients with 1/4 cup of buttermilk in a blender

  2. Blend for 10 seconds. Check consistency and blend in additional buttermilk if desired. Less buttermilk for dipping, more for dressing.

  3. Store in an air-tight jar in the fridge.

Nutritional Information Calories: 102.3 | Fat: 10.7 | Fiber 0 WW Points: 3


Notes


Yields: 16 2-Tbsp servings

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook, 2004

Estimated time: 5 minutes

As you can see from the photo mine came out a bit greener than what is expected. Truth be told a "bunch of chives" and a "small handful of parsley" is fantastically vague. Pretty sure the reason mine came out so green was because I over estimated the amount of chives and parsley required. Regardless, it tastes wonderful and I look forward to making it again in the future!

Tomorrow I will have to tell you about the positively divine cream cheese bundt cake I made!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Oh well.

Got the call yesterday that I didn't get the job. Great.

Honestly, have you ever had a job interview where afterwards you felt the dread of having to actually go to that job? That's how I felt. I want something that is creatively challenging, that will keep me happily surprised every day and will make me feel proud. Creating a filing system just does not fit those criteria.

Something better will come along. :)

Monday, September 12, 2011

Here's What's New With Me

It's been a little over a week since Jeff and I moved into our apartment in Bakersfield and so far life is terrific. While Jeff may be used to having every store available to him from his life in Valencia, it is quite a new experience for me; and they have everything here! There is something like four Targets in Bakersfield. Many Wal Marts. Every store I like to shop at is here, with the exception of Apple/Mac. It is a very pleasant surprise!

Our apartment is very close to completion, though I feel we have more stuff than square footage will allow. So far our big walk-in closet is being used to store all the unpacked boxes that we've yet to get to. We were hoping to have everything done by, well, yesterday, but that hasn't happened. It will happen. It's a bit daunting to unpack your old life and acclimate it to your new life in a new place.

Jeff officially starts his grad program today and I begin the first day of a two week orientation for my grad program. I'll probably start working on that while Jeff is away at school for a few hours. I'm really looking forward to having classes and papers and deadlines and the like. Really I'm just looking forward to having a schedule so that I'm not sitting around the apartment day dreaming about my new life. And one thing to help this scenario would be a job... and speaking of which...

I had a job interview this morning! It was all very last minute; in fact the rep from AppleOne called me 20 minutes before my alarm went off (serves me right for trying to sleep in until 9am) and I got ready in a jiffy to drive out to the interview site. It was for a small farming company here in Bakersfield, one that was founded around 2007. It's probably the first instance where my interviewer was younger than me but I suppose the older I get that is to be expected. I'm guessing he probably thought I was much younger than I am and I'm fine with that. Anyway, the job seems like it could be a great way to flex some organization muscle and really help a smaller company tidy up the administrative side of things. Perhaps in my own naivete I was expecting it to be an office somewhere in a field. (To be fair, this was not uncommon in Lompoc!) It was, in fact, in a very nice building in an industrial part of town in northern Bakersfield about 12 miles away. Things will work out the way they are meant to and if I'm the right girl for the job then I will do everything I can to do the best job possible.

In other news, Jeff's birthday passed by quietly and without much fanfare. I made him dinner (homemade pasta with chicken and salad) and cupcakes (vanilla bean) with homemade frosting (silky vanilla). We were meant to go to Valencia last weekend to have a part at his parent's house but his mom was sick. So, we've rescheduled to possible this Saturday, which means we are going to have a very busy weekend. Valencia with Jeff's parents on Saturday and my parents are coming out here on Sunday where we will be having a party for my grandma's birthday.

Until then there are still many things to do here. And who knows?! Maybe I'll be working soon!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Almost Home Sweet Home

We are on day three of our move to Bakersfield and we've saved the most for last. Today we are renting a trailer and moving all the big stuff - TV, dining table and chairs, recliner, bed - to our new apartment. Jeff and I are both crabby and it seems a little sick from our Mexican food dinner last night. The weather is supposed to be in the triple digits today and Jeff and his dad have to haul all that stuff upstairs. Goodness.

Because of my knees and back I will most likely be organizing inside while they move the furniture. I put plenty of water in the fridge last night so that should be refreshing.
I can't wait for this day to be over.