Spring Cleaning Extended.

I'm ready to purge more of my 'stuff.' Yes, I have 'stuff.' At age 23, I have way too much. Parts of me were lazy after coming home from college each year with another bin of random stuff I didn't really need, other parts don't want to give up anything containing memories. But thus, I'm doing the purging process once again, and gosh the feeling afterwards of seeing empty bins and clean space is so worth the time and effort.

I confuse having emotions and memories with physical things. Yes, I know this is common, or so I think, but it's obnoxious. I can't possible keep every little thing that has sentimental value. And most memories are tied to the thoughts that go with something, not that actually object. So thus, once again the purging needs to happen.

After I've already taken a handful of trips to Saver's and Goodwill for both my stuff, my brother's, and some family stuff, I'm sure after this clean sweep, I will have yet another trunkful of goodies. One mans junk is another persons treasure - or insert here whatever that saying is.

Also, have I mentioned how much I do really enjoy uniforms? Especially for work. When I'm not in uniform I take great care in what I do wear and usually only wear clothing I really like. And this is where all those crazy outfits depart me, as I no longer need to have endless outfits. Instead, I can finally focus on quality over quantity.

Life is good. Let the cleaning continue.
01 02 18

Apple Pie for Two.

Despite today being June 25th, and summer being in full swing, my thoughts always go to September. I love Autumn SO much. Thus, apple pie needed to happen. Not to mention, the house smelled amazing.

This recipe is SUPER easy. And the best part is you don't need to make a whole pie to get dessert. You can do any number of these personal apple pies. Plus, I feel they are WAY healthier than regular pie because you use so little crust, and next time I think I might not use any crust because the warm, cinnamon apples are what I really want anyway.

The original link I found from Pinterest (how did I live before this again?), yet the recipe/blog links to the original recipe she went off of as well. Funny how we are just a continuous loop of bloggers over the same Pinterest recipes, meh. Still all delicious. (Original link)



2 Medium Apples - I used Granny Smith

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/8 cup sugar

1/2 tbsp brown sugar

Lemon Juice (enough to coat apples)

Egg Wash (one egg)

Pie Crust - I used Pillsbury premade because we had it in our fridge already, however, if I had the ingredients I would definitely choose homemade!

Utensils needed that you may or may not have: Melon Baller, Pizza Cuter, Pastry Brush

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Set out a bread loaf size pan (or size that will fit all your apples - could also use cupcake pan if making a lot!)
2. Wash apples. Cut off about a 1/4 inch from the top of the apple.

3. Carefully use melon baller to carve out the apple (discard very inner center core), be sure not to puncture the outside apple! Save the edible insides as this is your pie filling!

4. Toss apple pieces with lemon juice in mixing bowl.

5. Add dry ingredients to apples and toss gently.

6. Spoon apple mixture into hollowed-apples.

7. Use pizza cuter to cut pie crust into about 1/4 inch strips on your cutting board.

8. On the cutting board weave a portion of the pie crust into about a 4 x 4 square overlapping every other strip.

9. Take a spatula and lift the pie crust from the cutting board over apples!

10. Fill the bottom of baking pan with a thin layer of water (just enough to cover the bottom)

11. Cover pan with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes.

12. Take pan out of oven and remove foil. Use a pastry brush to brush on egg wash, then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon to add a bit of extra crunch and spice! Put pan back into oven (leave any extra water in the pan still) and bake for another 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and crunchy.

13. YUM! Your apples are done! Enjoy the ENTIRE apple!



01 02 18

June Escape: San Antonio

Yet another adventure. I must say I'm enjoying life SO much these days. I have never been more relaxed, nor more healthy, and I am so thankful for all that I have going for me. (Side note: I was starting to be pessimistic about working ALL day on Father's Day, that's right 5:15am to 9:30pm after they extended my trip. But, I recovered quickly and told myself you know what be thankful you have a job, be happy you can do the job, and be glad I will be home with a roof over my head and a full fridge later tonight. And that I was able to see my papa on Father's day and give him his awesome cardinal feeder and seeds. And from then on, I've been more of a happy camper than ever.)

This brings me to my June Escape: San Antonio, specifically Sea World.

Now I hadn't even realized there was a Sea World in San Antonio until looking up the locations, and I do want to eventually explore the Orlando and San Diego locations, but for now, San Antonio was in the same time zone, relatively open flights, and just someplace different to go. Who says, "let's go to San Antonio!" I don't always want to go where everyone goes (and those flights tend to fill up anyway) so to go to Southern Texas the beginning of June might seem odd, but it was quite alright by me.

San Antonio



I have never rented a car before. After trying to figure out which company had the lowest young driver fee (25 is the lucky number for no fees - looking forward to that!), Advantage pulled through, only $15 added on! I was not even nervous to drive, maybe because we had this tiny little beast. A Nissan Versa, quite snazzy. And in powder blue, talk about class. The most anxiety I felt: booking this car and the hotel while waiting in the gate area on the plane after we got our seats.



This isn't the greatest picture, unfortunately my phone and nighttime don't get along. BUT the San Antonio River Walk is AH-MAZING. I felt as if it was a hidden place, because from the above streets on a Monday night there was no one around, abandoned buildings down the streets we walked, and relatively few people. Yet, walking down two sets of steps led to this secret, very thriving, full of life place. Next time (and there will be a next time) I plan on catching the boat tour that runs along this river and perusing the shops a bit more.

Our dinner spot! I wasn't that hungry but cheese dip and guacamole sounded yummy. This whopping portion was enough for way more than just me. Unfortunately, cheese dip didn't live up to Mariachi Loco's (I have high standards, peeps) BUT it was still yummy probably most credit given to the atmosphere. Next time, remind me to bring dresses, as the River Walk had a somewhat classy vibe and with 97 degree weather and humidity, jeans and a cardigan, so not coming with.

The Alamo! Sadly, neither me nor Jacqui (who I went with!) know anything about The Alamo. I would definitely want to take a tour of this next time. The only thing I can recall about The Alamo is from the Pee Wee Herman movie, that he thought his bicycle was in the basement of The Alamo. To which, I believe there isn't even a basement? Yep, no idea.

 Our San Antonio night life ended as we walked back to our Travel Lodge room. What appeared to look a lot nicer from the online pictures and not nasty motel-esque. Meh. Lesson learned. All we had to do was sleep there, and that's what we did. Sea World bright and early the next day, only about 15 minutes away!



Walking into Sea World feels much more like a theme park than my vision of a huge aquarium. Gone are most interactive tanks to view the giant mammals. Instead, the day was centered around the 'shows.' However, there are two stops to feed animals: the sea lions (or are they seals? shoot. can't recall) and the dolphins. I didn't feed these guys but this one was a BEAST. Clearly, he was eating all the fish people fed him. Just thinking about his massive size makes me laugh. Not as pretty scenic wise as say Seal Island at the Como Zoo (once again, I had very high expectations and standards for Sea World), but more interactive and memorable since you are able to feed them.



Show #1. What I thought was going to be a kiddie show, I was pleasantly surprised with the appeal to all ages and incorporation of seals, otters, and the walrus. According to the show, animals take around 3-5 years to train for this (if I remember correctly), but they did a darn good job. Despite sitting in the direct sun and sweating it out, the show was well worth it.  




Show #2: SHAMU. The greatest amount of anticipation for this show. Basically the crowds follow one another all day long, hopping from show to show, and it was somewhat of a rush to get over to this arena. The area is at least the size of Valley Fair if not double, a lot bigger than I ever though, complete with a man made lake in the center for their water ski shows. Back to Shamu - There are THREE of them. WHAT! I had NO idea there were three, I mean it makes sense, but in my mind I only thought there would be one getting all the attention. However, I would like to say Shamu was the largest one, as the other two were smaller, dorsal fins still strong and tall. I was very impressed with the orchestration of the show, music and lights, and the amount of time devoted to the orcas. Most shows I feel are dedicated to education rather than 'tricks' but the Shamu show was all about showing off the massive size of these whales. The trainers never got in the water with the whales, something maybe only reserved for the Orlando location, or perhaps not at all anymore after deadly encounters. But all in all, SO fun to watch. I had only wished I could have gotten closer. My biggest disappoint for the day was not being able to really SEE the animals besides in the show. They resorted back to their tanks behind the audience zones and we never saw them again. A huge difference from aquariums and the 'on display' factor versus entertainment perhaps. (Also, note the HUGE whale tale that is over the entrance to their tanks, gah, LOVE LOVE LOVE)

  

One of my favorite pictures from the entire day. The much anticipated picture that all try to capture. This is who I call Shamu. He's (or possibly she I really don't know) the largest of the three and the only one with his dorsal fin curved, which saddened my heart a bit to see, but there is no pain to my understanding to them, simply due to captivity. Orca whales are truly GIANTS. Now I would say gentle giants of the sea like all my other whale species, however, these guys are the killer whales, and eat much more than fish and krill, thus, although graceful, not exactly gentle in the oceans. What you don't see after this picture is how they slither back into the water, their entire body goes limp and at the moment they look like a huge amount of blubber slowly sinking into the water lifeless, not the prettiest image in  your mind, nor to see, but they've got to get back in the water somehow I guess. Nevertheless, the main attraction by far at Sea World and I was impressed. I do wish I could have gotten up to their tank and really take in their massive size and behaviors. But you are not able to get any closer than this, the image of Free Willy and the tapping of the glass, so not happening here.



Show #3. I love belugas. I could watch the behaviors of a swimming beluga literally all day if given the chance. However, this again is where Sea World differs from aquariums. This is as close as you get to the animals. Unless of course you may additional money for an 'encounter.' From what I could tell they only have the one beluga, which somewhat makes me sad, as these animals are always in pods in the wild, and although have human companions in captivity, at the end of the day, he is swimming by himself. Only making about three appearance throughout the entire show, this picture is where I truly got jealous. I would love to 'ride' these gentle giants. The trainer also got to 'ski' with the beluga by resting her foot on the beluga's melon (the alien looking head part). This show combined more synchronized swimming and acrobatics than the focus on the animals, but once again, entertainment factor and attention span seeking, meets the mark.

Dolphin encounter! This is the second animal you can feed: the bottlenose dolphins! You can buy fish and gently toss the fish into their mouths. Despite being above these creatures height wise, I was still a bit nervous as to how to interact with them, those teeth look intimidating. It was after my last fish that the helper said to us to touch the dolphin first on the nose then give it a fish as a reward. I didn't officially touch one but I did feed them. And with this being the closest you can come to any animal at Sea World, I may have enjoyed this exhibit and experience the most. The songs of the Beach Boys may have helped increase the atmosphere points as well.



At the entrance, yet the last picture of my trip! Since I haven't gone to a larger aquarium (my last one was Shedd back in December) or a theme park in a while, so this was great, despite my disappointments here and there. And do I dare say, I like some heat these days, however 97 degrees and humid may not be ideal. The change of pace for this trip, WAY worth it. Sea World San Diego and Orlando will be on my list.



01 02 18

Cocoa Greek Yogurt Dip

Problem: I was craving brownies after my not so satisfying lunch I made (plain quinoa is not for me) but the only dessert box in the pantry was a funfetti cake mix accompanied by no frosting. That's not appealing. So, I looked to pinterest for a quick recipe with ingredients I have.
Solution: Cocoa Greek Yogurt Dip (original recipe here)

Ingredients (serving size: one):

1/2 cup Greek Yogurt (I would use vanilla in the future)

1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder

1/2 tsp Agave Nectar (you can also use honey)

1/8 tsp Vanilla Extract (not needed if using vanilla yogurt)

Additions:

Sprinkles (I added these after the picture was taken)

Mini dark chocolate chips or chocolate chunks

All in all, not bad, satisfied my craving for some chocolate flavor. Next time I will use vanilla yogurt as to not taste the bitterness of plain greek yogurt. A healthy treat that does feel guilt free. This 4 oz serving is packed with over 20 percent of your protein. Use vanilla wafers or graham crackers to dip if you don't happen to have animal cracker laying around.

ENJOY.

01 02 18