Exploring

Ben and I have been planning to go camping once it cools down a little bit. We have heard great things about the Kernville/Lake Isabella area and decided to take a Sunday drive up canyon road. I had never been up in that area before and I found the canyon road to be amazing. The rocks almost seem to close in on you, I can only imagine how pretty it is during spring. The goal of our trip was to find a camping spot we liked. We drove around at the lake and did some 4 x 4ing. We went up the 155 and explored back roads that way but didn't quite find anything like what we were looking for. Even though we were unsuccessful in that aspect it was still a great afternoon. Being able to spend time with Ben just doing whatever we please is a rare treat these days and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now it just has to cool down some and the camping trips will commence!

3 Way Birthday

Every year my family has the big "3 way birthday" party. It celebrates my dad's and two uncles birthdays. We have done it ever since I can remember and though the location has changed over the years it is always a blast because EVERYONE comes. My mom's whole side shows up and it is a day of fun in the pool, hanging out, and grubbin down. I hadn't seen my immediate family much less my extended in over and month and it was so good to see everyone. It's just been so busy for everyone and it's been hard to get together. The guys have started an annual game of pool basketball. This is more or less a brawl that involves getting the ball in the hoop. They usually come out panting and groaning but love it all the same. For my Dad's birthday present I canned some homemade pickles. He opened it and then proceeded to try one right then and there, no pressure! He loved them which made me proud of my first attempt at canning anything. It was a great day even though it randomly decided to sprinkle and be cloudy all day which by the way has never happened in the history of the 3 way birthday. Hopefully it won't be so long until I get to see the fam again.

Job

I have been working part time at a local therapy clinic and I'm really enjoying it. I knew I would be getting full time work soon it just depended on everything there. Well yesterday I was called into a meeting with my boss and was offered a full time front desk position. Last week I went and trained for this position so I could fill in if necessary but just got a bird's eye view of the responsibilities. Today I started full time and dove right in. I'm pretty much exhausted after a first day of trying to wade through the massive amount of paperwork that accumulates over 3 days. I took a good chunk out of the stuff I knew how to do and am still sorting out all the rest. Hopefully I will be caught up by the end of the week! Oh and last night at family dinner I got the surprise of flowers from my wonderful parents-in-law as a congratulations on the new promotion. Thanks Royce and Gail they bring cheer to my heart every time I see them!

Lamps

I went on an Ikea trip a couple of weeks ago and purchased three lamps. I had in mind a purpose to hang them in a group. Of course our ideas don't always work out as we see them in our minds eye. I have been procrastinating hanging these lamps because one didn't come with all the parts I needed. So today I finally got the motivation to jimmy rig the lamp for it to suit my purposes. I tried hanging the three together but it was too cluttered in each of the possible places. I ended up only hanging two and in separate corners. Not the original vision but it works. Because our home is mobile home we had no lighting in our living room except for one lamp we had. It still seemed dark and like a cave so hopefully when we test out the new additions it will bring more light into our lives.

Dinner

Yesterday I proceeded to look in our freezer to see what to pull out for dinner. What I saw when I opened it was not much. Hamburger patties and ground beef. Not many options so I decided to go with hamburgers. My next discovering was that we had no buns and if you've ever tried to eat a hamburger on a slice of bread you know that it really isn't the best. I thus set out to try to make buns. I used a french bread recipe and let my bread maker start it. The whole time I was crossing my fingers because I've been trying to get the right amount of fluffyness in my bread without the crumbly aspect. They turned out great! I made them nice and big because everyone hates it when the burger is bigger than the bun and everything is falling out. They looked big but they were fluffy and wonderful. To complete my summer meal I decided to attempt homemade potato salad. I almost ruined this not paying attention to my boiling potatoes which quickly boiled through all the water and almost burnt. Despite this almost disaster it turned out very delicious. I used red potatoes and I think it added something to the taste making it richer without more mayo. Ben compliments most of my meals I make but every once in a while I outdo myself and it was one of those nights. All in all a success and I just thought I would brag about it :)

Kelsi's Wedding

This past Saturday Ben and I went to a wedding of an old friend of mine. Kelsi and I used to play basketball together in high school. She was absolutely gorgeous and the wedding was very thought out and beautiful. There were a few friends there i hadn't seen in a long time and that hadn't met Ben yet. It was a night of great food, friends and laughs. Ben got quite a kick out of two of my friends who are just hilarious. The drive home from Visalia afterward seemed to take forever but the night couldn't have been better.

Carpenteria and a Crazy week

So this last week has been one of the most crazy weeks I've had in a long time. Friday we took off for the beach and spent a wonderful weekend there with the Fast's. We all managed to be there together one night. It was great to get away and relax. The weather couldn't have been better. Being able to hang out with Denise and Andrew was a big treat since we don't get too much of that. We got home Monday night happy to get back to our bed but wishing we were still at the beach. Tuesday I was scheduled to work and was asked last minute to stay an cover for a sick coworker, oh and wednesday too. I, being a planner, was completely thrown off but did my duty. Me being at work until 4 two days in a row caused and wrench to be thrown in all my plans. Thus I wasn't able to get to the grocery store until yesterday and it took me three days to finish laundry. Today I was able to catch up finally with all the chores and was able to relax and finally update here. Tonight I have a great dinner planned for Ben and I and it should be a great low key evening. I think we all need more of those in our lives!