Fa La LA-LA Land

Last night, as I drove home from work and up the Lincoln exit ramp off the 10, I noticed a a panhandler, which is pretty typical.  What was atypical was the sign he was holding. It was small and said simply, "Love."  It made me smile and almost give him a dollar.  Almost. I learned in St. Louis that you don't open your car to people on the street... anyway... the point I am actually trying to make is that his sign felt like a perfect way to sum up the holiday season that has just come to a close.

I've officially been in LA for over a year and it's crazy to think about how far I have come in that time. A year ago, I was lamenting the warm, snowless December and trying to navigate my new life.  This year, I was fully embracing the holiday spirit in my new home:

I found a more appropriate place to hang my stocking

I upgraded my tree from last year

And I even added a touch of Mistletoe

 I also embraced typical winter activities with a LA twist, like ice skating in 60 degree weather:

I tried (and kinda failed at...) some new holiday baking ideas:

It was too hard to frost his face...

And I enjoyed a winter bike ride that could only take place in LA:


Manhattan Beach Pier with Christmas Lights

You can take the girl outta the Midwest...

but you can't take the Midwest cooking style out of the girl.  That was blatantly evident at my Super Bowl party last Sunday.  Just to set the stage a bit, let me remind you that I really like football and I really like food.  I particularly enjoy an opportunity to combine them both.  In the past this has led to endevors such as this:

Super Bowl '09 Cardinals v Steelers
Created with the lovely and talented Alison Clark

This year I decided that instead of focusing my efforts on one awesome dish, I would create many dishes, all with an ample aura of awesomeness...

Soooooo I may have gotten super excited and over-cooked for my party... oops?  It wouldn't have been such a bad thing except for the fact that everything I cooked was laden with cheese, carbs and spicyness; definitely not anything you could or should eat for a week straight.  Paula Dean chooses butter, I choose cheese.  Note for the future: people in California have more dietary preferences and healthier eating habits than people in the Midwest.  Again, not such a bad thing except for the fact that it left me with nearly 2 lbs of mac and cheese...

So let's recap.  I'm going to assume that everyone knows how the Super Bowl turned out and knows the major game highlights.  I'm also going to assume that if you don't know, you probably don't care.  Thus, all I will say about the game it that it was watched at my house on my new TV.  The patio bar was stocked with fun beverages and a great time was had by myself and my lovely friends, both new and old, who also helped contribute to the buffet with delicious (and healthier) dishes like salmon and fresh guac.

My ridiculously unhealthy and fairly monochromatic spread was as follows:

Buffalo Chicken Tartlets

Seacrest Sausage Balls
(sigh, don't ask.  The name in Kendall's fault...)

Beer-battered Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese

Mom's Taco Dip
(Sorry, I forgot to take a pic.  This is an old pic from a
tailgating attempt at Northwestern Game.  It usually looks better...) 

All of these tasty delights (save for the taco dip, that's a Sale family secret) can be recreated in your own kitchen with the ridiculously easy steps enclosed below. Note: I don't measure, I'm sorry.  I'll try to do my best to give amounts when I can but when in doubt, just start adding a little and then adding more to taste.

Bedroom for One

One of the biggest decisions I made when moving out to LA was about my living situation.  Aside from deciding where I was going to live, I was also deciding between living alone and living with roommates.  After weighing the pros and cons and realizing that no matter what choice I made, there were going to be days that I would regret it, as you all probably know, I decided to take the plunge and live alone.

After three months in my current living situation I feel like I have had enough time to settle in and that I can now assess the situation with clear eyes and officially say that I LOVE LIVING ALONE!!!  Seriously, I can watch whatever I want on the TV, I don't have to share the bathroom and there is soooooo much room in the fridge!  Seriously- look at all the Lean Cuisines I can have!

And there is still sooooo much more room!  I have seriously never regretted my choice for even a second though there are a few tiny things that make me miss having another person around the house...

Why Resolutions Suck.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for being a better person but let's get real.  Who really sticks to their New Year's Resolution??  Not even half of those people that make the gym unbearably crowded for most of January, that's for sure.  It's not that I don't like goals, I love them-spent two years setting "big goals" for the children of St. Louis and "relentlessly pursuing" them even.  The thing with resolutions is:

• You have to be sincere with it.  Don't say you're gonna work out every day if you don't want to be a person who works out everyday.  Mean it and make it something that is doable and realistic for your life.

• You have to be specific and concrete.  Don't say you're gonna stay in better touch with old friends, it's a vague statement and easy to keep pushing off until next December when you say "I really mean it this year!"  Say you are gonna pick...I dunno, a friend a week or a friend a month to send a card to or give a phone call.  Goals are easier to meet when they are measurable.

• You have to make it personal. Don't set goals that fit other people's definitions of a "better person," strive to be the best you that you can be.  If your resolutions are meaningful and truly things that you want to achieve for yourself, you have a much better chance of being successful and ultimately, happy.

Cheers to 2011, a year that brought me a lot of unexpected change and challenge in my life.  Here's to 2012, a year that I hope continues to challenge and push me in both my career and personal life.  I intend to continue to be open to new experiences and to fearlessly be myself in all of them.  I hope everyone has a happy and healthy New Year and thanks for following my crazy life.  Especially those of you that don't even know me (I'm talking to you Russia!  Woo!).  It's great to feel the love and support from friends, family, and strangers as I continue to settle into this next chapter.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Down & Derby

"Red carpet" entry into the Doll Factory

I've never seen the movie "Whip It"- but for those of you who have, Drew Barrymore apparently did her research for the film with the LA Derby Dolls.  Since I haven't seen the movie or a Roller Derby... match? jam perhaps?  contest?  I dunno what you call it...  anyway, with this being my first Roller Derby experience, I didn't really know what to expect.  I knew it was girls on roller skates and I knew that it got physical.  I guess I kinda pictured girls randomly skating around and body checking each other into walls, hockey style.

My foggy conceptions of Roller Derby were clarified on Sunday evening at "Baby Doll Brawl"- a competition for the newest LA Derby Dolls, the ladies of the Fresh Meat program who are training to make one of the 4 home teams.  The Derby Dolls are one of the few banked-tracked derby leagues in the world, most (98%) are flat track and from my research on Wikipedia, banked-track seems way cooler.  One of Steph's friends was actually competing on one of the teams under the pseudonym "Belle Scorcho."  Yeah... so one of the awesome things about derby is that the girls compete under skater names and some of them paint their faces and add some flare to their outfits.  Yep, little bit like pro wrestling, lotta bit awesome.  Speaking of awesome...

Oh heeeeyyyyy Fall!

I LOVE FALL!

GC Pumpkin Carving 2009

The changing leaves, bonfires, football, scarves, boots, sweaters, comfort food- everything!  Unfortunately for me, Fall isn't really a "thing" here in California.  It's been sunny and in the 70s or 80s everyday with some cooler temps at night that are just lacking that crisp fall smell.

A weekend trip to St. Louis for the wedding of two of my favorite teacher pals, Kristen and Chris, was just the ticket to get into the fall spirit.  I stepped of the plane into the heart of fall.  Even the wedding was complete with gorgeous fall touches and a jar of apple butter for a favor:

Blending in

Ever since we were little, my mother stressed blending in and not acting like tourists when were were on vacation.  Especially when we were in Colorado- Mom wanted everyone to think that we were locals.  Blending in was no easy task with my father aka Tourist Man taking pictures of EVERYTHING:

With his tiny camera backpack of power and the hat he only bought
yesterday, he dons his socks with sandals and sets off to experience
AUSTRALIA!

Yeah, ok.  We all kinda failed on this one...

Mom would fight the powers of Tourist Man by not letting us eat anywhere we could eat at home and making Ken and I keep walking when Dad jumped into a random bush to take a picture of a flower.  In Colorado, we were supposed to try to dress like locals (aka, wear our pajamas to breakfast- done and done!); the hallmark of fitting in was being asked for directions by some "lame tourist."

Out with a bang

Alright, so you know when you were a kid and you would get a new toy and play with it all day, everyday for like a week and then never again??  I find that as an adult-ish person, I still have this quality though now it mostly applies to workout plans and guys I attempt to date.  I'm also concerned that this may happen to my blog.  So my first 5 posts were all consecutive (*cough* excited child) and then followed by about 5 days of radio silence however, I feel that I have a perfectly good excuse for my lapse: playing in Chicago!

Before I head out to California, I really wanted to make one more visit to the city I love enough to consider one of my three homes (Iowa and Colorado would be the other two) and soak in all of my favorite things.  It seems logical that I should have memories of having fun, knowing my way around a place and spending time with people I love before I'm lost, confused and friendless on the coast.

Growing up...again.

Well folks, while the month of August has left me feeling like a freeloader on my parents couch, this first week in September has skyrocketed me towards my new independent life in LA.  Here's the progress:

1. I finally have something in my name other than debt

Ok, so we are actually celebrating a successful tire change.
This does accurately capture my emotions about the ownership
of said vehicle though.

While The Duchess (long story) and I have been together for several years now, she technically belonged to my parents.  Now, she is truly and legally mine- along with two blown-out front speakers and a faint smell of squid from a transport malfunction for an AP Bio project (don't say I never did anything for you children of STL).  And the speakers hadn't crossed my mind for YEARS (I know, I suck) until I saw my Dad type "As Is" on our "contract" (and I probably just got myself in trouble with PaulSale).  Regardless, I own a car, I'm excited, and yes, you will have trouble conversing with others if you sit in my back seat.  No, that smell is not my car, it's you.  Just smile and enjoy the music.


2. I've been put to the test
My time in Iowa has left me both bored and board- as in studying for my genetic counseling certification exam. Mom and I trekked to the Quad Cities this morning so that I could sit for my 3 hour exam while she shopped and did other productive things.  I will not know if I passed the test for a few months (gaaa, I know) but it was an important step in my career and now leaves me with time to focus on other endeavors.  Which is important because....

Photo pulled from Google Image Search

3. I see movement
That's right, a plan for the big move is falling into place.  I've been told to get out to California as soon as I can- and the week after next is the target!  So while I'm fitting all the pieces to transition me and my stuff occupying the 'rents 3rd stall garage out to LaLa land, I'm making one final trip to Chicago this weekend to toast the previous milestone with some of my classmates and enjoy what may be my final days with a real social life for some time.  Once I'm in LA, I'm pretty much starting from scratch.  More on that later of course :)