New Hampshire - the Land of Forests & Mountains

My experience was amazing. I enjoyed the vacation a lot, I had plenty of fun time spending with friends and relatives, skiing, being away, and plain old relaxing. No computer, or internet , nobody bothered me, it was a fantastic get away. If I didn't injure myself I'd say it was close to perfect.

Saturday:
For one of the days I figured we should have an activity that Andrew Michelle and I would enjoy together. Visiting a Tuckerman a local microbrewery (with incredible bacon pizza) seemed like a great idea. The tour was free, so was the samples, so was the pizza the staff treated us to. Amazing, tasty and fun. Needless to say we purchased few cases of their Altitude beer.

We came a little early and needed to kill 30min before the tour. Michelle was driving and we ended up finding a tiny library sale. DUN-DUN-DUN! All three of us love reading and do it every day so this was a no brainer. but 15min was NOT enough to browse and sink in between shelves. The lady received a promise of us coming back to her after the tour, which is exactly what we did. Before entering, I reminded us to keep a certain limit in mind (20$, one series, two books): Andrew got himself a series of  sci-fiction, Michelle purchased a few random fictions and I was proud to go away with two non-fictions.
On our way back home we stopped by to purchase more than few bottles of wine and a local gift shop. Both were success!

The evening progressed into a Scrabble game with Jenya, Andrew, Michelle and I which was intense and fun! We then proceeded to laugh at online auto correct bests by the fire and later read some books in the same area. Jenya reads books all the time too! She's our gal!

Sunday:

The day finally came to do some winter activities - skiing at Wild Cat Mountain. I was a little nervous as I haven't skied in few years and Michelle strapped her fancy snowboard (that she won in a Mountain Dew contest - obviously). After getting on the top and finding out the green paths are closed the blue was the only choice. Andrew and Jenya tried a diamond. Because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Michelle wasn't able to ski much at all because she injured her knee defending us from a pack of wild bears as she was exiting the lift, before she even made any single stride on the snowboard. Yeah it was painful, and slow, and sucky, but eventually we made it to the bottom and she strapped her skis. But that was the beginning and the end of her ski season. The knee is more than a discomfort :(

Since we failed to help with cooking the night before (gift shopping and wine browsing took much time) French Onion Soup was promised and delivered that night. It was a huge success and everyone praised Michelle for her excellent skills. I felt so proud :)
The evening culminated with Sauna that we had, hmmm, 10ft away from our room downstairs. This is not the opportunity I would miss. Relaxing after skiing and general tension was excellent!

Monday:
More skiing for Andrew and I, at Brett on Woods Mountain. Mi madre joined us on few blues, few diamonds and all that. I gained a ton of confidence and even did few jumps that landed successfully. Once I even did three jumps in a row. Wow me! Of course I'd want to do it again. Of course, I'm invincible  Or so I thought as I continued jumping until I ate some snow with my whole face and couldn't breathe for few seconds. Das right - a little injury on my side gave me a reality check of jumping and skiing in general. Now both Michelle and I are injured :) At least it wasn't too bad and I am able to function almost as I typically would but I took a break from working out and stressing my body unnecessary

Michelle and Jenya went shopping instead of skiing and we met at Hillbilly Southern BBQ for a dinner before dinner (that was awaiting us at home upon our arrival) I stuffed myself with food. I wish i knew why :) There was lots of goodness at home.

 
The game of the night was Boggle where Andrew (another one, we had two) demolished us by far, but it was still a blast! I took another session of Sauna and went to be relatively early only to find out that - Santa visited us at night.

Cookies for Santa plus whole shenanigans with snow in the fireplace, and Andrew chasing Santa, as couple of younger kids were awakened and were coming downstairs, only to find out half eaten cookies and milk that has been sipped. The little ones were mesmerized by abundance of presents. 'Tis was a good time.

Tuesday:
Morning was left for packing and breakfast. We said our goodbyes and ventured into the snowfall weather. Of course, we grabbed a bunch of Left Overs including wings, kebabs, kotletki, sauces, few veggies n berries to keep us full for the next 6 hours of driving home.
Drive
Not one Wendy's is open on Christmas day :), or anything for that matter to stop and have for lunch (Of course, it makes sense if we just took 2 seconds to think about it, but that was not our forte), so left overs were promptly used as an energy source. Pomegranate as a snack works well in the long car ride, if prepared for properly.

We planned and scheduled a couple's massage for Wednesday which was exactly what both of us needed after a long weekend. Success yet again, as Michelle masseuse was stuck in traffic but made it just in time!


Little Reflection:
Naked Juices: I forgot how much I liked them. Andrew reminded me that while working in Balducci's I'd always buy one - Naked Mighty Mango and Michelle mentioned I'd always get a Mango Tango Odwalla juice at BC. This is a clear reminder of several things: I love mango smoothies, I forget that I love them and need people reminding me about it. Funny how I'd forgotten such little things about myself. It's always so great to share experiences with other people because they see it and remember it differently - but still truthfully.


Something to look up:
"Half Full" - Stamford Brewery (as suggested by one of the people who was at the tour with us at Tuckerman. He lives in Stamford and Michelle gladly had a conversation with him.) Always nice to notice the little things that happen in life.

The Onion Challenge, New Year's Gifts

Our good friend Art (his parents I'd say) has a membership to Restaurant Depot, where food is sold in very large portions. One thing Michelle and I eat all the time is onions, so we have asked to get us a large bag of onions. Very large, 50lbs! 

Some have an unusual love to these veggies.

Challenge accepted!

Proper tools to tackle the onions

Let the cooking and caramelizing begin 

This year I didn't want to buy expensive wrapping paper so i figured I will wait until after the holidays to get my 90% discounted crap. Turns out I didn't even need any wrapping paper. I went online and searched for alternatives, scanned our household for unwanted paper related things and stumbled into several art magazines that I used to flip through to get some ideas about painting months ago. This is my result  and I'm quite proud of it!

The Hobbit and other Unexpectedness

Ngoc had visited us and it was a lot of fun. In the morning we went to Chips and had yummy cinnabun pancake, traditional, and egg white omelet for me. We waited in line for 5minutes on Saturday morning and got our food relatively quickly.

Later in the day, we ventured to rent skis for the next weekend - excitement! New Hampshire house with 15+ people (young folks too). It also turns out we'd be cooking a dinner once in 5 days for everyone. Mi madre is on our team (or, I guess, Michelle and I are one her team). I think it shall be super fun.

Our household now drinks soy milk. Just one carton made a transition for us. It has more good stuff and less bad stuff and a nice nutty aftertaste that I enjoy. Michelle likes it too, which is a huge progress, because she doesn't normally drink milk (except if its heated up with some honey).

Andrew is hanging in CT these days. We saw Joseph, and Art, and Shawn and few people in the bar. He keeps comparing it to his Colorado and other fun places which makes sense, but Greenwich is such a small town nothing major really happens there. Even Stamford has a little more life, with clubs and whatnot. No fear, fun is about the company, I believe.

Shopping Spree in GoodWill

Went shopping at Goodwill for a few presents for people. Sounds a bit odd, but you can find all kinds of good things there, from small to medium size :)
Ngoc is stopping by for one night this upcoming Friday. It's always nice to see BC grads after graduation. Same day we will all go and see "The Hobbit". Michelle is super pumped, and I know few people are in the same category. I'm looking forward yet another trilogy, since LoTR was fantastic. Andrew is also coming to CT this Friday. There shall be craziness!
Last night, Michelle dragged me into New Heaven for a hospital crew gathering celebration at this place called "Bar". We thought we came fashionably late, but as it turns out, we were quite early. At least the entertainment of a tweet-age birthday party was appropriate. One free large salad, a pizza, and small 5beer sampler later (also free) we we're in the other room socializing. As I walked by the crowd of people, I noticed a familiar face - another BC grad - Johnny. He's studying forensic science and sometimes hangs out at the bar. Quite a random yet fun meet. Though we weren't really close or anything at BC<, we chatted for few minutes, it was a simple connection to our early fun days.

Tuesday was another get together of Michelle's people :) It was in "Roberto's" which was phenomenal. The food was amazing, open bar, and we didn't stay too long. Michelle and I almost forgot about the whole thing until half hour before it was about to begin. We came a little late but sat down at the table that good food first. Fantastic!

The4HourChef, DECEMBER 2012

The 4 Hour Chef is my newest obsession. I purchased the book and read it every day on tips for cooking as well as few recipes such as Rump Roast Beef slow cooked with onions. Yeah, mouthwatering goodness.


The very first time I cooked eggs Mediterranean style - parsley + lemon juice. Tasty and very different texture because I  slow cooked them, on low heat with grape seed oil (tasteless so allows the clear flavor of the dish to flourish). Basically the book is a gem of great ideas.

Life coaching is going well. I will soon begin coaching a client through Skype, as she has moved to DC to pursue her vocation. All the power to her.

Became a massage envy member AFTER receiving an hour massage. As I was driving with Michelle I was convinced I would not be signing up with them, but wrong I was. To treat myself for a massage once a month is nothing short of acceptable, after all, I don't treat myself to many things.

I have signed up with Kelly Services agency and all I need to do is get fingerprinted and I will be able to substitute in no time. I don't know why I have an uneasy feel for it. Perhaps it is somewhat of a drive and the job is unstable. Future will present itself up in the meantime.

My wisdom teeth are going to be removed. The surgery will be one of the first things I will 'do' in 2013. Two thousand thirteen, and to think that some are just starting their college paths. Time is a crazy thing :)

JETS vs PATS, High School Reunion

What am I doing right this moment? Rearranging something I have been look at for quite sometime and wanted to make it different. Books on the shelf will now be in color coordination :) Now that's fun I guess :)


Tuesday:
Jury Duty
I was mildly excited aobut serving on a jury but after about two hours of being there, watching a movie and listening to few people speak, I was let go. I guess I will see the court in three years.
I rearranged our pantry space. It is now cleaner, more organized and have more extra space for things.
So I had an afternoon to myself. Bought some groceries and made banana walnut cranberry bread. It was a little dry but overall very good.


Thursday: Thanksgiving Game
Michelle cooked few things: cranberry pies, bacon pin wheels, stuffed mash, we ended up coming to Arts right at the time when they all were having dinner. So we ended up having thanksgiving dinner at the last moment. quite peculiar, I'll say. We had little wine, and soup too, in addition to traditional turkey, mash, sweet potato and Brussels sprouts. Food was excellent and I don't remember ever not being uncomfortably stuffed on Thanksgiving, but this dinner was an exception. We were guests so we shared a plate of food and only spent about 20min eating. I had enjoyed that a lot. I also had some space for Michelle things upon arriving to MetLife Stadium and pregaming.
Alcohol was too much. I don't drink often so my tolerance is low. Good thing I had enough food in my stomach to take care of me for the evening.

Friday: GHS Reunion
Upon entering the scene, I saw several kegs, and four tables set up for beer pong . It made sense once I saw them, but i just wouldn't think about it is someone were to ask me. Garden Catering food was very good, and sandwiches provided good nutrition. Unfortunately no open bar, but that still was fun. I saw few people I forgot I went to school with, and mostly spent time with people I typically see - my friends. It was interesting to see where people congregated - at the keg, near food, at the dance floor. We did a little shaking and event ended at 11pm. It was pleasant and I can see why people need to be slightly trashed to see old high school classmates. I also made and wore a sign that said "Cowboy, Astronaut, Millionaire", in case people were wondering what kind of things I am doing with my life currently.

Saturday: MHS Reunion #2
I enjoyed Michelle's reunion probably even more than my own. We found parking lot after 5min of search right near the club (on Sat. night @ North End - pretty good.) It was at a club with servers walking frequently with plates of food offerings. Very pleasant as you go about drinking. I have known perhaps 5 people at the gathering - few of Michelle's girlfriends I have met before. I had few nice conversations with couple of guys. Michelle had a ton of fun, seeing all the people and making plans for the future to see them again. There was one gentleman who mentioned he had a crush on her in 8th grade and that i should take care of her. While it was sweet, I'm pretty sure he still does have a crush on her. Shyness never gets you into places. He was a nice guy but fear kills. If you don't take a chance you will never reap the benefits.

Sunday:
To culminate the long weekend of activities we are getting a Couple's Massage, which I have never had before. So that's something to look forward too. We are also planning on going to Goodwill to pick up few things for friends and couple of frames. I will do my best and spend less than $20 total. I need to be careful with Goodwill since I very much enjoy yard sales and low price items. Frugality at it's best.
The massage was so good I signed up for a whole year - 12 hour massages at $49. Great deal, since I rarely treat myself to anything this will be a very nice thing to look forward to every month.

A great video (40min) of Leo Babauta interviewing Tim Ferris. If you don't know these people, they are the top of the top popular people online who inspire, teach, and blog about both. Powerful to those who are passionate about learning.

I have been with this girl for 5 years!

Life Coaching continues.
I have approached few more people with a promosition to coach them and the benefits they would
gain from working with me:
1) You will become more aware of your needs, goals, and the abilities you already have to accomplish these goals.
2) You will feel more in charge of your life and where it is heading.
3) You will be able to clearly assess current reality and strategize for change to have a more fulfilling future.

I have a client coming in Tuesday for her first session and few more people are figuring out whether or not they are interested enough. I'm just happy to coach and help people out. I think it's a great way to make a little cash on the side, but ultimately feel great knowing I have helped someone achieve their goals.
Things went great, we scheduled for another meeting in several days.

Our Anniversary of 5 years was a great time. We started a tradition involving a nice bottle of wine before going to the restaurant.

Crash Course on Creativity continues to be challenging and I need to remember to spend more time on it, or at least allocate some physical space on the calendar.

When the demand for my time becomes more valuable, when people start offering me job opportunities, I feel great. I feel useful but I also need to be able to manage time wisely. What do I really want? What skills do I want to sharpen or learn? Where do I want to be? Is taking this road leads me away from my values?

Thanksgiving will be one of a kind this year: Going to see Jets vs Pats football game in NJ. I'm going with Michelle who is a Pats fan, and Art, who roots for Jets. I am probably going to wear a grey hoodie so as not to attract much attention. Plus I just don't have a team to root for.

This upcoming weekend I will venture into Boston to see Amanda Palmer and friends. Should be quite a show. Michelle really likes her so I'm tagging along.
The Concert was fun, met few interesting individuals, and also people watched for a good portion.Great fun!

Upcoming stuff:
Thanksgiving game
5yr Reunion

Halloween cancelled again?

Unilever:
It all happened so fast: interview, call back next day to start work in two days! The hurricane put a dent on majority of people's plans including my own. We lost power for few days and had to relocate all our frozen meats into my mom's place with very little being thrown away.
My days are shifted and I forgot how to have a "full time job" day. My mornings are practically non-existent - but that's not going to last long, I will wake up earlier! I still need to continue working out and meditating, so i may have to have a heavy shift on my weekends (which is fine) and also distribute some activities for after work.

Hurricane:
I underestimated hurricane Sandy, by a lot. I figured it was just a media hype, from bits and pieces I over heard or underread, since we don't have cable. My car's rear window got broken into by a branch. Tuesday morning I woke up to this clean up job: 

My gratitude kicked in immediately  as I smiled, picking up little glass pieces from everywhere, because it wasn't a front window that was smashed so I was able to drive to work and pretty much continue doing my chores and routines. I now drive 60mph on the highway, which also changed my attitude of getting to work - no reason to speed.
I fixed the gap with some thick trash bags and tape to protect me from rain. My mechanic is buying few windows in next few days and told me he'd buy one for me too. He's such a nice guy!

Another thing I learned on my very first day at work, unrelated to chemistry, was the term - flexiterian. A flexiterian (which is who I am) is someone who mostly follows vegetarian diet, but who hasn't eliminated meat and occasionally eats it.
As I'm reading the sentence "some vegetarians eat meat" (which is obviously a contradiction with which vegetarian community disagrees wholeheartedly) but I thought of a good example of why this sentence is, by definition wrong; saying some vegetarians eat meat, is like saying some virgins have sex. It's in the definition, really.
But that doesn't stop me from enjoying meat - i do like it, but not every single day. Oh I remember times when I would eat meat three times a day, that's not something I have done in a while.


Michelle keeps talking about wanting to have honey bees, and I'm in favor of that because I love honey and eat it everyday. The problem is that if we do end up having bees we'd need either a lot of greenery nearby for food or plant our own garden full of flowers and herbs and such. It's not a bad idea, but it is both time and effort consuming.

The Sunday before the storm TK invited us to a little Halloween Gathering at her new place in Hamden. They have a humongous back yard where they already made a fire pit an hung a hammock. Bonus points - our costumes matched :)  

On the Horizon:
Our 5th year Anniversary coming up this Sunday. We were thinking about going to see a Broadway show, but they are very costly to us right now, so maybe we'll call in the day of and see if discounted tickets are available. Other than that and some nice dinner (with a bottle of wine - pre-killed in the parking lot) I haven't had much chance to sit down and think of what else we could do.

Andrew is coming for about a month (his winter break from school) so that should be also exciting.

Thanksgiving, I  might go to a football game in NJ with few good friends, as long as the tickets aren't too expensive.

I guess money does dictate our outings to some extent. Yes, new experiences are important and so is bonding, and I have had to say no few times due to lack of finances (or rather my choice in spending it somewhere else - savings + loan repayment)



My frequent 22min meditation was removed, but i found this 30min one and I LOVE it. It relaxes and re-energizes me very well!
 

CT Ren Fair, Creativity Course, "Live Your Legend"

CT Ren Fair as a fun time. We enjoyed some archery, some comedy, a ton of little shops and a bird show. During the show one of the falcons went into the trees so the lady explaining had to chase him afterword. We didn't stay long enough to find out the outcome :)
The food was okay, perhaps we shouldn't have gotten soups in a bowl. But its a fair, so things are taken with a grain of salt. My purchase of the day was $18 worth of tea of various flavors and tastes.

Since we still a good amount of apples left over from Apple Picking, I have ventured to cook up some Apple Squash soup made of onion, carrots butternut squash apples and some spices. The result was a terrific soup that i garnished with few pecans and roasted apple slices. Another First Time success. 

 But I didn't stop there. I prepared some roasted veggies (parsnip, turnip, sweet potato, carrot, shallot, butternut sqhash) and rice (with peas corn and edamame) for boys get together at my place.  I was planning for 4 people to show up, but only Shawn was able to make it, two were lost to desease and one was lost in inability to find transport. We indulged in food, conversations and  played scrabble (the Deluxe Edition :))

Crash Course on Creativity has begun with the first assignment to get to know your group members. In out group we have a person who works in China (from Germany) a guy from Malasia and a girl from Egypt. There is also 'Tony' who did not fill out his whereabouts.

I have started reading "Live Your Legend" and filled out Weekly-Planning-Process-Worksheet where I set up appointments with myself (on a calendar) among other things such as
remembering all little victories/successes, figuring out whats my 3-10year plan, few important things that didn't workout last week and why. So far I made myself work out 2 times, meditated and finished various chores. If I keep this up I believe I will be able to soar into awesomeness that is life.


Wedding coming up with weekend in Falmouth, MA. Our good friends Matt and Kate are starting  their new chapter together.
Idea for halloween costumes - Toad and Toadette!

Are things happening in October? You bet!

The month of October cleansing is going quite well, my cravings are very sparse, so it is nowhere near as tough as I expected. This is great news, my will power is in check and i am building confidence.
My cooking continues to flourish as i made marinated in beer chicken breasts, roasted beet chips and rice with peas and corn. I also started making cucumber lemon water, which is VERY refreshing and Michelle loves it too, so that's great!

I am almost at the count of 40 new books read throughout this year, which is most I have ever read and that does make me feel great about myself. I have finished reading the biography of Steve Jobs, (checking on amazon i also found Einsteins biography by the same author Isaacson so i'm requesting it through the library) which was a great read and allowed me to see Apple products and the company in a much better light (simply because i learned about both), I also  finished a quick read of The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. It was touching and eye opening. After all, the only difference between those who are afflicted with terminal disease and 'the rest of us' is just knowing the approximately precise moment of death. We all falsely assume that we're going to live until we're old, and able to see not just our children but our grandchildren also. This is certainly not the case, because our lives are just as fragile and we're in the dark about knowing how much time we have on this planet. People in their 20s expect to reach their 30s and therefore are holding off to achieve their dreams. But we don't have a whole bunch of time reserved. I am a sinner in this regard just as much as the next person, but at least i am aware of it. I have plans for the future that I am waiting for to get started on. Am i waiting for permission? or terminal desease? am i waiting for my life to be 'more stable'? or a more secure job?  Perhaps just the very last point - a job that I know will be relatively stable that I won't have to worry about it for at least few years. I am turning 25 in few months and I have this nagging coming from myself (and partially the society) that i need to 'get my shit together' and, honestly, the ONLY reason that's stopping me is myself. I am the sole reason I don't take actions. Simple as pie.


As a little extra awesomeness in my life, I have been recognized at a Top Performer from the summer camp I worked at many summers. They are inviting me for a banquet and presentation during the winter which I am EXTREMELY excited about, and also a little humbled. It just shows to prove me that I'm doing the right thing and have my work ethic in check. That is quite good news.

Here is a short list of possible and probable events I may indulge myself and those around me in next few weeks:
Renascence Fair or Lake Compounce
Friends Wedding
Boston trip with Sex Toy Bingo
Pumpkin Picking
Halloween Celebrations

The list is a good reminder that my days are nowhere near dull enough to skip on blogging. Things are always moving I just need to slow down and pay attention :)

Regina Spektor and Andrew's 23!

Wednesday we drove through traffic to see Regina live. It was pleasant. Michelle is the one who really likes her so she sang with many songs, bought an album and a shirt. I gave away some 'thanks' :)

Oct. 4th is my dear cousin's birthday. He's turning 23 today. What a weirdo. I got him something, it should come next week. In case he read this (doubt it) i won't mention what kind it is, but it has colors and ladies so he should like it a bunch!

The Big E and Apples, Looper the movie.

The Big E fair was a day filled with fun, walking, seeing animals, checking out State Houses (each New England State had their own stores, foods, presentations, etc.), and spending some cash. Got some honey, and foods. Michelle bought a turkey leg (that's the size of your face). In between the houses there was a stand promoting Fire Cider. Oh wow! if you're into spicy stuff you gotta try this concoction. It warmed up and burned long after i took a tiny sip. 

 Michelle is feeing a pony (but, of course, exclaiming she wants one)

 She got the famous cream puff and I settled for a yummy eclair.

 A Butter sculpture for 2012. It was pretty big, life size cow and girl. So yeah!

"I'm a better sheep than you are"





Sunday was a continuation of awesome weekend with Apple Picking at Beardsley's cider Mill and Orchard.  While the cider there was very good (to me they taste the same, but those with extra taste buds per square cm raved about it's deliciousness)  the apple picking was a bit disappointing; $1.99/lb picked and only one type of apples was actually good - Jonagold. So next time we shall venture somewhere else.

 All the ladies,

Crazy faces

 All the men

 Mi madre and Michelle

 Mi sister and Michelle

Sibel and Michelle

It was Victoria's birthday too, so we surprised her with a cake. Sat on the grass nearby and fought off the bees. It was all fun!

Afterword, since it was merely few minutes away, the gang went to the Jonas Vineyard for some tastings. Also pleasant. We bought more onion cookies (yeah, they're AMAZING!).  The whole day was still ahead of us, but everybody parted either into work, or nap, or back home.

Sunday evening culminated in seeing Looper, which was a very good movie, surprised us at many occasions including the ending scene. It's always refreshing to see a movie you don't quite know the ending of. From trivia, turns out this is Bruce Willis's third movie where he meets his younger self. Hmmm :) I liked many parts of the movie, especially the part where the character speaks rudely to his younger self and tells him to shut the fuck up!


Monday is the 1st.
October is cleansing month - I am taking 30 days off from any mind altering substances such as alcohol, and limiting my video game / TV show watching to three hours per day combined.

Some of my cooking firsts:
Almond Butter made from scratch with little cocoa powder, cinnamon and honey - success!

Apple Pear Jam with honey - success!

Turkey rice soup with veggies and beans - HUGE success! This soup was made from half eated large turkey leg Michelle got at the Big E, so it was incredibaly aromatic and flavorful.



One thing I came across from the world wide web in internets: Tiny Desk Concerts
There are over a hundred of those, all live and all really small, in the office :)