December 25

Is so far filled with
Stockings yet to be touched
Four very filled stomachs crammed to the gills with scrambled eggs, pancetta, panatone, and hash browns
Christmas music enveloping the house,
Bloom Bread proofing in the oven
Neighbors sticking their noses out of their houses wondering why there is a smokey meat smell invading their houses at 9 in the morning
Phones blowing up with merry Christmas wishes
A blinding sun melting frost off the roof and grass
Curiosity as to what is under the wrapping paper of the gifts under the tree
A certain sadness since we are missing a sister
Another sadness since there will be no "pray for me" call to yiayia this year

Yia Yia and Papou's Wedding Photo

See the resemblance?

έχουν ένα καλό υπόλοιπο

After meeting some of her long time friends at her wake, I finally realized part of what I've always been told is true... I am almost exactly like my Yiayia (and I hope that I will always be).

Her wedding picture was up, and her greek girlfriends rearranged the chairs in the room to surround her and it. They were crying, talking, crying, talking, pointing, turning around to look at me and my father, gossiping, laughing, crying, talking, crying, talking, pointing, turning around to look at me, gossiping, laughing, crying and repeating the cycle again and again. After about the fifth time, I finally asked my father what they were saying, and it was "you look exactly like Yiayia".
It was something that I was always told but never saw myself... perhaps because I was too close to the situation, or because at the point where I finally started to look her hunched stature and gravity had made it a little to difficult for me to see the resemblance. But there, in that room, looking at her wedding picture I saw the resemblance, and I realized that I want the resemblance to go further than just our looks.
I was told things about my Yia Yia, things that I knew, like that she loved to have people around her and to talk for what seemed like forever. And things that I didn't know, like that she had a way of talking to people, listening to them, and remembering facts about them that nobody knew she retained. Her friends would be shocked when she called up two weeks later to make sure that doctors appointment of their nephew went ok. Information, and tidbits that her friends and nurses wouldn't remember telling her about, but her remembering specific details. She genuinely cared about not only these select few people that came religiously in the last few years to her home bound side, but about everyone that she was connected to- even if it was in the smallest way, like the pharmacist who she had never met. She not only cared about these people but they cared about her. She had a spark, and energy about her that caused people to genuiely carea bout her has well. Like that pharmasist, who she had never met face to face had expressed heartfelt concern and sympathy for our family's loss.
That is the part of her that I hope I will inheret or at least learn how to become, to care not only about my family and friends, but to care about every person that I come across in my life. I want to have that spark that she had, that enabled people to open up to her and get to know them, in a way that not many people do.
So from this trip that was meant to say have a good rest Yiayia, I left with more, a desire to be like her, not only in looks, but in heart, mind, and soul.

That is my hope. To be like my Yiayia, in more ways than one.

έχουν μια καλή Yia Yia ανάπαυσης (have a good rest Yiayia) you deserve it.


comparison photo will be posted soon.

thanksgiving day menu

BREAKFAST
Toast

Selection of Cheeses

Coffee

LUNCH SPREAD
Mozzarella rolled with prosciutto and basil
Gourmet hot dog pigs in a blanket
Brie
Crostini with pesto and ages Parmesan
Selection of salamis
Hot croissant ham and cheese sangwiches
Mixed olives
Peperoncinis
Beer

MID AFTERNOON SNACK
Aged english cheddar
Toasted flat bread crackers
Stuffed mushrooms
Wine, beers, and mixed coctails

DINNER
Grilled Turkey
Orange Cranberry Sauce
A selection of Sesame, poppy seed, and salt crispy bread sticks
Cranberry Stuffing
Poblano pepper cornbread
Gravy
Selection of roasted vegetables
Balsamic Green beans
Wine and some more wine then some more wine

DESERT
Pumpkin Pie
Hazelnut Chocolate Pie
Both served with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream
Peach Champagne (WOOOOO)
and homemade limoncello

Positive

unofficial alternate.

yippie for TRUE AUTUMN WEATHER!!

is Washington bound in a few days!
So excited to be back in weather where people aren't decked out in skiing gear once the thermometer hits 60!!

parent teacher conferences.

today was HECTIC at work... the kids have half days of school monday through wednesday this week and then no school thursday and friday for parent teacher conferences and then fall break so we're offering extended CARE hours and all day CARE on thursday friday, not so lovely for my sanity but oh so lovely for my bank account!
anyway today the kiddos we're going INSANE and i was trying to figure out an activity to do with them to keep them entertained.... and that activity turned out to be fully body outlining (remember when you would lie down on butcher paper and your teacher would trace your body and you got to color it in and stuff) anyway it started out with 5 kids... ok i could handle tracing 5 kids, then it turned into 20. Seriously tracing 20 kids.... and keeping an eye on the non tracers who decide that its super fun to run around with sissors telling other kids to "come look at MINE!!"
oh. man.
then when i was at the preschool with audrey (the special needs girl that i'm there to support) she decides that she wants to play the game that she plays with her dad (where she hits him on the head and he falls on the floor in fake pain) with me.... oh no ma'am that game does not fly with me so when she didn't like the result of me not falling just signing stop she decided that pinching would be the best way to achieve the fall on the floor in fake aganoy, seriously mom time to trim the girls nails.... i have bruises from this tiny little twirp who just learned how to walk on her own.

anyway the day is over and in two weeks from friday i will have a wonderfully large paycheck to put towards the seattle trip. POSTIVE THINKING.

love.

all the things that i miss dearly in this season named fall

changing leaves,
the crunch crunch crunch sound when you walk
scarves and sweatshirts
bundling
soups
apple cider (both hot and cold)

pumpkins
boots
gathering in living rooms watching new seasons of favorite shows
apple cranberry bread
the clear crisp cold air
new classes school supplies etc (I'm sure i will not be missing this one as time goes on)

one week (plus a day) anniversary

As of today it is officially a week and a day since i made the drive down to mi casa arizona. And as a memory of this anniversary here are some pictures that were taken on the last few nights in belli and the drive down.

































As of today it is officially a week and a day since i made the drive down to mi casa arizona. And as a memory of this anniversary here are some pictures that were taken on the last night in belli and the drive down.

watching batman is the same as

avoiding packing and cleaning, and all things related to departing this wonderful wonderful place I've come to call home over the past 4 years. I really do need to get started. Maybe if I had a really cool suitcase I'd have more incentive to put things in it.




Instead I'm sitting on the couch rewriting the words to 'leavin' on a jet plane' with claire and sara
"None of my bags are packed
I'm not ready to go
I'm sitting here- on our living room floor
I'd hate to get up- and bid this place goodbye
But the job market sucks
and its cocktail time..."
Then it got sucky so we stopped until we got to the part where it goes...
"So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
cause Im leavin' in a ford escape
I know Ill be back again"
Then we got weepy and had to stop and started watching our batman marathon again.

the question and the answer

So the question that has been on my mind since before I graduated college, since before I had my last year as a student, finally has an answer. I will be moving back to Tucson at the end of August. I've accepted this. There are no tears as this post is written, its not the end of Seattle and Washington, Its just a fly over. You know when you're on a plane trip and there is a storm where you're supposed to be arriving, well my storm is this recession, my plane is now being deferred back to the always sunny skies of Tucson Arizona. It would beyond stupid for me not to take the situation that was presented to me yesterday.
I will have a full time job, benefits, and vacation time, something that is very rare in this struggling economy. Not to mention that paying rent, and bills would not be hanging on my shoulders, something that I am not yet ready (as much as I'd like to say over and over that I am) I will be able to save lots and be able to leave blank checks made out to my ever supporting parents on the kitchen counter and be able to get those text messages calling me silly and unnecessary, and knowing that I'm not silly because I'm a 21 year old adult who needs to be helping. I will be able to bug my older brother, who will now if he doesn't answer my phone calls expect an arrival on his front steps from his frustrated younger sister. I will be able to bake, and cook all these recipes that I long to make knowing that my mom has all the absurd ingredients that they call for. I will be able to see my puppy, who I have been pushing out of my mind because I miss him so dearly. I will be able to finally see all these so called changes that my mom has made to the house. Ever time I talk to her she tells me that she has been on the phone with a new contractor so so&so is coming to the house, and see what she refuses to tell me what she's done.

I will miss Washington and its so very special residents with all of my heart, but I know that I will be back, and this stupid fly-over is not going to last, I will make it back to my destination.
Love,
Me.

tuesday

I will have a real grown up interview.
For a real grown up job.

I'm terrified.

in the midst of a frenzy

i've read over 80 recipes and could not settle on what to make... until i came across these two lil heart breaking, stomach growling recipes... and since i could not decide on one of them, and did not have the urge to spend $20 on a bottle of booze that i wouldn't drink again... I mixed the two together... and threw in some left over vodka from a flask, and this is what I got...

summer.

"Here's to the nights where the sand is your seat,
The waves kiss your feet,
your friends outnumber the stars,
& even the chilliest of nights
are still warmer,
than the cold one in your hand."

positive vibes

i'm in need of some positive vibes out in the universe...
two potential nanny positions in Seattle...lets hope i get one!!

hehehehe

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

excited for

finally posting resume and cover letter on the bill and melinda gates foundation website
cheesy tv watching with a girlie tonight
dip devouring tonight
a saturday filled with rosemary grapefruit martinis and fireworks on a deck with some lovely lookin ladies
nice roommates
a clean car
a fridge filled with diet coke and classy beer
a new pink american apparel sweatshirt
a new episode of life on the d list with kathy griffin tonight
a new outlook on job hunting

Dips.

No not the exercise (from which i now have a giant bump / bruise on my leg... thanks theo.) but the food.
I love dips. Not only are they mostly creamy and oh-so-tasty but you get to eat them with bread and cracker and uncooked veggies!! some of my favorite things!
And i have now discovered my new favorite food blogger (for the moment) because he has created my ultimate bad for you but oh so tasty frozen food appetizer and made it into a dip... jalapeno popper dip to be exact. I think i may be in love. Then after lusting over this recipe he has a click to try other recipes you may like and can you guess what those were?? MORE DIPS!! Hot spinach and artichoke dip, Hot sweet onion dip, not to mention the Baked brie with sundried tomatoes, and the baked brie with cranberry chutney! oh how my heart now belongs to the nerdy looking boy named kevin from Canada.

I propose a day devoted to dips.

today

I officially finished college.
I took my last ever scan-tron test and started at question number 1 and before filling in bubble number 50... i paused, pencil poised on top of the paper, and I contemplated what college has been like for me these past four years. I've changed. Not a doubt in my mind that I've changed... but thats what college is supposed to be like. I've found out things that I really don't like about my self but I am striving to change them, I've found out things that I love about myself and I hope and pray that those things will stay with me for years on end. I've met so many different types of people that have opened my eyes to different lifestyles and upbringings that people have experienced that make people either drastically different or radically the same as I am, yet still we all are still each and everyone of us, an individual. I've met people that I know are not the types of people that I want to have in my life, and people that I want to forever be in my life. I've seen traits in people that I really despise and others that I want someday have in my life. I"ve learned life lessons that I'd never think I'd have to know. I've seen people go through things that i hope I never have to go through. I've thought about the arugments that I had with peopel which either solidified what I believed in, or opened my mind once again to new things, ideas, beliefs, and views. Those arguments which at one point I hated, I now realize has taught me the most during my time here. I thanked God for the friends I've gained, for the lessons that He's taught me through the people that I've lost, for the family that He has blessed me with, and for the life that He's allowed me to create for myself.
And with that final thought I pressed my pencil down on the final bubble and darkened in the last circle of my four years at college, relishing in what a blessing it was.

mixed emotions

well i'm gunna put my interpersonal relationship classes (yes that's plural! i took two this quarter) to good use and label the emotions that are going through my head right now.
anxious of the whole no job situation
impatient for Friday
optimistic in search for non profit employment
(in) awe of things my friends are doing (ie growing babies, venturing to new countries, tackling their battles, living, enjoying, cherishing, and embracing life and love and still surviving college!!
interest for Saturdays events
scared of the unknown
a zest for life
nervous for how my family will act
antsy about my capstone paper
pride for my friends and whats coming up next for them
longing for a new crush
gloomy that tomorrow is my last day with the tob-ster.
terrified of whats next
mirth at seeing the Teachman drive around in his astrovan
excited for adventures
amusement at what dinner with Richardson was like
thrilled of no more deadlines (for now)

grateful that i have 5 stable friendships that will always be there whenever i need them.

thanks

for the adventures

for the laughs
for the college experience
for the support
for the love
for the memories
for the future

i did.


we'll see what happens.

to text or not to text.

thats the real question.

countdown

11 days till fam.
12 days till not having a plan.
13 days till crusin'.
20 days till i have to create a plan.

7 + 9

16 days till the fam.

belli bar crawl

this was a very very successful night.

got a phone number
got news of a job opening at a place where a bffworks
gave a phone number
flirted lots
bar crawled it
went to royal upstairs
had a sociological discussion with a boy at a bar
realized he was trying to justify paying for world of warcraft.
walked home.
left my soon to be new roomie on the couch with a boy she like
got a promise for breakfast out tomorrow morning.
watching wimbelton
putting clothes on hangers
decided tomorrow is a nothing day (other than filling out a job app)

because the unknown is a mear 30 days away...

I figured a Grey's Anatomy quote would sum up my new perspective on the future pretty well...

"We spend our whole lives worrying about the future
planning for the future
trying to predict the future - as if figuring it out will cushion the blow.
But the future is always changing.
The future is the home of our deepest fears and wildest hopes.
But one thing is certain when it finally reveals itself.
The future is never the way we imagined it."

for now all I can hope for is an amazing first (and hopefully not last) summer in the place that I have called my home for the past 4 years.

A summer where hopefully by the end of I will have read some amazing books, learned more about life and love, enjoyed the pacific northwest at a time where I've heard it is at its most beautiful, and maybe (if the mood strikes me) point myself in the slight direction as to where I'm headed in life.

I know for now that this friends of the children organization that I applied to is something that I want to pursue and if I don't get it with them I am going to try and find another organization that does the same essential goal, and hopefully there will be more of them around.
But for now... I am excited for the next 3 months that are ahead of me... of my family visiting the places and people that I have come to love, of graduating, a pure Washington summer, of the unknown.

new crushes

I love the feeling that you get when you have a new crush. It's very very enjoyable.

Monsooning

Arizonan monsoon's do something.
They wipe out all the dust, dirt, debris on the streets and wipe them clean. They erase the heat from the air and let you breath again. Its like the thunder scars away all the negative thoughts, feelings... stuff... that's in the air and you can breath again.
From June 15, Every afternoon, without fail, you look at the mountains looking to see if those big, dark, luxurious looking clouds come rolling over the peaks, you just know. fresh start. If you had a bad morning, well don't worry about it cause around 3 when you see those clouds start rolling in you know, just know, that your day is going to change. Not start over, but give you a chance to take a breath and relax. For those 25 minutes that the rain is spilling from the sky and the winds are wiping out all the smells from the day, and the thunder is clearing the sky, and the lightning is lighting the sky to let you know that the day isn't over yet and then, its clean.
You can start to tackle the day again.
Clear air. Fresh air.
I want to smell the fresh start.

disneyland

all i need is a nudge and a wink in the right direction towards being an grownup cause otherwise it scares the living daylights out of me.

modern technology

one of the benefits of having a young president is that he ok's really cool things like THIS something that we would have never caught a glimpse of before with the other old geezers but with him we're allowed to enter into that world and experience what he's doing and how he's doing it!! I think that it's pretty amazing if i do say so myself. So thanks mr. pres for allowing me a glimpse into your world that i would not have seen until pictures were printed in a TIMES photo book in a few years!