Turkey Coma

Before I crash for the night, with my belly full of goodness, I figured I had to blog, with it being my favorite holiday and all...

This is just my second Thanksgiving ever to spend away from my family, and oddly enough, I didn't really have any homesickness all day (sorry, Mom)! I really enjoyed figuring out the exact science to the family sweet potato souffle recipe (turns out to be not too difficult) and discovering if I actually could make a pecan pie (I can).  Brian and I spent the evening with some of our friends here, and it was a fantastic time. I love holidays spent with random people from your life, and it always means so much to be included in other peoples' holidays and traditions as well.

This afternoon Brian and I helped serve Thanksgiving dinner at the church we've been attending here. The church also runs a men's shelter, and so we served those men as well as some others, and it was a great time. I have always wanted to do something like that and have never had the chance. Thanksgiving seems like such a random holiday, but I know if I was out on the streets in the cold snowy nastiness that we have had, it would mean a whole lot to be invited in for a meal and included in others' traditions.

And I have once again been humbled by all that I have been blessed with in life. I may not have a job right now, but I have a ton of stuff that I am thankful for and should be thankful for more often. I know when we have troubles we tend to get bogged down by them (or is that just me?). Sometimes it's hard to see out from behind our little wall of sorrow or stress to the true reality of how blessed we really are. I may not have a job, but I have an education that will probably help me get a great job one day. I have a wonderful family and mother who is there with cooking advice every single time I call her for help with a recipe. I have some fantastic friends, both here in Seattle and all over the country. I have a nice warm home and bed to come home to, food in my fridge, and lots of things to keep me entertained and keep my crafty hands busy. And I also have an amazing fiancee and his wonderful family that I will someday soon become a part of. I am blessed beyond belief.

And again, I'm reminded of the first Thanksgiving I spent away from home, one I hope I never forget, in a country thousands of miles away and clear on the other side of the world... Two years ago today, my Elon friends and I brought a Thanksgiving celebration to our roommates and friends at the University of Ghana. We cooked without electricity or running water and held a feast with some very American food-- turkey, dressing, jello... The works. It was an American tradition that I was truly proud to spread to my foreign friends, and as we went around the circle of us (American, Ghanaian, Swedish, and more), I got the chills big time. I hope I never forget it... So here's to a Thanksgiving as good as that and as great as many before this... May we all have a lot to be thankful for between now and next year, and may we allow ourselves to take in all of the blessings on other days besides this.

Me and my Ghanaian friend Sophie at Thanksgiving in 2008

Big week

Not only did we get engaged, but we experienced our first snow in the Pacific Northwest! Being in Seattle in the snow isn't all that different from being at Elon or in Memphis when it snows... the city is relatively unprepared because it really doesn't snow that much here. People don't know what to do. Crazy driving ensues. And school gets shut down with a few measly inches. Just the way I like it...

Farmer's market on Sunday, where we saw the first flurries...

And this adorable dog...

AND I bought sweet potatoes... successful day.

Monday afternoon... Brian goes zen despite the cold and wind...

And manages to look dashing at the same time.

And I react to snow (which I don't like) in the same fashion I react to tickling (which I don't like): giggly hysteria.

Did I mention we're engaged??

Surprise!

I hadn't blogged in awhile because nothing exciting had really happened... Thank goodness last night Brian gave me something great to blog about! A diamond ring!!! :)

I know you're probably curious about the story... I went to the gym yesterday afternoon and came back to the apartment (just picture me, sweaty, gross, disgusting, smelly, you get it), and found it empty. Brian had left me a note that said he had to go out to pick something up, but while he was gone, he had a scavenger hunt for me to do! I knew he had a "secret" date planned for tonight, so part of me thought it might just be that, and part of me was freaking out thinking "Is this what I think it is?!" So, completely flustered (and still sweaty, mind you), I went on the scavenger hunt in our apartment. It was adorable, and included a nice little picture video to Aladdin's "A Whole New World." The last clue led me out onto our balcony (the blinds had been shut), and I peeked out to see Brian sitting there at our little table. At this point, I knew. Ahhhhhh... SO I went outside, in the cold, and he proposed. It was lovely and tearful and fantastic, as it should be. So all in all, a good night! I got the most beautiful and perfect diamond ring, and I get to spend forever with my very best friend. I'm so psyched and am feeling quite blessed.

And because I know you're curious, we have no clue about the wedding. As in, no idea of a time frame, location, or even region of the country it will be in. We're going to take some time to enjoy being engaged! And we'll keep you posted of course!

Yay :)

Rain and Venice

The Emerald City is a looking a little gray today. Is anyone else a little depressed about the daylight savings time thing? I really love the whole sleep-an-extra-hour thing, but it starts getting dark here at like 4:30! Crazy. I am such a spring/summer/early fall person, it's ridiculous. Rain and cold just don't quite do it for me. We have had some nice days, though, and when it's nice here, it is just beautiful!

Enough weather talk-- I sound like my parents. This weekend was pretty great. We had some friends over on Friday, and it was nice to get to know them a bit better and eat some good food. We also went to this church that we've been going to fairly regularly. We had to get there early because Brian joined the choir, so he had to warm up with them. That left me, the one who has negative singing talent, sitting outside on a bench reading Time and waiting for something to do. This is when I met an adorable old woman named Venice (fantastic name, right?). She hobbled over to me on her walker, sat right down, and pretty much told me her life story. She came out to Seattle when she was about our age. She came on a train from Minnesota, and said her parents thought she was crazy, leaving for this city with no place to live and no job. I chuckled a bit, seeing as that's exactly what I did. I think she landed a job a tad faster than I have, though. She said she moved out here to "meet a man," and that she did. She's been here for 66 years. She was adorable, and it was a great spot in my day.

Brian and I have officially volunteered to serve a Thanksgiving meal for homeless people, which I'm pretty excited about. At churches I have previously attended, I've always heard about events like that, but I've never been able to work them. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday ever, and I'm really excited to be doing some service on that day to spread a little of the Thanksgiving joy. Something good to look forward to. 

And I'll leave you with this... Rain drops on our balcony.

Flying with Nighthawk

I fly super under the radar. Just throwing that out there.

Also, I joined a church choir the other night.
It's fantastic. Or should I say 'Fabulous!'
cuz the guy next to me reapplied his foundation
at least twice during the rehearsal. I kid you not.
He told me he just has to keep up his shine, and i told
him I totally understood, cuz what can you do but stay fresh?
Also, I hadn't done any serious singing since high school
and i almost lost my voice but it was great. so refreshing.

Katie and I ate cupcakes the other day.

I just ate so many cookies and drank several glasses of coke.
So I am totally strung up for the evening. But had a delightful
evening with some friendsies.

Ups and Downs

Life's a rollercoster, you know? One minute things are great, and the next they may not be so great... Well, I feel like I've been in one giant up my whole life and now I'm experiencing a bit of a down. Words cannot express how tired I am of being unemployed. My greatest sympathy goes out to all those people we have known recently who have had long bouts of unemployment, and who have also had to take care of a family at the same time. I know my problems are not nearly as huge, but it sucks anyway. I am so tired of being at a stand-still. I want something that not only will keep me occupied during the day, but is something that I can be excited and passionate about. Something where I feel like I am making a difference in this ridiculous world. It turns out that a BA in Sociology doesn't necessarily give you a huge skills set that entice employers... It's not just the being bored and having not much to do that's hard about this, though. It's trying to figure myself out, what I want to do, what I could do and still stay sane if I were to get an offer at some menial task. It's also getting rejected constantly and having the keep a positive morale and not letting that get me down, which is much more difficult than I expected it to be. I really want to have something that I love. I dread having to say, "My boyfriend is in school to get his PhD in Chemical Engineering and I work at a shoe store." What? I went to a great college, where I was involved in a lot. I had leadership experiences, I volunteered a ton, I studied abroad. I am a smart person. I am driven and passionate about doing some good. Something has to come along, right? I'm sure it will.

Luckily, I have discovered that one can have ups and downs at the same time. While the unemployment thing is one giant down, it has been really nice to have a lot of people supporting me and offering continuous encouragement. Brian has been very good to me, and I feel bad that he has to deal with me through all my emotional distress. It's nice to have someone here. Having some free time has meant having time to keep in touch with people, which has been great. I miss my best friends, but most of us have kept in touch really well, and I am so incredibly thankful for them. I've read some good books, learned about a lot of great organizations around Seattle, and have had time to exercise, which has been really nice. Hopefully that will counteract the cookies I plan to make today.

And finally, ladies and gentlemen, get ready for the biggest "up" of all... Brian has been eating vegetables. Now if you have known Brian Swift for any part of his life before now, he has always stayed far, far away from anything green, or anything that wasn't chicken or turkey or bar-b-que, for that matter. But the other day he actually walked in the door and one of the first things out of his mouth was "I want a salad." No joke. It happened. And the next day he texted me during the day about how much he was craving veggies and the day after that he had me make him a salad to take to school for lunch. There are definitely things he still won't eat, like sugar snap peas which I think he might veto forever, but he's enjoying broccoli, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and lettuce. Crazy, right?

We went to the locks yesterday-- isn't fall just lovely here when it's sunny?

He's a good one.

Ghana Remix

As you all know, I have a great love for Ghana. I spent a semester there and am a member of a group at Elon that raised funds for a health clinic (among other projects) in the Volta region of Ghana. Some of my 2010 Periclean Scholars classmates who are still at Elon just sent out a video that they put together for a contest, and I love it. Thought I'd share. And thank you again to everyone who has given money to the project. We're still collecting funds for the sustainability of the health clinic, because band aids and advil don't last forever!

November? What?

Seriously, is anyone else as weirded-out as I am that it's already November? Suddenly it's cold and rainy and almost holiday time (and time to make decisions that I have put off about the holidays), and I am still in summer/fall mode. Sad day. I'm wondering how Brian would feel if I took a temp job in Southern Cali or Arizona or Florida or something... Hmmmmm... ;)

Anyway, I hope you all had a happy Halloween! Sadly, we did not get a single trick-or-treater, which was unfortunate. But, understandable, because at all the shops and boutiques and cafes and stuff in our neighborhood, they had a huge event where kids could trick-or-treat at all the businesses yesterday afternoon. Brian and I went and sat outside of a coffee shop to costume-watch, and it was so fantastic. There were just crowds of parents and kids and poor dressed-up dogs. We're talking hundreds of people. It was hilarious to just sit there and people-watch. And we decided our favorite family costume was when they all dressed up as bees with the dad dressed as a bee-keeper. Cute. So that was fun, and made it more okay that we didn't have any kids come to our door. And! I almost forgot to tell you, they had a pet costume contest in our building yesterday, and it was hilarious. We stopped by on our way in from church, and thank goodness, because otherwise we would have missed the 120 pound Newfoundland wearing a XXL plaid shirt dressed as a cowboy, complete with hat and gun holster. Amazing.

In other news, with all my unemployed free-time, I have a lot of time to cook. And read books. And watch documentaries. And apply to jobs. Please note that this is not as fun as it sounds. It's kind of boring and un-fun. Moral of the story is that I have yet another recipe to share! Chicken parmigiana is one of those things I never even think to make at home. It seems like it just belongs in an Italian restaurant, but it felt like the right thing to do last week, so I made it. And then I made it again the next night because it was just so darn tasty. So thanks, Martha Stewart, for being awesome. And all of you should make this. It's surprisingly easy. Go here: Martha's Chicken Parmigiana, and let your taste buds be happy.