A Tasty Summer

      I've discovered that I love to cook! Of course there were the times I helped my mom in the kitchen, but now I'm planning, grocery shopping, and cooking on my own. Its been a creative outlet for me. Since my lunches have consistently been a peanut butter sandwich and carrot sticks, so I look forward to each time I can devote a couple hours to preparing and savoring a new dish. 

Because my current state of internetless has prevented me from blogging regularly, I have been keeping a photo journal of my favorite meals and am excited to finally be able to share them!

Chicken Salad with Sweet Potato Fries: 

Pasta Cooked with Veggies, served with Salad and Iced-Tea: 

 Stir Fry in my new cast-iron skillet: 

The final product! Beef Teriyaki Stir-Fry over Rice: 

Chicken and Veggies....

 ...Tossed with Pasta and a Cream Sauce:

Well there you have it, a little peek into my life as a chef :)

Bon Appétit!

Vacuum Cleaner Excitement.

"So, when is it, exactly, that I'll feel like an adult?" 

This is a question I have been asking myself for most of the week. Tomorrow will by the one-week anniversary of my graduation and it was still feeling pretty surreal. I say "was" because all that has changed now.

Two days ago my Mama and I went shopping for my new apartment, which was more fun than anything. We roamed the stores looking for the essentials, and then, we turned down the vacuum cleaner isle of Walmart. 

"Does your place have a vacuum?" My mother asked

"No, we were talking about needing to get one."

"Well how about this? It's small and inexpensive and should work just fine for your little place." 

A few texts later and I had the approval of my roommates and the little Bissell in the bag! But, believe it or not that still wasn't the moment that I felt like an adult. No, it was the following morning when I woke up, from dreaming about the apartment, wondering how long it would be before I could test out my new vacuum cleaner. 

Resignedly yours,

Post Graduation Bucket List - Take 2

Well, I've been a college grad for less than 72 hours and its been a interesting few days.  Entering the world of adulthood comes with its ups and downs... it's crazy to think that I'm not going back in the fall, or that my days of sitting in class and eating cafeteria food are over. Now its on to paying rent, cooking meals, and grumbling about the price of gas!

In honor of my graduation, I thought it was fitting to revisit the Post Graduation Bucket List I posted a while ago. Here's a brief update: 

(You should know: Strike - Accomplished   |   Italics - In Progress   |   Bolded - Still on the "To Do" list)

1. Get a job (just starting with the basics here!) 
         Just accepted a position a couple of weeks ago and I start Monday! 
2. Find some means of transporting myself to said job
         Working on this one - with any luck, I'll be the owner of a little VW Cabrio in under two weeks.
3. Develop a budget
         Working on it, but it looks like I'll be set.
4. Become a coupon clipper
         Thanks to my wonderful Mama, I have a little coupon collection already.
5. Get involved in my home church
         A slight change of plans, I won't be going back to my home church regularly, but instead I'll be continuing to attend a wonderful little church close to my apartment. 
6. Find 1 reason to smile each day
7. Seek a community of friends
8. Journal often
         Er... working on this one! 
9. Run a 5K marathon
         I've been waiting for the rain to stop, great excuse huh? 
10. Curb my appetite for new dresses (see #3)
          Well, I needed a new dress for graduation right??
11. Stay in-touch with college friends
12. Visit said college friends
          Less than a month until the Lyon/Wright wedding!
13. Scrapbook my semester in Rome
14. Take up upholstery (Call me crazy, but I want to be able to do this...and this!)
          A summer project perhaps? 
15. Become a "regular" at a tiny, romantic coffee shop
16. Keep fresh flowers in my place of residence
17. Read books for fun
          Thank goodness for Amazon Prime - just a few days to wait :) 
18. Subscribe to 1 or 2 magazines and read them faithfully 
19. Continue my love affair with chalkboards... and maybe even act on my feelings
20. Write notes to those I love
21. Blog faithfully on my boring life as an adult
          Does this post count as a start? 
22. Enjoy every cup of tea I have
23. Master the art of wearing heals
          Well, I didn't trip on the platform at graduation and survived the muddy lawn. Check! 
24. Get a library card and use it often
25. Keep thinking about jobs in Europe...
          I never stop thinking about it. 2012 here I come! 

Here's to adulthood,

Springtime and Zombies and Commencement – Oh My!!

What a crazy semester this has been. It’s the last of my college career, and probably the best so far. It has been a rough ride in places, but I've made the best friends I have ever had and found myself being stretched and growing in so many ways.

Graduation is going to be bitter sweet. In some ways I cannot wait to get off campus and away from school. The distance will be much needed. But, of course there are going to be things I’ll miss. My housemates, classes, theater… I’m going through theater withdraw already actually.

It has been wonderful to get involved in theater again. First with the Cherry Orchard and then the student directed one-acts. Special thanks to Sofia for allowing me to be part of her pantomimes and to Kevin for writing the best Zombie script this side of Greenfield! As a shy freshman I would have never guessed I’d be painting my face like a mime and running through the cafeteria as part of a Zombie flash mob. It’s been fantastic!

And then there are my housemates. Ten wonderful girls that have made this year incredible. How could I have made it without all of you? J

So many great memories, but the future is looking promising too. I have a little apartment with a few pieces of furniture and I’m looking forward to the time when it will feel like home. A job is in the works and pretty soon I’ll be the owner of my very own vehicle.

Bitter-sweet… so many things to be sorry to leave, and so much to be excited about in the future.

So much thinking,

Post-Graduation Bucket List

The future is big and wonderful... but too big and wonderful to leave unfilled with happy plans! So, since I am about to enter into the world of real adulthood, I have decided to create a bucket list for my first year out of college. This is just a start...

1. Get a job (just starting with the basics here!)
2. Find some means of transporting myself to said job
3. Develop a budget
4. Become a coupon clipper
5. Get involved in my home church
6. Find 1 reason to smile each day
7. Seek a community of friends
8. Journal often 
9. Run a 5K marathon
10. Curb my appetite for new dresses (see #3)
11. Stay in-touch with college friends
12. Visit said college friends 
13. Scrapbook my semester in Rome
14. Take up upholstery (Call me crazy, but I want to be able to do this...and this!)
15. Become a "regular" at a tiny, romantic coffee shop
16. Keep fresh flowers in my place of residence
17. Become the proud owner of some colorful Fiestaware
18. Subscribe to 1 or 2 magazines and read them faithfully 
19. Continue my love affair with chalkboards... and maybe even act on my feelings
20. Write notes to those I love
21. Blog faithfully on my boring life as an adult
22. Enjoy every cup of tea I have
23. Master the art of wearing heels
24. Get a library card and use it often
25. Keep thinking about jobs in Europe...

Dreaming about that last one, 

Real Life is Right Around the Corner...

People say that college is the best four years of your life. I hope that's not true. Two months from tomorrow I graduate. Don't get me wrong, the last four years have been wonderful. The experiences I have had and the friends that I have made will be with me for the rest of my life. But its also brought some of the toughest experiences of my life too. Lets hope that things don't all go down hill from here!


So yeah...two months.

I have a small brain aneurysm every time I think about it.

No, I don't have any plans yet, thank you for reminding me. Real life seems to be closing in so quickly and its exciting and frightening all at the same time. I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds, and nervous that I somehow won't be able to cope with it all.

Two months...Freshman year it seemed like these final days would never come. Maybe if I just close my eyes, all the scary insurance and loan monsters will disappear. No? Well then... here's to a fan-stinkin-tastic last two month of college - may they be the best yet!

Wide-eyed and wondering,

Bottled Memories

Do you ever wish that you could hold on to a moment? A happy time where the world is so perfect that you want to hurry and capture it in your memory before it fades. But before this can be accomplished, the moment has passed, and the memory is only a shadow.

There are several points in my life where I wish my memories could have been bottled and tucked away to be saved for later. Moments in Rome are some of the most common. The moment I first saw the Pieta, or stood a the altar in Saint Peter's with tears streaming down my face, the cow bells in Austria, the stillness of mountains, seeing the Mona Lisa, the feel of riding the metro, and the faces of the group I learned to love. Moments that are gone and can never be recovered.

Every now and then somethings brings one of these moments to mind. A photo, a word, a smell...somehow, it transports me back to that moment for a split second.

Moments are such strange things. They are so beautiful, powerful and even life changing...and then they're gone. But if we didn't leave them behind, how could we move onto experiencing the moments that the future holds for us? We can't relive memories but there are new ones to be gained every day.

Perhaps that is how we make it through life. Treasuring moment past and hoping for the ones to come.

From memory lane,

Imagination: Such A Slippery Thing

Its been a while since my last post on An Optimist's Alcove. Last semester traveling took over my life, then working consumed the summer, and once again I was back to school...in short, growing up, taking responsibility and trying to figure out how to be an adult. Exciting right?

The problem with the blogging bug is that once you're bit - it sticks with ya. Its been a while since my first bout with the blogging bug, but it would seem that I've got the itch again.

So what sparked this change?

A few weeks ago my Dad came home from work and shared a quote that he had received in an email:

"Every child is an artist,

the trouble is remembering

that when you're an adult."

If you know my Dad, he's more a slow moving type of person...it takes a lot to get him motivated, but that one simple quote seemed to do some magic. Before I knew it, he had built an entire website!

On my first visit to HendersonWorks I was really impressed with the snazzy layout and the the great display of artwork. My Dad truly is an artists, and I not only think he remembered it - but now the whole world knows! He's got a great vision too, and hopes that HendersonWorks will also someday showcase the artistic talents of his brothers.

Passing on the inspiration...

Helping with his blog inspired me to once again resurrect An Optimists Alcove as a place to ponder and reflect. With so much going on and so many changes on the horizon, I need to remember that little child with an overactive imagination, and not loose her in the shuffle of "real" life.

Somewhere over the rainbow,

A Day in the Life of a Jet-Lagged Student

So, this is going to be a short one because I've now been up for about 42 hours straight.

Everything with our flights on Thursday went beautifully. When we actually boarded for Rome I had a brief spazz out moment with one of the other students seated next to me. All through take off and the first few hours we just kept coming back to Rome, all we wanted to do there, and all we would be able to see, do, and learn. It didn’t seem possible.

Over the 8.5 hour flight I slept a totally 45 minutes. The rest of my time was spent watching cheesy movies, chit chat, and gazing out over the France and seeing Paris totally lit up at about 5am. Then I witnessed a beautiful sunrise, and got an incredible view of the Swiss Alps! It was so beautiful.

When we landed in Rome we bustled through the airport. Everyone got their luggage and we headed to the convent. Lisa and I dumped our bags in our fabulous little room and ran off to explore. The grounds are gorgeous!

Jet lag caught the whole group and we were quite a solemn bunch during the afternoon and dinner. But the night turned out well. Dr Zabo taught us how to order Gelato in Italian and I was served by a very handsome waiter ;)

Its finally hitting me how long I am going to be here, and I'm not going to lie, I was already homesick today. I have not clue what tomorrow holds, but I know that its going to be amazing. For now I'm putting all my stress aside and trying to focus on what HE has planned! P.S. My life is so amazing right now. Thank you Lord!

6 Days...Lets Just Take a Moment to Think About This Shall We?

So, in less than one week I will be boarding a plane to spend three months of my life in Europe. (I'm sure by now you're tired of hearing this, but then again, you could go read someone else's blog ;) Anyways, to make a long story short, I was thinking about all of the things in my life that are going to change as I embark on this new adventure. For example:

In 6 days I'll be in a totally new country and culture

By September 16 I will have been in school one week - Geneva students will be at 2.5 weeks

In two months I will have visited five European countries. I'll have spent the night on a train, stayed in multiple hostels, experienced couch surfing, sang "Do Ra Me" on the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, seen a fashion show in Paris, and stood before the glimmering lights of the Eiffel Tower.

And within the next three months I will have traveled through Italy, ridden a gonadal, been lost on the metro, learned how to cook, see the Coliseum and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, studied a foreign language, lived with the locals, and made new friends.

There will be tough times to. I know that I'll get homesick and have to deal with problems just like any other time in my life. But I hope this will be such an incredible opportunity for me just to grow into the person that God wants me to be.

Its hard to take it all in. So much is going to happen to me in a mere 90 days and I am looking forward to ebracing this new experience with all of the joy and enthusiasm I can must. The Lord has given me such an amazing opportunity to learn and I cannot wait to find out what He has planned. This truly will be a life changing experience....I'm not sure you'll recognize the Sarah who comes back!

And it all starts in 6 days...

An Expected Surprise

Picture this: a young woman walking purposefully towards the train station. She tosses her fair into the machine as if she’s done it a million times before. Confidently she crosses the tracks and board the inbound platform, claiming a bench as she patiently waits for the train’s arrival.

......Okay, so maybe it wasn’t exactly like that. Maybe she was running and her hands shook while she straightened out her rumpled dollar bills. Maybe she arrived at the station four with four minutes to spare, praying that she would get on the right train. Yeah, that was me. Once I was seated, the conductor announced that this was “42S” and what a moment of triumph that was!

Then I had one of those ‘grow-up’ moments. You know, when it suddenly hits you that you’re an adult.

I settled into the seat, catching my reflection in the window – it was a good hair day. Pulling out my iPod and a current magazine article, I felt every inch the city girl. Taylor Swift, Coldplay, and Kris Allen tumbled into my ears I glanced around the car. It probably would have made a better story if there were a bunch of unsavory characters on board, but no – just two old ladies and a guy speaking Japanese into his cell phone. Seriously, I’m sure whoever your talking to is not deaf. At least not yet.

After a brief moment of unnecessary panic, I managed to get off at the right station and made my way onto the streets of Pittsburgh. I be-bopped my way for a few city blocks – this time looking every inch the confident young woman. And met my hot date at a classy bar/restaurant that serves tomato basil soup that’s to die for.

Okay, say maybe my hot date was my aunt, but everything else is true.

We played tourist by snapping tons of pictures and then went to see an incredible performance of Le Miserables.

Isn't it funny how growing up just kind of sneaks up on you. A year ago, there is not a chance I would have made that trip. Its amazing how much can happen in 12 months - a mere 356 days. In some ways, when you realize you're a grown-up it’s a surprise, but in others its something that's just a natural instinct. Like breathing, it is just comes naturally.