One Week

I literally just realized that in one week I will be packing (because I'm a last minute person) for Prague.... whoa. Let's just say that one again:

In ONE week, I will be getting ready to shove off to Prague.

So naturally, what do I do? Since I'm a list person, I try and make sure I have everything I think I might forget in one place (in this case, an REI bag in my room... actually 2 REI bags... whoops!)

Pretty much there are all the essentials:
medical kit
220v-110v converter
laptop adapter
ear plugs (carry-on!!)
eye mask (also, carry-on!)
luggage tags
etc etc etc

Then I have my jackets, boots, other shoes and what not all in the other REI bag. Anyway, none of that is the main point of this whole post.

I hadn't felt super overly excited or nervous yet... until today. I got my airline tickets last week and even THAT didn't get me overly excited. I mean really, what kind of a person gets their airline tickets to live in PRAGUE for a semester and doesn't jump up and down screaming because they're so excited?? Me, apparently. Lame.

Anyway, today my friend Chloe text me saying "Lindsay! 7 days!!" And what do I do? Grab a calendar because I don't believe her. Last time I checked it was somewhere around 15-16 days!! WHERE did all of the time go?? Anyway, she was right. And then it hit me... this is my last Thursday here that I won't be insanely busy all day packing and getting my stuff together! Tomorrow is my very last Friday! When did this happen?? Needless to say, I am now excited and slightly nervous. Which is really saying something because I can't really think of a time when I was nervous to travel. I think it's because now if I get seriously sick or something, I'll be in a foreign country!! I have insurance and all that, but is it as good as mine here? I don't know! Plus, I'm going to miss my family, friends, boyfriend, and my dog! But then again, I am going to have the TIME OF MY LIIIIIIFE!!! So as soon as I stop the 10 million wheels in my mind from turning in different directions and remember that, I'm not nervous anymore.

Here's my theory. I've had it for a long time and it's always worked out for me so far! So this is it: if my plane crashes, there is nothing I can do about it so why stress? If I'm a safe, cautious and informed traveler chances are that nothing bad will happen to me. If it does, well... I guess it was meant to. All I can be is prepared and conscientious and do my VERY best to be safe.

To sum it all up, I'm finally getting excited and kinda nervous!! All of those things are how I'm supposed to be feeling so now I feel normal instead of weird and disconnected!

Farmer's Market

So yesterday I sort of accidentally ended up at the Farmer's Market in Monterey. I was hanging out with a friend at the Wharf and we sort of just ended up there. I've always liked Farmer's Markets, but this one is pretty exceptional. There is the usual produce and flowers and such, but there is also fresh, homemade pasta (of course I bought some!! Caprese Ravioli with mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil all wrapped up in basil pasta!), beautiful breads (I couldn't take my eyes off the Apple Coffeecake... yum!), live music, arts and crafts, jams and jellies, honey, a spice booth (with loose spices and loose leaf teas!), and all sorts of other stuff!! And that's only HALF of it!! The other half has textiles, soaps, hand lotions, plants, food vendors, "draft rootbeer" (haha!), etc. It was so much fun and I'm really, really glad I stumbled upon it again. I always forget about it, since it's all the way in Monterey and I'm basically never in Monterey on Tuesdays. Oh well. It was great while I was there, now I just have to remember to get over there for it!!!

Plus, who can turn down all the free samples?? =]

Connecticut Pics that I forgot to post!

I made that tutu for Lilly!

This is a legitimate Christmas Tree farm!!

For whatever reason I forgot to post these when I came back from Connecticut! I took a lot more, but these are some of the best ones, I think. Isn't Lilly (my friend Brittany's baby) a total doll?! I love her curly blonde hair!!

Update on Eat Pray Love

So I finally finished the book Eat Pray Love, and I thought I'd post about how I felt about it, since I had said that I loved it so much before.

Let me clarify... I loved the section of the book when she's in Italy, and I kinda liked when she was in Bali. But the whole section while Liz Gilbert is in India (meditating at an Ashram, trying to be closer to God), isn't really my thing. She is a very intriguing author and her writing style is incredibly easy to follow. However, the India bit just wasn't for me.

Typically, I read books that I really like and that I'm very into in about 2-3 days depending on the size of the book and if I have anything going on. This book took me somewhere around 5-7 days to finish. I really had to force myself to sit down and finish it because the India section was hard for me to read. Not because it was poor writing or anything, but just because I have never experienced much of what she was talking about. Meditation, praying for hours on end, seeing a "blue pearl of enlightenment", etc etc. Personally, not my thing.

Once Liz got to Bali, it turned around a bit. She was doing much more than just sitting around having religious experiences. She met people, she made friends, she went to parties, she met a man, etc.

All in all, I'll say that I liked 2/3 of this book. I had hoped to love the entire thing and that it would somehow change my perspective or whatever, but it didn't. It was just a partially intriguing read, for me at least. For someone that is religious and believes in all of that, it will probably be an excellent book for you!

A Passion of Mine

One word:

COOKING.

Since I have been back at my dad's house for the summer, I haven't really cooked much. It was really nice at first, knowing that dinner will be on the table every night and not having to worry about getting it there myself.

Then, last night I decided I wanted to make a nice dinner. So, I made bbq-ed sirloins with sauteed onions on the top, mashed potatoes with roasted garlic and cheese, and steamed veggies on the side. Oh, and I also made bruschetta as an appetizer. All in all, it took about an hour and a half to get ready. Typically, we don't eat until around 9ish, whatever reason. Last night we ate at 7:15 and it was excellent.

Put shortly, I love to cook. It made me happy knowing that I made people happy. So, this morning I still had the urge to cook. So for a brunch/lunch thing I made a greek pasta salad (with pasta, onion, tomatoes, feta, and italian dressing) and then bruschetta again. I happen to love bruschetta, so I can't help but cook it when I have the stuff for it. Especially when I can just go get basil from the yard!

That's it for now, more on the cooking bit later!