/ Texas Sarah

HOME

My word-blog of the day, as requested, is: HOME

I'm starting to get a tingle in my feet to do some traveling. I have plans to head back to Austin for a visit in August, along with a quick trip to NOLA (Gui's never been), but I'm ready to take a jet-plane across an ocean. I made a new year's resolution to visit my good ol' friends back in London before the end of the year, so I really hope to follow through on my plans before the new year begins. I was lucky enough to vacation in France twice last year and spend a few months in Italy the year before, but I think I've been spoiled now and feel a little sad that I may not be able to take my yearly trip across the Atlantic. The year isn't over, yet, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll still be able to make it abroad!

The lovely Nottingham crew in Texas - 2002(?)

random

Eye Sty

I don't know if it's from all the dust and dirt I've been around at work or just from random bacteria in my eye, but I've come down with a sty and it ain't pretty.

I'm applying a warm compress to it as recommended, so hopefully it'll be gone in a couple of days.

Cali Work

Valley Girl

I've recently discovered the true meaning of a "valley girl" since I started working in the valley last week. There are quite a few differences between the valley, the OC and LA. I haven't yet figured them all out, but I've noticed a few. The biggest difference to me, though, isn't necessarily the people so much as the weather! I need to get my A/C serviced, so I've been rolling down the windows lately, and just as I make my way from the 101 in the Valley to the 405 heading toward LA, the temperature drops about 10-15 degrees around one curve! And, just as I leave the 405 toward Long Beach, another burst of cooler air hits and the temps have gone down 20 degrees from the time I left work to the time I get home! It really is crazy to experience. As pretty as all those mountains are in the valley, I'm much happier being near sand and ocean, profitting from the cooler temps.

Shopping Work

Dangerous working conditions

So, this week I was able to see for the first time where I'd been training to work for these past few months. Although the store's not quite ready yet (and it's going to be SO awesome when it's ready), I've determined that the mall we're in is absolutely a dangerous place for me to be working in. It's home to 2 of my favorite places (besides the store I work for), Pinkberry & Target...yes, TARGET inside the mall! Not to mention, the foodcourt at this place is incredible; they've got Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, French, Greek, a NY deli, a gourmet sandwich shop, burgers, and any kind of food you could want to have for your 1-hour lunch break, not to mention a creperie and gelateria for dessert. I was stoked when I realized how close we were to the Starbucks, but little did I know I'd have far more temptations to fight around the mall. They have an entire section dedicated to cosmetics...Sephora, Bare Escentuals, MAC...and shoe-stores galore! But, it's going to be only window shopping for me for now, at least until my commute to work stops costing me $140 in gas every week! Gotta love the California cost-of-living....boooo!

my opinion random

Much more than meets the eye

So, Gui and I checked out the Transformers movie today after hearing Melynda rave about it, and we were suprisingly surprised at how good it was! Of course it has its cheesy parts, but how can you possibly make a movie from an 80's-inspired action figure without a little cheesiness? There was more violence than I would normally like to see, but it all suited the movie well, and kept my full attention the entire time. The violence, however, would be a little much (in my opinion) for a kid under 7 or 8, but the effects are really cool. The storyline's not bad either, and it always helps to have a little comedy with so much action going on. So, my final review is 4 out of 4 stars for the movie!

Cooking random

Low fat, schmo fat

OK, I understand that this country is in an obesity crisis and we sell too much processed food in our grocery stores, but it's really frustrating when you're trying to find an ingredient to cook with that calls for a "regular" chicken stock or "whole milk" yogurt, and all you can find is the sodium-free or low-fat kind! If we're going to make a difference in the way we eat, take the Oreos and Snickers off the shelves, but don't "reduce" all the good stuff so people can go around eating a candy bar and still feel good about themselves because they had a "low-fat" yogurt.