2013: The Year of Getting Things Done!

Okay, okay, I know, I’m getting pretty bad at this blogging thing. I could blame the holidays, but it’s honestly a bit more than that. It’s a whole lack of motivation/feeling overwhelmed/sweating the small stuff/not feeling like I have enough time to do anything thing that I have going on right now.

Not a terribly fun opener to this post, I suppose, and I don’t intend for this to sound whiny, but yeah. I’ve been feeling pretty stressed out lately. Like, anxiety-knot-in-my-chest stressed out. The crazy part about that is that I really don’t have much to feel overwhelmed about. I don’t have kids, I don’t own a house, and I’m not in school… I really just work and go home and I still feel like I don’t have enough hours in the day. It’s probably silly, I know. But by the time I make dinner, do my laundry, buy groceries, run errands, read up on the latest in pop culture news, watch my beloved tv shows, tend to my dying garden, and hang out with that crazy cool boyfriend of mine, I’m exhausted and feel like I haven’t accomplished anything.

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” --L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Let me start with two quick notes. 1. I didn’t mean to go so long without updating. I just got lazy, which really isn’t much of an excuse. But blogging regularly does take some discipline, which I haven’t seemed to acquire just yet. I’m working on it. I will do my darndest to update with much more frequency.

2. I started this post about a month and a half ago, and it’s all about fall. Since we are now in the Christmas season (yay!), I realized that this post will start to sound really out of place (if it doesn’t already) if I hold off any longer. So here you are!

Now, onto the writin’ stuffs.

Vote.

I am dating a man who is a British citizen, but grew up with a passion for American football, and immigrated to this country in order to pursue his dream of coaching. He received his MBA in the U.S., and has spent the last 10 years working as a collegiate football coach. But his job is about much more than the sport. He has helped hundreds of young men attend college, when without his recruiting, they might not have ever had the chance. He has guided them through financial aid and the application process, giving them an opportunity that too many young students in this country don't have access to. He has served as a mentor to these young men—guiding them both on and off the field. He trains these athletes to be leaders, teammates, and to put everything they have into everything they do. He works 80 hours per week during the football season, and almost as many out of it.

As a resident of the United States, he pays taxes, he abides by the laws set by our government, he contributes to the economy, and quite honestly, he does more to contribute to society than I, an American citizen, do. He's an amazing person, and someone our country should be proud to welcome.

The Best Damn Cupcake I've Ever Eaten

Living in SoCal is dangerous. But I'm not talking about gangs or road rage or murders or that kind of danger. I mean that within a 1 mile radius of my apartment, there are more restaurants of every variety I can think of than I've ever had access to in my entire life. More than one should have access to.

It's dangerous because I now not only have a cupcake shop I like (something I didn't have before in the Midwest), but I now have a favorite cupcake shop. Meaning there are multiple bakeries devoted solely to cupcakes and I have sampled enough of them to both feel like a complete glutton and come out with a favorite.

Dangerous.

Dangerous because I've been on a diet for the last 11 months or so, and I've lost 45 pounds so far, which is great and I'm crazy excited about it. I haven't done any crazy fad diet either... when people ask how I've lost the weight, I usually say, "I'm on the 'put less shit in my mouth' diet." 90% of the time, I'm really good and eat well and healthy and all that, but once in awhile, I just need a day where I say, "screw this" and then I go and get a cupcake.

Which, really, is what a healthy diet is all about right? Balancing the good with the occasional indulgence? Please agree, at least to make me feel better about these cupcakes.

This post contains the word "awkward." A lot.

I’m awkward. Chances are, you already know that. I mean, the blog is called Awkward Gal. And that’s for a reason. But I’m fully aware of how awkward I am—almost too aware sometimes, because then I fret about how awkward I am and that makes me even more awkward.

It’s a vicious cycle.

But one of my biggest weaknesses and confidence-deterrents is also a constant sort of amusement for me. Ask anyone that knows me and they’ll tell you that I have a pretty darn good sense of humor about all of my awkwardness. I’m not putting myself down by calling my blog “Awkward Gal,” I’m honestly in on the joke. (Also, note that I tried to call my blog Awkward Girl, but that was taken by someone who hasn’t updated in years. But isn’t “gal” a kind of awkward, out-of-date word? It fits.) I’m usually the first to call myself out when I do something awkward. I laugh about it—a lot.

But people I don’t know very well don’t know how to react when I call myself “socially awkward.” Their first instinct is always to turn on that consoling denial mode… “No you’re not! You’re totally not! You’re just – you’re not awkward!”

Hey. I get it. You don’t want to hurt my feelings. But really, I am. I’m awkward. I’m okay with it. You can be okay with it too. Laugh about it with me, tease me about it, call me out on it. I mean, don’t be cruel, obviously, I am rather self-conscious, but if I say something that’s slightly uncomfortable and follow it up with “well, that was awkward,” you can agree. I promise I won’t hate you for it.

Well, probably.

Reclaiming Cooking

A few weeks ago, I made mushroom and goat cheese quesadillas… which makes me sound way fancier than I actually am. I just had some leftover goat cheese on hand and didn’t want it to mold, and I adore mushrooms. There’s nothing that makes me feel like more “chef-like” than when I’m sautéing mushrooms in butter (mmmm… butter).

Yum.

Mushrooms + butter = fancy. Basic math.

Random Life Update Round-Up

I apologize for not posting a proper update in a few weeks. Initially, I didn’t update for awhile because I couldn’t think of any full-length posts. Then I decided I could just put a lot of little updates in one. Then, when working on that, I came up with another post idea. And then another. And then a fourth one. So now I have a bunch of unfinished, half thought-out blog entries.

But then I got busy and didn’t have a computer and so this update just sat, waiting to be completed and posted. So here goes… a completely random life update round-up. (It’s a little lengthy. I hope you don’t mind.)

A few weeks ago, Rich and I went to the San Diego Zoo, which was a blast and a half. I noticed that we were some of the only people there without kids, but then, well, this happened:

And this:

And I found myself getting just as excited as a bunch of the little tykes there and realized that maybe we did have a kid with us.

Me. It’s me. I’m the kid.