Love-Day Weekend

Erik and I 'celebrated' Valentines Day yesterday since he had to work the day of. We spent the morning watching movies in our pjs and in the afternoon played tennis with a couple friends, Rushi and Emily. Afterward, Erik took me to a beautiful Cheesecake Factory for dinner, where we feasted on delicious pasta and, of course, white chocolate raspberry cheesecake, my favorite desert in the whole wide world! It was heaven in every bite. We had a most excellent date night.

The actual day of Valentines Day, I went hiking with a new friend, Alynda. She has the cutest, spunkiest Beagle named Charlie who joined us on the hike, and I had more fun taking pictures of him than our surroundings!

I also baked 24 red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting... my favorite cupcake ;). But why I made 24 I don't know, because now there are currently 15 cupcakes residing in our fridge. I had friends Emily and Ray over for some Scatagories, and luckily they were happy to take some cupcakes home with them. I don't know why, but every holiday, I'm in the mood to bake dozens of sweets, more than I can eat myself!

Today Erik and I went hiking up a mountain I haven't had the chance to hike yet near our apartments, and it was much fun. The weather was perfect. I didn't bring my camera with its zoom lense for once, so I told Erik that we were going to see wildlife since I did NOT have it with me. And of course, along the way we saw something amazing. What I believe were fallow deer! Something very rare to see, and my first time seeing them ever. They are not very common around here, and I never thought I would even see ANY deer around here because of how hot it gets here in the summer! But they (a buck and a doe) were on the side of the road, grazing on the grasses. Luckily, Erik had his little point-and-shoot camera, which turned out to be ok ;).

Fallow deer are native to the Mediterranean and SE China, but were brought over to North America long ago. They're the only deer I could make them out to be... Fallow deer are more known for their spots even as adults, but being winter, I've been told the spots are not as prominent.

The rest of our hike we only saw tiny lizards, so, 'tsall good. Nothing else along the way to feel guilty about not having my zoom lense. Just Erik being goofy and some amazing views from the top!

Stormy day

If you're still wondering whether or not I got that vet clinic job, well... it's still in the process. It's been about 3 weeks and I'm still waiting, ha! I had interviewed at 2 clinics, and then went back again for shadows, but both clinics are still interviewing other people, some probably more qualified than I am. I would say "I'll probably know in a few days", but that's what I have been saying every week and then the same thing happends. I get a call, or I call them, and they say "well, we're interviewing one more person this week so we'll get back to you". So I'm not going to make any guesses this time, and I'm not going to wait by the phone like I have been the past 3 weeks either. I'll let you know as soon as I do.

On other news, it snowed in the mountains around Pheonix! Something I didn't think I would see... But the past 3 days have been cold and stormy, and this morning we looked out the window and there was snow lightly dusted on the mountains. Pretty cool sight to see when there are desert cacti within an arms length away from you.

Birds, birds, birds

Lately I've been spotting a lot of really cool birds down here. The most frequent are Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons, both so incredably prehistoric-looking. I'm just so intrigued by them! Both are very large birds, being the largest of the egret and heron species. There are a lot of man-made ponds and lakes around here, and occasionally you will find them standing along the waterline watching for fish, and they always look fake. Below is a Great Egret that just perched itself on a palm tree overlooking the pond.

Apparently, when Great Blue Herons are fishing, they try to be as sneaky as possible, and literally "tip-toes" up on the fish. It does a little side-step move, moving closer and closer to the fish, and when it grabs the fish it barelly has to even rush. It just swoops right in and there is this nice fishy in the mouth, its life already flashing before its eyes.

"Gulp!"

Neotropic Cormorants also frequent here this time of year. I have only ever seen cormorants on the coast and thought they were strictly coastal birds... Shows how much I know about birds...

I looooove guacamole!

The Super Bowl is coming up tomorrow, and what better way to celebrate than delicious finger food and beer?!? I was never a huge fan of football, and still don't call myself a 'huge fan', but living with Erik, I have definitely gotten more into it, and know the basics. Now that I'm in Arizona, the Cardinals have gotten into their first Super Bowl! I think I bring the state good luck or something.... ;). Anyway, I will be rooting for them tomorrow, and Erik and I will be going to a friends house to watch the game. I'm making like 20 pounds of guacamole, using this recipe, multiplying each ingredient by 5:

Ingredients

• 3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled


• 1 lime, juiced


• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt


• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin


• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne


• 1/2 medium onion, diced


• 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced


• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro


• 1 clove garlic, minced

Directions

In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve.


GO CARDS!!

I have a lead!

Well I think that last entry paid off, cuz last Wednesday I got a call for an interview at a veterinary hospital just 4 major blocks away. I went in for the interview on Thursday, and the doctor there is super nice. I felt like the interview went really well, but it's a small animal vet, and I have no small animal veterinary experience on my resume. AND she interviewed 2 other people as well, who may or may not have small animal vet experience. The open position is a veterinary technician and receptionist. She wants someone that can do both. Anyway, I figured my chances of getting the job, or at least a second interview, were slim because of the lack of experience, but she also said she does enjoy teaching the tasks needed, so the experience isn't all that needed. She was really looking more at the personality. Plus, I did pre-vet stuff my first 2 years of college, so that helps a lot.

So after the weekend, I got a call and she wants to see me for a second interview this Thursday (the 29th). I thought that was pretty cool! I'll be there all day, in my scrubs, assisting with surgeries and other tasks around the hospital, meeting all the employees and having them all get to know me. I'm so excited and thankful that I finally have a LEAD!

I want to see an open door!

I have never gone this long without having a job; well at least since before I was legal to have a job, at 15. And instead of loving having all this free time, I am starting to go insane! I am the kind of person that likes to be busy, with new things happening every day, and of course a few hours of relaxation is nice ;). But I have gone since June without work. I must add that the first 3 months I was spending traveling and having fun... but as you know I moved down to Arizona to be with Erik in October, with no prior plans of a job down here. But with the luck I used to have finding jobs in the past, I figured everything would be fine; I was bound to get something! But I have actively been searching for 4 straight months and: nothing.

I graduated with a Wildlife degree, and there is not much down here in the midst of that... and I knew that coming down here. I just figured something would turn up by now. I have applied to a few wildlife jobs, but nothing really stands out, and no one is actually hiring. I have sorta become desperate and have applied to bookstores, and veterinary hospitals (10 total today). I'm sticking with places that are appealing to me, in this area, but everything else is sales! Big corporate businesses that I could never see myself working in. With the economy the way it is, there are few businesses actually hiring; most are laying off. Intel (where Erik works) will be laying off a lot of people in a couple weeks. I don't think he'll have a problem though since he is so new and fresh, and they'd rather get rid of the old. And he's a good worker.

Anyway, I am just writing this in hope that since I've kept it secret for so long that I'm FAILING AT LIFE (just kidding)... that maybe a door will be open tomorrow or the next day for me. You never know.

New Years Resolution: NO MORE MEAT!

I have always wanted to become a vegetarian, and I am finally making it official as my New Years Resolution of 2009. I have never liked red meat, and usually when looking through a menu, something with poultry or pork is the last thing I would pick. So I know it won't be hard for me. But I guess I am considered a semi-vegetarian, or "pescetarian", since I am still allowing myself to eat fish and shellfish, as long as they are not farm raised.

There are a number of reasons I have decided to do this. I have always been an animal lover, and Earth freak. My biggest reason is ethics. I believe that the production and slaughtering of animals is unethical, and I have seen first-hand behind the scenes in farming facilities and slaughterhouses, and it was really awful to me. Chickens are penned up in pens no larger than their own bodies, and their feet actually grow into the pen. Their beaks have to be cut off so they don't peck at each other, and they can't even turn around. They live like this until they are killed. Then when they're slaughtered, they are dipped in boiling water to loosen their feathers, and sometimes they don't even fully die, and suffer. Same goes for cows. They are kept in a stall so small they can't turn around, and after seeing how they slaughter them in an animal science class in 2004, I never wanted to eat meat again... That lasted 6 months, but when I worked at Reds Meadow, since all they really serve are meaty meals and I was working 11 hours a day with no rest, I needed the extra protein.

Another reason is environmental. I believe the production of meat and animal products for mass consumption, especially through factory farming, is environmentally unsustainable. According to a 2006 United Nations initiative, the livestock industry is one of the largest contributors to environmental degradation worldwide, and modern practices of raising animals for food contributes on a "massive scale" to air and water pollution, land degradation, climate change, and loss of biodiversity. In addition, animal agriculture has been pointed out as one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases – responsible for 18 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalents. By comparison, all of the world's transportation (including all cars, trucks, buses, trains, ships, and planes) emits 13.5 percent of the CO2. Animal farming produces 65 percent of human-related nitrous oxide and 37 percent of all human-induced methane. The habitat for wildlife provided by large industrial monoculture farms is very poor, and modern industrial agriculture has been considered a threat to biodiversity compared with farming practices.

Another reason is health. Studies have shown vegetarianism significantly lowers risks of cancer, heart disease, and other fatal diseases. It's been said that vegetarians tend to have lower body mass index, lower levels of cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and less incidence of heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, renal disease, osteoporosis, dementias such as Alzheimer’s Disease and other disorders.


I am still eating fish as long as they are not farmed, and dairy products, just less of them. I will still be getting an adequate amount of proteins and iron, as I know what to subsitute meats for. So don't be worring about me! I know what I'm doing, and I'm proud to do it.