MIA

Hey Guys, I know I've been MIA lately -- I've just been feeling a little (or a lot) under the weather. I've missed some time from work too and haven't really done much the past week except try and sleep it off. I hope you'll bear with me for awhile until I'm back at it :-)

Come What May

Something very amazing happened to me a couple of months ago. I stumbled upon a blonde, Canadian version of myself who is living in some parallel universe in Utah with her husband Ben. Say whaaaat? It really is the strangest thing to read something that someone else writes and feel like you wrote it. Almost every single post on Come What May leaves me wondering if she didn't hack into my computer and steal one of my unpublished posts. Basically Cassie and I are the same person, living two different lives. Mine in California and hers in Utah. Let's examine the facts shall we? 

• She was married on the exact same day as me and Brandon. 10.9.10. I mean that alone almost seals the deal for me.

• She confessed that she thinks she looks the best in car mirrors. There is just something about the lighting or the angle in the car. I died when I read this because how true is that?!

• She is obsessed with Diet Coke. Enough said. 

• She shared this recipe that will make you drool all over your keyboard. Whipped cream...crushed oreos... caramel...crushed pecans...chocolate...cheesecake... Okay so this fact actually has nothing to do with me, but I love you guys and wanted to share something so delectable. 

• She's Canadian. Okay, so I might not be Canadian, but this one wins her points because I've yet to meet a Canadian that I didn't like! Wanna know why it's so great to be Canadian? Read on. 

I've now scientifically proven that she is living my life in a parallel universe. 

Bottom line, you will love her.

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Q & A #2 in the orange orchard

On the way back from Julian a couple of weeks ago, 

we pulled over at an Orange Orchard and wandered around taking a couple of pictures. 
I could not justify doing a whole blog post on them but figured I would share them with another Q & A session. 

What are some of your pet peeves?
Where do I start? Traffic, slow drivers, tail gaters, loud chewing, guys with long nails, one long pinky nail, dirt under fingernails, servers that aren't quick with refills, ignorance, the word hella. Is it normal to have so many? I could keep going...

Favorite TV channel?

 We actually just cancelled our cable (gasp). We found that we were paying close to $100 and RARELY watching it. Since we didn't have DVR, I never managed to actually catch my favorite shows when they were on, so I would end up watching them online. Shows like Real Housewives of anywhere, Bethenny Ever After, basically anything on Bravo. We signed up for Netflix though since watching movies is one of my favorite things to do in the world.  

 

One thing you wish you could change about yourself?

 If I could change anything about myself it would my anxious, worry-wart tendencies. One reason that I feel Brandon compliments me so well is because he is always calm, which in turn helps to calm me. I'm always worried about the future, or things that we don't have control over, or things that will probably never happen. I have a hard time shutting my brain off at night because a million things that worry me are going through my head.

Can't stay serious for long

What is the one thing that drives you nuts about Brandon?

ooo, this is such a good question! And I've realized that some of the things that drive me nuts are also things I really love about him too. Talk about being conflicted. I love that he's a man of many hobbies. He's so handy and can fix almost anything. Along with that talent comes a slight obsession with working on things in the garage. He would disappear into the garage for days at a time if I didn't come nagging him once in awhile. For instance, this weekend he has probably spent about 12 hours out there so far. He only left the garage yesterday because we had to meet my parents in Temecula for Mother's Day lunch.

Doesn't it make you want freshly squeeze orange juice?

Global Volunteer Day

Every year the company I work for, Life Technologies, hosts Global Volunteer Day. This is a day that all 10,000 Life Tech employees can step away from their desks or their labs and work together to help out our local communities. They also provide food and entertainment during the breaks from volunteering. I'm talking rock climbing, ice cream trucks and treats!

Be the change you wish to see in the world

Life Technologies works with multiple organizations and gives its employees the choice of which we'd like to work with. I immediately chose Kids Against Hunger an amazing organization dedicated to providing families with food that would otherwise go without. They put together a team of food scientists who developed a specific food formula that meets the specific needs of starving children. The four components are dehydrated vegetables, soy, vitamins and rice and when added to boiling water becomes a nutritious meal. 

Our job was to fill and seal these bags of food -- each one providing six meals. 

We basically worked in an assembly line. Each putting in a scoop of one ingredient, weighing the bags, sealing the bags, and putting the bags in boxes that were to be shipped out to West Africa the next day!

As a group we ended up making enough bags to feed 24,000 people!! There was a second shift that day that produced the same amount. That is close to 50,000 meals we helped to provide. I'm still floored by the numbers!

New Ladies

How has another weekend come and gone? Last week was an exceptionally long feeling one at work and I needed these past few days to sleep in and decompress. Brandon made breakfast (and did the dishes) both mornings, and I basically laid on the couch finishing my final project for school and watching old movies while he worked on his car in the garage. And just like that, the weekend is over. On the bright side, my class is over and I'll have my evenings back for the next few weeks before my summer class starts. On an even brighter side, I'd like you to meet the second half of the lovely and creative ladies who answered my question a couple of weeks ago:  
Which TV character do you relate to and why? 

Gina from Contemplating Beauty

Etsy Shop: The Vintage Violet          Blog          Beautifully Rooted

Melissa from Forever and a Day

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Krista from Crescendo

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Becky from A Becky Blog

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If you don't already know these ladies, you're missing out!

I give you permission to leave my blog and check 'em out ;-)