My sweet blog, I have neglected you...

Well, to the 3 loyal blog fans that I have out there in cyberspace, I am sorry I have neglected you recently! I have good intentions of many varied posts, but have been too busy to even think about listing them. I will start with where I left off...

August 2009

Mid-August, I went on a training trip to Seattle with my Americorps Vista group I will be serving with this coming year through the Children and Families Commission of Orange County. To be honest, I dreaded the trip. As a rule of thumb, I do not like travel for work. I don't like sleeping alone in hotels, in particular. I was dreading the trip for 3 days before leaving while I dragged my heels in the packing process. I was grumpy and grumbly the night before. In general, I wanted the trip to be over before it began.

After I got off the plane in Seattle, everything that happened got better from that point on. I made friends quickly with my new fellow Vistas, and we had a fun day together in the hotel where we stayed. Which, by the way, was fabulous. We stayed in Downtown Bellevue at the Hyatt, which was beautiful and far better than any of us expected. Apparently, because the economy has tanked and hotels are especially hard up for business, our national Americorps gurus negotiated the best possible bang for their government buck, and we ended up staying in the nicest hotels in the history of the Americorps program. Cool stuff!

The training itself was also far better than I expected. I have managed a professional development (training department) in the past, and have coordinated a lot of volunteer trainings, as well as have formal training on conducting trainings. Which makes me a picky student. I actually was impressed with the content and the facilitation, which is hard to do.

I met some of the most wonderful people on this trip! Not just my new OC acquaintances, but from the whole West Coast and Pacific Northwest region--the whole training was full of a bunch of non-profit loving, people-helping people. It truly felt like I had been sucked up by a mothership and transported to my home planet. As much as could be the case in a strictly secular government environment at least. I left the 4 day trip feeling completely proud to become an Americorps Vista member for the year, and really pumped to start my year of service.

Finally, I got to do some unexpected sightseeing also. Of particular interest: Pike's Place (with the fish), the original Starbucks, aka my "mothership", and the Space Needle, which I was able to see at sunset on a beautiful sunny day. Which I understand is not typical of Seattle--which, by the way, was sunny the entire trip. I felt like I was in SoCal.

So, needless to say, my expectations of this entire trip were exceeded tenfold. I actually was sad to leave and came back happy that I went on the trip.

As a teaser to the next installment of "fall 2009 adventures with Jennie", here are some of the next postings I hope to get to within the next few weeks:

*Colette's Children's Home: My First Month
*How to Date a Lawyer for 6 weeks and no more
*Saddleback Small Group Learnings from Fall 2009
*Mt. San Antionio's Fiesta Weekend
*Labor Day at Disneyland
*Update on my "mentee," Jacqueline

I hope to do a post every few days to catch y'all up. I'm a facebooker too...so chances are, if you are on facebook, you've already caught up on these adventures as they were occurring.

Now...must...get...sleep...

Trip to the Urban Craft Center in Santa Monica

On Tuesday, my sister-in-law Beccie, who is also an avid "crafter," and I went on a trek up to the Urban Craft Center in Santa Monica. I picked her up at her house (on the way), we got our coffee and tea, and were ready to go. The UCC did not disappoint! Although we went up there with lofty ideas of it being actually bigger than it was (the store portion, in particular--hey, a girl can dream, right?), we were still in glorious crafty heaven wandering around the store.

While we saw a lot of crafting items that she and I both had "mastered" the art of creating (quilting for her, scrapbooking for me), there were still some new techniques and items that she and I are both dying to learn. Felted animals (BIRDS for me, MUSHROOMS and WOODLAND CREATURES for her), new t-shirt screenprinting techniques, how to machine quilt on a sewing machine, as well as some hip and modern shrinky-dink jewelry...so much to learn! We were so enthralled with what we saw, that we are going back on Friday for a free demonstration that they are having, and bringing my brother along with us.



On a side note, MOST of the house I live in is now painted! Woo hoo! I'm still putting the "finishing touches" on things with the help of my decorating-maven friend Sharon, but pictures will soon be available! During the rest of the summer, other home renovations will be happening where I live (new slider, new flooring, new downstairs bathroom) but they will take more time to complete. So, in the meantime, Beccie and I are focusing on some summer projects at her house, mostly pillows, curtains, and furniture re-arranging--all VERY fun! I am teaching Beccie how to sew cording in pillows (the easiest thing EVER), and Beccie is teaching me how to quilt with leftover scraps that I have from making pillows at my place (no-cost, low-risk if I mess up!). So my few blog readers will have a peek into some other projects later in the summer as well.

Stay tuned for further updates on my "CRAFTY" summer!

New nephew...#15 from my two families!

Joshua Michael Rinehart

Joshua was born to Liz, Jay, and Abbie on June 19 at 1:35am, just a few days before Father’s Day. Jay was delighted to get a SON so close to Father's Day! Josh was 9 lbs. 9 oz. and 20.5 in. long with a 14 in. head . . .a real whopper!

Last week, I went and spent a couple days with Gramma Shirley and Poppa Bob to have some play time with Abbie while they were watching her during the first few days of Liz and Jay's adjustment period to the new baby. Abbie is so grown up now! She speaks in complete sentences, is amazingly bright, and has a hilarious personality. She loves introducing you to her little world in Bob and Shirley's living room (she has a play corner there) and even to her routines in the bathroom. "This room is called the bathroom. And this is my stepstool. And these are my animals that go in the tubbie with me. And this is the soap...". This was all during a brief trip to wash her hands after walking Buddy, the dog.

The next day, I went with Bob and Shirley to bring Abbie back home--and also, of course, to meet Joshua. He was SOOOOO adorable! His cheeks and chin were so chubby and cute. His eyes were still very blue, and he had a little bit of brown hair (not as much as Abbie was born with). Abbie kept telling us what she would teach Joshua: how to play peek-a-boo, how to play hide and seek, and of course, how to pet their kitties "gently." (Somehow I think the gently part was taught to her as greatly important).

The funniest part was when Liz and Jay were changing baby Joshua and Abbie stood up tall on their bed to see what was going on and she said, "What's that?"...pointing to their obvious gender difference. So all of us got to hear Liz address the birds-and-bees watered down, fit for a two-year-old talk about the difference between boys and girls. Abbie didn't seem convinced, which was the most hilarious part. Ahhh, the joys of parenting. At least now I know what to say if I have a boy and a girl--Liz did a great job with that whole topic!

So...this makes #15 in my line-up of nieces and nephews in my biological and adoptive families:

Madeline
Julia
Carson
Seth
Dylan
Olivia
Alexis
Madison
Macy
Noah
Mason
Zach
Abbie
Jessica
and now...
Joshua!

WOW! Too many to keep track of!!! I do have to say, I really enjoy being "Ant Jeny." You get the joy of having children around who are fun but you get to send them back home at the end of the visit. :-)

Finally, here is a picture of grown-up Abbie loving her brother's "teeny tiny hands."

Big Sister Abbie and Little Brother Joshua

New Plans and Goals!

Well, most of you know how this past year I have been on a whirlwind adventure. I moved back east to live near family for a while, and ended up moving back to sunny southern California because I missed living here.

This past week, I accepted a year-long position with Colette's Children's Home in Huntington Beach. It is through the Americorps Vista program, which is also referred to as the "domestic peace corps." I am really excited about this position because I am going to be able to use my OL Master's Degree--they are going to have me work with their Operations Director and Board to solidify their strategic plan this year, and I will also work with their Executive Director to learn more about fundraising and grantwriting--both skills that I need to build if I plan to stay in the non-profit sector in Orange County. I am excited to begin this position, which starts in mid-August and lasts for a year.

Tentatively, I am also applying to the University of San Diego's PhD program in Leadership Studies with an emphasis on Nonprofit and Philanthropic Management. Ever since I graduated with my Master's last year, I have been exploring options for a PhD program, but have fluctuated because I wasn't sure where I'd land in my job search and with my moves during the last year. I visited USD two weeks ago, met with the Admissions Director, and spent about an hour talking with two students who are currently in the program. I really liked the format and focus of the program, and the campus of the school is beautiful--the building where my department and classes would be held is only 2 years old, and very gorgeous--it even has a view of the ocean and a view of downtown San Diego. If I were to get accepted as a full-time student and be awarded an assistantship (I would have to for the finances to work out), I would tentatively plan to start in the fall of 2010, after finishing my year of being an Americorps Vista. So...we'll see what happens!

I know many of you have been following me in my moves and year of job-searching--and I thank you all for your positive thoughts and prayers! This has been a really long year for me, but the journey has taught me a great deal and I would not have arrived here any other way. I am glad to have moved to Kentucky, but also glad to have moved back to California and to have come full-circle again and land back into the nonprofit sector. Stay posted for how this year goes and how my application process for USD's program goes. I am going to be taking the GRE this fall, and need some prayers for that, as I haven't taken a standardized test in a while.

Regumbah's French Market

I was SO fortunate this week to go with my friend Sharon to a tasting party at Ragumbah's beautiful home in Laguna Beach. What started out as as simple, "Hey, Jennie, you should come to this lady's house tomorrow, it will be fun!" turned into one of the best days I've had all summer!

Most of you know that I have worked part-time at Williams-Sonoma doing sales and cooking classes, and that I have a growing fondness for cooking and all things kitchen related. So, when I showed up with Sharon and learned I got to taste all kinds of special French sirops (syrups) and confits (jellies), I got very excited. Ragumbah is the exclusive importer of these fancy syrups and jellies direct from the maker in France. Her products are in some stores in Laguna Beach and she also sells from her website as well.



What an experience! Even getting to see Regumbah's interesting house was a treat, and that was only the beginning! These French syrups are made using ancient methods in copper pots and are infused with floral essences and oils. They are very subtle but for those with a discerning palette, they are heavenly. We began by tasting some of the floral syrup flavors mixed with some plain Greek yogurt--delicious! Next, Ragumbah handed us crackers spread with creamy goat cheese and with the confit--again, a wonderful flavor. The BEST way to taste them, however, was the sorbets--she and her daughter make sorbets from the syrups combining them in interesting ways, like lemon and violet, or grapefruit and geranium. Heavenly! Other uses for these oils are to add a hint of flavor to whipped cream (or frostings), to make specialty salad dressings, or to flavor champagne to make delicious cocktails.

So, of course when it came to the end of Sharon and I choosing what to purchase, we were torn, but settled on some items for ourselves and to give as gifts to special people we know. So...a couple of you (who probably don't read this, lol) may be receiving some of these in the near future.

Tonight, I came home and began using my selections immediately! I have used my poppy infused syrup in my bottled water (just a few drops and it is so much tastier to drink, and hardly any calories). I made a salad dressing with the poppy syrup that is hands down my favorite dressing--light and refreshing, perfect for summer (recipe will be listed below). I used a tablespoon of the confit, warmed in in the microwave, and drizzled it on my fresh strawberries and blueberries. Then, I used the matching poppy syrup and put a hint of it in the fresh whipped cream I made. Each item was to die for! Amazing flavor, and really added a lot to the dishes, although it is subtle it is very unique and tasty. I just love these!

Yay to Regumbah and her small French import business! I have a feeling that these are going to be popular gifts for friends and family!

Poppy Dressing

*1/2 oz white wine vinegar (of your choice)
*1 oz grapeseed oil (milder flavor than olive or other oils)
*1 tsp Sirop Coquelicot (poppy) from Ragumbah's French Market
*1/8 tsp salt (as an emulsifier)
*1/4 tsp poppy seeds

Combine all ingredients in a cruet and mix throoughly. Dresses a salad for 4. Double or triple for a larger salad.

Great Deal from Craigslist!

So...with the re-painting starting to happen (the kitchen is finished and one wall of the living room as a "test wall" is getting done on Friday), all of the living room furniture is in the center of the room. My roommate said yesterday when we were cleaning everything in preparation for painting that it looks like we're moving...kind of funny, considering I had two huge moves in less than one year.

Looking at the room differently is now making me look at some of the furniture differently. My roommate had suggested turning the couch in a different orientation to maximize on the size of the room a while back, so when the painting finishes, I think it would be nice to try that and see how it looks. If we do that though, I was afraid that the coffee table (which is long and skinney) may look too small for the area--in fact, the way it is designed, I've thought about sitting it in the entry way and looking at it because it kind of could be a "bench" for taking off shoes, etc., but that just depends upon if it fits.

Either way, thinking about the coffee table has gotten me to looking at other coffee tables on Craigslist. Las night, I found an AWESOME coffee table that was larger (square) AND had storage drawers underneath. The owner who posted it said that it was super heavy (not cheaply made) and solid wood. The color was wrong but I often paint things, so I believe that if I painted it black, it would look FABULOUS with the other furniture in there and help fill a very LONG living room (decorating trick...room is too large, use some oversized furniture to fill it and it looks evenly proportioned).

I went over to look at the coffee table today and it was MUCH nicer than it looked originally in the picture. Very heavy, very well taken care of, and nice style. the drawer pulls were black and the drawers had metal guides along the sides almost like file cabinet drawers--very nicely made piece of furniture. So I bought it from her for $25 (if it doesn't work out, I know I can re-sell it for more), and I'm going to paint it up black and see how it looks. That is, when I get is home because it wouldn't fit in my car :-(. I'll figure out a way to get it home so that I can work on painting it. It was a super great price for the weight and look of the table though--I've seen similar ones at Goodwill that I could have painted up that were marked at higher prices.

So...look for future pictures on how this coffee table looks painted up and placed with the other furniture in the living room!

And the winner is........Summer Hue!

OK, so renovations on the place where I live have started to be underway! All the wallpaper is now off of the bathroom and kitchen walls, and my roommate made her final selection on the color that will be painted throughout the house as the warm neutral tone. It is a very light yellow called "Summer Hue" by Dunn Edwards. It is a fabulous yellow because it adds just the right amount of warmth without being a knock-your-socks-off yellow.

The one area that is tricky to decorate around in the condo is the the lighting. Hence the picking of a very light sunny yellow--the light reflects off of it, and it literally will brighten things up. The color looks a bit different in each room due to the lighting, so it adds visual interest, but it looks great in every room so that there is "flow" throughout the house and consistency. So hopefully in the next month or two, I will have some before/after photos to post of the painting.

Other areas that will come after that will be some pics of the downstairs bathroom (which has pretty much been gutted and is going to be brand new, bead board and everything), and possibly a chair slipcover that I am going to attempt to sew as a my first sort of "upholstery" project. So, many more fun pictures to come over the summer! We are lucky because our friend Sharon has offered to help us with the big painting project, which will be an enormous blessing and help us to complete things in a timely manner.

LOTS of things around the house to prep and get ready in order for the big paint! Flooring will end up going into the dining room and kitchen and downstairs bath, so it's like we have to work backwards and accomplish all the things that we can while the flooring is out (like painting, some yard work, etc.). It's so much easier to do these things BEFORE a pristine floor has been put in, hence all the work on other areas than the flooring to get ready for the flooring.

I will make sure I take my before pictures in the next week or so to show progress along the way. Fun stuff!!!

Cousin Karl's Graduation...

My cousin Karl will be graduating from High School in a couple weeks...here is one of my card creations. [I am attempting to actually USE some of my crafty things that I've accumulated, now that I have more time than I used to while working and in school.] Happy upcoming graduation, Karl!!!

Huntington Library and Botanical gardens

Here are some gorgous pictures taken today at the Huntington. Enjoy!

States I've Visited...

So, because I went across the country twice in less than a year, I've started tracking the states I've visited and not visited, with hopes of eventually making it to them all. I also found a nifty online map that lets you click where you've been to keep track of it:

http://douweosinga.com/projects/visited?region=usa


visited 27 states (54%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or Best time to visit Minato

The states I've already visited include:

Alabama
Ohio
Oklahoma
Arizona
Oregon
Arkansas
California
Kentucky
Rhode Island
Colorado
Minnesota
South Carolina
Missouri
Tennessee
Florida
Texas
Georgia
Nebraska
Utah
Hawaii
Nevada
Illinois
Indiana
New Mexico
Iowa
Wisconsin
North Carolina

The states I have yet to visit and hope to visit by the time I turn 50 include:

Alaska
Louisiana
Idaho
Kansas
Wyoming
New Jersey
Washington
New York
Vermont
New Hampshire
Virginia
Maine
West Virginia
Massachusetts
Pennsylvania
Montana
Michigan
Connecticut
Mississippi
North Dakota
South Dakota
Delaware
Maryland
Washington

Happy 32nd Birthday to me!

So, for my 32'nd birthday this year, I had a very mellow day. I got up and hit some neighborhood yard sales (hadn't been in forever, and several neighborhoods in Irvine were sponsoring 50+ family sales), which was very fun. I found some rubber stamps, some picture frames, a couple cute antique green vases...and the find of the day was a brand new in-the-box Williams-Sonoma creme brulee torch with a new can of butane which I got for $5 for the set--retail value of both of those is $48, so this was a steal!

For the my birthday dinner, Tri took me to Lulu's Creperie Cafe in Lake Forest. The interesting thing is that this restaurant has been many things over the years, and previously it was an Italian restaurant called 20/20. Exactly 10 years ago, the MacKinnons took me there for my birthday, which Tri did not know. So, this time around in the same place, we ate French food. I had peach champagne (which was very tastey), french onion soup, and chicken cordon bleu. It was all very delicious! We were so full that we were not able to have crepes for dessert, but that was OK--gives us a reason to go back!

After dinner, Tri went with me to pick up my birthday sewing machine! I used giftcards that I received to be able to purchase a cool sewing machine that I've wanted for a long time (and otherwise would not get for myself). I've already used it to sew 4 decorative pillows (with cording!), and I hemmed a skirt and altered a blouse to make them both fit. I LOVE my new little sewing machine! More pictures of my crafty sewing items will appear soon!

All in all, I had a great 32nd birthday! Thanks to everyone for all my nice birthday wishes!

Urban Herb Garden

As most of you know, I really enjoy cooking. Part of what I love is using fresh herbs--in a pinch, I use dried herbs, but fresh tastes SO much better. However, most of you have probably noticed that the fresh herbs that come in tiny pouches in the grocery store are not very cost-effective. It is a small amount for anywhere between $.99 and $2.99, and they usually expire pretty quickly if you do not use all of it up ASAP. So, this spring I have decided to plant my own herb garden, in order to have my own fresh herbs readily available for my using as I need them.

Even though I am not very good at remembering to water plants, I used some pots that we already had on our stoop (which were empty because I killed the geraniums which I planted last spring). For the amount that I would pay for one sprig of fresh herbs at the grocery store, I got a whole plant of that type of herb. So, I now have basil, parsley, dill, oregano, and chives. I also planted seeds for rosemary and another variety of basil in the larger flower pot, because there were no rosemary plants, and I use so much basil I wanted to try my hand at growing another later crop in case the original plant dies.

Much to my surprise, it has been 3 weeks, and my herbs are actually thriving! I have found that watering them about every 3 days is working really well, and none of the plants seem to be responding poorly to the amount of light or water that they are receiving. In fact, the dill has about doubled in size, everything else is growing, and even the baby seeds I planted have the first sprouts pushing up through the soil. SUPER exciting because I never can get seeds to grow.

So...stay tuned for later pictures of my Urban Herb Garden. I will let you know how it progresses through the summer and if it has worked out to be cost-effective like I hope. I have already used each of the herbs (small amounts) in my cooking and it was so nice to just pinch off and wash what I needed and know that there would still be plenty more that was still fresh the next time.

I think later this week there will be caprese salad on the menu with the basil! Deeee-licious!

New Treasure from Old...

After my move back to California, I have done a few things to get "settled in" including getting my old bedroom set up since I am now back in the same place I used to live. One of my favorite things about my "new" space is this cute little vanity that I re-purposed. I picked this little table up, which is actually a very small secretary's desk, at a thrift store for only $9.99. The stool I also purchased at the same thrift store for $5.99. I repainted the secretary's desk, added one crystal knob from home depot, and re-covered the stool, and voila! My secretary's desk is now a make-up vanity in the small corner of my room which is hard to fill. The lamp and the mirror were inexpensive and are from Ikea and completed my ensemble for under $30 total. Not bad!

National Scrapbook Day!!!

This past Saturday, May 2nd, was National Scrapbook Day. Why is this important, you ask? Because for the last 6 years, since National Scrapbook Day 2003, I have been an avid fan of scrapbooking. This is for several reasons. First, I have always had a love of photos and learning about family history, etc. Secondly, I have a fettish for all things paper-related. Thirdly, what adult isn't still looking for a good reason to be able to use STICKERS? Lastly, I enjoy the process of being creative and find it to be theraputic and relaxing. When you add this combination to a day of chatting with some of your closest friends, having someone else cook food, and being in a setting when a chocolate break is a planned occasion, how can you go wrong?

Seriously though, I get a great deal of enjoyment from scrapbooking. SOMEDAY I will have a family and children to whom I hope all of my hours of effort will be important or special in some way. This is the grand hope at least. I enjoy reflecting back on events over the last year or special occasions or trips as I pick out what background paper and stickers match best with the pictures from Catalina Island or my sister Kate's wedding. I think it's a wonderful way to think about how I've grown over the last year, and where I want to be next year.

I spent Saturday at my friend Carmen's house with two great friends, Jeanne and Sharon, and all of us had a very productive and fun day. It has been about a year since I have scrapbooked (my items were being stored here in CA while I lived in Kentucky) and boy was it rejuvienating! I almost finished up an album that I started last year at Carmen's spring retreat. I'm almost ready to start thinking about my next project!

Thank you to Carmen who hosted a FABULOUS scrapbooking day :-). And to Jeanne and Sharon who kept me company during the day :-).

Kitchen Renewal

Well, some of you know that while I was living in Kentucky, my CA roommate (who I am now able to live with again) had the unfortunate experience of having the condo that she owns get mildly flooded. The flood actually originated a few condos down and my roommate's condo had the least damage, but still not a fun process. Her main areas that were affected were the downstairs bathroom and the downstairs flooring on the half that shares a wall with the most affected condo.

In an attempt to help her while I am still job searching, I offered to take down wall paper to help with the process since I have the time on my hands right now. I decided to tackle it this week, and below are a few pics of what the kitchen now looks like. Later on when the downstairs bathroom is redone and new flooring gets selected, I will post pictures of the progress of that as well.

I like cooking anyway, but cooking in our transformed kitchen will be extra fun! The inspiration was a Kim Parker picture that my roommate really likes (which hangs in the dining room--I actually had one of these in my dining room in Kentucky as well, which is kind of fun). Kim Parker actually designed a line of dishes for Spode as well, and I got some of these to use as wall decorations to tie in some of the colors. It turned out really cute!

Bistro 45

Tonight Tri and I were going to see a movie up in Pasadena, so he picked out a place to eat dinner since we were making the long trek to see an independent film that was not being played anywhere in Orange County. Although the movie, Lymelife, stunk, the restaurant was FABULOUS! We had an appetizer and a salad, I had trout with baby potatoes and green beans, and the dessert was divine! The most impressive feature of the restaurant, in addition to the food, was the service. Every single staff person who passed our table asked us how we were doing and if they could get anything. Also, our waiter upgraded my wine to a better tasting one (he knew his wines and gave me a sample--and correctly, the year for the wine I chose was not as good as the one he recommended). I highly recommend Bistro 45 to anyone who has to eat in Pasadena!

Easter

For Easter this year, I was able to go to Murrieta with my family. We celebrated my brother Rob's birthday as well. It was great to be with them again after being in Kentucky for the past several holidays! As you can see, I especially had fun making the chocolate covered strawberries. Happy Easter, everyone!

Carlsbad Flower Fields

On Good Friday before Easter, Tri and I went with his parents to the Carlsbad Flower Fields--one of my favorite places to visit in the springtime. If you have never been to The Flower Fields, it is a farm right along the I-5 in Carlsbad where they plant striped rows of Rannuculus flowers, which they harvest the bulbs for and sell. In the springtime when they are in bloom, they are just beautiful!