I love the smell of

sunscreen

It makes me think of sunny days, summer, being outside at the beach or the pool, field days in elementary/middle school.  Basically fun, happy times :)   

All our lives are a mystery; we see not where they lead.  We are asked now to trust you, and we know we must believe.

from the entrance song we sang at mass tonight called "In This Place"

I find the words comforting in the midst of all the uncertainty about the future.

cooking and family dinners

Cooking and watching people cook has become my new favorite past time.  I am obsessed with the Food Network, specifically Simply Italian with Giada de Laurentiis, Barefoot Contessa, Paula Deen's Home Cooking, and Down Home with the Neely's.  I really enjoy trying new (fairly easy for now) recipes when I have time.
My roommates and I have started the weekly "family dinner night" tradition in which one of us is responsible for buying/cooking/preparing dinner for everyone once a month.  I did the first one and I made Giada's "Chicken Picatta" and Rachel Ray's "Roasted Asparagus Tips" (recipes from foodnetwork.com).  It came out great, and I've made the chicken recipe a few times now!  The following week, Rachel made chicken adobo (a Filipino dish), and provided Filipino bread, egg-rolls, and rice.  Ali made penne pasta with olive oil, tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella, as well as a salad.  Carey did chicken skewers with rice and salad.  I just did my second one, and I made chicken parmigiana, pasta, and asparagus.  So far we have all been successful with our family dinners and I am loving the tradition!  

new place

One of the main reasons I was looking forward to returning to the U.S. was living at Mission Beach for the first time this semester.  One of my roommates, Carey, found this great place with 3 balconies!  I really love the house and the location, and am trying to cherish living at the beach because who knows when else in my life I will be able to afford to.  The weather hasn't been super nice so far, with rain during 6 out of the last 8 weekends in San Diego, but I have really enjoyed riding bikes along the beach and bay.  I got a good deal on a used cruiser from Ray's Rentals.  Another good deal I scored was a used desk for $25 on Craigslist (yes that's a 240-pack of red cups next to it).  My roommate Ali and I made a "Shrine of Friendship" on a wall in our bedroom with 20-something pictures of us from the past 2 and a half years we have known each other.  I also printed select scenery/monument pictures from my travels abroad and put them up with clothespins/string (stolen idea from our neighbor, Sadie).