Baby blog I have not forgotten about you♥♥
I know I promised more posts at the beginning of the summer but life has become an obscenely ridiculous routine and time for blogging is not spared.
To tell you the truth, I have not much to update you all on.
Life = work, school, work, school, cook dinner, watch fave show & do hw...every single day. I do take my weekly trips to Davis Farmers' Market now officially America's Fave Farmers Market 2009! which is really great. I absolutely love farmers market in Davis, I am glad I'm enjoying it now cause *fingers crossed* I leave in less than a year and want to take advantage of living in this great little community.
Speaking of leaving in less than a year, I took a second attempt at filling out my Peace Corps application and it was not as scary the second time around. There are some stuff I need to start getting together but overall I might get it done by the deadline I have set for myself. I've logically figured that I will probably end up either in Morocco or Jordan since they are the only two places in the Middle East with active programs and my limited knowledge of Arabic might come in handy at either these two places esp since there are not too many of "us". Although I still secretly hope they send me somewhere in Latin America or the Caribbean. Umm, but first I have to pray I finish my app, get an interview and get accepted! I have been looking into grad schools in Costa Rica, Venezuela and Chile though. Man, I wish I could have learned Portuguese so I could look into schools in Brasil. Well, we'll see what the big man upstairs has planned for my future.
So besides fashion, international relations, and agricultural economics, I have found a new love: Cooking! I absolutely love cooking. If you know me personally or even read some of my older posts, you know that I was the biggest non cooker in history. Mostly because as a busy college student with a job and extracurricular activities, it's much easier to just go over to the nearest sandwich place and order a delish artisan cheese sandwich or something. As of this summer though, (and after lots of inspiration from Micheal Pollan and the likes), I have taken on cooking...and healthier cooking at that. I have been avoiding processed food as much as I can and have taken Pollan's advice to only buy foods with 5 ingredients or less...usually less! I've substituted lots of things for their healthier, less processed counterparts AND have upped my fruits and vegetables consumptions--with 99% of it all being organic locally grown and in season. I love love love fruits and veggies. I. Beets, cauliflower and green beans were my favorite when I was a little girl but now I love it all.
I've also been downloading cooking podcasts and have been cooking more vegan dishes which is surprisingly easier than I thought given I am already a picky eater due to my kosher diet. I can honestly state that I have no intention of going vegan or even vegetarian because I do like chicken every once in a while and every two months it seems, when I'm feeling really weak, I'll have a small piece of steak. It's very rare because my family is not big on meat so we avoid it as much as we can, but I do eat it. I love dishes that do not involve meat though. For example, my parents' country of El Salvador is not big on meat--the typical breakfast is amazing: fried plantains (although I guess you could bake them to avoid so much oil), refried beans (although I prefer black), Salvadoran cream, a piece of skim milk cheese and french bread fresh out of the oven. It's so simple but super delicious. I'm planning on making myself some Salvadoran breakfast for dinner sometime this week once I have a chance to go over to the store to buy plantains (which are all the way from Ecuador and it breaks my heart having to buy them, sigh) and I'll take a pic & post it.
I have no clever transition cause it's 3am and I'm sleepy but...I was looking for petite jeans online and remembered how I blogged about designer jeans here about two years ago. I was on a hunt for perfect jeans since I have such a hard time finding any that fit just right (I'm 4' 10"). I guess I never updated but I did find jeans that fit, J Brand jeans. I absolutely love them, mostly because they are so simple. I cannot stand flashy denim with all the tacky designs (hellooooo conspicuous consumption!). I still want to get my hands on a pair of Ksubi skinny jeans (not a huge fan of ankle zippers though!). I'm hoping to go denim shopping late September/early October so I'm hoping I'll find good stuff that fits well. What I'm craving most though (still!) is thrift shopping. I've been soooo broke since all my paychecks have been going straight to rent and bills that I don't even have $$$ to thrift shop. It's okay though, being debt-free has been the most liberating year of my life. No credit card nor any debt, take that corporate America!
I'm hoping to hit up places in ES too. I'm definitely going to splurge on jewelry and baggies but now I'm thinking about clothes. Maybe get my hands of some traditional clothing and find a way to modernize it for everyday wear.
Oh and I came across this article that I absolutely fell in love with because it was so simple and well written but it complements all my recent heavier readings about agricultural economics. You should read it. It's a short read and it's so interesting I swear.
I love dancing to Buena Vista Social Club in my room. Cuban street dancers and musicians are sooo amazing. Youtube them! I dream of dancing with them under the Havana moonlight sometime reaaal soon :)
Lastly, can you all believe it's been 10 years since "Smooth" by Santana featuring Rob Thomas was the hit of the year?! Time sure does fly, but I am still absolutely in love with the song and the video even more so. I need to learn to dance like those girls in the video. I'm latina, aren't I supposed to be wired to know how to? Maybe a dance class at the Experimental College next session will do it. If not, maybe the cumbias in El Salvador will :)
Okay, time for bed,
life is good, alhamdulilah.
Santana feat Rob Thomas "Smooth"
-melidee
ps I always forget to let you all know. I got a twitter waaaay back before all the hype but never knew anyone who had it but now that everyone has one, you can follow me if you'd like.
photo via La Rosa de Los Vientos
