Quarter-Life Truths

Truths for Mature Humans

(taken from a pin on Pinterest.com)

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing stinks more than the moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

4. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

5. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

6. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection.... again.

7. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

8. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this -- ever.

9. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

10. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

11. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than with Kay.

12. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

13. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what was going on when I first saw it.

14. I would rather try to carry 10 over-loaded plastic bags in each hand than to take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

15. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

16. How many times is it appropriate to saw "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

17. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

18. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

19. There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

20. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

21. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey -- but I'd bet anything that everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!

Happy Friday

The 20-something future hubby who I described in my last post sent me a lovely present this morning in my email inbox....



... maybe he realized I've been cleaning too much for him or maybe he's done something wrong or maybe he just felt like telling me this... whichever it is, I love it!


36 more days to go.

MWMC is TODAY!!

I've been cleaning and cleaning this week. I think I've thrown away half a tree's worth of paper... and maybe a small hill's worth of junk items. Literally.

And before you go judge and say, "Gee, girl, you should have been cleaning more often!" let me tell you that I wasn't cleaning out my room, but, rather, a room belonging to a 20-something year old bachelor who hates putting away dirty clothes, loathes veggies, and won't have anything to do with the colors pink, purple, or yellow. Yeah, so go ahead and judge.... but just take me out of the picture, please.

Anyway... I've been using my Nutsie Top 100 iPhone app for cleaning music. When I'm in Mexico I can't use Pandora, so I usually bring up the good ol' app for my music.

I was thrilled to see they already have 2011's top 100 list. Thrilled because it usually means the music no one has ever heard before gets thrown into the mix. So, I'm giving you a couple of my favorites so far for this week's Mid-Week Music Choice:

Selena Gomez & The Scene - Love You Like A Love Song


Coldplay - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall


Peter Bjorn and John - Second Chance

Memories

I've had the joy of going through old photos yesterday and today. I had a dream that we hired someone to take our photos and make a really cool slideshow out of them.... then I woke up and realized I could do that mess myself.

So I'm doing the slideshow, and, ya know, it really isn't taking me that long. I've always been good at making presentations. *bragging*

It has been very fun to look through A's old photos, though. Such a cutie!! I also am thankful that we no longer have to live in a world of scanners and can take the pictures via iPhone. I think they give the photos a nice vintage look.... And, I'm so lazy that I'm not taking the time to do it any other way, thank you.

Back off the ranting wagon -- I love that A and I grew up with similar backgrounds. You can spend so much time with a person, but still not know everything about their background. I loved getting a sneak peek into the life of my future hubby. (DISCLAIMER: once we're married I've decided his new nickname will be HUBBY. Or HUBS.)

Here are a few that didn't make the cut -- for length reasons... I mean, seriously, who wants to see 100 baby photos of us?? *pause* Didn't think so...

Electronic Kitchens

I'll be back in Mexico this coming Sunday, but don't worry, I'm still keeping this blog. And will still keep it NOT about Mexico*






*no promises, though.... I mean, I'm marrying a Mexican citizen, for crying out loud.



Ok, so, today, as I'm cleaning up the guest room my parents so graciously let me inhabit for this past month, I've decided to take a break and give you some simple and great recipe's that I've discovered over the internet.

1. Apple Granola Snack, originally found on Pinterest.com



Pretty simple. And I loved getting to use my mom's Apple Core Thingy... yes, that's what they call it.

Ingredients:
-- 1 apple (I used red delicious, but I'm sure any kind of apple will work), de-cored and sliced thick. *You can get about 6 slices out of an average sized apple.
-- Creamy peanut butter (We love the Peter Pan kind in our house)
-- Granola, plain
-- Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

Slice apples (makes about 6), spread PB on both sides of the apple sandwich, sprinkle granola on one side, and top off with small drops of chocolate syrup. Put together, and enjoy!!

I love the apple and granola taste together! It really was delicious!!

2. Peanut M&M Cookies, originally found on howsweeteats.com



*Please check the link for the recipe*
**Also, I didn't have mini M&M's so I added Pretzel M&M's and found the taste to be even better! It's the perfect sweet and salty mix!**

3. Zio's Pepperoni Chicken Pasta, recipe found at recipegoldmine.com



Ingredients:
Grilled, cubed, chicken Breast
1 can of spicy tomato sauce
1 1/2 cup of diced pepperoni slices
3 cups of steamed broccoli
1/2 box of penne pasta

Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together. Add parmesan cheese and salt to your liking.

I would really love to turn this recipe into my own signature dish. I feel like there's something missing, but I just can't figure it out yet. Maybe some different cheese or adding red peppers? Either way, this dish has proven to be extremely tasty, so give it a shot!


Blessings,
Rachel

MidWeek Music Choice

Came across this song earlier this week:

Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5




Couldn't find the tad-bit slower version that I have on my Spotify account, but this version sounds great, too.

Enjoy!!

Cutest Little Backyard Wedding

Two of my longtime friends tied the knot this weekend in Mansfield, TX. Below are a few pictures from the event.










Aren't her colors just beautiful? The wedding was just so "them" and don't you love it when that happens? It's as it should be. I mean, it really was the cutest "backyard wedding" I've ever seen -- a "Pinterest-worthy" wedding. Hah!

The pictures are stolen from Facebook, but it's a small view into the wonderful, world (Kensey, get it?) that was that afternoon of wedding bliss.

This wedding is also my last as a single girl... so I made sure to take part in the bouquet toss. :P I didn't catch it, but I took a memory photo of the occasion. I know, that's cheesy.

I pray for many blessings over D and K as they begin this new journey together, and was so honored to be a part of that wedding weekend.

5 Things...

5 Things I've managed to like or "be into" before they got popular.

1. Skype
--- I know for a fact that I've had a Skype account since 2004. I also remember freaking out in 2004 because some random French guy kept calling me. I figured no one would use the thing.... so I took it off my computer until I left for Mexico in 2009.

2. Converse Chuck Taylors
--- I used these cool shoes when I played basketball in 7th grade. (so old school, right???) You know how they're like 2 sizes bigger than normal? Well, that's how they fit me back then. :S Gah, I'm sure I was an ugly middle schooler. They got real cool in like 2003? I was in 7th grade back in 1999. I think we sold my Chuck's before they got popular.

3. Tom's Shoes
--- I believe in 2008, I bought like 5 pairs of toms because I thought they were so cool. And no one else had them. At least where I was from, nobody knew what they were. So, there I was with 5 pairs of toms, and, because they were just regular shoes (meaning not popular), I gave away like half of them to my younger cousin. This was my first pair. I ended up buying more pairs once they got popular.

4. Guitar Playing
--- Now, back in the day guitar playing was a really great feature... if you were a dude. But these days, there seem to be quite a few lovely ladies who can sing and play the guitar. Good thing I managed to teach myself how to play the guitar a long time ago so I wouldn't have to waste my time now. I've been guitar playing, and some song-writing, since 2000.

5. Facebook
--- Graduated in 2004, Fall of my freshman year in college, I remember my BFF calling me about this cool website called "thefacebook" I remember wanting it so bad to try and keep up with my friends. FB came to my University in 2005, and I've been a faithful follower since. Maybe that's why I can't get rid of it??

MidWeek Music Choice

I used to post these on my facebook, but then I got lazy.

Enjoy today's choice:



Charmed Life - Joy Williams

More songs to check out by Joy....

Sunny Day
I'm in Love With You



And because I haven't done a MWMC in a while.... I'll give you two!

Another great choice for today:



Somebody to Love (cover) - Andrew Garcia


Blessings,
Rachel

Planned Honeymoon

The only thing that is completely planned in regards to A and I's wedding is....

the honeymoon!!


But seriously, can we get an amen for the person who decided that it was necessary for the happy couple to have a week to themselves?? I actually think a Nobel Prize for "World Peace Intentions" would be a better to way to recognize it.

A and I are really looking forward to it. We've gotten caught up in the hussle and bussle of planning a wedding. We're tired of having to choose songs, or table decorations, or what color ties to wear, etc, etc, etc.

We're pretty excited for numerous reasons. I mean, I'm sure A has his reasons.... and they make me blush. and I, too, am looking forward to that aspect of our relationship. But is it wrong that I am looking forward to this honeymoon solely for the fact that it will be just him and I? No moms or dads, no friends, and no bosses.... just us, the beach, and maybe a fresh pina colada!

Yes, that is why our honeymoon is the only thing completely finished in our wedding plans.

So good to know where our priorities are.

Blessings,
Rachel

BTW -- we are going here for our honeymoon...

Thing-A-Majig Thursday

My infatuation with everything iPhone began in 2008, when the it still cost $500 (seriously, Apple?) and it didn't even have all the cool video, Facetime, or Angry Birds apps. All that piece of technology did was read your email....

But I still wanted it!

........ and I got it. Thank you, Oklahoma Christian University.

Then something crazy happened and Apple started shooting out new versions of this thing and, well, our world is now controlled by the iPhone.

Most everyone has an iPhone. (SO COOL!!!) And almost everyone has their own list of personal favorite iPhone apps. And now, ladies and gentlemen, I will share those with you.

Rachel's Top 10 Favorite Free (or basically free) iPhone apps:

10. Gas Buddy: After being back in American for a while, I've noticed how ridiculous the gas prices have gotten. Use this app to find the cheapest gas around you. On a Summer Road Trip??? Use this to see which towns on your path have the cheapest gas!!











9. Crackle: It's not as cool as Netflix, but free movies?? Yeah, this goes on the list.









8. R U Drunk: This is just a really fun app to play with. Makes me giggle that I fail one of the tests even when I'm sober!!










7. Motion GPS Drive: a pretty darn good GPS for just a buck! I even get service in Mexico!!
















6. YouVersion Holy Bible: With so many translations, devos, and journals -- now my arms can take a break on Sunday mornings and just carry my iPhone instead. Plus if I get bored in Church I can always just play Angry Birds..... *kidding* *please laugh*

















5. Pinterest: Have you pinned anything lately??? With this app, I've been able to try out new recipe's, get ideas for my upcoming wedding, and get the courage to try my own DIY projects. And, conveniently, all from my iPhone.











4. Falldown 3D: Remember the *at the time* really cool Labrynth game that's been on the iPhone since it's beginning? Well now that the current iPhone version is way better than it's original.... they have designed a Labrynth game to go with it. Try it out. I've been playing it non-stop since I got it a few months back.











3. Nike Training Club: Another seriously great app! There are tons of great workout circuits. Jillian Michael's got nothing on this. Seriously, though.













2. Pandora Radio: **Favorite stations: Lil Wayne, Brad Paisley, and Earth, Wind, & Fire.**











1. Bank of America: This has got to be the best invention out of the iPhone app store. Check my balance, transfer funds, and I've even seen some of these bank apps that can now deposit money via photo. Seriously..... this app has proven to me that I'll never regret my decision to buy the iPhone again.











Blessings,
Rachel

What's this all about?

I'm not in Mexico. I'm in Abilene.

I have a blog about my Mexico work. You can read about my last two years here

But this blog. No, this blog is about me. Rachel Almanza. Soon to be Rachel Vargas. And I've got so much jumbled up in my brain that I need to start copying down my journal entries and random thoughts to share with the blogging world.

I could easily just write a note on Facebook. Or Tweet 50 times a day. But there's something so great about sitting down to an empty, virtual, journal entry and writing out what the nerves from your brain send to your fingers. (I barely passed Anatomy in college.... don't judge me if that was scientifically incorrect) And I'm determined to not make it about my Mexico adventures.

Although.... My fiance is from Mexico. *crap*

Well, we'll see what this turns into. I'm going to have fun with it. It'll be interesting to see where we end up.


Blessings,
Rachel