accomplishment and larb tofu.

Nothing says "mmmmmmmmmmmmmm" and "job well done!" like a few days of hard work and leftover larb.

It's been an interesting couple days----the weather has turned much colder and I'm experiencing a strong desire to pull the covers over my head and not be very social....With that said, I worked a bunch yesterday---with wonderful little Lovey Girls. (Have you heard lately how much I love my job?!?) And after fighting the hermits on Thursday, I got to go on a date with The Cute Fella last night.  The plan was to repeat our date last weekend: Tara Thai for dinner and Fantastic Mr. Fox for entertainment.

We got to dinner at about 740 and the show time was 840 and well, I should just say, Tara Thai is now my new favorite restaurant.  Ohmygoodness!!! The papaya salad is so amazingly flavorful and wonderful...and I branched out....I've been on a severe addicted to eggplant green curry kick lately and I thought, you know, I'm gonna try something different. So, I did.  Larb Tofu.  And when it came to the table, I frowned a little because it didn't look how I'd have liked it to (read: it didn't look like green curry eggplant with tofu) but oh wordy word! This deliciousness was a party in my mouth and a most amazing meal!! Dinner with The Cute Fella a beaming success:  Our conversation was amazing and I really love this man! Dinner took a bit longer than expected...We finished eating at 9ish.  Everybody's Fine was starting at 940 and I told the Cute Fella I just couldn't imagine having the energy to see a late night show...So, we headed back to town. We drove past In-N-Out Burger and dontcha know this little vegan got the strongest craving for a milkshake.  I asked Cute Fella, how do you make milkshakes?!?, and he knew.  I did not know it was so simple. I was insistent we needed to add ice and malt flavoring.  Malt flavoring is not vegan, if you're wondering.  And, we did not need to add ice.  We purchased these two amazing things for milkshakes: the milk and the shake.

And we got home and blended.  We blended and blended and then we turned on the fireplace and we drank and drank.  Deliciousness were these easy to make and perfect minty chocolaty milkshakes. A perfect end to a night that was perfect already.

Today's been great...I woke early with a still strong desire to put on the Lost Season One Netflix viewer, not brush my teeth, and be a hermit girl. What I did instead was make it to the market for a much needed food shop, and make an amazingly hearty breakfeast (Soyrizo with veggies galore and pinto beans...yay for breakfast leftovers!).  Then, I decided to click 'yes' to the upload for the most recent Mozilla Firefox version only to have it freak up my computer and then....despite the desire to panic and think I can't do anything computer related on my own, I google searched just what to do: I removed Mozilla from my computer and decided to be a Google fanatic and use the Chrome browser. So far, I'm loving it.  What I'm loving even more was I did this ALL ON MY OWN. (shout out to you God!) Yep. No fella came to my rescue to show me how to do this or that (mind you, I did make a phone call....God was in charge of that one, too, and he didn't call back until after my decision to become a Chrome user).  I felt very empowered this afternoon with all my god-inspired and god-guided decision making.  To top off that empowerment, I did a hefty review sesh with my roommate for the Big Final Exam, which will end semester three of this four semester blessing that is nursing school at Yavapai College.

I feel accomplished and well nourished.  I feel loved and joyous.

On the last note, I'd like to share today's reading in Each Day A New Beginning.  It's delightfully apropos for how I've been feeling these past few days:

It is a long baptism into the seas of humankind, my daughter. Better immersion than to live untouched.
  —Tillie Olsen

We have each had days when we preferred hiding under the covers, avoiding life at all costs. And in times gone by, we did just that, sometimes too frequently. What we didn't always know, and what we still forget on occasion, is that we have a ready and willing partner who will join us in every pursuit.

The more fully we commit ourselves to one another and to all our experience, the closer we will come to the very serenity we long for. Serenity accompanies our increasing understanding of life's many mysteries. It's easy to cheat ourselves out of the prizes any day offers us. Fear fosters inertia, leaving us separate, alone, even more afraid. But we have an appointment with life. And our appointment will bring us to the place of full understanding, the place where we'll be certain, forever after, that all is well. And that life is good.

Today's appointments are part of the bigger plan for my life. I will face them, enjoy them, and reap their rewards.