Goat Cheese? Yes! Please.

This weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting "El Camino de las Cabras" Goat Dairy, which translates to "the way of the goats," or as I like to call it... the best experience I've had in Texas!

I have always been the outgoing type, so when some of my friends informed me that they were going on a trip that included horseback-riding, wine-tasting, and a visit to a goat farm, I knew I was going to finally break the series of some-what rather uneventful weekends in Texas. After learning how to two-step and buying a pair of cowboy boots, my weekends have become rather monotonous. Horseback-riding and wine-tasting were also a blast, but my favorite part of the day was definitely the dairy!

We arrived at the dairy and were greeted by the owner who promptly directed to put booties on over our shoes to keep the cheese making area free from contaminants. She then taught us about the process of cheese making and gave us a sample goat milk! At first, we were a bit leery after she warned that many of the goats had been eating a lot of weeds since recently the rain had sprouted up little patches of green in the desert... not really knowing what to expect, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the milk was very fresh and clean tasting. She also brought out two trays of goat cheese; one tray was filled with mild flavors and the second was filled with spicier selections that included hot peppers and spices. The goat cheese was very flavorful as expected and we knew that we had found a nice addition to our wine tasting later in the day!

The overall favorite cheese with most in our group was, of course, the feta. "Rosemary Garlic" and "Pistachio Thyme" were my two personal favorites, which I have been eating daily since purchasing. (Luckily, the products from this dairy are sold at the larger liquor stores in the area, so when I run out I will be able to get more easily!)

We also learned about the milking process and met some of the goats as they were being milked. Another interesting tidbit learned at the dairy was that many goat farmers also raise llamas which help protect the goats from predators as they assimilate into the herd and protect their smaller counterparts.

I really enjoyed petting the baby goats. I guess they heard about how much milk we had been drinking though, because as you can see, they tried to get revenge by nibbling on my pants and backpack straps! 

If you ever have the chance, I suggest you visit a goat dairy! It turned out to be both a very memorable and educational adventure. Many dairies also make other products that utilize goat milk including soaps that tend to be very moisturizing due to the cream content of the milk.

A walk on the beach

When we first arrived...

I have loved the beach ever since I was a little girl… My parents have told me the story of the first time I went to the beach and as soon as my feet were on the sand, I was darting to the ocean; my older sisters chasing after me and luckily catching me before I was picked up by a wave and taken out to sea. The salty breeze in my hair and the warm grains of sand between my toes are always comforting and soothing to me… as though the sea is whispering to me, “Welcome home.” Although only about an hour of our trip was spent at the beach capturing snapshots, climbing on rocks, and running across the sand, it was definitely my favorite part of the weekend.

2 out of 3

Don’t get me wrong… finding a dress in the window display that I loved and buying the last one in my size was very serendipitous, but enjoying the sun in my bare feet next to crashing waves was definitely the highlight for me.

We set out that afternoon in hopes of finding some shopping in Santa Barbara, the first outlet we went to had handmade slippers priced at about $195 and yacht apparel priced at about $500 per shirt which was just a bit too much on our pitiful salaries. However, we decided we should go to a mall instead and there were found a store having it’s grand opening, ANGL. All three ladies lucked out and found a vast array of tops, shorts, dresses, and accessories. Surprisingly, we each found and bought a dress!

The other ladies bought some tops and shorts as well, but later that night, I ended up ordering another dress online and taking advantage of the 15% off promotional code we received with our purchases. I will post pictures soon after it gets delivered and maybe a few more shots of this one when I get the hang of my new tripod.

Friend sporting her new top and shorts!

On the drive down, I had spotted a few beaches from the freeway and kept the names in mind on the drive back. Luckily we headed back in the late afternoon and around sunset we were at the exit for Refugio State Beach, which has a nice area for camping and direct access to the beach. Parking only cost us ten dollars, which was $2 per person and, in my opinion, well worth the amount of exploring, memories, and photographs obtained at the site.

My friends were out of the car in no time, but one friend remained and changed into some of her newly acquired clothing in the backseat of my car. We thought that the boys had already headed to the beach to take pictures, so we walked to the point and climbed along the rocks until we found a more secluded beach to take some pictures.

The steep climb down to the beach...

We heard voices from above and saw young little girls who were concerned that our purse and backpack might drift away as the waves came crashing in with the tide. We took a few pictures before we decided that the boys must have stopped at the bathroom to change into shorts and we returned to the public beach. We saw the young girls coming down a dirt path above us and asked if they had seen our friends. Indeed they had and we followed the path to the top of the cliffs and met up with our friends almost directly above where we had just been taking pictures. Enticed by the sight of a seagull fighting a crab on the beach below and being the adventurous sorts, we decided not to go all the way back around, but to save some time and climb down the rocks to our original site for photography.

Gorgeous sunset

We left shortly after sunset, but were able to take some beautiful photographs in the meantime.

Making Way for 2012

Yesterday was pretty much a wasted day... 15 hours of flights and travel to make it from Pennsylvania to California. However, today was very productive. The day started out with unpacking and doing a bit of laundry. Then, I cleaned my room and discarded some trash and things I didn't really need, such as packaging from a few of my Christmas gifts, old receipts, and things that no one else would want or need that I felt I no longer needed. Next, I tackled my drawers and closets; going through all of my clothes to donate to Goodwill and also threw out some old clothes such as socks and an old warn pair of sandals on which the zipper had broke and the heels were starting to wear away. A lot of the time, I will try to sell my clothes at a consignment shop in hopes of getting some return, but it is still the holiday season and I felt that these items would make a better donation.

I also went shopping with a friend and helped him find a new pair of shoes. We also went out to eat, and I managed to find some time to buy groceries and steam my clothes with my new steamer. I am so happy with it. It was the one thing that I wanted for Christmas and it works like magic!

On that note...
Warning: Going off on a Tangent here.

Although I previously posted some resolutions or goals for the new year, I've decided that I'd like to try to put more money into savings and follow a stricter budget. I also hope to have less clutter and to stop being such a pack rat (and this will also help me live a healthier lifestyle as less clutter = less stress).

Today was a great start for both of these goals! :) I've removed 3 bags of garbage and 2 bags of clothing for donations... I also saved about $20 just by steaming my uniform by hand rather than taking them to dry cleaning.

Back to the point...

I have such a positive outlook for this year! I will be moving a few times (once to Texas and then who knows?), receiving a promotion and more training for my job, and  Right now I don't feel like there is anything holding me back from reaching my goals and being happy in 2012. I cannot wait to see what this year has in store... I'm ready for whatever comes my way!



What are your goals for 2012 and what are you doing to make them happen?

Looking Forward

Everyone has been rushing around for the holidays... buying gifts, wrapping presents, baking, decorating, and spending time with loved ones. I came home for the holidays and I also got to take a quick trip to NYC. I had so much fun shopping there and am currently watching a few episodes of What Not To Wear. Today is the first day in my vacation that I have actually had a chance to sit down and reflect on the past year and look forward to the future. These incidents combined with my friends and family making their New Year's Resolutions have inspired me to make a few goals for the New Year!

In the 2012, I plan to:

• Maintain a healthy lifestyle:
• healthy diet
• weight loss and maintenance
• stress management
• vitamins & supplements
• daily work-outs
• Build a better wardrobe:
• obtain more fashionable pieces
• remove pieces that don't fit or that are not age appropriate
• Improve my bilingual proficiency:
• increase my vocabulary
• keep current with world news
• read more books

Wish me luck and look for more blog posts and updates!

The Joy of Reading

When we are children, our parents, for the most part, try to set us up with a routine... a nightly ritual to help us fall asleep. Usually it goes along the lines of a nice warm bath, turning on the nightlight to scare away the monsters, and then reading a story. A story was always my favorite part. Every night I would go to my bookshelf, a smaller version of the ones my parent had, that offered a variety of books including Pound Puppies (and Kitties), Precious Moments, Golden Books... and classics such as If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Where the Wild Things Are. I would take the book up the stairs to my room and my dad would read to me.

Despite these fond memories of reading with my dad, I myself am a rather slow reader and have never found myself wanting to read for pleasure. My mind likes to take in each word and make sure that I am getting the true meaning of each sentence or paragraph... therefore, sometimes I feel compelled to go back and reread sentences. The task of reading, even if just for fun, has often been a rather tedious job. I have always been jealous of people who can breeze over the page in a fraction of the time that it would take me. I am in fact a fan of skimming and scanning for vital information related to researching papers and reading assessments. When I actually read for content though, I disect the passages and usually end up with a headache.

Over the past 18 months, I have dedicated my life to learning a foreign language; I can proudly say I am officially bilingual and am fluent in listening, speaking, and reading. This has sparked my interest in reading books in my free time to gain more information about their culture.

I'm proud to say that yesterday I finished the first book, cover to cover, in approximately four years. Last Christmas, I began reading a book of folk tales on my exodus from work during my series of seven flights to and from my hometown, but I never really got to finishing that last section of stories...

Prior to this, I never really found reading fun. I saw it as an obligation. Reading has made me sick on car rides, given me headaches, and taken time away from doing other things... things I found, at the time, to be more important. In college, I simply listened to lectures and took exquisite notes rather than read the required texts. I actually received better grades in those courses where I did this when compared to the classes where I read each text.

I had always taken the ability to read (since age 5) and write (since age 3) for granted. Twenty years later, I am finally learning to enjoy reading. Today, I am already a few chapters into a new book that I plan on finishing by the end of the year. This is the time of year when we take a look at our lives and consider what we are thankful for and what we hope to improve upon in the new year... Considering the fact that I have learned a foreign language that most native speakers cannot read... I have realized how lucky I am to be literate.

Gift Giving

The holiday season is closely approaching, only about 33 more days, and I have been done with my Christmas shopping for weeks. This year, I tried to find a few deals in stores and special gifts by shopping online and going with any inspiration that came to me. A lot of the people that I shop for are rather difficult to find gifts for as they tend to buy anything they want of need. However, I believe I found some of the best presents I have in years! I don't really want to give away what I will be giving this year, but I would like to share some of my gift seeking secrets.

I think that the hunt for the perfect gift is part of the fun. Here are some gifts from the past year; no spoilers for this year:

RC Helicopter - I bought my dad an RC Helicopter last year for Christmas. We always have a lot of guests and visitors during the holiday season and everyone that came to our home was shown his new toy.

This is a great toy for youth or the young at heart. There are lots of toys that can be purchased for adults. Puzzles, vintage toys, board games, and even collectables. I also bought my dad some magnet toys, but once I found this remote controlled toy helicopter in a specialty store, I knew that it was going to be my father's favorite present under the tree.

Chop Sabers - If you have anyone on your Christmas list that is a fan of sushi, Chinese take-out, Star Wars, or any combination of these. This makes a great gift. They come in a variety of styles and you can even get them in gift packs depending on which website you order them from. I found these in a magazine on a flight around Christmas time. This ended up being a Valentine's gift for my the boy I was dating at that time. He is a fan of fried rice and Star Wars. One of his favorite colors was red, so I bought him a pair of Light Saber Chopsticks that are magnetized and connect to look like Darth Maul's saber.

I find that I am constantly keeping my open for gifts for my friends and family. When I get home, I look for the items online and bookmark the websites on my computer so that when the right opportunity comes up I am prepared with something that they will both love and cherish.

Specialty Gifts - For my mother's birthday this year, I remembered that in college a number of my friends were really into creating their own blends of tea and decided to create a blend of specialty tea. I was also able to customize the label and give it a name that has significant meaning to my mother. She has always had an interest in unique teapots and I was also able to find a really cute tea set. Now, when friends come to visit my mom unexpectedly, she can share her special blend and have an impromptu tea party with them. 

I think one of the best ways to find a great gift is to come up with something unexpected. Pay attention to little things that people say in passing. Such as, "I love Jasmine tea," or "Man, when I was little, I had so much fun playing with Lincoln Logs!" If your friend mentions that they have a favorite animal, you can even find them a hand printed t-shirt or other item such as an environmentally friendly canvas bag. My friend is a big fan of squids, octopi, and cuddlefish. He mentioned this to me during a trip to the aquarium earlier this year and I bought him this squid shirt for his birthday.

Also, Etsy.com is a great place to look for unique gifts or to just get some ideas to start your path to finding the perfect gift! I recently created a profile there and find the site very inspiring. I can find unique pieces of jewelry and clothing for my wardrobe and unique gifts for my loved ones. These can lead you in the right direction to finding that special someone a gift that they didn't even know they wanted.

Thank You for Giving

November and December are a time for being thankful for what you have and many take this time to donate to charitable organizations.

From my last post, you know that I am fundraising for #movember via http://www.mosista.co/anberina and have raised over $100 since the beginning of the month.

However, today I dug down into my wallet and made a contribution to the CFC and the charities that I donated to include:
- http://lnt.org/
- http://wwf.org/
- http://www.yosemiteconservancy.org/
- http://www.lungcanceralliance.org/

In addition to this, I also have made several donations to others participating in raising funds for the Movember Foundation over the last few days.

Your donations can make a world of difference in the lives of so many... so take a look at your budget and see if you can spare anything... even if you donate the loose change in your pockets you can touch the lives of others and make a difference for the future!