1) Answer this question that Tasha posed: “If you had the chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be?”

While I try to live my life free of regrets, fully aware of the consequences of my decisions, there are still things that I could list off when it comes to what I could change because my life is full of changes. There is always something to work for, to strive for.

However, if I were to go back into the past to change ONE thing, it would probably be my reluctance to learn Chinese. The parents made my sister and me attend every Saturday morning, and I really wish I’d paid more attention and was more diligent about studying the language. I still speak more than most would expect, but it’s a little embarrassing to tell people just how many Saturdays were spent in Chinatown and what little I really retained.

2) Pick six people to pass the award on to. Their blog should be truly deserving.

Linda @ Curious Notions, Ange @ Lushlee, Ashley and Stephen @ (never home)maker [this counts as two, right?], Not That Kind of Girl, Dorry @ Living With Healthy Hunger.

3) Thank the person who gave you the award, in the form of a comment on this post.

Done!

To celebrate, my next post will be a giveaway. Stay tuned!

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At first, we thought the line was stuck under the boat. The line seemed unyielding, and RV had to let some of it loose a few times to bring it in. As he reeled in, the rest of us were anxious to see what was holding down the line. Whatever it was, it swum back and forth under the boat, leading RV to both sides of the boat while keeping a grasp on the fishing pole.

When it finally came up closer to the surface, we could see that it was a Stingray! It flapped around from the surface, trying to set itself free from the line. It was fairly huge, and before we could get a net around it, the line snapped. Goodbye, Stingray! Goodbye, bait fish!

Correction: It was a Bat ray!

RV hadn’t brought the crab snares, so we definitely were not expecting to see a Dungeness crab, but there it was holding onto the frozen fish bait RV had used. You can’t keep Dungeness from the Bay anyway, but RV tried to lift it out of the water for the rest of us to at least catch a glimpse. The crab let go though, so no pictures!

What RV did end up landing was an average-sized adult leopard shark! It put up quite the fight before it finally gave in and let itself be reeled in and netted for the photo opp. Before holding the shark up, RV took the hook out of its mouth. He said that it blinked at him. :p

He looks so proud of himself, doesn’t he?

I’m proud of him too! Before the trip, I totally made fun of him for wanting to fish for our lunch. I told him that the entire group would starve if we waited on fish from him, but at least he did provide a bit of entertainment and excitement for the day!

We spent the last hour of the trip wondering what this monster was up to. It moved much faster than we did, so we watched it go by and maneuver through narrow channels.

It was a fun day, even when I was holding on for dear life as the wind kicked us around! I’m very lucky to have friends who belong to a sailing club, and I’m hoping that we get to go again some time! More sailing day photos: here.

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Being a little on the green side, if one did not know that there were avocados involved, it might gross you out a little bit. But yes, instead of using mayonnaise, I used avocados to hold the gloopy insides together! So these are HEALTHY deviled eggs!

While the eggs were boiling, I was avocado-mashing. To prevent the green mess from turning brown, I threw in some lemon juice. For about two dozen eggs, I used four avocados and one lemon. I also added a hint of honey [which really didn't do much else] to offset the lemon.

With a sharp knife, I cut the peeled eggs in half and squeezed their yolks out. At first, I didn’t know any better, and I was trying to scoop ‘em out with a spoon. Thanks to the internet, I found the easier method! Once the eggs were all de-yolked, I mashed them in with the avocado, lemon, honey, PLUS salt, chives, Sriracha, a little bit of garlic. I tasted as I mashed to determine how much more of each flavor to add. The sister brought over some Old Bay Seasoning, so I sprinkled a little on top.

They turned out quite nicely, and it wasn’t all that hard. Just lots of steps. In terms of flavor, they were tasty and most definitely eaten up at the party. I definitely could have kicked it up a few notches with the Sriracha though. They could have been spicier, but I didn’t want to go overboard on the first try! Since I didn’t want the avocado to overpower the eggs, the ratio was about one wonderfully ripe avocado for every half dozen eggs. If I were making them for myself, I’d just sit there with a bowl of guacamole… I am an avocado fiend! :P

Since this time didn’t turn out a complete mess, I will likely try making them again, perhaps even coming up with an actual recipe for them.

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Write a letter to these people:

Day 1 — Your Best Friend
Day 2 — Your Crush
Day 3 — Your parents
Day 4 — Your sibling (or closest relative)
Day 5 — Your dreams
Day 6 — A stranger
Day 7 — Your Ex-boyfriend/girlfriend/love/crush
Day 8 — Your favorite internet friend
Day 9 — Someone you wish you could meet
Day 10 — Someone you don’t talk to as much as you’d like to
Day 11 — A Deceased person you wish you could talk to
Day 12 — The person you hate most/caused you a lot of pain
Day 13 — Someone you wish could forgive you
Day 14 — Someone you’ve drifted away from
Day 15 — The person you miss the most
Day 16 — Someone that’s not in your state/country
Day 17 — Someone from your childhood
Day 18 — The person that you wish you could be
Day 19 — Someone that pesters your mind—good or bad
Day 20 — The one that broke your heart the hardest
Day 21 — Someone you judged by their first impression
Day 22 — Someone you want to give a second chance to
Day 23 — The last person you kissed
Day 24 — The person that gave you your favorite memory
Day 25 — The person you know that is going through the worst of times
Day 26 — The last person you made a pinky promise to
Day 27 — The friendliest person you knew for only one day
Day 28 — Someone that changed your life
Day 29 — The person that you want tell everything to, but too afraid to
Day 30 — Your reflection in the mirror

It might be more like little notes to these people… or not. I’ve not yet decided if this is a project I’ll be able to finish.

I like the idea, but I start so many that I have yet to complete…

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RV’s mother’s friend caught the halibut up in the icy cold waters of Alaska this summer, and several vacuum-sealed pounds magically ended up in our freezer! LUCKY US! It was sashimi grade, so of course, we sliced it up as so and put out the soy sauce and wasabi [not a fan, but others LOVE it, so I had to go and buy it!].

Picture stolen right off the sister’s Facebook page. I was too busy eating and not taking any photos of the evening. That’s yellowtail [hamachi] on the left and halibut [ohyo or sometimes hirame meaning "flat fish" in restaurants] on the right. So tasty!

Since we’re such classy individuals, this video came up in our dinner conversation, and we were, of course, thoroughly entertained:

There was also mention of the ShakeWeight commercial… Oh, Infomercials.

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I’ve accepted that sometimes in the shower, if my nose is feeling extra runny, there’s a chance that it’s a nose bleed. There have been fewer than a handful of times [like this one] when the flow was strong, and clotting took much longer. I’ve tried saline sprays and humidifiers, but haven’t been doing so diligently lately.

What I don’t understand is how I can go the entire night without the blood getting everywhere, but as soon as I am conscious, it’s flowing, and it isn’t stopping.

This morning, upon consciousness, I turned over to wake RV like I do most mornings. As soon as I turned, the nose started spewing forth blood, and I ruined a perfectly good pillowcase. I was also late to work by about an hour. :(

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The group was handed small beer tasting glasses when we walked in, and even with the smaller sized glass, there was no way we could try EVERYTHING. At some point, we just took sips from each others’ glasses and even asked for smaller tasting sizes. It was a good time, and we all left feeling buzzed and happy. So much beer, so little time/tummy room.

Don’t worry – I’ve started working with the Weighted Sports Hula Hoop to reduce that inevitable beer belly!

As a friend had suggested, I started looking into the Lego video game series. Since it was on sale, we went ahead and got Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues.

RV and I started playing this afternoon. While it was difficult at first, it was not impossible to pick up. It was a bit frustrating when we really didn’t know what the objective for a particular segment of the game was. However, with some combined brain muscles working together, we figured it out, and it became fun once you got going. Since we are still figuring out how things work, there’s a LOT of random button-pushing on my part.

We were able to get through parts of the game and unlock some new levels, so that’s a good sign, right? I’m just glad I’m not trying to figure this out on my own as I probably would’ve given up much earlier on in the game.

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A jacket I scored during the Tulle’s Day sale earlier this month. It’s the Canvas 3/4 Sleeve Jacket in Pepper, and it was only $8!

I’ve worn it twice this week already. It is a brighter red in person than what’s shown in the photo, but I love it just the same. I don’t own anything nearly as bright, and it is perfect for wearing to the office!

Plus, it seems to go well with my skin tone. I don’t blush easily, and it adds the needed color! I am considering adding more of this color to my wardrobe!

My sister introduced me to Tulle recently, and I have been hooked. As a bonus, they donate 5% of what you spend [subtotal] to charity. Definitely looking forward to the next Tulle’s Day sale.

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It is very exciting for me, considering how long I have been waiting. The 3-month trial period turned into 11 months due to jaw surgery and other schedule conflicts, such as various people being out of town.

It’s interesting how on the surface, nothing has changed. I will have the same title, same pay, and continue what I’ve been doing.

However, benefits make all the difference in the world, and thankfully, the company has awesome benefits! Some of them don’t kick in until another 90 days have passed, but I’m not going to complain too much.

I am very excited about saving $150/month [$400+ when not subsidized] on health coverage and actually being paid when I take time off. As a temp, I minimized the time I would take off because any time I wasn’t working, I wasn’t being paid! Talk about annoying when I would have random oral surgeon and orthodontist appointments…

Hooray for stability and 23 PTO days [thankfully, not a downgrade from my previous job]!

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The idea is to pick a letter, go for a walk, and take photos based on that letter. When I selected my letter, I had a few ideas, but when it came down to the deadline, I ended up sticking to things around the house. Nothing too fancy.

KitchenAid - a beautiful mixing machine!

Kurbağa - Turkish for “frog” – gift from S – his nickname for me was “Kurbish” – little frog

Kidde and Kitty [a little fuzzy as we were both in motion]!

Visit the other participants here!

“K” is also for my latest obsession – Kylie Minogue’s recently released album, Aphrodite. I’ve been listening to it OVER and OVER and OVER again. Yes, it’s definitely inspired a random living/dining room dance party!

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