I've Got a Dream!

  Happy Monday everyone. It's very gray (grey?) here and photoshop is frustrating me. Or, rather, my lack of photoshop skills are frustrating me. I wish I could say I was drinking a cup of tea, but we're out, and I desperately need to go to the store. 

I hope your weekend was nice! We did a beach cleanup and went to a costume party at a friend's house. I wore a troll costume. Yes, I did. Maybe sometime I'll show you some pictures. It was very fun. What did you do?

     In other news, I entered a Roxy contest in pursuit of my dream of being a professional surfer. I wanted to make a cute graphic explaining this video, but alas, this is all I could come up with. I'm not even going to tell you how long it took me to make that heart. 

Anyway...

     Check out the video and if you like it, you can vote for me here. You may have already heard about this contest from many of my wonderful blogger friends or my excessive facebook and twitter posts. You may have even voted for me already, and for that, I am eternally grateful (seriously). You can vote daily, if you wish. And if you're really feeling enthused about my entry you can tweet about the contest or leave a comment on the Roxy page :). 

I've got a dream!

I've got a dream! 

I want to be a traveling member of the Roxy team! 

(Tangled reference anyone?) 

And that's all I have to say about that. 

As always, I really appreciate your support!

What's your dream?

Feel free to comment anonymously if it's personal and you just need to a place to say it. 

Retro Birthday

     On my birthday I went fishing. Not the kind with the pole and the bait and the hook. No, no. I tried that kind once when I was nine; when the fish came up I cried and threw it back. Now I only do this kind of fishing. The kind with a retro surfboard with a fish tail and two fins. Actually, this fish surfboard was made by Scott and given to me about three birthdays ago. Sometimes when you are experiencing something new, it's nice to go back to something old. 

Thank you all for your birthday wishes! They made me feel really happy.

My Birthday

Today is my birthday. 

I have a hard time with change, I've mentioned this before, but for some reason I didn't have a hard time with the idea of getting older this year (read: as hard of a time). 

Maybe it was because we went to one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants last night...

...and played Guess Who?

...and lit my new candle from Anthropology (the only candle I really wanted).

Or maybe it was because Scott told me he took today off work to celebrate with me, but I hope that because I'm getting older, I'm getting wiser too? (we can only hope)....

 And this wisdom perhaps helps me see that age is just a number not a state of mind and that birthdays are about the gift of life and not the burden of ageing. 

So with a young state of mind we went to Target and bought Guess Who? Did you know now they have animals in the game too? At first, I was put off by the fact that they changed it (of course), but it actually made it really funny. At least we were rolling.

|after we picked the same character|

Scott: "Unbelievable! Is yours Freddy too?"

me: "Yes!!"

Scott: "So why did you pick Freddy?"

me: "He looks like one I'd bring home. Why did you pick Freddy?"

Scott: "He looks funny, a little silly....That's why I picked Artie too"

me: "Now I'm gonna know the kind your pick"

Anyways...let the celebrations continue! Believe me, birthdays around here can go on for weeks and that's what I plan to allow for mine.

A Birthday Gift

    I remember distinctly my mother, brown, short hair in her eyes, trying to teach me how to get rid of my hiccups. 

     Simple hiccups. 

     I remember drinking water in, from upside down, learning how to avoid sending it out my nose, holding my breath, breathing out, following her instructions until they were gone. I knew she loved me because she did not want even hiccups to bother me in my day.

                I wrote these thoughts down in my journal a long time ago. I found them last night when I was thinking back on my mom's birthday. We spent the day in downtown San Diego, doing things we hadn't done before. This was her birthday request. After drinking and eating the unnecessary amounts typical of celebrations, we took a tour of the USS Midway, a navy boat museum in the bay. Halfway through the tour I got the hiccups. "Too much chocolate cake", one of the docents offered. How did he know? My mom stopped her audio tour and helped me conquer the hiccups, just like she has always made my happiness a priority. 

Happy Birthday Mom!

This Week Under the Fog

     This week was kind of grey at the beach. I know it was like 80 degrees everywhere else in San Diego, but this time of year the beach is under a near constant cover of clouds and fog known as the marine layer (kind of reminds me of the line from Twilight about Forks, anyone else?)

Well, under the the fog this week...

 Scott did a 360. 

I broke out a different surfboard. It's a swallow tail thruster. What does that mean? It has three fins and a tail like a swallow. I guess you may have figured that out. It's also a little wider and thicker than my typical short board, which was perfect because, although California had swell, it was kind of mushy. Here I am riding it.

It's so humble at the end when I'm all looking back like "did you get that?" This isn't even a good wave.

I made my mom's pasta salad sans chicken and an Ina recipe for soup I got from Bridget. 

This week I got the

I feel honored that Ashley and Robin from 333 Miles ...with love gave me this Leibster award. I went back to my friend Emily's blog to see how she formatted her post when she won and then realized she had given me the award way back when. Feelings of overwhelming guilt followed. Thanks Emily! Sorry I totally missed the mention. I recommend checking out both blogs as the girls who run them are some of the sweetest and funniest people I have met through blogging. 

Now I'm gonna pass the award along to: Red Lipstick and Melodies, F-E-S-T, Life is Sweet, The Failte House, Frikken Duckie. Read about what to do here. 

Part of the award is sharing 5 random things about yourself.

Since I already shared 10 random things about myself I thought I'd share 5 random things about Scott and me. 

1. We've read the Twilight and Hunger Games series together

-I read Twilight out loud to Scott which started when he was sick and then continued after that.

-We listened to The Hunger Games series on "tape" (i-pod) starting on a road trip.

2. We both have two younger sisters. All 4 of them live on the east coast. Our middle sisters live together in NYC. 

3. We like to play video games at night

-Currently we are playing Zelda, but we love a good Mario Cart race. Scott almost always wins, but when I win he can expect excessive celebrations and in-your-face remarks

4. I don't have a pet name for Scott. I just call him Scott or husband. He calls me Dev, wife, sweetheart and love. 

5. We both got our black belts as kids. Don't mess. 

And that was this week. A week where I stayed up too late and woke up too often in the middle of the night, but a week where I was very thankful for my life nonetheless.

How was your week?

More from Trestles Camping

It felt happy like sailing, 

warm like tea, 

free like childhood,

you and me camping by the sea.

Views from the Soul

    
      I was in a bit of a funk at certain points this weekend and I don't know why. That's not true, I know it's because I found out my Great Aunt Jody has cancer. She's 83 and sometimes when I think about people in that age group my first thought is-they're lucky to have made it that far, because my nonny died when she was 72 and my poppy at 65, and my Grandma Jo at 57 (things I only remember when I'm not pretending to forget). Well, anyways, this is something I used to think about 80 plus year olds with diseases, but now I feel heart sick about Aunt Jody.
     I'm writing all these ramblings in my backyard on a Sunday as I sit on our indo balance board and sway back and forth in the last hours of sunlight, reflecting on our weekend. It's not like I was sad all weekend, just acutely aware of mortality and change and endings.
      It was probably for the better though, since I really paid extra attention to the wonderful qualities of the ones I loved while we spent time together this weekend. For instance, my dad gets so excited about projects. After I told him about this idea I had to "surf ourselves through the decades" by riding different boards from every era of surfing, he downloaded every old surf movie Netflix had. I love that. We spent all Friday evening watching them.
     On Saturday, we went to Kevin's house for dinner. He is my dad's best friend, but I feel he is one of mine too. Kevin really enjoys cooking for friends. My dad told me he had been preparing some of the food since Thursday night! It was delicious, especially because you could tell how much love had gone into it. 
     At the dinner party, I noticed how appreciative Scott is. He approaches all situations with gratitude. I hope I'm learning from his ways.
     On Sunday, my mom came home from a sorority reunion. She got back in time to see our last waves before we finished surfing. As we came up from the beach, she complimented all of us on our rides. She really loves making others feel good. 
     By mid-Sunday I was missing my sisters and my friends. Two of my friends from college, Nell and Nicole, got engaged. As happy as I was for them I couldn't help feeling a twinge of sadness that I wasn't with them to celebrate. Scott helped this situation by giving me a plane ticket up to see one of them for Bay to Breakers in San Francisco. 
     That was basically our weekend. Now the sun has gone behind our house and the backyard is wearing a shadow. Somewhere deep down I wish my mom was inside cooking chicken, even though I'm a vegetarian. And in this moment I realize that this weekend was really about feeling very alive. 

The Best Thing You've Never Tried: Microwaved Rice Cakes with Soy Sauce and Cheese

Alright, I'm probably about to make you never visit this place again seeking healthy recipes, but I'll risk it since this is probably my best creation ever (sad). I made this recipe up in high school as an after-school snack. I thought this would be the perfect follow-up after telling you about my soy sauce and cereal craving. All I can say is, don't knock it 'til you try it! 

I like to read poetry while eating salty snacks

Servings: 2

Ingredients

2 dashes of soy sauce

2 handfuls of Parmesan cheese

2 rice cakes (I use the Lundberg brand)

A pinch of cilantro (sometimes I add this, sometimes I don't)

Instructions

Place 2 rice cakes on a microwave-safe plate. Cover the rice cakes with Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle soy sauce over the cheese. Don't put too much, or you'll salt your brains out!

Microwave on high for approximately 30-40 seconds. I like some of the cheese to get kind of bubbly. Finally, add the cilantro. Enjoy it with fruit or a sour type of drink like 100% cranberry juice (I'm making this sound worse, aren't I?)

Yes, I realize this is not a healthy recipe. Soy sauce is obviously high in sodium and microwaves are sort of frowned upon by the healthy crowd, but I think it's good to occasionally indulge in your food fantasies; this is oddly one of mine.

Oh yeah, I dug up an old picture of me eating soy sauce on my cereal during our camper-van journey across New Zealand. Great picture of me, isn't it? yeah...

Thank You

Top to bottom: First BBQ of the season, tofu and pineapple (don't they look perplexed by the tofu? ha)//seashells not eggshells//staring at the sun with my parents

     Oh you guys, where do I start? I want to start this like a letter...like Dear Bloggers or Dear Readers, because this post is to you. I guess they all are. They are meant for anyone who wants to listen. 
     At Easter mass, during my after-communion prayer, I rambled on about a lot of things. I thanked God for Easter and everything it means-- sacrifice, forgiveness, mystery, love. I asked God to help me forgive myself and others. Then I thanked God for my family, my friends, and for you. Does this letter sound too sappy already? I'm serious. Where would I be without all of that? If you didn't support this blog, my dream would be like a shooting star, something wonderful that's gone as soon as you realize it's there; something I would never grasp. In supporting this blog you help support my dreams and how can I ever thank you enough for that? So to anyone out there reading this, THANK YOU!
     I'm so glad you feel I have been opening my heart to you. I can't thank you enough for returning the favor. 

Now, since we are on the subject of "the real me" here are 10 things I bet you didn't know: 

1. I don't drink coffee
2. I have my black belt in taekwondo 
3. I think my stuffed animals have feelings
4. I like cleaning my house
5. I don't like giving hello or goodbye hugs to people I am just getting to know
6. My favorite TV show of all time is Buffy the Vampire Slayer
7. I love to shower outside, not inside
8. I'm an introvert
9. I won't eat breakfast foods like pastries or waffles and would much rather eat cheerios and replace the milk with a sprinkle of soy sauce
10. I hate change

How about you? What's something random about you that most people probably don't know?

The Real Me

    
     It's 5am here. No, actually now it's 5:47am, but I woke up at 5am after Scott accidentally kneed me in the butt in bed, awakening me and allowing me to realize how badly I really had to go to the bathroom. After that, my mind was too awake to go back to sleep and began to wander. First, I began to think about Easter and Jesus, since it is Easter now. We watched the Passion of the Christ last night and that movie had so many horrifying images I can't believe I ever fell asleep in the first place. Then, I thought about how grateful I am for God's sacrifice and how crazy this world really is, knowing full and well that I will never understand it. I thought about how thankful I am for what I have and then after that, I went back to more shallow thoughts like how I come across in the blogging world and who my readers think I am. 
    On Friday I was in a sponsor feature on another blog and it was a great feature, don't get me wrong, I mean who doesn't want to be complimented, but I began to realize how Scott and I frequently get portrayed as this hot surf couple. I was so homely (and lonely) in high school that the idea of me being at all attractive still sort of shocks me. I feel very flattered and print and cherish those features, but my greatest hope for this blog is that people can see me as I really am. I want you to hear my thoughts and concerns, passions and dreams, and in the best case scenario, find something about me that resonates with you. If you really do see this blog as a place about two flawless people, something we are anything but (especially me), then it's my fault and I want to change that.
     It's an odd thought to put unattractive images of yourself out for people to see, and I guess somewhere deep down I have hoped that some surf sponsor will see us on this blog and think we are "the perfect surf couple to send on this epic surf safari/feature in our magazine/be in our TV show" (very unrealistic, I know, but I told you this place is about dreams). I try to be optimistic and I love the idea of sharing surf stories that allow readers to escape, which is what surfing does for me, but as I sit here at 5:58 am on Easter Sunday in my favorite red robe my grandmother gave me before she died, I want to make sure that at all times you know who I really am. 

So here I am...

I'm Devon

I love to write. I started to love writing in 6th grade because it was the first thing I was any good at in school. I continue to do it because I feel a need to document how I feel and what goes on around me. I want to have a record of our life together and the crazy adventures we've been on that have allowed us to discover more of who Scott and I are as individuals and as a couple. I want my family and friends to see how much they mean to me. I hope that God knows how thankful I really am (not that he like reads my blog). I want to share how passionate I am about surfing and nature and how they free me.

I want this blog to make me a better writer and a better person.

I want to get to know other people on a deeper level and learn about their thoughts, concerns, passions and dreams. 

Ok, that's all for now.

I hope this post gives you an idea of who I am at 5am, but I hope this blog will show you who I am as  person and what it means to me to live (that's a bit dramatic isn't it? well, I can be that sometimes too). 

Happy Easter and Passover!

Gulls, Guys, Girls and Grit

     Trestles. The place where everyone checks you out, even the seagulls and crows, to see if you have something they can use. Photographers scatter across the cobblestone covered coastline where surfers try to prove themselves. Taking off on a wave feels like standing on a stage. Everyone out in the water is watching you to see if you are going to fall so they can go and the people on the beach are trying to decide if you are a better surfer than they are. I can't say I'm not guilty of doing both, but this fact didn't make me feel any less nervous as I sat in the hot seat out in the Trestles lineup. I had just paddled out; Scott and a few of our friends sat on the beach taking pictures and drying off after their session. I positioned myself in the middle of a pack of guys who probably only took notice of me to write me off. 

     To be honest, I never think much about being the only, or one of the only, girls out surfing. It's something I lost sight of a while back when I was learning to surf in places like Trestles. You see, I grew up a stone's throw from this spot and found my water ways soaking at sea among men and boys who would only notice you if your top turn sprayed them in the face. It wasn't until I got sponsor stickers on my board that I finally felt I didn't have to prove myself as a worthy surfer every time I paddled out. But none of that mattered here. These waters, like the ones I learned to surf in, seemed to be filled with dares and challenges. 

     Why am I telling you this? So you will think I'm cool for entering a male dominated arena? No. That's not what this blog is for. This is a place I use to store honest stories, like a journal or diary, with the hope that some day they will at least mean something to me. And the truth in this story is, out of the water I am half the hustler I am in the water. Maybe that is one of the reasons I find the sea so comforting. I feel like I have grit out there. 

     So there I was, surrounded by a bunch of wave-hungry dudes, when the perfect wave came to me. We all scrambled for it, but I had the position closest to the peak and there was no way I was backing down. I turned and began to paddle for the wave, but at least three other guys did too. "I got it!" I called, as I dropped into this near perfect Trestles right. I could feel what felt like 100 eyes on me, but my experiences from learning to surf in waters just like these paid off and I let my nerves wash away with each turn.

     That wave made me feel not just alive, but able.  

Chasing Waves and Dreams

note to self: chop wood with both eyes open!

     Hope you guys enjoyed the veggie recipes from Monday! I can't wait to try them!
Sorry if I've seemed absent the last few days, it's just because I was. Scott and I have been camping since the weekend and I would've told you, but that would have defeated the purpose of escaping to a place where no one knows where you are. You know, sometimes it's just something you need to do (our parents knew, of course, I'm not trying to go all dude from 127 Hours on you). Anyways, I'm back now and I can't wait to share some camping and surfing stories with you (we scored...surfers be jealous). Meanwhile, I guest posted over at The Failte House last week discussing a few more thoughts and details about quitting my job to achieve my dreams. Sheila is an awesome person so naturally her blog is an awesome place!

Check that out HERE.

Also, Kai from All Kinds of Complicated asked her sponsors to make a six word sentence to describe themselves. This is what I came up with and Kai edited it really cool 

What six word sentence describes you? I'd love to know!

Alright, I'm off to shower now...it's been a few days. I love a good shower almost as much as I love not showering (too much sharing?). When I come back I'll have some camping tales for you. Until then, I'll be untangling my hair.

Roberta's Edamame Energy Salad

     Hey everyone! How was your weekend? We've been celebrating Scott around here and it's been awesome. We had family in town and spent some time surfing. In honor of Monday, I'm doing this linky link-up. I hope you find it useful! This recipe is brought to you by Roberta.

     Roberta is one of my closest friends. Half the year we are neighbors and the other half we are pen pals, as she spilts her time between SoCal and Vancouver. I've told you about how healthy Roberta is, but have I told you about what a great friend she is? She emails me something insightful and kind about each blog post I write and she never fails to encourage me on my journey to achieve my dreams. I hope you all have a Roberta in your lives, but if you don't, you can at least have one of her recipes.  

Ingredients

1/2 C shelled edamame

1/4 C black beans

1/4 C corn

1/4 C chopped red pepper

1/4 C chopped mango

1 T chopped cilantro

1 T lime juice

2 tsp olive oil

1/4 tsp ground cumin

Instructions

Combine all ingredients and let them sit in the refrigerator for about half an hour before eating. Enjoy!

Roberta and I at her beautiful wedding in the mountains this past summer
Read about our trip to Peru HERE