You pronounce all of the Native American named towns with a Spanish accent

Alright, I can't really take credit for this one.  Last week my Aunt Debra and I were playing tourist in the city, and she told me that she and my Aunt Jill finally realized they we pronouncing everything wrong.  But it can get a little confusing when we come from an area of San Jose and Camino Tassajara.  Now it's Lake Sammamish and Snowqualmie.  It's nice to be up here living with family that at one time made the same move that I have just made.

It's also been really nice just spending more time with family.  I've always been very close to my family.  Too close as most of my friends would tell you.  I guess I just really enjoy being with people that have to love me no matter how weird I am.  I've been fortunate enough to always be around a lot of family.  I grew up with both sets of grandparents within 30 minutes.  Then when I went to UC Irvine, my Uncle Cliff and Aunt Jenny were just 15 minutes away.  I was able to watch my cousin Ryan go from an infant to a little boy.  Unfortunately I'm missing that with Landon, but yet again I am with family.  This time I am getting to live with my mom's youngest sister Jill and her family.  And there really is no better way to get to know someone than living with them.  My cousins have gone from kids I see once a year to friends I get to see everyday.  I'm also getting to spend a lot of time with my Aunt Debra, which is something that I really cherish.  She's so great at listening.

So although of course I miss my mom, dad, brother and sister, it's really nice to still be close to family.  There's just a level of comfort in knowing that someone has your back.  So even though there are times when I might be feeling a little lost or lonely, I know that I still have my family.  And when I do something stupid like pronounce Wenatchee wrong, they get it, and correct me without making too much fun of me.

You start to lose your flip flop tan

So, I've decided that I really enjoyed blogging throughout my time in Aix, so I might as well keep it up. I'm going through another new and exciting time in my life right now, and one thing that I'm learning about myself is how very deeply Californian I am. I have not worn flip flops since I have been up here, and the fact that my flip flop tan is slowly fading is very troublesome to me. My flip flop tan is something I have always been proud of. It says, "I live in the sunshine and don't have to wear real shoes. I'm laid back".

But with the fading tan is coming a fading lifestyle. I've been having a lot of fun for the last 4 years of my life, and something that is quickly becoming clear to me is that SPOILER ALERT: College is NOT real life!! Work does not happen in 50 minute increments 3 days a week. It's not quite as acceptable to sleep in until noon. A diet of Mac and Cheese and Starbucks does not lead to anything good. And watching every show on TV is no longer possible. So I'm finally starting to get what people mean when they talk about college being the best time of their lives. Top that all off with the fact that I spent the last 6 months of my college career traveling around Europe with no responsibilities, and you can start to see why I've had such a rude awakening.

So, needless to say, I haven't found life as a college graduate to be a walk in the park. But in the process of being thrown into a situation that is completely new to me, I'm learning a lot about myself. I'm learning about how I deal with stress and change, and I'm constantly re-evaluating what I want to be doing with my life. I'm starting to think about my priorities and my goals more than I ever really have. So although life might be changing, and the flip flop tan might be fading, I'm excited for what lies ahead. Mitten tan lines here I come!