i must be a mermaid

*via

The greatest fear I have is a quite simple one. It's living a life void of adventure and without real meaning. I don't want to wake up one day and think about all the things I could have done, the places I could have seen, the people I could have met, the person I could have been. 

That's terrifying to me. 

I refuse to let fear hold me back and stand in the way of my aspirations.

"Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain." - Mark Twain

what i do

I love.
Like crazy.
I love my family, my friends and my fur babies -- unconditionally and wholeheartedly.

I wanderlust.
I have an undeniably overwhelming urge to travel the world.
It's an incredible and insatiable desire that I just can't shake.

*via

I believe in being sunkissed every chance you get.

Sunshine makes me one happy lady.

A daily dose of it is good for the soul.

*via

I stargaze.

When I look up at the night sky and gaze out into the universe I'm filled with excitement and wonder.

I can't help but admire the sheer beauty and majesty that we're surrounded by.

a profession of love

Day 5 of Jenni's Blog Every Day in May Challenge is to publicly profess your love for another blogger friend and this one was a total no brainer!

I immediately thought of Casey, from We Took the Road Less Traveled because if I could only ever read one blog for the rest of my life -- hers would be it.
She's seriously that amazing. Casey and I share many things in common -- a love for traveling around Europe, an affinity for good food, an obsession with wine and more importantly, we both have a thing for sarcasm and dry humor. This girl cracks me up! While we're not friends in real life, with the way she writes I feel like we could be.

She's a dedicated Air Force wife, takes the most beautiful pictures, has the sweetest hubby ever, lives in Germany (what what!), galavants around Europe and knows how to plan a European vacation like nobody's business.

But best of all, Casey is funny, she's witty, she writes like a pro (I'm so envious of her impeccable writing skills -- she's a published poet for Pete's sake!), she's entertaining, and she's so down to earth that even though I've only met her in blog land she makes me feel like I've known her for years. 

Plus, she's gorgeous! Love you Casey! Your blog literally rocks my socks off.

be wise, taste the wine

I had a really hard time picking just one quote that I love, so I decided to share two quotes that speak volumes to me.

The first quote comes from Horace, a leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.

And the second quote I love is from Steve Jobs...

I love each of these quotes because even though it's super cliché to say this, life is short. In fact, it's incredibly way too short, fleeting away from you every second of every day. When you're young, sometimes you think you have all the time in the world to chase your dreams, but in reality you don't. None of us do. It's an illusion. We don't tell the ones we love often enough how much we love them and we put things off to do tomorrow because we always think tomorrow will be there. We sometimes worry entirely way too much about trivial things and neglect the precious moments we have right in front of us. Don't waste time dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. And whatever your dream is, find a way to make it happen. There's so much I want to do in this short life of mine, and sometimes I do worry that there just isn't enough time to accomplish everything. But all I can do is live in the moment, strive hard and hopefully I'll be able to make a dent the long list of things I want to do and be. I think true happiness comes from setting out on the adventure to find your own inner voice and following your true heart's desire.
Because one day soon, all of our candles will burn out.
I want mine to burn hot and bright while it's still lit -- I want to light fires and set others ablaze.

things that make me uncomfortable

I'm uncomfortable when...

:: my roots have grown out way too long because I'm way over due for a hair appointment.

:: someone tells me to smile. Um, why don't you do something to make me smile? Tell me a funny joke
   or pay me a compliment. A sweet compliment on my outfit or my eyes goes a long way! I don't like
   smiling on command.

:: people take pictures when of me when I'm not ready or I'm in the middle of saying something. Hey,
   where's the forewarning, Jack?!

I'm uncomfortable when...

:: I try a new recipe and it turns out horrible so I have to throw it away. This only happened once, but it
   kills me to throw away food like that. Or when we let the leftovers in the fridge spoil. So terrible!

:: thinking I did really well on a test only to find out, nope you sucked! This is also rare, but sometimes
   procrastination bites me in the butt and I don't study like I should. I'm a straight A student -
   anything lower and it ruins my day!

:: sales people follow you around the store and try to find things you might like. Ahem, Buckle. I hate
   this! Unless I ask for your help finding something, please don't bother me while I'm shopping. I get
   that it's your job and they make you do it, but dang it's annoying!

:: I go swimming or snorkeling in the ocean and my hair becomes this horrific, unruly rat's nest that
   takes gobs of conditioner to make soft and silky again. Long, wet, tangled hair is frustrating and so
   not sexy.

I'm uncomfortable when...

:: my heart starts racing because I think I've lost my iPhone somewhere. I start to have a mini panic
   attack and literally become a crazy person trying to find it!

:: my toenail or fingernail polish is chipped. Yikes! I can't stand looking at it or having others look at it.
   I feel judged.

:: I know for a fact that someone is lying to me. The quickest way to piss me off is blatant lying. Don't
   make me cut you!

:: getting caught by the apartment office people having my dogs off a leash. I'm sorry, but they can't be
   cooped up in an apartment, they need to run free! Going for a "walk" tied to a leash just ain't gonna
   cut it.

the king of casseroles: green king ranch chicken

One of my absolute favorite, most delicious dishes to make is actually a twist on two separate recipes. Green Chicken Enchiladas + King Ranch Chicken Casserole. 

I love each of these so much and, one day standing in my kitchen contemplating what to make for dinner, I couldn't decide which one I wanted more.

I wanted Green Chicken Enchiladas, yet I didn't feel like frying up tortillas and rolling up each individual enchilada. But, I also like the creaminess and corn in King Ranch Chicken Casserole, and the ease with which it can be made.

Then, bam! It hit me.

I had an epiphany: why the heck not just combine the two and make a hybrid?!

Genius I tell you!

And so, this my friends, is one of the easiest, most tummy-filling, scrumptiously awesome casseroles -- the king of all casseroles: 

The cast of characters:

• 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
• 1 can green enchilada sauce
• 1/2 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can corn
• 1 whole onion, chopped
• 14 corn tortillas, sliced into quartered triangles
• 2 packages of cheese: 1 pepper jack, 1 mild cheddar & monterey jack, grated
• 3 whole 4 oz cans of diced green chilies
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt + pepper to taste

The process:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the chicken, green enchilada sauce, cream of mushroom and chicken soup, corn, chopped onion, diced green chilies, garlic, cumin, and salt + pepper in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly. 

Layer half of the tortillas on the bottom of a buttered baking dish. Spread on half of the chicken mixture, cover with half of the cheese. Put on the second layer of of tortillas, the rest of the chicken mixture and the remaining cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and slightly golden brown on top. Garnish with cilantro (I always forget the cilantro, danggit!) and serve with Spanish Rice and sliced avocado. Delish!

So, there you have it. The king of all casseroles. It's creamy, it's gooey, it's super cheesy, it's a little spicy and it's most definitely the ultimate comfort food.

And I'm damn good at making it, if I do say so myself. What are you really good at? Are you linking up for Jenni's Blog Every Day in May Challenge? If you are, leave me a comment with a link to your post so I can read all about it! :)

the story of my life: in a nutshell

Since I've just gotten back into the blogging world, I've had lots of ideas brewing about new posts to write and I've got a ton of pictures to edit.
I had something planned for today, but I'm nowhere near done editing photos because instead of blogging I should be studying for my final exam tomorrow!

So, procrastinating as I usually do when I have exams the next day, I was catching up on reading some of my favorite blogs and came across something fun.
Jenni, from Story of My Life, has challenged herself and other bloggers to write every day in May.
She's even come up with cool writing prompts and of course I had to get in on the action too!
Today's prompt is "the story of your life in 250 words or less." 

So, without further ado: my life story, the abridged version...

I was born in Houston, TX along with my twin brother on December 13th, 1988.

At around two weeks old we moved to South Texas and I grew up in a tiny little town called La Feria in the Rio Grande Valley. 

We literally lived like 25 minutes from the border of Mexico and we used to walk across the bridge to go have dinner. My family lived out in the country next to cotton fields and my grandparents’ grapefruit orchard.

Shooting bb guns, riding 4-wheelers, playing in the wild life refuge and irrigation canals, fishing at the lake and the beach, going to UIL meets, making up dances with my friends and having country bonfires - that’s what my childhood was all about. I spent the majority of it outside -- dirty, muddy or full of sand, but content.

When I was 10, my family moved to College Station, TX and at 15 years old, I hoped on a plane to Germany where I spent the next three years in a little town called Idar-Oberstein. Gosh, I hated that town. I was a stubborn little twerp while I lived there and refused to speak German. Sure I learned it, having no choice, but I would only speak in English unless ordering food or shopping at a clothing store. At 18, I moved back stateside and started college here in Austin where I still live now. I’ve gotten over my stubbornness and I’ll be taking German III next semester and going on a study abroad to Berlin this summer! 

262 words... Shoot! It's hard to keep your life story at 250 words or less! There's just so much to tell. Anyway, what's your story?