San Diego, finally!

I thought it'd be a neat idea to start a blog for my family and friends so they would be able to keep up with me now that I'm 2,500 miles away. I figure this would be easier than sending a ton of individual emails and pictures. Don't worry, I'll still call!

So far, everything has been going great. It started out exceptionally well considering right when I landed late Friday night in San Diego, Andy asked me if I'd like to accompany him on a work trip for 60 days in Europe. I told him even though I just got back from from overseas, OF COURSE I'd be willing to go again! He would be traveling around Germany, Spain, Bahrain, Turkey, the Netherlands, Italy, and the UK. There is still a really slight chance that his company may not win the contract but I'm really hoping everything works out! We would be leaving Aug. 3 and getting back Sept. 31 so it's coming up really soon!

In other news, it has actually been hot here in San Diego. We broke down and had to turn the AC on the other evening! It is still really nice in the mornings until about 10am (low 70's) and in the evenings around 7 it starts to get chilly. But during the middle of the day it gets pretty warm.

While Andy's at work, I've been making it out to the beaches. It's unbelievable how many different ones there are out here. I was going to one this morning and ended up getting a little lost but found another really pretty one. The nice thing is, they're all only about 10 minutes away. According to Andy, there are some really beautiful beaches up north near Solana. I think I'll venture up that way soon (I also hear they have great outlet malls with a Le Creuset store!) but it's a good 20-30 minutes. Other than that, I've been running around trying to keep myself busy.

I cooked some dinner the other night for Andy and I, it was delicious.

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi (courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa)

It's REALLY easy and tastes like an authentic Italian meal

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil
• Kosher salt
• 3/4 pound linguine
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
• 1 pound large shrimp (about 16 shrimp), peeled and deveined
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 lemon, zest grated
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
• 1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Directions

Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.

Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.

Here's Elbe, doing what she does best: laying around

The condo has a little balcony that overlooks a small park. It's nice to sit on and the dogs love to sunbathe on it as well.

This is a cool looking picture Andy took one evening on the balcony.

I'm trying to find Andy's other waterproof point and shoot camera so I can take it to the beach and take pictures. So that's pretty much it for now!