I'm Living

All I can think right now is "tomorrow is my last day" over and over again. It's hindering my ability to write about today. I'll do my best.

I got up, did a few things around the house, and then went out.

I ate very quickly at Alcapoco (two chicken tacos). There was a hair in my salsa. Enough said about that.

I went to The Hyppo afterwards, and like it always does, the store brought in magical people.

I met a woman who nannys for three kids. I felt like I was in the world of Sigur Ros. Their music whirling in my ears as I watched these kids, so freed from any social norms or inhibitions, just be alive. That's all they were, pure alive. All three red headed freckled and all four just so alive. I wanted to laugh and jump and frolic with them. I snapped a few picture of them.

I quickly realized I had seen these kids before and remember the two boys saying  "Sarah!" because she, the littlest, was drinking all of the shared smoothie at the farmer's market. I distinctly remember these three, how enchanted they were then too.

I've started to realize that maybe this life and joy can be brought of everyone, and you just have to know how.

I've spent a lot of time with Mr. Sina lately, and I am so smitten with the fact that his energy can bring that out of people. Everyone he's introduced me to has this burning fire in their eyes, in their hearts, and in their hands that makes them go and do things I never imagined possible.  If I take one thing from this trip, I want it to be that ability to ignite any kind of passion in people.

I had a Mango Habanero popsicle as well as I went back for another Coconut. I love the Coconut.

I was able to taste the fullness of Mango even behind the intense heat.

I also went to the fort.

Note that I'm afraid of heights, and this picture was a challenge for me.

You can just see the history. 

Today I was stricken with the sheer terror that I am leaving Friday. I miss my family so much, but it's been really hard for me to face the fact that I'm leaving St. Augustine. The lady from WOW (a clothing store where I hook my bike from time to time) gave me twenty percent off the entire store and gave me a long hug. She was so upset to see me go and leave what I have come to love so much. She told me of the story of when she left Belgium to be with her mom here in St. Augustine. She urged me, "do what you will now, you are too young to be held back".

Sina came over for dinner as well as Mary's friend Laura. We had a nice evening and I walked Sina to the end of the short road like I always do.

I will come back to St. Augustine. For tomorrow I have to stop thinking "I'm leaving, I'm leaving" and start thinking, "I'm living, I'm living".

Love all,

Sarah

Day of Repeat

I broke a rule. I had the same thing twice.

I went to The Hyppo today and brought Sina, and myself, a sandwich I'd already had, and ate a popsicle I'd already had.

Chocolate Coconut is my weakness, I guess. As well as goat cheese, red bell pepper pesto and chicken breast. Not all together though. That'd be strange.

I took a few pictures and pondered why I love St. Augustine so much.

Lazy Tuesday afternoons is one reason. Even the bikes are lazy these days in Florida.

Some Floridians hang their laundry, another reason I love Florida.

And then there is this feeling. Where I am completely free. 

I've been freed this month from bills, my job, school work and any responsibility I had previously. I've been sent here and able to only work on myself, my independence. 

It's been an absolute blast. An opportunity that will never come around again.  

Tonight was my "Last Supper" as Mary called it. We went to Bistro de Leon, a cute little French restaurant where the menu changes a lot. I listened to the waitress, a woman Mary must know, tell stories about the chef and how he's protective of his staff. How only what matters is the food. I got sucked in to her stories. She was a good story teller.

I had a pepper corn steak that was too peppery but the chocolate lava cake was just to die for. There was a certain pudding texture to it that made me remember when Tracey made me pudding so I'd stop crying as a child. I told Pete and Mary this story. I think they're finally getting used to my weird, unrelated, story telling. I walked through the lobby of the Casa Monica and pretended I was some rich, swanky lady from the past. It was fun.

Love all,

Sarah

Mom, Nina, Maddie and St. Pete

Yes, it has been a while since I've blogged. I've eaten many many popsicles since the last time I've blogged. I've only missed three days since I first started and have made up for two of them by eating two in one day twice. My favorite of the ones I've had lately would be Strawberry Horchada. Horchada is a Mexican drink made of rice milk, cinnamon, and other things (duh) to make a milky sweet drink that tastes like, as Sina describes it, Cinnamon Toast Crunch milk. This one had strawberry, and while I do not like Horchada (the drink) I did love this popsicle. It was considerably more creamy than the others, even the Orange Cream. I felt like the Orange Cream should have more cream in it, and be more like a Dreamsicle.

Kim (one of the employees) has listened to my idea and we've been thinking up a new flavor (and maybe they'd name it after me). I thought they should do a Hazelnut Chocolate Espresso pop in honor of me (and Poppy's I guess). She was willing to listen but didn't know if she could find the hazelnuts. She suggested pistachio because that's what they had, but I insisted it just wouldn't be the same. But who knows, it might be better?

I've eaten at many places lately, and have frequented the Casa Maya a few times to take Mom and Nina and Maddie.

Maddie and I had an absolute blast in St. Pete. Old memories resurfaced as well as new ones formed. We got to hang out with Pete's old college friend and his four kids. The youngest, Blake, took to me immediately, and the oldest girl was as sweet as can be. Seeing these kids reminds me that I absolutely love kids, and have made the right choice in wanting to become a teacher. Cooking and photography and traveling can be put on hold while I go through college.

Seeing Maddie makes me realize how hard it would be to live here without my friends. I miss all of them back home so much, and my family. I haven't seen my dad since the day I left, and I miss him a whole lot. Esme is probably sad I've been gone as well, or maybe she's forgotten me, she does have a two second memory.

I've met a few people here in St. Augustine and hung out with Sina a lot. I people watch at The Hyppo still because I guess I'm just addicted to the environment they've provided me.

Right now I am sitting in Sina's bed room/living room listening to him play the drums with Marco (I think his real name is Mark, we call him Marco.. or maybe they've tricked me into it.. who knows?) by his side playing the guitar. I love listening from where I"m sitting. The ever changing tune as they fiddle around creates some kind of comfort, like maybe I used to listen to my brothers play when I was little? I can't remember but it does bring up some kind of old memories, not sure which though.

Today I listened to Brand New in The Hyppo with Sina. That brought some good memories up. Like seeing them play with Joey (and maybe Sara? Can't remember). I miss my brothers, sisters, and nephews so much. I love my family and can't wait to squeeze everyone tight when I see them.

Staying here in St. Augustine has made me realize something. I've realized I can be independent, I can take care of myself, and most of all, the place you love is always based off of the people you meet, and I absolutely love everyone I've met here. I won't be sad to leave yet, because I have three days still. Mary and I talk about when I'm going to leave, she says she's going to lose it. I bet she will, and I probably will too. I love Mary and Pete. They have really made the best environment for me. Free boundaries, I like to call it.

I had a little mishap where some boys on bikes were trying to intimidate me, and succeeded . I thought they were going to attack me and rode and rode my bike, both Mary and Sina laughed when I told them. I thought that was mean of them, but I did over react probably. They could have overtaken me if they tried though, I am sure.

Love you all, I will blog tomorrow, I promise.

Sarah

A Long Title

So Saturday Mom and Nina came in. I've been busy and sleepy and I don't blog daily like I should. Mary and Sina think I apologize too much, so I won't say sorry.. Sorry.

Here's the popsicle rundown.

Cucumber Lemon Mint on Thursday, as well as, Mexican Hot Chocolate.

Cucumber Lemon Mint was so refreshing (which is what you'd hear just about EVERYONE say if you ask them about it) and the cucumber had a strong flavor. The mint came in after the initial flavor of cucumber. The lemon was not strong at all, and in fact, if lemon wasn't in the title I would probably not have detected it.  It added something to it though. The Mexican Hot Chocolate had a VERY hot after taste that chokes you. 

Friday I had a Prickly Peach. I loved it, absolutely one of my favorites. It has a sandy texture like a pear but has a very sweet taste unlike a pear. The peach was not too strong, and could almost barely taste it. Prickly Pear or Cactus Pear as it's sometimes called is very sweet, and very pink, as you can see. This pop is not artificially colored.

Mary and Pete went to the Keith Urban concert Friday. I ran to get Sina dinner in the rain, which was awesome. It hasn't rained in so long here, and it was like the water was resurrecting the town and rehydrating all of the locals. Very energizing.  I was soaked. Stringy hair to squishy soles. 

I got dizzy in The Hyppo and had to sit down on the floor, I think I may have been allergic to Prickly Pear or maybe I was dehydrated. 

Saturday we picked up Mom and Nina.  Lori and Cathy also came over and Mary and Mom's high school group was reunited. The girls were silly and had a fun time. We walked to The Hyppo and ate a few popsicles. I had Datil  Strawberry and I forgot to take a picture. 

Mom had Avocado Cream, but it wasn't fresh and so I think she didn't enjoy it as much as I did. 

We had a shrimp boil for dinner.

It's blurry because we ate at practically midnight, and Mary hates overhead lights. ;)

Today I had a Blackberry Cream popsicle. It was so yummy, but sadly, it melted too fast, and I had to leave it behind, the first popsicle I did not finish.

It wasn't a very blackberry flavor, more creamy sweet.

Tonight we're having steaks and then tomorrow we'll do some tourist-y things and make dinner. We invited Sina, and I'm excited. I hope he remembers. ;)

Have a good day. I hope it's as busy as mine is. I'm trying to enjoy every bit of here, I feel like I'm going to be leaving so soon, and I'm already starting to get sad. I'll push it away until the last day though.

Just enjoy.

Sarah

Eatin It All Away.

Yesterday started out as any other. Popsicle, of course.

I had Strawberry Key Lime. It was sour and very sweet. The Key Lime part was smooth and sugary and then it had chunks of fresh strawberries in it. I liked it very much.

After making plans with Sina to try this snazzy restaurant on Cuna I headed, once again, to the Casa Maya. I've realized that my plan to "eat through the city" has sort of... disappeared. It's hard to avoid good food, and while I have not eaten at every "good" place in Saint Augustine, I keep getting drawn back in to the same ole places.

I had the Mayan Soup. It was a beef broth with pico de gallo, fresh Avocado chunks and Mexican cheese. It was topped with tortilla chips. The soup was just amazing. It was very fresh tasting, light and had a bit of a spice to it. The tomatoes became sweet in the broth and the Avocado rounded out the texture of the churchy bits with smooth creamy goodness.

The service was a little slow and they almost forgot about me.

As the smoke from the wildfires grows worse I wonder when I'm just going to fall over from lack of oxygen. I'm trying to stay inside as much as I can, but I can not just sit back and let time pass, I have to live despite the conditions being less than perfect. 

For dinner Sina and I went to The Tasting Room. Now don't be fooled, I hadn't been there before. I had been to The Tasting Room: TO GO. Which, now the name makes more sense.

The place was beautiful and the food was just amazing. We ordered Tapas and split them like you're supposed to. I felt a little under dressed only because I hadn't changed from what I had been wearing all day, however I did take a second shower! Ha!

The conversation was by far the best part of the evening. I couldn't tell you everything we talked about because, if you know me, topics change so quickly. 

Sina is funny as hell and I laughed and laughed, especially at his impressions and accents. We spent a while talking and then walked to the Hyppo. The Hyppo does, I can now say, have the best coffee. Also, the most caffeine. I was bouncing off the walls of the small popsicle store. We walked about to his house and talked some more. I came to find Mary and Pete waiting up for me. I loved sitting on their bed and explaining what we had for dinner. And this is what we had:

Some kind of flat bread with some kind of something and sweet tomatoes on top.

Toasted almonds with some kind of oil on them.

A Ricotta and Goat cheese spread with bread and some kind of lettuce on them (or leaf?).

Truffle fries with some kind of green on them (parsley?)

Haha you can tell I wasn't paying much attention, just that the food was absolutely wonderful. Every flavor mingled together well and nothing was too strong, bitter, or spicy. 

I didn't bring my camera nor did I want to whip out my phone and obnoxiously take pictures in front of Sina. (Although he knows about this blog and that I write about him, ooops). 

The night was just about good conversation and laughs. It was probably one of the best nights here, if not the best.

I wonder what I'm going to do without my Saint Augustine. Without my freedom of my bike and my two feet to take me anywhere I'd wish. It's going to be so hard to leave now that I've carved my way in to this town. Every time people ask "Oh, you go to Flagler?" and I have to say "no" it makes my heart break just a little more. I'm so close to my dream school, the one I've wanted to go to ever since I visited when Mary and Pete got married.  I had always imagined myself carrying my books or running my hands on all the rot iron that lines the campus. 

Even here now, being able to apply if I wanted to, or meet with an advisor if I wanted to.. I just can't bring myself to imagine me living here. I love Kansas City too much. I love my friends, my family, my security. 

So I'll just eat more through the streets of this city, making friends, listening to the live music, and watching children eat popsicles. 

The Best Worst Day Ever

Yesterday I got up and went at about ten in the morning. I really wanted coffee so I turned Mary's like coffee contraption on (it makes one cup) and searched the entire kitchen for one of those like inserts that magically makes coffee appear. I was so frustrated that I couldn't find them that I turned the coffee pot off and decided I'll go out for coffee. Just before leaving the kitchen I passed a decorative basket.  "No way," I thought. There they were, in all their French Vanilla glory. I was so pissed I just walked by it, got dressed quickly and headed downtown. I parked my bike by The Hyppo as I normally do and walked the streets to find a coffee shop I had seen before. I couldn't remember the name, which was very unhelpful. I now remember it's Central Perks. I walked and walked, and even thought it was ten, it was SO hot. I was sweating and mad. I walked into White Stone Chocolate and asked if they had espresso. She directed me to the chocolate covered espresso beans. I was frustrated, sighed, and she directed me to Tedi's Icecream. I now know she did that because they're in business with each other.

At Tedi's the lady was annoyed I asked what kind of coffee they use. She replied "whole beans, and then we ground them, they're fresh ground, for each cup". I was so frustrated that wasn't even funny, however now I realize I should have said "beans? really? doesn't coffee come from dirt? and you grind them? oh good cuz i don't like to eat them whole, kthnx".

I ordered a coffee, it was, the most disgusting thing I've ever had. So sweet it was sour, and the coffee tasted burnt. I then looked for The Bunnery, another coffee place. I couldn't find that either.

I dropped my bobby pin on the bathroom floor, which I did not want to pick up, dropped my sunglasses on the concrete, which scratched them, and then almost ran into a sign.

I landed, of course, at The Hyppo. Where they do sell coffee, some of the best, they say. I tasted Sina's. It was the best. I ate a popsicle and chatted there for a while.

It's funny that you can see how tan I'm getting from these popsicle pictures. I had Blueberry Cinnamon. It was SO good, however, I'm having issues with the skin they leave in their popsicles. I understand fruit chunks, but really they're just leaving the skins in, which is fine. I got a bunch stuck in my teeth, and Sina made fun of me.

Sina then directed me to The Tasting Room To Go, which is a bread and cheese and meat place but they make sandwiches and soups.  I had the grilled chicken sandwich with goat cheese and pesto. It was so good, the pesto had peppers in it. I also had the Cream Soda, sweetened with caramel and honey. It was so good. So rich.

After I went to Goldfinch again to pick up some candles for Mary and buy a ring I've been eyeing. I went to LuLi's Cupcakes and had a PB&C cupcake. It was yummy, but way to rich.

Also it'd be better if they had something cuter to serve them in, since they just give you a Styrofoam bowl. 

We had peanut shrimp for dinner, and I forgot to take a picture. It was soo good, Very spicy.

I had a long, but nice day, yesterday.

Walking the Toms

Today I woke up later than normal (ten) and then got ready. I was determined to eat at the Casa Maya because I was told over and over it's just amazing. So I did.

I had the Huinic Sandwich. It was amazing. And a Coke, from Mexico.

So, it was, ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! One of the best sandwiches I've ever had. Sweet and tangy and soo soo good. Everyone must try it. 

Then I had a popsicle. Chatted with Sina and the man who makes the popsicles. I let him know I was going to eat all of the flavors I could, and he said I'd be rewarded for it. Whatever that means...

Mojito, by the way.

And then I bought some Toms. And a dress, and a necklace.

I took a walk with Sina, because I had to turn down his dinner invitation. It finally rained!! It was awesome, I watched as the town was drenched in refreshing relief. 

We then made pizzas on pita that we bought from the farmer's market. They were really good.

Off to bed. 

Night y'all,

Sarah

Berry, Berry Sorry!

Friday night we went to The Floridian and ate some realllly nice food. I was afraid I wouldn't like it because it looked kinda "chrunchy" (Mary's term for hippy-like). We ran into some more of Mary and Pete's friends who have a son, Ben. Ben offered to take me to the beach or whatever, so that's really nice of him. Perhaps I'll go.

Saturday we planned on going to the farmer's market and then the beach. We got a late start, we cleaned the house, and so we got to the beach in the heat of the day. The farmer's market was AWESOME and I had a sample of some Crab Soup. It was so great. It tasted like mom's Italian soup only it had crab in it. Huge fresh chunks of crab.

Some of these pictures were taken from my phone, so bare with me. Or bear with me... whichever.

After the farmer's market and the beach, Mary and I ran to get our toes done, go to Target, go to Publix, pick up some dry cleaning and then go to the Auto Zone. Just general errands.  We were exhausted and I was extremely sunburnt. My first sunburn.

However tired I was, I couldn't pass of the chance to go to the popsicle store. Sina talked me into trying "Mouth Grenade". Which is soy sauce, pineapple, mango, cilantro, asian chilies, and some kind of very hot pepper. It was so gross. Like eating salsa. I ate the whole thing though, I had to be a trouper. 

It took me so long to get it down. And after a while it was getting really hot and choking me. I bought some water and was then going to leave, when I officially made a friend with Sina, the popsicle boy.

I had come home and Mary had made dinner. She made these reallllly awesome fish tacos. One of the best I've ever had. We all agreed that was probably one of the best, if not the best meals we've had. We used cod and a marinade. I'll send the recipe for anyone who wants it.

Sunday we got up, ate blueberry pancakes, and went to church. Church had an awesome message. Father Tom spoke about how we are ALL God's children, whether we are doing right, or not being catholic, ect. I felt like I haven't heard that message too much in the Catholic church too much. I was glad to hear it, because it's the way I live. While it might look like our generation is too relaxed in our beliefs, I just think we have a better grasp on loving through diversity. 

I took Mary and Pete to the popsicle store. Mary had Banilla Vanana (which is vanilla banana flavored) and Pete and I both had Pina Colada. It was very good. It was nice since I'd had a salsa popsicle the day before. 

After church Mary and I went to Marshalls and I bought a skirt and two shirts. After that we did a really bad job at frying the chicken for the Lemon Chicken we were supposed to make for Mrs Ruby. The breading all fell off, but we just scrapped it off and ended up eating it without breading and just the sauce and it was still amazing. 

We also had bread and olive oil from the farmer's market.

And Blue Cheese and Rosemary Mashed Potatoes.

It was super yummy. 

THEN it was time for dessert. Ohhh yeaaaah. Mixed Berry Cobbler. We got the blue berries from the farmer's market the day before. We used all fresh, not frozen berries.

I brought the left over to Sina's. He and his friend Gabi ate it and then they invited me to watch a movie. We watched Amelie. French with subtitles. I really loved it. They were nice and Sina walked me home because it was dark. I'm glad I got to spend a little time with people my age, however I missed sitting on the couch with Pete and Mary and playing with Lilly. 

Today I'm going to try the Casa Maya. I heard it's the best mexican restaurant around. Then a popsicle of course, and searching for Toms. 

Love you all, thanks for keeping up with me, and sorry I don't post on a regular basis.

Sarah