Back to bakersfield...,

Rounding the corner....we found the fog

Summoned to the mothership

LSpending the next few days at Corporate Headquarters....

Planting season

Well, it's the end of January. You know what that means. Time to plant veggies and herbs. 

But seriously, apparently it's currently prime planting season for the central Californian valley. So I spent my day building up my veggie garden for 2015! 

No pictures yet, people don't want to see boxes of dirt! I'll post pictures when I actually grow stuff. I planted peas, spinach, bell peppers, and carrots for now. I plan on planting strawberries too, once I find strawberry seeds or a plant. 

And of course, I'm re-booting my herb garden. My basil and mint didn't last long last time, so this time I'm starting from seed instead of $1 grocery store plants.

Hopefully these grow nice and big within the next few weeks! 

I also got a new, better chair for my balcony. This one is California sun proof and easier to clean. And more comfortable! My balcony looks way better now, just in time for the warm days to start coming back. These 60 degrees days have just been too chilly! 

Santa Barbara round 2

It's been a while since I hit the road, so this weekend I made a return to Santa Barbara with some of my Co-workers/Friends (I have been told they are both).

We hit the road early in the morning, braving the fog once again.
Along the way, we decided to stop at a random fruit and nut stand in the middle of nowhere, in the heart of California agriculture. It did not disappoint.

We bought plenty of juicy fruits and chocolate covered almonds for our beach trip. It took a lot for us not to buy out the whole place.

It was a great day in the 85 degree weather with a nice light breeze coming in. I heard it's been snowing back in New Jersey. People said I would miss the seasons, but so far I am enjoying this summer all year around.

Anyway, here are some of the best pictures from the day!

 The water was a little cold at first, but it felt good on the hot day. I wanted to go all the way in, but the waves were really high and no one wanted to join me. Plus, we saw lots of whales just off shore and I didn't want to go out swimming with them!

 The best pictures usually come around sunset. I swear this pictures is real, I know it looks like I am standing in front of a green screen!

 Once again, totally real pictures. No green screens necessary.

 And of course, we had to grab one sunset selfie!

Out Running the Competition

Our Fitbits are really motivating us! It's a tough competition but I'm currently in first for most steps this week! 

Man, my legs are starting to hurt a lot.

Back to the new normal

After three weeks of travel and chaos, I had a nice weekend of hockey again 

My friend and I got a little bored and were making snowmen. The condors have now lost 7 games in a row and fell from 1st to last in the conference. Very rough.

But, last night was frozen night, complete with a reindeer

And afterward I hung out with my friends at their hot tub. All in all a very good weekend. 

Except today, where I finally need to break down and unpack and put away everything from the past month...

Time to Get Fit

Part of Nestle's goals for 2015 is not only to make healthy food, but to have healthy employees. And because of that we all got fit bits yesterday!

I'm pretty excited because I wanted one of these for a while. We are going to have monthly compeitions that have prizes, so looks like it's time for me to return to the gym! 

Final day at Penn state

My week at Penn State has come to a close. I went to all my favorite spots, saw lots of my friends and had a great time! I'm sad to go back to Cali but glad I get to sit out in the sunshine again! 

Final activity to round out the week: Sunday afternoon skating! (Followed by some creamery ice cream. Can't get enough!)

Banquet time

We survived the week long course! My coworker Todd came in first of the class, and Beth and I tied for second so it was a Nestle sweep! 

Celebratory Ice Cream!

Nothing like some Peachy Paterno to celebrate a great week at Penn State! 

Pictured with my co-workers Todd and Beth! 

Hockey night

First penn state hockey game as a fan!

They had a thrilling come back being down 4 going into the 3rd period

But sadly they lost in overtime. It was still a great game! And it was fun seeing all of my hockey friends.

Fun Fact Friday

I learned a lot this week so here are some of my 10 favorite fun facts:

1. Soft Serve/Frozen Custard got its start on the boardwalks of the Jersey Shore

2. George Washington once spent $200 at an ice cream parlor.

3. ThomasJefferson was an avid ice cream maker.

4. Smugglers and cartels in Madagascar launder their illegal money through the vanilla extract industry.

5. Vanilla comes from the only edible part of certain orchids.

6. The average American consumes 22 gallons of milk a year....the average penn state student consumes 48 gallons a year.

7. Hershey's signature taste comes from adding sour milk to the formula. 

8. Gelato has no legal requirements for naming. You can call anything Gelato and there is nothing the government can't do about it. (I won't name names but some grocery store brands are taking liberties on this)

9. An estimated 90% of people on a gluten-free diet do not have a gluten sensitivity and is believed to be a case of mass hysteria.

10. Italian water ice (or wooder ice for my philly friends) contains egg whites while normal water ice does not. The egg whites are added to get more air incoporated into the final product and make it lighter and smoother.

I'm still waiting to hear about how it was first discovered we could drink the strange white fluid coming out of the cow and if we freeze it with sugar it will be a delicious snack....

My feelings on the east coast

Since its currently 4 degrees and feels like -15....I remember why I wanted to move to California.

Sorry so quiet...

Sorry it's been a while but like I said I am really busy these past few weeks! I've pretty much only had time to sleep.

But I'm having a great time being back at Penn State studying ice cream and getting extensive training. And getting a little taste of east coast winter!