I love my job

Now I have been a nanny for the same family for the past three summers, since I'm at school during the rest of the year. And I absolutely love it! I could probably be happy being a nanny for the rest of my life, it's just such an amazing experience being able to spend time with young kids and see how they see the world, as opposed to how adults may see it. The girl I watch is turning four this Halloween, and I've known her since she was one and a half, I can't believe how much she has grown since then! Ellen, that's her name, is such an independent spirit that loves life and is always off doing different things. She also says some of the funniest things I have ever heard. Some of the classics that I hear daily are, "Can I tell you something?" or "Can I show you something." Lately she's been saying, "ow, that hurt," anytime she bumps her head or her knee or anything like that. Such a goof.

This is from our first summer together, she's so little!

A couple days ago we were planning on walking to the bakery near her house, Scratch is the best, but it was so hot we decided to go across the street and get ice cream instead! Willard Scoops has some strange and delicious flavors, and Ellen apparently loves coffee ice cream. I felt that it probably wouldn't be the best idea for her to get a whole cone of it, so we did mostly vanilla then a tiny scoop of coffee on the top. I rarely get ice cream when we go together, due to the fact that I end up licking a bunch of hers because it drips or she shares with me. She kept insisting I try the coffee, but I had to refuse due to the fact that I hate anything coffee, I just don't like the taste at all!

Ellen loves it when I take pictures or videos of her, and she's always asking, so I decided to give in while at the ice cream parlor. The result was about an hour of picture taking, Ellen taking a bunch of pictures as well, and a great many laughs had by us both.

Ice cream chin.

Ellen made a funny face...

And made me do the same face. Isn't she quite the photographer?

Cute messy girl.

Goofy faces together.

On our way back home!

As we were getting ready to head out of the house (put sunscreen and shoes on), Ellen kept asking if she could bring her bag, but since she didn't really have anything to carry I said there was no need, to which she replied, "my bag is just really purple so I might want to bring it with me." She cracks me up so much!

She's going to be starting school next week, she goes three days a week in the morning, so I won't be able to hang out with her as much as I would like, but I definitely will whenever I can! Who knows, I might be a nanny for the rest of my life, no complaints from me there, but we'll just have to see what the future has in store for me.

I'll keep you updated on the funny things Ellen says, don't worry. Enjoy the weekend and the start of September everyone!

Naomi Odlin

Memories

On Thursday, my sister, Mireia, my mom, a friend, and I drove down to Connecticut because my sister was starting her freshman year of college on Friday. We stayed with some friends in Bridgeport Thursday night, then went up to New London where Mireia's college is located Friday morning to move her in. I used to go to school at the University of Bridgeport, freshman year and one semester of sophomore year, before transferring to the University of New Hampshire. It was an interesting experience at UB. I hadn't been back since I left almost two years ago, so it was so strange to be back on campus, so much had changed but at the same time so little had. The dining hall was redone and now looks beautiful, the bookstore moved to a new location, they moved the knight (mascot) from in the student center to the middle of campus for everyone to see. But many things were still the same, the library, the dorms, and some of the people! Since it as just freshmen orientation, I didn't get to see that many people that I went to school with, even the athletes were busy with practice so I couldn't say hi (I knew a bunch of them from being on the volleyball team myself).

Luckily, I do have quite a few friends that live in the Bridgeport area, who either grew up there or are already back in their apartments for the school year. I know a lot of them not from going to school in the area, but from growing up together in camps, life, and church. It was so lovely to be able to hang out with them and catch up and act silly together. That night, I hung out at Seaside Park with a bunch of friends, just jamming and chatting and chilling, which was great because that is one of the things I miss most about UB, it's right on the Long Island Sound, I could see the beach from my freshman year dorm window! One thing I don't miss is the fact that you can see barely any stars, but you can't have everything can you. Anyways, that night I stayed up all night and watched the sunrise, which was gorgeous I might add, and only regretted it a tiny bit the next day when I had to help my sister move into her school. Apparently I was only brought along to do all the heavy lifting, who knew microwaves weighed that much?!

Connecticut College, where Mireia is going, is right on the Thames River, very close to Rhode Island, and out the window of her triple, you can see the river, and it's such a great view, I'm jealous! Her roommates seem very nice, campus is very pretty, small but with lots of fields and nature, and her orientation sounds very cool, complete with community service around the town! I hope she likes school, it flies by, and makes some friendships that will last forever. She starts classes on Thursday, and though she hasn't declared a major yet, I'm sure she'll find her niche in school soon enough.

Visiting my old school, and bringing Mireia to her new school, and having all of my UNH friends moving back to school this weekend as well, has made me realize how much I'm going to miss and miss out on this semester, but it's a good thing that I'm taking time off. There are many things I plan (want) on doing during this time off, such as work, and work out, as well as take time to think about where I'm going with my life, and hopefully getting a little more direction and achievable goals for myself.

This was a long post with no pictures, I'm sorry about that! I promise that my next post will be a little more upbeat and fun. I hope everyone who is back at school will enjoy themselves! Have a great week.

Naomi Odlin

Cooking.

Cooking.

Hiding under some very large leaves in our garden were some very large zucchinis, I mean like as long as my arm and as big as my calf. They were huge! And as everyone knows, or should know, the only thing to do with giant zucchini is to shred and bake with them! So last night I made some chocolate chip zucchini bread. I found this super easy and delicious recipe off Pinterest. Now I meant to document my whole baking process, but I was too excited and forgot so this is what I came up with as an alternative!

Giant zucchini...

Shredded...

Plus chocolate chips...

Equals some scrumptious bread!

I tweaked the recipe a tiny bit more to my liking, like I used a little less sugar, and I used two eggs and some applesauce (a great egg substitute and it makes your baked goods more moist). And of course a bunch of extra chocolate chips, because there is no such thing as too much chocolate in my book. I enjoyed this bread thoroughly for dessert last night, after a meal of daal and quinoa which I made as well and thought was super good, and for breakfast this morning. We still have two big zucchini, and more to come from the garden, so I think I'll make this recipe again soon, and maybe some carrot, zucchini, blueberry muffins, and probably some baked parmesan breaded zucchini fries. Do you have any other zucchini recipes that you enjoy, that you think I should attempt to make?

Thanks for reading!

Naomi Odlin

Seattle.

Seattle.

So a friend and I decided a few months ago that after we graduated from college, we were going to move to Seattle. She planned on going there anyway to go to graduate school, and I have just always seemed drawn to that west coast city. I think I really considered moving there when I learned that the mayor of the city planned on getting the whole place to divest from fossil fuels (I work on my school's divestment campaign, for more information on the national campaign, this is a great site). I also like how it's a big city, but has the feel of a small town, mainly due to all the different and unique neighborhoods, though it's very close to and connected to nature and the beauty of the area.

I'm taking this next semester off of school, and my parents are driving cross country to send my sister-in-law's car over to Kodiak, where she, my brother, and their one year old daughter moved to recently. And since I will be around (though hopefully working), I'll be going with them to Seattle! My mom and I have been making some plans, such as where to go and what to see, and I cannot wait. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of the USA, since I haven't been off the east coast, as well as checking Seattle out since before I know it I'll be calling that city my home. We plan on taking about ten days or so to drive there, spending a few days around the area, then flying home. Some stops we have planned are Niagara Falls, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone National Park, and the other Portland (Oregon). I am simply ecstatic for this trip, you have no idea. 

I'm going to be snapping picture after picture along the way, don't worry I'll share some with you when I'm back, but also of Seattle, so I can send them back to my friend and we can spend hours chatting about how awesome our lives will be once we're there. We already spend way too much time planning out our lives and talking about all the things we'll do, such as Superhero Saturdays (I'm pretty sure that's something we invented). 

I will hopefully be sharing from the road, if I can figure out how to blog from my iPad, but if not then definitely many posts when I'm back. But don't worry, the trip isn't for another month so I'll still be posting (more regularly perhaps). I am already planning a post for tomorrow! 

Have a lovely week, and try to enjoy the last couple weeks of August!

Naomi Odlin

Shakespeare.

Shakespeare.

Last night I watched Shakespeare in Love for the first time ever, and let me tell you, I'm smitten. I don't know if it was Gwyneth Paltrow's great acting, Joseph Fiennes' intense eyes, or the over all plot, but this has easily become one of my favorite movies. Shakespeare has always intrigued me, I think since we read and performed Macbeth in my fifth grade class (I played Macduff and got to kill my best friend, I loved it haha). In high school we read a few of his plays and poems like Othello, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet. I am also a big fan of a few of the screen adaptations like The Lion King (one and two), 10 Things I Hate About You, Warm Bodies, and She's the Man, to name a few. I don't know what it is, it isn't because he is known as one of the greatest writers of all time, but I have always had a fascination with his work, so much so that performing in a Shakespeare play in on my bucket list. Don't ask me which one yet, because I don't know! 

Back to Shakespeare in Love. I never really liked Romeo and Juliet. I mean I know everyone says it's super romantic, but I never really bought it. I mean a couple of preteens meeting at a party, falling in love over the course of a weekend, upset their families, and die, all in the name of love right? No thanks, not for me. Don't get me wrong though, it's beautifully written, and if some boy started quoting it at me, I'm sure I would swoon. The movie though, somehow put it more in perspective for me, I think it might have been because it seemed a little more realistic for some reason. Gwyneth's character Viola fell in love with Will even before she met him and saw that he was a stud. She fell in love with his words, which is what many people have done as well. Now his intentions were much more superficial at first (but who can blame him, Gwyneth is a babe!) however over time he fell in love with her love for the stage and his characters, and how she helped him spin the play into what we now treasure it as, and she helped give him ideas for one of his most famous comedies (at least I think it's one of the more famous ones). 

I really enjoyed how this wasn't just another adaptation, though I suppose in a way it was, but it shed some light onto the writer, even if it was made up. I think I'm going to get a little more into Shakespeare from now on, like read more of his work, and see more of the screen adaptations of his work, and look harder into acting in one if his plays! Who knows, maybe I'll change my whole future plan to become a Shakespeare actor for life! Though that is a long shot, I know that I will definitely like to get over my stage fright and insecurities to perform a play from the most famous play-write and hopefully bring joy to the audience.

Have any of you seen the movie? If so, what did you think? Give me any insights you may have into the idea of Shakespeare and his work! Have a wonderful weekend.

Naomi Odlin

Gardens.

Gardens.

I just love gardens. From a small seed or sapling can come a whole feast for your family or neighborhood. My dad used to have this huge garden when I was little at our old house. I remember one time he was using the hoe to make rows for a new season when he found a rabbit borough beneath the garden! Those baby bunnies were adorable. Another fond memory of mine was making rainbows with the hose when I would water it, they were (and still are) magical. A few years after living at our new house, I can't remember how long, he decided to make another garden, this one significantly smaller. But we had many good things come out of it, like the year he planted sunflowers and we had more seeds than we could eat. Or the year of the failed pumpkin patch, we ended up having to buy some that Halloween for jack-o-lanterns.

It seems that every year our garden either gets bigger, or my dad tries to grow another vegetable, or fruit. Not all of them were successful, note the pumpkins. We got blueberry bushes, those didn't take, we got raspberry bushes, those didn't take either, and it seems that this year our tomatoes might be duds as well, though there are a couple green ones waiting to ripen!

It baffles me sometimes how some people are so against gardens, or don't want to grow anything at all. They are cost effective, beautiful, and can satisfy you in many ways! Gardens not only provide food, but many people find them soothing. There are also tons of ways that you can make a garden even if you have no lawn, or so that little to no weeds grow (without the use of chemicals), or within a neighborhood if you don't have too much time to dedicate yourself. One of my dad's trade secrets, he probably doesn't want me sharing this, is he uses grass clippings (from mowing the lawn) in between the rows, it acts as dividers as well as cutting down on weeds! I'm not sure if he's a genius, or has some genius connections.

I can't wait to get my own house, or more likely an apartment first, and start a garden, or at the very least sign up for a neighborhood one. It's one of my favorite things to be able to walk outside and get some lettuce, tomatoes, and snap peas and throw together myself a salad! Does anyone else have any green thumb ideas or secrets?

Naomi Odlin

PS: my mom also keeps a garden, a flower garden! Though many of her flowers are perennials, meaning she doesn't have to plant them every year, so it has much less up keep than my dad's vegetable garden.

Shelby's Wedding

So the past few days have been pretty crazy for me. I was asked last minute to be a bridesmaid in my high school friend, Shelby's wedding. I was more than happy to step in and do it, but it just made things a little hectic, in a good way. I came back from New York, where I was busy making friends and playing a lot of sports, hoping that I would be able to relax and catch up on some much needed sleep, but that wasn't the case. We had a bachelorette dinner, followed by a great time out on the town, rehearsal at the venue and a delicious dinner that I will be working off for the next three weeks, and then finally the big day!

We were all getting our make up professionally done at the venue, and since each bridesmaid needed at least a half hour, I had to get there extra early. Rachel, who did our make up, was amazing and super flattering, I was blushing so much she barely had to use any! I dabbled a little in flower arranging for the center pieces, though I didn't do the best job that I could have. The day could not have been more perfect, sunny skies and a wonderful breeze that kept everyone cool. After the ceremony, where I got more than a little teary-eyed, we all hopped into golf carts and went around the place taking pictures and being goofy.

To wrap everything up, the food was delicious, the cake was beautiful and tasty, the company was the best, and of course, the bride and groom were beautiful and happier than ever. I was so grateful that I could be a part of their wedding, and I couldn't be happier for them. Here are a few pictures I took with my phone:

The centerpiece from the rehearsal dinner.

The beautiful cake. 

Candy bar for favors! Genius. 

Make up and hair done. In my bridesmaid dress!

Doesn't everyone cut the cake with a saber?

Father-daughter dance. I was balling my eyes out.

The centerpiece from my table.

I love weddings, they are such an amazing day that the bride and groom are so gracious enough to share with their friends and families. I don't think I have one favorite part of them, do you?

Have a good week!

Naomi Odlin

Hello internet!

This is the first post on my brand new blog, Submerged! I've been thinking for a long while that I should start a blog, partly because quite a few people have told me that I am a good writer and should consider it  for a profession, though I don't really believe them since English was my worst subject in high school. Maybe I just didn't apply myself, whatever that means. One of the other reasons for this blog, is to just broaden my horizons, express my ideas, thoughts, and opinions better, and to just see where this thing could take me.

For now, I feel that Submerged isn't going to have a theme or a range of topics that I will write about, though that could very well change in the future. One thing that I am very much looking forward to is starting conversations and discussions with the people who will read, and hopefully comment on this blog, that means you! Whoever you are.

Please bare with me as I work out the kinks in this thing, it's been many years since I have works with HTML and blogging and whatnot. I hope that whatever I put down on this blog will entertain you, enlighten you, cause you to think, and all around just give you something to do during your coffee break.

Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Naomi Odlin