Monday, January 31, 2011

Picture This: Day 4

Day 4:
A picture of your night.
Pretty sad because I had hoped to make scones tonight but instead I vegged out on American Pickers while eating a dinner of pork chops (grilled to perfection by the Mr.) and stuffed potatoes (made by yours truly). The stuffed potatoes were one of the first things I learned to make from my mum that was somewhat impressive. I made these when I was in my early 20s and thought I was very high class. Oh yeah, cheap Gallo Cabernet topped it off...now I am ready to catch some zzzz's...night y'all.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Sensing Sunday and Picture This: Day 3

Day 3:
A picture of the cast of your favorite show.
Mad Men....duh.

...and...

Sensing Sunday
What I am:
Hearing: 'Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay'-Sara Bareilles, Live at the Fillmore
This is the second time I have heard this song this week. When I was listening to it in my car the first time I thought that it would make a great lullaby. I can't wait to sing it to my own children someday.

Seeing: The sun playing hide and seek behind dark storm clouds and the occasional drizzle of rain.

Smelling: My French Cassis scented candle from Cost Plus that I bought on my last trip there...the candles at this place are AMAZING!

Tasting: A slice of my s'mores pie and a cup of tea. I take back my previous opinion of this pie, its not too bad. I think I might still make a few tweaks though, biggest one being...not burning the meringue!

Feeling: Somewhat accomplished. I worked out both days and I made steps to improve how I fuel my body (present pie eating excluded, its not Monday yet). Let's hope that I can stick to it for at least the rest of the week.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Pie of the Month

In my defense, this is how I made my marshmallows over the campfire as well. First I burnt the bejeezes out of them and then I peeled off the burnt skin. My s'mores still turned out fantastic.
I had mentioned that I thought I might try to make a cake a month as part of the 'doing what I say I am going to do' New Year resolution I made. I changed it up just a bit and decided that pie was the way to go. I gave some thought to cake, I researched recipes but I felt that I might get a little bored with cake.
This month I decided I would make S'mores Pie. The crust would be graham cracker of course, a truffle chocolate filling and a marshmallow meringue. I was not going to use any recipe but come up with my own. When I told the Mr. his only response was 'This should be interesting.'
It was a two day process and when the pie was completed and I had my first taste, he was right. It was...er...um...interesting.
In my opinion it wasn't so bad to be deemed 'God awful' but it wasn't the best thing I had made either. I am fairly confident that I know where I made mistakes and where I can fix them, that's a good sign. When I have perfected the recipe (anticipating many test runs in the near future), I will share it. Until then, you will have to imagine a better version of what I had with my afternoon tea today.

**Side note, 6 years ago today, the Mr. and I dined on Mahi Mahi and Heineken telling each other our life stories for the first time. Afterwards we both suffered awkwardly through the Aviator for the next 3 hours. We have been together ever since. Happy Anniversary, I love you more today than the day of our first date.

Picture This: Day 2

(G, Tank and Benny the Monkey)
Day 2:
A picture of the person you have been closest with the longest.
My best friend, G. Although we have known each other since junior high school (he used to kick the back of my chair in choir every morning that I sat in a chair that, for some reason, was coveted by the two of us. What a jerk.), it wasn't until we were in the Skin of Our Teeth in high school together that we became best friends. Neither one of us had many lines in that play which allowed us to find out that we were meant to be best friends forever. 19 years after our first introduction, we are still besties.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Picture This

(monstergallery on Etsy)
Oh internet, you let everyone be clever without ever having an original thought...I do like this idea though and with the two days that are left of this month and the 28 days in the month of Febuary, maybe I can get this accomplished:
"Okay.. It's like a picture Diary. First you make an album titled "30 pictures in 30 days". And,each day you follow the direction for that day with a picture. It's a fun idea. Let's see if it catches on. :] you could learn alot about yourself if nothing else... Day 01 - A picture of yourself with fifteen facts. Day 02 - A picture of the person you've been closest with the longest. Day 03 - A picture of the cast of your favorite show. Day 04 - A picture of your night. Day 05 - A picture of an old memory. Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for the day. Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured possession. Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh every time you look at it. Day 09 - A picture of a person who has gotten you through the most. Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most fucked up things with. Day 11 - A picture of something you absolutely hate. Day 12 - A picture of something you absolutely love. Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band/artist. Day 14 - A picture of a person you couldn't picture your life without. Day 15 - A picture of something you'd like to do before you die. Day 16 - A picture of a person who inspires you. Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently. Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity. Day 19 - A picture of a letter. Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel. Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget. Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at. Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book. Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change. Day 25 - A picture of your day. Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you. Day 27 - A picture of you and a family member. Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of. Day 29 - A picture that makes you angry.Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss."
Day 1:
A picture of yourself with fifteen facts....
1. This picture is misleading, this is not my natural hair color (neither is the color I have now). Its pretty close though.
2. As the first child, if I had been born a boy I would have been a third, named after my grandfather. My brother was the one to receive that inheritance.
3. My right thumb looks like a big toe. Its disgusting and I hide it subconsciously in my fist to this day. Every time I get my nails done, the nail lady almost always laughs at it and shows all her nail lady friends in the salon.
4. When my cousins and I were kids, during the summer we used to pretend that my grandparent's deck was a 'boat'. We would jump off the 'boat' and 'swim' and 'fish' in the lawn with poles made of sticks and bait made of leaves and flowers. Now my cousin's kids have a playset erected in the same backyard. Imagination made easy, although we would have given our right arm for a playset growing up. I will give the kids this, running the hose to the top of the slide to make a waterslide was an impressive show of imagination.
5. When I was in grammer school, my friends and I, on recess, tried to make daisy chains long enough to enter into the Guinness Book of World Records.
6. We also invented a game called 'Green Tag' where you were safe if you sat down on the lawn. If you were 'It' you pretty much stayed 'It' until the bell rang.
7.My favorite books growing up were the 'Little House' books, The People's Almanac, Hatchet, early American biographies, Wait Till Helen Comes (still scares the crap outta me), every Babysitter's Club book I could get my hands on, Little Women, and of course...the Guinness Book of World Records.
8. My brother and I used to dress our pets in our old baby clothes for fun when we were little. They hated it because there wasn't a hole for their tails.
9. We also would make cars and trains out of cardboard boxes and sit in them. We would take crayons and draw steering wheels, dashboards, doors, windows and seats to really trick them out.
10. On Saturday mornings, my brother and I would let my mom sleep in. We would toast a whole loaf of bread (because that was all we were allowed to cook), watch Saturday morning cartoons and when the last cartoon was over we would build a fort out of the couch cushions. Around that time, my mom would roll out of bed. My brother and I were obviously perfect children and very considerate of our mother.
11. My dad taught me to drive over the course of almost two years and I stilled failed the driving test the first time. I am eternally grateful that I learned on a manual transmission though. Thanks dad.
12. When strolling down Memory Lane, my dad, brother and I identify memories by what house my dad lived   in. For example, my dad taught us how to climb up door frames using our bare feet at the duplex on Tully.
13. I had to 'duck and cover' after hearing gunshots at the house on Downey. Thankfully I felt safe because my dad was a second generation police officer.
14. My mom used to take my brother and I on 'Secret Journey's'. She would pile us in the car and not tell us where we were going insisting that we guess. Only one time was it Disneyland, every other time it was San Francisco. This is still one of my absolute most favorite memories.
15. I used to have a better memory, I feel that its starting to fade. Some of the good, but more of the bad.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

London Fog

Sometimes I behave as if everyday is a little vacation. A little part of everyday anyway.
It has been very foggy here in the valley the past couple of days. Growing up here, it was just part of life and you adapted and got used to it and sort of noticed it and at the same time sort of didn't. Last year it felt like we got a reprieve from it and when it rolled in this year it seemed more noticeable to me. It also cast a gloom, especially in the evening. Normally I would think it very depressing and lock myself in the room huddled under the covers hoping to fall asleep early. Tonight it had me nostalgic for the trip to London I took about seven years ago.
My brother was doing a work study program in 2003 and left for London that August. Immediately my mother made plans to book a trip for that Thanksgiving weekend so that we would be there to celebrate with my brother when he turned 21. Once we arrived we realized that we completely forgot that the legal drinking age in England is 18 and that my brother had been imbibing for months. His 21st was still a blast though with one of my fondest memories of the trip was the two of us racing half blitzed through Piccadilly Circus trying to make the last tube back to his flat in Earl's Court and down the street from the hotel  mum and I were staying at.
The next morning, and almost every morning of our stay there,  mum and I had tea (with milk, the way I was raised drinking it) and digestives for breakfast. Don't get too grossed out by the word "digestives" because it is not what you think...they are fabulous cookies. Not too sweet and almost like a thick graham cracker, Mc Vitie's Digestive Biscuits became a fast favorite. Our absolute favorite were the milk chocolate and caramel cookies, they tasted almost identical to a Twix candy bar. When we crossed the pond and arrived back home I very often missed my new favorite little cookie. Fortunately I was able to find them at Cost Plus World Market, right here in my hometown. For a long time I was able to find the identical biscuits that I had in London. With the dense fog and my memory of those cookies haunting me, I decided I had to have them tonight. I headed over to Cost Plus and found the isle immediately. I had forgotten how much I loved this store. Scanning the shelves, I found that  my particular type of digestive was missing. I was tremendously disappointed and settled for the dark chocolate ones. When I got home, I made my cup of Lipton (what I grew up drinking but Typhoo tea would have really brought me back to the banks of the Thames), and limited myself to two digestives. This was after I had already consumed about four on the car ride home...I ain't gonna lie. Even though they were missing that ribbon of salty caramel, the dark chocolate variety served its purpose. I was instantly taken back to my tiny tiny hotel room watching the BBC and every once in a while, gazing out the window at the fog rolling over the shadows of the inveterate buildings outside.

**Oh, in completely unrelated-to-this-post news...my good friend Cocodoodle started a little bloggy blog of her own. Don't walk, run over to Paperback Writer and continue to do so. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Get. Out. Of. My. Head!!

Yesterday was my first long run in my training. It wasn't too bad, then again it was only three miles. I usually walk 6+ with my dad and the dogs every Sunday so three miles was a piece of cake. (Speaking of cake, here's one more 'resolution' to add to the list.)
After my little workout and some much needed grocery shopping, I agreed to head to Stockton to help my mom sort out her office. For the past 5 years or so, my mother has been consumed with being a professor at the hoity toity university there. She spends almost 7 days a week there and lots of time trapped by the paperwork that gets out of control. I was motivated by selfish reasons to help her because I miss my mom and would like to spend more time with her without hearing 'I really can't right now, I am too busy'.
She agreed to take me to lunch for payment and walking along the Miracle Mile to the restaurant, I was stopped dead in my tracks.
I don't have children, yet. One day I hope to but life sometimes gets in the way and its a dream that has been put on hold. Walking by Tots and Teapots makes me wish that dream was already realized.
To everyone that has children and lives in the central valley...you HAVE to shop here. Everything in that shop was perfect. The little hats (crocheted beanies, ear flap hats and little bowler hats) were genius! I am a little over the tutus for the girls but in this shop they were understated enough to make me wish they had them in my size. I was smitten with the houndstooth and pirate umbrellas. Lots of times when you see baby clothes, the little girl stuff is always so precious but the little boys stuff can be hit or miss. In this shop, all the little boy stuff were hits! I loved the pin striped blazers and the sweaters with elbow patches make me hope that my first born is a boy. Above all my favorite thing in the shop were the silk screened onesies. My absolute favorite, a onesie that was silk screened to look like a pair of trousers held up by suspenders. In the pocket, a silk screened slingshot. It was amazing, it looked just like Dennis the Menace or Alfalfa from The Little Rascals! I might go back and get it with the hopes that I can save it for future offspring.
Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, the shop girl asked us...
"Have you seen the tea room upstairs?"
Now I am a sucker for tea rooms. I love taking tea but was greatly spoiled by the first tea I took at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC. Taking tea there was like taking tea in first class on the Titanic. Everything was perfection. Since then every tea room I have been in has been an explosion of pastels and flowers. It is hard to really enjoy the tea when trying to keep the contents of your stomach down from the vertigo you get from the decor. I have always said that if I were to do a tea room it would be very understated.
We walked upstairs and my jaw dropped. It looked liked a speakeasy! I fell in love. On the wall was a Vettriano looking print (my all time favorite artist) and black and whites of Audrey Hepburn. The colors were muted and rich with creams, violets, and chocolate browns. There were shaded chandeliers dripping with crystals hanging from the ceilings. I wanted to live there.
As we were leaving, I couldn't stop gushing. I told my mom, it was as if someone had taken a photograph of how I want my life in my head and made it into an actual place.
It was kind of scary.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Run, Fat Girl, Run

Well, actually, this is the first year that I haven't felt like a fatty. The scale still tells me that I am but I am telling the scale to suck it this year. Oh yeah, and while I am at it the mirror can suck it as well.
The only resolution I made this year was to commit to the things I say I am going to do. I figured that I would end up watching my mouth and making sure that I didn't absentmindedly open it to say things that begin with "I think I am going to..." I have already shot myself in the foot and its not even 2 weeks into the year. I have committed myself to a half marathon.
I haven't fully committed myself  because I haven't yet registered, but I have said it out loud and, for this year, that is commitment enough. Drats.
My plan is to register for The San Francisco Marathon. It takes place on July 31, 2011. The tough choice I have to make is do I run the first half or the second half? The first half takes you over the Golden Gate Bridge and then a bus takes you to the finish line. The second half lets you actually cross the finish line. Decisions, decisions. I am pretty sure I will be doing the first half. I like the idea of running with the hopefuls instead of crawling with the haggard. I have a friend (Camo) that will be running it for the American Cancer Society and in my office, my coworkers (including my boss) and I have almost convinced ourselves to do it. Its not like I will be out there alone. Its not like I can SAY I ran it when really I might have been in the Marina at Judy's having their fantastic french toast. I am stuck to it now and more than likely there will be witnesses.
I am considering the Bay to Breakers as a fun little run to take some of the pressure off the big one in July. I have said I had wanted to do this every year for the past 3 or 4 years and this year marks its 100th anniversary. This year I am seriously considering it but I refuse to commit to anything.
Camo sent me a schedule that she planned to work off of (because she is a newbie runner like myself). Tomorrow I start Thursday of week one and will repeat week one next week before moving on to the rest of the schedule. I should get to bed because I have promised myself that I will wake up early and head to the gym before work....wish me luck.
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