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.

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.

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.

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.