A Post For The New Year

First and foremost, I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year's Eve.  I hope that if you're the type to make resolutions that you are able to keep them throughout the year. I hope that if there are other holidays you celebrate this time of year that you were surrounded by loved ones and that you were able to make many great memories.

This year I haven't decided on any concrete resolutions. I mean there's always the one about working out more and eating less junk food, getting out and taking lots of photos, and embarking on lots of adventures. I figure two out of three of those will be easily doable, and one will take a swift kick in the pants.  I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

Monarch Grove, Pismo State Beach, December 2013

2013 was an interesting year.  I spent lots of time with some good friends, I had the opportunity to watch one of my closest friends fall in love and get married, found out that another friend of mine will be expecting her first child this spring, spent a weekend in Santa Barbara at the fabulous Fess Parker Double Tree Resort, went to a gallery opening with my cousins in Los Angeles, attended the Dallas Cowboy's training camp in Oxnard, fell in love with the TV show Sons of Anarchy, went to a couple of concerts, read some good books, shelved some less than good ones, and posted more here on the blog than EVER before.  Yes there have been some frustrations and times that were less awesome than others, but I have to say looking back at all the fun I've had, the good definitely outweighs the bad.

2014 hasn't exactly started out with a bang, so far I've been sick all year (thank goodness it's only the 2nd), but maybe I can get this out of the way now and have a healthy and fantastic year to come.  There should be quite a few changes at work, so it should make things more interesting, at the very least it will keep things from getting monotonous.

I hope to keep up the pace from last year and post frequently, whether that be with photos, recipes, or whatever comes to mind. Stay tuned.

November in a Nutshell

It's been another busy month, lots of shopping hanging out with friends and the boy, family time and the beginning of the holiday season. So without further ado here is November in a nutshell.

• The Elections: This was a supercharged election year and there were lots of people who were passionate on both sides of the playing field, and even now still some that are upset/glorifying in the outcome of the race.  The incumbent was re-elected and we shall see how the next four years go in this great country of ours. Whether your side won or lost if you exercised your right to vote you made your voice heard. You may not always get your way, but as long as you do your part to make your opinions heard, our country will continue to be great. 

• Veteran's Day Weekend: Veteran's Day is a day that we say thank you for all the sacrifices that the men and woman in our United States Armed Forces have made for us to keep us free and safe. It's also a three day weekend (for a lot of people, not so much me) in which I house sat for my aunt; took a day trip to Camarillo for to go shopping with my sister, my father's girlfriend, and he came along as well; and my boyfriend came to visit. I found an awesome pair of sunglasses to replace all the scratched ones I have in my collection and the cutest jacket. I had some great laughs with my sister trying on silly hats and getting to spend time with family that I don't normally spend much time with.  Getting to see the boyfriend was a special treat, he wasn't planning on coming to town that weekend, but he was able to get things finished up at school earlier than planned and was able to share his long weekend with me.
• Baby Date: This month I got to visit my friends who had twins about a year and a half ago, I haven't seen them in awhile it was great fun to see how much the boys had grown since I saw them last (I think it was sometime in May or June). It is so neat to get to watch them grow into their personalities and become little boys instead of just babies.





Wine Tasting at Rancho Sisquoc



I made these Turkey Treats for the Big Day

• Thanksgiving: This year we celebrated Thanksgiving with good friends of our family and their family. We did the same last year, and I'm hoping this becomes our new tradition. We have such a great time together and there is very little drama that often surrounds big family events. My boy also came home for this long weekend. He celebrated the day itself with his family, but the Saturday after the holiday we went to a big breakfast at one of my favorite local restaurants (Kay's Country Kitchen in Old Orcutt, if you get a chance you should check it out), visited with his grandma a bit, then went wine tasting at Rancho Sisquoc and Kenneth Volk Vineyards. It was such a nice and relaxing day, something to be really thankful for.

• The Wizard of Oz: While this technically happened on Thanksgiving weekend too, I felt that it needed it's own bullet point. Every year since I was about 5 and was old enought to attend plays at PCPA my mom and I have gone to see their Christmas show. This year was no exception and we saw one of my favorites: The Wizard of Oz. The production was a lot different than in years past in that they used puppets for the munchins, flying monkeys, winkies, the great and powerful Oz, and Toto. It was really interesting to see what they could do with the dolls and how they could bring them to life. The actors who played Dorothy and Crew were phenomenal as usual. PCPA never fails to entertain. I'm so glad that I live in a place where I have amazing theatre in my own backyard.

 



 

Thanks for reading, and until we meet again, I hope you have a safe and wonder filled holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving

 It's the day before the feast and I just wanted to wish all my friends, family, and faithful readers a very happy Thanksgiving holiday.  I want to take the time to let you all know how important you are and that I'm very thankful to have you in my life. Before we all settle in to gorge ourselves on whatever our traditional (or non-traditional) celebrations of the day may be I just ask that you take a moment either to yourself or out loud around the dinner table to count your blessings. For this one day concentrate on the good things in your life, even if they are few and far between. Before you turn on the football game (GO COWBOYS!) make sure your loved ones know that they are appreciated, you never know how many holidays you have left to spend with them.

 

If you have a special holiday memory that you'd like to share, a recipe that's been a family favorite, a tradition... feel free to leave them in the comment box. I always enjoy a good story or something new to try out in the kitchen.  So until next time, I'm thankful for you all, have a fantastic holiday.

 

 

 

 

Happy Halloween Friends

 

 

Happy Halloween Friends, my monthly wrap up should be up sometime this weekend. Hope you have an awesome night and I can't wait to hear about your epic adventures and see pictures of all the shenanigans.  Don't worry, I'll recap mine, I'm just not through with the celebrations yet and I don't want to leave anything out.

 

To all of those affected by Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast, my heart and thoughts go out to you.  I can't seem to find the words to express my feelings, they all come out wrong, so just know that I'm thinking about you and hoping for the best even in this terrible situation. 

Where were you?

Eleven years ago today I was still living at home and getting ready to start California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) in a week. I wasn't working at the time and I was supposed to stay home to supervise the crew reflooring my parents' house.

I remember my mom bursting into my room way before I was planning on waking up and being irritated, until she told me that a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center in NYC. I was still half asleep and didn't understand what she was telling me, how could a plane fly into a building like that by accident?

Except it wasn't an accident.

And then another hit the second tower, and a 3rd hit the pentagon and a 4th crashed into some field after the passengers revolted. I remember being transfixed by CNN, I couldn't tear myself away from the screen. How could this happen? Here? Will we ever be safe again?

Eleven years later I still get chills when I think of that day, I still get teary eyed when I hear the Star Spangled Banner, and I am so proud to be an American. I might disagree with some of our policies, but I am glad I live in a country where I have the right to vote to change the things I don't agree with.

The people who tried to bring us down as a nation eleven years ago failed. That event did not tear us apart, it brought us closer together as many tragedies will do. I wish we could find that spirit of cooperation and cohesiveness again without having to face a similar crisis.

Thank you to all the first responders who risked everything to save those trapped in the towers. To the ones who didn't make it out, you are missed and will never be forgotten. To those who lost loved ones, your grief is shared by an entire nation.

To those who continue to serve and protect, you are the real heroes and your country is proud.

Where were you eleven years ago? How did you respond?

Jubilant July

First I want to say Happy 800+!! We made it today, couldn't have done it without you faithful/new readers.

July was a crazy awesome month so here's the rundown. Slightly out of chronological order but still documented for your amusement.

• Per tradition I spent the 4th of July with my bestie and her husband (she has great recipes and DIY projects on her blog, you should take a gander) at her parents house for an annual BBQ, this is the first year my "other parents" weren't in attendance (they were out of town on business) but we still had a wonderful time drinking margaritas, roasting marshmallows, telling stories around the fire pit, and just relaxing with good friends.
• A weekly Girls' Night was started this summer, we've titled it Hot Tub Thursday, even though we might jot always meet on a Thursday or get in the jacuzzi, it's really just a reason for us girlies to get together and not lose track of each other as our lives get crazy. Always make time for your friends and they'll make time for you. Also if you ever need a karaoke buddy, I'm your girl. One of the girls' nights this month we went to a dive bar in Goleta (old town tavern, in case you were interested) and I brought the house down with the classic Bon Jovi song "Livin' on a Prayer" and before you ask, no I wasn't drunk. I just hit the stage and perform. I think it's all those years of dancing as a kid. Put me on a stage and I'll entertain you.
   
• While my aunt and uncle took a vacation this summer they hired me to watch their house and dog, little did we know my 19 (almost 20) year old cousin would also be home from school for those 10 days. He obviously didn't need a baby sitter but I stayed any way and we had a great time spending one on one cousin time together and I actually was surprised by how much fun I had hanging out with his friends. We had some good talks and I think have a better appreciation of who the other one is. I'm so glad we had the opportunity to do it. I would do it again in a heartbeat without question.

• It's finally happened after a months long dry spell I finally started dating again. Someone I've known for years called me out of the blue one evening, asked me out, and we've been spending a lot of time together since. I can't tell you how great it is to be dating someone who is excited to see you every time you get together, to be involved with someone who can make you laugh so hard that you can't breathe, who can quote all your favorite movies, and who makes you smile all the time instead of making you feel like a crazy person. I'm used to dating the person who makes me insane, I have to say this is such a welcome change.

• While this next paragraph isn't exactly a happy bullet point, it isn't sorrowful either. This month my great grandmother passed away. She was 102 and died in her sleep. Grammy was a fabulous lady and the world is a better place because she was in it for so long. The funeral was the strangest I have ever been to, and in the best way possible. Yes there were moments of sadness, but it was truly a celebration of the long life she lived and loved. There was more laughter than tears. Even the priest was cracking jokes throughout the services. Even though it was under sad circumstances it was really nice to see everyone together on once place and what was even better was to see family members set aside their differences (even if it was just for a few hours) to honor someone we all loved.

• I can't talk about July without mentioning that it is BIRTHDAY MONTH. This year I celebrated the 10th anniversary of my 21st birthday, yes people I am 31. Don't feel weird, it's hard for me to believe too. This year I celebrated by going to dinner in SLO with my parents (the June NOLA trip was also part of the celebration); going to a Brad Paisley concert with my sister, dad, and his girlfriend; going to dinner (sushi) and a movie (The Dark Knight Rises) with friends; wine tasting with friends; dinner with my grandma and aunt; going to a Kellie Pickler concert with my aunt; multiple trips to the California Mid-State Fair; and a mini office party at work. I think it's safe to say I'm loved and very lucky to have such fantastic people in my life.