Monday, November 2, 2009

Happy Halloween!

I hope you all enjoyed your Halloween.
I had the pleasure of participating in my company's costume contest for the second year in a row! Last year...with an amazing entry of Buddy the Elf, I tried to one-up myself and go for something even more ridiculous.

With that...PLEASE ENTER...SCOOBY DOO!

Also, the gang and I decided to dress up in a group. It was pretty hysterical as we all went as something from Dr. Seuss. I was the Grinch...it looked more like Shrek with a red robe on, but it can't hurt to try...right?!? Courtney and Kristen did an amazing job with Thing 1 & Thing 2. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. Miss you!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Class Act


My mom and dad told me I define white trash in this picture. HA. I simply call it multi-tasking! I miss you guys, I just came on here to see if anyone had posted and was then going to start replying to the thread of comments on Sar's post, but thought I'd start a new post for kicks. Does this make you think of the song I like big butts or what?!? OK friends, keep in touch. Emili's getting married this weekend...CRAZY!!! PS J, I almost ran into a car on my beach cruiser the other day cause I swore I saw you in Avila...turns out I was wrong. Um, Sar, I still have your email in my inbox...will reply soon I promise!!! Peace out loves!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Hello



OH HEY!!

I just wanted to say hello to you lovely ladies. I feel like I've been all over the place this summer, but hope you are all doing well. I wanted to let you know where I'm going to be in the next couple weeks because I'm hitting up some of your places...

Aug 14th...I'll be in SLO, Lees..expect a call or I might just come over (yeah I'm like that!)

Aug 15th or 20th...I will be driving through Stockton...J, you live close enough that I might have to come see your new house!

Sep 5th & 6th...I'll be in San Diego...and Karina, frankly there is no excuse! We should see each other more, you're like an hour and half away and we have the same friends

Rheanna, I'm sorry I will not be north enough to see you, but Nik and I want to go to San Fran in the fall, so it might be in the cards for us! :)

This is more of an email than a blog, but I'm ok with that. Also I wanted to share a recipe that I made for "family night dinners" as we call it. I made a white bean chili, sounds kind of weird, but it's really good. Sorry you no meat eaters, it's got chicken in it. I got it from watching Food Network on TV! Enjoy!! Also, Nik is making enchiladas tonight and they will probably taste good, but let's be real, it's not going to be like yours Lees!


Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds
ground chicken
1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons chili powder
3 tablespoons flour
2 (15-ounce cans) cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 bunch (about 1 pound) Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves chopped into 1-inch pieces
11/2
cups frozen corn, thawed
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper for seasoning
1/2
cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions
In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the ground chicken, 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, fennel seeds, oregano, and chili powder. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Stir the flour into the chicken mixture. Add the beans, Swiss chard, corn, and chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a simmer, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Simmer for 55-60 minutes until the liquid has reduced by about half and the chili has thickened. Add the red pepper flakes and simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Ladle the chili into serving bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.


Love you all.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

here comes the bride

Saturday marked the first of many wedding anniversaries for Johnna and Jeremy!!!! I drove up to witness this holy matrimony of J and Jeremy at Morris Chapel located on the UOP campus. The church itself was exquisite...the stained glass, the wooden pews, the rose gardens. It had this traditional and classic feel. The weather was absolutely amazing and the sun shined through the colored glass just as we sat down for the ceremony.

Johnna looked absolutely gorgeous. She had this ornate lace gown and a hand-made veil (down by one of her best friends). When we all stood up to watch her walk down the aisle she was stunning and Jeremy looked so happy. It was a wonderful ceremony and I was so excited to see all her friends and family.



Once the reception started, K, Rhe, and I were able to properly celebrate with J! It was so much fun and so great to be a part of this very special day. I'm so excited to share the pictures. I had so much fun seeing everyone and watching J & Jeremy get MARRIED!!!!


Karina and Rheanna were the natural dancers on the floor, but I tried really hard. It wasn't until the end of the night that we got the brilliant idea to take our shoes off. But we totally owned that floor. I'm pretty much the worst dancer ever and this was emphasized when a particular man dressed in all blue attempted to swing dance with me...needless to say it was a complete failure.

We did have our own personal celebration with a toast dedicated especially to J!!!


After the night ended the J's headed to Hawaii and we spent the rest of the night in Stockton! It was so much fun and so amazing. Here's to Johnna and Jeremy...I love you guys!!!!!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

the usual Sunday?!

Finally, we were reunited and able to hang out on a wonderful Sunday. After a lovely breakfast (from a restaurant that had 5 items on the menu...way to go Lees) & church we had to feed Scott and Jimmy again. The buttery waffles and weird oatmeal didn't cut it the first time. :) In the midst of deciding between sandwiches and pizza the idea of shooting guns started the swirl around. Considering it is nothing we've ever done together, I didn't want to miss a minute of it. Scott and Lees gathered the supplies and packed up the 4WD. We drove up the grade. I love that Rhe even drove half way up the trail...you did a fantastic job and the Camry had one of the best views of the day.


Once we got up there, Scott gave us a necessary course in safety and we were ready to rock...or shoot! Emili had the best reaction ever....see below--

It was really great to catch up with you girls and do something way fun and super exciting.

Lisa & Scott demonstrated the art of teamwork and you guys are my favorite married couple. I really loved seeing the two of you, visiting your house and checking out the SLO-life.


These little weekenders are pretty great and I was so happy to see you all. Let's do it again soon! Love you all...so much.
Rhe...I think we found your new calling, aside for being a vegan, it looks like you were made for activies like this...xoxo





Wednesday, March 25, 2009

I am so excited I could dance...




Rumor has it we're all going to be in SLO this weekend. Seriously...I'm so excited...seriously!!!!!!!
I hope to see you all there.

143 XOXO

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Shamrock Cookies!

So after the post I realized I didn't have an actual 4 leaf clover cut-out so I improvised and used my mini heart shaped one. Not too bad I thought?! J$ - I loved your story, definitely go with the cookies next year, way easier. I was a little jealous about the new stove though. I think Rhe told me you guys bought a house! Congrats, post some pictures for us! Anyhow, here are my makeshift shamrock cookies.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

St Patty's

This is a day late now, but Happy St Patrick's day. I figure since I have yet to do more than comment on a blog, its my turn...
After working a long day at the hospital and being told ALLL day "you must be Irish, with that red hair" and with the delivery of my new stove, I decided to give the corned beef and cabbage a try. Not realizing that it takes 3+ hours to cook that beef thing, dinner was ready at 10pm and was NOT worth the wait! I wish I had a picture to show you ladies. I pretty much filled up on cabbage and red potatoes.
If you haven't yet, I don't recommend trying corned beef, it is SUPER salty and SUPER fatty. Needless to say I think Chewy (the dog) got the most enjoyment out of the meal.

Next year I'm going with Lisa's St Patty's idea...shamrock cookies!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

St. Patrick's Day

My Mexican blood has never made me a huge participant in the St. Patrick's Day celebrations, but this morning, after Sarah's nice gchat message (ps thanks!) I started thinking about this day in college. My first memory was freshman year, any takers? Rhe? Hahaha. I still remember walking into our dorm room filled with people sipping on their Guinness'. That was fun...who did buy that beer anyways?!? We were all like 19 - minus Leilani. Anyhow, then I remembered more specifically a green outfit and going to Mother's and then coming home and eating probably an entire batch of monkey bread. Somehow I still fit in jeans back then that are way out of my league now. Not fair. I was trying to remember if that was the night of the crazy bathroom scene?!?

Today I am going to celebrate by making four leaf clover roll out sugar cookies for the hubs since I have the day off. Maybe I'll take a picture if they turn out. Anyhow, I just wanted to say hi and that I really mean to post on this but I've had this cold from hell that won't go away and basically takes over my life. Kinda, sometimes I'm dramatic when I'm sick. I love you all and will promise to be a better poster, I don't want this blog to fail one month in!

XOXO

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Cupcakes



I really wanted to share with you guys that I bake now. Seriously, it may seem weird because the smell nauseates me...but it's WAY fun. I received a kitchen-aid mixer for my birthday and I make all kinds of things from scratch, even desserts. It's kind of my thing. I haven't really gotten the frosting part down (if you have any tricks, please let me know), but the fact that my cupcakes are fluffy and pretty makes me super excited. When I started baking this evening and was like...the girls would get a kick out of this. If you're ever in the mood for sweets (sorry J, I heard about what you gave up for Lent)...let me know, I'll send them to you!!! xoxo



Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Birthday Celebrations


Rhe & I chased these two...seriously.

We had an excellent photographer this weekend!

This photo is labeled...my friends are monkeys.



So color coordinated!

J...what's going on?!? 

Rhe...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

So I was reminiscing over some quality birthdays that we have all spent together, and the one that stuck out the most was one we did about 4 years ago (oh my goodness, we're getting old)...and of course it was spent in the happiest place on earth (J...I already know what you're thinking). I feel like that trip was a totally random adventure and I especially loved getting Rhe's first bottle of alcohol which her and I proceeded to drink most of...awesome, considering we did the freakin Matterhorn some time after that. Anyway, I thought that flashing a couple pictures would bring back all the funny, I mean, I wasn't in Lisa's car...but we all know what happens when she's hysterically laughing! 

I actually really enjoyed going through these pictures, it seems like ages ago now! We should to do this again, and I'm pretty much serious. Can we please hang out? I started missing you fools. I send my love and will bestow some of my changing philosophies with you all soon!

143

Baby Names


So...I check this silly blog about 15 times a day to see if anyone has posted something life changing-then I decided maybe I could be that person!! So here's a little something for anyone else who checks compulsively. I hope I'm not the only one...

My parents got a new puppy-a little chubby golden retriever whose name is still not settled. We had picked out Lucy ahead of time, which I turned into LuLu Bell-cause I suck at nicknames and call everything in my house by anything other than it's name. My niece has gotten used to being B, Beaser, Beasley, Midge, Miss Rose, Miss Lynn, baby, babe, etc... (and no, no part of her name is Lynn...it just came out one day). So...puppy. She got home and Lucy just didn't fit, so we started calling her Gracie then Gracie Lu (but then I changed that one into Graybeard on accident so it sort of fell flat). Then I came upon Ruby, which totally fit her cause she's chubby and playful and runs into things a lot. But my mom likes gracie best, my niece likes lucy best, and i like ruby so now she is called all three. so we're going to have a schitzo dog.

anyway-i'm sure that made all your lives more complete. i'll write something actually meaningful next time. also-i'm going to be in slo the first weekend in may so anyone who wants to come watch me to do wildflower should come!!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Blogger Virgin

Hello Ladies! I'll be honest, it took me a few minutes to figure out how to 'create a new post', I'm a little slow at this, but loving it already.

I'm excited to hear updates on all of your lovely lives.

Bring on the blogging :)

Monday, February 16, 2009

Oh HEY!

The one-armed sweatshirt must have totally been in. Yikes!

Ok, so I'm a bit of a blogger nerd, but I'm pretty pumped about this. Rhe and I had so much fun today looking at all these old pictures and laughing about all the silly things we used to do. We thought it would be fun to have this blog so that we can all update each other, keep in touch on our lives, post pictures, share music and recipes, and all things related...kinda like email, but in a group sort of way. Get it? Maybe? I hope you guys are as pumped as we were when we made this...I think it will be a blast. Talk to you all soon! xoxo

Just Sayin'

First off, I'm like so excited for this, I might turn it into my job. Because that's one of my "new things" I want to blog. Anyway, I just wanted to give a shout out and say this is the best idea ever. Also, Rheanna, it's not that I think red and pink aren't great...but Lees...thanks for picking out the colors!!! I'm sorry I missed the festivities in SLO...I send my love. xoxo.

Eating Coffee Cake at Lisa's

I came to San Luis to visit my sister and got lunch with Lees at Sushiya (?), which was delicious for any sushi lovers passing through. I think I was only supposed to hang out for an hour or so, but decided instead to look at engagement rings, see her new house, and squeeze some coffee cake into my increasingly tighter pants. (I think I have gained 5 pounds since Saturday-looove SLO food). We took a walk down memory lane and decided that, clearly, we needed a 1351 blog. So we looked at a LOT of really bad pictures, argued over colors for the background-I opted for pink and red, but Lisa does not believe these colors go together. So now we're finishing up and I am going to go home and try to find a Chiweenie puppy-a chihuahua and daschund mix for those of you not up to speed- yay for being the first official poster on our very cool blog. love you guys.