Happy Monday!

Bah!  How did almost a week go by?

I swear it was like 2 days ago that I wrote that last post.

Hmmm.

Oh well, how time flies!  :)  Things have been a little cuh-razy 'round these parts.  Work is ramping up which makes me a bit more tuckered out than usual.  Jason has about 6 weeks left of school/to finish his thesis.  Yikes.  6 weeks seems like a long time but it's not.  It will go by in a blink.

And it's fall.

*Sigh*

I can't believe how my heart has changed towards fall.  I used to semi-like like it...until winter came.  Then I wanted summer to come back.  But this year...this year is different.  I'm embracing all things fall.  Buying fall colored bouquets for our table, lighting my pumpkin scented Yankee candle (thank you Marshalls for having them for cheap), and already starting to plan our Thanksgiving menu.  Yes, I am welcoming fall with open arms.  Now if only I lived in a place where fall looked like THIS....

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Yes, if I lived in a place like this...Fall and I would be BFF's.  Ah, yes, maybe one day...

Well, anyways, this post was supposed to contain the pumpkins that we were to carve on Sunday but alas...I fell ASLEEP!  hahaha.  I ended up falling asleep on the couch on accident and Jason didn't have the heart to wake me up.  Then dinner time came and it was just too late to carve us some jack'o lanterns.  :)

So, here's to Sunday afternoon naps!
Here's to fall!
Here's to a happy Monday!

The World's Easiest, Most Impressive Dinner

I love to cook.

I think this is a known fact by now.

Jason has had some pretty darn good meals made by me...not gonna lie.  (He's also had some seriously nast meals too haha).

There is one meal though that gets a reaction from him every.time.I.make.it.

That's roast chicken with roast vegetables.

The EASIEST meal ever people.

And it's good.  Really good.

Here's what you do.  It's 5 easy steps.

1)  Go buy yourself a whole roasting chicken and some veggies.  I like to use potatoes and carrots...I also like to throw things in like parsnips and even celery if I have it.  Potatoes and carrots though are full proof and delish.

2) Preheat your oven to 425.

3) Take out the packet of goodies from the inside of your chicken (you know, all those lovely internal organs that SOMEONE must actually use since they include them).  Drizzle extra virgin olive oil on the outside of that chicken there and rub it all around.  Sprinkle with salt (somewhat liberally) and fresh ground pepper...stick in the the baking dish.

4) Cut up your veggies, coat with olive oil, and salt and pepper those suckers too.  Put them all snuggly and cozily in with your chicken.

5)  Put in oven.  Set timer and go do something super cool for 1 hour and 15 minutes or when you're thermometer says 180 when it's stuck into the chicken's ample bosom.

6)  I know, I only said 5 steps.  Ooops.  Step 6.  Watch the hubby or whoever is eating with you ooooh and awwww over the dinner that literally took 15 minutes to throw together (and minimal dishes may I add...a cutting board and a baking dish).

This is a great dinner.  The chicken is so moist and yummy...the veggies delish.  If you want a little extra salt you can throw some into the cavity of the chicken too.  yum.

Now go enjoy you some grub.

Your Opinion Please...

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Alright.

So, I'm not very adventurous in my clothing choice.  I think that a good pair of jeans with a cute white shirt and maybe a funky scarf is the perfect outfit.  I dress like Jennifer Aniston here (minus the hat) pretty much everyday that I can.  By the way...she regularly calls me for style advice.  I try to tell her that I have confidence in her ability to coordinate an outfit but she still relies on me to keep her lookin' good for the paparazzi.  It's a big job but someone's gotta do it.  HA!

Moving on.

So, we have been very frugal around these parts for a couple of years here.  Clothing was not in the budg.  Now that we have 2 incomes I've been slowly rotating clothes out that have got to go and purchasing some new stuff here and there.

Today at Target.  I got a skirt.  It's a maxi skirt.  I'm cool with maxi's.  I have a white and grey stripey one that I'm rather a fan of.  That one though hits the waist.  THIS one though...I think (the waist is TINY and the skirt is way too long to hit at the waist), is meant to sit higher.  In the dressing room I thought is was a little adventurous for me...but cute so why not. Jeans aren't allowed at work so if it can be worn at work it's even better.

Now that I have it home though...  I'm having second thoughts.  I can't decide if it should be worn with a belt (a fat one or skinny one), or if it should be worn plain or if it is just weird and should be returned all together.  I don't want to be walkin' around like some wannabe stylish fool who's totally missing the mark.  :)  So, whatchya think?

No Belt...with scarf.

No Belt...sweater. Hmmm.  Not sure what I think about this one.

Skirt with Fat Belt

Fat belt with jean jacket???

How about a skinny belt???

And since it's hard to tell from the pics this is the "texture".  It's a cotton pleated knit type of thingy.

Alright, now that we all know how awkward I look trying to take pictures of myself in an outfit...  What do you think?  Keep it?  Take it back?  It was $20.  Is it worth it?  Ready.Set.Go!

Wait...what?

I just finished the 5th book in the Anne of Green Gable Series...called 'Anne's House of Dreams'.

I was reading along and came across this GEM of a sentence.

Now I must warn you.  The following words may seem PG-13...or more like R.  I know right?  What?  Anne of Green Gables?

So let me paint the picture.  The following line from the book comes about to describe Anne and her friend Leslie's interactions among themselves and also with Anne's new little baby.

And I quote:

"When their work was done and Gilbert was out of the way, they gave themselves over to shameless orgies of lovemaking and ecstasies of adoration..."

What?  Don't look at me like that!

Don't be dirty!

It's Anne of Green Gables for crying out loud.

hahahaha.

Well, one thing is for sure.  We certainly don't use language in the same way that we used to.  I don't think it would go over so well to describe my time with a dear friend in the same way.

Anyways, it made me laugh.  I felt the need to enlighten you on the vocabulary of old.  Where sentences were full of words like orgies, lovemaking, and shameless ecstasies.  Oh the good ole' days.  :)   

It's Monday!

Happy Monday ya'll.

Hope the weekend was good.  Mine was alright.  Saturday was decently productive.  Sunday...mmmm...not so much.  Oh well.  :)

By the way, don't you hate it when you make the house look so clean and tidy on Saturday and then by mid-Sunday it looks like a cyclone went through it all over again.  Bah.  This is one of the very downsides to having a teenie-tiny cracker jack box of a house.  It doesn't take much to mess it up.  But, it works for us...and it only takes 20 minutes to clean back up again.  :)

So, I did some baking Saturday...you may have noticed by my facebook status.  If you didn't though, I made these delightful treats...

You know, just some pumpkin whoopie pies.  YUM!  And by the way.  I made them last night and they were good for sure.  But, we popped them in the 'frige and had some today and they where totally delicious.  Anything that involves spices and what not tend to be better the next day as the flavor have time to "meld".  If you want to take part in some fall baking you can find the recipe RIGHT HERE!
Oh, and don't do the tablespoon of each spice.  That seemed like a TON of spice. I did 1 1/2 tsp. of each...but feel free to do it all if you're feeling adventurous.  :)

I also FINALLY got around to spray painting this bird cage I found.  I scored a super cheap bird cage about a year ago.  At that time it was green.  Dark green.  Nothing against dark green but I imagined painting it this off white color that I already had.  Well, there it sat green.  Pretty soon I got used to it.  Even told myself, "Oh, it's not so bad...it matches our couch."  Hmmm.  It was ugly and I finally decided to quit being lazy and paint the sucker.  So I did.

See that huge paint cloth?  And I mean it's HUGE!  Guess where we got it from?!  The side of the road on 19th Ave. in San Francisco.  HA!  Jason found that thing and brought.it.home.  I tried to hide my, "What in the world did you bring that disgusting thing home for just because it's free doesn't mean you need it do you know how many germs are in that thing" look.  Do you know that look?  Ever dished it out to your husband?  I have a few too many times.  haha.  Turns out though that it's washable and we have used it so many times for our spray painting projects.  Guess I shouldn't always poo poo his scavenging abilities eh? 

And here is the newly painted off white bird cage in it's happy little spot.  See that wad of twigs in it?  It's a real life nest.  Like for reals.  Jason found it (are we sensing a trend here?) a while ago.  It's soooo cool.  So intricate.  Amazing that a little bird did that all by itself.

And just for the heck of it...I was sorting through pictures and found all these oldies.  They make me smile.  I like to think back on sweet memories and the carefree life we lived.  When we worried about grades in college and little else. 



























Awe.  We were such babies.  I had braces...he had crazy wild hair.  I had zits.  Ha!  Love it.  This was when we first started dating.  I was like maybe...20?  I felt so old at 20...now 20 seems so young.  Hmmm.

 And look at THIS!  This is my littlest brother back when he was a toddler.  Luke has never known me apart from Jason.  Jason entered the picture when Luke was an infant.  That's weird to think about. 

Ahhh.  Mono Hot Springs camping trips with the family.  I miss those trips.  :)

Alright, I'm done.  Thanks for strolling down memory lane with me!  Hope you have a great week!

Until we meet again!  :)

A Little Bitta Random

Alright.

So I totally have nothing to write about.

So, what am I doing on here wasting precious minutes of my fantastic life?

Because I've been on a bloggin' roll lately!  That's why.  Don't wanna ruin it.

As I've said before...sitting down to blog with nothing to say can be slightly dangerous...a little random (okay, a lot random)...and frankly a little uninteresting.  But.  Guess what?!  Here I am anyways.  Let's do this thang.

Can I just tell you about bouldering?  No?  Well, too bad.  Ok, so bouldering is rock climbing but with very intense, shorter routes, at (usually) low heights without a harness/rope, and etc.  I do this.  I would like to do THIS more...

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But, because I don't have a lot of time, and real rock is not very close to little ole' San Franny I do THIS...

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Yeah, I'm kinda hard core...what can I say.  HA!  Ok, so I don't do THAT per se...I do THAT but at a slightly less aggressive level.  But I go to a climbing gym and I LOVE it times like 12.

Anyways, two days ago I got relatively far on a V6 route.  The routes start at V0 and top out maybe around V12.  V12 is unheard of.  I've only seen boys accomplish V6 in the gym.  It was a proud "she-woman" moment.  I like feeling strong...and I like doing a route that a guy can't do.  Ah! I said it!  Ooops.  I know, pride before fall Anna...pride before fall. 

Moving on.

I love fall.  I used to hate it.  It meant summer warmth was leaving only to give me cold winter.  Than I moved to San Francisco and fall is San Francisco's best season.  By far.  I have been on a fall baking kick.  I love to make our little city bungalow all warm and cozy with scents of baked goods.  I also love Yankee candles...the fall scented ones.  Mmmmm.  Why are those candles SO expensive by the way???

Anyways, here are some fall treats I would like to make...just the thought of me getting out my mixing bowl and turning on my oven makes me all giddy.

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Anyways, that's all I got peeps!  Happy Hump Day yo!

Just For Fun

So, I don't know about you but that last post was way too serious for a Monday.  :)
In honor then of my 40th post on this new blog domain here are 40 questions to get to know yours truly.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
I don't believe so.


2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Sometime in July I believe.  :)


3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
When I try yes, usually I don't try though...and usually I don't really think about what it looks like.


4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Not a huge lunch meat fan.  I usually go veggie with my deli sandwiches.


5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Nope.


6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Ooooh, good question.  I think so.  I like to laugh and I seem to be drawn to people who like to laugh too.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Yes, but honestly I don't always like it.  Sarcasm can be funny...but it also can seem cynical and insensitive sometimes.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Um.  Maybe.  Well, I heard it jacks your back up.  If that's true than, no.  If it's not then, yes I would.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Lucky Charms all the way!

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
No.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Ok, so, I'm going to be totally honest.  Physically, compared to the average girl...yes.  I rock climb and I love to work on the hardest most challenging routes.  I think it was the gymnastics to pole vaulting foundation that laid the way for rock climbing to be my thing.  Upper body strength is a must. Emotionally...hmmm.  I have my strong moments...and I have my I'm a big fat baby I will throw myself on the ground and have a tantrum because that's SURE to make things all better moments too. :)

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
mmmm.  I like Haagen Daazs.  All types.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Complexion and smile.

15. RED OR PINK?
Red dude.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My complexion and the tendency I have to lack sympathy...I'm working on the 2nd one...I've come to accept the 1st one.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My Nana....and the old man I used to take care of, Cliff.

18. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Brown Rainbow sandals

19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Broccoli with hummus

20. FAVORITE SMELLS?
warm bread in the oven and rain on hot asphalt.

21. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
my mama

22. MOUNTAIN HIDEAWAY OR BEACH HOUSE?
Mountain hideaway for sure.

23. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
gymnastics and ice skating...I am SO a girl!

24. HAIR COLOR?
blonde baby!

25. EYE COLOR?
blue grey

26. FAVORITE FOOD?
Anything Asian...seriously, San Francisco has ruined me for delicious Asian food...gimme sushi, Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, and etc. any day

27. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy endings no doubt about it!

28. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Attempted to watch Cider House Rules without knowing what it was about (the joy of library movies).  That is an AWFUL movie...full of abortion and incest and just plain brokenness.  Ugh.  I totally could not finish it

29. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Red

30. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer all the way.

31. HUGS OR KISSES?
Hugs.  I have to have my morning hug from the huz.  It's a must.  :)  But I like kisses too.

32. STRENGTH TRAINING OR CARDIO?
Cardio.

33. COMPUTER OR TELEVISION?
My TV has no cable so as of now the computer is far more entertaining.

34. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Anne of Windy Poplars

35. FAVORITE SOUND?
crunching leaves or the city in the morning

36. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Sri Lanka.  I'm pretty sure that's about as far as you can get before you start coming back around the other side of the globe.

37. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Las Vegas, NV

38. WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW?
San Francisco, CA

39. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR CAR?
grey...although when Jason first bought it I thought it was green (don't ask).  Since I have a deep passion for naming inanimate objects Jason asked me, "So, what's this car's name?"  To which I replied, "Pickles of course".  To which Jason replied, "What?  Why pickles?  Pickles are green."  To which I replied, "Yeah, I know, the truck is green...so Pickles it is."  The truck is grey...and it took about a month of Jason owning it before I finally agreed that yes, it's not green.

40. Do you like answering 40 questions?
Sure.  It makes for a fine blog post when you can't think of much else to say.  :)

Just Some Thoughts for a Monday...

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I totally thought that the competition/comparative living would stop after high school.

Seriously.

Then I got to college and I found myself comparing grades/friends/clothes/better answers to that very deep philosophical problem (philosophy major here, hollah!)/boys and etc.

Then as college came to an end I thought, ahhh, yes, now, NOW I will be content and fulfilled and no longer compare myself to anyone, right?

 But then it became about who we were dating, when we were going to get married.

And then when we were all happy and married it became...how much money do you make/is your car nice/do you own your house/how many readers does your blog have/do you buy organic/do I leave a smaller carbon footprint than you...

And though I'm not there yet with kids it becomes...do you co-sleep/do you let them cry it out/how long did you breastfeed for/do you have the latest and greatest new baby contraption/what the HECK you actually let your child TOUCH the Target cart? (Seriously, I actually saw one mother reprimand another because she didn't use the towel sanitizers on the cart before she put her 3 year old in.  REALLY???  News flash lady...YOUR mom probably didn't use sani-wipes on the carts you rode in and you're still okay...albeit, not very nice...but that's a different issue.)

Anyways, I think I thought that as you get older you have less to worry about, you're more mature, you're more secure...you don't size others up as often.  I have realized though that I was wrong.  So wrong.  Really, in high school we had 4 worries.  4 things to think about.

1) How do I look? Am I pretty/handsome etc?
2) How are my clothes?
3) Am I well liked?
4) Will I kick that girl's butt at the State cross country meet?  (Oh wait, you didn't have that worry? weird.)

It seems now that we all have way more than 4 basic insecurities.  We have all those PLUS a ton more. 

I just sometimes feel overwhelmed at how competitive life feels at times.  And I feel really refreshed when I hang out with people who aren't interested in the competition of life.  Who live simply and purposefully.  Not purposing to simply be the best dressed, the best at this, the best at that.  I think the San Francisco life is just catching up with me.  We live in a very rich city that is competitive in everything.  Parking, driving, walking, renting a house, getting an appointment with your doctor for that matter.  Everything is a race to beat the person next to you.  Some of this is inevitable with living in a large city and I've grown rather accustomed to it to be honest.

But I don't want to become accustomed to the habit of comparative living.  We really only to need to compare ourselves to one person to put us in our place.  That's Jesus and next to Him we all fall a little short...you know...just a smidgen.  :)

So, all this rambling is to say...I just want to live and be me.  And have the values and beliefs that are honoring to God...and not feel silly or dumb if I think something is important that someone else doesn't agree with or vice versa.  So, I like to shop organic and you don't.  That's fine!  And say you're totally into the idea of co-sleeping with your kids and I'm not.  That's fine too.  We're all different and why not embrace it instead of judging one another?  Because we all think WE are the right one's, that's why hahaha.  :)  But, maybe, just maybe...there isn't always one right answer for everything.  Maybe each person has a solution that is unique to them and their personality.  (I know, this causes me to claim some sort of relativism which is so not me...but only on minor stuff people...don't get all excited.)

I also don't want to focus so much on silly things that go out of fashion in a year but to invest, and be filled with the joy of our Lord.  It's so hard to do these things.  I know I suck at it.  In the end though, I just want to be who God made me to be without fear of judgement...and even more so I want others to be who God made them to be with out me or anyone else judging them.  I mean really, why can't we all just love each other?  (I know, I am soooo hippie sometimes.)  :)

Peace!  <3

**Just wanted to say that there was no event in particular that has spurred this post.  It's just something that I've observed/experienced in life.  Something I have been processing lately :)  **

~You Bake Me Happy WINNER~

It's time to announce the You Bake Me Happy Wednesday winner.  I'm kinda excited.

So, www.random.org has chosen...

Number....

Seis.

Sechs.

Sita.

Six!!!!

Ok, so I'm starting to question the true randomness of Random.org.  Really?  Six was last month too.  Hmmm.  What are the chances?  Anyways, back to the winner...

And the 6th comment was....

Kali:  That pumpkin bread you just mentioned with cinnamon drizzle icing...you just made my mouth water! And I'm pretty sure my girls would gobble it up right with me! 

Yay Kali!  Congrats to you!  :)

I'll shoot you an email to get your address!

Happy Weekend everyone!

You Bake Me Happy Wednesday--October

Oh hey now.  Guess what!?

It's...YOU BAKE ME HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

The first Wednesday of the month where I, me, myself, yours truly, bakes you something delish and sends it to you in the mail...for gratis (that's free in espanol if you weren't sure).  :)

Wanna know the reasoning behind this madness???  Well, how boutchya read The Full Story behind You Bake Me Happy Wednesday!

The sum of it is...I LOVE to bake.  I LOVE to give people my baked goods.  I mean really, is there anything better than a homemade, from scratch, little morsel of goodness that didn't involve you stirring a spoon or turning on your own oven?  I.think.not.  Thus, I bake for you and mail it to your lovely house for you to eat and fill your belly.  yum.



So, here are the details...

FIRST,
Being we are now in October I decided the thing that screams fall and comfort and all together coziness are quick breads.  You know, pumpkin bread, banana bread, coffee cake, you get the picture.
So, all you have to do is leave a comment with the treat that you would be overjoyed to have show up on your doorstep. Bring on the breads.  Banana, cranberry, pumpkin, cinnamon streussel, zucchini...you name it.  And if I pick your name (very randomly of course) I will mail you said treat (so you better pick wisely).  Por ejemplo: Say my name is Ruby and I left a comment saying that I would love pumpkin bread with cinnamon drizzle icing to show up on my doorstep.  If I choose Ruby, then I will mail her pumpkin bread with cinnamon drizzle icing.  Understand?  Bueno.

The little drawing ends Sat at noon!  So comment before then.  Sat evening I'll let ya know who the lucky winner is!

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So, what yummy, sugary (or maybe not so sugary), delish bread would YOU want to magically appear on your doorstep???  Ready.Set.Go!

Side Note:  I have no idea if there even ARE readers that I personally don't know reading this but if there are you are included in this too.  Yes, I will mail free baked goods to a complete stranger.  Don't be shy.  So long as you promise not to sue me for food poisoning.  Not that I've ever given anyone food poisoning...haha.  Ok, yeah.  Side not done. 

And just in case you need some "quick bread" inspiration...here are a few delightful one's on Pinterest.

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Oh my yum.  Source

Cinnamon Quick Bread.  Source