I have a problem...

I am one of those kinds of people that try to read...well, what looks like a million books at once! Ever so often I will get so captivated by a book that I can't put it down and I'll actually finish it. But most get added to one of these giant stacks near the chair in my room. It's bad. It's like a disease. Emily made it worse by giving me a Kindle for Christmas. Oh dear. If anyone knows of a cure, would you please pass on that valuable information?
The other day I tried to clear out the books that I'm DEFINITELY not reading right now. I think I made a significant dent. Emily was not so impressed. What do you think?

The red box IS in the first picture. In case you were wondering.

Empire State Building

These aren't great pictures, but I wanted to post this to show how much I'm loving my new lamp from Carly's yard sale! Here's the shadow it casts on the wall:

Here it is in daytime:

And at night:

The pictures definitely don't do it justice, but it fits in my room so much better than I had even imagined. Thanks again, Carly!

Mad About...

Vintage bicycles!

Good thing my birthday is coming up and this is the one thing I asked for! I can just picture cruising down some street in Ventura on a warm summer day with a nice crisp beachy breeze...mmmm....

Pink Dinosaur

Most kids have a favorite stuffed animal growing up. For normal kids it's a teddy bear or a dog or maybe even a floppy bunny. But for me it was a pink dinosaur. That's all I wanted for Christmas of 1989. My mom searched high and low wondering where she was ever going to find it, but she finally did in the gift shop at the end of the dinosaur ride at Knott's Berry Farm.
The pink dinosaur was aptly named, Pink Dinosaur. For a short while it seemed that she needed a more...clever name, so I changed it to Christine, after my middle name, but it didn't last. Deep down I already knew she was dubbed Pink Dinosaur. Changing her name was like....changing her personality. That's right. I said personality. Just like Toy Story or Muppet Babies, our stuffed animals came to life, when we played with them, and maybe even when we left the room. ;)
Here's what Pink Dinosaur was like the day I got her: And here's poor Pink Dinosaur now...

Poor Pink has clearly seen better days. No more toenails, no more purse or presents. (I cut those off about 5 minutes after I opened her.) No more eyelashes or kissy lips or even pupils! But I still love her!

Five O'clock Bird

If this picture looks strange to you, it's because this doesn't happen. Dogs are not allowed on my bed, let alone in my room. But sometimes, I'm driven to take drastic measures. Allow me to explain...

For the last few years, come springtime, I have had a little visitor oustide my window. RIGHT outside my window. One of my favorite things about my bedroom is the window. There is a wide ledge that I could turn into a window seat except that it's a little too high off the ground and would look strange. Instead my bed is set right against it so that I can lean on a pillow and look outside ever so often as I read. My favorite time to do this is right after I get home from work. The sun is at the perfect spot so that it shines through the tree outside my room and highlights the little fuzzy white things floating around that cause all kinds of allergies. Anyway, it looks beautiful. And the little visitor comes around at this time and I appreciate him. He adds to the moment. I always call these moments "glimpses of Heaven."

But at five o'clock in the morning, we're talkin' a whole different ballgame. At five o'clock in the morning, I can't stand that little bird. I often pray harm on him. I imagine someone marching out of their house and chucking a stone at him. Or you know, I just pray that he will fly away. (I may or may not have yelled at him.)

On Monday morning I was in the midst of the previously described scene when somewhere downstairs I heard a bark. And for a millisecond, the bird stopped. "Chirp chirp chirp TWEET, chirp chirp chirp TWEET, chirp chirp BARK ---- chirp TWEET."

I thought it just might solve everything. Maybe if I invited Tacy onto my bed, she would hear the annoying bird and bark at it and it would fly away. So I called for her. And I got this.

I don't know if you can see this very well. But it's a faceful of slobbery dog. And that's all I got. No bark. No bite. Just dog and bird and no sleep.
On my way to work I stopped by Starbucks to get some oatmeal and there were these cute little birds outside chirping and hopping around and I was thinking of how God even takes care of them and feeds them and their chirping in the morning is probably out of hunger and I felt just a tad...guilty. At least until five o'clock the next morning.

Mad About...

Coffee Bean's Belgian Waffle!

This may look like an ordinary waffle, but trust me my friends. This is NO. ordinary. WAFFLE. I remember, about a year or so ago, I walked into Coffee Bean and saw this delectable wonder sitting on the counter in a glass dome. I thought, "Mm, that looks good," but I guess the purse strings were drawn a little tight that day. I left without the waffle. The very next day I was eating lunch with Emily and Erin at work and they were talking about this delicious waffle they had the day before at Coffee Bean. I said, "No way, I almost bought that yesterday." They immediately got crazy eyes and couldn't believe I didn't try it. They said it was one of the best things they had ever eaten. They said I didn't even need to use the Nutella that came with it. They said it was that. good.
So of course it was was only natural for me to try it that afternoon. I was thinking, "Seriously. This has been talked up way too much. There's no way it can be as good as they say. Friends. It was better. I should really learn to trust those girls.
That belgian waffle became a way of life for me for some time. I had to tell other people about it. I had to take my friends and experience their joy in trying it. Ahem....you know...not an excuse to have another one myself...
All was going well until one dark summer day. I bounced into Coffee Bean with the taste of the belgian waffle already on my tongue. I stepped up to the counter. I was a just a tad nervous because I didn't see the waffle out on the counter. But I thought, "They're probably just whipping up a fresh batch." The barista asked me for my order and I gave it to him. And then the 12 words I thought I would never hear came out of his mouth. "We don't have the belgian waffle anymore. No one ever orders it." WHAT???!!!! EXCUSE ME???!!! AM I NO ONE????!! I stood there with what I am sure was a look of shock mixed with horror and sorrow. I think I might have uttered, "Seriously?" And then after a minute? Okay maybe 5 seconds I said, "Okay fine then, never mind. Bye." The barista of doom asked, "You don't want anything else?" I said, "No." And I left that store, vowing I would never return.
A couple of months later I met up with Glenna and Janea and Glenna suggested we go to Coffee Bean. It was a different location. The one at the mall. I reluctantly agreed. We walked in and lo and behold, there. On the counter. Was my beloved waffle. You'd think I was a 5 year old walking up to the gates of Disneyland for the first time. I ordered the waffle with butter. (It enhances the flavor.) It was a blessed reunion.
When I started having health issues, I had to say goodbye to the belgian waffle for quite some time. But recently, I have been able to eat desserts here and there. (Okay I might have them a bit more than "here and there", but that's another blog post.) Shelsy and I will often go to Coffee Bean on our break and order Blueberry Peach Iced Teas. We go to the infamous Coffee Bean that ruined my life for awhile. :) Guess what they sell there now? Yeah. Looks like it was in high demand after all! Barista of doom!

Shelsy didn't think I talked it up too much either.

I created another monster.

Have you ever seen...

a monkey made out of flip flops?

Ten Reasons Why My Grandpa Was the Coolest

(Can I just say how much I love this picture? I think it's so funny the way my Grandpa is holding my arm.)

10. He always wore turquoise. Whether it was a ring, a string tie, or a belt buckle. He couldn't get enough of the stuff.

9. He used the word paw instead of hand, claws instead of fingers and fangs instead of teeth.

8. He drove this rad retro yellow van with only one seat in the back. The rest was open and so we got to sit on the floor whenever we went anywhere, which is super fun for a kid.

7. He was a fly fisherman and he tied his own flies. He had a room in his basement with a desk where he tied the flies and there were tons of little compartments all over the room that stored them. He and my Grandma retired to Bozeman, Montana because of the fly fishing.

6. He always wore cowboy boots.

5. He would write me letters. And I loved his handwriting. He often put a P.S. that would say, "When you come visit us, I will rock you to sleep."

4. He loved kids. He was really good with Em, Jeremy and me. He even drove a school bus for awhile when he was older.

3. He had good taste in music. He liked a lot of the big band stuff.

2. After he got saved, (which was late in life but before I was born), he treated my Grandma like an angel. My mom said he used to embarrass her when people came over because he would just stare at my Grandma and say, "Isn't Frances wonderful?"

1. He was just so loving and loveable. One time, after my Grandma died and when his health had really declined, we went to Montana and Em, Jeremy and me were at his neighbor's house playing with their dog. The owner's were gone but they let us go in the back. My parents and aunt and uncle were all gone so my Grandpa was the only one at home. Jeremy decided to hang from the door frame and I copied him and fell and landed on my back on the raised door jam on the ground. It hurt really bad and I was crying when we got back. My Grandpa felt so bad for me but didn't really know what to do. He was almost in tears as he lay me down on the couch and put a blanket over me. For some reason I will never forget that. He died when I was in 9th grade but I love him so much and can't wait to see him in Heaven!

Oh and one more thing, his name was Jack! I love that name!

Mad About...

Piano



I think I could listen to piano music for hours. Especially when I can hear a friend play in person. There's just something about it.


I found out in recent years that I am absolutely not a natural when it comes to playing musical instruments. A depressing discovery seeing as I have played the piano since I was in the fourth grade, when my Grandma bought us a Baldwin. I can read music, slowly, but I can't just sit down and play a piece off the top of my head. Sure I memorized a few when I was younger for recitals, but they all left my brain and my muscle memory long ago. Nevertheless, I love to sit down (with music) and play. I've also found it's a nice way to relax at the end of a long day.


That being said, Erin gave Emily a book about a month ago that has chords for a heapful of classic rock songs. (Emily plays the guitar now. For awhile I said that "Emily is learning to play the guitar" but I think she is beyond that now. For sure.) The three of us along with Sarah (am I allowed to let this out?) will get together every now and then for the particular purpose of...well...jamming. I mainly watch and listen, but I enjoy it. It's opened up a new apect of music to me, playing with other people! So now, on my own, I am trying to kinda teach myself how to improvise with chords. We'll see how it goes. (Did I mention that Sarah is really good at piano??)

Moo

I am in love with this picture.

That's all!

"That'll be the day..."

Photo credit: The Pioneer Woman

That John Wayne quote would be a direct response to, "Amanda in the kitchen". (Well, let's be honest here; I was found in the kitchen plenty, just not as cook.) Yet it's true; I've joined masses and masses of women and fallen prey to the Pioneer Woman. A section of her site is devoted to The Tasty Kitchen. It's kind of like the online version of "A Taste of Home" in that readers add their own recipes to the site. My new diet has forced me to be a bit more creative with my food and it has renewed my excitement over cooking!
I've already tried a couple of recipes from the site. Rosemary Gorgonzola Chicken and Provencal Tomatoes. (Tomatoes stuffed with all kinds of good stuff including gruyere cheese.)

Maybe it's just me, but I think the above dish looks delicious. Pad thai...mmm! It IS called Pad See Ew. Maybe not the best word to go along with food, but I'm sure it means something else in Thai! Only one way to find out. :)

Update: Guess what one thing would stop me from not making the above recipe? Not being able to find the ingredients! I went to Trader Joe's and Albertson's after working out, and by that time, I had no more energy to go to an Asian grocery store. Oh well.

Funny

This is for Emily.

Puppy Love

Tastebud Heaven

Now that I am on a "special" diet I sometimes like to picture myself eating one of my favorite foods trying to remember how it tastes, like warm, gooey, chocolatey brownies, or cheesy savory paninis, or giant, juicy burgers.

That brings me to Umami. Yesterday, msn's delish.com had an article highlighting the top 25 best hamburgers in the U.S. Umami Burger was GROSSLY overlooked. For months, Erin and Emily had been telling me things like, "Oo...look! We're passing Umami Burger!" or "You haven't been to Umami yet!" "Sarah Arnstein is wrong. Umami is better than 8 oz. Burger Bar." I had gone to 8 oz. once and their burger was undoubtedly delectable. If anything I was leaning towards Sarah's side since I lived in ignorance.

Then, one day, Emily told me that we were going out to eat before going to Crystal's house. She refused to tell me where because it was just too exciting and she was going to make it a surprise. I started dreaming big. It was like my anticipation for the finale of "Lost". My imagination went far beyond reality. On the way I guessed that we were going to Umami and Emily confessed. She was disappointed at my lack of excitement. But really, how good can a burger be? My tastebuds were ready for intense euphoria.

When we arrived I was encouraged by the atmosphere. Atmosphere does a lot for me. This place was in a unique area, right next door to a Halloween store with a line out the door extending all the way to Grauman's Chinese Theater. Okay...not that long. We sat down and I received my menu. I'll admit, the choices were impressive. I had never seen that many different kinds of burgers listed before. Than my eyes rested on the words "Truffle Burger". I had never tasted truffle sauce before but I knew it's reputation. My mind was set. And let me tell you.... .... ............. ....... you haven't tasted a burger. Until. You've been to Umami. Words cannot describe not only how good MY burger tasted, but also the ones Erin and Emily ordered. This blog post's ending is slightly anticlimatic, because the real climax is awaiting you....at Umami. Trust me. Is their slogan "the fifth taste" not enough for you? Go. Now. Skip work or school if you have to. And thank me later. ;P

Labor Day Weekend! (About Five Months Later)

Camping! I have always loved camping. I don't know what it is exactly...maybe sleeping in a tent makes me feel like a kid again. Or maybe it's making smores, or playing games around a campfire. Of course...now that I'm older I can MAYBE understand why some people don't like it...getting dirty, listening to other campers yelling until 2 in the morning...but overall, its worth it for a few days of adventure. That's it! Adventure!

It's amazing what you can do without a kitchen!

Twins in flannel. :0)

Another reason why some don't like camping...

But pretty much EVERYONE loves hot chocolate!

Vacations are always nice for some extra reading time. The following is from "True Spirituality" by Francis Schaeffer.

Aunt Donna. She's so cute!

She and my mom are obsessed with Fresca, as you can see...

Some Five Crowns.

So, our plan was to camp in the Sequoias. Except no one thought to plan ahead and reserve a spot until the week before Labor Day. Not exactly enough time for the last big summer holiday. So we camped on the outskirts. As you can see, no big trees right around us, but there was a nice lake!

Camping is also a good time for Sister Time! :)

And family time in general.

My mom and aunt did most of the cooking, but Jeremy and I handled the pancake morning.

Jeremy's pancake dots.

And my attempt at animal pancakes. Can you guess what they are?

Jeremy's dog, Roxy. Roxy and I have a on again off again relationship. I may or may not have a scar on my finger. Thankfully the Labor Day trip was a peaceful time between us. You know...she's kind of a vain dog, so offering to take her picture helped ease the tension.

We did venture into the Sequioas one of the days we were there. We found these critters hanging out by one of the sharp turns.

While we were out and about we saw a sign for some hot springs. We were ready, we had our bathing suits and all. At Yellowstone once, we went swimming in some hot springs. Nice warm water flowing in the middle of an ice cold river. That's what we were expecting. We drove for a long time, so long that after awhile we thought we had gone the wrong way. Jeremy said he was going to turn around but we kept saying, one more minute. Right as he was about to finally make the turn, we saw the sign. By this time we were really excited until we came upon this.

And realized that what they meant by hot springs, was this...

Lame! And what's more, it wasn't cheap to swim in their special hot springs pool. At least they had ice cream, but even then, they wouldn't let you have a free sample taste of any of their flavors. Oh well. We had better things to do. Like check out the spectacular views.

And walk INSIDE giant trees!

And see more of God's beautiful creation!

Three trees growing together!

Check out those roots on this tree that fell over. Massive!

One of the rangers in the park gave me a sequoia seed. Can you believe that this...

turns into this???

Our God is so AMAZING!

Emily showed us Camp Nelson, where we went on High School staff retreat a month later. The student leadership from High School was there for their retreat a few weeks before. As you can see, the remnants of their stay weren't completely gone.

We got a little hungry. Thankfully there was sustenance in a store at Camp Nelson.

But root beer leads to something else. And when you're camping...sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do...