The Monday shuffle (and a fantastic website I just discovered)

There really should be a song with that title. That [the] Mamas and the Papas song doesn't really do justice to how dull and pedantic Mondays are. Are everyone else's Mondays filled with such hate and general dragging of the feet? Are there people out there who actually enjoy their Mondays? If so, can I do what they do?

My usual Monday:

• Wake up cranky and in a bad mood. Spill my coffee, forget my breakfast at home, yell at someone who hasn't realized the light has turned green. Maybe chuckle at a morning radio show bit. 
• Get to work at 8:30, spend a half hour ignoring my Outlook inbox in lieu of reddit, Pinterest (more on this fabulous site later) and Facebook.
• Have a meeting wherein we follow up on everything we did last week, dwell on all the things we didn't do, then make promises about all the things we'll do this week.
• Sluggishly see to things requiring my immediate attention. 
• Go home for lunch and debate going back to work. 
• Begrudgingly go back to work, spend another half hour on the internet, then sign off of everything that will distract me. Actually get some work done. 
• Watch the clock count down to 5:00. Decide my workday is done, but decline to sit in traffic only to make myself angrier. Spend 30 minutes filing, organizing my desk, and making up for all that time I spent on the internet earlier in the day.
• Sit in traffic, despite my best efforts to avoid it. 
• Go grocery or Target shopping. 
• Go home, take pants off. If it's after 7:00, I immediately make myself a cocktail while I cook dinner. If it's before 7:00, I take my pants off and lay in bed until it's time for a cocktail.

The remainder of my recent evenings have tended to involve old episodes of Twin Peaks (holy creepiness, David Lynch... your mind is a maze full of bonkers) and the aforementioned website Pinterest.

About Pinterest: If you love design and fashion and cooking and DIY projects and furniture and anything remotely creative, you will absolutely love this website. It's a site where members submit links of design ideas, photos, artwork, Etsy products, cooking blogs, everything creative on the internet. Then other members can "pin" those ideas to their own "boards." It's kind of like a virtual bulletin board or clipboard. Just to give you a taste of what it's about, here is a link to my Fashion board and one to my Home style board.

Screenshot of my Fashion board

I use Pinterest as a way to keep track of recipes I want to try, books I want to read, and ideas for home design and fashion by "pinning" links and photos of these things to my boards. You can create as many boards as you want for anything you find on the site: artwork, photography, inspirational quotations, wedding ideas, etc. I implore any fellow design-aholics to check this site out!

Alright, gang. The time is now 1:26 on Monday afternoon. I've spent a good portion of my lunch hour writing this blog post, and thus I must eat my lunch at my desk instead of going home and browsing Pinterest. Le sigh.

Happy Monday shuffle, y'all!

The most amazing stuffed mushrooms ever

One of my favorite cooking activities is to perfect a recipe that I've tried making several times, but can't get quite right. [See: every attempt at garlic bread I've ever made, ever.]

My most recent project was stuffed mushrooms. I tried a recipe from one of my favorite cooking blogs and it came out just.... blah. The flavor was off, it tasted bland, and I wasn't impressed. I tried it again over Christmas, this time with my own variations, and holy wow... those suckers were freaking fantastic! I made them again for a family get-together at home of Rad Boyfriend's Dad and they were ever better than last time. I impressed even myself, which is pretty difficult to do. Here's the recipe, if anyone is interested in the most fantastic stuffed mushrooms ever. Note: it looks long and complicated, but it's not. I just like giving detailed directions =)  

Goat Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms 

24 oz. (3 packages) white mushrooms 

10 oz. goat cheese 

2-3 oz.cream cheese
(or 12 oz. goat cheese and no cream cheese) 

2-3 oz. Parmesan cheese, plus extra for topping 

1 egg 

3/4 lb. bacon, diced

2 large shallots, finely diced  

3 cloves of garlic, finely minced or zested 

3 tbsp. of finely chopped fresh parsley 

olive oil to grease the baking sheets

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Remove the egg and all of the cheeses from the fridge and let sit for 20-30 minutes. 
2. Rinse the mushrooms and pat them dry. Remove the stems and set them aside. Carve out the inside of the mushrooms with a butter knife to make room for the stuffing. Discard the insides. Finely chop about 2/3 of the mushrooms stems and set aside. Discard the rest.
3. Stack 3 slices of bacon at a time and trim the fat. Cut the bacon into small pieces. Repeat until all of the bacon is chopped. Set aside. 
4. Finely dice the shallots and set aside.
5. Cook the bacon in an un-greased frying pan until it just starts to turn brown. Don't let it get too crispy, as the texture won't meld with the rest of the stuffing. 
6. Remove the bacon from the frying pan using a slotted spoon, leaving the grease in the pan. 
7. Throw the shallots in the bacon grease and cook on medium-high for about 3 minutes, or until they start to turn clear. Add the chopped mushroom stems and stir until the mushrooms start to soften and turn brown. 
8. Zest 3 gloves of garlic into the frying pan and stir for 1-2 minutes, until the garlic is soft. (You can also finely dice the garlic instead of zesting it.) 
9. Empty the entire contents of the frying pan into a medium-sized bowl, grease and all. Stir in the softened goat cheese, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, and egg. Add the bacon and stir. *If the mixture is too salty for your taste, add some more goat cheese or cream cheese to cut the salt.
10. Add the parsley at the very end and stir. 
11. Generously fill each mushroom top with a tablespoon.*There will likely be some leftover stuffing. The amount left over will depend on how deep you carve out the mushrooms. You can fill as many mushrooms as you have with the leftover stuffing, or fill one giant Portobello mushroom with the remainder. 
12. Grease 2 baking sheets with olive oil. 
13. Place the stuffed mushrooms on the greased baking sheets and generously sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. 
14. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, or until the desired consistency of the Parmesan cheese topping is reached. Some people like it to be crispy, other like it melty. For crispy tops, turn the broiler on for 2-3 minutes or until the tops are brown.
    *Another way to achieve a little crispiness is to add panko breadcrumbs to the stuffing mixture. I would recommend about 1/2 cup. Follow the rest of the recipe as written, then make sure to turn the broiler on for 2-3 minutes for a crispy top.

Enjoy! 

Things things things!

Why hello there, Internet! It's been a while, hasn't it?

There are THINGS! going on over here in The City of Awesome, THINGS! that shouldn't be discussed in such a public forum, other THINGS! that are still too premature to even be considered THINGS! No, I'm not with child, and no, I'm not getting married. These are THINGS! that have to do with work and family, aka stuff that shouldn't be broadcast on the internet. I know, I know, BORING. But such is my life =)

What I can discuss is the fact that the Rad Boyfriend and I are moving in together in June! We decided to do this a long time ago, but now that it's almost April (holy crap, where did the time go?) and we'll start to look for apartments soon, I figured it was a good time to let the cat out of the bag.* What does this mean for our relationship? Having all of our contact lens cases and toothbrushes in one place. Also, lots and lots of home cooked meals. You should see Rad Boyfriend in an apron... ;-)

I will eventually explain these other THINGS! to which I allude, but not yet. Certain other, smaller things must happen before these more important THINGS! can be discussed. And that's all I have to say about that.

In the meantime, be well! Be healthy! Love each other, and most importantly, be happy!

*Speaking of cats, we may or may not be adopting one. I really, really want a kitteh, and I know RB does, too. But right now, our priority is finding a livable dwelling out of which he can work and I will get plenty of sunlight. If that place happens to allow cats, fantastic! If not, we'll just have to wait until the next place. And mark my words, that next place will absolutely, positively allow these little guys.

Vacation: putting some Spring in your Palm

Let's hear it for vacation hair! And vacation appetite! And vacation.... well.... let me stop there.

Needless to say, Palm Springs was a blast. The Rad Boyfriend and I had a really really REALLY good time over the long weekend. We ate, we swam, we slept in, and we ate. Did I mention the food? Because we ate. A lot. Mother Nature must have heard my plea because it only rained on Saturday night.The rest of the time, it looked like this:

The amount of snow on the mountains behind our hotel was breathtaking. 

 Living Desert. Totally worth it.

There are two words that describe this hotel: cool and hipster.

 What road trip is complete without a hilarious sign?

And now I must get back to the real world.... the one that doesn't involve room service and margaritas at 11 o'clock in the morning. A world where fine dining is reserved for special occasions and sitting poolside is not an inalienable right. Sigh. I would've made a really good rich lady.

Dear Mother Nature

Please stop. I know what you're doing and it's working. You're messing with the weather on the one weekend the boyfriend and I will be going away together, alone, and not to attend a wedding/family function/graduation/work-related gala. And it's really bumming me out.

You see, Rad Boyfriend and I have never taken a trip together that didn't involve some prior obligation. Sure we've traveled together and stayed in hotels together.... there was the time we went to Vegas for a wedding (and had a super fun awesome time); there was the time we went to Florida together to visit my dad and attend a wedding (also super fun); then there was the time we spent together with my family in New York over Christmas, when we met up with friends and drove 4 hours down to Washington D.C. to celebrate the new year and surprise a friend for his birthday (again, a lot of fun). But do you see a recurring theme here, Mother Nature? None of that was for us. 

We had plans with some friends to go to Vegas this coming weekend. We were super stoked about it, as we had such a fantastic time with them last year. But when said friends canceled (for very legitimate reasons) we jumped at the opportunity to take a trip together, alone, just the two of us. To a hotel in Palm Springs we'd been meaning to go to since last year. Yay for romantic getaways! 

Except that you, Mother Nature, are making it not as awesome as it should be. Because while the weather in Palm Springs has been sunny and between 70-81 degrees for 10 out of the last 15 days, you've chosen this coming weekend, the one weekend we'll be in Palm Springs, for it to rain. And not only will it rain, but temperatures will be in the 60's. There go our plans of shorts and sundresses, of swimming and laying out in the sun, of partaking in the amenities of a hotel that has "Swim Club" in its name.

Will this stop us from having a good time? Absolutely not. Rad Boyfriend and I are TOTALLY still stoked to be going away. We're even dropping some extra cash on a room with a fireplace on the patio, which, as it turns out, was great forethought on our part.

Very much looking forward to this

But still. Rain? Really? In the DESERT? Come on, Mama Natty. Throw a sister a bone here. Change your mind about the precipitation. Let me fully enjoy the one vacation RB and I will spend alone this year. Let us swim in a warm pool and sip Cokes shoot tequila while we lounge in hammocks. (Yes, they have poolside hammocks. HAMMOCKS!) I promise not to complain about any rain and/or earthquakes we might get this summer.* Please?

Eternally and forever your faithful peon,

Danielle

*I promise not to complain too much. I'd still like a warm summer =)

When life hands you lemons, PART 2

So. Valentine's Day plans were kaput. We lamented over the inconsideration of the restaurant for about three minutes, then started thinking about alternative plans. We decided on getting take-out from a local and delicious Thai restaurant and watching a movie at home.

Which, as it turns out, will now be our Valentine's Day tradition from here on out.

The day before, upon learning that our extravagant plans had changed, I went to Target and picked up some things to make the evening more special. I bought a heart shaped plate on which I planned to put cupcakes from our favorite bakery, some candles, and a jumbo package of heart-shaped Reese' peanut butter cups, RB's favorite.

I came over to Rad Boyfriend's apartment early with a plan: get him out of the house to pick up the food and some champagne while I set up my surprise. I set the table with candles and napkins that I'd cut into hearts. I put four irresistible-looking cupcakes on the heart plate and placed it on the coffee table with candles all around it. And then I arranged the 30 individually wrapped peanut butter cups on his kitchen counter to spell out "I <3 YOU" with candles all around it.

As I write this, I can't help but think what a dork I am. What guy appreciates romantic stuff like that? Isn't that stuff better saved on the ladies? What girlfriend goes through all that trouble for a dude? Well Internets, I DO. And let's just say that it was very VERY much appreciated.

Best Valentine's Day ever =)

When life hands you lemons, PART 1

Several weeks ago (like back in January) I made reservations at a romantic Italian restaurant for Valentine's Day. I'd heard good things about this place, and one look at the menu told me we wouldn't be disappointed. It looked romantic, it was decently priced, and the Rad Boyfriend and I had been jonesing for some authentic Italian cuisine since before the holidays. In fact, we'd been jonsing for this particular restaurant's Italian food for quite some time; the only thing that had stopped us from trying it earlier was the fact that they don't take reservations. And if I'm gonna get all dressed up to have a nice dinner, you better believe I'm making reservations!

But, ever the optimist, I called them anyway to see if they were making exceptions to their no-res rule for Valentine's Day--and they were! Hooray! Delicious Italian food! Plans made, we began discussing what we'd order, if we should bring our own wine and pay the corking fee, what we would do afterwards, etc. RB must have mentioned how much he was looking forward to finally trying this place at least a dozen times since I made the reservation. We were stoked!

On Sunday morning (as in The Day Before Valentine's Day), as we leisurely sipped our coffee and talked about how much we were looking forward to this week, I received a call from a strange phone number. Never one to answer calls from unfamiliar numbers, I let it go to voicemail. Upon checking it several minutes later, this is what I heard:

"Hi Danielle, this is Jenna calling from --- ------ confirming your reservation for tomorrow night at 7:30. I also wanted to make sure that you knew about our 5-course prix fixe menu that we're serving for Valentine's Day. It's $70 a person and......" 

I stopped listening at that point. She could have told me it came with a basket of kittens to keep us company during dinner and I wouldn't have cared. Why? BECAUSE NO, I WAS NOT AWARE OF THE PRIX FIXE MENU. There was no mention of it on their website, nor did anyone tell me about it when I made the reservation. No way were be about to drop $200 on dinner just because it happened to be February 14th.

I was pissed. Not so much about not having dinner plans, but about someone informing me that I was expected to spend at least $140 the following night whether I liked it or not. There is nothing I hate more than feeling like I'm being taken advantage of. RB and I talked it over, and it was sort of a no-brainer: we canceled the reservation. And in an awesome twist of fate, it turns out it was the best thing that could have happened to us.

[Stay tuned for PART 2 later today]

A three-hour tour

Guess what I did over the weekend? 

I got on a boat...

And went dolphin/whale watching!!

 Needless to say, it was really really cool. 

 We saw literally HUNDREDS of dolphins out in the open Pacific, just off the coast of San Diego. 

I will not make a joke about whale's vagina....

On eating healthy and doing yoga

The other night, I put on a pair of jeans that I hadn't worn in a while, mostly all because they're my tightest pair. And man was I in for a pleasant surprise: they were actually LOOSE on me! Internets, that hasn't happened since my second year of law school, otherwise known as the Dark Period. REJOICE!

How did I do it, you ask? What's that, you want to hear another story about how a complete stranger shed a few pounds and now feels ten times healthier? Why I'm glad you asked....

First of all, you should know that the goal wasn't to lose a bunch of weight and look like a waif. I'm a curvy gal and I like it that way; the goal was for my clothes to fit a little better in the tummy and thigh area. The second thing you should know is that I really didn't try very hard. I just changed a few things about my lifestyle and diet, and viola... several pounds were shed within 10 days. (I don't own a scale, so I can't tell you how many.)

The first thing I did was get back into yoga. It may seem like an easy workout, but it's not. The amount of strength it takes to keep certain poses, the amount of energy you exert while stretching and bending is actually astounding. Add some extra crunches and leg lifts to the workout, and trust me.... it's an exhausting hour. Try it if you don't believe me!

The main thing I did was change my diet. My biggest problem with food is that I only cook for myself*, and so I only buy things I can keep in the freezer or cupboard. I cook fresh, from-scratch meals so rarely lately that when I do, it's usually something really delicious and really bad for you. Like this:

Baked ziti alla vodka sauce. Oh. Em. Gee. 

My happy medium has been to eat smaller, healthier meals throughout the day instead of a giant lunch and big dinner. I usually have 2 Nutrigrain waffles on my way out the door in the morning, which never fills me up. I sometimes make myself a bowl of oatmeal at work around 10 or 11, which fills me up until about 1 or 2. Instead of going out for lunch, I've been making myself turkey and goat cheese sandwiches on high-fiber bread with a few dollops of low-fat salad dressing.

I use this one. It tastes sooo good with turkey!

I've always had that 4:00pm snack time craving, but instead of chips or candy, I have yogurt. Target carries a brand of food called Archer Farms, and their low-fat yogurt is TO DIE FOR. It's thick and creamy and comes in flavors like strawberry cheesecake, honey almond, and cherry pomegranate. (Note: most non-fat yogurt has aspartame in it instead of sugar, which is really bad for you. My advice? Buy low-fat. It's the difference between a few grams of fat and possibly getting cancer.)

A healthy dinner is hit or miss for me, which is why I've been trying extra hard to eat healthy during the day. If I'm making food for just myself, I usually default to things like Trader Joe's frozen falafel with Tzaziki sauce, risotto with mushrooms, soup, simple pasta dishes, bean and rice burritos, salads, etc. If I'm cooking for me and the Rad Boyfriend, I usually let him pick the dish... and it's never tofu and broccoli.

As for snacks.... well... I won't lie. This is the one area where I let myself eat whatever I want. I do, however, have a strict snack policy: only one sweet thing and one really-bad-for-you salty thing allowed in the house at one time. Usually it's brownies and potato chips (hey, I'm only human) but I try hard to stop at one brownie or one handful of chips. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I also keep lots of tea and ginger ale in the house when I really need to satisfy a sweet craving. Popsicles and pudding are also great alternatives to brownies and cake.

You'll notice that there isn't much dairy in my diet. That's mostly because I'm lactose intolerant, but also because dairy generally has a lot of fat. Have you ever looked at the nutritional facts for Brie cheese or a frozen pizza? It makes me wonder how the French stay so healthy.

So there you have it. Yoga once or twice a week plus oatmeal and high-fiber meals many times per day, minus greasy pizza. I'll let you know if this regime still works when I'm 35, but so far, so good!

*Rad boyfriend and I don't live together. Not yet, anyway.... ;-) Stay tuned for further news in that department.

Thankful

For the truly awesome man in my life. It's not our anniversary or Valentine's Day or the half-anniversary of the second time we kissed, it's just Thursday. And I love him.

Even when he wears his step-mom's 1984 sunglasses

Shout-out Slash Admonition to Ginger's parents

Last week I was walking from 711 back to my office and spotted a loose dog ahead of me on the sidewalk. At first I thought she was tied to a lamppost or bike rack, but quickly realized she didn't have a leash. She stopped when she saw me walking towards her, then picked up her pace and started walking in my direction rather quickly. That's when I noticed two things: 1) she had a pink collar, and 2) she appeared to be some sort of pit bull mix.... aka the ONLY breed of dog that I am somewhat, even a tiny bit afraid of.

Background: When it comes to dogs, I am THAT girl... the girl that walks up to strange dogs and pets them, the girl who doesn't cross the street when an angry dog barks from behind a fence, the one who's first on her feet to break up a dog fight. I strongly believe that if you don't show a dog fear, he won't be aggressive toward you. I am definitely not afraid of dogs....except for pit bulls. I know it's not fair to blame the breed, and that not all pit bulls are aggressive or mean, etc. It's just that I've seen too many stories about some thug gangster breeding his dog to fight, or how a little kid walking by an open gate got mauled, and all I'm saying is that it's never a Golden Retriever doing the mauling.

So. I was walking down the street and this dog in a pink collar started coming towards me. I didn't stop, I made sure to keep walking so that she would have to follow me if she wanted my attention. We got to the parking lot of an Italian restaurant where I first spotted her, and I asked a delivery man if he'd seen where she came from. He said no, and suggested I look at her collar for a phone number.

At this point, I wasn't afraid of the dog anymore. She was clearly very friendly, and when I bent down to read her collar, she let me without flinching. I saw that her name was Ginger and told her to sit, which she did. Then she started licking my hands and my face, which of course melted my heart. As I started calling the phone number on her tag, a guy sitting at a Starbucks across the street ran over and said he knew who the dog belonged to. He said that she's gotten out before and that this would be the third time he's had to bring her back. He said her owners work out of their home and that they leave their door open. Not a problem, he said, until someone opens the gate to their complex and Ginger gets out.

Ginger's owners, I have two things to say to you: 1) thank you for raising an awesome pit bull mix. Ginger seems like she's an obedient, well-tempered, sweet dog. You did a great job. And 2) CLOSE YOUR DAMN GATE!

I won't be mad if you hate me

Because I'll be too busy walking to lunch from my office in short-sleeves and shopping at the farmer's market in my flip-flops.

(Just so you know I'm not completely cold-hearted, I do feel bad for all of y'all who are suffering through 4 degree weather right now. I remember it well. But I do not miss it.)

Taters and tenderloin and cranberry sauce, oh yum

It's no secret that I love to cook. I'm always on the prowl for new and delicious recipes. It helps that my friend E just started a cooking blog, so  stealing ideas from her has become exponentially easier. Not that she minds sharing... in fact she just forwarded me a recipe for some mouthwatering twice-baked potatoes that inspired me to write this post. (Thanks, E!) 

Twice baked potatoes are a new concept to me. My  mom was a health nut when I was younger (and still is) so we rarely ate anything as delicious as potatoes with sour cream and cheese. So as you can imagine, when I started cooking on my own, there was a whole new world of delicious and bad-for-you foods to try. Including this one. Which I think I might have to make this evening. Recipe can be found here. Both E and I suggest putting bacon in said taters. It will only make it more delicious and bad for you.

I recently took an interest in learning how to make pork tenderloin. I remember my mom making it when I was little and how delicious and juicy it was. So one night a few months ago I did it. And Internets, I dare say, it was AMAZING. Hands down the best meal I've ever prepared. I used Ree Drummond's recipe from her fabulous website, The Pioneer Woman and she absolutely nailed it. (If you read my blog regularly, you'll find that I use her recipes quite often.)

The cranberry sauce, however, was a spin on a Cranberry and Caramelized Onion recipe that I found on Oprah's website. I used it mostly as a template for my own creation (below).

As a side dish to that pork tenderloin, I made Pioneer Woman's smashed potatoes. But since I already talked at y'all about taters, I'll save those for another post =)

Happy Cooking!!

Twice Baked Potatoes: click here.
Pork Tenderloin: click here.
Smashed Potatoes: click here.
Oprah's Cranberry and Caramelized Onion Sauce: click here.

Danielle's Cranberry and Caramelized Onion Sauce: 

Ingredients: 

1 can jellied cranberry sauce 

2 1/2 shallots finely chopped, or 1 white or yellow onion finely chopped

1 cup chicken broth 

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons honey, or as desired 

white wine to taste (optional) 

salt and pepper to taste 

Directions: 

In a medium-sized skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add finely chopped shallots or onions and cook until they just start to get brown. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 of the chicken broth and a few splashes of wine (optional) for taste. Let simmer on low until liquid reduces by about half. Add cranberry sauce and stir until hot. Add remaining chicken broth and wine as desired. Simmer until desired consistency is reached. (Some people like their cranberry sauce thick, some like it thinner.) Add honey to taste. (Again, some people like it sweet, others like it more on the bitter side.)

Tip: the more chicken broth and/or wine you add, the more flavor it will have. If you want thick, flavorful sauce, use the full amount of broth and let the sauce simmer down until it becomes thick. If you like your sauce thinner, take it off the heat earlier. If you don't want a sauce that's too salty, add the remaining chicken broth to the cranberries in small increments until the desired taste is reached.

Enjoy!

Highlights of my week

Considering the graveness of yesterday's post, here's a list of some awesome things that I've seen/eaten/witnessed this week... things that have made me smile  =)

• "Bob's Burgers" on FOX. Hilarious new animated series about an everyday family running a restaurant. It's on Hulu if you're into that sort of thing.
• Marisco's German Taco Truck. I tried this place for the first time today, and let me tell you something about food trucks: don't let the fact that they are essentially kitchens on wheels discourage you from trying one. This particular taco truck is parked in an empty dirt lot next to a liquor store in a not-so-great part of town. Everyone on line in front of me ordered in Spanish. I didn't care.... the fish tacos were AMAZING. Someone on Yelp described the Gobernador taco like "hot sex on a Styrofoam meat tray." If you live in San Diego and have not yet tried this place, I implore you to go there the next time you're craving a shrimp taco or some ceviche. And if you're worried about price, don't be: I bought 4 tacos for me and the boyfriend and it came to $7.75. 
• Speaking of said boyfriend, he is definitely someone I'd like to add to this list. I've been going through a bit of a rough time lately and he has been nothing but supportive and caring and kind. I love you, robot. 
• KITTENS!!! That is all. 

I'd also like to mention that updating this blog has been a wonderful source of comfort and stress relief for me. It forces me to take a break from my otherwise blah day and focus my energy on something completely fun and frivolous. Yay blogging!! 

What have been the highlights of your week thus far? The bakery staying open just a little later than usual because you called to say that you were on your way to pick up your order? The mechanic calling to say that a part had to unexpectedly be replaced, but they wouldn't charge you for the labor? (This actually happened to me. There's a reason Advantec Auto Repair has such great reviews.) Someone surprising you with lunch or a snack? Do share =) I like good news. 

On dealing with stress

I've never been good at it.
I don't eat, and if I do, I eat cheesy poofs and brownies.

I don't sleep well at night when I'm stressed, which makes me tired, which makes me stress over being tired, which makes me take naps in the afternoon when I shouldn't, which means I can't fall asleep at night. It's a vicious cycle.

I know I should take walks and exercise, but instead I sleep and watch TV and troll the internet for pictures of kittens. (Therapists take note: kittens have a calming effect on many people and as such, trolling the internets for pictures of them should be on the approved "stress relievers" list.)

I get cranky and snap at people I shouldn't snap at, and then I feel bad, and then I stress about possibly having hurt someone's feelings. Again, a vicious cycle.

Stress is a cold-hearted witch to whom we all succumb at one point or another. Some handle it better than others, and to those who do, I ask you: what do you do? How do you deal with stress? What makes you feel better, what makes that knot in your tummy go away? TELL ME!!!

And now, a message from the internet kittehs:

Aaah that's better......

All hail the burrito

For it is wondrous and magical and there is nothing in the world like it. Behold:

Burritos are pretty much my favorite fast food ever. It's everything I love about Mexican food in one convenient, human baby-sized package: beans (refried and/or black), rice (yellow), sour cream, salsa, lettuce, cheese (cheddar), guacamole (which I unfortunately can't eat), and the meat of your choosing all wrapped up in a giant tortilla. I don't even order mine with meat anymore because the veggie burrito from my local taco shop is so delicious on its own. And to top it all off, burritos around my hood are usually so big that I can save half for another meal! (I wasn't kidding about the human baby-size.)

I won't bore you with the origin of the burrito or the different styles, except to tell you about the California burrito. It's a San Diego specialty that includes chunks of carne asada meat, French fries, cheese, pico de gallo, guacamole and sour cream. I'll let you think about those ingredients all under one tortilla for a minute. Delicious or disgusting?

 . . . . . . . . .

90% of San Diego would answer the former. I, however, think they're gross.

I shall now be exiled from San Diego and never again be permitted to eat another burrito.

Happy New Year, Interwebs!

Me: Hi Internet, how are you?! It's been so long! 

Internet: Oh. Hi. Yeah, it has been a long time. 

Awkward pause.

Me: Soo... how've you been? What' new?

Internet: Fine. Nothing. 

Awkward silence. 

Me: Um, well... how was your holiday? 

Internet: Fine. 

Me: Internet, are you mad at me?

Internet: No. 

Me: Are you sure? Because you seem mad.

Internet: Why would I be mad? I mean it's not like you just up and disappeared for six months without telling anyone.

Me: Internet, I'm sorry. I really am. It was a crazy time. 

Internet: Whatever. 

Me: I really am sorry. It's just that work got so crazy and summer kicked my butt with all the gatherings and friends, and then I went away on that business trip, and then work got crazy again... Then it just sort of got too late to get back in touch. I felt funny randomly popping back up again after so long, ya know? You know how that goes, don't you Internet? 

Internet: Ugh. I guess. Whatever. 

Me: Do you forgive me, Internet? 

Internet: Fine. Whatever. I guess. 

Awkward pause. 

Internet: Hey.

Me: Hi. 

Internet: It's good to have you back. I missed you. 

Me: Aaw, thanks, Internet. It's good to be back. I missed you, too. 

Truer words have never been spoken

Scene: I'm telling Liz how I can't believe it's been almost a year since RB and I got together, how I was nervous we wouldn't last because we jumped into it so quickly. Her response: 

When it's right, it's right.

Random Friday Ruminations

Happy Friday Before a Holiday Weekend, everyone! I know it's been a while--I've been busy. Here's a list for you.

• Being alone in the office is about the only time I get to listen to (good) hip hop and rap music. Today I am alone in the office. Connect the dots....
• Living with a vegetarian and a manly man who eats a lot of meat has been a wonderful balance for my diet. Roommate T-money (the veggie) has opened my eyes to so many Trader Joe's items that I don't know what to do with myself. I might explode when she takes me to the Asian market. 
• Speaking of food, I love it. Love it love it love it. There is nothing I mind spending money on less than food. Take me to a good restaurant and I will be content for days, or as long as the leftovers last. That is all.
• It's been a year since I moved to San Diego. How about that. =) 
• Have I ever mentioned that Rad Boyfriend is a carny? I can't remember and I'm too lazy to go through all the posts tagged "boyfriend." So I'll just tell you now (and possibly again) that RB is descended from carny blood. His grandfather worked the fairs all over the west coast and the southwest, and his dad has been doing it since RB was born. Which means RB spent every summer working the basketball hoops, the registers, and doing various other things for his dad's concessions. Is it weird that I find this super sexy? Maybe. But I don't care. I'm getting a t-shirt made that says "My boyfriend is a carny." Swear. 
• So the reason I've been MIA is that I had a bit of a scare last week that brought me to the emergency room. I'm fine, it was likely nothing, but I have a follow-up appointment with a specialist today. Fingers crossed! (And that's all I'm saying about it.) (No I'm not pregnant.)
• The older I get, the more I think I want to live in a small town somewhere in North Carolina. I picture a house on 4 or 5 acres with a spectacular view and so secluded that you can walk out onto your porch naked in the morning to drink your coffee. Doesn't that sound awesome? 
• It's a three-day weekend, you guys!! What do you all have planned? My weekend is going to involve card games, beer, cleaning, decorating, a BBQ, THE WILD ANIMAL PARK!!!!!!!, and lots of sleep. What about you?

Cacti, Coors Lite, and a gun named Diana

I spent my birthday weekend out in Landers, California. Which, if you Google Map, you will find is in the middle of the desert.

We shot some guns.

And watched some amazing sunsets.

And then my rugged bearded man from Maine put on hiking boots and played wiffleball while drinking a beer. Is there nothing this man can't do?!

Thank you to everyone who made the trip. I had an absolute BLAST with you guys =) And many thanks to Jenny for taking the above photos. More to follow!