Lazy weekend

Getting crafty

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine wanted to practice making headbands for a craft lesson she was leading through the North Park Craft Mafia. I decided to make some with her. It was pretty simple for this Basque girl with zero sewing machine skills. We basically followed the directions on this Altered Cloth link. The link explains how to make a headband using ribbon and two ponytail holders (elastic bands could also be used). The only sewing required is some hand stitching to secure the ponytail holders in place. Easy!

We took it one step further from the ribbon and made some out of fabric as well. After figuring out your desired length and width of headband, cut the fabric to those measurements but cut out about double the width you want when the headband is completed. Then fold in the edges of your fabric and create two creases to achieve your desired width. Next, glue the fabric in place with fabric glue. It might help to iron the edge creases into place before gluing the fabric. Then sew the elastic on just like the ribbon headbands. You can also add embellishments of crystals or fake flowers if you are feeling fancy. It really is easy!

Comfort station

I've probably lost all three of my readers due to the fact that I haven't posted in several weeks. Don't worry - I know you are beside yourself with concern - I am going to try to keep this blog going.

A couple of weeks ago Dave and I finally participated in a Volunteer San Diego project. I believe we signed up with them over a year ago but never made it a priority until now. An opportunity came up to paint the comfort station, a.k.a. public restrooms, at our local Kate Sessions Park. I realized that morning that I've never painted a wall before. Supposedly, my rolling was too quick and I was spraying myself and anyone near me. I think I figured it out, eventually, but I did come home with paint on my glasses and clothes. Here's hoping nobody ruins our hard work by tagging up the building any time soon. Overall, it was a fun morning and we will definitely volunteer some more.

My neighborly neighbor is mad

Despite my neighbor's willingness and ability to cause harm, I'm thinking that the "alley scum" in possession of the shovel probably has the odds of winning an alley scuffle showdown.

High-five!

Things Anne and I learned during surfing lessons last weekend:

1. How to catch a party wave. Not much of a party when you aren’t skilled enough to keep the boards from crossing onto each other after about 7 seconds on the wave. More like a party that gets broken up at 10:00pm then an all-night rager.

2. Ocean water forced up your nose at ungodly speeds makes all the food you eat for hours afterward taste like you are eating off of a salt lick.

3. Board shorts stay on when falling off of your board. Bikini bottoms don’t.

4. If you are waist-high in water and everyone around you is in knee-deep water then you are probably going to be swallowed up by a rip tide. Swim parallel to the shore, people!

5. The sting ray shuffle. Our surf instructor immediately negated this safety tip by letting us know he never does the ray-deflecting shuffle. And given how much effort it takes to drag an eight foot board against the waves, we didn’t pay much mind to our footwork.

6. Surf instructors are single-handedly keeping the high-five alive.

Sharing is caring

I saw a story on "60 Minutes" over a year ago that really inspired me. It was about a micro-lending organization called Kiva. The founder was on a trip to an African country, Kenya I believe, when she came up with an idea to help the impoverished communities she was seeing. The idea is simple, loan relatively small amounts of money to people trying to take their businesses to the next level and hopefully that will allow them to move further out of poverty. After thinking about making loans for over a year, I finally decided to log in.

My first two loans went to a jewelry maker in Peru and a photographer and tortilla maker in Nicaragua. Both recipients are hoping to make a better life for their children and hopefully these loans will help them with that worthy goal. Once you loan to a person you can see which other lenders were also moved by that particular story and decided to give to them as wall. Kiva has over $12 million in ended loans with only a 1.6% default rate. Sounds like a safe investment to me.

So if you are wanting to give back to the world but aren't sure how to, check out Kiva's Web site and see if it's for you.

Before,
during,
and after.

I miss the gap between his front teeth but his smile does look great now. To be clear, his reasons for going through this ordeal as an adult were not vain in nature. The before picture doesn't show the bottom teeth that were giving him the problems that eventually led him to the orthodontist's chair.

I, on the other hand, was strongly influenced by vanity before embarking on this adult orthodontia exercise. Who wants to think "snaggle tooth" every time they look in the mirror? I'm about a week away from my Invisalign schedule's halfway point, or about 5 and half months left!

Cat Man Do

This perfectly sums up Max's attitude and why our bedroom is a No Cat Zone...

Road trip

A little over a week ago we took a great trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. It was so beautiful and such an amazing trip. We drove to the parks from Salt Lake City and back in a rented Prius (53 miles to the gallon average for the trip!). We were able to see some beautiful landscapes on the way there and even drove by a town in Idaho where my father sheep herded when he came to the states.

I had some really high expectations for Yellowstone and I would say that it lived up to it. My only regret is that I didn't get to see any wolves in the wild. That would have required a 4:00 am wake-up to get to the location at the optimal viewing time and that just wasn't going to happen. But that gives me a good reason to go back. We were lucky enough to see a long list of animals: a grizzly bear, three brown bears (one of them a cub), bald eagles, marmots, mule deer, bison and bison babies, pronghorns, moose and a moose baby, and tons of other birds like ospreys and red hawks. So cool! One local we talked to in Jackson has been living there for 6 years and has never seen a bear in Yellowstone, so I think we were really lucky to see four in one day!

The landscape is amazing, especially the Teton range. We were there in the first week of June but there was still plenty of snow on the ground in the higher elevations. Lakes in Yellowstone still had ice in them but that made for a beautiful sight. The valleys were bright green and rivers and creeks are everywhere you look. I was so happy to be in such a large open wildlife space. We even manged to get in some whitewater rafting on the Snake river south of Jackson. We had reserved the date about a month before our trip and thankfully it turned out to be the warmest day of our vacation. The circulation in my fingers still slowed to a crawl in that water but it was worth it. That was my first whitewater experience and I will definitely try that again.

More photos on Flickr. Already thinking about the next vacation...

Click image to enlarge

Down South

I spent a long weekend in Houston visiting my friend, Dionne, who is there for a six month internship at the end of her long educational journey. (That's Dionne and me in the picture above posing like we were taking high school senior photos.) I went to Houston expecting to find a big concrete mess but I was surprised. There were trees everywhere with most residential neighborhoods full of brick houses framed with arch-creating tree-lined streets. Quite nice, really.

My first full day there it was in the 90s and crazy humid. Supposedly, the humidity I experienced is nothing compared to the months to come but it was pretty suffocating for this California girl. Thankfully, we were inside a museum for the hottest parts of the day. That night we saw the Houston Ballet perform Madame Butterfly at an open air theater at a park. Pretty spectacular for my first ballet viewing. That night we met up with Dionne's friends at a cool little bar to drink some drinks and eat some queso.

On Sunday the humidity was back at tolerable levels. We visited another park and enjoyed some jazz music. Afterwards we explored some funky shops in an eclectic neighborhood and relaxed at mellow cafe. Here's one more "senior year moment" picture from the park.

Thanks to Dionne and her friends for a great weekend!

Mexican food and marathons

We've had some friends and family come to visit over the last couple of weekends and it's been a fun distraction from my busy work weekdays. First came Greg and Jess. We did a lot of relaxin' mixed in with some Mexican food eating. Here's proof:

Then came my brother and his girlfriend to run the La Jolla half marathon. Dave and I ran it last year but, sadly, we were not in any kind of shape to make a go of it this year. Unfortunately, the weather on Sunday was one of the hottest we've had in Southern California this year. We saw at least five ambulances as we watched the runners go by. The weather didn't allow Patxi and Stacy to hit their goal times but they finished at a great pace. Here they are dancing along somewhere between miles 9 and 10. Great job guys!

Working from home today...

...Or at least trying to while simultaneously figuring out a way to outsmart Max's warm-chair-dar.

Sucking on petroleum

Recently, my teeth moved out of whack rather quickly. I went to a therapist to correct how I swallow my food, drink, and saliva so that I wouldn't continue to push my teeth out and eventually find myself with buck teeth. The therapy changed forces going on in my mouth and therefore caused one of my front teeth to move back and another to move out. So I've decided to fix it. Mainly because I don't feel like myself with the change in my smile and partly because I started hitting my top and bottom teeth together from time to time with much pain. Another important part to this story is that Dave currently has braces. So I immediately thought of this couple and knew I didn't want to be this:



(Note to self: I must rent Best in Show again.) With that in mind and the fact that I wasn't as brave as Dave to wear metal in my mouth again, I opted for Invisalign. I have my first aligners in and it isn't so bad right now. But in five weeks I will get what are called attachments on my front teeth and I have a feeling that I will look like I have pieces of cauliflower stuck to my teeth at all times. I'm sure I'll write more about those when I get them. The irony of all of this is that I am in the process of going through all of my beauty products and toiletries and getting rid of any products that aren't all natural because I've become afraid of absorbing harmful chemicals and plastics through my skin. And here I go, about to suck on a plastic/petroleum product for a year or more.

It was nice knowin' ya, house plant

Munch and snooze

I'm eating my lunch and feeling really sleepy at the same time. Kind of like this guy.

Vegas with the 'rents

My parents offered us a room at the Golden Nugget in downtown Vegas and this Basque girl, who enjoys the occasional bet, could not refuse the offer. My dad was the luckiest this weekend but the craps tables weren't too cruel to Dave and me either. (I'm trying to forget my time at the poker table.) No wild stories to tell since my parents' pace is just about the same as mine. Guess I know what my sixties will be like! The craziest night included catching the Cirque de Soleil KA show and going out to dinner. Works for me.

(Apologies for the grainy cellphone picture.)

Desert Flowers

I read that the first two weeks of March are expected to be the peak of the blooms at the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park so Dave and I made the two hour drive out there. I have only been out there one other time several years ago but this trip was much better. It is beautiful right now. We went to an area near Coyote Canyon where it is a sea of purple flowers with white and yellow blooms sprinkled throughout.

The air is cool enough in the desert right now so that you can walk around among the flowers and enjoy the view without stopping every three minutes to drink water or pour some over your head. This is a bonus for Dave and me who start whining, crying, and throwing temper tantrums like toddlers when it gets over 80 degrees. What can I say? We are spoiled by the ocean breeze in PB.

Maui to SD

This weekend Shelly and Jon came to visit from their home on Maui. They are spending a week in Orange County and came down to San Diego to stay with us for a couple of nights. Jon turned 35 over the weekend! He didn't need any sort of medical attention or anything. I guess it's not as old as it sounds. Too bad the Saturday they were here the clouds lingered all day and the temperatures stayed cool (but for Mauians it was apparently freezing). Highlights of the weekend included:

Shelly torturing Max

Dinner at The Prado in Balboa Park
Soaking in some of Sunday's sunshine
(More pictures are posted on my Flickr page.)

And I can't forget to mention the catch phrase of the weekend, "Beer me!" It all started with an obnoxious vanity license plate and the phrase soon took on a life of it's own. Turns out that it's appropriate in many situations. Somebody cuts you off on the freeway, "Beer me!" You hear some exciting news, "Beer me!" OK, maybe it won't be spreading across SoCal, but it worked for us this weekend.

It was so much fun to have Shelly and Jon here for a little while. Guess it's Dave's and my turn to go to Maui now! If you know of anyone that wants to get married on Maui, Shelly is the person to contact. She has her own wedding planning business called Island Sunset Weddings. She puts together some beautiful events. Check out her Web site: www.myweddingonmaui.com

Aloha!

That's Dave sitting at Kate Sessions Park asking himself if we should get another cat. It is a question we ask ourselves often. Max is a solo cat and usually cries when we leave the house. Maybe he needs a friend, or maybe he's just whiny. We have been to the Humane Society/ASPCA building countless times and I always fall in love with at least one kitten. But then my crazy thoughts take over and I worry about bringing said new beloved kitty home to make Max happier only to make Max more miserable because he doesn't want to share his territory. Do any of you have history of bringing a new friend home to a house that already has a pet? Maybe a couple of you could help us out by taking the poll at the top right of the page. What do you think? Should Max get a napping partner?

Rainy Day Mousse

The rare rainy weather in San Diego usually inspires me to do one of my favorite things, make desserts. Today I decided to make a dark chocolate mousse and it is super tasty! I found the recipe in a Cook's Illustrated magazine I have. They don't share their recipes online unless you sign up with them so I typed it out below in case any of you have a sweet tooth like me. Thanks to a great present from my mom, I have a standing mixer to use for this recipe but I'm sure a hand mixture with a whisk attachment would also work.

And, "Go Chargers!" I wish. I'm not really a football fan and since the Chargers won't be playing today, I probably won't watch much of the game. Hope your favorite team wins!

(The fonts and font sizes were all the same when I typed them out, but for some reason they publish in ten different ways. I'll figure all of this out eventually. In the meantime, sorry for the headache.)

Dark Chocolate Mousse

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
5 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon brandy
2 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons chilled heavy cream

1. Melt chocolate, cocoa powder, espresso powder, water, and brandy in medium heatproof bowl set over saucepan filled with 1 inch of barely simmering water, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from heat.

2. Whisk egg yolks, 1 ½ teaspoons sugar, and salt in medium bowl until mixture lightens in color and thickens slightly, about 30 seconds. Pour melted chocolate into egg mixture and whisk until combined. Let cool until just warmer than room temperature, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. In clean bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites at medium-low speed until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add remaining 1 ½ teaspoons sugar, increase mixer speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, about 1 minute. Detach whisk and bowl from mixer and whisk last few stokes by hand, making sure to scrape any unbeaten whites from bottom of bowl. Using whisk, stir about one-quarter of beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten it; gently fold in remaining egg whites with rubber spatula until a few white streaks remain.

4. In now-empty bowl, whip heavy cream at medium speed until it begins to thicken, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, about 15 seconds more. Using rubber spatula, fold whipped cream into mousse until no white streaks remain. Spoon into 6 to 8 individual serving dishes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set and firm, at least 2 hours.

Welcome

Thanks for taking a look at my first blog! I have been waiting a while to start this due to comments from several people that I should have some sort of a theme for a blog, but I have realized that I don't have that kind of focus. I can say with certainty that this blog will contain pictures (probably mostly of Dave and my cat) and ramblings of events and non-events going on in my life. I guess this will be more of a diary-type blog where friends and family can see what I am up to. My hope is to update this on a regular basis so check back soon!

Here we go...

Let's find out together if I can commit to blogging. First official post coming soon.