Free Cone Day—April 21!

Also, Ben & Jerry's new flavors just arrived! I'm especially excited for Mission to Marzipan and Peanut Butter Cookie Dough!

egg update

So we tried the beautiful free-range chicken eggs. I hard-boiled two the other morning, and scrambled three this morning (I also decided to keep the shells intact to decorate later by blowing out the insides, which took A LOT of effort! The scrambled eggs took me at least half an hour to make, and 28 of those minutes was just from extracting the eggs from their shells... and now my cheeks hurt).

After our careful tasting, Wayne and I have decided that these free-range eggs do, indeed, taste different. Earthier and maybe a little fishier? The texture is also rubberier. The yolks are more vibrant and cook up bright yellow orange. Doesn't sound that good, huh? Yeah, I prefer "regular" non free-range chicken eggs. Too bad, I was hoping the natural ones would taste MAGICAL... but it's also probably because our palettes have been raised on regular eggs.

Still, I will have some rockin' Easter eggs this year!

Good Morning, Good Morning!

this is how i imagine my life as a musical...



... except without the Dixie Cups. That would be wasteful.

eggsellent find!

Stef and I went to the Davis Farmer's Market yesterday, and I got these most beautiful free-range chicken eggs! I don't want to eat them.

I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it!

(sung just like Jessie Spano on "Saved by the Bell"... except no drug addiction here!)

Stef is coming to visit tomorrow!!!! I've got a full itinerary for us! But before all that, there is much I need to do around the house to prepare. So busy day tomorrow... but then we can PAR-TAY!!!


this is from last year, when stef and i made a detour in our shopping day to check out the sale at Mattress Discounters. i don't think any two people can have as much fun bed shopping as we did!

stools!

i love these stools! quick! what can I do with them? which color? I need a reason to get one!

hello kitty kouture

I find this hilarious...

oatmeal update

I have now tried all three flavors of Jamba Juice's steel-cut oatmeal. Out of Blueberry Blackberry, Fresh Banana, and Cinnamon Apple, my favorite would have to be berry. I imagine it would be even better with fresh bananas stirred in! Second would be apple, and then a far third would be banana.

So there you have it, my oatmeal results... largely anticipated, I'm sure. ;)

my new kicks.

I've been on the search for the PERFECT black flats (which I think I actually found a few years ago, but passed them up because I bought the red version of them instead, thinking I'd be able to find another comparable pair of black flats, but alas, who knew black flats would be so hard to find... and now I'm kicking myself for not nabbing the black ones too... but anyhow, back to the shoes at hand—or, foot).

So I found a pair of black flats from Coach at Nordstrom. I'm not usually one for brand names or designer fashions. In fact, I was raised to shun brand names (yes, shun) which my parents felt would breed materialism (I can see that), and so the fact that these shoes were Coach actually DETERED me from getting them. But this post is titled "my new kicks", so you already know that I caved. They were SUCH an amazing deal, especially after my discount, I just couldn't leave them behind! And while they are more modish and chic than my usual plain-jane style, I kind of like that. I've been watching a lot of "What Not to Wear", and I imagine Clinton and Stacey nodding in approval.

So, here they are (insert fanfare)... my new kicks!

part-time at Nordie's

I got a part-time job at Nordstrom in their Women's Active department! Training was last week, and my first day on the floor was Saturday. I actually really love retail. I haven't done it extensively, but when I was working at IDEA in San Diego, I used to staff our booth at conventions, and I LOVED it! And since IDEA is a fitness company, I would sell our fitnesswear, DVDs, and educational materials... so selling activewear on Saturday felt very familiar. I even made my sales goal, which I'm proud of. :)

Of course, I realize how absolutely dangerous it is to place me hours on end inside a mall, accessible to the latest sales and equipped with an employee discount. I've already spent my first paycheck's worth in the shoe department! Augh, Cecilia, self-control!!!

Still, I'm very excited for this opportunity to get out of the house and SEE PEOPLE! I've been going crazy this last half year, and while I continue my search for something more permanent and career-tracked, I welcome this new adventure!

Giada's hike

I just watched "Giada at Home" on Food Network, and on this episode, Giada made lunch for a hike that she and her husband, Todd, were going on. She prepared these fancy baguette sandwiches with goat cheese and arugula and sundried tomatoes. And only Giada would pull out a bottle of wine from her camelbak at the top of a hike, kept chilled in a ziplock bag full of ice! They even brought plastic wine glasses! hahahaha! And, of course, Giada did all this with her usual full makeup. I actually laughed out loud at this ridulous sight!

only in my dreams...

... I was back at Harvest. And I was SO happy! It's fuzzy now, but I do remember being surrounded by friends... One person I remember vividly is Lauren Joe! We were so excited to see each other; we were screaming and jumping up and down, like we had won the lottery. :) (not TOO unlike how we often are when we're around one another).

I recently read "The Time Traveler's Wife", and I almost feel like last night, I got to time travel to San Diego and relive a happy memory. :)

Jamba Juice Oatmeal for $1!

Yup, Jamba Juice now serves oatmeal. But not just any kind of oatmeal--steal-cut oatmeal! This is for hardcore oatmeal fans, which I very well am, as it is super thick and chewy and grain-like (not grainY... but grain-like, the oats like little pieces of chewy couscous). I tried the blueberry and blackberry oatmeal today (also available: fresh banana and also apple, which will be tomorrow).

The promotion is only until the end of March, so don't miss it!

(wow, this promotional ad matches my blog perfectly!)

meet merriweather.

we met her at the dog park! isn't she precious!!!!

her bandanna is actually a "bib". her mom said she drools a lot, haha.

soggy doggy

I'm sorry I post nothing but Lucy. It is apparent that I have no life outside of my dog, which is really sad.

oh, well! here's another video. and it wouldn't be me without pictures/video of my wet dog!

"No, Lucy!"

I seem to be saying that a lot lately. Her newest thing is stealing our stuff, and I'm pretty sure she does it mostly for attention. She especially loves socks, and the other day, she took my sock but didn't just scamper away. She trotted a few steps, stopped to look back and make sure I was watching, ran a few more steps, and then looked back to make sure I was chasing her as she made away with the contraband material.

Here are some of the "no's" of this past week:


Lucy with fore-mentioned sock.




Exhibit A: This photo is evidence that Lucy not only stole my sock, but then enjoyed chewing it ON THE COUCH!


Lucy loves that flower pen...


not Monty!!! she also took Brownie this week, but I did not waste time taking photos!

Nugget had a sale on Ben & Jerry's this week--just $2.50 for a pint! So today, after puppy class, I stopped by for Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk and Mint Chocolate Cookie! I was tempted to get Americone Dream, too, and I normally would have, except we still have four pints and two half gallons of half eaten ice cream in the freezer.

Also, check out Ben & Jerry's eCONEomic relief campaign on March 24! Find your local scoop shop here!

I love Ben & Jerry's!

who's that?

bad Lucy!

Lucy chewed up my computer charger today! :(

P.S. I hope she got zapped a little when she bit down on the cord.

running with Lucy

Oh, my goodness. Running with Lucy is not as great as I thought it was going to be. She doesn't like to run! I'm sure she CAN run, but she insists on trotting or walking, and so for three miles, I'm pretty much tugging this big puppy behind me, chirping repeatedly, "Come on, Lucy! Let's go! Come on!" It's actually quite a ridiculous sight. I got fed up today and took her leash off during a stretch where there were no people, which worked out a lot better. She ran behind me the whole time, trying to keep up, and didn't wander off, even when there were ducks and squirrels vying for her attention. It was really, really cute! I'm sure that when she's a little older and bolder, but not yet fully trained, I won't be able to just let her off her leash like this, but for now, she's still a very good puppy who just wants to be everywhere I am. And hopefully, she'll also start to understand this whole running thing and become a better running partner.

Subbing for Mr. To

Yesterday, I got to sub for Wayne as he took the day to attend a teaching conference. It was definitely a fun experience!

I remember in junior high and high school, being so weirded out, yet fascinated when I saw my teachers' husbands or wives and got to catch a glimpse of their lives outside of the classroom... you mean teachers don't live at school? And I think that's what it must have been like for Wayne's students. His kids were all so excited to meet me; I definitely had no problem commanding their attentions or respect (although I did have to confiscate a cell phone). And they had looks of awe--awe!--as I went over the day's agenda and did normal substitute teacher things, haha. At the end of his last period, they insisted on asking me questions about Mr. To, so we had a short Q&A. Apparently, there was some rumor going around that Mr. To has a dog tattoo on his back (?!), and they wanted to get the real story from me, haha... so I spun them a tale about a college TJ trip gone wrong. I know, I'm bad, huh? I also told them the history of Mr. To's hair (how's it's pretty much been the same since elementary school except for a period of long bangs in high school and then a odd-looking buzz-ish cut our second year in college)... and they wanted to know about our first date (... I seriously don't remember, so I told them a little about the blanket at the beach story).

Wayne said his students liked having me as their sub, and one student (the one that I confiscated the cell phone from) said, "Dude, Mr. To, you've got game!" (... like Scrabble?)

Now they want to meet the baby, so I'm bringing Lucy in after school on Friday. :)

Crab Feed!

The Kiwanis Club of Greater Sacramento hosted their annual crab feed fundraiser Saturday night. Tickets were $40 each, but because Wayne is the advisor for Key Club, the Kiwani's high school program, he was given two tickets as a gift! What a kind and unexpected treat! Wayne's Key Club kids were also there to set up and wait tables, so it was fun to be Mr. To's date. :) (sometimes it's like being a minor celebrity. "Mr. To! Mrs. To! Smile for my camera!" "Okay, now mine!")

We invited Steven and Lisa, who are crab feed veterans! Lisa came with a huge diaper bag filled with bottles of seasonings, homemade sauces, butter and butter-warming device, crab crackers, towels, plastic bags, a bottle of wine... and the four of us proceeded to stuff ourselves silly, going through two big trays piled high with crab!

At the door, we were suckered into buying $20 worth of raffle tickets, but it paid off, because we actually won a $50 giftcard to Banana Republic!!! (We are now two for two in raffle winnings. Our other "big" win was a dining certificate for Strings Italian Restaurant that we won at the State Fair this past summer).

But the highlight of the evening has to be Wayne's stellar performance in the paper airplane contest, where, to the cheers of me and his Key Club kids, he came in first in his division of men 18-40, and won his first trophy. The little plaque actually says "Kiwani's Crab Feed 2009 Airplane Contest Winner". What a feat! What a night! I am so proud. :)