December "To-Do" List

I had so much fun checking items off my Fall To-Do list that I decided to try for a December/Holiday version. Here is what I have:

Decorate the house

Bake Chex Mix

Decorate sugar cookies

Make fudge

Try a new cookie recipe

Cut paper snowflakes

Wrap as many presents as possible!

Buy a new scarf

Listen to Christmas music (in small doses)

Watch Christmas movies

Drink a peppermint mocha

Drive through neighborhoods to see Christmas decorations

Attend the Dana Point Harbor Boat Parade of Lights for the first time

Pick out a Christmas Tree

Complete Tracey Clark's "Picture the Holidays" class

What are some things on your lists?

I ♥ Fall

First day of Autumn! Summer will be missed, yes, but I will admit, I look forward to the months of September/October/November the most of all the year.

::What I love about Fall::

♥ Pumpkin-flavored anything

♥ Crisp, cool air, just enough to call for a sweatshirt

♥ Halloween decorations

♥ The smell of candles burning inside a pumpkin

♥ Seeing little kids' costumes on Halloween

♥ The different sizes, shapes and colors of pumpkins, squash, & gourds

♥ Time with family and my mom's stuffing at Thanksgiving

♥ My mom & my birthdays are only 4 days apart

♥ The changing of nature's colors

♥ Hot apple cider

♥ Pumpkin carving & roasting pumpkin seeds

♥ The smells of cinnamon and pies

♥ Front stoops dotted with Jack-O-Lanterns

♥ Return of my favorite TV shows

♥ Stews & soups

Warm Fuzzies & Half-Heartedness

Things I am loving (warm fuzzies):

♥ Anything involving summer fruit. Peach pies, berries & more berries, plums, stone fruit crisps, mmm...my favorite part of summer I think.

♥ picnics at the beach with Brent.

♥ Farmer's Market. A treat for all the senses, and love all the dog- and people-watching.

♥Oreos and milk. I was never a huge fan, and then I discovered the peanut butter Oreos. But even better is regular Oreos, spread with peanut butter, and dunked in milk until soggy.

♥ On a real sweets kick lately, good thing I am underweight and supposed to be gaining back my weight.

♥ Costco! Where else can I buy a 72 oz bag of chocolate chips for $7, a 48 oz container of cream cheese for $6, and a 10-pack boz of Oreos for $7, and a huge container of strawberries for $6. (P.S. all the bad stuff was for a recipe)

♥ This blog I stumbled on The Pioneer Woman. Why has it taken me so long to find this? She blogs about cooking, photography, and some other things, takes beautiful photos, and when she posts a recipe, she actually includes a lot of helpful photos. It is much harder for me to cook something without seeing at the very least the end result. She has photo tips and tutorials, she is witty, loves her family...AH! I think I am in love.

♥ Sesame Crepes from Trader Joe's. Good plain, even better with cream cheese, amazing with cream cheese and jam.

♥ "Despicable Me"! My new favorite animated movie

♥ The Glass Castle was such a good book, finished it in about a week. Not depressing like I thought it would be. Really enjoyed it! I thought it was really inspiring.

Not loving (half-Hearted)

♥ All the reality shows about families with a zillion babies. For the most part it doesn't bother me so much that some parents have a bunch of kids, I understand there are fertility problems and sometimes multiples is a result of the treatments. But does it mean that I can just pop out 6 babies and automatically qualify for a reality show? Hmm...maybe my mind is on the wrong path for career choices?

♥ Cold showers. I don't care how hot it is outside, I need at least some warmth to my showers. Do not, I repeat, do NOT take hot showers for granted!

♥ Rude pharmacists. It seems like lately the pharmacy people (I won't mention which one) have been so incredibly unfriendly. I know you are busy, you probably hate your job, and are sick of getting yelled at all day. But when I greet you with a smile and I am nothing but nice to you, don't I deserve a smile back or at the very least not treated like a drug addict when you hand my pain pills? You don't know my story.

Show Me Your Bones

My mind is going crazy...overflowing really. I am not capable of writing out a full post, so here is what I'm thinking about el segundo dia del marzo:

• My back is causing me excruciating pain. Starting last week my lower back has been absolutely killing me. Nothing makes it feel better...ice, TENS unit, any position, walking, sitting, driving, and lately pain pills make me so sick it is not worth it.
• If you have not heard of Kina Grannis you should check her out. I can't get enough of this song My Time With You, but I love all her other songs as well. "Message From Your Heart" is the song she got recognized with, and instantly reminds me of San Francisco...where I heard it first, and oddly enough it was during the time I was taking anatomy.
• Fun fact: today is the birthday of Theodore Geisel, or Dr. Seuss. He would be 105 today.
• Even though I am not leaving for San Francisco until Thursday, I am feeling really anxious and totally unprepared about the trip.
• Can I mention my back again? That is pretty much dominating my thoughts.
• I made fish tacos last night and they turned out great...very easy to make. I got the recipe from Real Simple, but added a few things. I added fresh cilantro, hot sauce, and mango-papaya salsa.
• I can't wait for the season finale of The Bachelor tonight. One of my guilty pleasures.
• Saturday Brent and I had brunch with his friends in Long Beach at a crepe restaurant. I have not had one in a long time but forgot how delicious they are!

I can't think anymore. That's all for now...hope it was a tolerable Monday.

A "Moo" point

20 Things you may or may not know about me but now will.

Joey: "It's all a moo point"
Rachel: "Huh...a moo point?"
Joey: "yeah, like a cow's opinion...it just doesn't matter. It's moo."

1. When I was a kid I wanted to be an archaelogist or treasure diver in the ocean (I loved the idea of searching for and finding things) or an architect (I wanted to design and build the house I would live in).

2. I have had 15 surgeries, 5 of which were knee surgeries, and I can count 19 scars.

3. Until a few years ago I thought it was pronounced "numb"chucks instead of nunchucks. I still think "numb" makes a lot more sense.

4. Gum is like my form of crack...I cannot get enough and you can always count on me having some in my purse.

5. I want to visit all 50 states in my lifetime, I have been to 11: CA, OR, WA, AZ, NV, NM, NY, HI, ID, MT, CO. When Nick and I were kids we had a map of the U.S. and everytime we saw a license plate from a new state, we would put a star sticker on that state. It was always so exciting when we spotted one we had not seen yet! Maybe I should make a new version...of the states I have traveled to.

6. I think Tyra Banks and Tom Cruise are 2 of the most annoying people on the planet.

7. I hate soda.

8. When I was in elementary school I was embarrassed by my middle name, Lee, because I thought it was a boy's name.

9. My anatomy lab was one of the most fascinating things I have ever done.

10. I love to vacuum.

11. If I could go anywhere on vacation I would go to Greece.

12. I get motion sickness, I hate to fly, I am scared of heights and spiders.

13. Birds freak me out. I think it is because when I was in elementary school my friend Hillary's family had a parrot, named Rio. Everytime I would go over to her house, for some reason that bird would attack me. He would bite me when I was sitting in at the dining table or in the living room. He would even go to the extent of chasing me through the house until he pinned me into a corner and would bite me so hard it would draw blood. I will never have a pet bird...I just do not get it.

14. My favorite things to eat: peanut butter, strawberries, frozen yogurt, chocolate. Heck just throw those all together and you can probably get me to do anything. But I also love cheese, pizza, sushi, all Mexican food and Italian food.

15. It bugs me that legal pads are yellow.

16. I am constantly thinking about food. I get really excited thinking about what I will eat next, and sometimes before bed I even plan what I will eat for breakfast the next morning.

17. I have spent a total of 18 months on crutches...not concurrently.

18. I save almost every card I am given...it is impossible for me to throw them away, no matter what the occasion. Birthday cards, all the cards I received in the hospital, and any other letters just saying hello.

19. My mom made almost every Halloween costume I ever wore. The ones I can remember are: a bumble bee(<--), Pippi Longstockings with a jumper my mom sewed, her boots that were multiple sizes to big, stockings, and a wig made of red yarn and wire to make the braids stand out straight; a princess; a queen(-->); an elf, complete with pointy ears and felt shoes with bells on the ends; Juliet; a clown, matching my friend Megan in preschool; and an angel at 1 year old.
20. I like to make funny faces in pictures...it seems I always have:

Grandma C. and I after one of my soccer games

Lunch with my jo confabulating and avoiding the yobs

This Week I'm smiling about:
*Everything Slumdog Millionaire related. I was so thrilled with all the awards it won, and thought it was especially deserving of cinematography. I can't get enough of the soundtrack, just makes me want to get up and pretend like I know that really cool dance they do at the end. Maybe I could incorporate my crutch into it and really make it extra special.
*Scrabble. I've always loved playing with my mom, but Brent and I have recently become addicts, playing a few times a week building up our skills and ocscure vocabulary to beat Jordan and Becca. (Jo, azo, butty, qi, nog, ort, confab and yob to list a few) Use them and sound smart.
*Overripe bananas that no one eats because that means I can bake banana bread.
*Looking at the best- and worst-dressed lists from the Academy Awards. I get such a guilty pleasure from celebrities and their fashion blunders, and at the same time wish I had an event to wear some of those dressess.
*Fresh berries. I can eat them all day long.
*I love days that I can meet Brent (my jo!) on his lunch break and eat with him.
*Colored gel pens. They just make me want to write and doodle all over everything.
*The day aunt Lori and I get our monthly issues of The Sun Magazine...which happened to be today. I think this is my third time receiving it and each one is like opening a present.
*I gave Brent a fondue pot for Valentine's Day and we made 3 different courses on the night of Academy Awards...a cheese fondue with chipotle gouda, dipping green apples and French bread; an Asian beef broth, using it to cook beef, shrimp, and veggies; and finally a milk chocolate and marshmallow dessert fondue, dipping strawberries, blackberries and graham crackers. Yummmm!! Can't wait to make it again, it is surprisingly easy.
*Borders rewards coupons that give me an excuse to spend time looking at and drooling over all the books I want. I usually don't buy anything, but I love just browsing.
*Tall, nonfat, extra hot, dirty chai tea lattes. Instant comfort.

My Bêtes Noires:
*People who ask if I need special accommodations because of my crutch, like the host at Islands today asking if I needed a larger booth. I appreciate the concern but man does it get annoying.
*People who cannot drive.
*I need more shoes. All I can really wear is flats and flip-flops and I wear the same 2 or 3 pair. I miss heels.
*Crossword puzzles. They make me feel stupid just like Jeopardy does, but I still try. Does anyone else feel this way? Probably not.
*Milk that expires before the sell by date. I tasted some this morning that smelled a little funky and oh I thought I was going to puke the instant it hit my tongue. Gross!
*March is just around the corner. Where did February go?
*That feeling between knowing the only way to decrease my pain is taking a pain pill and absolutely dreading the inconsistancy and unpredictability of how the pill will affect me that time.
*The inability to find jeans that actually fit!!