Coffee Date

If we were meeting for coffee this morning I would tell you...

...about the wedding we went to on Saturday. Jocelyn was a classmate from PT school with Brent, and has been with the John since undergrad at SDSU. The first time John and I met we bonded instantly over being the minority of the group not being physicJohn and I instantly bonded when we first met over the fact we were in the minority of the group not being physical therapists. The wedding was in the Gaslamp District of San Diego at the Hard Rock Hotel. Fun time with great people, yummy food and yummy desserts - a chocolate mousse with berries, chocolate lava cake, apple cinnamon cupcakes, red velvet cupcakes, and wedding cake. Wowza.

I would tell you that yesterday was Brent and my two-year dating anniversary. We are celebrating today. It is pretty special because neither of us have ever been in a relationship as long as 2 years. For those of you who don't know, Brent was my physical therapist treating my knee after the last surgery in 2008. We started dating after 2 months of him treating me, and kept it hush hush until I stopped going, about 1 month later.

I would tell you how excited I am for Fall! It is officially Autumn tomorrow! Woohoo!

I would tell you that I have been missing San Francisco. I really want to take a trip up there and take Brent to some of my favorite restaurants and other spots.

Finally, I would tell you that I am still doing aquatic therapy and still loving it, each time I go I am usually tired and sore and not really feeling up to it, but as soon as I get in the water I forget all that and have fun. I am exercising, but to me it is calming and invigorating at the same time, and I really feel like I am benefitting. I had colic as a baby and my mom said when I wouldn't stop crying/screaming the only thing that would make me stop was water. Taking me into the shower, or a bath...and swimming was my sport until I got sick. I guess I am just naturally a waterbug!

Thanks for meeting me for coffee!

Mini Vacation

Last week I was at my mom's house in Fallbrook for a few days. It was my mom's turn to host Bunco - the group she has been in for 16 years - and I was a sub. We made dinner and I made homemade lemon cupcakes.

My mom and Doug went to work the following day and I awoke to the sound of Boone meowing, followed by a crash in the kitchen. I didn't see anything that had fallen, but saw Boone looking up at the window. There was a hummingbird on the inside of the windowsill clutching to the metal of the window and breathing hard. I started to freak out, worried I would have to put this thing out of its misery because I was sure it was dying. Frantically texting with Brent and trying to call my mom, the decision was made to take it outside. I pulled him off the window and into a glass and walked down the street to let it go. Once I let it go, he flew away fine, so I am crossing my fingers it was not injured too bad.

Phew, that was a relief, poor little buddy. Now I could relax. NOPE! Walk outside and Boone is carrying a lizard in his mouth! So I had to save that as well. And just to continue the morning's events, I pulled a struggling bee out of the pool.

I love staying at their house because it is like being on vacation. They transformed their backyard into paradise, with a gorgeous pool, a waterfall down the hill, and tropical plants and flowers everywhere. Not to mention the entertainment value of the pets! It is also so much fun to hunt for photo opportunities. A little taste of what I saw...

Friday Five

January 2007 I went to New York for two weeks with my friend and roommate Kelly. It was both our first trip to the city, and we had a wonderful time. We spent the first week on our own, and the second week with our previous roommate, April, who had transferred to NYU. I never did anything with my photos from the trip, so for this week's Friday Five I am sharing five of my favorites. For never having taken any class, they aren't bad! Mostly just remind me of the fun trip we had.

9 years ago...

I have only had one migraine in my life. 9 years ago to the day.

9 years ago from today was just supposed to be another day for me as a freshman in high school. I had a biology test scheduled that morning, and I was with my dad that week. My average day:

6:00 AM, alarm

7:00 AM leave the house to be dropped off by my dad for school at

7:20 AM school starts

2:35 PM final bell, picked up to go home.

This morning was different.

5:00 AM woke up with the worst headache I have ever had. Ever. Felt like my head was going to split in two and I still remember the feeling.

5:05 AM got out of bed, and my dad was already awake. So we turned on the news I popped some advil and sprawled on the couch. I was a good little student and worried about missing my test, so I was determined to get to school (weird kid huh?).

5:46 the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center

6:00 call from my mom, she was on vacation visiting my grandparents in New York, her first ever trip to New York. We received a call from her shortly after that she was fine, a good distance from the site.

9 years ago and I still remember exactly how I felt. The pain from my headache got progressively worse, and when I tried to speak, I could not formulate words-it came out as gibberish. I feared for my mom. I thought about all the people affected. I was overwhelmed with thinking about how scared I would feel had I been on that airplane. Given my lack of worldly knowledge after little exposure while sick, I didn't know exactly who made the attack and wondered who they were and why they would do something like this. I wondered and feared what would happen next. I thought about my biology test and wondered if it would even be given (it wasn't, classes mostly watched news all day).

I hope I never again wake up with a migraine.

Sending love & hearts to all the scars produced from this devastation. Remember, scars carry with them a story of survival and fight, and like the scars themselves get stronger, heal, and eventually fade, so can the pain associated.

&hears;

10 on 10

10 Photos for the 10th of September.

1 photo every hour for 10 consecutive hours, here was my day!

{8:30} Breakfast of cinnamon-raisin english muffin and fresh-squeezed tangerine juice

{9:30} Getting ready for the day, makeup & hair

{10:30} Greeted by Jazz just before I leave, "Meoooooowwww!" (Translation - "Don't go!")

{11:30} Dermatologist appointment

{12:30} My aquatic therapy appointment

{1:30} Those are my feet!

{2:30} Shopping for birthday gifts at the Irvine Spectrum

{3:30} Not so much shopping as watching and wandering

{4:30} Leaving the Irvine Spectrum to go home

{5:30} Welcomed home with l♥ve. Also, we visited Brent's dad in the

hospital at the end of the day after he had a stent inserted for his heart.

Phew! Particularly long day for me. Happppppy Friday! ♥

Fall's just around the corner...

It is the second week of September. September! Seems like it was just turning into summer and I was dreaming of s'mores, barbecues, and the beach. And now I am surrounded by school supplies, kids going back to school, & commercials for new clothes. But Fall is by far my favorite season and I can't wait! Only 13 more days!

And then there is me. It has been a weird two years, with no school or work or really any schedule to adhere to other than my doctor's appointments and working around Brent's schedule. It feels like I have been on a 2 year-long summer break, minus the break. Sure I have had my share of fun...trips, parties, time with friends and family, weddings, concerts, tons of time with Brent, etc. But it is like wearing sunglasses in a museum-sure you can see, but it is a little darker, not quite as clear, and you can't appreciate the beauty of the art in the same way. Everything is a little tainted by my pain and discomfort, but it is what it is.

It's time for back to school, and I am taking classes.

Well, not real ones, self-taught classes at the school of Chelsea

Here is my schedule:

♥ Cooking 101

♥ Football for idiot girls who are completely lost while watching football with their boyfriends

♥ Photography (haven't decided what level I am at yet...)

Basically, Emily is taking a baking class at the community college. She has this huge book about baking and cooking and what I have read so far was fascinating. I am really excited to finally understand the why's of cooking and especially baking. I bet I could improve drastically if I understand why you add certain ingredients and the science behind it all. Can you see me getting all bubbly and excited??

Okay the football is a different story. I have never understood the game AT ALL. But I want to, I really really do. Brent is a huge sports fan, especially football, and watches a ton of it. But when you are just watching players run and throw and tackle for three straight hours without actually knowing why those things are happening and what the heck is going on? Welllll....it gets pretty dang boring. But I honestly do want to enjoy the game, be able to follow it and cheer on his teams alongside him with true excitement. But boy oh boy...so far this is one borrrrring book. Any tips?

And photography, well I am like a kid in a candy store at disneyland who just saw Santa Clause and the easter bunny on the same day. On Christmas morning. If you didn't quite get that, I am happy. Excited. Eager to learn. Curious. Giddy. I took a photojournalism class at SFSU and learned a lot, but have no forgotten a lot of it. Now as I am looking through my old textbook, library books, and some other photo books I have purchased over the years for inspiration, a lot is coming back to me, but I am also learning a ton of new info. I am also finding amazing photographers online, communities of photographers, clubs, photo blogs and teaching blogs, and I am seriously in heaven. I actually started a Project 365-one picture every day for 1 year. I will post on that later, and actually show you what I have done so far, but the time is not quite right yet. But soon. soon.

Feels good to be learning, studying, disciplining myself.

If You Give a Toddler a Tiara...

Saturday we watched 4 straight hours of Toddlers & Tiaras. I am not even embarrassed to admit it because I promise once you start, you can't tear your eyes away from the trainwreck. It is shocking and disturbing and...okay so maybe I am a little embarrassed, but man is it entertaining. I mean, giving your three-year-old a Red Bull, waxing her eye-brows, giving her a spray on tan, making her wear a "flipper" (fake teeth so she has perfect grown-up looking teeth), and dressing her in a $1,500 dress that I think looks like a miniature version of a slutty Halloween costume- all normal right? Hair extensions, makeup, fake eyelashes, teeny-tiny bikinis, appropriate for a toddler? Mothers talking about how much she loves dressing up her little girl and putting her in pageants because it is like having her own real-life doll...normal? You will see a three-year-old saying things like "I'm going to win that tiara, it's mine! I will steal it!" And "I am a diva", and a five year old dancing to Michael Jackson grabbing her crotch. There is such a disconnect watching girls anywhere from 2 years old and up looking like girls in their twenties, then hearing them talk. I have to remind myself, oh yeah-they are toddlers. I have a hard time seeing what, if any, life skills or character building these girls gain from participating in the contests. With awards given such as "most beautiful", "prettiest eyes", "prettiest hair", etc. how do you explain to a three-year-old or even a six-year-old that she lost because she isn't the prettiest of the bunch? With the main goal to beat out their competitors through looks, what they do gain from the experience is that self-worth is based on a superficial attributes and their ability to win competitions based on those. While you could argue that self-esteem is attained through the experience, couldn't that also be achieved through an activity in which they also learn additional skills or lessons such as team building, how to be a graceful loser, etc.? I am curious what kind of effect these competitions have on girls longterm, I would love to see a documentary that follows these girls over the course of years. So my take is that it is entertaining television, but the world of child beauty pageants is a weird one!

If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. When you give him the milk, he'll probably ask you for a straw. When he's finished, he'll ask for a napkin. Then he'll want to look in the mirror to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache...

If you give a toddler a tiara, she's going to want another. If she wants another, she's going to need a spray-tan & eyebrow wax & hair extensions. After all the primping, she'll need a Red Bull to stay awake. After the Red Bull, she's going to prance and dance around on the stage. After losing to the "prettier" toddlers, she's going to need a nap...because she is THREE.

Meet Me for Coffee

For me? I will take a nonfat latte with one pump of vanilla. And you?

Welcome to virtual coffee. What is virtual coffee you ask? Inspired by Amy at Lucky Number 13, it is an online coffee date. Just like a real coffee date I will tell you what is going on in my life and you can comment and do the same. We can vent, laugh, brag, complain, give advice, get advice, gossip, and hang out. These dates are supposed to be on Tuesdays, but I am a little late.

What's up with me you ask? well I will tell you:

If we were meeting for coffee...

...I would ask about your holiday weekend. Then I would tell you about mine.

It was a fun Labor Day weekend, and packed full, but not in a bad way.

{Friday} Brent and I pigged out at Buffalo Wild Wings, a new favorite.

{Saturday} We were invited to the Dodgers-Giants game with friends Ben and Cassie. Not your ordinary game-going experience, this was something special. Cassie's family had tickets for one of those VIP rooms, and the night was filled with one surprise after another. They rented a party bus to drive us to Los Angeles, dropping us right off at the front - no parking lot hiking. Great view of the game, free Dodger hats, but the highlight for me was...yep you guessed it-the food! Unlimited beer, soda, and margaritas, hot dogs, pulled pork, veggies and dip, popcorn, chips & salsa, potato salad, and more, and to top it all off, a dessert cart at the end with caramel apples, cakes, cookies, bags of candy, cheesecake, lemon bars....I was in food heaven. Heaven! Were all so full by the time we left. I felt so lucky to be included in this experience, something I may not get the chance to do again!

{Sunday} we drove out to my parent's house in Fallbrook. Time spent by the pool, entertained for hours by the pets. In case you don't know, they have 4 dogs-Gus the Boxer, Bonnie and Clyde the Bull Mastiffs, and Tucker the American Bulldog. Plus 2 cats, Boone and Emma.

{This is Boone}

{This is Emma, she eats anything and everything, and loves roses}

Let's not forget the food! To me, my mom's cooking is like a big hug - comforting, familiar, inviting. I had been craving ribs for a long time, she made ribs with a cherry coke bbq sauce - amazzzzing! Paired with corn on the cob and a wedge salad. Oh yeah, and chocolate cake.

Brent, my mom and I went for a walk at one point and wanted to pick some tangerines from a neighbor's tree. They were all just too high for us to reach, so I volunteered to climb the tree and pick some. Climbing up like a little monkey, with ants crawling on me and losing my flip-flops, but those suckers are delicious!

If we were meeting for coffee I would also tell you that....

Tuesday I started aquatic therapy and loved it. I really like my therapist, and I am just so comfortable in a pool. Even after the first session I really think it will be good for me and hope I get a lot out of it.

My Food Network magazine came yesterday, such a treat!

Look Ma, I Made Scones!

I love scones. But I have never made them! I got blueberries last week that were pretty sour, so I decided to bake with them instead. For my first attempt, they came out great! Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart and Buttercream Barbie to create:

Blueberry-Peach Scones

{yields 8-10 scones}

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 Tablespoons sugar plus more for sprinkling tops

1 T baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

6 T cold butter, cut into pieces

1 cup blueberries

1 cup diced peaches

1 tsp lemon zest

1/3 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing tops

2 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack in center. Cover baking sheet with baking mat or parchment paper, set aside.

2. Sift or mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in butter until the largest pieces are the size of peas. Stir in fruit and zest.

3. Use a fork to whisk together cream and eggs. Make a well in center of dry ingredients and pour in the cream mizture. Stir lightly with fork just until dough comes together- do not overmix. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead a few times to mix well.

4. Pat dough into a 6 inch square, about 1 1/4-inches thick. Cut into 4 squares, and cut each square into a triangle. Transfer to baking sheet, brush tops with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden brown, 20-22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Friday Five

{Happy Friday everyone! I picked you some flowers}

I have a new idea for Fridays on my blog..."Friday Five" or "Five Heart Friday" or "High Five for Friday Five" (Ok I'm laughing...toooo cheesy!) What do you think? How it will work... I'm thinking it will just be five of anything and everything. We will see where it goes!

This first Friday of September and the first "Friday Five" thing... I am putting a positive spin on 5 negatives: It is my opinion and experience that no matter how awful/stressful/maddening/ unfair/confusing the situation at hand is, there is almost always a positive component.

♥ 1: Cold Showers and infrequent showers due to broken water heater = No lice!

I saw a story on Nightline about lice. Turns out, one sure-fire way to prevent what they are now calling "Super Lice" is to not wash your hair. So I may smell, but at least I will be lice-free!

(Don't worry I am showering...they are just freezing, and my hair isn't getting washed as frequently)

♥ 2: Inability to work or attend school due to my back = free time to teach myself things like photography, ins & outs of football, and cooking/baking how-tos

♥ My last super-painful, lots-of-complications knee surgery = I met the love of my life

♥ Starting physical therapy again soon = I get to swim again!

Nothing agains regular PT, but I wouldn't exactly call it fun. But this time I will be giving Aquatic therapy a try, which does sound fun. I was a swimmer until I was sick, and even though it has been absent from my life for 10 years, I still miss it to this day.

♥ Losing 30 pounds due to pain & stress = I can pretty much eat anything I want! Mmm food!

Want to play? Leave me a comment turning 5 negatives into 5 positives. They can be yours, the world's, your family's, the President's, God's, a concept, a debate...no rules here! Even if it isn't done on Friday that is okay. This is my first time too, so with each Friday will come tweaks, changes, and hopefully something I like! So join in...you know you want to. No blog required!