steelers and bunnies

what month is it?

the dust is still settling in the house and in my brain from the last couple of weeks. there is so much added to my 'really really want to do' list that I am doubtful the remainder of 2009 has enough days to complete everything. and yet, onward I travel.

my friend's website is now up and running - photos sponsored by yours truely (website sponsored by Mitch).
http://www.totalfitnessbootcamp.com/
I happen to think that is quite exciting. and for anyone out there actually interested in his business, I highly recommend him.

the weather is looking brighter which is good for photos and good for running - two of my biggest celebrations and insecurities. I had been recently pondering picking up my beloved Canon FTb and shooting off a roll... but then I recollected my trip to the store to replace its battery... and the woman telling me those batteries are no longer sold in California. And it would be really difficult for me to find them anywhere really.
well shoot me and my hot air balloon out of the sky why don't you.
I guess I can resort to using one of my many other cameras... but there's nothing like the familiar grasp of the FTb frame and the sound it makes while helping me create.

weekend task: shoot some film.

in other news...
...football is being revived by the Chargers' desperate stretch for the supa bowl. I will be repressing all the years of Steeler cheering training in order to root for blue.
...is it 5 o'clock yet?
...is it Friday yet?
...Campbell track. tomorrow. seventeen thirty. it is a lousy date. but a date.

it's time

2009 has begun with the sort of bang I would rather do without. I haven't done anything beneficial to my body and I am getting strange vibes from friends that have now turned in to simple aquaintenances. when one wants to spend more time with someone else, than that someone else wants to spend with them, time to re-evaluate.
bummer.

I digress.

my Christmas gear will be going away today. I am giving everything it's last look at light before being packed in the garage for another year. my fake tree from the early 80's is staring out the window absorbing the diffused light imagining itself growing taller someday. garland will be tossed in to a bag and thrown on a shelf - not before losing some fake berries that will scatter all over my floors first though.
it was fun while it lasted.

in other news...
...alka-seltzer tastes good. if you didn't know that, then the last time you had one was years ago and it was the 'original' flavor.
...jamba juice should deliver. to my couch.
...clothes should not be kept simply for the stories they know. time to throw out that tank top that looked fabulous on me 5 years ago when I took my truck off-roading in San Diego.
...Crossroads are not just roads that cross. they are second-hand stores that carry magical belongings waiting to be discovered and placed in to my dresser to take up the space that off-roading tank top freed up.

i can do it

the last day of my 'working from home vacation' before returning to 'working from work' and I feel like I am in a cold and flu symptom reliever commercial.
bring it on.

while plugging away at numbers and letters and random data that I call a job, new years resolutions and ideas have been running through my head. I did not have any time to think of resolutions before the ball dropped but how crucial is the timing anyway?

among some of my goals and ideas for 2009 are...

• cook more. I've been doing great thus far - already accomplishing an amazing baked Honeycomb Rigatoni for some friends.
• work out BEFORE work. I've tried but have yet to be successful. this will be a challenge but it's worth a try.
• tackle short adventures. Healdsburg. Grand Canyon. camping trips. skydive. Oregon.
• complete my second duathlon and actually train for it this time.
• call people more. I spend so much communication time through email and text - purposely avoiding the awkwardness that becomes me when someone can actually hear my voice. this is going to stop.
• take someone's portrait and charge them for it. I am out of freebies.

that's one big list but, I am motivated.

in other news...
...no news at this time. mind is too busy 'working'.

winner winner Christmas dinner

Christmas is done. and I am relieved. I can finally go to the gym. with my oh so lovely in-laws visiting for the past 5 nights, the most exercise I got involved pouring glasses of wine. so now I get to go back to the 'real deal'.. and with my fancy new Creative Zen mp3 player as well. goodbye iPod! you treated me like a piece of crap so farewell to you. now I have Zen. adding music is easy. adding photos is easy. and when my workout is hard, I want an easy player to help me through it.

anyway, I hope everyone had a most excellent last holiday of 2008. my highlight among several highlights would be the Christmas Dinner that I wrote, directed, produced, and starred in.

Warm Leek and Goat Cheese dip served with crackers and bell peppers. leeks sauteed in butter, salt and pepper with goat cheese and cream cheese stirred in later and thrown in the oven to get that pretty toasty look. goat cheese haters became lovers!

Beef Tenderloin marinated in balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic, fresh rosemary, thyme, and parsley for 4 hours and then roasted to juicy perfection (I even offered Medium to Well done to all of my guests - the smart ones take the Medium).

Homemade Cranberry sauce.. cranberries, orange marmalade, cinnamon sticks, and sugar. a crowd favorite for years now.

Green Beans with Pecans. a recipe I picked out for my mom to make. steamed green beans that are later tossed with salt, pepper, EVOO, and toasted pecans. yumm-O!

Standard Salad which I also picked for my mom to make. an array of salad ingredients served with a homemade italian dressing made with a lemon infused EVOO that is to die for.

Mashed Potatoes. made it up. milk, butter, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. nothing extravagant.

Buns brought to you by Pillsbury.

Mixed Berry and Pear Cobbler. black, straw, blue, and raspberries tossed with pear chunks in lemon juice and flour with a rolled oats, butter, flour, and sugar mixture sprinkled on top. golden brown out of the oven! served hot with vanilla bean ice cream.

everyone was happy and full and my beef tenderloin is rapidly becoming as famous as my recipe for the thanksgiving turkey which is going strong for 4 years now.
another highlight of my Christmas? seeing how much my husband enjoys the ginormous ping pong table I got him that now takes my car's spot in the garage.

in other news...
...6lbs of tenderloin for 6 people is far too much. even with 3 days of leftovers-are-whats-for-dinner.
...27 year old's can shop at Forever 21. it's ok.
...27 year old's can read the Twilight series. it's ok.

peace.... out!

well Thanksgiving came and went like a batch of hot gooey chocolate chip cookies. I think I consumed the least amount of food, as well as the least amount of fat, that I ever have on every other Thanksgiving I have celebrated. maybe that's why it didn't feel like Thanksgiving at all.
but the break did not completely pass without indulgence. Bittersweet Bistro anyone? it's fabulous. and very much recommended.


back to Thanksgiving though... we did our new Thanksgiving morning tradition that involves tennis shoes and a bib. the Turkey Trot! Nick, myself, and Mitch got our butts out of bed early to go run a 5k together. after fighting for personal space for 3.1 miles Mitch and I had lost my husband. we proceeded to stock up on free bananas, athletic store coupons, and mud on the bottom of our shoes before wondering if Nick had passed out and been trampled on in the race when THERE HE IS! he crosses the finish... and we discover he has accidentally run the 10k. i know what you're thinking and let me just say, he wasn't the only one. but how hysterical is it, that one can accidentally run TWICE as far as what one sets out to run... and after FIVE MONTHS of zero cardio.
ah. good times.


in other news...
...vodka should be stored in the freezer. not in the bottom cabinet with an open cap and a Thrify tag that reads $8.99 from 1984.
...if you are at a Whole Foods and find an Annie's Salad Dressing: Woodstock flavor, please report back to me as this is my most favorite dressing in the entire world and I can no longer find it.
...my Christmas tree may have been donated by my parents and may be the tree I grew up with, it may be fake, the same height as me and prickly, it may coated with dust and cat hair that makes Nick sneeze, it may be all bent up and require straightening, it may have so many holes that you can see more wall on the other side than tree, it may make Nick think that I grew up with a ghetto tree.. but I opened my Sega Genesis under it in 1993, my blue leather beanbag seat in 1994, rollerblades, underwear, rechargeable batteries, a sweater with black leather cats on it, New Kids on the Block Christmas CD, and a pair of fuzzy pinks socks that helped me fly down the hardwood hallway with Endust. it is my tree. consider it peed on. by me.
BOO YA.

spendin' money

the night finally came. and then went. the night I had been saving up money for, for months. making my own lunch. not making any large purchases. not going out to dinner. and all for what? a joke of a shopping-spree-night-with-girlfriends that got me 2 shirts which cost a whopping $27 total that I need to return and one pair of The Limited pants that were 40% off anyway.

what the hell.

I guess all that money will just go to Christmas gifts. such greed.

today was also an exciting day... only it was an exciting day with a good ending. my trip to Cost Plus yielded two chair cushions for tender butts and a large tin full of.... GINGER SNAPS! that's right. the larger than life, never empty, red tin of the thinnest ginger snaps ever have now made it in to our living space. the official welcome for the holidays. all we need now, is Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. mmmm.

in other news...
...fake plants may be expensive but hey, they are immortal. how can we even put a price on that?
...taking a shower is overrated. it should take me.
...Ginger Pumpkin Cheesecake. I'll get back to you on that after Thursday.

sweet potato me

one more week.. before family, friends, and turkeys make their way to the table. what's YOUR favorite dish?
I have to go with sweet potatoes and candied yams - east coast style. it is so dangerous I no longer make it. if you're in to danger, ask me for the recipe.


another portrait session is done and over with. while they are happy with the photos I of course have my list of things-I-need-to-work-on. these will be typed, printed, laminated, and stapled to my subjects foreheads in order for me to remember (photoshopped out later of course).


I have another family and a couple + dog in the near future. I am so excited for both of them but not so excited about the upcoming weather that may be a detriment... or a rare opportunity??


in other news...
...the PERMANENT PRESS setting on the washing machine does not get rid of dog fur.
...never ever EVER sit on the benches in a locker room. you wouldn't believe all the naked butts that have touched it before your clothed one.
...snoop dogg and martha stewart are friends. fo shizzle.