Sunday, July 31, 2011

Quick Recap

This July marked the month with the most hits on my blog.  Thanks to everyone who has stopped by! 

Next month I'm going to try something a little different - for the next 10 days leading up to my (gulp!) 30th birthday, in addition to my blogging randomness, I will also do my top 30 lists, I still haven't quite figured out exactly what these lists are going to be comprised of, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.  Wow, that last sentence had a lot of commas!  Perhaps a goal for myself should be to work on my punctuation.... I never said it was my strong point...

Today was a great way to end July, and a great second to last Sunday as someone in their 20's.  Bestie and I went for a 40 minute bike ride on the South Side.  The weather was gorgeous, a bit warm, but not too humid at all!  We've gotten a system down when it comes to loading up the bikes as well (once I actually have the money for a rack, this will all be obsolete...) - my bike goes in first, lying on it's side, then hers goes in next on top, she's in charge of bungee-ing the wheels on her side, and I bungee the wheels on my side (oh - FYI - I drive a pick-up).  I stand on the tailgate and she lifts the bikes up to me.  It took a couple tries, but I think now we've got it down, which is good because our goal for the rest of the summer is to ride every Sunday.

Also today (as those of you who read my facebook status know) I got my hair done!  It's been so long since it's been done and I love it!!!  I got about 2 to 3 inches cut off the ends Wednesday and then today I got the color done...

I'm a red head again!!! Yay!!!

Flat Zach in Spain

Sadly this is where the pictures of Flat Zach get sparse... Thinking I was being smart I saved all my pictures to my hard drive only to have my computer crash and me lose more than 1/2 of my Europe pictures... Missing are Flat Zach in: Germany, the Canary Islands, Scotland, North Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and most of Belgium.  Luckily though, Flat Zach in Paris was saved due to my saving it to Snapfish - those will be posted tomorrow.  I suppose also luckily, I will be heading back to Ireland (and hopefully Scotland) next summer, so although it will be a few years late, I can recapture Flat Zach's adventures around the Emerald Isle.

At a Museo del Jamon in Madrid (a chain of purveyors of ham):


At Atocha Station in Madrid (where 3 bombs went off in the 2004 terrorist attack on the capital) (that is a Christmas tree in the mid-ground, if you were wondering, it lit up in green lights at night):


At a bar in Leon, where we celebrated Christmas dinner:



Paris up next!

This Morning...

Bestie and I are off for a bike ride this morning, hopefully it will go better than last time!

Flat Zach in Portugal

Lisbon:




(on a date with Flat Julie, Angelina's companion for Europe)



Saturday, July 30, 2011

Zach

Did I ever tell you about Zach?  Zach is a (former) soldier that I was paired up with through a wonderful organization called Soldiers Angels, I spent about a year writing to him and sending him packages filled with necessities and fun little tidbits.  It was such a fun experience because the period of time I was writing to him was my last year on tour - needless to say, he got gifts from all over!

Prior to going to Europe in the winter of 2008/ 2009, I created Flat Zach.


Using the premise behind Flat Stanley, Flat Zach travelled around Europe with me seeing all the sights and sharing in my adventures, while real Zach was stuck in Iraq.  I posted the photos on his facebook page so he and his family could see where his flat self was traveling.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Mi Papa


Like I mentioned earlier, today is my dad's birthday. 
Here are a few reasons he is cool in my book:
  • He grew up in southern California in the '60s  - he lived near the beach and surfed and went to school with kids of well known families.
  • He joined the navy at the end of Vietnam, working on submarines and becoming a "mustang" (an enlisted who works their way up to be an officer - some of the most respected guys in the fleet).
  • He's a leo (like me!).
  • He knows exactly what my dream car is without me having to give him a hint (it's an old school red bug convertible with a white top and white wall tires).
  • We have the same taste in books so gift shopping for him is infinitely easier than it is my mom, I just pick out a book that I'd want to read and get that for him.
  • If I have a military history question, he usually has an answer (I like military history - weird for a girl, I know)
  • He has a basset hound who walks all over him - literally.
  • He's been all over the world, and it took me some time but I have now surpassed him in number of countries visited.
  • and lastly, he's cool 'cause he's my dad!
Happy Birthday Dad!

For My RB

Since a certain person has been saying I should post more about running, here is a video depicting just how I exercised this morning ...

Today

Today is my dad's birthday (Happy Birthday Dad!), but more about him later today...

In other news, Ellie is home!  After an eventful drive up to get her (more on that later as well), we got home last night at around 10:30, and although this is an old photo, it pretty accurately depicts what I woke up to this morning:


The house was empty without her, but she had a nice vacation at my parent's house where she got to watch tv (I don't have cable), and sun herself on the deck (I don't have a deck), and eat Kori's food (I only let her have her prescription food).  I think she's glad to be home though, I hope she is anyways.  

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Concert Photos!

Please note... I was sitting about as far away as possible and these were taken with my iPhone, so yes obviously you can't see much...  And no, the photos are not in chronological order... And yes, I was having fun with Instagram on my phone...







In the last photo, it's hard to see, but the person on the big screen is The Edge (swoon...)

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

U2

Have you ever seen U2 in concert?  Truth be told, up until yesterday I might have only been able to tell you 3 songs (tops) that they sang.  But after the concert I realized I knew a lot more than that!  It was amazing!!! A 19 song set, followed by 2 encores - the first was 2 songs, the 2nd was 4 songs!  I didn't get home until after 1 am, but it was completely worth it...

Also on note, I always thought The Edge was cool, but after last night, I am head over heels in love!  Sigh... too bad he's 20 years older than me and married... Them's the breaks I guess...

Monday, July 25, 2011

Opposite Ends of the Spectrum

That's exactly how my day went.  It started with 4 1/2 hours at the car dealer with what should have been a simple fix and an inspection - it ended up being I needed a new hub and bearing, a new arm (no clue what this is... I have no clue where a mannequin arm fits under the car... which was totally the image that popped in my mind when they told me I needed a new arm...), new rotors and new brake pads.  So that was frustrating - and pricey! 

This is what was running through my head the whole time I was there too:


But the end of the day was just what one could hope for.  I had my accounting mid-term, and after 2 1/2 hours of frustration I turned in my test.  I got an A!!!!  I knew the first 3 problems were right, or at least I was 99.9% sure they were because all of my cross checks worked out, but the 4th problem wasn't coming out right at all!  I was off by $2000 and couldn't figure out why - I even went through the entire problem 2 more times and still couldn't find it... It was one figure that I had as positive that should have been negative.  Oh well, I only lost 2 points for it.  As my professor said, "Not bad for someone who's never taken an accounting class before." 

Yay! 

And tomorrow is the U2 concert with my bestie, her hubby, and my computer guru - so much fun!!!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Really?!?

So with the cooler temps outside (87 instead of 94!) I decided today would be a great time to get in some more canning along with some baking.

Really?!?

Yeah, I'm that crazy.  Too bad canning season is when it sweltering outside, I wouldn't mind the extra heat if it was 20 degrees outside!  That said, I've been as busy as a bee today. 


Saturday, July 23, 2011

My Bestie...

Do you have a bestie? (not to be confused with beastie)  I hope you do, they're good to keep around. 

I've known mine for nearly 19 years, although sometimes we have gone months if not years without seeing each other.  This was mostly my fault, I'm a wanderer, I have an exceptionally hard time staying in one place.  That said, now that I've been in the 'Burgh for going on 3 years I'm already planning on where I want to end up next.  But that's a story for another day...


Thursday, July 21, 2011

Hot

The heat wave has definitely reached Pittsburgh.  Today the heat index was 104 degrees - that's hot!!!  My watermelon plants are loving the heat, but as for my other plants - not so much.  At least work is looking out for me (sort of...), when I had deliveries farther than a block or two away, they made sure I took a bottle of water with me. 



Now if you excuse me, Ellie and I are going to go crash on my bed and soak up the A/C only available in that room.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Those Wascally Wabbits!

Something ate my zucchini plant!!! Ok, it ate the top leaves off my zucchini plant, but still!



What the heck?!?  Any idea what could have eaten it?  I know it's not deer, there's none in my neighborhood and even if there were, there would be no way for them to get in my yard.  I've seen a groundhog in my neighbor's yard before, and other than that just some stray cats.  It's just strange that it was only the top leaves that got eaten, and that whatever it was didn't eat the melon plants or the cucumbers or the beans or the tomatoes!

When I happened upon this travesty, I rescued the lone zucchini left on the plant (I had already harvested one), and decided to honor the memory of my once mighty zucchini the only way I knew possible.  I did what any health minded individual would do - I sliced it up, coated it in egg and bread crumbs, and deep fried it.  Yum.  I would show you what it looked like, but I ate it before I thought of that.  It was delicious.

Speaking of groundhogs, did I mention I met Punxsutawney Phil? I did.  He came to work in the Phil-mobile.  The Inner Circle came too.  They wore top hats. 



Let's see...

I promised you canning pictures, didn't I?

Here you go, the cucumbers are from my first batch of pickles (I still haven't gotten around to the second batch yet) and the jars are Pineapple - Chinese 5-Spice jam:



Later I'll fill you in on the huge project I'm working on for work.  Until next time...

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Canning Day!

Leave it to me to pick a gorgeous sunny nearly 90 degree day to do my canning.  Unfortunately it couldn't have waited any longer, with the fruit and veggies dictating when I should can as opposed to me picking a day which works better for me. 

So what am I canning?  Let's see... Pineapple Jam with Chinese Five-Spice, Mango Jam with Lime, and Quickest Kosher Dills.  These are all from Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff - I LOVE this book!  Prior to this year I had absolutely no canning experience, this book has changed that, it's that good of a book.  I also bought the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving which provides some good information about canning safety, but Liana's book has really made me a canner - and I mean that in the best way possible!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Cheesy Chard

Dear Cheesy Chard,

You are amazing.  Yet different.  And I probably wouldn't have made you if I didn't have food to use up in my fridge.  But that said, you still are delicious.

Love,

Me

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

If Everyone Else Was Jumping Off a Bridge, Would You?

I would! And I did! 9 of us went, 2 were definites, and by the end of the morning all 9 of us had jumped. It was one of the most other worldly experiences....


The view from the bridge - 265 feet above the river


Waiting to get suited up


Terrance eying the drop with trepidation


Suited up and ready to be hooked to the bugee


Hooked up, no turning back now!


Erin having second thoughts while on the platform


Terrance modeling the ankle harnesses




No matter how nervous people were, the reactions coming back up were all the same - elation derived from the adreline rush of falling 225 feet

Brad

Kristin

Jamie

Terrance

Erin

From the Archives...

the archives being a random jump drive...

Fall of 2006

I was touring with Sesame Street Live and we were in San Jose, Costa Rica for two weeks - one week of shows and one week off...  During the week off I was part of two planned excursions, the first was bungee jumping in the rainforest and the second was a trip to a coffee plantation, butterfly reserve, and a volcano.  I'll post photos from those later today, but first...

One interesting thing that Costa Ricans do is that whenever there is a fatal car crash they paint a heart with a halo over it on the road at the spot of the crash, some hearts have several halos over them and some stretches of road seem to be endlessly covered in these hearts.  It was touching and disturbing to drive past these...