GO WITH THE FLOW

Oh, Sundays are really becoming the new Saturdays. My more subdued lifestyle has lent itself quite well to my productivity on the weekends and it was this particular Sunday I was quite fond of.
The morning started as most of our Sundays do these days, coffee in the yard while we play with the dogs and then off to the farmers market. Before making it even halfway through the FM, Ryan decided it was due time for us to go to the movies again. With other pressing items on my agenda for the day, I decided that if it was going to happen, it had to be right now. So we bypassed the rest of the market, I peeled myself away from the many flowers and veggies I had been eyeing, and we booked it over to Burbank to catch an early show of Kick-Ass. My socks were rocked even further to learn that the early show at AMC is just $6, hooray early bird specials.

This movie was utterly fantastic and I can say with certainty, you have no idea what you are in for. I found myself developing a nerdy crush on the lead played by Aaron Johnson, and my new movie idol is embodied in that of an 8 year old girl.

As I left the theater, I decided that I too in fact, would like to kick some ass. However, my hopes for justice and intentions to now defy all evildoers were quickly thwarted. ADD had kicked in and my shiny object in question was called the Burbank Arts Fair. Schockingly, Ryan was in support of my desires to walk aimlessly around downtown Burbank. As I tried to put our Sunday course back on track (per the previously mentioned agenda), Ryan uttered four words I have never and probably will never again hear him say, "Go with the flow". So I embraced Ryan's new-found hippydom, perhaps my NorCal 60's wannabe mentality had finally started to rub off. As we walked around the fair, I quickly learned that he had really been capitalizing on my love of all things arts, crafts, and fairs; the true motivation was Hawaiian BBQ.

As we enjoyed our food, I snapped this picture of a corner of the fair. On the left, you can see the semi-creepy little alien costumed things that were walking around which just made me curious as to whether it was a child or a little person walking around in those.



We finally left to rush to home depot so I could accomplish at least one productive thing of the day. My quest to become an accomplished gardener was hindered by the fact that I have absolutely no gardening suppplies (and I guess no knowledge about gardening whatsoever). I will keep you updated on my progress as I try to fearlessly tackle the wonders of my yard. First up are Zinnias & Impatiens:









Once we made it home, I convinced Ms. Brit and Drew to come partake in margarita time. Our conversation covered an extensive list of very 'broad' topics, but once the night was over we had established an imposed Circle of Trust by Ms. Brit, so unfortunately I cannot explain what she is trying to explain in the following photo.

The SANTA BARBARA TOP TEN

Let me first apologize to the few that do read my blog for the delay in my updates. I have plenty of excuses, but none that really matter.

On to the long awaited Santa Barbara post. Though this took place now 2 weekends ago, I felt it deserved a post all its own, mostly because of the magnitude of pictures that were taken thanks to Ms. Brit and Michael & their fancy new camera. Since I could easily write a novel about the fun that we had on our mini-vacation, and since most would agree that I already do write novels in my posts and emails, I have decided to highlight My Top Ten Moments of the SB weekend (these are done in order of occurrence, not by ranking as it would be far too difficult to choose my favorites).

1. ARRIVALS IN THE RAIN FOLLOWED QUICKLY BY MASS CONSUMPTION OF WINE.

So the two other couples arrived much later in the evening Friday as Ryan & I were passed out on the couch. Though nothing could be done to wake my comatose boyfriend, I quickly found my second wind, perhaps the best alarm clock for me would be the sound of a wine bottle being uncorked. I don't fully remember everything we chatted about but there was discussion of wine tasting the next day. I believe our aspirations were far too great considering the last of us did not officially go to bed until 5 AM.

2. RYAN CREEPILY SLEEP WALKS, PROVIDES PREVIEW OF MOVIE TO BE WATCHED THIS WEEKEND.
So Ryan has this thing, he doesn't really sleep but rather comas. Some of the most extreme methods have been tested to wake him from his slumber, and so far only one has been successful, but I am not willing to do that every morning. Until this past weekend, I believe I was one of the few people who has witnessed his very creepy "awake sleep". During our wine-filled merriment in the dining room, we all catch movement finally from the comaed Ryan who is laying on the couch in the living room. He gets up and stands completely still, like he was walking, but someone just put his motion in pause (not unlike some moments in Paranormal Activity which we watched later in the weekend). He then walks to the doors leading to the backyard, fails at his attempts to determine how doors work, gives up and falls asleep on the door. This was pretty fantastic for all of us, and as soon as I have the video of this, it will be posted too.

3. GIANT FAMILY BREAKFAST DISPLAYS ANGELINA BALLERINA'S TALENT WITH EGGS.
I lived with Angelina Ballerina for about 6 months and I discovered that weekend in SB that she never had made me eggs. She has quite a skill and all were in awe of her delicious eggs.

4. POKER, POKER, AND MORE POKER.
The game started after breakfast on Saturday and continued for the rest of the day. We took several needed breaks, but managed to play poker for quite some time with no real winner. Despite several shifts in chip leaders, we ultimately called the game on Sunday as some participants had left and anty-ing up would be difficult.

5. PAT AND CHANCE REDISCOVER A LOVE FOR FROZEN SWEETS.
During one of our poker breaks, a group took a little field trip to the store. Upon their return I believe I witnessed the 6 year old versions of Chance and Pat as they shared their excitement over the treasures they had brought back. Let's just say, we did not fall short in supply of frozen dessert items and I learned just exactly what everyone would do for a Klondike bar.

6. NAP TIME TURNS INTO MOVIE DAY, I CONTEND THAT "THE MIST" STILL SUCKS.
In the early afternoon my excess wine drinking from the night before officially wreaked havoc on my body. I had used any reserves up to that point and realized that my systems were shutting down. Unfortunately, the place I decided to park myself was in the living room, where unbeknownst to me, one of the worst movies of all time was about to start. Unable to move, I endured the beginning, hoping that the few who were watching would come to the realization that I previously had, and decide to change the channel. As the movie progressed, more people began to filter into the living room. Our new room additions had seen this movie before and inexplicably enjoyed it thoroughly. Their advocacy inspired intrigue with those that were unaware of what "The Mist" was, and I was doomed to another loss of two hours of my life.

7. STEAKS FOR DINNER & GIRL TALK WITH WILL FOR DESSERT.
By dinner time I had slightly recharged my batteries, but nothing gets me going like cooking. Throughout the course of Saturday we had three new welcome houseguests: Chance, Nicole, and Will. So for dinner we grilled up steak, chicken, and veggies for the vegetarian(s). If you noticed that I imposed doubt on the fact that there was more than one vegetarian, I commend you for your keen eye. This is due to the fact that this weekend, Ms. Brit had decided she was in fact a vegetarian (Nicole however, is always a vegetarian). After dinner we talked about lady troubles with Will and I sure hope he appreciated my many questions.

8. MOVIES, MOVIES, AND MORE MOVIES.
I think we all did ourselves in on Friday night because Saturday evening was pretty tame. After several rounds of our "grab bag" to decide what movie would be watched, the winner was Angelina Ballerina's pick, "Boondock Saints". I actually completely passed out during the entirety of the movie, but I have seen it several times before, and its due a definite two thumbs up-zies. Once that movie ended we lost a couple movie watchers, but I woke up in time for a mini-marathon as we proceeded to view both "Paranormal Activity" and "Breaking Down".

9. SUNDAY PHOTO SHOOT.
Sunday morning brought another round of a giant group breakfast. I believe I wowed Ms. Brit with my skills in the kitchen as I turned a disastrous gravy into something quite good. Somehow our morning moved into the backyard, likely due to the fact that the sun was finally out and it was officially a beautiful day in SB. A few pictures turned into many more, and suddenly we had quite the photo session. I would love to share them all, but here are some of my favorites.

*Please enjoy the cheese.

10. ANGELINA BALLERINA & I DISPLAY HIDDEN GOLF TALENTS, WE ALL WISH WE COULD RETIRE.
By Sunday afternoon it was down to the last two couples, so we decided to go hit up the driving range and take advantage of the beautiful weather. Not only was I immensely impressed with Ry & Pat's serious skills with their clubs, but I think Angelina Ballerina and I got the hang of it pretty quickly and have some future golf lessons we need to take up to enhance our serious talents. Our driving range trip was made that much better upon the realization that we could bring beer down.

After quite a fun and relaxing weekend with many of the people in the world that I love, I will say that the weekend lived up to my expectations. Though it rained through much of the weekend, it didn't really matter. Ryan and I made the decision that we need to make all of our money now so we can enjoy every day like this, early retirement here we come.

The Letter of the Day is P

Well really it should be the letter of the week.





Why Grover, you look quite PERPLEXED.


Productivity was surely the theme of last weekend, it was one of those times where you look back more in confusion rather then awe of that which you've accomplished. The confusion stemmed from the fact that both Ryan & I did all of the things that we have been putting off for at least 6-8 months, and I don't think either of us function normally when we don't have at least a few things we are procrastinating. Luckily for us, a whole new slew of "to do's" have been added in just the last few days, so we'll be busy not doing any of it for a while.
Our next word was inspired by my coworker, who so appropriately categorized me as having a Pioneering approach to cooking. This of course was a response to my disastrous cooking tale of the night before. I tried making a [hopefully] original breakfast creation. Forgetting that my muffin tin had suffered its demise, prognosis: "death by cornbread", I thought I was fully prepared to revolutionize the way in which we all view breakfast. Upon the realization that my muffin tin was now a rain receptacle on our porch, I decided that this creation would be made anyway, and my muffin cups would suffice.
Sidebar: Please reread the last 2 sentences, but each time you see "muffin ______", say it in your head like it means something else.

...... it cracked me up.

Without going into too much detail as I do plan on recreating this recipe properly and making it functional, hence the pioneering spirit, the muffin cups did not provide adequate support and I ended up making a pan of baked egg substitute. During the cooking adventure gone awry, my newly re-found camera started displaying error messages and intermittently shutting off. Upon reflection, I realize that this was my camera's way of saying, "Trust me, you do not want a picture of that".
And finally our last word is Patience, because that it what I have been trying to practice all week. On Friday I will be joining a large combination of many of my favorite people to relax in Santa Barbara at what I will now refer to as Our February Vacation House (my parent's house while they are out of town). A weekend of wine + friends + poker - dog walking = A Very Happy Evan. The reunion of the terrible tripod will final take place, in which Ms. Brit, Angelina Ballerina, and Myself finally will be in the same place, at the same time, for the same purpose. I cannot wait, and I am so happy to hear that my lady-zies are just as excited as I am for this wonderful weekend. In addition, all of our boyfriends will, for the first time, be together with the tripod together, and I truly do not think they know what they are in store for.










So here's a little taste.

Ms. Brit blows back into Cali

Per usual, my plans for last night far exceeded the actual results. While gourmet cooking, laundry, and taxes were replaced with pizza, television, and sleeping; I did manage to accomplish some of the original evening's intentions.
Ryzies & I fell asleep quite early the night before, so after work yesterday we rushed home to finish my vocal recordings. [If you are reading this and didn't know me by chance, you may be thinking to yourself "is she a singer?" to which all those reading that do know me will respond with a collective "hell no."] What I lack in singing abilities, I attempted to make up for in whorish phrases and sounds last night.
Backstory: One of our friends created an Ipod App (coming soon: more details on later) in which a woman's voice is required.
The reviews were quite positive. I am still experiencing mixed emotions between the positivity of the ego-boost coupled with the whack-factor of having your boyfriend's friends now know 1. your sexy noises and 2. reviewing them. But, I'm a LEO lady at heart and attention is my thing, so I have just now fully decided that it actually is pretty awesome.
With recording now completed, I was able to devote full attention to the long-awaited return of my soul LEO lady lover.
Backstory: Brit left me to my own devises over a year ago to pursue hopes, dreams, and a career in Chicago. Turns out she cannot live without me and has now returned. Her boyfriend perhaps thinks it is because of him, but we all know the truth.
She brought my third favorite dog in the world Nala to help fill my dog withdrawals as ours are vacationing up in Santa Barbara with skunks and whatnot. Though Nala and I had no time whatsoever to catch up on our tabloids, we did have a blastzies.

Aside from Brit & I catching up on the latest and greatest in our lives, it was a rather uneventful evening in which the duo called it an early night for once. We both get rather sleepy when the vino is absent.