Thursday, September 30, 2010

♪ jack johnson ♫

i am a huge jack johnson fan and i've had the pleasure of seeing him live in hawaii twice.  i love kokua festival and am thinking it would be awesome to take Saraya there next year, especially since we will miss his performance here in SD next weekend.

and since i am in the mood, here are 5 of my favorite jack johnson songs...

1. Flake
2. Wasting Time
3. Breakdown
4. Monsoon (the remix)
5. Upside Down

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

♥ this man

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

beach babes

so how about that indian summer?  all summer long, socal has been unseasonably cool.  of course the triple digits wait until fall to show up for the party...

Monday, September 27, 2010

one 5k down...

11 to go!  yesterday i finally started working towards my goal of completing 12 5k's in a year.  thank goodness i didn't say this calendar year!  so this first event was called the new day 5k and was sponsored by the girl scouts.  a certain someone needed to stop and eat/burp so we finished the walk in just under an hour.  it was a beautiful walk around Mission Bay and the weather was perfect.  the best part was getting a free box of thin mints!

our next event is the San Diego Zoo's Walk on the Wild Side, on october 9th.  technically it's only 2.5 miles but i think we can throw an extra .6 in there somewhere.  last year i did this walk while i was pregnant.  it was to benefit the polar bears.  this year the whole family will walk for the elephants (unless the surf tears a certain someone away).

and i think i already have a walk planned for november and december.  thanksgiving morning there's the o'side turkey trot (move your feet before you eat!) and in december, there's a jingle bell 5k in beautiful Balboa.  not a bad end to the year and beginning of a goal!  anyone care to join us?

Sunday, September 26, 2010

beer bread

thanks to my friend ronnie for this very easy and delicious recipe for beer bread.  he hates being called a foodie but that's what he and his wife are.  they are some of our favorite people to enjoy meals with and can always be counted on for a great recipe or restaurant recommendation.  for this particular bread i used pyramid apricot ale (an unfiltered wheat beer).  you might think serving it with apricot preserves would be overkill but i promise it wasn't!  the best part is, it's different every time because you can just change the beer!

3 cups self rising flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 12oz beer

Butter pan and bake for 55 min at 375 degrees
Last three min brush the top with 1 tablespoon of melted butter

Friday, September 24, 2010

Thursday, September 23, 2010

fall fashion

these pieces are totally inspiring my fall wardrobe right now... i love ModCloth and Old Navy!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

hello autumn!

today is the first day of fall!  living in socal, we don't get a true fall season with crisp, cool air and changing leaves BUT there is a definite end of summer.  it is generally cooler, it obviously gets darker earlier, and there are pumpkin patches to visit.

this fall we will be taking a family road trip up the california coast into oregon.  we've got a lot of fun stops planned (and unplanned i'm sure) to include seeing the monarch butterfly sanctuary in pacific grove, the redwoods, crater lake, mushroom hunting and LOTS more.  i can't wait to relax with the family and introduce Saraya to more great outdoors.  she is already such an outdoor baby and gets super excited just for our daily walks and jog so i can only imagine how much she's going to love this trip!

Monday, September 20, 2010

earrings

someone got their ears pierced and wanted to show off her new earrings...

Sunday, September 19, 2010

nicknames

saraya has a ton of nicknames and i hope it's not confusing her as to what her real name is!  we call her fig (one of the size comparisons from when she was in the womb), missymay, meeper, munchkin, morning mouse, lovie, panda, pandy...

what nicknames do you use for your kids?

Saturday, September 18, 2010

world baby food

"Cuisine is an easily traveled bridge between cultures, over which even the youngest child may pass."   this quote is from Dr Susanna, creator of World Baby Foods.  justin and i plan on making saraya's food and the more we research, the more we're seeing that spices are in.  this company has some awesome looking ingredients and we're really looking forward to re-creating some of these!

BABY BORSCHT

Quintessential eastern European cuisine, the best way to enjoy beets, carrots, potatoes, spinach, and a touch of dill.

BABY DAL
Flavors of India: cumin blended with lentils, brown rice, carrots, apples, for your very own baby doll.

LULLABY THAI
A cardamom delight - with bananas, and jasmine rice - and a dash of tumeric.

QUE PASA CALABASA
Literally, "What's up squash?" We couldn't resist the rhyme, and nor the sweet blends of squash, sweet potatoes, and garbanzo beans, gently seasoned with a sweet mild chili.

SWEETIE TAHITI
Bali Ha'i.... Welcome to the South Pacific, with this Polynesian-inspired recipe of coconuts, banana, and jasmine rice.

TOKYO TUM TUM
Flavors of the orient... Here's a mix of Japanese flavors including ginger, soy, brown basmati rice, apple.

another baby food inspiration has been Melissa at Dear Baby.  she has some creative recipes that sound pretty tasty.  just a couple of months until solid food time!

Friday, September 17, 2010

Thursday, September 16, 2010

i'm game

enjoyed a wonderful meal of cornish game hen glazed with a balsamic vinegar and nectarine jam, quinoa cooked in mango and black cherry juice, and a delicious green salad with tomatoes, peppers and artichoke.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

work hard, play harder

this past weekend i had reserve duty.  it was also the 9 yr commemoration of 9/11.  our unit had a combat dining-in.  for anyone unfamiliar with formal military events, a dining-in is a ceremony involving dinner, drinking, and other events and is meant to foster camaraderie.  while there are dinners and military balls that spouses and guests can attend (referred to as dining-outs), the dining-in is for military members only.  a combat dining-in is set up around the same format and sequence of events as the traditional dining-in, but it is a much more relaxed atmosphere and dress code.  our combat dining-in had a warrior theme and every section chose different themes and costumes.  my section chose pirates.  we even decorated our table with a ship built from boxes and lots of booty.  we work so hard that it's nice to have some downtime too!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

octomom

no, i don't wish i had 8 kids!  i think it would be nice sometimes to have 8 arms though.  and i only have one child!  i'm sure all moms wished they had an extra pair of hands at some point or another.  since i'm pretty certain this won't happen anytime in the near future, i'll just use my imagination and appreciate these, courtesy of modcloth.com...

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

grandma deanna

Justin's mom visited over the long weekend and got to see Saraya for the first time!  we had lots of fun adventures.  Saraya loved finally meeting her other grandma and mom and dad got an awesome babysitter to boot.  here are a few pics from the visit.

i think she looks like a bamboo angel


Friday, September 3, 2010

haiku friday - labor day weekend

today i have two haikus for your enjoyment including one from justin...

celebrate hard work
by doing no work at all
labor day weekend

- by justin (inspired by tom robbins)

relaxation time
hanging out with fam and friends
labor day weekend

Thursday, September 2, 2010

swagger wagon?



hahahaha, close but not really. so we decided to go with the Rav4. we like Toyota and we got a great deal. i still can't believe we need a bigger vehicle...