Only two more days and I am on my way to a beautiful California Christmas!
Sans snow.
But before I get on that jet plane, hopefully on time, I wanted to take a minute to say Merry Christmas to you all. May this Christmas season bring happiness and warmth to your heart, and may that light stay with you into next year.
I wish you many new shoes, delicious food, happy family, and massive luck at the New Year's day sales. ;)
Kisses and a very Merry Christmas!
Showing posts with label Happy thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Happy thoughts. Show all posts
Monday, December 21, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
I want to be a cowgirl!
Warning: Random late Sunday night thoughts to follow.
Have you ever wanted to try doing something radically different from that which you are currently doing? I mean, you liked what you were doing but thought to yourself: "Self, what would it be like if you did ___ or ___ ?
I recently stumbled upon a new and fun blog and while checking out all the interesting things I found there, I started to think. It's okay to be shocked and worried by this, the proper authorities have been notified and future activities are being closely monitored.
It all starts with the fact that I am a city girl. I was raised in a seriously suburban neighborhood, within a pretty modern city, located in relatively progressive, mostly left wing and often eyebrow raising state. I like freeways, the beach, shopping (obviously), unique foods, the swift city pace, museums, movies, bookstores, and lots of different kinds of people. Now while none of these things are bad, reading about The Pioneer Woman's life on her ranch in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma made me think about what it would be like to live that kind of life...and I think I could do it, or at least it would be fun to try it.
But I mustn't get ahead of myself, such a change will require a little bit of preparation.
To do list:
Have you ever wanted to try doing something radically different from that which you are currently doing? I mean, you liked what you were doing but thought to yourself: "Self, what would it be like if you did ___ or ___ ?
I recently stumbled upon a new and fun blog and while checking out all the interesting things I found there, I started to think. It's okay to be shocked and worried by this, the proper authorities have been notified and future activities are being closely monitored.
It all starts with the fact that I am a city girl. I was raised in a seriously suburban neighborhood, within a pretty modern city, located in relatively progressive, mostly left wing and often eyebrow raising state. I like freeways, the beach, shopping (obviously), unique foods, the swift city pace, museums, movies, bookstores, and lots of different kinds of people. Now while none of these things are bad, reading about The Pioneer Woman's life on her ranch in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma made me think about what it would be like to live that kind of life...and I think I could do it, or at least it would be fun to try it.
But I mustn't get ahead of myself, such a change will require a little bit of preparation.
To do list:
- Find some fabulous, but functional, boots
- Hat, definitely, def-definitely need a hat
- Get a few more horseback riding lessons in...
- Find a ranch that is looking for a girl who is willing to exchange her homemaking/cooking skills for some experience living and working on a ranch.
Yup, better go check Google, and the want ads...
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
I want to go to Australia!
So I took some time this weekend, away from the studying and the baking, and did something just for me.
I went to the movies, and I saw Australia.
Crikey, it was Amazing!
I will be honest; one of my primary reasons for wanting to see this movie was that it required me to stare at beautiful Hugh Jackman for two and a half hours, but the movie itself was so great! And it goes without saying that Hugh was very pretty.
Now if you have not already seen it, you should know that the style is a little different, but don't throw in the towel and hate it ten minutes in - keep with it. You will be glad you did. The characters are colorful and rich, and the story is fabulously mulit-faceted with the perfect blend of comedy, drama, tragedy and triumph.
My advice: see it. Take tissues. I say TISSUES, plural. Even if you are not an Olympic crier like I am, you will need them.
See ya down under mate!
I went to the movies, and I saw Australia.
Crikey, it was Amazing!
I will be honest; one of my primary reasons for wanting to see this movie was that it required me to stare at beautiful Hugh Jackman for two and a half hours, but the movie itself was so great! And it goes without saying that Hugh was very pretty.
Now if you have not already seen it, you should know that the style is a little different, but don't throw in the towel and hate it ten minutes in - keep with it. You will be glad you did. The characters are colorful and rich, and the story is fabulously mulit-faceted with the perfect blend of comedy, drama, tragedy and triumph.
My advice: see it. Take tissues. I say TISSUES, plural. Even if you are not an Olympic crier like I am, you will need them.
See ya down under mate!
Monday, September 29, 2008
My favorite part of fall is...
As many of you know I am originally from northern California, a place that for most part is without major seasons, so when I moved to Utah the noticeable change in season was a new experience for me. There is however one season that always came though with brilliant clarity, and one of my favorites; fall.
Fall isn't a season that comes on gradually like spring and summer with their subtle warming and blooming, fall seems to happen overnight. One day it is summer, warm and mellow with the smell of sunshine in the air, and then you go to bed one summer night and the next morning there is a distinct chill to the air and the change has been made - summer is gone and fall is here.
Now although it is sad (almost painful) to bid farewell to the sunny, carefree days of summer, fall brings with it it's own brand of delight. As I turn off my air conditioner and pull out my sweaters my mind turns from thoughts of Coppertone and barbecues to those of spices, holidays and, best of all, fall shopping! One of my first fall purchases was a new pan from one of my favorite, and most dangerous, stores; Williams Sonoma. It is an acorn cakelet pan, and it is adorable! It makes little mini muffin sized acorn cakes and you can serve them that way or you can make frosting and stick them together to make a 3D acorn cake.
My roommates think I am totally nuts, no pun intended, because the first time I made them I was so overcome at how cute they were I could not stop squealing with delight. As usual they just rolled their eyes and communicated with eye rolls and loaded stares that I was totally and completely crazy - oh well I love my acorn pan.
Bake ware isn't it though, oh no! Fall is the time of year when stores start putting out all sorts of delightful things that can only be found during this fall/holiday time. Now since I possess and greater than normal love of the retail world this is the lens through which I automatically view the world. There are however thousands of things that we can enjoy about fall that don't cost a cent (these are the things my father things my father would prefer I pursue) and there are everywhere around us. So, roll down your windows and breath in the crisp autumn air, take a moment to notice the beautiful red and orange colors blooming on a tree that was so recently monochromatic, bake a pumpkin pie or maybe even...do some early Christmas shopping. ;) Whatever it is enjoy fall before it is gone.
Now very last, I want to share with you the recipe for one of my favorite fall treats: Pumpkin Dessert Bars.
Pumpkin Dessert
1 pkg. yellow cake mix (save 1 cup for topping)
1 egg
½ cup butter, melted
Mix and pat into 9 x 13 greased pan.
15 oz. can pumpkin
A pinch each of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
2 eggs
2 ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup milk
Mix and pour over bottom layer.
Topping:
1 cup cake mix
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 cup butter, melted
Mix and sprinkle on top. Bake 45 to 60 minutes at 350.
Fall isn't a season that comes on gradually like spring and summer with their subtle warming and blooming, fall seems to happen overnight. One day it is summer, warm and mellow with the smell of sunshine in the air, and then you go to bed one summer night and the next morning there is a distinct chill to the air and the change has been made - summer is gone and fall is here.
Now although it is sad (almost painful) to bid farewell to the sunny, carefree days of summer, fall brings with it it's own brand of delight. As I turn off my air conditioner and pull out my sweaters my mind turns from thoughts of Coppertone and barbecues to those of spices, holidays and, best of all, fall shopping! One of my first fall purchases was a new pan from one of my favorite, and most dangerous, stores; Williams Sonoma. It is an acorn cakelet pan, and it is adorable! It makes little mini muffin sized acorn cakes and you can serve them that way or you can make frosting and stick them together to make a 3D acorn cake.
My roommates think I am totally nuts, no pun intended, because the first time I made them I was so overcome at how cute they were I could not stop squealing with delight. As usual they just rolled their eyes and communicated with eye rolls and loaded stares that I was totally and completely crazy - oh well I love my acorn pan.Bake ware isn't it though, oh no! Fall is the time of year when stores start putting out all sorts of delightful things that can only be found during this fall/holiday time. Now since I possess and greater than normal love of the retail world this is the lens through which I automatically view the world. There are however thousands of things that we can enjoy about fall that don't cost a cent (these are the things my father things my father would prefer I pursue) and there are everywhere around us. So, roll down your windows and breath in the crisp autumn air, take a moment to notice the beautiful red and orange colors blooming on a tree that was so recently monochromatic, bake a pumpkin pie or maybe even...do some early Christmas shopping. ;) Whatever it is enjoy fall before it is gone.
Now very last, I want to share with you the recipe for one of my favorite fall treats: Pumpkin Dessert Bars.
Pumpkin Dessert
1 pkg. yellow cake mix (save 1 cup for topping)
1 egg
½ cup butter, melted
Mix and pat into 9 x 13 greased pan.
15 oz. can pumpkin
A pinch each of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
2 eggs
2 ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup milk
Mix and pour over bottom layer.
Topping:
1 cup cake mix
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 cup butter, melted
Mix and sprinkle on top. Bake 45 to 60 minutes at 350.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
I love my TiVo!
Each year there is a special event that accompanies the changing of the leaves and the cooling of the evening temperatures - an event that I look forward to all summer: the beginning of new seasons for all my favorite TV shows! YIPPEE!
Now it is dangerously easy to get swept up in the joy and excitement of seeing what happens next to all the lovable characters that you left a few months earlier in cliff hanger season finales, but the seasoned TV lover understands that serious thought and planning is required. Luckily for me, since "serious thought and planning" are not really my shtick, I have made a delightful new friend called TiVo, oh how I love little TiVo! Best of all; all I have to do is, to borrow from one of my favorite infomercials, "set it, and forget it!" I tell little TiVo what to record and then hours, or days, later I can watch my shows sans annoying commercials and with the power to pause and rewind...oh ya, I am in love with my TiVo!
Now it is dangerously easy to get swept up in the joy and excitement of seeing what happens next to all the lovable characters that you left a few months earlier in cliff hanger season finales, but the seasoned TV lover understands that serious thought and planning is required. Luckily for me, since "serious thought and planning" are not really my shtick, I have made a delightful new friend called TiVo, oh how I love little TiVo! Best of all; all I have to do is, to borrow from one of my favorite infomercials, "set it, and forget it!" I tell little TiVo what to record and then hours, or days, later I can watch my shows sans annoying commercials and with the power to pause and rewind...oh ya, I am in love with my TiVo!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Happy Endings
"Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence"
— Aristotle
There are people in this world who read stories and watch movies with open endings and relish the opportunity, when it is done, to speculate what their new friends do beyond the last scene. They prefer to create their own endings rather than be told...I am not one of those people.
Perhaps it can be explained with my slightly OCD personality, but I crave nice, neat, explained and complete, and preferably happy endings. Stories that are finished off by trimming the loose threads and the tying on of a lovely bow to finish it all off. It is with these thoughts that I find myself wrapped in a comfy blanket, surrounded by damp and thoroughly abused mascara stained tissues, several empty cans of Diet Pepsi and a half empty bag of Snickers minis. I have just finished Stephenie Meyer's last installment in her Twilight series: Breaking Dawn (warning: if you are not a Twilight fan or if you have not yet finished reading it, you might want to stop here) and I must say that if it had to end, I am thrilled with the way the series ended - happy. The guy got the girl, good triumphed over evil, families were forever united and everyone got what they really needed to be happy.
Now even though the type of happy endings we find in our favorite books and movies are not as common in our world, it is my belief that we have to continue to look for our own happy endings. It's like the Dali Lama said: "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions." So this is my long winded and slightly random conclusion; happiness is not easy and a lot of times it seems impossible but if we push through and do everything that we can we will be rewarded, maybe not in the way we expected or wanted, but rewarded just the same. I am willing to work for it, because oh how I love a happy ending!
— Aristotle
There are people in this world who read stories and watch movies with open endings and relish the opportunity, when it is done, to speculate what their new friends do beyond the last scene. They prefer to create their own endings rather than be told...I am not one of those people.
Perhaps it can be explained with my slightly OCD personality, but I crave nice, neat, explained and complete, and preferably happy endings. Stories that are finished off by trimming the loose threads and the tying on of a lovely bow to finish it all off. It is with these thoughts that I find myself wrapped in a comfy blanket, surrounded by damp and thoroughly abused mascara stained tissues, several empty cans of Diet Pepsi and a half empty bag of Snickers minis. I have just finished Stephenie Meyer's last installment in her Twilight series: Breaking Dawn (warning: if you are not a Twilight fan or if you have not yet finished reading it, you might want to stop here) and I must say that if it had to end, I am thrilled with the way the series ended - happy. The guy got the girl, good triumphed over evil, families were forever united and everyone got what they really needed to be happy.
Now even though the type of happy endings we find in our favorite books and movies are not as common in our world, it is my belief that we have to continue to look for our own happy endings. It's like the Dali Lama said: "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions." So this is my long winded and slightly random conclusion; happiness is not easy and a lot of times it seems impossible but if we push through and do everything that we can we will be rewarded, maybe not in the way we expected or wanted, but rewarded just the same. I am willing to work for it, because oh how I love a happy ending!
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