recovering

i am exhausted and i'm pretty busy here at work for the next few days.

don't forget about me while i'm hiding in my cubicle.

much love - sizzle

I just wanted to write a note to say that Zach & Scott got in safely last night and I've been in (e)stitches ever since. Seriously, these guys are killing me. They haven't even been in town for 24 hours and I don't want them to ever leave.

So far we've been chillin' and eating. A lot. I'll have so many pictures for you next week you won't even believe it. I did take some random pictures this week in an attempt to blog, but I'm afraid I was a little lazy in the blog department.

I'll be better next week, I promise.

Have a fantastic weekend. I'm off to throw a bread ball and eat a foldyover. xoxo

Oh Boy am I in for a Treat

So tomorrow night these two magnificent males are coming to play with me for a few days. The three magic words for the weekend are:

Chill, Food, and Redwoods

Today was a really good day for me at work and tonight I spray painted my $10 table black. It could probably use another coat of paint, but so far I love it. It goes perfectly with the frame in my living room, as seen here:

Hopefully I'll have a picture for you soon. Tonight I've just been maxin' and relaxin' at home, which is nice to do for a change. And now I think I'm going to make myself some hot chocolate and go to bed.

Congratulations Time

I heard some rumors the other day about my friend Joe. Turns out that they're true. He's getting married December 29th in Salt Lake. He asked me to spread the word so that he doesn't have to.

mmmmmm

Last night I had some people over to watch a movie and have homemade hot chocolate.

Here's the recipe I used via Receipezaar:

3-4	tablespoons granulated sugar
3	tablespoons Nestle Toll House baking cocoa
1/4	teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/3	cups milk
1/2	teaspoon vanilla extract

• <>
  
  
  
• Mexican Beverages
  
  
  
• Fall Beverages
  
  
  
• Low Sodium Beverages
  
  
  

1. In a small heavy-duty saucepan; combine sugar, cocoa and cinnamon.
2. Over medium heat, gradually stir in milk and stir constantly until hot, do not boil.
3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Beat with a wire whisk until frothy and pour into cups. Serve immediately.
   

We didn't actually end up watching a movie, but we had some red couch time, which is always way better than a movie anyway. Plus, the hot cocoa was divine if I do say so myself. The recipe posted only makes enough for 2, so I doubled it since there were 4 of us.

From Now On, I'm Lowering My Expectations...

Sounds like a strange title for a post, right? I only say that because I went into this weekend not really knowing what was in store for me. My expectations were low not because I didn't think I'd be with cool people, but I just didn't know how things would go. I can't remember when I've had a more fun and well-spent weekend.

Rita and I had plans for dinner on Friday night to celebrate her birthday, which was a few weeks ago. Lucky for her, the people next to us were at the restaurant celebrating their friend's birthday, so when I told them it was Rita's birthday, they passed down a piece of cake. Happy Birthday! We also had some interesting conversation with some other fellow customers, but that is a story for another time.

Friday night after dining with Rita at Memphis Minnie's, I headed down to Half Moon Bay to spend the night at the Conran's. Upon arriving, Steph and her mom were putting together a puzzle, which is actually something that I love to do. They were also eating a full pan of brownies; can't disagree with that either. This morning we slept in, had a good breakfast, and headed down to the Pumpkin Festival.

We watched Farmer Mike craft a face out of a very large pumpkin for quite a while.

And then I decided that I wanted to get a pumpkin or two to bring back to San Fran.

Steph really wanted to get this huge green pumpkin.

And then I had trouble deciding between these two pumpkins. The 1 pounder or the 500 pounder...

I definitely didn't want vegetables with warts. Ew. Gross. Steph didn't want any brussel sprouts because the plant looks like some type of strange weapon. Mean face!

All of that deciding was wearing me out. So I had a little rest on a pumpkin.

Seriously, the pumpkin patch was the best part of the day. So. Many. Pumpkins.

I love this time of year!!! It doesn't get much better than that, does it? Well, I had no idea what was in store for me that night. I got back into the city at about 7pm and met up with LaNae to go to the World Championship Roller Derby Competition. Yeah, you read that right. Roller Derby. Yeah, San Francisco might have weird zombies once and a while, but professional Roller Derby Skaters?

Ok this deserves a new paragraph because OH MY GOSH have you ever been to a Roller Derby? Run. Do. Not. Walk. to your nearest Roller Derby. It was by far one of the funnest/funniest things I have ever done in my entire life. For sure, it is a complete white trash sport. It was a mix of football, mud wrestling, and hockey. Oddly enough, roller derby as a sport is only even semi popular in California and New York. ? You mean...North Carolina doesn't have their own roller derby team? Well, I guess they do. But they just use a wussy flat track. Alabama has one too, and that's all the research I did, so maybe its gaining popularity in recent years. But you know what that means? That there is probably one near your house so that you can see this outrageous event for yourself. Its just that I never thought in my whole life that I'd see two women in their mid 50s and 60s in an all-out brawl. You can't see this woman's hair underneath her helmet, but it's gray. And she was one of the worst. Full on punching other middle-aged women in the face. Who does that?!

This lady was about to punch the referee.

And sometimes the referees would just watch while all the women were piled up, beating the crap out of each other.

Oh if you only you could have seen the amazing fights. The one where the Brooklyn skater pushed one of the Bay City Bombers into the penalty box wall, pulled it down on top of him and then proceeded to jump up and down on it. Ok...WAY BETTER THAN HOCKEY!

And then these guys sitting behind us bought us some hot dogs. They were pretty funny and they explained the basic rules of roller derby to us. We decided that we should become Roller Derby frequenters and sit with Brian and Gary every time.

We also like Brian and Gary because they made us go up and take pictures with some of the World Champions of the Roller Derby. These are hard-core athletes. I saw how many times they fell tonight. And based on personal experience, falling down while you're on roller skates doesn't feel so good.

I'm still in shock over what an amazing weekend it's been. Southern food for dinner, puzzles and brownies, great friends, and giant pumpkins. And it isn't even Sunday yet. Bring it.

I was just thinking...

...that I have been missing you for way too long.

I haven't been a good blogger lately, so for that, I am sorry.

Lately I've just felt so out of the loop. Not in a bad way actually. I just feel like I'm very disconnected. I mean...my latest crush is on a guy who chews tobacco and lives in West Virginia. I don't think about him all the time, but when we talk on the phone, I can't stop smiling. I love that. I'm not that into him since I don't even know him that well, but I do think he's great. Crushes are fun. Seriously though, that is the most exciting thing going on in my life right now.

I miss having someone to do things with all the time. I know that I've posted about this semi recently, but this is something that I've had in my life for the past who-know-how-long. I told a few people recently how I'm not very good at superficial relationships. I just don't do it as well as the bff thing. Since graduating from high school, I've had a constant stream of best friends who live in the same city as I do. We've done everything together. Dani, Kari, Jacque, Toni, Sarah, Missy, Kim, Melissa, Matt, Scott, Sean, Tara, Tammy, Brandon, Keri, Autumn, Rick, Silvia, Kristy, and ___. I just wish I knew who the "blank" belonged to.

I'm ok, but I really am tired of being alone here. I don't care if its a girl or if its a boy. I just want the void to be filled. Being alone is hard. Not to say that I don't have amazing friends. I do. I've mentioned that before and I mean it. And some of them live in San Francisco. Its just been too long....like...its been since May that I had someone to hang out with all the time. I realize that I have been traveling a lot lately and I fully recognize that some of my close friends have boyfriends and husbands that they should be spending more time with than with me. That is the way it should be, but it doesn't make it any easier for me.

I'm realizing while writing this that I think I'm just entering into a different phase of life. And that's ok. Its just a strange transition for me. I'm not close to an emotional breakdown or anything, so no worries.

In better news, it is Red Pants Friday. Hooray! I even have a picture of the Red Pants Friday Club which I can share with you next Red Pants Friday. You won't be disappointed; thats for sure. I also was taken out to lunch today by a friend here at work and drum roll please...it was in honor of my birthday! Hooray again! Due to scheduling conflicts, today was the first day we were able to make solid plans since my big day. I've been celebrating for 5 weeks straight now. I love it. Also in today's news, a man in his late 50's asked me to dinner while we're in New Orleans. I mean...he's kind of a big shot here at work and though he's semi creepy sometimes, he's never been inappropriate. Do I go? Do I make up an excuse at the last minute so that I don't have to go alone? Ack! The dilemma! Advice please!

This weekend I have plans to relax and hang out with some close friends here in the bay. I also have to speak in a fireside at church this Sunday. Eek! Blast. Maybe I should have worked on that today instead of trying to figure out my Halloween costume.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Map Master

My friend Nikki's daughter is going to be on 20/20 tonight. She could teach Miss South Carolina a thing or two.

Pushing Daisies

Ok really. Have you watched this show? I love it. I don't have tv really, but I do watch it online. Worth every minute.

Find out for yourself.

Zombies??

I hear that there is going to be a zombie attack at the Main Library today in San Francisco. All zombies are requested to show up at Larkin & Fulton. Get your camera ready if you go.

Man, San Francisco is weird sometimes.

A Post Dedicated to Roommate

My roommate whom I affectionately call Roommate is really named Rebecca, but she hates my nickname for her. She says it is too generic. She'd much rather go by Madeline. Maybe I'll just start calling her Maddy or something like that.

But I digress.

The real reason that this post is dedicated to her is because she's not only an amazing Relief Society President, teacher, friend, roommate, etc., but she is an amazing artist. Did you know that about her? For those who know her, you probably did, but did you also know that she recently published a book? That's right. My roommate is a published Children's Book Illustrator. She took the words to the Children's Hymn "Whenever I hear..." and turned it into the most adorable book!

You can see her online portfolio if you click here. If you click here, you can buy prints from her book and if you click here, you can buy the book for yourself or someone you love. Only $15.25 at Deseretbook.com!

Support a good cause and support Roommate. Buy yours today!

A Mouse!!!!

Tonight when I went over to have group scripture study with Kirsten, I had no idea how funny it would be. Not the scripture study part necessarily, but when we had finished studying, Kirsten started screaming saying that she had seen a mouse and jumped up on a chair as quickly as she could. Too bad I didn't think ahead or we could have caught the mouse and let Rebecca's talents go to work. Instead, we started calling every guy we know in hopes that one would be manly enough to help us with our little rodent problem. Steve is such a nice guy that he came over to save the day as soon as we called. When he walked in with a tennis racket, I knew we were in good hands.

Fortunately for us, with a little coaxing, we were able to chase the mouse out with Steve's tennis racket and Kirsten's broom.

Unfortunately for the neighbor, when we chased it out Kirsten's front door, it ran under their front door.

Fleet Week Pictures!!!!

Ok so here are a few of the pictures from our Fleet Week experience. We had been watching conference all day, so as soon as we said "Amen" for the closing prayer, we hopped in the car, drove up to Tommy's house and then ran across the street to the Golden Gate Bridge so that we could watch the blue angels finish off their amazing air show. Here's the view that we had from the bridge. Seriously, what a good idea to watch from the bridge. We could see the planes circling the city and look at all those boats!!

After feeling sad for myself that I wasn't on one of those boats, I looked around me and realized that I'd much rather be on the bridge with my friends anyway than on a nice boat with people I don't have as much fun with.

The angels flew so close to the bridge a few times that literally, I got scared. They sneak up on you from over there; that's for sure. And they don't fly too far above you either. Check this one out...you can clearly see the US NAVY written on the underneath of the plane. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Here's my favorite picture even though it isn't the "best". Great shot of the plane behind the "Speed Checked By Radar" sign on the bridge. Classic.

Like I told you yesterday, this past weekend was great. I feel all rejuvenated and ready to rumble all over again.

I am swamped at work and hopefully one day when we are all lucky I will post pictures from Fleet Week on Saturday.

Weekend of Fun

So I still need to post the pictures from my fabulous weekend. It was definitely busy, but full of good things. I got a few short naps in which are always great, ate good food, and spent time with amazing people.

This week I have some projects that I want to work on...we'll see how far I get.

Happy Monday, friends.