• west coast girl •

foto friday: reflection

2012-01-13T13:01:00.001-08:00

check out my first attempt at night shooting...

here.

why joy in the journey...

2012-01-12T16:03:00.001-08:00

new post on the new blog...

a word to nikon...

2012-01-11T17:07:00.000-08:00

a big red christmas alright...

2011-12-29T14:49:00.001-08:00

we had a good christmas over here...

hope you did too!

a christmas giveaway for you!

2011-12-05T22:45:00.001-08:00

you may want to head over to the other blog

to check out this fun little giveaway...

that's all i'm sayin....

embarassed {the 1 day a year i really don't like my husband}

2011-10-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

new post up on the new-er blog.

its over here.

its time to come home...

2011-08-24T14:39:00.001-07:00

your mom called and says its time... only we moved.

you might need to update that...

bigredclifford.com

come on over, come on over baby....

2011-08-03T09:12:00.000-07:00

to the other blog. where i now live.

not here. i don't live here anymore.

and by all means, feel free to follow me

@ www.bigredclifford.com

see you there!

are you still here?

2011-05-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

in case you forgot,

i moved to westcoastgurl.blogspot.com. come visit and follow me there!!!

also check out our family blog @ m-c-squared.blogspot.com

hey, over here!!

2010-11-23T13:11:00.000-08:00

don't forget to update to the new blog, if you haven't already...

westcoastgurl.blogspot.com

and be sure to follow so i know you stopped by!

dont forget!

2010-10-18T08:00:00.001-07:00

if you haven't yet, don't forget to change your feed to the new blerg.

westcoastgurl.blogspot.com

and be sure to follow so i know you stopped by.

then i can follow you too!

new blog- be sure to update!!!

2010-10-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

i was getting annoyed that the address wasn't matching the name.

i will be posting from now on to

westcoastgurl.blogspot.com

everything else is pretty much

business as usual

if you were "following" before,

i hope you will follow the new one!

and don't forget to change your feed settings if you have this one listed somewheres on yours.

sorry nutmegs12,

it's not you its me...

it might be you.

gray clouds...smiling at me

2010-10-04T13:40:00.001-07:00

a few days ago it rained through the morning.

i woke up today to gray clouds and blowing leaves...

in some odd way,

the cool air and sense of fall make me miss DC in october...

i miss the hour-long metro ride to school in my cowgirl boots...

trampling over sun-stained leaves that look painted on the brick walkways...

even sitting inside and hearing the wind whistle tugs at me...

it makes me think of the housefronts and all of the cute kids there.

it is funny that it's been 2 full years and i still miss my brief stint as an

"east coast girl"

this makes me want to get some pumpkins and liven up the place.

at very least its time for some snickers mix.

stat.

one of my favorite things on tv

2010-10-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

along with being the first day of fall

(cause august still sounds too summery...

AND it rained today!)

this weekend is for conference

8 hours of wisdom and goodness.

already, i have been given a swift kick in the spiritual pants

and i am excited for more.

"Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down. It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others.

...In a hundred small ways, all of you wear the mantle of charity. Life is perfect for none of us. Rather than being judgmental and critical of each other, may we have the pure love of Christ for our fellow travelers in this journey through life. May we recognize that each one is doing her best to deal with the challenges which come her way, and may we strive to do our best to help out.

-President Monson

(RS Broadcast Sept. 2010)

Thanks Tommy,

I needed that.

BL recap 9.28.10

2010-09-29T08:35:00.003-07:00

last week,

2 of 3 per city made it to the ranch.

today, 2 came back.

aaron and elizabeth

he could be a fave, and she didn't finish the challenge last week
due to an asthma attack.
welcome back.

first workout, of course is a killer:

tina (purple), 58, flew off the treadmill,

rick (green), 54, kept passing out and had to sit out for most of it...

almost everyone puked.

then, one of my favorite parts-

the doc tells em their "real age" and what is wrong with them

(other than the obesity)

it is a great wake-up call and

i love that they get to find out right when they can change

"i want them leaving this gym, a friggin mess."

-bob

first weigh-in is sprung on them on day two

yellow line is right down the middle -

mark (black), 30, gets up and lost 41 freakin pounds!

(first one weighed in!)

rick (green), 54, only finished one of the 2 workouts...

dropped 36 pounds!

(he is in the running for our fave- cute old guy with short arms...)

and he was the most weight lost (percentage)

"i didn't even get to say goodbye to 350!"

-jesse (orange), 27

after losing 30 pounds.

rick gets to pick one of the 8 to save,

the rest have to compete in a challenge

"as long as this challenge doesn't involve sitting down,

at a sewing basket, sewin stuff, i got this in the bag."

-patrick (green),

and the only male below the line.

rick saved patrick

so the women were not competing against him...

the first elimination is settled with multiple sprints.

the last two to lose are up for the vote.

burgandy(who, yes, is mormon), 35, made it through...

tina (the oldest) vs. allie (the youngest)
are up for elimination

allie gets the boot.

but i think she will do ok at home.

she has already lost 60 pounds since she has been home.

and she climbed a rock wall with danny

(last season winner that now looks like woody, and my personal fave)

it will be fun to see her at the finale.

you better be watchin!

premiere week

2010-09-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

the first week of fall tv was a great success.
it's like a holiday week.

and with the weekend of great football,

it was even betta.

i picked up a few new shows:

castle

they solve crimes.

big surprise. crime fighting is the new "aliens" these days.

the twist here is that this guy is a writer-

so he can creatively and intuitively write the story as he goes

and solves crimes almost better than the cops.

good stuff.

chase

this one is the reverse of prison break.

in fact, a lot of the same characters are in it.

should be fun- its not one big long story though,

they catch a guy each time.

it's more like house in that way-

new story- new episode.

could be good.

outsourced

this one has some potential.

did i laugh as hard as the premiere of 30Rock or Community?

No.

but this could be the bump, set, spike to jazz up your comedy line-up.

we shall see.

to end the week of greatness,

a fabulous ucla game.

this here is cousin kev- after his 34 yard touchtown run.

pretty cool to watch from his house.

the win was a huge upset, and ended texas's home winning streak.

deep in the heart.

suckas.

yes, i am still watching byu football,

[not pictured]

though it will be painful.

perhaps even for another year or two as all the babies grow up some.

they are on a 3-game losing streak- most under bronco since 2004.

i know it looks like my life is spent in front of a tv.

...no comment.

happy BL night-

recap tomorrow in case you miss it!

fall tv you should be watching...

2010-09-20T10:36:00.001-07:00

i know it looks like we watch a lot of tv at my house.

it is just my job to screen the good stuff so you don't waste your time on stuff that is

bad for you.

here is the line-up on our TiVo so far:

monday nights:

chuck

just too much fun to watch.

no, the acting isn't brilliant, but the action is.

and they keep entertaining us on this family friendly spy/action comedy/drama...

mostly comedy.

watch just one and see if you like it.

i know many opinions, but can only give you mine.

house

this season is going to be great.

some of the sexual tension from the past few seasons

is finally relieved, so we shall see what that brings.

we do know we will see a new side of house

and we will continue to see some brilliant dialogue and witty scenarios

in which doctors will make sense of stupid people that get themselves into medical trouble.

yum.

this one may not be as family friendly, but only due to the sometimes bloodiness and stuff.

and apparently, in this one, some lovin.

tuesday nights:

glee

this season is going to be badder than ever with all new music,

some additional cast,

and as we know- some artists that they will make you love again.

[admittedly, i purchased the glee remake of a lady gaga song.

and you KNOW how i loathe her.....]

these kids rock and mr. shue is takin em to new york so it should rock even harder.

sadly, at the very same time is

biggest loser

this one i watch religiously and you should too.

what is not to love about a group of deserving fat people

getting healthy and happy?

this season's contestants come from all over (they were hunted down in their communities)

to be sure we can affect as many people as possible.

we like to watch this one live so we can talk in the commercials

and eat healthy snacks.

i will be updating on the peeps as we go

cause this is the kind of reality drama that is fun to follow...

wednesday nights:

the middle

this one i don't think you really need to see sequentially to suck the fun out of it.

it is just funny and yes a little over-the-top (purposefully) to enjoy the ridiculousness that is

being a mom these days.

pretty funny stuff. check it out.

right after the middle on the same channel is

modern family

this might be the one i am most excited for.

it is charming and real

and so much fun to watch. they established a family with relationships

everyone can relate to and none of them are over-the-top.

feels almost reality tv-esque and it's hilarious.

if you haven't seen one, this week is the time to start!

thursday nights:

community

this is one of those random shows that just makes me giggle.

it is totally my humor.

since cc and i met in our brief stint at community college,

this is one we love watching together and LOL-ing much.

it doesn't hurt that this thing is brilliantly directed with a pretty great cast.

almost every episode is dedicated to another hilarious excerpt from your experience in one of the stupid classes you had to take in jr. college.

enjoy reliving that (you-didn't-know-it-was-so-hilarious) time.

(if you miss this one,

they are usually online so you can watch em real quick for a taste to get your abs workin...)

friday nights:

tgif

aka- get out of the house you couch butt!

try these guys out and let me know what you think.

and definitely let me know if there are others i should be knowing about.

dear future,

2010-09-16T17:52:00.002-07:00

when you get around to it,
i would like to see some of these pretties in my closet.

now, seriously,
this chick cant possibly be pregnant...

where are the ladies?!

otherwise a way cute find that is perfect for the upcoming
warmer beachin weather here...
seeing as my current one is singing
"june is bustin out all over!"

some of these other ones make me miss my job.
dressing editorial and feeling cleaned up...
the good ole days.

how'd SHE get here? she isn't prego anywhere!

love this skirt and wish i had 5 of them...
i am tempted to bite the bullet and find a pattern...

and then, future,
i just thought this iBaby was fun,
cept i hope that is gray cause i would need a
"right, we don't know what's in there" kind...

think on it and get back to me
when you realize how deserving i am...

dear ladies who need this

2010-09-15T13:27:00.004-07:00

really?

is this what the world is coming to?

implants just so you can be like me - get over yourselves ladies.

[hint- if they come in XL, you don't need them]

what's on YOUR tivo?

2010-09-13T12:30:00.007-07:00

so now that my 19 years or so of school are finally over,
and we realize that entertainment will change dramatically for us in about 5 months...

we have been doing a lot of tivo/netflixing
and yes that includes some of the most recent depressing college football games...
here are some of our faves:

if you aren't watching, get to it.

the closer

kyra is so much fun to watch,
and while yes, its another one of those "crack-the-case" law & order-feeling shows,
it packs a punch with a great cast and some witty dialogue.
it will never get old for me.
every time she closes a case,
you want to be there to give her the high five she deserves...

house

a show my dad got me on that is equally as addicting.
huge laurie is one of those guys you love even though you know deep down you shouldn't.
this of course does a similar, "crack-the-code" plot each time, only with the medical angle,
each case complete with the vindictive house, determined to do what ever it takes to find out what really happened...

this one also has a pretty great cast with back stories and some
witty dialogue as well...

[sensing a pattern...?]

leverage

remember watching ocean's 11, and then national treasure and italian job?
the kind of movies you could watch over and over cause they are just so fun...
this show is just that.
the bad guys go good to play robin hood on the bad guys.
in other words, former cons, set up a trap to steal back what was taken from their clients.
great concept.
great show.

bones

this is another one of those shows easy to get hooked on.
the back stories are just as intriguing as the cases they solve and these are a bit easier to stomach than some of the very bloody and nasty things on house...

the characters are all so much fun and have a great storyline.
the dialogue is great. you could just listen and be entertained to this one.

prison break

this one is on netflix. if you watched it, you are probably thinking,
"a little late, huh guys?"
and yes, we are.
but this, hands down, thee most addicting show!
it gets my heart rate up so i probably shouldn't watch it right now,
but the star player of this one is one of the most brilliantly convoluted plots i have ever seen on television.
unlike lost (that got lost in its own plot hole graveyard), this one was well crafted from the start.
yes, it does instill some fear in the government or any security for that matter...
i wont say it is gruesome, but it isn't something for kids...

all i know is i have to keep watching.
must. find. out.

between prison breaks, to catch our breath
(or to time cookies or pizza dough)
we watch us some

arrested development

another old show,
no longer on the air only because it wasn't released in the prime of it's life.
look it up and enjoy this satire with a hilarious cast.

it just makes me homesick for modern family to come back.
we are so ready for fall!

speaking of fall shows to come back,

glee!!!

cronies and foodies unite

2010-09-07T15:29:00.004-07:00

i had some visitors this weekend.
rob, my brother
and maddi, my sister.

it is her birthday next week so we wanted to make it uber fun.
[please, not like it wouldn't be anyway. look at these peeps!]

saturday night,
[whilst we fancied ourselves to the 55 inches of my cousin's QB face
in the first UCLA game of the season,]

we made some seriously yummy food

chicken tikka masala
and naan

(recipes from allrecipes.com - i love that site!)

my cousin made this for us a few weeks ago
and i admit that this is the second time i have made it already

so so good. if you are not the spicy type (i am totally the spicy type)
go easy on the seeds of the jalapeno cause the first time it was a bit spicy for my guests...

this time was perfect.
it usually makes just enough saucy stuff to live in the rice the way you want it,
but i think i will just add more to it to have more on the rice.

and please, if you have the option, use basmati rice when making indian.
it begs for it.

we make our naan on a panini maker so don't shy away if you can't get to the grill.
in fact, we like it thin and then we paint it with lots of butter, garlic, and parsley to give it a little hint of yum.

cause i have been cravin it and it is just too much work for two,
we also made

gyoza

* 1lb ground meat (traditionally it's just pork, but i have used a mix with beef, and pork sausage is my favorite to use cause it cooks up nice and has a kick to it.)
* 1/2 head of cabbage (the green kind)
* about 3/4 cup green onion finely chopped
* about 1tbs fresh minced ginger
* about 1tbs fresh minced garlic (or the minced stuff - no powder though...)
* 2-3 tsp sesame oil
* 2-3 tsp chile oil
(both of those you get in the "international section")
* 1 lbs soy sauce
* (optional) a beaten egg
* salt and pepper
* white vinegar
* won ton wrappers
(usually these are near the produce section -
you will use at lease 1 pck,
sometimes you will need more though, so get two)

my asian friend taught me how to make this years ago and it is always fun to make with rob cause he lived in japan for a while and he's kind of a purest

between the two of us, they were pretty naughty.

put the ground meat in a bowl
rinse the cabbage, pull apart, and then boil it until it is soft.
finely chop the wet cabbage, and squeeze all the water out before adding to the bowl.
give it a few minutes before making fun of the man you gave that job to, but then give it a go.

add green onion, garlic, and ginger, soy sauce, and the egg if you want to.
(the egg is to help keep it all together - i never use it, but rob does.)

add the freshly ground pepper until the surface is covered.
mix it up with your hands.
yes, your hands.

drop about 1 tsp of the mixture in the center of the wrapper,
close them by putting water on two sides (or half if they are rounds)
and pinching them together. drop em on a floured cookie sheet.

throw about 15 or so (lots can fit) in a frying pan with only about 1 tbs of oil
after the gyoza brown up a hint, drop a small amount of water in the pan and immediately cover to steam. (i like em more on the fried side so i only steam em for a minute.)
one of the reasons you boil the cabbage is so that it will cook as fast as the meat. it should only take a few minutes per batch.

the dipping sauce is about equal parts soy sauce and white vinegar.
just taste it until you like it. i like mine more vinegary than soy saucy...

hope you enjoy!

book review - the help

2010-08-25T13:03:00.000-07:00

thanks, angela for recommending this book to me.

i absolutely loved it.

the writing is fabulous - which is refreshing from a first-time novelist.
she was raised in jackson and draws from her experience to create characters dripping with reality.

the last half i think i read in less than 2 days.
it is so interesting to read in our society now though and gives a different perspective on
what racism looks like then and now.

the real story is about fighting ideas and it is powerful.

of course, i was casting the movie in my head, wondering who they'd choose.
of course it is already in production though- as any good story gets snatched up.
most of the cast are no-namers, which will make it that much better, i think.
though i still wish my jennifer hudson could star this one...sigh.

last time i asked,
i got some great recommendations from you so i have a few on my list:

girl with the dragon tattoo
prayers for sale
the shack
moloka'i
a new earth

what else should i read??

[side note: since this last week was date night for him.
i will be draggin the man to see eat pray love this weekend.
pretty excited about it. even though i know it can't possibly live up to the book...]

long-winded movie review - inception

2010-08-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

i had a dream saturday night.
something bad happened and it was so real it scared me.
i ran to find chris (in my dream) , and when i did,
i grabbed him by the face and said,

"this is a dream!
we just watched inception yesterday remember!!!"

i woke up and was still thinking about the friday night daze from this movie:

inception

sure, the acting was fun - the characters mesh well
and dicaprio and ellen page are delightfully complementary.
also stars Marion Cotillard and Ken Watanabe.
it was obviously well-cast.

truth be told,
you won't really notice the acting.

if you are not watching closely,
you may not even catch some of the crazy effects.
destruction + matrix + crazy

star player here:
screenplay.

the plot is so juicy and sucks you in.
at first you think, "it's a dream!"
but there are some components that raise the stakes and give me
the nervous back pain just like the end-of-the-world type movies...

it's one of those movies that you will see and remember
you will walk out of there and contemplate it for hours and days (apparently)
and don't be surprised if you start to dream differently.

it's that good.

in my humble, yet correct opinion: 5/5
rent it or own it? i might just need to own this one.

(and that is because you may need to see it 5 times to catch all the detailed fun)

Mindy's Roasted Veggie Naughtiness

2010-08-22T18:26:00.004-07:00

mom, you'd be so proud.
we had the sisters over for dinner and i got to actually use my dishes and serve a meal!!
first time!

we decided to make the roasted veggie naughtiness that we stole from aunt mindy:
it looked like this:

yumtown!

we just used the veggies we had- carrots, onions, red/green bell peppers, zucchini, and squash
they go in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes... then add the cherry tomatoes and they go another 15... or until the cherry tomatoes start to bust out all over

add to freshly cooked bowtie pasta
add salt and pepper to taste
add light balsalmic vinegirette to taste
crumble in some blue cheese and mix it up

so yummy.
so healthy.

pasta nite - lemon herb pasta

2010-08-17T09:27:00.008-07:00

Lemon Herb Pasta
~completely jacked and then slightly altered from cuisinenie~

coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 pound whole wheat pasta
1 tablespoon butter (i used a little more than 2 tbs to make it a bit creamier...)
(i also added 1/4 cup of 1/2 & 1/2 to cream it up just a tad too)
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, tarragon, and chives
(i happened to have fresh basil too...yum.)
crumbled feta
(we also added some parmesan to serve it too and it was a good decision)

in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente according to package instructions. drain, but leave just a hint of the pasta water (like you do to make your mac n cheese a little creamy like). return to pot.

stir in butter, lemon zest, juice, and herbs; season with salt and pepper (go to town with the salt. it brings out the other flavors). top with crumbled feta.

thanks nie nie.
way fast and easy.
and it is one i will think of next time i go,
"oh crap, i have to make something naughty in 15 minutes!!"

crafty craft service mom and her big break

2010-08-13T14:51:00.004-07:00

today is my mother's birthday!
she's like 40 something (cough...)

and this is what she looked like yesterday on her big break:

peg is in san jorge to help with a film my brother is doing.
and by help, i mean she is the craft service queen.

for those of you luck enough to have done that job-
you know it.
it's tough.

she is there all of august,
slaving away to make/purchase food products for important people
(one is "**pam" from "the office." apparently, they are good friends now...)
and today she is planning herself a little party (as she should be).

thanks for everything mom.
hope you get to take five today and chillax with your boyfriend.
sure glad he upped and surprised you.

happy day to you.

**afterthought correction:
apparently it is jan that peg is hobnobbin with - not pam.
oh oh well...

domesticatia

2010-08-11T12:31:00.009-07:00

making dinner these days has been difficult, seeing as i get
mysteriously ill around dinner-making time.
but i did it.
stuck to the schedule with only 1 trip to the store.

for our first pasta nite:
bowtie lasagna

(foto and recipe originally posted by pioneer woman)
it was way yummy.

i used ground turkey instead of ground chuck,
and i sauteed up some onion with butter and garlic before i did it,
otherwise, the simple recipe stands alone.

for rice night, we did hawaiian haystacks

after talking to my pioneer cousin,
i think i will try this one using chicken stock
and beef it up some instead of using the can of cream of chicken soup...
we needed a little crunch, so we crumbled up some chex mix on top.
yumtown.

of course we had a pizza nite too...

we use my brother's fine tuned dough - makes 8 dough balls so we froze them before
we recreated the CPK BBQ chicken goodness.

Pizza Dough

3 package active dry or fresh yeast (4 ½ tsp)

3 cups warm water (110 degrees)

3 Tbs sugar

6 cups Bread flour or other high-gluten flour

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tsp salt

Add all ingredients except salt and 3 cups of the flour to mixer. Mix for 1 minute or until all ingredients incorporate. The dough should appear wet like a pancake batter. Let stand for 20 minutes in the mixer. The dough will almost double in size. Run the mixer for another 10 minutes. This will effectively kneed the dough. Run the mixer for an additional 3 minutes, adding the remaining flour until the mix forms a ball around the hook. Let stand in mixer for another 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8 balls, about 6 ounces each. Work each ball by pulling down the sides and tucking under the bottom of the ball. Repeat 4 or 5 times. Roll the ball under the palm of your hand until the top of the dough is smooth and firm. Flour the finished ball and place on sheet pan (18 maximum per pan). Cover with plastic (bread) bag and store in Walk-in. (4 day shelf life)

Yield: 8 (10-inch) pizzas

now that i know how to use my own wok,
i been wokin things all over the place.
we threw some fresh pineapple in with the chicken to get happy
cause that's how we do it here in farmtown.

we have kind of a method to pizza now:
-build on a hot stone,
-at halftime in the oven move to the rack.
and it takes two, so we like to do it on saturday-
then you have toaster over pizza for after...

we just dropped some sauce on the top to fill in the gaps.
looks like this on the way out
though really it should be called "on the way down"

for "somethin new" nite last night,
i wanted to try a tomato soup - always lookin for a good one.

we tried cusinenie's simple tomato basil recipe
cept i ended up adding sour cream, cheese, and more chicken broth
cause it was kind of just tomato-y for me...

the good news:

husband has been smiling at my new case of domesticatia
(pretending-to-be-domestic)

"something new" (day one)

2010-08-04T09:15:00.002-07:00

so maybe i should change the "something new" to

"only if i am feeling adventurous" day...

but on the bright side,

i arranged my ginormous lilies and they make me smile.

which was necessary after watching 2 full episodes of extreme home makeover.
hormones are fun.

good thing cc still squealed at how great i was for cutting potatoes for him.
gotta love that.

operation domestication - part two

2010-08-02T11:34:00.006-07:00

now that i am home,
and i have my very own kitchen,

i have had time to bond with little red

who looks pretty cute in my little kitchen

but something was missing...

so with my drawer full of measuring cups,
(i thought we took back most of the extra ones!!)

the first batch of cookies were made.

and now i have canisters with food pregos eat.

then it was time to face some of the new appliances we haven't used.

peg taught me how to use my wok,

and then we tried out the pizza stone...

and after i spent some time with cousin emily-
who is crazy domestic
and sent me on my way with homemade jam
...right before she started her fresh bread,

i decided it was time to get organized her way.

this is going to be my food plan calendar:

every day is a new theme of food product
and they are kind of self-explanatory:
(but i will for you, cause i don't know how to shut up)

pasta = italian
something new = one of those things i have always wanted to try...
rice = asian
beans = mexican
date nite = not makin dinner-nu uh.
pizza = homemade naughtiness of many kinds
healthy/easy = some home-cooked sunday-style goodness

and i hope to fit in as many of my new/unused appliances as i can
and get as many new-ish recipes too...

of course i will share them with you if they are good ones.

i feel just like julie...

operation domestication: part one

2010-07-26T12:25:00.009-07:00

just over a week ago,

we left 118 degrees for 70 degrees

before the largest truck ever showed up (about 4 days after we arrived),
we lived like this:

we quickly filled up the space...

and after opening box after box of unused wedding gift,
and finally spent the last of the target card,

we made this space a bit more like home:

guest bath:

thanks parentals for all of the help!

more pictures once we get more than just the bathrooms in check

though they are simple,
they make me shimmy like you wouldn't believe.

long-winded movie review - despicable me

2010-07-21T07:48:00.007-07:00

so,

arriving in our new place last weekend,

we had no boxes, no furniture.

nothin.

so we went out to dinner and a movie.
dinner was not amazing,
but we are finding that most things in our immediate town are not...
have to drive a bit to get the good stuff.
noted.

the movie?

this one:

despicable me

the characters are fun and the dialogue is witty...
the girls are adorable.

the minions are hysterical. you want one.
and if you go you have to download the app they tell you to translate them at the end.
so funny.

the 3D is fun in this one too- they ride a roller coaster,
and the minions come out at you...
pretty cool.

and honestly, i forgot it was steve the whole time! The cast does a great job at creating new voices and characters... cept for that kid from 30 rock- he's pretty blatant...

good flick. great story.
completely entertained for an evening
in our charming little small-town movie theatre.
(it has stairs and it's never busy, just minus the stadium seating...)

i would give it a 4/5
rent or own? probably own.

news flash 2...

2010-07-08T06:32:00.004-07:00

this is the video we showed our parents this weekend...

featuring santa maria, santa barbara, and san luis obispo

[you will want to watch the whole thing. i know it's long...]

beach hunt

2010-06-29T21:40:00.006-07:00

saturday was dedicated to searching out
our beach.

the one we will frequent when we are close enough to be frequenters.

this one, straight west of us, was far too cold and windy:
(and apparently inhabited by some endangered bird
so you can't really hang out there...)

this one is shell beach:
no shells, just gravel.
too cold, obviously.

then we found *avila beach:
(also only 20ish minutes away)

"this one was juuuust right."

obviously this is a different crowd:

so i paparazzied this wedding that we watched start to finish.

dear bride,
if you ever stumble across this,
i have a few more you will want...

(the fotographer was missing out on this action)

avila is the winner
we will give you the update on that in a few weeks
when we are locals too!

*i corrected this post later from "pismo" (the beach we thought we were at.)
now that we have been here and been to the beach a handful of times,
we are a bit embarrassed at how obvious that this beach is in fact avila.
and there has been a wedding set up every time. awesome.

· NEWS FLASH ·

2010-06-26T19:35:00.007-07:00

i always called myself the "west coast girl..."

but never thought i would actually get to live it!!

guess what...?

we're moving!!

side note:
[just found out last week.
we are in cali now finding a house.
we move in 3 weeks.
wow.]

hey california,
meet, the cliffords.

side note:
cc is kind of a big deal
so work is now in the santa barbara area.
tough for us, huh!
(all those pics are real!)

...in 18 months we will be in
san diego!!

i heart my life.

book review - eat pray love

2010-06-23T07:21:00.003-07:00

done.

finally.

but i will soon be able to read lots more.

this one was fun and beautiful.

i love to read creative words- and she is definitely good at that

my two favorite quotes:

[a belief of Balinese people]:
"The child is taught from the earliest consciousness that she has these four brothers with her in the world wherever she goes, and that they will always look after her. The brothers inhabit the four virtues a person needs in order to be safe and happy in life: intelligence, friendship, strength, (and I love this one) poetry. The brothers can be called upon in any critical situation for rescue and assistance.

When you die, your four spirit brothers collect your soul and bring you to heaven."

"I looked into my heart, at my own goodness, and I saw its capacity. I saw that my heart was not even nearly full…my heart could easily have received and forgiven even more.

Its love was infinite.
I knew then that this is how God loves us all and receives us all, and that there is no such thing in this universe as hell, except maybe in our own terrified minds. Because if even one broken and limited human being could experience even one such episode of absolute forgiveness and acceptance of her own self, then imagine-- just imagine!--what God, in all His eternal compassion, can forgive and accept."

how beautiful is truth.

weekly contest - baby's got talent

2010-06-21T13:48:00.001-07:00

i think the last one is my favorite...

i hope my kid comes out dancin too.
hold the chubby cheeks.

no, keep em.

long-winded movie review - karate kid remake

2010-06-19T10:48:00.003-07:00

you and i both had a crush on the first karate kid.
don't even try to deny it.

but this karate kid remake proves one thing:
jaden smith has a future ahead of him

i will be honest, initially, this was one of those,
"oh, ok dear, lets go see a movie that you want to see"
moments,

but i absolutely enjoyed it and would own this.
(i might even go as far to say i like it better than the original...
but that may or may not be blasphemous...)

best features:
* jackie chan character is priceless -
so different from some of the dumbed down guy movies he's played in.
this guy has depth - great performance
and the chemistry between him and the kid is fun to watch.

* music - from the beginning i was dancin -
the credits feature a song jaden wrote himself.
that just makes me smile.

* parallels to previous karate kid. look for em.
some are subtle,
but because i was raised by men, i caught em.

* end credits feature very cool fotos of the production
with jada pinkett and will hangin out the whole time.
they were the producers of the film.

watch your tail end for this jaden kid -
he's coming on up.

long-winded movie review times two - cartoons!

2010-06-16T06:09:00.003-07:00

my team says i am "wholesome"
and that may or may not be cause cc and i spend our weekends
watching charming animated films, baking our own wedding cakes,
and meeting friends at the malt shop (well, frozen yogurt)

a few weeks ago, we went to see Alice in 3D as a matinee on a Saturday.
apparently you can't see Alice in 3D as a matinee on a Saturday.

so, the stubborn 3D movie-goers that we are,
we decided to go to this:

how to train your dragon
(in 3D)

and, i have to say,
we were incredibly surprised.

i was very entertained by the 3D,
the animation was pretty great,
and i thought i would hate the viking and dragon stuff,
but alas,
i loved every minute.

it is bright and colorful, and just funny most of the time.
we left smiling, glad to have paid the few dollars for the entertainment.

side note:

my feelings on men getting married:
pretty much so they can see all of the girly movies they always wanted to see before,
but would look sort of "off" if they went without the girlfriend/wife that "made" them go...

feelings on why parents have kids:
pretty much so they can go to all of the kid flicks that they want to see
and blame it on the kids that really wanted to go...

just my thoughts...

well, we also recently saw
this movie:

the princess and the frog
(old school animation)

now, i know what you thought when you saw this preview,
i did too:

"what? old school animation?"
"Wow, Disney is a little late trying to get a black princess in the mix!"

cause i do believe both were purposefully chosen.
and i do think the animation was the only way to really say there is a black princess in the mix.
and she deserves to be there for many reasons.

however,
this throw back to classic animation days
and musical cartoons like the good ol' days...

makes me smile the whole way through.

maybe it is anika noni rose, who just wails
(one of the Dreamgirls, and played Nala in Lion King)

maybe it is that the music is catchy that i sing in the car,
maybe it is that i love the story shift from older princess movies...

this princess works her tail off to be one!

and i could never imagine another place to set the story of
princess and the frog.

it was meant to be in the bayou of the South
and with all the funk of jazzy beats and color that come with it.

like it or not,
i will probably have to own both of these flicks.

why?
uh, cause my kids.
yeah, they need them...

honey, i baked!

2010-06-13T20:20:00.006-07:00

peg decided like 3 days ago
that i should enter this bake-off.
(and by that i mean, she called to tell me i was already signed up for it...)

the first annual bake-off of put on by my nutrition-by-calli friend.

needless to say,
i didn't think just a fab recipe of rolls would do the trick...

$100 dollar first prize
for some yumtown rolls....
that i made even healthier.
(next time i am going to try the "can't believe it's not butter" option..)

this is me and candice - she won in her category too.

i won't even lie, i am kind of a one-hit wonder.
there is not much that i bake...

but, because I like you:

Meg's Naughty Buttery Crescent Rolls

(award winning)

2 c. Skim milk

1/2 c. butter (1 stick)

1/2 c. sugar

2 t. salt

7 c. flour (3 cups whole wheat)

4 eggs (beaten) or 1 cup egg substitute

2 T. yeast

[Preheat oven to 350 degrees]

1. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 c. warm water and sprinkle with sugar

2. Put first 4 ingredients in large bowl and microwave for 4 minutes

3. Add 3 cups flour to melted ingredients, stir.

4. Add yeast and beaten eggs to mixture, stir

5. Add another 4 cups flour to mixture, stir

6. Let dough rise uncovered in bowl 1 hour

7. After rising, divide dough in half and roll into circles about 1/4 in. thick

8. Brush melted butter onto dough

9. Cut into 16 slices and roll toward the center

10. Place rolls on greased cookie sheet and brush butter on the rolls.

bake @ 350 for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden. Brush again

with butter while still hot. (You may even want to dip them in melted

butter to serve)

long-winded movie reviews

2010-06-07T21:19:00.004-07:00

alice in wonderland

i know i know,

we are so late to the party.

here's the deal-
this is one of those movies that you would normally catch on tv on a saturday night at say 9pm or so-

you know,
those days that you found yourself alone
with nothing to do
and suddenly you are entranced in the weirdest movie but you can't rip away?

sort of how i felt - i love the weird, i do,
when i came back to reality,
i was still trying to imagine all of the ways to create alice's black and red dress for myself...

the costumes were fabulous, the idea was creative,
and i was entertained.

was it weird?
of course it was!
but you knew that when you sat down to watch tv by yourself on a saturday night...

i will say this-
i heart both johnny depp and helena bonham carter.
perfectly disturbing and fun.

rent or own?
well, if you do need to own it- go with blue ray

(i know, i know,
i am now brainwashed to think i need blue ray player
and no less than 58 inches to watch it on.
thanks, hon.)

things that make me shimmy...

2010-06-03T23:11:00.005-07:00

at the beginning of may, on a friday, i met with one of the peeps that i manage.
this kid has been dating a cute girl for a while....

as part of our one-on-one,
i asked about his thoughts on the topic of wife-having.
turns out he's for it.

so we set a goal to get him married this year,
which meant, engaged quite soon.

the following monday he told me he had a ring and a "blessing-giving" apppointment!
(ok, so we can deduct that the 1:1 was effective...)

turns out he wanted to propose on a beach in cali
near some relatives of mine.
he needed help, and i needed some vitamin D.

thanks, B-rendan,
for such a fun reminder of what it was like to be there
almost exactly 1 year ago...

and for letting me paparazzi a sec

after that adventure, i went straight to girl's camp.

now, i myself, like camping.
this here:

(though, i must say, a fantastic decor job)

NOT CAMPING!!

this is way too posh to be called camping.
lights in cabins and a full kitchen and showers?!!

so much fun to spend time with these cute chicks

and to spend some time with Niko (my camera)
in the great outdoors

miniature break from reality:

check.

BL update - final 4!!!

2010-05-18T06:57:00.002-07:00

so, 4 birthdays, 2 mothers and g-mas,
and a 30-page paper later,

i'm back.

now, let's talk:

anyone else stoked for this finale?!!!

some of the best peeps were left for the makeover week,

most of all,
this guy:

daris?!

chia pet is now back in the nineties at least.
and lookin so good!

koli?!

i love his look - fits him well.

mike?!

so, yeah, you still have a lot to go,
but lets talk about how cute you are now!!!

and SAM?!!!

need we say more...

sunshine

who is just short of beyonce!
what?!

ashley

the outfit is bad. Very bad.
but, believe me,
she lookin good.

and we will get to see this gal:
shay
who is earning $1000 per pound at home...

i'll be there.
with my hot mom who is 35 down
woohoo!!

watch for the foto shoot #2 when peg hits 50 down!

meet shelby

2010-05-03T20:55:00.009-07:00

meet shelby

swimmer, musician, honor roll,
soon-to-be a class of '10 graduate of

westwood high school

congrats, for real this time!

mcfotography and a shelby

2010-05-02T17:22:00.004-07:00

here is a prototype of your
announcement....

i will post the fotos from this senior shoot soon.

let me know if you need them - i am all over it!

single foto session
(grad/prom/headshots)

$75 for sitting fee
$50 for the disc of fotos

email me for more information if you are interested
meg [dot] moffat [dot] gmail [dot] com.

weekly winner - final countdown

2010-05-01T08:16:00.003-07:00

stumbled upon a gem.

you didn't even know we were having a contest,
but you won it.

i will let you come up with the title of said award:

senior fotos + jodi (part 2)

2010-04-27T22:52:00.010-07:00

thanks, jodi,
for playing with me.

some of my favs from part two of jodi's senior shots.
congrats, girl!

senior fotos + jodi

2010-04-25T17:11:00.009-07:00

meet jodi.

these are some of my favs from the first half of the senior shoot:

jodi:

cheerleader, track star, natural blonde,

soon-to-be-mhs grad.

if you still need senior shots, let me know.
i have decided they are my favorite kind.

shelby senior fotos - part 2a

2010-04-21T21:38:00.004-07:00

dear shelby,

we may need to do shoot part 2b when the lighting is happier.

these were the good ones.

but we can do more.

note to future self:
please know the forecast projection.
or it will kill 2/3 of a foto shoot.

though no one would mind if you used one from part one...
even if they are kind of wintery

woman vices

2010-04-18T20:13:00.002-07:00

let's play "i spy" with the contents of my purse.

really?

really, meg.

you disgust me.

anyway,

anyone know where to get a cute slash cheapish purse
that i can abuse for the next few months until this happens again?

easter bunnies

2010-04-11T16:51:00.012-07:00

dear easter bunny,

i am still thinking about how you came last week,
and how magical easter was for some reason this year.

now in my top three holidays i think.

why?
because we are with family,
we still eat,
have some fun gimmicky thing with eggs,
and we get together
because of the savior.

i loved every minute of this beautiful day
and soaked in every word of truth that was spoken.

thanks for making this a memorable one for me.

elle loved easter so much she wanted to eat it.

then she was ticked when she realized we were going to eat chicken.
cooked.

kenna enjoyed the vitamin D...

and so did the grown ups...
[please excuse mr. waldo/30 rock's kenneth as he gleefully skips about the yard]

(after successfully locating 3 eggs...)
"but i jus wanta canny"

[note the 3 classes of egg-hunters in our midst...]

the easter bunny did something fun for the adults that might need to be a tradition...[cough]
he left notes with clues on them of where to find a larger wrapped gift in the house somewhere.
rob found his happy thought.

and then,

we played away the day...

i thought this turned out kinda cool:

a beautiful shot of g-ma:

theme of the day:

ooh... who's that?

cc just mentioned that we will be needing large, large large hard-drives when we have kids.
i take so many of my [not] kids already...

thanks everyone for the beautiful days of fun.
the Lord is good to me.
i am so glad to know that He lives and loves me.
my family is proof of that.

ipad... Really?

2010-04-04T19:31:00.002-07:00

I just blogged this from an iPad.

Now I must have one.....

[insert swearword]

(added later: and yes, cc was not at home when i got here this evening. why? he was chillin at best buy looking at our new "baby" that will be arriving some time in may most likely. so spoiled is that little man of mine.)

soul suckers... in movie adaptation form

2010-03-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

i have been in the need of a good,
escape from stress and "educationy" literature...

and i found this book on one of my employees' desk.

a roommate had read this and i always wanted too,
but just never "had time"

so i made a pouty face, and she let me take it home.

i love to read good writing again.
it almost makes me sad.
like i should have done more in life so far.
like tried to learn to write, or even just travel more.
i have never made it out of the country,
despite my love of food and travelling thus far.

i am not done reading,
so i may yet comment again, but here...

"I walk up the stairs to my fourth-floor apartment, all alone. I let myself into my tiny little studio, all alone. I shut the door behind me. Another solitary bedtime in Rome. Another long night's sleep ahead of me, with nobody and nothing in my bed except a pile of Italian phrasebooks and dictionaries.

I am alone, I am all alone, I am completely alone.

Grasping this reality, I let go of my bag, drop to my knees and press my forehead against the floor. There, I offer up to the universe a fervent prayer of thanks.

First in English.

Then in Italian.

And then—just to get the point across—in Sanskrit."
-elizabeth gilbert (eat pray love)

italy would thrill me completely.
some day, i will allow that beautiful land
to consummate my passport's life.

i just hope i am able to stay long enough
to rent a scooter and ride everywhere i wanna go with cc
in that city of love and carbs

and i think i will take my mother to see this on her birthday:
(julia roberts? not sure yet, but could be fantastic)

and, thanks to netflix,
we just watched this movie:

cc enjoyed it,
i wept through it.
happy tears, mostly sad ones.

fabulous flick with some stunning performances.
that young dakota is really quite fun to watch emote.
admittedly, you must come prepared/be in the mood,
but when you are, it is worth it.

oh, and the movie was formerly this novel here:

one i may attempt to read again soon.
but the movie left a sweet taste,
maybe we'll just keep it at that.

so,
what do i read next??

[and no, it doesn't necessarily have to become/have a movie that goes with it]

what's in a name?

2010-03-20T14:33:00.002-07:00

at one point in my life,
i loved all things east of here.

asians, being free, nyc, d.c.,
i loved the east coast,
the pace, the people,
the access to information and good ethnic food.
and i loved the idea that i might someday
occupy that land of wonderment more permanently...

as some of you know,
i used to call this domain
"west coast girl - east coast world"

well,
not that i chose not to love my east coast life,
or asians for that matter,

but things started to heat up in az for me.
and so i stayed.

i have to admit,
i am one, happy, west coast girl

~meg

side note: in case you are interested,

a "blog interview" site interviewed me recently.

feel free to read it here.
and rate/vote if you feel so inclined...

i would like to apologize, i pre-judged.....

2010-03-18T19:47:00.003-07:00

at some point in the past few days
i began crafting my lament

i felt like a girl with a man's heart
when it comes to march madness and the like.

i love me some college ball, no matter what season
but especially when byu is doing well.
[and by "doing well" i mean placed in the top 10 seed]

i completely assumed i would be filling out my bracket alone
while cc sat and watched high-speed chasing shoot-outs...

lo and behold, he came to me to fill it out!
and i am proud to report that my man is stuck at work today...

watching a game, all on his own.
[sniff...]

two things on this fine day of celebrating green

2010-03-17T06:12:00.005-07:00

one,

i heart all things green.
there, i have said it.

i am scottish even.
went to the highland games and everything,
but i love march
and wear green every day to celebrate my love for it.

[2]
i would also like to speak of my boldness to
venture forth in the style world...

this weekend i shopped with my sister
and did something i thought i would never do:
i bought some leggings

now before you get all crazytown on me,
let me explain:

i hated leggings.
i hated that they come from the eighties,
i hated that i secretly love them but
never thought they would be cute on such a body as my own...
(those skinny chicks always seem to pull off that crap)

yesterday,
i put them on with a cute little black-n-white dress
and some serious fun flats,
walked out of the door with a tinge of nervousness
[like the day i ran our of the house in capris and bobbed hair for the first time
on the last day of 8th grade.]

[side note: i should explain that i remain conflicted
about most legging-use. many are guilty of misuse,
especially if they are metallic or something...]

my employees validated me,
and i wished my more style-prone friends
(e.g. linz, rose, calli...) could have seen it...

all the while, i feared husband's reaction...
i have practically preached the legging negligence at our house.

i am proud to report:
he loved them.

welcome, meg.
glad to have you back in the
"who-the-hell-cares-what-you-wear" world.

and happy st. patty's to ya'all

i will be wearing green and taking my green cupcakes to school.
i feel like it's my birthday.
no, it's better.

long-winded oscar nite review

2010-03-07T19:19:00.013-08:00

my thoughts:
[which prove that this blog is way more about my need to write than your need to read...]

#1-- who cares about the twilight kid- could he even act?

did neil patrick harris really just sing that really lame song?
that. just. happened.

alec baldwin and steve martin- great match-up
i am loving the roasting of all of the actors...

but why is george clooney so ticked at life?
what a jerkface.
{some confused non-english speaking chick that he pretends to like for the cameras...}

miley cirus... can't you just stand up straight...?!

UP wins for best animated feature.

surprised?
shouldn't be.

then we have an homage to 80s films including
that macaulay culkin kid whose face blew up.
didn't know he could get uglier.
guess so.

ben stiller in the blue avatar make-up
equals pretty great.

best supporting actress...
that one chick form the precious movie...
"thanks for awarding a good performance and not politics..."
um....well...

ew... i so don't care about the twilight peeps-
she. can't. act.
or announce for that matter....
sorry, i know many of you like them...
but that kid looks like a white kid injected with monkey and asian...

saundra bullock-
looks stunning.

james taylor mo to tribute the dead.
i heart that.

oh- and a pretty rad dance
to tribute to the scores.
and i cried to the UP part...
and it won.
[for it's fab score. duh]

george clooney is a huge bass.
who knew he was so arrogant?

jeff bridges wins best actor for crazy horse
after a great tribute about being such a great family man, husband, and father.
i do like that kind of positive PR.
married 33 years, 3 kids.
gotta love it.

i think the best actor/actresses are like the prom king/queen
of the oscars...

and george clooney, the arrogant bass, is ticked.

sandra bullock wins her first oscar for blind side
a delightful upset.
"did i really earn this, or did i just wear you all down?"
[me... crying watching one of my favorites]
she thanks her mom for making her practice
and her "lover" meryl streep.
i love her realness and her charm

{meryl streeep, by the way, was fashionably wearing her robe and curlers...}

first woman to win best director....

and then best picture for hurt locker.
a movie i will probably need to see soon.

what an enjoyable evening...
i can't believe you read all of that.

go get a life... and go to bed.

kenna dance

2010-03-07T08:16:00.004-08:00

one day we watched kenna bug,
put her hair in pigtails,
and played a ukulele.

no one taught her those moves.
maybe she's born with it.

"Step it up" conference/my mother-in-law is awesome dot com

2010-02-25T17:22:00.005-08:00

perhaps you remember last year,
as i was getting to know my future mom-in-law...

she put on this mini-conference.

we giggled and talked about possible decor
because we weren't yet engaged, but getting there.

this year,
she outdid herself.

the decor was essentially my wedding
(plus the "foot fotos)

the program and classes and food were great too...

this food right here,
may or may not have been the demise of my diet endeavors last week...

good news: men will help with anything when food is involved...

kelly's classroom.
she taught about motivating children to learn.
that is a creative passionate teacher.

darlene + posse

what a day.
i felt inspired.

we could also talk about how that day jayme's car was broken into
and bombed/torched,
or how aunt linda got a lung (after waiting 2 years)...

the Big Guy who is ever watching,
yet again,
reminds me I am so blessed.

"walk in thy way"

2010-02-22T05:20:00.007-08:00

i was commissioned
to take fotos of women
(well, their feet)

doing what we do
for a women's conference called
"steppin up"

i will post pictures of my
amazing mother-n-law's shin dig soon.

turns out,
the perspective taught me more about what
charity looks like

favorite:

Geared up (our BL updates)

2010-02-08T09:40:00.006-08:00

so, we have been going strong on the diet thing now since
a few weeks before thanksgiving.

i won't lie and say it has been easy.

i will say that a few weeks ago i hit a wall,
i wasn't losing,
and i was a bit depressed about it.

i did another cleanse,
which includes fruits, veggies, and grains (which I had long missed)
and i felt a lot better.

mom and i also realized that the support system makes all the difference

husbands and daughters are great for that.
nay, vital to that.

in fact, this weekend, after my weigh-in,
husband took me to purchase this:

it actually holds up to 12 individualized settings to read your BMI
and tells you the number of calories
you need to comsume to lose fat at your current weight.
rad.

and i really needed one of these:
(both scales are the Biggest Loser brand of course)
this little thing is handy, and keeps me honest and much better
at portion controlling.
good new: 6 oz of chicken is a lot more than you might think...

and the long-awaited:

i love them.
them make me want to run all day.
in fact, i think i will take them to my mom's to go walking
before we watch biggest loser tomorrow...

so,
i finally feel like we can post the results of the meg/peg get skinny fest:

drum roll....

peg: 30 lbs down
meg: 14 lbs down

both over 10% body weight!

i will let you in on a secret...

these are my friends:

also love the ranch, asian silk, honey mustard... pretty much all of them...
they go on everything: chicken, salads...

mrs. dash is the best- and look:
two new kinds!!

[gotta ditch the sodium to lose.
it retains water.
that means us soda drinkers really take a hit,
but it's worth it.]

do i eliminate soda?
hail no.

but i am much better at drinking all 64 water o-z's before i do.
and by that time,
i have been to the other side of the building to pee
like 22 times... not worth it.

favorite veggie currently:
jicama
just go find it, and love on it.
you will be glad you did.

oh and this place:

though you can't see much muscle on me,
i love that i feel stronger....

it is odd how i am so confident walking at night now...
bring it, bad guys...

click chick moment: HG

2010-02-04T17:30:00.009-08:00

so,

i haven't been the most faithful blogger lately,

this may or may not have to do with my new job,
getting way less sleep,
busy trying to diet (updates soon), and
still be a wife and daughter and stuff...

but in the middle of this dietary mess o fun,
and in lieu of love month,

i wanted to share with you my love of this chick here slash her really fabulous site:

[which i can't really eat much from yet, but oh well...]

click here for the full page of recipes

i have been salivating over everything here and hope to someday own her recipe book of way yummy looking things called 200 under 200.
(calories that is!)

and she posts all kinds of fund finds that you can buy at the store
that are the "healthier" option of food you want to be eating...

like this:

maybe i get her daily email cause that is how excited i am about her...

dear future family,
prepare to be extraordinarily healthy without even knowing it!

botanical foto lesson

2010-01-29T05:42:00.010-08:00

for christmas,
cc gave me some new foto equipment.
namely a tripod and flash and more space...

he also gave me a workshop with the photo editor of
arizona highways magazine!

truth be told,
i am a people person,
and i don't really get into shooting nature usually...
i like my buildings, and fountains, and hydrants...

and the botanical gardens is a hard place to find color,
which is what i am about.
a lot of the others were more successful at seeing beauty in cactus

this is what i came up with:
(take note of the amount of plants vs. structures within the nature)

i kept whining that there was no color, and then these people showed up!
i barely got them until they went to perform somewhere we couldn't get access to

it was the facilitator's favorite one:

thanks, cc.

i love learning more and more about this crazy obsession/hobbie

happy date night,

~m

BL week 3

2010-01-20T21:15:00.003-08:00

i hate when i get so busy that there is nothing between BL posts.
i suck at life in the blogger realm these days.
stop judging me like now.
naturally, on the night before finals/presentations due,
i must self distract in 5.....4.....3.....2.....

here is what i will say [without photos unfortunately]:

we like the gray and the pink for sticking to the plan
and not the game.

we don't like jillian when she tries to dr. phil her way into
someone's fat issues (green), though admittedly, the drama is entertaining.

we like the father/daughter couple (black)
cause they stay out of the way and get crap done.

we don't like the white team when they are lazy and fat
and freakin on biggest loser with bob and jillian!!

we like when bob and jillian blow up at the red team
for throwing the weigh-in for the 2nd time.

we don't like that O'neal the black guy (yellow)
who looks like he could produce rap videos,
is married to a 70s white chick that collects stamps.
[mostly for the awkward factor. not cause i'm racist]

we like that the chia pets (orange) might get a shot at makeovers.
mostly for the hairs' sake. otherwise, they are very cool people.

...anyway....

they are all still losing much better than i am.
barely a pound a week.
grrr...

what you missed - BL week 2 already!

2010-01-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

reader's digest recap of last week:

gray - they are riding the coattails of our filipe and sione to get here,
but they haven't really watched the show...
they are both rad tongans though- so who really cares.

"we knew coming here would be a business trip!"
-sam

black-- a father and daughter team. he was just labeled the most unhealthly in the house.
she is a big competitor. the two of them might give the house a run for their money.

green -- their names are mag and miggy. that's really all we care to know about them.

white -- heaviest guy yet, over 520lbs at the start, but lost 35 in the first week. we obviously like these Italians.
she is his mom and terrified of water /went to the ER during a challenge because she dodged water and landed on concrete with a bleeding nose.
no fear -- jillian changed her entire life with an inspiring, near-professional psychological breakdown.

purple -- unfortunate color for two brunettes as they really just remind us of tracey.
mom went home this week, and is slowly getting rid of her bee sting stomach and diabetes.
the daughter is a cryer but should be a good competitor.

orange -- another mother/son team. both need a hair makeover and fast,
but they are fun to watch as they get through things together.

red -- the only husband/wife team. they were apparently having issues before they came...
they seem to be doing ok. she's not that big and is already playing games as they had immunity this week. she gained a pound. not sure how i feel about that.

pink -- mother/daughter. they remind me of helen (BL winner) and her daughter. the daughter has all kinds of issues, but she is spunky as typical pink women have a tendency to be.

"everybody thinks i'm like the weakest link cause i couldn't get through day one at the ranch, but i've like come up from behind like a ninja on their As"
-ashley

brown -- tweedledee and tweedledum. 1 lb difference when they came.
one went home and has already lost 100 lbs, so they are going to
be big losers either way.

our biggest loser recap:
peg: 25lbs down
meg: 12 lbs down

she's halfway to another foto shoot... stay tuned!

shelby the senior + snow

2010-01-09T07:46:00.009-08:00

these were senior shots + anthropologie ad
[and some after lighting play]

this was just fun:

um..... what?

2010-01-08T05:03:00.002-08:00

what the h, gmail?

proof i have seriously cute friends

2010-01-06T20:11:00.002-08:00

i am still talking about this...

can i just tell you, how much fun this was?

alisse blogged it much better than I could...

aaron + gail

2010-01-05T06:12:00.008-08:00

if you go see mary poppins this year, you might see our gail,
if you go see wicked this year, you might see our aaron

that's why they needed a cute foto of the 2
to keep in their respective dressing rooms

it is too bad that they are so fotogenic and what not
makes my job so hard...

probably my fave:

rob said, "ok guys-- be serious"
...2 actors = 2 interpretations:

we call that "deer in the headlights"

miss you guys- good luck in 2010.
see you on the road!

bring it on, 2010

2010-01-03T15:35:00.003-08:00

last year was hands down
(i guess that means you can't even vote on it, put your hand down)
the best year of my nearly 25 years...

this time last year i had no idea,
that in 2 weeks i would be on a first date and lovin life and and all things cc.
(driving all of you nuts with my giddy stories)

this time last year,
i had no idea where i would be living or working...
i am amazed how much my heavenly father blesses more and more daily

bring it, 2010.

as an FYI,

this blog, is going to slowly become the foto place,
as i have many coming up
and i know having 2 is quasi intense.

do i care? not much.

for christmas,
cc gave me all kinds of foto equips
and a workshop class i get to go to...
i have been gettin ready.

so excited.

bring it on.

katie + abby + calli + maddi (+steve)

2010-01-03T14:07:00.009-08:00

this was fun.

maddi wanted to take her friends "shooting"
for a christmas gift.

it had to be mid-day for
"only home from school for a short time" reasons
but we got a few.

favorite:

good friend just drove by and stopped to say hi,
way to make my day!

thanks, girls.
lets do that again sometime...

when lighting can prosper