Finds Vol. 2 and some randomness!

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." 
— Theodore Roosevelt

This quotation is really speaking to me today. I found it used in the teaser for a book, Daring Greatly, that looks really interesting. I certainly have a problem with failing to push myself to just go do and try, even if it means looking silly or not doing it perfectly... or even right for that matter.

With all this solo time on my hands, I've been keeping pretty quiet so I'll do another link heavy post!


1. The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman

Amazing. Book. I guess I've been in the mood for mind expanding imagery, re: Jagannath, and this book fit right in. It is also fairly short and I plowed through in over a 24 hr period. It is mystical and creepy and left me with bizarre dreams. If that doesn't earn a book 5 stars on my shelves, I don't know what does.


2. Hollywood Game Night 
This show is hilarious. Mom told me I should turn it on and boy was she right, it had me snorting and giggling and I'm kinda glad no one was around to hear the crazy way I was laughing.
Here's "How Do You Do" with some SNL Alums.




3. Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan

Even if you don't have kids, like myself obviously, this book is so funny. He includes drawings from his kids, and goofy family pictures. It doesn't glorify parenting or degrade it, it just points out the embarrassing, demoralizing ridiculousness of it all and the impossibility of not falling in love with it at the same time. I haven't belly laughed from a book so hard since I read Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. Did I tell you guys to read that? If I didn't, let's pretend I did, because you really must.

4. Whose Line Is It Anyway?

If you can't tell, I've been seeking out laughter lately. It's really helped pass the time with Ed away. I've mentioned how huge a fan I am of this show. I saw the live show in San Francisco with Ryan, Chip (Now Charles Esten thanks to Nashville), Greg Proops and Jeff Davis (major crush on that one back in middle school). If you're not watching the new season of this show, you're seriously missing out. Here's one of my favorite clips from the old seasons:

5. Backstreet Boys - In A World Like This

You can hate all you want but I love this. Takes me back. Never got to see them in concert but I always loved them. There's a special place in my heart for Kevin. :)

And last but not least, in fact, I'm not 100% sure I haven't already recommended this but since they add new episodes regularly....

6. Conversations With My 2-Year-Old

There are about 8 episodes out now, but the first one is still a solid introduction to the series. If you haven't heard anything about it, one man reconstructs conversations with his 2 year old daughter but with a fully grown man playing the daughter.

The "Pants" episode is also pretty amazing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dad and Debbie stopped by for a short visit earlier this week and we had a really nice time. Two long walks, Winchester house, Game of Thrones season 3, a fancy dinner and they even gifted me with a Dyson vacuum when I apparently destroyed Ed's old vacuum. I swear, I didn't do it on purpose! It really helped the second week move a little quicker.

After a lovely dinner out! One of our few group non-hike or hot tub pictures :)

Delicious Ethiopian, I love you.

Winchester House! I can't wait for Fright Night this year!

Weight loss is still holding. I've taken a break from running but I'm still walking and doing other things. Counting down the days until it's time to visit Ck. That's about all for now! Like I said it's been very quiet round here. I haven't been up to much, hence my lack of posting.  Ed comes home on Sunday and I could not be more ready. :)

Finds

Once again I'm delaying that post about our vacation - a great deal of the pictures are on Ed's computer so I've got to wait until he returns home. My memory is sadly deficient, I hardly know what he's got on there now and it's only been a couple weeks!

Instead I wanted a write about a couple things really catching my attention.

To Read: Rapture Practice by Aaron Hartzler

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15790822-rapture-practice

This memoir of a life in a highly religious family is riveting. Maybe it wouldn't be if I grew up in that, but I find this kind of story so interesting. Add to that Hartzler's realization that he is gay, and it makes for some really gut twisting moments where you just want to reach through the pages and help this poor conflicted kid. 

GoodReads teases it with: "Aaron Hartzler grew up gay in a home where he was taught that at any moment Jesus might come down in the twinkling of an eye, and scoop his whole family up to Heaven." 

I think that's a bit misleading, because he doesn't come to understand his feelings about being gay until pretty far into the book and that statement glosses over the challenges of his life separate of sexuality. We're talking the music he listens to, movies, friends, clothes, obedience to his parents... everything is touched by his family's beliefs. The circular logic of why we should trust in God's plan is seemingly so inescapable, and then to be bolstered by a community that preaches holding others accountable for straying from the path. I devoured this book in two days thanks to it being highly conversational and because it just grabbed onto my heart.

To Watch: Stand Up Guys

It really pains me that the reviews of this movie are bad. I didn't bother reading them post-watching. This movie was wonderful. Of course you might think it's going to be good because of the cast, and yes, that helps, but what is really great about it, is how it revolves around the characters and not the action. Some may lose interesting because it's a little slow, but that's one of the things I loved. It's a movie about great old crooks, being great old crooks. They move slow, have aches and complaints, are still funny and don't miraculously turn into younger men who do crazy stunts via special effects or unbelievable lines via crazy scripts (re: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and any actor that's granted Aaron Sorkin's fast paced zingers). 

Secondary recommendation: Warm Bodies

Both Stand Up Guys and Warm Bodies have amazing soundtracks... Left me ranting and raving to Ed about what good choices were made.

To Hear: Elise LeGrow "Weed & Wine"

This song is my current favorite background music for making dinner, along with those aforementioned soundtracks. It reminds me of "Dreamsome" by Shelby Lynne which was in Bridget Jones' Diary, but with a bit more body. Speaking of body, I've no idea what the deal is with the wine bath in the video, so, just take the song on it's own regardless of the video. 

Fingers crossed I get pictures up from our vacation in the next post!

Catch-All!

Goodness, I have no excuse for not writing recently. So much has been going on and I really should be documenting it. Let me catch you up briefly before I get back to posting more regularly with pictures from our travels...

I submitted another book review today for Racialicious so fingers crossed it meets expectations. I've been a reading fool. 

It's wonderful really, and I feel more confident about my ability to assess books and appreciate nuances of certain authors. I can connect similarities and references with much greater ease. It's wonderful. Now if only I could get those connections out of my head and onto the page. My first review is here. Be gentle - I'm trying my best to learn how to review appropriately and I know I can't get better at it if I don't keep trying. Plus, I've been battling that self-doubt that says that my writing isn't good enough for any kind of publishing. Leave it to Eleanor Roosevelt to explain it best: "You must do the thing that you think you cannot do."

Running is on the back burner. It's still happening, I've not quit, and I'm still enjoying it, but without any races coming up, I'm not pushing myself to go any great distances. I did get a fancy pair of new shoes thanks to a grand re-opening sale at Sports Authority and I am in love.

They are so comfortable and it doesn't hurt that I love the way they look. I can't lie, I was badly hoping for a pair of Nike's. You all know how much I love that one Nike commercial with the singing and the literal cross country running, you know, this one:

But sadly, none of the Nike shoes were supportive enough for me. Or they were tight on my (apparently) gigantic feet. Most felt super comfortable, I told Ed it was like running on pillows. But I have a bit of a flat foot and I need more structure to my shoe so I went with the lovely Asics above and after a four mile run to break them in, I don't have an iota of regret.

I've started a regular meditation and yoga routine and I've been feeling a big difference in my emotional reactions. I feel as if I'm on a slightly more even keel than I was before. I still struggle with holding poses and keeping my mind at ease, but I'm enjoying the struggle. Along with that Eleanor Roosevelt quotation I've been telling myself to 'breathe into the resistance.' That seems to help when I'm vibrating with exhaustion and ready to collapse into corpse pose.

Weight-loss is still on track - 22 lbs down and counting! Thankfully our last visit home didn't add any extra weight - but I sure didn't lose anything either. That may or may not have been because of that Ledo's pizza. I went a liiiiiittle bit nuts on that thing. I don't regret it! Too delicious to regret. Mushroom and pepperoni and some Cholula chipotle sauce and I'm in heaven. No wonder we were eating that weekly in Reston. Note to self - do not buy a home near a Ledo's.

I'm still job hunting but that is a sadly quiet affair. No nibbles on a thing! But that's okay, I'll just keep poking around. Also, after seeing Michelle in her wonderful production of Ragtime, I'm feeling a bit inspired to find somewhere to sing out here... a chorus or a show... I'll keep you all updated if I find something.

I will be back in the MD area briefly this upcoming weekend for my sister's baby shower. I'm really excited for the gender reveal cupcakes. Let's be honest, who wouldn't be excited for cupcakes period? And add on top a gender reveal? Best cupcakes ever!

That's a decent catch all post for now. Hopefully writing these book reviews and posting on here will keep me honest. With our traveling dying down for the summer after this weekend trip, it'll be nice to get a regular posting schedule set-up.

"Oh reckless abandon, like no one's watching you"

Such a fantastic weekend.

Lately Ed and I have been discussing our plans for leaving CA more and more, trying to work out the details, and in the process, trying to appreciate what we have out here more. We've made up a short list of things we want to experience before we go and this weekend we checked one off the list:

• Visit Tomales Bay and eat fresh oysters

I'd been there once before with Dad and Debbie and had an amazing time. Well, mostly. The ride home was pretty miserable because of a combination of eating waaaaaay too many large oysters and the curviest roads I have ever been on. Horrible. Never, ever, order large oysters. They are bigger than you can even imagine. Medium is plenty for fanatics and small is good for most. But other than getting in over my head tummy-space wise, that first visit was fantastic. The oysters were salty and delicious and it's just a beautiful area, muddy, beachy, hilly... It's hard to pinpoint what makes it so invigorating.

The weather really cooperated, so much so that we left with a bit of a sunburn. The sun was bright, there was a cool breeze and you could smell the eucalyptus trees all over. Add the smell of all the grills and - so, so many hot pots! - and the brine, it was heavenly.

Man these guys had a ton of meats on their grill, and I don't think they ever stopped grilling the whole time.

We made it through about 50 oysters, with maybe 20 of them cooked? We were surrounded mostly by families and hipster gatherings who looked to be around our age. The young crowd came stocked: Champagne, olives, clementines, cheeses, prosciutto, fancy olive oils and balsamics. We were not quite as thoroughly packed, but our Triscuts, hummus, hot sauces, and olives were just as good! I mean, we brought organic lemons from our upstairs neighbor so... boom! We can hipster it up too ya'll. Many of the families were grilling up tons of different meats and using hot pots and piling toppings on the oysters. Everything looked and smelled delicious.

We remembered gloves! I thought so many people were going to impale themselves...

Post-grill, pre-opening...

Post-grill and pre-gullet :)

Nothing beats raw and fresh!

View of the farm

Ed testing to see how far he can get before the mud eats him whole

There isn't much more to add other than we drove up, ate, drove home on the 1 along the coast and had an incredible day. It just really framed why we love being out here so much. It's hard being away from friends and family, but living in California is such a dream when we finally get out there and enjoy it.

Pull-off on the 1 on the way home, in Marin Headlands

Looking towards S.F. and home

This past weekend was also packed with movies: Ted, Pitch Perfect and Mama. None totally disappointed, and one left me with solid nightmares to haunt my middle of the night bathroom trips. If Ed wasn't here at night, I'd be living with all the lights on... probably all the time. Although the ending of Mama was terrible, everything up until the last 5 minutes made for a fantastically scary movie. I can't get enough of Guillermo del Toro. If I haven't recommended you all read his The Strain trilogy written with Chuck Hogan, then I will say it again - it's creepy as hell. Rumor is it might be a show on FX soon so read up now!

Speaking of reading I finished two more books:
Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
The Last Kind Words by Tom Piccirilli
I'll try to do a write up of these later, but for now I'll leave you with this: Where'd You Go Bernadette is on my top 10 favorite reads right now.

Everything else is going well. Running is... going. I'm trying to get my time down but it's really fighting me. At least I'm getting out and doing it regularly, that's all I can ask for, keeping up with my measly 11-13 miles per week. Ed's workin' away, poor guy didn't even get today off. Next weekend I have a dentist appointment and I'm getting my first crown. I am terrified. Terrified. The weekend after that brings us February! The best month ever. I'm really looking forward to my birthday this year... just feels like a big one. :) That's all for now folks!

S.F. within sight!

"West bound and rolling taking refuge in the roads"

Boy, is moving the worst or what? About a week ago I was thinking, you know it'll be good to move. To get rid of some stuff, and explore a new area out here. But then I pulled down all of our cardboard boxes from storage. I taped up a couple boxes and started throwing things in. About 15 minutes in I remember oh yes, that's right, moving is the worst.

Thankfully, a cross country moves requires you to become more organized than you ever thought you would have to be, so I can count on my boxes being appropriately labeled for each room. We haven't accumulated too much "stuff" but we have acquired a new futon and a rocking chair (Thanks Dad and Debbie!). Oh and the outside table Ed built. And the potato plant frame. Hmm, maybe we have accumulated some stuff...

We live about a block from the Good Will and I anticipate dumping a huge amount of stuff over there. We've got some great quality things that we just never use. I'm even debating donating all my music books and DVDs... I love them dearly and do look at them every 6mo. or so... but does that make them worth lugging around? We've got at least two more moves ahead of us... possibly more. Moving just makes me want to shrug off all the stuff, pack a duffle bag and go. I never buy books anymore thanks to my Kindle and the library. I love books. I love the feel of books, but they just aren't practical to buy. There's no space for them. They are costly. They are damn heavy to move. Of course I'd be lost without a good library.

I would like to get a fancy version of Jane Eyre someday, and I already own Goodnight Opus and The Giving Tree for my future children... I don't need much more than that. And I'm not sure that the thinking of, 'maybe I'll hold onto it because I'll soon have a house to permanently store it in' will lead me to a non-cluttered, lean-home future. (This being the extreme ideal) ... (Or not quite as related, this woman. I'd quite like to be her and have that amazing garden - this particular blog post was hilarious)

Packing has also made me realize that I need to get wedding stuff done and shipped ASAP. Because, like so many other things, I decided to conveniently forget that the wedding is not on this coast. So alllllll this great stuff I've been working on needs to be packed and shipped by oh, let's say this week? *panic* I've been in full wedding mode for the past weekend and pretty much every day this week. I returned all my library books whether I had started them, was close to finishing or hadn't even cracked them, because let's be honest, I'm not getting any reading done from now until I take my first step off the plane onto Palm Island.

And working out? What's that? That doesn't happen around these parts anymore. On the bright side, I am hardly eating due to activities and stress. So it all balances out. Plus, I count watching the Olympics as mild exercise since I freak out when the competitions get tense - even when I have very little idea what's going on other than someone is close to glory or disaster.

Funny (and a little bit sad) story. In my exploring things to pack or toss, I found some at home waxing kits I had never been brave enough to try. Lord knows what overcame me but I decided I should test it out so I could hold onto them or trash them. So. I figured ok, let's try the leg. That skins gotta be pretty tough and simple to do. And it was simple. And honestly not all that painful. I think it's similar to the difference between the pain you feel when you brush out a knot in your hair. It is much more painful to have another person brush out the knot. So having myself rip off a waxed on strip wasn't too painful.

At first.

Because after that... it was immediately like Steve Carell in 40-Year-Old Virgin when he's walking home after the waxing incident. And that was pretty unnerving and very unsexy.

So. My verdict is that waxing anything is the worst and I'll just avoid that for the rest of my life. Don't think I'm missing out there.

"I'm an extraordinary machine"

Ok I'm gonna brag. And I'll admit I give people grief (silently and in my own head of course) when they brag. I don't care how much weight you've lost (I actually do and I'm jealous) or how far you can run (once again, jealous) or how much you enjoy your work out (super envious on that point). So it's been really odd for me to be on the other side of that for once. I'll be damned if I turn into one of those people who only talks about their exercises but I just HAD to come on here and tell the world that I am OFFICIALLY a runner! Like I mentioned last entry, my family and I have signed up for Bay to Breakers (this is so NSFW for the love of God, but you should absolutely do a google image search for Bay to Breakers if you're at home). So I've been training and following a plan Ed made up for me. You must understand, when I've 'run' in the past, it went something like this: walk for five minutes, and then run one minute and then walk one minute for about 30-40 minutes. This is not an ideal way to run a race. I don't know what got into me, but when Ed gave me my assignment, I said okay. And proceeded to run for 20+ minutes a day straight. No break. No slowing down. I've dreamed about running like this for so long...

The sheer freedom of lacing up your sneakers and just going somewhere from your own strength and determination... it's exhilarating! (Anyone else think of that ad they pitched in What Women Want? Mel Gibson will forever be associated with peaceful women's running) It's also appealing in that it's just one long meditation. An extended assignment in focus and clarity of thought. In her new book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? Mindy Kaling (from The Office) talks about using elaborate revenge fantasies to get her through exercises. Turns out I like envisioning scenes from musicals, tv shows and books in great detail. If I start thinking about the fact that I'm working out or traveling or any thought at all about my actions I immediately start to feel exhausted and weak. So I just keep on trucking. I'm also kind of a baby in terms of working out without music... It's just so alien and barbaric that one would workout without any kind of distraction... But I've been doing that too. As much as I enjoy my scenes in my head, I've started testing out just being quiet and running. And that's not been awful either!

Ok that's enough exercise talk. I just wanted to tell the world how ecstatic I am to run finally. It's like learning how to do a cartwheel or something! (I have no idea how to do a cartwheel but since I've always wanted to do one and they look like so much fun, I imagine it's the best feeling in the world)

In other news, I'm plugging away at my reading challenge. The whole Game of Thrones series really slows me down, but I love it. I'll probably love it more when the show comes on again. I also picked up another book that really got me, Discovery of Witches, which is a trilogy, and has all that lovely romance and vampire-witch relations that I can never get enough of. I'm truly a sucker for vampires at the end of the day.

And! I've officially tried my hand at canning. It wasn't as hard or complicated as I thought. It WAS as messy as I was worried it would be. I have yet to taste my strawberry jam, but fingers crossed it's delicious. It's hard not to be delicious with bright berries and a metric ton of sugar added. 

Strawberry Jam! Hopefully edible...

Enjoying the day in Mountain View

I feel as if maybe in the first few months out here, I really kind of stalled. I just was dragging my feet and refusing to tackle all these dreams I had... maybe for fear of failure or because I was still bummed about moving? I still very dearly miss MD, my friends and family. But... I believe I'm finally seeing this as home? At least as in, this is Ed and I's space here. Our little corner of the world where we can and play with crazy cats and make potato bins (yeah, I'll post about that craziness next time), and I can address things I've always wanted to do, or just do better. It's a nice feeling :)

Cabernet flight at Savvy Cellars

Also one last little programming note - today is my stepmom's bday, and she and Dad are in Hawaii. I would like to express my happy birthday wishes to her along with a heaping dose of jealousy that we are not in Hawaii as well, snorkeling with dolphins, turtles and who knows what else :) Happy Birthday Debbie!

Brunch at Louis'