I know it's been awhile since I last posted, but we are in the middle of the most wonderful time of year...Pumpkin Season! Pumpkin Season is a brief moment where the taste of pumpkin is all around, and I am in heaven. So many delicious treats to eat, which is unkind to the waisteline, but tottantalizing to the tastebuds. It comes but once a year. Sometimes starting as early as mid-September and usually lasting through November if you're lucky.
One of my favorite pumpkin products is a pumpkin pie milkshake. Ruby's has a delicious one. It's pumpkin pie in liquid form, and it is amazing! Jack-in-the-Box also has one that is pretty good one as well, and it's cheaper. Ask for oreos to be added for a tasty twist on the classic seasonal milkshake.
If you are a fan of pumpkin bread products, try baking your own pumpkin bread. It's fairly simple, and a great breakfast accompanied by coffee (pumpkin creamer anyone?). Mimi's restaurant also has some delicious breakfast items this time of year if you aren't the baking type. If you have a sweet tooth, try the pumpkin pancakes. It's covered in cinnamon apples and whipped cream. They also have the most amazing pumpkin muffins (my personal favorite item of the season that I look forward to every year).
If you've never had a pumpkin bagel, then definitely get your hands on one. You can even get pumpkin cream cheese!
And then of course there's all the dessert options. Though they are available all year at Ralphs, pumpkin chocolate cookies are to die for. They are soft and fluffy and wonderful. Pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin ice cream, and obviously pumpkin pie (surprisingly my least favorite). Pumpkin frozen yogurt is also a wonderful dessert. Add graham cracker dust, oreos, and whipped cream for extra goodness!
I'm sure there are many other incredible pumpkin products out there. If you come across anything, please share. Oh and go get your pumpkin on!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto
As Drew flies to the Land of the Rising Sun today, I reflect on my time spent in Japan in the spring of 2007. Kobe, Japan was my last international stop on an educational circumnavigation of the world. I wasn't in Kobe long though. As soon as we were cleared by customs, my friend Matt and I went to the train station to use our Japan Rail Pass. Tokyo or bust. Tokyo is east of Kobe and about a 2 hour ride on the Shinkansen (bullet train).
In Tokyo, Matt and I wandered and experienced. What every traveler should do. Some highlights include:
* A full night (10pm-6am) of karaoke and horrible sleep with 4 other fellow shipmates. There was a lot of sake and laughter involved. My friend Rick took some amazing footage of the evening.
::Note, my friend Kyle who is singing in the video is currently a singing sensation in Vietnam right now. We knew him before he was famous::
* Walking the perimeter of the Imperial Gardens.
* A ride up in the Park Hyatt Hotel elevator. Lost in Translation was filmed there and we wanted to get a drink at the bar. The cover charge was outrageous. It was a pleasant elevator ride.
* A stroll through the distinctive Harajuku district.
* 16 minutes of memories at Staple Land or Palette Town.
* The delicious sushi, noodles, and bento boxes.
* An enjoyable night at the Seafort.
* The interactive photo booths where nothing is in English.
* Speaking of English, all the crazy signs translated into English.
* A traditional tea ceremony.
* Finally finding the Godzilla statue after probably passing it countless times. I thought it would be bigger than a 3 foot statue on a 4 foot slab. Silly me thinking Godzilla was a giant creature.
After an incredible time in Tokyo, Matt and I headed to southwest. We did Hiroshima by day, Kyoto by night.
Despite the devastating destruction of Hiroshima, the Japanese promote the importance of peace and preventing something like this from ever happening again. It was powerful and educational.
By night time, we were in Kyoto enjoying the freshest, most amazing sushi ever. And maybe a little sake...
Overall, Japan is an incredible place. I love that I have so many wonderful memories, and I am so elated Drew gets to experience Japan.
Sayonara.
In Tokyo, Matt and I wandered and experienced. What every traveler should do. Some highlights include:
* A full night (10pm-6am) of karaoke and horrible sleep with 4 other fellow shipmates. There was a lot of sake and laughter involved. My friend Rick took some amazing footage of the evening.
::Note, my friend Kyle who is singing in the video is currently a singing sensation in Vietnam right now. We knew him before he was famous::
* Walking the perimeter of the Imperial Gardens.
* A ride up in the Park Hyatt Hotel elevator. Lost in Translation was filmed there and we wanted to get a drink at the bar. The cover charge was outrageous. It was a pleasant elevator ride.
* A stroll through the distinctive Harajuku district.
* 16 minutes of memories at Staple Land or Palette Town.
* The delicious sushi, noodles, and bento boxes.
* An enjoyable night at the Seafort.
* The interactive photo booths where nothing is in English.
* Speaking of English, all the crazy signs translated into English.
* A traditional tea ceremony.
* Finally finding the Godzilla statue after probably passing it countless times. I thought it would be bigger than a 3 foot statue on a 4 foot slab. Silly me thinking Godzilla was a giant creature.
After an incredible time in Tokyo, Matt and I headed to southwest. We did Hiroshima by day, Kyoto by night.
Despite the devastating destruction of Hiroshima, the Japanese promote the importance of peace and preventing something like this from ever happening again. It was powerful and educational.By night time, we were in Kyoto enjoying the freshest, most amazing sushi ever. And maybe a little sake...
Overall, Japan is an incredible place. I love that I have so many wonderful memories, and I am so elated Drew gets to experience Japan.
Sayonara.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Mine are inconsiderate
So this first official post is a rant. I didn't want to start off complaining, but my neighbor fueled this fire in me, and now I feel compelled to discuss all of the inconsiderate people I have to call neighbors.
Let's begin with the guy across the driveway who was messing with my beauty sleep last night. He must think that everyone wants to hear his conversation with friends on Skype because I can clearly hear both sides of the conversation. Seriously? You need to yell at the computer screen and have the volume on max? This isn't the first time I've had to yell such things as: "No one wants to hear your conversations!" "I don't care if she doesn't like white guys!" "Nobody cares what your coach did!" I've tried to close my window, but that still doesn't solve the problem. I can still hear clearly what is being conversed. And if he's not chatting with someone, he's listening to his horrible music at an absurd volume. AND he does this on weeknights when some people (must not be him) have to get up early for work. Inconsiderate.
Mondays I am lucky enough to have off, but do I get to sleep in? No. So not only do I have to go to bed listening to meaningless, overly loud conversations, but I get woken up to Porsche Guy. This guy ever so slowly backs out of his garage and revs the engine until it sets off my other neighbor's car alarm. (Her alarm is hyper-sensitive and will go off if a fly were to land on it. She's been asked to get it fixed by multiple neighbors but refuses because she "likes it that way." Really? You like finding your keys and pressing the button everyday? Inconsiderate.) Anyways, Porsche Guy lives to set this alarm off. He revs his engine a little to get the car to start beeping. He does this for a few minutes and then gives it a big rev which then sets the alarm off. By this point, I'm not only up, but I'm inhaling gas fumes. This happens everyday, whenever he leaves or comes home. Inconsiderate.
He's not the only one with a loud car who likes to rev his engine though. Yes that's right, across the driveway (unrelated to my previous loud talkative neighbor) there is another with, not a Porsche, but an old bug. His might be even louder, but at least I don't get gassed out of my own bedroom. Though since it is old, he is always working on it because it is constantly breaking down. He even has had a tow truck come, on a few occasions, in the middle of the night. Middle of the night. Come on! Inconsiderate.
Next up is my neighbor with the dog and annoying brother who always decides to visit before the sun's up on the weekends. Now the dog is an awesome little dog and makes zero noise. So what's the problem you're thinking. My neighbor is the problem. Everyday that poor dog gets yelled at for reasons unknown. All of a sudden you might hear, "GIGI! GET THE HELL OVER HERE! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? GET YOUR BUTT IN THE HOUSE! YOU ARE A BAD BAD DOG!" The poor thing travels a paw out of her area and gets reamed for it. But that isn't the real issue. At least he doesn't do that early in the morning or late at night. My neighbor's brother frequently visits in the wee hours (before the sun is up) of the morning on the weekends. They go on surfing ventures which is fine, but they sit outside my window and just talk. They don't try to whisper nor do they even consider talking in his apartment. No, I must listen to them too on a day I don't have to get up. Really? You know my bedroom is right there. Inconsiderate.
Next up is the family across the street. Now they aren't as terrible, but they have done some pretty un-neighborly things. The woman sits out front and makes bubbles. An adult woman, no children, just makes bubbles. Well if your car is parked over there, it'll be covered in soapy goop by the end of the day. I just don't park over there anymore, but when there's no other spot, you just pray tomorrow isn't bubble day. Now this same woman also likes to get up at 6:00am and trim the hedges of the lawn. Granted this isn't a frequent occurrence, it's still annoying when you're trying to enjoy a cup of coffee and a crossword and all you hear is, well I can't express the noise in words, but you know what a hedger sounds like. It's a high-pitched annoyance. And because the way our little 8-plex is set up, it echos off the walls and sounds like it's coming from right outside my dining room. On those days I leave for work early and have to enjoy my coffee on the road. Inconsiderate.
Lastly is my neighbor in the mirror image apartment from mine. She isn't inconsiderate (well to me anyway, maybe the earth...), but she is always in the shower! I don't know if it's more weird that she's always in the shower or that I notice (it's not hard to though) she's always in the shower. It doesn't matter the time of day, the shower is always going. I wake up, she's in the shower. I come home from work, she's in the shower. I leave to run, she's in the shower. I come back from running, she's in the shower. I eat dinner, she's in the shower. I go to bed, SHE"S IN THE SHOWER! What the heck do you do to take that many showers? I'm perplexed.
Sorry for the ranting, but blogging about it made me feel a little better.
Please feel free to post a rant of your own about a neighbor in the comment box. It's therapeutic.
Let's begin with the guy across the driveway who was messing with my beauty sleep last night. He must think that everyone wants to hear his conversation with friends on Skype because I can clearly hear both sides of the conversation. Seriously? You need to yell at the computer screen and have the volume on max? This isn't the first time I've had to yell such things as: "No one wants to hear your conversations!" "I don't care if she doesn't like white guys!" "Nobody cares what your coach did!" I've tried to close my window, but that still doesn't solve the problem. I can still hear clearly what is being conversed. And if he's not chatting with someone, he's listening to his horrible music at an absurd volume. AND he does this on weeknights when some people (must not be him) have to get up early for work. Inconsiderate.
Mondays I am lucky enough to have off, but do I get to sleep in? No. So not only do I have to go to bed listening to meaningless, overly loud conversations, but I get woken up to Porsche Guy. This guy ever so slowly backs out of his garage and revs the engine until it sets off my other neighbor's car alarm. (Her alarm is hyper-sensitive and will go off if a fly were to land on it. She's been asked to get it fixed by multiple neighbors but refuses because she "likes it that way." Really? You like finding your keys and pressing the button everyday? Inconsiderate.) Anyways, Porsche Guy lives to set this alarm off. He revs his engine a little to get the car to start beeping. He does this for a few minutes and then gives it a big rev which then sets the alarm off. By this point, I'm not only up, but I'm inhaling gas fumes. This happens everyday, whenever he leaves or comes home. Inconsiderate.
He's not the only one with a loud car who likes to rev his engine though. Yes that's right, across the driveway (unrelated to my previous loud talkative neighbor) there is another with, not a Porsche, but an old bug. His might be even louder, but at least I don't get gassed out of my own bedroom. Though since it is old, he is always working on it because it is constantly breaking down. He even has had a tow truck come, on a few occasions, in the middle of the night. Middle of the night. Come on! Inconsiderate.
Next up is my neighbor with the dog and annoying brother who always decides to visit before the sun's up on the weekends. Now the dog is an awesome little dog and makes zero noise. So what's the problem you're thinking. My neighbor is the problem. Everyday that poor dog gets yelled at for reasons unknown. All of a sudden you might hear, "GIGI! GET THE HELL OVER HERE! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? GET YOUR BUTT IN THE HOUSE! YOU ARE A BAD BAD DOG!" The poor thing travels a paw out of her area and gets reamed for it. But that isn't the real issue. At least he doesn't do that early in the morning or late at night. My neighbor's brother frequently visits in the wee hours (before the sun is up) of the morning on the weekends. They go on surfing ventures which is fine, but they sit outside my window and just talk. They don't try to whisper nor do they even consider talking in his apartment. No, I must listen to them too on a day I don't have to get up. Really? You know my bedroom is right there. Inconsiderate.
Next up is the family across the street. Now they aren't as terrible, but they have done some pretty un-neighborly things. The woman sits out front and makes bubbles. An adult woman, no children, just makes bubbles. Well if your car is parked over there, it'll be covered in soapy goop by the end of the day. I just don't park over there anymore, but when there's no other spot, you just pray tomorrow isn't bubble day. Now this same woman also likes to get up at 6:00am and trim the hedges of the lawn. Granted this isn't a frequent occurrence, it's still annoying when you're trying to enjoy a cup of coffee and a crossword and all you hear is, well I can't express the noise in words, but you know what a hedger sounds like. It's a high-pitched annoyance. And because the way our little 8-plex is set up, it echos off the walls and sounds like it's coming from right outside my dining room. On those days I leave for work early and have to enjoy my coffee on the road. Inconsiderate.
Lastly is my neighbor in the mirror image apartment from mine. She isn't inconsiderate (well to me anyway, maybe the earth...), but she is always in the shower! I don't know if it's more weird that she's always in the shower or that I notice (it's not hard to though) she's always in the shower. It doesn't matter the time of day, the shower is always going. I wake up, she's in the shower. I come home from work, she's in the shower. I leave to run, she's in the shower. I come back from running, she's in the shower. I eat dinner, she's in the shower. I go to bed, SHE"S IN THE SHOWER! What the heck do you do to take that many showers? I'm perplexed.
Sorry for the ranting, but blogging about it made me feel a little better.
Please feel free to post a rant of your own about a neighbor in the comment box. It's therapeutic.
Friday, September 16, 2011
What am I doing?
So obviously I am new to this world of blogging. I've always enjoyed reading the blogs of friends and even some strangers but never thought it was something I could do. I still don't think I am capable of keeping up a blog, and the whole idea of it scares me.
I decided to give it a go though. But what am I doing? I don't know enough about one topic nor do I have a hobby I enjoy doing on a regular basis. I'm not that cupcake lady who gives recipes to adoring fans or the guy who knows everything about technology. I'm just a girl who may or may not have something interesting to share on a given day. I mean, this may just be a compilation of musings, ramblings, and opinions on a wide variety of subject matter. Do I have an audience for this? Probably not, but I suppose I could just do it for myself. Keep up my writing skills (if I ever had any to start with). Blogging could become my hobby, I suppose.
So here goes nothing!
I decided to give it a go though. But what am I doing? I don't know enough about one topic nor do I have a hobby I enjoy doing on a regular basis. I'm not that cupcake lady who gives recipes to adoring fans or the guy who knows everything about technology. I'm just a girl who may or may not have something interesting to share on a given day. I mean, this may just be a compilation of musings, ramblings, and opinions on a wide variety of subject matter. Do I have an audience for this? Probably not, but I suppose I could just do it for myself. Keep up my writing skills (if I ever had any to start with). Blogging could become my hobby, I suppose.
So here goes nothing!
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