Progress-My New (ish) Bathroom!

So, I had the idea to paint my kitchen cabinets. I looked it up online for ideas...and that was my downfall. I totally went upgrade crazy! We now have new couches, a coffee table, I have a new bed, decor on the dining table and in the living room and, featured below, a freshly painted bathroom! And I still haven't gotten to those kitchen cabinets. Haha! Also, I have a new obsession with this blog. Enjoy.

It's a little brighter orange-y than I meant.

But SO MUCH nicer!

A view without my flash, ugh, back-lit

This is the picture on the wall I was trying to match for color.

Food Stuff

Making my potatoes

The Spread

Close-Up

Mini Cheese-cake Tarts!

Ok, so, the roommates and I decided last minute to have a BBQ a few weeks back. We made a strange assortment of stuff based on what we had laying around, such as this fried potato recipe. Mmm. Mostly a Mexican theme of Carne Asada, rice, beans, salsa, and guacamole. But my roommate made up a delicious recipe of sweet and spicy green beans that was A-MAZING (using maple syrup) that she came up with thanks to a Chinese restaurant that we went to in SF. The last picture is of some cheesecake citrus tarts that my little bro, Peter, and I made up for my sister's baby's blessing. The far left: dark chocolate orange, then strawberry lemon and lastly, cherry lime. They were delicious if I do say so myself. And obviously, I do. Any questions are welcome. Hahaha, yeah right!

Just some art

So, when I do art projects with the kids at work, I just take pictures of it so I can remember the project, but I don't have to keep a bunch of watercolor warped, glitter spreading, bulky creations forever. Here are some that I've done in the past.

Redesign

I've decided to make this blog into something a little different. Enjoy.

Another Extreme

My posts have had really extreme subjects lately. Favorite things, Best things Ever, Worst...etc. Well, I think I just had the best birthday ever. Technically, it's not for two more days, but I went to the Garner's to celebrate with a birthday dinner this weekend. Only, it turned out to be a nice little family party! I'm getting all teary-eyed just thinking about it!

First, I went Saturday and watched Joshua's baseball game (talked to Rachel) and enjoyed the team pizza party afterwards. Then, went home and had a good time.

This morning, we had chocolate chip pancakes on my request along with bacon and eggs! Then, a nice little home teacher visit and church where they sang to me in Primary and gave me a birthday candy bar. When we got home, Rachel and Dewain prepared a special birthday dinner of marinated steaks, mashed red potatoes and asparagus. Wow!!!

If that wasn't enough, Joshua brought me a huge gift bag that he had taped closed. I didn't actually think anything was in it, but when I opened I found $6 and some random change...ALL of his money. He had opened his little coin bank and put everything in it in that bag for me. I can't believe how sweet and generous he is. He's a preschooler!! Then, I was taken into the living room and several presents were sitting on the coffee table wrapped up cute. The boys took turns bringing them to me. I opened the first one and it was a can of pears...I'm pretty poor, so I was happy. I looked down again and there was a $20 dollar bill taped to the label and a quarter on top! Whoa. I then unwrapped several cans with various bills taped to them. They knew just what I need right now and gave it to me so unselfishly.

When we went in to have the homemade chocolate pudding pie and oreo crust (also on my request) they sang happy birthday to me. Then, the boys said they wanted to sing me another song and sang Wadaliacha to me. When they got to, "I love you," they all pointed to me smiling. They are so adorable and I love them. They all gave me big hugs before I left. Can anyone believe that?!!?!? I'm such a lucky girl.

Bad Social Worker

Yep. It's now official. Why, you might ask??? Because I hate bums. I really do. Although this could be a case of people hating what they fear, but still. I had to do the whole public transport by myself. I rode Caltrain to SanFran and then walked from the station to Market Street. I was a little on edge the whole way and a couple of maybe-bums tried to talk to me. Then, after successfully purchasing tickets for a show (while trying to hide the fact that I was walking around using my GPS), I wanted to go down to the wharf. I am terrible at reading bus schedules (Brittney and Emily can attest to that) and so I asked some people waiting at a stop. They turned out to be some Europeans, but this guy sitting on the bench kindly offered to help. Why am I so trusting...still? He told me to ride the F line and that I needed 2 dollars cash. I stupidly did not bring cash. So, he directed me to an ATM. I thanked him profusely, to which he said, "now, you're going to help me out, right?" Oh, I see. You're one of THOSE. Then, I really looked at him and it was totally obvious, from his shifty walk to his blackened partial teeth. NOoooooo!!!! So, I said, "Sure, I guess I can pay for your bus ticket." Well, after I got my money, I gave him $2. He looks at me and says,"I need five dollars." I don't know how or why, but I mustered up the gumption to say, "Well, I can't afford five."

"I'll give you this two back and you give me five," forcefully moving in on me.

Then, I surprised myself again and talk-yelled, "Well, I Can't Afford It!" and ran away without looking back. Hahahahaha! It's sad how terrified I was that he would follow me and beat me up or something. But, there is a happy ending. I got on the bus, talked with some Irish people, and made it to the wharf where I met Emily and her family. Phew! I hope I never talk to a bum again.

This post is dedicated to my eternal roommate, Jency.

New Neighbors!!

The Garners!!!! That's right, folks. I'm in California living the life. I'm really about an hour from Rachel, but still, compared to before, she's right down the street. Granddad and Betsy (my grandparents) were visiting the area and came by to pick me up on their way to visit Dewain and Rachel. We had a wonderful time, baking cookies, going on walks, and playing with their puppy (Not Rachel's, Granddad's). We also went out to eat and a cute little Italian place where Nathan went crazy on their garlic bread. I might have gone a little crazy too, but it was delicious and they had oil and balsamic vinegar to dip it in. I love that. A highlight of the trip is that I got to eat meat, several times. I've been pretty much vegg since I moved here, only because I'm so poor. Haha!

The nephews were confused as always and called me all three of their aunts' names and were anxious for me to play Mario Cart with them. I told them I would play next time and Daniel looked at me with skepticism. I had to tell him I only live an hour away now, in California. He was pretty excited I think.

Granddad and Betsy and I had a fun little trip home. Right after boasting of the benefits of a GPS, theirs took us through the middle of a town called Pleasanton and added about 20-30 minutes to our car ride! Ha, those tricky little things.