give blood!

I'm a regular donor at the San Diego Blood Bank and each year they have an event at a Padres game to honor their high level donors. Luckily, it's always at the end of the season, so we usually end up seeing a pretty good game. The game was this past Saturday afternoon where the Padres played the Reds in what was an apparently important game. Aaron explained the standings and wild card business to me. The score was back and forth for most of the game, but we pulled it off in the bottom of the 9th and won! (nevermind that i made aaron leave in the top of the 9th so i could hurry home to the RS broadcast. he eventually forgave me) We're ahead of the Giants. Go Padres!ps- aaron is not wearing a yamaka, rather a Padres hat on the very back of his head. in case you were wondering. also, i think i've almost resigned myself to the fact that just like i don't want to wear make up each day, aaron doesn't want to shave. live and let live?

not the best seats ever, but it was nice to be up high and catch the breeze because it was so hot out. we're finally getting our summer. no thanks, i'm ready for fall.

love my pumpkin

i've always loved the flavor of pumpkin, but never found ways to eat it more often than in the fall. of course fall baking begs the use of pumpkin, however after learning about how it is a nutritional powerhouse (and loving the pumpkin-cinnamon combo) i was determined to use it year round. surprisingly, i found a yummy and easy recipe for pumpkin pancakes in aaron's october issue of men's health. i made them sunday morning and they were delicious! thought i would share.

pumpkin pancakes:

dry
2 c. pancake mix
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
wet
1 c. canned pumpkin
1 1/2 c. milk
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg, beaten
*combine the dry in one bowl, the wet in another, then add the dry to the wet and mix. pour 1/4 cup on piping hot griddle and proceed as usual.

note: i don't own pumpkin pie spice, so i did 1/2 tsp of nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of cloves and the rest with cinnamon. i used EVOO and fat free milk. i think i would like a recipe that doesn't use pancake mix, instead rather cooks from scratch, but this was very easy. i think i'll add some ground flax next time, too. i'll be working these in my pancake rotation as a nice change from plain and blueberry.

enjoy!

gardening

i've been wanting to plant a garden for a very long time, but i have also killed every plant i've owned for a very long time, so i was unsure if i should proceed. however, since i envision myself being a mother who has a garden and cans the fruits of her labor i figured i should start somehow. lowe's has a money back guarantee on their plants which gave me hope. we have the most pathetic patch of dirt outside our door but with a little perseverance i've had success. small success.

initial confusion on staking my plants.
a little elbow grease.

the first fruit! best strawberry ever. i absolutely love having a basil plant as nothing beats fresh basil. i finally have a squash coming in and am so excited about that. nothing from my tomato plant yet, but i have hopes. again, very small success, but a victory none the less.

HELP!

i'm in search of a little black dress for sandy's wedding. it's only two months away! eek, where did the time go? my requirements are few: modest and something i can wear again. i'm willing to buy something nicer because you can always use a great black dress. i tend to shy toward things that are tailored rather than stretchy fabric, but i'm in a pinch and want to look at everything. anyone have any ideas?! what is your favorite place to buy dresses? help a girl out!

it's finally here!

i've been waiting for months for the biggest loser to come back and tonight is the premier! i used to not be a fan, but last season got me hooked (koli, you were robbed!). i'm not in love with the drama aspect of the show, but rather the amazing changes in people and the second lease on life they get. you bet i watched losing it with jillian this summer!

don't they look ready to kick your butt into shape? oh, a last chance workout with you two would be a dream! i'll be running around like crazy after work to get all my stuff done by 8pm!

ps- i have a bunch of photos to post of our trip to San Francisco this weekend, but might not get to it until we're done house sitting. i'll get my act together soon! our blog has become a bore!

i heart stevie

if the title didn't clue you in, i love stevie wonder. i can't listen to any of his music without instantly becoming happy. who wouldn't love that? everyone has a favorite stevie song. if you don't, you just haven't heard them all. mine is 'isn't she lovely'.
i've had my eye on 'at the close of a century' for a long time, which is a 4 disc set of basically everything stevie has done. the price kept me away, but recently i found it for half price on ebay and treated myself. today it arrived in the mail and i'm lovin' it at work. thanks, stevie, for making my week.

i'm tired of using technology

aaron and i got new cell phones recently. his is some samsung droid business and he is in love. we got a great deal on it and since i hadn't upgraded my phone for so long i got a new phone for free. i had my old phone for almost 5 years and it was falling apart, but i loved it! people have been trying to talk me into a new one for years, but i held strong! i miss my old one already. i might switch back.
i was lamenting my change to a friend and she said, "i need a phone with buttons" and i completely agree. my new phone doesn't have buttons and i experienced numerous mishaps my first week because i couldn't figure out how to use it. E suggested we get jitterbugs instead of hi-tech cell phones. they completely fit my old person lifestyle.

here's a sample from their website:

The phone, with a larger keypad and a patented ear cushion, is very comfortable and easy to use. You won’t find a camera, the Internet or a complicated menu with confusing little pictures or "icons". You will find one feature, however, that you won’t find anywhere else – 24-hour access to live, friendly Operators, always there to assist you. Just dial "0" and they can add phone numbers to your Phone Book or connect you to anyone you want to talk to.

You can also choose to take advantage of some exciting new services and options for your Jitterbug. Try our new Jitterbug LiveNurseTM service that offers 24-hour access to live, registered nurses anytime you need to ask a health-related question, for only $4 per month. Or try our great text messaging service – only 10 cents per message – where you can choose to either type a message like kids do, or send one we’ve created for you from our library of pre-written messages. You can call a friendly Operator anytime. They will be happy to answer any questions you may have about these services.

sounds great to me!

h e double toothpicks

aaron's parents bought a house in arizona so we went to visit them last weekend while they were in town. talk about hot! arizona is not my favorite place (bad history with our family), but we had a good time and it's easier to travel to az than to canada. it was fun to spend time together.
some of us went to the mesa temple on saturday morning. it is a beautiful temple! so unique.
while we were there i caught up with kelli and greg. i finally got to meet their son who is 18 months old! that's how long it's been. it was great to see them. i miss them so much. nevermind the wedding party in the background...
ok, completely random, but we saw this vehicle in gila bend on the way home. odd.

it was a fun weekend, but we were so happy to come home. the heat was too much to bear. we are so lucky to live in san diego!

birthday dinner

i didn't get any pictures of my birthday, so i made sure to snap one of sandy taking me out for dinner. it was a month after my birthday, but who's counting? thanks, S!

Relaxing

we rode bikes to balboa park on our saturday off of the temple and had a picnic in the shade. people watching is the best. so are relaxing saturdays.

for papa

i know this is going to be a lame post to every one else, but this post is in honor of my dad. ask any family member about doing laundry growing up and you'll hear how dad always asked "did you check the trap?", meaning the lint trap. even when we assured him that we did, you would still hear the sliding noise of the trap being pulled out a few minutes later so the inspector could verify. we learned not checking the lint trap can slow dryer efficency and cause a fire hazard. he was right to ask, but to us it seemed like a life long pledge for dryer safety.

but, his plan worked because i am dilligent in checking the trap. fast forward to last night, we were washing a new white blanket that had been giving us polka dot outfits when we sat on the bed. before aaron went to pull it out of the dryer, i said, oh, i bet the lint trap will be full. here is the fruit of it's labor.
when aaron showed it to me i could not stop laughing. dad, you would have been proud that we remembered to check the trap.

zoo time

we had free passes to the san diego zoo that were about to expire so we hit it up on saturday afternoon. during the summer the zoo is open at night so we took advantage of the later hours. aaron did not want to go, but was a sport and hung in there for a few hours. we had a good time, but i determined i'm not a zoo person. it's nice, but not something i would pay for. it was great to have a date though! afterward we ate at our favorite sushi restaurant and drove home content and sleepy.

please nevermind the haggardness of my face. it was a LONG day. note the peacock standing on the building behind us. we were trying to get a picture of him.

a close up while on the skyfari arial tram. loved the tram ride.

looking toward the museum of man at balboa park. the zoo and the park are neighbors.

screen on the green

during the summer, the san diego museum of art hosts movie nights called, screen on the green. every other friday night the museum shows a movie that corresponds with a current exhibit. right now they have a greek mythology exhibit, so they were showing jason and the argonauts. how could i resist that campy classic? plus, i LOVE balboa park and am always up for a freebie. we got there a bit early, but not early enough! i coldn't believe how many people were there. families, couples, friends had out their picnic baskets and snacks with blankets and pillows for comfort. it was great!
we were sitting on the strip of grass shown here in front of the koi pond. sigh, have i mentioned i love balboa park?

hoe down!

we were invited to a fabulous hoe down a few weeks ago. in fact, aaron was the guest of honor seeing as how he is sans a tooth right now. the hostess thought that would be perfect. because the host is our dentist, the two got together and planned the event before aaron's tooth is finished. how perfect.

it was a lovely time under the stars with lights strung over head, bales of hay, a bbq feast, fire pit for making s'mores, square dancing complete with a real caller and lessons for all. we had a blast and danced and ate until we could do no more of either.

thanks for all the fun!

4th of July

i'm not sure how i managed it, but i only took two pictures of our 4th of July vacation. heavens, i'm bad at taking pictures.
while at grandma's in brigham city, we went hiking, running, aaron played in a basketball tournament, made homemade ice cream, cooked with grandma, had an intense and long lasting game of war, did illegal fireworks at home, saw the big fireworks at pioneer park, played baseball in the backyard, made homemade waffles, talked on the back porch, saw toy story 3, got raspberry shakes at bear lake (which reminds me that mom has some pictures from that...), saw our old house in logan, saw really old historic houses in logan, got a sandwhich at the italian place, saw a re-enactment of laying the golden spike, and a bunch of other things i'm probably forgetting. and no pictures of any of it! here's what i did snap.dad and i at temple square. lovely.

sweet ava and co. leaving for driggs. hope you had a great 4th!