Mustache Bread

So I was inspired by this blog that I found on Pinterest:

http://www.kidskubby.com/peekaboo-pumpkin-pound-cake/

I took it and added my own personality to it. I made one with a mustache in the middle. The outside is banana bread and the mustache is ginger bread from box mixes from Trader Joes.

I first made the gingerbread loaf and then cut it into slices. I then used a mustache cookie cutter to cut out pieces. 

I put down a small layer of banana bread in the loaf pan and then cooked it for about 10 minutes. I then put the mustaches on top in the pan and poured the rest of the banana mix on top and finished cooking until the toothpick came out clean.

Surprise...MUSTACHE! I unlocked a new level of hipsterness...baking with mustaches.

The blog above has a great photo showing what they did. Have fun making it your own!

So there's that.

Jessie

Welcome to my Crib

It's been a busy month. But I feel like I am now settled into my new studio. Welcome to my crib. (PS in honor of the orange and black moving on, there are 4 distinct references to The Giants in the pics, some harder than others, see if you can catch them all.)

View from the entrance

Seasonal decorations

Dining table

Living room

Bed

Desk

Kitchen

Bathroom

Bathroom

So there's that.
Jessie

Dear Giants Fans...

Our San Francisco Giants have won more games away than at home. 42-31 v. 43-32. Yes, percentage wise, they've won more at home but the fact that it is this close is unacceptable. One place that we have struggled at home is in pitching. AT&T is a pitcher's park! Now it may sound like I am mad at our San Francisco Giants but the truth is, I think the blame lies with the fans.

Flash back to the beginning of the 2011 season. Even if the Giants were losing but it was still a close game going into the 8th inning, we won. The energy at the park was crazy. The fans believed in our team. Where did this go? Why don't our pitchers feel like we believe in them?

As much as I hate to say it: band wagon fans. 2010, we won. Awesome. 2011, everyone loved us. 2012 the honeymoon phase is over and the band wagon fans are getting to see what a relation with the San Francisco Giants is really about: torture.

But us forever fans will tell you it's the best kind of torture. John (Cougar) Melloncamp 'hurt so good' style of torture. I for one welcome our new band wagon fans, but I also want to invite you to really fall in love with the game. 

First things first. Don't EVER touch the ball if it's in play. We rarely saw this at AT&T Park. You would see fans respond to the ball like it was the 'happy fun ball' but this fallacy is more common now. Don't do it. Also, just say no to doing a wave.

But the real call to action goes to band wagoners and old timers alike. Get loud. Believe in the magic. Do whatever you can to get the energy up at the park. When we make it to the postseason, our team is going to need to know that we believe in them. 

GO GIANTS!

My sister and I on the field after running a 10K last Sunday!

So there's that.

Jessie

"Summer"

I had three weeks between Summer and Fall semester. Here is the short list of things I did in no particular order.

1. Hope's going away party - Yeehaw!
2. Outside Lands including seeing: Fitz and the Tantrums, Die Antwoord, Of Monsters and Men, Foo Fighters, Justice, Alabama Shakes, Explosions in the Sky, Big Boi, Passion Pit, Sigur Ros, Fun., Franz Ferdinand, Regina Spektor, Santigold, Stevie Wonder
3. Taco Tuesday with Christina and my favorite toddler
4. Lunch at the Ferry Building, walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, and Thai food in San Rafael with the seester
5. Meeting little Jameson, one of my sister's best friend's little baby boy
6. Beers and walks in downtown Santa Cruz with the roomie, Lisa Casagrande
7. Beers, Irish music, and Australian candies with camp friends in Berkeley
8. Lagunitas Brewery in Petaluma with the family
9. Listening to Douglas Adams books while driving many miles
10. Partying with the 1st years while I mentally try to comprehend the fact that I am now in my second year of PT school and I kind of know what I'm doing

So there's that,
Jessie

Disneyland 5K

(First off, I have to apologize for my very limited posting. I got caught in that place where you want to say so much but don't have the time/focus so you don't say anything but then you find more that you want to say but still don't have time. Circle of life. So my solution is going to be to get some quick, simple updates out there. I may go a little out of order. "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause and effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint - it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly time-y wimey stuff.")

So I ran a Disneyland 5K last weekend that was Cars Land themed. Okay, by ran, I mean mostly walked. There were a lot of people and the route wasn't the widest (think Main Street, USA). But it was a fun run and everyone was in a good mood. They had a lot of fun things on the side like cars characters to take pictures with and cast members dressed as mechanics cheering us on. We started at Mickey and Friends parking structure, ran the tram route, went behind the scenes a little, entered the park by Pooh Mountain, ran around the Rivers of America, backwards through the castle, around the Matterhorn, through Tomorrowland, took a stroll down Main Street, crossed over into California Adventure, around Grizzly Peak, circled Paradise Pier, and ended in Cars Land. Now that you are thoroughly impressed by my Disney knowledge, here are some Instagrams.

Mickey and Minnie above the start

Splash Mountain

Back of the castle

The (fake) Matterhorn

California Adventure

Ferris Wheel

Mile 3 marker

Entering Cars Land: Fillmore's snacks

The end!

Store at the new entrance to California Adventure

So there's that,
Jessie

Losing pounds, losing toe nails, and losing marbles

The three things I've been up to lately.

1. Losing pounds. So on May 1st I started eating well and moving at least 30 minutes a day. I've been following The Mayo Clinic Diet, for those of you interested. It's nothing fancy, no fads. Just the basics of how our bodies work and what the research shows are habits healthy people have. In 5 weeks I lost 12 pounds. So that's been a big part of my life recently and it still is. Keep on truckin'!

2. Losing toe nails. As I said, I've been moving at least 30 minutes a day. To be honest, it's mostly walking to Starbucks to get coffee or walking around Disneyland like some kind of mall walker. But hey, it's working. Well something bad started happening. I was getting infection in my toe nail so yadda yadda yadda, I had part of my toe nail taken off. I could explain more but I seem to not know when to stop with the yucky things so I won't even start. The moral of the story is my toe hurts when I walk (at toe off for you PT peeps reading).

3. Losing marbles. Class sucks. It's hard and stupid and poo poo pants. And as you can tell, I've lost my marbles.

BANGARANG!

She's Crafty III: Happy Mother's Day

Here's me, my sister, and my mama on the day I came into the world!

And here's the address wreath I made for my mama for Mother's Day to say thanks for all she's done!

So there's that.

Jessie

She's Crafty Part II: Electric Boogaloo

I mixed together some Mod Podge and a whole lot of blue and silver glitter and painted it on the bottom of my camelbak water bottle.

I used painters tape to get a straight line and did multiple layers to make it more glittery. If I was to do it again, I would up the glitter in the glitter to mod podge ratio. But now I have a glamorous water bottle. Stay hydrated, friends!

So there's that.
Jessie

Don't use me as an advertisement.

"She's crafty - she gets around

She's crafty - she's always down
She's crafty - she's got a gripe
She's crafty - and she's just my type
She's crafty"
Adam Yauch (MCA), you are missed.

This semester I have my first clinical rotations. It's called pre-clins since it's only 2 weeks. This upcoming event coincided nicely with the grand re-opening of The Limited at the Main Place mall and their 40% off everything sale! I got two new very professional pants and a cute yellow top which all came in a very high quality reusable bag that said THE LIMITED on it. It said that, but doesn't anymore!

I had some fun redoing the bag. I first did the grid lines with a paint brush and bleach. Then I painted the abstract flowers. I love this wonky style of art, it takes the pressure off of being straight and perfect. It being a free bag helps, too. I'm excited to use this on future shopping trips. No more plastic bags!

So there's that.
Jess

"Spring Break: it's my favorite holiday."

P.S. That's a quote from the first season of Arrested Development. How excited are we for a Netflix season of Arrested Development?

Okay, onto the meat of the post. Two weeks ago I had my Spring Break/Summer in between my spring and summer semesters. I drove up to Livermore to spend some well deserved time in NorCal. I did a lot of driving around, both up to the bay and around the bay so I was able to listen to the first two Hunger Game audiobooks. Good stuff, but a book that gives me nightmares shouldn't also make me want to wake up with a boy to cuddle with and make the nightmares go away. Where is my Peeta?

Sunday I cut my bucket list in half by spending a Giants game on the bay in McCovey Cove on a kayak. Lauren (my sister), Jeff (my brother-in-law), Hope (my best friend), and I enjoyed beers and sandwiches while listening to the Giants on Hope's awesome radio. The Giants lost but we had an amazing time on the bay enjoying the glorious weather and meeting hilarious people who joined our kayak island tied to a buoy. After the game, we got some Philz coffee and said goodbye to the beautiful city.

Monday was a relaxing day of shopping, errands, and lunch with the seester at Tender Greens in Walnut Creek. Tuesday was similar, Mom and I got lunch at our favorite Chinese Restaurant where the waitress is always excited to see me.

Wednesday Mom and I got Japanese food and then I went to San Carlos to see another one of my best friends, Patrick! We met at his new apartment and walked downtown for dinner then we went to trivia at a bar in San Mateo. This was my first time doing a bar trivia night and I have been wanting to so it for a while so I was stoked. Our team was Patrick and I and a group of guys from Patrick's work that go every week. We got 8th out of about 15 teams, so we didn't do too well, but it was lots of fun. We did have a perfect round, the questions were about television, so I really didn't expect anything less from the two of us.

Thursday I met my roommate from last year, Lisa, in San Jose for dinner, a drink, and some much needed catch up. It was great to talk with her and her husband, Daren, joined us for dessert, too. I think they are one of my favorite couples. I love them both so much. After that I met another one of my favorite couples, Lauren and Jeff, for a drink at Handles in Pleasanton. They had Lagunitas' Cappacino Stout on tap!

Friday my mom, dad, and I got dinner at  Johhny Garlic's and to my surprise, they didn't mention Guy Fieri even once. However, his name is on more things than the name of the restaurant. Then Brendan and I drove to Davis for PICNIC DAY! It was 94 degree in Davis for their annual picnic day, basically an excuse for college students and recent grads to drink all day. I spent the day jumping around between different groups and trying not to be too hot. Somehow I lasted the whole spring break without getting a sunburn.

So there's that.
Jessie
(this is the winning sign off from a few posts back!)

Hello and Goodbye March

Wow. Where did that month go? Here's how I spent it:

To celebrate my quarter of a century anniversary, I had a party!

Friends and streamers

Drinks and an awesome cake my roommates made

Right: this is your gummy bear; Left: this is your gummy bear on vodka for 22 hours

The next weekend I home to NorCal. I went to camp for the Alumni Reunion Retreat, Christina's last Sunday at church, and had birthday dinner with the fam.

The young kids

After our hike to the cross

That Wednesday, I went to Malibu to visit CNCS at the Companions on the Inner Way.

Me and college roommate, Sarah

The last weekend of March, some friends from NorCal came down and we went to Disneyland. Why does it always rain when I spend the day at Disneyland?

Miles's bodyguards

Super happy fun times!

And now it's April. And next week is finals. Think happy thoughts for me!

Sign Off

It's already March 20th?!?!?! I knew March was going to fly by, but wow! I've been keeping busy this month so look forward to a fun blog post about that. But until then, I need some help.

I want an awesome sign off for my blog, my own version of the Ron Burgundy "You stay classy, San Diego." So where you come in is giving me ideas. What do you want to see at the end of every post? If I get enough good ideas, I might even let you all vote on them. You could change the course of history (at least for my blog). Just make sure it's not as bad as when Robin on How I Met Your Mother was auditioning for an anchor position:

"From all of us here at News Ten, have a good evening... So, good night, New York. And may the road ahead be lit with dreams and tomorrows, which are lit with dreams, also... Stand tall, New York. Trustworthy. Recycling. Wear a condom."

Leave a comment with what you want to see as my sign off!!!

Real Life is for March

How awesome was the leap day episode of 30 Rock? But I have to say, much like Liz Lemon (a character with whom I have too much in common), I do not remember leap day ever being a big deal. But as an ESFJ, I love an excuse for tradition and celebration. What did I do for my extra day where nothing counts? I dawned my yellow and blue and went to One More Disney Day!

Disneyland was open for 24 hours to celebrate Leap Day. I thought it would be awesome to check out Disneyland in the wee hours of the morning, if nothing else, to say that I did. They had a 1am showing of Fantasmic! so I left at midnight, giving myself plenty of time to get to the park (I live 13 minutes away). Well, it turns out everyone had the same thought. The only parking open was the garage so the traffic was terrible. It took me 45 minutes from the freeway to parking. And I talked to someone who said it took them an hour and a half (they obviously are not as skilled at Disneyland as I am). Here's a picture my friend Darren took of the garage entrance as he was leaving and I was arriving.

As I drove in, the cars around me were full of drunk people and there was a sign that said Disneyland was full. The man taking money assured me that the sign had not been updated and people were allowed to enter but then when I finally got on the tram, the conductor said that only people with hand stamps were getting in. Everyone still seemed determined to get in. The line to get your bag checked to get into the space between the two lands was more of a mob of people. This is where I was really able to recognize that everyone there was a twenty-something reliving their grad night. A nice couple even offered me some vodka. Don't worry mom's out there, I politely declined. 

Turned out I could get in since I have an annual pass and once all was said and done, I entered into Disneyland at 2am. The place was totally crowded. The wait for Indiana Jones was 110 minutes and 115 for Space Mountain. I didn't think it was worth it so I just walked around and got a feel for Disneyland at 2am. Here's some instagram fun.

 

 

I then started my accidental night of rides where you sit in a boat and go around on a track. 

"The funniest cruise that ever sailed round the Nile."

"The happiest cruise that ever sailed round the world."

"The pirateyest cruise that ever sailed round the Caribbean."

Things started slowing down around 3:30am but I didn't leave until 5am. After all, "real life is for March...nothing on leap day counts." 

I liked them before they were cool...

Last week I saw the band Fun. at their album release show in Long Beach! If you think you haven't heard Fun. then you are wrong. You know that awesome song you always hear on the radio or in that Chevrolet commercial or at the end of that one Glee episode? You know the song that makes you want to rule the world? We Are Young by Fun. ft Janelle Monae - seriously, who doesn't like this song?

Yes, it is true. I liked Fun. before they were cool. But unlike real hipsters, I am so happy for this band and that they are finding success. If you listened to The Format, you will recognize the beautiful voice of Nate Ruess and a similar upbeat, complex style. I got to see them play a live show at Fingerprints record store the day the new record Some Nights was released. Side note, Some Nights has already reached 3rd in US record sales. This album is awesome. I can't get enough of it! I love their music style and think they pushed to make it even more "Fun."

They also represent live! They had the perfect amount of banter and showed that they aren't above laughing at themselves. This video is of the show I was at but taken by someone much closer than me. Please disregard the "woo girls" at the beginning. Check out the video check out the new album "Some Nights."

It's Jess!

So I had been thinking about Zooey Deschanel bangs for a while, going back and forth about whether I wanted them or not. I had short hair for all of college and grew it out when my sister got engaged and really liked it. But I hadn't done anything new with my hair for well over a year. I enjoyed my "sexy hair" so knew I wanted to keep it long and the Zooey bang seemed like the perfect thing to do.

Here's the before sexy hair.

So I did some research and against ever thing I read online, I did cut my bangs myself. I checked out a few youtube videos and combined them into something that would work for me.

I used this for the parting and first cut:

And I used this for the detail cutting:

And here's what I got...IT'S JESS!

Things I Currently Miss

Right now there are two things I am really misses and wish they were back right now. Here are a couple of fun things about them that are helping me cope.

1. Community

NBC thinks that their audience likes Chelsea Handler and Whitney Cummings more than Community. They are wrong. Since this ingenious show did not come back in January, I was having withdrawals and had to resort to watching the commentaries on the Season 2 DVDs.

Did you know there is an episode that has an entire Abed story line that happens completely behind the action. He even delivers a baby! I totally did not notice this until they talked about it on the DVD. The episode is the third episode of season 2 titled The Psychology of Letting Go (it’s the one where Pierce’s mom dies and we get a glimpse of Jeff’s life as a lawyer). The story goes that a very pregnant women approaches Abed claiming the baby is hers, later he gets in a fight with the woman’s boyfriend, and then they end up delivery the baby in the back of truck.

Shirley: I barely saw you this week, Abed. What have you been up to?

Abed: Not much.

Brilliant, once again.

2. The San Francisco Giants

Is it baseball season yet? Pitchers report in 2 days!!!

And to get you excited about the 2012 season, check out this May 20^th giveaway:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150462820966828&set=a.95759191827.100284.43225541827&type=1

Yes. That is a Brian Wilson Gnome. My God, I wish I could go…

Jennifer Anderson's House and Tom Cruise's Chimley

Last night and today I played tourist with my good friend Charlene. We both moved to SoCal around the same time in late August and hadn't gotten around to doing the typical stuff. So last night we went to the Santa Monica Pier and today we went to Hollywood.

In Santa Monica, we walked down the pier and around the beach a little, and then around downtown through the shopping center where we got a bite to eat. And after all that, I only paid $3 for parking, and it was the second best parking garage I had ever parked in. Here's the pier:

Today, we took the Metro into LA and ended up taking a tour around Hollywood after talking the guy down from $35 to $20. My 'I seriously don't trust you, now please leave' attitude worked well on that one. First we went to Grauman's Chinese Theatre and walked about there for a little. Here's some pics:

 

 

California never saw it coming but the signs were there... 

The tour was hilarious. The driver kept saying things wrong and there was a super crazy mom and daughter. We drove around and saw star's homes though who knows if they were for real. According to the driver, we saw Jennifer Anderson's house and Tom Cruise's chimley (known to people who aren't on the A List as chimneys.) Then we went to Beverly Hills and drove down Rodeo Drive where a crazy expensive car was causing a traffic jam. Boo. Here's me and a sign.

So now I can say I've done the typical SoCal tourist things. Two more well spent days off.