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.

Day 2 off: Not Spent on the Couch

So as I mentioned yesterday, I have a five day weekend. Yesterday was spent on the couch and today I spent no time on the couch (until now, Thursday night NBC comedies on my DVR aren't gonna watch themselves). So what did I do today, you ask? I went to Disneyland/California Adventure. By myself. It was awesome!

So the whole goal was to see World of Color in California Adventure. So I didn't know this until recently but you have to get a fast pass to be able to sit in the World of Color viewing area. I wonder if this will still be the case in 10 years or if it will be more like Fantasmic. Anyway, I went after lunch to get my fast pass. While I was there, I walked on a few rides and enjoyed a dole whip float (it was a very nice day in SoCal).

After going home and doing some school work, I went back to see the show. Did you ever wonder why they took the Mickey down from the loop of California Screamin? Well my hypothesis is that it was because of World of Color. During the show, in addition to colorful water streams and video projections on the water mist, there is also video in the center of the loop. Sometimes it's the same as what is being projected and sometimes it's something else, like a moon for the Pirates of the Caribbean part. I really enjoyed how they used lasers on the water. It was a cool effect that I wasn't expecting. I would say my favorite part of the 30 minute show was when they did the balloons from Up. It looked awesome. Two bad parts were they used fire in some parts but it was so bright I couldn't look and my eyes were watering and they did the sad scene from The Lion King where Mufasa dies. Really? Do you have to play JTT saying "Dad" over and over? Other than those two things, it was perfect.

Here's the finale...come visit me and we can see the whole thing!

Not The Dunder Mifflin Fun Run

So this week I have a 5 day weekend. It's the Combined Sections Meeting for PTs around the country in Chicago so a bunch of our professors and some students are there. Some of my classmates joked about how they are going to CSM Vegas, well I am doing CSM My Couch.

Though I may have spent the whole day on the couch, I did make plans for getting off my couch. I signed up for two races in September!

First, I am doing a 5K at Disneyland on September 1st. It's super early in the morning but it will be so fun to run through Disneyland and be cheered on by characters. Also, I'm interested to see the course because I want to know how far it is from Space Mountain to Splash Mountain. I have ran that route so many times in my life.

http://espnwwos.disney.go.com/events/rundisney/disneyland-half-marathon

Second, I am doing a 10K at AT&T Park that ends on the field at home plate. Lauren (my sister) and I did this two years ago and I was signed up last year but the surprise entrance into PT school made it so I couldn't (I think I made the right choice). Also, The Giants win the World Series every year that I have run this race. BOOM!

http://www.race-sfgiants.com/

Wanna get off the couch and join me? Both of these races are going to be so much fun and great motivation to make working out a priority. Let's do it!

A Little Life Update

Let’s see how successful I am at keeping the title honest.

Last year I was an apprentice at The Center for Nature and Christian Spirituality. We lived at Westminster Woods and also took classes at San Francisco Theological Seminary. I loved it! The year (technically 11 months) was life changing. I embraced my life as an adult and stepped into life of discernment. To learn more about the program, check out the website here http://www.westminsterwoods.org/cncs/ (PS It’s application time…think about it!)

The last thing we did during CNCS was summer camp. It felt like a final exam: putting to test the skills we learned and had been practicing together. Well like many tests, there was an unexpected aspect to my test. At the beginning of the program, I sent off my application for Physical Therapy programs to six schools. I wasn’t expecting anything but I was on the wait list to a program in SoCal. Being able to wait without knowing what was to come and trust God in the unknown was a huge challenge. One morning in July, I had a wonderful experience during our morning prayer and that evening, I found out that I was accepted to the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree program at Chapman University.

A little over a month later I was moving to Orange, California and starting my three year journey to Dr. J. So now I am living in an adorable house with two other girls and studying my Gluteus maximus off. My roommates are wonderful and I am sure God’s hand was at work when I found them. Classes are really hard. Anatomy killed me last semester but I was told I deserved a “Most Improved” trophy. This semester is more specific to physical therapy and I’m loving it. As overwhelming as the program is, I am committed to living as a renewable resource. I do my best to wake up in time to go to a wonderful church in Newport Beach called St. Mark Presbyterian Church. I also have been swing dancing at Atomic Ballroom when I’m not too exhausted. Not to mention, I live 13 minutes from Disneyland and have me a season pass! So come visit me and we’ll go!!!

Garlic Cheese Pull Apart Bread

First of all, I am loving Pinterest. It has increased my crafty inspiration by 76% and my craft productivity by 83%.

So to top off my weekend of crafty Sabbath times with no homework, I made a cheesy, garlic, basil pull apart bread. Here we go:

Ingredients:
Round sour dough bread (like the stuff you put spinach dip in..."wanna know how I know you're gay"
Cheese (I used Monterey Jack and Parm because it's what I had, but any would work)
4 Garlic cloves
Olive Oil
Fresh basil

Cut the bread into the checkerboard shape (use a good knife or have big enough hands to be able to palm the bread to make this easier). Thinly slice the cheese and shove it into as many bread crevasse as possible. The more cheese, the cheesier. Then I roasted 4 garlic cloves in their coverings with olive oil in a pan until their were soft. Then peeled the garlic and mixed that with more olive oil and a little salt and pepper and poured it over the bread. Then I wrapped it in foil and baked it at like 400 (my oven is really old so I never really know what the temp is) for 15 minutes. Then I unwrapped it, but I had an issue with the parm being too thick and not melting so I pulled them out, possibly due to the previously mentioned oven. To make sure I still got my yummy parm in there, I added shredded parm on top. I also sliced three basil leaves for the top and cooked, uncovered for another 10.

And here's the mouth-watering result!

Don't you just want to reach into the screen Mike TV style and eat it? It was a hit at the Super Bowl party but who doesn't love carbs, cheese, and garlic?

But don't stop here. Let your imagination go wild. You could do this idea with any flavor combos! Cheddar and bacon anyone?