Ohhhh June....

The end of May is approaching and I am getting a little anxious, yet extremely excited, for next month.
Clay and I will be kicking off the month with a trip to Vegas. We're staying at the Palms Place and spending the days by the pool in a complimentary cabana! YES! After 4 days of bliss with the best boyfriend in the world in the greatest city in the world, I'll be gearing up to head to Kauai with the family- well, a few of them!
My mom and Rob, Chelsea and Jeremy, and Adam and myself will be spending about a week in paradise. After we return from Hawaii, I'm assuming there will be a little bundle of joy to visit up in Fresno. My nephew is due to arrive mid June! Duncan and Tracy are VERY excited about becoming parents to little Hudson! We all can't wait to meet him! There may be a trip to Atlanta after I meet my nephew, to catch up with a few family members there. I haven't been to Atlanta in years and am glad I have the time and opportunity to get there to spend time with family. We used to visit there about every other year when I was younger. Of course as time goes on, schedules get hectic and it gets harder to arrange time for family. But, and I've said this before, family is so so important. After all is said and done, your family members are the only people who will always be there. After the month of June whizzes by me, there will be more family celebrations as we get together for our most favorite family holiday- 4TH OF JULY! I can't wait for the fun to begin!
Life goes by so fast. Make the most of it!

Just A Quick Lunch...

- Fresh Ciabatta Bread
- Sliced grilled steak
- Sauteed peppers and Onions
- Pesto spread on one side of the bread
- Provolone melted on the other side of the bread
- Spinach

Be sure to let the steak rest before slicing it so all the juices remain in the meat!
Also, layer the steak in a way that the sandwich can be bitten through easily. Otherwise, it will fall all apart!
Bon Appetit!

OSCAR CHALLENGE ~ The Blind Side

So, after all the hooplah with Sandra Bullock and her grimy soon-to-be ex-husband- I decided to check out her Oscar winning performance in The Blind Side. While I was housesitting for my parents, I decided to watch it one night...while I was alone, since I heard it was pretty sappy- haha! It is definitely a feel-good type of movie and it shows that there are still good people that exist in the world. No pre-judgements, no questions, just love and the desire to make the world a better place for someone less fortunate. It is sad to think of how much talent is out there in the world that may go unnoticed solely due to the lack of opportunity. Once the main character, Micheal, was given the oppotunity to excel, his hard work and determination got him to places he never imagined. The movie had a great message and it's no wonder it was nominated for an Oscar.
Still haven't seen Precious- that HAS to be my next one!

Spring has Sprung!

Lots of fun things have been happening this year and so far 2010 has been so great!
Here are just a few recent events:

Celebrating Larissa's 29th Birthday- friendship of 10 years and counting!

And Victoria's 17th Birthday trip to Disneyland!

Clay and I took a trip to Big Bear! It snowed all day, probably about a foot!

Met up with Megan and friends at Incahoots in San Diego- a little country line dancing won't hurt no one!

Visited Suzanne and her babies- Kaylee and Rylee are 14 months!

Happy St. Patty's Day from Fat Cat

Norcal crew invaded Socal for Tommy's Birthday Party- Kelsey and Mike and Nick came down to hang with Gabby, Carrie and I. It was a great time at the beach house and the Pence compound!

The Parent's had a 20th anniversary party- Smith Reid Family still going strong!

 

Clay and I took a quick trip up to Santa Barbara so I could visit my old college and town. UCSB looks different but some things never change. I hit up the study hall, a favorite bar and Zodo's. a fav bowling spot! Saw all of the houses I lived in while in college and checked out the campus! Downtown was great too! Here are a few from the trip:

Victoria and I had our annual Easter photoshoot at my mom's house! I love Spring! There were more of these but I just wanted to get a few in here!

I guess this is my quarterly update for the year 2010...so excited to see what the rest of the year has to offer!

OSCAR CHALLENGE- UP IN THE AIR

So...
I liked this movie....actually, I think I really liked this movie! I will be watching it again in the near future- but here are some things I really liked so far:
- george clooney...duh. down-to-earth, real, classy.
- the argument between casual relationships and actually picturing a future with that person
- the realization that life changes in an instant....not always for the better but you still have to deal!
- I loved loved loved the simple shots of the film from the shots of clouds in the air to the regular ritual of packing a bag
- the irony of the lead actresses need to "escape" from her "real" life. this does not make sense to me and made me extremely disappointed once revealed.
- emotion is a simple part of life- you can't deny it. you must accept it- no matter how scary it may be....the best of life may come from those situations where you leap without looking!

Next up....Precious! I'm excited!

cooking for dummies....

chicken breast
stuffed
with
garlic sauteed spinach
and
ricotta cheese
topped with
sauteed crimini mushrooms
.....

this happens on a regular basis! I love cooking....and so does Clay! Match made in heaven!
<3

Oscar Challenge- The Hurt locker

The Hurt locker- Liked it....didn't LOVE it, however I would recommend it to a friend! I thought the point of the movie was very well expressed through the eyes of the Oscar's first ever Female winner of the best director category. She did an excellent job with character development. It is a typical war movie, so descriptively depicting the details of war one would never be able to imagine without having been there. The movie was just long enough to hold my attention, just gory enough to not completely gross me out, real enough to feel the heat of the desert. It was a very well put together movie. Up next...Up in the Air and I am pretty excited to see it!
By the way, today has probably been the nicest day of 2010. Clay and I went on a quick bikeride down at the beach and it was amazing! Spring has sprung...the best time of the year!