Saturdays are for Sushi!

Last night, Greg and I went out for a little sushi date to Momiji. We were feeling pretty hungry, and ordered a ton of food! It was sooooo soooo goooood!!! It was actually the first time we have ever taken home leftovers from there, cause usually with sushi, you can just pack it in and you can be hungry an hour later. But this time, we decided to try the tempura veggies along with our sushi which filled us up pretty good. Tempura veggies are so tasty! We sat outside and it was a lovely 75 degrees with a light breeze....if only it could be that perfect the whole year round. I'd think I was in heaven probably. This was close enough.

 mmmm, tuna roll

 yeah, we took home like 4 pieces of sushi, that's what I meant by leftovers. 

we pretty much cleaned our plates.

Content and satisfied. It was a perfect Saturday evening.

Ingersoll Family Reunion- June 2011

Hello, hello...I'm only a little bit late with this post about our family reunion with the Ingersoll side. It happened in June, and it was in Flagstaff. And we had an awesome time together! I just love them. We stayed at my uncle's parents home up there, which was quite a nice place. We ate so much food it's incredible....breakfast for dinner, tons of snacks, surf and turf, and oh so much more. We laughed, we talked, we played poker. We had a talent show complete with awards (but I didn't get any photos of it for some reason).  We got to see where my Grandpa lived when he was young; it was above a bar downtown, and the building is still a bar called Recycle The Good Times. We explored the lava caves. That was dark, cold, and so much fun. It was an awesome trip!

Here is a little video slideshow documenting the trip. Enjoy!

Just a note to all my other Arizonians...I love you so much, sorry it doesn't always work out to see everyone. We really had no time in the valley, and 15 minute visits to everyone is so hard. But don't worry, we love you and we'll be back to see you. Like, maybe in January or February when we need that big ol' Arizona sky and plenty of sunshine! And of course, our family and friends. :)

Friday Favorites...er, uh, Happy Wednesday!

Hello! Happy Wednesday! I started this post on Friday, for a Friday favorite, but then I never finished it. Probably for the best though, it was kind of lame. So I have some things to share with you my friends!

First, I found some new music that I really love. Found them on Jamendo. For your viewing/listening pleasure, here is a video by Bella Ruse. I really hope they someday play in Oregon, cause that would be a fun/happy show.

Next, I have to tell you how much fun Greg and I have been having. Adventures of finding cherries, baking pies, bike rides, baseball games, Yellow Bottom excursions, movie nights, listening to new records - ah I love summer!! Here are a few pics I've snapped recently with my phone. Sadly, no Yellow Bottom photos - I left my camera in the car and didn't go back for it. But we will go again and I will get pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

I'll leave you with a thought for the day that my dad sent me. Its a good one.

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts."

-Winston Churchill

They Call Me Andie

So, just a quick update on the Corvallis Fall Festival. The Kids Art Zone is coming along quite well. I met with my co-chairs, Caron and Sarah, on Tuesday night for some brainstorming and to make some silly puppets. Did you know that they call me Andie? They do! I love it! Sunday is going to be PUPPET day!!! We are going to make puppets using fabric, paper bags, contact paper, stickers, all sorts of recycled stuff (bottles, papers, socks, tennis balls, plastic spoons, etc.). Here is our inspiration for it all:

And to make it even better, a group is coming in of international women, who are going to cut and sew and put together multicultural dresses for said puppets. I cannot wait to see how it turns out. I have still to cut some fabric (we got a ton of it donated by Amy- who works(ed) for Nike); I found some lace for the dresses today; and I'm in charge of creating a puppet stage. At this point, I'm just not sure if I want to do all fabric and curtains, which could be very easy to string up either on some PVC pipe framing, or we could hang it on a string between the trees..OR..by getting a large piece of particle board, building a frame to stand it up, and painting it. I love the idea of having the board because I think it would make it look really official. But I don't think it would look as official unless it was painted really cool- and I can't paint. So I'm in search of a painter. Someone who can make it look really good, with spotlights and caricatures and Corvallis Fall Festival Puppet Show painted at the top. Do you know anyone who can paint like that who would want to volunteer their time??

Other activities in the Zone will be Spin Art (but of course), miniature golf, wood block sculptures, journal making, pinwheel making, hair braiding, marine themed pastel posters, bubble play, and I'm probably missing something here but you get the idea. It will be total chaos and I cannot wait.

So if you are in Corvallis September 24-25, stop by and see us! We will be having a blast I'm sure!

Here is my silly puppet I put together in about, oh, 30 seconds. I call her Suzanne.

Isn't she sweet? HA!

Thought for the day...or many thoughts if you will

When I worked at Access in Colorado, a few work mates and I would get together every morning and read an inspirational thought for the day. When I left, I kept the tradition alive for a while...and still do when I see a good one every now and then. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the direction of my life and where I want it to go. Namely: WHAT DO I WANT? So, I've been reading this book called "DO IT! Let's Get Off our Buts" by Peter McWilliams. I have to tell you, it is so good. And it is helping me realize all the things I let hold me back. Also, it is chalk full of quotes. Here is one that I really liked:

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

-Eleanor Roosevelt

This quote reminds me of some advice my aunt Lynn likes to give. She says: "Always do what you're scared to do; unless it is unkind, unsafe, or illegal." Good words to live by.

So, bringing me back to my original thought...what is it I want? I wish I was one of those people . You know, who it comes easy for- those people who buy houses at 20, have their own business at 25...those people who go to college right out of high school and seem to have it all figured out. I know it can't possibly be that easy. I know that every person in this world has their own problems, their own tragedy. I know that one of my biggest problems is being brave enough to go out there and DO IT! And those people - the infamous "them", they seem to have no second thoughts about getting out there. The thing is that, all of these years, I've not done anything because I've been too scared. I feel guilty when I have even the smallest successes. And I've just learned that that guilt, is one of the many things holding me back. I mean, I didn't just learn that, I've known, but not known how to stop it. Get it? Maybe not. I'm kind of rambling here. I just want to for once, not put on such a happy face here. I want to be real. I'm scared to be real. I'm scared because, oh gosh, what if you don't like it? What if I'm real and I'm not liked anymore. I know, lame. But there it is. My heart and my fears laid out before you.

What do I want? I'm going to start investigating that. I'm going to start to be brave. I feel like I've gotten small starts. Such as my involvement with the Fall Festival and the DCA. But that isn't necessarily the same as living my dreams. Feeling worthy of my dreams. So this is my new adventure. I'm in the pursuit of living my dreams. I just have to figure out what that is exactly!

Well, I can't leave here without at least putting up a picture, and saying
HOPE YOU HAD A WONDERFUL 4th of JULY!
My weekend was FULL of STRAWBERRIES! I hand picked 24lbs of them. Yowza, that's a lot.

 

 I brought this beauty into work with me. I was told by one of my work mates that he thought it was the best pie that he had ever tasted, and that he didn't know that pie could be so good. Aaahhh, I love making pies. :)

Friday Favorites: Good Tunes and Red Toes

Happy July to you! And happy Friday! Sorry I missed the past couple...we were out of town (in Flagstaff for a family reunion on my mom's side), and then just busy busy! But I'm back today with a few of my favorite things. Oh- and I'll get some of my family reunion trip photos up here soon...and by soon I mean don't be checking everyday for it, but one day it will be here!

I love my records! They make me so happy. Especially when I'm cleaning and listening to The White Stripes. They disbanded- so I'll never see them play live, but the music lives forever!

 Red toes are fully appropriate for the 4th of July!!! One of my favorite holidays.

There is a new restaurant in Downtown Corvallis called the Laughing Planet Cafe.  This place is quickly becoming one of my favorites. They have an upstairs seating area that has a small deck looking over the river walkway. So pretty. The food is super tasty. They cater to vegetarians and vegans. My perfect lunch on this day was the Cuban Bowl. It had brown rice, black beans, sweet potatoes, and plantains, topped with salsa. YUM!

 

One of Greg and mines favorite things to do is seek out live music. If they are playing at a restaurant and we get to eat delicious food while we are at it- all for the better. Last Saturday night we wandered over to FireWorks Restaurant- where most nights they have live music (and the wood fired pizza they have there is awesome!). This duo I snapped a pic of are The Winterlings. It was folk music- and man were they good. They sang this one song, called Lauren's Forest, it seriously brought tears to my eyes. I would have purchased their CD if I had brought extra cash. Even Greg enjoyed them- and folk music isn't his regular thing.

So there you have it. What are you up to for the 4th of July weekend? Fireworks? BBQ? Strawberry Pie? I'm going strawberry picking tomorrow and you can bet I'll be making pie! And jam, and freezer jam, and who knows what other delicious creations.